I don't own these Disney characters; they're owned by Disney, obviously. I do, however, own Jayden, Todd, Mayah, Raziya, and Bokuden, who are the main characters in this story. If that's not something you want to read about, I suggest hitting that back button.
A/N: this is a little step back into the Walking the Line saga and this is set after the end of One in a Billion. Since those stories were years ago, I don't know if you might want to go back and refresh your memories about them. This story will not be as long as any of those tales, but I hope you enjoy it.
Commercial break: this Lunatic has been published if anyone cares. My book is called Scarred for Life under the name SL Kassidy and can be found on Amazon, iBooks, and other ereaders. Now, onto the story!
Thanks to my beta WindChaser0001. I'd also like to give a shoutout to RevSrVixena for keeping on me to finally write this tale and she gave many ideas for Jayden's side of this tale. So, thanks for that, Rev! Check out my FB or FF profile to keep up with updates for this story.
Going with a Smile
Expression One: Touch
"I still don't see why you had to move, weird brother," Jayden Possible-Gooding griped as she carried in a box through the open door of her brother's new apartment. The seventeen-year-old did her best not to pout, but she failed miserably and knew that. She liked having her big brother live at home.
His new home was a decent size from what she knew about apartments, which was really only from television since everyone in their family lived in houses. The living room was big enough for him to host maybe a dozen guests. He had a small dining room area that he would probably never use. The kitchen could probably hold four people in without seeming cramped. There was only one bedroom and she had not seen it yet because it felt like they had been hauling his things up forever and eternity.
"Because I don't want to end up a forty-year-old man still living at home with his mothers doing his laundry," Todd "Smiley" Possible-Gooding replied as he followed behind his sister with an even bigger box in his thick, muscular arms.
"Do you even know how to do laundry?" Mayah Director inquired in a somewhat teasing tone from inside the apartment. She had been leading the way in bringing up Todd's things. She had placed her box by so many others that they had carried up earlier.
Jayden was surprised that her brother had not put up much of a fuss about Mayah helping. She honestly did not totally understand Mayah's feelings toward her brother, but she had no choice in noticing that it made her brother uncomfortable most of the time. She was not sure why and more often than not, she felt like she was the only person that did not get it. Todd grunting drew her out of thoughts and she saw that he had put down his box. She did the same.
"That's the last one," Todd sighed. "Thanks so much for the help."
"It was my pleasure," Mayah smiled. Todd turned away, trying to ignore the expression.
Jayden shrugged. "No problem. It wasn't hard. You just have a lot of junk. Why didn't you just leave some of this shit at home?"
Todd chuckled. "I feel like you don't get this whole moving out thing."
"I get it. It's just fucking stupid! I mean, you had to sneak out while Mommy is at work and Mom is out saving the fucking world," Jayden pointed out.
Todd balked. "That is not why I waited! I just didn't want them offering to help move. They've already done so much for me. I didn't want to bother them with this."
Olive eyes rolled and Jayden snorted. "And you didn't want to make Mom cry again."
He looked absolutely terror-stricken by the accusation. "I didn't make her cry!"
"Well, she was fucking crying!"
"Children, please," Mayah interjected with a smile. "Smiley, you probably did make Aunt Kim cry when you decided to move out, but, Jade, cut the guy a break. He has to move out and become his own person eventually, just like you and I will do one day."
Jayden crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. She would have called bullshit on her friend, but it was unnecessary. They all knew why she was being a brat about things. They all also knew that she probably had no plans to move out of her mothers' house ever.
"I don't want our family to be broken up again," Jayden grumbled, glancing away.
Todd sighed, throwing his arm around her narrow shoulders. "Jade, this isn't like before. I'm on my own. I make my own decisions. My birth parents won't be trying to keep us apart. I'll be at the house all of the time, especially for meals." He grinned. He did not know how to cook.
She gave him a half-hearted smile. "I guess."
He squeezed her shoulder. "You know it's true. I'm not leaving and the family isn't being broken up. I'm just growing up a little and I know you don't think you'll ever do it, but someday, I'm pretty sure you will. You'll get it one day. Now, to pay you two back since no one else had time for me, how about I treat you both to that horrible restaurant your lot enjoys."
"Hey!" Both girls objected to his terminology, not his offer.
Chuckling, he shrugged. "Not my fault your taste in food sucks."
"Says the guy that eats every fucking thing that he sees!" Jayden declared, throwing her hands up in a dramatic fashion.
"Hey, stuff is good. But, anyway, so what about my offer? Dinner on me?" he asked.
"Sounds good," Mayah readily agreed. Somehow, she managed to not sound as eager as she felt. After all, Todd had just invited her to dinner. Sure, he had also invited his little sister, but that was neither here nor there.
Jayden scratched her head and shrugged. "I'll have to take a rain check."
A crimson eyebrow rose. "A rain check? We don't have to do it today."
Jayden shook her head and a sorrowful frown settled onto her face. "Nah, I'll be busy for a couple of weeks probably. You two enjoy yourselves. I should probably get going anyway. I'll see you guys later." She was gone before her brother and friend even had the chance to process what was going on.
"What the hell does she have to do?" Todd wondered out loud. It had to be something extra-special and utterly important for Jayden to not hang out with him.
"Who knows, but it'll probably be on the news later on," Mayah commented. She was not even joking. But, she could not bring herself to worry about Jayden, not when she really wanted to thank the little psycho. Thanks to Jayden, she would get to have dinner with Todd! Just the two of them! Mayah felt like she might faint from the thought.
Todd might also faint from the thought. He had made the offer, thinking that Jayden would be there, so he would not have to pay much attention to Mayah. He suddenly wished the rest of their merry band of psychos had been free to help, so they would also reap the reward. Maybe he could drag them along, anyway, he considered. Anything that might make dinner less weird.
-8-8-8-8-
"So, you're really going through with this?" Raziya inquired from her workbench.
"Don't tell me I shouldn't. This was your fucking idea in the first place," Jayden replied, leaning against the wall. They were in a small office that Felix set aside for Raziya in his lab. Raziya was interning there for the summer. She did not get paid and there were no college credits to be had, but she was gaining experience and everyone at her father's lab loved her. She was fairly certainly that she would be able to get a job with little problem once she was done with school.
"A brilliant idea, might I add," Raziya commented with a smile.
"Then shut the fuck up," Jayden replied.
Raziya snickered. "You seem a little hostile. Are you upset you won't be spending the beginning of your summer getting lost in a jungle with your mom?"
Jayden frowned. "No. My mom said she'll wait for me or we could meet up when I'm done."
The blue-eyed young woman nodded. "Then are you nervous?"
Jayden sighed and turned away. "I wouldn't say nervous…" She was not exactly sure what she was.
"You just want your best friend back," Raziya filled in the simplest statement to make.
"I do. I don't want us to start school and … I want to be able to share a tuna sandwich with the guy again! Is that so fucking crazy?" Jayden threw her hands up.
"I still think you're worrying too much. Bo is laidback. He said it was cool, so it's probably cool."
Olive eyes searched the ceiling. "You didn't see his face when I told him. He couldn't even fucking look me in the face when he said it was cool. He was looking at the sky or a bird or some other shit. I didn't know what to do. Hell, I still don't know what to fucking do when I see him." Sighing, her shoulders slumped. "What if I fuck up again?"
Raziya glanced up at the younger teen. She got up and embraced Jayden. Jayden leaned into her, but did not return the embrace.
"You didn't fuck up. You tried and you really only tried because you love him, but not in the way he wants. You can't help your feelings. Hell, Bo, should've known. You're ridiculously immature!" Raziya remarked.
Jayden knew the teasing was supposed to ease her nerves, but that was not the case. She finally understood why her friends considered her "immature" and also why they never believed that she was lesbian. Unlike most teenagers, Jayden never experienced attraction of any kind. She had thought that she had those sort of feelings for Bokuden, which was why she went to the prom with him and had agreed to date him.
Bokuden had confessed to liking her and Jayden had decided to examine her feelings for him, hoping that some kind of emotions that she had never felt before would bubble to the surface. These emotions had not emerged after many months and she had to concede that her feelings for him were not romantic in the slightest. She had known that she held affections for him that differed from how she felt about Raziya and Mayah, which was one of the factors that led to her agreeing to go with him. Of course, after "dating" Bokuden and, taking a moment to think after she felt like she was doing something since she did not feel any different toward him, she realized that her affections for all of them were different.
"Why do I feel like I fucked up, then?" Jayden wondered aloud with a sigh.
Raziya patted her shoulder. "Because you want your friend back and you might feel like you were stringing him along. But, we all know you're not great with dealing with your emotions. Look, you can't let him run away to Japan and just pretend everything is fine when he comes back. That's when we've all fucked up."
"Please, like we wouldn't call bullshit."
"Okay, we would totally call bullshit, but that would be an awkward two minutes."
Jayden chuckled and Raziya smiled as she patted Jayden on the back. They broke apart and Raziya's gaze held faith and confidence. Jayden knew that she was doing this. She just hoped it worked out the way Raziya assured her it would. She was not sure if she could go on feeling quite this rotten inside for the rest of her life.
-8-8-8-8-
Mayah was beside herself in attempting to prepare for dinner with Todd, rummaging through her closet like a woman possessed. She was tempted to ask her mom for help, but she knew that her mother would flip to find out that she was going out alone with Todd. Of course, she was very aware that this was not really "going out." She was sure Todd only extended the thanks because he thought that Jayden would be there to act as a buffer. She surprised that he had not attempted to weasel his way out of it.
"He is not that type of man. It's one of the reasons I love him," she reminded herself. So, she needed to get her act together and pick an outfit to enjoy this once in a lifetime chance.
Part of her was tempted to call Raziya because the younger girl had blossomed into exactly what her mother wanted: a fashionista. While Raziya was not into fashion beyond her own clothes, she could throw together daring, eye-catching outfits when she wanted. Mayah could do the same … when was not feeling crippling anxiety.
"I can't call Razi. She'll make fun of me and I'll be damned if I'm going to supply her with reasons to make fun of me. Besides, she'll tell Jade this is happening today and, even though Jade knows about the dinner, I don't how she'll react to it actually happening."
She doubted that Jayden would like it. Jayden remained almost territorial about Todd, but in a weird way. She was fine with sharing him as a big brother with the people that she grew up with, if only for a little while. Other than that, Jayden even screened Todd's friends and had always expressed herself on what she thought on the people that he hung out with, typically giving negative opinions. She never approved of his girlfriends. Of course, that could have been learned behavior from Shego, who never seemed to like anyone around Todd either.
"I'm getting ahead of myself," Mayah decided. This was just dinner. It could be a stepping-stone to more, but she needed to make it through this dinner. "Which means I need to make it to dinner."
With that in mind, Mayah picked out a new dress from her closet. She wanted to look casual, but also wanted to impress with an outfit that he had never seen. She wanted him to notice that she was a woman now, not the little girl that did not understand her feelings. She was all too aware of what she felt and believed that she would always feel that way. She needed him to accept that if nothing else. She hoped for more, but one step at a time.
"So, don't screw this up," she ordered herself, staring into her vanity mirror and putting on some fairly light makeup.
Taking a deep breath, Mayah hustled out of her bedroom and grabbed her father's car keys. She had already cleared it with him to use his ride without giving away exactly where she was going with it. Once in the car, she had to take another deep breath to steel herself. She was not sure how she managed to drive to the restaurant, did not remember giving the keys to a valet, and definitely did not recall entering the restaurant, yet there she was. She stood before the host, but before she could say anything, Todd just seemed to appear next to her.
"Hey," he greeted her with the expression that made sense of his nickname. His smile seemed genuine and light, which made her stomach twist a bit. She was used to him looking at like he wanted to flee – and he usually did – but now he was being civil toward her, as if he decided to make their night something that she would remember.
"Hey, Smiley. Where did you come from?" she inquired as he stepped to her elbow. She blinked a few times, just to make sure she was not seeing things.
"I was at the bar, watching the door and nursing the most pathetic drink a man can order. But, that's all over now that you're here, so let's go sit down."
Mayah could only nod as Todd led her over to the host. They were taken to a small table, where Todd pulled out Mayah's seat. She did not read anything into that. Todd was a gentleman, when he remembered to be anyway. She smiled at him as he sat across from her.
"This isn't our usual hangout," Mayah pointed out, just to have something to say. No way in Hell would she waste her time alone with him being awestruck like some silly twit.
"Nah, I wanted to broaden your horizons. I had hoped Jade would still be around to do this, too, but that kid wasn't kidding when she said she wasn't going to be around. She'd love this place," he replied with a chuckle.
"Where did she go?"
"Japan."
Mayah nodded. "She's trying to make up with Bo. I don't see why, since he was the idiot that thought she was normal."
He arched an eyebrow. "So, you blame him?"
"He pushed her. Jade's a little kid and he tried to bring grown up feelings into this. He should've known better."
Todd made a face, as if he did not agree. He probably wanted to stand up for both, but decided against it. It was not like he could say anything to change her mind. She was glad that he did not try to argue because she did not want to spend this one dinner talking about her friends. This was her time.
"Well, I just hope they settle things. I would hate to see a really special friendship ruined over a misunderstanding," Todd commented.
For a moment, Mayah thought Todd might be speaking about their friendship, if it could be called that, along with Bokuden and Jayden. But, she quickly dismissed that as both Todd and Jayden just said what was on their minds, like she did. They did not speak in code or double meanings.
"I doubt this will be the end of them. They love each other too much to let this be it," she pointed out.
"I guess you're right about that. So, you excited to be going into your second year at Go University?"
Thankful that he changed the subject, she smiled. "I'd be more excited if Dad let me live in a dorm and Mom trusted I wasn't going to shoot anyone."
He chuckled. "They're just nervous. You're their first one. She-she and Kimmie were ready to offer me the crown jewels to move into the house before I managed to tell them that was the plan from the very beginning."
"Well, I'm ready to offer my parents the crown jewels to let me live in the dorm. I want to see what it's like to be on my own." Her friends did not understand this desire to be totally independent, as they were all quite content to live at home. She thought that Todd might understand it more since he had just moved out. He might be able to provide her with some advice.
"You'll get there. You don't want to do it too fast. And do you really want to be on your own while the rest of your crew is still at home?"
She scoffed and rolled her mismatched eyes. "I can live by myself. I need to get ready. I'm an adult now, damn it."
"You'll always be your parents' little girl. You're not less of an adult by living at home while you're at school. Hell, I didn't move out until just now," he pointed out with a light laugh.
"Yeah, but you were making up for lost time. I've lived at home all my life. I'm ready to strike out on my own."
He shrugged. "If that's how you feel, maybe you should sit down and talk with your parents. I'm sure you all could come up with something."
She nodded. "How did you convince your Kimmie and She-she to let you go?"
Scratching his head, Todd glanced at the ceiling. "I dunno really. I guess just told them I can't be married and living in the house."
She snickered. "They didn't argue with that?"
"They did. I think Kimmie had to handcuff She-she to the banister for me to move just some of my stuff out. They cried that day. Kimmie, a lot." He glanced away, uncomfortable with the memory.
Mayah was aware of that as Jayden talked of the strangeness of that day quite a bit. "They love you a lot."
"And your parents love you a lot, which is why they don't want you to leave."
"Touché."
He smiled. "So, what are you going to major in? Criminal justice?"
"But of course. I'll start on those courses this year, actually. I managed to get most of my required courses out of the way."
"How did you fare with those? I didn't like them much. Jade doesn't seem to care. She breezed through her required courses and actually brought books on the subjects that she didn't even need."
"She's a little sponge, but always goes back to her science. I can't do it. I like what I like and that's what I want to learn about."
"You don't get bored hanging out with a bunch of mad scientists?" he asked curiously.
"How can I get bored with them? They're freaking nuts. Besides, they do cool shit and they're into everything I am. I'm just not into everything they're into. It's cool."
He nodded. "So, you plan on working for your mom?"
Mayah's brow furrowed as she realized something. "I never thought about it."
"You should. Make sure you look into all the classes Go University offers. I thought for the longest time that I'd go into herpetology like my Kimmie until I saw all of the other options. You never know, criminal justice could become an afterthought for you."
"I doubt it. I want to shoot stuff and I want to catch bad guys. Honestly, I really only need an associates degree to do that. If I go to work for my mother, then, yes, I'll need the four-year degree."
He chuckled. "I love how simplistic your dreams are. Your mom doesn't even shoot stuff."
"I know. I don't want to be my mom any more than you want to be yours."
He gave her a short nod. "I guess I never thought of it that way. I always assumed you were a total clone of your mom."
She scoffed. "You're kidding, right? I love my mom and she does awesome work, but, fuck, her job is boring. It's cool when she gets to go all boss-bitch on people, but it's mostly paperwork and meetings. She loves it, but I don't have the fucking patience for it and I'm not sure I ever will."
"Oh, please, like you don't want to be boss bitch."
She could not help laughing and she held her head up high. "I'm already boss bitch."
He laughed and was about to say something, but his phone went off. He checked it and held up his hand. "I need to take this."
She gave him a short nod and he got up. While he went to take his call, she decided to look at the menu and reflect on how well things were going. It was not awkward, Todd was easily conversing with her, and they thankfully did not linger in discussing her friends, Jayden especially.
"Thinking of that little idiot, I'll have to call her to see what's up with her and Bo," she muttered. She hoped that they mended things because their little crew had been a little awkward for a couple of weeks before Bokuden left for Japan. None of them were fans of trouble happening inside of their little circle and, with that thought, she decided that Jayden and Bokuden were very likely to work things out between them.
She put her friends out of her head after that and decided to focus on dinner. She figured out what she was going to order by the time Todd returned, but from the frown on his face, she was not sure if they were going to be staying. She had only seen him appear so visibly upset a few times in life, but she could remember each time vividly.
"Girlfriend?" she guessed.
His forehead wrinkled as his frown deepened into a hard scowl. The tension always looked unnatural on him. She wished that she could kiss it away or at least massage him. Of course, she was fairly certain those things would lead to him running away from her, like he used to do when she was little.
"She broke up with me over the phone," he growled. It was not the first time that had happened.
She was tempted to throw him the pity his expression was obviously begging for, but she was not that type of person. He would probably think something was wrong with her if she did give him the sympathy he actually sought. Actually, he probably would not know what to do with sympathy if he did get it.
"You know what your problem is," she stated in a matter-of-fact manner.
"You're about to tell me," he replied, continuing to appear the very definition of miserable.
"Doy. Your problem is that you date women that view you as arm candy and, hell, I think to an extent, you view them in the same way. You date girls that you feel you look like a good couple with, with the exception of Shi. You're just a nice guy that holds a place to them. You're very sweet and especially kind to women."
"You're saying it almost like they're bad things," he noted.
"They're things that make people take advantage of you. You're a good person and your girlfriends see that, which is why a couple of them have come back for a second go with you. It's unfortunate that you take them back, as it only let's them know that they can manipulate you and play you again. Of course, there's also the thing that many of them don't want to deal with your mothers or Jade, who typically don't want to deal with your girlfriends either," she stated and he was about to open his mouth, but she put her hand up to stop him because what came next was what he truly needed to hear. "Just because they don't stick around doesn't mean you're a throw-away person."
He gasped and his lime eyes went wide. She doubted he thought she picked up on that, let alone had the balls to mention it. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. Surprisingly, he grabbed her hand and held onto it.
"Wh-why would you say that?" he asked in a whisper.
"Look, your birth parents were assholes. I think we can both agree to that. But, you got your Kimmie and your She-she out of the deal. They love you more than anything and you have a little sister that loves you to death. She adores and looks up to you. You don't need to feel like a horrible person about these stupid girls dropping you. You're a great person and you need to embrace that. You lucked out and made yourself wonderful, so you shouldn't be sad when these girls leave you. You still have wonderful people in your life and they don't know what they're letting go. It's their lose and not yours, never yours."
His mouth opened, but he did not say something for several seconds. "When did you get so insightful?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.
"I like to think I've always been this way. I am trying to be a law enforcement agent, after all. I have to be observant and I have to be able to read people."
Todd ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I never noticed."
She gave him a smile. "I think there's a lot you haven't noticed about me," she chuckled. She did not want him to feel upset over not knowing her as well as she knew him.
He did not say anything, but he opened his mouth like he wanted to say something. He did not get the chance because a waiter came over to take their orders. The dinner went on.
-8-8-8-8-
Jayden found climbing to Mount Yamanouchi alone was quite boring. But, then again, she guessed that the anxiety gnawing at her gut might have had something to do with it. She also had not worked out what she wanted to say to Bokuden, but she hoped that the words would come to her when she stood before him. Not knowing what she was going to say added to her nervousness, though.
As she crossed the gates of the school, she immediately noticed that no one was around. She knew that meant there was sparring going on, so she went to the main building and her jaw practically hit the floor.
"Holy shit," she muttered as she took in the greatest sight of all time.
She watched as a tall kunoichi (female ninja) roundhouse kicked five other ninja that were on the raised ring. She was pretty sure that she was watching poetry in motion as her leg snapped back in place and the kunoichi stood strong. Another five ninjas went at her and she dropped them with sharp pops of her fists. Seeing her muscles coiled like striking snakes made Jayden feel a little lightheaded, which she did not understand as she had seen more than her fair share of muscles in her life. Still, she feared that she might have to sit down before she fell down as she watched the warrior woman in her fighting stance, body hard and glistening, like a gemstone in the sun.
"Jade, what are you doing here?" Bokuden asked, coming up behind her. She actually jumped.
"Bo!" she yelped.
He arched an eyebrow while looking down at her with somewhat concerned chocolate eyes. "Jade, shouldn't you be crawling through a swamp with your Mom?"
"Uh … yeah, but I need to talk to you," she replied, glancing at him, but needing to watch the woman in the ring, especially as she moved.
"Why? I told you we're cool," he insisted. "So, you didn't need to come here. We're cool." His eyes were on the ring now as well. She assumed he turned his gaze there when she glanced at him for merely a second.
"You can't even fucking look at me while you say that bullshit," she stated. Of course, she could barely look at him. Her eyes refused to stray from the ring for less than a second.
"Look who's talking. Do you want to get into the ring with my aunt or something?" he inquired, motioning to the sparring match as more ninja went down.
She blinked. "Your aunt?" She almost gulped, but managed to hold that in.
"Yeah, my aunt Hana."
For some reason, that information made her gut clench. Briefly, all she could do was stand there and feel her insides tremble and grind against themselves. She managed to mentally shake it off. She turned her attention completely to Bokuden.
"Can we go outside and talk?" she requested. The only way that she was going to be able to seriously speak with him was to be able to focus solely on him.
He shrugged. "I guess."
"Gee, don't sound so fucking excited."
Bokuden did not say anything to that and followed Jayden outside. The pair walked silently for a few seconds before Jayden stopped. The blond did the same. They both stared at their feet.
"So?" he prompted her.
Jayden took a deep breath and looked him in eye. "Look, Bo, I really want us to be okay. I didn't mean to ruin our friendship. I didn't mean to lead you on. Tell what I need to do to make this better and I will. I promise. I promise." Her voice cracked on the second promise.
He chuckled a bit and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Jade, you didn't lead me on and I hate that I think it's cute that you feel guilty about this." He actually ruffled her long, ebony hair.
She blinked. "Wait, what?" His words threw her off so much that she did not even think to move his hand from her hair.
"I was serious when I told you I was all right. I understand that you don't feel the same way and I think I pressured you. You're not ready for a relationship or anything and I should've realized that."
Her brow furrowed. "That doesn't sound good." It finally occurred to her to move away from his hand, petting her. He just smiled at the move.
"I don't mean it in a bad way. You're cool and adorable. You didn't ruin anything." His eyes were locked on hers as he spoke.
"You sure?" her voice quivered a bit.
"Positive."
"Mayah and Razi threaten you?" she guessed. He had not been this convincing when they spoke before.
"They spoke to me and made sense. It was surprising considering who we are," he joked.
"So, we're cool? Like, shit won't be awkward at school and shit?"
"We're cool. I just needed time to think about it and I needed people that knew what to say, which Mayah and Razi did. We're cool, so let's go back in there and see my aunt kick ass."
"Wait, seriously? I mean, you're not mad? It was so long."
"I know it was so long, but I understand what you were trying to do. I know you were trying to figure out if you had feelings for me and feelings for you take a while to sort out. You don't have those feelings. I accepted that when you told me and, like I said, I just needed time. I've had time. We're cool, so come on. We don't want to miss Hana beat everybody."
She could not turn down that offer a second time, especially when he offered his hand. She chuckled and playfully knocked his hand away. He smiled, happy with the familiarity. They returned back to the sparring hall just in time to see Hana drop half a dozen more ninjas. Jayden felt those tremors come back to her stomach and her heart rate seemed to increase to an impossible speed as the shorthaired woman stood in her fighting stance. The ninja seemed to glow as her body shimmered with sweat.
"Jade, you wanna spar?" Bokuden asked.
"With you?"
"No, I sparred earlier. You can take on some fresh bodies."
"Uh…" Jayden doubted that she would be able to focus enough to fight. And she found out that she was absolutely correct in that assumption after Bokuden shoved her into the ring.
Her eyes just tried to spot Hana in the crowd rather than notice the two guys in front of her. She saw the female ninja, who was watching the match closely. This made her heart beat even faster than before and she was pretty sure she was about to faint. Next thing she saw was the ceiling as she found herself on her back and, for a moment, she feared that she had passed out. She found out that it was worse as she heard herself being declared the loser. Well, that couldn't have looked very cool. The sound of Bokuden laughing confirmed her thought.
"You know, you used to be a lot better at this," he teased her.
Jayden barely heard him as she sat up just in time to see Hana leaving. She was pretty sure her heart dropped into her chest. Hana probably thought that she was a weak ass. Of course, she had no idea why that bothered her so much, but she had to do something for Hana to know that she was actually quite awesome. She just was not sure what yet.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Mayah tests her boundaries with Todd while Jayden gets into trouble as she tries to look cool.