Hey guys! Just a quick heads up, I'm starting classes next week, and while I'll do my best to keep to the update schedule I set myself, it could get a little funky if I get too busy.

Good luck to everyone in the new school year!

Chapter 4- A Night To Remember

Jay spent every waking moment regretting his wish. His words had left too many options open, and he didn't know which of the many possible scenarios panicked him most. Only one thing was certain. When Friday rolled around, his world would end.

It was just a matter of how.

For the rest of the week, Jay kept the teapot securely hidden in the junkyard, as far away from himself as he could possibly place it. Wishes were dumb, taking a risk on a Djinn had been idiotic.

When Friday finally came, he spent every moment on edge. He hadn't specified for Cole to notice him at the concert, so as long as the grey-eyed teen was near, anything was fair game. Jay did his best to stay as far in the background as possible.

The school day passed by without any sort of incident. So either Jay's strategy had worked, or the Djinn's powers had something much worse for him in store.

In the bus ride home, Jay could barely hear Nya and Lloyd's teasing remarks, nerves taking over most of his senses. He used all of his will and focus to keep himself together, knowing he was sure to burst otherwise.

The bus rolled to a stop near Nya's house, Jay followed her absent-mindedly, without noticing Lloyd did the same. It wasn't until all three of them stood on the sidewalk that he blinked hard in realization.

"You're not going home?" Jay asked.

"Wow, Jay." Lloyd said. "You really don't listen to me, do you?"

"He's going to help us set things up." Nya explained, already walking to her house.

"Oh. Right."

They headed in together. Jay cleared his throat, tugging at his sleeves. "So when's um, Kai getting here?"

"You mean Cole," Lloyd smiled.

Jay ignored him, eyes trained on Nya, who gave a small shrug. "I think they're going to stay at school for a bit, to rehearse and whatever. So it's just us for now. Kai's going to owe me big time for not helping us."

"Oh thank the stars." Jay chuckled, instantly relaxing.

"Why are you so scared of being around Cole?" Lloyd asked. "I thought having a crush on someone meant wanting to be with them."

"It's complicated." Jay shrugged, trying to wave off the subject.

"It's not! You're just making it complicated it." Nya's mouth froze mid-lecture, as she studied her friend's features. She softened instantly. "Sorry. We said we wouldn't tease. We're here to back you up on anything."

"Thanks." Jay forced the word out, eager to move his mind away from Cole impeding doom. "So what do you need me to do?"

Friday came far too soon.

Cole's world had rushed forward, running to the moment his last safe haven would be put on the spotlight. Even his father's voice lessons, which usually seemed endless, came and went in the blink of an eye.

It was nice to see Kai and Zane both glowing with excitement, but pretend as he did, Cole just couldn't bring himself to feel the same way. At least he'd managed to keep the news of the concert away from his father's ears.

For now.

Sooner or later, Cole knew his father would find out. He didn't know how the man did it, but he was always aware of anything and everything Cole ever did. Parental sixth sense, probably.

As the day wore into the late afternoon, Cole watched Kai become less excited and more anxious. He clutched his guitar like a life line, leaning against the back of the stage and muttering under his breath. Zane was by his side, gently patting his jittery shoulder.

"Your sister did a good job setting things up." Cole said, hoping he could distract Kai from the overwhelming nerves. "We definitely owe her."

"Yup." Kai's response was quick and short. His eyes shifted to Cole. "Um. When I said back to school concert, I expected like. . . twenty people at most. And now everyone in Ninjago High is crammed in my backyard!"

Cole peeked over the stage. There was a considerable amount of people to be sure, but nowhere near the proportions Kai was imagining. He looked back at his friend. "You're exaggerating, Kai. Besides, like you said before, we know these songs. Backwards and forwards. Just pretend we're in rehearsal."

"Yeah that's a bit hard to do with dozens of eyes staring at you." Kai said, voice sharp.

"Do you want to call it off?" Cole said, fighting to keep the hope from his voice.

Kai straightened himself. "Yes. . . No. I don't know. No?"

"It would be quite the disappointment if we were to tell all these people to head home. I do not think they would be very happy." Zane pointed out, very unhelpfully. Cole tried not to pout. "They do not expect us to be perfect, Kai. They are just here to have fun."

Kai sucked in a slow breath, willing his heartbeat to slow. "You're right. You're right. We're just having fun. Yeah."

"You good to go then?" Cole asked, placing a hand on friend's shoulder.

"Good to go? No." Kai said, but his lips were tugged up into a smile. A terrified smile, but a smile nonetheless. "But then again, if we wait for my nerves to pass we'll be here all night. Let's just go for it."

Together, they climbed onto the make-shift stage. For a brief second, Cole felt the nerves that had stripped Kai of his confidence, eyes sweeping through the yard. All those eyes did seem overwhelming. Kai's backyard was practically bursting. Nya had done far too good a job of spreading the word.

Instead of stepping back, he stepped forward, flashing his practiced smile. "Wow, okay! This is a lot more people than I was expecting. How many of you are here just for the free snacks?"

Only a couple of people snickered, and a couple of others jokingly raised their hands. Cole kept smiling either way. "So, I've never done anything like this before, and I have no idea what to say so. . . Let's just get to singing."

He gestured to Zane and Kai, before turning back to the crowd. "So here's Spin Harmony for you!"

While Nya kept her promise to not tease him, She still ushered Jay to the front of the crowd.

The moment she left him, however, Jay slinked back to find a safer spot to watch Cole's band from. He settled on standing on the side of the wobbly stage. It gave him a good view and a safe haven from Cole's sight. Jay didn't know if there was any way to stop the wish from coming true, but he was sure as heck going to do his best to keep it at bay.

When Cole and his friends hopped up onto the stage, however, Jay's mind forgot everything.

Watching Cole sing was exhilarating. It didn't take long for the crowd to become enraptured by the music. The black-haired teen glowed with confidence and joy, completely immersed in the moment. His energy was contagious, spreading through the crowd like wild fire. The music continuously boomed throughout the yard, but Jay was barely aware of it. His mind was locked onto Cole, and Cole only.

A couple of lyrics managed to sneak into his buzzing mind, and Jay found them hilariously relevant. His lips spread into a somewhat involuntary smile, and he swayed with the rhythm of the song.

But somewhere in the world, someone is gonna fall in love by the end of this song

So get up, get up

No, it's never gonna let up so you might as well sing along

As the chorus made its way back around, Jay gave a careless shrug and joined the voices in the crowd. He knew his singing was far from pleasant, but in this moment, it didn't matter. No one would care, and no one would hear.

The odds are that we will probably be alright

Odds are we gonna be alright, odds are we gonna be alright tonight

The odds are that we will probably be alright

Odds are we gonna be alright, odds are we gonna be alright for another night

And for one impossible instant, Cole's eyes shifted, somehow managing to find Jay's own.

Blue on grey, the connection lingered, sending goosebumps traveling along the side of Jay's arms. Still singing, Cole flashed a subtle smile towards him. The world stopped. Dazed and drowning in emotions, Jay took one small step back.

In an instant, the world began to move again, a chain of events snapping faster than the eye could see, as if making up for lost time.

Jay, having somehow wandered too close to the stage, tripped over a long cable.

As his body fell, the cable lurched.

At the other end of the cable, Cole's microphone followed.

Cole instinctively tightened his grip on the microphone, flying forward and landing face-first upon the stage.

Dozens of eyes snapped toward Jay.

"Whoa, what the heck dude?"

"Great move."

"Is Cole alright?"

"Oh man, that looked like it hurt."

Jay crawled backward before standing, ushering the cable away from him. His face burned brightly, and his eyes swam with tears as he ran into the house. No one stopped him, their focus quickly shifting to the damage he'd caused.

With the familiarity he'd gained after spending years in his friend's house, Jay ran up to Nya's room, throwing himself against her bed and screaming into the pillows. To his dismay, footsteps echoed up the stairs soon after, and two pairs of feet stumbled into the room.

"Hey, you okay?" Lloyd's voice.

"Jay?" Nya's.

He didn't respond to either. Was he okay? Were they kidding? Jay was sure the answer was more than obvious. He remained lying face-first against the pillows, eyes shut tightly to keep the tears from rolling.

"It was just an accident. In retrospect, we should have shoved all the cables beneath the stage or something." Lloyd said, still not helping. "That's on me. I didn't think about it."

"Mm mff mmm m mmmntt" Jay's voice was muffled beyond understanding.

"Er, we didn't catch that," Nya said.

With a grumble, Jay forced his face up momentarily. "I just need a moment."

"Like Lloyd said, it was just an accident. You didn't mean-"

"Please, just give me a moment." Jay hissed.

Nya raised her arms up in defeat, before walking out of the room. Lloyd stood still for a couple of seconds before following. Jay lowered his face again, listening intently to the sounds outside the room. His mind unhelpfully replayed the accident from every possible angle, making the suffocating embarrassment grow stronger by the second.

He supposed he would have to apologize to Cole now. Excellent. Quite a way to get someone to notice you. Jay wondered if the Djinn knew the wish had been fulfilled. He wondered if the bitter creature was having the time of its life, laughing at Jay's misfortune.

Probably.

The music from Cole's band never picked up again, and Jay wondered just how much harm he'd caused. Far away muttering and shuffling let him know when everyone was leaving. Gossiping about the blue-eyed walking disaster, no doubt. Jay's stomach twisted.

When silence finally reigned, Jay forced himself to stand. He needed to get home.

He trotted down the stairs, heading to the sound of soft conversation. Jay wondered which alternative was better, to call for his dad to pick him up, or to ask one of Nya's parents to drop him off. Still weighing his options, he stepped into the kitchen.

Nya looked up instantly. The guy beside him was a bit slower to react, more focused with pressing an ice pack against his broken nose.

It took all of Jay's strength not to burst into laughter.

He'd broken Cole's nose.

Nya's eyes shifted from himself to Cole, and a small smirk on her lips told him that she found the same humor in the situation.

"Hey. . ." When Jay finally spoke, his voice was hoarse. He wondered if his eyes were red. He really, really hoped they weren't. "Sorry about. . . That."

"No worries," Cole tried to smile, but grimaced instead. "It was. . . an. . ."

Cole's grimace deepened. Nya and Jay exchanged glances, before asking in unison. "Are you okay!?"

Instead of responding, Cole laughed. "Jay."

Jay blushed. Hearing Cole say his name made his heart jitter recklessly.

"Fifth grade? I broke your nose?" Cole chuckled again, then flinched at the ache it caused. "Guess we're even now."

"Fourth. . . actually." Jay could feel himself smiling. He'd remembered.

"Was this some sort of long, and intricately planned revenge?"

"No!" Jay shook his head furiously, oblivious to the joking tone in Cole's voice. "Of course not! I wouldn't. . . I didn't . . . It was an accident. It really was, I swear it!"

"Jay, he's kidding." This time, it was Nya's turn to laugh.

"I can't believe I didn't remember." Cole shook his head, moving the ice pack away from his nose. Jay frowned at the damage.

"Eh, Jay's forgettable like that." Nya smiled.

"Gee, thanks."

"Well, thank you for this." Cole turned towards Nya, waving the ice pack. "I should probably get home. My dad's going to be overjoyed at my broken nose."

"Sorry. . ." Jay mumbled.

"No, I'm actually looking forward to seeing him panic," Cole said. "It'll be nice."

"Well if you're heading home. . ." Nya's voice was sly, and Jay knew exactly what she was planning to do. He gave his head a small shake, glaring with as much strength as he could muster. She, of course, ignored him. "Why don't you give Jay a ride to his? You can bond over breaking each other's noses."

"That's not necessary." Jay shook his head a bit more frantically now. "I was just going to call my dad. He can pick me up. I live way in the middle of nowhere. You wouldn't want to. . . It's most definitely out of your way, I can promise you that."

"I don't mind." Cole shrugged, swiping his keys from the counter. "I could use a long drive. Don't quite feel like going home yet."

"Ahhh. . ." Jay searched for a good excuse other than I don't want to embarrass myself in front of you any further, but he found none. So he let Nya guide him out of the house, keeping a couple of steps behind Cole. As he slid into his truck, Jay glanced at Nya. "I'm going to murder you, you know."

"Sure thing." Nya beamed, patting down a couple of Jay's wild curls. "Have fun."

"You said no teasing."

"I'm not teasing. I'm ordering."

Jay scowled. Nya continued to smile.

With shaky legs, he got into the passenger seat, making himself as small as possible. Cole flicked on the radio to fill the silence, before turning to face Jay. "So, where to?"

Jay did his best to give directions to his parent's junkyard, doing his best to not point out it was a junkyard. Once Cole grasped the basic idea of where to go, Jay grew silent, nerves getting the better of him all over again.

Cole didn't share the sentiment. His aura was relaxed and friendly. "Man. I can never find anything good on the radio."

He reached over to change the station. Before he could stop himself, Jay's voice ran ahead without permission. "Don't!"

"What?" Cole stopped, the snickered. "You like this song?"

Jay turned towards the window, finding it easier to talk to his reflection than Cole's eyes. "Maybe."

"Really? Heat of the Moment?"

"Hey, it's a classic!" Jay pouted.

"Okay, Okay." Again, Cole gave a small laugh. "So then, Jay, what do you do when you aren't sneaking into concert's to break people's noses."

"I uh. . . Nothing. Not really. Not compared to all the things you do." Jay hated the self-deprecating tone lingering in his voice, but it was an old habit. "I mean. . . Wow. You're impressive."

"I guess so." Cole shrugged. "But seriously, what do you like to do?"

There was something persistently kind and soothing about Cole's voice. Jay found himself relaxing. As long as his eyes were on the window, at least. "I like engineering. Me and my parents like making things together."

"What kind of things?"

"Anything, really." Jay shrugged. "There's a lot of spare parts in our junkyard. So our imagination's the limit! Dad's built jetpacks before. And our alarm system was designed and built from scratch by my mom."

"Junkyard?"

Jay shut his eyes, grimacing at his lack of thought. Well. If Cole was taking him home, he would have found out sooner rather than later. "Yeah. We. . . My parents own a junkyard. And that's where we live. . ."

"That's pretty cool."

"It is not!" Jay scoffed. "I hate telling people about it. I mean, why couldn't they just own a nice, normal little house? An apartment! Anything, really, I'm not picky."

"Normal isn't as good as it sounds." Cole's voice softened, and Jay risked a quick glance. There was a frown on his face, eyes clouding over with an unspoken thought. The look faded as quick as it had come, and Jay looked away as Cole's eyes brightened. "Really, growing up in a junkyard sounds far more interesting than anything I've ever done."

Although Jay wanted to disagree, he refrained from speaking, watching instead the bright lights from the junkyard grow closer and closer. Cole rolled to a stop just outside the entrance. Jay snapped off his seatbelt, eager to shoot out and regain a stable heartbeat.

"Thank you," Jay mumbled, eyes still lowered. "And sorry. Again."

"Like I said, we're even." Cole sounded like he was smiling, but Jay didn't dare to look. "See you at school?"

"See you at school."

Song used is "Odds Are" By Barenaked Ladies. I found it thanks to evelinaonline and it's really good, you guys should give it a listen!