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“Sorry again for calling you up on such short notice,” Cole says sheepishly, sliding into a seat at the school’s library. “But when Ms. Laudita sprung that horrible pop quiz on us along with the test date, I kinda panicked, haha. I hope you weren’t too busy today?”
“It’s fine, no trouble at all! Completely free schedule!” Jesse Marvell assures, entirely ignoring the fact that he had to beg his mother to let him off the hook for his afternoon shift at the shop. His grandmother came in clutch to support him scurrying off on such short notice, but now he’s going to have to pick up so much extra time over the weekend to make up for it...
But—Jesse smiles over at Cole, who’s still a bit abashed and nervous about having to ask for some study help at all—it’s worth it.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Cole groans, holding his head in his hands. “I’m not even sure what this chapter’s about, or what the test is on...like, Jesse, my guy, you don’t even know how awful I did on that pop quiz—”
“Well, you normally don’t, ah, care about your grades,” Jesse interrupts with a cough. “...why the sudden concern?”
Cole shuffles in his seat, staring down at the social studies book before him.
“...I’m trying to be better,” Cole says quietly, unable to maintain eye contact. “I can’t stand school, which ironically means I have to do decent enough to actually graduate to get out of it. And...this is kind of my worst class. I’m already on the verge of failing it, and the semester’s almost over.”
The disappointment is written all over Cole’s face, and it makes Jesse’s heart weep.
“W-Well, I’m more than happy to help, but, um...I’m not exactly a social studies expert either. Surely Jay and Nya can’t be doing that bad in the class...or even Zane...”
Jesse glances to the side, frowning.
“...so why didn’t you ask Zane, then? ...o-or, ahem, anyone else, I mean, ahahah...”
But Cole just shrugs, already cracking open the book to what he thinks is the relevant section. Jesse reaches over to help guide him to the proper one. Cole grins in gratitude, before it settles into something softer.
“...the others skip this class just as much as I do. And...I try not to ask them for help as much as I can. I’m the leader, after all—I’m the one they’re supposed to be looking up to, the one they turn to for guidance...not the other way around. They pick up my slack enough in battles; I don’t want to have be constantly carried through homework either, not any more than I have to be.”
Jesse opens his mouth to interrupt that train of thought, but that train of thought flies off the rails, out the window, over a cliff, and properly explodes when Cole accidentally grabs Jesse’s hand when they both reach to turn the page in the book. Jesse sputters like the easily frazzled teen he is, while Cole plays it off smoothly, giving Jesse’s a hand a squeeze as if he’d always meant to do that.
“...besides, you and I don’t get a lot of chances to hang out, and...you have a way of making even the most mundane things fun, somehow. And I could really use that skill right about now.”
Jesse’s heart halts as he swallows, throat suddenly dry. But he’s gotta pull himself together—he’s doing this to help out Cole, his friend...and nothing else.
Jesse pulls his hand away with great resistance in order to get all their studying materials in line, pumping his fists in front of him with silent dedication afterwards. Cole laughs under his breath as the display of conviction, but Jesse’s deathly serious about this. If this goes well, maybe they could study more often, and then that might lead to other things...
Jesse can’t let this chance slip away!
“...well, when you put it like that...”
Jesse snaps his fingers, making sparkles flutter about the table. Cole blinks in surprise as his notebook spontaneously flips open to a clean page, and Jesse smirks with pride.
“...let’s get started, then.”
The studying itself goes well for the most part, with Jesse breaking down the most important parts of the chapters that are going to be on the test. Cole diligently jots down notes as Jesse speaks. Jesse makes the information as easy to digest as possible, way better than Ms. Laudita ever does. But even still, Cole feels his eyes beginning to droop as his head lolls about, the slower moment allowing all the adrenaline-packed action from his ninja activities to finally catch up with him.
“...so the Southern Province maintains the majority of the waterway trade routes between the West, East, and the Archipelago, in order to circumvent navigating straight through the deadly parts of Central,” Jesse explains, trying to sort out the main point of Chapter 7. “Five years ago they tried to establish some trade routes via the North to reduce the amount of boat traffic in the southern waters, but deemed the project impossible as building a port in the Frozen Wastelands would be too dangerous to maintain and upkeep—”
A loud snore suddenly rips out of Cole, making Jesse jolt in his seat. He frowns at Cole, grimacing, and pokes Cole’s cheek with the eraser end of his pencil.
“Oh, come on! I’m not that boring!”
“...grnaaugh, I promise, you’re not.” Cole blinks awake again, making a face at the random unorganized scribble he’s drawn on his notes during his mini-nap. He hastily tries to correct this. “I’ve just been going so hard on everything else lately that I’m just now realizing how tired I am.”
Cole rubs at his eyes. Jesse sighs in sympathy.
“...you’re taking like five advanced classes on top of this, how are you not dead?”
“Zane, mostly,” Cole responds with a yawn, making Jesse’s eye twitch. “His study tactics are...way more hardcore than this. His approach is so direct and methodological that even though my brain melts by the end of it, I do retain the information, more or less. It’s terrifying, but I’m grateful for it.”
“...I see,” Jesse replies, voice clipped. Cole, however, maintains his smile as he folds his arms against the table, resting his head against them like a pillow.
“I like this, though. I get to learn at an easy breezy pace, I have a pretty cool tutor, and I get to sneak in a few naps too.”
“...you know, this is only going to work if you fully focus, Cole,” Jesse teases gently, trying to distract from his reddening cheeks. Cole chuckles, shifting to lean his head on his hand instead.
“Sorry, sorry...I really am just exhausted though. The Shark Army’s been giving us some extra trouble these last couple days, on top of us training Lloyd, and the Garmadon attacks, and the everything...school is kind of falling through the cracks.”
“I’ve noticed. You and the others have been leaving class way more often than usual.” Jesse taps his pencil against their study sheet, smirking. “No wonder you need social studies help—you’re hardly ever in the class to learn anything.”
“Hey.” Cole balls up a tiny piece of paper and flicks it Jesse’s way. Jesse yelps as it plinks off his forehead, Cole snickering. “I’m trying my best, you know.”
“I know, I know.” Jesse shuffles, biting his lip. “...you’re always working so hard, yet somehow people are convinced you’re hardly working.”
“If that’s the vibe I give off, then so be it.” Cole shrugs, yet sits a little straighter nonetheless. “I’m just used to it, I guess. Things have to be done, one way or another, so I just find a way to do them, that’s all. Even when sometimes, the only way out is through a brick wall.”
“So straight-forward,” Jesse mumbles fondly, fumbling with his fingers. He peeks up at Cole, the other boy briefly distracted looking out the window. Exhaustion presents itself in the shadows under Cole’s eyes, but they pale in comparison to the determination that shines within his irises, as steadfast and guaranteed as the sun in the sky.
Absently, Jesse gives his hands a quick clap and produces a marigold from his sleeve. He doesn’t instantly hand it off to Cole like he normally would, however. Instead, he admires its yellow-orange brilliance, reflective of the color Cole proudly displays in his ninja garb. After hearing the clap, Cole glances back over, and immediately pinks up when he spots the flower. Jesse gives him a lazy smirk, twirling the stem between his fingers.
“...I gave you this before, when you were in need of good luck, remember?” Jesse asks, and Cole nods quietly. “Well, marigolds have more meaning than just that. They’re also associated with the sun, inspire the protection of others, and represent the sheer strength, power, and light that resides inside an individual...”
It’s also representative of a potentially despaired love, but Jesse keeps that one to himself.
Jesse then locks his gaze with Cole’s, tossing the flower in his direction.
“...no wonder it’s the color of your eyes.”
Cole huffs, hiding just how flustered he is, and catches the flower.
“I guess all I’m trying to say is, you’re more than capable of passing this test, and this class, and watching out for the others, and handling everything else, Cole.” Jesse reaches across the table, holding Cole’s head in his hands. Cole, still holding the marigold, rolls his gaze up to meet Jesse’s. Jesse’s smile turns into a smirk. “...but we’ve at least gotta get through Chapter 8 first, okay?”
Cole chuckles as Jesse pulls away, setting his flower down before slapping at his own cheeks to wake himself. He stares down at the social studies book with renewed vigor.
“Yeah yeah, all right, fine...”
He picks up his pencil, ready to go again, but not before sending a blinding grin Jesse’s way first.
“Thanks, Jesse.”
Jesse hums, nodding and smiling back, and proceeds to throw everything he’s got into getting Cole a good grade.
When the test grades roll out a few days later, Cole and Jesse are quick to compare their scores with the others. Jesse himself has a very respectable B+, while Antonia bemoans a C somewhere from behind him. Jay has a near-perfect score despite the odds, and Nya and Zane compare their identical A minuses. Lloyd also has a C, which, after taking away teacher bias, is probably actually a low A or high B. Kai proudly parades around his D, because he definitely could have done worse.
And then, they finally get to Cole’s test, and Jesse’s heart is probably pounding with more anxiety than Cole’s at this point...
C-
Cole stands with his jaw dropped in shock, unable to find the words to say anything. Jesse stares at the unfiltered disbelief upon Cole’s face, and kind of wants to cry. Sure, it’s not the worst grade in the world, but after all the effort he tried to put in...after promising to help Cole do really well for once...
This...could not be more disappointing.
Cole’s probably never going to want to study with him ever again.
“O-Oh...” is all Jesse can squeeze out around the lump forming in his throat. He clutches the hem of his shirt and squeezes his eyes shut, lest his eyes start glowing in front of everyone. “I-I’m so sorry, Cole...I guess I wasn’t much help after all...”
“...are you crazy?!” Cole whirls towards Jesse with a crazed expression, and suddenly Jesse finds himself scooped up into Cole’s warm, strong, and all-encompassing embrace. “That’s a C! A C! That’s the highest grade I’ve ever gotten in this class!”
Cole laughs, and Jesse finds his feet off the ground (without using his powers, for once) as Cole twirls them both around with excitement. It’s ridiculously contagious, and Jesse gets caught up in the laughter and cheers as well.
“I actually passed! I’m average! I’M AVERAGE!”
Beside himself with joy, Cole presses a quick kiss to the side of Jesse’s head before spinning him around one more time and placing him back on the ground. Jesse proceeds to flatline...but his one-way ticket straight to collapsing into a puddle of goo is halted by Cole’s firm hold on both his shoulders. Cole’s smile fills his face, and the edges of his irises shimmer with marigold.
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
“You...you’re welcome...” Jesse forces out, near breathless. Cole gives him one last quick hug before hurrying over to his friends, ready to rub his grade in Kai’s face, make Jay break down with shock, get congratulated by Nya and Lloyd, and seek approval from Zane.
And normally, Jesse would be right there with them all. But he can already feel the tell-tale signs of sparkles dancing just under the surface of his skin and behind his eyes. Thus, he slips out of the classroom undetected and sprints into the boy’s room. He calms down enough to prevent an Elemental Outburst, but he looks at himself in the mirror and winces.
He’s a lovesick mess.
The arrhythmic beat of his heart rocks through his entire ribcage, his cheeks are flushed with a deep shade of red he didn’t even think existed...and as his fingers brush the spot where Cole kissed him with a feather-light touch, his eyes become radiantly pink, and little sparkling bits of magic fly out of him every time he blinks.
This...is going to be annoying to hide when he gets home; maybe he can hang out with Miranda until it goes away. He can endure the teasing that’s sure to ensue, and it’s better than worrying the rest of his family.
...but, then again, it’s rare when his eyes glow specifically because he’s happy.