Seriously, What Is Up With Me?: Part III

ARWYN'S CLINIC, NINJAGO CITY

**Arwyn's POV

By about noon Jay was ready to jump out of his skin. Doing nothing but sitting in my office was really getting to the hyper blue ninja. I tried to distract him when I could by asking him some of the same questions about being a ninja that I had asked Cole, just for another point of view, but it wasn't quite enough. He was probably wishing he had taken his leader up on his offer to stay with me. At least Cole could sit still for longer periods.

As for me, I could barely keep my mind straight enough to avoid making a mistake in my work. Between worrying about whether or not to follow my supposed destiny and having invasive thoughts about a certain ninja in black, I was a scatterbrained mess.

I had distanced myself from relationships with men for the past two years, only going on casual dates and then not answering phone calls if I had a twinge of doubt about the guy.

So, how was it that, after all of that, Cole had etched himself onto my heart after just one night? And how could I manage to admit this to myself or anyone else when the future seemed more uncertain than usual?

Even Jay noticed my absent-mindedness a couple of times when he directed some remark to me, and I totally ignored him because I had not heard him, and I hated looking like a nitwit.

At last four-thirty came, and I drove us to the Fitness Center for my self-defense class. Jay was overjoyed to be released from his little cell and doing something. He was too cute like that!

All of my female students thought so, too. Not one of them complained about being man-handled by the handsome, funny, and energetic guy.

He had come in without his armor so he wouldn't draw excess attention to himself. Of course, the place was full of women, so he got plenty, anyway, and ate it up.

After the class, my naturally-platinum-blonde girlfriend, Sofiya Iskall, who taught the yoga class before mine, came over to chat before we left for the day.

"Arwyn, who's your cute little friend?" she asked with interest, sidling up to me and eyeing Jay as he drank a bottle of water by the exit, waiting for me to wrap things up and head to the apartment.

"His name's Jay, he's a friend from a dojo across town, and he's taken," I summarized with a little fib and an apologetic smile. "But there are more where he came from who aren't," I added optimistically.

"A dojo? Other guys? Are you getting into the martial arts?" she asked dubiously.

"Eh, I'm thinking about training for a belt. He's here to check out what I do already," I lied easily. "Anyway, I did meet some other great guys at the dojo. One in particular is really, really nice," I added a little dreamily. Maybe too much so.

"Arwyn, you never say anything about a guy." Sofiya smiled at me with a little surprise. "Is he hot?"

"Incredibly so," I gushed breathlessly. "He's handsome and built like that wrestler who's done some of those kids' movies, has Italian blood, thick, black hair, a great sense of humor, charm, intelligence…"

I could go on and on…

When I paused for a breath, Sofiya asked, "Does anyone else know how you feel about this incredibly hot guy?"

"No, I just met him," I answered quickly.

She glanced over my shoulder. "Well, someone else does now."

Whirling, I found Jay standing close behind me with a toothy grin.

Oh. My. God.

His spark had felt constant to me, so I hadn't noticed him get any closer. "What did you hear?!" I gasped in a panic.

"Just how incredibly hot you think Cole is," he replied, never losing the grin.

"'Cole'," Sofiya said musingly with a thoughtful expression and a finger on her chin. "Sounds hot."

"You cannot tell a soul about that!" I cried, with a finger in the eavesdropping ninja's face. "Not even Nya!"

He acted a little puzzled by that. "Why not? I'm sure Cole would love to know about this!"

"I just met all of you! I can't be letting him know I feel this way so soon! I shouldn't be feeling this way so soon! This is not like me!" I rambled, flustered. I turned on Sofiya. "Why didn't you tell me he was coming up behind me?!"

She shrugged her regret. "He moved pretty quickly, and you were going on about the tasty Italian. I didn't want to interrupt."

Slapping a hand to my forehead, I felt my fortifications crumbling around me. I didn't need any of the ninja thinking I was man-hungry!

How can I keep Jay quiet without killing him and hiding the body?

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my stuff and turned to Sofiya. "I'm gonna head home with my humiliation now. I'll see you Thursday."

She reached out and grabbed my arm before I could walk away, with Jay trailing me. "Hey, girl, there're worse things than a guy knowing you care about him. Don't worry about it unless he doesn't feel the same. Not every guy is gonna treat you like Keiji did."

I grimaced at the name and nodded, sighing and patting her hand. "Thanks. I'm trying to remember that. Not successful yet." With a glance at my blue shadow, I headed for the exit. "Come on, Jay, I'm starving. Let's go pick up something before we head back home."

Opening the door for me, he interjected, "Actually I got a call from Zane that he's waiting for us at your apartment with something he fixed earlier."

Tag, again.

"And who's Keiji?" he asked innocently.

"Just a guy I knew," I replied, heading to my car, not wanting to get into it with him. He seemed to accept that and moved in front of me to open my driver's door. These ninja were a really polite bunch.

When we had buckled in and were steering onto the street, he turned to me with a smirk. "Now, let's talk about Cole." However, they were also meddlesome.

I thumped my forehead against the top of the steering wheel when we stopped at a red light. "Could you just pretend you didn't hear anything about that?"

"Nope," he said, shaking his head emphatically. "Inquiring minds want to know. Spill the beans."

Sighing heavily, I considered how much I could allow myself to tell the nosy man in the seat next to me, the brother-in-arms of the man I could not get out of my head. I really needed to be saying these things to Sofiya, but Jay was available and eager, and already knew, so…

Here goes nothing…

I took a deep breath and began blathering away. "I think he's fantastic, though not perfect, but so interesting, caring, dedicated, funny, charming. He was respectful and interested in what I had to say. And, yeah, I know he's trying to convince me to join the team, but he was never really pushy about it." I took a quick breath and continued before I lost my courage.

"We have things in common like sketching, reading, wanting to help people, being stubborn and strong-willed. He's already pulled a couple of stunts on me as payback for the way I acted toward him. He can dance and I can't, so he said even if I break his foot trying, he promised to teach me when I go to the Bounty. If I go," I corrected quickly.

I had been watching the road as I spoke, so I finally glanced at Jay for his reaction to my fast-paced confession. He was grinning at me in such a goofy way that I had to laugh nervously.

"Okay, I get that you think Cole's awesome, the way I think Nya is, but what's this guy, Keiji, got to do with this?" he asked a little hesitantly.

Frowning, I answered bitterly, "Keiji Endor was the first guy I thought I loved, the main reason I'm not with anyone now. After he treated me like crap several times, and I ran out of tears, I finally kicked him to the curb and swore not to fall for someone quickly and risk that type of thing happening again."

"Cole's a better man than that. He wouldn't do that to you," Jay said with certainty, shaking his head.

"Cole can't know about this!" I insisted. "I've been hurt badly before. I want to be sure this time before I make myself so vulnerable."

"Hmm. That could take a while," he commented thoughtfully. "Have you decided about coming over to the Bounty?"

We were pulling into the lot by my apartment building. "Almost," I answered simply. I had pretty much made my decision, but I was still examining it before I announced it.

Zane was waiting by my door with a picnic basket when Jay and I parked nearby.

Ah, the cool, calming breeze…

As fast as Jay seemed, Zane still beat him to my car door as I rummaged for my purse.

What's with the doors? I wondered as I exited the car, greeted him warmly, and thanked him for the help. Should I be tipping?

"What'd you cook tonight, Zane?" Jay asked hungrily as we entered my apartment, following the ninja in white as he headed into the kitchen with his basket.

"Rigatoni in a butternut squash sauce with chicken breast, sweet peas, basil, and Asiago cheese," Zane informed him, sounding like a true chef. "With fresh fruit and tiramisu for dessert."

Jay seated himself at the small table, needing only a fork and knife in his hands to complete the amusing picture of an eager kid waiting to be fed.

Zane began emptying his basket as I started pulling out dinner plates. "Thanks for bringing the food, Zane, but I really could have bought us pizza or something. Do ninja eat like this every night?" I asked, remembering the sumptuous meal he had prepared the night before, although I had had no appetite for it.

Divvying up the food onto three plates, Zane explained, "I tried to cook something special that Cole might appreciate. He was in poor spirits all day. Unfortunately, when I was leaving, he still seemed very preoccupied and was not eating very much."

I kept my head down as I poured iced tea into glasses, feeling guilty that his mood was my fault somehow.

"Yeah, he left us this morning looking a little upset over something," Jay stated as he waited for me to sit at the table before digging in. "Nya said he ruptured the heavy punching bag, but wouldn't say why." Although I was focusing on my food, I knew he cast a glance at me.

How the heck do you break a heavy bag?

Zane nodded after swallowing a bite. "He was quite aggressive while sparring with Kai, also, but said very little all day. He only told me what I could expect when I came here tonight." Turning to me, he continued, "He said he stayed at your bedside, but I believe you may be more comfortable if I stay outside instead…"

"Absolutely not," I said quickly. "There's no need for you to be uncomfortable, and I'll not have the police being called by the neighbors because they spy you lurking outside."

Zane lifted his glass and scoffed a little. "The neighbors will not…"

I interrupted him with an impatient wave of my hand. "Cole and I had this debate last night, and where did he end up?"

"Looks like you're a house cat tonight, Zane," laughed Jay over his plate.

Zane still looked ill at ease on the issue, but responded only with, "As you wish."

Patting his hand with a smile, I tried to make him feel less perturbed. "Don't worry, Zane. I didn't bite Cole, I promise not to bite you."

Jay didn't help smooth matters. "Unless you want her to," accompanied a teasing wink.

Zane looked at his brother with confusion, then mortification as he comprehended Jay's suggestion. "I think not!" he exclaimed. "I would never propose that to Arwyn!"

He looked so agitated, I had to laugh at his expression. "It's okay, Zane! We'll both be safe tonight."

"I'll say," Jay declared, stuffing in another bite of rigatoni.

Eyeing the light-haired man fondly, I wondered what Sofiya would think of him. If I joined them, right?

**Cole's POV

After finally cleaning up the sandy mess with Nya's help, and telling the guys a little about my time with Arwyn, I had wandered around the ship doing chores and odd jobs, trying to stay occupied.

Right after lunch, Kai, Zane, and I had decided to do a little sparring. We started out okay, but then they both started talking, something I didn't feel like doing.

Couldn't you two just shut your traps and fight?!

The conversation quickly turned to Arwyn and how we were going to train her if she came to stay with us. Zane reminded us then that he was going to her place overnight and mentioned he was going to cook something extra-nice and bring her supper.

That was the first thing that irritated me.

At the time, Zane was watching us while Kai and I were circling each other, both of us looking for an opening to lay into the other. Kai held an oak bokken with both hands, as I quietly spun my bo staff around me, waiting for Mr. Impatience to attack.

Instead, he made the stupid remark to Zane that Arwyn was kind of hot and how he would turn tonight's 'excellent' supper into a date if he were him.

That was the second irritating thing.

Oh, gimme an excuse, Firewalker!

Before he could finish the next idiotic comment about it being a good thing he wasn't the one on the night watch, I suddenly stopped the spinning, swiftly seized the end of the bo with both hands like it was a scythe cutting wheat, and swept his legs out from under him.

Irritating thing number three.

When he sprawled flat on his back, I sprang forward, ready to pin him to the deck with the staff. Although taken off guard, he stopped me by parrying with the bokken, somehow eluded me, and jumped to his feet.

We just went at each other from there.

By the time I heard Nya yelling my name, the bokken was in splinters on the main deck, and I had pinned Kai by his shoulders on the steps to the quarterdeck. Both of us gripped the bo pressing against his upper chest, our teeth bared and sweat pouring.

Panting hard, I suddenly realized I may be hurting my fiery brother and pulled him to his feet with the staff while he faked a couple of gasps. "Where did that come from, Cole?! I'm supposed to be the aggressive one!"

Zane was standing nearby with a concerned expression, holding another bokken for possible use on my head.

Lloyd and Nya were up on the quarterdeck outside of the bridge. The boy was cheering the action on, but Kai's sister stood with both hands on her hips looking at me like I needed to get a grip on something less tangible than the bo.

My glance at Kai was a little remorseful, but toughened up right away. "You need to be ready for anything," I said gruffly. "And show some respect for your future teammate!"

He laughed uneasily. "I usually am! And what did I say, anyway?"

I didn't answer as I strode away to remove my armor.

Seriously, what is up with me?

Even Sensei was eyeing me oddly at supper time. He didn't say anything to me, like he knew I had been pissed this morning, but I was aware he was watching me and thinking…

Anyway, after barely eating Zane's 'excellent' meal—although I did finish off all of the tiramisu—I left the table as quickly as possible. Kai's voice grated on my nerves tonight, for some reason. Nya and Lloyd were the only ones I could manage to talk to civilly.

I spent the rest of the time before Jay got back doodling in the bunkroom, some of which, I had to admit, wasn't suitable for children's eyes.

I had wanted to call Jay earlier, but I didn't want to look anxious or obvious about anything. Having Nya know how I felt was more than I had planned on already.

Finally, at about eight in the evening, I heard his inane laughter from the game room, and hopped off my bunk to head over there.

I found Jay and Nya snuggling on the couch, way too busy to notice me come in. Geez, he had only been gone about thirteen hours! But, then again, it had been almost that long since I'd heard anything about Arwyn, and I was about to lose it. Go figure…

"Jay!"

At the sound of my yell, he leapt like a cat off of the sofa and landed in a defensive crouch about six feet away from Nya. Realizing it was me, he laughed nervously, "Ah, dude! I thought you were Kai for a second."

"Got a little guilt, eh?" I smirked. Nya just giggled a little at Jay's reaction and threw her arms around his neck when he settled back down beside her. Honestly, they were quite adorable together, but I had extremely important business to attend to.

Standing over them with my arms crossed over my chest, I went into ninja-leader mode and started grilling him. "Have you reported to Sensei?"

"Yeah, I just got done." He nuzzled Nya's neck, probably hinting that he had other things on his mind, and I should go, but he didn't give me my seat back at Arwyn's place this morning, so guess what, buddy?

Nodding, I said, "Good, good," ignoring his annoyed look when he realized I wasn't leaving yet.

Get a room.

"How is Arwyn doing?" I tried to sound nonchalant, glancing purposely at Nya when she turned her attention to me and away from Jay.

Not a word!

"Arwyn's fine, nothing happened," he replied somewhat evasively.

Hmm…what happened?

"So did you talk to her about joining us?"

"Yeah. She said she's almost made a decision, but she didn't say much else…about that," he answered, adding, "Other than asking a few questions about what we do."

"How was her class?" I inquired with a smile, setting him up with that one.

"Good! I had women all over me—" Choking up when he remembered who was sitting next to him, he started backpedaling rapidly. "Uh, I mean, she used me to demonstrate, just that, nothing else, and I didn't really even enjoy it!"

Nya rolled her eyes and blew it off. "Whatever."

Jay glared at me.

This is like pulling frickin' teeth!

"And then…?"

"I met a friend of hers, a yoga instructor…" Again he glanced nervously at Nya. "And then we, uh, drove to Arwyn's place. Zane was there, and we ate supper, and I came back here. Nothing else. Nothing." He was killing me with the 'nothing' thing.

"I'm guessing she was okay with Zane staying overnight?" Although I wasn't.

He laughed. "Zane's the uncomfortable one. He acted like he's never been around a woman before."

Good. He can stay that way.

Thinking back to his evasiveness, I pushed, "Did she have anything important to tell you? About anything?"

Jay looked at me wide-eyed, then glanced furtively away, saying, "No," quickly.

The dude could not lie to save his life.

"What did she tell you, Jay?" I pressed with a forced smile. Did I have to torture him for information?

Could I?

"Absolutely nothing!" he insisted, getting a little agitated. Nya cleared her throat and drilled me with a look. I figured I'd better back off before I got walloped.

My arms dropped to my sides. "Okay, great. So long as everything's alright with her. Was Sensei satisfied with your report?"

"Heh. He didn't ask as many questions as you did!" he scoffed, putting his feet up on the couch and pulling Nya onto his lap.

What. Ever.

"Good job, Jay. Thanks for the briefing." Trying to sound like this had been official business, I turned on my heel to leave the room. Jay was looking relieved that I was done, while Nya had an understanding expression.

Passing Kai and Lloyd with a nod as they were coming in, I hit the hallway to go back to the bunkroom, finally getting a much-needed chuckle from the sound of the fire ninja yelling at the one pawing his sister.