"So you need to be linked to Jessie all the time or just every eight hours?" Jason asked as he sat on the couch in the living room and Shock gave him a nod.
"If you don't mind me asking why the sudden interest?" Shock said and Jason shrugged, glancing towards my room for a few seconds. "Oh I get it. You want to know everything about your girlfriend, don't you?" He grinned and Jason stared at him.
"Maybe a little I suppose." Jason answered after a pause, giving the Ultralink a slight smirk and Shock laughed at the blush that crept across the ex-villan's face. "And what's that grin for?"
"Face it, you really like her. And before you try to say otherwise...I remember what you two were doing in Berto's lab the other day. Whatever that was anyway." Shock answered as Jason buried his face in his hands.
"Can you just forget about that? I was testing Jessie to see if she was telling the truth about liking me." Jason replied, his voice slightly muffled by his hands and Shock flew closer, now very interested.
"And what did you find out?" He asked and Jason lifted his head, giving the Ultralink a grin.
"That she wasn't lying when she said she was interested in me. Yeah I'm just as surprised as you...Shock." Jason chuckled as he lent his head against the back of the chair. As he did he thought back to that moment when we'd let our attraction for each other take over and if it hadn't been for Shock's timely intervention...well Jason didn't know what would have happened. Though he couldn't help thinking he probably would have enjoyed finding out only to shake his head, his cheeks growing hot and he hurried climbed to his feet. "I'd better get to bed. 'Night, Shock." He stammered, heading towards the spare room as Shock looked on in confusion. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Jason lent against it.
"I shouldn't get too close to her. I should be helping her capture Master...I mean Dredd. Once he's locked up I'm safe and then maybe I could finally get that date with Jessie." Jason muttered, stretching a little before he headed for his bed. "If we survive that long anyway." He sighed as an afterthought.
It wasn't until late the next morning when I finally opened my eyes, feeling better than the last few times I'd woken up and as I yawned I heard Shock's voice in my head.
"Good morning, Jess. How'd you sleep?" He asked as I sat up, stretching my arms and I grinned before answering.
"A lot better. Thanks for asking. Where are you anyway?" I asked and I jumped the moment he detached from my chest, letting out a laugh at my expense. "Oh very funny wiseguy." I grumbled though I did let out a giggle.
"Yeah I know. Anyway how's the rib?" Shock asked and I pressed my palm against my side, putting a little pressure on it and when nothing happened I sighed.
"I think its finally stopped hurting." I sighed my hand moving to the blanket and that's right when the door opened, causing me to look up just as Jason stood in the doorway.
"That's a relief. No more complaining about being in pain." Jason said and I frowned at him, making him wave his hand in front of his chest. "Just kidding. Actually that means you can go after Dredd for me." He answered as I climbed off the bed and I crossed my arms.
"Uh uh. I need Commander Forge's permission to do that. And anyway its not like I can just snap my fingers and he'll appear." I told him and it was Jason's turn to frown at me. "Huh no use getting mad at me and besides I have school today so I need to get ready."
"Wait so what'll I do in the meantime?" Jason asked as I made my bed, leaning over for about a minute with a slight smile. Even if he denied it later I just knew that Jason was staring at my backside until I straightened and as I walked towards him, he gave me a slight grin.
"Well no offense but I can't exactly pass you off as a student at Copper Canyon High. So I could bring you back to N-Tek or you could stay here and meet me after class. Your choice." I replied as I stepped past him and walked into the kitchen.
"Stay here all day? Are you joking? I'll be bored out of my mind." Jason whined as he followed me and he sounded so much like a little kid that I burst out laughing.
"Okay, okay. How about this? You hang out at N-Tek until I finish school then I'll meet you there and we'll go on that date." I offered and Jason pretended to consider it, looking towards the back wall though he couldn't hide the smile that creep across his lips.
"Deal." He finally answered, holding out his hand and I walked over. Of course just as I reached for his hand, grasping it in mine he yanked me forward and as I gave a very girly yelp of surprise he gave me an open-mouthed kiss. While I did enjoy it I was still a little annoyed that he didn't exactly ask and when it ended he chuckled at the blush that spread across my face. "So we're in agreement? Fine then let's head to N-Tek." He chuckled as he headed for the front door, only for Shock to fly in front of him and make him pause.
"Breakfast first then we'll head out." Shock said as Jason blinked at him then me, the latter giving him a smirk before I searched for two bowls. "Besides Jessie will never stop complaining if she doesn't get something to eat." He added keeping his voice low and I rolled my eyes. Though as Jason took a seat at the kicthen table he couldn't help grinning at me as I poured the last of the milk into a saucepan and set it down on the stove, mentally reminding myself to buy a new carton the next time I went shopping. While I waited for the milk to heat up, Shock poured the two of us a bowl of cereal.
"Huh what's this for?" Jason asked, staring down at the bowl like it was something weird and I rolled my eyes as I reached for the saucepan.
"Breakfast, what's it look like?" I replied, turning my head slightly to give him a raised eyebrow and that caused me to divide my attention, which is never a good idea when you have something heating up on the stove. As I reached for the saucepan with my left hand I knocked the handle instead of grabbing it and that's when the contents upended, right on top of my hand. Even with the Turbo suit it hurt and I let out a pained shriek, instantly dropping the saucepan and causing the hot milk to spill all over the floor. "Ow, ow!" I whimpered as I held my injured hand in the other, blowing on it a little in an effort to cool it down.
"Geeze are you always this accident prone?" Jason asked, moving to my side and as I watched he turned the tap on before carefully taking my hand in his and after a moment I moved over. Before my eyes he gently ran my hand under the tap and after a brief gasp the cold water made it feel a little better. "How's that?" Jason asked as he stared at my hand and when I didn't answer he looked up, thinking I hadn't heard him. Then he found himself unable to move as he locked eyes with mine, both of us going completely quiet. At that moment I forgot that Shock was watching on with a question mark on his face, staring as I leant in. After a slight hestiation Jason moved closer, putting one hand on my shoulder before he closed the distance between us, his lips parting slightly.
"Guys!" Shock yelled, his voice echoing through the apartment and we instantly broke apart both of us wide-eyed and slightly embarrassed.
"Sorry I...uh..." I stammered, not sure what had just happened before I grabbed a roll of paper towels and as I knelt to clean the rapidly cooling milk I heard Jason's somewhat awkward cough.
"Uh...let me help." He muttered as he knelt beside me, trying to clean up while keeping his eyes on anything but me. After an awkward clean-up and forgetting about breakfast since it was now eight, I waited for Shock to link and change me into something while Jason preceded to dump the used paper towels in the nearby bin. "Okay so are we ready to go?" He asked and just for a few seconds he adjusted his tie, making me realize just how close we'd come to a kiss. Though judging from the grin he'd had only a few minutes earlier I knew he had wanted to kiss me and if Shock hadn't interrupted who knows what could have happened.
Not trusting my voice I nodded instead and as he followed me towards the front door to the apartment I didn't see the slightly disappointed expression on his face. During the walk back to N-Tek, and as Jason silently wondered why we were walking instead of flying there, I kept thinking back to every possible outcome that would end with us being together. But I still couldn't get my head around the fact that I might, just might, have romantic feelings for Jason. And yes I know we had kissed on more than one occasion and even did whatever that was in Berto's lab but even then...my thoughts trailed off then as Shock spoke. Using his telephatic link with me, he decided to ask just what I was thinking about.
"Jessie, what's wrong?" Shock asked and I almost jumped, only just stopping in time. "Look if you really like Jason I won't stand in your way. Though I will quietly object...maybe offer up my own opinions on why its never going to work." He added and I nearly let out a giggle before I stopped myself.
"Right now I'm trying to concentrate on getting us to N-Tek in one piece so can we talk about this later?" I whispered, hoping that Jason hadn't overheard. To my surprise Jason was right now more focused on following me then what I was mumbling and letting out a sigh, Shock agreed. Though the moment we reached N-Tek I glanced at my watch and before Jason's eyes I quickly transformed to Flight Mode, rushing away before he had a chance to say goodbye.
"Well that was rude." Jason muttered to himself, crossing his arms against and after pouting a little he shook his head. "So I suppose I'm stuck here for the next few hours until they get back. Wonder what I should do until then?" After standing there for less than a minute, Jason started to wander the building as he went looking for something to occupy his time. It wasn't long until he stumbled across an office, fully furnished but without anyone present.
Does anyone own this office I wonder, Jason thought as he walked inside and after stepping in front of the computer he grinned. Even if it is being used no one will notice I've been here, not with my computer skills. Sitting on the desk chair, he moved in front of the keyboard and after stretching his fingers he started to hack into N-Tek's mainframe.
Meanwhile I had just arrived at school, having had to rush back home because I forgot to grab my backpack. Just as I walked through the entrance I heard the bell, making me cringe and Shock chuckled.
"I just made it." I muttered as I hurried to my first class and just as I opened the door Mr Thornhill looked up, instantly raising an eyebrow at me. "Sorry, Mr Thornhill."
"Just find a seat, Miss Alexander." He sighed and I nodded, quickly sitting at an empty desk between Butch and Kirby. Once Mr Thornhill started talking I heard Shock asking me something from inside my backpack and I lowered my head slightly.
"I still can't believe that he's your boyfriend." He repeated and I sighed, rolling my eyes towards the ceiling only to realize that Max was looking in my direction. I gave him a wave, hoping he hadn't found out about me and Jason though after a moment of staring at me, he turned back to the board. By the time class finally let out I stood up, grateful that I hadn't zoned out once again and as I walked towards the door, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. Turning around I saw Max standing beside me and I sighed, knowing exactly what he wanted.
"I know what you're going to say and the truth is...I have no idea why." I said as Max followed me into the hallway and as I walked towards my locker, he frowned.
"Okay that makes no sense whatsoever. He works for Dredd and you can't trust him. What if he's sending info back to Dredd?" Max asked as I grabbed my Science book and I turned, giving him my best death glare.
"Is it that shocking that someone finds me attractive?" I asked and Max gave me a nod, which as it tuns out was the wrong answer. "How dare you!" I growled, my eyes glowing and he cringed taking a step back.
"Smart move, Max. Very smart." Steel muttered from his spot in Max's backpack and once I calmed down, mostly due to the fact I didn't want anyone to see my Turbo powers, I glared at my friend.
"Look I didn't mean it like that. Its just he's a villian and he could just be using you." Max said, letting out a breath once he knew I wasn't going into a Turbo meltdown. "I'm just trying to help you."
"Yeah I know that and I'm sorry I lost it. But is me liking him really so weird?" I asked and he gave me a slight grin which I mirrored. "Okay than I'm weird. Well, weirder."
"We're all trying to protect you. Besides you like him because he's attractive in your human eyes, isn't he?" Shock asked as I closed my locker and started to head to our next class and I shrugged, wondering if that was the only reason I liked Jason. While I tried to work out just why I liked him so much, and secretly hoping it wasn't because of his looks and that alone, I didn't know that Jason had been spending the day hacking into N-Tek's files.
"Hmm says here that both of Jessie's parents are deceased. So her mother was an N-Tek scientist and her father...was a Tachyon warrior? Jessie wasn't lying about that." He muttered, stroking his chin as he leaned in closer to the screen unaware that someone was monitoring his activities.
"You were right. Jason is hacking into classified files but the question is why is he only looking at data on Jessie's parents?" Forge said as he sat back in his chair and Kat shrugged, standing in front of his desk.
"Maybe he's still working for Dredd. If he finds out Jessie's secrets and relays them to Dredd..." Berto trailed off as everyone frowned at that revelation.
"If we rush in there right now he'll know that we've been watching him." Jefferson added as he watched Commander Forge looked on. After a few minutes of debate they all decided to wait and see what Jason did next. Which they soon discovered was to leave the office for a few minutes, returning a few minutes later with a cup of hot coffee in one hand.
"I wonder what else I can find?" Jason said to himself, taking a sip of the coffee before he set in down a safe distance away from the computer. As he began to type he didn't even notice that he was being watched. Of course I was blissfully unaware, having been trying my best to focus on my classes and not what I thought of my possible boyfriend.
"Maybe we should hurry back to N-Tek and check on Jason." Shock said as we walked outside into the hallway and I sighed, making my best friend roll his eye at me. "Just in case."
"Fine then let's go." I told him and after telling Max I'd meet him back at N-Tek, I hurried outside and as soon as we somewhere quiet I grinned. "Let's rock, Flight!" I called out as Shock linked with me and the moment the Turbo energy vanished, I took to the air in Flight Mode. Letting out a laugh I held on tight to my bag as we flew towards the warehouse entrance and as I did I couldn't help thinking about what Max had said. By the time we touched down and I switched to Base Mode, I could feel my heart beating wildly and Shock detached from me hovering just in front.
"Jessie, calm down. Jason's probably in there right now helping Forge find Dredd. You know he's more afraid of that villian than us." Shock said, knowing just how close I was to storming into the building and confronting Jason. Giving Shock a slight nod, I waited impatiently as the lift took us into N-Tek. It only took a few seconds before we reached the base but I almost instantly rushed ahead, leaving Shock to roll his eye at me before he flew after me.
It was at that exact moment that Jason was leaning back in the office chair, blissfully ignornat that I was only meters from his destination and just as he stretched his aching limbs I burst in. For a few seconds I just stared as Jason, not knowing I was just inside the doorway watching on as he stared at the screen.
" I suppose it was too much to count on this computer alone having everything I needed to know about Jessie. Maybe I should try a different computer next time and..." Jason muttered, only to hear a growl behind him and as he slowly turned he stared as he finally noticed me. "Jessie I didn't think you' d be back so soon." He said, a grin appearing on his face but as I stepped towards him he frowned.
"How dare you!" I yelled as I advanced towards him and as he cringed slightly, climbing to his feet and before he could react I grabbed his collar. "I trusted you and you went behind my back!"
"I know this looks bad but I..." Jason stammered, not liking the glare I was giving him and when I eventually relaxed my grip he swallowed. "I just wanted to learn about you."
"So that gives you the right to hack into N-Tek's mainframe? Why couldn't you have just asked me?" I whispered, letting go of his collar and he rubbed his neck for a moment.
"Because we know he's still working for Dredd." Forge interrupted and we both turned as the head of N-Tek entered the office and as I looked on he sighed. "Naught hasn't been truthful about his hacking. He was also finding out everything he could about Claire and Henry, your parents." For the next few seconds no one moved and when that finally hit me I reacted, rushing forward and slamming Jason into the backwall with a sudden blast of Turbo energy from my left hand.
Caught off-guard, Jason ended up slamming into the wall and as he fell to the floor I growled and turned my back on him. Letting out a pained groan he struggled to his feet, using the desk chair for leverage and as he stared at me he saw my eyes glow.
"I can explain!" Jason yelled as I glared at him and just as my Turbo energy settled, my eyes returning to their usual chocolate-brown he saw tears begining to make their way down my cheeks. Before everyone's eyes I turned and stormed out, tears streaming down my face as my anger faded, soon replaced by a feeling of utter betrayal as I started to sob. Feeling like someone had punched me in the stomach I took off running, ignoring the calls of Shock as he chased after me.