DARK SIDE

Chapter 8: Reunion

After somewhat reluctantly pulling away from Cole's hug, Jay felt a little better. He didn't know what was going to happen to him, but he knew that his friends would help him through it. Right now he needed to concentrate on getting out the door. 

Jay put a foot forward and would have fallen over if his arm hadn't been wrapped around Cole's shoulder. The master of earth propped him up once again and they started their slow walk to the door. After Jay had tripped about ten times, they finally reached the door, and the blue ninja smirked at his friend. 

"This might take awhile, huh?" he snickered, his wobbly legs barely holding him up. 

Cole smiled back. "Are you sure you want to keep going? We can go back any time."

"No!" Jay protested, flailing his free arm wildly. "I don't want to stop! Let's keep going."

The black-clothed ninja shrugged and opened the door. 

"Which way do you want to go?" he asked, looking from side to side. "Kai's room is that way." He pointed to the right. 

"Um..." Jay didn't really want to see Kai just then. He just wanted to hang out with Cole, although he was embarrassed to say it. The ninja of earth would always be his best friend. 

"Let's just go left for awhile," he finished with an air of finality. 

Cole grinned in acknowledgement and they started off to the left. They started talking, and didn't stop until they heard a patter of feet from down the corridor. They both looked up in surprise, but didn't see anything. 

All of a sudden, Jay stopped, and it took all of Cole's strength to not run into him. The black-haired teen had no idea what Jay had seen, but he started to get worried. The blue ninja had a look of pure bewilderment on his face as he stared down the hallway. 

"Nya....?" Jay whispered. "Is it..."

Suddenly a feminine figure melted out of the shadows and stared down the corridor at the two ninja. Jay's heart felt like it broke in half as he saw his girlfriend for the first time since they had left Ninjago City. His throat caught as he tried to call out to her, but she seemed to register who they were. 

"Jay?" the voice cried out from down the hallway. She started running towards him, and Jay gulped. He attempted to run to her in turn, but fell to his knees. He only managed to open and close his mouth in surprise. 

She barreled into him, and he immediately wrapped his arms around her. He started whimpering her name over and over again, kneading his hands into her back like a cat. She was sobbing. 

Cole stared at them a moment before deciding that Nya would help his buddy back to his room, and he pattered back to Jay's room silently.

Jay mewled her name for the fifth time, digging his head into her narrow shoulders. She hugged him closer, wishing she could never let go.