Chapter 8: Teenagers Will Be Teenagers…

Thorn and Shadow exchanged glances of terror. What now?

"Whatcha gonna do now?" Jake asked, with a hint of a tease in his tone.

"Quiet, dragon-boy," Thorn hissed.

"What do we do now?" Shadow said quietly. Thorn looked at her, and saw that Shadow was actually scared.

"Don't worry; I'm sure they'll send…something back for us. We'd better just stay right here." Thorn concluded.

"And how are we going to do that?" Shadow inquired.

"What do you-" Thorn started, but then realized Shadow had a point. All around them, dragons, nixes, and other creatures were recovering. Luckily, they hadn't been noticed. Yet. Thorn scanned the area with her oceanic eyes, and found what she was looking for.

"Come on," She said encouragingly, pulling Jake along behind her.

"Yo, what's your rush?" Jake said, attempting to keep up with her quick pace with his arms behind his back. Shadow followed with Fred, who seemed to be enjoying this little charade.

Arriving in the thick and darkened forest, the four stopped to catch their breath.

"How long do you think you can keep us captive on a dragon island?" Jake mocked Thorn with a smirk.

"Shut it, mate. They can keep us captive as long as they want," Fred said, eyeing Shadow, who glared.

Thorn folded her arms, pondering the situation. They were walking as they spoke, delving deeper into the darkness of the woods.

"Do you think you can undo us? My hands are getting sore," Jake complained.

Thorn sighed exasperatingly, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever. If we do, you'd be gone in a heartbeat."

Jake smiled at her playfully, a little light dancing in his eyes. "What if I promise not to leave?"

Thorn looked up at him, a smile growing beneath her mask at the dragon's bemused grin.

"How do I know you'll keep your promise?" She said, raising a brow.

"If not, I give you my blessing to kill me." Jake said. Thorn hesitated. All of her training screamed at her to refuse, but, strangely, instinct told her to trust him. She glanced at Shadow, who was currently talking to Fred.

"Will you stop complaining!" Shadow said warily.

"Give me a break, I have sinus allergies." Fred admitted.

"And what exactly are you allergic to?" Shadow said flatly.

"Smoke." Fred replied. Shadow couldn't help but laugh.

"Smoke? A dragon allergic to smoke?" She said, her eyes shining.

"Told you I could make you laugh!" Fred said, grinning as well. Shadow blushed beneath the ski mask. She punched him lightly on the arm. Well, lightly for a ninja.

"Ow," he muttered, but the smile stayed on his face. Shadow suddenly seemed to realize what she was doing. Her smile turned into a snarl.

"It'll be harder next time, dragon." She said, turning her back and walking to Thorn.

"She digs me," Fred whispered to Jake.

"Should we?" Thorn asked quietly to Shadow.

Shadow looked unsure. "I don't know…I mean, how bad could it be?" Thorn nodded in agreement, and walked over to Jake. She went behind him, unlocking the handcuffs with a small click. Shadow went over to Fred and did the same. The two girls waited in anxious silence as the dragons rubbed their sore wrists. After a few moments, Thorn broke the silence.

"Well?" She said testily.

"Well what?" Jake answered.

"Aren't you going to attack us? Fly away? Something?" She asked expectantly. Jake grinned.

"I promised. You're stuck with me." He said. Thorn was a bit surprised by the dragon's honesty, but regarded him suspiciously.

"And don't even look at me, I'm not going anywhere." Fred said, looking at Shadow, who sighed.

"This is going to be a long trip," Shadow said miserably, while Thorn and Jake grinned at each other.

"Well, we should find shelter." Shadow reminded, snapping Thorn out of her daze.

"Right, yeah, um…" She looked around uncertainly. "Well, there are some big rocks over there. Maybe there's a cave?" Shadow nodded, picking up her Huntsstick and taking the lead.

"Let's go." She said. Fred hurried to her side, much to her dismay.

Jake and Thorn brought up the rear. Thorn glanced to her left out of the corner of her eye. There was something familiar about this dragon…his cocky but cute manner, his easy-going attitude, even in life-death situations…his eyes. His eyes were so familiar, jet black and warm. Warm? How could a dragon's eyes be warm, they were heartless, cold creatures…at least that's what she had been told. Jake caught her staring, and grinned.

"Why so curious?" He asked jokingly. Thorn blushed beet red, turning away.

"Who said I was?" She said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then why are you blushing?" he teased her. She blushed even harder; against her will.

"Why do you ask so many questions?" She snapped back at him, but he was unaffected. He suddenly stopped, looking up at the high cliffs, which were still no closer.

"This is going to take forever." Jake muttered. Thorn had to agree, since they had been walking for a half an hour with little progress.

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Thorn asked in a subdued tone. Jake grinned at her, causing an eyebrow to shoot up from her.

"I was hoping you'd ask that." He said. In one fluid motion, his wings gave a little flare, and he scooped Thorn up in his arms. She gave a yelp of surprise as she felt herself lifted up off the ground with amazing speed. Normally, she would've fought with all her might, but she was too surprised, and felt no immediate danger. Within minutes, they landed on a ledge, and Thorn noticed that Fred and Shadow landed right after them. She also noticed that Shadow was as shocked as she was.

"What was that for!" Shadow said, jumping out of Fred's arms. But her look was more confused than angry.

"You've got to trust us if you wanna survive. You've got your strengths, we have ours. Flying just happens to be one of them." Jake said, gently sliding Thorn out of his grasp and onto the stone ledge. Thorn left his warm arms a bit reluctantly, though she would've died before admitting it, even to herself.

"Well, let's look for a cave," Thorn said, walking easily down the three-foot wide edge. The others followed her, until they eventually came to an opening in the wall.

"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Jake asked Fred, who nodded with a smirk. Both dragons blew fire at the crevice, making it open into a large entrance. Behind it, a large hollow cavern resided.

"It'll have to do," Thorn said, frowning at the chill air and damp atmosphere.

"Hey guys, we still have one problem," Shadow stated. Everyone looked at her curiously. "Food?"

"Oh come on, it's not like we're gonna starve out here or somethin'," Fred replied with a wave of his hand. "Are we?"

"Of course not! We just have to, you know, scavenge…" Thorn said.

"I hope you mean for fruit…" Jake added, earning a 'no-duh' look from Thorn.

"And we need to get a fire!" Shadow said.

"You mean we need wood," Fred said, blowing out a tiny flame.

"Let's get to it then," Thorn declared. "We need to split up. Two of us can go look for fire wood, two can go look for food."

"Well, who's going with whom?" Fred asked. Shadow spoke up.

"Why don't I go with Australia here, and you can go with America?" She said, and Thorn nodded.

"Okay, we'll go look for some wood." Thorn said before walking back outside the cave, Jake following her. She immediately stopped, looking down questionably.

"I guess I can give you another lift," Jake said, spreading his wings out. Thorn hesitated, and then walked over to him.

"Uh, what do I do?" She said awkwardly. He knelt down, "Get on my back, and hold on tight." She did as she was told, feeling a slight blush lighten her face. She was glad the dragon couldn't see her.

Minutes later, they landed in a spot not far from where they had begun, but where it was a little less dense. Thorn slid off the dragons back promptly, looking around.

"Better get started," She muttered, bending down to pick up some twigs. Jake nodded, doing the same.

"Hey, what am I supposed to call you?" Thorn asked finally, still working at collecting wood. Jake smiled at her.

"Why?" He asked.

"Well, it's kind of awkward calling you American Dragon all the time…it's too long…" She replied, a hint of curiosity in her voice. Jake hesitated, but seeing that she was just curious, decided.

"My name's Jake." He said after a minute. Thorn stopped dead in her tracks, dropping the twig she had just picked up. She shook her head quickly. No, it couldn't be Jake Long. There were about a thousand Jake's in New York City, what were the chances that these two were the same? Reassured by that thought, she regained her countenance.

"That's a…nice name," Thorn commented, picking up the dropped stick.

"What about you?" He asked. Thorn pondered for a moment. Jake had told her his name, so she guessed she owed him.

"My name? My name is Rose," She said calmly. Jake did a double-take. Rose? Not a chance, he thought. This isn't the same Rose as at school. A moment later he laughed to himself. He had actually believed for a moment that this was the popular girl at school.

"It fits." Jake said with a small chuckle.

Thorn looked at him questionably.

"Haven't you ever heard of the saying, 'Every Rose has its Thorns, as every Thorn has its Rose'?" Jake smiled. Thorn couldn't help but smile at this.

"I guess it does fit," She murmured. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

Jake pondered this for a moment. "A good thing. You gotta have some Yin to balance out your Yang."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Thorn replied softly. She looked at the large pile they had collected. "I hope you don't expect me to carry this up the hill." She joked.

"Pshaw. You couldn't even get down here on your own!" Jake teased, picking up a majority of the wood.

Thorn crossed her arms, waiting patiently while Jake did all the work. She glanced casually at her nails in false admiration. Both she and Jake started laughing, knowing that this was a charade.

Back to Fred and Shadow…

"So, what kinda food are we talking bout here?" Fred asked casually. Shadow gave him a you're-an-idiot stare.

"Vegetation, fruit, berries, stuff like that," She sighed. "Err, can you, ya know, give me a lift?" She said awkwardly.

Fred grinned. "Of course, my lady." He bent down, and she climbed on. Within minutes they had reached the ground, and Shadow made it a point to jump right off his back.

"Okay, well how about you look over by those bushes, and I'll take that patch by the trees?" Shadow said authoritatively.

"Aye aye, captain!" Fred said, saluting her. This earned a giggle that was not well suppressed.

As Shadow and Fred split to separate ends of the small clearing, a wind picked up. Shadow bit her lip, and looked over near her destination by the trees. Luckily, they were apple trees, and also, they were in season. Smiling to herself, Shadow easily climbed the nearest tree. She hadn't gotten her Huntsclan name for nothing. She was able to move almost soundlessly up the tree, her movements fluid and calm. She plucked a few of the redder apples off the tree, tossing them to the grass gently.

"Hey, shela, you having any luck?" Fred called to her. It was pretty obvious he wasn't, and a piece of twig was stuck in his ear. Shadow grinned as she jumped down from the limb she was sitting upon.

"Hey, Australia, you've got something in your ear!" She said teasingly. Fred looked perplexed, then pulled out the twig.

"Oh, so that's what's been bothering me…" He commented. "So, you gonna give me your name?" Shadow raised a brow.

"Why should I?" She said, returning to her Huntsgirl-like personage. Fred gave her a sheepish smile before continuing.

"I was just wondering…let me guess…is it Bertha?" He asked.

Shadow made a face. "Bertha? Yuck."

"Jessie?"

"No."

"Bonnie?"

"Nien."

"Teresa?"

"Yeah right!"

"Fine, let's see…what letter does it start with?" Fred inquired.

"An 'A'." Shadow replied.

"Hmmm, let me think…you look like an angel, so…Angela?" Fred guessed.

"Well, yeah, actually…you really think I look like an angel?" Shadow blushed violently. Fred grinned.

"Nothin' less, mate." Fred said. Shadow turned back towards he apples.

"So…what's your name?" She asked.

"Fred," He answered.

"You don't look like a Fred," Shadow mentioned.

"Why is that?" Fred asked.

"I dunno, I just think of Fred Flintsone…" She said, ending in a laugh that Fred joined in on.

"Well, I think we have enough apples to last us a few days, we should probably go find the others." Shadow stated.

"K, let's go," Fred said as Shadow climbed onto his back.

A/N: I hope I satisfied all you fellow J/R shippers! I know this has been a long wait, but I hope I made up for this with length. Please REVIEW!