Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Jason and Kyle were standing at the front of LAX as both of their parents said their goodbyes. Aunty V grabbed Kyle and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Make sure you stay safe okay Kyle? I don't want you going nowhere without and adult or Jaya you hear me?"

Kyle shook his head as he annoyedly looked at his mom "That doesn't make any sense mom. Jaya's a kid too. Why do you trust him more than me?"

Aunty V smiled as she softly held Kyle's face in between her hands "You know I love you right baby? So I hope you don't get hurt when I say this.

You can be a bit of an airhead Kyle. You get distracted easily, you forget to pay attention to what's goin on around you, and you are easily pressured.

You have a hard time telling the waitress that you don't need a refill. What if some shady person tries to drag you into somethin that's no good?"

Kyle thought about it for a moment before sighing "I guess you're right mom. I'll make sure to stick with Jaya."

Aunty V smiled as she pulled Kyle into one last hug "That's my boy. I know that you and Jaya are goin to New York for a training camp but don't forget to take pictures whenever you get the chance."

On the side was Jason as he stood there in front of his parents as they too made their awkward and emotional goodbyes.

Both of his parents hugged him tight. Jason's mom pulled away a bit as she looked her son in the face "I think we've pretty much said everything that we could possibly say.

Have fun Jaya. Make sure to take a lot of pictures. That way we can make a scrapbook when you get back."

Jason laughed as he hugged his mom back "I'll try my best mom but I am going to a training camp. This isn't just a vacation you know."

Jason's dad chuckled as he patted his son on the head "He's right Naomi. How is he supposed to go sightseeing and take pictures when he's going to be busy working out.

Have fun Jason. This is the first time that you're going to be spending such a long time so far away from us.

But if you ever get homesick or if you start to miss us just know that we're all back home rooting for you. And we're always just a phone call away." 

Jason nodded his head "Sure thing dad. I'm sure that I'll miss you and mom but I'm going try and focus on getting as much out of this training camp as I can."

As Jason grabbed his luggage and was turning around to walk into the airport he heard his mom's voice "Good luck Jaya! Make sure you put on a show and teach them what you're all about!"

Jason turned around. He saw his mom and dad smiling as they waved goodbye to him. Without saying a word he just put a thumbs up and held it high in the sky before waving goodbye to them. And just like that he turned back around and stepped into the airport.

- - -

After a few hours Jason and Kyle finally managed to make it to their terminal. Kyle lifelessly plopped down into his seat.

"I thought that my first experience at an airport would be exciting. Instead we just stood in line for two hours to take off our shoes and get an x-ray."

Jason unwrapped a chocolate bar before stuffing it all into his face "Don't forget the part where you got frisked.

You know what? For such a smart guy that's even an honor roll student you sure do some stupid stuff."

Kyle shrugged his shoulders before putting his hands up helplessly "How was I supposed to know that my kunai keychain would get me in trouble."

Jason face palmed "It's a keychain in the shape of a knife dude. AND WE'RE IN A AIRPORT!" Kyle answered back.

"It's a miniature replica man." Jason looked at Kyle with an annoyed expression on his face "A miniature replica made out of actual medal with an actual sharpened edge!"

Kyle smiled "I know, isn't it cool? Too bad the security guys confiscated it. Good thing it wasn't that expensive. I'll just another one the next time I go to Anime LA."

There was still over an hour until their actual flight. As they were talking Kyle was rudely interrupted, as he was in the middle of a rant about fan service, by Jason's stomach as it loudly growled.

"Hahaha!" Kyle busted out laughing after he heard that. But just a moment later he was forced to have a taste of his own medicine as his own stomach growled just as loudly.

Jason smiled as he suggested "We still got some time before our flight. You wanna grab some food from the food court?"

Kyle took out his phone and looked at the time before responding "Sure, I guess I am a little hungry. What did you want to get?"

Jason shrugged his shoulders "Let's go to the airports website. They have a thing where you can order and have the food delivered to your terminal."

As Jason and Kyle were looking through all the different food options that the airport had available they heard a voice "Are you Jason Yang?"

Jason and Kyle both turned around to see some dude that they had never met before. Jason answered "Yeah I am."

The guy smiled as he reached into his pockets and pulled out his cellphone "Do you mind if I ask for a picture?

I am a huge fan. I thought for sure Jefferson would make it into the top 4 of the state tournament. Those injuries were just some bad luck."

Jason responded "Bad luck or not we lost and that's it. Anyone can talk about what ifs. You wanted a picture right? No problem."

The guy took a couple pictures with Jason and a few pictures with Kyle. Unfortunately for the two of them this would just be the start.

After the first person more and more people started to ask for pictures and autographs with Jason and even Kyle.

The crazy part was that some of the people that were asking for pictures and autographs didn't even know who they were.

Some of the people asked if Jason was an overseas Asian child celebrity that had come to the states for work.

As annoyed as Jason was he was able to smile and play it off as though it didn't bother him 'What the hell?

I can't believe that lady asked if I was a idol trainee. What part of me looks like a dainty kpop entertainer? I am clearly an athlete.'

Though as he said that in his mind if anyone else had heard that they would strongly disagree with him.

The soft and feminine features of his face combined with his thin frame did give him more of an entertainer look rather than an athlete.

Considering that Jason had been an ordinary looking guy ,at least by his own standards, as an adult he had forgotten that as a child he was often praised for his pretty face.

This time it was Jason's turn to plop down into his chair. Although Jason wasn't an introvert dealing with large crowds did drain his batteries more than normal social settings.

Jason looked over to his side where Kyle was sitting "Looks like we can finally get back to ordering our food. I just hope that it can get here before we have to start boarding."

Jason and Kyle went back to looking at the menu on their phones. After a few minutes the two of them had decided what they had wanted to order.

Jason decided to go light and only order a double cheeseburger with a side of large fries and a large strawberry milkshake. Kyle ordered a bowl of ramen with a large cup of iced green tea.

As the two of them were waiting for their food to arrive Jason heard another set of voices call out to him.

"Ay bro check it out, it's Jaya." "Oh shit you're right bro. I guess we should have known that if we got an invite then these two would have gotten theirs also."