"It's time for bed, Cole."
The young boy looked up from the floor.
"Okay, Daddy." He snuggled under the blankets and pulled a pillow close to his chest. "Is Mommy gone?"
Lou stood up straighter. "What do you mean, son?"
Cole shifted so that he could see his Dad through the dimmed lights. "She told me she would be with me. But she isn't here anymore."
"Oh, son," Lou said softly and sat on the bed beside him. Cole sat up and wrapped his arms around his father tightly.
"I want Mommy to come back," Cole spoke into his father's shirt, then looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "Will Mommy ever come back?" Lou's stomach dropped and he embraced his son tightly, with tears in his eyes starting to build.
"Cole…"
"Don't leave me, Daddy," Cole sobbed, clutching the ends of his shirt.
"I won't, son… and son, your Mom is right here," he placed a hand over his chest, "she's not going anywhere. She'll be with us in here." He smiled at Cole with a hopeful smile and the young boy put a hand over his chest as well, smiling back.
Cole sat at the dining table in his pajamas and scrolled through his camera roll of photos from the past and some photos that were just recent. He did this while he munched on a strip of bacon. "I wish you were here now, Mom. There's so many things to catch you up on… Dad's rarely here now - he just comes and goes. I've had to live in this house by myself most of the times…" He stopped, sighed, and played with the fork on the plate in front of him with the rest of his breakfast
It was officially his first day of summer vacation since his first year of college ended. He wasn't sure how he wanted to start his summer off, and he wasn't even sure what he planned to do.
Once he put down his phone, he helped himself to another piece of bacon. When he was finished, he brought the plate to the sink and placed it inside, before turning around to look for something to drink. Still a bit tired, he outstretched his arms and yawned before rubbing his eyes.
"Hey, Cole!" came Jay's voice from across the room as he happily skipped down the stairs.
Cole squinted and raised a brow. Since when was Jay - oh right, he had came over past midnight and made himself right at home at his house. Cole didn't mind, well actually he did. It was more like a half okay, half 'get - out - of - my - house' situation. On one hand, Cole was thankful for the company and just a friend. On the other, Cole didn't want to make himself in an easy position for Jay to bug the heck out of him.
"Whatcha got to eat?" Jay asked as he brushed past Cole and checked each of the cupboards and fridge. "Did ya sleep well? You don't look like you did…" Jay glanced over Cole.
"I'm still tired…" He told Jay, before walking out of the kitchen. "By the way, there's cereal and bread -" he yawned, "- just don't make a mess… or… something."
Jay flinched when he saw Cole topple over on the couch. "Yeah… okay, gotcha!" He filled a bowl with cereal and milk and placed it on the table by a glass of apple juice. From the corner of his view, he noticed a framed picture on the other counter. He walked over to it and held it just slightly above the counter.
A photo of Cole with his parents, when his friend was still just a kid. The young boy sat between his parents on each of their shoulders, with a big smile on his face, stretching from ear to ear. The three of them looked so happy. Jay smiled at the picture and set it back down. He wondered how often Cole felt alone whenever he stayed in the house all by himself. It sounded fun at first, getting the whole house to yourself, but when he realized Cole had been doing it for almost the rest of his life ever since his Mom passed… Jay shook away the thought and glanced back at the picture.
Jay looked behind him and got an idea to wake Cole up. Creeping up behind the couch, he peered over with a sly grin on his face. Before he made another move, he spotted Cole's phone on the floor and picked it up, unlocking it. Cole didn't know it, but one time, back at the dorm, Jay had watched Cole input his password without the guy even knowing Jay was watching.
He opened Cole's photo album and noticed that it was opened to the exact same photo as the one on the counter. He swiped a couple times to the right and saw some more pictures of him and his parents, the ones when his mother was still there. Apparently, Cole not only had photos and videos with his whole family in them, but some photos and videos of his Mom when she was younger as well. Jay stumbled across a video. He looked around hesitantly and sunk to the floor, leaning against the back of the couch, making sure the volume was turned up too much.
Jay hit play, sat back, and watched.
He went through as many videos as he could before going around the house to search for some more treasures. Finally, he decided to stop and wake Cole up.
Placing the phone back where he found it, he peeked over the top of the couch and grinned wickedly down at Cole.
"HEY, COLE. WAKE UP! I THINK EVAN IS CLAWING AT YOUR SHIRTS!" Jay shouted at the top of his lungs, waiting for Cole's reaction.
The sleepy roommate swiftly jumped to his feet and opened his eyes, fists clenched in front of him. "What - no! Don't kill the starfish …" Jay fell backwards, laughing and grinning ear to ear. The dark - haired gripped onto the cushions of the couch tightly and looked around in a daze until his eyes fell on Jay, who laid there with an idiotic grin on his face. "You idiot," he muttered loud enough for Jay to hear.
Sitting up, Jay leaned back on his hands. "Here, have a headband. The hair is in your eyes…" He tossed Cole the band and went back into the kitchen. Cole looked down at the headband and groaned, willingly tying it around his head so that only one chunk of his hair was over it in the front and the rest was pulled back up.
Stepping inside the kitchen, he shot a glare at Jay before grabbing a glass of water. Jay snorted.
"Wait - wait… is that a man - bun?" Jay burst into laughter, his face falling on the table as he slammed a fist. "I can't - Dude cut your hair or something!"
"Yes, it is a man - bun. No, I will not cut my hair."
"So like… are you gonna grow it out till it becomes a mohawk or what?"
Cole scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Of course not. Once it gets a little longer, then I'll cut it. But right now, my hair is fine. Thank you for the headband."
Jay's lips quivered as he held back tears from laughing so hard. He attempted to lift his cup to his lips and drank, trying not to choke. Cole just stood by the counter, glaring daggers at Jay.
"You got any idea of what you want to do first?"
"Hmm?" Cole looked up from his phone.
"It's summer vacation! You have no plans… yet?"
"I was thinking I could maybe just relax a bit. No rush, right? We got three months." Cole stared, bewildered, at a photo on his feed. "Why, what do you want to do?"
"I thought we could maybe -"
Ring. Ring.
They turned their heads. "Hold that thought, Jay." Cole said to him and went to pick up the house phone. He slowly lifted it to his ear. At first, Jay noticed by the look on his face that Cole looked joyed by whoever's voice was on the other end. However, his bright smile and hope filled eyes soon fell and his brows knitted to concern and disappointment. Jay wondered what it could be.
"Oh, yeah… it's alright. I get it, business and all that." Cole said to the other person. Jay began to suspect it was his father. "Have a safe trip and be back soon… bye."
Cole put down the phone and stared at it for a few seconds before turning back to Jay. "That was my Dad."
"What'd he say?"
"Turns out his trip had to be extended because one of the members of their quartet fell behind on schedule." Jay shifted in his seat.
"Oh, um, sorry bout that… so when's your Dad getting back then?"
Cole shrugged helplessly. "Honestly, I haven't the slightest idea when." He drummed his fingers against the counter. Jay mouthed another 'oh'. "You don't mind staying longer, do you?"
Jay perked his head up. "I dunno… I'll have to check my schedule," he told Cole with a sly smirk.
"Hah, very funny."
Jay laughed and soon enough, Cole was laughing along with him.
"So what were you about to say before?" Cole asked.
"Huh?"
"Right before my Dad called. You were going to suggest something to do."
"Oh, right! Well, I dunno, I thought we could play some video games over at my house, or grab some ice cream - or yogurt - and walk around town? I rarely visited the city downtown when I lived back here… mostly stayed inside reading comics and playing games." Jay fumbled with his fingers.
"Hmm," Cole considered the thought, knitting his brows close together while Jay leaned forward. "... you gonna pay for ice cream?"
"What?" Jay pushed back his chair and chuckled. "That all you picked up from everything I just said?"
Cole shrugged. "Nooo, I did catch everything else. But maybe you could treat me to ice cream? To be honest, we did have ice cream just yesterday." He walked over and sat on the table beside Jay. The ginger wrinkled his nose.
"Nya paid for that, didn't she?"
"Right, right, but maybe there's something else we could munch on?"
"Ice cream!" Jay piped. Cole put a hand to his face. "My treat!" He added humorously. The raven-haired looked up and nodded with satisfaction. Jay then remembered about the photo he wanted to ask Cole about. He cleared his throat quietly.
"By the way, um, your Mom…" He tensed slightly, shoulders raising just a bit.
Cole's head turned, those words obviously catching his attention. "Ya…?"
Jay relaxed as he realized by the tone in Cole's voice that he was okay with having this conversation. "I saw that picture of the three of you, you know, the one in the kitchen. You guys looked like you were having so much fun…"
"Oh, that photo. That was actually a few weeks before she passed away. I keep it there as a memory."
Jay held his tongue and felt a knot in his stomach.
"Oh… um…"
"You don't have to feel bad about asking or anything," Cole told him with an assuring smile and walked over, patting him on the back. Jay returned the smile.
"You look just like her," he made sure to add.
"Hey, that's what my Dad used to say to me. A lot."
Jay raised his shoulders carelessly. "Well it's true! Aside from the eyebrows… You've got those same soft, chocolate eyes… the ones that give off that sense of safe and security…" his voice gradually became softer.
"Really, now? Guess that's one way to describe them." Cole flashed Jay a cocky smirk.
Jay sighed and rolled his eyes in return. "Anyhoo," he cleared his throat, hiding the smile on his face. "Not just that, you're just like her…"
"How would you know what my Mom is like?"
"I may have… found an album and a couple of videos while you were asleep on the couch…"
"Jay!"
"I know! I know! Privacy - sorry! Heh." Cole shot him a stare. "Alright, alright!" Jay waved his hands in the air, attempting to push away Cole's when the dark - haired ruffled a hand through Jay's hair. "Awww, now my hair's a mess!" Jay complained, running a hand through his hair, earning a snicker from Cole.
"We should see what Zane and the others are doing for their summer," Cole finally said and picked up his phone, messaging each one of them. A few minutes later, they replied. "Nya says she needs some time to get used to her new apartment… Kai's planning to relax at home for a bit -"
"Where does he live?" Jay asked abruptly. Cole stood up and walked around.
"Er, not sure… anyways, Zane said he's going to visit his home town, huh," Cole murmured, "and Lloyd's spending some time with his parents and uncle." He slightly frowned.
"Woah - Zane lives somewhere else? Cool!" Jay's smile fell when he noticed the frown on Cole's face. "Why the sad look?"
"I dunno, I was hoping we could meet with the others again, maybe for a day?"
"Aw, come on, let them have their day… or days. It's their vacation."
"You're right. You're sure you don't mind hanging here for some number of weeks? … You're parents, they're okay with this right?" Cole scratched the back of his neck anxiously. "Maybe you should spend some time with them -"
"Pffh, of course they're cool with this. I can go back and visit them every other two, three, days or something anyways." Jay motioned to the picture frame on the counter. "Besides," he told Cole.
A few minutes passed of brief silence while they shared a look until suddenly they heard the sound of something clawing at the door from above. Cole stared at Jay with a puzzled look.
Jay wasn't sure what it was as well - at least not at that moment. Suddenly, the gears in his head clicked and he jumped with big eyes.
"Oh shoot, I just remembered -!" He ran for the stairs. "I locked Evan in the room!"
Cole opened his mouth to spit something back at Jay, but then closed it and pictured the small kitten at the bottom of the door in his room, pawing at the door helplessly.
"Jay, I can't believe you!" He shouted at him, resting against the back of the couch.
While Jay was upstairs, letting Evan out of his confined room, Cole made his way to the kitchen and picked up the frame with a heartwarming smile.
"Wish you were here, Mom."
One thing I promise you is that you will see other characters beside Jay and Cole in this sequel :) agh, I love writing Jay and Cole chapters.
Going on, because in season 8 the Ninja will have similar designs to their movie parts, that does not mean I will change all the characters in my story to match the movie hair designs and whatnot. Cole may occasionally pull his hair up in a man - bun, and others may do something that reference to the movie hair as well, but they won't be staying that way.
Other than that, I hoped you liked it! No specific update date at the moment, so in that case, just keep your eyes peeled for whenever I update next!
Happy Friendship Day as well!