Coffee {Jaya AU}

Chapter 15

***HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE-

If you care, yes, that is a slowed version of "Careless Whisper" in the video above.

And by the way, I'm not a cop, so a lot of the information you read in the next few chapters will be fudged. Let's just say that life's different in Ninjago.***

***(Nya's POV)***

I sit beside Jay in the passenger seat of his parents' car. It's only polite that I let him drive, since it is his parents' vehicle, but he's driving slower than we should at this point. I don't remember much about the police chief's appearance or characteristics, given that I was coming off DM at the time I met him, but I know he was determined to see me fall. I don't just run for no good reason, and when I run, I run fast.

The world around us is now completely dark, the moon and our headlights illuminating the road. We're on one of the many rural highways leading toward Ignacia. Jay stashed both of our phones in a convenience store aisle back in Ninjago City, just in case they were being tracked.

I hate getting him into this much trouble. I wish Jay weren't throwing himself into danger's way just to help me. I've severely doubted his intelligence all day, but this takes the cake. He's forfeiting his whole career for my sake.

I don't know what to think about him anymore. When I met him early this afternoon – was it just today that we met? – I found him really attractive and outgoing.

Then he revealed that he knew my secrets, and he took me back to his apartment. I was wary of him while there, but he was a perfect gentleman. He bandaged my cuts and scrapes from the train incident, respected me when I wanted space, and seemed eager to show me some of the romance novels he'd written.

Once his parents showed up, I realized he was a liar. He apparently had told them he had a fake girlfriend, and I was supposed to play along.

And then I thought he was actually crazy. He up and told me he was in love with me, and that he had been that way for a year and a half. I knew he was a stalker or a pervert or some nutjob when he said that. The whole thing with lying to his parents about our children just confirmed my suspicions.

When he admitted he was wrong to lie and to tell me he loved me so quickly, I was more relieved than anything. And then he just asked if he could help me fix my police problems. I still thought he was crazy, but I couldn't resist his offer of help.

And then on the drive to the diner where we ate, he proved himself to be a really sweet, funny person. Sure, he was nuts, but I knew he could be a great, normal person after he got some counseling.

But we talked at the diner. The way he looked at me and held my hands and listened so intently...I felt comfortable with him. And that's saying a lot – I've been starved for meaningful human interaction for two years. Being able to talk out my past with someone, being able to trust someone with that part of me...it was therapeutic. I knew I would classify Jay as a friend from that moment on, regardless of whether he was crazy or not. I found out that when Jay put all 'I-love-you's' and pushiness to the side, we really connected.

But I fell for the understanding boyfriend act once with Cole, and then he dumped me when things got uncomfortable with the police. I know Jay's not the same guy, but I'm still not going to let something like Jay's skills as a listener persuade me to think of him as any more than a friend. Studies have shown that people are inherently more attractive when you meet them in dangerous situations. I'm not going to be a victim of that.

The hardest thing in determining Jay's character was that he essentially gave up his chances as a cop to drive me to Ignacia and fight for my innocence. I don't know what's wrong with him that he thinks that's a good idea. I'm ruining him, and he's...letting me do it.