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: The next chapter!
Lucy: This was one of my favorite chapters in the whole Twilight story because it was like the second time that Edward showed that he truly did care about Bella, so, this is a chapter where Johan proves once again that he really does care for Judai.
Me: This will be an awesome chapter, or so we hope it will!
Lucy: Please enjoy it you guys!
Chapter Five: Blood and Biology
I made my way to English class in a daze. I had spent a few minutes trying to get rid of the crimson blush that was written across my face. I didn't want Kenzan to see me with such a horribly visible blush.
It wasn't until halfway through class that I noticed that Kenzan wasn't in his usual seat beside me. I felt like maybe he was mad at me for some reason, but both he and Hayato met me at the door, so I felt a bit relieved. They were both enthusiastic, talking about the trip to the beach that Hayato had planned for so long. It was supposed to be good weather, so I smiled and sounded enthusiastic with them.
The rest of the day passed on like a blur.
I found it hard to believe that I hadn't dreamed up Johan's words and his expression. I eventually decided that I had dreamed it all. That seemed more probable than that I really appealed to him on any level.
So I was impatient and frightened as Rei and I walked into the cafeteria. I wanted to see Johan to see if he'd gone back to the cold, indifferent person I'd known for the past several weeks. Or if, by some miracle, I'd really heard what I thought I'd heard this morning. Rei babbled on about her dance plans and Momoe and Junko had asked Kenzan and Mituso to go to the spring dance with them. They were all completely unaware of my lack of attention.
Disappointment flooded me as I looked to where he usually sat. The other four were there, but he was gone. Was he absent? I tried to focus on Rei's babbling for a little while.
"Johan Andersen's staring at you again," Rei said with a giggle. "I wondered why he was sitting alone today."
My head snapped up, and I followed her gaze past the Andersen's usual table to where Johan was sitting. He was at another table all by himself today, and he was giving me a crooked, dreamy smile. Once he'd caught my eye, he raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him. As I stared in disbelief, he winked.
"Does he mean you?" Rei asked with a shocked giggle.
"M-maybe he needs help with his Biology homework?" I muttered.
Rei pushed on my shoulder, almost forcing me off my seat. "Well, go see what he wants!" she whispered, winking at me and stealing a glance at Johan. "He looks like he really wants to see you."
I could feel her, along with everyone else in the cafeteria, looking at me as I walked away.
When I reached the nearly empty table, I stood uncomfortably behind the chair across from him. "Well, this is different," I murmured, my cheeks burning a bright crimson again.
"Why don't you sit with me for today?" he asked, smiling.
I sat down automatically, watching him with caution. He was still smiling widely at me. It was hard to believe that someone so beautiful could even be real. I was afraid that he might disappear in a puff of smoke and that I would wake up and realize that these past few weeks had been just a wonderful dream of mine.
Johan seemed to be waiting for me to say something.
"Well, this is different," I managed.
"Well..." Johan paused, and then rushed the rest of his words. "I decided that since I am going to Hell already, I might as well do it thoroughly."
I waited for him to say something more on the subject, but he just stared at me. "You know you lost me, right?" I eventually pointed out when the awkward seconds of silence continued to tick by.
Johan smiled. "I know." He changed the subject. "I think your friends are angry with me for stealing you."
"They'll be fine," I said.
I could feel them staring at me. The entire cafeteria, specially Johan's family, was staring at us. I shifted so that I wasn't looking at them, my face turning bright crimson, and I was shaking slightly. Johan seemed to find that interesting.
"I may not give you back to them, though," he said with a wicked glint in his eyes.
I gulped.
Johan laughed. "You look scared."
"No, I'm not scared at all," I said, but, as I should have guessed, my voice broke. I shook my head and tried to clear the haze from my mind and the blush from my face. "Surprised, actually... what brought this on, Johan?"
Johan gave me a serious smile. "I told you- I got tired of trying to stay away from you, Judai. So I'm giving up," he said. "I'm giving up on trying to be good, Judai. I'm just going to let the chips fall wherever they lay." His expression seemed to turn dark, and when he looked at me, he looked as if he was going to start blushing any moment.
"You lost me again."
Johan smiled that same breath-taking crooked smile and chuckled softly. "I always say too much when I'm with you-" He frowned when he said this, his eyes shifting over to his siblings. "-that's the problem."
"Don't worry. I don't understand any of it, anyway," I said.
"I'm counting on that."
"So, in plain English, are we friends now? Maybe?" I asked.
"Friends..." he murmured.
"Or not," I muttered.
Johan grinned at me once again. "Well, we can try, I suppose. But I'm warning you, Judai. I'm not a good friend for you to have." Behind his smile, the warning was absolute. He really meant it.
"You know, say that a lot," I murmured.
"Yes, because you don't listen to me. I'm telling you, Judai, if you are smart, you'll avoid me."
My eyes narrowed wickedly. "Well, I think you've made your opinion on my intelligence known." He smiled as an apology. "So, as long as I'm not being smart today, we can be friends, right?"
"That's right."
I smiled and looked down at my hands. I wasn't sure what to say anymore. Johan was staring at me, but I didn't hear him say anything for a few minutes. I revelled in the silence.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked curiously.
I looked into his golden-emerald eyes, and my heart started racing. Like whenever my heart did this, I blurted out the truth.
"I'm trying to figure out what you are."
His jaw tightened considerably, but he tried to keep the smile on his face. It took some effort. "And are you having any luck with that?" he asked in a casual way, the smile on his face wavering for a moment.
"Not really," I admitted with a sigh.
Johan chuckled. "What are your theories, then?"
I blushed a bright shade of crimson- I could feel it. I had been debating during the last month on which theory to believe. I had chosen between the origins and powers of Superman and Spiderman. But there was no way I was ever going to own up and admit that I had actually considered such possibilities.
"Will you tell me?" Johan asked, tilting his head to one side curiously.
I shook my head. "Too embarrassing."
Johan's expression twisted into one of slight frustration. "That's really frustrating, you know," he complained.
"No," I disagreed sarcastically. "I can't imagine why it's so frustrating for you. Just because someone refuses to tell you something, even if all the while they are making cryptic little remarks designed to keep you up at night, wondering what they could possibly mean. Now, why would that be frustrating, huh?"
Johan grimaced.
"Or even better," I continued, a bit angry. He knew I was talking about what he had been doing this past month. "Say that person did a wide range of bizarre things- from saving your life under impossible circumstances one day, and then the next, he treats you like you have the fucking plague or something! And he never explained any of it, either, even after he promised he would! Now, why would that be frustrating?"
Johan looked amused. "You have a bit of a temper, don't you, Judai?"
"I don't like hypocritical remarks," I said.
We stared at each other for a moment. I could tell that Johan was deep in thought. He looked the same as he did- lips pulled into a thin line, dark eyes looking at the ground.
He glanced over my shoulder, and then started snickering.
"What?"
"Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being unpleasant with you- he's debating on whether or not to come over and pop me one in the jaw." He did another of his wicked little laughs.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said coldly. "But I'm sure you're wrong."
Johan smiled at me- the same smile that made me blush so violently. "I'm not. I told you, most people are very, very easy to read, Judai."
"Except me, of course."
"Yes. Except you." His mood shifted suddenly, his eyes turning dark. "I wonder why that is."
I had to look away from the intensity of his stare. "You know, your chronic mood-swings are giving me whiplash." I thought I saw him start to smile a bit, but I guess it was just my imagination. I concentrated on unscrewing the lid of my drink. I took a long swig, staring at the table without focusing on it.
"Aren't you hungry?" Johan asked, distracted.
"No." I didn't feel like mentioning that my stomach felt like I had swallowed a whole mess of butterflies. It would only amuse him more. "How about you?" I looked at the empty table before him.
I didn't understand his expression. It was like he was enjoying a private joke. "No, I'm not hungry."
"Say, can you do something for me?" I asked.
Johan pursed his lips and gave me a gentle smile. "Well, that all depends on what it is, Judai."
"It's not much," I said. Johan waited for me to continue. "Could you warn me before you suddenly decide to avoid me?" He had done that before, and it had caused me some major problems. I had spent several weeks worrying about what I had done to piss him off and what I could do to change whatever it was that I had done.
Johan was silent for a few moments.
To pass the time, I traced the lid of the bottle with my pinkie finger and started silently singing songs I liked.
I was halfway through the song "Redemption" by Gackt when Johan chuckled. I shifted my gaze to him and saw the smile that stretched across his face, along with the amused look in his eyes.
"That seems fair enough," he said.
"Thanks."
"Then, can you give me one answer in return for that?" His voice seemed demanding.
"Fine. One."
"Tell me some of your theories."
Shit. "Yeah, no. Ask something else. Not that one."
Johan flashed me a taunting grin. "You never specified, you just promised me one answer," he reminded me. I frowned and folded my arms across my chest, staring blankly at him.
"You've broken promises before," I spat.
"Come on. I won't laugh, I promise." His tone sounded sincere.
"Yes you will. You will laugh at me, so I am not telling you anything!" I concluded.
Johan looked down at the table as soon as I finished. He then glanced up at me, emerald-yellow eyes flashing. I flinched and drew back. He was doing the puppy dog eyes. That was supposed to be my thing! And yet, he was able to make people do whatever without the eyes, so was it a lot easier to manipulate people into giving him what he wanted when he used the Eyes?
"Please?" he asked, leaning towards me.
"Um... what?" I murmured. My mind was blank. How the fuck did he keep doing that?
"Tell me one theory? Just one?"
I sighed. Why not? With those "magical" eyes of him, he was going to get me to give him a theory one way or the other. Why fight it, Judai? It's a war best left to those who know how to fight it.
"Were you bitten by a radioactive spider?" I asked.
Johan looked amused and disappointed at the same time. "That the best you could come up with?"
"Exposed to a chemical that screwed over your genetic make-up and made you into a superhuman that was wanted by the government but now you are on the run because you seek a life that the common folk have?"
"...That's... strangely very close."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Excluding the government part."
"Huh." I felt a strange sense of accomplishment in myself. "But, I'm going to stick with the spider theory. That one seems more likely."
"That's not even remotely close," he teased.
"No spiders?"
"Nope."
"No radioactivity?"
"Nuh-uh."
"No shooting webs out of your wrists and swinging across buildings?"
"Not a chance."
"Dang," I sighed and grit my teeth.
Johan was having a little too much fun with this. "Kryptonite doesn't bother me either," he joked. He laughed until I turned a vicious glare on him, and then he just continued to laugh a lot harder.
"You weren't supposed to laugh."
Johan covered his mouth with his hands to keep from laughing, which seemed to fail.
"I'll figure it out eventually," I said.
"I wish you wouldn't try to," he said, and I could tell by the desperation in his voice that he meant it. He sighed after a second. "Though I probably kinda fucked myself over by giving you that little hint a little while ago."
"Why is it such a big deal if I figure it out?" I asked.
He smiled playfully, but his eyes were serious. "What if I'm not the good guy, the superhero, this time?" he asked me. "What if, hyporthetically, I was the villain in the story, huh?"
"Oh." I chewed on my lips. "I see."
"Do you?" Johan's voice was skeptical, and he looked as if he were afraid that he'd said too much.
"You're dangerous?"
The look he gave me confirmed this. Everything that he had been hinting for the past few weeks was proof of that. He was dangerous. He had been trying to get me to see that for so long. His expression was serious, and he looked a bit worried. Was he worried that I was going to just be afraid of him starting now? His eyes held some other emotion that I couldn't comprehend.
"But you're not the villain," I told him. "I don't believe that."
"You're wrong."
When he said this, his voice was almost inaudible. His face was a mask of past painful experiences. He stole the lid to my bottle and spun it in his fingers, amused by how quickly he could control it.
I stared at him, wondering why I wasn't afraid.
He meant every single word that he had said- that much was clear. But I wasn't scared. If anything, I just felt anxious, on edge... and, more than any of these other emotions, interested. It was the same way that I always felt whenever I was around him. There was no other way to explain it than that. He interested me, but there was something else behind it.
The silence between us lasted until I noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty.
"Shit!" I yelled.
Johan jumped, his finger flicking the bottle cap across the cafeteria. It flew and smashed into the wall, where a very tiny crack was made. He stole a glance at he ground when I stared at him, mouth agape.
When the moment of awkward silence passed, he looked up at me.
"What?" he asked.
I knew that he meant why I had yelled. "We're gonna be late for Biology!" I shouted. I jumped to my feet.
"I'm not going to class today," Johan smiled.
This stopped me halfway in my steps. I turned and stared at him. He was giving me a wide smile. "Why not?" I demanded. He just took my empty bottle and spun it around, since my scream had caused him to "lose" the bottle cap.
"It's healthy to ditch now and then," he smiled again.
"Well, I have to go," I said. "If I ever skipped class, I'd get the horns from the bull when I got home."
Johan chuckled and waved to me, still interested in his spinning bottle. "I'll see you later, then, Judai." He went back to nudging the bottle with his finger and sending it into haywire circles.
I half-ran to class.
I sounded like that rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland". I kept on shouting, "I'm late, I'm late!" over and over again. I was lucky- Mr. Daitokuji wasn't in the room when I arrived. I did get a few stares from my friends, though. Hayato looked resentful, and Junko just looked interested and awed. It made me laugh, seeing how different they were from one another when they were sitting side by side.
Mr. Daitokuji came into the room, calling the class to order.
Once that was done, he set down a few cardboard boxes on Hayato's desk. He told Hayato to start passing them around to the class.
"Okay, guys. Today we're going to do blood typing," he said.
My stomach churned. While he went off on a tangent about each of the items that would be used in the process, he took the micro-lancer and he jabbed the spike into the tip of Hayato's index finger. Oh no. My body started shaking, and my vision turned blurry around the edges. I shook my head and pursed my lips, trying to keep myself in my seat.
"Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs," Mr. Daitokuji said.
He demonstrated this by squeezing Hayato's finger so that blood started flowing. I swallowed, my stomach convulsing. The room around me was starting to spin in dramatic fashions.
He applied the blood to the card and held the dripping crimson card up.
I closed my eyes and tried to hear through the ringing in my ears. This action didn't really help. The scent of blood filled the air as soon as all the other students started skewering their fingers and dripping their blood onto the cards.
I tried to cling to my consciousness, but nothing worked.
My hand reached for my desk to cling to it, but I couldn't find it. I couldn't see anything. My vision was a mixture of gold and black dots. My head was spinning and my stomach felt like it was in my throat. It was a horrible feeling and I wanted it to end. Where was the breeze coming from? No windows were open, I had seen that when I came into the classroom a little while ago.
And then, something hard slammed into me.
It rattled my teeth, but in my dazed state, I barely noticed. Everything around me was black and fuzzy, and the voices that called out to me were far away, like whispers in the distance. It was just a strange humming.
"Yuki?" Mr. Daitokuji's voice was frantic beside me.
I wanted to tell him that I was all right, but it just came out as a soft groan. What was wrong with me?
"Can someone take Yuki to the nurse, please?" he called.
I didn't have to look up to know that it was Hayato who volunteered to help me. Mr. Daitokuji asked me if I could walk, but I couldn't. Hayato put his arms under my legs and under his upper back and lifted me up. I tried to squirm against this- since it was embarrassing to be carried like this, but I was too weak to fight back, so I had to just lie there and take it.
Hayato quickly carried me out of the classroom. I could hear everyone's concerned murmurs.
Once we were outside, away from anywhere that Mr. Daitokuji might be watching, I was well enough to see. Well, not exactly. My vision was still a bit blurry, but I could make out shapes and colors. Okay, so not shapes. Everything was a blur of color.
"Can we sit down for a minute?" I pleaded.
Hayato helped me sit down on the walk. He took his bleeding hand away from me so I wouldn't get more sick. I laid down on the sidewalk and put my cheek to the cold cement. It helped clear up the nausea, just a little bit. Hayato plopped down beside me. I could feel his concerned gaze on my back, but I was too sick and weak to care.
"You're really pale, Judai," Hayato chuckled, trying to cheer me up.
"Judai?" a different voice called from the other end of the parking lot, clear as day.
No! Please just let this be a figment of my deluded imagination. I didn't want him coming over in case I threw up. I certainly felt like I was going to, and it felt like it would be soon.
"What's wrong- is he hurt?"
His voice was closer now, and he sounded incredibly worried. I could hear his boots clicking across the pavement at a rapid speed. I kept my eyes closed and prayed to God that I wasn't going to throw up.
Hayato seemed confused and stressed. "He fainted," he said. "I don't know what happened. He didn't even prick his finger."
"Judai." Johan's voice was right beside me, relieved now. "Can you hear me?"
"No," I groaned and waved my hand weakly at him, trying to swat him away. I didn't want him over here if I suddenly couldn't control the function of my stomach and released its contents all over the floor. "Go 'way."
Johan chuckled.
"I was taking him to the nurse," Hayato explained, a bit defensive. "But he asked me to stop here."
"I'll take him," Johan said. I could hear the smile in his tone. "You can go back to class, Maeda. Your services will no longer be necessary."
"No, I'm supposed to do it."
Suddenly the sidewalk disappeared from underneath me. My eyes flew open in shock. Johan has scooped me up bridal style in his arms, as easily as if I had weighed six pounds rather than my actual one-hundred and sixteen.
Note: Yes, I am very skinny and very short, but I am not so skinny that it shows bones!
"Put me down!" I demanded. Please, God! Please don't let me throw up on him! "Put me down, you stupid shiny Volvo owner!" As imagined, he just laughed once again.
Johan was walking before I finished yelling.
"Hey!" Hayato was already ten steps away. "How dare you kidnap Judai!"
Johan laughed at this, but continued walking. "You see, Judai?" he smiled, I could hear it. "I told you I was the villain. You heard Maeda. I just took you away without permission. I'm a kidnapper."
"Villain!" Hayato shrieked, now a far distance away.
Johan ignored him and looked down at me. "You look awful," he said, his voice concerned.
"Put me back on the sidewalk, now," I moaned. The rocking movements of his graceful walking did not help the nausea. He held me away from his body, all of my weight gingerly being held in his arms. This didn't seem to bother him at all, though I must have been at least somewhat heavy. I wanted him to put me down, but he wouldn't listen.
"You faint at the sight of blood?" he asked, amused. "Even if it's not your own?"
My silence was answer enough for him.
I don't know how he opened the door with me cradled in his arms, but somehow, he did.
He explained to the startled nurse that I had fainted in Biology. She immediately let me lie down on one of the beds. Johan placed me down gently and then backed away, leaning against the wall while I tried to regain the remainder of my consciousness. My head wasn't spinning nearly as bad as it had been when I was outside on the pavement.
"You were right," I moaned.
"I usually am- but what was I right about this time?"
"Skipping class is healthy."
Johan's laugh was enough to make me calm down a bit more. "You had me scared for a moment there," he admitted. His tone made it seem like he was telling me a great personal weakness. "I seriously- and I'm not lying- thought that Maeda was carrying off your corpse off to bury it in the woods or something. I thought you were hurt. It scared me."
"Ha ha, funny," I moaned, trying to smile.
"I'm serious, Judai." Johan said. "Honestly- I've seen corpses with better color. I was worried I might have to avenge your murder."
I looked up at him. "Would you really? Would you really avenge me like that if I was killed?"
Johan looked out into space. His eyes were unreadable. He looked like he was having conflicting emotions. "Faster than you can draw in a breath, Judai," he murmured loud enough for only me to hear. "Faster than you can draw in a breath."
I laughed softly. "Poor Hayato. I bet he's mad at your for... kidnapping me."
Johan flashed me a massive grin, going from his depressed self to his happy one in a matter of seconds. "He fucking loathes me," he said. I must have said something that I guessed was me saying that there was no way for him to accurately know that. "I saw his face. The way he looked at me when I stole you away. Trust me, Judai, I can tell things like this."
Once he saw that I was feeling somewhat better, Johan brought me out to the office.
Strangely, Hayato was waiting for us.
"You look like Hell, Judai," he said, his voice holding a deep amount of concern for me. It was comforting and sort of creepy at the same time.
I nodded slowly, my head still fuzzy. "I feel a bit better," I admitted. "Still a little sick, though. I don't think I'm going to make it back to class. I'll just have to turn around and come back here."
"Yeah, I guess... Are you coming this Saturday? To the beach?"
"Yeah, I said I was in."
"We're meeting at my dad's store, at ten," he said.
I nodded. "I'll be there."
Hayato nodded and flashed me one of his casual grins. "I'll see you later then, Judai," he said. "Maybe you should try to skip Gym today. You look a little on the green side now." He waved and ushered himself out of the office.
"Ugh, Gym," I groaned.
"I can take care of that," Johan smiled. "Go sit on the bench and look pale, okay?"
That wasn't hard. I flopped down on the bench and curled up, as if tyring to keep myself warm. To add to the act, Johan took off his blue jacket and draped it across me. I blushed, but quickly lost it to keep myself pale. I rested my head against the wall, keeping my eyes closed. I felt a huge headache forming right above my eye- those are the worst kind.
I heard Johan speaking to Ms. Ayukawa, the receptionist.
He told her that I had Gym next and that I wasn't well enough to go. He said that he would take me home. He asked if she could excuse me from class, and she agreed. She excused him from his class as well so that he could bring me home, since it wasn't safe for me to be driving, as he so clearly stated. I wanted to chuck something at him.
"Okay, it's all set," Ms. Ayukawa smiled. "You feel better, Judai."
I nodded weakly. Johan came over and lifted me back into his arms before I could protest. I was too dizzy to care. I just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Once we were outside, I managed to look up at Johan.
He was staring straight ahead, peering clearly through the rain. I enjoyed the rain as it fell- since it was cold and washed away the sweat and the nauseous feeling I had until just recently kept with me.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"Anytime."
"Are you coming this Saturday?"
Johan looked down at me with that curious look of his. "I don't think I was invited. Besides, where exactly are you all heading off to?" He sounded both interested and cautious at the same time.
"Down to Farum," I mumbled. "To the beaches, I guess(1)."
Johan's expression darkened. "Let's not you and I push poor Hayato the point where he might try to drive a knife into me."
I chuckled and fell into silence. I tried to climb out of his arms and towards my truck, but Johan jerked me in the other direction, towards the shiny silver Volvo in the parking lot that he and his siblings seemed to love so much.
"What are you doing?" I grumbled.
"Didn't I promise to take you safely home? I am not letting you drive. Alice will drop your truck off after school."
I frowned as he set me down in front of his Volvo. I staggered a bit, but he caught me. We stared at each other for half a second before Johan took a step back and went to the driver's side. He told me the door was open, and I climbed inside, still too exhausted to argue with him, as much as I would have wanted to.
Once we were in the car, Johan fiddled with the controls and turned the heater up and the music down.
I listened to the music as he drove off, relaxing against the leather seat. I realized a while later that we were speeding down the roads and to my house. I hadn't noticed until now because Johan drove so carefully that the car wasn't rocking or jerking, as it would when someone who was normal would have been driving this kind of car.
"What's your mom like?" Johan asked suddenly.
"She's a lot like me," I murmured. "She's clumsy, foolish, and playful. But I can cook when she can't. I had to take care of her a lot. I worry about her, the way that she acts and all." I sighed. "She's my best friend."
"How old are you, Judai?" he asked.
"Seventeen."
"You don't seem it."
His tone was reproachful; it made me laugh.
"You sound like my mom," I said. "She tells me that I was born as an adult and that I get older every single year." I paused for a moment. "You don't seem seventeen yourself."
Johan looked up and out the windshield. "Do you approve of her new marriage?"
"Does it matter?"
"It does it you're unhappy."
I thought on this, but shook it off. "It doesn't matter. He's the one she wants, and as long as she's happy, I'm happy, I guess." I stopped. Talking about my mom was making me depressed. I missed her so much.
"Would she extend the same courtesy to you?" he asked.
"I think so," I said.
He smiled at my strange and hesitant tone. "So, no one too scary, eh?"
I grinned over at him. "Depends on what you mean by scary," I said. "No extravagant tattoos or countless facial piercings or someone who could snap a fucking metal box in half with a tiny flick of the wrist."
Johan flinched when I said that. "Do you think... I could be scary?"
"I suppose- if you wanted to be."
Johan slowed down just a bit and turned his gaze towards me. His emerald-green eyes held mine. A creepy smile stretched across his face- it sent chills down my spine. I wasn't aware that I was shaking. He was still smiling, but it was slowly fading. His eyes were unreadable- it looked as if he was in a lot of mental pain.
"Are you frightened of me now?" His smile vanished.
"No." I probably answered to fast.
He chuckled.
"So, are you going to tell me about your family?" I asked to distract him. "It's got to be more interesting than mine."
He was cautious. "What did you want to know?"
"The Andersens adopted you, right?" I asked. He nodded to confirm this. "What happened to your real parents? If you... If that's not too offensive a question for me to ask you."
Johan pursed his lips. "My parents... died long ago."
"I'm sorry," I murmured.
"Don't be," Johan flashed me a reassuring smile. "I don't really remember them that much anyway. Joshua and Andrea have been my parents for such a long time that it seems like they're the only parents I've ever had."
"And you love them."
It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact. I could tell by the way he spoke about them.
Johan looked to the road and smiled. "Yes. I couldn't imagine two better parents."
I smiled at this. I was happy for him. He wasn't one of those brooding teenagers who hated the people who adopted them. He really cared for the people who had adopted him, and I was happy for him.
"You're very lucky."
"I know I am."
"What about your brother and sister?"
He glanced at the clock on his dashboard. "Jim and Alice, and Fubuki and Asuka for that matter, are going to be very upset if they have to stand in the rain waiting for me, you know." He smiled as he said this.
"Oh. So sorry."
Johan laughed. "Well, I'll see you later."
"Will I see you tomorrow?"
"No. Jim and I are going to start the weekend a bit early. We're going hiking up in the Mountains."
"Oh. Have fun then." I tried to sound enthusiastic, but it was very hard.
Johan turned to me as he parked in front of my house. "Will you do me a favor this weekend?" he asked. I nodded slowly. "Please don't be angry, but you seem like you're prone to danger. So... try not to fall into the ocean or get run over while I'm gone, okay?" He smiled at me once again, his usual crooked and attractive smile.
I glared. "No promises."
I jumped from the car and slammed it behind me. Johan rolled down the window.
"Judai?" he called. I turned. "Please?" His eyes were pleading. My heart almost stopped when I saw him like this. "For me?"
I nodded helplessly.
Johan smiled at my flustered attitude. I rushed away before he could get me to embarrass myself even further. He was still smiling after me as he drove back to the school.
Me: Ha! Judai gets all embarrassed around our sweet and amazing Johan! (1) I am not 100% certain is Farum is actually near the beaches, but for the sake of the story, it is.
Lucy: But Johan was all worried when he saw Hayato carrying Judai!
Me: What will happen next?
Lucy: Please review and we shall update as soon as possible!