Jaya Week 2022

Bonus

A/N: Thanks again to jayaweekofficial for hosting this event. I'm still figuring things out with my writing, and jaya week gave me a chance to explore these characters. I don't have their voices yet, but getting there. Here is some extra stuff that didn't make the cut:

This was in the description:

Jay is leaning on her in the dark, taking some of the weight off of his own shoulders. She doesn't mind; it means she can feel his heartbeat next to hers. It makes everything feel right again. He's the only one who never lets her down, no matter how hard she tries.

Her eyes are closed, and she can hear him breathing. It sounds steady, even, like someone who isn't struggling with a million different emotions at once. Like someone she trusts more than anyone else.

"I love you," she whispers, because she can't help herself. Because she's been trying to say it since the moment they met, and he still hasn't heard her. "So much."

The words hang between them, unspoken, until finally Jay says, "And I love you." He closes his eyes tightly and exhales, and she knows it's going to be okay. She knows they've made it through another day, and they're going to make it through tomorrow too. And she thinks maybe that's enough.

Rejected idea for Fever:

"I love you."

The words from Jay's lips are so unexpected that they shock him. He's not sure if the girl on the bed is really listening to him. In fact, she's been staring at the ceiling for a while now. She looks like she's in deep thought. Her expression seems almost pained. It makes Jay wonder what exactly he's saying right now.

Jay presses his ear against her chest and listens intently. The sound of her heart beating is loud and clear. It's as if it's trying to break free from its cage—the girl herself. She has no idea how much she means to Jay, or about the feelings he harbors towards her. That's why he wants to tell her. This moment is too precious to waste on silence.

He whispers again, this time more confidently: "I love you."

The girl still doesn't respond. Jay feels something hard pressing against his cheek. He turns around to find that the girl's sleeping face is resting against his cheek. His heart skips a beat when he realizes just how close their faces are to one another.

"Good night," Jay says quietly before pulling away. He gets up from the bed and heads to the kitchen to get some water and medicine for her fever.

***

The next morning he returns to her room. He finds Nya already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed with her legs dangling off the side. He can see she got out of bed when he was gone.

She stares at Jay for a long moment. But then she smiles.

"I love you too."

Jay freezes in place.

In all honesty, he knows he shouldn't have said anything. And yet, there Jay stands, unable to take back those words he uttered so carelessly.

"What?"

Jay blinks and looks down at his feet. Why did he say that? How could he forget what he said? Jay should probably think twice about using such big words. Maybe it'd be best if he just took them back.

But no matter how hard Jay tries, he can't seem to recall the exact words he spoke. They were nothing special. He hasn't had the chance to use them in everyday conversation before, but they seemed fine enough.

Then what is happening to me? Is my brain malfunctioning?

For several seconds, Jay ponders over this. It doesn't make sense. Then suddenly, he remembers. A distant memory comes rushing back into his mind. A time when he was watching a movie with his parents. He remembered watching a scene where a man was telling his beloved that he loved her.

As the scene played out, Jay couldn't help but notice the girl's reaction. She was smiling and laughing happily. From the looks of it, she didn't seem to care that the man was talking nonsense.

It made Jay wonder why she reacted that way. Was it because she understood the man's feelings? Or maybe she was just happy to hear him say it.

Either way, Jay decided that he wouldn't do the same thing.

He finally comes to terms with what he said.  He told her that he loved her and now he can't take that back.

Another rejected idea for Fever:

"S-Stop it...!"

Jay was sweating profusely as he tried to fend off the young lady who was trying to seduce him. They were in his room, and her face was flushed red from a feverish heat. Nya seemed to be enjoying herself greatly for some reason. But Jay was clearly not.

"I'm just going to grab something real quick," he said with a shaky voice. "Please don't move."

It was embarrassing enough that this girl was naked under her shirt and skirt, but now she's started stripping again? His embarrassment grew even more intense when he realized that Nya's fever had made her act a little too hot and heavy.

She looked up at him, eyes wide open with an expression of confusion mixed with desire. She wasn't looking away, and there was no way he could ignore her. Jay didn't want to look at her naked body, but it felt like he couldn't help himself. He couldn't let go of her right arm either. He thought about what would happen if he did, and it was truly terrifying. What would happen if he took his hand off of her? Would she get angry? Or would she try to take advantage of the situation by attacking him? Either way, he'd have to fight back. And yet, despite all that, he still found himself unable to stop looking at her.

"Y-You're so hot..."

He wanted to resist her advances. He really did. But at the same time, he also felt compelled to keep touching her. The sensations were driving him insane. If he could only hold on for a few minutes, then everything would be fine. Just a little longer...
And then, suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from outside.

"Yes?" came a voice.

They weren't loud, but they were certainly enough to draw attention. It was probably Master Wu, coming to collect them for more training. Seeing that, Jay instinctively broke contact with Nya's body.

"Ahh! S-Sorry... I'll be right out."

Nya watched him leave the room, her head spinning. Her body felt strange, almost as though she'd forgotten how to breathe. There was nothing wrong with her mind, but somehow she couldn't seem to control her own actions anymore. She simply followed along after Jay to avoid any trouble.

She wondered what had happened. Was it because of her fever? Had her body become completely overpowered? But what did that mean? Did it mean that she was becoming weaker than before? That mustn't be true. After all, she'd never considered herself weak. This was just a fluke. A short-lived fever that wouldn't last long. In fact, her body was already feeling better. She hadn't been able to eat or drink anything since breakfast, but she was finally starting to feel hungry again. Her skin was no longer hot, and her breathing was steady.

Nya felt like she was getting stronger once again. And this time, she was sure of it. Her body had been weakened, but now that it had recovered, it was getting stronger. And so she felt confident that she could defeat Jay with ease.

A/N: Yeah, these fever ones felt too out-of-character. But they are kind of fun.