Word Count: 2955

"Zarah, Hachi, give me a wave goodbye!" You called out, cooing at the dolphins. The animals, hearing the familiar phrase and realizing that you were leaving, waved their flippers at you while chattering. You giggled and waved back before making your way down from the pool and out the staff door, ready to go home and unwind.

As you opened the door, you were met with the giant dimly lit room of the dolphin exhibit. Mock-up skeletons and information was strewn up everywhere, their own small sources of light, illuminating the needed objects so that most of the room was still shrouded in darkness, creating atmosphere. Of course, the main attraction of the room was the gigantic glass tank where you could see the dolphins swimming around. It cast a dark blue glow through the darkness, luring people to come view the animals that the entire rest of the room was hyping up.

Looking into the tank yourself, you saw the dolphins you had said goodbye to just now swimming around, trying to catch you in the crowd like they did every day, almost as if it was a game of hide and seek. Zahra and Hachi were both rescues. They had sustained injuries that would make it impossible for them to survive in the wild and thus they lived their lives here at the aquarium, educating people and just continuing to live. And it was your job to make them happy every day. Keep them busy and entertained. You liked to think that you succeeded in that.

Starting to walk, you were zig-zagging through the crowd of people with a polite smile on your face, trying to make it from the pool area to the dressing rooms. Why they had to build the staff rooms so far was a mystery to you, but you weren't about to complain.

A woman suddenly stopped you, asking about the dolphins and you turned to her, answering her question with a smile. Pretty soon those that stood around had gained an interest and you were now answering way too many questions for your liking. You just wanted to go home but here you were, standing still, surrounded by people and answering questions. Curse customer policy.

While you were busy answering the questions of the people around you, a familiar face grew more and more annoyed with the noise.

Jotaro had come to the aquarium to just relax and now there was a whole mob of people, screeching and chattering away as if they owned the place. Sending an annoyed glance their way, he had to do a double take when he saw you standing in the middle of it. You were wearing a wetsuit, your hair still wet from – presumably – being in the water and an awkward smile on your face. He immediately noted how uncomfortable you were, fidgeting slightly while keeping the forced smile on your face.

'Tch, why didn't you just get out of there if it made you so uncomfortable?'

Half of him wanted to just leave you there but against his better judgement, he stepped up to the crowd.

- - - -

You tried the best you could to get yourself out but no matter what, the people kept asking questions. It was almost closing time, how come there were so many people here anyways? An unease started growing in the pit of your stomach and your breath got shorter and quicker the longer it went on.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The large booming voice echoed off the walls for a second, making you practically jump out of your skin as your heart raced a million miles per hour on instinct. Your head shot up to see Jotaro Kujo standing there, towering over the entire crowd with an enraged scowl on his face.

"L/N, come." He briskly stated and walked past the crowd, not even sparing the people a glance as they all looked at him with an offended look.

You were too shocked to move for a bit but saw your window of opportunity was dwindling by the second. "Ah, excuse me, please." You sent everyone a small smile before hightailing it out of there, running to catch up to Kujo.

He didn't even acknowledge you next to him and you bit your lip as you walked along with him in silence, your posture as stiff as a board. The doors to the changing rooms were already coming up so you quickly turned to the classmate beside you.

"Thank you, Kujo. I really appreciate it." You stopped walking as you said that. Surprisingly, he did the same, looking back over his shoulder at you. "Guess I'll see you on Monday." Making sure to not make any eye contact with him, you just turned to face the doors and started walking to go inside. Before you could go in however, a hand was placed on your shoulder and you turned back to see him look at you from underneath his hat.

"You never mentioned you work here." His tone was matter-of-fact and harsh like usual but having him ask such a normal and casual question made your shoulders loosen up slightly – feeling a little more at ease around him.

"Ah yeah, I thought it would be a little like cheating if I mentioned that on the paper; but I work with the dolphins here." You smiled a small smile before clearing your throat, not really knowing what to do.

Jotaro just looked at you for a second, his face not giving away what he was thinking before he hummed and turned around, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "See ya." With that, his towering figure walked away, getting smaller and smaller until you realized you were staring after him and quickly snapped yourself out of it, walking through the door to go change and go home.

- - - -

Two weeks had passed since turning in the assignment that you and Jotaro had been partnered up for.

In that time, the interaction you had had with the man was close to nothing. The little run-in in the aquarium being the only point in which he had spoken to you again. Why did you think of this?

Because he had just sat down right next to you during lunch break.

You had a free period after lunch so you decided to go outside and sit under a tree. It was autumn so most people stayed indoors, meaning it was the best moment to get some peace and quiet and read a book without the noisiness of the usual student body.

So, when Jotaro Kujo had suddenly plopped himself down to your left, leaning against the tree as if it was a common occurrence, you were quite confused.

"Umm, hi?" You tried, looking sideways at him only to immediately be shut down.

"Be quiet." He didn't even so much as glance at you as he said that, only continuing to look forward. Taking the words to heart, you shut your mouth with an audible clack and looked back down to the book in your lap while Jotaro pulled out a cigarette, lighting it.

Thankfully for you, the wind was blowing to the left, meaning the smoke was blown away from you – although you could still very noticeably smell it, given that you were sitting right next to him. Being forced to sit right in front of him in class every day caused you to be a bit desensitized to the smell luckily but when he was smoking right next to you it was a little bit harder to ignore.

However, without any questions asked, you just accepted him sitting there and returned to reading your book. It took a little bit but once you were fully engrossed in your book again, there was a comfortable silence hanging between the two of you. Not a single other word was uttered during the next hour but somehow, you enjoyed your time with him. Just the feeling of having someone sit next to you without any obligations or need to converse made you happy.

"Chocolate?" Your eyes didn't leave your book as you offered a piece of the treat, putting one of your own in your mouth. You didn't often have sweets like this – having gotten this as a gift from your boss – but it felt wrong to not offer to share, especially since he had went out of his way to come sit with you. At least, that's what it seemed like.

There was a pause until you felt the piece be tugged from your hand, hearing a small 'thanks' come from him. You smiled a little to yourself, going back to reading.

Slowly but surely, the free period came to an end and you pulled yourself out of the trance your book had put you in, looking up to notice Kujo was staring at you. You crossed eyes with him, giving him a questioning look but he just looked away, making you shrug.

With a sigh, you closed your book before putting it in your bag and getting up, dusting yourself off a little bit from sitting on the ground before turning to face your classmate. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't making any moves to get to class.

"Well, bye, I guess!" You sent him a small smile before turning around and walking to school to get to your next class.

Jotaro followed your figure the entire time as you walked away, lighting another cigarette now that you were away and wouldn't be bothered by the smoke. His mind recalling the hour that had just passed.

- - - -

It continued like this for the next two weeks. Just small moments where you'd pass him and say hello, where he would randomly sit next to you without a word and you'd spend some time together in silence. Neither of you really spoke much. You, too anxious and afraid to say something, and him not even bothered to. And yet, there was a strange form of friendship there. At least, you'd like to think so.

You were walking through the halls of the school, just being set free for lunch. Students flooded the halls and you just tried your best to stay out of the way of people. As you were walking though, one of the classroom doors swung open right as you walked past, the class inside being let out by the teacher a little late.

The piece of wood smashed into you, hitting your forehead since you were walking with your eyes glued to the ground. In an immediate reaction, your body flung itself back and you were left to tumble to the ground, if it weren't for a hand that suddenly caught you.

With his hand on your mid back, Jotaro stopped you from sprawling onto the floor, pushing a little to set you upright and only removing his hand when you were steady. Some students from inside the classroom rushed out, immediately apologizing when they saw you on the other side of the door, clutching your head. You must've still been a little dazed since you looked around, trying to figure out what exactly happened.

Jotaro just 'tch'd' and grabbed the shoulder of a boy in front of him, who was profusely apologizing to you. Apparently he was the one who flung the door open. "Move, you're holding everything up." With that, Jotaro pushed the boy to the side and started walking down the hall in large strides, his little gaggle of fans on his heels, annoying him immensely.

He sat down to eat and after what felt like forever, he finally managed to get the clique of fangirls to shove off, leaving him some peace and quiet.

Small footsteps sounded after a few minutes and with a glare that could kill, he looked up; ready to yell at whoever was there to fuck off.

-

You meekly approached Jotaro halfway through lunch. You had spent the first half in the nurse's office, holding an ice pack to your forehead and now, here you stood. You'd never approached the delinquent before. He was always the one to randomly sit down next to you, so you were nervously rubbing your arm as you walked closer.

He must've noticed you approaching as he suddenly looked up with a deadly glare, making you freeze where you stood. Upon crossing eyes with you however, he seemed to let up a bit, his glare turning into his usual cold look.

"What?"

"I just wanted to say thank you. For- for in the hall I mean."

Jotaro just hummed, returning his attention back to his food. Realizing that was that, you dropped your arms to your side a bit awkwardly, moving them up and down as if they were penguin flippers while you decided what to do. Not knowing what else to say, you just turned around and went to walk away when his voice stopped you.

"Y/N." You turned back, worrying you did something wrong. Jotaro just had his eyes closed however, in an aloof pose. "Sit." He pointed his thumb to beside himself and your eyes widened slightly, not expecting him to invite you to sit with him.

You knew better than to ignore or disobey him though, so you just re-gripped your bag and gingerly sat down next to him. Maybe at a little bit of an awkward distance but the boy seemed to not be bothered, continuing his business as usual while you just quietly took out your lunch and started eating it.

"Did you go to the nurse?" Jotaro suddenly spoke up and you looked up from eating, seeing him side-eyeing you.

You hummed in answer, swallowing the food you had in your mouth so you could properly respond. "Gave me some ice to keep the swelling down, I only have a bit of a headache now."

Jotaro just grunted in response, returning to being his usual stoic self as you sat in silence for the rest of lunch. Little interactions like this being the only ones you had with the brooding teen for these weeks.

- - - -

"Mom? It's time to wake up." You softly called out into the room.

"I'm up, I'm up. Don't come too close, Honey." Your mom coughed slightly as she sat up but you ignored her and walked in to place the breakfast you prepared on her bed. Your Stand came out and put her shield in front of you. Its large rectangular form with rounded edges was big enough to cover your entire body, protecting you from a little more direct danger of catching whatever your mom had, though you highly doubted what she had was contagious. The shield was see-through from your perspective and you sighed as you placed the food down, looking at your mom's visible discomfort. She was at least moving around, unlike the last few weeks, giving you some hope that maybe things were on the up and up.

"I'll see you after school, okay?" You asked before walking back out of the room and closing the door, leaning back against it. Your Stand was still out, looking at you with concern and you took a second to really look back at her.

Ever since you were little, your Stand – White Knight – had been there for you. First as an imaginary friend, then as a protector. Her ornate armor covering her body, the giant shield in her right hand as if it weighed nothing, while her left was always empty. Her entire appearance a white and bronze colour, from her armor, to the helmet covering her head and lower part of her face. Her skin, a dark grey – almost black while her white-grey eyes, pupil-less, stared into your own. She had always been there for you and you knew she was real, despite what the people around you said when you mentioned her when you were younger. It took a while but you discovered what she was by doing research – not that that told you too much, just that it was real and called a 'Stand'.

Having to see your mother like this day in and day out drained you to the core. There were very few things you could still hold onto that kept you going. Two of which you always held with you.

Looking from your Stand down to your left hand, you brought it up so that you could look at the ring that adorned your ring finger. It was a simple, almost plain ring. No gem, no engraving, just a silver wedding band. Yet the emotional value behind it made it one of the most important things you owned. And you wore it every single day. Just looking at it was enough to give you hope.

This ring and your Stand were the things you always held close. Just looking upon either one gave you enough of a boost. To take that step, to get up out of bed, to keep going.

You must've been lost in thought for you were snapped out of it when your Stand hovered right in front of your vision, her entire demeanor conveying concern. You stared back with a sad smile only to be interrupted when there was a loud knock on your front door.

Both you and your Stand whipped your heads towards the origin of the noise, your Stand instinctively taking a defensive position when you got startled.

Quickly shaking it off, you brought your Stand back in before walking to the door and opening it pensively, your eyes widening when you saw who was at the door.

"Dad?!" 

17-03-2021