Chapter 7: Trust Issues

All I care about is money and the city that I'm from.

I'mma sing until I feel it, I'mma go until it's done.

I don't need to say what's up and my excuse is that I'm young,

And I'm only getting older, somebody shoulda told ya.

xx

You just need to listen,

I'll teach you how to fix it,

'Cause you're the only one,

'Cause I don't trust these women.
I don't, I don't trust these women,

'Cause they might have me slippin',

And you're the only one...

(Trust Issues – Drake)

"I see you've decided to let the cat out of the bag to another one of your friends." Fu stated after Lily had left. "But you just met her Jake. What made you want to tell her?"

"I don't know, Fu. I just... I just feel like I can trust her with anything. Like, there's a connection that me and her have, ya know?" Jake said softly.

"I just hope you know what you're doing, kid." Fu told him.

Jake puffed out a long sigh. "Well, I'll see you in the morning Fu. I need to get home."

"Good night, Jake."

"You will never live to see another day young dragon!" Lao Shi made it clear that the American Dragon should be persecuted into oblivion. "You have exposed the magical world, sending us into an infinite doom!" Lao Shi led the mob into the attack of the poor, red dragon whom will always be remembered as their enemy.

Jake looked around trying to find a way out of the furious crowd; he rose on his dragon wings, flapping them mightily. He thought he had escaped them; he forgot that they could fly too. He puffed a large flame, aimed at his persecutors; So much so that smoke clouded everywhere making it hard for all the dragons to see. Jake arose even more and took his chance to flee. Suddenly, he felt the earth tilt and it caught him off guard. Jake spiralled back down to the ground and crash-landed into the clutches of the... No! It couldn't be! The Dark Dragon had captured Jake and sent him into a fit of kicking and thrashing. The world blackened and Jake could no longer see; he could only hear the cries of his old friends that were now his enemies.

"Shoot him!"

"Slit his throat!"

"This fool should be hanged!"

Slowly, Jake's thoughts faded away until he was senseless...

"Jake! Jake honey! What's the matter? Are you okay?" Susan struggled to keep Jake from kicking another sheet off his bed. "Wake up! You're having a nightmare!" Susan shouted.

Jake's eyes fluttered open. "Ahh! Mom! Thank God!" Jake said, rubbing his temples. "Nobody's out to get me."

"No honey. You're okay." Susan said and bent down t o kiss Jake on the forehead. "Now go get dressed."

Jake watched his mom leave the room and once she was gone, he got up to shut the door. Jake had other ideas and he was positive that his mom wasn't going to like them. Jake picked up his cell phone from the bedside table and dialled a number of which he knew very well.

"Yo Fu. I'm uh... I don't know how to say this, but... I'm kinda leaving for Hong Kong today and I uh... need you to cover for me." Jake said, his voice rushed with anxiety.

Jake paused as he waited for Fu to reply. After a full minute of waiting, Jake finally heard Fu say, "Alright kid. But only because I trust that you know what you're doing."

"Yes! Thank you so much, Fu! I won't let you down." Jake said and hung up is phone. He got dressed and began packing up his suitcase with all the essential things he needed and when he finished, Jake carefully placed the suitcase under his bed. Jake was going to have to come up with a lie to tell his parents so he would be able to leave without them knowing where he was actually going.

Casually, Jake walked downstairs and he could already smell the pancake flavoured air wafting through the room. He got to the kitchen and found his mom, dad, and sister, Hailey, gathered around their breakfast table waiting patiently for Jake to join them.

"One pancake or two?" Jake's mom asked as he sat down at the table.

"Um, can I have three? I'm starving." Jake replied. He was going to need a lot of energy if he was going to fly to Hong Kong.

Susan chuckled. "I guess so, hon," she said, placing three golden pancakes on Jake's plate. They were still warm.

"Well, dig in everyone!" Susan exclaimed.

After breakfast, Jake was about to head to his room when he heard a light knock at the front door. "I'll get it!" He yelled and ran over to open the door.

Jake slowly opened it, half expecting it to be Lily but it was only Fu. Jake relaxed and opened the door wide to invite Fu in.

"Thanks kid." Fu said. "So we got a plan?"

Jake scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I was thinking, we could pretend that G has sent me away for some dragon training. But I'm gonna need you to keep Gramps away from my parents."

"Okay. Can do. Are you sure you wanna do this?" Fu asked, concerned.

"Yes." Jake said surely. "It's the only way that I'll ever be able to see Rose again."

"Alright, kid. I'll go break the news to your parents." Fu said and trotted off to the kitchen.

Jake headed upstairs to retrieve his suitcase. When he got back down, he joined Fu in the kitchen.

"...So Jake's gonna be absent here for a bit." Jake heard Fu say. Jake's parents nodded their head in unison.

"Alright... If it's for dragon training... I guess so." John agreed.

Jake looked at his parents and gave them a quick hug. He hoped he wouldn't get into too much trouble while he was in Hong Kong. "Thanks guys." Jake smiled and led the way out the door. Fu trailed behind him letting out a long sigh.

Fu and Jake parted once they got to the shop. "Good luck, kid. And stay safe."

"Thanks, Fu." Jake said, giving the grey Shar Pei a quick hug. "I'll see you when I get back."

Jake swung his suitcase over his shoulder and began walking towards Lily's house. He prayed that everything would be successful.

A half an hour later, Jake arrived at Lily's apartment. He walked up the stairs and through the lobby doors. There was a panel to the left full of different last names and room numbers. He remembered from one of their past conversations that she was under her adoptive parents' last name 'Chang.' The panel also indicated that they were living in room number 32. Jake pressed the little button beside the correct name and waited to be buzzed in. Less than a minute later, he heard Lily's voice over a small speaker.

"Who is it?" The sing-song voice said.

"Uh, it's Jake."

"Oh! Just a minute." There was a pause. "Okay! You can come up."

Jake heaved his suitcase up two flights of stairs until he reached the third floor. He tapped on the door that led to room 32.

"Jake!" Lily squealed, opening the door. "I can't wait for this trip!"

Jake noticed that Lily seemed unusually excited. "Me too." He replied. "Your parents are okay with this?"

"Oh yes. Well actually it's just my mom and she's totally fine with it." Lily said and gestured for Jake to come in.

As Jake walked further inside, he noticed a frail looking lady sitting at a small dining table trying to look casual.

"Hello Jake." The lady smiled and looked up at Jake. Jake noticed that her eyes were a pale blue colour and her irises were swirling almost like smoke.

"Hiya Miss..." Jake started.

"You can call me Lora."

"Hi Lora." Jake said, feeling awkward. "We'd better get going." Jake said, turning to face Lily.

"Alright." Lily responded. See you later!" She said, waving to Lora.

When the two got outside, Jake led her behind the building. "Dragon up!" Jake hollered when they were out of sight. Lily watched him, breathless as the deep blue flame engulfed him once more. "Climb on my back." Jake ordered. "We'll get there in no time."

Jake took a route over the United Stated and across the Pacific Ocean. Naturally, dragons can fly much faster than planes because of their bigger wingspan. Lily loved the thrill of wind in her face every time Jake beat his wings. It really felt magical. Once and awhile, Jake would take a break and let his wings just float on the air. It's slowed them down a bit but that was okay.

The two managed to make it to Hong Kong in six and a half hours which is 40% faster than it would take to ride a plane there. As Jake veered closer to the edge of Hong Kong, he crash landed just on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Half asleep, he still managed to catch Lily in his arms and the blue flame surrounded them both as Jake took back his human form. Still wrapped in each other's arms, the two collapsed on the beach and slept for the rest of what little night they had.

It was almost noon when Lily woke up. Her hair was matted and full of sand. The hot sun beat down on her and she felt dehydrated. Lily rolled over to find Jake snoring away with his face covered in sand. Let him sleep, Lily thought. He had a busy night. She decided to take advantage of the alone time and went towards the ocean to wash up as much as she could. Lily took off her shoes and socks and dipped her toes in the cool water. A relieving sigh escaped her lips. She bent down and cupped a small amount of water in her hands and splashed it onto her face. She rubbed water up and down her arms and let the warm sun dry her off. Jake was already up and feeling groggy when she joined him again on the beach.

"How was your sleep?" She asked.

"Yo! It was super uncomfortable!" Jake complained. "At least now that we're here, we can go find Rose!" Jake smiled.

"Yeah." Lily smiled back at him.

They walked off the beach and into the busy streets of Hong Kong. Last time Jake was here, he made sure to memorize her school, where she lived, and where he'd most likely see her when she wasn't at home or at school.

"Let's start by heading over to her place." Jake suggested.

"Okay..." Lily said and followed closely behind Jake.

Jake led them through a series of twists and turns down narrow streets, bridges, and trails until they reached Rose's street.

"Okay, if I remember right, her house is at the very end of this street." Jake said to himself. Jake walked up to the last house on the street and knocked on the door. A tall man with dark brown hair answered the door.

"Uhh hello. Is Rose here?" Jake asked nervously.

"No she isn't." The man replied. "Why are you looking for my daughter?"

"Um, I'm a close friend. Do you know where I can find her? It's really important." Jake said, his voiced rushed with anxiety.

"I'm afraid I am not sure where she is. You could check the school." The man said closing the door. He stopped halfway. "Say... You look a little familiar. Have we met before?"

"No time to explain now, sir!" Jake was already jogging towards the school. Rose's dad only shook his head and closed the door.

Jake and Lily jogged all the way to the school. Thank goodness it was only a few blocks away. Jake entered the building and began looking up and down the hallways and in classrooms for Rose. There was no sign of her anywhere. "I guess we could try the park." Jake said, breathless.

Lily just shrugged her shoulders. "I guess."

They were halfway to the park when Lily spoke up. "Actually, how about we go somewhere else?"

Jake stopped to look at her. "Where were you thinking we'd go?"

"Well, before my parents died, they used to take me here on vacations once and awhile. I know a couple spots where teens would hang out." Lily negotiated.

"Okay. Lead the way." Jake said.

Lily led Jake to a small forest on the outskirts of Hong Kong. It seemed like a calm place and the sun's rays shone through the tree branches making it look like a place from heaven. Lily walked past a few shrubs and large trees until she came to a small, grassy clearing. Jake walked slowly behind, keeping an eye out for Rose. He never saw her. In fact, he didn't see anyone. He and Lily were the only two people here. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Jake saw a small shadow coming toward him. The shadow approached rapidly, growing bigger with each passing second. Jake ducked away from it but it was too late. Jake lost sight of everything and his senses were knocked out. His world went black.

Sorry this took so long to write! It is a longer chapter and I hope you enjoy it!

Love, Love, Love

-MissAly98