True Friends

By Joy McCarthy

Ch.2

After school I met up with my friends at Tina's ice cream parlor.

"So Jasmine, how was your day?" Yo-tan asked as he put his arm around me and kissed me on my cheek.

"It went well, my drama teacher, Mr. Nanoe, says I must have been born on the stage and that I should try out for the female lead role in the fall play." I replied quietly as I snuggled closer to him.

"Mr. Nanoe wants me to do costume designs." Sierra spoke up for the first time.

"He wants me to do set designs, but I don't know…" Steven said unsurely.

"You'll be great. I know it!" Sierra said as she hugged him.

"So what happened to the rest of you guys?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I've been asked to work on the writing staff of the school paper." Kira said happily as she stole a mocha flavored kiss from Aaron.

"I was the one who recommended you to Ryan." Aaron said with a grin.

" That's cool, Ryan's a good guy and you'll work well together." Matt shifted in his seat.

"Hey, why don't we go to the lake?" Jeffery and Omi said at the same time.

"Yeah they're right. Lets go to the lake." Kira said as she stood up.

"Yeah." Yo-tan said standing up and offering me his hand.

"Ok that works for me." I said taking his hand and standing up.

"Shit, we have an online RPG in a half an hour. Later!" Sierra said grabbing Steven's hand and pulling him away. "Bye." Steven shouted from the doorway as she dragged him off to yet another RPG.

"Ok so let's go." Omi said as we left the ice cream shop. We walked down the street, past city hall and into the park. We went by the stables and the set for the fall play. Finally we walked past the Sports field and came to the lake. "So what now?" Mo asked. "Umm…hey Omi you want to go hang out at my house?" Jeffery asked Omi with a sly grin. "Ok later guys." They walked off together.

"I would swear there is something going on with them." Kira said shaking her head.

"Yeah well we'll wait and see what they have in store." Yo-tan said with a slight smile.

That's how my first day ended, the rest of the week passed in much the same way.

Ch.3

At the start of the next week auditions were held for the fall play. I walked into the classroom and sat down at the desk. A couple of minutes later Yo-tan, Omi and I were called up to perform a part of a story I had written. I stood and walked up to the front and waited for them to get up there. We stood there in front of the class, I looked to Mr. Nanoe, He nodded and so I began.

"I am Sundig! You named me this and yet you still expect me to know right from wrong?"

I stood there my arms spread wide as if making myself a target.

"I think not! I was made in death and so death I shall bring to this world! I have no love or loyalty for you, Bradley Crawford. I bring only ill will to you."

Yohji stood there watching me with a cold look and then he spoke.

"This is not about Nagi finding you killing an innocent man with you pain." He gestured toward Omi and stepped closer to me. I let my arms drop to my sides and looked down at the floor.

"THIS" He said in a forceful voice as he grabbed my chin and forced me to look in to his emerald eyes, "Is about you developing a new power and not reporting it to me immediately." Just then my knees buckled and he grabbed my arm with his other hand. " Oh no you don't my little empath, you aren't going to black out on me." He let me slip down to the floor. I knelt there crying. He raised his hand to hit me, but Omi grabbed his wrist.

"No, Brad, let me take care of her." Omi turned to me; I was suddenly pulled up to my feet by some unseen force. Omi raised his hand and I was slammed into a desk. "You lied to my Koi" He moved his hand sideways and I was tossed against a wall. "For that you must pay." He moved his hand down and I dropped to the floor in front of Yohji in a crumpled heap. "Now beg for forgiveness from your great leader." Omi said.

"Please…Crawford-sama…" I cried.

Yohji grabbed my arm and pulled me up to him and said. "You are broken now go to Schuldich, and don't forget this lesson."

We stopped and bowed to the room. Everyone in the room was clapping.

I smiled. "So do we get the parts?" I asked knowing what Mr.Nanoe would say.

"Hate to say this but you three have truly out done yourselves. Yes, you get the parts." He said with a smile.

I walked back to my desk and grabbed my backpack as well as my copy of the script. I walked out of the classroom and then ran down the hall. I ran until I got to my house.

Ch.4

I walked in to my room and tossed my bag on to the bed. I plopped down in my computer chair and logged on to my MSN account. Kira instant messaged me a couple of minutes later.

Gir: Hey, how'd it go?

Fallenangel: I got the part! J

Gir: YAY, we're all goanna die! How bout Omi and Yo-tan?

Fallenangel: Yeah they got the parts.

Gir: Oh no! 0_0 that'll be hard for Yo-tan. Hey you mind if Omi and Yo-tan join the convo?

Fallenangel: No go with it. :-P

Bombay has been added to the Conversation.

Bombay: Hey all!

Pimpness has been added to the conversation.

Pimpness: Hey Ho's!

Gir: I ant your ho, Yous my bitch, Boy!

Fallenangel: Heyness Pimpy. Omi you want to come over tomorrow and work on our lines for the play? Yo-tan you can come too.

Gir: Me too, can I come? L

Bombay: Yeah lets all come over!

Pimpness: that works for me.

Gir: Jasmine what do you think?

Fallenangel: yeah lets get every body over and we can have one of our fun mini raves.

Gir: WOOT!

Raverboy has been added to the conversation.

Raverboy: Hey Mini Rave at Jas's house tomorrow right?

Fallenangel: Aron are you Psychic or something?

Gir: Nop he's Psycho!

Hottopic has been added to the conversation.

Hottopic: Hey Rave at your house Right Jas? I'll go tell Mo.

Fallenangel: Ok tell every body I g2g, food. Bye.

I logged off and went down stairs and made my self some Top Ramin, Dad wasn't home again so I left him a note asking him if I could have some friends over after school the next day, I knew what he would say that's why I had said yes to them. I walked back up to my room and sat down on my bed to read.

I sat up and stretched, my book, 'The Two Towers', fell off my chest. I looked over at the alarm clock, 3:00 a.m. I must have fallen asleep reading, but the light was off. 'Oh Dad must have come home and seen my light on and come in to turn it off.' I looked around. My blacks out curtains were open and I could see the stars glowing faintly in the sky outside. Then I looked up at my ceiling where I had tried to make the same affect with little glow in the dark stickers. All around the walls of my room little Icicle X-mass lights hung. I noted that my surround sound Stereo was playing The Nutcracker Sweet softly. I stood up and walked to my desk. There was a note from my dad saying that I could have my friends over and that he wouldn't be home tells late. I read it and sat down. I checked my e-mail. Nothing new. I pulled up a paper that was due today. It was done. I shut down the computer. I stood and then pulled off the clothing I had been weaning all day and put on my PJ's. 'Maybe I can get a couple more hours of sleep.' I thought to my self as I lay back down on my bed and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up that morning and jumped in to the shower. When I got out I Grabbed my baggie blue bondage pants and pulled them on. Then I started to dig through my dresser; finally I found my red Rainbow Bright t-shirt and pulled it on. I took my red-brown hair and put it in to a braid that went down to my butt. I then found my favorite pair of tennies and turned to give my self the once over in the mirror. Those same blue-gray eyes stared back at me. 'I understand why dad doesn't like to look me in the eye I have my mothers eyes. My Dad hasn't looked me in the eye since she had died last June.' I shook my head and grabbed my backpack and I was out the door and headed to Kira's house, she lives just on the other end of the block. I knocked on the door to her house. Her mom answered, "Oh Jasmine, She's eating, please come in and eat with us." She pushed me in and shut the door behind me; she had been trying to help be a substitute mom for me.

"Ok I'll eat with you," I said with a smile. She sat me down with a bowl of Oatmeal. I smiled at her and started to eat. Kira looked up and noticed me. "Hey your house after school right?" She asked with this look of this is way to early to be up on her face. "Yeah dad said yes." I looked at her outfit. She had her dishwater blond hair up in a bun, held up by a pair of hand carved Dragon chopsticks that had a beautiful inlay on them. She had on the 'don't Stereo type me' tank top I had gotten her for her birthday; it went well with the plaid bellbottoms. " Nice outfit." I said as we walked out the door.

Ch 5

I ran home from school that after noon. When I got to my room I started throwing things into my closet. I stopped to pull out my CD collection and my stash of glow sticks. Finally I ran down stairs to get the snacks ready, I was half done when I heard the doorbell ring. I ran out of the kitchen, skidded along the front hall and stopped at the front door I looked at my self in the mirror, those blue-gray eyes looked back at me. I opened the door.

"Hey, come in, Aaron go DJ. Kira can you help me in the kitchen." I said as I walked back to the kitchen. Kira followed me and we got together the last food and sodas. We took it all up to my room where Aaron had put on some of my techno and Jeffery, Matt, Monica, Sierra and Steven were dancing. I sat down with Omi and Yohji and we practiced our lines. Finally I couldn't take not dancing anymore. I stood and let my body began to move. I succumbed to the rhythm and the beat. I moved into the center of the room, as the others moved to sit down on the bed or the beanbags and chairs. They watched me dance, Omi and Yohji were mesmerized by the way my hips moved. Then suddenly the song ended and I stopped with it, the room exploded with applauses. " Jasmine we didn't know that you could do that." Yohji and Omi said stared at me wide eyed. Jeffery sat there smiling because he had shown me how to dance like that. "I didn't know I could do that either. I just let the beet take control." I said smiling at Jeffery. "You boys want to dance?" I said in my best sexy voice with a seductive grin. Yohji got up and grabbed me around the waist. He pulled me close to him and slowly moved his face close to mine until finally our lips met.

The kiss was soft and slow and was serenaded by the woops of our friends. It felt like I was melting in his arms. When we finally separated every one had gathered around Jeffery and I saw them exchanging money.

"I honestly thought that he'd wait tell they got married." Matt said to every one else.

"You guys were betting on when we would kiss?" I asked them in a shocked tone of voice. Then we all left and they gave me the money. We sat around and danced and worked on our lines tell ten that night when I sent them all home to sleep.

Ch.6

The next Wednesday I walked out of the Practice hall at the back of Muir. I ran across the empty field and in the back doors of Garfield. I walked to my locker and was pulling out my history notebook when some one taped me on the shoulder. I turned to see a tall guy with his hair gelled back in to place. He smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Hey Agy, heading over to the gathering office at the Faith center?" I asked turning to shut my locker. I turned back to him. "Yeah, you want to come?" He asked in his soft voice. He looked in to my eyes with worry as he always did. "Jasmine are you eating and sleeping at all?" he asked in the same voice he asked with every week. As always I pulled away and smiled at him. "I'm ok. Lets get going, I was headed there anyway."

We walked down the front steps of the school. We went past the elementary and across the street and into the center. We turned and walked up the stars.

"I'll race you to the room?" I said. "You're on." we ran down the hall. Suddenly I was lying sprawled on the floor. I looked up and saw a pair of nice up shoes then continuing my upward look I saw a pair of blue jeans and then a button up shirt. Finely I saw a smiling face a adjusting the glasses.

"You should watch where you're going, Jasmine." Tom said with a Laugh.

"Hey you know that putting brick walls is againts the rules, Agy." I said as I stood up with help of Tom and adjusted my glasses too. We all laughed at what I had said and walked the rest of the way. " Tom why are you here really I thought that the core team didn't need to be here until later?" I said quietly.

"It's because I am well…here because Bob needed my help." He said looking at me with worry in his eyes. "Jas stop asking so many questions." Agy said with a smile.