The Weight of Jade

Creeping Doubts

"You have to go to school, Nino," Wayzz repeated with a sigh, not even looking at his charge as he went about feeding Will. However, he could still hear Nino rolling back and forth on the mattress, whining to himself.

"I can't, I'm sick. I have a flu," Nino said, burying himself under his blankets, still in his pajamas.

"No," Wayzz corrected. "You have a girlfriend. It's not the same thing."

"She isn't my girlfriend!" Nino shouted, throwing the blankets off and revealing his flustered expression.

"She disagrees," Wayzz said with a chuckle, turning to regard him and crossing his arms. "Or did I misread the message where you agreed to take her on patrol?"

"Don't read my texts," Nino muttered, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses and slinging his legs over the edge of his bed. He was red in the face as he checked the time, fidgeting again before grabbing a pillow to groan into.

"If you send all your messages while transformed I can't really help it," Wayzz sighed, still smiling.

"Well messaging her as me," he said as he threw the pillow clear and gestured to himself, "isn't really an option. Because she doesn't know who I am, which is one of many reasons this is ridiculous."

"Oh relax," Wayzz said with a chuckle, going about his business and patting Will on the head. "This is good! Alya is a nice girl."

"I don't know how this happened," Nino groaned, dropping his head in his hands. "I went from telling her it wasn't safe to be seen with her to- to-" he faltered, face growing more heated.

"Dating her?"

"It's one!" Nino shouted, a little more reckless since his parents had left early that day. "One date, we aren't dating, and it isn't even a date it's just patrol. I'm taking her on patrol so she'll stop nagging me."

"You called it a date first," Wayzz pointed out, flying in Nino's direction to hover near him. "I understand your hesitation but as long as you're careful--"

"She just like, she was just talking like it was already a thing? And, I was all confident or whatever and I was rolling with it, but then as soon as I got home I'm like--I can't do the girl thing, Wayzz. I can't. I'll die."

"Boys are also an option."

"Not the part that's the issue, buddy," Nino hissed through his teeth, looking up to glare at the rather smug turtle. "I'm pathetic at this! She's scary!"

"Scary?" Wayzz said in confusion, crossing his arms. "She's forward. At most I'd call that intimidating. She's a girl who knows what she wants and goes after it. I find that respectable."

"But--why does she want to?" Nino said in completely genuine bewilderment.

"Do you not want her to have an interest in you?"

"No, of--ugh," Nino ran his hands roughly through his hair. "Of course I want her to, I just didn't... expect her to? Alya's great, she is, she's amazing and... alright yes. I admit it now, I was flirting with her. I was. I...she's cool. She's fun you know? We're friends. But like, I actually did it and now I don't know what to do. I cannot just go to school and sit one seat ahead of her like 'Oh hey, I totally didn't get your number in a super flirty that kind of way like, last night. Nope. Business as usual.'" Nino stood up, pacing his room and still not ready for school, which he should have left for a while beforehand. "I was confident because she didn't know it was me; it felt different. But now she like... wants to hang. And so do I. And I'm freaking out about it."