Chapter 2

Jay lay, stretched comfortably on his bed, head propped up by soft, fluffy pillows. He sighed, closing his Biology textbook in frustration. All those baffling terms were beyond him. What, the blood from the inferior vena cava of the heart flowed through the triscupid valve into the right atrium? What lumen? What aterioles? Argh! Learning all those explanations really drove him mad. Biology had never been his pet subject, and he mostly favoured Physics. He groaned, setting down his textbook and gazing at the ceiling.

Of course, having Theresa constantly invade his thoughts didn't help matters, either.

Alright, so he was bad at Biology, but not that bad at Biology. It was just her. She was seriously distracting him. Well, not exactly. It was something else that worried him, and for once it had nothing to do with Cronus. It was that guy. That stranger, the new student in New Olympia High. He had definitely attracted Theresa's attention. Made her stutter, swoon, blush. Jay clenched his fist and felt annoyance - and jealousy? - coursing through his veins suddenly just at the thought of it.

And worse still, prom was just a week away. In fact, it was 5 days away.

And... And... What if that guy chose to whisk her away from him by asking her to the prom? Then she would be gone, just like that. He envisioned her in a flowing gown that accentuated her luscious curves and hugged her slender body, dancing in the arms of the resident Prince Charming. There would be charming smiles, little flirting and perhaps even kissing - he wouldn't put it past that innocent-looking but probably devious guy.

NOOOOOO...

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Jay brushed his frustration aside, calling, "Come in!"

The door opened and a certain blonde stuck his head inside, looking anxious.

"Neil? What is it?" Jay questioned quickly, immediately going on defense mode. Was it Cronus? Had something happened to the team? After all, it wasn't every day that Neil showed up at his door. Plus the fact that he had that antsy look on his face... Something was definitely wrong here. Great, has something happened? Jay thought, worry rushing through his veins. Oh no. If someone had been injured... What if Cronus had the team in his hands...? Was only Neil left? He was such a lousy leader! Here he was thinking about Theresa when the whole team was in danger!

He glanced around frantically, looking for his walkie-talkie thingy device that Odie had given each one of them. Did he miss any calls unknowingly? Had he been too distracted that he didn't hear the beep of the little hand-held device? Oh no, oh no, oh no!

"Jay! Jay!" Neil cried out, bringing Jay's thoughts back to Neil, who looked as though someone had ruffled his feathers.

"Yes? Yes?! What is it, Neil? Tell me!" Urgency rang in his voice.

"I've lost my mirror!" Neil wailed. "That thing cost a bomb, you know! Did you see it?!"

Jay gaped at him, too shocked to register what he just said. "What did you just say?"

"I said, I've lost my mirror!" Neil whined irratably, seeming to be annoyed that Jay hadn't exactly placed his expensive mirror as of utmost importance.

Jay glared at him. Great. He had just gotten all worked up for nothing.

Wow, what was wrong with him? This was Neil, after all. As in, Neil, the narcisstic, egoistical, self-righteous model. Obviously it would have been something minor, like a lost comb or a gone-with-the-wind T-shirt (the one he wore, after all, was also branded, expensive and made of pure silk).

Don't get him wrong. He does treat Neil as a friend, only... An irritating friend.

"No, no, no, I haven't seen your mirror!" Jay snapped irrately, crossing his arms. Normally he wouldn't exactly treat Neil like that; usually he was the patient, caring leader who "mothered" after everyone and listened to everyone's problems with "rapt" attention, but this time, it was different. This leader now had an additional problem to solve besides the trouble Cronus brought. He couldn't be expected to be star-studded all the time, could he?

"But...!" Neil protested, looking around Jay's room wildly.

Jay shook his head. "Neil, please, out."

"Aww man, Jay, you're so hard-hearted," Neil said, shaking his head and pouting at Jay as he left, slamming the door behind him.

That guy has a serious attitude problem, was the first thing that came to Jay's mind as he rolled his eyes, falling back onto the plushy pillows and sighing.

A knock sounded on the door once again. Jay's head snapped up and he growled. "Neil, for the last time, I don't have your mirror!"

The door cracked open and a confused Theresa peeked in, looking a bit scared from Jay's sudden fierceness.

"Oops. Wrong person." Jay squeezed his eyes shut. Wow, what a wonderful day.

Theresa blinked at him, looking like her sweet, innocent self. Jay could almost feel his cheeks colouring - just by thinking of her. What a strong hold that girl had on him.

She glanced hesitantly at him, seeing the textbook lying face-down on his bed. "Jay, are you busy...? I... I need to ask you something."

Jay smiled and gestured to the bed. "Uh... Yeah, I am. What is it?"

Theresa came over and sat on his bed, bouncing lightly and her face a light shade of red. "Well... Well... Um... Derek asked me out for the prom, I don't know whether I should go. Do... Do you think I should?"

Jay stared at her, his mind whirling. "What? What Derek? Who's Derek?"

Theresa cleared her throat, blushing. "He's... He's the new guy at school. You know that guy who is tall, dark and..." She broke off for a second, her face taking on a darker hue of red, "handsome?"

Jay's jaw dropped to the floor. So he had been right! That evil, scheming, conniving Derek...! He had known all along that he was going to try something like that! Leaders had sharp and accurate instincts, all the time. Never mind that he knew nothing about that guy. He should have checked whether she was taken or not, at least! He was sure about the whole school would tell him she was not an option. She was taken. Taken by someone named Jay. Well, okay, so it might seem like one-sided love - on Theresa's part, that is - but still...!

"Jay... Jay? Hello? You there?" Theresa asked, waving her hand in front of his face in attempt to snap him out of his reverie, effectively bringing him down to Earth.

"Uh... Why did you ask something like that? Why didn't you ask Atlanta instead, or someone else?" Jay stammered. What an awkward question to ask a guy.

Theresa fiddled nervously with a strand of her long, wavy hair and mumbled, "Well... Atlanta wasn't around, she was off skateboarding with Archie, and you're about the second person I trust the most, so I thought... I thought I'd ask you..."

Jay bit his lip in uncertainty as he saw her expectant gaze. What in the world was he going to tell her? Tell her no, she couldn't go to the prom because some brown-haired guy was absolutely dying to go with her, and that person was none other than Jay himself?

Jay sighed. He knew he didn't know anything about that Derek guy. For all he knew, Derek might be some kind-hearted guy who would treat Theresa well. After all, Theresa had been waiting ages for Jay, but to no avail. She had been so patient and she probably was hurt that he hadn't made any move - not one at all. He hated to admit it, but... But she deserved better. She deserved a better-looking guy, one with a good heart, one much better than him. Anyway, he didn't deserve her. He wasn't half as good as her, and to top it off, he was a terrible leader whom had no skills at all - he didn't wield a sword to much effect and he was usually knocked down time and time again. Yes, he didn't deserve her.

It would be selfish of him to withhold from her the happiness he knew she had been waiting for. Maybe... Maybe he should just give her up. For her sake. If you love me, you'll let me go, rang the famous words from some TV show. Jay's shoulders drooped, eyes lowered, debating with himself if he should really let go and let her have her happiness. She was much more important than he, he realised. And so...

"You should go with him," Jay said finally, gazing up at her beautiful face and faking a smile, trying to hold back the little tear that was forming in his eye quietly, waiting to slide out of his eye and down his cheek if he wasn't careful. He was such a sentimental freak - again, another boo-boo about himself - the failed leader.

He saw her expression change. Was it reluctance and sorrow he saw on her face? Whatever it was, it was quickly replaced by a sad smile and a nod. "Oh... Okay... I'll... I'll let him know tomorrow, Jay. Thanks for your piece of advice."

Saying that, Theresa stood up and left, leaving the door a little open.

Jay felt as though his heart had been ripped out. No more Theresa to flirt with him, no more Theresa to blush about, no more Theresa to create fantasies about. But he knew it had been the right thing to do.

But why did it feel so wrong?

--

Sorry that the fic is moving rather slowly so far, but I don't have much time, I'm taking away my precious mugging time to do some typing here. Hahas. And oh yeah, Theresa telling Jay is justified in my view because she trusts Jay. Yeah so I know it's kinda weird that a girl go ask her loved one whether she should go out with another guy, but the point of it is to show that she trusts him tons. Yep sorry if it's kinda OOC.

And Cronus hasn't appeared yet, don't worry, he will soon. Like, in probably two more chapters' time? Hopefully I'll get them out soon; I've had inspirations for the next chapter from my Biology class about pathogens and infections. By the way, those random info - I learnt them from Biology class, it'll be tested for me.

And the part where Neil appears, it's quite random too. It's because I thought 1) I should include some of the other characters too and 2) Neil is one of my favourite characters in terms of his comedic ways. And yes. Okay, hope you enjoyed it, please review?