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Humming coming to a halt, Jinx picked herself off her bed at the heavy knocking waves that bounded from her door. She flung her legs off the side and jogged quickly, landing a hand over a switch before the hexagonal, metal door parted for her and her visitor. To her amusement, it was the newbie infiltrator of the HIVE Academy Stone that stood by the frame, observing the golden tiles before her arrival brought back his alert. He yelped, straightening up with exaggeration, more than Private Hive when he’d salute from horror.
Jinx huffed in amusement. “Hello there, Stone,” she greeted, folding her arms and pressing her weight on her right leg. “May I help you?”
“Hey, Jinx! I was, uh, looking for you.” Stone awkwardly rubbed his nape, his other hand shielded by his muscled build as he chuckled nervously. “Bumped into See-More and asked him if he knew where you were, and he said you were over here. So, yeah.” He gave her a wide, toothy grin, his dark complexion layered with ruby, sweat sliding down the side of his face. “This’ll be quick, I promise. Then we could all get back to studying! See-More seemed eager to continue.”
“I really doubt See-More’s that concerned with his grades,” Jinx commented with a shrug. All week she had noticed the cyclops behaving quite under the weather, but maybe she’d reserve approaching him and assisting his troubles for another day. “Anyway, what do you need?”
“I remember what you told me, about, you know…” A cringe bulged over Stone’s grimace, then as he resumed his tone dove octaves down into low silence. “Him. Leo.”
Jinx’s thrill shredded. “Oh…” She chose her next words as carefully as possible, then craned her head, the heft of her evil-like twin tails bouncing over her scalp. “What about him?”
“The thing is, I had some time to go downtown the other day, for a few refreshments,” Stone revealed, losing his cringe and paving way for a smile. “Me and the other guys in class had gone there for the after-dance party, remember? And while we were getting some stuff, I happened upon a nice store, and I thought I’d…well, er… Gah! I’ll just cut to the chase,” he anxiously exclaimed.
He stretched out his other hand, and within his grip was an adorable, pink teddy bear decorated with a purple bow surrounding its neck. Its dark, beady eyes caught the fluorescent illumination of the academy halls, and its sewn mouth invited the warmth that ignited inside Jinx’s chest. Its front was a pale blue, and onto it was a stitched message saying, I’m the coolest in a wonderful, purple cursive font. She could see how the fur brushed against Stone’s skin, the fur just as faintly shiny within its thickness.
She was instantly in love with its cuteness. “You didn’t!” Jinx gasped, motioning forward as she craned her spine, inspecting the toy. The mention of Leo was eradicated by it. “This is adorable!”
“I know.” Stone moved the object closer towards her, blushing again. “I bought it for you.”
She stiffened, hands collapsing lax beside her hips. At the thought of this statement his sentence referring to Leo suddenly became comprehensible, his intentions cleared with the presence of the little guy floating between them. She had given Stone partial insight on her previous relationship with the non-HIVE supervillain, but it had merely been a brief mention amidst the banters alongside Gizmo and Mammoth. The story of how Leo was due to give her a cute, huggable teddy bear to glam her room up with, and yet was an unfulfilled promise after their separation. Years passed and eventually she managed to garner a spectacular sense of style on her own, but there maintained a flicker of disappointment over what would have potentially been her first gift from a boy she liked.
Of course, she couldn’t prevent their separation. And the hollow promise became a blurred, humiliating thought that Jinx’s current self would call pitiful. And yet Stone’s kindness almost brought forward her past pain, before completely sabotaging it with a comet of sparks that involved some colorful threads and a ton of fluff.
“You’re joking me,” Jinx said, allowing Stone to release the bear into her hold. Its soft, squeezy nature smoothened against her, and she couldn’t help pressing its sides as she gave a small chuckle. “You couldn’t have possibly remembered what I said about Leo, right?”
“Well, I obviously did,” Stone corrected, and laughed. His voice sent shivers snaking through her veins, but somehow they only made her warmer. “I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity, you know? Heh…” He rubbed his nape again—it almost appeared habitual, but his motions indicated that at the same time he wasn’t too accustomed to the gesture. It was a paradox, but it was reality. “Do you, uh, like it?”
Snorting, Jinx fixed her pink interest on his face, her permanent rosy cheeks deepening in hue. “Are you kidding? I love him!” She brought the bear towards herself, arms encaging the toy in a defensive, loving castle of innocent, childhood glee. Little Jinxie would have been so happy to see the little guy if it existed back then. “He’s adorable, Stone! You really outdid yourself with this one. I didn’t think that Leo stuff would matter much to you but here we are.” She snickered again.
Stone laughed, mighty enough for the hall echoes to follow his lead. “I’m just having fun here at the HIVE, that’s all!” he told her jovially. “You, Mammoth, even Giz and the rest! I thought it’d be nice to do something for ya’ll since you’re all such fun guys to hang with.”
“The first day was a little rough around the edges, but I digress.” Jinx cuddled the bear, taking a heel backwards to her room again. “But seriously, this was a nice surprise. Leo’s got nothing on you, Stone.”
Posing boldly, Stone emitted a sparkling confidence with a smirk. “Oh yeah, I could totally kick his buns all the way to Smallville.” With her laugh he then rearranged his stature, a thumb jabbing behind him. “Anyway, I should go. We’ve got a Theory of Mayhem test tomorrow, and the last thing I’d wanna do is mess up your study hour.”
“Hmm, I think it’s probably gonna go a lot smoother now,” Jinx smugly affirmed, picking playfully at the teddy bear’s ear. “But you’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow?” She almost sounded desperate in her own ears, but to her utmost satisfaction Stone was dense enough not to notice it. Or if he did, he respectfully ignored it. What a guy.
“Of course!” He already started off, energy engulfed in his arm as he waved it. “Good luck on the test, Jinx! Don’t let the teddy distract ya!” he joked.
“Certainly not,” she vowed, and as he disappeared down the hall she allowed the door’s closing to take his place.
As soon as her current solo state was certified she finally let the pending squeal rip out her throat in a window-breaking volume, and she tossed herself on her bed as she wiggled her shoulders, the teddy bear imprisoned in her arms. She giddily kicked up her legs and closed her eyes, burying her nose into the toy’s pink fur as she flipped on her blankets, crashing her ears against her unappealing textbook. And as she pinched the doll’s pillowy texture she was incapable of forcing Stone’s face, his bright, pearly smile, out of her mind. Don’t let the teddy bear distract, he said.
She clicked her tongue. Sorry, Stone. Your gift was too precious to her.