It had been weeks since Jay and Cole decided to part ways. Yeah, it makes them sound like they were dating, but it becomes more real for the master of earth. Maybe it would helped him to move on.
His obsession had calmed down a bit. It wasn't much of an obsession anymore but a strong crush. That crush would take so long to go away and he knew that. Jay knew that too. But he was determined. He just wanted his best friend back.
It was harder than he thought to avoid Jay. Everywhere he turned, he was there. He still dreamt about him occasionally too. He was used to it though. But he couldn't just be used to it, he needed it to go away.
If only he could just wish it away.
Nya wouldn't stop glaring at him. Their friendship had escalated to the master of water hating his guts because of his stupid crush on her boyfriend. Although she shouldn't be so upset unless she thought he was a threat, which he obviously wasn't. Jay was invested and committed to his relationship with Nya and if she knew that, she wouldn't be so caught up in the petty drama. Not that there was any drama anymore.
Jay and Cole would have no choice but to talk to each other here and there. Missions were an example. But they didn't speak to each other unless it was completely necessary. The rest of the team and Wu avoided pairing those two up too, which was understandable. It was still hard for Cole to get used to but he was slowly adjusting, as was Jay.
He wanted nothing more than to be able to have a normal conversation with his best friend again - not that they were really 'best friends' right now. He so badly wanted to tell Jay everything that was going on in his life and his head but he had to keep it inside. And by 'inside' I mean, in a diary. He'd bought it a few days after he and Jay stopped talking. Not being able to talk to someone about everything going on in his head was making him struggle so he got some advice from his dad, who suggested he buy a diary of some sort to write it all down. And maybe when things were back to normal, he could share it with the lightning elemental. If he wanted to, of course. Some things were meant to be kept secret though, especially in Cole's mind.
Cole felt as if he'd come quite a long way in the past few weeks but he didn't want to ruin it now by trying to get things back to normal. He knew that they'd only escalate again.
He removed the pictures of he and Jay from his wall too. Staring at them didn't help him at first. Jay's good looks were a huge contributor to his crush. But no matter what, he still couldn't get him out of his head. It's like he was glued there.
Cole spent a lot of time alone. Nya hated him, Kai and Lloyd always hung out, Zane was with Pixal and Wu spent the majority of his time meditating. It really made him realise how much time he spent with Jay. Like I said before, Jay was like the family Cole didn't have. He'd practically replace his mother in his life - not that Lilly could ever be replaced, because that was completely impossible - he needed him. Just like how he let a girl come between their friendship all those years ago, he was now letting a crush come between them. It was always a problem with Cole. That says a lot, doesn't it?
Cole was sat on his bed, listening to his favourite song through his earphones. He was busy writing in his black diary, pouring his heart and soul out to it. To be honest, he didn't hate spending time to himself. It was quite relaxing actually. Maybe taking some time to clear his head wasn't so bad after all.
Just as he was getting into the song, there was a loud knock at the door that distracted him. He looked up, closed his diary and stuffed it under his pillow before calling them to come in and taking his earphones out.
The door opened a little, revealing Jay's scruffy hair do coming around the corner. Cole felt a smile appearing on his face. Soon enough, Jay's head peered round fully, revealing a grin on his face.
"Hey," He spoke quietly.
"Hi," Cole replied a little awkwardly.
"I know we aren't supposed to be talking to each other or anything but I kinda need to talk to you," He whispered.
Cole chuckled, "Come in, why are you whispering?"
Jay peered behind him briefly before coming into the room properly and closing the door.
Cole knew he shouldn't be allowing this but if Jay really needed to talk, then so be it. Besides, maybe a little conversation wasn't so bad, but just as long as it was important and completely necessary.
"I don't want Nya to find me in here," He sighed.
"Yeah, she's made it clear that she hates me," Cole sat up on the bed as Jay made his way over, "So what do you wanna talk about?"
"Well, um, so it's been a few weeks, and I was just wondering how you're doing," Jay told him, "And I know this is practically illegal right now but... I'm just worried, that's all."
"Um..." Cole thought for a moment, "I'm actually pretty good. My dad gave me the idea to buy a diary so I can write some stuff down that I'd usually talk to you about and it's actually not that bad. I'm enjoying spending some time alone but it does get pretty lonely. What about you? How are you doing?"
"Good, actually. I've been spending a lot more time with Nya. And it's become apparent to me that she'd rather talk about how 'annoying' you are," He responded.
"Really?" Cole frowned, "That's all she wants to talk about?"
"Pretty much," Jay laughed, "And um... how about the... y'know?"
"The... what?" Cole questioned.
"The... crush...?" Jay whispered awkwardly.
Cole froze for a moment, "Y'know what... I actually completely forgot about that. Don't get me wrong, I have been thinking about it a lot but.... strangely, as soon as you walked into the room... I completely forgot."
"What? Really?" Jay's eyes widened.
"Yeah... That's weird," Cole chuckled, "Like really weird. And right now... I'm not feeling anything..."
"You... aren't?" Jay frowned.
"No..." Cole frowned too, "Uh..."
"That's good though, right?" Jay questioned.
"Yeah, really good," Cole replied, "But very strange."
He couldn't believe it. Maybe it was a one off? It was so very strange indeed. Cole spent years and years crushing over Jay and it's all he could ever think about these past few weeks but now that they were having a proper conversation, he wasn't feeling anything except relief that he was finally talking to him again. Maybe it was just because it was the first time they'd spoken to each other in a few days? Maybe it was because he was over him? There was no way he could get over Jay that quickly.
"You aren't lying, are you?" Jay raised an eyebrow.
"No! If I was lying, I think you'd be able to tell. I'd be falling head over heals for you right now," Cole chuckled.
"True, true," Jay smiled.
"So what do we do from here?" Cole questioned, "Do we go back to normal or...?"
"I dunno, it's up to you. Do you think you're ready for things to go back to normal?" Jay asked.
"I don't think so, at least not yet. It could just be a one off, I don't know. Maybe give it a few more days, ease back into things, and see how it goes from there," Cole suggested.
"Yeah, I'd like that," He smiled.
"Great," Cole returned the smile.
He was so excited to finally be getting his best friend back, even if they were just easing back into the way things were before it all got chaotic. Just as Cole opened his mouth to tell him how happy he was, he noticed Jay's expression fall. He frowned, realising Jay looked pretty unhappy considering what they'd just agreed on.
"You okay? Y'know we don't have to if you don't want to. We can't wait a little longer," He told him.
Jay looked up and shook his head, "No, no, that's not it. Don't worry about it."
"Well now I am worrying," Cole's eyebrows creased with worry, "Come on, talk to me about it."
Jay sighed, "I dunno... My head has just been all over the place recently. It's like everything that's happened between you and me has changed Nya and... all she wants to talk about is that."
"Have you tried talking to her about it?" Cole wondered.
He nodded, "She didn't have that great of a reaction to it. She told me about how she was just ranting and that I shouldn't be complaining. Not to mention, she said that I was being rude for interrupting her and not supporting her."
"What?" Cole frowned, "Are you being serious?"
"She was right to be honest. I should have been supporting her. Yet no matter how many times I reassured her that there was nothing between us, she told me that I was probably lying just to make her feel better," Jay shrugged, glancing down at his hands awkwardly.
"I can't believe her," Cole snarled, "It's just like before Jay."
"What do you mean?" Jay questioned.
This just made Cole angrier. She was treating his best friend like crap and he'd had enough of it. He needed Jay to know for good that he shouldn't be letting her act like this towards him.
"Don't you remember what happened when I told you about my feelings for you? You were saying these awful stuff about yourself because you'd believed what Nya was telling you. I told you that she was manipulating you yet you didn't believe me. Is this enough proof for you or what?" Cole explained.
"Manipulating me? She isn't manipulating me, Cole. We've been over this," Jay told him, "I don't think you know what manipulating means."
"Jay, please, you have to listen to me," He begged, "She shouldn't be treating you like this. She's guilt tripping you and its not fair. You deserve so much better. A partner is supposed to be supportive and that's what you are to her, but she isn't the same to you. She treats you like dirt she found on the bottom of her shoe."
Jay looked up as Cole took Jay's hands into his. The master of lightning looked a little flushed, a bright pink appearing on his cheeks. What was happening?
"You're an amazing person, Jay, and you deserve someone who'll treat you like that. Nya doesn't know how to look after you or appreciate you and its so unfair. You deserve someone as equally as awesome as you. But you're too in love with that selfish witch to even see it," Cole told him, staring him straight in the eyes.
Jay couldn't believe what he was saying. Well he could but... he'd never realised before how much Cole was actually there for him. The earth elemental was right. Jay did deserve better. There was only one person that could give that to him.
"She can't keep treating you like this. You have to stand up for yourself Jay," Cole added.
Jay nodded, "Y-You're right..."
"Y'know what... I'm gonna go give that woman a piece of my mind," Cole let go of Jay's hands, stood up and marched out of the room.
"Cole, wait-" Jay panicked and jumped up off the bed.
He couldn't believe Cole was going to do this for him. Usually he kept things to himself and stayed away from getting into arguments and pointless drama, especially after what happened with the love triangle. The fact that Cole was about to stand up for him made his heart flutter.
Wait... why was his heart fluttering?
Jay ran down the corridor after Cole, wanting to catch every moment of this. He couldn't wait to see his girlfriend be absolutely destroyed by his raging best friend.
At the end of the corridor, he could see Nya heading their way. Cole was just in front of him now.
"Oi, witch!" Cole called out, catching her attention.
She stopped with a frown on her face. As she noticed who it was, she rolled her eyes.
"What do you want?" She questioned.
Cole stopped right in front of her, his heart beating fast. Jay stood just behind him.
"You're a selfish self-absorbed idiot, you know that?" Cole snarled.
"Excuse me?" Nya raised an eyebrow.
"You heard me," Cole took another step towards her, "Jay deserves so much better than you."
Nya laughed, "What? Oh, I get what you're doing. You're trying to trick him into thinking I'm a bad girlfriend because you're so madly in love with him and want him to yourself. Ain't gonna work bud."
"That's all you care about, isn't it? Why are you so obsessed with something that has nothing to do with you? According to Jay, the only thing you want to talk about is my stupid feelings and how bad of a boyfriend he is because he isn't supporting you," Cole replied, "Except all he's ever done is support you yet you're so blind to see it. He deserves someone who can actually treat him the way he should be treated, not like something from the trash."
"Sounds like someone's just jealous," Nya put her hands on her hips.
"What?" Cole rolled his eyes, "Yes because me actually caring about Jay, my best friend, means I'm jealous, aren't I?"
"Don't tell me he's brainwashed you too," Nya glanced over at Jay, who looked down at the ground awkwardly.
"The only one brainwashing people around here is you," Cole told her sternly.
"Please," She chuckled, "You don't scare me."
"I'm not trying to scare you," He replied, "You just don't care about him enough to understand what I'm saying. You're so horrid to him."
"I'm not horrid," She began getting agitated.
"Yeah you're right," Cole glared at her, "You're actually a bitch."
Jay tried to stop himself from laughing. Cole was really going all out for him. He was so lucky to have him in his life. Why had it taken so long for him to realise how much he needed Cole? Maybe that person he needed so badly in his life and the one that could truly care for Jay was... was Cole.
"Jay tell him he's wrong!" Nya exclaimed angrily.
Jay stepped forward, "I-I can't."
"Why not?" She frowned.
"Because I...I agree with him..." Jay replied awkwardly, "You've done nothing but be horrible to me and go on about Cole's feelings and... I'm tired of it. I just want us to have a normal relationship but you keep letting other things get in the way and... it only makes me unhappy."
"What?!" She exclaimed, "Jay, you're going insane. Don't you see what Cole is doing to you?"
"At least he actually cares about me," Jay stated, "Nya, I really don't want to hurt you but..."
Cole didn't like where this was going. He was trying to make things between them better. He wanted Jay to realise that he needed to be treated better. But with where this seemed to be going, it made him nervous.
"I can't do this anymore," Jay finished, "We're over."
Nya stood there in shock for a moment. But who could blame her? Even Cole didn't see this coming.
"Jay-" Cole began.
"Don't," Jay told him before storming back down the corridor and towards his bedroom.
Nya was so, so angry. She glared at Cole and pointed a finger in his face, warning him to back off. After ensuring that he knew it was all his fault, she marched away with a huff.
Did it bother Cole that she didn't even look that upset that her boyfriend had just broken up with her? Yes. It really proved his point. She never really cared about him. She just wanted to keep him to herself.
Cole had wanted them to break up for so long but now that it'd actually happened, he didn't know how to feel. He was happy, confused and angry at the same time. Jay always loved Nya. There was no doubt about that. He was so confused as to why he'd break up with her even after how she'd treated him.