MCSM: The Forest Temple

Part 22 (Jesse and Lukas)

The girls stood in the new hall, still trying to get the collar off of Jesse while the boys took Carson to the mental institute in Champion City. They didn't really know what else they should do to help Carson regain his sanity.

"I think this one will work." Olivia said. Petra stood up, "Finally. What took so long?" She looked over Olivia's shoulder at the contraption. Olivia glared at Petra, "Don't be impatient. I have to be careful. One wrong tug and Jesse could die." Petra sighed, "Fine, I believe you. Just go then." Olivia held her breath and yanked the cord. The ring around Jesse's neck split in two and fell to the floor.  Jesse sighed and hugged her friend tightly, "Thank you so much Olivia! You're a lifesaver!" Olivia struggled for breath, "I'm just glad it wasn't...the wrong one. Can you... let go?" Jesse nodded and released Olivia as she gasped for air, "Your hugs are terrifying! We just about suffocate every time you hug us. No offense." 

Jesse laughed, "I get told that a lot." Petra nodded, "True, true. Hey Jesse. You don't have to answer but: What was your first strike with Carson?" 

"The fireworks to show you where I was." Jesse responded. Petra shook her head, "He's a sick man." 

"To be honest," Jesse said, "I think he was probably a great guy before his fiance died. When he talked about her, I saw the sadness in his eyes, and I realized that he's only human." Olivia frowned, "That is pretty sad." They heard the door open and turned to see the boys enter. "I see they took Carson." Petra turned to them. "Yup. They said they'd let us know when he's healed." Axel said.

"I see you got that contraption off Jesse's neck." Jess smiled, "Thanks Olivia." He hugged her.

Petra scoffed, "All this gooey "Thank you" stuff is boring me." The others grinned at one another and then approached Petra. She slowly backed away, "Umm..guys.." When she realized they were planning to drag her into a group hug, she backed up faster. Jess grabbed her arm and dragged her into the hug anyways. "I love you guys!" Jesse smiled. They backed out of the hug and Olivia sighed, "Well. Those were some pretty insane adventures we've had over the past few days, I'm ready for a nice long nap." The others nodded in agreement.

"I'm ready to eat cake." Axel said. They said their goodbyes and went on their way to their hotel rooms. Jess turned to Petra, "Hey, Petra. Want to get a bite to eat?" He slightly blushed, but Petra didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, I'm really hungry. Do you two want to come?" She asked Lukas and Jesse. Jess face-palmed behind her. Lukas laughed, "No it's fine. You two go ahead." Petra shrugged, "Your loss." The two of them walked to the door and Jess mouthed the word "Thanks" to Lukas before leaving. 

Lukas turned to Jesse. She was wearing her 'wedding dress' and even though she had fallen to the floor a couple of times, her dress was clean. Lukas thought she looked stunning nonetheless.

"What should I do with this?" She asked looking down at the dress, "It's beautiful, but it's going to remind me of my 'fiance'." She said with air quotations. Lukas smiled, "You can either do that or think of it as the time your awesome friends heroically saved your life. I think you should go with my idea and keep it. It suits you well."

Jesse laughed, "Yeah, I'll go with your idea and keep it. Thanks." Her stomach growled.

"Looks like someone's hungry." Lukas mocked. Jesse glared at him, "Maybe.." Lukas decided to take a chance just as Jess did, "How about you get into something more comfortable and we go eat at ARW's?" Wow, Lukas thought, How did Jess make that look so easy? My heart is pounding out of my chest right now! Jesse smiled, "Sure." Lukas sighed as Jesse said, "I'll be right back. I have some overalls in the closet."

"Okay." He said as he watched her walk in the opposite direction. He smiled as he thought of their accidental kiss from the day before and their near kiss a few hours before. He hoped that she felt the same way about him as he felt about her. Suddenly, he thought of the letter she wrote to him, and how secretive she was about it. He pulled out the book he dreamed of owning for so much of his life, happy that he finally owned it. Thanks to the girl who stole his heart..

He took a breath and flipped to the first page. His heart seemed to stop as he began to read her secrets she'd written to him. Dear Lukas, he read...

(Sigh) First book done! I hope you guys enjoyed it! I sure had a really fun time writing it. Don't worry, this book didn't have many super good Jetra moments as it could have, but the next one will have a ton of Jetra and Lukesse! It's going to be great and it will be sure to make you laugh. I'll see you in book #2! Love ya!