Chapter 24: Back to normal!?
The funeral came and went for uncle Elliot as family and friends alike bid him their farewells and Jaden, true to his word has kept in touch with Alexis and the Rhoades through their grieving process. Jaden went as far as not to complain about his homework like the start of the summer vacation as even he felt it was uncalled for, though he still took necessary breaks between every session of homework which where he could be found right now, plopped in front of the TV as Gordo Yuki returned home.
" dad."
Gordo replied as followed.
" son."
smiling a little Jaden concluded the conversation with.
" good talk."
Gordo allowed a smirk on his face to appear as he stated the following.
" I know better than to ask if you've finished your homework… I never finished mine either when I was your age… that said…."
Jaden listened carefully since his dad was most of the time a straight to the point kind of guy.
" it's far more of a beautiful day to spend it cooped up inside."
Jaden agreed to that statement while adding.
" yeah well lately I had up to here with adventures.
With that he gestured to his forehead with his right hand as Gordo picked up on something.
" what's really going on son?"
Sighing Jaden told him about uncle Elliot's funeral and how quiet it got around the Rhodes over the last week or so as he confessed.
" I told Alexis I'll be there for her if she needed a friend but I don't know what to do or say without making things worse or more awkward, I mean there's just that many words when you never knew the guy closely as the ones who considered him family.".
Gordon nodded saying.
" I get it…. You talk like a producer, but maybe what Alexis needs right now is an actual friend. "
With that said and done Jaden grabbed his phone as he headed outside while Gordo took his spot near the TV saying.
" don't comeback until you've gotten a couple hours clocked in."
Jaden bluntly asked.
" and what mom thinks about all of this?"
Gordo concluded the conversation as such.
" she'll agree with me on this, besides TV will ruin your eyes."
Witth that finally out if the way Jaden picked a direction at random as he went with it. Three days have passed as eventually Jaden and Alexis crossed paths.
" hey there…"
Alexis replied with.
" Jay…. Everything okay?"
Jaden at that laughed as he said.
" yup, and it rhymes too."
With that both of them began laughing as Alexis admitted.
" you know…. I actually needed that… thanks."
Jaden at this point blurted out.
" hey, would you like to hang out with me for a little bit?"
Alexis beamed at him.
" did your parents threw you out of the house?"
Jaden replied comically.
" well…. I don't know about mom but dad did…."
Alexis at that lightly laughed as she teased Jaden a bit.
" what did you do now?!…."
Jaden shrugged as he answered honestly.
" nothing, absolutely nothing."
At that Alexis inquired in a threatening yet concerned tone.
" nothing you say?…"
Jaden caught the tone as he nervously corrected himself.
" I….. I'm still doing my homework… I'm not slacking off….. honestly…."
At that Alexis playfully smirked.
" good, so what do you plan on doing now?"
Jaden could've teased Alexis at this point but he wasn't playfully sadistic like her brother Atticus so he simply replied with.
" let's see….. I'm not carrying that much cash on me, I don't have my duel disc or deck on me, so I guess I'll just hang around town, you want to join?"
Alexis replied way too fast in her book so she hoped Jaden didn't notice when she said.
" sure."
With that the two began walking in relative peace around Domino city as Jaden offered a friendly advice.
" if you find me boring in any way please let me know, okay?"
Alexis at that gave a genuine laugh which delighted Jaden as she simply stated.
" keep it strictly between us but I found you to be interesting from the moment you dueled Crowler at the entrance exam."
Jaden smirked.
" wow… that much of a great first impression?"
Alexis at that playfully smacked Jaden on his left shoulder as he in turn gave a sarcastic.
" ouch."
Alexis wasn't phased as she pointed out.
" don't go and develop a big ego on me, got that?"
Jaden at that gave a genuine laugh of his own while setting the record straight.
" don't worry, I just meant that I took it as a compliment."
With that the two returned to a comfortable silence as a thought crept into Alexis's mind.
" you know we've been good friends for a while but I don't know that much about you."
Jaden joked.
" such good friends we're practically set to get married….."
At that he caught a glare from Alexis as he gave her both an apologetic look and an instance of opening up.
" most people think I have dueling on my brain 24/7….."
It was Alexis's turn to be sarcastic.
" gee…. I wonder why….."
Jaden continued the moment with a relaxed smile.
" but honestly, I like going to the movie theater as well."
That caught Alexis by surprised as she asked with clear interest.
" oh really? what kinds of movies do you like?"
Jaden gave her an awkward smile as he replied.
" honestly I tune out most movies, I just like to sit in front of the screen in the dark while I just get lost in my own mind…"
Alexis at hearing that gave a surprising response by laughing hard for a few good moments before responding.
" that definitely sounds like you."
At first Jaden didn't know how to respond to that comment exactly, he knew that Alexis didn't mean anything by that but still the situation was asking for a sharp comment in return so instead he joined in the laughter.
" so?, how about we go to the movies together?"
Jaden asked innocently enough.
" as like really good friends or an actual like date?"
Alexis at that blushed a bit as he in turn caught himself off guard by how he just asked the question with ease as she replied a few moments later.
" I don't mind calling it a date if you don't."
Jaden, relaxing a bit, replied as follows.
" great, it's a date then."
With that the two started heading towards the movie theater as a feeling of dread came over Jaden as he realised he didn't have enough of an allowance on him to treat her to a movie as he scrambled for a solution while he stopped in his tracks. Calling home he caught Gordo heading out of the house for a bit.
" Alexis, change of plans."
At that Alexis urged for Jaden to continue.
" how about we watch a movie back at my home?"
Alexis smirked.
" well aren't you a Don Juan…"
Jaden responded as honestly as he could.
" actually I didn't have enough money for an actual movie theater… sorry."
Alexis flashed him a genuine smile saying.
" that's no problem, movie theaters get expensive by the minute anyway."
With that the two changed course yet again back to Jaden's home as the two arrived at early afternoon with him letting her in. As Jaden walked into the kitchen he found a note with instructions on where to find the popcorn signed by Gordo as the hero duelist thought to himself.
' how did he do that…'
Making the popcorn in record time Jaden returned to the living room as he searched for a good movie to pick from a drawer underneath the TV as Alexis asked.
" want some help?"
Jaden smiled genuinely.
" thanks but I've got this, don't worry….."
Finding the perfect movie he popped it in the DVD player as he sat next to Alexis as she asked.
" care to tell me what are we watching?"
Jaden at that gave a devilish smirk.
" it's an adventure movie with a hint of romance and action."
Returning that same grin Alexis simply stated.
" you're not going to tell me the name of the movie, are you?"
Before he could respond the DVD menu popped up as the surprise was revealed as The count of Monte Cristo.
" The count of Monte Cristo… that's a really good surprise."
With that said and done Jaden pressed play while replying.
" thanks…. I had a feeling you'd like that."
Smirking yet again Alexis stated.
" shhhh….. no talking during the movie….."
Jaden rolled his eyes as he pretended he locked his mouth with a lock and key before throwing said " key" away. Alexis at that couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight of him, however she took her own advice as she focused on the movie at hand . Both of them cheered, flinched and gasped throughout the first act of the movie until Edmond Dantes, the hero of the picture was now facing his soon to be best and true friend Jacopo.
" you know, you remind me of Jacopo a little."
Jaden raised his right eyebrow in skepticism as he commented.
" I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying…"
Alexis smirked as she teased.
" well you do tend to scarf your food…"
A sarcastic laugh escaped Jaden's lips as Alexis made her point just a bit clearer.
" I meant that the two of you are true and loyal friends… thank you for that by the way."
Jaden softened his expression as he replied.
" don't mention it."
As the movie continued onto the end of the second act when both lovers on screen reunited after their circumstances tore them apart Jaden checked his phone as he noticed it was nearing 18:00.
" is it really that late already?"
Jaden nodded saying.
" that's the trouble of having fun I guess….. I'll walk you home."
With that Jaden hit the pause on the movie as Alexis tried to reassure him she'll be fine and that he should continue watching it on his own, he simply replied with.
" don't worry about it, there's always later."
With that said and done the two started heading towards Alexis's home as the two continued talking about what did they actually managed to see as Jaden sighed in relief.
" thank goodness…"
Now it was Alexis's turn to be confused
" Jay….. what do you mean by that?"
Jaden answered truthfully.
" honestly I don't go on dates much or watch movies with friends often."
Alexis at that added.
" or even girlfriend."
Spluttering a bit, Jaden eventually managed to find the right response for the moment.
" as long as you're comfortable in calling me boyfriend, though…"
Now about halfway through the journey back to her house Alexis urged Jaden to continue his line of thinking.
" you could always do better than me, better looking, smarter, someone who'll actually protect you instead of dragging…."
Before he could finish his sentence Alexis surprised him by planting a kiss on his cheek, dangerously close to his mouth as she said.
" you talk too much sometimes."
Stunned a bit by what happened ,the pair said in comfortable silence as eventually they made it to the front of Alexis's home.
" thank you for a lovely afternoon, I hope we could….."
Before she could finish her sentence Jaden captured her lips with a chaste kiss as he cheekily said while Alexis's face became flushed.
" that was a small payback for earlier and yes….. I share the same hope."
Recovering from the initial shock Alexis responded with a half threatening and half cheeky tone of her own.
" you do realize I'll make you pay for that!"
Jaden, a bit shocked by his own boldness and impulsiveness for once quickly recovered as he stated.
" I'm definitely gonna get it now."
With that state of mind he began walking towards home just as Alexis was processing everything that happened to her as it finally hit her that she experienced the very first kiss however short it was which made the cyber duelist both lightheaded and flustered since he on top of that was for lack of better words her crush. Getting her bearings together Alexis tried to continue with the evening as though nothing had happened as she prepared herself for dinner only to be visited by the last person she wanted to see at the moment.
" hey there little Lexi….. how was your day without your beloved big bro around?"
A little absent minded Alexis replied with.
" oh…. You were gone?…. I didn't notice…"
Atticus at that exaggerated his reaction though as if she ripped his heart out of his chest as he noticed that she was seriously out of it.
"you had a busy day?"
Alexis, finally returning to reality, replied with.
" not really…. Hung out with friends."
Atticus, putting two and two together simply responded with.
" Jaden no doubt."
Alexis got a bit defensive as she was sure that Atti would mercilessly tease her.
" I Have female friends too you know."
Atticus lightly teased.
" I know… so what happened between the two of you?"
Alexis insisted on the following.
" ….. just hanging out…."
Atticus sighed as he hugged his sister saying.
" if you don't want to tell me that's fine….. I only ask cause I care."
Not fooled by this sentimentality Alexis pointed out.
" also because you like to tease me a bit too much."
Smirking, Atticus stated.
" all a part of being a big brother."
With that said and done the two continued their back and forth as they joined the family for dinner as the event went off without a hitch or an incident.
Domino city, one week before the start of the second year.
With the soul purpose of taking advantage of the final week of summer vacation Jaden sprinted from his house to the nearest beach as he intended to enjoy the sun and maybe do a little surfing as he ran into a familiar face.
" Atticus….. what are you doing here buddy?, catching some waves?"
Atticus sighed as he responded with.
" not exactly… I'm putting surfing on the back burner to help my mom's business."
Jaden at that nodded while asking.
" is that your idea of making amends for what happened?"
Atticus corrected Jaden.
" this is what I do to earn my family's trust back."
Jaden's response was a simple cool as Atticus returned to his work but not before asking.
" say I noticed Lexi acting kinda weird over the last week or so, do you know anything about it?"
Jaden at that froze a little before stating.
" if she's not telling you then I'm not telling you."
Atticus smirked as he patted Jaden on his right shoulder.
" you're a good man."
With that said and done the week came to a quick end as it was time to return to academy island as Jaden thought to himself
' another year and the summer vacation has gone by…..'
As the chopper carrying the students back to Academy island landed its passengers disembarked with Jaden chief amongst them. Stretching himself he wasted no time returning to his dorm as he was about to unpack, however as he entered his room Jaden was met with a surprise, the girl who became his tutor, Alexis Rhoades. Saying nothing at first Jaden left the room for a sec before returning.
" let me guess, you thought you've entered the wrong room?"
Jaden replied honestly.
" yep."
At that Alexis smirked as she said.
" is that how you treat your future wife?, no hug, not even a small kiss on the lips?"
Sweat dropping Jaden gulped a bit before confirming his worst fear.
" that's probably the payback for the last stunt I pulled on you?!"
At that Alexis's smirk became downright devilish as she continued the conversation with.
" no actually…."
Jaden at this point didn't know if to let out a sigh of relief or gulp a little harder as Alexis threatened him in a pleasant tone.
" move a muscle and you'll wish to be in hell when I'm done with you."
As Alexis left all Jaden could do was drop his bag as he waited nervously for her return, luckily for him or unluckily, depends on how you look at it, Alexis returned within 40 minutes.
" well I just got back from Shepard's office and guess what?"
Jaden joked to calm his nerves.
" do I really have to?"
Alexis ignored that comment as she stated the following.
" for the next year or so I've been appointed as your personal tutor, that means every free period, every weekend and holiday you'll be spending studying with me…"
Jaden didn't comically pale like he thought he would, still he took it with stride as he said.
" thankfully?!….. you're a fun teacher, so I'll manage….."
Alexis at that smiled pleasantly saying.
" flattery will get you so far in life."
At that Jaden shrugged saying.
" I'm not trying to be anything but truthful."
Giving him a genuine smile Alexis urged Jaden to follow her.
" let's find a quiet place to begin our first lesson of the year."
Jaden relented as he knew there was no arguing with her as they wondered the Island's forest together as a slight tension was built between them with Alexis eventually breaking the silence.
" say…. about last time….."
Jaden at that caught on quick as he reassured her by saying.
" I don't regret for a moment at what happened between us."
Alexis was caught off guard as Jaden asked.
" did you think I teased you when we had our first duel together?"
Alexis replied as followed.
" well you can be impulsive and it was playful banter within a duel, so anything goes right?"
Jaden chuckled at this.
" sure but I don't need dirty tricks and distractions to win a duel."
Alexis at that admitted.
" well you certainly earned those bragging rights though…."
Jaden guessed what Alexis was going to say next.
" you want to ask why I haven't tried to act on how I felt?"
Without so many words Alexis simply nodded as Jaden simply stated.
" I have my dreams about dueling and you have yours and I wanted to simply focus on that, besides seeing how much fun you're having dueling? Who was I to get in the way of that?"
At that Alexis couldn't help but agree with the sentiment as both of them had to face the fact that they'll have to shelve their romantical aspirations for the current year, however before Jaden did that he had to make one thing clear.
" no matter what happens this year, if you need me at all… I'll be there for you."
Alexis at that gave a melancholic smile as she gave him a small kiss on the cheek saying.
" I know."
With that said and done both of them parted ways as a few days passed quickly before the school year beegan in earnest. It was the morning of the first day of school as Jaden per usual was cutting it close to being late for class as he came across Chazz walking towards the arena instead of class as the hero duelist asked.
" free period or something?"
Chazz replied dryly.
" Shepard has a few announcements to make first."
Jaden at that nodded while following Chazz.
" is there anything else slacker?!"
Jaden responded nonchalantly.
" just wondering if you can see spirits again."
Chazz replied as follows.
" it's slowly coming back."
With that said and done the entire academy has gathered to listen to Chancellor Shepard deliver the updates in person.
" thank you all for being here, we have a couple of announcements to make."
Shepard at that cleared his throat
" first I'm instituting a tutoring program at this school which means that our more gifted students will be encouraged to lift those who struggled a bit last year with extra credit being optioned to get extra credit for doing a good job."
Shepard at that continued with the announcements.
" we have a new staff member to welcome, Mr. Bonaparte."
As the new staff member made his introduction known to the school while some commented on the fact that he lived up to his namesake, though not to his face for obvious reasons. Eventually classes resumed as normal while Jaden chose to remain behind the last lesson of the day which was Dr. Crowler's class.
" let me guess you're here for the missing students?"
Jaden nodded.
" you've got it teach."
Crowler groaned as he eventually replied with.
" let's make it quick for today."
Jaden at that nodded as both of them made it to the abandoned dorms as the hero duelist asked.
" how come you're not trying to find the missing students?"
Crowler at that took offense saying.
" for your information slacker we devoted manpower and resources for finding those students, so what makes you think you'll find something we missed?"
Jaden replied honestly.
" a gut feeling."
Crowler at that responded sarcastically.
" how wonderful….."
At this Jaden ignored him as he began searching the old dorm in earnest with the hero duelist finding nothing on his first day.
" told you."
Jaden wasn't deterred as he tried a new approach, Crowler noticing that asked out of genuine curiosity.
" care to share with the rest of the class?"
Having a little bit of fun with Crowler he dragged the moment as he pretended to speak only to shut up a moment later. He did it about four times in total before Crowler spat in annoyance.
" oh due get on with it…."
Deciding he had enough fun Jaden obliged.
" instead of wasting time here, let's ask the man responsible for the mess to begin with."
Having caught on Crowler pointed the following.
" unless you know how to perform a séance I'm afraid you've hit another dead end."
Jaden replied with.
" luckily doctor I don't need séance."
With that Jaden bolted, leaving a very confused Dr. Crowler who stayed behind for a few moments as he wondered to himself.
" so am I dismissed from chaperone duty then?"
Receiving no answer plus getting creeped out with every minute he waited in the abandoned dorm as eventually Crowler decided to dismiss himself on his own accord. As Jaden made it back to the Slifer red dorm, the hero duelist searched high and low for the old dorm headmaster's, one professor Lyman Banner. Cat only to notice he wasn't to be found anywhere even after tossing the place a bit.
" keep it down Slacker, some of us are trying to get some studying done."
Ignoring him Jaden flat out asked.
" Have you seen Pharaoh anywhere?"
With that Chazz silenced Jaden as he instructed to follow him only to find said orange cat having a nap on the support beams of the building in question.
" you don't mind if I wait a little, do you neighbor?"
Chazz in turn asked.
" does it have any thing to do with the abandoned dorm?"
Jaden nodded a " yes" as the young man in question waited for a bit before Chazz scared the cat in question, releasing Professor Banner's spirit.
' thank you my children, though you could've been nicer to Pharaoh.'
Jaden apologized.
" sorry about that professor but we have some questions that do need answers."
At this point in time Jaden began asking the questions at hand as the spirit of Banner paid attention to the questions in hand as he eventually gave very little answers.
Jaden at that excused the spirit of professor Banner as a week has already passed with little to no actual results, not useful enough anyway.
As Jaden was waking up on a particular Tuesday morning he heard a knock on his door, saying.
" hold your horses….."
Answering the door he was met with Atticus.
" hey there buddy… make yourself at home…"
Atticus denied the invitation though.
" that's okay I'm not staying long…. In fact I came to release you from trying to find the guys who disappeared with me last year."
Confused Jaden asked.
" why the sudden change of heart, you're not giving up on them are you?"
Atticus gave a pleasant smile saying.
" they'll always be in my heart and mind, I'm just doing what I should've done….. looking out for the friends that I do have left right now."
Jaden nodded as he replied.
" that's well and good, but I think I'll see it right to the end, so we can both say we did our best."
Atticus at that returned the gesture, saying as it just popped into his head.
" speaking off, we never really advanced with our surfing lessons."
Jaden shrugged apologetically.
" sorry there but Alexis planned a whole tutoring session in advance."
Being too wise for his own good Atticus asked with a smirk while Jaden slowly closed the door after leading the older teen out.
" Jaden… what did you do?…"
Jaden in turn replied as " innocently" as he could.
" I really don't know….. why don't you ask Alexis about it?"
Atticus replied comically behind Jaden's closed door.
" she'll never tell me…. You know that….."
True to his word Jaden kept on searching for clues about the missing students wherever he could find them while juggling Alexis's tutoring sessions, and yes actual tutoring for those with prying eyes as almost a month passed into the new school year with the two in question were focusing on history within the Slifer dorm room.
" hard to believe nothing crazy hasn't happened yet."
Jaden gave Alexis a questioning look.
" do you actually want something crazy to happen?"
Catching where he went with this Alexis responded with.
" no, it's just that the only thing interesting so far happening is a new teacher as tall as a coffee table and a rumor about a new student coming in."
Jaden at that got curious as he asked.
" oh really?, a new student? What's interesting about that?"
Alexis gave a small sigh and a knowing smile as she said.
" turns out this new student is a rising hot shot pro, nothing more really."
Jaden at that gave a pleasant smile of his own.
" whatever happens, we just got to give him a run for his money."
Alexis, feeling competitive at this point argued.
" it could be her you know."
Jaden spoke nonchalantly.
" doubt it, no girl on this island could ever rival you."
Alexis at that grabbed Jaden's pillow as she lightly smacked him on the head.
" ouch… what was that for?"
Sporting a devilish grin Alexis stated.
" for trying to butter me up into cutting this lesson short."
Jaden began laughing.
" trying?, I wasn't trying….. I'm succeeding."
Alexis rolled her eyes at that comment.
" unlikely, now get back to reading before I smack you harder next time."
Smirking Jaden said.
" not likely, you love me too much to hurt me."
At that Alexis pinched Jaden's nose as he comically squirmed.
" don't push it."
Jaden at that point began crying uncle as he returned to his reading while he nursed a sore nose.
" that really hurts you know…."
At that both started to laugh for a bit before eventually hitting pause on studying for the day. The next day afterwards classes carried on as usual which meant that Jaden was physically there but his mind was somewhere else completely, to the credit of Alexis Rhoades she did manage to help him focus and get through with it much easier if he done so himself but that doesn't mean that the hero duelist did a 180 on his passion. As the bell rang for lunch Jaden was the first out of the door as he was followed by Alexis stopping him by the collar of his jacket.
" did you pay attention in class?"
Jaden replied a bit too quickly.
" every word of it."
Finding it hard to believe Alexis shot him a glare daring him to be completely honest.
" well…. Every third word…. maybe fourth even."
Alexis sighed as she internally thought to herself that at least he wasn't a hopeless case when it came to academics before releasing him as she herself went to lunch. On the way there Mindy and Jazz caught up to her.
" wow….. you've really taken the whole boyfriend and girlfriend seriously….."
At this Mindy asked innocently.
" boyfriend and girlfriend? From what I saw it looked more like husband and wife."
Exasperated at her friends antics Alexis decided to set the record straight.
" while at school we're merely friends… outside of school it could be everything we choose it to be okay?"
That answer kept her two friends quiet for a bit as she decided to end the conversation as follows.
" I trust you won't say anything to Atticus?, I don't need his teasing to get worse."
At that the three friends came into agreement as they all got their lunches, seeing that Jaden wasn't there Alexis rightfully guessed that he's chilling somewhere on the school grounds. Taking a cue from him she said goodbye to Jazz and Mindy as she went to the same spot she found him at the end of last year. Finding him there napping in the sun she smirked saying.
" some things never change."
Returning the smirk Jaden replied with.
" not true, I never thought that in a few months or so I'll have a tutor and a girlfriend."
Taking a seat next to him Alexis replied with.
" tutor yes, a girlfriend?, let's see what happens on that."
With that said and done Alexis shared her lunch with Jaden as the Slifer in question happily accepted, causing her to genuinely smile.
" so?, did you have any fun duels recently?"
Jaden smiled genuinely as he stated.
" not yet, unless you'd like to challenge me again."
Smirking, Alexis replied with.
" not right now but you can look forward to that."
At that both of them smirked as they spent the rest of their lunch break together as a teenaged figure wearing a gray business suit that matched his distinct silver hair cleared his throat.
" sorry to interrupt whatever this is but I was wondering you'd help me with something."
Nonchalantly Jaden urged the stranger to continue as Alexis payed attention as well since for some reason he looked familiar.
" I'm looking for a duel, can you point out the best duelists around?"
Both Jaden and Alexis smirked as the hero duelist responded with.
" well you just hit two birds with one stone."
Fin.