Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 03: Lab Rats

Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past

Bold - sign language 

Lo'ak and Ja'lia froze in their tracks as they felt Jake's presence behind them. Ja'lia side-eyed Lo'ak and whispered, "He's right behind us. Isn't he?" She asked, and Lo'ak nodded his head in confirmation.

"Yep, do you think we have enough time to make a break for it?" Lo'ak whispered back, and Ja'lia was going to respond, but Jake placed both of his hands off to the side of their shoulders. "Nope," She said as she turned around and looked at Jake.

"Hey, Jake," Ja'lia nervously laughed. Lo'ak also greeted his father, but Jake didn't respond as he looked as if he was about to explode any minute.

"Did I, or did I not tell you that you weren't allowed to sneak out with Ja'lia until your punishment is up?" Jake gritted out, and Ja'lia immediately stepped in front of Lo'ak protectively.

"It was my fault," She insisted.

"No, it wasn't," Jake denied, and the girl groaned in frustration.

"Yes, it was. I kidnapped Lo'ak," Ja'lia stated, and both Lo'ak and Jake looked at her like she had two heads. The father then glanced between the two teens, unamused. "You kidnapped Lo'ak?" He asked, and Ja'lia smiled in confirmation.

"How did you kidnap him?" Jake questioned.

"How did I kidnap Lo'ak?" She repeated his question.

"Yes, how did you kidnap my son who's quite a bit taller than you and also weighs more than you, without waking us up?" He said, adding to his question.

Ja'lia thought about it for a moment before responding to the father's question, "Well, I snuck into your tent, and then asked Lo'ak if he would go to our spot with me." She started to explain. "Of course, he refused because you said that he wasn't allowed to leave with me for the time being, but I wasn't having it, so I dragged him out of the tent and begged him," Ja'lia continued.

"Lo'ak was still persistent in following his punishment, so he told me no again. That's when I hit him over the head, and knocked him out," She finished, feeling pretty proud of the explanation she had come up with.

"You hit my son?" Jake asked.

"Yep," She said proudly, and Lo'ak glared at his friend.

"Then why doesn't he have a bump on his head?" Jake said, catching Ja'lia in her lie. Her smile fell off her face, and she gulped as she realized that Jake had caught her. "He heals fast?" She squeaked.

"I'm sure he does," Jake said sarcastically. "But since neither you nor Lo'ak like to listen to my rules and expectations, then I guess you two need some separation to understand what you did wrong," Jake said.

When Jake said those words, both teens stared at the man in shock. He did not just threaten to separate them because they snuck out like they had done multiple times before.

"You did not just say that," Ja'lia said in disbelief.

"Dad, you can't do that!" Lo'ak raised his voice.

"Oh, I can, and I will," Jake threatened.

"Ma Jake, what's going on?" Neytiri asked as she walked out of the tent while rubbing her eyes. Ja'lia went over to Neytiri and looked up at her in worry. "Jake is threatening to separate Lo'ak and me," Ja'lia informed.

Neytiri's head snapped in her husband's direction as she eyed him in caution, "You're what?" She asked.

"I told Lo'ak that he wasn't allowed to go on any late-night adventures with Ja'lia anymore, and he deliberately disobeyed me," Jake reasoned, and Neytiri still wasn't satisfied.