A/N

INCOMING FLUFF LOOK OUT!

🕹🕹🕹

🎮ℕ𝕪𝕒🎮

It's not the best thing to sneak out on a Sunday night, but it's not like I have any other options.

The others stayed over because of the absolute chaos that is happening outside. I mean, the streets won't flood or anything, but I've never heard so much thunder in one night.

I don't know why I even feel the urge to help Jay. I just kind of... do, I guess. I would hope that he isn't lying to me, although Skylor's words have sort of stuck in my head from earlier in the night.

As I packed my backpack in near darkness, I tried to remember the sleepover plan in my mind.

Sky and Kai would be clearly sleeping together in his room, duh. But not like sleeping together since Lloyd was snoring on the floor.

I snickered to myself.

Anyway, Sel and Pix took my room, so I'd have no way of getting the basics. Not my charger, not my wallet, not my jacket.

Whatever, I don't have time to think about that now. I have to get to Doomsday before it closes.

I put Kai's (unfortunately sweaty) hoodie on, the only thing left in the room that can keep me warm, my hand also reaching for the old umbrella by the door.

I pull the hoodie up, grab my backpack and run out of the house.

It is only then that I realise that going out in pyjamas and a smelly hoodie while it's raining wasn't the best choice.

I ignore my untied shoelaces and slippery sidewalk as I begin to run out, yet another lightning strike shining in the distance.

Seeing the rain get even heavier, I pull out the black umbrella, opening it swiftly.

Am I allowed to curse loudly in the middle of the night?

Probably not, but I really want to punch myself for not realising why this umbrella never gets used in the first place.

Not having anything to cover its holes with, I shove it in my backpack, groaning as the cold worsens.

Not my brightest of ideas, I know.

Would be real nice if I knew how to drive, right Kai?

Although, despite my complaining, we both know that I would never drive in the rain. We know what happened when our parents had to do it.

I must be at least 20 minutes away from home now, but Doomsday is still almost a mile away.

I mean, he has to be there, right? Where else could he possibly go?

The sound of honking makes me jump, almost causing me to slip.

As a car pulls up in front of me, I immediately feel panic within me.

But once I see the driver, I relax.

I step inside quickly, but she doesn't look all that amused.

"Where are you running off to with that storm?" Sky asks me, her eyes still droopy as she glares at me.

I smile sheepishly. "Nowhere."

She rubs her eyes with a yawn, looking unamused. "Where is he?" she says.

"Where is who?"

"Jay. Where did you agree to meet?" she says. "... At 1AM, where you're totally not setting yourself up for murder," she continues and I know that she can sense how dumb I feel right now.

"I... don't... really... know?" I shrug. "I mean, I was going to go to Doomsday but we never really specified a place..."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, groaning as she grabbed my phone from my hands.

"Did you check his region in PE?"

I almost burst out laughing. "I'm sure he won't have gone out of the city, Sky. That's just ridiculous..."

My voice trails off as the GPS for Kai's car opens, revealing a road leading to...

... a desert.

As Sky places my phone inside the car's drawer, she takes a turn and starts driving again.

"The Sea of Sands?" I say. "Are you sure you've gotten the right location?"

"It's the one his account said and that thing updates automatically, so..."

I know it's bad, but I can't help but snicker at the fact that he forgot to turn off tracking after literally running away.

As much as I don't want to spend the night driving around a desert, I don't have a choice now.

At least it won't be raining there, I guess.

🕹🕹🕹

Half an hour passes, and after observing dozens upon dozens of utility poles on the way there, we finally notice a light.

Skylor stops the car, opening the door for me as I step out.

Surprisingly, there are still some droplets falling from the sky, reminding me of the fact that despite some time passing, I still look like a wet dog in my pyjamas.

"This must be it," Sky says, looking at my phone before handing it back to me at last. "Or it's the closest place I could find, that is."

I roll my eyes and look at the glowing sign.

"Ed n' Edna's Crap n' Junk," it read.

Oh, wait, Scrap. The S was turned off.

Sky gestures towards the open gate and we head inside.

Piles upon piles of scrap and junk (I guess I get the name now) are scattered all across the ground, but amongst them, a surprisingly well-maintained motorcycle stands out.

I don't get to admire it much, however, as we arrive in front of an old trailer. Before I can say anything, Sky rings the bell.

A few voices are heard from the inside, but once the door opens, we're more than confused.

"Sorry, dearies, the shop's kinda closed at this time." The elderly woman on the other side fixed her glasses, standing by the door with a smile on her face. "Why are you hanging out in the rain at this time?"

I clear my throat, ignoring the fact that we must seem like crazy people to her. "We were just wondering if there's someone named Jay in here."

As her expression becomes puzzled, I start to panic. What if it was all a prank? What if his real name isn't Jay? What if we've got the wrong place?

But I keep calm, waiting for her answer instead.

Surprisingly, she gestures for us to come inside (something I wouldn't even do to the pizza guy) as she proceeds to speedwalk through the house.

"Sweetie, you've got visitors," she called out. "They're not journalists this time... I would hope."

We now get a full view of the living room (which was really just a couch beside the kitchen). However, I'm the first one to spot the person on the couch.

Their back is turned on us, a blue blanket draped over their shoulders. I can even hear some light sniffling, but it's hard to exactly tell.

Once we stop, the person turns around to face us.

I drop my phone.

You have got to be kidding me.

I look at Skylor, who is concealing her laughter fairly well.

The woman bends down and picks up my phone, looking at the boy as if nothing has happened.

"Do ya know them, Jay? Or shall I get the broom?" Her last question is but a mere whisper, but that didn't mean that I'm not freaked out by it.

"Yeah, Edna. I... I know her," he says, almost cautiously.

Edna chuckles. "Oh, that's a relief. I could already see the headline there for a sec. 'Jason Gordon spotted cuddling his teddy bear at a junkyard'."

"Ma..." he looks down with a deep blush on his face, and Skylor can't hold it anymore.

As her laughter continues, I elbow her gently, which luckily causes it to die down.

"Ed's made some cookies if you want any," says Edna, dumping a bunch of them on a large plate that she later places on the table in front of the couch.

Before we can ask the obvious, a similarly-aged man walks through the front door, a dust pan in his hands.

Edna put her hands on her hips, clearly displeased. "Oh, great, now you're all wet while we have guests coming over."

By taking just one look at him, it's obvious that my appearance is way worse than his.

"The rain might get heavier since we're so close to the city," her husband, presumably Ed, says. "I saw your car out there, ya sure you'll be able to drive back to the city with flooded streets?"

Yeah, that's something that we didn't consider.

Edna doesn't seem too fazed. "Nonsense, they can just stay here if it gets that bad."

"It is that bad."

"Well, take a note then," she shoots back, "we need to know if we'll be able to drive outside tomorrow."

"Alright, alright..."

Edna looks at us, catching Skylor in the act as she tries to steal a cookie. "I'm sure that Jay won't mind if you stay in his room for the night, right dearie?"

Jason (or, well, Jay) only nods, lying back down on the couch.

"Come on, let's set your stuff down."

🕹🕹🕹

"Pretty humble for an A-lister, huh?" Sky says, plopping down onto his bed.

She's right, the room is even smaller than mine; all painted blue, all filled with scrap, old photos, and small inventions.

"If you ignore his mansion."

"Oh, come on, aren't you at least a bit happy that you found out who your soulmate is?"

"Since when do you like him? He stood me up, remember?"

"Well, he did tell you that he had an explanation. And you haven't listened to it yet, have you?"

I bite my lip and turn away, knowing that she knows about my thoughts.

"Talking to him won't be that bad if you actually try."

I don't know why my brain can't comprehend that my gamer bud (crush?) and the stuck-up prick that has been staring at me since the beginning are the same person, but there's really no other way to change it.

I sigh and head for the door.

"I better not see you naked on the couch in the morning," she says a bit too loudly and I throw Kai's hoodie at her face. More of a blessing than a curse for her, really.

I peek my head through the corner, seeing that he was alone in the room. Not wanting to wake up Ed and Edna, I tiptoe my way over there, my voice never above a whisper.

As he sees me, he almost chokes on his cookie, wrestling with the blankets only to shove his plushie under the pillow.

I can't help but snicker.

"Can I sit?" I say, and he scoots over to open up a spot for me.

He offers me a cookie, but I decline. I've never really been a sweet-tooth myself.

I decide to start with the easier questions.

"So... did you know it was me all along?" I say.

He shakes his head.

I continue. "So... why did you not come when you were supposed to?"

"Divorce lawyer," he says, almost disappointed in himself. "I'm so, so sorry Nya. I know I'm a coward for not texting you, but I mean, I basically blew every chance I had," he says. "And besides, I was right anyway. You would hate me if you saw the real me."

Right...

"I mean... you're not as entitled as most celebrities are." I try to voice my thoughts without it sounding, well, flirty. "And I like your streams."

His face suddenly lights up, exactly how I would expect my Jay's face to do so. "So you did watch them! I was right!"

I chuckle. "They're good background noise for homework."

The room falls silent yet again and I decide to scoot a little closer to him. Just a little though.

I take out his plushie from underneath the pillow and smile at his embarrassment. I give it to him, knowing my next question is going to be rough.

"So... you ran away because of the divorce?"

His already puffy eyes tear up yet again, and I let him rest his head on the pillow from before.

"I just don't want to stay alone with my dad," he said. "It's just gonna be gig after gig after gig and... yeah. At least my mum kept him in check."

I rub his shoulder reassuringly, frowning. "You'll still have me if that makes it any better," I say quite bluntly.

He looks at me and smiles.

And dammit, I can't help but smile back.

"Was my room like... clean?" he says, his eyes slightly widened.

I try not to laugh, only grinning at the memory of the (luckily clean) pair of boxers hanging from a plant.

"Sparkling," I say.

"And dazzling," he says. "You know... like you."

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

And yet, it still manages to make me blush.

He looks up at the ceiling, cuddling his plushie (which I notice is named Mr Cuddlywomp by the handmade tag on its side) and letting his body rest against the couch.

"I really don't want to seem like a creep, but..." He contemplates his next sentence. "Say, that, theoretically, I still had a crush on you after all this, would you also (again, theoretically) like me back?"

I can't help but smirk. "Theoretically, I would give it a shot," I say. "But only if you do me a favour."

"Anything."

"Well, firstly, prom is coming up... that could be a good start," I say, placing his blanket over the both of us. "And secondly, I'd like to see how that metal bird in your room works in the morning."

"You're into inventing too?" he says, completely missing the first part.

I nod. "I'm into proms as well."

"Oh, right," he says, making me chuckle once again at his obliviousness. "Yeah, I'd love to take you out on a date."

I know it's implied to be one, but I still can't help but be surprised when I hear the word.

"... Or not. Whatever you want."

"No, no, I'd love to," I say. "And since we're here..."

I don't know where the heck I got that courage from, but I lean to kiss his freckled cheek, me being more shocked than him.

He just sits there for a second, his mouth slightly open. As he goes to speak, I interrupt him.

"Guess I took that off my bucket list," I say, but before I can finish, he gives me one back.

Okay, so maybe Skylor was right about getting all touchy.

We both look at each other awkwardly, but I decide to make the next move, completely unsure of what to say.

So, I do what we know best.

I open Prime Empire on my phone, showing him the screen. "Wanna play, teammate?" I say.

He chuckles and nods, his tears fully gone at last.

And as he pulls out his phone, letting me rest my head on his shoulder, I start to think that even the spoiled can have a big heart.

However, this one in particular happens to give great hugs as well.