Chapter Four:
Emilia wouldn't consider herself an avid reader, by any means, but secretly prided on the fact that she had been educated enough to read. The books in the Joestar manor were thick heavy volumes; they held a signature musty smell that seemed to accompany them no matter where you place them. It was rare that the girl found one that she particularly liked. Periodically she would find herself rereading the same ones over and over again. It wasn't until a few days ago that Emilia noticed Dio Brando also used the library. That was why Emilia decided to spend the day in the library with him. The girl had originally been wanting to spend it outside, but she wanted to go somewhere that she knew Dio would like as well.
That was how the two found themselves in the same predicament from yesterday morning; neither of them knew how to start their conversation. However, even if that was the case, the silence wasn't as awkward as yesterday. It was almost relaxing in a sense as the only sound traveling through the library was the light tapping of their shoes as they browsed the various books that lined the walls.
As Emilia ran her fingers across the slightly dusty spines, glancing through the titles, she found herself getting lost in thought. That morning, she found Jojo to tell him about spending the day with Dio instead of him. To say that he was surprised was an understatement; this would be the first time that they split up for the day. It was an odd feeling that rested in each crevice of her body. The anxiety of separation fluttered violently in Emilia's stomach and traveled its way to her throat, a journey that took no less than a second. After breakfast, as they waved awkwardly to one another, a twist of foreign emptiness tugged at her heart. She felt terrible to leave Jojo by his lonesome but didn't want Dio to feel left behind either.
Clearly not paying attention, Emilia let out a gasp, reeling her hand back as she felt it brushing up against another warm hand. Looking over wide-eyed at Dio, she flushed red as she noticed his unimpressed gaze.
"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention," Emilia squeaked out. The girl couldn't believe how many times she'd already embarrassed herself in the few days that he had been staying at the Joestar manor.
Shaking his head, Dio waved off her apology. "If I may ask, what were you thinking about?"
"Oh...nothing really. It's just the first time that I haven't spent the day with Jojo. It's a little weird, to be honest," Emilia muttered, embarrassed, rubbing her injured arm nervously.
Dio hummed in response, nodding. Silence hung in the air again as they went back to browsing.
"I'm surprised that you chose to spend the day in the library. From what I've noticed, you and Jojo spend most of your time outside." Dio's smooth voice broke the silence once more.
The flush on her cheeks darkened as she hesitated to answer. "You seem to come in here a lot, so I wanted to choose somewhere that you would enjoy as well." Emilia wasn't sure whether to be even more embarrassed or relieved when he started laughing.
"I wouldn't have minded if you chose somewhere outside. I only come in here in the morning and afternoons. Did you think that I just constantly spent my time in here?" Dio couldn't help but tease as he laughed.
Emilia found that the answer was even more embarrassed as she tried to stutter out a defense. "Of course not, but I wasn't sure what else you liked!"
"Well, if you would like to go somewhere else, then I could show you a spot that I found the other day." Dio offered once he finally quit laughing.
Emilia hadn't been expecting him to offer to take her to another place. However, she was excited at the prospect of seeing somewhere new.
|||
The light breeze against the sweltering heat was a welcome feeling. Emilia hadn't been expecting Dio to take her to the woods that lay nearby the Joestar manor. The only time that she'd been in these woods was when Danny had run off in them chasing after a bird that he had seen. It was not a fun time attempting to get him to come back. The girl would've gotten lost if it wasn't for Mr. Joestar chasing after her as well. She was only six at the time and was scolded afterward for trying to go into the woods alone.
Trekking across the uneven terrain filled with random broken tree limbs and rocks wasn't easy in a long dress; although, her lack of coordination wasn't helping either. Grasping tightly onto her dress, Emilia had to keep it hiked over her ankles as she trailed across the sticks and limbs, keeping her eyes on the ground. The girl had already stumbled multiple times and almost fallen, much to the amusement of Dio, who was still silently snickering from her last blunder. If she hadn't been so afraid to cast her view from the ground, then she would've turned to glare at him. However, Emilia didn't trust her coordination enough for that and was afraid she'd only embarrass herself once more.
"It's just ahead now," Dio's voice broke her concentration. It was the first time either of them had spoken since they left the manor. The walk had been in comfortable silence, other than Dio's occasional snickering at Emilia's misfortune.
Sparing a glance away from her feet, Emilia let out a gasp, and she could feel her eyes widening. The sight before her was absolutely breathtaking. There was a break in the trees, creating a small opening in the middle sat a beautiful pond that had moss and small pebbles lining the outside of it. The sun glimmered off the pale green waters giving it an almost ethereal feel, which made the sight even more beautiful.
"How did you even find this place?" Emilia couldn't help but gasp out, not bothering to keep the awe from her voice. Even if she spent most of her time by the river with Jojo, there was just something even prettier and relaxing about this place. Maybe it was the fact that it was more secluded that it felt that way.
"I happened to come across here when I was exploring the area around the Joestar manor," Dio answered, coming to sit on the pebbles that rimmed the water. Patting the spot beside him, he invited her to sit beside him.
Hesitating to move closer to the water, Emilia shook her head and edged back. She still didn't like the idea of getting so close to the water. "I'm fine sitting back here," Emilia muttered, rubbing her arm nervously as she moved back.
"What's wrong?" Dio wasn't so much concerned as he was confused. What had happened? Was she afraid of him suddenly, or was it the water?
Emilia debated on if she should answer him or not. What would he think if she told him that she was afraid of getting too close to water, in fear of almost drowning again? Would he think she was weak or pitiful? Should she try and tough it out and sit next to him so that she doesn't have to answer? But then what if she starts panicking and he asks even more questions? Glancing up at him, the girl noticed he was waiting expectantly for her answer.
"I'm not a big fan of being near open water. Jojo and I had a close incident when we were younger and almost drowned. We would've too if it weren't for Danny," Emilia murmured anxiously, nervous about how he would respond.
"Oh..." Dio let out a sound of understanding. "Would you like to leave then? We can go back to the manor if you don't like being around the water," he offered, getting up and brushing the stray pebbles that clung onto his clothes. It was just his luck that she would fear being here. His plan of getting close to her just kept getting more and more difficult to accomplish.
Emilia shook her head, rubbing her arm anxiously. "I really like it here; I just can't get too close to the water," the girl tried to elaborate.
"If you're sure..." Dio didn't sound convinced about staying, but he relented. Moving to sit above the pebbles, he patted the spot next to him again. Edging closer to him cautiously, Emilia sat down beside him.
A peaceful silence fell over them after that, as they watched the subtle ripples flow across the mossy water. Glancing over at Dio, Emilia tried to detain her curiosity. Since he arrived at the manor, she had been wondering about his past life. The only thing that the girl was told before he moved in was that his father died. Was it really any of her business, though?
"What is it?" Dio questioned, turning to face her; he could feel her staring at him for the past few minutes.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Emilia hesitated for a moment before finally asking her burning question. Dio paused at her question before nodding slowly.
"What was it like before you moved here?" Emilia tilted her head curiously as she asked. Almost immediately after the question flowed from her lips, Dio's face darkened as he glowered at the ground. The boy didn't want to talk about his past living with his bastard of a father. Just the thought of him left a bitter taste in his mouth. That bastard made him and his mother's life a living hell... and eventually, he drove his mother to death as well.
Taking note of the tense atmosphere and his reaction, Emilia immediately apologized for bringing it up, awkwardly looking away. Of course, she would end up ruining the day.
|||
An array of orange and red hues flowed into Emilia's room as the sun began to set. She and Jonathan sprawled across her bed with Danny at their feet, having just come back from their separate days.
Burying her head under her pillows, Emilia just wanted to hide from the world. After the awkward moment with Dio, the girl was sure that she ruined any chances of befriending him. However, after a moment of strained silence, Dio waved off her apology, and they moved on. The rest of the day, though, was tense and uncomfortable. The girl really didn't want today to ruin their chances of friendship. There may be moments when Emilia is furious about things he had done, but whenever they are casually talking or spending time together, she ends up having a lot of fun with him.
Jonathan stared down in concern at Emilia, who hadn't said a word since they went into her room after eating. The boy had been super excited to tell her about his day with Erina. He had a lot of fun with her and wanted to invite Emilia to go out with them tomorrow; Jojo was sure that they would get along. However, he could tell that it wasn't the time to tell her about his day when she looked so upset.
"What's wrong?" Reluctantly Emilia lifted her head from under her pillows at the sound of Jonathan's concerned voice. Rolling over to face him, she reached out to pet Danny, who was snoring beside them.
"I feel like I ruined my chances at becoming friends with Dio today. I brought up something I shouldn't have and ended up ruining the day," Emilia responded glumly.
"I'm sure you didn't ruin your chances at befriending him, Em," Jonathan tried to comfort her. He wasn't sure what she said for her to think that way. But knowing her, it couldn't be as bad as she thinks it is.
"I hope not," Emilia murmured. Shaking her head, the girl tried not to think about it at the moment. When she and Jonathan met back up, Emilia could tell he wanted to tell her about his day but didn't because of her, and she felt bad for it.
"How did your day with Erina go?" Jonathan's eyes almost immediately lit up at the mention of it.
"I had so much fun with her today; I'm sure you would've loved it as well. We rode the rollercoaster that just opened up in town and went around the different booths. We're going to be meeting up tomorrow if you want to tag along this time. I'm sure you two will get along great!" Jonathan rambled on excitedly about his day as Emilia listened, amused. She was glad that his day had gone well.
"I would love to tag along tomorrow, but I promised Dio I would spend the day with him again." On the way back to the manor, Dio invited her to meet up at the same spot again. Emilia agreed, hoping that tomorrow would end up turning out better than today. "We should definitely arrange for all of us to meet up sometime soon, though," the girl promised, excited at the prospect of meeting someone new.
|||
The next few days seemed to fly by as Emilia and Jonathan kept their own separate schedules. Throughout the time that the girl had been spending with Dio, they had gotten a lot closer; she was more than relieved that she hadn't ruined their chances at friendship by bringing up his past the other day. Last night they, unfortunately, had to cut their day short, though, as Dio claimed he had somewhere else to be. By the time the girl had made it back to the manor by herself, Jonathan had already managed to arrive as well. The two almost immediately went into her room to talk about their days.
As they talked in her room with Danny at their feet again, they were practically brimming with excitement. Tomorrow would be the day that Emilia would finally go with Jojo to meet Erina. They planned to meet up at the ice cream shop after breakfast and go about their day from there. It had been a while since Emilia had gone into town, though, so she was even more excited for their day tomorrow.
That morning, Emilia and Jojo were bursting with excitement. She had actually woken up early, unable to sleep as the anticipation built up inside of her. During breakfast with everyone, they had actually gotten scolded for being too loud at the table while they went on about what they wanted to do.
After scarfing down their breakfast, the two tried to rush out the door as quickly as possible to see Erina. However, they were stopped by Mr. Joestar calling out to them.
"Jojo! Emilia!" Turning toward him, they looked at him, confused. He had never stopped them from going out before, so what was different this time?
"I know you two are excited about seeing your friend, but I need you to do me a favor. While you are in town, do you mind picking up a few things for me?" Mr. Joestar requested, handing them a small list. Looking through it, Emilia recognized them to be more books; just from the titles, she could guess that they were most likely for more lessons. Reluctantly they agreed, slightly disappointed that they might end up late to meet Erina.
"I can go run and grab these really quick while you meet up with Erina," Emilia suggested as they began their walk to town.
"I'd feel bad if you had to go alone to do it, though. We could both try and hurry before it's time to meet Erina," Jonathan tried to refuse her offer.
"If we both end up being late, though, Erina may think that we stood her up. Just go to the meetup spot and explain to her what happened." Emilia ended up winning the argument and was left to wander by herself, in search of the items once they split up in town.
Shoving her way through the already busy streets, the girl maneuvered her way into the book store. Once Emilia was inside, she let out a sigh of relief. The constant bustling crowds were why she hardly went to town anymore; it was far too busy for her.
By the time the girl found all of the books on the list, she was more than ready to find Jojo and Erina. It took her forever to find the last book on the list, and her social anxiety left the girl unwilling to ask for help. Just as she was about to give up on it, she found a copy shoved carelessly behind two other books.
Letting out a relieved sigh to be out of the stifling book store, Emilia held the bag in the nook of her elbow and made her way to the ice cream shop. However, the girl was left confused as she couldn't spot Jojo or Erina anywhere. Emilia was sure that she and Jonathan agreed to meet here, even if she ended up running a bit late, so what had happened?
"Looking for little Jojo?" A mocking voice came from behind her. Turning to face whoever had spoken, Emilia wasn't all that surprised to find she and Jonathan's most frequent bullies standing there.
"What did you do?" Emilia spat out defensively, narrowing her gray eyes at them.
"Oh nothing, but you may want to run back to your manor, little Em," the same boy jeered, pointing mockingly toward the direction of the Joestar manor.
"I swear," Emilia muttered to herself, sending one last glare to the boy, before running toward the manor as fast as she could in her dress. She was so sick of her and Jonathan getting bullied by them there wasn't much she could do about it, though, unfortunately.
Bursting through the doors of the manor, Emilia froze in shock as she witnessed what was happening in the foyer. Jonathan was screaming Dio's name in anger as he punched Dio repeatedly. At the sound of the doors being thrown open, he had finally stopped after one final punch and look wide-eyed at Emilia. Jonathan didn't want her to walk in on this, especially since she had gotten close to Dio.
Staring in shock between the two boys, Emilia wasn't sure what to think of the situation. She was sure that Jonathan had a valid reason to be angry at Dio, but he took the fight too far in her eyes. Dio was now standing slowly back up; blood was everywhere in the foyer. Watching the battered blond, the girl was even more surprised to see tears welling in his eyes, slowly streaming down his swollen cheeks.
Letting out an angered shout, the blond ignored Emilia's presence looming in the foyer, bringing out a small pocket knife.
"Hey, put that away!" Emilia rushed forward without thinking, throwing the bag of books to the ground as she tried to stop the fight. However, she didn't get far as Mr. Joestar intervened from the top of the stairs looking down in the foyer.
"What is going on down here?!" At the sound of his voice, everybody froze, turning to stare at him wide-eyed. "Boys fight, that is natural. But Jojo, you were hitting Dio even when he was defenseless. That is unforgivable."
"But-" Jonathan tried to explain but was cut off by Mr. Joestar again.
"I don't want to hear it. Both of you to your rooms now! I'll speak to each of you later." At his demand, both of the boys complied with their heads down.
For once in her life, Emilia was at a standstill at what to do in this type of situation. Any other time she would be rushing to comfort Jojo and talk it through. However, now she had to choose between checking on him or Dio. What was the fight about, and who threw the first punch?
"Emilia, go to your room as well. Both of them need to be alone right now." Well, it looks like the decision was made for her. Hesitantly nodding to Mr. Joestar, she went up to her room as well. Maybe it was for the best; the girl still didn't know whose side she was on in this situation.
|||
The next day, the butler was doing his chores as normal. Throwing the piles of trash into the incinerator, he couldn't help but notice an odd crate resting inside. However, he shrugged it off, assuming that a maid had thrown it in. Pulling out a match, the butler struck it, first lighting the cigarette that had been resting in his mouth before throwing it into the incinerator.
As he began walking away to continue his other chores, the butler swore that he could hear something coming from inside. At first, he couldn't tell what is what. However, the more the flames rose from inside, the louder the noise was getting. Ear-piercing whimpers and yelps were coming from inside the incinerator.
|||
Jonathan was chatting energetically with Emilia as they returned from their spot. Danny had split off earlier, chasing after something, and still hadn't returned. However, it wasn't an unusual occurrence, and he always met back up with them at the manor, so neither of them was concerned that they hadn't seen him in a while.
After the entire fighting incident in the foyer yesterday, Emilia wasn't sure how her day would go today. The girl still didn't know who was at fault for starting the fight, and quite frankly, Emilia wasn't sure if she wanted to know. She knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to choose a side, not between her brother and her first actual friend.
It was awkward that morning as Emilia was unsure of what to do. Breakfast couldn't seem to go any slower if it tried as they all sat in uncomfortable silence. It was probably the first morning that they hadn't gotten scolded for being too loud as they ate. Out of habit, she started to head toward her and Jojo's spot before stopping herself. However, Jojo had come running up to her, awkwardly asking if she wanted to go to their spot. It took her a moment of debating before the girl finally agreed. In all honesty, she just wanted to forget that yesterday happened and continue with life normally.
When they finally reached their spot, Jojo tried to explain what happened yesterday when she went to the bookstore. However, Emilia waved him off, begging him not to tell her. She didn't want to be stuck in the position of being upset with one of them. Hesitantly Jonathan agreed. The first half of the day was filled with the tension from yesterday still hanging over them. However, as the day progressed, it seemed to fade away. It had been a while since the siblings spent a whole day together, and both of them had really missed it. Even if they were ecstatic to finally have friends of their own, it was nice to hang out at their spot like they had been doing for years.
As they got nearer to the manor, the siblings were surprised to find that Danny still hadn't come to find them. Sharing a confused look, the two rounded the corner to the back in search of him.
"Danny!" The two called as they rounded the corner. However, they stopped short once they entered the backyard and noticed everybody crowding around a mound of dirt. On top of the dirt sat two sticks that were tied together, forming a cross.
"Father?" Jonathan questioned Mr. Joestar, who stood in front of the mound.
"I'm sorry, Jojo, Emilia. The sight was just too gruesome; we had to bury him immediately," as Mr. Joestar sorrowfully began to explain what happened, the siblings looked at him confused. "The butler didn't realize that Danny had been in the incinerator when he lit it. The police believe that it was a robber who wanted Danny out of the way."
Emilia felt as though her entire world had collapsed around her as she listened to Mr. Joestar talk. Danny had been her and Jojo's best friend since they were five, and now he was gone? As much as the girl wanted to refuse to believe it, she couldn't. After all, the evidence was sitting right before her.
It took a moment before the news fully settled in, and once it did, Emilia broke down sobbing as she collapsed to her knees. The sound of someone running into the manor made her lookup. Sniffling, she realized that it was Jojo. Shakily, Emilia stumbled to her feet. Staggering after Jojo, she rushed up to his room behind him.
Not even bothering to knock as she reached his room, Emilia burst in. Seeking each other's comfort, they cried into each other's shoulders.
Emilia felt as though she was flooding in her tears. They flowed down her face, and her chest, making the top of her dress uncomfortably wet. She, Danny, and Jojo had gone through so much together. It was always the three of them against the world. Danny may have scared her at first, but after he saved their lives, she was forever thankful for having him as a pet. Her allergies never stopped her from seeking the dog for comfort or even just to play with him. She pushed through it and dealt with the consequences later. What were they going to do without Danny around anymore? It was a question that neither of them had ever wanted or thought to ask.