Chapter Text
It was a day like no other. Jonathan stuck his head out the window of his father’s car. Sunlight poured onto him like a thick syrup. Cicadas sang and the wind whistled through the trees, carrying with them the delicate, playful scent of lilacs. His heart pounded in his ribcage, blood coursing through him with all the excitement and fervidity it could contain. It was finally the day. Finally, finally the day he’d been waiting for for such a long time.
“Jojo,” his father said, “are you ready for your first day of high school?”
“Ready?” Jonathan ducked back into the car. His eyes shone with a fervorous sparkle as he held two fists up to his chest. “I’m more than ready! I’m diving into the deep end! I’ll make all the friends possible, join the football team, stay on top of my studies - I’ll make you proud, dad!”
With a slight grin, George Joestar tilted his head towards his son. “Thank you, Jonathan. I have only the highest hopes for you. But please don’t forget about Dio Brando.”
“Huh? Dio Brando?” Jonathan slung his hand out the car window. “The guy you gave a scholarship to?”
“Yes. His father, Mister Dario Brando, saved our lives in a terrible car crash not too long after you were born. We owe the world to him. I implore you to do your best to welcome him to the school. It’s not very often a boy born into such a low class gets to attend a private high school, so you must do your best to make him feel secure in such an unfamiliar atmosphere.”
Jonathan nodded before turning his attention to the passing scenery. This was great. Not only was it his first day at high school, but he essentially already had an opening to be someone’s friend. Could things get any better?
Yes, Jonathan decided as they pulled up the long driveway to the school. It was so big! The school itself seemed to be built in the late 19th century. It was built out of heavy slate, a generous two stories, but sprawling out perhaps 90 meters in width. An intricate fountain found its place in front of the main doors, depicting a statue of an angel with her wings spread, gracefully hoisting a vase on her shoulder, slightly tipped to let water pour out for years to come. An immaculate emerald lawn surrounded the building, showing off the talent of everyone hired to work at the school. A few students toiled around in their uniforms, chatting away.
“Have a good day, Jojo.” His father leaned over the console and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Mmhm! You too, Dad!” Jonathan swung his door open and bound out of the car, barely remembering to grab his satchel before slamming the door shut. “Drive safe!” He shouted at the retreating car. “Say hi to Danny for me! Do your best at work today!” He kept waving until the car was well out of sight and spun on his heels, facing the school towering over him.
Happiness welled up in his heart. He could barely stand still, but he was too wound up to move. So he just stood there in awe, a weird look somewhere between a child’s never ending excitement and a student’s unbound pride stitched on his face.
“Jonathan Joestar,” A loud, powerful voice rang through the courtyard, velvety and dark. “I presume.”
Jonathan turned to see a boy sitting in the shade of one of the maple trees lining the property. Even in the shade, he managed to make his presence very… pronounced. To put it lightly. The air around him seemed unwilling to fill Jonathan’s lungs. He was unsure whether it was because this boy took his breath away or because he seemed to claim everything in a ten foot radius as his own. Either way, Jonathan found it very difficult to wrench out the few words he could.
“Yes, that’s me.” The boy in the shade smirked. He had golden hair and eyes as dark and opaque as rubies. His skin was like porcelain, cool and pale. Jonathan really doubted it would shatter as easily. If anything, this boy was like stone, unmoving in the face of opposition. And he didn’t need to lift a finger to make Jonathan fall silent.
“Of course it is. I wouldn’t mistake that idiot face anywhere.” The boy flicked a strand of hair back into place before crossing his arms. That intense and unwavering gaze locked onto Jonathan’s.
“Um… A-Are you Dio?” Jonathan smiled softly. He didn’t know what this boy was going on about, but he didn’t think he had done anything wrong. He must be mistaken.
“Hmph,” the boy grunted, “I wouldn’t use my name lightly if I were you.”
“Ah!” Jonathan brightened up a little. He immediately felt more comfortable knowing the name of this boy. “I’m so glad to meet you! Listen, you can call me Jojo, okay? I hope we can be friends! Your father is the reason I’m alive, after-”
“Listen.” Dio stood up, and a hush seemed to fall over the courtyard. Like a curtain had descended around them, and they were the only two who existed in this place at this point in time. He grabbed Jonathan’s collar as he passed, leaning close to his ear. “We will not, nor will we ever be, ‘friends’. Even the notion makes me disgustingly sick. I have only one thing I wish to say to you, and even that is hard enough to do without getting nauseous. Listen closely, Jojo, because if I’m forced to repeat it I will not hesitate to beat it into you. The only reason I’m talking to you right now is to put you into your place. Do not try to get into my way. Anything that stands between me and my goal will be struck down.”
Jonathan stood, dumbstruck, as Dio pushed away his collar like a filthy rag. “Goal?” he muttered. “What goal?” Dio didn’t reply. Instead, he leaned down to grab hold of his bag before heading into the school.
Jonathan turned, watching the boy he thought he would be his friend slip away. Had he done something wrong? Perhaps something in Jonathan’s tone of voice put him off. Dio had never been in this sort of atmosphere, so it was only natural that he would be defensive. Still, though… Something about the way that Dio simply took up space made him seem commanding and in charge. There was not even a hint of nervousness in his voice. It was rather scary, but…
“I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure it will all be okay!” Jonathan said, shrugging it off. “I’ll make Dio my friend, no matter what it takes!” He grinned before sparing a glance at the large clock that made its home on the front of the school building. The hands struck eight and the bell rang out, loud and unforgiving.
“Oh, crap!” Jonathan slung his bag over his shoulder and dashed into the school, pulling his schedule out of his pocket. It was all crumpled, but written right at the top of the first semester was English, Room 1240. Now, where was room 1240?
Jonathan peeked down one hallway, where he caught glance of room 1360. It had to be around here somewhere… But as he scanned the rows, the numbers were completely out of order. 2350, 1680, 3930. Ah, the layout of this school made no sense at all! Jonathan fought at tears stinging in the corners of his eyes. He couldn’t be late on his first day, his dad would be furious!
“Lost?” a voice mused. Jonathan looked up to see a tall boy with slick black hair and a tall checkered hat. It didn’t look like it was part of the uniform.
“I’m looking for room 1240, but it seems like it’s not anywhere!” Jonathan sighed.
“Hmm… Well, what class is it?” the boy circled around Jonathan and rested an arm on his shoulder, looking down at the schedule. “Ah, English. I see. That would be in the English wing. First floor, right wing. It’s somewhere over there.” The boy had a rich accent, probably Italian. He must have been a transfer student living in the dorms.
“Wow, thanks!” Jonathan nodded and gave a sparkling grin. “My name’s Jojo. What’s yours?”
“Zeppeli. William A. Zeppeli. But please, just refer to me as Zeppeli.”
“You’ve got it! I’ll have to pay you back for this sometime, Zeppeli. I’ll see you!” Jonathan waved and jogged down the hall. He wondered what Zeppeli was doing out here instead of in class, but he really had no time to. Still, it was nice to have made a friend already!”
“First floor, right wing. First floor, right wing. First floor, right - ah! There it is!” Jonathan threw open the door and gave his most apologetic expression while still maintaining optimism. “Sorry I’m late, everyone! I happened to get a little lost…”
“Please take a seat, Jonathan Joestar,” said the professor. She seemed to be in her late fifties or early sixties, gray and brown hair tied up in a strict bun.
“Yes…” Jonathan surveyed the class of students, all staring up at him, some smiling, some scowling, some just plain bored. There. An empty seat, right next to… “Dio? Dio, is that you?”
Dio clicked his tongue in disgust and turned to look out the window. What luck! To have a seat first period right next to the boy he most wanted to be friends with. Jonathan sat down and laid his bag on his desk. He didn’t want to annoy Dio too much on his first day, so he simply folded his hands on his desk and twiddled his thumbs. He wouldn’t try to talk to Dio too much today. He just needed to make Dio more comfortable, and things should work out just fine. He shouldn’t look too much, either.
…….Okay, maybe just one look. Jonathan glimpsed out of the corner of his eye, only to meet eyes with Dio for a split second before they both looked down at their desks. Was Dio curious? Jonathan tried hard to suppress a smile, but he was never quite that good at hiding his emotions. Maybe this would work out better than he thought.
The rest of class went on as expected. Jonathan took messy notes, only half-listening to the lecture. Most of his attention was focused on the blonde boy next to him, who now seemed incredibly uninterested in Jonathan’s presence. When the bell rang, Jonathan stood up forcefully, letting his chair scrape against the wood.
“Dio!” he said, perhaps a little louder than necessary. “Let’s compare schedules!”
Other students looked over curiously. Of course, everyone knew who Jonathan Joestar was - how couldn’t they? His family owned a cell phone company, and money practically fell into their laps. Barely a day went by when they didn’t have at least one story featured in the newspaper. And Jonathan himself was well known for his volunteer work and archaeological studies. What captivated them was a Joestar’s interest in Dio Brando, a boy whom they had never even heard of.
“Dio, huh?” someone in the class muttered. “Didn’t know you were friends with someone as cool as Jonathan Joestar!”
“Yeah, what does your family do?” someone else said.
“Man, I wish I could be friends with someone like that!”
Dio clenched his jaw. He looked like he was about to bust a vein. If he refused, he would be looked down at with scorn. He’d have practically no power in the school at all. However, the other side of the coin meant associating with someone as disgusting as Jonathan Joestar.
“Why... Of course Jojo and I are friends,” he said through gritted teeth.
“We are?!” Jonathan gasped and looked at Dio with wide eyes. “That’s - I’m so! Dio, I’m so glad you think of me that way!”
This man, concluded Dio, was a complete and utter idiot. Dio’s veins coursed with rage and he fought an impulse to strike out at him. But…
Perhaps this way, the cards were stacked in his favor. If he was ‘friends’ with Jonathan, it meant idolization in the eyes of the student body. Once a figure of status, it wouldn’t take much to destroy Jonathan. He seemed painfully easy to manipulate, and Dio was one hundred percent ready to manipulate the strings however he needed to.
Jonathan put an arm on Dio’s shoulder and laughed. “So, what do you have next? I have algebra! Room 2710!”
“Hah… What a coincidence, I do too.” Dio barely tried to conceal the annoyance in his voice.
“Perfect!" Jonathan said, refusing to pick up on the slight lilt in the other's voice. "We can walk to class! And even sit together. Hey, we have lunch after second period, right? We should eat at the same table!”
Jonathan went on and on, not pausing until they reached their next class.
This would not be as easy as it looked.