My Name is Jesse Not Johan

Chapter Two

By KellyQ

Syrus walked into Jaden's room to see his friend brushing his hair. Jaden wore a black shirt and white pants, and his red jacket was hanging on the chair.

"What do you think?" Jaden finally asked. He turned around and smiled at his friend.

"Uhh ... you look fine," Syrus said, slightly confused.

"Good." Jaden grabbed his coat and noticed a tear at the seam. "Oh ... great. What will Johan think when she finds out I tore the coat?"

Syrus looked a little worried. "Jaden, are you alright?"

Jaden flinched and froze for a moment. Thinking up something quickly, Jaden smiled. "I'm fine, Sy. You know me - I always try to look my best."

"Yeah. But you just said Jo-"

"Why don't you see if Alexis has a needle and thread." With that, Jaden pushed his friend out the door and closed it. "That was close. I thought for sure he was going to ask questions. I don't want them to know yet that I found her."

It didn't take long before there was a knock at Jaden's door. Jaden opened the door to see that it was Syrus with the needle and thread.

"Jaden, are you sure you're alright?" The more petite teen asked.

"Sure am ..."

Syrus sighed. The way that Jaden kept sidestepping the question, Syrus knew he wouldn't get any answers. The more diminutive teen looked at his watch and noticed he was running late to get home.

"Shoot! I'm late!"

Jaden blinked a few times in surprise when Syrus handed him the sewing kit and ran out the door.

Jesse walked into Jaden's room just as Jaden pricked himself with the sewing needle. Jesse reached out just in time to stop Jaden from putting the bleeding finger into his mouth.

"You shouldn't do that." With that, Jesse led Jaden to the bathroom and started the water. "Why don't you care for that wound while I sew the coat?"

Jaden smiled. "Thanks, Johan."

Jesse smiled and walked back into the room to start sewing. A moment later, Jaden entered the room and saw Jesse sitting on the bed, working away. Jaden crawled onto the bed and lay next to Jesse.

"Did you cut your hair?" Jaden finally asked. He reached out and played with one of the strands of hair that curved around Jesse's cheekbone. "I like your hair short. It makes you look more attractive."

Jesse blushed a little. "Thanks. I guess."

Jaden's expression softened as he put his hand under Jesse's chin and moved the teen's head so they could stare at each other. Jaden leaned in and gently pushed the coat to the side.Just let him do it,Jesse thought as Jaden pulled him close to lie on the bed.

"J-Jaden ...?" Jesse uttered.

"Shh. Just let me hold you."

Jesse sighed. He didn't mind being held; he just wanted to know about thisJohanperson. Jesse could tell that Jaden was still traumatized from whatever had happened to her.

"What's going on, mate?" came an Australian voice from the doorway.

Jaden was the first to pull away and turned to see that it was Johan's cousin, Jim. The Australian teen looked shocked when he saw Jesse. Jaden got off the bed and darted to the door. It didn't take long before Jim gave Jesse a skeptical look before returning his attention to Jaden. "Who is that, mate?" he asked suspiciously.

Jaden was a little taken aback. "Don't you recognize your own cousin, Jim?"

Jesse could feel the tension in the air, and he didn't like it. "Maybe I should leave, " he said, getting up and leaving the room.

"Johan, wait!" Jaden called out desperately.

Jaden reached out, but Jim took hold of the teen's wrist and shook his head as if saying:don't even think about going after him. "I'll talk toJohan," Jim said. "And get some rest. You look like awreck."

At first, Jaden was slightly perplexed, but he looked away, knowing his friend was right. Jim looked at the depressed teen, who just slumped to the floor before the Australian teen walked out.Johan, what happened to you?Jaden thought.

Jesse had just exited the hospital when he heard the familiar Australian accent. He turned to face the teen and was slapped hard across the face.

"I don't know who you are, mate - but I don't take kindly to people who play sick games with my friends!"

"I'm not," Jesse frowned, rubbing his cheek. "I just happen to look like thisJohan person Jaden keeps calling me ..."

"You do look like her," Jim pointed out, calming down. "How come you're here?"

Jesse thought for a moment. "How about we have some coffee and talk things over?"

"Sounds good to me, mate," the Australian teen smiled. "I'm Jim."

Jesse nodded his head and relaxed. "Jesse."

The two walked into a coffee shop and ordered iced chocolate milk. They looked around and found a spot to sit by the window. Jim was the first to sit down and waited for Jesse to continue their talk when he sat down next.

"Do I look like Johan?" Jesse finally asked.

Jim nodded his head. "Yep ... she was my cousin," the Australian teen stated. "The two of us did a lot of things together. I became good friends with Jaden when he moved next door to us. I was ten, and Jaden and Johan were nine. The three of us played all the time. It wasn't long until Jaden started to take a likingto Johan ..."

Jesse nodded his head. "Do you have any pictures of her?"

Jim pulled out his wallet and flipped the cards until he got to the very end. He rotated his wallet and pushed it to Jesse. Jesse stared down at the picture. "See what I mean, mate?"

"Yeah ..." Jesse breathed. He pushed Jim's wallet back. "What happened?"

Jim's expression darkened. "AvixennamedYubelfrom two houses down killed her ..."

To Be Continued ...