Uh, something that came to mind. Just thought I should say that this happened after Day of the Departed. Cause I, the writer, got confused while writing chapter 7, and thought Cole was a ghost, so there was a ghost baby.😅 No he's human. Just clarification. In case.
Jay woke up the next morning by Nya opening the door and flopping on the bed, laying in Jay's feet. "Hey Jay! Wanna hang out today?"
Jay sat up, stretching and scratching his head. "You know I would love, but I've gotta go work at the auto shop."
Nya glared at him while laying down. "Can't you take the day off? I thought you didn't work there officially."
Jay thought quick on his feet. "I had actually applied a few days ago. And they asked me to come in today. I really am sorry love."
Nya stood up and gave a humph. "Fine then. Come get breakfast before you leave."
Jay jumped out of bed and hurried to get on proper clothes after she walked out. He had to act like the caring boyfriend. "Nya!" He called as he went down the stairs.
He grabbed her by the waist from behind. "Hey, are you mad at me?" Nya said nothing and avoided eye contact. "Hey, I really am sorry love. I don't have a changeable schedule like you do. But if you tell me what days to avoid in advance."
Nya broke out of his arms and continued downstairs, not speaking a word. Jay walked after her talking to her, trying to get Nya to answer.
They got to the dining room where everyone else sat eating. "Come on. Don't be mad. What's the problem?"
Nya turned around, fists at her sides. "You never spend time with me! You could take time off and at least try in this relationship!"
Jay scowled and shouted. "Are you kidding me? I just spent all day with you yesterday! And you don't think me spending all my money on you is proof that I love you? I can't keep doing that if I don't go work and keep a job!"
"Well just hanging out is enough for me! Not spending time with me is just selfish!"
"You know what! Fine! I'm leaving early! I'll see ya'll later!" Jay stormed off to the stairs. This is perfect!
Lloyd listened and heard as Jay slammed the door. Nya stormed back upstairs. Lloyd turned to Kai. "Only two days, and they're already fighting."
Cole looked up at him with curious eyes. Lloyd smiled at the child.
"Well I can't say I expected it to actually last long." Kai said, shoving another spoon of cereal in his mouth.
"Now what makes you say that?" Lloyd asked, putting some dry 'Wheat O's' in Cole's mouth.
Kai sighed, setting down his spoon and lay his head on his hand. "Something that I noticed while my memories were gone, was that Jay was much more distant from the rest of us. Them hopping into a relationship like this without working on their original problems first."
Lloyd looked at his boyfriend. "I suppose that does make sense. I also think it's kinda shallow. Getting with Jay while Cole is small. I understand what their arrangement was to an extent, but why not wait another month or so?"
Kai shrugged. "Who knows. Though I will admit, my sister does plenty of things without thinking, or talking about it with others."
"Should we bring it up? I don't like the idea of them arguing constantly." Lloyd said.
Cole flapped his arms and Lloyd put him down. The toddler crawled under the table. "Maybe if it gets worse. But we should wait for them to try and figure it out by themselves. If we try to help, it may not solve much."
Lloyd just nodded and shovled a bite of his own cereal in his mouth.
~~~
Jay flew on his dragon to the auto shop. He didn't hold the reins, but lay backwards. Only almost two days after getting with Nya, she fought with him. Epic!
The village was soon in his sights. He dropped from his dragon and walked the rest of the way. It was a nice warm day, so he took his time.
Jay walked into the open doored shop. Borodo wasn't up front so he headed out back. Everyone gave waves and smiles before going back to work.
He walked around before seeing the muscled owner, working on an expensive car. He seemed to struggle a bit.
Jay went over to the working man and squatted down to see underneath, hand on the bumper. "Need a hand down there?" He called out.
Borodo tried to lift his head, but he ended up smacking himself, leaving grease on his bald forhead. He then did the smart thing, and rolled out.
"Jay! What a pleasant surprise to see you! Come to steal more money eh?" The running gag was that Jay would only come to work to 'steal' certain things. Weather it be work, money, or people's time. Not that he minded it.
Jay gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah. Nya ran me out of money yesterday."
Borodo gave a sympathetic look. It was no secret to the workers that he still hated the ninja. "So I suppose you'll be working more eh?" His tone kept light and cheery.
"You bet your job I am." Jay let out a breath. "Actually, do you mind if I properly work here?"
Borodo raised an eyebrow. "Sure. But why so? Follow me to the front."
"I just need a reason to be gone almost every day. Being forced to hang out with one of them for so long, is just draining, and I don't wanna deal with that."
"But, do you actually want to work here properly?" Borodo asked. They got to the front, and Jay went around to the customer side of the counter.
Jay shook his head. "Not really. I like my changeable schedule. Especially now."
The boss smiled. "How about this, we keep things how they are. But, I treat you like an employee who I expect to come in every day. Meaning if any of the ninja come in and ask if you properly work here I'll say that you do, and if they ask to see you I'll give an excuse that you went to do something for me."
Jay smiled back. "Sounds good to me. Thanks dude."
"Of course. You are the best worker. Who just will never get employee of the month." Borodo chuckled. "Now, go get your pays worth done. Jen is working on a couple washers and driers some people wanted us to fix. If you wanna go help her. But if you can, try to talk to her and ask what's been going on with her please?"
"Is she okay?" Jay asked.
"I don't think so. She looks so beaten down. And I worry. She looks almost as bad as you do. Just try to get her to talk about it."
"Will do." Jay ran off to help his best friend. Jen held that title ever since he started helping out.
Jen was the special orders worker. The others mainly worked on cars, but would help people figure out their inventions on occasion.
He made his way to the back. Jen was crouched down, chestnut brown hair swaying as she moved trying to get a good vantage point with her hands. She wore a tight black, long sleeved shirt.
"Hey Jen!" Jay called out.
Jen turned around and her light green eyes met his blue ones. Her face looked tired and downbeat, but it light up as soon as she saw him. "Jay! Come to help? It's so good to see you again!"
"It's great to see you too." He crouched down next to her and motioned for a hug. Borodo was right. She looked horrible.
"Come back for more work huh? Can't get enough?" Jen asked, a smile still on her face as they broke the hug.
"It's the only break I get. I, also need more money. Nya spent all of it." Jay said.
"Yikes. So what's been going on?" Jen asked. She continued to work on the drier, so Jay went over to the paired washer.
Jay explained what had been going on with the ninja and the gang. His he'd been sneaking out, and how he was forced back together with Nya. Jen was the only one who knew about his plan of lying to the ninja and that he was still in touch with the gang he associated with.
"Geez I'm sorry about that. I hope Addison's okay." Jen said. She sounded sincere.
"I hope she is too. I-" He was cut off by the beeping of his watch. Jay stood up and walked out the back. Jen followed from behing.
"What's up?"
"Hey Jay." Zane's voice came in over the speaker. "We need you to come into Ninjago City. There's a dude who was just attacked by a group of people."
Jay sighed. He should have known that something would come up. "I'll be there soon." He hung up.
"I'll save some work for you alright?" Jen smiled.
"How much to bet it's Neilson Wells." Jay grumbled before running off. He made his way to the city. Getting there, he followed the coordinates Zane sent over.
Zane and Nya were waiting for him. A blonde dude wearing jeans and a Grey t-shirt sat on the curb. His nose seemed to be broken. His lip and eye were both swollen. There was blood and scratches all on his face and arms.
"Yikes. What happened to this guy?" Jay asked feigning innocence. There was no doubting the pictures, this was Neilson Wells.
"Says his name is Neilson Wells." The commissioner said.
Neilson started talking and wouldn't stop until he had told his part. "I was just heading back from a buddy's house, when all of a sudden a bunch of guys in black masks came out from nowhere and jumped me. After they had me pinned on the ground, a dude or two on each limb. A skinny dude with bright harsh blue eyes squatted down next to my head and stared right into my eyes."
"Did the person say anything?" Zane asked. "Anything threatening, or that could tell you why they attacked you?"
"Yeah, he said 'This ought to show you how to treat women. Never harass another one, because no means no.' And then he directed them all to beat me up." Neilson explained further. "After they were done, they all split in different directions."
"Did you keep track of which way the man who threatened went?" Nya asked.
"Nah man. I was too disoriented to watch."
"So you harassed a woman and they sought revenge? Is that true? And did you really harass someone?" Jay asked.
Neilson nodded. "That is what he said. And I may have yes. Don't wanna get in trouble, so I won't say yes or no."
Jay grit his teeth. "We can always take that and your silence as a yes. And you should treat women with respect. It's people like you who make them feel unsafe!" He tried to approach, but Zane blocked his path.
"Calm down Jay." Zane turned to Neilson. "But he is right, in both statements. We can take your silence as a yes and use it against you in any harassment charges in the future against you."
"Well then there's no point in saying yes then huh?" Neilson smiled smugly.
Jay gruffed. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Nya was glaring down the man. He knew she wanted what he did. They both wanted to beat the guy up to a pulp.
"Do you live close, Neilson?" Nya asked coldly.
"Nope! And you can figure it out yourselves." It was clear to Jay that Neilson had no interest in complying with them.
"Don't worry. The police can do that." Jay said, gritting his teeth. His hands were balled into fists.
Zane lifted up Neilson and gave him to the commissioner. He explained what he would like the officer to do and went back over to his teammates.
"Sorry to bother you and bring you two here." Zane apologized. "Could've been a one person job."
Jay shrugged. "Eh. It's fine. Whatever. My boss gets that this happens." He was actually just happy that he got to see how badly beaten up Neilson had been. But it was clear that his attitude still needed some cleaning up. He'd have to do his own job at another time then.
"Oh well. Gave me something to do." Nya said with malace in her voice. It was directed at Jay and she gave him a bit of a kind of side eye.
"Anyways. I'm gonna head on back to work. See ya." Jay said. Not taking any time to get away, he summoned his dragon and flew off.
He hastily made his way back to the shop. He had work to do. How else would he get back the money he had saved? It was like he hadn't left at all when he came back. Everyone was still working on the same project before.
Except for Jen. She was working on the other dryer and washer set.
"I'm back." Jay said smiling.
Warning: gets angsty really quickly. Uh minor mentions/descriptions of ab*se. Should be the only time I do this. I hope.
Jen turned around and tried to smile at her best friend but failed. Jay noticed the tears streaks that ran down her face. He hurried over to her and engulfed her in a hug. She latched onto him, crying lightly.
"Hey. It's alright." He comforted. "What's wrong? Do you wanna talk?"
Jen detached herself, tears still streaming. Wiping a few off her cheek she nodded. Jay looked at his grease covered friend. She was always so cheerful, what had happened?
"I'm here to talk. You know this. You're my best friend and I'm here for you. What's going on?"
"It's just my home life. My parents divorced, and my new stepfather is horrible. He keeps trying to attack my brothers, but I end up taking the literally hit to protect them. It gets worse than that. But he won't stop. And it's been going on for weeks." Jen sobbed.
Jay looked at her in shock. His friend had been struggling with this alone for weeks. And he could've helped her. "I'm sorry. How old are your brothers?"
"Five and eight. My mom has practically stopped caring for us, so I have to do everything and pay for us to eat. And my stepfather spends all the money my mother makes. The eight year old helps with minor things, but it's just stressful."
Jay gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry friend. Are you physically hurt? You said he hurt you?"
Jen nodded. "Yeah. I have some bruises. And other small injuries."
"Where are they? Can I see them please?"He was worried about her. She shouldn't have to do this alone or deal with being physically hurt.
Jen heasitated, so Jay slowly reached for her arms. Taking her hands, he pulled up the sleeves. There were bruises, marks that seemed to look like the shape of a belt, and what Jay was sure to be cigarette burns.
"Oh Jen..." His voice faded away at the sight of her maimed arms. "This is all from your step father? Are your brothers okay?"
Jen lay herself into Jay's arms. "Yeah, they are. But my brothers are okay. Just a few bruises. I try to take the hit for them."
He hugged the closest thing he had to a sister. "You said you had to take care of your brothers?" Jen just nodded, not trusting her voice.
Jay's face lit with an idea. "Hey. Your shift is over. Come with me." He stood holding Jen's hands, helping her up.
"What are we doing?" Jen asked. Jay dragged her through the shop.
"We're going to give you a better place to stay." Jay made his way out and exited the counter.
Borodo was standing at the counter as the two passed. "Where are you to going?"
"I'll explain later, I promise." Jay said, heading outside. "Clock Jen out for her."
Jay summoned his dragon and hopped on. He then helped Jen up. "Hold on to me. And I'll explain what we're doing."
Jen nodded and listened as they rose into the air. They started to head to the direction on Ninjago City. "What are we doing?" Jen asked.
"I wanna see how you feel about living in the hideout." Jay said, eyes forward. "With your brothers of course."
"You mean your gang's? I don't wanna get into crime, Jay." Jen said.
"You don't. They have rooms there remember? You can live in a room with your brothers and hold a real job. You only have to do crime if you want. If you want to be in the actual gang, you need special permission from the boss." Jay said.
"Are the rooms free? What's it like?" Jen asked.
"I'll show you. The rooms are just one bed. You don't need to worry about furniture, they'll give you a room with that stuff unless you just want it for storage. There is a private bathroom for each. I'll show you around when we get there."
They flew for a bit longer before reaching the outside of the city. They took Jay's usual route inside, Jen holding onto his hand. They reached the entrance to the hideout.
"Don't worry. People may look cause you're new, but they would never do anything. We're all in the same boat." Jay soothed his friend.
Jen nodded. They walked inside, Jay first making Jen feel safer. Jay looked around before spotting the one he was happy to see.
"Addison!" Jay called, waving to his girlfriend. Addison turned around and she smiled, running over.
"James! You're here!" She exclaimed. They hugged and Addison noticed Jen. "Hey. Who is this?" She asked softly.
"This is Jen. The closest person to being my sister." James said. "I came to see if she'd feel comfortable here."
"What's wrong? Do we need to get her a room?"
"Perhaps. Oh, sorry Jen. This is Addison, my girlfriend."
Jen smiled, holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jay talks highly of you."
Addison beamed. "Oh has he? I'm guessing he trusts you very much to tell you something that could get him caught." She giggled. "But I jest. Anyways, if you need to, you can totally stay here. I'm the room manager, so you can talk to me."
"Thanks. I want to look around first it you don't mind." Jen smiled.
Addison nodded. "That's alright. I suppose James's will be with you when you do so. But, my shift is about to start." She turned to James. "Just thought you'd like to know, they got the video games and weights last night." She then ran to the counter, waving a friendly goodbye.
James smiled and led Jen around. "I'll show you to the kitchen. Food is all free grabs here. Most is funded from the gang. If you want to have your own mini or full fridge in your room, you need to talk with the room staff. But the stoves and whatnot to cook your food is free use."
Jen looked around the spacious kitchen. "This is wonderful! Truly big enough for many more than this."
James nodded. He took her next to the games section. "This would be a great place to let your brothers hang out. Everything is, once again, free use. There's also a weights room over there when you feel they're old enough." He pointed to a large door to the side.
Jen's face seemed to be lighter to James. James looked to the side by the ski ball, and noticed Owen coming over to them. "Hey! If it isn't James. You've been visiting quite frequently. You sure you won't be caught?"
James laughed. "Yeah. You won't believe what a lie or half truth will do on your behalf."
Jen walked up to James. "This place is amazing." She smiled.
Owen raised an eyebrow. "Who's this? Does Addison have some competition?" He asked jokingly.
"Ah, this is my best friend and sister Jen. Jen, this is Owen."
Jen held out her hand. "Nice to meet you! One of Jay's real friends are my friend."
Owen chuckled, taking her hand. "It's nice to meet you too." He gave her hand a kiss before letting go and turning to James. "Very pretty. And she still calls you Jay huh? You sure you didn't have something for her before meeting Addison?"
"No no. She's just always been my sister. She may stay though. But she calls me Jay because I didn't tell her. I care about her and I know she wouldn't want to do anything to compromise me, but it could've been a problem if she called me James in front of the ninja."
"Wait. How much does she know? You'll have to inform the boss if she stays here or not?" Owen said.
James nodded. "I know, and don't worry, she doesn't care."
"Am I causing trouble? Sorry, I can go if you want me too." Jen offered.
"Ah, no, please. You're quite alright. Just a bit of a warning for my friend." Owen reassured her. "Anyways. I'll leave you two be."
Owen left and James turned to Jen. "So, you like it so far?"
Jen nodded with a smile. "It's wonderful! One question though. They call you, James?"
James gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah. That was my name when I came here. I liked it and kept it because they all agreed that Jay was who I was. Not who I am."
"That's alright. I'm guessing you'd like to be called Jay when we're out elsewhere though?" Jen smiled.
"Yes, if you would. But, your thoughts? You need anything or questions answered?"
"The rooms are free?" Jen double checked.
"Of course. Usually it's only one room per person. But Addison and I share a room. If you want a separate room for your brothers, I could get you an extra one."
"That would be nice."
"So, you like the idea of staying here?"
"I would. How soon can my brothers and I move in? Also, would we actually be safe here?"
"You can move in whenever. And of course. Nobody knows about this place. The boss keeps track of who is here, and we all protect each other." James smiled.
"So I could tell my brothers to pack a few things and bring them here?" Jen asked.
"Yup. Just make sure that you aren't followed. But first, follow me." James took her hand gently and took her to an isolated office. "We have to let Jason know. He's been extra careful, cause we have no backup yet."
"Oh, okay. I get that. There won't be a test will there?"
"Ha! No need to worry. You'll be fine if I vouch for you." James knocked on the door and opened it.
Jason looked up from some papers on his desk to see the two come in. "James. What are you doing here?"
"I have a friend who needs a place to stay. Jason, this is my friend, Jen. Jen, this is my boss, Jason." James introduced them.
"Nice to meet you Jen. I take it you work with James?" Jason said.
Jen nodded. "I do. This place is really cool."
Jason smiled, not something James saw him do often. "Thank you. I built this myself from scratch. I take it that this will be a bit of a long term stay?"
"If you don't mind. I would like to like here with my two younger brothers, ages five and eight, until I can support us by myself." Jen explained.
"Why do you want to get away from your home?"
"Just, my stepfather isn't very great, let's say that."
"One more question. What do you plan to do with your brothers? They certainly can't come and go as they please. It would jeopardize our position. And what about their education?"
"I will pay for a babysitter after school. They can stay there until I can pick them up and get in secretly. Our mom will barely notice we're missing. And she just pays the money for anything she's asked my officials of anything. If all else, I have some money put away to keep them in school." Jen planned.
"I can help cover costs with my part of any job we do." James promised.
"Alright. You may stay. Rooms are free. I assume James has told you everything you need, but can help with any questions you still have." Jason said. "Let me know when you move in permanently. I hope you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you" James and Jen said in unison. They left and James let them rover to the rooms.
"Knoco knock. Anyone on duty?" James said knowingly.
"You know I am." Addison said as she came out. "And I thought we talked about flirting while I work?"
"Ha. We talked about when you're helping someone during work." James said.
Addison smiled. "Well you came over for a reason huh? To help your friend. That means no flirting." She said teasingly.
James play frowned while Addison turned to Jen. "What can I do for you hun? I suppose you'll be staying here for a while?"
"Yep. I'll come with my brothers as soon as possible. Hopefully tonight." Jen said.
"A room then!" Addison grinned.
"Could you get her two rooms? I mean, a girl needs her privacy." James asked.
His girlfriend shook a finger at him. "You know the rules."
James walked up to her and grabbed her by the waist. "Please? She is my sister?" He said, trying to look smooth.
Addison laughed. "Oh funny! I suppose I can though." She relented.
"Thanks love." James smiled, letting her go.
Addison wrote down some things on a notepad and grabbed two neighboring keys, handing them to Jen. "Here's your room keys hun." She turned to James. "And you, show her to the rooms, and then take her back. Then go home. I don't want you caught."
"Alright." James frowned. Addison kissed him.
"I'm sorry you still have to stay love."
"It's alright. I'll see you later." He smiled, kissing her again before taking Jen to her rooms. "Here they are. Keep the keys until you move in."
"Sounds good. Uh, let's go back. And could you pick me and my brothers up on the edge of the village tomorrow night? And be my ride to work?" Jen asked.
"If course. Let's head out, then we'll make a plan."
~~~~~~~~~~
:) Hehe