***So here's this. Why not read a fanfiction chapter to punctuate the stress of the U.S. election? LOL And it's set to good music. So have a seat, grab a snack, and read this chapter while listening to a happy song. It makes everything seem a little less tense, promise 😘

Some of you may recognize this song. It's a cover of "You Are My Sunshine" by Jasmine Thomspon. I actually used this song cover for a Jaya chapter in Untamed, and I fell in love with it. I now headcanon that Jay just randomly sings this to Nya when he wants to be cute or affectionate. Nya tries to sing it back - I also headcanon that she's bad at singing - but she only does it when he's upset about something. He knows she's trying <3

And I'm really sorry it has to be this way, guys. Actually, I'm not - I do what I must for the plot. You'll see what I mean by the end of the chapter.

I swear, I've written so many Jaya cuddles lately - ***

***(Jay's POV)***

I run into one of the spare rooms below deck, holding a bowl of that stale popcorn you can buy bagged at the store. I shouldn't be alone, but I had to get this. It's a day for celebration, in my opinion.

I plop the bowl of popcorn on the pillow-leaden bed. My dad spared no expense on this luxury boat, apparently. I use his ample pillow supply and a few extra blankets I found in the closet to construct a small fort.

"Are you doing okay, Nya?" I call. She's in the 'bathroom' we have on board. I honestly hate to know what it'll be like to clean that thing out when we're done with this sea vessel.

After we totally conquered that crazy storm, I helped Nya down below deck so she could get dried off and rest up. Zane's taking over for Skylor so she can have a break, too. I just hope we don't run into another storm, or we'll be back up there again. It's just light rain right now.

The bathroom door opens with a click, and Nya pokes her head out, a towel wrapped around her shoulders. She slowly moves toward the bed, lacking the energy to do much else. She does offer me a tired, flimsy wave in acknowledgement.

I run to her and pull her into a hug. "Hi."

"Hi. Mind if I sit down?" Her voice is exhausted and void of emotion.

I suddenly remember the amount of energy she's just exerted and laugh. "Oh, yeah. I made you a pillow fort, by the way. We can just sit in it and have a snack while you regain your strength." I guide her the rest of the way to the bed, and she flops down, reaching for one of the bottles of water I stashed there.

"Are you all dry?" I ask, settling in beside her.

She lazily fingers the towel around her shoulders. "Almost."

"I'll help." I grab the edges of her towel, pull it from around her shoulders, and rub her head with it.

She giggles softly. "What the heck, Jay?"

"I'm helping." I wrap the towel around her head and grin. "You look like Little Bo Peep."

By the look on her face, she's stifling a smile. "And you look like a fool. It's cute on you, though."

I hug her tightly and sigh happily. "I can't believe this is happening."

She chuckles. "You're something else, Jay Walker."

"You could say that." I pepper her hair with quick, tiny kisses.

She sighs, tired yet content. "You said there was food?"

I gasp, stopping in the middle of my mini-kiss festival. "You're right!" I pass her the bowl of popcorn, setting it in her lap. "You need to eat something so you can replenish your energy! And then you'll probably need a nap. But that means I'll just be sitting here watching you sleep – we aren't supposed to be alone right now – and that's kind of creepy. Um, the 'watching you while you sleep' part. So you don't have to fall asleep just yet, if you don't want to."

"You're talking a million miles a minute." She relaxes against me, shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth. Several pieces fall out onto her lap.

I giggle. "You missed."

"I know." She doesn't move to pick up the lost food.

I laugh all over again. "I guess you really don't care. And that's okay – you can eat as messily as you like. I do it all the time. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to braid your hair." I finger the soft, moist strands.

She forces another handful of popcorn into her mouth and swallows it down. "If one of the guys comes in, I'm denying that this is happening."

"And I'll deny your denial. This is one of the best days of my life." I begin coiffing her locks into a short braid.

"'One of' the best days?" she asks, smiling slightly.

"Yeah. The best one would be when you came to my parents' house and told me you'd forgiven me and that you weren't running away." I sigh happily. "Best day ever."

"Glad I could help."

"You help me all the time – with my mom and stuff. You always have my back. And I have yours, too, you know."

"I don't need saving."

"You make that clear a lot." I rub noses with her. "But it's one of the things I love about you – that you're so independent and capable and great at everything."

"And don't you forget it." She hums, closing her eyes. "Let's talk about the future, Jay."

"What about it?"

"The future of us, silly."

I blush. "U-um...I thought you...were more interested in taking things slow."

"I am. That doesn't mean we don't need to talk some things out."

I wrap a few strands of her hair around my finger. "Like what?"

"Like...like where you really see our relationship going right now." The words all come out in one rush of breath, and she swallows hard.

I rest my forehead against her crown. "I see forever with you, Nya," I whisper softly. "I believe you're my future everything."

She stiffens a little. "I...really?"

"Mmhmm," I smile. "Don't worry, I'm not going to push it or anything – okay, I might sometimes, but you'll just have to let me know when I'm being pushy. I promise I'll stop. But I really do think we belong together. Forever."

"Hmm." She readjusts her head on my chest. "I don't know what my future looks like, but I don't want one without you tomorrow."

"Awwwwwwwwwww," I grin, drawing out the word.

"Uh-huh. And if you dare tell anyone I said that, I will personally feed you to – "

"I won't tell," I grin. I run my hands over her newly braided hair and let it drop to her neck. Then, having my arms free, I wrap them around her waist and snuggle her close, pulling a blanket over us.

"You said you want to go to college," I muse. "That's in the future."

"Yeah. Since Kai will be quitting the blacksmith's shop to help Skylor with her business, I'm really not tied down in that area."

"Do you know what you want to major in?"

"No clue, Walker. I'm taking things slow and easy right now. But you want to do something with technology, right?"

"I want to design videogames. That'd be actually awesome."

She mumbles into the blanket, "You'd be good at it, too."

"Thanks, Nya." I smack my lips against her cheek. "But what I really want to do is spend these next few minutes with you – and however long you'll keep me around after that."

"I'm not going to keep you around, Jay. You're a person, not an object." She burrows her head in my shoulder. "You know how good it feels to be dating you when it's not a relationship of convenience? It feels fantastic. I shouldn't have fake-dated you and used you like that."

"It's okay. I mean, it turned out great. I'm happy about it."

"Yeah, but it was still wrong."

I pick a piece of popcorn out of the bowl and chew it thoughtfully. "I forgive you."

"I didn't ask for forgiveness."

"But I could tell that you wanted it all the same."

She mutters something indecipherable into the blanket, and I can't help but giggle.

"Gosh, you're cute," I smile.

She cracks her eyes open. "Is that an attempt at being charming?"

"Is it working?"

"No comment." She shivers as a fat water droplet falls from her hair onto her neck.

I snuggle us closer under the blankets. "Should I stop talking so you can get some sleep?"

"I would imagine so. I just used my elemental power to keep our boat from being capsized, you know."

"That was amazing. I really love you," I sigh.

She chuckles. "Uh, Jay, I don't really want to interrupt these few moments we have alone, but I think it's time for me to get some – "

I lie down with her back tucked against my chest so I can rest my cheek on hers. "You can fall asleep just like this."

"Nuh-uh. Kai's not going to let us share a room with each other, Jay, even though we aren't going to cross any lines. He doesn't understand that I'm not into hanky-panky."

"Not even with me?" I joke, trying to lighten the awkward moment.

She blushes, training her eyes somewhere on our blanket. "Um, I think...we might really need to talk some things out in our relationship, Jay."

"I was kidding," I reassure her. "Um...to put things nicely, I'm not exactly what you would call easy."

"And neither am I. I get that Kai and Skylor are into that – when it comes to each other, thank the First Spinjitzu Master – but that's just not us."

"I really don't want to talk about your brother's...um..."

"I don't either. You know, this is weird. We should just stop while things aren't creepy."

"Good plan." Her wet hair makes me shiver, so I tuck it under the pillow before resting my head back on hers. "What else do we need to know about 'us'?"

"I'm mostly concerned about you becoming obsessed with me again," she admits. "And if I see you falling back into that cycle, we're going to have to seriously lock down some stuff in our relationship. I'm going to do what's best for you, Jay."

"And I'm going to do what's best for you." I inhale her natural Nya smell – her conditioner's pretty much washed out. "Don't worry, Nya. I'm not going back to the way I was when I was obsessed with you. I was really selfish, and I'm not going to play you like that." I sniff. "I'm so glad you're giving me a second chance."

"With all the chances that you've given me, it's only fair."

I beam, lacing our fingers together under the blanket. "I know I've said it a lot, but I really, really, really love you."

"I know." The words are quiet and cautious.

"I get that we're different people than we were in February, Nya. I'm just telling you how I feel."

"Okay," she says softly.

"Good." I nuzzle her cheek. "I'm going to stop talking your ear off now and let you get some sleep."

"Kai's definitely not letting us sleep together in here. He's making me bunk with Seliel, so I guess you're stuck with Zane or something."

"I'll get up," I argue. "Eventually. I have to make sure you're nice and cozy and able to get a good nap. You exerted a lot, a lot, a lot of energy."

"Thanks." She lets her eyes drift closed.

"Sweet dreams, Nya."

"Good night." She turns so she can bury her face in my shoulder.

"You smell surprisingly nice," she muses, her voice muffled. "You should smell like an armpit after all the stress we faced earlier."

"Oh, yeah. Um, thanks. I, uh, freshened up while you were getting dried off." Spray-on deodorant is a save. I take a mental note to never stop buying this brand.

"Nice," she whispers. "And you're more muscly-y...-y. Um, that is, than you were in February. Gosh, I sound all stupid now."

"I'm muscly-y...-y?" I grin. "Is that a good thing?"

"No, it's horrible." Her tone is embarrassed.

"I think it's a good thing," I smile. "So...thank you, I guess."

"Whatever. Okay, going to sleep now."

"Nighty-night. Hey, want me to sing you to sleep?"

"Jay – "

"We need a song!" I exclaim. "'Hold the Line' was our song for our relationship back in February. But now that love is on time for us, we need a new one. The Backstreet Boys are more Skylor's thing. And Kai loves country music, so we probably shouldn't pull from that genre. We need something unique." I gasp. "'You Are My Sunshine'! It's perfect! You ready? I'm going to sing.

'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

You make me happy when skies are gray.

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away.'"

Nya says nothing.

"How was that?" I ask eagerly. "You think it fits? Do you wanna be my sunshine?"

Her rhythmic breathing is my only response. She's either ignoring me or conked out from exhaustion.

"Aww," I whisper. "You're sleeping. Okay, I'll be quiet." Instead I just watch her – like a creep – while she peacefully rests.

But I'm her creep, and I think that definitely reduces my creep-factor.

***(Kai's POV)***

I open my eyes, blinking at the ceiling. My head feels so weird, and the boat has been unsteady for at least half an hour now. It's just now beginning to still.

I stumble upward, wondering where Skylor went. Is she up on deck? Why'd she leave me alone?

I slip on my sneakers, which she apparently removed at some point. My fingers fumble with the laces as I try to make sense of my surroundings.

"Greetings," rumbles a Spanish-lilted voice. I should be surprised that someone is in the room with me, but my head aches so bad, I don't think I have the willpower to be surprised.

The voice is strangely...familiar.

I slowly turn, squinting against the stabbing pain emanating throughout my head. "Who...are you?" I mumble. "Wait. You're that good-for-nothing Djinn who – "

"I am not 'good for nothing', as you put it," he huffs, crossing his arms. "I come only to talk. I grant wishes."

"I don't care." I hobble toward the door so I can wrench it open and get away from this guy.

"Help," I croak, my voice hardly even spoken in a conversational tone. Every noise sends a jabbing sensation through my skull.

He suddenly appears right in front of me, smirking. "One wish could not hurt you."

"Yes, it could." I lamely shoot a small orb of fire at him, but he vanishes to avoid it.

"One wish?" Nadakhan tries to persuade me. "I could, perhaps, stop that horrible ache in your head."

That sounds nice, but I'm not buying it. "I wasn't born yesterday. I know that if I wish something like that, you'll just kill me so I can't feel any pain at all. The others have told me you're out for blood." I wince at my voice's heightening decibel, massaging my temples.

"I will not kill you," Nadakhan chuckles. "Perhaps I could just offer you...a nice cup of tea." On cue, a mug of steaming liquid appears in his hands.

I eye it. The idea of a hot beverage to soothe my headache does sound nice.

But I'm still not stupid enough to drink it.

I shove my way around the Djinn to get out the door, but he apparates right in front of the doorknob. "Not even one cup of warm, soothing tea?"

"No. How do I know it's not poisoned or something?" I'm not crazy!

"You have my word as a sailor," he grins, gold tooth glinting in the dim lantern light.

"I don't want it," I growl. "If I have to make a wish here, I wish you didn't even have that tea anymore."

He laughs wickedly. "Your wish" – he splashes the steamy beverage right on my face – "is yours to keep." And he vanishes in the blink of an eye.

I swipe the hot liquid off my face and chest, grimacing and running for the bottle of water Skylor left for me. I splash it all over the areas of my skin that could be burned, but given that I'm the master of fire, I think I'll be fine.

Once I've finished addressing the tea problem, I scan the room. Why did he disappear so suddenly? Is his intention to harm the others?

Yet I see...no one.

And I find everything in my mind is becoming increasingly...jumbled?

Rising, I head for the door. I need to tell the others that Pythor and Nadakhan know where we are. I fumble with the knob, finally I get it open, and peek out in the hall.

No one's around.

I try to ask, "Hello?"

All that comes out are incoherent syllables.

Weird.

I try the word again, sounding out each letter, but I realize I can't understand what I'm hearing.

How...

I run back inside my quarters, checking the teacup Nadakhan chucked at me. Did I somehow drink some of that stuff? I knew it was poisoned!

The tea, however, gives no indication of its nature.

Oh my gosh. I've had a stroke or something!

My head swims as I stand up and try to find the others, my mind threatening to wash over me with a peaceful blankness. No thinking, just letting go to wherever my head wants to take me.

I clench my fists. My head wants to take me out of here!

I hear a voice from somewhere close by, and it sounds like...my dad?

"Don't leave, Kai," he chides me. "It's not safe out there."

I look around desperately, trying to find out where he is. "Dad? Dad?!" Am I imagining this?! I've gone crazy! Or...this is a bad dream, or something!

"I'm here, Kai. In your mind. I can only speak to you through your thoughts, and I'd like to show you something."

I shake my head. "No, no, no!"

At least I can say 'no' with no issues.

"Yes, Kai. For me and your mother – I want you to come with me. They're after you, Kai. They're after you."

I place my hands on either side of my forehead. "Stop. Stop! Help!" Those are not the words that come from my mouth.

I'm talking gibberish!

My dad's voice gets louder. "Kai, don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

That's when I hear mom, too.

"Kai, listen to your father," she says gently.

And then every voice I've ever known pounds into my mind, threatening to leak out of my skull and take over my world. I hear Garmadon, Nya, Zane, Mystaké, Skylor, Sunny...

"Kai, you're all in danger of Nadakhan!" Nya reminds me. "You have to tell the others!"

"Demon," Sunny hisses.

"This does not compute," Zane frowns, his voice overlapping and mingling with the others.

"You're a good older brother," Mystaké congratulates me.

"Let me choose the radio station this time," Skylor begs.

"You corrupted my son," Garmadon growls.

And my parents' voices call out to me above the rest, begging me to succumb to their will.

"I'll never go with you!" I yell. "Skye! Nya! Anyone?!"

"Demon," my aunt snaps. "That's what all of you are. Demons!"

I cry out again for help. My mind is closing in on me. I'm going insane!

"Skylor!" I shout again. I'm not even sure if I get her name right – I can't hear what I say above everyone else.

I guess it doesn't matter whether I got her name right or not.

There's no response.

"Demon!"

***NUUUUUUUUUUUU KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This wasn't supposed to happen yet in the story, but it did because I didn't want this book to be way longer than thirty chapters. At this point, we're aiming for thirty-two and an epilogue <3

And then we get to I Always Wished...and the plot for that book is really good (in my opinion). It's very suspenseful and mysterious, but you all might hate me occasionally.

Let's just say that I'm glad I haven't started that book on this site yet. The LAST thing anyone needs right now is more tension LOL

But there's still the problem that a few of you might eject me from the fandom for what I'm going to pull in the next few chapters of THIS book...***