Confessions
A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to put together a quick one-shot while I have the time. This will be out at the same time as My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter so if you want, you can skip this story completely. Also, this is my first romantic story. Fingers crossed…
Brad Carbunkle usually reserved his fifth period math class for catching up on his sleep, but today he found himself in deep concentration- and not for a reason Mr. Marcus or his parents would have liked. Instead the young man focused on solving a problem equally as daunting as any differential equation exercise: how to tell his best friend, Jenny Wakeman, that he wanted to start dating her.
Come on. Brad thought to himself. Why is this so difficult? I find every excuse to tag along on Jenny's adventures and I enjoy spending time with her, so what's holding me back? Brad continued to wrack his brain while pretending to read his textbook. After what seemed like forever, Brad finally made up his mind. And not a moment too soon…
"Mr. Carbunkle?" Mr. Marcus began. "Would you please share the answer to example six?" Brad looked briefly at the exercise in question. "Uh… three?" he guessed. The teacher gave a heavy sigh. "I suggest you spend less time daydreaming if you want to improve your grade Mr. Carbunkle. Does anyone else have the answer?"
An arm clothed in a brown coat sprang up. "Ah yes, Mr. Lee. Go ahead." Mr. Marcus prompted. "Two x minus three y over x minus 8." He answered enthusiastically. "Correct as always Mr. Lee." Mr. Marcus approved. Everyone else in the class rolled their eyes as if to collectively say 'teachers pet.' "Well that's all for today's lesson. For the next fifteen minutes you can start your homework assignment." Longest fifteen minutes of my life. Brad mused to myself.
However, math class finally ended and with it the school day. Brad waded through the massive crowd of students toward Jenny's locker. "Hey Jen." He greeted. The robot girl turned to face Brad and for the umpteenth time his heart skipped a beat. I've admired Jenny since the day I met her, but… He quickly snapped back to reality and cleared his throat. "Look… er… there's something I need to tell you." Brad explained. "But not here." Jenny raised an eyebrow. "You want to go to the park with me?"
"Sure, I'll just tell Melody we won't be walking home with her." Jenny answered before walking toward Melody's locker. I wonder what's so important he needs to tell me outside of school. Unless… With a feeling of realization Jenny blushed slightly. I guess I'll find out when I get to the park…
Later…
The clear blue sky and warm spring air and slight breeze seemed to suggest that Brad chose the perfect day to confess his feelings toward Jenny. He sat on one of the park benches in front of a jogging trail overlooking a small lake. The sun began its slow descent toward the horizon, painting the sky with bright hues.
The telltale whine of jet exhaust followed by a slight thud signaled Jenny's arrival. "Hey Brad." She greeted as she sat next to him. "Hey Jen." Brad replied. His heart rate increased ever so slightly as he matched Jenny's gaze. "So what's on your mind?" she inquired.
Brad gulped. "There's something you need to know." He began. "Something I've wanted to say for a long time." The young man's face began to turn red. Jenny blushed as well but decided to remain silent and let Brad continue.
"I've never told anyone this before now but, when you almost died in the forest and warped to that dimension with the Autobots… I was really scared. Scared that you might not make it. And I realized that… I couldn't imagine my life without you." Both teens' cheeks became deeper shades.
"So what I'm trying to say is… I want us to be more than best friends. I want to go out with you Jenny." Brad finally confessed. By this point his heart raced faster than a stock car on Sunday.
The look on Jenny's face didn't suggest shock, but incredulity, as if she expected Brad to say those words, but didn't believe the situation. Her turbo pumps shifted into overdrive and one could hear her cooling fans attempt to compensate for the increased activity.
Jenny thought back to her stay with the Autobots and remembered her admission that she had feelings for Brad. Furthermore, she remembered why she'd always been so hesitant: The fear of Brad getting hurt or worse because of her. But the feeling soon passed and gave way to . Jenny looked Brad directly in the eye… and embraced him. Brad returned the hug as a giant grin spread across his face. "So, should I take that as a yes?" he joked.
Jenny pulled back and returned her gaze to Brad's emerald eyes and adorably stupid grin. "What do you think genius?" she quipped back. Brad chuckled in response.
"So, where do want to go for our first date?" Brad wondered. "Dinner date?" was Jenny's first suggestion. "Sounds good to me- er…"
Jenny tilted her head to one side and asked "What's wrong?" Brad reached into his pockets and turned them inside out as an answer. "Oh." Jenny realized. "Hold on, let me check something." A miniature ATM deployed from her right arm. After Jenny entered her PIN and selected the withdrawal option the screen displayed the message: INSUFFICIENT FUNDS. "Well, looks like both of us are flat broke." Brad observed.
Before Jenny could respond, a loud crashing sound followed by burglar alarms emanated from another part Tremorton. "I should check that out." Jenny decided before activating her flight mode. Air intakes extended from the sides of her boots and a pair of titanium carbon wings unfurled from her back. The wings folded out from arms capable of rotating into different configurations. Jenny used her boot thrusters to hover a few meters into the air before lighting the afterburners and rocketing toward eastern Tremorton.
Jenny activated her phone and dialed a number. "Jenny?" the person on the other end answered. "We've got trouble in the eastern part of the city. Wanna help me deal with it, Melody?" Melody responded with a succinct "On my way."
Nearing the commotion's source, Jenny decreased thrust and swept her wings forward while banking slightly to the left. The young heroine found herself over one of Tremorton's more affluent areas. Upscale townhouses and country clubs dominated the landscape along with sports cars of every make and model imaginable.
As Jenny approached the area she spotted the reason for the ruckus: the villain who called himself "Lancer." His visage resembled that of the fabled Black Knight- if the Black Knight wore power armor, used a laser lance, and rode a mechanized horse. He stood outside of a high-end restaurant named Esprit de Paris. His motive: an heirloom from his great grandparents resided within the walls.
"I demand that the owner of this establishment open the door so that I may reclaim what is rightfully mine." Lancer demanded in his holier-than-thou voice. "If you refuse, I will have no choice but to break the door in."
A squad of Skyway Patrol soldiers, who had been trying their best to deal with the situation, now huddled behind an up turned asphalt chunk. The squad leader turned to his troops and declared "I'll take care of this. The rest of you sit tight." He poked his head just far enough above the asphalt chunk to see his query. The officer raised his assault rifle and fired several bursts at the mechanized menace before him.
Unfortunately, every single bullet bounced harmlessly off Lancer's armor. "Is that the best you've got?" he taunted. "Though I suppose you've outstayed your welcome." With that, Lancer aimed his weapon at the Skyway Patrol soldiers and fired.
Jenny landed just in time to deflect the laser blast away with her force field. "I'll take it from here Captain. Get your people to safety." She said. With that, the heroine returned her attention to Lancer.
"So the rumors are true," he began. "You've gone and gotten yourself an upgrade." Suddenly, multiple weapon pods deployed from hidden bays in Lancer's armor. "I've added a few modifications myself." He boasted.
A hail of missiles and laser fire careened toward Jenny. She activated her plasma shield and easily absorbed the incoming fire. "Eh, I'm not very impressed." She quipped.
"What?!" Lancer exclaimed. "Oh well, looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." He held his lance parallel to the ground and charged straight at Jenny.
"Oh okay. If it's a joust you want, it's a joust you'll get!" Jenny challenged. She activated her energy sword on her right arm and used her left to form a circular plasma shield.
The two closed on each other like freight trains, daring the other to peel off at the last possible second. When the distance between the two combatants reached 10 feet, Jenny dropped to her knees and slid across the ground. She slid straight under Lancers horse and drove her sword through its underside. The horse promptly split in half and clattered to a halt. Needless to say, Lancer didn't appreciate being forcibly dismounted.
"You're going to pay for that XJ9!" he yelled. But before he could make another move, laser fire struck him from above and behind. His armor shielded him from any major damage, but the sudden attack threw him off.
"Hey Melody, what's say you and I wrap things up here?" Jenny greeted. Melody landed next to Jenny and assumed a combat stance. "Should we use Omega 3 Alpha?" she asked. "I was thinking something more like Beta Tango 7." Jenny replied. Melody agreed and activated a sword and shield.
Jenny drew her own sword and shield before deploying her battle mask. Lancer raised his weapon in a classic fencing salute. The two heroines charged at Lancer from both sides with swords outstretched. Lancer blocked this first thrust but left himself open when he tried to counter. Melody drove her sword straight into Lancer's under arm joint. Jenny followed up with by cutting a deep gash in his chest.
Lancer's suit sputtered and finally collapsed. A small big eared creature poked out from under the helmet and promptly scurried off.
Jenny turned to Melody "Nice work." She said.
Melody just shrugged. "Thanks. You could have taken him by yourself though."
"True, but then you'd miss all the fun." Jenny replied.
The restaurant's owner came out from his hiding place and rushed over to Jenny and Melody. "Oh thank you girls, thank you!" he cried with joy. "Thanks to you my restaurant, she is safe."
"You're welcome mister… uh…" Melody began.
"Where are my manners? Monsieur Rene Bresette, head chef and proprietor of Esprit de Paris." The man introduced. "Now is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"We couldn't impose ourselves like that." Jenny answered.
Rene shook his head. "Oh but I must. My business is my life! I don't know what I would have done had that lousy excuse for a knight destroyed my restaurant. I owe you two a debt."
Jenny thought for moment. "Well… I kinda made a date with someone, but we don't have any money…"
Rene held up his hand. "Say no more. In exchange for your help, I will give you a free three course meal."
"Really?" Jenny and Melody responded in unison. The former in excitement and the latter in astonishment.
"Considering you saved my life's work, I will gladly serve you and your date." Rene assured.
"Thank you Rene! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Jenny exclaimed. "Can I schedule for this Friday at six?"
Rene nodded. "Consider it done."
Just then, Melody thought of something. "Why was Lancer attacking you anyway?"
Rene sighed. "He's probably after the amulet on display near the front desk. My father found it one day at our farm back in France. Evidently it originally belonged to this Lancer hooligan."
"Don't you think you should give it back to him?" Melody pressed. Rene folded his arms and gave a defiant "hmph".
"Had he been more polite about the whole thing, I might have considered it. But I will not be bullied by some ruffian in a suit of armor."
That seemed to satisfy Melody so she dropped the subject.
Jenny called Brad and told him about the lucky break. "Awesome! I'll be sure to wear my best tie." Brad promised.
Jenny hung up and caught Melody looking at her with a knowing grin. "You two finally decided to date." Melody deduced.
"Yeah." Jenny replied sheepishly.
"I'm warning you," Melody began. "He can be a bit of a handful."
The two girls proceeded to share a hearty laugh.
The Next Day…
Jenny, Melody, and Brad started their walk to school. This time however, Jenny and Brad held each other's hands the whole way.
When the three arrived at Tremorton High, they found Sheldon standing outside the door waiting to greet Jenny as she walked in. But when he noticed her and Brad's hands…
"Hey… um…" he stuttered. "You guys never held hands like that before…"
"Oh, right. You don't know yet." Jenny remembered. "Brad and I are dating now."
Sheldon put on a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Y-you are? Well that's- uh- great."
Jenny immediately realized Sheldon's discomfort. "Look Sheldon, I…" she started to say before Sheldon cut her off with a raised hand.
"It's okay Jenny." He assured. "You don't have explain anything or apologize." Jenny remained unconvinced. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah." Sheldon replied. "I happy for the both of you, really." Jenny could still tell that Sheldon felt upset but decided not to press the issue any further.
"Now, if you two will excuse me we're covering tension in physics today and I want to be early." Sheldon said sardonically.
Jenny and Brad gave each other worried looks as Sheldon walked off. "I'm sure he'll be fine." Brad said in a joking tone. "I hope so." Jenny whispered.
As Jenny and Brad walked down the hallway, they passed by Don Prima and his throng of fan-girls. The most popular boy in school looked away from his admirers just in time to see the new couple. Hey hold on… he thought before rushing over to them.
"Hey Jenny, what's the big idea?" he asked as though she'd stepped on his toe.
Jenny cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she wondered.
Don's expression conveyed utter disbelief. "I thought we had something!" he answered sounding like a petulant child. "I thought for sure you'd ask me out or something!"
Jenny narrowed her eyes. "And why would I do that Don Prima?" she challenged.
Again, the pompous young man looked at Jenny as though she belonged in a mental ward for even daring to utter that sentence.
"Isn't it obvious? You're beautiful, I'm beautiful - we were made for each other." Don reasoned.
"Talk about shallow." Brad muttered.
Don scowled. "What did you say, dweeb?"
"He's right Don." Jenny interjected. "You only wanted me to ask you out because of how I look. Thankfully Brad asked me out because he likes who I am and I respect that."
Don didn't know how to react so Jenny finished the conversation for him. "Have fun with your fan-girls." She remarked before walking off with Brad.
"Don't listen to her Donny." One of the girls comforted. "She must have a screw loose."
Just then, the first morning bell rang. Brad and Jenny shared a quick hug before going to their respective first period classes… all while in full view of a certain disheartened geek.
"Well that's it then." Sheldon decided. "I have to tell her…"
Later…
After class that day, Jenny hurried home to figure out what to where for her date the next day. She practically threw open her closet door and started tearing clothes off of their hangars. "Let's see now. Should I go for sophisticated, or flirty, or modern?" Jenny asked herself. "Oh, I don't know!"
Jenny heard a knock on her door. "Come in." she said. "Need some help?" Melody wondered as she walked into Jenny's room. "You sure you want to help me with this?" Jenny asked. "Sounds like you need it from where I'm standing." Melody quipped. The two girls laughed for a bit after that. "Alright, I could use a hand with this. The only other clothing I've worn is my gym uniform." Jenny admitted.
"Alright then," Melody said as she clapped her hands together. "Let's get started. Cue dress-up montage song! Seriously pick your favorite. Go. Do it now. I'll give you minute. Okay I'm going to assume you've found an appropriate song now.
Jenny and Melody spent the next few hours mixing and matching different pieces of clothing. "How about this?" Jenny asked. "No." Melody said quickly. "You really are new to this aren't you?" Melody teased. "Sue me." Jenny retorted. Finally, the two girls settled on an outfit: a light blue strapless evening gown, a pair of long white gloves, and light blue high heels. Melody brought out a full length mirror so Jenny could see.
"Wow." Jenny gasped. "I look great." Melody nodded in agreement. "Now we need to figure out what to do with your hair." She said. Jenny instinctively grabbed her pigtails. "W-what do you mean?" she stuttered. Melody laughed. "Relax, I know what I'm doing."
After about another half hour or so, Melody finally settled on a hairstyle for Jenny. She showed her the results in a mirror. Jenny's hair fell all the way to the bottom of her shoulder blades with two bangs on either side of her forehead. "Again, wow." Jenny complimented. "Well, looks like you're all set." Melody said. "Thanks Melody, I owe you one." Jenny replied.
Meanwhile, Brad prepared his own attire for the date. He decided on a black suit, long black pants, loafers, and no tie. Tuck caught him putting gel in his hair. "Where are you going Brad, the opera?" he snickered. "Actually, they probably wouldn't even let you in!"
Brad rolled his eyes. "For your information Tucker," he began in a haughty voice. "I am going on a date tonight." This only succeeded in sending Tuck into a fit of laughter. "Bwhahahaha!" The younger sibling wiped a tear away. "With who, a broom?" he asked before rolling on the floor with more uncontrollable laughter.
Brand briefly gazed at the ceiling in exasperation. "No. I'm going on a date with Jenny." He finally explained. Tuck's laughter stopped abruptly. "Wait… our Jenny?" he asked in a puzzled manner.
A smug grin spread across Brads face. "Yup." He answered. Tuck stared wide eyed at his older brother for a few seconds. And resumed his laughing shortly thereafter. "Ugh. Can't you go bug Mom or something?" Brad asked, clearly annoyed. "Sure thing bro!" Tuck answered between laughs.
Ugh I swear. Brad thought to himself. He finished getting ready shortly after all that nonsense with his little brother and went to pick up Jenny from her house. He knocked on the door. Man, I can't believe this is really happening. Brad thought. He heard a muffled "I'll get it!" from inside. Jenny opened the door. "Hey." She greeted.
Brad's eyes widened as he took in Jenny's appearance – and his jaw dropped. Worst of all, he found himself completely unable to form words. Jenny giggled and closed Brad's mouth. "Earth to Brad…" she joked.
Brad shook himself out of his stupor. "Sorry Jen. It's just…" he began. "I know." Jenny finished for him. "Now come on, the night won't stay young forever."
The two arrived at Esprit de Paris right on time and found a seat. If the inside of the restaurant looked beautiful, the inside looked like the most wonderful combination of French classic and modern culture. They had everything you'd expect: candle lit tables dotted the room and formally dressed staff carried dishes and trays around what seemed like an elaborate ballet. A small orchestra at the back of the dining area provided live music, almost taking one back to the 17th century. In front of the orchestra resided a dancing area.
"Wow, quite place huh?" Brad remarked. "Yeah." Jenny agreed. "Hey, Brad… what do you like most about me?" she asked as her face turned a bit blue. The young man looked her straight in the eye. "Well that'd have to be that you do so much to protect the world. And by extension… me." Brad replied with his own face turning red. "What about you?" he asked. "You're the first person who's made me feel like a fellow human being- back when we first met." She answered.
"Come on…" Brad challenged. "Surely that was your mom." Jenny shook her head. "No. It was you." She reaffirmed. "And then we started hanging out and having adventures. After a while I realized… I…" she trailed off, blushing profusely.
"You what?" Brad wondered as he leaned in close to her. "I… I want to dance." Jenny quickly answered. "Okay." Brad accepted. The orchestra was just switching songs. Fill in your favorite slow dance song here. I'll give you minute. Got one? Okay.
Jenny put her arms on Brad's shoulders and Brad put his hands on the small of Jenny's back. The couple did a simple two step to the song's rhythm, gazing into each other's eyes all the while. Brad became a little adventurous and added a few spins into their dance.
Inevitably, the other patrons on the dance floor took notice of the young couple. "Everyone's looking at us." Jenny whispered. "No they're not. There's just you and me here. That's all that matters." Brad replied. Oh wow. Jenny thought. He's really turning up the charm. The young heroine rested her head on Brad's shoulder and the two continued their almost magical dance.
Almost too soon, the song ended. Jenny raised her head and once again found herself very close to Brad's face. "Thanks." She said. "You're wel-mflgm!" Before Brad could finish Jenny brought her lips to his and began to kiss him. After recovering from the initial shock, Brad kissed her back.
Unfortunately they couldn't savor the moment for as long as they wanted to thanks to a loud crashing sound coming from the front of the restaurant. Jenny pulled away from Brad and turned toward the commotion. "Alright you knave, I will finally have what is mine!"
"Ugh." Jenny groaned in exasperation. "Brad, hold my shoes please. And get everyone out through the back." She said as she removed her high heels and placed them in his hands. With a quick nod, Brad began helping with the evacuation and Jenny stormed over to the lobby.
"The amulet… finally within reach…" Lancer said as he eyed the precious heirloom behind its glass case. He raised his lance in preparation to bring it down on the case when he heard the yell of one very ticked off robot girl. "HEY!"
Lancer turned toward Jenny abruptly. "XJ9? What are…" he began.
"Can it Tin Man!" Jenny interrupted. "What is your problem?!"
"I… uh…" Lancer stammered. "I'm in the middle of the most wonderful night of my life and you come tearing up the place for some stupid necklace?!" Jenny yelled.
"But it belonged to my…" Lancer tried to explain.
"Ep ep ep!" Jenny interjected as she held up a hand. "None of that. I will not have you ruining my perfect night so turn around, go home, and never come back!" Jenny demanded.
"What if I say - AAAAAGGHHHHHHHH!" Lancer wailed after Jenny delivered a swift punch to his chest, sending the mechanical knight flying off past the horizon.
Rene came out from his hiding place and shrieked. "My restaurant! She has a gaping hole! Oh I'm going to have to close for a week while I fix the damage!"
Brad showed up and realized what happened. "Oh," was all he managed to say.
"Sorry about the mess Rene." Jenny apologized.
"No no. It was not your fault." Rene assured. "However, I am going to have to ask you to leave seeing as I have to close for the night."
"I understand." Jenny replied. "Thank so much for doing this though."
"Yeah that was real great of you." Brad chimed in.
"It was my pleasure." Rene replied. "Goodnight you two."
As Jenny and Brad started on their way home, the two each had a thought. They turned to face one another and resumed their kiss from earlier.
The young couple found themselves so captivated by each other that they didn't notice a tall metal biped landing a short distance down the road and walking toward them.
The large robot cleared his throat. "Good evening you two." He greeted.
Jenny and Brad looked at their uninvited observer. "Silver Shell?" Jenny realized in astonishment. "What are you doing here?"
Silver Shell rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I was in the neighborhood and I happened to hear that you two are an item now so I wanted to congratulate you. In person."
"Thanks." Brad beamed. Jenny wasn't so receptive.
"There's one other thing." Silver Shell admitted.
Jenny only raised an eyebrow.
"Jenny, I have something I need to tell you. Something that I should have told you a long time ago." Silver Shell explained.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Jenny groaned. "I start dating and suddenly every guy I bump into says he's always and feelings for me!"
"Actually it's not that." Silver Shell corrected. "You see, I'm not who you think I am."
"What do you mean?" Jenny demanded before stepping in front of Brad.
"It's better if I show you." Silver Shell insisted. His chest panels opened up to reveal a human figure in a command chair of some kind. When the steam cleared, both Jenny and Brad could clearly deduce the figure's identity.
"Sheldon?!" Jenny and Brad realized in unison.
"Hehe. Surprise…" he said sheepishly.
Jenny seethed for a good few moments, thinking back to when she actually had a crush on the Silver Shell… and thinking about how the whole thing had been a sham from the beginning.
Both Sheldon and Brad expected the young heroine to explode. What she did instead terrified them even more.
"Hahahahaha. Hahahahaha!" Jenny laughed. "Why didn't I see it sooner? Silver Shell… it was right there in the name!"
Sheldon curled up a bit in fear. "Uh… w-what are you gonna do?" Sheldon stammered.
"What I should have done a long time ago…" Jenny replied in a low, menacing tone. "Sheldon, get out of the chair."
The young man did as we was told.
"Good. Now stand clear both of you." Jenny ordered.
Both boys hid behind a public mail box.
Jenny cracked her knuckles… and proceeded to systematically rip the Silver Shell suit apart. Pieces of metal, wires, circuit boards and everything in between flew in all directions.
Brad peered out from behind his cover to observe the damage. It didn't look pretty. "Sorry about your suit Sheldon." He apologized.
"Nah. It's okay. I deserve at least this much." Sheldon conceded.
After a few minutes, Jenny stood atop a mound of scrap metal that used to be a mech suit.
Brad and Sheldon emerged from their cover. "Feel better?" Brad asked.
Jenny stepped down from the scrap pile. "Much." Was her curt reply. "Come on. Let's go home."
The young couple walked home while Sheldon returned to his own house. At least she's happy. He thought. And if she's happy. I'm happy.
THE END
A/N: Like I said before, feel free to ignore this entirely as it really only serves to get Brad and Jenny to start their romantic relationship. I didn't want that to be a major plot point in Beast Hunters so I decided to make that into its own story. If you did make it all the way through please give me your thoughts and feel free to check out my other content, including My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter which should be up right about now. Thank you for reading.