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Legs straddled his hips, and a fist was bunched up in his gi, while the other was raised to strike. Jay's knuckles were already stained with Cole's blood, but his fist kept coming down. Cole's lips and cheeks were drenched in blood and he almost choked when he tried to open his mouth to breathe.
Jay was yelling at him about something or other, probably about Nya, but his ears are ringing and he forgot what started this.
Maybe he's concussed.
He had been concussed only once before, when he was seven. The ride to the emergency room was quiet, stifled by his father's disappointment.
His whole recovery his father only spoke in terse words. That was the first real proof that Cole was never gonna be the dancer his father was. He didn't think his father ever forgave him for that.
Another fist came down.
Jay hadn't forgiven him, either. Ever since Nya had shown more interest in Cole, they'd been at each other's throats. He wasn't quite sure if he was fighting for Nya's attention or Jay's, at this point.
He fought back when it started.
Jay had pounced at him, and they pulled hair, and bit, and kicked each other with only hatred in their minds. They fought and fought until Jay slammed his head into the ground and kept punching.
They used to be such good friends.
Muffled shouts broke out around them and blurry forms tugged Jay off of him, before cold hands gently prodded him. Zane's head was in his sight now, and he squinted into his eyes. He might've been talking, but the words were hard to discern.
Soon, he was being pulled up against someone's chest, and he felt them carry him away. He felt dazed and lost, his eyes were drooping and he was ready to sleep.
He wondered where Jay was.
He was placed on a table of some sort, and stared at the ceiling until Zane's head came into view again. Blue light shined from his eyes and Cole tried to shield his eyes from it, but it just as soon turned off with Zane's concerned look.
“It seems Jay did a lot of damage,” Zane said from afar, before he came back and started gently wiping the blood away from Cole's face. Cole grumbled, but couldn't form any words.
Zane finished cleaning the blood away from his mouth, and he coughed and choked until he could croak out, “I hate him.”
Zane gave him an analyzing, pitying look, “I do not think that's true.”
Cole groaned and let Zane continue checking over him. His vision was blurry and his head throbbed, so he didn't feel much like protesting at this point. There was silence, with only the noises of shifting to fill the space.
Eventually, Zane seemed to conclude his assessment and stated, “You'll have to stay out of fights for the next week or so. All fights.”
Cole jerked up at that, “ Seriously? I can't stay out of shit for that long! You guys need me!”
“While it is true that we depend on you in the team, you need to heal first.”
Before Cole could open his mouth to object further, Zane gave him a look that shut him up and left.
Cole stared gloomily at the ceiling. His head was spinning and his mind was so foggy. Everything felt dull and too sharp at the same time.
Fuck Jay.
...
The door slowly creaked open, but the person made no move to enter. Cole slowly turned his head to look at who it was, expecting Wu or Nya. Instead, the very sheepish object of his animosity was lingering in the doorway, as if debating whether to go in. Their eyes locked quickly before Jay looked down and shuffled in.
He stopped awkwardly next to the chair by Cole's bedside and continued to look anywhere but at him. Cole just glared at him.
“I just wanted to–” Jay coughed, “Well. Yeah.”
He continued looking at Jay, his smudged foundation, his notched eyebrow, his messed up hair. The dried blood on his lips.
Jay sighed in defeat and sat, “Look, I didn't mean to get you benched.”
Was that Cole or Jay's blood? That always seemed to be the question.
He didn't quite understand his attraction to Nya. It was... nice, almost. To have somebody give him attention. It felt good to have Nya look at him like that. There was a warmth in his chest, the feeling to try and have that happen again. And what else could it be but love?
Yet, something else in him lusted for the attention it brought onto him from Jay. The idiotic fights they got into sent thrills through him, and he couldn't help but egg him on. Jay brought to life a feeling in him that he knew Nya never could.
He thinks Jay felt something similar.
Or maybe just hopes.
But Jay scoffs, “Look I know you're the master of earth and all, but I didn't come here to talk to a brick wall.”
He liked Jay, is the thing. It was electrifying to be near him, and the charge only built since they started fighting. It was weird. He didn't feel much different from before they became enemies.
“Are you satisfied?” He barely realized he was saying it until it was out.
Jay looked away and chewed his lip. When he finally spoke it was quiet, “No.”
Jay continued to look away, “I don't know why I kept punching. I was just so angry at you, and I couldn't stop. I didn't even realize you stopped hitting back until they pulled me off of you.”
Cole didn't respond. There wasn't anything to say.
Jay looked at Cole, finally, before getting up. “I'm sorry.”
Cole looked away as he heard footsteps recede, for some reason he didn't feel remorse for him. Just... something else lingering in his chest.
What is this feeling?