Chapter LVII: Dramatic Chipmunk
--Peach and Ani walk onstage— Welcome back, everyone to another chapter of Darkness Falls, and yes, you read the chapter title correctly! Ani grins… Blame Peach. For once, the randomness came from HER, not ME. Peach grins sheepishly… It's true... Blame YouTube and the Dramatic Chipmunk video. I watched the video one too many times, I guess. Anyway as always, we thank you all so much for reading our stories and leaving reviews.
Ani jumps up and down excitedly… Yup. Even if I don't get them directly, Peach sends 'em my way so I still get to read 'em.Peach smiles… So please keep sending. We read and try to respond to all of them! And now, a brief recap... Darn it! I know it's somewhere!
Ani is whistling innocently with hands behind her back. Ani... *Peach moves to her co-author* Where did you put it? Ani flails and pouts… What makes you think I did it?!Peach raises an eyebrow… You're holding something behind your back... Ani frowns…FINE! She reveals Dramatic Chipmunk with required dramatic music… Happy now?!
Peach falls over… Not what I was expecting... Okay... now where was that... Oh! There it is! -Opens copy of Yu-Gi-Oh Duelist manga and pulls out paper- Okay, last time, Bastion tried to kill himself but Violet managed to stop him in time. Annie had a nightmare of a past where Bastion and Violet both died. Jaden revealed just how depressed he was in his childhood, and then Zane dropped a major bombshell about himself and his girlfriend.
Ani blinks again ...You sure the LAST chapter wasn't titled "Dramatic Chipmunk?" Dramatic Chipmunk turns again, accompanied with more dramatic music.
Oh, I'm sure, Ani... We've had so much drama lately... Peach and Ani notice characters glaring at us and sweat-drop. Uh...
-Jaden comes on stage- Yeah... I was a little emo kid!
--Violet comes on stage as well and flails— YOU HAD BASTION TRY TO COMMIT SUICIDE!!
--Ani flails as well, frowning— I WOULD NEVER LET HIM DIE. YOU KNOW THAT!
-Bastion comes on stage- Well, at least they've tried to give me an ending...
BASTION!!! --Ani glomps Bastion--
--Violet fumes-- HEY!!
-Annie comes on stage reading the script for the next few chapters- Okay... you guys are getting a break...
--Both Bastion-lovers look at Annie and blink-- Huh? --Violet points at Ani-- Hey! You should already know about this! -Peach grins sheepishly- Ani-chan, remember? Good things happen... but a bad thing happens? But not to these two?
--Ani thinks long and hard-- ...Oh.. OH! RIGHT! --sweat-drop-- -Tyson grabs the script- Give it here, Private Annie... -Looks- Whoa... But I'll bet the authors don't want to let their readers know too soon, right? --Ani thinks about it-- NOPE! *snatches script and burns it*
-Peach grins, thinking of her back-ups- Anyway... Well, that was last time... -The cast leaves the stage leaving the co-authors- Now, before we begin the next chapter, we need to address a rather serious situation in it. In this chapter, we're dealing with a matter close to our hearts... Zane and his intended are dealing with a situation that is perhaps more common than people think.
I, Peach, am adopted. I love the parents I'm with, and wouldn't have it otherwise. But I do sometimes wonder what happened with the people who gave me the life that I now have. They were seventeen when I came, and I wonder how they told their parents. I can only hope that their parents were supportive and let their children choose what was right, rather than reacting in anger. It's hard not to know what motivated the people who gave birth to me and gave me to the loving parents I have, but for whatever reason they did, and for that, I am forever grateful.
I, Ani, was luckier than Peach because I'm with the parents who gave birth to me, but my parents faced a similar problem. My mother was only seventeen when she realized she was pregnant, and both my father and her mother encouraged her to get an abortion. They did not react in anger, but were merely worried about my mother's future as a teenage mom. Luckily, my father changed his mind minutes before the actual operation, saving my life. Their parents came to accept it, and six months after my birth my parents were married. I am glad that my grandparents were understanding, and that my father did not leave my mother; which is the usual case. It's had an immense affect on me and the way I view the world, and I would not be the woman I am today had it happened any differently.
We each were shaped by the knowledge of our beginnings, and it is our wish that the parents of young people who are undergoing such life-changing experiences choose their words and actions carefully. For such words and actions will shape the coming child in ways that they cannot possibly predict.
Now that the heavy stuff is out of the way, we have to do the legal stuff... again... When will you people get that we OWN NOTHING?! It's lawyers... we have to do it... Okay, what don't we own again? We don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise...You're expecting me to remember what we don't own? FFFF. --Ani goes back to her Vocaloid fan art-- Basically, if a major corporation owns it, we don't. All we own are our OCs, this storyline, our version of the Yugi-verse and anything that's not of monetary value. Anything else we need to add, Ani? Nothing I can think of. Okay, then! Onto the chapter!
Warning: Some language and the portrayal of Zane Truesdale's inner chibi.
"What?" Syrus barely stopped himself from shouting the word in his surprise.
Zane whispered back, "Yeah... she's pregnant and... Mom and Dad don't know yet, and neither do her parents... She's the only girl in the family... But... I'm going to be a dad in 7 months..." And an odd expression traced across Zane's face... fear.
"Zane, that... that's great! But... you're nervous, aren't you?" Syrus asked, able to sense it even without seeing the expression. He had gotten a similar feeling when he simply thought about parenthood; actually realizing it was an entirely different level of fear.
"Yeah... I just... wonder what kind of dad I'm going to be... But Jackie and I didn't think about that when... well, you can guess what happened..." Zane told his brother how he and Jackie's relationship had become physical one night after he had won a duel. They had been close after that, and about a month later, she realized she was likely pregnant. The couple had decided not to tell their parents just yet.
"Bro, I know you're going to be a great dad. You're a good big brother now, and that usually means you'll be the same way as a father," Syrus said reassuringly.
"Yeah... It's just... quite a big thing..." Zane shifted a bit. "We didn't intend for it this soon, but... well, we were committed to each other and... we'll just have some things ahead of schedule... I've got my eye on a place in Domino..." He took a deep breath. "We're just thinking of getting married quietly and go to Vegas to do it. This is your summer for that... I'm not going to take that away from you..."
"Zane... it's okay. I'm glad that you've found someone, really. You can get married how and when you want to... it's only fair," Syrus replied reassuringly again, sweat-dropping.
Zane considered that. "You want to be my best man?" he asked softly.
The younger boy grinned, his happiness and excitement obvious. "Yeah!" Luckily, he remembered to keep his voice down.
"Good... I'll call Jackie in the morning," Zane grinned. "How do you think Mom's going to take this?"
Syrus thought for a few moments. "She'll be surprised... uh, she might faint, bro. She'll also be really excited and ecstatic- she'll probably cry," he guessed.
"I can handle that... Dad'll be cool... I'm really glad Atticus doesn't know yet," the older boy muttered.
There was a mutter nearby, followed by a yawn and the thud of one Atticus Rhodes rolling off of his air mattress. Propping himself up on an elbow, he looked over at the brothers through sleep-filled eyes. "Hm? Wha--? Did someone say my name?" he muttered tiredly.
Syrus face-planted the mattress. "You jinxed it, bro," he whispered.
"Uh... Hi Atticus," Zane said softly. His brain wasn't quite working right at this point because otherwise he would've said, "Go back to sleep; the muffins aren't ready yet." But now, his mind was screaming, "OMG OMG OMG! I AM SO SCREWED!!" And in his mind's eye, his inner chibi was running around in a panic.
As such, the eldest Rhodes sibling blinked a few times and stared at Zane in slight surprise. Now he KNEW something was up. "Zane? What is it? You might as well tell me because I know you, and you're hiding something... Now spill!"
In Zane's mind, chibi Zane face-planted on the floor. In real life, Zane sighed. And then Yusuke woke up. "Guys... what's going on? It's after midnight..." Chibi Zane groaned into the mind floor.
"Uh," Zane began in real life and then froze. "All right... Atticus... you've seen the pictures of my girlfriend in the magazines and on the Internet, right?"
Syrus felt bad for his brother, but there was no getting out of it now. Atticus was now sitting at full attention, eager to hear a secret his best friend had been hiding away. "Of course."
Yusuke too nodded. "Yeah, that red-haired gal that sort of looks like Alexis, right?"
"Yeah... Well, we're really serious and..." Zane turned an unmistakable shade of red.
"Dude... what's wrong?" Yusuke asked in concern. It hadn't taken the chlorine-blonde-haired young man long to remember what Zane looked like when he was tense. It also hadn't taken him long to remember that Zane rarely, if ever, blushed.
Now Atticus REALLY had to find out; seeing Zane Truesdale blush was a rarity among rarities. "Ooooh, it's gonna be somethin' good, Yusuke!"
Chibi Zane was off the floor and running around in a panic again. Real Zane's heart was pounding a mile a minute. "Well... we're... really serious... And... she's pregnant..."
Silence... It seemed to last for hours, when in reality it lasted about... ten seconds. That was the limit for Atticus to hold back his laughter, and then he was practically rolling on the floor. "Ha ha ha! Good one, Zane! I didn't pin you as a 'tell a joke in the middle of the night' kind of person, though."
Yusuke, however, was operating under no such assumption. His jaw dropped. "Zane?"
"I'm not kidding, guys...." Zane's expression, despite the blush, was gravely serious.
Atticus, seeing the expression, blinked a few times. Then he sat up. And then, he promptly fell over again, but this time in shock. "WHAT?!"
Poor Zane... If only Atticus hadn't yelled... but he had. All over the room, heads flew up. Next to Syrus, Annie woke up, upper body lifting off the mattress as if propelled from a cannon. "WHAT THE...?! WAS VIOLET RIGHT?! ARE THE ALIENS ATTACKING?!" she yelped.
Syrus sweat-dropped. "Uh... no... nothing's attacking, Annie," he muttered, grinning sheepishly. He gave his big brother a few pats on the back in an effort to give him some confidence.
Atticus sweat-dropped as well. "Uh... whoops?"
Jaden too was up, dragging Alexis with him. "What the heck?! Guys, is everything all right?!" He was half-expecting to drag out his duel disk and have to save the world again. Miss Fontaine had just hit the lights in the infirmary and everyone was blinking, getting their eyes adjusted.
"What in the world?" Scout Rhodes asked, coming out of Bastion and Violet's room. She did not look happy. "Atticus Lee Rhodes, what in heaven's name are you doing waking everyone?!"
Atticus gave a sheepish laugh and tried to hide behind his pillow. "Uh, sorry, mom... I, um... heard something shocking, that's all... I didn't mean to..."
"Scout... it was my fault," Zane apologized.
Scout placed her arms akimbo and frowned. "What was so important that it made Atticus yell like that? Hopefully it didn't wake Violet and Bastion up..."
"Uh... Scout... I haven't told Mom and Dad about this yet... And... it's hard..."
Scout's expression softened. "Zane... sweetie, do you feel comfortable telling me? Maybe I can help..."
The young man met his best friend's mother's eyes. "I... got my girlfriend pregnant..."
The entire room once again went silent with shock. And then, there was a light thud as Alexis Rhodes hit her air mattress, unconscious. Apparently, the news had come as such a shock— it being ZANE and all— that she'd passed out. "LEX!" Jaden shouted, kneeling quickly. And then Zane's words hit him. "You WHAT?!" he yelped, just before he hit the mattress too.
Annie's eyes widened. Of all the things her future brother-in-law could have said, this was extremely shocking. "Seriously? Seriously?!" she asked, eyes the size of tea cup saucers.
Syrus nodded. "Seriously... and, uh... are Jay and Alexis gonna be okay?"
Jaden and Alexis, thankfully, were already coming around. "Ooh... I dreamed Zane said he got his girlfriend pregnant," Jaden groaned as he sat up slowly. "Sy... that was a weird dream..."
"Uh, Jaden? That... actually happened," Syrus replied, grinning sheepishly.
Alexis shook her head, still rather stunned by it all. "I can't believe it. Zane, really?"
Zane's face was still flushed as he looked at his best male friend, his other guy friend, his surrogate sister, his future sister-in-law, his little brother and his brother by friendship and his mom's close friend. "Yeah," he said finally. "It's true..." Now perhaps if Jaden and Alexis hadn't fallen over like chopped trees, Zane might've been able to relax. But now, his inner chibi was sitting in a corner while everyone in the room was looking angrily at him. There was a thunderbolt and he fell into the abyss, screaming.
Fortunately for Zane, that mental nightmare didn't come to pass. In fact, what he saw in everyone's eyes was exactly what he needed; he needed the compassion and actual happiness he saw. Scout, taking the cue from the teachers and her friends and colleagues moved forward to the 20-year-old father-to-be. "Zane, you have nothing to fear from any of us. These things do happen, and even though I think your parents would've preferred you wait until you were married, I think they'll be happy just the same that they're going to have two daughters-in-law and a grandchild on the way. If you want, in the morning, we can make some phone calls. And did I hear the words, 'go to Vegas?'"
Zane's eyes widened in shock as he looked into Scout's eyes. "You weren't in here..."
"No, but I'm a mom; I'm supposed to seem omniscient..."
Everyone looked at Jaden. "I know what it means... Geez," he groaned.
Scout grinned, knowing the situation, allowing Zane to get his mind around it. She continued, smiling, "I think you might want to reconsider... The paparazzi would follow you there..."
"But... I don't want to take away from any of you guys," he said, glancing around at the three couples and thinking of the fourth, still asleep in the infirmary's ICU.
Syrus, having already voiced his opinion, let the others do so now. Alexis rolled her eyes a bit and smirked at Zane like he was a little kid who didn't understand something simple. "Zane, do you really think having a nice wedding with everyone would take away from us?"
Something in Zane's demeanor wasn't going away. "Look, Lexi, it's just..." It was one time in his life that Zane really couldn't articulate what he was feeling. His mind was a complete jumble. He couldn't escape the feeling that he might be taking away from his brother and his friends.
But Jaden, in another rare insightful moment, moved forward. "Zane, you're worried you're taking something from Sy, right?" Zane nodded. The brunette former Slifer looked back at his surrogate brother. "Sy... do you feel that way?"
Syrus, a little surprised by Jaden's insight, blinked. "Uh, no..." He looked up at his big brother. "Bro, I want you to be happy, too. And I'm glad that you found someone and want to get married. If you have a wedding like ours, it won't be taking anything from me. In fact, it'll add to the happiness everyone will feel. Right, guys?"
They all nodded. Zane still seemed doubtful. But Jaden took a breath. "Zane, look, Sy just said he doesn't feel like you're taking anything away from him and wants you to be happy... So... let us help so you have as happy of a day as we're going to have when Violet and Bastion are okay. All right?"
Zane blinked. "Uh..."
And then Annie moved to her future brother-in-law. "Zane, it's okay... If you think you're making up for something, you made up long ago. You had all of our second year, pretty much and you and Sy got close again. And if anything, if you want a good wedding, not having it will take away from our joy. So tell us what we can do. Right, Sy?" she asked her husband-to-be for confirmation. Syrus nodded, hoping that his brother would finally understand that he wasn't hurting them by being happy.
And Zane finally relaxed a bit. "Okay... I'll call Jackie first thing this morning... And then... we can talk to both our parents at the same time... And then... I think Jackie and I are still going to want a quiet wedding... And... could it be here?"
The instructors all looked at each other. "Of course, Zane," Chancellor Shepherd answered with a smile. "But maybe we should all go back to bed..."
"That sounds like a great idea," Atticus piped up, grinning sheepishly.
And so the tired people headed back to their mattresses. "Hey, Sy?" Zane whispered in the returning darkness.
"Yeah, Zane?"
"I meant it. I want you to be my best man..."
Syrus was surprised for a moment, but then that feeling melted into joy. "Thanks, Zane."
"No one else I'd rather have, bro..." And then a thought occurred to the groom-to-be. "Oh, no... Atticus will want to plan a bachelor party..." Zane's imagination ran wild at just what his best friend might plan.
The younger Truesdale grinned in the darkness. "Yeah... you'd better be careful, bro."
A few air mattresses down, Jasmine gripped her boyfriend's hand, hoping he would restrain himself. "Do I have to worry?" she whispered.
Atticus groaned. "No... I haven't even thought of anything yet. And I know Zane's limits... it'll be a little crazy, yeah, but nothing extreme."
"Good... Don't go too crazy," she murmured, moving off her mattress to kiss him. And then in a moment of resolve, she pushed her air mattress next to his. "I'm ready for this..." She cuddled next to him, smiling.
Atticus, surprised, blushed a little; but then he wrapped an arm around her and smiled. "Okay... I am, too. Night, Jazzy..."
"Night, Atticus... I love you," she murmured, gray eyes closing.
"I love you too..." he murmured back, brushing his lips against her forehead. And again the room was peaceful.
GX GX GX GX GX GX GX GX GX GX GX GX GX
The next day dawned with both joy and apprehension. The gang that could arose and had breakfast, preparing for the fight that would come when they dealt with Violet's inner darkness. And for Zane, he was dealing with the additional pressure of talking to his fiancée and then both their parents. "Should I do this before you guys help Violet?" he wondered.
Annie thought about it. "I think you should, Zane, because we need you focused. And we'll be there for you too, all right?"
"Yeah," he answered.
Zane took a very shaky breath. "Atticus, Lexi, Chazz... I need you guys in there..." On his face was an emotion the group had all rarely seen and yet had seen in the past 10 hours: fear.
Alexis smiled a little and placed a reassuring hand on his upper arm. "Okay, Zane. We understand... we'll be there for you."
The pro duelist met the young woman's eyes with gratitude and the supportive smiles of his best friend and little brother. And without saying a word, the Rhodes siblings, their mother, Annie and Syrus followed him down to Chancellor Shepherd's office. They all placed themselves on the couch, Zane sitting where he was completely visible. And he dialed the number of a young woman he loved very much.
Finally the phone rang and she picked up. Scout's eyes widened in shock at the sight of a red-haired, green eyed version of her daughter. "Hey, Jackie," Zane greeted gently, noticing that she looked much paler than usual.
Jackie O'Connell was a very attractive young Irish-American woman, still owning a few freckles from childhood. They now stuck out against her unusual pallor, and she had the first signs of dark circles under her eyes. Only her torso could be seen in the picture, revealing that she was in a black tank top. She smiled a bit when Zane greeted her. "Hey, Zane. Sorry I didn't answer right away-- I haven't been feeling the best lately," she said in a soft alto voice.
"I know, Jax... It's okay... You've been having rough mornings," he murmured softly. "I'm sorry I hadn't called yet to check in," he apologized.
She managed a small grin. "It's all right, mo run." Her Irish accent, an inheritance from her father came out thickly here as she used an Irish term of endearment; "mo run," pronounced ruin, meaning "my dear." "Things have been hectic out there for you and your friends. Speaking of them, mind introducin' me?"
"Oh, yeah..." Zane quickly turned and introduced them. "This is my brother, Sy and his fiancée Annie Hanson..."
"Pleased to meet you, Jackie," Annie smiled happily.
"Hi, Jackie. Glad to finally meet you," Syrus greeted, smiling.
"Oh, so these be the two I've heard so much about. Zane wouldn't stop talkin' about ya and how you were gettin' married," Jackie replied with a teasing grin. Syrus blushed.
Zane continued, "And this is Dr. Jean Louise Rhodes, but everyone calls her Scout."
"Hi, sweetie," Scout greeted.
"And these are Atticus, Alexis and Chazz Rhodes. Atticus and I have been best friends since we were in diapers..." And then Zane noticed Alexis and Jackie were staring at each other in shock.
As if to promote their similar appearance, both girls pointed at each other and spoke at the same moment. "She looks just like me!" Atticus blinked, then snickered at the random coincidence.
To his credit, Zane really hadn't noticed. Chazz's eyes were wide. "Whoa... Sis, you have two clones!" he blurted out.
"Oh, right, there's Willow, too... that's just weird," Alexis groaned, rubbing her forehead.
"Wait, there's someone else who looks like me- er, us?" Jackie asked, blinking a few times in confusion. This was all news to her.
Zane grinned sheepishly. "Y'know, I hadn't thought about it, Jax, but it's true. One of our friends here... His girlfriend has black hair and blue eyes but she looks a lot like both of you... Anyway... We've got to tell our parents... It can't wait anymore..." His expression went from sheepish to grave rather quickly.
Jackie's eyes widened at the sudden change, and she frowned a little. Obviously, he'd told at least those present. "Zane, but you said..."
"Jax... listen... things have changed... And we can fly you out here and get married quietly... No press," he explained gently yet seriously.
She seemed to consider this. "Are... are you sure, mo run? I mean... I'd hate to take away from your friends' and brother's weddin'. They've had this planned longer than us, after all..."
"It won't take away..."
"Jackie... it's all right. We can't get married for a while longer, anyway," Annie explained too. "And we'd love it if you did here. It won't be big but... you're fairly early into your pregnancy and the last thing you need is stress... So come out here and we'll be glad to get you and Zane married."
Jackie seemed to hesitate for a moment longer, but then she smiled a bit and nodded. "All right, then. If you're sure. I—" Suddenly, her eyes widened, and her pallor took on a light green tinge. "E-excuse me." Standing, she left the viewing screen in a rush, and soon there was the sound of a door closing.
"Oh, goodness," Scout murmured in sympathy, "and it's her first one... I wasn't sick with Atty..." She smiled, remembering. "I was, however, sick with you, Alexis..."
Alexis grinned sheepishly. "That's one thing I'm not looking forward to... morning sickness..."
Annie blushed a little. "It won't be fun... but... the end result is worth it, isn't it?"
The blond girl grinned. "Definitely."
Finally, Jackie came back, looking just a little worse for the wear. "S-sorry about that..."
"It's okay, Jax," Zane soothed. "But now... we've got to talk to our parents. Think we can get a conference call going?" The redhead nodded. And so the connecting calls were made. "Hi, Mom and Dad," Zane greeted. "Hi, Richard. Hey, Jane," he added to Jackie's parents. Richard and Jane O'Connell were good, friendly people, strongly religious and really liked Zane and their daughter being together. Richard was a large burly man, raised in New York City by immigrant parents. He had red hair and green eyes like his daughter's and was a firefighter. Jane was a happy homemaker, also with flaming red hair and blue eyes. She was plump from having given birth to 4 children, very happy to be a mother. The couple now lived in northeastern Nevada.
"Hello, Zane my lad," Richard greeted.
"Hey, kiddo," Will greeted as well. "Nice to see you two again."
"Oh, wonderful to see both of you! How are you, Darla?" Jane smiled at the OB/GYN in Domino City.
"Fine, thanks. It's great to see all of you- even if it's over the phone. Oh, Jackie, honey... you don't look too good. Are you feeling all right?" Darla asked, her mother instincts kicking into hear.
Jackie blinked, then got a nervous feeling that was very similar to her morning sickness. "Uh..."
Zane willed his own strength around his fiancée, wishing he could be in two places at once. "Well... that's why we're calling... We wanted to wait a year to get married, but we need to move things up," he said.
Eyebrows raised. "Well, we're glad, lad, considerin' you've both been living in sin," Richard commented with a light twinkle in his eyes.
"Yeah, but what brought this on?" Jane asked eagerly. "You two are probably eager to get going on your lives..."
Darla, however, sensed that this was something serious and that it was weighing heavily on both her oldest son and his fiancée. "Zane?" she asked, frowning a little.
Jackie sighed, gaze turning downward as she worked up the courage to say the words. "Mam, Dad, I... well, ya see, I'm... pregnant."
Silence reigned for a moment. And then reactions came so differently that it was hard to believe it was on the same line. "Congratulations!" Will grinned.
And... "What?! You're expectin'?! JACKIE REGINA O'CONNELL? DID I RAISE A WHORE?" Richard shouted.
"DIDN'T YOU PAY ATTENTION TO FATHER O'MALLEY?" Jane yelled as well, as both O'Connells' faces contorted with rage.
"Or did you just have your way with her, you gigolo?!" Richard snapped at Zane. Zane was struck speechless for a moment, horrified at what he was hearing.
Jackie, part of her having been expecting this, instantly hung her head in obvious shame and embarrassment. Her orange-red hair fell into her eyes, but anyone paying enough attention could see the sheen of tears on closed lids. "M-mam... D-dad... I..." Unable to say anything in response to her parents' outrage, Jackie buried her face in her hands. To say everyone else on the line was shocked and slightly appalled would be an extreme understatement. At first, no one could find the words to respond or speak up.
And then Zane regained his power of speech. And let us be perfectly clear on this; he not only regained it, he used it. "HOW DARE YOU TALK TO HER THAT WAY?! SHE'S YOUR DAUGHTER AND SHE'S GOING TO BE MY WIFE!"
Richard countered in fury, "SHE'S NO DAUGHTER OF MINE IF SHE CAN..." And he used a very vulgar term for intimacy which got Will fuming.
"You heartless jerk! Jackie, honey, I'm going to come get you at the hotel. You can stay with Darla and me and rest here until you can go to Duel Academy. And Richard and Jane, we will not allow you to upset her in any way. When you can talk to her civilly, you can talk to her again."
"Fine. You can deal with her... We're through!" Jane said, the anger evident in her eyes. And the O'Connells abruptly ended the phone call.
"Oh, no," Annie murmured painfully, aching for the young woman on the screen.
There was now silence, except for Jackie's sobs. "Jax... Jax, say something," Zane pleaded softly.
Jackie kept most of her face buried behind her hands, but her words could be heard clearly. "I... I thought they m-might react a… a bit badly, b-but... not as bad a-as this... Oh, they h-hate me, Zane!"
"They don't hate you," he countered. "They're just shocked and upset, Jax... We'll get through this and they'll come around. You're their daughter... their only girl... How could they hate you?" he soothed her, hoping it was true.
"Z-Zane, they're m-more than shocked a-and upset! Didn't you h-hear them? They're furious... and d-disgusted... they want n-nothin' to do with m-me..."
"Well, we want everything to do with you," Will said. "Sweetie, Darla and I can be over in a few minutes to get you... Come stay with us..."
"I... I don't know..."
Darla, who had finally recovered from her shock, felt her heart ache for the poor girl. "Jackie, honey, please... we want to help you. You shouldn't be alone right now, not in your condition. Please, let us come get you," she coaxed gently.
Jackie, who was beginning to calm down, sniffed a bit. "...O-okay..."
"Jax," Zane said, "I love you so much... We're going to make it... We'll be okay..." And another thing that wasn't often seen on his face was making its appearance... tears.
Syrus hadn't seen his brother cry in a long time, and he hadn't seen him cry often, either. But he completely understood why he was doing so now. Jackie wiped at her eyes, meeting her fiancé's gaze. "I l-love you too, Zane... I can't w-wait to see you..."
"I'll see you really soon, Jax," he answered.
"We'll come get you, Jackie honey," Will said calmly. Jackie could only nod, and after they said goodbyes she hung up.
"Mom," Zane began, struggling to keep his control. It was one of those moments where a boy needs his mother as he did long ago when she first kissed his bruises and cuts.
Darla sighed. "It's okay, honey. I know what you must be feeling right now... that was hard on you, too. But it's just like you said, sweetie. We'll find a way through this... I'm certain that her parents will come around when they realize how harsh they're being..."
"How could they say that to her?" he asked finally, choking it out. "No matter how angry you've been with me or Sy, you'd never say what they said..."
Darla frowned. "Honey, it's because they think that's the right thing to do... It's the way they were brought up and the way they live. Sometimes, people act without really thinking of the consequences..."
"Just... help her, please... I wish I could be in two places at once," he groaned. "But I can't leave now..."
"Zane... kiddo... we'll help her and bring her out to you when you're both ready," Will soothed. "We're going to take care of her, we promise..."
"Thanks, Mom... Thanks Dad..." The parents and eldest child hung up, and Zane buried his face in his hands. He hated himself for not being able to be split in a few different pieces so he could go to Domino and northeastern Nevada, comforting his fiancée while giving her parents more than a piece of his mind. And yet he knew he needed to be here. And it hurt terribly.
Syrus, sensing his brother's pain, placed a hand on his arm. "Zane... bro, I know that you want to be there for her. But even if you can't, she still knows that you love her. And I bet that helps her a lot..."
Zane managed to lift his head. "What did she do to deserve that? She's right... they hate her..."
"Well, I'd like to have their Father O'Malley talk to Father Mulcahey," Annie growled softly. "Did they miss the sermons where people are supposed to be loving and that we've all fallen short of the glory of God?!" Annie's experience in church had been that you dealt with situations with love and kindness, not condemnation. And when it came to what Zane and Jackie had done, Annie reflected that it wasn't that bad. They were committed and faithful to each other and should not be treated the way Jackie's parents had just treated her and Zane. "Jesus wouldn't do what they just did to her!" she asserted.
"No, He wouldn't," Scout agreed, moving to Zane. "Zane, honey, it's going to be all right... We'll get her out here and it'll be okay..."
The elder Truesdale gladly took the hug from his best friend's mother. And then he met Atticus's eyes. "Hey Atticus?"
"Yeah, Zane?" Atticus, like everyone else in the room, was feeling the pain radiating off of the young adult. And it hurt him to see his best friend so upset for any reason, let alone one like this.
"Could... you help me with something? It's for Jackie, and it's gonna take a lot... Sy, you too..." There was a definite pleading in his tone.
"Of course. What do you need help with?" Atticus asked, Syrus nodding in agreement.
"Uh..." Zane turned a bit red. "Uh, Alexis, Scout, Annie... Chazz, please don't take this the wrong way, but.... can we have some privacy?" The three women and young man looked at each other and then at Zane and nodded, getting up and heading out of the room. "Okay... do you guys know if my old room's open?" he asked finally.
The two other boys exchanged curious glances. "Yeah. No one's taken it since you've left, Zane," Atticus finally answered.
Zane sighed with relief. At least something was going right. "Okay... Sy... could you get me a phone book or a laptop with a Wi-Fi connection? I've got to order flowers!"
Syrus nodded. "Sure, bro." It didn't take him long to find one, since they were in Chancellor Shepherd's office.
"Thanks, Sy. And then... do you guys think we can set up a little party if Jackie's up to it?" He amended, "Not right away, of course...."
"I think we could do that," Atticus answered after a moment of thought.
"Okay... Now... We have to get Violet and Bastion better," Zane murmured thoughtfully. "What's going to happen? What did you guys do to stop your darkness?" And then Zane looked at Atticus again, remembering his story of taking down Nightshroud's human embodiment.
The brunette rubbed the back of his neck. "We, uh... faced our darkness..."
"I remember you telling me how you faced yours, Atticus, but... what about the others?" Somehow, he hadn't asked.
"Well... we mostly just talked it out. Group therapy, ya know?"
The pro duelist nodded, remembering one particular time after he'd really started facing his own demons when he'd returned to DA. "Okay... then... I'll do what I can to help like you guys helped me... Especially you, little brother, and my sister-in-law..."
Syrus smiled. "Thanks, bro... Violet and Bastion, they're gonna need all the help they can get right now..."
"Yeah..."
The three young men headed out of the chancellor's office and Annie fell into step next to her husband-to-be. "Is everything okay?" she asked softly.
He nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine."
Everything isn't fine yet, dear readers. We still have some darkness to dispel! So next time, please join us for "Lonely No More!" And until next time, please read, review and stay tuned! Thank you and see you next time!