A/N: So, I'll be posting my one-shots all under this story from here on! Except the super naughty stuff. That'll probably still be on my DA. I'll be keeping the older ones on my DA, so if you want to check them out feel free to head there. Same name as here, Kururu418!

Anyway, hope you enjoy the stories!

Nia was popular.

And why wouldn't she be?

She was cute, and bubbly, and just had this was about her that had people smiling and laughing when she was around. AJ could make a pretty freaking long list of all the things that made the girl awesome, and how she thought that he was the cool one between them was still a mystery.

You would think with her being a princess and having such a fun and loving personality, the boys would be lining up to try and win her over. But apparently back home her brother's reputation and presence was enough to keep them at bay. Here on Earth however, things were different.

It would take more than a few nasty glares to scare away AJ Jones. He was a New Yorker. One who happened to have faced down giant mutants, robot ninjas, and freaky aliens. All the other guys might have folded when Astro showed up shooting glared from over his sister's shoulders, but AJ wasn't going anywhere.

Heck, he welcomed Astro's presence half the time. It made sure he had less competition for NIa's attention and affection.

Thing was though, he had only ever considered other guys his rivals. When Nia had told him she was also into girls… it kind of shook him. Not because he had a problem with it or anything! But it just meant he had that much more competition. Competition which was showing it's stupid face during what was usually their alone time…

"Man this is so good!"

"That's because it's real traditional chinese food. Not just takeout."

AJ huffed as he took another bite of the, admittedly delicious, lunch that their 'new friend' had brought for them. AJ knew a few other kids in the Vanguard. Some of them were official members, while others were little siblings who just showed up. For the most part he only really talked to the ones Nia hung out with.

And today she was hanging out with some chicken named Jia.

He didn't really know anything about the girl, aside from that she was Dai Tai's sister, but apparently she and Nia had met some time ago and hit it off. And while AJ would never claim to be an expert in stuff like this, he got the feeling that she was a little more interested in Nia than the other kids they hung out with around here.

"Man! I thought the other stuff was flavorful!" Nia said gleefully. "Your mom makes this type of food for you every day? That must be nice."

Jia hummed. "It is pretty nice I guess. I guess since I have it every day I don't think about it that much," she said.

AJ huffed. "It's alright I guess. I still think Antonio's is better…"

Nia hummed and turned towards him. "Well, it's two different types of foods right? They're both good in different ways," the princess reasoned.

"Only mine home is cooked and way more healthy," Jia pointed out with a smirk.

AJ scowled. "Steak is healthy!" he argued.

Nia giggled. "All I know is that they both taste good. If you want we can go by Antonio's and get something for dinner. And maybe lunch for tomorrow," she said. "Maybe we should go earlier so Jia can come before she has to go back home?"

The boy clicked his tongue. "Nah, I'm sure she doesn't wanna go to some greasy fast food place like Antonio's or-"

"That sounds fun actually," Jia said, cutting him off. "I don't get a lot of chances to try American foods that much." Honestly it wasn't like she was dying to try it. She'd had cheesesteaks before, and she couldn't imagine the ones here would be that much better. But she did like the idea of hanging out more with Nia.

AJ narrowed his eyes. Seriously? Antonio's was supposed to be just their place. They always headed there together. Like just them. And now this girl and her fire chicken thing were going to be tagging along?

"That's great," Nia said happily.

"Yeah, freaking amazing…" AJ added, sarcasm dripping off every word.

Nia gulped down the last of her food before getting up. "Alright! Now that we've eaten, we can get down to some sparring! I want you to show me some cool move with your sword!" The whole reason she had Jia had met up today was so that they could practice some swordsmanship along with her brother and Olevia.

Astro had always said it was a good idea to practice against other styles so that she didn't get too used to one person, so she thought them meeting up and comparing their own techniques would be a fun and creative idea. "I'll go get my bro and Olevia!" she said getting up and heading off.

AJ watched as she left, and then turned towards Jia as she got up. The freaky bird on her head made a small chirping sound as she did. "So, are you going to be joining in with our sparring?" she asked.

"I'm not a swordsman," AJ said annoyed.

"Really? Because the way you kept glaring at me I thought for sure you wanted to spar with me or something." That comment caught the boy off guard, and Jia placed a hand on her hip. "Are you really that surprised? You weren't really being sneaky about it. You've been giving me really dirty looks since I showed up."

"Yeah well… I was expecting it to just be me and blondie today. So no offense, but I'm a little annoyed right now."

She tilted her head. "Is she your girlfriend?"

AJ's face lit up. "What?! N-no! We're just friends!"

Jia hummed and smiled at him deviously. "Really? People usually don't get so clingy over their friends," she said. "You're not jealous, are you?"

He pulled his bandana over his face. "Uh! Shut up! I'm not jealous! I-I don't even like her like that!" Wow, he was a really bad liar. His father would be ashamed at how crappy that lie came out. It didn't even sound convincing to him, so he knew nobody else would have bought it.

"Well then you shouldn't have any problem having to share her for a bit," Jia said before turning around and making her way out of the room.

AJ groaned and jumped back on the floor, rolling around angrily. Crap! He looked like a total loser just now! And was he really that obvious with how he'd been acting? Nia probably thought he was being a total idiot! He hated this! When it was just him and Nia everything was simple. There wasn't any reason to worry! They could just hang out. But with this new chick around…

She was so cool.

She was a swordsman, she had some magic stuff going on with that phoenix, and brought REAL chinese food! Not to mention she was cute. Even if Nia was way cuter, he couldn't ignore that. Of course Nia was gonna wanna hang out with her! And next to her he looked like such a dork!

He never liked thinking too hard about how he felt towards Nia. He always flubbed stuff when he thought too hard about it. He just figured that… you know, everything would just work itself out. But now that there was a chance he might actually have to compete for Nia's affection? He had no idea what to do!

He wished this was like his problems back home! Then he could just call his uncles so they could do some ninjustsu and fix everything! But this wasn't some robot alien or mutant! It was… feelings. Feelings he was too young to really get. This kind of crap was only supposed to happen in those sappy love stories.

"Are you alright?"

AJ opened his eyes and looked up to find Damian staring down at him. He blinked a few times before sitting up. "Yeah, I'm fine," AJ said. Damina hummed, looking a bit concerned at the boy. AJ honestly didn't know much about the guy, even though he and Nia were in the same Department. He just came off as a real laid back hippie type. The type of dude his dad told him to steer clear of.

He was always going off about aura and chakras and whatnot. Not a bad guy, but not someone AJ really thought was worth hanging around. He hardly understood the junk he was talking about, and he didn't think this time would be any different. "Are you sure? It seems like your aura is a bit off." Yep, there he went.

"My aura is all good dude. Really, I'm all good," he said getting ready to head out. He wondered if he should even bother going to watch them spar? If he was going to just trip over himself again it might not even have been worth it.

"This wouldn't happen to be about Nia and Jia would it?" he asked. AJ turned towards him with a scowl. "I did notice that you seemed a bit off when she showed up earlier. Your aura turned a particularly strange shape when Nia and Jia were talking."

AJ ran a hand over his face. "Man, was I seriously that obvious from the get go?"

Damian patted his shoulders. "I understand how stressful romantic feelings can be for someone so young. I'm not really busy at the moment, would you like to talk about it?"

It was at this moment that he realized how desperate he really was. Because he was actually considering talking with this guy. "Look, are you going to give me actual advice, or are you gonna give me some lovey hippie stuff?" he asked.

Damian laughed. "Well, I'm not really sure I can help how you see it. All I can really do is offer a listening ear and give you my thoughts. In my experience it helps just to vent about certain things anyway," he explained.

AJ sighed, but honestly didn't think he was in any position to turn him down. Who else was he going to talk to? Not his mom. He didn't want mom's advice right now. And his dad was gonna spend more time ribbing him than he was helping him. Besides, this dude seemed pretty popular with the chicks for some reason. Maybe he would actually give him some advice he could use.

"It's usually just me and Nia," he said, blushing as he rubbed the back of his head. "And now this Jia chick is showing up and…"

"You're nervous she's going to somehow come between you two?" Damian concluded.

"Yes!" AJ said, holding his hands out. "I mean seriously! How the heck am I supposed to compete with little miss firebird out there? She's like a million times cooler than me! And Nia is starting to notice girls a lot more since she found out she's… you know, playing both sides of the field. I'm gonna totally get shoved to the back burner!"

Damian hummed and nodded. "Right, so just to be clear, you do like Nia?" he asked. AJ flinched, and then muttered something underneath his breath. "I'm sorry AJ, I didn't quite catch that." He muttered again. "AJ, it's very important to be clear with your feelings. Feeling a certain way towards someone is nothing to be-"

"I like her! Yes!" AJ said, holding his hands out. "God, I'm only twelve! I'm not even supposed to be super into girls yet! Why does everyone always gotta hear me say it?!"

Damian shrugged. "It's just important to vocalize your feelings is all. Now back to Nia. I very much doubt that Dai Tai's sister will be driving any type of wedge between you two. I've seen how fond Nia is of you. Her aura brightens so much when you're around that it's blinding." She had a bright aura as it was. "That being said, if you do feel this strong about Nia, then I suggest you try to take steps to express it. She isn't going to be around forever after all."

He huffed. "I know alright." He knew at some point she was going to have to go back home. And even if she was only a scissor swipe away they would still be a dimension apart. "But it's not that easy alright."

"Oh, I understand. It can be frightening putting yourself out there. But it doesn't have to be all at once. It's not as if you have to get down on one knee and propose. Take baby steps," Damian advised.

AJ looked down at the floor in thought. Baby steps huh? "A-alright! I think I got something…" he muttered, his cheeks turning redder by the second.

"Well that was enlightening," Olevia said, sheathing her sword. "You're really skilled for someone so young. You must train a lot," she said smiling towards Jia.

The girl nodded back towards her. "Thank you. You're really good too. This was fun." The girl had been excited to get the chance to test her skills against a couple of different styles, and she hadn't been disappointed. Astro and Olevia both had very distinct styles of their own, and Nia…

She didn't know how to describe her as anything but a prodigy. She didn't think it was that shocking to see her using fencing or copying her brother's style, but when she had nailed the basic forms of her own technique she had been floored. The girl picked things up so easily.

"Your style looks so cool!" Nia said, making her way up towards Jia. "It looks so graceful and floaty! Will you teach it to me?"

Jia smiled back at her. "Of course. I'm not sure how many chances I'll get to come back, but I'd be happy to teach you whenever I stop by." Nia squealed excited as her brother watched them from across the room.

He didn't know what it was exactly, but something was triggering his elder brother senses. This Jia girl… he couldn't read her as easily as he could the other little runt that Nia was always hanging out with. But something told him that he needed to keep a close eye on her. He didn't care if she was a girl. The hammer of brotherly protection was unisex.

"Yo."

Ah, and speaking of the original runt, AJ strolled into the training room with his hands in his pockets. Nia turned towards him. "Oh, hey AJ. Where have you been off to. I thought you were gonna watch us spar?" she asked. Even though swords weren't his thing, he always came to watch and cheer her on. Olevia thought it was cute, and Astro usually just shot glares at him the whole time.

He shrugged. "I got caught up talking with that weird Damien kid. Anyway, looks like you guys are done here. You ready to go grab some grub?" he asked.

"Ready when you are!" she said before turning towards Jia. "I bet you're going to love Antoinio's! It had some of the best-!"

Nia's eyes suddenly widened as she felt something around her hand. She looked down and saw AJ and grabbed her hand. She stared for a moment, and then suddenly her cheek marks lit brightly. Everyone else looked either surprised or intrigued by the gesture, except Astro.

The prince's eyes went wide, and the room got noticeably colder. Olevia turned towards him. "Are you okay…?" she asked. He looked… broken.

AJ was doing his best not to freak out right now. Baby steps. He should take baby steps. He thought that hand holding sort of fell under that. Holding hands with someone wasn't supposed to be that big a deal, right? It sure felt like it right now though. His heart was beating like a jackhammer.

And Nia wasn't doing anything. She was just standing there staring at him. It was making him super nervous. But then she suddenly moved, lacing her fingers around his.

The boy flinched. This was the first time he had ever held a girl's hand, and it felt soft and dainty. She really was like a princess. Nia smiled nervously as she looked towards the door. "W-we should get going now, right?" she asked. He nodded back, and she stepped forward and pulled him along.

Olevia smiled. "Aw, that's so adorable," she said. She remembered the first time she had held hands with someone she had a crush on. It was a big moment for a girl.

Astro grit his teeth. "The boy must die…"

Jia followed after the two, her eyes a bit narrowed. They were so nervous we weren't even looking at one another. AJ however did look over his shoulder and towards him. He flashed a smug look at her, and she pouted.

As they walked down the hall, Dai Tai spotted the three passing by. Nia looking down with a small smile, AJ with a satisfied grin on his face, and Jia with an all too familiar look on her face. "Uh-oh," she said worried.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked.

"I've seen that look on Jia's face before. That's the look she gets before girl scout season starts." She didn't know what the heck was going on, but she had a feeling Jia's more competitive side was about to start showing itself a lot more often…

A/N: Wanted to do a sort of puppy love scenario, and do some more stuff with AJ since I want him to be expanded on and have more of a role in the story! I had an idea of making another character to be sort of a rival for Nia's affection. Maybe a Gargoyle OC. But I figure why make another OC when there's already another person who likes Nia, Jia! I like her character and I think the idea of her and AJ kind of competing over Nia (without her really noticing) is sort of funny. I get the idea that she's sort of competitive based off that girl scout fact Laylaylamode posted. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!