Amaranthine

2: The Boy Named Dio Brando

I hummed, feeling a little unnerved by the juxtaposition of my expectations and reality. "Um, do you know where Jonathan is?" I inquired.

"Jonathan is studying with the tutor right now. He should be finished soon. Shall we talk in the parlor while we wait for him?" Dio asked smoothly.

"I suppose."

"This way, my lady." He offered me his arm. For a guy who supposedly kicked a dog, he was quite the gentleman. I allowed Dio to lead me to the parlor and I sat down on one of the couches. To my surprise, the blonde sat next to me. He did not ask, but I didn't mind.

"Could I ask you questions to get to know you better?" He asked.

"Sure."

"If I may ask, how old are you?"

"12. I think George mentioned we're the same age."

"I'd forgotten. We are the same age," Dio affirmed. "Father mentioned you're friends with Jonathan. How did you two become friends?"

"Jonathan is just a very talkative person," I said. "Honestly, he just wouldn't stop talking to me. Then I realized I didn't mind his company that much."

"Yes, Jonathan is quite talkative," Dio mused.

"What do you think of him?" I asked.

"Jonathan?" Dio paused for less than a second before continuing. "He's very friendly and quite open. He's been very welcoming towards me, however I am not sure he likes me very much."

I frowned. "Jonathan was really worried about meeting you," I said. "He was excited to have a brother, but I think he was also worried you wouldn't like him. He really wants to make you feel comfortable here. I'm certain he likes you."

"I see," Dio's smile fractured for just a second. "Perhaps it was just my nerves. I'm sure we will become more comfortable with each other soon enough"

"I hope so," I said. "How do you feel about everything right now?"

"Oh, I'm very happy to be here," Dio said. "I'm quite thankful for the Joestars taking me under their wing. Everyone has been quite kind and I already feel at home."

I smiled, glad that Dio was feeling welcome. He was much kinder than the picture Jonathan had painted, but I knew Jonathan wouldn't speak ill about someone for no reason. The boy strove to be the very definition of gentlemanly, and gentlemen did not lie. The natural conclusion was that the brothers had gotten off to a bad start and assumed the worst of each other. Just when I had made a mental note to tell Jonathan about this discussion later, the parlor door opened and Jonathan himself entered.

"Freya!" Jonathan exclaimed. Then his eyes slid from my form to Dio's. "Dio," he greeted his brother with curbed enthusiasm. Geez, it's no wonder Dio thinks Jonathan doesn't like him, I thought.

"Jojo, good to see you," I nodded in greeting.

Dio met Jonathan's less enthusiastic greeting with a voice on the cusp of mocking. "Hello, Jonathan. We were just talking about you," he said, as if we'd been speaking ill of him behind his back. It seemed that Dio knew he was irritating Jonathan. Perhaps both boys had their reasons for assuming the other hated them.

Jonathan ignored Dio's tone, painting a smile over his face. "Do you mind if I join in on your conversation? What were you two talking about?"

"We were just getting to know each other a little better," Dio said in a way that somehow answered Jonathan's questions without actually answering them.

Jonathan looked excited all of a sudden. "Wonderful! I would like to get to know you a little better as well, Dio. We're brothers now, so I think we should get along."

"Yes, I do as well," Dio said with a smile.

There was a strange tension between the boys that I couldn't quite pin down. Despite both boys saying they wanted to be friends with the other, they were both acting passive aggressive in each other's company. And now here we were, all sitting in awkward silence as the boys smiled at each other with varying degrees of warmth.

I clapped my hands as if it would cut the tension hanging in the air. "Dio and I were just going forth asking each other questions," I told Jonathan. "Why don't you two ask each other? You're going to be spending a lot of time together as brothers, after all. I'll just sit here and listen."

But my valiant attempt to help the brothers feel more connected didn't work at all. Jonathan was happy enough to ask Dio about himself, but Dio was less cooperative. The blonde spoke in short sentences that left no room for a back-and-forth or brought the flow of our conversation to a screeching halt. And instead of asking Jonathan a question in return, he would ask me. I would answer politely or even pass the question to Jonathan, but as soon as Jonathan asked Dio anything, it was just the same cycle. It took me all of three minutes to realize that this strategy was not working.

When the cycle of questions had returned to me, I sighed. "Dio, didn't you say you wanted to get to know your brother better? Why don't you ask him a question or two so you can, you know, get to know him better?"

Dio frowned. "I thought we were asking questions in a circle," he said.

"No, you and I were supposed to be talking with each other!" Jonathan exclaimed to Dio. He was clearly frustrated that his attempts to act kindly towards his brother were being met with utter indifference, but now that Dio had explained himself, Jonathan's outburst was unnecessary.

"No need to yell, he was just confused," I defended in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

"Yes, you're right," Jonathan grumbled, but his actions expressed irritation as he slumped downwards on the sofa with crossed arms. I glanced at Dio just in time to see his expression fall from a pleased smirk to a worried frown. So Dio enjoyed annoying his sibling.

I sighed. These two would simply not get along; they were too childish with each other. I was just beginning to wonder what I should do when one of the servants told us the food had finished being prepared. We were headed from one awkward social situation to another, it seemed. At least there would be food this time.