Jaden's pov
After Jesse was practically thrown out of his own apartment the tall Australian male who Jesse called Jim just took his seat back down in the wooden chair across from me as I was finishing up the breakfast this man had brought over.
My guess was that Jesse and him have a routine of eating breakfast at some kind of restaurant in the mornings but because I had slept in Jesse couldn't make it to their usual meet up. I felt slightly bad about it.
I knew it was my fault because he warned me last night not to overdo the alcohol since I didn't have anything in my stomach really last night. Altho he didn't know that last part. Thankfully the alcohol knocked me out before I got myself into a heap of trouble.
Tho I really caused a mess for Jesse. I felt a pang in my chest. I didn't like how that made me feel. It's like the idea of being anything but a burden to Jesse made my chest hurt. Tho the reason was already clear.
My memories won't let me forget that night but my dreams keep reminding me of when I was younger and a boy with the same head of hair helped me from an assault with a bully.
He may not remember with how his family treated him but I always wondered what happened to him. Because he was there and gone within 3 months. Too many questions why he was covered in either scars or wounds or a black eye one time. He just refused to answer them. He must've not remembered me, or all the trauma he had a hard time dealing with made him forget.
I do know when I saw those glorious green eyes peer at me from the door way as I was being held down, it's like I reentered heaven. I had tears running down my face and a tight ball of fear in my chest at the time, I was praying that someone anyone would get me out of there and I was praying even harder for Jesse to see my distress and save me. So when his eyes met mine I begged with him. And he understood.
A touch on the shoulder from Jim stirred me from my deep thoughts. "Huh?" I looked up at him. We were still eating breakfast but I guess my thoughts consumed me to the point that I stopped eating. "Your head's in the clouds you little bugger." Jim snarked playfully.
I ruffled my hair in an embarrassed fashion. "Ha… My bad! Were you saying something?" I spoke with a sudden cheerful attitude which probably caught the male off guard but he kept his trained eyes on me, observing my face heavily.
"I asked how much did you actually know Jesse." I paled just a little looking down. "Um… He used to go to my school. He probably doesn't remember tho… He saved me from a bully. Brutalized the punk. He almost got immediate expulsion but many of the other kids who were victims to the guys bullying came forth and protected him. They all believed he didn't deserve it for saving someone from suffering from the same fate he gave others." I gazed down at my plate letting my memories pour from me.
Jim smirks adjusting his hat. "Sounds like a wonderful guy. But your very interesting, Jaden." Curiosity glimmered in his eyes as he looked at me.
"Ha.. there's not much to know about me, just a simple guy who works a decent job." To be fair my job was basically…. kinda handed to me by my father. He wanted me to get some decent office work on my resume that would find interest to other people, that way if I ever make it big outside his own business he could take some of the credit for where I went in life. Not gonna lie my dad has a conceited streak in him and it's a mile long.
Even tho he's a hard working man, he tends to do things greater than even what he can accomplish. Including spending money we often didn't have. If it weren't for the near dwindling savings account my mother had on the back burner, her words being dad's retirement money, we wouldn't be able to afford to live.
And since moving from the grand scale house that we had when I was a child when the money pool started to decrease because of my father's spending habits, I've come to realize that money makes people desperate and dependent. My best friend Chaz you could say is the opposite of that. His family was more resilient and responsible with their money, right down to his two older brothers having their own fortunes under their own names.
Altho Chaz uses his family's name to make himself kind of a celebrity, at least he's not stealing riches on his own. He's making his way by working through his brothers. He plans on making a big computer industry, with his boyfriend Sho who also comes from deep pockets. Sho's older brother, Ryo is a face in the pro duel monsters circuit but Sho chose something a little more in his field, even tho he enjoyed the game much like the rest of us when we were kids. Being from families with money, kinda drew us together.
"Your family has deep pockets as they say?" Jim's words broke through my thoughts. I looked at him slightly perplexed as I stood up took our plates to the kitchen and washed them. I refused to leave a mess for Jesse to have to attend to when he returned to his apartment. I couldn't bear the thought after what I had put him through.
"You could say that. My dad owns a pretty big business. He spends a lot of time either in the office or brown nosing the higher ups." I said this as I turn the faucet off. I dried my hands off and exited the kitchen Jim now on his feet with the door to the apartment open.
"Shall we go then? I do have to be on my way to work as well." I rolled my eyes. I obviously knew that but this man keeping busy with small talk so much that it feels like an hour has passed since Jesse left us alone together. I walked out the door sighing as Jim closed the door behind us and locked it with a spare key he seemed to have.
It made me curious as to how well Jim knew Jesse. And for how long at that. "What's your relationship to him?" I asked spontaneously as we get on the elevator. The door closes behind us and the elevator begins it's descent before Jim actually gives me an answer.
"Feels so long ago. Probably when he should've been in school still… but that no good son of a bitch sold him off like a slave." I raised my eyebrows with confusion and slight distraught. It was the first time I heard a change in tone from him. He seems like such an easy going guy and yet all the emotion got sucked out of his voice, only left with bitterness when he spoke those words.
"He was… taken out of school two months later… nobody heard from him again after that." I looked down and leaned into the wall of the elevator as the doors opened. Jim patted my shoulder and pushed me on through the door.
"Feels like we knew him pretty much around the same time." It was our only guess without it coming straight from Jesse's mouth. Tho it would be awkward considering his memory might not all be there after the hardship he's gone through. Altho he was distant back then he still had some semblance of light in his eyes that were slowly going out. Seeing him now I can see the light he had as a teenager had faded away.
'I hope I can bring that light back into his eyes…' I thought as my body moved on its own my thoughts now swimming as I blushed slightly, remembering seeing Jesse half undress and the scars that remained on his body from years of hardship he had to endure. Jim pulled me to a stop at the sidewalk as I blinked in dumbfounded nature.
"Huh..?" I looked at him with confusion and pointed to the pick up truck that looked about as old as I am, but showed it's age. The paint was practically half removed on every edge of the truck except the middle portions there was a tarp covering the back end which had me slightly concerned but I couldn't question it tho the fact it was moving made my worries even worse. It was just a mess of a vehicle.
"Don't tell me… you actually drive this rust bucket??" My jaw might as well be on the floor. Jim being a good sport, gave a hearty laugh. He tipped his hat back and unlocked the truck which disturbed something in the flat bed something green large and reptilian poked its nose out from under the tarp.
"Holy blazing Burstinitrix!" I ended up on the ground in a split second, my heart leaping into my throat and my pulse running a mile a minute. Jim must've saw my face go cold cause he once again gave a hefty laugh before yanking me to my feet by the back end of my jacket.
"Hold your horses there, mate. It's just my girl Shirley." I looked at him then back at the truck and noticed it was a gator sticking it's head out of the tarp.
"I-is it legal to own one of those..?" I gulped a couple times, trying to slow my nerves down. Jim just shoved me towards the truck before walking around the other side, but not before pulling the tarp over his beloved pet.
"Yes, I have papers. When I came to this country I made sure to get papers for my girl." Jim makes this side comment as he goes around the other side of the truck, opening the door and climbing inside. I climb inside the truck as he gets the engine going, the truck already going in reverse as I slam my door.
"Now where am I dropping your ass off for the day, fella?" Jim finally opens his mouth after he's already on the road far away from Jesse's apartment complex. I scratch my head for a second. Since my parents weren't home for the day I didn't feel like stay at home on my day off. "I normally live on Gold avenue, but can you take me to the Greenville Condos?"
Jim didn't contradict what I said with a question but rather said. "You got a friend your visiting?" I nodded my head at his words as I just watch the environment pass us by through the window. The condos weren't much farther away than the complex Jesse lived in. In fact it was closer to where Chazz lived than where my own family lived. Strangely I found that somewhat comforting.
Jim pulled up to an electrical gate that had a speaker attached to it and a button com. "Now what, your majesty?" Jim's snide remark made me shove him lightly as a result as I spoke up. "Type in 6479." Jim does exactly that as soon a familiar voice echoed from the speaker com. "Who is it?" Chazz sounded both hung over and tired from the sound of the voice crack.
"Heyo there mate. I got a Jaden Yuki here for ya." Jim speaks casually into the mic and it doesn't take a split second for the gate's to start opening up. "Your in the clear, kiddo." The Aussie chuckles as he pulls forward through the open gate and drives in. I point out which condo it was, altho with a waving black haired male trying to flag down the truck; didn't take long for Jim to put two and two together before he just stopped the truck all together.
"Here's your stop mate. Hope your day is sunshine and rainbows from here on out." I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm but I knew by the playful tone of his voice, he meant well. He was Jesse's friend after all, I could trust him to be kind.
"Thanks Jim. Hope we meet up again soon." I climb out of the truck a smile on my face as I met the aussie's eyes. Jim nodded in agreement tipping his hat to me. "Let's hope it's not in the same way as last night, alright chap?" He let out a hardy laugh as his truck peeled out, turning around and head back towards the electrical gate.
"Yuki you idiot why didn't you tell me you were going on a date last night!?" Chazz didn't waste time practically dragging me to his condo by my ear. "Ow. Ow. Ow! Chazz stop pulling me like a mom does to her disobedient teenager! I'm in my twenties damnit!" I rubbed my ear when he finally let me go to open the door to his condo, to let me inside.
"Shut up and spill the beans already!" Chazz grumbled rubbing his head, I could see the bags outlining his eyes from the alcohol and lack of sleep from last night.
"Fine fine I'll tell you all about him." I groan as he dragged me to sit on his plush sofa. Chazz crossed his arms and looked me over carefully and focused. "Go on." I ruffled my hair and started from the beginning at Ryo's party.