Separate Ways/Worlds Apart (JJBA: Battle Tendency)

Chapter 7: Only the Young

"Yes Misses Joestar, I understand." a young female assured through the black receiver of a pay phone, "Oh yes, Misses Erina, I'm sorry, it feels very awkward calling you by that. Of course, I did try to stop him, but he definitely won't listen to anyone when he sets his mind to it." She paused much longer this time, her ears listening to the voice on the other end, "I understand, I will definitely stay with him, keep him out of as much trouble as I can."

Sharena hung up the bulky phone with a huff. The young woman's arm was straightened out, leaning her weight on the oak wall of the phone room. The past forty-eight hours were some of the most exciting, and terrifying, she had ever experienced. Joseph may have taken all of it in stride, but things akin to vampires, deadly battles, and last-minute trips to Mexico weren't the usual for her, or any sane person for that matter.

Immediately after declaring his intentions to go out of the country, Joseph insisted that they leave straight away. She assumed he meant by the end of the day, but rather than leading her to the hotel his grandmother was staying at, he took her to an airport and they left immediately from there.

"Joseph!" she shouted, recognizing his bulky form perusing out of a small shop, she approached him. "I thought you said you were going to find somewhere to take a nap?"

"Huh?" the Joestar looked around for a moment until emerald irises met aquamarine, "Oh Sherrie. About that,"

"What were you doing in there?" she asked

The brunette held up two paper bags with company logos on them, "I know we left New York before we could stop for clothes or anything, so I bought some."

"I see, thank you I guess." She grabbed one of the bags Joseph held out to her and took a quick peek to find two boxes in them.

"Now tell me what you were up to."

"I was at the long-distance phone booths making a call."

"Oh right, you probably didn't have time to make your family aware you were leaving," he reached a sizable hand up to scratch the back of his head, "I should probably contact Granny Erina too, huh?"

Sharena froze for a moment, with the last several days flying by in such a whirlwind she really hadn't put much thought into her family or what might have been occurring at home with them. The girl wondered if she was considered missing her own time and if so whether her family had even tried to find her, they hadn't really stayed in contact since she moved out, but her mother still called once a week.

Unbeknownst to the archaeologist, a good deal of the color had drained from her face, an odd expression replacing her usual calm exterior. Joseph almost wanted to ask what was wrong, his own mind coming up with possible reasons for her reaction. In the end he decided she would tell him whenever she was ready and dropped the subject.

After nearly a minute of silence, both parties lost in their thoughts, the female tensely spoke up, "Yeah, yeah I gave them a brief gist. And if you want to speak with Misses Erina I suppose you can, but I called her myself and she seemed rather calm and collected, but I feel she may actually be furious with you." A grin forming at Joseph's expense.

"I'll call her later, I need to figure this whole situation out. Then again, you'd think she would be used to this, Speedwagon and I used to go on sudden excursions all the time. Then again, he isn't here anymore is he?" It was more a question then a statement, and the blonde could only reach up and give him what she hoped was a comforting touch to his upper back. She had never experienced such a loss and wasn't exactly skilled in empathy. She was an archaeologist, they dealt with century-old corpses, so there were never any living relatives to comfort. Giving his shoulder a light squeeze she gestured towards a place where they could change.