Looks like I maybe jumping between Thursday and Friday for updates. I'm so sorry I missed three weeks of updates! Here it is, the chapter that was meant to come out three weeks ago XD.
Also just a bit curious, have you all seen the new LEGO Ninjago Movie info/posters that were released yesterday? Apparently Jay will have a crush on Nya in this movie... personally I'm not really excited about it because the romance sub plots in Ninjago the show have been... really messy. And I was never a big fan of the couples in the show in the first place :'). But I have a feeling it will be impossible to make this romance be as um... I don't want to offend anyone, but ya I have a feeling it will be better in the movie.
Also, who's excited for the new DuckTales?! (Revamped/reboot) Take notes Cartoon Network XD
I hope you're all having a great summer so far! Enjoy!
"Ah, I can't wait till we're out of school," Jay piped, spreading his arms out on the grass with Evan curled up between his arm and upper torso.
They were at a baseball field not too far away from campus. It was a sunny day and the sky was empty of clouds. Kai had brought a football to toss around the field. At first, he suggested that Jay could play with Evan, but then he remembered that Evan was a cat. Though, Evan liked to follow Jay around wherever he went, including the outdoors.
So while Jay was relaxing and Kai doing something on his phone as he leaned against the wired fence, Lloyd and Cole tossed the football back and forth at each other.
After playing with the football for twenty minutes, both Lloyd and Cole sat down on either side of Jay, nearly out of breath.
"So Kai, whatcha been doing on your phone for the past twenty minutes, huh?" Cole teased when he noticed Kai still hadn't put it down.
"Stuff."
"Like what kind of stuff?"
Kai ignored him.
Cole harrumphed and looked away.
"Three more days until summer vacation, right?" Lloyd asked, breaking the silence between them, looking around for a nod in his direction.
"Well you know, if I were you, I'd probably just skip the last day of school… Besides, if I skip it, I could maybe get done with my shift at the cafe earlier." Kai said, his eyes never leaving the phone screen.
Cole furrowed his brows at Kai. "Did you skip the last day of school in elementary and middle school?" Kai smirked as he finally lowered his phone.
"Naahhhh… Yup I did. Since sixth grade actually."
Cole's eyes widened and his expression quickly changed as he glanced at Kai with a brow raised high. "Wow, I don't seem the slightest bit surprised actually…" He lifted a foot and propped his elbow on the knee. "I never skipped school even if it was the last day."
Kai grimaced. "You tryna be the good guy or something? Girls like the bad boys yanno?"
"Eh, I wouldn't say that, Kai. Honestly, it's just one of those silly sayings. There probably are some people out there who like the bad guys other than the good guys and vice versa, but… don't follow life after a bunch of sayings." Cole told him with a nod off his head. "Maybe that's what you get after being on social media 24/7."
Kai wrinkled his nose. "You're just jealous." Cole stood up, finally, and stalked forward to Kai.
Lloyd took in the scene and shook his head knowing this wouldn't end well. "Guys…" he said, but no one other than Jay heard him.
Cole rolled his eyes. "What's there to be jealous of? I wouldn't want to be the guy who sits on his phone all day."
Kai snarled. "Just so you know, I'm not on it 24/7 - you just said that cause you're trying to make it look like technology is a bad thing!"
"Guys…" Lloyd tried again.
Jay placed a hand over his eyes. "C'mon guys, not again."
"Technology isn't horrible. It's just like everything else, it's got its positive sides and it's negatives. Now, remind me again what I'm supposed to be 'jealous' of?"
The auburn haired stood up. "Well, for starters, my parents wouldn't just ditch me - your Dad took off for his music career more than taking care of you! What's up with that? Obviously if your Mom passed away then he should've at least sent you to your grandparents or -"
"GUYS STOP!" Lloyd barged between the two of them and hoped he wasn't too late before their fight turned into something ugly.
Cole felt a pang in his chest. Jay shot up into a sitting position. "Woah woah woah, Kai! You did not just say what I think you said - did you?" He jumped to his feet and rushed beside Cole, careful not to step on Evan on the grass. He cast a look at Cole and saw him on the verge of tears. "Cole… are you okay?" Jay lifted a hand and gently set it down on Cole's trembling shoulder.
The raven-haired blinked rapidly while maintaining his posture. His fists were clenched by his sides, his knuckles turning white.
"Cole?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." His fingers relaxed and he shook his head.
Jay knitted his brows in concern. "No… you're not." He shot a glare at Kai. "What is wrong with you?! Why would you bring that up? You already knew not to!" He looked back at Cole, who had tears building up in his eyes. "Cole?" Evan ran up and rubbed his head against Cole's leg.
"You think he ditched me? Does it sound like he ditched me? My dad was all I had left, Kai. My grandparents? One of them died. Yeah, that's right - it's not just my mom who passed away! You didn't think my dad thought of that already? Maybe there was a reason I couldn't stay with my grandparents and heck, there was! But you didn't take that into consideration, did you? So I had to stay with my dad while he earned money for us by his music career. He didn't earn a lot, but he sure did earn enough and I learned how to take care of myself."
Without another word, he left to the empty field across from them.
Jay dropped his hands by his sides and glared at Kai before picking up Evan and following Cole.
A hand fell on Kai's shoulder. Lloyd leaned his head forward so that he could see Kai. "Listen Kai, I've known you since kindergarten… and I know you well enough to say you have no control over what you say when you get tempered, but learn to be aware of these things." Kai blinked a couple of times then looked around, tears in his eyes. Devastated, he sat back down, Lloyd following suite.
Jay set Evan down beside him after taking a seat next to Cole.
"Kai can be such a jerk," Jay blurted out. Cole didn't respond. "Or maybe not… I dunno… I mean he is really hot-headed. Er… I'm not good when it comes to these kinds of things."
"Neither am I," Cole said in response, picking at the corner of his eyes. He flinched when Evan sat on his lap. "Three days before summer vacation and Kai just loses it. What did I do? He's the one who has a temper!"
"We all have tempers, Cole."
"Fine then, Kai's just too hot-headed. He acts quickly without even thinking," Cole caressed his fingers through Evan's fur.
Jay frowned. He searched for something to say but before he could, Kai came forward. "What are you doing here?" He scoffed at Kai.
"I - may I?" He asked, motioning to the empty spot on Cole's right. Cole avoided eye contact as Kai sat down next to him. A little fidgety, Jay started to scoot away slowly.
"I'll um… leave you two alone… for a bit. Ciao!"
Silence fell between them once Jay left, leaving Evan with Cole. Without warning, Evan leapt from Cole's lap to Kai's, causing Kai to nearly jump from his spot. Cole held back a grin.
"I'm sorry about what I said back there. I lose control over what I'm saying when I get annoyed by people…" Kai started. Cole raised a brow.
"I was annoying to you?"
"No - no, not exactly… if anyone were to be called annoying I'd probably vote Jay."
Cole chuckled but nodded in agreement.
"I just hate being proven wrong and… I just lose it. Haven't you ever felt that way?"
Cole pondered for a minute, letting Kai's words sink in. "Yeah… no I understand… but that doesn't mean you should yell things at the other person that could hurt them. And it hurt me a lot Kai. Jay should know."
"Mhmm, Jay told me about it… I'm really sorry. I just say the first thing that comes to mind to make the other person feel worse than I do… actually, I've had this habit since forever. Lloyd helps me through some things, and I help him in return. It's what makes our bond stronger, but it's what let's me know I trust him. It helped me to actually calm my temper, and as you guys call it, my 'hot-headedness'. I just never thought it'd come crawling back for me." Kai kicked a stone on the ground and Evan chased after it.
"I promise to try and stay away from that topic always." He said to him with a firm nod.
Cole shook his head in defiance. "Don't try… just do it." At first Kai was taken back, but then he understood and nodded once again.
The two of them stood up and shared a tight hug, an apology from Kai to Cole.
"Hey, Cole," Jay began, backing away from the window, "do you ever find it a little weird that we're friends?"
"Um… no not really. What makes you say that?"
"It's just that, Lloyd was telling me about how long he's known Kai and they sound like they get along pretty well." Cole watched as Jay moved from across the room. "How is it that two different people became friends?"
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No! No it isn't… I don't think it is."
"You don't think it is?"
"Well it's definitely not to me." Jay said confidently. His expression fell and he lay down on his side on the bed, hugging Evan close by. "Ronin said at first, he thought I was joking when I said you were my friend. He thought I would've made friends with someone like Zane."
Cole rested his elbows on his thighs. "Ronin said that? When? He's seen all of us before and seen us hanging out almost every week!"
"A few weeks ago. He just thought that I had no one else to hang around with most of the time, and since you were my roommate I'd yanno, follow you around or something. Like that time at the library when I fell asleep after saying I'd help you out. He thought, well roommates help each other. Most people would do the same, I mean, if you were in middle school or something and there was a drill, you'd probably find a classmate you sort of knew to follow to not look like a loner." Jay sunk his face into his pillow and came back up. "Not just Ronin actually… Kai said it once, Skylor - I was going to tell Morro but then things got… you know… but yeah."
"I can see why Ronin would think you would be friends with Zane instead. I mean you two are friends but not… close friends." He laid back and dropped his head against his pillow, staring at the ceiling above him. "But we've always been there for each other and yeah we don't always get along, but best friends fight sometimes… right?"
"Yeah… best friends," Jay echoed. At first, Jay had been filled with pure happiness when Cole had called him a friend, and now, he was Cole's best friend. He didn't actually think he'd get to the point where he would ever hear Cole call him his best friend. But what were best friends? Could there only be one? Nah, right? No, definitely not, but calling someone your friend and adding the word best before it gave it a whole lot more meaning. At least, to him it did. It made him feel special for once in his life.
It made him feel like he was someone the other person knew they could trust and count on the most.
"Uh, Jay?" Jay shook his head wildly before answering Cole. He had gotten lost in thought and didn't realize that Cole had been calling his name.
"What's up? You need to talk about something?"
Jay sat up and got down next to Cole's bed, keeping Evan beside him. "Awe, dude you called me your best friend. Are we besties now?"
"I guess we're Awkward Buddies and besties."
Jay grinned from ear to ear. "You know, for all the time I was friends with Morro, he never once called me his best friend. I always asked but he avoided it by changing topics or just pretending he didn't hear me." Jay let out a mournful sigh. Cole shifted in bed and faced Jay. "You're my best friend too."
"Awkward Buddy handshake?" Cole suggested.
"Come to think of it, it's kind of like an unlikely friendship," Jay said during the middle of the handshake. Cole tilted his head. "You, me, we're different but are alike in some other ways… but when you're different, it's not all bad. You could open up the other person to new ideas and possibilities, and vice versa. Isn't it true that sometimes being the same can be boring?"
Cole nodded his head. "Yeah, but we aren't the same."
"And that's the beauty of it! Ta-da" Jay proclaimed as they finished off their Awkward Buddy handshake.
Yes, I know my name has changed a bit... I added a 95 to the end of it. One person has already guessed why that is, but if you haven't any ideas, leave them in a review! I'd love to see who else can get them right!
Hope you enjoyed!