Video Game Lovers

dancing

The practice went much better than expected. As soon as they touched hands, they just clicked. They started with dances where they could both do the same steps, followed by more difficult ones.

They decided that Cole should be the one with his arm around Jay, while Jay puts his hand on his best friend's shoulder. It's easier that way, because Cole is the bigger part and he can twist Jay under his arm that way.

There was no time to think about anything but the dances while they were training. Kai, Lloyd and Nya gave them privacy by waiting inside Scott's workshop, while they danced in his small living room.

Now the practice time is over and they enter the backstage area of the competition.

"Two minutes till dance off", the speaker's voice announces.

"And last words?", Jay asks, casting a few nervous glances toward the stage.

"Try not to die." 

"Wow - thanks Kai."

"He's not entirely wrong, but there would have been better ways to comfort you", Lloyd tells his brother. "What he wants to say is that we believe in you, and no matter what the outcome of this competition is - whether you win or not - we love you. Sorry we accused you of buying the weapon earlier, Jay. Of course we're grateful that you're here."

"Oh - no problems", Jay says, but in the way he smiles, you can see how much it means to him. "Group hug?"

And a second later, they're all in each other's arms. Cole closes his eyes to concentrate on the moment. This hug means a lot to him. Before Sensei Wu found him and he became part of the ninja team, he had no family for years. His mom died and his dad couldn't be close to him, so he turned away from him.

To have so many people to trust and care for was a wish he never thought would become true. And as he stands there, he also thinks of Zane and Pixal. Sensei Wu. Skylor. And his parents.

He has to win this competition and make it out of the video game to see them all again.

"Dancing starts in t minus thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight ..."

"Okay, let's go." Jay takes Cole's hand, and now that he's fully aware of his emotions, the flowers are back in the earth ninja's stomach. Jay's hand feels so soft.

"Bye", he says to his friends and follows the lightning ninja onto the stage. There are four more couples. One is made up of two girls, which makes Cole relax.

At the registration for the competition, there was still some fear left, that they wouldn't tolerate a same-sex-dance-couple. That they would let them sign up, but eliminate them in a second and try to find excuses, why they were the worst. But the girls seem like they have been here before. They laugh and joke with the other couples and wear matching avatars they probably bought just for dancing.

Cole still doesn't have the money to buy him a new one, and Jay didn't agree to change into his ninja gi, so their looks don't really match. Which hopefully won't be a reason to eliminate them. All of the other couples wear matching costumes.

Cole feels a trembling in Jay's hand, so he watches his friend closely. He steps from one feed to the other, scanning the whole room with his eyes. The hand that isn't in Cole's trembles even more. The blue ninja is nervous.

"Is everything okay?"

"No", Jay tells him. "The others believe in us, but I actually don't. Just because I'm better than Nya doesn't mean I'm good. I will make a wrong step, or you lead me into a figure I didn't learn, so we will lose and it will all be my fault."