"Alright, where's that street name?" Kai wondered aloud as he walked down the streets of Ninjago City.
The red ninja was desperately searching for Sam's address, but none of the signs had the correct street name on them.
Sam had told him that her dorm building was located on Cherry Blossom Avenue, which was just a block away from Ninjago University's main academic building.
Problem was, all the streets on campus looked the same.
Finally, after several minutes of searching, the red ninja spotted a sign labelled Cherry Blossom Avenue.
He made his way down the street and saw a building that vaguely resembled a cardboard box. It had two stories, and the windows were small and rectangular. It was painted an off-white, and overall, it just looked kind of blah in Kai's opinion.
I hope this is the right one, the red ninja thought to himself.
He stood in front of the entrance of the building, since Sam said she'd meet him outside. He heard a door open and looked up, thinking it was Sam. Instead, it was another girl, who, when she saw Kai, gave him half-smile then continued on. He suddenly felt self-conscious standing in front of the building like he was, afraid that people might think he was a stalker lurking about. What if that girl reported him? He'd get arrested, then thrown in jail for the rest of his life, with only the nasty prison food as his source of nutrition. He'd never see his friends again, or Sam for that matter. Not even Skylor...
He lightly slapped his cheek, realizing that his imagination was getting the best of him.
Pull it together, Kai, he told himself.
He considered turning back, thinking that it maybe this wasn't her dormitory after all, when he heard the door open again. He looked up a second time, and saw it was none other than Sam.
Fortunately, she had decided to dress up a little for the occasion, so Kai didn't feel completely stupid with Cole's dress shirt. Sam was wearing a light blue sundress and some strappy sandals. This time, her golden blonde hair was down, a few pieces framing her face.
"Hey," she said as she stepped outside.
Kai realized he had been staring at her, and shook his head to snap himself out of it.
"Hey, Sam," he said. For the sake of conversation, he said, "I was afraid this was the wrong place."
Sam smiled. "Nope, this is it."
Think of something else to say, Kai.
He then remembered what Jay had told him.
"Uh, you look...nice," he stuttered, forcing the words out of him. He meant it, though. She did look pretty.
Sam smiled, and for a split-second, Kai thought he may have seen her blush.
"Thanks," she said. "You do too."
"Score one for the blue ninja!" he could hear Jay's voice inside his head. Jay was the one who had picked the shirt out, after all. Maybe the master of lightning did know what he was doing.
The red ninja smiled at the thought, then cleared his throat nervously.
"So, uh, you ready to go? The theater's only a couple blocks from here."
Sam nodded. "Lead the way."
"So, what do you do in your free time?" Sam asked as they walked to the movie theater.
Kai thought for a moment.
"Well, I play video games with Jay and Cole. Not so much Zane, but he joins in too sometimes," Kai explained. "Sometimes I like to mess with Lloyd, who is the newest ninja, I guess you could say. He's the Chosen One, so he was already pretty powerful. But then he was exposed to some Tomorrow's Tea in order to save us from the Grundle, so now he's our age. Me and the other ninja helped train him, and now he's the most powerful ninja in all of Ninjago."
"Wow," was all Sam could say. She could only imagine what it'd be like to have so much power at your fingertips.
"Yeah, pretty crazy, huh?" Kai said. "But enough about my life. What do you like to do?"
"Well," Sam paused, "I listen to music and hang out with friends. Oh, I enjoy biking, and I also play tennis."
"Tennis?" Kai repeated.
"Yeah, I played tennis in high school," Sam explained. "It's not the most popular sport, but it's good exercise. Sometimes I go to the park and play on the courts."
"That's cool," Kai said. "Me and other ninja-we do Spinjitzu, which is an ancient form of martial arts. And trust me, it's actually a good workout."
Sam chuckled. "It sounds like it."
Shortly after, the couple arrived at the theater, which was busy as usual. Kai wasn't one for big crowds, but having a friend with him made it a little easier.
As they stood in line for snacks, Kai tugged at the collar of his shirt anxiously, wondering how people could go through this much torture on a regular basis. Being near so many people at once was overwhelming, not to mention hot and stuffy. He could tolerate his own heat, but not the heat radiating off of others in such a small space. Though even that was questionable at this point. During their walk to the theater, the fire ninja couldn't help but notice how surreal it felt to be with Sam. The way her dress kind of swished as she walked and her cute demeanor in general made him sweat. Now he was going to sit next to her for two hours in a dark theater. He'd be lying if he said that didn't make him nervous.
Finally, it was their turn to order.
"I want a large popcorn and two sodas please," Kai told the cashier as he handed the money over.
While they waited for their refreshments, Sam turned to Kai.
"That's really sweet of you to pay," she said.
Again, Jay was the one that had told him that paying on the first date was a must because it showed he was willing to invest in dating her in the first place. Nya had told Jay on their first date that she'd pay at least her half, but Jay had insisted.
"No problem," Kai replied. "I just want you to be happy."
Kai was actually surprised at how funny the Lego Movie was. He couldn't stop chuckling at how ridiculous everything was, in a cool way. Unikitty's painfully positive attitude reminded him of Jay, which made it even funnier. And Batman was hilarious.
It seemed like Sam was enjoying the movie just as much. She was laughing so hard that her eyes watered, and she had to constantly wipe the tears away. Seeing her so happy made Kai feel the slightest tinge of happiness as well. Overall, things were going great.
Without thinking, Kai reached for a handful of popcorn, which was currently sitting on Sam's lap, and that's when his hand accidentally brushed hers. Apparently, she had reached into the bag the same time that he did. Startled, he quickly pulled away, thinking that she'd react negatively, but she paid no attention, and continued to munch on her popcorn happily.
"Sorry," the red ninja said.
"It's okay," Sam said, her eyes glued to the screen.
Kai could hear Jay's voice inside his head, telling him that he should put his arm around her.
Would you just do it already? the voice in his head complained.
"Would you cut it out, Jay!" the red ninja whispered to no one.
"What's that?" Sam asked.
Kai shook his head. "Um, nothing. It's nothing," he reassured her.
He fidgeted with the cuffs on his sleeves, fighting internally with himself.
Finally, he decided what the heck and that he probably wouldn't get the chance again, so he gathered up his courage, and pretended to stretch, landing an arm around her. He was tentative, unsure of how she'd react, but she didn't protest.
But then she did something that totally surprised him. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. Kai felt a blush creep onto his cheeks. He was glad that it was dark in the theater.
"That was a good movie," Sam said as they headed back to her dorm.
It had turned out to be a very nice night, weather-wise. The moon was out, casting its pale light over the city. Stars twinkled overhead, and a gentle breeze blew, tickling the couple's faces as they walked. It was a very peaceful evening indeed.
"Yeah, it was. I know you enjoyed it, you couldn't stop laughing every five seconds," Kai said, chuckling at the girl's expense.
Sam pouted, pretending to be offended. "Hey, you were laughing too," she pointed out.
The red ninja waved his arms defensively. "Alright, I admit it. It was pretty hilarious."
When they reached her dorm building, the air became awkward again.
"I had a great ti-"
"I hope you had a go-"
They couple laughed nervously, realizing they were both trying to speak at the same time.
"You go first," Kai said, being the gentleman that he was.
"Alright," Sam said, grinning at him. "I had a good time."
"I hope you did," the red ninja answered, fighting the temptation to glance down at his feet. He was surprised; he was acting like he had never been on a date before, and the other ninja knew that was definitely not the case.
"We should do it again sometime," Sam said, echoing what her date had said at the park earlier that week.
"We should," the red ninja said.
A thousand things were running through his mind at the moment. Should he kiss her? Should he just leave it? What should he say? Should he suggest another date? He imagined saying something witty and clever, something smooth like the male protagonists did in the movies to end their date.
Instead, all he come up with was "Have a nice night." It sounded dumber in his mind than it actually did in reality. His voice was really calm, despite the turmoil he felt inside.
Sam smiled, sensing Kai was having difficulty expressing himself. This time, took the plunge and leaned in to peck his cheek.
"I already did," she said, causing the ninja to flush a beet red, almost as red as his ninja outfit.
For a minute, she was afraid that she had done the wrong thing, instead, Kai gave her a lopsided grin after she had pulled away.
"I'm glad," he replied, feeling slightly dizzy.
"Goodnight, Kai," she said, parting ways with him.
"'Night, Sam."
He watched her go inside, then saw her give him a small wave before shutting the door completely.
When she was out of sight, Kai did a little happy dance right there on the sidewalk. He was in too much of stupor to care what people might of thought of him when they passed by.
The only coherent thought he could form was I really gotta thank Jay for this.