***Congratulations, we're a third of the way through this story! We have 1.1k reads and 100 votes as of last chapter. Thanks for the support, guys!

I just hope you don't boot me from the fandom by the time you've finished reading this...but then, if you didn't boot me during Jay's clingy phase, we're probably okay. I hope. This is still my favorite book I've written, so I'm sure you guys will find something to like about it...right? *hides in fear of being ejected from Ninjago paradise***

***(Cole's POV)***

It's lunchtime on the last day of high school, and I, Cole Brookstone, have finally made it. I never thought I would get here – I'm just not a big fan of school – but I'm done. It's a huge wash of relief.

Zane's not at school today – he's staying with PIXAL. Apparently, Borg is still struggling to fix the issues with her power source.

Of course, unlike Jay and I, Zane won't need to make up any finals – most of his teachers offered to waive his tests since he has such good grades. He had intended to take all the exams anyway, but he has bigger priorities now.

I look around the cafeteria. Nya is nowhere to be found, so I imagine she's seated outside. Lloyd is...somewhere around here. I do see Jay, though.

Strange.

***Music Cue***

"So...you seem distant this morning." I sit down beside him. "Where's Nya? You usually sit with her."

He shakes his head. "Don't ask. I'm a jerk."

Okay, like, I know Nya already has a team of overprotective guys and really doesn't need any more, but I'm on high alert now. "Jay, what did you do to Nya?"

He flops on the lunch table, not caring that there's a blob of jelly right where his head lands. "I kissed her when she was still emotionally exhausted from her meltdown last night. I didn't care that she didn't want me to."

"Jay!" I exclaim. "You, like, kissed a girl when she obviously didn't give you permission?"

"I typically don't ask girls before I kiss them – not that there have been that many." He shakes his head, sighing. "But I knew she wasn't interested this time, Cole. I knew Nya didn't want me to do it, but I totally ignored that."

"Look, Jay, I know you have the hots for her and all, but this is out of control."

"I see that now." He sniffs. "I promised my mom I would give Nya every chance to run back to our relationship – that was my mom's dying wish, that Nya have a chance to run back – and I thought I was doing that by following her around and showing her I cared about her."

"Caring about her is one thing, Jay. Trying to force her into a relationship with you is another! Jay, we pummel guys like that! Remember those two dudes who propositioned Nya after the underwear incident last fall? Nya and I sent them to the nurse's office." 'The underwear incident' is a nice way of saying that someone posted pictures of Nya wearing...very little...around the cafeteria last fall. We never figured out who did it, never knew why it was done.

"I didn't proposition her!" Jay argues. "But...but I did kind of force myself on her by kissing her." He chokes on the words. "Cole, I'm a jerk!"

"Yeah, it kind of seems like it." I peel my orange. "So...what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing, right now. Nya asked for space, Cole, and...and she deserves that much, at least. Gosh, I hate myself." He clenches his eyes shut.

I pat his back. "Good thinking, buddy. The first step in not being a jerk is admitting that you are one. But don't hate yourself, okay? That doesn't fix anything."

"Cole, I need to at least hate what I've done. I couldn't even sleep last night, I was so fed up with what I did. I'm moving out of the monastery tonight – going home to live with my parents for a while." He huffs out a breath. "It's been a long time since I've visited them, to be honest."

"Great idea." I cough, changing the subject. "Um...Lloyd told me you'd been kicked off the team."

"Yup. And now I can't be around to help you guys on missions, since I'm an emotional mess."

"It's just temporary suspension," I comfort him. "We're not letting you go forever, Jay. We just need you to get back on track with your life, you know?"

"I wish I knew how to do that."

"You could maybe talk to your counselor about it during your session on Friday afternoon." About a month ago, we finally managed to convince Jay to get therapy for his mom's loss. It was really traumatic for him, and he sank pretty deep into depression. The depression's getting better; it's his obsession with Nya that's stuck.

"Maybe. And...maybe I need to find some new hobbies, you know? Besides convincing Nya that we should be together."

I chuckle. "Not a bad plan. Sometime this week, you can come over to the monastery and play videogames with me or something."

Jay's bottom lip trembles. "Today's the last day of high school, and I'm going home to live with my parents, and..." He swipes under his eye. "Oh, I'm going to miss you guys so much!"

"Hey, it's okay." I pull him into a hug. "We won't be distant, Jay. No, it won't be the same as living with all of us, but we'll make it work."

"I hope so. I...I need you guys, all of you. And I've forgotten that recently. I'm sorry I've been so rude to all of you."

"It's okay. I forgive you, and I'm sure the rest of the team will, too."

"Not Nya," he laughs sadly. "And not Lloyd. I don't know what to do about him anymore. I" – he debates over the words – "I hate to admit it, but I legitimately hated him starting around March." He pulls back from our hug. "I hated him, Cole. What kind of brother does that?" More tears come trickling out of his eyes.

"I...don't know," I sigh. "You were pretty messed up. You still are, Jay. And I think Lloyd will understand that, if you two talk it out."

"I don't know that I want to 'talk it out'." He swipes under his nose. "All I know is, I've finally found someone whom I dislike more than Lloyd – myself. And I'm going to change, Cole."

***(Skylor's POV)***

I inhale a fresh breath of air as I leave school. Today was the last day ever of high school, and I'm done. I'm ready to get married and focus on running my business.

And I want to help Kai with his relationship with his sister, too. I have to make sure Nya sticks around for her brother. Which reminds me...I'm picking her up from school today.

And I think we need to have a talk about the bakery incident yesterday.

I watch the school doors until she comes out, helping Seliel with her backpack. Seliel does not seem pleased with the aid, but Nya runs ahead of her so she can't take her bag back. Sel shakes a fist at her, hobbling on her crutches as she tries to catch up.

I smile. It's good for Nya to finally have some female friends other than me. I don't know how that girl got through puberty or boy problems with only Kai and a team of guys around to help her.

I wait by my red Corvette – a gift from my evil daddy three years ago – until Nya finally spots me from the other side of the parking lot. She gives me a nod, letting me know she does intend to come home to the blacksmith's shop today.

She's usually insistent that she go back to the monastery. I wonder what's up with her today?

I climb in the driver's seat, tapping my fingers along the steering wheel for a moment. Then, I peer down at my phone to see Kai's stupid message of the day.

Future Hubby: dinner w/ me 2nite – wear something sexy

Oh, please. Nya's coming home this evening. He can keep all his sexy ideas where they belong.

Nya opens the passenger door. "Before you chew me out about yesterday and the bakery, allow me to say I was under a lot of pressure." She slides inside.

"That's not an apology, Sis."

"I'm bad with those." She closes the door behind her. "Let's just go home, okay?"

"Okay," I frown. "Is...something wrong?"

"You have no idea." She reclines her head against the seat, buckling herself in.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Can I drive?"

I raise an eyebrow. "In my Corvette?"

She sighs. "Okay, bad idea." She presses her forehead to the window.

"Sis...is it something to do with the guys? Is that why you don't want to go back to the monastery?"

"It doesn't matter."

Nya always clams up like this when she's upset, and it annoys the heck out of everyone around her. When you're worried about someone, you don't want to play Twenty Questions until you figure out what's wrong.

"Nya, you'd better tell me what's going on right now, or when I buy your bridesmaid's dress, you'd better bet it's going to be the frilliest, most girly gown I can find."

She glowers at me.

"My wedding, my rules," I shrug, leaving no room for nonsense.

Nya sighs. "It's Jay, okay? Jay is what's wrong. I got upset last night while I was working on chemistry review problems, and he took me back to the blacksmith's shop, and then he tried to make out with me while my defenses were worn down, and I put space between us. And you can't tell Kai, or Jay is actually dead. End of story."

My mind tries to process all this. "Jay...tried to make out with you? Like, did you kiss him back or give him any sort of permission to take things that far?"

She blushes red. "I didn't kiss him back, Skylor."

"Uh-huh. I don't believe that." I sigh. "So...you two are taking a break, huh?"

"Yes. The only time I should have to see him in the next month should be at graduation, so yay, me."

"A month? What about wedding preparations?" Something tells me I will not be winning my bet with Kai.

Oh, well. I suppose there are worse things in life than having your first dance to country music. I mean, there sure aren't very many worse things, but I'm trying to be positive here.

"I need time off, Skye," Nya argues. "I'm done with being used and lied to by Jay. He used to be different – he used to be so sweet and so much fun – but now...now, he's just not. He's messed up, and I'm apparently not great at helping him find his true self again." She takes a deep breath. "I miss him – the real him." She rubs under her eyes. "Goshdarn it."

"It's okay to cry, Nya."

"I'm not a weepy girl," she sniffles.

"You don't have to be a 'weepy girl' to cry sometimes. It's all right to admit that you miss Jay."

"And it's all right for me to utilize my right of remaining silent."

"Come on, Sis. You know you want to talk about this."

"No, I don't. I want to work out my problems someplace safe – someplace where no one else is around, and I can let my mind run wild with different solutions."

"We can't really leave you alone right now, Nya. Kai and I are still worried you're going to run away, you know?"

She doesn't answer.

"Sis," I say in a warning tone. "You're not still planning on leaving, right? I can read minds if you don't give me a direct answer."

She moans. "Of course, you can. Honestly, Skylor...I don't know what I plan on doing anymore. I just need time to think about my life."

"Nya, you're not even seventeen yet. You don't have to have everything figured out."

"But I'm done with high school now, just like you." She eyes me. "I have plenty of things to figure out."

"You belong with Kai and me. We're a team, and we're about to be family."

"Look, I know you think I'm some little girl you have to take care of, but I'm really not. I love you guys, but...I don't know that I belong with you."

"I don't think you're a little girl," I argue.

"You just threatened me a minute ago with playing dress up while I tried on bridesmaid's gowns."

"Well...it worked, didn't it?"

She rolls her eyes. "There are reasons I don't wear nice clothes and makeup anymore."

"You mean...with your, um, photos? Of you not wearing very much?"

"Yeah. But also, the only guy I've cared about impressing since February is already enthralled with me, so..." She shrugs. "It's not like I'm concerned with how I look for Lloyd anymore."

"You still like Jay?" I knew it. "How have you managed to avoid getting back together with him for three months? He's been really persistent."

She shakes her head. "Because the past three months, he's either been depressed or a different person. And don't forget that I broke up with him due to a lot of insecurities I had."

I know all about said insecurities, since I accidentally read Nya's mind right before she ran away for a few days last month. Nya is essentially worried she's going to hurt her team like she's hurt other people in her life. She's just waiting for the ball to drop.

"Anyway," she goes on, "how I feel about Jay isn't really important, Skylor. What's important is that he gets some much-needed healing, and that I get...well, that I get over being mad at him. I have good reason to, and I think it'll be a while before I can forgive him and get back to being his friend."

I merge into Interstate traffic. "You were right about one thing, Nya."

"I'm right about a lot of things."

"But one thing in particular," I smile softly. "You aren't a little girl anymore."

"Thank you for acknowledging that."

"And you know what big girls get?" I go on, smirking. "Big girl punishments. Which means I hold you accountable for all the stupid stuff you said and did while we were cake-testing yesterday."

"Something tells me I should've ridden back to the monastery with Cole. At least Kai hasn't decided to ground me again, though." She stretches her shoulder. "Thanks for talking, Skye."

***There we go. Let's give Nya and Jay some healthy friendships to work out their problems in.

I just love Cole. Like, he's such a good, understanding friend in this series, and...Cole's just bomb.

I should have another chapter out tomorrow! However, I have to warn you that this week is going to most likely have less updates than usual. I really need to focus on college right now <3 Thanks for understanding!***