Chapter 13 :

The day went by faster than Jim and Dolphy had expected and before the two teenagers could really decide about what they were gonna do when they met Carren,it was evening.The sun began to disappear behind thick dark clouds,letting only some weak rays of light shining through.The weather was dreary and tristless,it wasn`t raining,but the cold wind blew loudly around the Interstellar Academy.Inside the big building everyone was getting back from supper and walking through the hallways,chatting and laughing while they were returning to their rooms.The enlightened windows were the only things which tempered the disastrous atmosphere outside.

Jim and Dolphy were waiting at the place Rakitan had told them to meet Carren...who was nowhere to be seen.

„Maybe he won`t come?“ meant Dolphy as she looked around her.

„No,I`m pretty sure he just wants to give us a short reprieve...“

„Yeah,but maybe he fell down the stairs and broke his neck?“ she grinned.

Jim tried to hide his smile.

„Nice idea,but do you really think now is the time for making jokes?“

„Hey,that was no joke!“ yelled Dolphy. „It was whishful thinking.“

After they had waited for another few minutes Jim calmly said :

„Well,maybe he was kidnapped by aliens?“

Dolphy looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

„Jim,reagarding that we`re on an alien planet in a universe full of aliens this joke really loses its funny part.“

He shrugged with his shoulders and gave her a sheepish smile.Suddenly a voice came from the distance,yelling and addressing the two teenagers without a doubt.

„Sorry that you had to wait,just thought ya might enjoy some of your last time together.“ said Carren with a gloating grin as he approached them with Lenaro by his side.

Dolphy didn`t know what to say and Jim glared angrily at him.

„What do you want?“

Carren crossed his arms and shot him an arrogant look.

„Can`t you imagine?You were so rash to violate our arrangement and,as you may guess, I can`t stand people doing that.“

„Well,what are you gonna do against it?“ asked Jim challengingly.

„Oh,it`s quite simple.Part with each other or you`ll get the sound trashing of your life!“

„Okay,that`s enough!“ yelled Dolphy and stood between the two men. „What`s your problem!?Don`t you have a private life or some other people you can annoy?Tell me only one logical reason why you`re giving us such a hard time!And please,this time I wanna hear something else than the usual I`m great, you`re scum–stuff!“

The mocking grin which was to be seen on Carren`s face just a few seconds ago had turned into clenched teeth and a furious look.He was glaring at Dolphy with cold eyes that almost disappeared under his narrowed eyebrows.

„I`m so sick of you!“ he snarled. „I`ve never forgotten what you did to me!Ya made fun of me in front of the guys who used to look up at me!I had to beat ´em up to silence them.To be ridiculed by a girl,you`re the first and last one who dared that!“

„Ooh,didn`t know that having been kicked by a girl was such a huge blow for your ego.I underestimated the mysterious male pride.“ meant Dolphy cynically. „But what the heck do you have against Jim?“

„You understand absolutely nothing!You`re the only two who ever dared to stand in my way! You,two freaks who`re worth nothing...and trust me,you`ll get what you deserve!“ he snarled and raised his fist,ready to punch Dolphy as hard as he could but before he could do so Jim had pushed her away and was hit instead of her.He sank to the ground and gasped for air.

„Jim!“

As Carren walked towards her menacingly Jim,who was back on his feet again in a matter of seconds,threw himself against the taller boy and sent him to the hard earth.He tried to keep him down but Carren was not just bigger and heavier than Jim but also stronger.He pushed the boy away from him and pinned him down easily.Dolphy stared in shock as Carren began to beat him without mercy.Seeing Jim being punched over and over again brought her back to reality and just as she got up and wanted to run in their direction to help him someone grabbed her and hold her left arm tightly behind her back.

„Not so fast,chick.“ meant Lenaro whom she had almost forgotten to be there as well.

As she heard Jim yelling in pain a sudden power raised inside her and she pushed her elbow with all her strenght in Lenaro`s stomach, which caused him to lose the grip on her in an instant.To make sure he wouldn`t hinder her from helping Jim again she landed him a right hook so that he fell on the ground unconsciously.

„Don`t mess with a freak.“ she grinned but quickly remembered that somebody needed her. „Jim...“

She ran towards the two fighting boys and hit Carren hardly with her fist in his face.He didn`t expect such an attack since he was too busy with beating his victim,so he backed away from them astonished.Dolphy kneeled down to Jim to see if he was okay...He was in a pretty bad shape.

„Jim,how are you?“ she asked concerned.

He was still lying on the ground and trying to ignore the pain in his body.

„Ow,don`t fuss.Just a few bruises.Not enough to finish me off.“

„You...“ began Carren as he realized what had just happened.

„No,YOU!“ interrupted him Dolphy with a loud and icy voice. „Who do you think you are!? You can`t threat us like that!“

 

„Oh,yes,I can!“

„Wake up from your sick lil` dream!We don`t live in the Stone Age anymore,you can`t get rid of people just ´cause ya don`t like ´em!“

„You don`t know how to pick your enemies,do ya?“ snarled Carren and walked towards Jim and Dolphy.

„Hey,Hawkins,you wanna hide behind your girlfriend?“ he asked mockingly.

Jim clenched his teeth and tried to stand up but Dolphy lay her hand on his shoulder and gave him a look that clearly said `No`.

„Touch him one more time and I`ll scratch your eyes out!“ she meant coldly.

„You wanna threaten me?“ laughed Carren.

The next thing he saw was Dolphy`s fist smashing into his face so that he tumbled a step backwards.Before he could react she had jumped on him so that both fell on the ground. Although she was fighting him with all her might,the adrenaline rush didn`t help against Carren`s strenght,he was one of the best sportsmen of the whole academy after all.He didn`t have a problem with getting her off of him and punched her so hard that she crashed onto the earth and lay there completely dazed.

„Dolphy!“ shouted Jim and finally managed it to get back on his feet.

He grabbed Carren by the collar and smashed him to the ground.He gave him some hard blows with his fists but then the bigger guy kicked him away from him,stood up and took something out of his trouser pocket.

„That`s enough!“ he snarled furiously and pointed his penknife at Jim. „I`m gonna end this here and now!“

„You`re insane!“ yelled Jim shocked and the next moment he was harshly attacked by him.

Carren waved his weapon around,eager to hit his rival,no matter where.Jim did his best to dodge his strokes but then the blade of Carren`s knife slashed against Jim`s left upper arm.He cried out because of the sudden pain and pressed his other hand on his bleeding wound.

„Carren,STOP!!!“ shouted Dolphy as she saw what he had done.

Jim got hold of him,punched him in the stomach but Carren clutched the knife so firmly that he couldn`t snatch it from him.The tall boy made a sudden move and pushed his knife against Jim,leaving a deep cut on his right thigh.The moment he wanted to finish him off a loud and authoritarian voice came to his ears.He turned around and was so shocked that he let his knife fall to the ground.

„Lerequin!“

„Mister Lerequin.“ corrected the big shark-like principal of the Interstellar Academy who was standing a few metres behind him.

„What the heck ar you doing here!?“ gasped Carren.

As he noticed that he was accompanied by a person he knew only too well,a hint of realization appeared in his eyes.

„Rakitan!You-you traitor!Oh,I swear you`re gonna regret that!I-„

„You won`t do anything!“ interrupted him the principal.

Before he continued talking he shot a look at Dolphy,who had went to Jim to examine his injuries.

„Are you both okay?“

„Yes,sir,more or less.“ answered Jim through gritted teeth.

“Miss Dolphers,be so nice and take Mr.Hawkins to the infirmary.”

Dolphy nodded.

„Sir,“ she said ,“it was Carren.He-„

„I know what he did.Your friend here has told me everything what happened.“

Carren balled his fists and looked at the Kimanakan,ready to kill him right away.

„You know that I can`t tolerate such an impertinent and violent behaviour at my academy.“ spoke Mr.Lerequin,attracting Carren`s attention back to him.

„So what?“ he meant cooly. „What are you gonna do?Kick me out?I guess not since I`m sure you wanna keep getting financial support from my family.“

„Mr.Gaston,apparently you don`t know how serious your situation is.I got a message from your father some days ago.“

„My father!?Wha-„

„Your father`s business went busted,so it will be no surprise for you that he won`t be able to pay for your stay here.“

Although Dolphy could only see Carren`s back,she knew that the look on his face as he had heard the news would be priceless.

„I decided not to tell you about but to keep an eye on you since I wanted to see if you`re worth staying a student here.But now,since I have heard about how you have terrorized your classmates and especially these two here,I`m more than willing to tell you to get out of here!“

Carren looked as if he`d just seen a ghost.Then he turned back to Dolphy and Jim.

„I swear I`m gonna get ya!...And you,too!“ he snarled towards Rakitan.

„Enough!“ shouted Mr.Lerequin. „Nobody here has to listen to your stupid threaths!The police will be here soon.“

„Police!?“

„Yes,you`ve heard me right!Beating and attacking other people with a knife is a crime and you`re gonna pay for it.”

As the principal shouted at Carren Lenaro,who wasn`t unconscious anymore and had heard everything,tried to sneak away unnoticed but Rakitan stood in his way.

“You don`t go anywhere.” he said,what grabbed Mr.Lerequin`s attention.

“Oh,I had almost forgotten about you.” said the big shark-like creature. “You come with me,too.I`m sure the officers have some questions for you.”

Then he turned to Jim and Dolphy.

“I`m gonna tell your teachers that I gave you time off for tomorrow.I`m sure you can need some relaxation after all this fuss.”

“Thank you, sir.” said Jim.

“Don`t mention it.”

With that the principal took Carren and Lenaro firmly by the arm and led them to his office where he had told the officers to meet him.After they were gone Rakitan ran to Dolphy who was holding a nearly unconscious Jim in her arms.

“Oh,man,he got beaten really bad,didn`t he?”

“Yeah.” responded Dolphy quietly while removing some wisps of hair from his face.

“Rakitan,I…I wanna thank you.”

“Forget it.I should have done that a lot earlier…“

“But if you hadn`t told the principal then Carren would have killed Jim!I-I tried to help him but Carren had that knife and then he hit Jim and-and I couldn`t do anything against it and-“

“Hey,” meant Rakitan soothingly,”you know what he`s able to do.He`s one,if not the best sportsman of this academy,I`ve seen him beating many other boys and trust me,they`re very strong but even they had no chance against him.I can imagine that it was terrible for you to be so powerless but it`s nothing you have to be ashamed of. Everything turned out all right.Carren will never threat you again and I`m convinced that your friend will be feeling better soon.”

Dolphy smiled.

“Yes,he`s a pretty though guy.”

“I`ve heard that,Dolph.” whispered Jim who had suddenly opened his eyes.

“Well,it`s true!” she grinned.

“I wanna thank you,too,Raki.” he said weakly.

“No problem.I`m glad I could help.”

“But what about you?I mean…uh,did you tell Mr.Lerequin everything that happened or-“

“You mean if told him that I was on Carren`s side at the beginning?”

Jim and Dolphy nodded.

“Let`s put it this way,I will be quite occupied with mopping the hallways for the next month. Lerequin said that he wouldn`t tell the police about me having been a backer of Carren since I helped clearing up everything.I heard that Carren was a thorn in his side ever since he joined the academy but he couldn`t do anything against him ´cause his parents supported the academy with considerable amounts of money.”

“It`s disgusting how much power people get through that stupid money.” meant Dolphy bitterly.

“Yes,but that`s the world we`re living in.” said Rakitan matter-of-factly.

“Uhm,you did really much for us but...can I ask you to do me another favour?” asked Dolphy.

“Sure,what is it?”

“Can you help me getting Jim to the infirmary?”

“No problem.”

“Oh,yeah, problem!” interrupted Jim the two. “Firstly,I can walk myself and secondly, I won`t go to the infirmary!”

While Rakitan looked at him kinda confused, Dolphy took Jim firmly by the shoulders and pressed him against her chest.

“Jim,please,I know that you don`t like doctors but for heaven`s sake,don`t be so stubborn. You have to go there only this time, just to make sure you don`t have any inner injuries. Please, I`m worried about you.” she said softly.

 

 

Jim realized that she was right,he wasn`t in a good state and the cuts on his arm and thigh were rather deep and still bleeding…and he didn`t want to worry Dolphy.

“Okay,” he sighed,”if it means so much to you.”

These words took a load off her mind and she hugged him even harder.

“Ouch!Dolph,I-“

“Sorry!Sorry…” she yelled alarmed. “I didn`t wanna hurt you,sorry that I-“

“Dolphy!It`s okay.” he interrupted her. “It`s okay.”

Rakitan helped her as he had promised to get Jim to the infirmary.Dr.Keerano, a wise and old wolf-like alien with grey fur and thick glasses, looked quite friendly in Dolphy`s opinion.Jim however still didn`t seem to be overly excited.But nevertheless he let him examine his wounds patiently while his friends were sitting in the waiting room.When the doctor was done he told Dolphy that he had to stitch Jim`s cuts and that he got off lightly since there were no inner injuries, just a few but admittedly big haematomas on his belly.He gave him some medicaments against the pain and ordered him to take them twice a day.After he had said goodbye to the three teenagers Rakitan left them and got back to his,now empty,room.Back in their own room Dolphy led Jim to his bed, although he repeated that he could do it by himself.Shortly after they had come inside they we`re welcomed by Morph who had been waiting longingly for their return.The little shapeshifter licked the cheeks of both eagerly until Dolphy told him that Jim would need to rest and forced her friend to lay down.

“Dolph, I`m fine.Really.Can`t I get up again?”

“No.” was the short answer.

“No.No.No.” chirped Morph.

“But…aww,c`mon.It`s not that I`m sick to death, just some bruises.” he pleaded.

“Well,okay.” sighed Dolphy. “But please don`t overstrain yourself.”

“Sure.” said Jim and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Jim?” she asked quietly.

“Hhm?”

“Why don`t you like going to the doctor.What`s the reason?”

He stared at the ceiling and shrugged with his shoulders.

“It`s nothing of importance, I…ya know,I`m a bit touchy when it comes to those things.”

“Which things?” asked Dolphy curiously and sat beside him.

“I-uh,I have a problem with people touching me.Especially strange ones.I..I just can`t stand it.”

“Oh…I didn`t know that.” she meant a little intimidated and looked at the floor. “Sorry if I have made you feel uncomfortable in a way, I-I didn`t know that you don`t like being touched…”

“Aww,no,it`s not like that.”

Jim moved nearer to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah, I usually do feel uncomfortable…but not when you touch me.”

He lifted her chin with his fingers so she was now directly looking into his clear blue eyes.

“Being touched by you is the greatest feeling I ever had, it`s something I would never want to miss.I love it…´cause I love you.” he smiled and kissed her softly.

Her whole body relaxed as she felt his tender lips touching her own, lightly at first, soon more passionately.She flung her arms around his neck, returning the kiss gratefully, while Jim pressed her close to his heart.The only reason why they stopped after a while was because they had to take in some air.She leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes and contently enjoying the warmth and safety of his body.Jim buried his face in her long brown hair, stroking her back lovingly with his hands.The steady and soft beating of his heart had such a reassuring effect on her that she almost drifted to sleep but the desire to feel him, to touch him and to look at him kept her awake.Dolphy slowly reclined, while Jim was still holding her in his arms, and stared at him like in trance, stared in his beautiful ocean blue eyes which were shining with that glint of kindness, tenderness and courage, just like they had when she had met him for the very first time.She touched his cheek with her hand, caressing it softly as he leaned his face against it.

“I love you,too.” she said quietly.

The smile that was appearing on Jim`s face said more than words could ever do.He kissed her gently on the forehead and hugged her tightly, wanting to never let go and  longing to feel her heartbeat and her body against his.The desire to stay in his arms forever grew deep inside of her,getting stronger with every moment that passed.She loved him.

Outside the stars were shining brightly on the sapphire night sky, looking like millions of tiny and sparkling diamonds on dark-blue velvet.Unlike many nights before there was no single cloud to be seen anywhere,no flashes were interrupting the silence and no wind was disturbing the peace of the night.The brilliance of Crescentia, hundreds of miles away but seeming yet so near, was reflected in the glittering water and on the leaves of the tress, like a light of hope shining in the darkness.Through the window the soft light touched the two sleeping forms that were lying together in a bed, resting peacefully in the others arms.

 

In the morning :

 

When Dolphy opened her eyes she noticed that Jim, who was still holding her gently in his arms, was already awake and gazing dreamily at her.

“Good morning.” he said with a soft smile on his face.

“Morning, Jim.” smiled Dolphy and kissed him on the mouth.

“Heh,that`s what I call a good start in the day.” he grinned.

All of a sudden Dolphy sat up and stared at the clock on the wall with wide eyes.

“Oh my God!”

“What!?”

“The lessons started almost two hours ago!The teachers are gonna kill us!No,killing would be too easy,they`re gonna torture us with extra work and bad grades and forcing us to do reports in front of the whole class and-“

“Uhm,Dolph?”

“- we`ll have to listen to that The youth of today has no discipline-speech over and over again, teachers don`t ever forget about students coming too late, they`ve got a memory like elephants and-“

“Dolphy?”

“- I have missed math and chemics,well,okay,not that bad theoretically,but those teachers are the worst of all and they are cruel,I mean really cruel and don`t wanna think about what they`re gonna do to punish me for not coming to their lessons and-“

“Dolphy!!!”

“WHAT!?”

“We HAVEN`T got any lessons today!Mr.Lerequin gave us a day off today, remember?”

Dolphy shot him a confused look, then thought for a moment until a relieved grin appeared on her face.

“….oh…Oh!Yeah!Sure,of course do I remember,how could I have forgotten something like that,I mean that would be too embarassing,wouldn`t it?”

Jim raised an eyebrow at her.

“You have forgotten it,didn`t you?”

“Yes, absolutely.” she admitted, still grinning. “So,now that I had this nice little heart-attack in the morning…Do you have an idea about what we might do today?”

She got a bit suspicious as he looked at her with a devilish smile.

“Oh,yeah…and I`m sure you`re gonna love it!”

 

“I`M GONNA KILL YAAAAHHHH!!!!”

Dolphy screamed at the top of her lungs as she was clinging to the solar surfer while Jim, who was standing behind her on the woodden board, was doing one looping after another.

“AIN`T IT GREAT!!!???” he yelled in ecstasy, grinning from one ear to the other one.

Dolphy didn`t respond, she was too busy with grabbing the metallic bar of the solar sufer for dear life.Although Jim`s hands were next to hers,also holding on to the bar and he was protecting her with his body she had never been more scared in her whole life.Jim noticed that and reduced the speed of the surfer.

“Hey,you okay?” he asked worried.

“Y-yes…Yes, I`m f-feeling great!” she stuttered as she was still clinging to the bar.

“Don`t lie,“ said Jim ,“you`re trembling as if you`ve seen a ghost.”

“I-I`m afraid of fa-falling down,that`s all.”

Jim lay his right hand on hers, squeezing it softly.

“You won`t fall…not as long as I`m here to protect you.But I can understand that you`re frightened,guess it was too much for your first fly,huh?”

“Well,I wasn`t prepared for doing loopings in a height of over 400 metres.” she tried to smile.

“Shall we stop?”

“Uhm…no…No,I mean,it`s not that bad after all.But please don`t exaggerate,okay?”

“No loopings?”

“No loopings.”

“Okay.And whatever you do, just don`t look down.” said Jim and increased the speed of the solar surfer.

He felt that Dolphy was beginning to get more nervous again, so he leaned closer to her to give her a feeling of safety.

“Close your eyes.” he said softly.

“What!?”

“Trust me.”

“O-okay.” she agreed reluctantly.

“Forget that we`re hundreds of metres away from the earth.Imagine that you`re on a big galleon and sailing through the etherium.You`re standing at the bow and letting the wind touch your face and stroke through your hair.”

“Have you seen a movie called Titanic ?” asked Dolphy.

“Huh?”

“Forget it.”

As she did what Jim had told her, her fear slowly vanished and was displaced by a feeling of freedom and enjoyment.She opened her eyes, not looking down but up, gazing at the endless widths of the azure blue sky.It was a breath-taking beautiful sight.

“Jim?Can we…try a looping?”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.” he meant, gained in speed and dashed higher and higher,then flying vertically and quickly tumbling over through the air.

Afterwards he was extremely curious about if Dolphy had liked it and asked her expectantly.

“How was it?”

“It was…great!!!” she shouted excitedly. “Let`s do it another time,´kay?”

Jim grinned happily.

“Whatever you want.”

Dolphy couldn`t get enough of solar surfing, she begged him to show him all of his stunts, loopings, flips, screws and other things she had never known to be possible.Jim pushed the surfer to maximum speed, flew vertically upwards as if he wanted to reach the sky and then, all of a sudden,he let the red shining sail fold up.Before Dolphy could realize what he had done he grabbed her from behind and put his arms tightly around her waist.As they dashed head first through the air,rushing downwards to the quickly closer-coming ground, an unbelievably enormous adrenaline-rush ran through their bodies, making them yell in excitement before Jim raised the sail again and they flew high up in the sky.

“WOOO-HOOOOO!!!”

 

In the afternoon the two teenagers were lying at the beach they had found only a few days ago when Jim had searched for Dolphy after she had fled from her roommates.

By now no single cloud was to be seen, just the blue sky and a soft wind was blowing.The sun was shining brightly,making the lilac water of the ocean sparkle and glitter and sending warm rays of light on Dolphy and Jim.

“I`d never thought that we would come back here so soon.” meant Dolphy. “It`s so beautiful here.”

“Yeah,it is.” said Jim as he was gazing at her.

“Do you think that we`ll be left alone now that Carren isn`t there anymore?”

“Dunno…but I guess there`ll always be people who don`t accept us and would prefer us to vanish from this universe.”

Dolphy kept staring at the sky and the slowly setting sun.

“What`s so bad about us anyway?”

“Well,I don`t know about you but I have lots of bad attitudes.” meant Jim and grinned at her.

“Yeah, I´m sure you have.” she answered unimpressed. “Just wait till I`m captain of my own ship and sail the Seven Galaxies.Then everyone in the whole Etherium will know my name and those who made fun of me will be green with envy!And I will laugh at them!”

“And what´s with me?” asked Jim curiously.

She thought for a moment and bent over to him.

“You will be my…cabin boy!” she laughed,stood up and fled from her friend who was running after her with an insulted sounding “Hey!”.

“You know I`m gonna catch ya!” shouted Jim self-confidently as the distance between him and Dolphy decreased.

“Damn!” she thought as she ran along the beach and cursed herself for being so unathletic.

A short time later he had reached her and in an attempt to catch her both of them were landing on the soft light-brown sand.

“Hah!Got ya!” grinned Jim.

“That`s what you think!” meant Dolphy cooly, pinned him on the ground and started to tickle him mercilessly.

“NO!No,that`s-that`s unfair!” yelled Jim while laughing loudly.

“Unfair but effective!” she meant and continued to `torture her victim`.

“Please!Please stop!” he gasped. “Cease-fire!”

Dolphy stopped tickling him and gave him a moment to recover.

“Okay,but you have to take me on another ride with your solar surfer before we go back to the Academy.”

“No problem.” he smiled.

 

The sun was slowly dissappearing behind the horizon of the ocean, its last rays of light turning the sky in a warm orange and its reflections shimmering in the clear water.Jim and Dolphy were sailing through the air, steering the solar surfer right towards the setting sun as if they wanted to catch it before it vanished.Nobody else except the two teenagers was there to tell them to stop or to complain about their behaviour.They enjoyed their freedom.Not forever but for this moment, they were free.

 

The end

 

 

Author`s note :

Okay, mates, that was the longest fanfic I`ve ever written…and it took me only one year and a few months! XP

Thanx for reading and commenting this story and I really do hope you like the end. ^_^

Now I wanna give some short explanations about some things in this last chapter :

1.Carren`s family name is “Gaston” because one of the Disney-villains I really can`t stand is Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast”.Every time I see him I could smack him in the face! So he was a great inspiration for creating Carren.

2.Maybe some of you think it`s not logical that Jim has beaten Carren two times ( chapter 1, in the cafeteria ; chapter 10, when Carren was preventing him from searching Dolphy) but had no chance when he was fighting against him in this chapter.Well, those two times I mentioned were surprise attacks and it`s easier to knock off somebody who doesn`t expect an attack than in a fight when he`s prepared for everything.

Guess I`m gonna write another TP-fanfic, just have to wait till I get an idea about what it`s gonna be.Suggestions?