Chapter 16: Act 4, Scene 15

Jake Long, Lao Shi and Fu Dog were fighting the Huntsman and the Huntsgirl at a cargo ship over a magical scarab beetle. Right after Jake hit the two villains into the water, Lao Shi grabbed the beetle from a crate with land and some dead flowers. "Grandfather, shouldn't the beetle have made these dead flowers…" The flowers were then revived. "Never mind."

The next morning, Jake was ready to audition for the part of Anthony for a school play. "Jakey, if you really want to spend more time with homegirl, why don't you just ask her out on another date?" Trixie asked her friend.

"The drama teacher won't let her have enough time for this until the play is over and I think it's good that I try some new school activity." Jake explained.

"If you need help with your lines, count on me, Jake." Spud offered.

"Thanks, Spud." Jake replied.

At the audition set, they're surprised that Brad Morton was also auditioning. "Brad, since when are you interested in drama?" Jake asked.

"Ever since my Roselicious was set to play Cleopatra." Brad declared. "I'll not only get to kiss her but also make you pay for humiliating me at the skate park. The kiss means more, of course."

"Over my dead body." Jake boasted.

"Don't tempt me. Long." Brad demanded as he poked Jake until the drama teacher called him. "Brad Morton to the stage."

"Kiss me, Cleopalicious." Brad told Rose.

"Next." The drama teacher called. Jake went on and pulled a better performance.

"It's my pleasure to announce that Jake Long will play Anthony and Arthur Spudinski will be his substitute." The drama teacher announced.

"Yeah!" Jake exclaimed in triumph.

"Congratulations, Jakey." Trixie added.

"Ditto." Spud asked. "Why did I call you a Pokémon name?"

Jake then approached Rose. "So, where do we rehearse?"

"What about your place?" She suggested.

"I live at my Grandfather's shop, Rose." Jake reminded her. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, Jake." Rose answered and then set a meeting hour.

Jake eventually went back to Canal Street Electronics to inform Lao Shi of the news. "Terrible idea, Jake." Jake's Grandfather commented. "The shop's private area isn't meant for humans who don't know about the Magical World. Especially with the magic beetle nearby."

"Is it still here?" Jake asked in confusion. "I thought you'd already sent it to the Dragon Council for safekeeping."

"They still don't have a safe place for it, young dragon." Lao Shi explained. "Until they do, we must keep it here."

"Can't we just send it to Mom and Dad for a while?" Jake suggested.

"Transporting it mustn't be taken so casually as we did with the Chalice of Tharanoushis and, no matter how grateful I am for your father's help whenever we need it, I am wary of getting him further involved." Lao Shi answered.

Later on, Rose arrived and they started their rehearsal but something was going wrong. "Jake, we can't feel the characters." Rose commented. "Cleopatra and Anthony are enemies in love and we don't have the 'enemy' part.

"Do you mean like knights and dragons?" Jake jokingly asked albeit he wouldn't expect Rose to understand since he didn't know she's a slayer.

"Hehehehe. Like a dragon would understand love." Rose commented.

"Well, there's no way to tell since dragons don't exist." Jake replied out of a desire to end the topic.

"True that, Jake." Rose lied as she remembered that, as far as she knew, she was talking to a human who didn't believe in the existence of magical creatures. "So, let's recite our lines again." She suggested.

Rose and Jake eventually tried to give the so awaited kiss but neither of them felt ready for this. "What about we kiss each other on the cheek?" Jake meekly suggested.

"Okay, Jake." Rose agreed and they kissed.

After Rose left, Jake went to his bedroom to check upon the beetle. "Phew." Jake was glad to see it remained safe.

"That was close, kid." Fu commented. "Your girlfriend would've been scared if she saw the beetle."

"Or if she heard a talking dog." Jake replied. "Even Trixie was freaked out at first."

The next day, Jake was approached by several students asking him about the kiss with Rose. "Sorry, guys. A gentleman never tells."

"Especially when there's nothing to tell, Long." Brad teased.

"Nice try, Brad, but I'm still not telling." Jake replied.

"Like there's a chance my Roselicious would kiss a loser like you." Brad teased.

"I'm not yours, Brad." Rose replied and then approached Jake with a suggestive smile. She surprised everyone, Jake included, by kissing him. "Now you don't need to tell, Jake." She said and then left.

"Brad, I owe you big time." Jake commented. Brad took it for teasing but Jake was too happy with the kiss to think about it.

End chapter.