(Jay's POV; song for this chapter: "These Words" by Natasha Bedingfield)

"These words are my own, yeah, yeah, yeah..."

Why in Ninjago do I hear a cheesy love song coming from the TV room?

"Threw some chords together,

The combination D. E. F.

It's who I am, it's what I do,

And I was gonna lay it down for you.

I'm trying to focus my attention,

But I feel so A.D.D.

I need some help, some inspiration,

But it's not coming easily."

Now in the hall beside the TV room, I hear the song more clearly. I also hear...laughing? It's for sure Nya's classic giggle, but there's someone else, too. I crack open the door to see her and Lloyd cracking up. The TV screen illuminates Kai dancing with his toothbrush. He's singing along to some popular romantic tune.

"Try'na find the magic,

Try'na write a classic.

Don't you know, don't you know, don't you know?

Waste bin full of paper.

Clever rhymes, see ya later.

These words are my own,

From my heart flow.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

There's no other way

To better say

I love you, I love you..."

I can't help but laugh, too. Nya's rolling on the floor at this point. Kai, on the other hand, is making kissy faces at a bar of soap.

Unfortunately, we aren't the only ones to hear the music.

"Nya!" Kai screams, stomping into the TV room.

In between fits of hysteria, Nya yells, "Now, Lloyd!"

Suddenly, a speaker turns on, magnifying Kai's vocal capabilities for the whole monastery to hear.

"Read some Byron, Shelly, and Keats,

Recited it over a hip-hop beat.

I'm having trouble saying what I mean

With dead poets and drum machines..."

"Nya!" Kai shouts again.

Lloyd takes off running. Nya follows hot on his trail, grabbing my hand on the way out the door. I'm startled at the contact, but she's having too much fun to notice my pause.

"...You know I had some studio-time booked,

But I couldn't find a killer hook.

Now you've gone and raised the bar right up.

Nothing I write is ever good enough."

Finally coming to senses, I tug Nya's hand. "Come on! I know a great place to hide." I pull her along behind me as we race away from a fuming Kai. We shimmy up the side of the building, then quietly sneak along the monastery's roof. I feel a tile slip beneath my foot and freeze.

Nya, obviously slaphappy, barely contains another giggle. I look into her mirth-filled eyes, loving the pure happiness I see there. She's usually so serious and eager to prove herself. I think letting go is good for her.

"These words are my own,

From my heart flow.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

There's no other way

To better say

I love you, I love you."

We stare into each other's eyes for what seems like an eternity. Slowly, against my own will, my gaze drops to her lips.

She notices, but strangely, she looks at mine, too.

Just as I move in a little closer, Kai yells, "A-ha!"

Nya squeals. Losing her balance, she flops on top of me, dissolving into laughter. I chuckle, too, but unfortunately, we both upset my balance, and we begin rolling off the top of the monastery.

"Jay!" she screams, catching her breath.

I manage to grab the edge of the roof just as we start to fall. My other hand grasps Nya's. We share another mysterious look.

Kai proceeds to tell both of us off as Nya hoists herself up to the top of the roof. I follow suit.

"Nya, how could you play that in front of my team? How is that going to breed respect? I'm going to be a laughingstock!"

I bite my lip. "Um, you weren't already?"

Kai sputters. Nya draws in a huge breath.

"Gah!" Kai moans, tugging on his over-the-top hair. Finding words again, he lectures us. This time, though, we're not listening.

We're just enjoying each other's company.

"These words are my own,

From my heart flow.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

There's no other way

To better say

I love you, I love you.

I'm getting off my stage,

The curtains pull away,

No hyperbole to hide behind.

My naked soul's exposé.

Whoa, whoa,

Try'na find the magic,

Try'na write a classic.

Waste bin full of paper,

Clever rhymes, see ya later.

These words are my own,

From my heart flow.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

There's no other way

To better say

I love you, I love you.

These words are my own,

From my heart flow.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

There's no other way

To better say

I love you, I love you.

These words are my own,

They're from my heart.

I love you, I love you.

That's all I got to say.

Can't think of a better way.

That's all I got to say.

I love you, is that okay?

(Nya's POV)

"So..." Lloyd begins later tonight. "You and Jay looked like you were getting pretty...um...close up there on the roof."

I roll my eyes. Here we go...

"Anything you'd like to share?" he smirks.

"Whatever, Lloyd. I was high on adrenaline. You were high on adrenaline. Sure, I may have wanted to do something rebellious and have a romantic moment with Jay, but I also felt like singing karaoke. Or skydiving off the roof. Or telling ghost stories." I snap my fingers. "That's it! We need to tell ghost stories one night! You know how Cole hates those!"

Lloyd sighs and pulls our popcorn out of the microwave. "I'm a reformed bad boy, remember? I don't hurt people on purpose anymore."

I roll my eyes. "What about a practical joke?" I know he can't refuse this.

He turns to me with a wounded look. "What kind of practical joke?" he finally says.

I shrug. "I dunno. You mentioned Sensei Yang's Haunted Temple at school today, right?"

He pulls out a bowl, then sets it on the counter and turns his full attention on me. "I'm listening."

"Okay, so to pull this off, we need to get Wu let us stay there one night."

"Remember how anyone who stays there past, like, eight in the morning, becomes a ghost?"

"According to urban legend," I shrug. "But our goal isn't to turn someone into a ghost. That's not funny. But if Cole's afraid of ghosts, wouldn't it be great if we made that temple actually seem haunted?"

Lloyd's eyes light up. "What if we got Zane in on it? I bet there's a giant grandfather clock in there, and we could hide his falcon in it. Then, when the clock chimes the hour, we could make the robo-bird pop out and scare Cole!"

"That's the spirit, Lloyd!" I encourage. "And doesn't the falcon have a memory recording?"

"Yes! We could totally record Cole's scream, then play it back to show him how stupid he sounded!

"Shh!" I say, but laugh at the same time. "Ever wonder why Zane's falcon is a robot? Who even created that thing?"

Lloyd shrugs. "It's probably something to do with the Destiny Writers."

"You really believe in those guys?"

"You and I both have always felt our futures were predetermined. What if they are, but not in the way we think?"

I chuckle. "Lloyd, you've got a big imagination."

"It could happen." He goes back to buttering the popcorn. "So, now that Kai's banned us from the TV room, what are we going to do? We can't play videogames."

I stretch. "Why don't we go out to the back porch and watch the stars?"

He gives me the look. You know, the look that guys use to say you're being too girly.

"Come on," I continue. "It'll give us a place to plot without anyone overhearing us. Plus, we'll be together, so we won't be breaking Master Wu's rule against solitude."

Lloyd sighs. "You're really using this opportunity to get out from under Kai's thumb, aren't you?"

"It won't last forever. Now, let's go!" I bid him, stealing a piece of popcorn.

He doesn't budge.

Finally resorting to the big guns, I hold up a package of sour gummy worms. "There's more where these came from."

He grabs the popcorn and a duvet from a nearby armchair. "Let's go."