Silence had been sitting between them uncomfortably forming an invisible barrier between the two teenagers., as one of them stirred his untouched slushie absently. Noriaki looked at his date, she was pretty and she had a decent enough personality. However, he could feel the divide he had all of his childhood between them. He couldn't connect with this girl - not truly. She would tell him all of her secrets, but he would always have to keep one from her. His purple gaze fell to the floor, and he stared at her beige high-heels. The girl across from him - whose name was escaping his thoughts, was awfully boring. She was almost like the perfect cut-out of an average preppy schoolgirl. Nothing laid beyond her smiles, they were all genuine and true. She had no depth. Easy to read. 

If Kakyoin knew anything about himself, it was that he preferred a challenge. He'd rather have an ocean than a shallow pool. 

Jotaro's an ocean...

He thought for a moment, and he sighed. He lifted his gaze back up to the girl, who was texting on her phone. Most likely, telling all her friends what a terrible date he was, and how this whole thing had been a bust. Her friends had recommended him to her after all. The redhead couldn't take the silence any longer so he excused himself - head spinning. What should he tell her? You're just too boring for me? That sounded unusually cruel and for the most part, he wouldn't have been bothered, but this girl would definitely burst into tears being told such a thing. For a moment, he summoned [Hierophant] hoping and praying - but it was, wishful thinking his date didn't even look up from her phone. So, he walked off towards the bathroom and cowered in the hallway leading to them, mulling over what he should do to escape this situation. 

"It's that bad huh?" came a voice, and Noriaki jumped. He turned his attention to a girl who was leaning against the wall opposite of him. He observed her with interest, getting a strange feeling from her and the way she was looking at him - as if she felt the same thing from him. She had short and curly blue-hair that draped about her ears, which were pierced in various places.

She wore a low-cut shirt that hugged tightly at her chest, a flowy-blouse, showing off her rather large breasts, yet, she didn't try to cover them acting as if she didn't know they were being shown off. She wore an even seemingly smaller skirt, that was red-plaid and it had a few chains hanging off of it. She had long, and rather toned legs - Kakyoin guessed she may play sports, and if not she worked out at least. He swallowed, as her yellow eyes pinned him to the back of the wall - knowing she knew he had just eaten up every inch of her with his gaze. 

Kakyoin tugged at the collar of his shirt, chuckling nervously, "Yeah...It is. We're really not just -clicking, you know?"

The girl laughed, "Oh, I know. It's hard to find someone who knows you." her voice dropped into a whisper, "Especially when they can't see your soul." 

The ginger frowned at that, and he arched an eyebrow at her - and he held in gasps, as a pink-ish aura flared up around her. Revealing, a Stand. It had a spider-like vibe to it, its body was a cute-pink-looking hourglass shape, with where the torso would be a glass case full of what he guesses were needles, strings, and fabrics. Eight mechanical arms spread out from this main-body, a button acting as the elbow. Acting as a head it had an eye shaped-figure that had ten or so glowing little lights upon it a large one in the center. All of these 'eyes' stared at him and turned into a bright pink. 

"She likes you..."the girl giggled as she stared at the man's shocked features, her face dusted pink. "I saw yours for only a brief moment. Can you show him to me?"

"Mine-ne, um, "he couldn't believe he was stuttering but this was the last thing he had ever expected. His heart was raging in his body, doing leaps of joy. "Righ-ght! Hierophant Green!" his Stand appeared without hesitation basically launching itself upon the other spirit creature, they unraveled into tendrils wrapping around the spindly legs of her Stand. he flushed red in the face. 

"Oh, dear! I'm sorry, he's really friendly!" he nervously laughed but before he could call the green-spirit back, the girl placed a hand on his arm smiling sweetly. Her Stand played with [Hierophant] letting the creature spin and wrap itself around its arms like a snake. 

"It's fine, really. I never thought I'd meet someone else like me..." she shook her head. "How rude of me, I still haven't introduced myself! I'm Mirai Quince. And she, " the woman points to her Stand as it slowly fades out - causing [Green] to make an annoyed noise. "Is Dollhouse." 

The redhead was taken away by the cute way she giggled, "Noriaki Kakyoin." he stated still halfway in a daze. He recalled his Stand and gave the bluenette a smirk. "You wouldn't mind replacing my date would you?'

Mirai grinned, her whole face seeming to light up - her eyes seemed to glow. "I would love to!"

[••••]

He was running down the street, excited to see Kakyoin - after a whole weekend away. Jotaro had distanced himself in order to try and quench whatever the hell had blossomed last weekend of him. It had been almost like a kind of purgatory spending all that time away from the ginger, especially knowing that when the school year ended, they would be forced to go their separate ways, and would possibly not see each other again for years. Yet - his enthusiastic steps slowed and eventually froze all together against the sidewalk. Someone was walking beside Noriaki - hand in hand. He knew it was a woman, from not only her seemingly modified school uniform but her very, oddly exaggerated curves. There was something quite fake about her. Jotaro's shoulders fell as his mood was blown away by the soft breeze - that carried her over-applied perfume with it. 

Noriaki had flings, but - holding hands? Walking to school together- this girl had taken Jotaro's spot by his side. Right down to which side she was on, which was the left. Closest to his heart. He took a deep calming breath, feeling fire claw its way through his blood. Feeling his body begin to tremble - and he felt it. The all-devouring rage begins to rise in the back of his mind. Ready to leap out and consume his soul in its flames. He can feel it crawling beneath his skin filling muscles with strength and clouding his head. The second breath he took was shakey, and there wasn't much holding him back. He felt his soul begin to tug outwards, [Star Platiuim] being fueled with the same need for destruction. 

He could have snapped her neck within seconds, she'd be on the ground by the time Kakyoin realized what was happening. The Joestar closed his eyes shutting down the sight of them holding hands, and he breathed softly. 

"Star Platinum: The World." 

Everything froze in place, and Jotaro walked forwards with purpose. He shoved the blue-haired woman away without much care for where she would end up. He slipped his own hand into Noriaki's -and smiled softly before he pulled away and let time resume again. 

"And then, I lost my favorite cassete - Mirai?"The redhead was confused for a moment, as he met bright-blue yes and not yellow ones. He smiled, "Ah! Jotaro! When did you get here?" 

"A few seconds ago. Am I interrupting?" Jotaro said, trying to keep a smug look off of his face as apparently - Mirai (what a dumb name) got up dusting herself off looking awfully offened. The bluenette pushed the man aside, and took her post besideNoriaki again, her yellow eyes piercing. 

"Nori-bear," she chimed out and the pet name made everything inside of the Joestar squirm uncomfortably. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, and they glared as she spoke in her honey-edged voice. "He used his Time Stop on me and pushed me! I know he did."

Kakyoin sighed and he wrapped his arms around Mirai's shoulders pulling her close. He kissed her temple - and Jotaro sucked in a breath. The entire world before him tunneled. He felt his heart inside of his chest sink, and then - he felt a cold bony hands grasp it, stopping it from beating.  He didn't hear his best-friend scold him, all he heard was static as he watched the shorter male's face drop into a snarl. It became hard to breathe as Jotaro felt like his ribs were cracking under the pressure that was being pushed down upon his chest. he half hoped that his ribs would pierce something, and he'd bleed out internally than have to stand there clearly being lectured. Noriaki had said he met another Stand User and had refused to tell the dark-haired teen who it was. 

Now, he knew. 

"You're not even listening! You know what - you are such an asshole Kujo!"

The static cleared and he stood there mouth agape a little feeling like every sharp word struck him. Kakyoin always did that - he started to call Jotaro 'Kujo' whenever he was pissed off, striping him of their friendly status. He swallowed and was frozen to the spot, watching as the redhead walked away a gentle breeze blowing his soft locks of hair about his head, and instead of JoJo being able to run his hand through the curls, and put them back where they belonged dainty fingers that glittered with expensive jewelry reached up - Mirai had to stand on her tippy-toes to reach the top of Kakyoin's head. The Joestar reached outwards, and he watched as Kakyoin seemed to get smaller and smaller aginst his fingers, slipping through them. 

Where had she come from? Why was she fucking here?

Why'd she take Noriaki? I'm sure that slut could have had anyone else...

His fingers twitched. Oh, how he wanted to cut into her throat. He'd have taken a knife and slit her throat without any effort, and then. as her blood soaked into the sidewalk - Noriaki would be broken of her curse. That's what this had to be. The redhead would smile at him, kiss his cheek and say in that dreamy voice of his, sending shudders down his spine. 

"Good boy..." he laughs, and pats the man on his head, before offering his hand. "Shall we walk to school together?"

Jotaro snapped out of it as he heard footsteps. he spun around alarmed, but it was only a few more students on their way to school. He moved off of the sidewalk in a sluggish way, as if his feet were being weighed down by thousand-pound wieghts. He slipped down to the ground pressing his back up against a cherry-tree that was there - not yet, in bloom. He buried his face into his knees. What was happening to him? He truly felt like he was losing his mind. The man had thought that if he distanced himself from Noriaki - he'd fix his seemingly outlandish need for him. Yet, the moment the glory that was Noriaki Kakyoin was within his sight again, everything was lit aflame. The ginger owned him and didn't even know it.

He wanted to scream, so he did. It echoed across the street that was mostly empty this time of morning, and the students who had been walking by scrambled past him terrified. He only felt, slightly better after that. He sighed. His sanity was certainly slipping. He smiled softly though, was it really a bad thing? It hurt now, it did - but the good moments, the love he felt for Noriaki was something he wasn't willing to let go of, sanity or not. This corruption that was spreading through him had only one cure - Kakyoin. 

His smile was tainted with the first wave of tears that went down his face. 

But Noriaki wants nothing to do with me...

[••••]

"Noriaki-aki..I know that this is like the fifth time I'm calling today, but can you pick-ck up?" his voice was broken with hiccups and soft sobs. "I'm really not doing well right now, and I think-nk, I think I'm regressing. It's bad. Please...please pick up..." he pressed his feverish forehead to the cool phone, shivering. He heard the message tone beep, and he shook a little. A month. Mirai has been dating Kakyoin for a month, and she was ruining everything. She took up all of the redhead's time. They spent the weekends together now - and Jotaro was never invited. She had even convinced the ginger to sit with her and her friends, leaving the Joestar alone at lunch. He could hardly even get himself out of bed in the morning, for he knew he'd only be treated with the sight of the love of his life - kissing another. 

To make matters worse, he refused to show Kakyoin what was happening to him. He covered everything up because he didn't need him to know how really broken Jotaro was. It would chase him away, or fucking Mirai would find a way to twist it. She'd turn the redhead against the Joestar for sure if he said anything about his mental state. Anyway, how was he supposed to explain it - without confessing? If there was one thing he knew, it's that you never confess to someone who is already taken. Worst of all, Noriaki looked so happy with her. He had smiled more with the bluenette than Jojo had ever seen - and while he knew the selfish part of him wanted him all to himself, he knew, that he wanted to see Kakyoin happy above all things. Even his own life. 

As he finished off the alcohol that was in his hands, tossing it to the floor where it joined the small pile of others that was accumulating tonight. He sat there on his bed, the sheets of which were beginning to stain red-with his blood, from the various slits across his arms. Jotaor had lied to himself that he hadn't done it internally -he really hadn't meant to cut himself up on the shard of one of the broken beer bottles he had thrown a bit too hard at the floor. He was in this delusionary state where his drunk mind couldn't handle the thought that he had picked up a shard of glass and slid it across his bare arms just to make sure he was alive. Just to make sure he could heal and survive this. 

He didn't want to think about the fact, that he had fallen back down into his old habits - over love. when he was young, he scoffed at the very idea. If a father could walk in and out of his wife and son's life as if they meant nothing to him, then there was no way love existed. He now, understood why Holly kept letting Sadao back into her life, even when he spent years away - probably fucking other women and having bastard children during the course of it. She was in love with him. Love wasn't something beautiful and eternal - not to Jotaro, because all he felt was agony. and he was sure his mother felt this way every time Sadao kissed her as if he had never been gone. 

Love fucking sucks...

He growled to himself and took a swing from the newly opened beer bottle. He slumped back against his pillows, feeling darkness sink in. Likely from blood loss and the mixture of alcohol in his system, and he greeted the shadows of the sleep with gratitude. 

Heat still radiated off of the concert from the day, as the sun sank completely beneath the horizon. The buildings all seemed to blend into the backdrop of the desert sands, expertly hidden from a distance. He frowned deeply and glanced down at his feet - which were wet. That was odd - considering he was in a desert. He narrowed his eyes, and a horrified gasp tore from his throat, for there wasn't water pouring out about his feet - but a river of blood. 

Trembling, he managed to look up following the stream, and found a large wooden pike sticking up from the road. Impaled straight through the stomach upon it fueling the river - was Noriaki. His body hung limply against the pike - unnaturally pale, and the red liquid that ran from his wound stood out against him.  Jotaro felt his knees began to shake, as his entire body seemed to be thrown into a freezer as ice formed about his skin. 

"No..." he breathed. "No - it can't be.."

He trudged through the river. It seemed to be hours before he reached Noriaki, and he reached out - to check for a pulse. Any sign of life. He halted a cold clawed hand reached out for his wrist and snatched it. Red lines began to appear upon his arms slicing through the fabric that covered them. Locks of blonde hair barely hide glowing red eyes and a wide-sharp toothed grin. 

Dio's voice rattled through his head. 

"Checkmate." 

Jotaro woke up sobbing, and there was no-one there to hold him. The only comfort he had, was the dull-stinging pain from his self-inflicted wounds.