Fall Is Beautiful

Chapter 2: One punch is all it takes

"2 birds sitting on a wire..."

I stared out my bedroom window. I sat on my blue-sheeted bed, with Jafar sitting before me on the floor, drawing something. Odd, but reassuring. Ever since Hinahoho drove us down to this crooked town, nothing has felt right. What happened to our parents? What was happening to us? This all just felt like a fever dream to me, like I'd wake up suddenly in my old bed with the smell of my moms cooking filling my room. Yet, no. Jafar- at least - seemed to be fine, but my little brother has always been really good at hiding his emotions. It's one of the only things I dislike about him.

Jafar isn't an open person. You'd more likely be able to find him in a library than a party. That usually meant he didn't have many friends, which means it was up to me to be not only his brother, but his friend as well. I like to recall when things were normal, and people would gossip about a secret affair my mom had, since Jafar and I had been proven to be biological brothers. I always found it funny, how people would look at my brother funny and it'd just take one look from me and they'd shut up. Never once did they lay a hand on him.

Mom didn't have an affair, she'd never do that to dad, I used to think. But now... after what happened? I'm starting to rethink a lot of things about my parents. Why would they just do that? It didn't make any sense! I gripped my hair tightly, groaning and turning away from the window. It was winter, snowing outside. I hate the snow.

"You need to relax. Thinking over pointless things is just... ya' know? Pointless." I chuckled at Jafar's comment, as he's now looking up at me from his spot on the floor. "Besides, Hina said that mama and papa will be coming soon. Before Christmas! They may even bring presents for us to open!" Jafar now had his chin on the edge of my bed, flipping his hands in the air. I felt the need to laugh, but decided not to. No matter how much my 10-year-old brother tried to hide it, I could spot the doubt behind his words, his eyes. I placed my hand over his head, petting.

"Yeah, maybe. But I promise, by Christmas I'll get you the best present in your life!" Jafar gave me a confused look, tilting his head a little.

"But you already gave me the best present in my life. Just being by my side is present enough for me." This made my heart tense. I didn't know how to react, so I pulled Jafar up onto my bed and cradled him. I know he hates being babied, but I couldn't help it. Maybe it was something like motherly instincts or something I must've caught from mom and Rurumu's babysitting. All I knew was that I wanted to protect my brother. All he needed was me, and all I needed was him. Just us was enough.

...

I started going back to school not a week after arriving at the new town. Hina never specified the town exactly, but I could only guess we were in New Jersey. I met a couple of friends like, Sharrkan, Yamuraiha, Kouyguku and a few others. They were all in my grade, except Yamuraiha and one other. Well, that was until the population of the school decreased by 50%. Half of the students died of the disease, and I attended every single one of their funerals. Some were friends, others were just random kids I didn't know. That didn't matter, though. They were all human, that would give anyone a reason to mourn.

Jafar would sometimes come with me to pay his respects, and I was shocked that he would even want to leave the house at this point. The school didn't shut down for long, though, and we all had to get back to our studies.

It was infuriating trying to get Jafar out of the house for school purposes. Not that he hated school -in fact, he excelled at all his subjects- he just hated others. He hated confrontation. He hated the thought of others surrounding him. And now with the virus going around, his refusals became harder. He'd first refuse to get out of bed, so I'd have to literally drag him by his ankles. Then, he'd refuse to get dressed or comb his hair, nor eat. I most of the time had to literally threaten to strip him down to his underwear and make him walk to school wearing nothing that he'd finally get himself ready. Yet, he still refused to eat. Most days he'd go without food, and I'd have Hina pin him down so I could force him to eat. I hated doing it to my brother, but that's what the world has come down to.