Occupied by the fact that I was now kissing Berto, and all attempts at rational thought had flown out the window, I didn't notice Shock hovering nearby. It wasn't until he was floating inches from my face, scratching his chin with one arm, that Berto and I broke apart.
"What were you two doing?" Shock asked as we blushed furiously, having completely forgotten he was still in the room. Not sure how to respond I just sat there while Berto suddenly found the ceiling interesting. Not giving up Shock hovered around our heads, his arms crossed against his chest until I finally gave up.
"It's called a kiss, okay." I told him as Berto fiddled with his wrist computer, probably as embarrassed as I was at having the Ultralink unintentionally spy on us.
"So that's what it's called. Is that what you two were doing before the bomb exploded at THI?" Shock asked and I nodded. "Interesting. So why did you kiss?" He asked and I wanted to use Stealth mode right there and then. Thankfully Berto answered, saving me the continued embarrassment of having to explain.
"We…um kissed because we like each other." Berto said and I tried not to giggle. "Jessie, you're not helping." He added and I couldn't help myself as I burst out laughing. Pretending he was annoyed with me, Berto eyed me for a few seconds before he saw the funny side and laughed too. As we sat there, cracking up, Shock floated in midair as he once again tried to figure out the joke. Soon he went in search of Forge and Kat, determined to get them to explain the joke to him. Wiping tears of laughter from my eyes I turned to Berto, who had a grin plastered across his face.
"That was interesting. Next time I need to make sure we're completely alone." I said and he nodded.
"Yeah good plan because we really don't need an audience." Berto replied and I grinned back at him.
"I hear that. Since I'm staying here, tonight anyway, what do I do now?" I asked and Berto jumped off the couch.
"How about we work on your skateboarding skills?" He suggested. With a smile I joined him and together we walked into the corridor. Retrieving our skateboards from his lab, we took off down the corridor at full speed and I soon discovered that Berto was right: I was getting better at skateboarding. As we sped around N-Tek, racing each other, I suddenly noticed a set of stairs a few feet in front of me. With a sudden grin I shot forward and leapt into the air, landing on the handrail and rolling down it. Before I hit the end, I jumped holding the board and flipped in midair, landing perfectly. At the top of the stairs I saw Berto staring down at me. With a smile I gave a bow as I picked up my skateboard and climbed the stairs.
"That was really cool. You learn fast." He said as I stepped back on the board.
"Thank you for that. I'm feeling a lot more confident with my board skills. Too bad the same can't be said for my battle skills." I replied, taking off down the corridor again.
"Your battle skills are fine. You just need to have a bit more confidence in yourself." Berto told me, skateboarding nearby. "Give it time." Lost in thought I almost didn't see Shock come flying into the corridor. I only just missed colliding with the Ultralink and as I stopped my board, Shock hovered nearby.
"That was close." Berto commented, jumping off his board and walking over to us.
"Sorry about that, Jessie. I was actually wondering when we're going home." Shock asked me and I shrugged.
"I know Forge wanted you to stay at N-Tek but it couldn't hurt to go back to your apartment tonight. You've got school tomorrow anyway and then training back here afterwards." Berto pointed out and I groaned.
"You just had to remind me. Well I guess its home time then. See you at N-Tek tomorrow." I said to him as he rolled away.
"Ready to go?" Shock asked me as I bent to pick up my board. As I stood up, Berto rolled past and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. Before I had time to react, he left me standing there blushing while Shock looked on again. Running into the hangar I waited for Shock to catch up.
"Umm let's rock, Flight." I stammered as I changed modes and flew towards my apartment. Less than a block from my room, I ducked into an alley and changed back into my camouflage outfit. Now wearing my hoodie and jeans I entered the building. Inside my room, Shock asked what we were doing while he was gone.
"Skateboarding around N-Tek. Apparently I'm getting better at keeping my balance." I told him, walking over to the sink and pouring myself a glass of water. As I went to drink, Shock flew over to me.
"Okay. Then why did Berto kiss you on the cheek?" He asked and I coughed, almost spilling my water, Wiping my chin with one hand I stared at him in surprise and he shrugged. "I was just asking."
"I guess he was saying goodbye. You're pretty curious today." I pointed out, setting the cup down on the sink and turning around.
"I can't help it. I've only been awake since your Turbo energy woke me up and everything in this world's new to me. I apologize if I made you or Berto uncomfortable earlier." Shock explained and I smiled at him.
"Actually it's my fault. Sometimes I get a little sidetracked." I admitted as I leaned against the kitchen table.
"So I've noticed. Especially where Berto's concerned you do." Shock replied and I laughed.
"Yeah you got me there. Well I'm about ready for bed." I said as I yawned.
"Me too." Shock agreed and we headed for bed.
The next morning I woke to find it was just after 7am. Yawning I sat up and rubbed my eyes, accidentally waking Shock in the process.
"Five more minutes." He muttered and I giggled as I stood and headed for the bathroom. Ten minutes later I stepped out with my hair fixed and my teeth brushed.
"Shock, time for school." I said and he eventually flew into the kitchen as I made myself breakfast. Still half asleep Shock collided with the wall and I managed to keep from laughing. Finishing my cereal I bent and retrieved the Ultralink from the kitchen floor. Amazingly he hadn't woken up and I rolled my eyes.
"Hey Shock." When he didn't answer I gave up and dropped him into my bag. Then I was out the door. Along the way to school Max caught up with me and asked how I was going. Before I could answer he and I heard an odd noise coming from my bag.
"Okay what was that?" He asked and I pointed to Shock, who still hadn't woken up since we left.
"Man he's worse than you, Max." Steel spoke from inside Max's bag and Max rolled his eyes.
"I am not. For the record I got up early today." He replied as we walked together.
"Uh huh. When Molly called you this morning, you climbed out of bed. Then ended up falling asleep on the floor of your bedroom." Steel told me and I laughed as Max rubbed his eyes.
"Please don't remind me. Anyway we had that battle with Extroyer last night and we didn't get back until late." Max shot back before he saw the guilty look on my face. "Geeze, sorry Jess." He added and I shrugged.
"No its fine. Anyway after school I'm going to spend some time in the training simulator so it's all good." I answered. "If Shock ever wakes up by then, anyway." I added, making Max laugh. By the time we arrived at school, I found Sydney and Kirby already there.
"Good morning. How was your date yesterday?" Sydney asked me.
"Eventful. Berto took me to the park to practice skateboarding. Everything was going really well until a black tiger almost landed on us." I told them and they looked surprised.
"Man you just can't catch a break. Good thing Max Steel showed up when he did." Kirby said and I smiled.
"Yeah but it kind of ruined the moment. Still I guess we got to see Max Steel in action." I said and Max grinned at that.
"Plus that new superhero showed up again." Max added and I grinned back.
"Man I missed her again. I'll have to bring my video camera next time." Kirby suggested and I laughed. As we headed to class, Max took me aside for a moment and asked what happened after he left.
"Not much really. I ended up going home afterwards." I answered only for Shock, having finally woken up, to tell Max that Berto and I kissed. Going completely red in the face, I scowled as Max burst out laughing. "Did I say something wrong again?"
"Kind of. Let's just get to class." I said and left Max standing in the hallway. As soon as it was lunchtime I followed Sydney and Kirby into the cafeteria and got my lunch. Sitting down together I asked where Max had gone.
"He had to go, some emergency or something. Dude does that a lot." Kirby answered as I took a bite of my burger.
"What was he laughing about before anyway?" Sydney asked and when I blinked, she told me that he'd shown up for class with a grin on his face. "I could hear him talking to you before in the hallway."
"It was something I told him in confidence. Why does he keep doing things like that?" I replied.
"Why, what did he say? Come on, spill." Kirby said and I wasn't sure what to do.
"I promise we won't tell anyone. We're friends right?" Sydney said and I nodded, knowing they'd keep my secret. Hopefully.
"Before I went home…well...Berto and I…actually kissed." I admitted. For a moment both Sydney and Kirby were silent. "Um guys?"
"Dude that is awesome!" Kirby shouted and several people looked over at us, making me want to disappear into the floor.
"Congratulations." Sydney said, thankfully a lot quieter than Kirby. "So you're an official couple now" she said and I smiled weakly; sure my face was fully red by now.
"Thanks, I think." I said as I tried to steer the conversation away from me. Of course it wasn't easy as I guess that it was pretty interesting talking about my boyfriend and me. Once lunch was over I was actually looking forward to class. Unfortunately for me I had only just walked inside when I found out that our teacher wasn't there yet.
"Cool. That means we can talk about you and Berto more." Sydney said as we sat down and I smiled, resolving to get back at Max for this.
"Okay fine. What else do you want to know?" I asked. With a grin she asked when they would get to meet Berto. "I'll ask him and get back to you on that."
"Cool. I wonder where our teacher's gone." Kirby said. It wasn't until a few minutes later that another teacher showed up and informed us that classes were cancelled for the rest of the day.
"That's strange." I asked as we walked into the hallway, only to hear sirens in the distance. Walking over to a window I peered out, trying to find some clue to what was going on. And that's when I thought I saw Max Steel shoot past the window.
"Hey was that Max Steel?" Kirby asked as he and Sydney joined me. I shrugged, not sure what I had seen. It was then I heard my phone beep. With Kirby and Sydney distracted I quickly slipped away into an empty classroom. Flying out of my bag, Shock asked me what the plan was.
"Change into J-Shock and go after Max Steel, of course." I told him and he looked back at me.
"Are you sure you're up to it? After yesterday…" He said. I didn't have time to answer when my phone beeped again and I answered it.
"Jessie? We need your help." Forge told me and I told him we were on our way. As soon as I put my phone back we changed to Flight mode and, quietly opening the window, flew into the air. Along the way Shock asked me something.
"What villain is it this time?" He asked and I told him that Extroyer had been sighted in the city, close to the school.
"That explains why they cancelled class. Let's get him back for last time." Shock said and I grinned.
"He's going down this time." I replied as we picked up speed.