My name Is Jesse, not Johan

Chapter Nine

By KellyQ

Jaden looked at a ring in his hand. He couldn't wait to see Johan and give her the ring. He had spent way too long without seeing his precious. He smiled when Jesse walked in. "Hi, Jesse. What happened to you yesterday?"

"I spent the whole day trying to find out where Johan is," Jesse answered.

Jaden looked a little hopeful. "You did?" his expression softened. "I appreciate that you're taking the time to help me. Like I said, I tried looking myself but failed."

"Don't mention it. You have a nice smile; I want to see it more often. I was also thinking of having you live with me."

Jaden blushed a little and stared at him for a moment. "Really? I mean. If that's okay with your parents."

Jesse chuckled. "They won't mind at all. I need to see if I can get you out of here."

Jaden sighed in relief. He didn't like living here. Everyone wasn't all that friendly, and he wanted to be with his Johan. "Jesse? Do … do you think Johan left me because I'm a little naive?"

Jesse bit his lip.

Pegasus smiled, knowing that something had happened between the two boys. "I'm sure with whatever decision you make, things will turn out just fine."

Jesse couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Pegasus. You've been helpful."

The butler nodded and walked out. Jesse stared at the file and bit his lip, feeling a knot in his stomach. Jesse opened the file, and the first thing he saw was a picture of Johan right after the fight with Yubel. She was covered in blood, some of her hair was cut off, and a knife wound went along her chest. Jesse winced after looking at the picture.They must've had a hell of a fight!He thought. Jesse pushed the picture aside and started to read about what happened to Johan. The young woman was about seventeen before she died. She was diagnosed with insomnia at the age of ten. She was kicked out of the house by the age of thirteen before her parents were killed in a fire.That means she was homeless,Jesse thought.

"Jesse," Jaden called softly, wanting to reach out and run his hand through Jesse's soft hair. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I was thinking about what you have told me about Johan," Jesse said, sitting next to Jaden.

"I can't wait to see her," Jadend murmured and smiled. "I was planning on asking her to marry me before that happened. It did screw everything up that Yubel did. She tried every which way to make my life hell because I didn't love her the way she loved me. I just wanted to be her friend, not her lover."

Jesse nodded his head. "Sounds like she didn't care about how you felt."

Jaden couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm used to it by now," he shrugged. Jesse started at him. Jaden smiled. When you have problems like I do," he continued to explain, pointing to the side of his head. You intend to let it go."

"I better see if I can get you out of here."

Jesse walked up to the front desk and saw Zane standing there. They both stared at each other momentarily until Jesse broke the silence. "I wanted to know if Jaden Yuki can be released."

"What makes you think you can do any better than Johan did?" Zane finally spoke up.

Jesse closed his eyes, sighing, trying to calm his nerves. "I want to help Jaden heal."

Zane snickered. "I'm sure, but Jaden is too far out there to know what fantasy and reality are."

Anger flashed across Jesse's eyes. "Jaden can't help the way he feels about things! Give him credit for trying to think positively!"

Zane's eyes shifted to the left to see Jaden watching them from where he stood. A lot of emotion could be seen on Jaden's face. "If you think that strongly," he said, looking back at Jesse. "Then there's no reason to stop you."

The tension in Jesse's body dropped as Zane handed him a form to fill out. After reviewing the information, Jesse saw that Zane was gone. He turned to see Jaden standing there with a lot of emotion in his eyes.

"Jaden, are you alright?" Jesse asked. After seeing Jaden's expression, Jesse went up and hugged the depressed teen. "Talk to me, Jay!"

"Why does everyone hate Johan?" Jaden finally asked in a timid voice.

"You two were happy, and some people get jealous," Jesse answered.

Jaden blinked. That makes sense, he thought. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there. I probably would've let Hoau beat the shit out of Zane for talking about Johan like that."

"Don't worry too much about it. Things will get better over time. Right now, I have to fill out the form so you don't have to live here anymore."

Jaden couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of one of his friends. "Chazz will be jealous when he finds out I get to leave."

"Chazz?Who's that?"

"He likes to be referred to asTheChazz," Jaden explained, identifying Chazz's name in air quotes. "I don't know that much about him aside from having mental problems and a habit of cutting himself." Jaden shivered at the memory. "I found him one time in the bathroom lying in a pool of his blood. It was horrifying."

"That's good you saved him," Jesse smiled. "You took responsibility and saved a life, and that's not easy."

"I try," Jaden muttered darkly. "Considering that people had told me I'm selfish and don't know how to care for myself." Jesse could see the pain in Jaden's eyes. "Sometimes I felt like I was a burden to Johan when I messed up."

Jesse smiled sadly and pulled Jaden into a comforting embrace. "She loved you, Jaden, and that's all that mattered."

To Continued ...