A/N: I finally finished typing the first chapter of my ADJL fan-fiction! I really hope you guys enjoy this, if you do, feel free to leave a review. More chapters will be coming soon!
Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon Jake Long. If I did this Trixie/Jake ship would be real and I wouldn't be sitting here writing a fanfic about it.
Chapter One
Jake sighed as he sifted through clothes on the floor of his messy room, he had been looking for his favorite red hoodie for about 20 minutes.
"You know it's time to clean your room when you start losing stuff you wear every single day." He let out an irritated groan as he looked through the clothes scattered around his cluttered floor. His style hadn't changed much since he was 14, his wardrobe mostly consisted of dark colored shirts and jeans, and of course the red hoodie that he couldn't find at the moment.
"Aw man." He pushed the clothes around making a path to his door and stepped out of his room. He looked at the clock on the wall as he jogged down the stairs. It was almost six o'clock which was the time he was supposed to meet up with his friends. It was the last two weeks of summer break before senior year, and since most of Jake's summer had been spent on his duties as the American Dragon, he jumped at any opportunity he had to spend time with them. He walked into the kitchen where he found his parents dancing together and laughing.
"Well someone hit the wine bottle a little early tonight." His mother, Susan, clicked her tongue as his father released her and made his way over to the coat closet.
"Actually Jakeroo your mother and I decided to go Salsa dancing tonight. We were just practicing a few moves, I need to make sure she can keep up with me you know." He gave her a wink as he put on his jacket. "I'll be back in a flash honey, nature calls. But after that, it'll be you, me, and a little dance called love." He danced his way toward the bathroom, making up a song about what a great night they were going to have, causing Susan to blush.
"Anyway, ma have you seen my hoodie?" She raised her eyebrows at him.
"You going out tonight?"
"Yea I'm meeting Rose, Trix and Spud at the carnival. So have you seen it?"
"The carnival huh?" She asked, ignoring his question. She quickly glanced over to the table where her youngest child, Haley, was sitting. She had been studying for weeks preparing for the entrance exam at Filmore Prep Academy and currently she was nose deep in a calculus book. "Is uhm.. anybody else going?" Her eyes darted toward Haley and then back at Jake. He caught on to her signal but acted as if he hadn't.
"Yea well it is a carnival so I'm sure there's gonna be other people going." He fought the urge to laugh as his mother's eyes narrowed at him.
"Jake," she spoke carefully as if she was talking to a toddler. "I meant is anyone else going with you?" This time she tilted her head towards the young girl as she stared at Jake and mouthed 'Haley' over and over.
"Don't worry mom," she spoke up without taking her eyes off of her book. "there's no way I'd waste valuable study time by going to a carnival." She said the word as if it pained her to even have it come out of her mouth.
"What's wrong with carnivals Haley Hoo?" Jonathan asked as he came back into the room.
"You mean what's wrong with a smelly bug infested death trap that's only purpose is to force people to spend hundreds of dollars, either by trying to win supremely underwhelming prizes or buying deep fried diabetes on a stick?" she asked sarcastically. Jake pressed his lips together and shrugged at his mother.
"Can't argue with that, almost makes me not wanna go." His mother crossed her arms at him.
"Your jacket is in the laundry room."
"Thanks ma. Y'all have fun at your dance thing." He turned to go.
"Oh we will." His father replied with a smirk.
"Jake I really think you shoul-" He put a finger to his lips, cutting her off.
"I don't think we should keep talking while Haley is studying." he loudly whispered. "You know I would never come in between someone and their education." He gave her a wink and jetted up the stairs.
The dryer just finished its cycle as he stepped into the laundry room. He opened it up and pulled out his hoodie.
"Fresh out the dryer, score." He slipped it over his head, careful not to mess up his hair, and turned to leave. He nearly fell back when he saw his mother standing right behind him. He let out a small yelp and brought his hand up to his chest to calm his rapidly beating heart.
"God ma what the hell? You could have given me a heart attack you know." Susan stood there with her arms folded tightly.
"Jacob Luke Long, what in the world was that about downstairs?" He tilted his head giving her a questioning look.
"I don't know what you mean. What'd I do?" Susan let out an exasperated sigh and took a step towards her son.
"You're really telling me that you would go off to have fun with your friends, and leave your little sister here all by herself?" Jake gave his mother a blank stare, still not understanding what the big deal was. Although Haley was just 11 years old, she had proven herself to be much more responsible than many kids her age, and for the past couple months had been staying at home by herself anytime Jake had American Dragon duties, or had plans with Rose or his friends.
"It's not like it's the first time she stayed home alone ma, and I ain't gonna be gone all night just 'til around 10." Just then Susan's expression went from an irritated one to almost sad. She wrung her hands together as she tried to put her thoughts into words.
"Jake, it's just that... your sister is... how can I put this?"
"A pain in the-" Jake was cut off by the glare he received from his mother. "A pain in the heart because I just love that kid so much." She ignored his sarcastic tone and continued.
"What I'm trying to say is she isn't exactly like other kids. While they're out playing at the park or having fun with their friends, she has so many responsibilities." She counted on her fingers as she spoke. "She has school, ballet, violin, gymnastics, and training with Sun Park every week. I feel like she's missing out on her whole childhood, and if she gets into that school... when she gets into that school, she'll hardly ever have time to do things a girl her age should do."
"Haley hasn't exactly acted her age since she was like 4. What can you do she likes studying and schoolwork. I personally can't relate, but to each their own."
"I just don't want her growing up thinking all there is to life is work work work. She hardly wants to spend time with your father and me anymore, so I figured she might like to spend some time with her big bro once in a while." He laughed out loud at that statement.
"Haley. Wanting to spend time with me? That's a good one."
"I mean it Jake. Did you know yesterday she sat in her room by herself and recited all of the chemical elements of the periodic table in alphabetical order and then by atomic number? Forward. And. Backward. I thought that maybe spending a little time with you would help her loosen up a bit, learn to have a little more fun." A sly smile spread across his face.
"You're saying you want Haley to be more like me?"
"No!" she replied quickly, internally shuddering at the thought. She changed her tone as the smile dropped from Jake's face.
"What I mean is, I believe that there is a healthy medium between working yourself to death and doing.. whatever it is that you do." Jake looked up to the ceiling and then back at his mother, preparing to explain to her that he didn't want to be bothered with bringing along his sister who was so much younger than him. Susan held up a hand and shook her head.
"I'm not going to force you to bring her along. All I'm saying is, the past 11 years flew by and the next 11 years will be here and gone before we know it. I just want her to enjoy her youth while she can, because once she's older, trust me, she'll wish she could go back and do it over again." She gave a small smile and kissed him on the cheek before walking out of the room. Jake thought about what she said for a moment. He knew where the concern was coming from, she never got to meet her mother and her father was very busy with his obligations as the Chinese Dragon, so she had to grow up quickly to take care of herself up until she was about 13, when they moved to New York. She always wanted her children to be happy and enjoy being kids, something she was never able to do. A hint of guilt came over him for not wanting to bring his sister along but he quickly shook it off when his phone vibrated and a text from his girlfriend popped up.
Rose: Are you on your way? I can't wait to see you!
He smiled brightly and sent her a quick reply, letting her know he would be there soon, and made his way downstairs. He grabbed his wallet and peeked into the dining room at his younger sister who had begun reading a different book now. He walked behind her and read over her shoulder, one thing that he knew irritated her.
"May I help you?" she asked flatly. He cracked a smile and shook his head.
"Nah I just wanted to see what you're.. wait what are you reading?" He took the book out of her hands, ignoring her objections, and read a portion from the page she was on. "'from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to'... what?" He looked down at his little sister with a stunned expression on his face.
"Jake give it back! I only have a few minutes left of my break."
"You're reading this for fun?" Jake looked from his sister to the book in his hands and sighed. "Go get your jacket Haley."
oOoOoOo
The sounds and smells of the carnival hit Jake as he walked up to the ticket booth. It triggered memories of a simpler time when he was a child, before he knew of his dragon heritage, before he had so much responsibility. He looked over at his little sister, although she looked a little uncomfortable, he could see her eyes growing as she looked at all of the lights and rides around them.
"I don't know if this is a good idea. I only have a couple months left before the entrance exam at FPA. Maybe I should just go home." He reached up and tugged on her ponytail, another one of her pet peeves, and guided her into the gates.
"Chill Hales, you're gonna love it I promise." After getting a text from Spud telling him where they were, Jake and Haley headed toward the teacups ride.
"What's up my people!" The group turned around towards Jake, all simaltaniously yelling to greet him and started walking over. Rose was the first to get to him, the blonde girl ran up to her boyfriend, jumping into his arms.
"Jake! I'm so glad you're here!" He smiled from ear to ear as he lifted her up, giving her a quick kiss before putting her feet back to the ground.
"Jake duuuude." One of his best friends, Spud, walked over and grabbed his hand pulling him into a hug. "That teacup ride is like on crack or something, you gotta get on it."
"Leave it to this boy to get excited about a ride made for children." Trixie shook her head as she came over, hand in hand with her boyfriend Kyle, who nodded to Jake as a greeting. The sight of him made Jake feel nauseous. They had gotten into a fight last year, on the first day of school, and it was still pretty awkward trying to be civil with him. He ignored the tightening sensation in his stomach, and opened his arms for his other best friend to walk into and hugged her tight.
"Hey Mama Trix. How's my girl doing?"
"Ahem.." Jake released his grip on her and looked back at Rose who wrapped her arms around his waist. Last year, Rose got it in her head that there was something going on between her boyfriend and this girl he called his best friend, she couldn't see any other reason why he was always so protective over her, now anytime he was around Trixie she made sure not to let the two of them touch for too long. To Jake this was an annoyance, he didn't like the feeling of being controlled, but he ignored her insecurity and smiled to his friend, silently apologizing.
"Haley! How are you? It's good to see you." Haley smiled as Trixie pulled her into a hug.
"Hi Trixie. It's nice seeing you too." Spud smiled down at her, he didn't have any siblings himself, so he always saw Haley as the baby sister he always wanted.
"I'm glad you're here too Haley, now I don't have to be a fourth wheel anymore." Trixie raised an eyebrow at him.
"Uh Spud don't you mean a third wheel?" He scratched his chin and shrugged.
"Hey third wheel, forth wheel, potato, tomata right?" Spud took his beanie off and got down on one knee, taking the little girl's hand. "Haley Long, would you please grant me the privilege of accompanying me on the Dragon Slayer ride?" She looked over in the direction he was pointing. There was a very menacing, although very unrealistic, looking dragon with smoke flaring out of it's nostrils, and behind it stood the roller coaster track that seemed to reach the sky. She watched in terror as passengers of the ride screamed while dropping 40 feet straight down.
"I don't know, are you sure it's safe?" He scrunched his eyebrows together and thought about it.
"Actually I don't know if it is. But isn't that part of the fun?" Before she could protest he took her by the hand and they all went to get in line.
oOoOoOo
The rest of the night went on pretty well, and soon Haley didn't need much convincing to get on the rides. In fact, after a while, it seemed that she was actually enjoying herself.
While they waited for Rose to come out of the bathroom, Kyle and Spud ran off to get on a ride called "Slingshot" leaving Jake, Trixie, and Haley sitting on a bench. Across from them they had a perfect view of the high striker game, they watched as several men went up to it, trying to make the bell ring at the top. Each one tried and failed, and the man running the game was not very nice about it as he spoke loudly into his megaphone.
"Oh too bad. Looks like we still haven't found anyone man enough to beat THE HIGH STRIKER! Step right up! Show your strength! In the game that truly separates the men from the boys!" Just then an idea popped into Jake's head.
"Yo guys, you wanna have some fun?" Jake strutted up to the game, the girls following close behind him, and handed over money to play. The big gutted man with a cigar between his teeth, took one look at Jake and scoffed. The teenager was in pretty good shape, all the years of dragon training had built his muscles quite a bit, but the man found it hilarious that this "little kid" was about to try and beat the game that men twice and three times his size couldn't even come close to winning.
"Look kid, let me save you some time and money," he said with a sneer, continuing to speak through the megaphone. "If you want to impress your girlfriend here," he nodded his head towards Trixie. "I suggest you go play the Lucky Ducky game. Because this right here is for the adults, the hardest high striker game known to man." He held his hand out to Jake to give him his $5 back.
"You know what.. how about we make it interesting? If you can get that puck to go up higher than Haley can, I'll give you five bucks for every inch you get. But if she gets it higher than you, you have to pay her five for every inch she gets. Feel me?" The man looked Trixie up and down, thinking that was who Jake was referring to, and smiled brightly thinking that this was about to be the easiest bet he ever made.
"Sounds like a good deal." He set down the megaphone and picked up the mallet, stepping in front of the game. He hiked his pants up and pulled it back as far as he could before swinging it down with all his strength. Even Jake had to admit he was a little impressed that the older man was able to make the puck go up a whole 13 inches before it slid back down. Breathlessly the heavyset man stepped away, happy with what he did. He handed the mallet over to Trixie. "Here you go princess. Careful not to ruin your manicure huh?"
"Oh I wont. Because I'm not Haley." She handed the large hammer over to the little girl. When he saw that the four-foot-nothing girl with a pink bow in her hair was who he was really up against, he nearly dropped to the floor with laughter. He put his hands on his protruding belly and leaned back as he cackled.
"Tell you what," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "If she gets it to even go one inch higher, I'll give you the money and every prize on the wall." Haley took no offense to this, she liked being underestimated, it pushed her to do even better. She walked up to the 8 foot tower and put on a show of trying to lift the mallet over her head as if it was too heavy for her. She gave a look to her brother who smiled as he saw the scaly purple skin of her hands appear, unseen by the crowd that was now forming, and she swung the mallet with ease, down onto the lever.
The laughter immediately stopped as the puck flew to the top, not only ringing the bell, but it broke through the top of the machine and continued it's ascent to the sky, before coming back down with a crash through a car window. The crowd cheered, thinking it was all part of an act, and the carnival man stood there with his jaw dropped letting his cigar fall out of his mouth. Jake gently patted him on the back which made the man jump back in fear.
"On second thought, maybe you should keep that paper. Looks like you need to invest in a new hustle bro." The trio walked over to take one prize each, then, leaving him to weep over his broken game, went to the corn dog vendor where they were soon met by the rest of their group.
"Oh..My...GOSH this has been the best night of my life! Jake I can't wait to tell mom and dad!" Jake smiled at his baby sister, glad to see how much fun she was having. "Can we go on the tilt-a-whirl again?"
"You might want to wait a couple minutes lil mama, fair food and fast rides ain't a good combo, especially corn dogs." Trixie cringed at the memory of the how she learned that lesson, and glared at Jake.
"Come on Trix, that was four years ago, let it go."
"All I have to say is, my favorite panda sweater." Spud doubled over in laughter, clutching his sides.
"That was priceless!" Trixie threw an ice cube at him which only made him laugh harder.
"Trix, ain't that your man over there?" She turned around and saw Kyle, who had been pretty much silent all night, laughing and talking with a girl she recognized from their school. Jake looked at Trixie, trying to read the expression on her face, but once she saw him looking she quickly stood up.
"So how about that tilt-a-whirl huh? They're gonna be closing soon so we better hurry." Haley jumped up, ready to go. Jake quickly got up, wanting to talk to his friend and make sure she was alright, but he felt Rose tug on the sleeve of his hoodie.
"Do you mind if we catch up to them later?" He looked over to see the three of them walking off and sat back down.
"Sure, is everything okay?"
"Yea I'm fine. It's just..." She began to pick at the lint on her sweater. "I just hate that the summer is almost over. We didn't get to spend much time together, and soon I'll be heading back home. I just don't want your feelings for me to go away, with us being so far apart and all." Jake turned his seat so he was facing her.
"Rose my feelings for you ain't gonna change. I don't care how far apart we are, and if you ever miss me you know I'll come see you. I'd do anything to make sure that pretty smile stays on your face." She wiped away a stray tear that was making it's way down her cheek.
"Do you really mean that?" He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently.
"Of course I do." She gave him that smile that was always able to melt his heart.
"Well there was something I've been thinking about." She tucked a lock of her long hair behind her ear and looked up at him. "What do you think about coming back to Hong Kong with me?" Jake's eyebrows drew together in confusion.
"Say what?"
"After we graduate next year, since I'll be here for your ceremony we can just go back together. Get our own apartment, maybe even a house I'm pretty sure my parents would help us get one. My dad's doing really great in the real estate business and oh Jake they have amazing colleges there you would just love-"
"Rose, baby, I thought you wanted to come back here after graduation. Besides, you know why I can't do that." The light in her eyes started to fade out. Jake hated to upset her, but there was no way he could move to another country, how could he be the protector of creatures in the magical world if he wasn't even here when they need him.
"I just thought that maybe Haley could step in. Just when you can't be here. Then if anyone," she looked around to see that nobody was within earshot and leaned in close to him, lowering her voice. "if anyone needs the American Dragon you can always come back. You know I would move out here in a heartbeat for you. It's just.. three years ago I finally got my family back, and I'm just not ready to leave them yet." He looked down and slowly shook his head.
"Rose I just ca-" She put a hand on his cheek causing him to look at her.
"Can you at least think about it? Please. Just don't say no yet." He exhaled quietly and nodded.
"Alright I'll think about it." Just like that the twinkle was back in her eyes. An announcement came over the loud speaker above them.
"The park will be closing in 20 minutes. Thank you all for coming and enjoy the rest of your night." Rose stood up and took his hand.
"Come on let's go find everyone." He squeezed her hand gently giving her a reassuring smile, but as they walked to find their friends, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
oOoOoOo
As Jake said goodbye to Rose, she reminded him to think about what they discussed, as if he needed to be reminded, before she hopped in her car and drove off to her aunt's house.
"You guys ready to go home?" Haley sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Jake laughed, surprised. "So I guess the carnival wasn't as bad as you thought it was gonna be huh?" Her face began to light up as she thought about all the fun they just had. They started to head home when Jake faintly heard Trixie's voice, he stopped for a moment and looked behind him. He could see Trixie and Kyle arguing, but with so many people around he could barely make out what was being said. Spud and Haley continued walking, too wrapped up in their conversation to notice. He took a quick look around him then, satisfied that he wouldn't be seen, he whispered to himself. "Ear of the dragon."
In seconds his right ear was replaced by his dragon ear, enabling him to hear the conversation much better.
"I don't think I'm 'blowing things out of proportion' at all! You just gave Tracey Johnson your number and you see nothing wrong with that?" Jake wasn't liking the tone of voice he heard with Trixie. It was deeper than anger, deeper than jealousy, it was pain. He instinctively clenched and unclenched his fists as he heard her start to choke up. He really hoped she wasn't crying over this guy, she was so much stronger than that.
"We were having a good time and this is really how you want the night to end?" Kyle rarely spoke, which at first seemed charming to Trixie since she was practically the only one he willingly talked to, but when he turned his silence onto her all it did was infuriate her. "You know what? Later." Jake quickly turned his head as he heard footsteps coming his way and bent down, pretending to tie his shoe.
"Jake," He sat up straight, pretending to be surprised.
"Trixie, hey, I didn't know you were still here." She just stared at him, a small smirk forming on her lips.
"So you weren't just spying on me right now?" She reached up and tugged his ear, which was still in it's dragon form. He nervously chuckled and his dragon ear disappeared.
"Spying is such an ugly word. I prefer.. Listening with love." She snorted and laid her head on his shoulder, he then put an arm around her pulling her to him. The two of them started walking to catch up with Spud and Haley. They walked without a word for a while, Jake turned his attention to his little sister as she bounced around going over and over every detail of the night with Spud, who mirrored her energy. "Finally Haley has another kid to talk to." He looked over at Trixie, watching as she picked at her blue nail polish. He gently shook her shoulder, snapping her out of her trance. "You two got into it pretty bad huh?" She groaned and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Don't even get me started on that boy. He just always has to flirt with someone, and right in front of me. But of course anytime I call him out on it he gonna say, 'So you can have guy friends but I can't have any female friends?' Such a typical guy answer." Jake clutched his chest and gasped in offense.
"Hey watch it, I happen to be 'a typical guy' too."
"Also I, am a typical guy and very proud of it." Spud pulled both of his friends into a bear hug letting them know that he'd see them later before turning to Haley.
"I bid you ado Madame Haley." With a flourish, he took a bow. "It truly was an honor to be your date for the evening." Haley returned the gesture and curtsied to him. Then, with a skip in his step, he crossed the street and headed down the road to his house.
"That boy is anything but typical." Trixie said with a smile. She sighed a bit sadly as they took a few more steps to her house. "Well it's been real. I'll see y'all tomorrow." She gave them both a quick hug goodbye before walking up the stoop to her front door.
"Yo Trix." She turned around just in time to see a small object flying towards her. She quickly caught it and looked down in her hands where she saw a small stuffed panda bear. She looked up at her friend, smiling.
"Does that make up for the sweater?" She laughed lightly and nodded.
"Just about. G'night Jakey, g'night Haley." Jake waited until her front door was closed before continuing the walk home. His little sister yawned and leaned against him.
"Jake, my feet hurt." He let out an exaggerated sigh and kneeled down in front of her, allowing the young girl to climb onto his back.
In the few steps it took to get home, Haley had fallen fast asleep. Jake laid her down in her bed, taking her shoes off for her and leaned down to kiss her forehead. She could drive him crazy sometimes, but Jake loved his little sister to death. Seeing her have fun tonight was the best moment he'd had in a while. He raked a hand through his hair as he headed to his own room. He dropped down on his bed and sighed as he thought about Rose. He cared so much for her, but would he be able to pack up and move eight thousand miles away from his family... his friends... his life?