heart2heart | Ninjago Bruise

Chapter 5

Everything had been so weird since the Tournament started. Going into this, Jay never expected to be friends with Cole again, he never expected to even get along. 

Considering Chen's Island was a place of such hate, it made no sense how they'd come to terms with their friendship, but either way, they were both grateful. Perhaps being pitted against one another was what they needed.

Jay was sitting alone across the camp that the team had set up after recently escaping Chen's Temple. It was a strange feeling being out of that place, but it made them feel all respectfully relieved. Now that they all had their elemental powers back, there was no stopping them. Although they hadn't forgotten that Chen was close to completing his spell.

Jay, along with the other ninja, had been captured during one of the tournament trials, leaving them stranded on the island with nothing but a weapon. Luckily, they were all smart enough to escape the noodle factory and restore their powers, leaving Chen with nothing but a spell book and a relatively shit army.

Now, the group were taking refuge deep into the forest on the island, hoping to remain as quiet as possible while they thought up a plan. A few had gone off in search of food, leaving a small group left at the camp in case something were to happen. They were in close contact, using GPS trackers and earpieces that couldn't be picked up by Chen or Clouse. However, it was only a matter of time before they were found.

Jay sat on his log, next to his mech - which he was almost done repairing - taking a break. Every now and again, he glanced over at the group left over by the campfire. It felt odd to be over there, especially knowing those in that direction weren't exactly keen on him, so fixing his mech was the best excuse he had.

Shade and Bolobo were never too interested in the master of lightning. It was obvious they found him annoying, and after the little hiccup he had with the master of nature on the fire night on the island, he'd rather stay far away. Tox and Chamille were the same, not showing any interest in the blue ninja. They'd rather talk to each other.

The only other person over there was.. Well, he didn't even want to think about her. It still didn't make sense how she managed to find the team, or how she even got here, but he'd rather not ask.

Even though he knew it wouldn't be awkward, he still avoided her like the plague.

Why was he even avoiding her? They broke up ages ago. Time apart was what they needed. But the thought of doing or saying the wrong thing clouded his mind - or even that she'd be annoyed talking to him. So he stayed clear of her. It didn't seem like she was too bothered about conversing anyway.

Every now and again, they'd share quick glances, but it only resulted in Jay nervously looking away, twiddling his thumbs or staring off into space. He hated that they couldn't act normal - or that he couldn't - but ruining anything, especially his friendship with Cole, was off the table right now.

Besides, if she wanted to talk then she'd approach him, right?

Watching her laugh along with the group made his heart ache, but not in the way you'd typically think. He sighed, bringing his attention back to his mech. It looked good so far. Once he got the wiring sorted, it'd be back to new. He wasn't sure why it was frustrating him so much though; he'd fixed much more complicated things before.

It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he noticed he'd been staring off into space for so long.

"Hey," a deep, soft voice caught his attention.

Without trying to look startled, Jay's head swivelled to meet the master of earth's face, a slight smile upon his lips.

Not that he was looking there, of course.