Hello! Quick heads up, Next week I'll be updating my mini-halloween fic, so there will be no update for this. Sorry! But hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12-On Missing Brothers and Awkward Dances

The night of Homecoming arrived. Jay's parents still knew nothing of Cole.

It truly wasn't so surprising. One of Jay's many useless talents was to put difficult things off until the last minute. And it really was the last minute. Cole would arrvive soon enough.

As of now, Jay sat in the living room, one of his feet tapping away restlessly. He fidgeted with his blue bowtie, then moved his hands up to his hair. A light smack ushered them away.

"You're going to ruin it before you even get there! Don't fidget."

"Sorry, Ma, sorry." Jay clenched and unclenched his fingers, then settled for sitting on top of his hands.

"So when's this mysterious date of yours getting here?" His dad shouted from the kitchen, although this was completely unnecessary, their trailer being as small as it was.

"Any time now," Jay responded. "I hope."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the telltale sound of rolling tires reached them. Both his mom and dad perked up at the sound, eyes shining with excitement. They rushed outside together.

Jay hesitated to follow, fearful of their reaction.

But there really was no choice. He stood, moving out into the junkyard with shaky steps. Cole stood beside his truck, already shaking hands with that easy smile of his. Both his parents seemed at ease with the revelation of their son's date, acting like their usual, chattering selves.

"I don't think I've ever seen you around!" His mother said.

"Definitely not." His father shook his head. Jay slinked past them, to stand beside Cole.

"He- We- Um, we just met this year, actually. I mean we met in fourth grade but we didn't talk much, but now we talk and. . . yeah. He's my- He's Cole. My date. To homecoming."

"Well, Cole, I hope we see more of you! I want to get to know you. Don't let Jay hide you from us. He gets a bit embarrassed about living in a junkyard, but don't mind that, come around any time! Alright?"

Cole snickered softly, seeing Jay in his mother's excitable attitude. "Of course. I'll make sure to visit."

"Good!" Edna beamed. She patted her son's hair back to perfection and adjusted the bowtie until she was satisfied.

"Alright Edna, we should let them go. Or else they'll be standing here all night!" Ed took his wife's hand, gently tugging her back to give Jay and Cole some space.

She nodded in agreement. "Alright, alright. You two have fun, okay? And I want to hear all about it Jay. You better not just come home saying it was 'good'. Or I'll call Cole and ask him."

"Ha-Ha okay, mom," Jay replied, voice strained. He looped around the truck to hop inside, in order to usher things into motion. Now that his parents had met Cole, Jay was eager to get on with the rest of the night.

He felt a mix of nerves and anxiety, but not in an overwhelming manner, surprisingly enough. Everything felt surreal, which left him feeling disconnected enough to remain calm.

After giving his parents one last wave, Cole climbed into the truck. "They're really nice. I like them."

"They're a little annoying." Jay chuckled softly. "But yes."

"Nice bowtie, by the way."

"Thanks. Thank you. Yeah. I . . . like blue. And, I liked it." Jay bit his lip, feeling as if it was his turn to deliver a compliment, but not quite knowing what to go for. Saying I like everything about you felt like, perhaps, a little too much. "I like . . . your hair."

"I worked eons on it. So thank you. I've never done anything with it before. I didn't realize what a challenge it was to make hair do things." Cole's eyes moved to the rearview mirror, as he admired his handy work. "Did want to try and look nice though, so I kept at it."

"I can't. . . believe this is a thing that's happening." Jay said, fighting against the threat of silence. That would only give him time to settle into reality. And that would only make his nerves spark. "I mean, wow, I've never even been to homecoming. And now I am! And I get to go with. . . you."

"You've never been to homecoming? I would have thought Nya would drag you to it every year." Cole smirked, and Jay mirrored the smile. "That's what Kai does to me, anyway. Since he doesn't want to go alone. But this is the only year I've actually tried to look presentable."

"Well, you succeeded." Jay said, before quickly shifting the subject. "Are we bringing Kai too, then?"

"No, no. Just us." Cole said. Before Jay could beam at this statement, however, he continued. "He hasn't answered any of my calls. Or texts. So I guess he isn't coming."

"Ah." Jay tried not to frown, as his brain began to overthink everything. If he had texted Kai about homecoming, did this mean this was not a date? Cole's words suddenly echoed back at him.

I think I like you too.

The phrase had been sweet, but vague. Cole thought he liked him. He hadn't said he did. So maybe this was never meant to be a date at all. Maybe Cole just wanted a small free-trial of hanging out with Jay in a somewhat romantic setting to see if it was worth the effort.

The dream-like calmness shattered.

"There's Jay! And Cole!" Nya waved her arms enthusiastically, hoping to grab their attention.

"Good for them," Kai groaned, feeling dazed with the thoughts flitting in and out of his mind. He couldn't even distinguish which words belonged to who anymore. Kai felt extremely irritated, and he couldn't think of a good reason on why he'd come at all.

"Can you at least pretend you're having a good time? Why didn't you stay home?" Once Jay and Cole had spotted her, Nya turned back to her brother. "I mean, you clearly don't want to be here."

"Clearly." Kai shrugged, having absolutely no will to try and be polite.

Before Nya could hiss out a response, Cole and Jay reached them. Kai flinched. The number of words in Jay's head was extremely overwhelming. They were somehow louder than everyone else's, making Kai's headache worse than it already was.

Kai rubbed his head, then realized that Cole was staring at him, as if expecting something. "What?"

He flinched at the edge in his voice. Cole did too.

"I just said I didn't know you were coming. You didn't answer any of my messages."

"Oh. That. I lost my phone. Somewhere." Kai shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Cole said something else, but Kai didn't hear it. He really shouldn't have come. Maybe he had only wanted an excuse to make a scene, to have someone listen, to have someone help him.

Even though he had the teapot safely tucked in the inside pocket of his suit, he made no attempt to show it off. If he did, Nya would take it. Then goodbye final wish. Not to mention they were all bound to find out how bad Kai was at wishing. How horribly he'd messed everything up.

And his mind would absorb every one of their judgments.

He needed it all to just. . . go away. He needed his last wish.

Kai pulled himself back into the moment. His sister was gushing over Jay's outfit and hair, while the latter pretended to smile, although the disarray of thoughts still plagued his mind. Cole stood by him, acting as relaxed and aloof as ever, but Kai now knew all too well what an act it all was. He gave his head a small shake, realizing that Cole had once again been addressing him.

". . . To Zane. And it was good. I know I probably made a big deal out of everything, and I'm sorry. I just want us to go back to being friends."

"You know, you should be talking to Jay, not me." Kai pointed out. "Quit the nice, perfect boy act. You're making him feel bad. If you like him, then tell him that."

Cole frowned. Kai laughed. That earned him a concerned look, but he turned away from it, stalking off into the hall.

He slipped the teapot from his pocket, still moving, away from the thumping music and the invasive thoughts.

"Last wish it is." Kai sighed.

Cole watched Kai slip away.

He turned to Jay, knowing his friend (former friend?) had been right. Cole was so used to downplaying any sort of powerful emotion, that he'd hardly noticed he'd slipped into his Perfect Boy self.

Nice bowtie? Cole mocked himself. Really?

He'd already told Jay that he hated pretending. Acting calm and aloof when he wanted to gush and smile was pretending. He needed to be genuine. Had to be.

Cole cleared his throat, regaining Jay and Nya's attention. He gave Jay a smile he hoped looked real, and not practiced. Then he spoke, stuttering slightly as he allowed the beating of his heart to become excited and erratic. "So. . . How- How about a dance, then?"

Jay blinked, then frowned, then blinked again. "Right. Dancing. That's a thing people do at well . . . dances."

Nya nudged him, and Jay hissed something inaudible. Cole held out his hand. "Come on, I didn't ask you to come with me so that we could stand here all night."

Jay's emotions flooded his pupils. It was hypnotic. Cole couldn't get enough.

When Jay accepted Cole's hand, they moved forward. Jay took a shaky breath before speaking. "Just so you know, I don't dance. I mean I dance, everyone dances, but I don't do it well."

"Okay, that's cool. I don't do it well either."

"Liar," Jay scowled. "You go to dance classes!"

"Me? No. You must be confusing me with a different Cole." Jay smiled hesitantly, eyes filled with amusement and confusion as he tried to figure out whether or not to laugh. "Does this look like someone who takes classes six days a week?"

Cole danced. Well, danced was a terrible overstatement. His body moved quite obviously out of rhythm, and the movements were exaggerated and goofy. This time, Jay did break into bright laughter, which only encouraged Cole more.

"Okay, okay. I get your point!" Jay said in between laughs. "You really don't have to keep doing this."

"I'll keep going till you join me."

"Well. . . At least you'll make me look good."

With a slight pout, Jay danced too. His movements were stiff and self-conscious at first, but ever so slowly, he began to loosen up. It was hard not to, when Cole was acting as silly as he was. Besides, Jay was feeling a surprising amount of things, and it was hard to stay still as they pumped through him.

Neither Cole nor Jay could have said how long they went on. The songs blended into each other, and in between laughter and smiles, neither of them were too worried about the passage of time.

Then the beat changed, startling them both out of the moment. The music became slower, flipping from upbeat to romantic. Jay stopped dancing altogether, the relaxed aura he'd gained leaving in an instant.

"Er. . . well, that was fun." He smiled. "But I'm thirsty. So- Well, we should probably get a drink."

"C'mon. One slow dance." Cole held his hand out again. Jay pouted. It was difficult to resist, mainly because he did not want to do so.

"I'm all sweaty." He protested weakly, already gingerly slipping his hand into Cole's. "I smell gross, probably."

"Not worse than me." Cole smirked, taking hold of Jay's hand and tugging him a little closer.

Jay blushed but tried to go with the flow, forcing himself to think of the music itself and not the fact that holy unholy he was so incredibly, impossibly, close to Cole.

"I'm sorry I was kind of awkward in the drive here," Cole spoke, voice soft, for Jay's ears only. Jay couldn't find the strength to meet his eyes, but he listened intently. "And I'm sorry I was. . . well, ambiguous with my answer after you told me you liked me. I do like you, Jay. I really, really do.

"I mean, ever since I met you, I could feel myself changing. Becoming. . . more me and less. . . less whatever it is people expect me to be. Who knows, maybe you'll give me the guts to tell my dad I don't want to go to college."

"Thank you. For saying that. It means a lot. I didn't. . . think I was helping anything if I'm honest." In fact, I'm pretty sure I made your life worse. Ha-Ha. Jay forced himself to look up. "I'm glad I. . . was able to. . . help. . ."

His words slowed as his heart sped. Jay could feel himself standing over the edge of a very important moment, a moment he didn't dare imagine for risk of chasing it away. Cole leaned down, and Jay leaned forward.

Their lips touched. Jay could felt everything within him unravel. His mind shook with the impossibility of it all. Here he was, Jay Walker, the least interesting person in the universe, somehow having reached the peak of his very own love story.

He wanted to cry. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to scream. Most importantly though, he wanted to stay right where he was, with Cole's warm comforting body cradling his own.

Then the universe shoved them both apart.

There was a tap on his shoulder. Jay spun away from the moment, to face the culprit. Nya. "I'm really, really sorry. But. . . I can't find Kai. I don't think he'd go home without telling me. I just. . . he's been acting really weird and I- I don't know."

His best friend's expression was stressed. Jay's world shifted. He was once more dangerously leaning over the edge of something, but this time, the something was much less appealing.

If Kai had found the teapot, and he'd gone missing. . .

Then it was now or never. He needed to tell them he'd had it. Needed to help his best friend.

"I'm worried he might have been telling the truth about the teapot. And if he was. . . and. . ." Nya grimaced, unable to continue.

Jay's eyes shifted over to Cole. The person his heart yearned for the most. And the person he was bound to lose if the truth came to light. I wish everything about his life wasn't so utterly perfect.

Time slowed, waiting for Jay to make a decision. He was ashamed at how easy the choice was.

"I doubt it, Nya. He's probably okay." Jay lied, still clutching onto Cole's hand. "We'll help you look for him, alright?"