Title: To Stand Against the Sun

Genre: romance, drama

Rating: M for language, violence, and sexual themes

Pairings: JohanXJudai (spiritshipping); very, very mild ManjoumeXJudai (rivalshipping); other minor pairings

Summary: Judai Yuki was not expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen when he moved to live with his Dad in Copenhagen, Denmark. But this where his life truly begins. There he meets Johan Andersen, a mysterious and captivating student at his new high school. Judai soon discovers that Johan is hiding a secret, after he impossibly saves his life from a van with his super-human strength and speed. Judai is determined to unravel his secret, but the truth is more terrifying than he realized. Johan is a vampire. Any normal person would just keep away from him, but Johan and Judai have fallen passionately and unconditionally in love with each other. And so begins their forbidden relationship between a human and a vampire. But the young lovers soon discover that their troubles are only just about to begin.

Me: All right! Chapter two! Technically three if you wanna go with that stuff, but this is two!

Lucy: Judai has met Johan, and it seems that they both have a crush on each other! Well, rather, Johan doesn't seem to know what to think, but it seems that Judai already can't get Johan out of his mind!

Me: Where will this lead?

Lucy: Read on if you'd like to know what is going to happen!

Chapter Two: Like an Open Book

The next day was better... and worse.

It was better because it wasn't raining anymore. The sun was starting to peak through the thick, gray clouds. Kenzan and Hayato hung around me all day, though they spent the majority of the time glaring at one another. I sat at a larger lunch table. There were people that I knew now, and I didn't feel like an new student, though it was only my second day.

It was worse because I was tired. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I kept on seeing Johan Andersen's coal black eyes whenever I thought back on him and what had happened yesterday.

It was worse because I messed up in math class. I got the wrong answer. No one laughed thought. I had to play volleyball, and I hit my team mate in the head with the ball. She reassured me that it was okay, but I didn't believe her. I think it was the brain damage making her believe that it was fine. And it was worse because Johan Andersen wasn't anywhere in the school today.

When I walked into the cafeteria with Momoe by my side, I saw Johan's "siblings" at their table, but he wasn't there.

Lunch went by slowly. I kept looking at the table where the Andersens sat, waiting for Johan to come in. But he never did. I worried. Was he sick today? Did it have to do with yesterday? The way he was acting?

I walked to Biology with my spine straight. Hayato walked faithfully by my side the whole time. He didn't seem to notice that I was looking for the youngest of the Andersens. I held my breath at the door, peeking in. Johan Andersen wasn't there. He wasn't in the seat where I had seen him yesterday. I sighed and went into the classroom.

Hayato following, talking of an upcoming trip to the beach. He lingered beside my table until the bell rang, and then he smiled, winked, and walked to his table. His seat was beside a girl that reminded me of a poodle; a bad perm and a stuck up attitude.

I saw that I was going to have to talk to Hayato sooner or later. I wasn't use to overly friendly boys like him. Not that I didn't enjoy the friendship and all, but he was just a bit too clingy. It was hard to breathe when he was around, since he was much too close to me. I'd have to talk with him and see if I could get some space now and again.

I was a bit relieved, but sad, that I had the table to myself, that Johan was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't shake the strange sensation that... that I was the reason he was absent.

It was ridiculous to believe that I could have that much of an effect on anyone. It was egotistical, too. There was no way that me; plain ol' Judai Yuki; could ever effect someone that badly. And yet, I couldn't help that thought. I couldn't get rid of it, no matter how hard I tried to make it leave my mind. I worried that it was true.

When school ended, and the embarrassed blush vanished from my cheeks from the volleyball incident, I hurried from the locker room, a bit glad that I could escape Hayato, my loyal dog-like friend.

I walked out into the parking lot, seeing no one but the now-fleeing students. I went into my truck and looked to see if I had all that I needed.

Last night, I had discovered that Nerigon couldn't cook. He usually bought TV dinners and cooked them. It horrified me. How could someone live all alone and not know how to cook? It was ridiculous!

So, I requested that I be given kitchen detail for the rest of my stay.

He was willing enough to hand that over. I had gone shopping a while ago and got a bunch of food that I could cook.

I grinned as my deafening engine came to life, ignoring the people that looked in my direction. I carefully backed out of my parking space. As I waited for the car behind me to move along, I saw the Andersens, except for Johan, of course, getting into their car. It was a shiny new bright silver-gray Volvo. How could it not be? As if they didn't stand out enough in this place with those god-like looks of theirs!

It seemed strange that they were so secluded, so ignored, here. It seemed like no one was ogling them the whole time. But maybe that's what they wanted. They could get anything they wanted with their money (which I heard from Nerigon that they had, and quite a lot of it, too) and their lovely looks.

The Andersens looked at my truck as they passed, just like everyone else. But, unlike anyone else, the older one; the one I think Rei had called Jim a while ago; flashed me a grin and a thumbs up.

I blushed and waved nervously.

Jim whooped and pounded his fist on the steering wheel, honking the horn. He grinned at me again, and then surged off in the Volvo after giving me another friendly grin.

When I got home, I wrapped some potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven.

I covered some pieces of steak in marinade and put it in the fridge until it was ready to cook.

When that was done, I took my backpack upstairs. Before starting my minimal load of homework, I changed into a baggu white T shirt and some baggy navy pants and checked my email. I had three messages.

"Judai," my mom wrote...

Write back as soon as you can, Baby! Tell me how your flight down was! Was it long? Is it sunny or is it raining in Copenhagen? I miss you so much already, Judai! I'm almost done packing for my trip around Denmark. Oh, by the way, have you seen my red dress? That one with the long sleeves and the short hem? I can't find it. Mom.

I chuckled lightly and went to the next one. It was sent two hours after the last.

"Judai," Mom wrote again.

Why haven't you sent me an email yet? What are you waiting for, Honey? Mom.

The last was from just this morning.

Judai Xavier Yuki,

If I haven't heard from you by 6:30 this evening, I'm going to call Nerigon.

I sighed and checked the clock. It was 5 o' clock, but better not tempt fate. She's been known to jump the gun and do things much earlier than she says she is going to do them.

Mom,

Calm down. I'm writing now. Don't have a cow. Judai.

I sent that one with a chuckle and then started the next one.

Mom,

Everything is great here. It's kinda raining, but that's okay. It was sunny earlier. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad, but I kinda already went over a lot of that in Ribe. Your red dress is in the closet. Dad bought me a truck, can you believe that? It's perfect, you know, for me. I love it so much!

I miss you, too, and I'll write again soon. I love you.

Judai.

I decided to read a book for English class just for the Hell of it. That's what I was doing when Nerigon came home. I'd lost track of the time and hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and to put the steak in.

"Judai?" my father called.

"Hey, Dad!" I called out to him. "Welcome home."

"Thanks." He hung up his coat and his gun-belt and kicked off his boots. They landed lopsided on the ground near the door. Nerigon almost never kept his gun out in the open when I was a child. He'd take the bullets out and hide it from me. I guess he figured that now I was old enough to see the gun around all the time.

Nerigon glanced up. "What's for dinner?"

"Steak and potatoes, provided I don't burn the char out of 'em," I smiled.

Nerigon laughed and walked into the living-room, feeling awkward that he was in the kitchen with nothing to do. We both seemed a bit happier that way. He let me cook how I wanted and I let him watch whatever he wanted to on TV. I threw a salad together, very sloppily, while the news blared in the other room.

I called him when dinner was ready.

He walked in and took a long whiff, smiling widely. "Smells good, Ju."

I grinned back. "It better," I told him. He walked over, and I tapped his hand with the mixing spoon. "It's more than you ever learned to cook Mr. Eggs and Bacon."

Nerigon laughed at my joke and ruffled my hair. "You're such a monster, Ju."

We ate in silence for a few minutes. I could see that Nerigon wanted to ask me something, but he looked embarrassed at the same time. He took in a deep breath and looked down with a sigh.

"What's up?" I asked.

He looked at me. "How is school?" he asked. "Do you like it? Make any friends?"

Ah. So that's what he was worried about. That I wasn't enjoying it here in Copenhagen with him. I gave him a wide grin. "It's pretty fun," I said reassuringly. "There's this girl Rei who sits with me at lunch and some of her friends, and this girl Momoe, and then there's this boy Kenzan and this other boy Hayato. They're both pretty nice."

"You must mean Hayato Maeda," Nerigon said. "Nice family."

"Do you... know the Andersens?" I asked hesitantly.

Nerigon gave me a slightly surprised look that I mentioned them. "Dr. Andersen's family?" he asked. "Yeah, I know them. Very nice family. Dr. Andersen's a wonderful man."

"They... the kids... they don't seem to be accepted too well in school," I said.

Nerigon surprised me by looking furious. "People in this fucking place," he snapped. "Dr. Andersen's a nice man who does amazing work and who is better than any of these backwater doctors. He could probably get a job that pays him ten times as much as he makes here. And yet, we are so lucky to have him here! He's a wonderful man, and those children of his are polite and well-behaved! Haven't had an ounce of trouble from the moment they showed up! I had my doubts with those adopted teenagers, but they're like saints! That's more than I can say for some of these families whose kids are arrested every other Monday! And they're a model family- going on camping trips all the time with each other... It's all because they're new here, Ju. People have to make rumors."

I gave him a reassuring smile. "Relax, Nerigon," I said. "They seem nice enough to me. I just noticed that they keep to themselves a lot. They're also very attractive, too..." I added this rather quietly.

"You should see Dr. Andersen," Nerigon laughed.

We went back into a silent moment after that conversation. Nerigon cleared the table while I washed the dishes. I did it quickly, said good night to Nerigon, and then went upstairs to do my homework.

I fell asleep quickly after that.

The rest of the week was fairly uninteresting. I lapsed into the routine of my classes. By Friday, I could name almost every student in my class or in the school. They were all friendly enough. In Gym, people learned to get as far away from me as possible when I was serving a ball. That worked out fine for me and everyone I would have hit otherwise.

Johan Andersen didn't come back to school.

Every single day, I watched until the rest of Andersens arrived without him. Then I would relax a bit, albiet a bit disapointed, and then return to the conversation that was going on at my table.

By Friday, I was perfectly comfortable entering my biology class, though it bothered me that Johan Andersen wasn't there. Even if he had been kinda jumpy and maybe anxious around me for whatever reason, it felt weird that he wasn't here today or any other day, for that matter. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't stop. My heart raced whenever I did.

The weekend went by uneventfully.

I did my homework, hung out with Nerigon, and cleaned my room.

People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning with wide cheerful grins. I flashed them a grin back and waved. In English class, Kenzan was messing around with his book the whole time, and I tried not to laugh.

I felt comfortable with the school now.

When we walked out of class, the air was full of snow. I frowned and poked at the whiteness that fluttered from the skies. I didn't dislike snow, but it was cold and bothered me a bit.

"Wow," Kenzan chirped. "It's snowin'!"

A huge squishy snowball hit Kenzan in the back of the head. We turned and saw Hayato standing in a thick winter jacket with a huge grin on his face, forming another ball of snow.

"Look out, Yuki!" he grinned at me. "The next one's comin' for you!"

I laughed and ran away, ducking as the snowball whizzed over my head. I turned to look back at Kenzan and Hayato. "See you at lunch, guys!" I called back with a laugh. "Once the snow starts flying, I'm gone!"

They laughed, but were focused on their snowball fight.

After class, where I had made yet another graceful Yuki-trip, I walked alertly to the lunchroom with Momoe by my side. She nervously chattered away about the beach trip that Kenzan and Hayato were planning. I was invited, and had said yes. It seemed like fun. I laughed and threw a few snowballs at people, who threw them back. Rei thought I was hysterical and dropped one down my shirt. I jumped and squealed. She thought that was hilarious, too.

While we sat at the table and talked, I glanced out of habit towards the table in the back, where the Andersens were seated. And then I froze and gave a soft shudder.

There were five people at the table.

Rei gave a soft tug at my arm. "Judai? You all right?"

I looked down, my cheeks a bright red. I had no reason to feel like this, I knew. What had happened wasn't because of me. Johan Andersen had not skipped school because of me. And yet, the thought wouldn't leave.

"What's wrong with Judai?" Kenzan asked Rei.

I shook my head. "I-it's nothing," I reassured them. "I'm just feeling a little sick is all."

I only drank a soda at lunch today. Kenzan kept asking if I was all right, and I had to tell him multiple times that I was. I decided on whether or not I should play it up and go to the nurse's office. It seemed like a stupid thought.

I decided to steal one glance at the Andersen family's table, and, if Johan Andersen looked angry or scared of me, I would skip Biology like the coward I was.

I glanced over, and the Andersens weren't looking my way.

They were all laughing. Johan, Jim, and Fubuki all had their hair soaked and covered with white from the snow. Alice and Asuka were laughing and leaning away as Jim took a wad of snow from his hair and formed it into a snowball to hurl at them.

I turned my attention to just Johan. He looked somewhat different. He was laughing, for one, and he seemed less pale then before. His skin was probably flushed from the snowball fight he and his "brothers" seemed to have gotten in to before lunch. The circles under Johan's eyes were less noticable. But there was something else about him that I couldn't place.

"Judai, what'cha starin' at?" Hayato asked. Rei looked where I had been looking.

At that exact moment, Johan's eyes flashed over to meet mine.

I dropped my gaze to the table immediately. I was sure that, in the the instant out eyes met, Johan didn't look harsh or even shocked and fearful as he had a while ago. He looked curious when he saw me.

"Johan Andersen is staring at you," Rei giggled.

"Does he look angry?" I whispered.

Rei seemed confused by my question. "No," she said. "Should he?"

"I don't think he likes me too much," I answered with a soft frown. I couldn't understand why. I hadn't done anything to him to make him dislike me, so why would he hate me?

Rei looked over and grinned. "He's still staring at you."

"Stop looking!" I hissed.

Rei giggled but looked away. I spent the majority of lunch hunched over my seat, cradling my soda and sipping it lightly. My face was too red to show anyone, especially Johan Andersen, since he was the cause of the blush.

As soon as lunch ended, I dashed to the Biology classroom. Once inside, I sighed with relief that my table was empty. Johan Andersen wasn't gonna see my blush. Mr. Daitokuji was walking around and handing out microscopes and slides. Class didn't start for a little while, so everyone was chatting amongst themselves.

I heard it clearly when the chair beside me moved, but I refused to look up.

"Hello," a voice said beside me.

It was beautiful, like music. I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. Johan Andersen was sitting as far away from me as the desk would allow him, but his chair angled towards me. His teal hair was messy and wet, but it just made him look even more attractive- like he had just finished shooting a commercial for shampoo or something. He had a wide smile on his face, but his dark eyes were careful.

"My name's Johan Andersen," he continued. "I did not have a chance to greet you last week. You must be Judai Yuki."

My heart was thundering. He was perfectly polite now, and he seemed unafraid of me. I opened my mouth to speak, but it was like I was trying to talk through sand. It was nearly impossible.

"H-how did you know my name?" I asked.

He laughed a bit softly. "Everyone knows your name," he said. "We've been waiting for you to arrive."

Thankfully, Mr. Daitokuji started class before I had a chance to embarrass myself again. I tried to focus as he explained the lab. We were going to look at the slides and say what each phase each cell was in.

"Get started," he commanded.

Johan turned to me with a grin. "You wanna go first, partner?" he asked. I looked up and saw him smiling a crooked smile so lovely that there was no way it could be human. I could only stare like an idiot. "Or I can start, if you wish." Johan's smile vanished. He looked curiously at me, as if he was wondering if I was mentally stable.

"N-no," I murmured. "I-I'll go."

I looked into the microscope and sighed.

"Prophase."

"Mind if I look?" Johan asked as I started to remove the slide.

His hand caught mine just as I was doing this. His hands were ice cold, like he'd been holding them in ice water for several days... or years. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away. When he touched my skin with his, it was like there was an electrical current surging through him that stung me. It hadn't hurt. It just startled me.

"I'm sorry." Johan whispered this and looked into the microscope. "Prophase," he agreed and scrawled it down.

He took another slide and looked at it.

"Anaphase."

I checked it, to be sure, and he was right. I growled silently, and somehow, he heard it. He just chuckled. He handed me another slide, being very careful not to touch my skin to his.

We were finished before anyone else.

I looked over at Johan and was shocked to find him staring back at me. I noticed that he sported the same curious, if not frustrated, look as he had when he first saw me. Then I noticed what was so different about him.

"Did you get color contacts?" I asked.

He seemed confused by my sudden question. "No..." he said a bit warily.

"Oh," I said. My shoulders sank down, and I fumbled with a lock of my long brown hair. My cheeks felt hot again, and I was too afraid to look over at him to see if he was looking at me as if I were a moron. "I-I just noticed that, well, your eyes were black when I last saw you, and now, they look more yellow-green than before."

Johan tensed, but shrugged and looked away.

After a moment, Johan decided to speak when the silence got too much for him. I noticed that the whole time, his hands were clenched into fists again, clutching at his black jeans.

"It's too bad about the snow, huh?" he asked.

"Not really," I murmured, looking away. I wondered if he had heard me talking to Rei during lunch. I wondered if he knew that I had been looking over at him, or if he knew that I was worried about him hating me.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.

I sighed a bit and shook my head. "Not too much, but it doesn't bother me."

"Why did you move to Copenhagen?" he asked.

I closed my eyes. Should I tell him? I really didn't have much choice right now. "I came because my mother wants to travel with my step-dad, and I saw that she couldn't when I was around. I had school and stuff, so, to make it a bit easier for her, I moved here. It's all right, I don't mind at all. I like it here in Copenhagen."

Something about Johan's expression told me he didn't believe me.

"You seem... unhappy," he said.

"I'm not."

"But you didn't come here for you. You came for your mother. You're practically a saint. And it doesn't bother you to be going away from all your friends like that at all?"

I frowned. "I don't have any friends in Ribe."

Johan seemed to halt in mid-breath. His dark green-yellow eyes locked with mine. I noticed the shock that flashed across his face. It was gone a moment later, and he was smiling at me.

"Am I annoying you?" He sounded amused.

I huffed and looked down at my desk. "No," I said. "I'm more annoyed with myself. I'm so easy to read. My mom calls me an open book."

Johan frowned and looked away from me for a moment. "That can't be the case," he said. "I find you... rather difficult to read, actually. It almost scares me how hard it is to read you, to understand what you're thinking."

I smiled. "You must be a good reader then."

He grinned back. "Usually."

Class concluded with that, and the bell rang. Johan was up and out of his seat as soon as the shrill wail ended, and he was gone just as quickly and as gracefully as he had arrived. I stared after him in amazement. He turned to me before he left, smiled, and then rushed from the class as fast as he possibly could.

Kenzan walked over towards me. "Andersen seems friendly today," he said, a bit of resentment in his tone.

I shrugged. "He's nice."

Kenzan scoffed. "You don't know him, Ju. He doesn't like anyone, or rather, no one here seems good enough for him to like." I ignored this when I recalled our conversation. He seemed nice enough to me. Was there some reason behind that? I couldn't be sure. I just ignored Kenzan as he complained all the way to Gym class.

I walked out to my truck as soon as class concluded. I slipped into my truck and turned on the heater. It was freaking freezing! I shivered and looked around to make sure I could back out.

Then I saw a white figure.

Johan was leaning against the silver Volvo, several cars away from me, and he was looking in my direction. He was smiling at me, and as I was backing up, he flashed me a wider grin and waved at me.

I was so distracted that I almost rammed into another car backing up. I slammed on my brakes and let them go by before I hit the gas and drove right by Johan Andersen. I looked over at him, and I became aware that my face was red, especially around my cheeks. Johan saw this and gave me a grin and a wink.

I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn that I saw him still smiling at me, and he was laughing in an amused fashion.

Me: All right! Judai seems to be nervous around Johan!

Lucy: But at least Johan is a lot friendlier than he has been for a while, and he doesn't seem as cautious around Judai anymore, so that's a good thing, right, guys?

Me: What's going to happen next, y'all?

Lucy: Read on and review if you wanna find out what is going to happen!