😏😏😏

Nya's POV

"And... closed!" I said, finally turning the door's sign around to read 'closed'. I had never been this excited to leave work since I worked at Chen's with Skylor, really. Though, it had taught me how to make good noodles.

"You seem oddly thrilled to leave," Jay said behind me, tossing me one of the helmets, "am I such a bad boss?"

"Annoying, yes. Bad, no." Better than Sky's dad, at least.

As I climbed on his motorcycle right behind him (too bad I was prohibited from driving that thing), I looked at the blinking sign.

'Borg's Tech and Gadgets for Future Geniuses'. Cheesy title—especially for a shop that repairs laptops and sells chargers—but even working at any place owned by Cyrus Borg was a dream come true.

And that I had a nice boss, of course.

"I think we make a great team," Jay said, staring at the same thing. He shook his head and started the engine, turning his head to look at me through his helmet.

"So, where are we going, friend?" I told him. He seemed way too excited about that whole friend thing, but I couldn't blame him, really. It was good for thing to be... not awkward between us for once.

"Home."

"Home?"

"Yes, home. We're grounded, remember?"

Ah, yes. There was one thing I had forgotten about my good ol' pal Jay. The fact that he used to be, and still was, a goody-two-shoes-type nerd.

"I'm twenty, you're twenty-two. Do you know what that means?"

"That you can't drink alcohol?"

"I... Well, yeah, that too, but it also means that Kai's not our mom."

"Yeah, but Kai can't crack you like a chopstick!"

"Oh, come on. So he gets to go to all those parties and we're just not allowed to go anywhere?"

"Nya, you know he's worried about you—"

"Besides," I cut him off, wrapping my arms more tightly around his waist. I learned in and said, "I think you can take him on."

That was one way I found to be effective when it came to convincing Jay about something; upping his confidence. Which should have been common sense to me, really, but a little confidence boost never hurt anyone, right?

"I mean... You really think so?" he said, his voice slightly cracking.

I nodded against his back. "Mhm."

"I..." he searched for his words, "nope, we're going home."

Well, it was worth a shot.

As we drove off, I started poking his back and shoulder.

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Nope."

"You're acting like Kai."

"I'm not acting like Kai, I just don't want him to be mad at us. And it's getting pretty dark anyway—"

"I'll tell him about Mr Cuddlywump."

He gasped. "You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Fine, I'll tell him about you wrecking his car at sixteen."

"It's been four years, he's gotten over it," I argued, "I'll tell him about you kissing pillows."

"I don't do that!" he said, "... anymore."

"You totally do."

After minutes of silence, we reached another stop and it seemed as if his tongue started working again.

But, of course, I was the one to talk over him.

"I'll tell him that you punched Morro!"

"I did not punch Morro!"

"You would if you could though!"

He stayed quiet for a bit. "... You're right. Though I don't like violence."

"You're weird."

"Well, I've got the ultimate ones."

Oh? "Yeah, right."

"I'll tell him that we almost kissed. Twice," he said with what I could only assume to be a victorious smirk beneath his helmet.

Not as bad I thought. I mean, it could have been worse—

A moment of realisation hit me.

Wait, what?

Jay's POV

Have you ever said something so dumb to the point where you regret your very existence? Yeah, fun.

I had somehow managed to make the girl with the biggest stubborn attitude in Ninjago (well, aside from her brother's and his girlfriend's) to stay quiet for two whole hours.

Maybe it was because it was 10PM and she was too busy insulting whatever romantic soap opera her brother was watching beside her on the couch, but she still seemed oddly distant.

Of course, I was left with doing the dishes.

"Bathroom break," Kai said out of the blue, running to the hallway.

"But this is the part where Mia decides who she'll marry!" Nya shouted from the couch, pushing her popcorn aside.

"We all know it's going to be Joel, anyway!"

"Do not compare that skunk with May! At least she has a joke or two to tell!"

"Still not gonna choose her!"

She sighed and shook her head as commercials came on. "Why do I even bother?"

As I followed their feud from afar, watching Kai finally leave the room entirely, I knew I had to do something.

But then again, I didn't have a topic to discuss...

"So, Nya..." I sat down beside her and she scooted away. Nice start.

"We did not kiss, Jay."

Ah. As said before, great start.

"I didn't say that," I said, "I said that we almost kissed."

"We didn't almost kiss either!" she shoved her face in her pillow and groaned.

"I mean... If you think about the aquarium and the gas station..."

"No!"

"Okay, we won't think about that then," I sighed, "I'm just saying that if you want to heal from Morro, you should try a healthy relationship with healthy kissing."

"That's terrible advice."

"I know... I just didn't know what else to say..." I said, "just focus on yourself and hit me up when you're ready."

"What—Jay, you're acting like we're in an arranged marriage."

We could be in a normal marriage though—Nope, too forward.

It was worth a shot, I guess.

She frowned. "Besides, first kisses are gross, especially if the other person knows what they're doing..." she said, hugging the couch pillow as she watched the obviously fake kiss play on the TV's screen.

I mean, we're both inexperienced, so...

Nope.

"Don't worry about it," I smiled, "but, um... If you ever have the time... We could go on a date," I said, "as friends, of course."

"We're grounded, remember?" she said in a mocking tone.

"Haha, very funny," I rolled my eyes. I scooted closer to her and leaned into her ear. "Who said we can't sneak out through the window?"

"I like your mindset, Walker."

"Good, because we're not doing it," I grinned, getting up from the couch, "we're grounded for a reason and we've both been ignoring college lately, so... study session?"

She raised an eyebrow. "In what case do engineering and marine biology ever mix?"

I walked to the fridge, tossing her a bottle of iced tea while I grabbed my energy drink.

I plopped down next to her, returning the smirk she was giving me. "If water and lightning can mix, so can they," I booped her nose.

She rolled her eyes. "Nerd."

So... I have an idea and a question.

For Cole's love interest, who would you want me to put in? Vania or Seliel?

I honestly see Vania more as a friend/fangirl to Cole, so I'm probably going to do Seliel, but they're not going to be together necessarily.

How the date turns out will depend on which girl wins, so pick and choose! 😉

Vania?

OR

Seliel?

And no, you can't choose 'OR'.

C ya!