My Name is Jesse, not Johan

Prologue

By KellyQ

Jesse stared at his watch and then at the building before him. It was a mental hospital where he wanted to volunteer. The place looked like any other hospital: an impersonal building. Jesse took a breath to calm his nerves and decided to walk in.

He looked around to see that the receptionist wasn't sitting at the desk. Jesse waited for a moment; then, he decided to look around. With that in mind, Jesse walked down the hallway. He paused momentarily when he felt something deep inside himself – like something was calling out. Jesse walked further down the hallway and stopped at a dark room. Jesse could only see a figure lying in a bed with a towel over his eyes.

"Johan ..." came a soft, weak voice from the bed.

Jesse stepped in when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to see that it was the nurse.

"May I help you?" She asked kindly.

"Uh ... yeah. I was the one who called about volunteering ..."

The nurse blinked for a moment and smiled. "Oh yes. I remember now. My name is Alexis. Follow me."

Jesse nodded his head and walked back to the front desk. He was handed a clipboard and pen. Jesse filled out the volunteering information form and handed it back. The nurse looked at the information, and her eyes widened.

"What? Is there something wrong?" Jeese asked with confusion.

"Y-you wouldn't happen to be related to Johan Anderson by any chance?"

Jesse frowned. "No."

The nurse's face fell. "That's a pity. Anyways. Let me show you around."

Chapter one

Jaden lay there, letting the damp towel help with the migraine. He was about to fall asleep when he felt a strong presence enter his room. Jaden shifted a little under the person's watch, feeling an aura he hadn't felt sinceshedied.

"Johan..." he murmured in a weak voice.

Why can't I stop thinking about you? Why did you ...

"Jaden ..." a soft voice called out.

Jaden removed the cloth from his eyes to see that it was his best friend, Syrus. Syrus has been Jaden's old friend for a while. Since Syrus held out a cup of tea, Jaden smiled slightly and sat up. Syrus smiled as well and handed the cup to his friend.

"How's the headache?" Syrus asked.

"I'm fine. But have you seen anyone in the hallway?" Jaden questioned.

Syrus frown. "No. Why? Is something going on?"

Jaden looked down with a distant look in his eyes. "It's nothing. I just had a feeling that someone is here for me."

Syrus looked sympathetically at his friend. He reached out and clutched Jaden's hand, giving Jaden a reassuring look.I wish there were something I could do ... Syrus looked at his watch to see that he had to leave. "I'm going to have to leave now, Jay." Sryus smiled again and walked to the door. Syrus turned and smiled at his friend before walking out.

Jaden looked down at his cup of tea, his reflection staring back at him. The ripples glided along the surface of the hot tea as Jaden's reflection started to change. It looked like him, with dark, bushy green hair and emerald green eyes. After the image sip of tea faded, he nearly choked on its strength.

"Man, you had to make the way Johan made it."

After he regained his coughing, Jaden placed the cup on the bedside table and snuggled into the bed sheets, taking in the aroma of the hot tea. It wasn't long before he drifted into a dream-like state and saw his girlfriend in his mind's eye.

Johan's kind and welcoming expression was staring straight at Jaden, and Jaden wanted to reach out and touch her.

Jaden slowly opened his eyes, feeling tears coming down his face. "Johan ... I'm so sorry ..."

Jesse leaned against the wall near the room, hearing the depressed teen. He felt a pang for the young man and wanted to help.

"There you are." Nurse Alexis said, walking up. "Are you sure you're not related to Johan?"

All Jesse did was shake his head and look back inside the room. The nurse watched with a frown.She thought this was the second time I found him standing outside Jaden's door.I wonder ...

"Jesse, would you like to meet Jaden?" the nurse asked.

Jaden rolled on the other side of the bed when he heard familiar footsteps enter the room. He followed another set of footsteps—one he didn't recognize. "I'll take my meds in a little bit ..." Jaden grumbled and then froze when he felt the same presence in the room again.

The nurse flicked on the light. Jaden rolled to his other side, and his eyes widened when he sawJohan -his koi - or so he thought. Jaden slowly got out of bed and walked up to Jesse, reaching to touch his face. The nurse watched her Patients closely. Jaden's lifeless eyes showed joy when he felt Jesse's skin was warm instead of ice cold.

Jesse's eyes shifted to the nurse, and she understood the look:just let me handle this. Maybe I can help.She turned and walked out, closing the door behind her. She walked down the hallway and sat down at the front desk. It wasn't long before Jesse walked out with Jaden trailing behind him.

"Alexis, why didn't you tell me that Johan was here?" Jaden asked abruptly.

She looked up to see that Jaden was standing there. "Jaden, you know better than to leave your room."

"Yeah. But you didn't say thatJohanwas here. You know I've been waiting for her to come find me ..."

Jesse winced inwardly after figuring out what was going on.So, Johan was Jaden's girlfriend. I wonder what happened?

"Johan ...?" Jaden called out, snapping Jesse out of his thoughts; he reached out and ran his fingers through Jesse's hair. "I'm glad you came back."

To Be Continued ...