A/N) IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! Ok, maybe not that important, just a heads up really. This story may start to slow down, not sure yet, but I'm not entirely sure if it will be regularly updated every week. I might be forced to update irregularly because of circumstances out of my control. (cough, cough *grandparents visiting*cough cough)
Yah, they hate technology and constantly bug me about it... so dad is banning computers for a while, that said I might have to sneak off with a fake homework project excuse to my friends house. But, anyway, I hope you like this chapter, I cracked myself up writing it!
I hope you do too!
Have fun!
"I am not doing it." Pixal held her ground as her friend pulled her hardest on her arm.
"Come. On. Pixal!" Nya tugged with every word, "He's inside the computer lab. Nobody else stays that late except him! Just go. Ask already!" She yanked one last time resulting in both of them flying forward and landing through the computer labs door.
Zane looked up from his work, slightly surprised at their sudden entry.
Nya stood up abruptly and laughed, "Heh, sorry Zane. Welp, buh bye!" And she disappeared leaving behind only a cloud of dust in her shape.
Pixal would have liked to kill her for that. She was instantly aware of Zane's ice blue eyes on her. The younger girl nearly blanched underneath his calm stare. Keep calm. Keep calm.
"Um, Hello Zane. How are you. . . health wise?" She tried to give him a polite smile.
Zane smiled back, "Well. Thank you."
Now came the awkward silence.
Pixal HATED the awkward silence.
"Well, good bye then." She turned hastily away, just leave with dignity. Just leave with dignity.
"Um Pixal. A moment."
Her body screeched to a halt.
"Y-yes?"
Zane was standing much closer to her now. Oh no! Was she blushing? She couldn't tell. What was she supposed to say. He seemed so calm. Did she look calm? She didn't feel calm.
"I was wondering, you have heard of the Fall Formal yes?"
Her heart flipped, "Y-yes."
"Well, I've never bothered with such things,"
Her heart sank, "Oh."
"But, perhaps." His words were slow, almost as if he was thinking each one over carefully, "Maybe just this once, I will go if,' His eyes connected with hers, "You would accompany me."
She nearly exploded!
"Oh, well, yes. Certainly. It would be an honor." She gave him her best restrained smile, "If that's what you wish."
He smiled back. Before she could process his actions he reached out, took her hand in his, bowed and kissed the top of it lightly.
She nearly stopped breathing at the gentlemanly gesture.
"I will see you later then."
She nodded slowly, looking at her hand in the most unintelligent way as he walked out.
Suddenly she felt like a real teenaged girl.
Oh. My. GOSH!
She didn't care.
She didn't care.
She didn't care.
Nope. She definitely did NOT care in the least.
She bit her pizza harshly, her eyes never leaving Jay and that, THAT, girl.
She didn't care. He could talk to anyone he wanted too.
She barely swallowed as Jay made her laugh.
Nope, didn't care in the least. So what if he spent nearly every lunch with her. So what if Nya hadn't ever bothered to find out who the heck that girl was.
So what if she was pretty, and from what Nya could see, charming. So what? Nya knew they couldn't eat lunch together, or talk like that out here. He was her secret. Yah, and she was his. Yep. That was a leg up on that boy attracting little-
"Nya?"
The sound of her name cut through her vicious thoughts.
"Yes?" She turned towards Pixal, whose big green eyes looked at her worriedly.
"Your mumbling under your breath? And staring at Jay and his friends? Why?" The question was simple, yet it caught Nya completely off guard.
"Um. . . say Pixal? Who is THAT girl next to them?" Nya made her point by shifting her eyes towards that table.
Pixal looked and noticed Ashlyn, as she was laughing over something Jay had blabbered.
"You don't know?"
Nya shrugged, "Hello, new here."
Pixal smiled, "That's Ashlyn Hale. She's the first female Dragon racer in all the counties. A tough cookie as they call her. Also, according to most info, she's know Cole forever. I think longer then I have."
Nya thought this info over, "But. . . she seems to be really intimate with Jay." She couldn't hold back the sour look.
Pixal shrugged, apparently her extensive knowledge didn't reach to that point, "Maybe you should ask him before jumping to conclusions."
That wasn't Nya's first option, but, she decided it was better then letting jealousy get the best of her. She'd ask. Later.
Jay took a deep breath as he made sure, one last time, nobody had followed him home. Yep, coast was clear. Good. Hey, call him paranoid all you want, but he planned to keep the world away from his home. If that was possible.
"Mom! I'm ho-whoa!" Jay tripped and went rolling onto the shaggy blue rug mid sentence.
He rolled over and saw his legs were draped over a big cardboard box.
"What gives?" He sat up dizzily just as his mother came humming into the room.
"Oh Jay sweetie, there you are. So glad your home. Here hold this." She shoved a sparkly banner in his hand, "Follow me would you."
Jay followed wordlessly.
He walked into the living room of their mobile home and nearly had a heart attack!
Balloons? Banners, flowers! A big Cake! Oh no! Oh god, no! This looked like. . . his mind refused to form the word even mentally.
"What? Jay are you all right?" His mother looked at his paling face, "Snookums'?"
"Mom! What's all this!" He nearly flipped.
She smiled excitedly, "Silly, this is-"
His brain processed the words in slow motion.
"A p. . .a. . .r. . .t. . .y!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
He practically shrieked, threw the banner in his hand down and ran to his room, slamming the door so hard the entire mobile home shook to its movable foundation.
Edna just stood there in silence, blinking at the space her son had occupied a second ago, the other side of the sparkly banner still in her hand.
"Well. . . that was . . . overacted."
He wanted to cry. That was it. That was all he wanted to do. Just cry, and cry, and cry! But he couldn't. no, he couldn't, he was Fifteen years old and way past tears. But that didn't mean he didn't want to.
How could they do this to him! How?! Why?! He was getting on so well! Except for the slight bully issue but otherwise, it was great! He was fitting in, and he had specifically went out of his own way to keep anyone from knowing where he lived. AND he had specifically said he did NOT WANT A FREAKIN' PARTY!
"Jay hon. Open up. I think there's something wrong here." His mother called through his thin door.
Yah, no duh there's something wrong here mom! He groaned inwardly.
"How could you do this to me Mom!" He shouted angrily.
"Do what jay?" His mother opened the door and looked at him, truly concerned now.
And confused.
"You know I didn't want a party. WHY would you go and plan one anyway?" He looked at her from his bed, anger still evident on his face.
A moment passed.
Suddenly her furrowed brow cleared.
Then...
She started laughing!
Jay couldn't believe it. His own mother, laughing at his evident distress.
"Oh, Jay Honey." She chuckled and wiped another tear away, "Silly, I know you didn't want a party. This isn't for you." She smiled widely, "Your fathers is throwing one for all his new friends he's met at work!"
Jay sat up, utterly speechless. That was NOT what he meant by not wanting a party.
"But Mom, don't you think. . . our house?" He fumbled over his words his stress levels falling a little.
She reached out and ruffled his auburn hair, "Silly Jay. Don't worry, nobody cares about the house, just the party." She took her sons hands and pulled him off his bed, "Now, how about you come and help us make it amazing!"
Jay just blinked.
His Mom waited expctiantly.
He sighed and got up, well at least none of his friends would find out. Maybe his parents having a party was ok.
"Ok, Mom." He tried to smile.
Hopefully it wouldn't get around about where they lived.
His mom's face brightened, she smiled and grabbed his hand, all but dragging him out of the room.
Jay made a silent prayer to himself that nothing horribly unexpected happened and went along with his excited mother.
His parents party was in full swing now. And so far Jay was ok with it. Everybody as old(well for him they were old) and nobody looked like they could be any of the people he knew parents.
So he started to relax, manning the drinks table and watched, staying out of the way so he wouldn't get asked the same kind of question every single adult asked a kid his age.
How's school? What collage are you planning on going too? How old are you? What job do you have in mind? Yadda yadda yadda.
Jay could do without the repetition.
He was starting to dose of against the wall. What? Watching grown ups talk really wasn't all that exciting.
Then he heard the worst thing in the entire universe.
"Jay?"
Yep, his name.
He jolted, yelped and fell face first on the floor. Instantly a sturdy hand grabbed his shoulder and helped him up.
"Jay, you ok?"
The poor boy couldn't believe who was standing next to him.
"Zane?" He gulped, shocked. Of all the people... how'd he get here anyway?
Zane smiled, "Thank goodness, for a minute there I thought I scared you wordless."
Jay shook his head. This was a bad dream. A nightmare. It wasn't real, it COULDN'T be real! Zane looked at his pale face confused, Gah! It was REAL!
"PLEASE DON'T TELL!" He instantly fell to his knees clasping his hands begging for everything he had.
Now Zane looked shocked, "Tell? Tell what?"
The blue eyed boy grabbed the taller teen around the knees, hugging them tightly, "If you tell, everything I've built for myself will be lost! aND then the hurting will never stop!" He was practically ing now, just thinking of all the bruises AND CUTS, AND NASTY WORD THAT HURT MORE THEN THE OTHER TWO COULD EVER HURT.
"I am sorry my friend but I still don't understand." Zane pried the younger boy off of himself and picked him up.
Jay groaned, "Don't tell that I live in a junk yard, please. If you do nobody will like me! Nya won't like me anymore, Kai will beat me up even worse and you Ash and Cole... won't want to hang out with a loser like this." He felt old stings come back.
Now Zane understood. He placed a comforting hand on Jay's slumping shoulder, "Jay. That's not true. Cole, Ashlyn and I wouldn't do that. Besides it's not where the person lives that matters at all. It's who he is. To real friends anyway."
Jay looked at him surprised, "For real? You mean it?"
Zane gave him an assuring smile, "Yes, for real."
Now Jay smiled, "Guess I never had real friends before."
"You do now." Zane draped an arm around the shorter boy.
Jay smiled bigger, "Wait..." Now he thought, "Why are you here?"
Zane shrugged, "My father was invited, he's an engineer, I suppose your dad knows him, so he let me tag along. I had no idea t was your father though."
Jay sighed, "So... I know it MIGHT not matter where I live, but could you, maybe, not say anything to anyone else?"
Zane nodded, understanding, "But you know, they'll want to know eventually."
"Yah... let's just make it a loooong eventually, ok."
"All right."
"Hey Zane?"
"Yes?"
"Want some punch?"
"Sure."
Jay smiled. He was glad he knew Zane.