Chapter Text
(Y/N) = Your Name
(S/N) = Stand Name
--
“I swear, this is the last year I live in a dorm.” You grumbled to yourself.
You looked at your tiny abode, maybe 80 square feet, if that. You moved in last weekend, and while you were glad to finally be living by yourself, the white-walled room was a bit bland. Still, you resolved to make it as comfortable a ‘home’ as possible. You’d be spending half your time in the library and the other half of your time here for most of the semester, so might as well make it cozy. And hey, the view from the 5th floor wasn’t so bad, right? You could glimpse a few of the city lights on the horizon.
You had unpacked most of your essentials by now, so you set about unpacking your last few boxes and finishing your decorating. You told yourself you were being responsible by unpacking and tidying, but truthfully, you were avoiding working on a paper that was due Sunday night.
After a few hours, you stood back and admired your work: multi-color string lights hung across the ceiling, casting soft, warm light over the room. A swirly green and blue patterned carpet protected your feet from the cold laminate floor, and you had painted little hearts and stars on the wall above your desk. The rest of the wall was adorned with pictures you’d taken, of friends, nature, random objects, and a calendar already thoroughly inked with notes and reminders.
“What do you think, (S/N)?”
The winged specks of light that you’d known all your life materialized, looking like so many butterflies. They twinkled their approval.
“Almost as dazzling as you, huh?” You teased.
Your stand flitted about wildly and glowed brightly, not to be outdone by any string lights.
“Alright, alright. It’s not that flashy.” You admitted playfully.
The soft lights and paintings on the wall reminded you a bit of your childhood room, but you didn’t mind if it was a little childish, it felt like yours already. You folded the leftover cardboard boxes and set them by the door. Now there was just the matter of starting your schoolwork. You grabbed a pack of peanuts to munch on and got ready for a long night of study ahead.
--
Jotaro didn’t necessarily consider it stealing when he asked his stand to go out and bring him a snack. His dorm-mates surely wouldn’t miss the odd water bottle or chocolate bar, and it saved him a long walk to the nearest convenience store.
He liked to think of it as just taking extra off of his peers’ hands, and instructed Star Platinum to only take items that were unlikely to be missed. This caveat didn’t make it morally better, but it was enough to keep him from feeling guilty.
Before college, Jotaro had a reputation as a delinquent and trouble maker, but despite that, he'd always excelled in school. Truthfully, he was bored with his simplistic high school work, which might have been why he always found himself getting into trouble. He felt similarly idle and unchallenged during his first year in college, but now that his freshman classes were done, he could channel his energy into extra classes. This semester, he was taking both sophomore and junior-level classes, and found that the work was more than enough to keep him occupied.
He kept his dorm room well-organized and minimally decorated. Every stack of papers rested neatly in their corresponding files, and his books were carefully stacked, one pile for his favorite books, one for his school texts.
On his windowsill sat a certain photograph that he would stare down at from time to time. He picked it up and regarded it, squeezing the cold metal frame and thinking back to the day it was taken.
Jotaro didn’t allow anyone to get close these days. He ignored the flirtatious glances of his female peers, only spoke as much as necessary during group projects, and ignored his classmate’s invitations to social events. Some thought he was a jerk, or shy, others figured he was just focused and disciplined, and his parents worried that attending school so far from home was hard on him.
He dismissed all offers of help from the few keen observers who saw that he was carrying a heavy burden on his heart. He would never be able to explain it to them anyways. Only his stand, the manifestation of his own soul, understood his burden: Before he even turned 18, he had already come to understand that the more you cared about someone, the more it hurt to lose them suddenly and violently.
So, so violently.
So, he worked, and contemplated, and worked more. It was simple.
He let out a quiet sigh and set the photograph back on the windowsill. The night sky beyond was cloudy, and a handful of few sparkling stars peeked out of the gaps between clouds. His mind couldn’t help but wander back to those cloudy, warm nights, where there was nothing in sight other than the desert sand, the sound of crackling fire and the chuckles of his friends filling the air.
He stared off for a while, and eventually looked at his radio alarm. He hadn’t lost himself in his thoughts for too long, thankfully. He looked down at his textbook and half-written assignment, then around his room. Where was Star Platinum? It was unusual for him to take so long to retrieve something.
--
Your desk faced the wall, so at first you didn’t notice the creeping form outside your window. Instead, you shivered when a strange but familiar sensation pricked at your senses. You looked over to your window in time to see something dark reaching through the glass.
You yelped and jumped out of your chair, knocking it onto the floor with a loud thud. You backpedaled towards the door as adrenaline began to course through your body. Immediately, you had an idea of what this dark form might be, and it made your stomach twist into anxious knots. You tried your best to steel your nerves and called out your stand, and they filled the room. They hung perfectly still in the air, glowing a dim, dangerous red.
“Show yourself!” You half-squeaked, half-commanded.
The dark form outside the window started to seep inside, forming into a hulking shape. As it’s form began to come into focus, your fears were confirmed. This was a stand, a strong one, and someone nearby was its user. You'd been well-warned to beware other stand users, after being attacked by one just before starting college.
“Don’t try anything, unless you and your user want to get hurt.” You said dangerously. “Just answer my questions.”
You hoped your bluff was working. This stand was clearly physically powerful, and you had no chance of prevailing in a close quarters fight.
The stand raised its arms, and you tensed, ready to command your stand to blind it with a flash of light. However, as the stand’s body came fully into focus, you realized that it wasn’t holding its hands up to attack, but rather holding them up in surrender, palms facing you.
“You don’t want to fight?” You asked, surprised but still wary.
The stand shook its head and crossed its muscled arms, forming an ‘X’ shape. You stood up straighter and examined the stand. It had the appearance of a well-built and tall man, and its skin was purple and patterned with wavy golden lines. Its- er, his- hair and minimal clothes drifted as if caught in a breeze. You pondered what to do for a moment, and decided that you needed to know more.
“Prove it, then. Sit down, let us see you.”
The stand sat cross-legged and looked up at you, there was no malice or anger in his expression, just perfect calm and patience. Your stand moved closer, and he watched as a few of them began to circle him. You took a few cautious steps forward and looked into his face. The stand had sharp features and large blue-green eyes, which met yours curiously. You couldn’t help but think, for just a second, that he had a rather beautiful face, but ignored the thought and folded your arms.
“So you aren’t here to kill me?” You asked, still skeptical.
The stand shook his head emphatically, and set your fallen chair upright as a small sign of goodwill.
“Where’s your user?”
He paused, then pointed upwards and to one corner of the room. You followed the stand’s hand upwards. His user was someone in one of the men’s dorms upstairs, you guessed. You nodded your understanding.
“Alright, well let’s say I believe you. Why are you here?”
The stand pointed to his side, at the wire basket atop your fridge. The basked was brimming with tiny candies and bags of nuts.
“You wanted… food?” You asked, puzzled.
You were certain that stands didn’t need to eat, so why would this one want… The pieces began to fall into place, and you raised an eyebrow.
“Wait. Your user wants you to steal food for him?”
The stand looked away and gave a small nod.
“Wow, that’s… kind of shitty.” You scoffed.
You didn’t blame the stand; you knew he was only doing as he was told. Stands could act of their own free will to some extent, but they acted in accordance with their users' will, first and foremost. Nevertheless, you looked over at the snack basket and had to let out a chuckle. You and (S/N) relaxed, and you felt the last of the earlier adrenaline rush leave you. This stand would have attacked you already if he wanted to hurt you, and this seemed too ridiculous to be a lie or a cover story for something sinister.
You reached past the giant stand and grabbed the snack basket, holding it up for him. He stood back up and pointed at the bowl, as if asking for permission.
“You answered my questions, even though you could have just run away before I could do anything about it. I can appreciate that, even if you did come here to steal. Here, does he like candy?”
You plucked a hard toffee and a couple mini chocolate bars from the basket and held them up for him. Gingerly, he took them from your hand, and gave a little smile and nod as thanks.
“One last question though.” You asked. “What’s your name?”
He walked over to your desk, scribbled on one of your many notepads, and handed it to you. You looked over his… interesting… penmanship, complete with a beautifully drawn star, as he turned towards the window again.
“It was.. Nice to make your acquaintance, Star Platinum." You started. "Come back some time and let me know if your user liked the candy.”
Star Platinum gave a short nod and exited through the window. You sat back down at your desk and shook your head. What a weird evening.
You kind of hoped he would take your invitation and visit again, though.
--
“Yare yare daze. You never take this long.” Jotaro complained, wasting no time unwrapping one of the chocolates and popping the sweet treat in his mouth.