Primarily Yours

Chapter Six

"Jade, that's..." Amazing? Terrifying?

"Isn't it so cool? Grandpa built it! He didn't say what it was for though."

Now, the robot wasn't inherently creepy in itself. What really scared John was that it was an almost perfect replica of Jade. The eyes glowed a strange, eerie red as it gazed at him with his friend's stolen face.

"You don't think it's creepy?"

"I think it's awesome! You're acting like Dave did, though. Both of you didn't see its charm."

"Dave was here?" He smirked, waggling his eyebrows at Jade. She narrowed her eyes in disgust.

"Stop thinking like that, you weirdo. Nothing like that happened."

John leaned back, stretching as he said, "The guy bought you a steak dinner, Jade. I hope he got something out of it. After all, as Dave's best friend-slash-wingman, it's my job to make sure he gets what he deserves."

"Well as Rose's wingwoman, then I guess I should ask if she got anything special."

Thrown slightly off by the question, John's cool facade dropped. He had forgotten he was supposed to be dating Rose. Guess she wasn't a very good fake girlfriend.

Jade smirked, mistaking his discomfort for something else. "Don't worry John, you don't need to tell me. I won't pry into your life."

He shook his head frantically. The last thing he needed was for Dave to think he and Rose were... well... that.

"It's not like that, Jade. Please don't think so." He held out a hand to stop the words that were surely going to come. "I like Rose. Really, I do. But I don't want you to think that we've gotten that far and I'd prefer you don't tell her about this."

She smiled warmly at him for a moment. "I understand, John. Everyone has their secrets after all."

He sighed in relief. Sure, Jade wouldn't care if she knew the truth... but it would make their easy friendship much messier than it needed to be. He liked keeping things inside because it was safer that way.

"Speaking of dates and unspeakable acts, did you enjoy our night out? Sure seemed like you did."

She blushed for a moment, warm color flooding her cheeks. "It was... nice."

"Nice?" he teased. "Jade, you had a night out with the two finest gentleman ever known! With Mr. Egbert as your friend and Mr. Strider as your date, I'd think it would be a lot more than nice. Not to mention the lovely Ms. Lalonde there to entertain you with her drunken stories."

Jade sighed for a moment before she spoke. "Well, I do wish Rose wouldn't have done that. Makes me worry about her, you know? But besides that... it was..."

His friend tilted her head back, lips curling up in a dreamy smile. "John, it was amazing. I think- I think I might love Dave."

Woah.

Before he could say anything, the lovestruck look dropped off Jade's face in a flash. "Oh John- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said- it's private- I"

"Hey, hey, it's okay." John murmured reassuringly. "I won't tell Dave, if that's what you're worried about." Her eyebrows crinkled as she looked at him.

"Tell Dave? I don't care if Dave knows. That doesn't matter to me. I just thought..."

"Thought what?"

"Well, I thought it might make you jealous."

John could've sworn he heard a thump as his jaw hit the floor.

"Jade, I don't see why that would make me jealous- I mean-"

She grinned coyly at him. "You don't need to hide it, John. I know how smitten you are with Dave. You and Rose... that's just an act. Both for her sake and yours."

"Jade... does Dave-?" She cut him off before he could ask the dreaded question, the one always hanging over his head like the shadow of death.

"Trust me, he doesn't know. Dave isn't near as perceptive as I am and you and Rose put on a pretty good show. But Rose is just as secretive with him as she is with you. I know she wouldn't let anything on. And since you clearly want to hide, well, I doubt Dave has any clue."

"Thanks, Jade. That means a lot. If it's any consolation... I'm sorry."

Her gaze was full of sympathy as she looked at him. "John, you don't need to be sorry for who you love. If anything, I should be sorry. Maybe I'm keeping Dave away from someone who would treat him better than I could."

"The thing is, John, I don't think Dave would be better off with you. No offense- this isn't a competition or anything. It's just he's happy with me. And I'm happy with him. So because of that, I'm not going to change our relationship for a 'what if'. Because I think things are okay the way they are."

He nodded slowly, cautiously. "I understand, Jade. It's okay."

She pulled him quickly into a hug. As always, she smelled of pumpkins. Yes, rivals or not, they were still friends. Hopefully they would always stay friends.

"Alright, that's enough sappy feelings for one day. I can only take so much of this." John grinned when she pulled away. "Can we discuss your terrifying robot now? Will it become Dave's new girlfriend once it kills you to assert dominance?"

Jade laughed softly at that. Hopefully, they could put this Dave stuff behind them. That's what he was trying to do, at least. Push it away to the back of his mind to make it easier.

"I hope that doesn't happen. It's not even working yet. Grandpa didn't say why he made it, but I know there's got to be a good reason."

"Such as the start of the robotic apocalypse?"

"Yes, John. Exactly that."

"Sweet!"