REMEDY [ninjago jaya]

15. Dinner Date

• Jay Walker •

Jay's feet ached from the hundreds of steps he had taken walking in circles and worriedly glancing around once in a while.

He could feel the stares of bystanders and guests sitting at the tables outside burning through his skin, but he couldn't bring himself to look back at any of them, not in their faces anyway.

Nya was a punctual person. He knew that, she knew that. She had been on time every day they had worked on their project together.

Jay took out his phone and glanced at the time. Freaking out over her being late for one minute went a bit too far, he had to admit that, but Nya had never been late before. What if something happened to her? What if she changed her mind?

What if she was bailing on him?

Thoughts he had suppressed for the longest time resurfaced but Jay pushed them back down. Nya was trustworthy. She had been nothing but truthful so far. There was no reason to doubt her now.

But still, this was the first date he had ever gone on, and he was a nervous wreck. He had been one the whole time he had FaceTimed his best friend Cole, who had enjoyed every second of seeing Jay panicking over the color of the roses he was going to buy for Nya.

He had settled for white ones because they weren't everyone's basic choice, but now he regretted not having gotten her the red ones.

Another minute passed. Then another.

On the fourth minute, Jay could finally breathe when he saw the silhouette of a young woman he knew rounding the corner.

All air left his lungs.

As if in slow motion, his eyes traveled from her toes up to the roots of her hair. Her ballerinas, her gorgeous blue sundress, her red lipstick...and her puffy eyes?

Jay snapped out of his lovestruck state and assessed her gaze with calculated eyes. She was crying, or at least she had been crying not long ago. None of her makeup was smeared, but the red in her eyes gave her away.

As she locked eyes with him, she smiled politely, but when she saw the roses in his hands, her smile transformed into a grin that made his heart churn happily.

"Hey," she greeted him softly once she was near him. "Sorry I'm late."

"Don't even think about it," he said softly. "These are for you."

He handed her the roses and Nya accepted them with open arms. Literally. She embraced the flowers and held them close as she took a deep sniff of them. When she looked up at him and smiled, Jay didn't regret that the flowers were white instead of red anymore.

"Thank you. They're lovely."

Jay would have performed a happy dance had he been alone. "You look..." He let his eyes roam her dress for a quick millisecond. "Fantastic."

Nya's cheeks lit up in a shade of red Jay had never seen on her face, beside the red lipstick which was also a first. She hid her face behind the bouquet. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jay was now officially smitten with the girl standing in front of him. He had never seen Nya this shy, and to know he was the first one (as far as Nya had let on) who got to see her all dolled up by her choice made his stomach house at least twenty more butterflies.

Nya looked him up and down as well. "You look amazing, too."

Jay hoped she was being honest and not just complimenting him because he had complimented her first. He had spent a significant amount of time choosing his clothes. At the end, he had settled for blue jeans and a white dress shirt that was a size bigger than him because it belonged to his father. He had wanted to put gel in his hair to tame it, but Cole had objected on the spot.