Sleepless

Summary: A series of nightmares causing Jaden restless nights and loss of appetite. No matter what he does the nightmares will go away. Sometimes you need help to defeat your own worst enemy; yourself. Will the person who hurts him most help him? Can you be saved from yourself?

Authors Note: This is my first Yugioh GX fanfic so please enjoy it. I know that it might not suit everyone's taste but I do enjoy advice and sugestions on how to improve the story. So I hope you like the story.

About the characters: Jaden is the only one with a major change but I can tell from expierence that sleepless nights and not eating for a long time really do change a person's personality.

Chapter 1

He didn't understand a lot of things. Life, as good as it was to him, confused him. He was blessed with the gift of dueling but his grades, lets face it, were less than great. As far as life went though, things were fine and he was enjoying it. Sometimes everyone needs a little time to think and he was no exception.

The blankets around him fell away as he sat up and glanced over at his partner. Just what was he doing in the same bed as Chazz Princeton. He loved him, no doubt about that, but what was he doing in the same bed as him. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Jaden Yuki's reflection glared back at him. "You show affection but he doesn't show any back!"

"I must be crazy," Jaden lets out a sigh, "My reflection is talking back to me."

"You're not crazy, you're dreaming you moron." He grins.

"That's good. That means I'm not crazy!"

"Didn't I just say that!" His reflection snaps his fingers and the world around them shatters like broken glass. Jaden looks around for Chazz but all that is there, darkness and his reflection. Suddenly a great loneliness takes over and his reflection is gone, as if it were never there.

"Why!" Jaden screams in desperation. Why is he so afraid to be alone? He closes his eyes but the darkness doesn't go away, only gets darker. "Why…why can't you…"

"I'm right here." Jaden turned around and focuses on the image of Chazz. "You were looking for me, weren't you?" Jaden doesn't know what to say so just stares at the dark haired teen. "Why do you wait for me? You're nothing to me, just some loser I shouldn't waste my time with." Jaden smiles despite the way he feels as the words cut into him. "Why don't you find someone else? What are you so desperate to find in me? Don't you know, you're nothing to me." Chazz grins with malice.

"I have to mean something to you," His words are quiet and shaky, "I have to mean something to you if you talk to me. Even if I am a loser to you…that…it's still something." He can't look at Chazz; it hurts too much.

"You're a fool and it shows." Suddenly Chazz is walking away, leaving Jaden alone in the darkness. Jaden stands and tries to run to Chazz but he can't. He's stuck and can't move as if some invisible threads are holding him down.

"You're a fool. Just stop chasing a hopeless dream." His reflection is standing there again. "Don't even try." He tries to fight the power that is keeping him captive. He struggles and watches as the blackness makes it's way up his body in the form of an inky gel. He can't fight as the ink takes away the breath and chokes him. The inky blackness was engulfing him, stealing his will and suffocating his hope. He couldn't even take in a breath of air as the darkness overtook him.

0-----0

Jaden sat up quickly gasping for breath. It took some time before he realized that he wasn't in danger, trapped in the black abyss but rather in his dorm, safe and sound. The moon outside sent rays of light through the curtains on the window giving the room a faint glow.

"What was that dream about?" Jaden's line of sight moved over to his deck that lay on the desk next to his unfinished homework. He stretched on the bed again but sleep wouldn't come. He moved to his homework quickly and felt himself grin despite the feeling that something wasn't right. At least his homework would get done, for once. When the sun finally came up Jaden slipped into the shower and turned on the hot water. He needed to forget the dream, the inky black mass that had engulfed him. He washed his body so roughly that his skin was a deep shade of red.

When he took a look in the mirror he was shocked. Parts of his skin had open cuts from his nails and the marks probably wouldn't go away for some time.

"What's wrong with me?" Jaden washed his face and looked into the mirror. His reflection showed the same facial expression and wasn't talking. A sense of relief filled his being to see that the reflection just staring back. "That dream really had me going! Oh well, time to start the new day!" There was one thing Jaden could be sure of; he wouldn't be late for class.

Jaden changed and left the dorm quickly hoping not to be noticed. Chazz's face jumped into his mind again and made his stomach turn over. He was confused about Chazz and his dream and why his very image made something in Jaden churn. He mentally cursed himself as he walked wherever his feet were taking him. He stopped and gasped at the location, leaving quickly so he wouldn't get caught.

The rest of the morning was spent in a small group of trees before class started. Aster Phoenix, the celebrity of the school, noticed Jaden sitting quietly by the tree. He wondered what Jaden was doing there but didn't make his way over to him. Just how long was Jaden going to sit there? Finally, after sitting there, watching Jaden for an hour, he got frustrated and walked over to him. The teen's head was resting against the tree, his eyes were closed and he looked like someone had just punched him.

0----0

Here he was again, lying next to Chazz. He didn't bother to sit up but turned over and looked at the person next to him. He felt an arm around his waist but didn't blush because this situation felt so right. Something about this seemed to be right but something wormed its way up his ankles and wrists. He looked and saw the inky tendrils pulling him away from this happiness. Suddenly they stopped and he was stuck, being held against his will. There was Chazz, dressed in his coat smirking.

"You thought you were special, that you were my friend. I don't care about you. I hate you. I hate you for taking my fame away from me, for making my family fall apart. I'm just going to use you and use you, that's all you're good for." Jaden hid his face trying to stop the tears. "You're nothing to me. Nothing."

"See," he didn't need to look up to see who that was. His reflection spoke coldly to him. "Give up, he'll never want to be your friend, much less something more. Give up."

"No." His words were bold but there was no emotion behind them.

"Give up, you know he was right. You're nothing to him, nothing." The reflection laughed and walked away with Chazz. They were leaving him behind; they didn't care. He continued to struggle against the bonds. They had to be wrong; he had to be wrong. Chazz did care, didn't he?

0------0

Aster was growing worried when Jaden started to toss and turn. It was finally time to pull him out of whatever hell he was facing. Aster's hand descended on Jaden's shoulder but was thrown off when Jaden snapped his eyes open.

"NO!" Jaden looked around and placed a hand on his head. The suns light hurt his eyes. "It was just a dream, just a stupid dream." He didn't realize that someone was watching him. "It can't be true," he shook his head and jumped when he saw who was watching him. His head hit the tree causing him to groan. "Ow…that hurt." He looked at Aster again wondering why the teen was looking so worried. "Hey, what's with that look?" Aster was looking at him oddly, just staring at him with that look of worry.

"Oh sorry!" Aster pulled himself out of his daze and helped Jaden up. "Why were you sleeping out here? Usually you're sleeping in at your own dorm."

"Oh, I woke a bit early and fell asleep, no big deal." Jaden turned away from the professional duelist. "I was just a bit tired." He walked away after that. Aster wondered what was going on with the brunette. Normally he would be hyper and ready to start the day but today there was something off about him. Aster shook it off and put it toward the morning since Jaden wasn't usually up yet.