For You I Will
By: Niq
Started: 6/9/2011
Author's Note: This is a companion story to my short story of the same name. Namely it has my two characters Mikasi and Jamie.

~***~

Chapter 1

The first day of the school year was always Mikasi's least favorite. It wasn't because it was school; it was because the weather was still summer. At eight O'clock it was already getting overly warm in the classrooms unlucky enough to get the morning sun. At times like this Mikasi always seriously considered cutting his shoulder length, raven black hair. It was coarse and thick, holding in the heat like a horse blanket. In the end he never went through with that idea. He sighed and dug in his backpack for the hair elastic he'd put in there knowing he'd most likely need it. He hadn't thought he'd need it so early in the day though.

Mikasi looked up from his bag when he heard some of his classmates start to murmur. As he pulled out the hair-tie and began to pull his hair into some semblance of a ponytail he watched as a new student walked up the isle to the only empty desk, which happened to be right next to him. He managed not to stare like the rest of the class, choosing to look in the direction of the teacher, which still gave him a good view of the newcomer. At first he'd thought the new student was a girl because of his delicate features, but as the person came closer he could tell he was a boy. He was thin, almost too thin, and fragile looking. The boy looked like he was Asian or at least Asian decent. This was accented by the hairstyle the boy wore. Mikasi had seen the style worn by Korean and Japanese pop stars and actors; almost shoulder length in the back, layered choppily, giving it an organized messy look, with a fringe of bangs draped over his right eye. It suited him well, though with his soft features a lot of people probably made the same initial mistake he had, thinking he was a girl.

The thing that was making everyone stare though, and compelled Mikasi not to stare, was his cream colored hair, eyebrows and lashes included, pale translucent skin, and powder blue eyes that almost looked lavender in the florescent school lights. Mikasi was familiar with the condition and knew how rude his classmates were being. It never ceased to amaze Mikasi how open and diverse people claimed to be, then when it came down to it people would stare, fear, and hate.

~***~

Walking into his new school behind his big brother, Jamie couldn't help but feel the way he'd felt at any other school; alienated. He was glad for one thing, that he couldn't see most of the people's faces enough to tell their reactions to him. Being visually impaired sometimes had its perks.

Jamie followed his brother, who was grudgingly showing him to his first class. When they'd found the right room, his brother was off to his first class with out a word. Jamie was used to this treatment and wandered into his class.

It wasn't surprising to Jamie when most everyone in the class stared as he began to move towards the only empty seat in the room. He couldn't really see the student's expressions but thankfully he was able to tell which seat was vacant. That was one less embarrassing thing he'd have to ask about or have shown to him.

The thing that did surprise Jamie was one boy in the class wasn't staring, he noticed this when he got closer. The only available seat was next to him, giving Jamie an excellent chance to notice this phenomenon. Just before Jamie sat down he took note that while the boy was trying to pull his hair back into a ponytail he was going to great lengths to look at the teacher instead of him. He found this odd and didn't know what to make of it.

Putting his shabby backpack under his desk, Jamie sat down and couldn't help glancing over at the boy next to him. He almost said hello to the boy but shyness overtook him and he turned his attention to the teacher, who was beginning to start her history lecture.

Just before the end of class Jamie was squinting through his magnifying glass, trying to see the badly copied class schedule the office had given him. They hadn't even bothered to try and enlarge it for him and most of the information was obscured by shadows. They'd obviously used a copier on it. Why they hadn't simply printed it out for him he didn't know.

When the teacher finally stopped talking and the bell rang, Jamie heard a strong voice next to him ask, "Hey would you like some help? The idiots running the office can't seem to give students a clean copy of a class schedule to save their lives."

Jamie looked up and saw the boy he was sitting next to standing right beside him, looking down questioningly. "If you don't mind...thanks," he said shyly as he handed the piece of paper over.

Giving a low whistle, the boy smirked at Jamie. "It's your lucky day," the boy said. When Jamie only looked confused the boy continued, "I have all of these classes. Stick with me, I'll show you around." After a moments pause he added, "My name's Mikasi."

"If you're sure you don't mind...thanks. I'm Jamie."

Mikasi smiled, "Come on, we better get to our next class," he suggested.

~***~

When the bell for lunch rang, Mikasi lead Jamie to the cafeteria. Mikasi got in the lunch line and watched as Jamie found a table to sit at. A frown crossed Mikasi's face when he saw Jamie pull out a water bottle and nothing else. He didn't know much about Jamie and he knew it wasn't really any of his business but it bothered him that the boy didn't have a lunch, especially with how thin he was.

A few minutes later Mikasi arrived at the table to join Jamie, carrying two trays and set one in front of Jamie, then sat down. Jamie blinked in confusion at the tray then at Mikasi.

"You better eat, lunch isn't that long," Mikasi said simply as he began to eat.

Not sure what to make of all this, Jamie began to eat but decided to ask a few questions. "I was wondering...everyone else was staring this morning in history, but not you..."

At first Mikasi didn't say anything and took a few more bites of his lunch. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to divulge on their first day knowing each other, even if it did feel like they were old friends. In the end he decided to just answer truthfully and let whatever came to him out.

"My cousin Donoma has albinism, we were really close friends till her and her mom moved. We still keep in touch but it's been a few years and our lives have kind of drifted in different directions," Mikasi said with a hint of regret.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jamie sympathized. "I have to admit, it's nice having someone be familiar with the condition. And it's nice of you to help me out like you have," he added with a slight blush.

"Don't mention it," Mikasi said dismissively. "Oh, that reminds me. I noticed you only have the regular text books...do you have a way to read those besides that little magnifier or someone at home to read them to you?"

Looking down at his tray, Jamie didn't answer. Embarrassment overtook him. He couldn't believe Mikasi was so concerned for him; they'd only just met about four hours ago.

"I'll take that as a no," Mikasi chuckled. "I'd be happy to help you out, hell maybe I'll understand the material better if I do," he added.

"Why are you being so nice? We barely know each other," Jamie asked in complete confusion. No one had ever been this nice to him or cared so much, especially not this soon after meeting.

"Why not?" Mikasi shrugged.

Jamie poked at what was left on his tray with his fork, not sure what to say to that. He simply wasn't used to someone taking interest in him or wanting to help him. It was a good feeling but odd. The fact that Mikasi was rather handsome made Jamie even more nervous. He'd accepted the fact that he liked guys a year or so ago, it wasn't like he could disappoint his family any more than he already had. Jamie had his share of crushes since then, but none of those guys ever knew he existed. Now here Mikasi was very friendly and helpful. It was almost too good to be true. He'd have to watch himself; he highly doubted someone like Mikasi was gay. That of course was an assumption, but he'd rather assume he was straight then the opposite and ruin the chance at a real friendship.

"So, what'ya say?" Mikasi asked.

"Huh...about what?" Jamie wondered, just coming out of his thoughts.

"Studying after school together," Mikasi chuckled. "You really aren't used to people taking an interest are you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Jamie asked with embarrassment.

"Only so you could notice," Mikasi teased. "Eh, don't worry about it."

With a nervous laugh, Jamie ran his fingers through his platinum blond hair. "I wouldn't mind studying together," he said shyly.

"Okay then, so the only thing now is whose place do we want to study at, or would you rather it be somewhere neutral?" Mikasi inquired, then finished the last few bites of his lunch while he waited for Jamie's answer.

Considering this while he too finished his meal, Jamie wasn't sure what would be more appropriate. On one hand he didn't think it would be a good idea to expose Mikasi to his family, at least not yet. On the other hand he wasn't sure if his parents would approve of him going elsewhere. Sadly the only reason they'd disapprove was because it would hinder his chores, he doubted they'd even notice him gone if it weren't for that.

Startled out of his thoughts by the bell, signaling the end of lunch, Jamie stood up and collected his things and followed Mikasi to their next class.

"Will you're parents mind if you bring someone over on such short notice?" Jamie asked softly.

"My place huh?" Mikasi smiled, "its fine, while we head to our next class, after this, I'll call my mom and give her a heads up."

"I should probably tell my brother," Jamie said thoughtfully.

"You could always use my phone and call your parents too," Mikasi offered.

"They won't be home, my brother will tell them," Jamie replied as they walked into their classroom.

"Okay. Do you know where he's gonna be?" Mikasi wondered as they found desks next to each other.

"I'm suppose to meet him out front after school," Jamie said, his voice just a little apprehensive.

Mikasi gave Jamie a sidelong glance, not sure to make of the small amount of fear he heard in the boy's voice. He had the distinct feeling there was something not quite right about Jamie's home life. It wasn't his place to say anything, at least not this soon in their friendship. For all he knew he could just be chasing shadows anyway. All he knew was his first impression was that of an abused or at least neglected young man. It was mostly Jamie's demeanor coupled with his clothes and belongings. He dressed nice enough but the clothes were secondhand and were in need of replacing. Then there was Jamie's backpack, it looked as if it had been chewed up by some large creature then spat back out. It was amazing it held together, let alone with books in it. These things could be explained if he came from a poor family though, so again he had no real reason to be overly concerned. It was just a gut feeling that was starting to grow stronger.

His thoughts were interrupted by their math teacher beginning to class. At the moment it was a welcome distraction from the worry that had crept into his mind.