Lloyd slowly opened his eyes to hear rummaging coming from the bathroom. Who the hell could be making this much noise at 7 in the morning?
He rubbed his eyes and sat up, making his way to the bathroom to give the culprit a very annoyed speech about shutting the hell up when people are still trying to sleep. Lloyd burst open the door, causing the boy in front of the mirror to jump up in shock.
“Jay? You’re the one making all this noise this early?” Lloyd raised an eyebrow as he recognized the scream and the hair.
Jay nervously chuckled, trying to recover from the fright. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I was just getting ready for work," he explained, holding up his suit jacket.
Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just try to keep it down a bit next time, okay? I don't want to be woken up by your job drama or whatever else you have going on, you’re lucky it’s me and not Kai," he grumbled, clearly annoyed. Lloyd then realized what he said.
“Wait… work in the middle of camp?! Alright what is this actually about Jay?” Lloyd sighed. Jay scratched his head and looked away.
"Actually, I was going to ask Nya out today," he admitted, looking nervous.
Lloyd stared at him for a while and then his eyes lowered.
“Good luck with that.” He began to walk off until he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. “Wait! Lloyd, I need your help.”
“My help?”
Jay nodded eagerly. "Yeah, you're always so calm and collected. I need some advice on how to ask Nya out," he explained, looking hopeful.
“You think I know girls?!” Lloyd threw his hands up in the air. “The first girlfriend I had was not the best.”
“What. Okay look, I know maybe you’re not the best person, but I can’t ask Kai cause he’ll kill me before he helps, Cole doesn’t know a thing about women, and Zane is well… Zane.” Jay explained.
Lloyd still wasn’t buying it and facepalmed. “Why don’t you ask a girl then Jay? Preferably someone who’s up as early as you.”
“I didn’t think of that.” Jay chuckled nervously.
Lloyd’s eyes widened at Jay’s confession. He woke him up, kept him up, and didn’t even try any other options?
“You’re not mad right?” Jay smiled.
“No. I’m not mad.”
“That’s gre-”
“I’m furious.”
“Excuse-”
“GET OUT!” Lloyd kicked Jay out of the cabin and shut the door behind him, leaving Jay outside in the early morning.
“You can come back when you’re done with your girl problems! I’m gonna try and go back to sleep.” Lloyd yelled through the window and trudged back to bed. He’d apologize later, when he was well rest and not in a bad mood.
Jay was stuck. Lloyd kicked him out the cabin, and there seemed to be nobody in sight, until he saw exactly who he needed. His pink haired, party planner extraordinaire best friend. She was the only one energetic enough to be up this early, and probably the only one Jay had enough courage to tell.
“Pinkie!” Jay called over to her. The girl caught the sound of his voice and skipped over to his location.
“What’s up, Jay?” Pinkie asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“I need your help. I’m trying to ask Nya out, but I have no idea how to do it,” Jay admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed.
As Pinkie listened to Jay's request for help, her heart sank a little. She had been harboring feelings for Jay for some time now, but he seemed oblivious to her hints and advances. And now, he was asking for her help to ask out another girl.
"Sure, I can help you," Pinkie said, trying to hide her disappointment. "But, have you considered that Nya might not be interested in guys?"
"What do you mean?" Jay asked, confused.
"I mean, Nya might be y’know," Pinkie explained gently.
Jay scoffed. "What? No way. Nya has never mentioned anything like that."
"Well, that doesn't mean she isn't," Pinkie said, feeling a little frustrated that Jay wasn't listening to her.
"Look, Pinkie, I appreciate your concern, but I really like Nya and I want to give it a shot," Jay said firmly.
Pinkie sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do to change Jay's mind. "Okay, let's focus on how you're going to ask her out then."
As Pinkie started to give Jay advice on how to ask Nya out, she couldn't help but feel a little hurt. She knew she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up, but she couldn't help it.
Pinkie thought for a moment before answering. "Well, Nya loves water, so maybe you could take her to the lake"
Jay nodded, liking the idea. "That's a great suggestion. I'll plan it for tonight!”
Pinkie smiled, happy to see Jay taking her advice. "Great! And make sure to bring her favorite snacks and drinks too."
Jay grinned. "Thanks, Pinkie. I couldn't have done this without your help."
Pinkie nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. "No problem, Jay. Just make sure you're honest with Nya and don't lead her on if she's not interested."
Jay frowned, not liking the implication. "Of course I won't lead her on. I genuinely like her."
Pinkie nodded, not wanting to argue. "Okay, let's get to planning then."
Pinkie lead Jay to the camp kitchen, where she began pulling items out of the cabinets and throwing them onto the counter.
“What are you doing?” Jay raised an eyebrow. “You can’t have a date without a cake!” Pinkie explained brightly.
Jay chuckled at Pinkie's enthusiasm. "Alright, let's bake a cake then. What kind do you think Nya would like?"
Pinkie thought for a moment before answering. "Well, she loves chocolate, so maybe a chocolate cake?"
Jay nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me. Let's get started."
As they started preparing the ingredients for the cake, Jay and Pinkie's hands brushed against each other. They both blushed but tried to play it cool.
"Oops, sorry about that," Jay said, trying to hide his nervousness.
"It's okay," Pinkie replied, feeling her heart race. She couldn't help but notice how warm Jay's hand felt against hers.
As they continued to work together, their hands touched again. This time, Pinkie didn't pull away. Instead, she put her hand on top of Jay's, guiding him as they mixed the ingredients.
Jay looked at Pinkie, a smile on his face. "Thanks for your help, Pinkie. I couldn't have done this without you."
Pinkie smiled back, feeling a rush of happiness. "No problem, Jay. It was fun baking with you."
They continued to work together, laughing and joking as they made the cake. Pinkie couldn't help but feel a little sad that this was just a friendly gesture and not a romantic one. But she pushed those feelings aside and focused on enjoying the moment with her friend.
As they put the cake in the oven, Jay looked at Pinkie. "You know, Pinkie, you're an amazing friend. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Pinkie felt her heart swell with warmth. "You're an amazing friend too, Jay. And I'm always here for you, no matter what."
They shared a warm smile before getting back to the rest of the preparations.
After a couple of hours of baking and planning, Jay and Pinkie had everything ready for Jay’s gesture. They packed a basket full of Nya's favorite snacks, a blanket, and of course, the chocolate cake.
Pinkie couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She hoped everything would go well for Jay and Nya, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that something might go wrong.
Jay noticed Pinkie's nerves and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Pinkie. Everything will be fine."
Jay ran off to find Nya, it was a perfect time as the sun was beginning to set. And that’s when it hit him that he hadn’t seen the others all day since Lloyd kicked him out.
It was fine though, not like they have to show up in every “chapter” of his life. (See what I did there?)
Nya had to be somewhere, but where could she be? It was unlikely they had already gone back to their cabin.
Jay started to walk around the campsite, hoping to find any sign of Nya. As he walked, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
As he was about to give up, he heard a faint sound of water splashing. He followed the sound and found Nya sitting by the lake, her feet in the water.
"Nya!" Jay called out, feeling relieved that he had found her.
Nya turned around and smiled when she saw Jay. "Hey, Jay. What brings you here?"
"I wanted to take you on a little something," Jay said, holding up the basket of snacks and the chocolate cake.
Nya's attention looked to him. "That sounds lovely."
Jay felt a rush of happiness. Maybe Pinkie was right, and this could actually work out.
As they sat by the lake, eating snacks and talking, Jay couldn't help but feel grateful for Pinkie's help. He wouldn't have been able to plan this without her. He made a mental note to thank her later.
The sunset was beautiful, and Jay and Nya both watched it in silence. As the sun went down, Jay reached for Nya's hand. She didn't pull away.
Jay decided this was the perfect time to pop the question.
“Nya… I've, uh, liked you for some time, and I was wondering if…” Jay began.
“Yes?” Nya looked at him, confused.
“Would you want to be my girlfriend?” Jay asked with hope in his eyes.
Nya's eyes widened, and she looked at Jay, surprised. She had never expected this to happen, but she had to be honest with him.
"Jay, I'm flattered, but I'm not into guys," Nya said gently, taking Jay's hand in hers.
Jay's heart sank, and he felt embarrassed. He had misread the signals, and he felt stupid for even trying. But he knew that he had to respect Nya's decision.
"I understand," Jay said, feeling disappointed. "I'm sorry for making things awkward."
Nya smiled at him, understanding. "It's okay, Jay. I appreciate your honesty, and I hope we can still be friends."
The girl got up and walked off, not wanting to make it more awkward and left Jay to sit at the lake with his thoughts.
“Didn’t go too well huh?” Pinkie sat down on the grass next to him. “Yeah… but actually, I’m not that sad about it.”
Pinkie raised an eyebrow.
“What? What do you mean? You were worried about the whole thing all day? She’s the girl of your dreams!” Pinkie yelled.
“Second girl of my dreams.” Jay chuckled as he looked down into the water.
“Huh? Who’s the first? I don’t understand!” Pinkie asked with curiosity.
“I’m sitting right next to her.” Jay smiled.
The girl’s eyes widened at Jay’s confession.
“I've had feelings for you for a long time, but I was too scared to say anything. I was really going for Nya cause I didn't want to risk our friendship. We've been friends since like, first grade.” Jay sighed.
Pinkie felt her heart skip a beat. "Jay, I had no idea. I... I don't know what to say."
Jay looked at her, and put a finger up. "Please don't say anything if you don't feel the same way. I don't want to make things weird between us."
Pinkie took a deep breath and looked at him, her eyes shining with emotion. "Jay, I... I feel the same way. I've had feelings for you too, but I didn't want to mess things up either.”
Jay felt a rush of happiness and relief. "Really?"
Pinkie nodded, smiling. "Really. I'm so glad you told me."
They sat there for a while, looking at each other with new understanding. Jay felt like he was seeing Pinkie in a whole new light, and he couldn't believe how lucky he was.
“So do we like, tell the others?” Jay asked. “Nah…” She grabbed his hand into her own. “Let them figure it out, it’s more fun that way.”
Jay nodded and smiled as she leaned her head into his shoulder, feeling something electrical surge through his body. He wondered if it was that he had just got special powers as well.
But that wasn’t important to him right now.
Lloyd stood from the distance of the lake, nodding his head.
“Told ya to ask a girl.” He chuckled.