Hey everyone! Glad you liked the last chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Seriously, does it look like I own YuGiOh GX? I don’t people! If I did, this would be a freaking MANGA series!

Claimer: Seasons of Love, all of the seasons within it, and all of its original characters are exclusive property of Anime-Queen-2011. Copiers will be prosecuted to the highest extent of the law. JUST KIDDING! About the law thing, but seriously, it’s mine. Get your own thing people!

xXx

Jaden’s POV

“Explain it to me again how you get lost dropping off your own family and friends back at their houses, which you should have memorized by heart?” Claire demanded when we walked into my house. I rolled my eyes and stripped off my flame red winter blazer. I hung it on the hook near the door where we hung all of our winter coats. I ran my fingers through my hair, scattering the snow that clung to it.

“It’s only snowing like a banshee out there,” I said. Claire rolled her eyes and toed off her boots.

“That’s a lame excuse,” she said. Jesse chuckled and hung his coat up next to mine. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Calm down, Jay,” Alexis said, taking my hand. Her hand was warmer than mine. I smiled at her. Claire looked at us, rolled her eyes, and waved her hands in a dismissing manner.

“Yeah, yeah, throw him in the snow if he doesn’t, Alexis,” Claire said as she walked away. I narrowed my eyes at her and followed after her, pulling Alexis with me.

“Where are you going?” I demanded, eyeing Claire as she climbed the stairs. She stopped and looked back at me. Her hand rested on the banister next to her.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she answered. She didn’t wait for me to say anything as she headed to the bathroom. Just as she closed the door, Mom and Dad walked out of their room.

“Ahh, I was wondering when you guys were coming back,” Mom said as she and Dad came down the stairs. I raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked up at the clock. It was a quarter to midnight.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize it was that late,” I apologized. Mom smiled at me and kissed me lightly on the forehead.

“Its fine, you can handle yourself,” she said. I nodded. Dad looked at me from the stool he sat down on.

“Though it would have been nice if you at least called Mike. I almost ran down and killed him with his insistent calling inquiring to where his ‘little girl’ was,” he said. Alexis and I laughed. Dad rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee. Mom looked at him.

“Should you really be drinking coffee at this hour?” she demanded. Dad smiled at her.

“No, but I am anyway,” he said. Mom rolled her eyes. Dad smiled at her before looking at me. The rim of his mug was pressed lightly to his lips. He held his mug firmly between both hands. “Where’s Claire?” Jesse looked at Dad. His arms were folded across his chest and he was leaning against the counter with his left leg propped up behind his right.

“She’s taking a shower,” he answered. Dad nodded.

“What did you guys do tonight?” Mom asked. Alexis smiled at her.

“We went to a karaoke club,” she answered. Dad and Mom both raised their eyebrows before looking at me curiously. I shook my head and dropped Alexis’ hand.

“I was dragged into it,” I said. They laughed at me.

“Well, since Claire is taking a shower, why don’t you take one, too, Alexis? You can use mine and Chris’ bathroom,” Mom offered.

“What about Jesse and Jaden?” Alexis asked. Jesse smiled at her.

“I prefer to take showers in the morning,” he explained.

“So do I,” I said. Alexis nodded. Mom lead her upstairs to the show her the bathroom. Dad smiled a me. He slid his coffee mug over so it would be right next to the sink.

“So, a karaoke club huh?” he questioned. I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, like I said, I was dragged into it,” I said. Jesse looked at me.

“But you weren’t dragged into singing twice and playing guitar, if I recall correctly that is,” he said. Dad looked at me in shock.

“Singing and playing guitar? My goodness, what have you done with my son?” h teased. I rolled my eyes again.

“I’m laughing on the inside,” I responded. Dad just grinned at me. He probably would have said more if Mia didn’t scream for him. Dad sighed.

“That would be me,” he said. “I’ll see you boys in the morning. Night.” With that, Dad stood up and walked upstairs. When he was gone, I looked at Jesse. He was now leaning his back on the counter.

“Hey, Jess?” I called. Said person looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Yeah, Jay?” he asked.

“Can we talk, in private?” I asked.

“Sure,” Jesse said slowly, a wary expression on his face. He took a step away from the counter. I smiled at him and began to head upstairs. I heard him following me. When I reached the stair platform, I could hear water running from both directions.

“This way,” I said, turning left and away from my room.

“Isn’t your room the other way?” Jesse asked.

“Yup, but I said some place private,” I responded. I stopped in front of a door. Jesse stopped next to me.

“And your room isn’t private?” he asked. I shrugged.

“Not really.” I opened the door. A metal bar was braced between the two walls. A few summer clothes hung from hangers but other than that, the closet was empty.

“We’re going to talk in a closet?” Jesse asked.

“Nope, we’re talking above it,” I answered. I turned to look at Jesse. He was giving me a look that questioned my sanity.

Instead of saying anything, I turned and gripped the metal bar firmly. Making sure it wouldn’t fall out, I pulled myself up. Keeping my dominant hand firmly on the bar, I raised my other hand and pushed back the large tile above the closet.

“Be careful!” Jesse hissed.

“Relax, I know what I’m doing,” I said, pushing the tile completely out of the way.

“I doubt that greatly,” Jesse said. I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see. Tightening my grip on the bar, I fumbled in the ceiling of the closet. My fingers brushed some braided rope.

Without a word, I pulled the rope out of the hole. A rope ladder fell down behind me, the wooden steps clacking my head. I dropped down and turned around. Jesse looked both shocked and confused. I just grabbed the ladder and began to climb.

“Come on, Jess,” I called, looking down at him. Jesse shook his head and began climbing after me. When I reached the top of the ladder, I pulled myself in. A cord bumped my head, but I didn’t pull it. Jesse pulled himself into the room and looked around confused.

“Where are we?” he asked. I shushed him.

“Close the door,” I whispered. Jesse looked seriously confused.

“There’s a ladder in the way,” he whispered back.

“Then pull it up!” I hissed. Jesse sighed and dropped down, yanking up the ladder. He then closed the door quietly. Jesse stood up straight and looked at me.

“Now will you tell me where we are?” Jesse asked. I didn’t answer, but instead reached up and yanked the cord. The lights turned on and then…

‘Nunununu nunununu nunununu nunununu, Jadenman! Jadenman! Jadenman!’

Jesse looked around the room, very freaked out.

“What the hell was that?” he asked. I placed my finger to my chin.

“Hmm, I thought I disconnected that,” I murmured. Jesse stood up straight and looked at me.

“Any particular reason you have knock-off of the Batman theme song wired to sing whenever you turn on the light?” he asked. I smiled at him.

“Morgan.” Jesse looked confused but I just waved my hand in a dismissing manner. “Don’t worry about it. That was a long time ago.” With that, I turned and headed away from the door to the main part of the room. There was a black loveseat, missing its legs, and four beanbag chairs, all a variety of colors. Everything surrounded a dark red coffee table. Other knick knacks and a variety of useless junk filled the rest of the room. Dust covered the coffee table in a fine sheet.

“What is this place anyway?” Jesse asked. I shrugged and dropped myself down onto a dark purple bean bag chair. Dust shot up from the chair like a mushroom cloud. I coughed and waved my hand in the air, moving the annoying particles out of my breathing space. Jesse chuckled and sat down in a dark blue chair across from me, after dusting it off.

“When I was younger, I called it ‘The Jadencave”. Like ‘The Batcave’, hence the theme song before,” I explained. Jesse raised an eyebrow.

“The Jadencave?” he said, fighting a smile. I scowled at him.

“Shut up, I did not bring you up here so you could make fun of my Jadencave,” I said. Jesse ran his finger on the tabletop, collecting dust at the tip of it.

“Why is everything covered in dust?” he asked. I sighed and sank deeper into the chair. God, I forgot how comfy these things were.

“I haven’t been up here in years. Danny, Morgan, Claire, and I would spend hours up here goofing off, mainly dueling, but sometimes we did other things,” I explained.

“And your parents or cousins don’t come up here?” Jesse asked. I smiled at him.

“They have no idea where or how to get into the Jadencave. Only we do,” I said. Jesse looked confused.

“How could your parents not know where this is?” he asked. I shrugged.

“Don’t know, but it’s my secret place now!” I said. Jesse chuckled and leaned back in the chair.

“So, what did you need to talk about?” he asked, looking at me. I looked at him.

“What’s up with you and Claire? You guys seem very…close,” I said. Jesse looked confused.

“What?” he asked. I sighed and leaned forward.

“Holding hands, talking quietly. Jesse, Claire was leaning on you and you had your arm around her. Seems like you guys are more than phone buddies who finally met,” I said. A light blush colored Jesse’s cheeks.

“We’re just friends, Jay,” he said, dropping his gaze to the floor. I jerked a finger at him.

“Liar!” I yelled. Jesse jumped in shock and looked at me. We stared at each other for a few minutes before Jesse sighed.

“Fine, okay. I like Claire, a lot, alright?” he said, looking at me. I turned my head slightly with my eyebrow raised.

“Like more than a friend?” I asked slowly. Jesse looked at me. The blush was still there and he looked like someone backed into a corner.

“You’re seriously not going to make me say it out loud, are you?” he asked. I just kept looking at him the same way.

“Like more than a friend?” I repeated. Jesse let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fine, yes, more than a friend, are you happy now?” Jesse said. I smiled and leaned back.

“Extremely,” I said. Jesse groaned and buried his face in his hands. I crossed my arms and legs, looking at him confused. “Why are you so embarrassed? There’s nothing wrong with liking Claire more than a friend.” Jesse looked up at me.

“I’m embarrassed because of how much I like her and I don’t know if she likes me that much back,” he explained. My jaw fell open and I stared at Jesse in shock. Jesse looked at me confused. “What?” I shook my head.

“Are you blind!!!??? She likes you, Jesse! A lot!” I exclaimed. Jesse shot back in his seat at my exclamation. After a moment, he calmed down and looked at me confused.

“How can you be sure?” Jesse asked. I groaned.

“Um, I don’t know, probably because she’s letting you hold her hand? Or maybe it’s because she leaning against you. Or maybe it’s because she didn’t bite you when you draped your arm around her,” I explained. Jesse blinked and then narrowed his eyes at me.

“You’re not just playing me, are you, Jay?” Jesse said. I rolled my eyes.

“Yes, because I enjoy tormenting my friends,” I spat sarcastically. Jesse sighed and sank down deep in the bean bag chair. I leaned back slightly in mine. We stayed quiet for a while. “What are you going to do?” I asked softly, looking up at Jesse.

He shrugged. “Not a clue. She’s hard to read,” Jesse said. I snickered. Jesse looked up at me. “What?”

“Claire may be hard for you to read, but not me,” I said, a plan forming in the back of my head. Jesse looked at me confused.

“What are you thinking, Jay?” he asked warily. I smiled at him.

“Oh, just that maybe, if you ask nicely, I could, ya know, help you,” I said. His brow furrowed in confusion.

“What?” he asked honestly confused. I sighed.

“I could help you with Claire,” I said. Jesse leaned forward.

“And how, might I ask, are you going to do that?” he asked. I smiled and leaned back, crossing my legs.

“Oh, my dead Robin, I have a few plans in mind.” Jesse looked at me confused.

“Robin? I am not Robin,” he said. I smiled at him.

“Fine. If have a few plans in mind, Alfred,” I said. Jesse sighed and placed his head in his hands.

“I’d rather be Robin,” he muttered. I just snickered. Then something hit me, something I wanted to talk to Jesse about. “Hey, Jess?” I called. He looked up.

“What?” he asked.

“Does Alexis seem…different to you?” I asked. Jesse raised his head to look at me. He looked confused.

“What do you mean?” he asked. I sighed and leaned back.

“I mean, she seems clingier. Not that I’m complaining or anything, it just seems odd. She also is acting really strange, like she’s worried about something,” I explained. I starred at the floor, trying to figure out what was going on while I explained it to Jesse. My thoughts were interrupted by Jesse laughing. My head jerked up and I starred at Jesse in confusion. He had his arms wrapped around his stomach as he laughed. I scowled at him. “What’s so funny?”

“God, Jaden. Sometimes you can be so obtuse!” Jesse said, laughing uncontrollably. I glared at him.

“I am not a triangle!” I hissed. That only made Jesse laugh harder. I huffed and crossed my arms on my chest, looking away from him. Jesse calmed down after a moment. He whipped a few tears from his eyes and looked at me.

“Sorry, Jay. By the way, I meant how dense you are that you can’t figure out something so simple,” he explained. I looked at him confused.

“What’s simple?” Jesse smiled at me.

“She’s jealous, Jay,” he said. That confused me more.

“Alexis? Jealous? Of what?” I asked. Jesse sighed. He leaned forward, his arms falling across his knees.

“Of Claire, duh.” I blinked.

“Why in the world is she jealous of Claire?!” I yelled. Jesse sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head slowly, dropping it slightly. After a moment, he looked up at me.

“You and Claire aren’t afraid to hug each other. You finish each other’s sentences and you guys know each other inside and out,” he explained.

“So? That’s like you and me, except for the hugging thing, and I’m positive Alexis isn’t jealous of you,” I said. Jesse let out an annoyed breath.

“Claire’s a girl, Jaden. A girl who happens to be one of your very best friends, and your oldest friends. You’re close, which goes without saying, and most friends like you guys usually end up together, because you have chemistry you can’t find with anyone else. I’m positive Alexis is thinking that same thing and is afraid that same chemistry will heat up now that Claire’s back.” It took me a minute to absorb this info before I shot forward.

“She’s worried that I’ll leave her for Claire?!” I screamed, not believing. Jesse nodded.

“Of course,” he answered. I shook my head quickly, waving my arms back and forth.

“Oh my god! No, never! I would never ever, ever, EVER in a million years ever leave Alexis for anyone, let alone Claire!” I said. Jesse laughed.

“I know. That’s why I’m not worried about it. I know you aren’t interested in Claire and that she isn’t interested in you,” he said. I sighed and leaned back.

“Yeah, but I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out. Why didn’t she just ask me about it?” I asked. Jesse shrugged.

“Maybe she will. It’s only been one day, not even that,” he said. I nodded.

“Very true. Maybe I should just tell her there is nothing going on between me and Claire besides deep friendship. I love Claire, that’s not a lie, but she’s like a sister to me. Alexis, the love I feel for her is so much deeper, so different. It can’t even compare to the love I have for Claire,” I said. Jesse smiled at me.

“That’s very poetic, Jay. But I don’t think Alexis would like it if you confronted her on this,” he said. I frowned.

“Why?”

“Probably because she’d be extremely embarrassed. I’m sure that everything between the two of you will calm down as the vacation goes on and Alexis will realize on her own that you love her and not Claire, at least the way she’s thinking.” I nodded.

“Yeah, but what if Alexis just sees little things as me hitting on Claire? What if she does something to Claire, or what if she leaves me, thinking that if she really loves me, she has to let me go?” I screamed, really freaked out.

“Relax. If she tries that, explain it all to her. Until then, let the girls figure it out. You may be in the middle, but the real problem is between Claire and Alexis. Personally, I think it’s up to Claire to tell Alexis, not you,” he said. I nodded.

“Okay, I guess that makes sense. Thanks Jess,” I said. He smiled at me.

“No problem. But, if things heat up and those two start fighting,” Jesse began leaving the sentence hanging in the air. I smiled.

“Grab a video camera and start recording!” I said. Jesse slapped his forehead.

“No! You stop them! And I don’t think they’d do a catfight, Jaden,” he said. I frowned.

“Aww, but that’s YouTube gold!” I said. Jesse glared at me.

“We are not posting two girls fighting on YouTube,” he said. I smiled.

“I don’t own YouTube (1),” I said. Jesse blinked.

“What? I know you don’t own YouTube, why did you say that?” he asked. I shrugged.

“I dunno. Ya know, sometimes I think that there’s a crazy anime fangirl out there, writing some crazy fanfiction about us and decides everything for us,” I said. Jesse rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, and we’re twins separated at birth!” he said. I laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Robin.”

“I’m not Robin!”

xXx

Narrative POV

Alexis wrapped a towel tightly around her hair, ringing the water out of it. She was snuggled tightly in her flannel pajamas and felt great after that nice, warm shower. Draping the towel around her neck, Alexis headed down stairs. She heard Chris snoring lightly in his room and assumed Lauren was in there as well. When she reached the living room, Alexis noticed Jaden and Jesse weren’t there.

“Where are Jaden and Jesse?” she asked, noticing Claire sitting on the couch. Claire looked up at Alexis, the book she was reading at the club held in her hands. She was dressed very similar to Alexis and her hair was up in a bun. It was still very wet. Alexis noticed that Claire’s skin was flushed from the heat of her shower.

“My guess? They’re in the ‘Jadencave’,” Claire answered as she closed her book. Alexis raised an eyebrow and sat down in the chair.

“The Jadencave?” she questioned. Claire smiled at her.

“The secret hideout Jaden, Danny, Morgan, and I always played in. Jaden kept it very top secret, even after I moved away and they never went up there again,” she explained. Alexis nodded and leaned back. Claire went back to reading her book. It was silent for a few moments.

“Why did Jaden stop playing the guitar?” Alexis asked suddenly. Claire looked up at her.

“He never stopped playing. He just stopped playing in front of everyone,” she answered. Alexis looked confused.

“What do you mean?” she asked Claire. Claire closed her book again, making sure her bookmark was tucked neatly in the spine. She then sat up and set it on the coffee table.

“I wondered the same thing after hearing what Brad said, so I went to check on Burstinatrix,” Claire said. Alexis raised an eyebrow at Claire.

“Burstinatrix? Isn’t that a duel monster?” she said. Claire nodded.

“Yes, she is, but she also is the name of Jaden’s guitar,” she answered. Before Alexis could say anything, Claire bent down and pulled out a flame red guitar case from underneath the coffee table. Alexis leaned forward. The case was in very good shape and appeared to have been just whipped down.

“Where was this?” Alexis asked, running her fingers over the case.

“His closet, which indicates that he still played it or it would be in the attic where all the other things that aren’t touched go,” Claire explained. Alexis looked at her.

“But that doesn’t prove he still plays it,” she said. Claire nodded.

“True, but this does,” she said. Claire then unlatched the lid and opened it up. A flame red six string acoustic guitar shone brightly in black velvet. Alexis noticed that it was in very good condition, showing that it had been recently cared for.

“So he still does play it, if he’s still taking care of it I mean,” Alexis said. Claire shrugged.

“I guess, but I was talking about this,” she said, pulling out a picture from the lid. Claire flipped it around in her fingers and showed it to Alexis. It was a picture of her and Jaden, his arms tightly around her. That picture was taken by Syrus before last summer. That meant that Jaden had had time to come home during the summer and play his guitar without anyone knowing. Alexis took the picture.

“When did he have time to put this in there?” she asked, staring that picture.

“It would only take a minute to put the picture in here, but it would take a while to do this,” Claire said. She then turned the case toward Alexis and bent the lid back, revealing a collage of pictures in the lid. It was almost like a time line. To the very left, there were many pictures of Jaden and his old friends as kids. Further toward the right was a collage of his family. Then at the very right was everyone from Duel Academy. There was a large empty spot, most likely from the picture Alexis had in her hand.

“Why did he do this?” Alexis asked as she smoothed the picture in her hand back into place. Claire shrugged.

“Not a clue. Hello, what’s this?” Claire lifted Burstinatrix up slightly and pulled a notebook out from underneath her neck. Written on the front of it was ‘Lyrics’. “Ohh, when did Jaden start writing his own lyrics?” Claire inquired as she examined the notebook.

“I don’t think you should look at that, Claire. It’s Jaden’s private book,” Alexis said. Claire looked up at Alexis, her hand on the edge of the book, about to open it. She looked at her for a moment and then sighed.

“I guess you’re right. I’d be pissed if Jaden read my private work,” she conceded. Alexis smiled. “Still, I wonder if he’s any good at it,” Claire said with a sigh of wonder. Alexis nodded in agreement.

“Yeah,” she said. Just as Claire began to set the lyric book back into the place she found it, Jaden jumped out from around the corner, gripping the railing in front of him. He pointed an accusing finger at Claire.

“Joker! You put my lyric book away this instant! Don’t make me use my Jadenrang!” Jaden yelled. Jesse walked out behind him, looking very embarrassed for his friend. Claire slapped her forehead and Alexis looked like she was fighting hard not to laugh.

“Joker? Hello? I thought we agreed I’m Harley Quinn?” Claire asked. Jaden narrowed his eyes. He held his hand out to Jesse.

“Robin, give me my Jadenrang!” Jaden ordered. Jesse looked at him.

“For the last time, Jaden, I’m not Robin!” he yelled. Jaden looked at him before looking at Claire.

“Joker, surrender my Burstinatrix and lyric book before I open a can of whoop ass on ya!” Jaden yelled. Claire jumped up, the lyric book firmly in her hand.

“You know what, just for that, I think I’m going to read your lyric book, Jadenman!” she yelled. Jaden gasped.

“Don’t you dare, Joker!” he yelled. Claire smiled at him and opened the book, looking at the pages. Jaden hissed and bolted down the stairs. Claire started running around the couch, still reading the book. Jaden chased her until they were on opposite ends of the couch. “Give it up, Joker! Just give me my lyric book and I won’t kill you.” Claire wasn’t listening however. She was starring at the book, her eyes wide in shock. Jaden hissed and launched across the couch, snatching it out of her hands. He pulled it tightly to his chest. “Be grateful I don’t send you to Archum!” Claire looked up at Jaden.

“Jaden,” she breathed in shock. Color bloomed on Jaden’s cheeks as he slid the notebook back into place underneath his guitar. Claire sat down next to him. Alexis watched silently as she whispered something to Jaden. He looked up at her then away.

“Later,” he answered as he latched the case back up. Claire nodded and leaned back against the couch. Alexis looked at Jaden before looking at Claire. She was looking at Alexis, a look of wonderment on her face. Alexis felt a blush heat her cheeks for some unknown reason.

“Why don’t you play us a tone, Jay?” Jesse asked as he came downstairs. He sat down on the arm of the couch, next to Claire. Jaden looked up at him.

“Nah, it’s late. But I’ll take a rain check,” he said, standing up and grabbing his guitar. Jesse nodded.

“I’ll keep you to that,” he said. Jaden chuckled and nodded. He then walked over to Alexis and took her hand. He pulled her to her feet and they headed up the stairs hand in hand. Alexis looked back at Claire and Jesse. They were talking quietly on the couch. Alexis smiled.

‘They look really good together,’ Alexis thought. She then looked up at Jaden. ‘Maybe…maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe Claire isn’t a threat to me after all.’

Jaden opened the door to his room and pulled Alexis in. He closed his door and put Burstinatrix in his closet. Alexis walked over to his bed and slid in. After he turned off the light, Jaden crawled into bed with her. He pulled her against his chest and buried his head in her hair.

“G’night, Lex. Love you,” he said groggily. Alexis smiled and snuggled closer.

“Night, Jay. Love you, too.” With that, both fell asleep. But even in sleep, the nightmares plagued Alexis.

xXx

Teehee, good chapter I think. Calmed some fears, but raised some more.

What are some of Jadenman’s plans for his little Robin and Joker? You’ll just have to wait and find out.

Oh, and if you guys are wondering, yes, I will be making Batman references for the rest of the story. Keep your eyes peeled for them!

You guys know the drill! Click ‘go’ and Review!

-x-Anime-Queen-2011-x-

-o-Mel-o-

1. I don’t need to disclaim in my disclaimer! My characters do it for me! XD