The Journey

"Be safe!"

They waved goodbye to the ship, watching as it flew away from sight.

Brooke turned to Zane, and asked, "Should we get going?"

He nodded, watching her lead the way. He knew that keeping a watchful eye on her might be easy. At least now that she wasn't clad in all black. Now, she wore an ocean-blue ninja garb that had matched what the boys were wearing.

She sensed he was watching her every move. This made her actions hard to pick.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked, though she mentally cursed herself for bad words choice.

He blushed, no reply coming.

"Well? Aren't you going to answer?" she asked, stopping and glaring at him. She hated her height and his as well. Well, I'm short.

He stared at her, hesitating. "Why are you so short tempered?" he replied.

She stopped looking at him, blushing hard. She turned back and kept walking, changing the subject. "Come on. We need to find out where this sword's hidden."

He stopped her in her tracks as his hand grasped her arm, hard. His grasped tightened, and he forced her to look at him.

"You're starting to scare me." she added, her hard voice turning soft.

"Just answer me one thing. Why did you choose me as your partner?" he ordered.

She stared at him, blushing harder than ever. Never had she thought that he would ask her that. For sure, he isn't stupid, she thought, looking away from him. His grasp on her arm didn't loosen. What could she tell him? She didn't want to admit that she had somewhat had a favor for him. And also, that reason sounded lame and stupid, as she thought. What excuse could she make?

"Well?" he asked.

She was loosing time to answer. She felt his grasp tighten to the point she was sure it would cut off her blood circulation. She looked back up at him, still blushing hard. Then she answered, "You could help me with any ancient runes we see." Alright, that had to be the worse excuse you came up with your whole life, she thought.

He loosened his grip, letting his hand slide down her arm. He eyed her, wondering if he could at all trust her.

"Well," he muttered, giving in, "this island is very old, judging from the plants here. These aren't recognizable anywhere. Though if there was any sign of civilization, we could better prepare ourselves. We both don't know what lies on this island. All we can do is be prepared for what can attack us."

She stared at him, awed at how well he took in their precautions. She noticed that he was scanning the area mentally, as though he was taking note of everything he saw. Even she noticed he was taking note of what she had performed so far. She found soon enough that she had began to more than favor him. She began to admire him, becoming interested in how he spoke and how he was always on guard while they were walking. Even she had admired how he had defeated her in their first battle in Ninjago City.

"Look, I just don't trust you, and that's that." she stated, turning away from him, waiting for a response.

"Very well." he simply replied. I can't let her get away. She may be our new ninja recruit, but still. I have to test her and see how well she would work. Cole, Kai, and Lloyd may not see through her yet, but I know she's hiding something. Something she believes is valuable that can't be shared.
"Hey, are you going to stand there and stare or what?" she shouted as she eyed him.
Right. I'm not alone. "I'm coming. Just analyzing the area." he lied.

"Whatever you say!" she shouted. He's so cute, and now, I sound like a weirdo who is going on an adventure with someone I hardly know my entire life, she thought, blushing.

I feel something I never felt before. It's hard to describe, but it feels as though all of my emotions are just...mixed. I feel happiness when I'm around her, and yet I feel...something else. So...why do I feel so attracted to her? Zane thought, blushing.

Why, they both thought, do I feel we're somehow meant to be?

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

A/N: Sorry I haven't been on for such a long time. It's hard to manage with so little time to write. So, this is part 1 of The Journey, and I hope you guys like it! :) And sorry if it seems so rushed. -_- It's late at night and I have to get some sleep, but I decided to post a chapter for you guys. Enjoy! ;)