Chapter 7-Woefully Wonderful

Cole had overslept.

He never overslept. Never had.

And yet, today, he'd somehow managed it.

His father was banging on the door relentlessly, calling his name over and over, giving Cole no time to answer even once he'd woken. "Cole! Cole, Cole? Cole!"

"I'M AWAKE DAD!" Cole shouted, louder than he should have. His father's voice froze on the other side of the door, and the knocking finally ceased. "I'll be ready soon. Sorry."

"Well hurry. You can't rush off to school without breakfast. And I don't want you speeding through traffic! Really, Cole, I thought you knew better. Did you stay up too late yesterday? We agreed you would go to bed at 11."

One day, dad. It's just one day. Give. Me. A. Break.

"I'll be back in five minutes if you're not down!" His father's footsteps sauntered off, and Cole forced himself to sit up. His neck ached tremendously, and there was a stubborn throbbing coming from his nose. Cole let out a low sigh.

Today was not setting itself up to be a good day.

Not one to be defeated, however, Cole hopped out bed. He scrambled through his clothes to find a proper outfit, wasting more than five minutes in search for socks. His father's footsteps returned, and soon enough, the knocking did too.

"Cole I said five minutes!"

Cole stumbled forward, hopping about to slip his feet into his shoes. He opened the door, giving his dad a forced smile. "And I'm ready."

"Well go eat your breakfast, then off to school!" His father waved his hands dramatically as he herded Cole forward.

Cole did as he was told. He shoved bits of bland tasting food into his mouth while scrolling through his phone. Overnight, The small group chat had collected a fair amount of messages. Cole scrolled past them lazily. He quickly noticed Jay hadn't sent any at all.

Jay. He thought back to the day before. The flustered motions of his hands, the easily reddened cheeks. And the question Cole never got to ask.

Do you have a crush on me?

In retrospect, Cole was glad Nya had interrupted them. The question seemed silly, and a bit egotistical. So Jay was a bit awkward with new acquaintances. That didn't necessarily mean anything. Right?

Right, Cole answered himself, although he wasn't entirely convinced.

Before more thoughts of Jay's possible crush on him could form, his phone vibrated. He expected to see more random conversation from the group chat. It was not. Kai had sent him a message, for his eyes only.

We need to talk. Before class?

Cole swallowed the rest of his food, then drank his cup of orange juice down in one gulp. He texted as he moved, legs moving fast to outrun the sinking feeling in his stomach. We need to talk. Oh, how he loathed hearing that.

Sure. On my way

"Drive safe!" Cole's father shouted as he left, more a warning than anything.

"Will do!" Cole shouted back.

"I mean, it was fun! But. . . I don't know. I should probably focus on school." Kai looked away as he spoke, unable to meet the hurt in Cole's eyes.

"I am in agreement with Kai. I hope this does not put any sort of dent in our friendship." Zane added. "But I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all that is to come, and I do not believe I will be able to keep up with the band."

"Yeah. That. That one." Kai nodded along.

"But. . ." Cole shook his head. "Everything ending, and things becoming overwhelming, that's why we need the band more than ever! To unwind."

"Yeaah. . ." Kai fidgeted with the sleeves of his jacket. " Sorry Cole. I just. . . It's really not something we want to do right now."

"Fine." Cole hated to hear himself sound so rough, but it was impossible to remain kind. He couldn't understand their reasoning. It felt too sudden. "Fine. I can't make you guys do anything."

"C'mon Cole don't be mad. We're still your friends."

"We are. We will always be." Zane agreed.

"Friends." Cole nodded, tone sarcastic. "Right. Because friends leave each other in the dust like that. Just. . . I can't talk right now."

He turned on his heel and stalked off. He didn't know where he was going. Cole moved almost in a trance, body pulsing with the warmth of anger. In the end, he wound up by his locker. Nothing better than snacks when the world fell apart.

Opening the lock with shaking hands was a struggle, but Cole managed. He grabbed onto the first thing his fingers found, snapping the bag open and furiously shoving food into his mouth.

What's next? He wondered, when his mind calmed enough to form coherent thoughts. What else are you going to throw at me, universe?

The universe didn't respond. But someone else did.

"Cole?"

The voice was sheepish, tentative. And wholly welcomed. Cole wiped his lips with the back of his hand, turning to look at Jay. The teen was gripping the straps of his backpack tightly, eyeing Cole with a swirl of emotions he couldn't identify.

"Oh. Hey. Jay" Cole cleared his throat, willing his voice to be steady. "What's up?"

"I feel like I should be asking you that," Jay answered with a soft laugh. Cole watched him instantly regret the sound and blush instead. "Are you okay?"

"Of course!" Cole lied out of reflex, words even accompanied by the pseudo smile he'd grown to hate so much. "Just getting a snack before class starts. Much better than the so-called breakfast they serve us here."

Jay nodded slowly, and Cole could see unspoken words tugging at his lips. \

"No. You know what?" Cole slammed the door to his locker shut, clearing his throat before turning back to Jay. "I'm not okay. I'm not! Kai and Zane both decided to drop out of the band, so I'm a one-man act now!"

"Oh." Jay's voice was coated with guilt.

"It wasn't you. I don't think you breaking my nose on stage was what toppled them over the edge." Cole chuckled, but Jay's expression didn't change. "Truly."

The bell echoed around them. Jay bounced on his heels. He seemed both eager and reluctant to go. Cole watched him for a minute, as the hall around swarmed with people. Then, moving with nothing more than a sparking rebellious thought, Cole held out his hand.

Jay stared at the hand, with fear and disbelief, and made no move to take it.

"Today sucks. A lot. But I refuse to let the universe decide which days are good and which are bad. Wanna come with me?"

"Come with you?" Jay's eyes shifted. "Where?"

"I don't know," Cole admitted. "Anywhere but here, honestly."

For a second that seemed almost never-ending, Jay hesitated. Cole began to draw back, hissing at himself for the embarrassing impromptu request. Then a look of determination coated over Jay's brilliantly blue eyes, and he reached forward.

Their hands clasped together.

Jay had never ever skipped school a day in his life.

Part of him wanted to regret it. But he owed Cole this much, after more or less wishing for his life to fall apart. Jay stared out the window of Cole's truck, then forced himself to turn and look at Cole himself. "So what do people do when they. . . skip."

"Beats me." Cole chuckled. "I've never done this before either. In retrospect, we probably shouldn't have. But I don't know. I'm tired of doing all the things I'm supposed to do all the time. It's dumb and boring. We should get to do what we want to do, right?"

"I suppose." Jay waited a bit before speaking again. "I've never had an urge to break the rules, if I'm honest. I'm not a fan of getting in trouble. Everyone ever will know we aren't supposed to be out and about."

"Psh, of course they won't." Cole glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror, running a hand through his thick hair. "We totally pass for college students."

"You might," Jay said. "But me? I'm the size of a walnut and I have the face of a toddler. I'll pass for nothing."

Cole laughed for a while. "Okay, okay. So let's go somewhere where there's no people."

"There's people everywhere!" Jay half-shouted. He cleared his throat. Reel it in, weirdo. "Well. . . actually, I know a place. It's usually pretty empty. And if it isn't, whoever is there won't care too much about two high school students."

"Guide away, Walker."

Jay did, doing his best to ignore the butterflies that fumbled within him every time Cole spoke any part of his name. They moved through the streets, until Jay finally instructed Cole to slow to a stop by a small arcade.

"You sure it's open?" Cole squinted inside.

Jay pointed at the Open sign. It was broken, with only the letter p flashing a bright neon color. Cole shrugged, accepting this, and exited the truck. Before following, Jay fumbled through his backpack for loose change, shoving it in his pocket as he caught up with Cole.

"Looks old."

"It is." Jay nodded. "But it's nice. I like it. It's. . . cozy."

Cole smirked at this, and Jay shifted his eyes, looking at the door instead. He nudged it open. A man with a large belly and far too much hair gel looked up from what seemed to be an action comic. His eyes shifted from Jay to Cole. "Hey, Jay. Who's your friend? I don't think you've ever brought him here before."

"Hey, Dareth," Jay answered. "His name's Cole."

"Hello, Cole." Dareth nodded at him, and Cole gave a small nod back. "Hope you bring lots of business with ya. This place could use a customer or two."

"I'll spread the word. I know a couple of people." Cole nodded, and Jay scowled. Know a couple of people? Jay was pretty sure Cole knew more than half of Ninjago's population.

"Great!" Dareth beamed at the news. "Well, have fun and all that."

He waved them on, and Jay guided Cole deeper into the building, moving through the aged games to stop by his favorite. Cole's eyes moved throughout, taking in as much as he could. "You know, I thought I was special, having you show me this place. But according to our funny-haired pal you've brought people here before?"

"Just Nya and Lloyd," Jay said. He was tempted to add, So you're definitely special, but found he didn't have the guts to. Heck. Maybe he should ask the Djinn for some confidence after all. "They didn't like it too much though. But I love it here. It's been my favorite spot since I was a kid. It used to be a little more lively but. . . Guess people found something better to do with their time."

Cole watched Jay play. Jay did his best to focus on the game itself and not Cole's presence, but he couldn't help but let his eyes shift to the side every so often. His crush seemed mesmerized, and a little impressed. Jay smirked to himself.

When the game ultimately came to an end, the high score screen emerged. Cole gave a low whistle. They all read the name JAY, and came with numbers that were unbelievably impressive.

"Like I said, not many people come." Jay shrugged, as he entered his name for the new score. A sudden wave of embarrassment had overcome him. All his skills said was that he was a loser with absolutely nothing better to do than spend hours flicking buttons. "So that's why. . . Yeah. I'm sure if there were others they'd probably pass me in a heartbeat."

He expected Cole to laugh, to shake his head and mock Jay's useless abilities. But he didn't.

"Wow." Cole blinked dramatically, eyes running through the scores. "That was amazing. You've gotta teach me."

"You're- You. . . Serious?" Jay muttered in disbelief. "You're serious?"

"Duh!" Cole smiled. "I've never seen anyone be that good at anything."

"Well. . ." Jay shifted his feet, then nodded. He knew video games. It was probably the one thing he could say he was confident in. This was safe ground. He thought back to the mall, where he'd wound up thinking there was absolutely nothing he could ever help Cole with. "I can. . . I can give you some advice. Teach you a thing or two."

"I am going to suck a this." Cole beamed. Jay had never seen anyone look so excited at the prospect of failure.

Cole couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun.

Jay had been stiff and awkward at first, but as the minutes passed, his self-consciousness had melded into the background. Soon enough, they found themselves joking and teasing as if they'd known each other for years.

There was something very comfortable about Jay's personality, about not having to guess at any of his thoughts. Jay was an open book, with emotions flashing brightly through his eyes, in a rather captivating manner. Cole had found himself staring more than a couple of times.

Not only this, but Jay was effortlessly funny. Or maybe Cole's sense of humor had downgraded itself after years of fake polite laughter. Either way, the black-haired teen found himself laughing hard enough to make his stomach ache and his eyes water.

All too soon, school hours rolled to an end. Instead of taking Jay back to the school, he drove him to the junk yard himself, to steal a couple more minutes of his company. "Thanks for coming with me. You really didn't have to do that."

"I. . . did." Jay said, then his eyes widened, as if realizing he'd said something he hadn't meant to. "Because. . . well, we're technically friends now, right? So. . . Of course I did."

"True. We should do this again sometime."

"Ahhh?" Jay turned to face Cole, eyebrows squished together into a stressed frown.

"Well, obviously not the skipping part. Just the hanging out part."

"Oh!. . . Oh"

"I've got a long way to go with my video game skills after all." Cole joked. He hadn't gotten anywhere near any of Jay's scores. "Can't leave your student hanging."

"I can't believe anyone could possibly be so bad at games." Jay shook his head, chuckling softly. "Sure. I would. . . really like that. Hanging out. It was fun."

Once Jay had gone, Cole's day continued. Trudging forward from one task to the next.

Lunch. Dance class. Piano lessons.

And ultimately voice lessons. With his loving father.

"Cole." His father's voice was stern. "The school called. Letting me know you were absent. But I distinctly remember you driving to school. So, what happened?"

Cole's first thought was I hope Jay didn't get in trouble

"I wasn't feeling well. So I didn't go."

"Are you sick?"

"No."

"Then?"

"I'm sorry, dad. I just. . . I didn't think I could deal with school. Kai and Zane decided to back out of the band and I was upset. So I left. Sorry." Cole spoke fast, forcing the words out. "I won't do it again. I know I shouldn't have."

Cole's dad lowered his head with a sigh. When he looked up again, his eyes had softened, but not by much. "Life will have its ups and downs, son. I'm sorry to hear that but you can't let something like that derail you from what you have to do. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Oh! And before I forget, I signed you up for the Marty Oppenheimer's winter camp! It's for aspiring students, to prepare them for the application process and such. It will be good for you."

Cole felt the world momentarily tilt out of balance. He leaned back, trying to ground himself. "Winter. . . Camp. But. . . Holidays?"

"Holidays, he says! Cole, you're almost an adult. You need to get used to putting your responsibilities before everything else! You want to get into the school, don't you?"

"Well. . ."

"Exactly! Now let's begin. I think we've wasted enough time."

Cole trudged through the lesson, trying his best to keep focused. His mind, however, was tangled with emotions. He yearned to be back with Jay, where day to day life had been nothing more than a bad dream.

When his father finally allowed him to go, Cole ran to his room. He reached for his phone in a desperate manner, resembling a drowning man clawing for the surface.

The teapot was gone.

Jay tossed everything out of his backpack, turning it upside down and shaking it violently.

The teapot was gone.

He tried to think back. Tried to retrace his steps. He'd had it with him this morning. He'd gone to the bathroom, then been intercepted by Cole in the hall. Then they'd sped off together.

Jay had been heading to his locker before Cole had decided they should skip school. Had he begun to open his backpack? Had the teapot slipped through then?

He couldn't remember.

Then there was the arcade. The moment he'd reached for the loose change. Maybe the teapot had fallen in Cole's truck. Jay shivered.

His phone rang. Jay dropped his backpack with a shudder.

Cole's name stared up at him from the cracked screen of his phone.

He'd found the teapot. He'd found it and he knew he'd unintentionally and single-handedly ruined his life and now it was all over and-

"Hey, Cole. What's uh, what's up?"

Hey. Sorry, I'm calling kind of late. I just. . . needed to talk. Can you talk? I'll be quick. Promise.

"I can talk, I can talk. I'm not- I wasn't doing anything."

Oh! First, did you get in trouble for today? I'm sorry. I really wasn't thinking.

"No it's okay. I told my parents that one of my friends wasn't feeling so well, and needed me. So they were cool. I mean, I got the don't do it again blah blah blah lecture, but they're chill."

Wow. That's amazing.

"Did you get in trouble?"

Kind of. I guess. Dad's shipping me off to some dumb winter camp in December. That sounds like a punishment to me. That's what I was calling about. I hate it. I don't want to go.

"Wow. That sounds like the worst. Winter break is called break for a reason. Eesh. It's like nothing's sacred anymore!"

Cole chuckled on the opposite line, and Jay's stomach fluttered. Then, Cole continued his rant. As he calmed, they joked back and forth on the unnecessary cruelty in the world of innocent high-school students.

Their conversation flowed easily, spinning late into the night. The loss of sleep was well worth it. Jay didn't even feel tired either way. He was filled with boundless energy.

He continued to grin stupidly at the ceiling for a couple of minutes more after Cole had hung up. Then his head lolled to the side, to the strewn school supplies and his empty backpack.

"Right. The stupid teapot."

Well. . . It wasn't as if he needed it. He was bound to do more harm than good with a third wish.

Jay turned away, cuddling up against his pillow while clutching the warm phone to his chest.

"Not my problem." Jay shut his eyes. "Not my problem at all."