Red Mage 04: Thanks for the compliment, and I hope you will continue reading my work as much as I love reading yours. There is quite a bit of romance in the first book.
VinnyRoxyFrankie: I'm actually going to be updating once a week, roughly. Enjoy, and thank you for your compliments.
Sushi-chan1363: Daxter will dance in the next chapter, just for you. Thank you for complimenting me, and please start your sequel, the first ine was terrific. Everybody, I want you to read this person's masterpiece, Two Sides to Everything, and its probably awesome sequal that I will start reading tomarrow, There was Light and Darkness. Also, read Red Mage 04's great book, Risen Demon.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. You take nothing.
Fun in the Sun
Jak got up and stretched. For all his adventures the day before, he felt fine. He remembered what had transpired between him and Keira last night. Why had she been so worried about him? Jak thought back and remembered the fear in her eyes; the fear of losing him. Jak remembered how horrible he had felt when he saw her cry. For all his strength and courage, there wasn't anything he could do when she cried. Whenever she did, he felt so... helpless. Jak looked out the window and smiled at his good fortune. He couldn't ask for a nicer day to go to the beach. Bright blue sky, nice bright green sun, warm, almost hot and no clouds. Jak went outside and took a deep breath of the air. Looking towards Samos' hut, he decided to go see if Keira was awake yet and also to see of she was ok. As he entered the garage, he saw Keira asleep yet again on her desk, looking over new blueprints. Looking at them, Jak could only understand that it had something to do with Eco, and seemed to be in the form of a cube. Jak looked at Keira and heard her whisper his name. "Is she dreaming about me?" He wondered. He bent down to her face and saw she was blushing slightly and a little out of breath, but she looked like she couldn't be happier. As Keira's eyes opened, and she saw the object of her teenager crush staring at her, not less then three inches away, she yelled out of surprise and leaned back. Her chair tipped over and she went falling backwards. Before she hit the floor, Jak put his foot on the seat of the chair and leaned on it so she straightened out. Keira got up before she embarrassed herself again, and mumbled a thank you to Jak. She then tried to think of a way to get Jak to hold her; she had seen how muscular he was.
Groaning, Keira made her leg give out and threw her hand out to Jak, who caught it. "Jak, my leg hurts, can you carry me to my bed?" Jak nodded and picked Keira up as if she were Daxter. Keira noticed this and was amazed at how strong he was. As he carried her to her room, she snuggled closer to him and imagined how nice it would be if he could carry her all the time. When he laid her down, she motioned with her finger for him to bend down. When he did, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks Jak. Are you still going to the beach?" Jak nodded and waited for her to let go of him before he released her. When he did, he turned and walked outside, already missing the feel of Keira.
Jak decided to go wake Daxter up; he was currently collapsed on one of Jak's pillows on the floor. "Hey buddy, how ya doin'?" Jak shrugged and bent down so Daxter could scramble up onto his shoulder. After breakfast, Jak decided to go see if Brian and Mike wanted to play volleyball with him against Keira and her friends, since Daxter was useless and he needed three people on a team.
Meanwhile, Keira had been watching Jak. When she saw him go into his house, she walked over to Lauren and Kristen's house. She walked into their room, only to be grabbed and pulled inside. "Details!" They both asked simultaneously.
"About what, Jak and me?" Keira asked innocently, getting death glares from both of her friends.
"No, about Daxter's new physique." Kristen commented.
"Oh well nothing really. I mean, you guys know that I leaned on him a couple of times, I batted my eyes at him and swung my hips a little more when we were alone."
"Well of course we know that we helped you to do that. But how did he react?" Lauren asked, putting on her puppy eyes. Keira laughed, while those eyes might get her boyfriend Brian to do anything, they didn't work nearly as well on her. But because she was Lauren's best friend, Keira planned on telling her everything anyway.
"Well, to be honest, he really didn't react that much. Except for today nothing big happened. All that happened before was he blushed, glanced at my hips and smiled at me."
"What do you mean today? What happened? Tell us, tell us!" Kristen begged.
"Precursors, you two are worse than croca-dogs when they smell raw Yakow. Well, I was up late last night, finishing plans for my newest creation; a cube with three inch boundaries on all sides that are able to assimilate the fundamental properties of all types of Eco, and then contain it within its virtually impenetrable sides until a button is pressed, which allows the energy to flow freely around the user." Keira said; her eyes lighting up in the way that only mechanics could. Two blank stares met her gaze when she was finished with her explanation.
"Keira, we're interested in Jak, not your inventions. We like them, don't get me wrong, but I want details about Jak. And for the record, can you repeat yourself, only in English this time?" Lauren commented, seeing as how Kristen was still trying to comprehend what she had said.
Keira laughed, she often spoke like that when she talked about her work. She usually explained it to her father, who was immensely intelligent, and could keep up with her. "Sorry about that. My new invention will store Eco of any kind within itself until a button is pressed. When that happens, the Eco can flow out and let the owner use its power." Two stares once again met her, but this time they were full of understanding. "Anyway, about today, this morning, I got up and Jak was there, so when I stood up, I made him think my leg gave out, and I got him to carry me to my bed."
"Oh, that is so cute. So, what do you have planned for him today?" Lauren asked.
"Well, Jak, Daxter, and me are heading out to Sentinel Beach this afternoon. We're going to eat, go swimming, and maybe play some volleyball. Do you guys want to come along?"
"Hell yea! I haven't seen Jak without a shirt on since that time he was messing around with your first Yellow Eco container and it burned his shirt off six months ago. This'll be a great time to see how much he's grown." Kristen said with a dreamy smile on her face. She didn't notice the death glare she was getting from Keira, who was suddenly considering not being Kristen's friend anymore.
"Look out Kristen. You're wandering into dangerous territory."
"Don't worry Keira, I'm not interested in Jak enough to try to take him from you. Besides, I'd have to fight you for him, and I'd rather take on the whole Lurker tribe than fight you." Kristen said with a playful smile on her face. Keira smiled back, glad that she didn't have to decide between Jak and her friend.
"Anyway, I'm going to the beach with Jak and you guys, but I don't have a bathing suit. The last time I went swimming was last summer, and I don't have any money to buy a new swimsuit. Do you guys know what I can wear?" Keira asked.
"Hmm. I have only one bathing suit, but it's a two piece, so it's a little revealing. On the other hand, Jak will definitely notice you if you wear this; but then again, you'll be giving Daxter quite an eyeful." Kristen said, going into her closet and pulling out the said swimsuit and showing Keira.
"Oh. That's perfect. You're right, it will make Jak notice me if I wear it." Keira said, taking the suit from Kristen and looking at it. "But if this is your only suit, what will you wear?"
"Oh, I'll borrow my brother's trunks."
"No, I can't take this if you won't have anything to wear. How about I give you my suit from last year; it should fit you right now?"
"Ok, that seems fairer. In the meantime, you take this, and I'll drop by later to pick up your suit."
"Ok, and Kristin, thanks a lot. I really appreciate the help you two have given me with getting Jak to notice me."
"He always noticed you silly, we're just trying to get him to see that you're girlfriend material." Lauren commented.
"Whatever. The point is, thanks for your help. I'll see you guys later," Keira said, as she waved goodbye and walked back to her garage.
At noon, Jak, Lauren, Brain, Kristen, Mike and Daxter met at the beach. Jak looked around at everyone's outfit. Brian was wearing red trunks and a black shirt and Mike was wearing pants. Jak smiled at this; ever since Mike had walked into a field infested with Stingers at the age of nine he had never worn anything shorter than pants. Daxter was, of course, not wearing anything, as he was now covered in fur. Lauren was wearing a bright pink one piece and Kristen seemed to be wearing a bright green spaghetti swimsuit. Jak did a double take on this. Staring more at the suit than at Kristen, Jak recognized it to be Keira's. Jak wondered why on earth Kristen was wearing the suit that Keira had bought last summer.
Jak looked around, he saw all his friends, but he didn't see Keira anywhere. His shoulders drooped at this; he had been looking forward to seeing her all day. Lately, he couldn't get enough of her. He had always liked spending time with Keira, but now she was on his mind constantly. Sighing, Jak resigned himself to a day without seeing her. "Oh come on Jak. You really think that I would pass up a chance to spend some quality time with you and my friends?" Jak turned around, and saw Keira in a red two-piece that looked absolutely gorgeous on her. Jak stared at her, from her eyes, he looked all the way down to her feet, and then looked back up. Keira was doing the same to him; she loved looking at his chest. After about ten seconds, they realized what they were doing and looked away, both of them a little red in the face. Keira was trying to think of something to sat so she could make the situation less awkward, but couldn't; the fact that Jak was staring straight into her eyes with a dreamy smile on his face had left her quite speechless.
Keira started praying to the Precursors that something would happen so she and Jak could act normally again. Thankfully, the Precursors were listening, because they chose that moment to have Brian speak up.
"Yo! I got my dad to give me some homegrown meat for burgers. Who wants one?"
"I'll have one!" Keira practically shouted, happy to be able to walk away from Jak's unrelenting stare without insulting him.
"Three here." Mike called over from Kristen's side.
"I'll have one," Lauren called over from she was tanning on.
"I'll have one," Daxter told him.
Jak held up two fingers. Brian nodded to Jak to show that he heard. Jak watched Keira lay herself down and close her eyes next to Lauren.
"Is he still looking at me?" Keira muttered to Lauren.
"Staring more like. But not at your chest, your face still. He's looking down every once in a while though." Lauren whispered back, not wanting Jak to see they were talking.
After lunch, they all played volleyball, Daxter being the referee of course. After the game, Kristen claimed she was going to get some food from her house. Brian had left not too long afterwards. Jak noticed that they had been gone for a while now. Jak shrugged his shoulders and wondered what they were up to. Keira gave Lauren a look and nodded towards the village. Lauren winked back.
"Brian, let's go watch a movie back at my house." Lauren said as she looked suggestively at him. Brian grinned and gladly went with her. As they walked back to the village, Lauren turned around and winked at Keira, who blushed at what she was planning to do.
Keira turned around to look at Jak, who wasn't facing at her. Quickly, Keira realized that she hadn't taken care of Daxter. Then she remembered that Jak had instructed Daxter to go home and start packing for tomorrow's journey. She looked at Jak, who was still staring away from her. Keira walked up next to him and leaned on him. Jak looked down and smiled briefly at her, but it was a sad smile. Keira noticed and leaned up to his face. She looked into his eyes, in addition to the beautiful blue they possessed, they also looked troubled. "You ok, Jak?" she asked gently. Jak shook his head. "You want to talk about it?" she asked, knowing that he was lying. Jak shook his head again and sighed sadly. "Is it Daxter? Do you feel responsible for what happened?" Jak nodded his head sheepishly. Keira forgot about her plan to kiss him and started thinking of a way to make him feel better. "Listen Jak; Daxter told me everything that happened. It's not your fault. If you hadn't thrown that bomb, the two of you might have been killed instead." Jak nodded his head and sat down, staring once more into the horizon. Keira sat down next to him, put her head on his shoulder and snuggled up next to him. She looked up at him, hoping that he would look back. He did, and instead of last time, it didn't feel awkward at all. It felt right to both of them. Jak stared into Keira's green eyes, taking in their beauty. Without even thinking about it, he leaned in closer to her face. Keira started leaning up as the distance between their lips quickly diminished. A split second before the two of them shared their first kiss with each other, Daxter's shrill voice rang out.
"Yo, Jak. The mayor wants to see you about something. And that weirdo who lives in his hut that sculpts all day was muttering about needing to talk to you, so you might want to go talk to him. And your Uncle says its time for bed."
"He's coming," Keira shouted. Looking at Jak, she saw him staring at the ground, his face redder than a tomato. He deliberately continued staring at the ground as he walked back to the village.
As Jak walked, wondering what in the name of the Precursors had come over him, he noticed he was at the Sculptors house. He knocked on the door. "Yea, come on in," a depressed voice sounded out of the house. Jak walked in with Daxter on his shoulder and saw the saddest elf ever. The sculptor saw Daxter and instantly brightened. "Hey! Little furry dude!" Then his face dropped again. "Aww... For a moment, I thought you were my Muse."
"Your what?" Daxter asked, clearly confused.
"Haven't you ever seen a Muse before? It's a little glowing squirrel about your size, full of spunk, and crazy as a lark!" the sculptor explained.
"Oh, I get it! Like a sidekick." Daxter said as he grinned and pointed at Jak. Jak rolled his eyes.
"As a matter of fact, without my Muse, I just can't sculpt. But with her around I see beauty in everything, you know? I think she ran away to that Forbidden Jungle. I just hope she's all right. It's worth a Power Cell if you bring her back to me!" Jak perked up at this; with another Power Cell, he would be closer to changing Daxter back.
"Might as well keep an eye out for her tomorrow, eh Jak?" Jak nodded and walked out. He figured before he went to bed, he would stop in at the Mayor's house and see what he wanted. As he walked in, he saw the Mayor pacing back and forth, looking troubled. The Mayor spotted Daxter and didn't even look fazed; he had seen to many strange things to lets an Ottsel freak him out.
"Oh, don't tell me you two have problems as well! First, I hear of monstrous sightings near the village, now this. See those gears, boys?" he asked as he pointed straight up. Jak looked up and saw a bunch of gears that seemed to turn the windmill and supply the village with power. He nodded. "See them? See how they're not moving? That means our village has no power! The Eco beam coming from the jungle temple has been interrupted! Boys, everyone's too frightened to go and find out what's happened!"
Daxter, who had been picking at his fingernails this entire time, decided to lighten the mood. "Did ya pay the bill?"
The mayor looked puzzled, then annoyed at Daxter's joking at the grievous situation. "Yaa-hmm? Ooooh, you're funny. Now look, if you two fix the Eco beam, I'll give you a Power Cell. And if by any chance you're interested in making a contribution to my re-election campaign, I might be willing to part with yet another Power Cell. The minimum contribution is, oh, a very modest... one hundred Precursor Orbs," he said, his voice cracking nervously at the end. Jak decided he would start saving up; all he had were the fifty he had found on Geyser Rock the day before.
As he left the mayor's house, Jak decided to see what his uncle wanted and found him in his bedroom. Looking around, Jak as puzzled. His uncle said he was to go on a new journey the next day, but nothing was packed. "Well hello there, my dear boy. You've caught me at a most inopportune moment. I was to set off on my journey tomorrow, but I seem to be a spot short on the old Precursor Orbs. I would have pledged my word that I had fifty of them. But I gather that your young friend, you know, the little annoying miserably ugly one, might have just pimpled them as a sort of a spot of fun."
At this comment, Daxter growled and left the room. His uncle stared confused for a second, and then went back to talking to his nephew. "Anyway, would you be kind enough to loan your dear old uncle fifty Precursor Orbs so he can get underway? I would offer you a Power Cell in return." Jak grinned and nodded. He went to his room and carried all the Orbs he had found back to his uncle and dumped them on the bed. "Good, good, jolly good! You have the Precursor orbs that we agreed on? I hope you put this hard-earned Power Cell to good use. Cheerio, ta-ta, bye-bye!" he said as he handed a Power Cell to Jak. He then proceeded to start packing quickly. Jak yawned and went to his room. As he laid down, his mind was filled with wonderful sights of Keira from that afternoon. His content would not last. Jak tossed and turned later in his sleep, his mind supplying him with horrible images of what those two... monsters he had seen the other day would do if their plan succeeded.
"Damn it to the bowels of Legatee!" Keira raged at her room, hurling every curse she was aware of at the Precursors. "I can't believe it. We were a second away from kissing when Daxter interrupted us. And now Jak probably thinks I'm a total idiot." Keira raged like this for about a half-hour before she simply ran out of energy and collapsed on her bed. "Wait, maybe Jak doesn't think I'm an idiot. Maybe one day, I will kiss him."
"Well Jak, it seems that tomorrow you shall face the first temple. I hope that you have received sufficient training to conquer the trials you will soon face. If not, the world as we know it shall be plunged into eternal darkness, and the Dark Times will return and cover this planet with evil."
Please review, for those are the only things that keep me alive. Send in any ideas, criticism, flames, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Money will also be nice, lol. If you send in an idea, and it fits for this story, chances are I will use it. If it doesn't I'll probably use it in a different story.