𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 ⌜𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿⌟

16. 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙𝗜𝗦𝗛

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 16. 𝗜'𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙𝗜𝗦𝗛

𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 the window of the room Speedwagon had left you in, departing from your side to attend to some business with his foundation. The night had just fallen, giving the sky a pretty royal blue color. It was calming; something you needed from the rush of events that had come hurtling towards you so suddenly. It put you at ease.

You would never deny that you missed how things used to be. You remember a time in which you could reside in the windowsill of the Joestar manor, late at night with a book in your hands, in the chambers of the blonde man. Dio would always let you in through the window, then hand you the book you'd been reading before sitting down at his desk he'd moved closer to the window, and for hours the two of you would sit in silence.

You can still hear his voice now, asking how you were enjoying the book. Asking your opinions on it once you'd finished reading before giving you another book, telling you you'd like this once much more than the last. And the truth was that you always did.

One of your favorite books he'd offered to you was called Nana. It was about a woman named Nana Coupeau, who rose from a streetwalker to a high-class prostitute during the last three years of the French Second Empire. It was an interesting book, but alas, you never got the chance to finish it. No, Dio was stolen from you before you ever got the chance.

Oh, but what you would give to stay curled up in the window of Dio's chambers, reading his books as he worked on his schoolwork below you. What you would give to admire him from behind the paper books, watched him work hard to further himself in his career, that even both of you knew he would never pursue. What you would give to have him laugh at you whenever he caught your gaze, chuckling at your embarrassment and denial.

What you would give to see him again.

There was a time in which you truly hated Dio. But to even think that now, you didn't know the answer. To be honest, you don't think you ever would.

"You can stop creeping around the corner," You stated, making a low curse fill the hall. "You're not very light on your feet, Joestar."

"How'd you know it was me?" Joseph asked, walking into the room with a pout.

"You're the same as your grandfather," You said, rolling your eyes. "Neither of you could be sly, even if your life depended on it."

Joseph walked towards you, seating himself in the chair near the small table. He reached forward, plucking a petal from the faux plant before pushing the decorative pot back.

"You were helping my grandfather originally," He said. "Speedwagon told me about how you would teach him how to fight. Why did you switch to Dio's side?"

You looked down at him, turning the watch over in your hands--a force of habit, you suppose. "Jonathan and I were nothing alike. He was a gentleman, and someone who was filled with kindness--someone who I was used to being around. Jonathan used to follow me around the back alleys of London, in which he got his arse kicked multiple times by stumbling into the wrong fellow. He was getting himself hurt following me around. I'd been caught stealing one day, and received an especially harsh punishment from the British officials, and when I'd come back to finish Jonathan's training so he'd leave me be, he offered to help me. He sat and treated my wounds instead of doing his studies or helping his father."

"If he was so kind to you, why did you leave him?" Joseph asked.

"Because he was so kind," You said, making Joseph frown. "You'll learn that being around me only brings trouble. It was because of me that your grandfather ended up in the state he did. I let him do what he wanted around me, and it brought him more trouble than it would have if he was on his own. I didn't want to be the one who caused the poor man's death. Heaven knows even the angels would have wept."

"So you cut your ties off with him? And went for Dio instead?" He said, a hint of anger in his voice.

You sighed softly. "As much as I hate to say it, Dio and I had a lot in common. He knew what it was like to be where I was, but he got out of it before me. And he was a scoundrel until the day he died. But we got along, in a weird sense."

"He manipulated you," Joseph said, his eyebrows lacing together.

"He did," You agreed. "And I let him because I didn't know what else to do. I was in a state in which I couldn't tell right from wrong. I thought what Dio was doing was for the better. Until I realized his true intentions and my fatal mistake."

"He's the one who turned you, wasn't he?" Joseph asked.

"No, I turned myself by pure accident. Or greed. The stone mask was the only thing I had left of Dio. In a sense, I held some sort of attachment to it, thinking that his envy for power would draw him back to it, and therefore bring him back to me. But I was wrong. However, when I had come to my senses, it was too late. I'd slipped from Jonathan's grasp, the only thing standing between me and my demise, and let go of the mask. It fell on my face as I plummeted, and turned me then," You said, getting up from the windowsill. A soft click filled the air as you closed the pocket watch, slipping it back under your shirt.

"Either way," You said, slipping your hands into your pockets. Joseph watched as you moved to the door, astonished by the fact that floorboards never creaked, he didn't hear your breathing as you passed, and how silent you truly were.

He saw the solemn look on your face, as opposed to the snarl or annoyed look he'd gotten used to seeing whenever he saw you. It was a change, and it took him off guard.

"I've always been selfish."

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 16. 𝗘𝗡𝗗
𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: 28 𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 2021
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