I'll Be Right There Beside You - A Jesse Anderson Oneshot

"Jesse, you totally kicked butt in that duel!"

"Yeah, man! That was awesome!"

Jaden, Jesse, Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis, and Nina were celebrating Jesse's victory over a high-ranked Obelisk student as they walked back to their dorms. The duel had been really close, but not surprisingly, Jesse had pulled out a victory in the end.

"Thanks, guys!" Jesse said, scratching the back of his head with a grin. 'I'm not real sure how I managed it, to be honest."

Nina, the newest member of their little group, couldn't help but smile at Jesse's accent. She loved to hear him talk, and admired his kindness and bravery as well.

Nina had transferred to Duel Academy soon after Jesse had, and was grateful when Jaden and his friends took her under their wing. Luckily, she got along well with all of them. She and Alexis had become especially close, for which reason Alexis was the only one who knew about Nina's crush on Jesse. Speaking of whom, there was something she needed to ask him...

Nina returned from her reverie to her still-cheering friends. She tried to muster up her courage for what she was about to do, for the request she was about to make was no small one. "Hey, Jesse, can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

A couple of the others looked a bit surprised at her random question, and Alexis gave a knowing grin, but Jesse just smiled at her. "Sure, Nina. No problem." Turning back to the others, he added, "Y'all go ahead. We'll catch up to ya in a couple minutes."

After the others had gone on, she and Jesse were left alone, as there were no other students around. "So, what is it that ya wanted to tell me, darlin'?"

Nina couldn't help but blush a little at Jesse's nickname for her, even though she knew it didn't mean anything romantic. "Well, it's kind of a lot to ask of you," she began, "you see, ever since I was about seven years old, I've gone through times in my life where I would suffer from fainting spells."

Jesse looked sort of surprised at this point, but said nothing, so she went on.

"Until recently, I hadn't gotten one for about six months, so I was hoping they were finally gone. But then a few days ago, I just sort of fell over in the middle of my dorm, and didn't wake up for about five minutes. If it would only happen in my dorm, that would be okay, but these things can happen anywhere, and I only have a couple seconds' warning beforehand. Generally, if someone thinks they're at risk for fainting spells, it's good to always have someone with them. I mean, I've been getting them for years, but it's still scary to wake up all alone in the middle of nowhere."

Jesse nodded in understanding.

"So, what I wanted to ask you, is if you would walk with me to and from my classes during the day. I mean, we have the exact same schedule, so I wouldn't be dragging you anywhere out of your way. And usually, I wake up pretty quick after these things, but I've been out longer than that before. If they last more than ten minutes, I'm supposed to go to the infirmary," she blushed a little at her next statement, "so I figured that since you're strong and all, you could carry me there if you ever had to. I could ask the teachers to get someone to walk around with me, but I don't really like the idea of Crowler following me around everywhere, if you know what I mean. And if there's ever a day when you had something else going on, I'm sure I could get Jaden to look after me for the day. So, yeah. I know it's a lot to ask, but what do you say?"

She looked up at him hopefully.

Jesse just smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. In his mind, this was a great excuse to spend more time with the girl he liked. "Sure thing, Nina. I'd be happy to 'escort' you to your classes."