Undeniable Treasure | Ninjago Bruise

2

Cole always put his feelings aside for the good of the team because he knew that if the truth came out, it would ruin things all over again. The team's dynamics were even better now than ever before and the last thing they needed was for everything to go wrong. He also knew that if Jay found out, he'd cut Cole off completely, and he definitely didn't want that.

Cole's mind was a mess. He needed to get some fresh air to help clear his head from all the stress. So, he got into his ninja gi and decided to head outside. As he opened his bedroom door, ready to step out into the corridor, someone rushed past. Just as Cole turned to look at who it was, all he spotted was the back of their head, and their hair was a little messy.

"Jay?" Cole called out, a frown on his face.

As soon as he heard Cole's voice, Jay sped up and began running down the corridor and out of sight. All Cole could hear was Jay's footsteps and the quiet sobbing coming from his mouth. Now he was really worried.

Cole closed his bedroom door and headed down the corridor after him. As he reached the end, the only other place he could've gone was outside on the balcony at the back of the ship (y'know where Kai and Nya had that scene in s10 bc I dunno what its called).

The earth ninja listened carefully, the only sounds were of Jay crying. He barely ever cried and when he did, something or someone had really hurt him. On one hand, Cole wanted to run away and protect himself from his heart breaking at the sight of his best friend sobbing, but on the other he wanted to be there for Jay and support him.

He knew what he had to do.

Cole slid open the door to the balcony, catching Jay's attention. The lightning ninja was sat with his back to him, trying to hide his tears.

"Jay, are you okay?" Cole spoke softly.

"I-It doesn't matter," Jay replied quietly, his voice breaking slightly.

Cole could hear the hurt in Jay's voice and he knew that he was lying. Jay rarely talked about his thoughts and feelings with anyone so it didn't really come as a surprise that he'd try to hide it. But this time, Cole couldn't ignore it.

"It does matter," Cole stepped towards his best friend, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jay quickly jumped up and headed towards the door, "Please leave me alone."

Jay headed inside, trying to get away, but Cole chased after him, his heart racing.

"Jay, wait, please," Cole called out, "Jay!"

Cole managed to catch up to him and grab his shoulders, twisting him round to face him. Jay gave up running, staring down at the ground. His eyes were red and puffy, his freckled covered cheeks were wet with tears. Cole had never seen him like this before. It felt like his heart was being torn in two.

"What's going on?" Cole asked softly.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Jay replied quietly.

"You really think I'm gonna ignore the fact that you're upset?" Cole questioned, "Of course I'm not. Tell me what's wrong."

"Seriously, Cole, I don't know why you care," Jay shoved past him and back towards the balcony.

"Because you're my best friend and I don't want to see you like this," Cole replied, following him.

"So then go back to your room or something," Jay responded.

"No," Cole stated sternly.

Jay wandered onto the balcony and grabbed the door, trying to slide it across before Cole could reach him but that didn't exactly go to plan. Cole took hold of the door, keeping it held open as Jay tried his best to close it.