Jade paced in the front of the music room, hands clasped behind her back, slightly hunched over as she stared intensly at the floor she traversed. Band practice had ended just ten minutes ago, but most of the band had already left for home. Kai and 'Mega had bailed first, they'd promised their mom that they would watch Hope that evening. Alex had left, her stepmother, Bitchzilla, demanding her presence at a 'function' she was throwing. Gj had loitered around for a while, taking Ty and Jen up on their offer for a video game night at Jen's house.

So at the moment, only Sunny and Hyper were witness to Jade's apperant distress over something. Hyper was sitting at the upright piano, playing a slow and idle waltz as she watched her friend pace; while Sunny was sitting at their teacher's desk, going over something important in her date book. Both were acutely aware of Jade's distress, and they both knew their friend well enough to wait for her to ask the first question, elsewise they'd never get a word out of her.

As for Jade, she was still struggling to digest a realization she'd come too earlier that day.

It had been a normal January day. She got up that morning, got dressed, threw her things in her backpack and drove herself to school. She dragged herself through her morning classes, scarfed down some lunch and headed for the library to get started on that Christmas break homework that she never did.

She spent her lunch period half working on academics, half joking around with Kloud who joined her in the library for the same reasons she'd gone there. She played with Alex during Strings, and then partnered up with 'Mega, Kai, and Sunny to do a lab in Biology. After that, they headed out to the Strings classroom for band practice. And in doing so, she passed Kloud in the hallway - he'd told her he would be working on his Biology project after school in one of the labs. He winked at her when her friend's weren't looking, making her grin at him and wink back.

Then Jade almost stumbled right into a wall at the thought that passed through her head.

The thought had just been so blase, so serious, and so...well...Jade, there was no way she couldn't write it off as one of those annoying bi-polar moments. And of course, it had returned her to Kloud's kitchen weeks ago when he'd stolen her first kiss. That rush of primal heat that she didn't realize was possible. And the fact that despite her inital response, she'd enjoyed every second of the time she spent pinned against his back door.

And finally, the last realization that came crashing down on her in those few seconds in a crowded high school high way.

She wanted more.

And it wasn't just the kiss. She wanted more of Kloud. More of his jokes, his laughs, and his company. She wanted him as more than a friend. Much, much more.

Band practice she got through on auto-pilot. While she played, sang, and participated, in her mind she was turning her thoughts over and over.

Could this be for real?

She knew it was inetivable that it would happen someday - extreme attraction to the opposite sex was a given for any straight, living woman. But now? And for Hunter Kloud?

But then her heart whispered to her all the times that she had felt that intense attraction for him: that night in October when she'd showed up on his doorstep; every time that he called her 'Dragonet' her heart would flip; November, when Sari had asked her point blank if she had a crush on Kloud and Jade had lied; that kiss in December, and their reconcilation just after Chirstmas. Jade had known then, riding his new bike with him, that with the right set of circumstances she could come to love him. That intense, forever kind of love that both made and destroyed people.

So by the end of band practice, Jade had accepted that she wanted Kloud for a boyfriend. But now...now came the choice as to whether or not she would act on that desire.

Sunny purposefully nudged one of her notebooks off the desk and onto the floor, just in case Jade had forgotten that there were others in the room. And Jade, who could get intensely focused that she forgot her surroundings, jerked to a stop and looked up in surprise.

"Oh, what are you two still doing here?" she asked.

"Working."

"Playing."

Came Sunny and Hyper's respective answers. Jade blinked at them, then narrowed her eyes.

"You both can do that at home, what's up?"

"Shouldn't we be asking you that question?" Sunny asked. Jade scowled.

"I'm just...working through something..." Jade said weakly, taking a seat at one of the chairs.

"Want to share with the class?" Hyper asked cheekily. Jade rolled her eyes.

"Hypothetically?" Jade hedged.

Sunny and Hyper looked at each other, then back at Jade, "Sure," Sunny said for them both.

Jade sighed, and leaned back in her chair, "Let's say that I realized I have this huge crush on a guy."

Hyper squeeled in delight, "Ooooh! Who is he?!"

"Hypotheticals only!" Jade retorted, crossing her arms over her chest in indignation. Hyper huffed in disappointment.

"Fine..."

"Anyways, so, hypothecically, I have this huge crush. And I know for a fact that he thinks of me that way too. So on that front, it's all green lights. But even though I want it, and he wants it, is it the right thing to do? I mean, let's say that I really value this guy as a friend. Is it worth the risk of this great friendship?"

Sunny and Hyper both gaped at her. Sunny, unsurprisingly, managed to find her voice first.

"Are you insane?! Of course it's worth it you moron!" Sunny yelled, getting up from the desk so fast that she knocked the chair back. Hyper too, rose from the piano bench. Jade didn't look too surprised at Sunny's answer, but rather the vemenous with which it was delivered.

"It's a liable concern!" Jade defended.

"Jade, honestly, if you both hypothetically want to date, then these concerns aren't important enough to stay in your way," Hyper said firmly, taking the seat next to the brunette.

Jade was quiet for a moment, then spoke, "But...he's a really good friend, guys. It'd break my heart if it didn't work out."

"So what if it doesn't?" Sunny said, calm enough to take the other seat next to Jade, "If it doesn't work out then make sure that it works out on amiable terms and you guys can still be friends."

"Yea, just make sure that you're always up front with him, you know?" Hyper added.

Jade went quiet again, staring at a spot on the floor, turning over the words of her friends in her head. Finally, she nodded.

"Okay," she admitted, then she looked up and flashed them both a sly grin, "If I ever find myself attracted to a friend, I think this advice will really help!"

Sunny and Hyper both groaned, "Come on Jade! Just a little hint! Is it one of our guys?" Hyper asked egarly. 'Our Guys' reffered to of course the band guys. Ever since grade school the girls had refered to Gj, Kai, 'Mega and Ty as 'Our Guys', because that's what they were, and god help any other girl that thought otherwise.

Jade laughed, "Please! I would never, ever attempt to put a move on one of our guys. They're hot and sweet, don't get me wrong, but the bottom line is I'm not suited for any of them."

"What makes you say that?" Sunny asked, curious.

Jade shrugged, "Well, take Kai for instance, Kai needs a girl that's just as hard headed as he is, otherwise he'd get away with too much. I know I'm stubborn, but not in the way Kai is, Kai well...he gets off on arguing and we all know it. I enjoy a good debate, but I'm more likely to give just so I can get some quiet time."

Sunny and Hyper both started laughing, knowing every word was true.

"What about 'Mega?" Hyper asked.

Jade snorted, "Are you kidding? 'Mega is like my big brother, and he needs someone way more sensitive than me."

"Ty?" Sunny offered.

"Oh no. Ty needs someone who can remind him to have fun, you know, get him out of those funks he works himself into."

"And Gj?" Hyper asked, enjoying this.

"Gj just needs someone who speaks his language. And I don't just mean Spanish. He'd also need a girl who's really athletic because you are guarenteed that he's going to cook for her," Jade said chuckling.

Sunny leaned forward so she could look around Jade to Hyper, "She makes some good points about our boys."

Hyper nodded her head in agreement, all the while, Jade was mentally snickering for all she was worth. She wondered if they would ever accept that she'd been describing them. Ah well, as her grandmother and she loved to say, maybe yes, maybe no.

"So was this really just hypothetical?" Hyper asked, uncertain.

Jade gave them a sort of half smile, "Maybe yes...maybe no," she said cryptically, using one of her favorite sayings. Both Hyper and Sunny groaned again, this time in utter protest.

"Come on, Jade! Just a little hint?" Sunny begged.

Jade shook her head, "Guys, if, and I do stress the if, if I was really looking to start a relationship with a guy outside our group, can you blame me for keeping it to myself? I mean, think about it, there's eight of you and there'd be one of him. You guys would have to give me a chance to reel him in first!" Jade said laughing.

Hyper and Sunny considered it for a few seconds, and had, if begrudingly, to agree.

"Okay, but you would share this hypothetical boy friend with us eventually, ne?" Hyper asked.

"As if you'd let me keep a secret like that for long," Jade pointed out.

"To damn straight," Sunny agreed, eyeing Jade closely, looking for any hint that Jade actually had a crush, or that she really was just asking for the sake of asking. It wouldn't be the first time Jade had done something like this, presented a hypothetical situation and then asked for advice. More often than not, it was because of something she'd read and wanted to know more.

Jade just met Sunny's eyes, her golden depths sparkling with her usual dry humor.

"Well alright Jade, you're off the hook for now," Sunny announced, getting up to collect her things. Hyper followed, intending to bum a ride from Sunny since her house was on Sunny's way.

"Guys?" Jade called as they were leaving, both turned in the doorway. Jade was standing at the other exit on the other side of the room, the one that lead back towards the school. "You know that I'd tell you eventually, right? That I wouldn't keep it a secret forever."

"We know Jade," Hyper assured.

"Good." And she was gone.

Hyper and Sunny were silent on their way to Sunny's car. Sunny opened her door, and reached for the door lock when she paused to look across the car roof to Hyper who waited at the passenger door.

"Hyper? Jade said that Kai needed someone who was as hardheaded as he was, yea?"

Hyper nodded, "Yes."

"Do you think he looks for that in a girl? You know, someone who can argue with him?"

Hyper shrugged, "Well, Jade's right, he does seem to enjoy arguing, so he probably does look for someone who's willing to trade words."

Sunny bit her lip, and nodded her head in agreement. But before she could reach the unlock button, Hyper caught her attention.

"Sunny? Jade said that she thinks 'Mega needs someone more sensitive than she is, in what way do you think?"

The other girl frowned as she considered it, "I'm not completely sure, but I'd guess Jade meant that 'Mega would need someone who would not only put up with his brooding, but understand why he's brooding, and be pacient with him. And we both know, Jade's not pacient."

"True, true," Hyper agreed. Sunny unlocked the door, and they both got in.

It wasn't until they were halfway to Hyper's house that a thought occured to Sunny.

"Hyper? You don't think that Jade said all that about the guys because she knew that we'd be more interested in thinking that over than her 'hypothetical' situation with a crush, do you?" Sunny asked, wondering if she was just being paranoid.

"Well, she had to have thought that we'd be interested enough in what she had to say about the boys..."

Hyper trailed off, and both came to the same conclusion.

"...Oh she's good..." Sunny concluded, and considered turning the car around to track Jade down and wring out some answers out of the skinny little brunette. But in the end, the memory of her, standing in the music room and promising that it wouldn't be a secret she kept forever, kept Sunny on her course, wishing Jade the best of luck on hers.

~

Jade found his car in the parking lot, it was one of the few one's left. Wrapped up in her great grey trench coat against the harsh January weather, Jade waited for him. She wasn't completely sure what she was going to do, or how she was going to tell him -

That was when she spotted him, coming around the corner of the science building, hunched in his letterman to guard against the wind that was cutting across the parking lot. She felt a smile creep up on her, just from watching his familiar form lope towards her. His hair was braided still, Jade had done it for him at the library earlier. He couldn't braid his hair straight to save his life, meaning that she often did it for him.

He looked up suddenly as if hearing her thoughts, his face visibly brightened when he spotted her, making her feel warm despite the cold. He picked up his step, hurrying over to her. And suddenly, all thoughts of plans or well rehearsed confessions flew from her mind. Because this was Kloud. And with him, she never had to try. It just was effortless with him.

"You make any head-way in the project?" she asked, smiling at him like she had a secret he didn't know. Because well, she did.

He walked up to her, coming to stand in close, much like he always did. Kloud never had respected her personal space, and this time, Jade didn't bother taking her usual step back. Not that she would have been able too with the car behind her.

"I've got it half done," he answered, taking a little step closer, Jade didn't so much as flinch, "You had practice today?"

Jade nodded, "Yea, but Kai let us out early, no one was really concentrating today," she answered, leaning back against his car window. She watched him closely, practically hearing the thoughts run through his head, ones probably pertaining to her right hook, and his current proximity. He seemed to gather his courage, because he took another step forward. Now he feet were even with her own, but since she was leaning back against his car, there was still plenty of space between their upper bodies.

"I've been dying to see that new Spielburg flick that came out just after New Year's, I could use the company," he invited, not taking his eyes off her own. She smiled up at him.

"Sounds like fun, you driving?" she asked, her head tilted to the side and brushed some of her hair from her face.

"Sure I'll pick you up for the last matnee on Friday, that alright?"

"That's fine," she answered, still smiling up at him, her secret making the smile more impish than anything else. She could tell that she was beginning to really get to him. That he, sensing something was up, was getting ready to -

"Why haven't you pushed me away yet?" he demanded, then he flushed a little as if he hadn't meant to say that, and was shocked that he had. Jade grinned at him, this was just too easy...

"'Cause I was kinda hoping you'd kiss me first," she said, enjoying the look on his face as her words registered.

"W-What?" he said, which came out as more of a squeak. What else could she do, but reach up and pull him too her? He came willingly, and seemed half stunned that this was even happening. But it only took a second, and he was there. His lips moved with hers, almost tenative, testing the waters. But when she didn't pull away his kiss became a little more insistant.

Kloud leaned in close, pressing her up against his car. She felt his one of his hands sneak under her coat to rest against her hip, the other she felt tangle in her hair. And just as before, she was lost in the rush of heat that seemed to inflame them both. Jade reached up and pulled the hair tie that she'd leant him from his hair. Threading her fingers through it, his braid came undone.

His fingers brushed a small bit of skin exposed when her shirt rode up, and she gasped. Kloud gave a low groan, something she felt in his chest more than heard. But with her mouth opened, Kloud capatilized on it, and re-explored territory he'd only gotten a cursory exploration of before. His tongue swept her mouth, and Jade had to fist a hand in his hair to keep on her feet.

He pulled back, gasping just a little, she looked up at him, this time not bothering to hide what she felt. She let it shine in her eyes, and show on her face. But he didn't draw back, he didn't even seem all that surprised or startled. Instead, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up from the car and against him. She wound her arms around his waist, and laid her head on his shoulder so that she faced his neck.

And it was there that she whispered her greatest fear, and her only request, "Don't break my heart, Hunter."

His arms seemed to tighten around her, but she knew that was impossible because any tighter and she'd probably be in pain. No, it was more his presence, he seemed to be wrapping more of himself around her in more way than one. And she knew, as her hands twisted in his shirt, that she was doing the same. Here, in this moment, they tied their ties to each other, all the tighter.