Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:25:57 -0800 From: Amethyst Rose Subject: Diana Celes Chapter 2 This story is fiction. This story will also involve sexual and intimate relationships between two (or more) males, and if this offends you or it is illegal for you to be reading, then please leave. If you are under the age of consent for your community, please leave. And if it does offend you, I honestly don't know why you're even here in the first place. Really, though. It's perplexing. Dee wasn't sure how to spend the rest of the lunch period. Unfortunately, it was to be decided for him. One of the three people who was watching him tapped him on the shoulder. Dee turned around; and was gripped by his shirt several feet in the air. Dee kicked his feet, and tried throwing his books at his attacker; it didn't do much unfortunately, except damage his already abused books. He felt himself being thrown onto the ground, his head bumped again in the same place. "Ow! Dammit!" He grunted with some effort, trying to get up again. The other guy kneed him; Dee, still on the ground, dodged with a little bit of success. He still felt his lip get hit however, and realized it was bleeding. A second blow was directed to his gut, and Dee successfully blocked it with his arm. However, that didn't stop his arms from being shoved into his stomach and possibly hurting more than his attacker's actual foot. He cringed, and felt his backpack being taken off of him. He looked in the corner of his eye; the guy was rummaging through his stuff. Dee saw all his homework and classwork thrown in front of him, followed by his empty lunch pail and his back-up glasses (for in the case a contact lens fell out). He got to the candy his mom packed for him; he ripped it open and started eating them as he looked through the rest of his backpack. Dee began to cry a little, from the pain. *Damn... I thought this would stop. I wish... I wish that Jake guy was here* "Hey!" Dee suddenly thought of that one saying: "Ask and you shall receive." Jake had run up to where his attacker was. "What do you think you're doing?!" The assaulter, perhaps in panic, dropped Dee's back pack. "I- I, I didn't know!" He didn't have to throw a punch. Almost as fast as it had happened, he shot away in the other direction. A shadow loomed over Dee; he finally got to opening his eyes. Jake was kneeled over him, a look of concern on his face. Dee shakily got up, and Jake propped his back up. He smiled, and ruffled his hair. "Didn't I tell you to go to me if someone bullied you?" Dee squinted with some pain, from his head and gut. He put a finger to his lip, and saw some blood. "Man... I've been tossed around all day today." Jake began picking up the papers, straightening them out. He took Dee's backpack and put them back. He fumbled further, finding a pen and his glasses case. "Sorry, Dee. About all this. I'm sure it's not exactly what you were expecting." "I'll say. Ow!" He barely touched the back of his head, which was now quite swollen and tender. Jake got his lunch pail, and stuffed it in his backpack as well. He offered it back to him. "Thanks, Jake. And thanks for saving me too." "Don't worry. It's just an adjusting period." he shook his head. "Besides, I'll be sure that guy won't bother you anymore." Jake motioned to his backpack. "Is everything in there?" Dee, now cross-legged on the ground, searched his bag. He laughed a little, stopping because of his busted lip. "Yeah. My homework's a little dirty though. Oh... and he ate my candy." Jake, standing up, grabbed Dee's shoulders and pulled him to his feet. Their eyes met for a little bit, and Jake just smiled. He picked up Dee's books. "I'll carry these for you. Do you know where your next class is?" "Yeah." He nodded. "But I'd like the company." They slowly made their way to the north M building, to his Spanish class. "Are you feeling okay?" Jake put his face in front of his, and they stopped momentarily. "I didn't really ask how bad he hurt you." "Err... my lip, my stomach... my head." Dee saw Jake look concerned again. "It's okay though. I've had worse." Jake reached in his back pocket, and took out a clean tissue. He bent down and leaned in, and gently wiped the blood off of Dee's lip. Dee blushed a little, and Jake laughed. "Sorry." Dee smiled, but stopped remembering that his lip still hurt. "Thanks." They entered the building, and stopped in front of his classroom. "Um, well... here's my Spanish class." "Hey, Dee." Dee stopped, just about to enter the class. Jake looked earnest, and it seemed like he was about to say something, but decided not to. "...Never mind. I'll see you later." He waved, and exited, flashing one last grin to him. Dee was giving a big smile in his head, as he sat down in the front of the Spanish class. It hit him: Jake still had his books. Dee ran out the door and looked down the hall. He was gone. * * * "I need those books, though!" Allegra, sitting on the bench in the shade, was nowhere near from being amused. "...And I've known you for how long? I didn't think you'd start complaining about shit already." Dee scowled. "Allegra, this is serious. He has my calc book and my english book. Mr. Conway told us that if we didn't bring our book every day, our entire grade would be lowered." She sighed. "What's his name, anyway?" "Jake." Her eyes widened, but she calmed down, clearing her throat. "Um... what's he look like, exactly?" "Tall, big. Spikey blonde-ish hair, blue eyes." "Was he wearing a shirt that says `I lost my number, can I have yours?' written on it?" Dee raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?" Allegra nearly gasped. "Oh shit! It is! Jacob Gregory!" Dee gave a rather befuddled "huh?" look. "Jake Gregory is the hottest thing on campus right now. You know how those three assholes are second-tier `popular?' He is above first-tier. He's the school's track star, gold-medalist swimmer, full honors, and a renowned tutor. He is...the trend-setter, the chart-topper, the-" she fumbled for more. "-the creme de la creme Cinder High has to offer!" "Wow... he even makes *you* ramble." "Exactly my point." she shook her head. "I can't believe... you've only been here for two days, and you've already talked to him twice. *And* he defended you from a bully. You know, people are lucky if he says `hi' to them." "Why's he so cool anyway? He seemed pretty normal to me." Allegra gave him a rather menacing look. "Oh, come on. You know how social hierarchies work. Tall, hot, smart, athletic... and certain people just have that aura of confidence and total domination. What can I say? He's been blessed." Dee sighed. "You know... If that's the case, maybe he was just messing with me. Saw the new kid, wanted to play a prank, steal my books..." he swung his backpack around, and unzipped it open. He reached around for a pen. "I'll start writing my requests for some new books. I-I mean, just in case. Aha!" He found his pen, and was surprised to find it uncapped. "Huh? I know I capped it after Calculus..." He felt around for the cap, and instead found his glasses case, with a slip of paper sticking out. He opened the case, and found the cap there, along with the piece of paper with something written on it. Dee took it out. "What's... this?" it was written with his pen, not in his handwriting. Allegra stood up, grabbing the paper, scanning it and handing it back. "WOW. That's his address." she rather conspicuously cleared her throat. "You need to get those books back. In fact, you should go to his house, and get them personally." Dee looked surprised. "Really?" "Yes! Those books are important after all! And he gave you that address for a reason." Dee slowly nodded. Allegra pushed him on. "Well, go! Go now! School ended ten minutes ago." Dee walked off, towards the street. He heard Allegra shouting behind him. "And tell me how it goes! I wanna see what it's like to be a gossip whore!" she yelled. Dee turned around and waved goodbye. Dee normally walked home from school, since his mom worked dayshift. It seemed that Jake didn't live that far away; only about five blocks or so. His house was in the real nice part of the neighborhood. Houses here had three stories, big backyards with swimming pools- the whole package. He reached Jake's house at about 3:30. It was bright blue, just as big as the other houses, with an expensive-looking truck parked in the driveway. He walked up to the door, and rang the doorbell. It was a very majestic sort of electronic bell, and Dee found it pleasant. It reverberated in the house for a second. The door opened; a lovely, petite woman with a green blouse, dark brown hair, and a thin silver chain around her neck answered. "Yes?" Dee was a little nervous. "Um... Mrs. Gregory?" She opened the door further, putting one hand on her hip. "Yes, that's me." He fidgeted under her gaze. "Sorry. I'm looking for Jake. Is he there?" Dee heard someone descending the stairs. Mrs. Gregory opened the door further, and Jake peered out from the bottom of the stairs, smiling. "Jake, do you know him?" Jake walked up to the door. "Yeah, mom. He's a friend of mine." He squeezed next to her, and grabbed Dee's arm, gently taking him inside. "Come on in, Dee. Just take off your shoes and get comfortable." Dee stepped into the house; all this floor was wooden, and he was afraid to dirty it. He hurriedly slipped off his shoes so it was his socks against the wood. Mrs. Gregory smiled and closed the door. "Does your friend want something to eat?" Dee shook his head. "Thanks, Mrs. Gregory. But I'm okay." he said. She acknowledged his decision, and walked upstairs. Jake nudged him. "I have your books. Sorry, I didn't realize that I still had them until the next class." he told him. Dee laughed to himself, relieved. "It's okay. You have a really nice house, Jake..." "Yeah." He took Dee to their recreation room, and they sat down next to each other on the couch. "Are you comfortable?" Dee nodded, content with the very fluffy couch. "Good. You had a really tough day, Dee." "Thanks for helping me out though. Really, you did so much for me already. I hope I don't seem needy." Jake shook his head. "Nah, not at all." He turned on the TV, and the two of them started watching a movie. It was a horrible sci-fi channel original, and they got a lot of enjoyment from making fun of the bad acting and special effects. During a commercial break, Dee turned to talk to Jake. "Hey, Jake." "Yeah?" "I just found out today that you're... really popular at school." "Aww... you'll make me blush." Dee chuckled. "I guess so, yeah. What's your point?" Dee looked down at his feet. "What I'm saying is... if you're so popular, why hang out with me? Why are you helping me? Isn't it almost like- like slumming or something?" Jake gave a serious sort of frown. "I don't think of being with you as slumming." Dee pressed his lips together. "Jake, I'm really glad we met, since you know, you're a really cool person and you helped me out so much... But I don't want it to seem like I'm pulling you down, or-or taking you away from something bigger and better or something." Jake fidgeted to better face Dee. "Besides. My past experiences kinda point towards people wanting to be my friends so they could copy my tests. I don't know. Anyway, I guess the main question is why you're hanging out with me." Jake put a hand on his shoulder, and grabbed it firmly. Dee swayed a little as he shook him softly. "Okay. I'm going to be serious with you, Dee. Popularity, brains, has no factor in this. We met, I think you're cool. I'd like for us to be friends. Nothing to it." Jake stated. To be honest, Dee wasn't sure how he felt about what Jake said. `Nothing to it...' That flew through his mind, and it seemed rather fleeting to be the substantial basis of anything, really. Still, he smiled. "...Thanks." He glanced at his watch. "Um, my mom's probably home by now. I have to get going." he said. They walked out to the front again, and Dee slipped on his shoes; still thinking about what he said. Jake grabbed his arm. "Wait, dude. Don't forget your books." He procured them from a nearby cubby, and gave them to Dee's arms. Dee nodded. "I don't think I can say `thanks' enough." "It's no problem, Dee. Seriously." He waved his hand, and Dee gave a soft chuckle as he walked out the door. At the curb, Dee gave a final goodbye, and walked in the direction of his house. Jake leaned in the doorway for a little bit, still in his socks. He gave a sad sort of sigh. Mrs. Gregory shouted down the stairs. "Jake? Your step-dad's coming back in a couple of weeks." "Alright!" He closed the door, sulking back to the rec room. * * * Hello to you, with chapter two... Anyway, hope everyone's doing fine. Not much to say, really, haha. Lots of character development, such. :) Questions? Comments? Recommendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail, maybe? Wanna just chat? Email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to hear from you! If you like Diana Celes, maybe there's the very vague possibility you'll like other stories I've submitted: Charmed Reborn, Final Fantasy Rosa, Pokemon: Amethyst, Teth, and Hallow. (...although not all of these are submitted at this time :P)