"Jessie, I'm sorry." Berto repeated, his grip on me tightening but I didn't answer. Still sobbing I didn't know what to do so I let him hold me, unable to believe that we weren't together anymore.
"I...don't know...what to do." I finally sniffed, turning my head slightly to face him and he gave me a tiny smile. "I...thought you loved me."
"Of course I do. Would we still be together if I didn't?" Berto asked, leaning close. When his lips brushed my forehead I wanted to forgive him but then I remembered the past week and I stopped. "Look I admit I made a mistake...never thought I would say that." He muttered and I gave him a tiny smile, instantly getting a grin in return. "See you still love me."
"I never said I didn't love you. I'm just upset with you. Why push me away if you didn't want to?" I asked unable to look away when he looked directly at me.
"I think we've been through this before." Berto chuckled, gently stroking my forehead and I sighed, enjoying the attention. "How can I make it up to you?"
"I'll think of something and get back to you." I answered snuggling into the blanket, letting out a yawn. "Not right now though...too sleepy." I mumbled hearing a chuckle.
"You can't be after all the sleeping you've already done." Shock pointed out, appearing just inside the room but I ignored him, snuggling into the blanket instead. "Come on, you have homework to catch up on." He added, shaking my shoulder though he gave up once he noticed that I had already fallen asleep.
"Look we can help her once she's awake. Besides Jess needs the rest after everything I've put her through in the last few days." Berto told Shock, running a hand through his girlfriend's hair. Leaning forward he brushed a kiss against her forehead but she didn't stir and he gave her a tiny smile, the first Shock had seen in days. "Well I'll come past later on." He suddenly told the Ultralink though before he could leave his girlfriend's side Shock stopped him.
"Why don't you stay here for the night? But some ground rules first; no funny stuff because Jessie needs to rest. Also...hey are you even listening?" Shock grumbled when Berto yawned, rubbing at his eyes.
"Lo siento...feeling pretty worn out." Berto mumbled and Shock crossed his arms, clearly not convinced. "Shock, you can trust me." He sighed as Shock continued to stare.
"Alright I trust you. Oh and you can stay in here if you want." Shock finally agreed only to see Berto curled up against his girlfriend's back. Giving his arm a prod, Shock rolled his eye once he discovered that the scientist had already fallen asleep while he'd been talking. "Looks like I have no say in the matter apparently." Shock muttered before he flew over to the light switch next to the door. Hitting the switch plunged the room into darkness and after flying over to the bed, Shock landed on Jessie's pillow. "Night guys." He whispered closing his eye.
The very next day...
"Berto, I think that might be enough pancakes." Shock grinned as he set down two plates on the kitchen table. Berto just grinned back, using a spatulal to flip a stack of pancakes onto one plate. Once he set another stack down they both heard footsteps. In sync they looked up to see me standing in the doorway of my bedroom, eyes roaming the room.
"Good morning, Jessie. Hungry?" Berto asked and I nodded, though he did see me looking towards the bedroom for a few seonds.
"I..guess so." I finally sighed, moving fully into the room. After closing the door behind me I walked over to the kitchen table to see two stacks of pancakes. Giving me a quick grin Shock flew towards my chair and helped me into it despite the slight frown I gave him.
"I know you're more than capable of sitting but I want to help. I still owe you for saving my life." Shock pointed out and I sighed, giving him a slight nod. "Okay well Berto made breakfast so I can't take the credit this time."
As soon as I felt a hand on my shoulder I jumped, only just catching myself by grabbing the table. "Whoa didn't mean to scare you." Berto told me, his hand still resting on my shoulder.
"Sorry...not sure why I did that." I muttered, cheeks burning. "Maybe it's my head injury." I added, hoping no one saw how badly I was trembling.
"That's right, you did get hurt bad. It's okay." Shock said, gently patting my shoulder and I managed a weak smile. "Want some breakfast?" He asked and I nodded, picking up the fork he handed me. As I started to eat I didn't see Berto fiddling with his own fork for a minute, eyes downcast. Eating in silence was a new experience for both Shock and I, even Berto who kept looking towards me.
"Thanks for the pancakes." I muttered a few minutes later, pushing my plate into the middle of the table. "I'll going to go take a shower." Leaving my friends I headed for the bathroom only to have Shock fly into my path just as I reached for the doorknob.
"Jessie, Berto's trying really hard to make up for what he did. Cut him some slack." He said, glancing over to see Berto staring at the sink looking lost.
"Berto really hurt me and it'll take more than this to fix what he did." I replied, not seeing Berto's eyes going wide. As I walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me, he shook his head.
"Jessie didn't mean that. She's still recovering and..." Shock began until Berto held up a gloved hand.
"No, she's right. I messed up badly and I need to fix this. Just wish I knew how." Berto answered, leaning against the sink. After some thought his head snapped up, almost knocking Shock into the fridge. "Heh sorry about that. I was just going to say that maybe I could take her out on another date, maybe get her a present." He explained only to smile when an idea came to mind. "Or better yet I could make her one, something even better than the ring."
"Well it'll take a lot to beat that ring you made. Jessie never lets it out of her sight." Shock replied, relieved to see a huge smile appear on Berto's face. Giving his friend a fist bump Berto went in search of Jessie.
Right now I was standing in front of the mirror, attempting to look at the back of my head. Which I soon realized was next to impossible and just as I made my final attempt I heard the door open, startling me enough that I overbalanced. When Berto looked inside the room he found me sitting on my rear and he sighed, heading towards me.
"How did you end up on the floor?" Berto asked, kneeling to help me up and I frowned. Ignoring his hand I climbed to my feet, swaying a little before I could stop myself. "Jessie, I'm sorry about what I did but I want to fix this. Will you let me?" He asked as I stared at him, eyes narrowed. After a pause I nodded, not sure what to say to him
Once he helped me up Berto stepped back as I moved towards the shower only to pause when I realized he was still standing there. "Can I shower in peace or are you going to keep watching me?" I asked, one eyebrow raised and Berto blushed quicking heading for the bathroom door. As soon as I heard the door click shut I sighed, reaching for the taps.
"Maybe you should give her a few minutes." Shock suggested as Berto stepped back into the kitchen, his cheeks still red. "Anyway Jessie has school today so maybe you can work on that present of hers." He added as Berto made his way towards the couch, slumping into it with a sigh.
"I guess so. Still think she hates me though." Berto muttered as Shock flew over and the Ultralink rolled his eye. "It's true. Jessie wouldn't have pushed me away like that."
"Because she wanted to shower alone?" Shock replied, hovering just above the scientist. "Berto, you know she'll forgive you...eventually." He said, arms crossed and Berto nodded.
"I guess so. So where should I take Jessie?" Berto asked, grinning when Shock blinked. "On our date." He added.
As I stood under the shower, the hot water washing over me, I wondered what Berto was doing right now. "Probably trying to figure out how to fix what he did." I thought out loud, grabbing the shampoo. After soaking my hair I squeezed two drop of shampoo into my hand and after setting the bottle back I lathered my hair. "If he thinks taking me out on a date will make up for what he did, he'd better guess again." I whispered, biting back a sniff. I spent the next few minutes just washing my hair which distracted me from my anger, directly entirely against my former boyfriend.
Hearing the bathroom door open Berto and Shock both looked up as I stepped through the doorway, towelling my hair dry.
"Ready to go?" Shock asked as I dropped the towel on the kitchne table. Getting a blank stare he rolled his eye. "To school? Try to keep up, Jess." He added and I rolled my eyes at him, returning to my room to retrieve my backpack.
"Jessie seems a little distracted. Probably because of me." Berto sighed, leaning against the couch cushions. When Shock flew into his face he jumped, just about falling off the couch.
"Berto, stop that. Jessie will forgive you just keep pestering her." Shock told him as the young genius shifted on the couch. "She can't hold a grudge forever."
If only they knew how wrong they were...
"So how did it go between you and Berto?" Max asked the moment I walked through the front door of Copper Canyon High and Sydney rolled her eyes at him.
"Max, that's personal." She told him before a slight smile appeared on her face. "So are you two back together?"
"Sort of. He told me that he had plans for tonight but other then that...who knows?" I replied, opening my locker only to jump when Butch and Kirby appeared beside me. "Whoa!"
"Where's your boyfriend? Burt was it?" Butch asked and I rolled my eyes, taking the books I needed for class out of it.
"Actually it's Berto and he's working right now." I answered, closing the locker only to have both guys continue to stare at me. "Okay what's going on?"
"We were just wondering if...you know..." Kirby asked and my face changed to a bright red.
"Guys, he broke up with me a week ago. Before anything like that happens...not that it will...he has to prove he still cares about me." I stammered, wishing I could hide my face in my locker. "Now I have to get to class because I can't afford to miss anymore work after being injured." I quickly added, hurrying towards my first class just as the bell rang.
"Okay that was embarassing." Shock muttered into my head and I glanced down at him for a moment.
"How was that embarassing for you? They asked me if Berto and I...okay next time they should mind their own business." I sighed, grabbing a seat closest to the whiteboard. "I wonder what Berto has planned tonight?" I said just as my teacher walked in.
"Something good I'm sure." Shock answered as I waited for class to start. Berto had intended to work on my present the moment he arrived back at N-Tek but he had only stepped through the doorway of his lab when Jefferson rushed past.
"Berto, Forge wants us to meet in the Com Room." He told the scientist who sighed before he followed, quickly keeping pace with his friend. Just as they arrived inside the room Kat arrived along with Forge who moved over to the keyboard.
"What's going on?" Berto asked only to find out some shocking news. "Extroyer? Did you tell Jessie and Max?"
"Max knows but are you sure it's a good idea to tell Jessie?" Jefferson asked only for Kat to elbow him, rolling her eyes at him when he blinked.
"Maybe we shouldn't tell Jessie. She still needs a few days to recover." Kat suggested but Forge just sighed, slowly shaking his head. "Commander?"
"I need both Max and Jessie to bring Extroyer back to N-Tek." Commander Forge answered before Max called, asking where the villain was. As Forge relayed the last known whereabouts of the Ultralinked villain, Kat and Jefferson headed towards the hangar leaving just Berto and Forge in the Com Room. "Berto, I wouldn't ask her to put herself in harm's way so soon after getting hurt but you know she needs to do this."
"I know that Commander but still...she's not herself right now. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Berto asked and Forge gave his shoulder a pat. "I'll call Jessie and tell her to..." He started to say but I called him first.
"Why didn't anyone tell me about Extroyer? I could have been out there kicking his sorry behind." I growled and Berto started to laugh only to pause when I stared at him from the computer screen. "Not funny wiseguy. Anyway I'm getting to him before Max does." I added, ignoring Berto and Forge's voices.
"Jessie, once again this is a really bad idea." Shock sighed as we hovered just above THI, my eyes searching from the air for any sign of the villain. "Jess, are you even listening?"
"I am and no it's not a bad idea. We can take him and besides I owe him after what he tried to do to us." I replied, spotting something running through the traffic below. "There he is, he's ours now." I grinned not even noticing someone watching from a distance. "Hey Extroyer, miss me?" I yelled, rushing towards the villain who paused when he saw me heading his way.
"J-Shock? I thought I took care of you once and for all." He growled, his claws digging into the concrete before he lauched himself at me. The same grin on my face I braced myself and just as he collided with me I grabbed his front paws, getting ready to throw him. I spun him around and around,laughing when he let out a roar. Throwing him I laughed when he smacked face first into the concrete, or he would have had he not righted himself in time. "Nice try." He laughed and I frowned, arms crossed as he changed to his human form. Or what passes for human for him anyway.
"Yeah likewise. Not that easy to take me out, am I?" I asked, not even hearing a set of footsteps approaching. "Your two friends again?"
"Not quite, girl!" I heard a growl behind me and I whirled around just as a fist connected with my jaw. I cried out, thrown into Extroyer's path who laughed as he slammed his fist into my stomach. I hit the ground hard, breath knocked out of me as he loomed over me.
"You?!" I gasped just as Extroyer lifted his foot, driving it hard into my stomach.