***(Jay's POV; song for this chapter: "I Honestly Love You" by Olivia Newton-John)***

I am sitting between Nya and Cole, nervously biting my fingernails. I only ever played truth or dare once, and that was when I was thirteen. I was at my first middle school party, and it was either this game or spin the bottle. And I was not about to kiss Tox.

I only picked dares, since I didn't want to rehash my mom's story to strangers. I remember everything started out simple: I got dared to eat a banana with the peel on. I had to prank call the Jade family butler. And then, someone dared me to lick Cole's toe. I cried all the way home.

I guess I'll only be picking truths tonight.

"Maybe I hang around here

A little more than I should.

We both know I got somewhere else to go.

But I got something to tell you

That I never thought I would,

But I believe you really ought to know."

Okay, nevermind. Truths could get very, very bad.

"All right, I'll be the one setting the rules for this game," Kai starts us off.

"Um, I didn't put you in charge, and I'm pretty sure I organized it," Nya argues.

He rolls his eyes. "Consider this payback for yesterday. Now, everyone, the only rule is that we don't do anything that'll get us killed. Understood?"
"That's pretty broad," Nya complains.

"I'll screen each dare. Live with it. And I'm going first." Kai looks to Lloyd. "Lloyd, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Did you and my sister do anything I wouldn't consent to outside last night?"

"Golly, Kai! Of course not! Is that all you think about?"

He rolls his eyes. "I just wanted to make sure. And the penalty for being caught in a lie is drinking lemonade from one of my gym shoes."

Lloyd makes a retching noise. "Believe me, I'm not lying."

"Okay. Then you get to pick who goes next."

Lloyd looks to Nya. "Truth or dare?"

She throws her head back in a laugh. "Dare, of course."

"Cut one lock of Kai's hair."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Kai yells.

"Is it a matter of life or death?" Lloyd asks flatly.

"Yes!" Kai squeals.

Nya rolls her eyes. "Kai, just deal with it." She leaves the room and comes back with a pair of scissors.

"Don't come near me!" Kai screams.

"Relax. It's only a lock of your hair. Lloyd doesn't have the heart to ask me to cut all of it." She comes up behind him.

"No! I'll do anything!" he screeches.

She thinks. "Is that okay, Lloyd?"

"This is his punishment for having his mind in the gutter all the time. There are no alternatives."

Nya quickly snips a few strands of her brother's hair. He squeals, then falls to the floor as if dead.

"All done," my fake girlfriend smirks. Turning to Cole, she asks, "Truth or dare?"

"Pfft, dare. Truths are for wimps. No offense, Lloyd."

Nya ponders Cole's response. "Video yourself eating peanut butter in the bathroom. Then, post it to your Tinder. Oh, and don't forget to leave the toilet lid up."

Cole blinks. "What?"

Nya rolls her eyes. "You heard me."

"But – I don't have Tinder! Girls already love me! Why would I have a Tinder?"

She cackles. "Make one."

And that's what we spent the next ten minutes doing.

"Remind me never to ask for a dare from Nya again," Cole shudders once we've finished. "Okay, Jay. Truth or dare?"

"Tr-truth," I stammer.

He grins wickedly. "How long have you liked Nya, since you two are dating now? And remember the punishment for lying."

I freeze.

"I love you,

I honestly love you."

"Um..." I blush miserably. "I guess since we met."

All the other guys whoop. Well, except Zane, who nods his approval of the truth.

Nya, on the other hand, smiles up at me. She leans over to my ear, whispering, "Good job. Kai totally bought it."

Again, I blush, but not with embarrassment.

"All right, Lloyd. Truth or dare?"

"Why is it always my turn?" he asks.

"You're the runt. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," he sighs.

"How bad is your candy addiction?"

He thinks about this. "It depends on what you mean by 'bad'."

"Okay. Answer a couple of questions for me. How often do you eat it, do you ever have sugar withdrawals, and do you ever wish you could stop?"

"I can stop," Lloyd shoots back. "And that's three truths! You can't do that!"

Kai cuts in, "Yes, he can. You failed to directly answer his first truth, so he broke it down for you. Now, answer!"

I guess Kai must have recovered from his hair loss.

"Fine," Lloyd moans. "I eat candy at least once an hour, not counting breath mints. I barely ever have sugar withdrawals." He turns bright red. "Anymore. And I CAN STOP! I just choose not to!"

Nya laughs. "Right."

Lloyd shoots her an annoyed look. "Kai, truth or dare?"

"Dare," he grins.

"Call Skylor and tell her you're breaking up."

"What?" cries Kai. "What is it 'pick on the master of fire' day?"

"Um, isn't it always that day?" Nya asks.

Ignoring her sass, Lloyd says, "Because you won't leave me alone! Now, call Skylor, and put the phone on speaker."

Kai mutters something that's probably distasteful under his breath, then pulls out his cell phone. He hits speed dial, and a few moments later, we hear Skylor's voice over the line.

"Kai?" she asks.

His eyes shoot daggers at Lloyd. "Hey, Skylor. How are you?" he asks.

"Do it," Lloyd mouths.

"I'm fine, Kai. What's up?"

"I'm, uh...I'm breaking up...with you."

Silence. Finally, we hear a dramatic sigh. "Are you playing truth or dare with the guys again?"

Kai smiles smugly. "You guessed it, Babe."

"When are you going to learn to pick truths? Is your pride that bad?"

"Hey! There's a lot of private stuff in my life!"

"Like your secret collection of – "

"Babe!" Kai laughs, taking the phone off speaker. "Maybe we should talk about that later. Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow. I love you, too." He hangs up. "Well, that went surprisingly well," he addresses us.

"Yeah, whatever," Lloyd grouches. "It's your turn."

"Okay! Jay, truth or dare?"

"When will I get a turn?" Zane asks.

"Later. Now, Jay, pick one," Kai commands.

I sigh. "Truth."

"What made you notice my sister?"

"Why do you always ask me about Nya?" I wonder aloud.

"She's a lot more interesting than you. Answer my question."

"Okay. I'm glad to know how highly you think of me," I sigh. "So, what attracted me to Nya. Um, well, she's beautiful, but what made me really notice her is how she refuses to just be your little sister. She's always been determined to prove her worth to the team, even when we didn't know she had powers."

I cast a glance at Nya to see her reaction. Her face is blank.

Oh, great. I've blown it.

"You don't have to answer,

I see it in your eyes.

Maybe it was better left unsaid.

This is pure and simple,

And you must realize

That it's coming from my heart and not my head."

"Wow, Jay," she finally says. "That's really...touching."

"Okay, now you can go next," I tell her, still flushed. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Use Lloyd's fishing pole from Season 4 to reel a pair of Kai's underwear down into Wu's tea room."

"What's Season 4?" she questions.

"Oh, um, nothing."

"Okay. Give me just a moment." She prepares the dare, then we all follow her to the overhead deck of the monastery. Slowly, she lowers Kai's red boxers down to Wu's favorite place.

We all hold our breath.

Then, suddenly, we hear, "WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER IS GOING ON?"

Nya plants a hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter, then drops the fishing pole and runs for the bunk room.

We all follow suit.

Safely inside, she lets out her laughter. "That was a great dare. Wow, Jay, you're so good at this game. Why do you hate playing?"

"Is this for the game or not?" I nervously question.

She laughs. "Off the record."

"Because Cole's feet smell horrible," I shrug as I retake my seat.

"Huh," she frowns. "Zane, truth or dare?"

***Nya's POV***

"Truth, obviously," Zane smiles. "I physically cannot lie."

"Okay. Um, who's your secret crush?"

Zane shrugs. "I don't have one."

"You don't have one?" Nya repeats.

"No. I've never really been interested in romantic relationships."

"All right, I guess," she frowns.

Zane looks at Kai. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Rip off your shirt in front of Misako while 'Careless Whisper's' iconic saxophone intro is playing."

Everyone is silent.

Then, "This is why no one ever picks you!" "That's disgusting!" "Zane, you're even more pervy than Kai!"

Realizing he's been outvoted, Zane shrugs. "Okay. I suppose, then, that your other dare option is to drink one of Wu's teas."

"Sensei literally just found a pair of my underwear in his tea room," Kai argues. "Do you really think he's going to let me in there?"

"Then I will go in your stead," Zane responds. "But be forewarned, I will show no mercy if I am to pick out the tea."

"Be my guest. I'd rather face any tea than Master Wu right now."

"If you so wish." Zane leaves, then returns a few minutes later with a small tea bag.

Kai looks down at the label. "Hones-tea. It's supposed to make you more honest about yourself. Huh."

Zane produces a cup of water, which Kai heats with a flame from his hand. Then, he swirls the tea bag in it. "Okay. While this is steeping, I choose Jay as the next victim."

"I've already gone twice," he frowns.

"Yeah, but you're fun to pick on. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," he miserably whines.

"If you could say anything to Nya, without fear of what others would think or do in response, what would it be?"

He looks like a deer in the headlights. Poor guy. "Um, well..." He shoots me a glance, as if asking, "How should I answer them?"

I shrug. He's better at this fake relationship stuff than I am.

Sighing, he draws a folded piece of notebook paper from his back pocket. "Okay. This is a...a love note I was writing to you." He clears his throat. "Dear Nya, I fall a little more in love with you every day. I love how you accept everyone and cater to their needs, even if you hide it under the guise of a bargain. I love how you aren't afraid to be your true self and enjoy life, and I love how you help others find their true selves. But I really love the little things about you – the way you scrunch up your nose when you're confused, or how you always pull the pepperoni off your pizza and eat it before anything else. It makes you unique. I can't wait to see where our relationship goes from here. Love, Jay." He coughs.

"Jay," Kai says in a warning tone.

"That's so sweet!" I exclaim. I quickly smack a kiss on his cheek.

"Jay, I'm going to have your hide if you ever think about writing something like that to Nya again!" Kai growls.

Jay just nods.

"Kai, if you do anything to Jay, I have dirt on you! Don't even think about hurting him!" I mean it. Jay might be my fake boyfriend, but his effort is real. I wonder how he came up with that stuff for his love note.

Jay looks around. "Okay, um...Cole. Truth or dare?"

"Truth. Nya ruined me for dares tonight."

"If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?"

He quiets. "I would...I would really love to see my mom again."

I blanche at his honesty. So do the others. Cole never, ever talks about his mom. Kai and I sometimes bring up stories about our parents, and Jay brings up his birth mom occasionally, but Cole has never gotten over the death of his mother.

"Thanks for sharing that," I tell him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He nods dumbly. "Um, Lloyd, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you ever thought of Nya as more than a friend?"

He blushes. "No. I mean, maybe once or twice, but never in a concentrated way. I've never been attracted to Nya the way I am to Harumi. I think we're just better off as best friends."

Cole frowns. "That was a lot of words."

I, on the other hand, am...breaking apart inside. Jay drapes a protective arm around my shoulder, and I lean into the gesture.

Stupid me. Why do I have to be falling for Lloyd? He obviously isn't interested in me. I guess hugs, laughs, and kisses on the head are all normal friendship stuff for him.

"I love you,

I honestly love you...

If we were both born

In another place and time,

This moment might be ending in a kiss.

But there you are with yours,

And here I am with mine,

So I guess we'll just be leaving it at this."

I am so not a crier, and I'm not into ice cream, but I could really go for some of my mom's mac n' cheese right now.

"Okay," Lloyd laughs. "That was awkward. Let's move on. Uh, Nya, truth or dare?"

"Dare," I mutter. I snuggle deeper into Jay's shoulder. Why did Lloyd have to pick me after that bomb drop?

Wow, Jay's shampoo smells really...good. I never knew that.

"Okay, um..." He tugs Jay's arm from around me. "Watch the PDA. Okay, your dare is to...um, kiss..."

Kai stands up. "NYA WILL NOT BE KISSING ANYONE! I WOULD RATHER SHAVE MYSELF BALD THAN SEE THAT!"

Cole chuckles. "Wow, Kai, I think that Hones-tea is kicking in!"

Kai sighs. "I know it is. I've tried it before."

Lloyd rolls his eyes. "Sit down, Kai. You yourself said the only rule is not dying. Nya kissing someone isn't going to result in death."

"It'll result in mine! You expect me to sit around and watch Nya kiss someone, especially one of you idiots?"

"It's my lips we're talking about," Nya retorts.

Cole ignores her. "So you really think we're idiots, huh?" he smiles wickedly.

Kai nods emphatically. "Yes, all of you. Except Zane. He's probably the smartest guy I know. And I recognize that Lloyd has some leadership skills, but he's still an idiot."

"Okay, Nya, kiss me," Lloyd dares.

I look to him with hurt eyes. "No."

Surprise crosses his face. "You're refusing a dare?"

"Yes. You just said you're not attracted to me in any way, so there isn't even a point to this."

"Nya," Lloyd coaxes. "It's not like you have feelings for me, right?"

I stand straight up. "I have Jay!" I mean, Lloyd knows it's a fake relationship, but whatever. "I just – I just don't want to kiss someone, only for the sake of kissing them! Ask me a truth instead!"

Lloyd sighs and gives me an odd look. "Okay. You can sit back down. I'll give you a truth."

Once I retake my spot beside Jay, my best friend says, "Out of anyone on the team, which person could you see a future with in ten years?"

"Kai, duh!" He cannot be going where I think he is.

"I mean a romantic future, Nya."

Oh, he's playing dirty. But he's trying to pull one over on the master. "You know what?"

"What?" he asks, raising a brow.

I get right up in his face. "I'm not going to answer that question."

"You have to, or else you're out," he quietly reminds me.

"That's not true. Would you like to know why?"

"When it comes to you, not really," he whispers.

I press my lips to his, getting a small, tantalizing taste of what it'd be like to have my best friend for a boyfriend. He doesn't kiss me back - I mean, he's too surprised to do anything - and I know this is the end of my vision for our future.

After a few seconds, I pull away. "Because I took you up on your dare." I straighten up suddenly, addressing the group. "All right, I'm done. Let me know if you guys want to do something that's actually fun." I wave at everyone as I leave, adding in a wink for Jay.

"Nya, wait," Lloyd says.

I keep walking.

Jay, however, catches up with me. "Hey, are you okay?" he asks.

I shrug. "No, but I'll get over it. You should go play with the others."

"I don't really like truth or dare. I was just playing because you wanted to."

I smile and punch his arm. "Best boyfriend ever, huh?"

"Something like that," he agrees. "So, um..." He scratches the back of his neck. "Would you like to, uh, help me fix the coffee machine?"

"The coffee machine?"

"Yeah. Wu told me it broke this morning. Of course, if you don't want to, we could do something else. Or, if you don't want to hang out with me, that's okay, too. Just, um – "

I laugh. He is so cute, and he doesn't even know it. "I'd love to help you, Jay."

"Oh." His lips slowly quirk upward. "Great." He offers his hand to me, a little unsure. I shoot him a grin, grabbing his hand and heading toward the kitchen.

At least my fake boyfriend cares. I wonder what that means?

***Okay, this is definitely a long chapter! However, I had so much fun writing it! And as I've said before, I think Lloya is cute, but Jaya is so much better! Sorry, Lloya shippers! :)***