Asking for Permission

This was it. The moment that he had been waiting for. The moment that he had been practicing for hours on end for. He was ready. He could do this.

...oh, who was he kidding? He was going to die.

Jay tried to push back the negative feelings from his mind, but they refused to leave. He tried to take deep, calming breaths. He ended up hyperventilating. He tried thinking on the bright side. His mind always returned to his dark thoughts. He even practiced what he was going to say in the mirror and wrote it down on index cards for when he forgot. But the anxious pit in his stomach just refused to go away.

I mean, it's not everyday that he was going to ask his crush's brother for permission to date her.

Asking his crush's parents permission to date said crush was nerve-wracking enough, but Nya was an orphan. So that meant that he had to ask her older brother for permission. And everyone knows that the only thing as scary or even scarier than your crush's dad was your crush's older brother. And as an older brother, Kai was downright terrifying.

When he had first met Kai, the fiery teen was trying to rescue his kidnapped sister. Jay made the mistake of asking if she was hot. The angry response that it had earned made Jay really fear Kai. Sure, as a teammate, he was pretty cool(if a little hotheaded and stubborn). But Jay was scared of what was going to happen to him when he asked Kai his big question. The one scenario that was playing in his head was Kai killing him and hiding his body somewhere where nobody would ever find it.

Jay stopped in front of Kai's bedroom and took in a deep breath. It's going to be okay, he told himself. Kai wouldn't actually kill me. Just remember what you've practiced and everything will be okay. Let's see, index cards? He snuck a peek at the light blue cards on the insides of his hands. Check. Good posture? He stood up straight and held his shoulders back. Check. Nice smile? The corners of his lips lifted slightly. Check. Okay, let's do this!

Jay raised his hand up and knocked on the door. As soon as he heard Kai yell, "Door's open!" he turned the knob and walked inside.

Kai's room was, surprisingly, rather neat. It wasn't as crazily-neat as Zane's room(seriously, that guy must have OCD), but it was neater Jay's own room, which was full of parts of inventions and tools. He had a few knick-knacks on his dresser, and a picture of him and his sister on his night table. The red ninja himself was sitting on his bed, playing a video game on his Nintendo 3DS.

"Hang on, give me a second," he said without looking up, furiously smashing the buttons on his device. "Almost, c'mon...what?! NOOOOO!!!! Screw you, stupid lava monster! I had you, I freakin' had you! Gosh dangit, why did I run out of arrows?! C'mon!"

He threw down his DS on the bed and flopped down on his back, covering his eyes with his arm. "Dang it, I was soooo close," he lamented.

Jay was proud of himself that he didn't flinch when Kai raged at his game. He simply coughed to get Kai's attention. When the fiery ninja turned his attention towards him, Jay asked, "Uh, is this a bad time?"

Kai sighed heavily and sat back up. "Nah, I'll just finish that level later. It's making me mad." He leaned back against the wall behind his bed and placed his hands behind his head. "Wassup?"

Aaaaaand the pit in his stomach was back. Gulping, Jay stammered, "Uh, er. I just, uh, I just wanted to ask you something."

Kai arched an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Like what?" A smirk tugged on his lips. "If you're going to dare me to eat something Cole cooked, the answer is no. I am not having a repeat of the duck clam chowder."