THE ONE CALLED J

A New Friendship

Joshua was pissed when Jin had escaped, he wanted to send his entourage out to find him but when he remembered the range, he decided against it. Everyone in the restaurant other than he, Hendrickson, and his daughter had run out of the restaurant once Jin had left all of them were terrified and who wouldn't be, Jin's ability was quite frightening. "Your ability," Joshua began as he turned towards Hendrickson. "I remember that day Eva got abducted, you were there, you had used your ability when you touched me and I had immediately appeared back at my room."

"Ouch," Hendrickson smiled at him. "Come on, that place was my room before, I am still surprised you were able to beat me in poker, that's how I lost my little apartment."

"So you were the one I won that place from," Joshua had begun walking towards him. "Can't believe I forgot, I just couldn't get it off my mind that you was somewhat familiar."

"Regarding your first question, I had saved you yesterday though it was purely coincidental," Hendrickson begins. "I wanted to give my little princess here a surprise," Hendrickson smiled as he looked at his daughter who smiled back at him. "But when I arrived, I saw you facing that pink entourage alone, if I hadn't intervened, we both might not be standing here today."

"Did you see any girl with me the time you rescued me?" Joshua asks, ignoring his comment.

"None that I can recollect," Hendrickson answers. "But remember what I said, fate was going to bring us together again, I didn't expect it to be this soon."

"It wasn't fate," Dave said, Max was beside him. "It was just the will of a man trying to save one who was dear to him, that's really admirable, Mr. McCarthy."

"Come on, don't get all so formal with me," Hendrickson blushed as he scratched the back of his head. "Call me Henry."

"He sure does smile often and is quite warm," Max thought to himself. "But he's an entourage user, I need to know if he's on our side or not."

"Are you our enemy?" Max asks indignantly.

"Max," Dave said, trying to hold back his friend but Max ignored him as he focused sternly on Hendrickson.

"Dave, stay out of this," Max warns him without turning his head. "I need to be completely sure, as I am now, I can't just trust anyone."

"Unless you kids hate puppies," Hendrickson laughed. "Then you can very well count me as your enemy."

"I think that translates to a no," Dave nudged Max playfully.

"Yeah, I know," Max replies harshly. "If that's true, tell us the ability of your entourage, it's obvious from the build of your entourage that it's short-range."

"There's nothing much to say about it," Hendrickson grinned as his entourage materialized at his left-hand side. "My entourage allows me to switch the position of two objects on two conditions, the first, my entourage or I must be in direct contact with one of the objects I want to switch with, and the second, I must have touched the object I want to position with earlier, that's how I could save J, I had previously touched my bedsheet that he currently uses so when I touched him, I had just switched their positions."

"That explains why I saw the bedsheet by the roadside early this morning," Joshua thought to himself, "he is right," Joshua says as he walks forward. "I remember everything that happened now, at least a bit more vividly."

"Were you able to get Kronk?" Dave asks.

"Kronk, who's that?" Joshua had a puzzled look on his face until he connected the dots. "You mean that bartender, I couldn't get him, he has a far more dangerous entourage than even Ben."

"Is that the name y'all call your ability?" Jolie finally speaks up.

"Yep," her father replies still smiling.

"Entourage, it's quite cool," she remarked. "You used that many times when I was a kid and you would always tell me it was just a parlor trick."

"A magician never reveals his secrets," Hendrickson replies.

"Does Mom know?"

Hendrickson had a crestfallen look as he heard that.

"She doesn't," he finally mutters.

Immediately, he did, his phone rang, he quickly removed it from his pocket.

"This is very important," Hendrickson said. "Please excuse me, I have to pick this."

He said as he exited the restaurant.

"Thought you was gonna be a bit harder on your father," Joshua whispers as he moved closer to Jolie.

"Why?"

"Most girls would be if they realized the death of someone was caused by their Dad."

"I am not exactly happy about it either but I saw the remorse on his face when he spoke to Jin, it's not something he's proud of and I am sure the times he remembers about her, he feels sad, Dad has been through a lot, it would be unfair of me to treat him harshly because of his past mistakes, it's not like I haven't made any myself."

"I am sure you probably think coming out with me tonight was a mistake," Joshua sighed. "I am sorry it went down like this, I wasn't expecting there to be an entourage attack."

"Wow, you are apologizing, that's new," Jolie smiles. "I thought the J never apologizes."

"I have to," Joshua sighed. "Before we went on this date tonight, I saw you as one dumb girl who was privileged to be alive without a brain but tonight, you took the initiative and impressed me, I owe you my life."

"Aww," Jolie blushed lightly as she implanted a kiss on Joshua's lips before pulling away, she had soft, voluptuous, and endearing lips. "Tonight was many things and none of it would be considered a mistake, it was tonight that I was assured of my father's love for me and he strives to do his best even though he's not perfect, also tonight, I see you aren't just the strong, unemotional person you always make yourself seem, you are actually a softie beyond this mask and you feel things like the rest of us," Jolie gleamed as she placed her arm on Joshua's chest, she massaged it gently. "He's really fit."

"Jojo!!!" Hendrickson called as he entered the restaurant again. "It was your Mom I was on the phone with, apparently, she was close to one of the areas where there was an earthquake, we need to go, now!"

"Okay Pops," Jolie answered as she jogged over to the entrance, she looked at Joshua one last time. "Call me," she mouths without making any sound as she disappears outside.

"Are you okay?" Dave asks.

"I don't know," Joshua shrugs tiredly as he sinks to one of the chairs. "But I am the J, I will soon be."

"You are frustrated, aren't you?" Dave further asks. "I know how much you have been working your butt off just to rescue Eva, also, I heard about the woman who died in your hands, you might try and pretend like you are fine but I know it puts a toll on your mental health."

"I don't understand why you keep coming to find me," Joshua said harshly. "I thought I already made it clear I don't need your help."

"But you do," Dave replies. "Even gods sometimes need the help of mortals before they can accomplish their goals."

"That's a nice line," Max interjected. "Did you steal it from somewhere?"

"Na, it just came at the moment," Dave replies.

"I am really surprised," Joshua scoffs. "I have done what I can to get rid of you but you won't go, why won't you give up on me?"

"Cause I know you, J," Dave kept speaking. "And you need a friend."

"Eva did a good job of that."

"But she isn't here."

"Why do you even want to be friends, you already got Max with you, also, most people wouldn't exactly describe me as a person to be friends with, I feel it will be best for everyone if I am just left alone."

"You asked why I wanna be your friend," Dave continues. "It's because you are a good person who's just misunderstood and everyone needs to be with someone who understands them, that was why it was good Eva was with you but right now, someone else needs to take her place."

"I have met hundreds of people and you are the first calling me a good person, you sure you didn't hit your head on your way here."

"We both know it's true," Dave had now taken a chair as he sat beside him. "Though actually, I didn't use to think that way before, I thought you were a complete dickhead, the first time I saw you, it was roughly about four years ago, it was a snowy night, I was walking along the road.  I had to run a quick errand for Sensei, my guardian.  Then I saw you beating up a poor homeless man by the road, no one attempted to stop you or anything, they just watched, some ignored, I wanted to come over to where you are and hit you until I saw you pick your phone and call emergency services, you had told them about an injured man who laid on the ground close to the verge of death, you had waited till an ambulance came over and carried the man away."

"How does that story prove I am a good person, I think anyone hearing that will agree I am sort of a douche."

"Yeah, actually," Dave said. "But it wasn't till today when I saw your sacrifice and zeal to rescue Eva that I then I understood it, you saw the homeless man by the road, he didn't have a jacket on and you knew that if he stayed there, he was gonna eventually die of severe cold and wouldn't last the night, you looked around and saw that no one was willing to help him, you also knew you couldn't help him because of your stepdad who didn't take too kindly to you inviting strangers to his home, therefore you had beaten him up so public hospitals would have no choice than to admit him, though the man faced pain that day but the pain he faced that day is the reason he still draws breath today as he had gotten treatment, hot food and a roof over his head, if that isn't the height of goodwill, then I don't know what is."

"Wow," Joshua struggled to keep a tear from falling from his left eye. "And I used to think only Eva was capable of understanding me." Joshua thought to himself as he recalled what had happened three months ago when the video of him sleeping with Vincent's girlfriend had gone viral, many of the students had seen him as scum as Vincent's girlfriend had said that she was drunk so she didn't know fully what was happening and she thought he was Vincent. Joshua had been scorned by almost everyone but he didn't show it on his face that it mattered to him one bit, he still walked around and acted all high and mighty until one day while he was walking home from school. Eva had suddenly approached him from behind.

"Have you considered a career in Hollywood?" She asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Not possible, The J does not exist to entertain mortals," Joshua replies as he turns sharply in her direction.

"You can drop the act," Eva smiled warmly at him. "I spoke to Lisa, she told me all that happened, how she showed up to your house drunk, you didn't want to invite her in initially but you reluctantly did, she told me how she complained about her bad boyfriend, how he was always mean to her and cheated on her with other girls but you didn't send her away, instead, you gave a listening ear."

"I sound different in that story than from the rumors, don't I?" Joshua smiles. "It's must be hard determining which is true.

"I am not finished yet," Eva continued. "She told me how she begged you for s*x and to record it just to show her boyfriend a taste of his medicine, you had told her she would regret it but she wasn't willing to listen, eventually, you submitted to her pleas, it wasn't until the next morning when she was sober that she realized the gravity of what she had done, you had then given her the story which she told everyone that is now the spreading rumor just to protect her even though it meant hurting your social life."

"Social life amongst mortals is not something that I am concerned about, I give the rumor a max of two weeks, it's gonna die," Joshua tells Eva.

"But until those two weeks are over, you need someone who understands you," she once again smiled brightly. "And I am pretty sure I am the only one in school who does."

That was what began the platonic relationship between Joshua and Eva. Joshua was annoyed with himself that he couldn't protect her when she needed him. Now, he felt devastated as he had failed four times the same day to get any promising lead on where she could be.

"J! J!! J!!!" Dave called as Joshua suddenly snaps out of his thoughts, he extends his right arm. "What do you say to us becoming friends?"

"I'd say, you better don't get kidnapped, my mental health is already handling a lotta stress with just one of my friends already kidnapped," Joshua grins cheerfully as he shakes his hand.

"Will you guys still be on your phantom Eva hunt?" Max asks.

"Yep," Dave replies. "But now, we have to go to the hospital, it wouldn't be nice of us not to pay a visit to the ailing wife of a man who saved our friend," Dave ends nudging Joshua lightly.

"And who's probably responsible for the ill-health too," Max continues. "I am pretty sure you forgot to add that last part, those earthquakes must have been caused by the onslaught of J's entourage."

"Jeez, Max, why you always gotta be rigid?"

"No reason really, just find it a bit fun."

"Aight," Joshua says as he gets to his feet. "Let's go to the hospital."

"How did Henry track Jolie and I, he didn't even bother picking the call and I thought phone calls had to be traced before it could be picked," Joshua asks as the trio began to walk towards the entrance.

"For the average phone, yeah but Henry implanted a microchip into his daughter's phone, he muttered it out, he thought he was thinking but he was speaking, apparently the microchip enabled him to track a phone so long it was ringing with a specific number, it's next grade technology, military brand, even the local police don't have it," Max replies him as they left the restaurant.

"So Henry isn't just a funny philanthropist that everyone loves, he also has friends in high places," Joshua says as he looks downwards.

"It would appear that way, besides Henry is the CEO of WIC company, I heard WIC is quite successful."

"WIC, the hell does that mean," Joshua thought to himself, he was about to raise a question but his mind quickly rushed back to those people he saw in the restaurant.  "What's gonna happen to all those people who were here, they witnessed the horror of a man getting his head smashed to bits."

"Don't worry about it," Max reassures Joshua. "I had my entourage fix it the moment I had arrived here with Dave.".

"You guys sure do think fast," Joshua entered the driver's seat of his vehicle, three doors were already opened as they were approaching it, the duo who were with him had entered with him, Dave was riding shotgun as he sat adjacent to Joshua. The engine roared to life and in seconds, the vehicle sped towards the local hospital.

A figure appeared from beside the trash bins beside the hospital, it was Jin, he was no longer bleeding but his face was contorted with hate and anger.

Soon, the trio had arrived at the car park of the hospital. They had left their vehicle there, they were walking together towards the entrance when Joshua had suddenly stopped in his steps. "My phone!" Joshua exclaimed. "It's not with me, I must have left it in the car."

"Really, man," Max sighed.

"Calms bro," Dave said to him. "Aight J, just go get it."

"I won't be long," Joshua says as he makes his way back to the car park. As he was about to get to his vehicle, he was amazed at the person he saw there. Standing by his car was none other than Kronk, the man who had killed the woman Joshua was trying to rescue earlier that day.

"You dumbass!!" Joshua growled, his body began to get cloaked in blue miasma. "ENTOURAGE!!!" Joshua screamed and immediately, his entourage had materialized beside him. "You have a lot of gut for showing yourself here."

"Trust me," Kronk answered him. " I didn't want to meet you at least not twice the same day but I am in a bit of a hassle and you are the only one who can help me out."

"The only way I am gonna help you tonight," Joshua was extremely pissed. "Is by ensuring you get your spot right now in the ICU."

As he said that, his entourage dashed towards Kronk.

"You fell for it, Leon, now!!!!" Kronk orders and almost immediately, the ice entourage that Joshua had battled earlier appeared before him.

"It's a short-range entourage, how is it so far from you?" Joshua mutters but before he could do anything, he heard something hit the back of his head with tremendous force, Joshua collapsed to the ground, the miasma cloaking his body and his entourage had vanished. Joshua saw his vision all blurry, he was about to pass it but he looked and saw the person who had it from behind, it was a boy, he didn't look much older than he was, probably eighteen years old, he was extremely tall as he was even a head above Kronk.

"Are you sure this is going to pacify Madame?" He had heard him ask.

"If this doesn't, then I don't know what will," Kronk answers him and as he did, Joshua felt his two eyes close, he was really tired and that day had been hectic for him, it was when he fell unconscious that he finally knew how sweet rest could be.

"J is taking quite a while," Max grumbles.

"Yeah, except if he doesn't remember where he kept his phone and he is taking a long time looking for it.".

"Don't you think we should go check on him, at least, see the reason why he is taking so long?"

"Aight man," Dave answered as he began walking towards the car park, Max was beside him. "J! J!! J!!!!" Dave began to call out as he got to the car park.

"I can't see J, where is he?" Max says as he suddenly releases his entourage who flew overhead and was looking at all the cars from above. "My entourage is scanning everything within a fifteen-meter radius, he isn't here at least not on the surface."

"Gosh!" Dave complains, clearly frustrated.

"Don't tell me J bailed on us again, is he that much of a douche, despite all we did for him, how we saved his ass, and all the effort we expended," Max was annoyed as he began to complain.

"Man, you have got to relax," Dave tries to pacify his friend but almost immediately, Dave could hear his phone vibrating and that wasn't the only sound, the two could also hear a phone ringing, Dave pulled out his phone from his pocket, opening it to see who the caller was, he saw 'The J.'

He was surprised as he didn't remember saving Joshua's number. "J, he's calling us, what did you notice about the ringtone we are hearing."

"It started at the same time your phone started vibrating."

"And it's J who's calling me," Dave says extending his phone towards Max's direction as if trying to show him who the caller was. "And for the ringtone to begin immediately I was called, it means it's either coincidence or J is still in the area, I will like to go for the latter, Max, check deeper, J is still around here."

"I have checked everywhere on the surface along a 15-meter radius, I can't find him."

"Surface?!"Dave said as his entourage suddenly appeared beside him, it punched the road puncturing a hole in it, the sound of the ringtone got even louder. "That's why you couldn't find him, it's because he's not on the surface, he's underground, come on, Max, we have got to go."

Dave ends as he jumps into the punctured hole, he landed in an underground sewer which reeked badly, there was a puddle of water that flowed downstream.

"The things I do for friends," Max closed his eyes as he too jumped into the hole, he closed his nose. Once Max had entered the hole, Dave's entourage dashed towards the punctured hole, it touched the supposed hole, and immediately, it returned to the state that it was before a hole was punctured in it (Time restore).

Max and Dave could hear the ringtone even louder, they ran as fast as they could towards where they were hearing it until at last, they came to where the sound was emitting from, the two felt tired as they saw where it was coming from. A rat was eating a small piece of bread with mold on it and beside it was Joshua's phone which kept buzzing.