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rainbow-flavoured-skittles · 25 days

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Hey Mom, Dead Mom

Chapter 2: No more playing daddy’s game, I’ll go insane if things don’t change

I suffered for this chapter. it was fighting me every single step of the way but it’s finally finished. I can rest now. this isn’t as dark as the last chapter but Cole is running away in this, so it’s still not very happy. also I did indeed make a couple of random ocs because how else was I supposed to advance the plot? they’re not returning any time soon. as always, this is cross posted to ao3

Cole got on the plane to MOSPA at exactly eleven in the morning on a Sunday. He traveled alone — Dad was unable to come with him. Other people at the airport gave strange looks to the unaccompanied twelve-year-old, reminding him of the looks he got after Mom died. “Oh, why is that little boy all alone? So strange,” and then they’d go about their day, not giving him a second thought.

The flight attendant in front of him right now was doing just that. “No parents?” She asked, face mildly concerned.

Cole shook his head. “I’m going to visit my grandma, but Dad couldn’t come,” he lied. Cole was good at lying. He’d done it a lot these past few years; you couldn’t take care of yourself the way Cole had without at least some lying.

The attendant gave him a small smile. Maddy, her name tag read. “Well, if you need anything, just call.”

“Okay, thanks, Ms.”

Maddy nodded and continued walking, greeting the other passengers. Cole fidgeted in his seat. The fabric covering it was itchy and the seatbelt was too tight. The man sitting next to him scrolled through his phone, music blaring loudly, and the old lady behind him was snoring. Not even off the ground yet and this flight was already torture. Cole resisted the urge to groan.

It was only a two hour flight, Cole could do this. But he hated planes so much — always had. Not being on the ground made him feel ill, and every bit of turbulence was terrifying. At least he had the window seat, though that didn’t do much to soothe his nerves. Being able to see how high up he was might make Cole feel worse.

The crackling of a speaker interrupted his panicking. The sounds it made were loud and screechy. “Please fasten your seatbelts and put all devices on airplane mode. We will be taking off shortly,” the announcements said.

Finally. Cole dug through his backpack and found his book. Fish in a Tree, the title read. He’d found it at the school book sale but had never gotten around to reading it. Now was his chance.

He’d barely gotten past the first chapter before they took off. Cole actually felt it when they did — it was like getting severed from a part of him. He felt sick, though throwing up wouldn’t achieve anything. It would probably make him feel worse. Cole settled for putting the book down and staring blankly at the seat in front of him instead. He wouldn’t be able to focus on the book, or anything at all, not when his stomach was lurching so badly.

Just two hours, he told himself. Then I can collapse on a bed and sleep. He repeated those words over and over like a mantra.

As it turned out, Cole was not able to immediately sleep once he arrived at MOSPA, because he had to check in. Check in, as if the school was a hotel. Or maybe a prison, which would be much more accurate.

“It’s great that you’re here, Nicholas,” the secretary smiled cheerily as she typed on her computer. “I’m sure you’ll love this school. We’re all one big family.”

Yeah, right. Every time a school said that they didn’t mean anything by it. In fact, it meant there was probably all sorts of bullying that went ignored. “It’s just Cole, not Nicholas. Nobody calls me that,” Cole said. He hated his full name — who agreed to let his grandfather pick it out? ‘Nicholas’ was an old-person name from at least a hundred years ago.

“Okay, then, Cole. I’ve got your dorm number and schedule here,” the secretary printed out a sheet of paper. “Do you need a map of the school?”

Cole shook his head. He had spent some of the flight looking at the floor plans and they were seared into his brain at this point. “I’ll be fine, thank you,” he hurried out before she could offer to have someone show him around. He didn’t want that kind of forced social interaction.

The dormitories were not hard to find, not with the giant sign that pointed to where they were. Cole opened the door, cursing when it was stuck, and shoved everything to the side before closing it again. He didn’t see a roommate anywhere, but it was a weekend, so everyone was probably out. That was good, it meant he had a couple hours alone; he could use the time to unpack and explore the school.

Cole shoved all his clothes into the closet and shoes under the bed. MOSPA had a strict uniform policy, so he wouldn’t be able to wear any casual clothing, nor his combat boots. That was a shame — he really liked those boots. They had served well when he got into fights. And they added another sorely needed three inches to his height, another advantage.

Any books that he’d brought were put onto the desk. Items such as stationery and notebooks were placed in drawers. Miscellaneous trinkets were placed in a box under the bed and his toiletries in another box. Cole pushed the suitcases into the corner. There wasn’t anywhere else to put them, but he’d figure it out later. Right now he wanted to take a nap and not wake up for a month. Screw exploring the school, he could do that tomorrow.

Cole closed the curtains, pulled the covers over his head, and went to sleep.

MOSPA, as Cole found out in the span of a month, was its own special brand of hell. The students there hated Cole for always messing up and acting strange, as if grieving for a loved one was something to make fun of. The teachers hated him for not talking or making eye contact and always zoning out. Everybody seemed to agree that he was the weird kid who should be avoided at all costs. His roommate, a kid named John, disliked him enough that he asked to be put in a different dorm.

“Thanks for messing up again, Brookstone,” one of his classmates sneered. Brant Green, yet another asshole who existed to make Cole miserable. “You ruined the whole performance.”

It hadn’t been Cole’s fault. Another student had purposefully tripped him, causing him to fall and knock over several people. “Yeah, I did. What’s your point?” He tried not to flip off Brant. That would just cause more trouble, trouble he couldn’t risk. The teachers hated him enough already.

“How’d you even get into this school? I thought you needed to have talent to get in,” Brant spat.

“Do I look like I want to be here? I hate this place,” Cole stood up and glared at the taller boy. Brant was a good head taller than him, unfortunately.

Brant didn’t seem to know what to say to that. Perhaps he’d thought Cole was going here willingly, though how he’d come to that conclusion was a mystery. He gave Cole another sneer and walked away.

Cole rolled his eyes and went back to his lunch. For all its faults, at least this school had good food. The chicken salad was pretty tasty.

A large group chattered next to him. One of them gave him the side eye. “That’s the Brookstone kid,” she said, loud enough for Cole to hear. “His dad’s a Royal Blacksmith. Isn’t it weird how he didn’t get any of the family talent?”

Cole scowled and looked down at the table. He stabbed his lunch with more force than was needed.

“Nicholas Brookstone to the office, Nicholas Brookstone to the office,” a speaker sounded. All eyes turned to him. Cole looked down at the floor and wondered if he could just die right there in the cafeteria. It would save everyone a lot of trouble.

A kid coughed from the table in front of him. Awkward, Cole thought. What had he done this time? There wasn’t anything recent he’d done to warrant this.

It took five minutes for the school to realise he wasn’t moving any time soon. They all went back to their conversations, and Cole snuck out the side entrance. He had always been good at going unnoticed.

Cole walked through the halls briskly and knocked on the office door. He was let in by the guidance counsellor, a lady in her forties with platinum blonde hair. “Nicholas, we need to talk about your behaviour,” she said as they sat down.

“I haven’t been in any more fights,” Cole said. It was true.

“Your teachers say that you don’t pay any attention in class and that you’re not following instructions. It has nothing to do with your peers.”

“I’m trying my best, okay?” Cole snapped. Why couldn’t anyone just listen for once? He was trying, he’d been trying for ages.

“Then how come your grades are so low? This is one of the top arts schools in Ninjago, Nicholas. We expect better.” The counsellor had a mask of false concern on. Cole kind of wanted to punch it off.

“It’s not Nicholas, it’s Cole. And I am trying,” Cole gritted out.

“Your grades are barely scraping fifty percent.”

“So?”

The counsellor frowned. “If you don’t start doing better, you may get expelled.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Cole said under his breath. Then to the counsellor, “I’m sorry. I’ll do better.” She might be suspicious of the sudden change of pace, but Cole couldn’t care less. He just wanted to get out of the office.

The counsellor nodded and fixed her glasses. “That’s all for today, Nicholas. You can go to class now.”

She didn’t even bother to get his name right. “Thanks,” Cole marched out the door.

Cole stared down at his exam results and wondered if he was dreaming. Forty percent average, the paper said. A fail. He’d managed to do so badly that his average wasn’t even fifty.

Dad’s going to kill me, he thought. Dad expected at least nineties, and this definitely wasn’t it. He’d be grounded until his thirtieth birthday, if he lived that long.

The only subject that had above sixty was visual arts. The teacher for that class was nice — he understood Cole’s struggles and gave him all the time he needed. It wouldn’t make Dad overlook all the other failures, though.

The paper crinkled under his grip. Cole blinked the tears out of his eyes and shoved the paper into his folder. His classmates were conversing all around him, comparing grades and bragging about what they’d gotten. The teacher sat at her desk on the computer. Nobody would notice if he went to the washroom and never returned, hopefully.

Cole got up and walked to the front. “Ms. Jackson, may I please go to the washroom?”

The teacher nodded distractedly and waved her hand. “Yes.”

Cole grabbed his belongings and slipped out the door. He hadn’t taken a hall pass, not when the teacher would notice it missing. She wouldn’t know he was gone, but she would notice the hall pass. The teachers here were strange like that.

He opened the door to his dorm and collapsed on the ground. How was he going to explain his grades to his dad, much less the teachers? He could already hear the lecture. “Your mother would be so disappointed in you, Cole. What happened to all that potential?”

Then again, Dad didn’t pay attention to him. Cole doubted he even remembered that he existed; Dad was too busy partying. Maybe he could burn the report card and pretend it didn’t exist.

Or… Cole’s thoughts drifted to a snide comment Brant had made a few months ago. “Why don’t you just run away? Nobody would miss you — we’d be happy to see you gone.”

Cole had ignored him at the time. It was just another uncreative insult from the stereotypical bully. But it wasn’t exactly a bad idea. As strict as the school was, Cole knew all the weak spots in its system. It was easy to sneak out and never return. And he’d been thinking about leaving and never coming back for ages. This was just the final straw.

“All right, then. Guess Brant gets his wish,” Cole said. No one responded, of course — he was all alone. But talking to himself was a habit. Cole got up and went to the closet, finding the duffel bag he used to use for camping. He blew the dust off and packed anything that seemed useful. A flashlight, multiple sets of clothes, a reusable water bottle, that box of granola bars he’d bought a month ago, all the cash he had.

More food would need to be picked up from the school cafeteria, he decided. And he’d need to find a sleeping bag somehow. But everything else was ready. Cole could leave during the night — he refused to call it running away, he wasn’t running from anything — it was easier that way. This was the best option, he told himself.

Cole snuck out as soon as it was dark. He didn’t need to avoid any roommates, thankfully — anyone who’d been placed with him had moved out. It took a few minutes for him to write a letter to Jay. His best friend didn’t deserve to have him disappearing without warning, though they hadn’t been best friends since before Mom’s death. He put it in the outgoing mail on the way out, sealed with a blue sticker. Jay would know what that meant.

He took the back exit and walked down the road to the bus stop. The city’s streets were dimly lit, people rushing past him to get home. A couple looked at him curiously but didn’t stop him. A drunk man sat down next to him on the bench as they waited. Dogs barked in the distance and a truck drove past. It was peaceful, Cole thought. The most peaceful he’d been in a while.

The bus arrived just after midnight. Cole got on and paid for a ticket to the next town over. He could find a sleeping bag and extra clothes there, and the further away he got the better. He was finally leaving MOSPA and his dad behind, and he wouldn’t be stopped by something as simple as not having basic supplies.

Running away wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. All the books made it seem easy — there was no mention of sleeping in alleys, or trying not to get mugged, or having to do odd jobs to get money. Thank goodness for Ninjago’s lax law enforcement; nobody would have hired a thirteen-year-old if the police were good at their job. Especially a thirteen-year-old who may or may not be on the missing persons list. Cole still wasn’t sure if anyone had noticed him missing.

Cole shouldered his backpack as he walked away from Jamanakai Village. He’d managed to find work at a local restaurant a few weeks prior and had finally saved up enough money to get somewhere else. He wasn’t quite sure where his next destination would be, but for now he planned to go back to the mountain range near Ninjago City. He deserved a break, and climbing was therapeutic. The city having a lot of people to pickpocket was just a bonus.

Jamanakai was isolated, unfortunately. It would be an entire day before Cole could get to a more urban area and find a bus stop. He knew there wasn’t a lot of point in travelling so often, of course, but Cole couldn’t shake the feeling that if he didn’t keep moving, someone would find him and bring him back to MOSPA. He couldn’t let that happen. And it kept his mind off of Mom and Dad. Nope, not thinking of that today, Cole thought. It was a good day and he wasn’t going to ruin it.

“Probably enough money for a ticket to Ninjago City,” Cole muttered. “Then it’s just some hitchhiking.”

Not a difficult journey, really. Cole continued on.

The mountain was tall. And windy. And probably dangerous to climb without proper gear. Cole tried not to think of that as he pulled himself up the next ledge. He’d already had a close calls today, almost fell off before he found a foothold. Cole thanked Wojira that he hadn’t fallen to his death. If he was going to die, he wanted it to at least be dignified.

Only a bit more to the top of the mountain and then he could rest. Cole planned to camp there for the night and then go back down, hopefully without any major injuries. The broken ankle still ached, and it had been months. He hadn’t been able to walk for two weeks the last time, and Cole wasn’t eager to have a repeat.

Huffing and sweaty, Cole reached the top. He climbed over the last few rocks and stopped, feeling pretty proud of himself, when he noticed the man sitting in front of him.

“Hello there,” the man said. He looked ancient, with deep set wrinkles and a long white beard. He took a sip of his drink and smiled.

Okay, that’s creepy, Cole thought. He had thought he was the only one climbing. How had he not noticed this guy?

“Wha— who are you?” The words exited Cole’s mouth without permission. He really should work on his brain-to-mouth filter at some point.

“Maybe that is a question you should ask, but first: why do you climb the mountain?” The old man looked at Cole with something like curiosity. Curiosity about what?

“Because it’s a good way to get exercise?”

“You can tell me the truth, Cole. I don’t judge.”

“How do you know my name? I never introduced myself,” Cole took a step back. Was this man some sort of stalker? Nobody knew where he was. If he got kidnapped, or murdered, no one would be able to find him.

“Because I know you, Cole. I was there when you were born.”

“You know my Dad? Are you going to bring me back to him? Give me another lecture on how I’m a disappointment? I don’t need to hear it,” Cole crossed his arms and prepared to make a run for it. It would be suicidal to jump off the mountain, but he was a fast climber. The old man wouldn’t be able to catch up with him.

“I knew your mother. She was one of my students,” the old man stood and held up his hands in the ‘I surrender’ gesture.

“Student?”

“I taught her to be a hero. Did you think that all the stories she told you were made up?”

Cole hadn’t thought about his mom’s stories in years. She used to tell him about great heroes who could control the very elements themselves, who tamed dragons and fought against evil. He’d loved those stories.

“You’re telling me that all those stories about ninja and dragons were real? Yeah, and I’m a giant purple unicorn,” Cole glared at the old man. This guy had to be crazy, spouting nonsense about real-life superheroes and monsters. Mom had told him those stories for entertainment and bonding, nothing more.

“You are stubborn. Also like your mother, I suppose. I can prove to you that all the old legends are real. You just have to trust me,” the man held out his hand. His face was a mixture of hope and worry and maybe a little bit of fear. Fear of what, Cole didn’t know.

Cole hesitated for a moment. There was nothing left for him back at home, if he still had one, and no one cared if he went missing. The only people he cared about were either dead or better off without him. His life truly couldn’t get any worse, and if this man had known his mom he couldn’t be too bad. Cole took the hand.

#in the very early days of my time in this fandom I saw a headcanon that Cole's full name is Nicholas and it stuck in my head #still not happy with this but it's better than the first draft #bruise childhood friends au #cole ninjago #cole brookstone #ninjago cole #cole hence #ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago fic #ninjago fanfiction #lego ninjago fanfiction #kit's writing #bonus chapter will be coming soon!

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alittlehurtwithyourcomfort · 6 days

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Age Rating: Teen

Category: M/M

Ship: Cole/Zane (Glacier)

Summary: Ever since the Merge, the earth has felt... wrong. Cole tries to hide how much it affects him, but of course, people notice. Thankfully, Zane is here.

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Or: Cole's powers have grown painful, but he refuses to get help. Zane won't let his stubborn (boy)friend go through it alone.

#whump #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago dragons rising #glacier #glaciershipping #cole ninjago #cole brookstone #hurt comfort #ninjago zane #ninjago cole #ninjago glacier #ninjago fanfiction #ninjago fic #lego ninjago fanfiction #fanfic #whump fic

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indigosky101 · 2 months

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Prompt: Betrayal

Summary: Kai’s corruption was only because of Chen’s staff… right?

Word Count: 366

@badthingshappenbingo

“No one is taking my staff!” Kai yelled, “You had all the power, now it’s my turn!”

“What are you saying?” Lloyd shouted, “What’s gotten into you!?”

“I should’ve been the green ninja, not some worthless moron like you!”

Skylor grabbed Lloyd’s arm and pulled him out of the way as Kai shot electricity at them. She pelted him with fireballs, but he easily dodged them all with his newfound superspeed.

He swung the staff at her. She went flying backwards and hit the wall of the cave before landing on the ground with a thud.

He turned his attention to Lloyd.

“You couldn’t defeat the Overlord on your own, you needed us to help you!” Kai wrapped vines around Lloyd, trapping him. “And then he came back, Zane finished him off instead of you. What kind of hero do you think you are?”

Kai walked up to him. His scarlet eyes glared into Lloyd’s bright green ones.

“You’re useless.”

Lloyd’s heart sank. Kai’s words hurt more than any wound he had ever gotten. His spirits did not lift when his friends burst through the wall to rescue him or when he spotted Zane.

His friends were fighting Chen’s lackeys, Lloyd just needed to grab the staff from Kai. Then, he would apologize for everything he said. He could not possibly have meant any of it. It was just the staff corrupting him.

Lloyd tried to break free, but he could barely move. Wait, this is just like getting trapped by a Constrictai’s tail! He forced his muscles to relax. He managed to wiggle out of the vines.

He ducked to avoid the icicle Kai shot at his head. He shot a ball of energy at the staff, knocking it out of Kai’s hands and causing him to fall down.

Skylor dove for the staff. She picked it up and immediately smashed it on the ground. The crystal on top of it shattered. Everyone’s elements returned to their rightful owners.

Kai slowly rose from the ground.

“Kai?” Lloyd approached him cautiously.

He froze for a few moments. Then, he lit his hands on fire and turned around to face Lloyd.

His eyes were still glowing red.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago kai #lego ninjago kai #ninjago lloyd #lego ninjago lloyd #ninjago fic #ninjago fanfic #ninjago fanfiction #lego ninjago fanfic #lego ninjago fanfiction #ninjago tournament of elements #betrayal #bad things happen bingo #indigo posts

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galaxybooper · 4 months

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Set between Season 2: 'The Legacy of the Green Ninja' and Season 3: 'Rebooted', 'Call of the Sea' features the core four ninja visiting a small fishing village after their victorious fight with the Overlord. Master Wu's heart is heavy with the fact that he needed to recruit such young teenagers to save the world twice already. So, he set up a vacation of sorts where all four ninja are to be sent to therapy. What Master Wu had no idea about was just off the shoreline and under the sea, someone was threatened by his very presence and that of his ninja. What started off as a vacation would soon change everything.

#lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago lego #kai jiang #kai ninjago #kai smith #ninjago kai #lego ninjago fanfic #lego ninjago fanfiction #kai x oc #ninjago kai x oc #oc x kai #lego ninjago: call of the sea #ninjago: call of the sea

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galaxybooper00 · 6 months

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#lego ninjago #ninjago #lego ninjago fanfiction #lego ninjago oc #lego ninjago kai #ninjago kai #ninjago oc #lego ninjago fanfic #lego ninjago: the call of the sea #the call of the sea #Kai x oc #Oc x Kai

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oblivious-aro · 17 days

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Girl Talk (Prequel to Where the Sky Meets the Sea)

So the final chapter of Where the Sky Meets the Sea is almost finished. It just needs one more good read through.

But...

I kind of went full self-indulgent mode, and commissioned a really cool drawing to go with it, but due to some issues with the timing, the drawing won't be ready for a bit, and I want to release the drawing with the chapter, because it's really really cool.

I feel bad about the long wait, so I whipped up this little mini-chapter/prequel.

Thank you all for your patience, and please enjoy this rewrite of the conversation between Misako and Nya from the beginning of Skybound, named after a terrible line from season 8.

Enjoy!

Word Count: ~2000

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After nearly five straight minutes of concentration, Jay moved his bishop to block the advance of one of Zane's pawns.

As Zane considered his move, Jay’s focus drifted over to Nya, who was currently locked in fierce battle with some wooden training dummies on the deck below them.

She’d been on the warpath ever since they got back from the PSA shoot. The one she hadn’t been invited to.

When she arrived at the studio, wondering what was going on, the producer offered to shoot her doing a make-up tutorial.

Hence the destructive mood.

“Jay,” Zane said “I’ve finished my turn.”

“Huh?”

“That means it’s your turn.”

“Oh, right!”

Jay snapped his head back to the chess board. He was currently working his knight up the board, and in just two more turns he’d be in position to pull off a manoeuvre that might give him a chance of actually beating-

Wait, where had his knight gone?

Jay spotted the little white horse nestled amongst the cluster of all of the other pieces Zane had captured.

Jay let out a sigh.

It didn’t look like he was winning this game either.

“So what’s that? A hundred games to one?”

Cole's voice nearly made Jay jump out of his seat. He swore Cole hadn’t been this good at sneaking up on him before he became a ghost.

“Hey!” Jay said “The game’s not over! I can still win this!”

Cole glanced at the board.

“Sure you can.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do than standing around dissing my chess skills?”

“Actually, I have something really cool I wanted to show you guys!” Cole’s eyes lit up “Watch this!”

One second Cole was standing by Zane and Jay, and the next he had completely disappeared.

Jay didn’t notice Cole reappear behind him.

“Boo.” He whispered into his ear.

“Gah!” Jay instinctively punched behind him, his fist going right through Cole’s chest.

“Pretty cool, right?” Cole beamed once Jay had retracted his fist.

“Yeah, great new trick.” Jay said flatly, trying to rub the chill from his hand.

“Most impressive Cole.” Zane smiled “I’m sure this new ability will be a great asset in future missions.”

“And that’s not all,” Cole’s smile grew even wider “You remember the rest of you saw your future selves in that cave and I was all worried when I didn’t see anything? Well I guess it turned out I couldn’t see my reflection because future-me learned how to turn invisible, and not because I was a goner!”

“That’s wonderful news Cole!” Zane smiled, “You must be feeling very relieved.”

“Oh absolutely! I’ve been practically jumping for joy all morning!” Cole bounced on the balls of his feet “I’ll let you two get back to your game, I gotta find Kai and Lloyd and tell them the good news too!”

Cole practically skipped down the stairs in search of the other ninja.

“Well I’m glad someone’s happy about their vision.” Jay grumbled.

Zane raised an eyebrow.

“I would think you’d be more excited about finding out that our friend isn’t doomed.” he said.

“Maybe I’d be more excited for him if he wasn’t using his newfound abilities to try and give me a heart attack. Just because he’s not gonna die young anymore doesn’t mean that I want to.“ Jay moved a random pawn forward and turned back towards Nya.

“I’m sensing the vision you saw of you and Nya together in the future is on your mind?” Zane asked as he took Jay's queen with his pawn.

“Shh! Not so loud!” Jay reached over the board and covered Zane’s mouth, checking over his shoulder to make sure Nya and Cole hadn’t overheard.

Zane pushed his hand away.

“Perhaps it would relieve some of your stress to simply tell Nya about your vision?”

“Are you kidding? Nya would lose it if she heard about what I saw in the cave!” Jay sighed “She's already made it very clear she wants nothing to do with me.”

“Erm, if that’s the case, why have you been frequently making suggestive comments around her?”

“C-comments? What comments?” Jay asked nervously.

“Ever since our sojourn to the First Spinjitzu Master's tomb, your behaviour around Nya has noticeably changed. Especially in the last month, as the questions surrounding her love life have become more prevalent in the media.”

Jay groaned and banged his head on the table, making the chess pieces jump.

“Am I really that obvious?”

“Yes.”

Jay groaned again.

“I was fine until I saw that vision!” He rubbed his eyes with his palms. “I know Nya said she didn't want to get back together, but there's been this little spark of hope in me ever since I saw that we were together in the future.”

“Perhaps it would be better if you stopped your romantic advances and simply let things take their course. I can’t help but feel that pushing Nya in a direction she has expressed discomfort with will only achieve the opposite of your intended goal.”

“I know I should probably back off, but it's hard!” Jay said “Like, imagine if Pixal broke up with you, but you knew for sure the two of you would get back together. You couldn’t just sit there and pretend everything was normal, right?”

“If Pixal expressed a desire for a change in our relationship, I would respect her wishes.” Zane said indignantly.

“Never mind. You just wouldn't get it, it's different for you.”

Zane frowned and moved his rook.

“Checkmate.” he said with slightly more satisfaction than when he normally beat Jay.

“What?” Jay blinked “How'd you do that?”

“I pay attention.” Zane said smugly.

“Whatever.” Jay grumbled “Set the pieces back up! I know I can beat you this time!”

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“Show girls how to put on makeup!” Nya growled as she attacked the training dummy with steadily faster and faster hits.

Thwump!

Thwack!

“Maybe you’re the one who needs your face rearranged!”

Nya’s frustration completely boiled over and her limbs turned into a violent blur of fury.

Smash!

Crash!

The arm of the dummy Nya kicked severed from the torso with a burst of splinters.

She panted a few times before pulling her arm back to attack the next dummy.

“Something bothering you?”

Nya stopped mid-punch and turned to see Misako closing the door to the captain's quarters behind her.

“Everything's been awful every since I became the water ninja!” Nya replied angrily.

“No one ever said being a ninja would be easy.” Misako smiled warmly.

“It’s not being a ninja that’s the problem, it’s how people act about the fact that I’m a ninja! I mean, have you seen the media! If I ever forget that I’m the only girl ninja, there’s a thousand friendly reminders in every direction!”

“Oh I'm very familiar with the feeling.” Misako nodded knowingly. “The Explorer’s Club was a useful resource for my green ninja prophecy research, but being the first and only woman to be a member was certainly an alienating experience.”

Misako cleared her throat before speaking in a haughty voice.

“Introducing Percy Shippelton, one of the most courageous members of The Club; Smythe Smith, discoverer of The Hidden Isles of the Anacondrai; and Misako Montgomery, the first woman in The Explorer’s Club!” She said.

“Yes! Exactly!” Nya practically yelled “Why can’t people just give me the same chance they give the boys? Why does me being a girl make them act so…so weird?”

“I’m afraid most men just can't handle the idea of not being the stars of the show. It's not fair, but unfortunately life just isn’t fair.” Misako smiled sadly. “And when you’re faced with one of life's challenges, you can either lie down and give up, or stand tall and fight back.”

Nya frowned.

That wasn’t really what she'd been hoping to hear.

“It feels like all I ever do is fight back.” She said “Isn't there anything else I can do? Maybe something a little more of a permanent effect?”

Misako only smiled sadly.

“It's like I said, life just isn't fair. Being a woman is like being a ninja, there'll always be another enemy to fight. But it's not all doom and gloom.”

Misako put a hand on Nya's shoulder.

“The opinions of some sleazy reporters and the frothing masses drooling over their tacky magazines don't matter. You know they're wrong, and I know they're wrong. No matter what they say, I know you're a strong, incredibly clever, amazing ninja. Don't let what some nosy strangers have to say drag you down. Focus on your work, and lean on your friends, the ones who really understand and support you.”

“Honestly Misako, I'm not so sure they do understand me.”

“Boys can be a bit dumb sometimes,” Misako laughed “But they're still your friends. They do want to help you, even if they don't always understand how to do it.”

“I guess so.” Nya shrugged “But it would be nice if I didn't feel so alone all the time when I was with them, you know?”

“They'll get there. But in the meantime, I'm always here to talk when you're feeling alone.”

Nya blinked.

It hadn't really hit her until now that she'd never had another woman on the team she could talk to.

In fact, Nya couldn't remember there being a prominent woman in her life ever since she and Kai had struck out on their own.

Nya wasn't sure how she felt about that.

“Thanks Misako.” She said.

“Anytime.” Misako patted Nya's shoulder. “Now, I'd better get back to my research. I've been looking through Captain Soto's old journals, and I just found the most fascinating entry on one of their rival crews.”

Misako bent down and picked up one of the dummies Nya had knocked over.

“Now, don't hold back. Attack the manikins with just as much ferocity as you would use on a real foe. That's the best way to be prepared for the battles ahead.” she said, giving Nya one last smile before disappearing back into the captain's quarters.

Nya stared at the closed door for a bit.

She half-heartedly kicked one of the dummies over before turning and walking away.

She was still full of anger, as well as a slew of other confusing emotions, but taking it out on the training dummies felt pointless.

It was nice that there was another woman on the team who understood what Nya had to put up with, and she was grateful that Misako had come out to talk to her, but her words hadn't exactly filled Nya with a lot of hope for the future.

Was she really going to spend the rest of her life knocking down dummies only for someone to keep setting them up?

Nya's musings were interrupted when she noticed Jay looking at her.

Perhaps his attention had only been drawn by the noise of Nya’s training exercises/rageful venting, but all of the weird comments Jay had been making the past few weeks flashed through Nya's mind as they locked eyes.

She had no patience for Jay right now.

“What are you looking at?” she snapped.

“N-nothing!” Jay yelped, turning back to his chess game with Zane.

Before Nya could get much farther, Wu came running on deck calling for all the ninja.

“Ninja! Come quick! There's been an emergency!”

After a quick briefing from Wu, the ninja were off on a mission to find out how Clouse had escaped from The Cursed Realm, and what he was up to.

Nya was glad for the distraction, as well as the opportunity to turn her anger into something productive.

Maybe after they'd taken care of Clouse, Nya's head would be a bit clearer, and she could have a more in-depth conversation with Misako.

#lego ninjago #ninjago fanfiction #lego ninjago fanfiction #nya #misako #misako montgomery #my writing #my fanfic #where the sky meets the sea #i wanted to include this in the main fic but it was kind of wonky with the flow of events

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snowyycones · 1 year

Text

The Symbol on that Birch Tree Door

There was a soft crunch under him, the packed and icy snow crushing under the weight of his heavy body. By the way it felt, this snow would never melt away, and would always cover the surface below it. Nervously, he held the robotic bird in his arms closer, worried for his newfound friend. Another foot fell forward, eyes squinting as he carefully examined the symbol imprinted upon the bark of an oddly thick, large birch tree. Each line formed a unique stamp, almost resembling that of gears, the symbol of an engineer.

Zane couldn't help but reach out to it, drawn to the engraving in the wood as it called to him. The chilling winds swooped and cut into his face and hair, but it did not deter him away. His finger began to hover against the wood, a rough, gritty texture of the wood grazing the tips of his fingers. This symbol meant something important, it compelled him, and he wasn't entirely sure why.

As he applied more pressure to the symbol, it sank deeper into the wood, a soft click following soon after. Loud grinding and whirring began to stir from behind the door, causing Zane to stumble backwards while the tree opened to reveal a hollow interior. Whisking in a shallow breath, he cautiously peered forward, one hand gently gripping the entrance, holding onto the Falcon with another.

Inside, the tree seemed to be home to a workshop of sorts, and also a home. To Zane's relief, it appeared to be abandoned, showing no sign of activity in possible years. However, this did prove his suspicions, that this area had once been the home to a great inventor. What that entailed? He couldn't be sure, but some investigating couldn't hurt, surely. Carefully, he carried the limp bird in his arms, caressing the soft feathers with worry.

"Perhaps I can use something here to help you, friend."

Stairs descended down into the small workshop, a single bed along with a few work tables scattered across the floor. It certainly didn't look comfortable, to say the least, feeling a strange distaste to the way the walls almost seemed to cave in above him. Luckily, something caught his attention, distracting him from the dread he felt.

Blueprints were laid out on the table, two clearly describing the mechanisms inside of the falcon. For a moment, he allowed himself to touch the table, the smooth and bumpy wooden surface giving him a sense of familiarity. Picking up the blue print, he allowed his fingers to roam across the dusty surface, attempting to read it. Though some of it confused him, he understood well enough to know what was wrong with the bird, hoping he would be able to properly fix it.

Laying the Falcon down next to the blueprint, he carefully reopened the chest panel. He hesitated slightly, before allowing his hands to plunge into the metal, wires, and gears. His whole body was tense, this was something he had never done before, but he couldn't let himself mess up now. After a few moments of fiddling and finding the problem, he held his breath, closing the bird's chest panel.

As he did, the Falcon began to flap its wings, allowing air to gently hit his face. The bird moved upright so he could soar high above Zane, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief. The boy chuckled a little, happy to see his friend in good health, but his curiosity still lingered. On the surface of the table, all of the blueprints appeared to belong to the Falcon.

However, this was clearly a great inventor, there had to be more. Taking a moment to examine the desk, he noticed a small cubby below, a blue print sticking out from it. Perhaps it would be for the defense robot he had seen outside, or maybe something entirely new?

Slowly, he pulled the papers out of their hiding place, examining the white diagrams against the blue background. He felt his heart drop to the floor, along with himself. A loud thud followed as the papers fluttered around him, scattering on the floor, unable to stop the way he curled in on himself.

Upon the diagrams, he found illustrations of himself, detailed and perfect. This was no "joke" or coincidence. It was him, it was Zane.

"It.. can't- No.. no no no.."

He hated how this revelation made sense, that it filled in the missing gaps in his understanding. It had to be a lie, he wanted it to be. If Zane was a robot, it would mean that everything he has ever yearned for and felt was a lie.

"No! I-I won't believe it!"

The robot couldn't stop his tears from coming, his body trembled with panic as he realized what this all meant. He hated this, he hated everything, and he hated himself. He had nothing to be proud of, nothing to reclaim, no past or future. It wasn't fair.

His friends are calling for him.

What does he do now?

#ninjago #ninjago zane #zane ninjago #zangst #ninjago fanfiction #fanfic #lego ninjago #lego ninjago fanfiction #its kinda bad but i have huge sensory things i relate to this scene #i love

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coraliix · 29 days

Text

North Wind | Lloyd x OC

Chapter 7: Collision pt.1

13.2k words (split in two posts)

Summary: Mari and Lloyd spend the day together. Tension snaps and confrontation occurs.

A/N: Jeez louise y'all. I did not expect this chapter to take so long nor the sheer size of it, but here we are.

Fun fact: chapters of this length cannot physically fit on a post (at least how I'm posting), hence why it's split in two.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

——————————

“Checking your phone every five seconds won’t make them get here faster, Mari.”

I looked up from my screen, where I had indeed been checking for any new messages from Lloyd. “I know that,” I scoffed at Skylor’s words. “I’m just making sure they get here alright.”

Skylor’s lips curled up in an amused grin as she continued closing the restaurant and got ready to head out. “They’ve come here a lot, you know. They’ll be okay.”

“I know that too,” I replied, an exasperated but affectionate smile gracing my features. Taking a seat at a table, I waited for Lloyd and his friends to arrive, leg bouncing rapidly.

She took note of that; I could tell. “You seem nervous to meet with them,” Skylor remarked, amusement filling her voice. “Or are these nerves directed more to a specific person?” she asked. Her eyebrows waggled suggestively, and I snorted at the sight — and at what she was implying.

“Definitely not in the way you're insinuating,” I quipped, feeling a slightly embarrassed flush rise on my face.

That did not help with deterring Skylor from thinking what she currently was, but that was fine. I didn’t care too much about explaining.

Truthfully, there was some merit to her idea, but it was simply that I found Lloyd attractive. I wasn’t necessarily attracted to him. Underneath the affection I held for Lloyd was a sense of understanding for his situation. It felt more like I related to him and empathized with him than held particularly romantic feelings.

(At least, that was what I told myself. To be completely honest, there was some attraction, but definitely not enough for me to act on and risk jeopardizing our friendship.)

There would be time later to reflect on those feelings. Probably.

Silence filled the restaurant’s calm atmosphere as I dwelled on these thoughts. Skylor didn't say anything to break it, and I thought back to a few days ago, when she had started asking me about the ninja. Her words about being honest and opening up echoed in my head.

“Oh, here they come,” Skylor said after a minute. We walked to the doors, stepping out and locking them behind us. “Hey guys,” she greeted, tucking her keys into the pocket of her coat.

They greeted the rest of us as well. Lloyd, sporting a ball cap under his green hood and a face mask, sidled up next to me and leant in to whisper, “Hi.”

My eyes dropped to his incognito attire, sadness flickering in them as I realized what their purpose was. “Hey,” I whispered back, unsure why we were being quiet but following his lead. Tracking Lloyd’s eyes back to Kai and Skylor, I soon understood why.

“Hello, handsome,” she said as she stepped closer to Kai and laced their hands together.

“Hey, beautiful,” he replied, eyes softening in a strange sight. Strange to me, at least. I’d only been around Kai once — certainly not enough for me to judge his character — but this soft side of him was starkly different from the sharp, defensive side of him I’d seen weeks ago that it gave me whiplash.

Everyone else rolled their eyes at the sweet exchange, but it was all in good humor.

“Ready to go?” Kai asked her, shivering slightly when a chilly gust of air swept through the streets.

“Mhm,” was Skylor’s answer. She turned to me, fixing me with a look that communicated the instructions she’d given me before we left. Behave. Be back home by midnight. Have someone drop you off. “Have fun,” was what she said out loud.

I gave her a smile and a nod in reply.

Satisfied, she hooked her arm through Kai’s, starting to turn away. “Have fun, you guys,” she repeated to everyone else. With that, Skylor and Kai headed off to who knows where for their date.

Everyone else turned away to quickly discuss the plan, but my eyes remained on the couple’s backs as they walked away.

Learning that Skylor had been dating Kai could have easily been one of my top ten most shocking moments — I’d almost thought she was joking when she’d casually mentioned it to me. But seeing their interactions made me realize that they really did fit well together.

“Everybody ready to go?” Jay rubbed his hands in excitement, clearly eager to head to the arcade the group had picked as the activity today.

Beside Jay, Cole shuffled closer to nudge him with an elbow. He gave Jay a pointed look.

“Oh!” Jay exclaimed, eyes widening in realization. He turned to me. “I forgot— I never really introduced myself. I’m Jay,” he said, offering me a wide smile.

I chuckled softly. “I figured. Nice to meet you, Jay,” I replied, returning his smile. “I guess I don’t have to introduce myself.” I sent Lloyd a grin, and he looked away with a bashful smile, scratching the back of his neck.

Jay laughed, glancing over at Lloyd with a smile full of mirth. “Nope. Lloyd’s definitely been talking about you enough to— Hey, ow!” His teasing was cut off by another elbow to his side; the offense came from Nya this time.

The action had me sending her a surprised look, eyebrows raising. No qualms about teasing Lloyd herself but stopping Jay from doing so?

Nya glanced at me, meeting my curious stare and seeming to read my thoughts. “It’s different when I do it,” she explained to me, to the confusion of everyone else.

A snort escaped me at the words, but I nodded. Part of the sibling experience — teasing them relentlessly but stepping in when others did it too.

It reminded me of Hideo and how sometimes I’d tease him about him having crushes or other unimportant things. The corners of my lips pulled down in a small frown.

Somehow Lloyd noticed this, and he lightly bumped his shoulder against mine. “You okay?” he asked in a hushed tone, brow knit with concern — though it was barely visible from under his cap. “Is being around all of us too overwhelming? I know you said you weren’t used to large groups. Do you want to go somewhere else?”

I glanced up at Lloyd. His concern warmed me. A small smile made its way onto my lips, and I shook my head. “No, it’s not that,” I reassured him. “Just remembering someone.”

He frowned at my vague answer, confusion seeping into his eyes. “Alright.”

“Are you guys ready to go?” Nya called over to us, linking her hand with Jay’s and stepping closer to him.

I blinked at the sight. “Uh, yeah,” I said. “I’m ready.” They nodded and led the way down the sidewalk to the arcade nearby. Turning back to Lloyd, who now walked beside me, I leaned in closer, lowering my voice. “Are Nya and Jay dating?”

Lloyd glanced at me when I leaned in closer, and he chuckled at my question before nodding. “Yep. For around two and a half years now,” he told me, matching my low volume.

“Aw, that’s nice. They look good together.” I glanced at them as they walked ahead of us, smiling at their joined hands. Lloyd nodded in agreement.

“So, have you been to this arcade before?” he asked after a minute of silence — between us, that is. The rest of the group chattered about anything and everything, though I hadn’t really been paying attention.

I shook my head. “Haven’t really explored the city at all, to be honest,” I admitted.

Lloyd gave a small gasp in faux indignation. “We can’t have that,” he said, putting on an affronted expression and placing a hand on his heart. “This must be remedied.”

I snorted at the posh tone he put on. “And how do you propose I do that?”

He shrugged casually. “By hanging out with me.”

His answer made me blink. My lips curved into a wide, amused smile. “Oh, really? You know all the good spots in Ninjago City?”

“The best spots,” he nodded solemnly.

Laughter bubbled from my lips at the sudden serious expression he put on. “Alright, I think I can clear my schedule for that,” I said. He smiled, looking at me through the corner of his eye.

——————————

Crossing the street, I saw the arcade just ahead of us. We entered the building and the dim lighting immediately washed us in electric blues and greens. There were a variety of games to play: driving simulators, shooting games, air hockey, wheels of fortune — you name it.

“Meet back up in an hour?” Zane suggested.

Everyone agreed, and soon we all went our separate ways. Lloyd stayed with me, which I was grateful for. We made our way to the counter to pay for card passes before strolling around the edge of the arcade, exploring the options.

“Any preference?” Lloyd asked beside me once we each got our own passes.

I surveyed the games available, spotting a flashy electronic dart board on one of the back walls. “I think I’ll take a crack at these,” I mused with a grin, striding over to confidently pick up a couple darts, weighing them in my hands.

“Darts.” Lloyd raised an eyebrow in question.

My grin turned roguish as my fingers felt around the small projectiles. Of course, they weren’t actually sharp — this was an arcade, after all, and there were kids around — but they felt hefty enough to be properly thrown.

“Just an old hobby of mine,” I replied. Another vague answer.

Maybe Lloyd would think I was weird by being so cryptic, but I couldn’t tell him the real reason why I wanted to start my game off strong by choosing darts. Maybe it was unfair to be playing a game I had an advantage in from illegal practices. Maybe.

Positioning myself just shy of the line, I steadied my stance and lifted my hand. The dart flew from my fingers as I whipped my arm down in a fluid arc.

It found its target. “Bullseye,” I declared with a grin, grabbing another dart. Sure enough, my next two throws were solid as well, soaring through the air and hitting the board with a thunk. A strip of tickets came out of the machine. I leaned down to pluck them out, proudly waving my reward to Lloyd.

His green eyes lit with amusement and slight surprise. “Impressive,” he remarked. “But you’re gonna have to do more than throw a few darts to beat me.”

I laughed. “I wasn’t aware this was a competition. But don’t worry about me,” I assured. “I’ve got more than one trick up my sleeve.”

“Hm,” Lloyd hummed, not looking worried.

We walked over to a racing game and swiped our passes over the machine, sliding into the seats.

“Interesting choice,” I commented casually.

Lloyd shrugged. “I like driving. Speaking of,” he said as the game started up. “I heard from Nya that you’ve driven a motorcycle before. What’s that about?”

“I could ask you the same,” I pointed out, setting my hands on the wheel and starting to steer my simulated racer down the track while I pressed a foot down on the pedal.

He laughed, shaking his head. “That’s fair. I learned when I was around 16, I think,” he told me, glimpsing at me through the side of his eye before returning his gaze back to the screen. “It was easier to get a motorcycle than a car.”

I gave him a perplexed look at that. Although that was the same as in my case, it was still unusual to hear about someone getting a motorcycle before a car. “I learned when I was 15,” I replied. “But I didn’t really start driving out in public until I was 16, too. License and all that,” I explained, turning the wheel sharply to the left.

Lloyd hummed in acknowledgement, making the turn with ease. “I guess we both grew up a bit different than most,” he said. “Teenagers don’t typically— dude, what!” he suddenly interjected. “How did you get ahead of me?”

A laugh burst from my lips and I peeked at him through the corner of my eye. “Guess you’re not— wait, how—” I cut myself off, gaping at the game.

The screens displayed a checkerboard finish line, reading ‘Winner! Player 1.’ On my screen, I was shown as placing second. Lloyd had somehow pulled ahead of me at the last second.

“What was that you were about to say?” Lloyd asked coyly, eyes gleaming with victory. If his mask wasn’t on, I would definitely see the smug grin he wore.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Good game,” I said with a huff.

He chuckled to himself, grabbing the tickets that appeared on his side of the ticket machine. One lone ticket came out of the machine on my side.

“Wow,” I laughed, head tilting back as giggles slipped from my lips. “One ticket! That is actually so hilarious.” I couldn’t stop laughing at the sight, the singular ticket compared to the 20 Lloyd received filling me with such bizarre amusement.

“A pity ticket,” Lloyd agreed solemnly with a nod. “What a shame.”

His serious expression did not help my laughter calm down. My stomach hurt from how hard I was laughing — it was strange. It wasn’t even that funny, yet I felt myself loosening up and relaxing.

Lloyd joined in my laughter after a second, eyes sparkling entertainingly. “Come on, second place,” he said after another minute, earning another chuckle from me, and rose from his seat. “Your pick this time.”

The laughter died down on my lips as I stood up. Deciding to just leave the ticket, I joined Lloyd at his side, scanning over other games we could play.

After another three rounds of me choosing a game followed by one of Lloyd’s picks — somehow, we were almost neck and neck with our amount of tickets, but Lloyd had slightly more — we spotted Cole and Zane at a boxing game and decided to join them.

“I hardly count this as fair,” Zane was saying to Cole as we got closer.

Cole shook his head, grabbing his tickets from the machine. “No way, man. I’m not even using my full strength right now. This thing would break if I did,” he teased, patting Zane — who didn't look pleased but conceded — on the back.

He looked like he was about to say more, but stopped when he saw us approaching. “Hey guys,” he said instead, smiling. “Having fun? Not beating Lloyd too hard at the games, are you?” he joked, aiming that last part at me.

“Ha-ha,” Lloyd deadpanned. “I’m actually in the lead with tickets right now.”

“Right now,” I repeated, sending him a side-eye glance. “We’re having fun, though.” Lloyd met my eye then, and smiled.

Cole nodded. “I’m totally beating Zane, too.”

“By a slim margin,” Zane corrected, raising his eyebrow. “And only because you’ve picked games that play into your skillset.”

Cole’s head tilted. “Isn’t that the whole point of this?”

A soft laugh left me at the exchange. “He’s not wrong. I’m doing the same,” I agreed with Cole. “Yet somehow, Lloyd is still beating me,” I huffed in faux annoyance.

“I’m just using the same strategy,” Lloyd shrugged, amusement playing on his features.

A round of laughs went around the group.

Taking a look at the clock on the wall, Cole nodded to the boxing game. “You guys gonna take a shot? Our passes are almost up, so you better hurry,” he said, stepping aside to make room if either of us wanted to play.

Lloyd glanced at me. I tapped a finger on my chin in thought. “I’ll have a go,” I replied, handing Lloyd the loops of tickets I’d amassed.

Scanning the pass on the machine, I waited for it to light up before taking a stance. A part of me was hesitant to take a punch. I didn't want to reveal my strength and raise any questions, but…

Oh, screw it. If I was being honest, I wanted to show off. Years of intense conditioning and training hadn’t made me weak, and if playing meant I’d beat that smug boy wearing green, I’d do it.

My fist cracked into the small speed bag. The screen displayed a number, which increased as I threw a few more blows onto the punching bag. The score racked up until the timer ran out, and I stepped back.

Although I didn't beat the previous high score — I imagined that one was Cole’s; it was too high for a buff guy like him to not have gotten it — I was pleased with my score. My lips curved into a small, proud smile.

“Not bad, kid,” Cole appraised the score. “You work out?”

“Something like that,” I answered, reaching over to get the tickets I earned. Another vague answer. I had to stop doing that.

Lloyd chuckled. “Full of surprises, aren't you?” he teased, crossing his arms. I sent him a playful wink.

“Are you gonna try, Lloyd?” I asked him as he handed over the rest of my tickets. “Because if we stop now, I’ll have beat you.” My lips spread in a smirk at the challenge, daring him to try.

He scoffed, crossing his arms again. “I don't want to show you up,” Lloyd taunted.

“Oh, really? You think you’ll do better than me? How about we make a bet?” I suggested. “If you get a higher score than me, I’ll give you half my tickets. But I bet you can’t,” I challenged, tucking my tickets into the crook of my arm as I crossed my arms.

Lloyd laughed. “You don't want to make that bet,” he promised. “Back me up here, guys.” He turned to Zane and Cole for backup.

“I don't know if you have what it takes, Lloyd,” Zane murmured, giving him a skeptical look. Cole snickered beside him.

“What? C’mon, guys,” Lloyd huffed.

My lips parted in a wide smile. “See? Not even they think you can beat me,” I teased. Zane and Cole chuckled, shaking their heads. “I’m just too strong.” I placed a hand atop my heart playfully.

Lloyd scoffed. “Watch this,” he announced, handing me his tickets and stepping up to the boxing game. The screen lit up as soon as he swiped his card over the scanner. Placing his foot slightly behind the other in a boxing stance, he swung a fist toward the bag.

The smirk dropped from my face, lips parting in surprise.

His fists pounded onto the speed bag. A right hook, left, uppercut — his hands moved almost too fast to perceive.

“Uh oh,” I laughed weakly as the scores on each of his hits added up for a total score surpassing mine.

The timer finished with a beep, and Lloyd stepped back from the machine, glimpsing at his score before his mouth curled into a smirk. He glanced at me, smirk growing when he saw the blatant shock on my face. I snapped my mouth shut.

“Looks like I owe you half of my tickets,” I managed to say after a second.

He laughed, eyes sparkling mischievously. “Keep them. Seeing that look on your face was all the reward I could want,” he teased, gently peeling his tickets away from my frozen hands. “I’ll see you at the ticket counter,” he said with a wink, walking away smugly.

Zane and Cole chuckled as he walked away, and I shot them an affronted glare. “You knew, didn’t you?” I accused them.

“I didn’t know he’d try that hard,” Cole defended with a laugh, lifting his hands in a placating gesture.

Zane nodded. “I didn’t anticipate it, either. I thought he’d go easy on you and let you win the bet,” he agreed.

My brows furrowed. “What? Why?”

The two shared a look.

“No reason,” Cole replied.

I squinted at them. I knew he was lying and that they knew something, but decided to drop it. It probably wasn’t too important.

“Alright,” I said, making sure I sent them a look that communicated they weren’t fooling me. A glance at the clock on the wall revealed that we had about a minute left of our passes. “We should probably group back up with the others,” I suggested, already starting to trail after Lloyd.

They followed behind me as I weaved through people, until I spotted Nya and Jay standing at the prize counter. I stepped up to them, feeling like I had forgotten something. Hm.

“Hey guys,” I greeted them. “Did you two have fun?”

Nya turned around to face me, a relaxed smile on her face. “Yeah! This was pretty chill. I’m glad you came with us, Mari.”

My lips curved into a smile. “Thanks, Nya. Me too. Cashing in on your prizes?” I asked curiously, glancing to where Jay was surveying the reward options.

She nodded, looking back at Jay to see him pick out a few pieces of candy and what looked to be a stuffed pickle. “For you, my favorite sea pickle,” he offered it to her, holding it up like it was the most precious thing in the world. It very well could’ve been, judging by the reverent expression on his face.

Nya burst into laughter, using a hand to cover her smile. “Aw, thank you, Jay,” she said, accepting it and giving it a hug.

My smile softened, heart throbbing at the two of them. They were so cute.

At that moment, someone stepped up beside me. Lloyd stood to my right, watching them with a fond smile. “They’re cute together, right?”

“The cutest. I think I’m going to faint over how cute they are.” I placed a hand over my forehead, pretending to look faint as I leaned onto Lloyd’s side.

Lloyd chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you,” he promised me, hand gently circling my upper arm.

My heart skipped a beat at his touch, and I sank further into him. “I’m not worried,” I teased with a light smile, dropping my head back onto his shoulder.

He seemed to freeze at that, and I worried I’d made him uncomfortable. But then he cleared his throat. “That’s good,” he said, glancing away.

Was I imagining it or did his face redden a bit? It was hard to tell with his mask still on.

Zane and Cole joined us shortly after. They stared at how I leaned on Lloyd, and I straightened, pulling myself away.

Nya turned away from us to watch them approach. She glanced at the small pieces of paper in their hands — receipts, I realized. Then she looked to my hands, where I was still holding rows of tickets. “Did you forget to count your tickets?” she asked, a small smile on her face.

I blinked. “Oh.” That was what I was forgetting. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll come with you,” Nya said, and trailed after me.

Striding over to where the ticket counter machine was, I started inserting the various strips of bright orange tickets. Nya stood beside me.

“So,” she started, “that was something.”

I didn’t look up at her, instead keeping my focus on entering the tickets into the machine. “What was?” I asked innocently. Maybe if I pretended I didn’t know what she was talking about, she wouldn’t bring it up again.

Nya hummed skeptically. “That little display. You know, when you practically fell into Lloyd’s arms?” she said.

Inserting the last of my tickets, I let out a snort. “I didn’t fall into his arms. It was nothing. Just… lighthearted banter.”

She hummed again.

“Seriously, Nya. It was nothing,” I repeated.

“It didn’t look like nothing to someone,” she countered slyly, examining her fingernails.

I stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” she parroted my words, giving me a cheshire grin. “Just that a certain someone seemed to be a little flustered and flushed after a certain other someone leaned on them. But maybe that could be because the first certain someone was actually feeling warm. All those layers…”

She was starting to confuse me. “Okay, Nya,” I huffed out a laugh, shaking my head. We walked back to the counter, where Lloyd was conversing with the others. It looked very hush hush.

Jay spotted us approaching and jolted upright, arms flailing as he struggled to look nonchalant. “Oh, Nya, Mari. You’re back,” he said. “We were… doing nothing… important.”

I glanced at Lloyd, silently asking what was going on. He shrugged, looking away as if to say ‘nothing.’ My eyes narrowed in confusion. “Yep,” I told Jay. “We’re back.” Striding to stand next to Lloyd again, I turned to him. “What did your total ticket count end up being?” I asked him.

He coughed, glancing at the slip of paper. “455,” was his strained answer.

I tilted my head to the side, frowning with concern. “Are you okay? You sound a little… choked up.”

Lloyd cleared his throat again, scratching at the skin below his eye. “Yeah, no, I’m fine,” he assured me, but his reply was still a little forced.

Why was everyone being weird now?

“Right. I only got 421,” I told him, rereading the ticket receipt with a wince. “I don’t understand how you’re so good at these games.”

He seemed to relax at that. “Practice,” he revealed. “Lots and lots of practice.”

I chuckled. “Did you play lots of arcade games when you were younger?” I asked, staring up at him.

“Yep. It was the way I spent most of my time,” he explained.

“Then I never stood a chance,” I said, putting on an exaggerated expression of defeat. Lloyd laughed and apologized, but I smiled at him, shaking my head. “Today was fun, though.”

“For sure,” Lloyd agreed, looking down at me with a soft smile. “I’m glad you came.”

I returned his smile. “Me too.”

“Are you going to pick out any prizes?”

I brought my attention back to the various items held on display. A silver pegasus plush toy caught my eye, and I was tempted to get it, but held back. I noticed a bright green dragon plush next to it, and decided to get it for Lloyd.

“Could I get the stuffed green dragon?” I asked the person standing behind the counter. She nodded and handed me the plush after I gave her my receipt. I extended it to Lloyd. “For you. My favorite green dragon,” I said, giving him a wink as I mimicked Jay’s words from earlier.

Lloyd’s gaze dropped down to the stuffed toy in my hands before he accepted it with a soft laugh. “Thank you,” he smiled warmly.

Sometime when I had been choosing my prize, he had taken his face mask off, so now I could clearly see the warmth in his eyes and smile — as well as the barely-there dusting of pink on his cheeks. The sight made my knees weak.

“You’re welcome,” I replied, a similar smile gracing my lips.

“You guys are still here?” Jay asked suddenly.

I whipped around to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“Dude, we already left. I came back when we realized you hadn’t followed us outside.”

Pressing my lips together, I simply said, “Oh.”

“We’ll be out soon,” Lloyd told Jay, shifting the plush dragon in his arms. “I just… need to go to the bathroom.”

Jay gave him a look, but nodded. “You couldn't have gone earlier?” he mumbled under his breath as he left the arcade.

Lloyd turned back to me. “You can join the others. I’ll be right out,” he said.

“Okay.” I nodded, and made my way through the doors. It was starting to dim outside, sunlight gradually fading. The rest of the group stood a few feet outside of the arcade entrance, and I hurried to join them. “Hey,” I greeted them again.

“Sorry about that,” Cole apologized as I approached. “We didn’t realize you two were still inside.”

I waved his apology off with a hand. “It’s okay. We didn’t realize you left.”

“Where is Lloyd?” Zane questioned.

“He’s in the bathroom,” I replied, tucking my hands into my pockets. Zane nodded in acknowledgement. “Are we going anywhere after this?” I asked, making idle conversation. While talking about this hangout with Lloyd, I’d failed to ask if we were going to eat after or not.

“Probably just somewhere to eat,” Nya answered. “We were thinking some street food. Does that sound okay, Mari?”

I blinked, but nodded at her question. “Yeah, that sounds great!”

Nya smiled.

After another few moments, Lloyd came barreling out of the arcade, holding a plastic bag as he came to stand with us. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he apologized quickly, stuffing a hand in his pocket.

A chorus of accepted apologies sounded from the group.

“Are you coming to eat with us?” Lloyd turned to you, eyes lighting up in a hopeful expression.

“Yup,” I said, giving him a smile.

“Cool.” He nodded, returning my grin.

Everyone else started to lead the way to the street vendors we’d most likely head to, while me and Lloyd walked in the back.

“What’s in the bag?” I asked while the group was busy talking about something. I had a certain feeling Lloyd hadn’t brought it up while everyone was still looking at him because he didn’t want to bring everyone’s attention to it.

He glanced at me, before shuffling slightly closer, never once missing a step as we kept walking. He opened the bag to reveal the green plush I got him, as well as the silver winged horse I saw earlier. “I saw you were eying that silver pegasus earlier, so I wanted to get it for you. Y’know, since you got me that dragon toy. I didn't know whether to give it to you now or later,” he admitted, scratching at his cheek.

Warmth billowed into my face as I took in the bag that held the stuffed pegasus he got me — as well as how close he was standing. “Thank you, Lloyd.” I sent him a bright smile. “If you want, you can give it to me later, before I go back home.”

“Alright,” Lloyd said with a nod. He hooked the handles of the bag over his elbow and kept walking.

He didn't move away.

I hid my blush by keeping my eyes on the backs of the group.

Eventually, we arrived at a little plaza that held various street vendors selling all kinds of food. Some sold hot dogs, others had noodles, or sliders, falafel, tacos, etc — I surveyed the options and took my pick.

Once everyone else had their food, we found a little park bench tucked to the side of the plaza and sat down.

Lloyd sat to my right, his back facing the entrance of the square, while Nya was on my left. Jay sat across from her, with Cole next to him, and Zane was across from Lloyd.

No one really said anything, which was expected. We all focused on eating our own food.

It was a quiet moment, with everyone basking in the sun’s dimming rays, even as the fall weather beckoned a crisp wind to swirl around us. It was quiet, until it wasn’t.

“Is that Lloyd Garmadon? Look, it’s the Garmadork squad!” someone suddenly called behind us, to which others around them laughed. Everyone at the table stiffened. “Hey, who’s that with them?”

I was about to turn around to face them, but Lloyd stopped me by placing a hand on my back.

“Don’t,” he warned, glaring at them through the corner of his eye. “They’re from our school. If they recognize you, they’ll post about it online.”

“I don’t care about that,” I retorted.

“You will.” His voice was firm. He didn’t pull his hand away from my back. “Trust me.”

The corners of my lips pulled down into a frown, but when I looked to the rest of his friends to see what they thought about it, my heart dropped. Matching expressions of frustration and resignation weighing down their features.

“Seriously?” I stared. “You just take it?”

“There isn’t anything else we can do,” Jay mumbled. “At least anything that won’t prove the city right about Lloyd.”

Nya nodded, her eyes shifting in that same storminess from the first day of school, when she’d talked about how Lloyd was treated. “If we fight back or call them out, we prove everyone right. We prove that Lloyd is someone to be feared and cast out,” she said, anger making her look downright scary.

Silence followed from the rest of the group, but no such kindness was given from the other group of kids. They jeered at us, but didn’t come any closer. Lloyd’s hand tightened on my back at their insults.

The harassers saw this, and took no small amount of delight in calling it out. “Shit, that freak’s got a girlfriend,” one of them said to the others. “What kind of idiot would fall for him?”

Lloyd recoiled from me, pulling his hand away to stuff it in his pocket. Not much of his face was visible behind the golden strands of his hair, but I could still see the anger and shame burning in him at their words.

A similar pinprick of fury lit in me then, when I noticed the way Lloyd tensed beside me as they continued spewing their hurtful words.

“Look at him,” another person sneered. “He’s so ashamed. You should be! Tyrants don’t deserve to be happy!” they directed at him.

The words struck a chord in me, and I snapped.

Ignoring everyone’s shouts, I rose from my seat, pushing past Lloyd’s outstretched hand and making my way to the group of teenagers.

Look at her. Can you believe the audacity of a criminal to be out in public? She and her brother deserve to be outcasts — they’re dangerous.

Quiet fury burned in my veins, stirred hotter by the insults hurled my way as I approached.

“Damn, looks like the freak’s girlfriend is mad,” one of them snickered. As I got closer, one of the girls leaned closer to her friend to whisper, “Hey, isn’t that the new—”

All of them recoiled from me as I suddenly cracked my fist into one of the guys’ nose.

He crouched away from me, cradling his nose as blood gushed out of it. “What the hell?” he shouted, blood dribbling down his chin.

Around us, phones whipped out to record the fight, but I just shook my head in distaste. “Don’t be an asshole if you don’t want to get hit like one,” I told him, not bothering to hide the venom dripping from my voice.

The girl who’d recognized me whirled her phone toward me threateningly. “Stop! Go away!” she yelled. “You’re the new kid at Ninjago High, right? We’ll get you expelled!”

I scoffed out a dry laugh. “For what? Defending a friend from being harassed? I’m not on school grounds, and I could threaten you with the same,” I retorted before turning away.

A brief whistle of air was the only thing to alert me that the guy I’d punched was swinging at me. I veered to the left, feeling the air from his punch graze my arm as I dodged the blow. “You don't learn, do you?” I scowled, turning back to face him.

The guy shouted angrily before swinging again. His punches were messy, anger clouding his thoughts. I sidestepped them with ease.

“Just stop, before you hurt yourself,” I warned, grabbing his fist and spinning him around to fall onto the floor.

I crouched down next to him, not worried about being hit since he was out of breath and limp on the ground. “And just remember, your threats don’t scare me. Come after Lloyd again, and you don’t need to worry about fearing him — it won’t be Lloyd who will come after you,” I whispered next to him, my voice low enough that only he could hear.

With that, I rose from my feet and walked away. I ignored the looks on everyone’s faces as I got to the bench and swiped my food wrapper from the table. “Thanks for today. I had fun,” I said and turned away without meeting their eyes. “And I’m sorry.”

I left before they could stop me, grimacing at the silence as I walked off. I’d definitely wrecked whatever friendships I was starting to have with them.

“Dammit,” I cursed myself once I was across the street from the plaza. No one had followed me. I didn’t know whether to be glad or feel miserable because of that fact.

“Things were going well, but you had to screw that up, didn’t you?” I muttered under my breath, frustration and shame heating my face up and bringing stinging tears to my eyes. “You got a brand new start, and you just had to ruin it.”

Even though it was only around five, it was getting increasingly darker as I made my way back to the apartment, one hand clenched around the key in my pocket while the other remained free, in case something happened.

I was breaking one of Skylor’s rules; no one was walking me home. Then again, I’d already broken the “behave” rule, so it wasn’t like this was my only transgression.

Nevertheless, I found myself keeping a watchful eye on my surroundings. I would not let my emotions make me an easy target.

A rustle came from behind me, quiet enough where I wouldn’t have heard it if not for the heightened hearing my whisps allowed. It was a human, by the sound of it. Male. Tall.

“Hell no,” I grumbled under my breath, walking faster. Hell if I was going to end up kidnapped or killed because I had been stupid enough to let my emotions get the better of me earlier and effectively cut off the friends that could’ve dropped me off.

I crossed the street suddenly, testing to see if I really was being followed. A few seconds passed and the man didn’t cross over to my side. I was ready to dismiss it as paranoia, but then he crossed, subtly. Pulled out his phone as if looking at directions. I scowled.

Okay, time for test number two.

These parts of Ninjago City, the parts not as close to Skylor’s apartment building, weren’t yet familiar to me where I was comfortable enough to split off public roads into alleys, but there didn’t feel like much else of a choice. I had to shake him.

Keeping a careful watch on the man with my whispers, I headed down a tight alleyway that should’ve still led to the direction of the apartment.

It felt like the man finally realized I was aware of him following me, because his pace sped up, anxious to catch up to me. My heart started beating faster, but I forced myself to keep calm. Panic would not help me now.

Walking wasn’t proving to be enough to shake him off, so when I spotted a wall I could climb up, I quickly hoisted myself onto a ledge and pulled myself over to lay flat on the connecting roof.

Placing a hand over my mouth, I waited for the man to pass the wall I’d scaled, tracking him with my whisps until he was far enough away where he wouldn’t find me again. I slid down the wall, landing silently. Skylor’s apartment wasn’t too far now, and I hurried to get there.

Once I reached the familiar glass door, I breathed out a sigh of relief. I buzzed myself in and climbed up the steps to get to our floor. Now safely inside the locked apartment, I strode over to the couch and collapsed on the cushions.

“That was way too close,” I mumbled into the cushions. If I had been any more distracted, something bad could’ve happened.

I silently resolved to explore more of the city. That would never happen again. Not on my watch.

Exhaustion suddenly came over me, weighing down my eyelids. I let them drift shut, feeling my muscles go limp as I sank further into the couch.

——————————

It was a fitful nap. No dreams or memories, but rest was elusive as smoke.

The sound of a lock being opened and a doorknob rattling open stirred me awake, and I squinted as I slowly lifted my head from the couch to peer at the sound’s origin.

Skylor walked through the door. Light from the hallway backlit her as she entered, laughing softly.

Kai trailed in after her. He was leaning in like he was about to kiss her.

I coughed loudly, clearing my throat to announce my presence before I witnessed something I’d want to burn from my memory.

The two startled at my cough, with Skylor staring at me as Kai frowned.

“Mari? What are you doing here?” she asked, peeling herself away from Kai — who’d started to take off his jacket — to walk over to the couch. “It’s still early, why aren’t you with the n— with your friends?”

I tilted my head at her slipup but looked away when I processed her question. “No reason,” I lied, tucking my knees to my chest and leaning against the couch’s back.

Skylor frowned at the obvious lie. “Did someone walk you back home?”

“No,” I murmured, already feeling tired of where the conversation was going.

“Why not? Did something happen?”

At that, Kai looked up from where he’d been kneeling to take his shoes off. Suspicion and mistrust flared in his eyes as he stepped closer. “What did you do?” he demanded.

I bristled at his words. “I didn’t do anything,” I scowled, but then my anger faded away as quick as it had lit, replaced by shame. “Not to them.”

Alarm flashed in Skylor’s expression. “What happened?” she repeated. I didn’t miss the way her eyes carefully scanned my person for any injuries.

“I…” Hesitation made the words drift away.

“Did you hurt them?” Kai butted in again, still not letting it go.

Skylor turned to him with a disappointed frown. “Kai.”

“No, I want to know,” Kai whipped to face her, anger burning in his eyes. But underneath that anger, some other emotion was present. It looked like panic, or protectiveness.

“I didn’t hurt your friends,” I told him firmly.

Kai looked back at me, doubt permeating his expression. Skylor’s slight worry turned into concern as she noted the way I called them Kai’s friends, not mine.

“Mari, what happened?”

I sighed, looking away as guilt displayed itself on my face. “Some jerks were harassing Lloyd while we were out eating. I… punched one of them.”

The two looked taken aback. Slight respect cut through the fog of Kai’s mistrust, but it was quickly replaced by frustration. “You punched someone?” Kai hissed. “Why would you—” He took a moment to calm himself. “Look, it’s great and all that you wanted to defend Lloyd, but you do know that you’re just proving to the whole city that he — and everyone he associates himself with — is violent, right?”

“I know!” I snapped. “I just— maybe you didn’t know before, but I know what it’s like being an outcast in society. So when those assholes started spewing their crap, I just lost it, okay? I didn’t mean to hurt Lloyd more by punching the guy. And it won’t happen again.”

Kai barked out a laugh. “Believe me, I know about you,” he said. That made me narrow my eyes. “I know all about how you were shunned because you were related to a criminal. That means you should’ve known better,” he reprimanded harshly. My blood went cold when he mentioned my past. “Because guess what? If those people post about what you did online, Lloyd’s reputation is gonna be even worse!”

“You think I don’t know that?” I retorted, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I can’t go back in time and stop myself from doing it, but I promise that it won’t happen again.”

“Oh yeah?” Kai scoffed. “How can I trust the promise of Ikarashi’s niece?”

Once again, my blood froze when Kai spoke.

“How do you know that name?”

My voice was barely audible to my own ears, so it was a wonder Kai heard it. However, it seemed he hadn’t meant to say those words out loud, because he slammed his mouth shut when he realized his slip.

“What name?” He put on a look of confusion, one that I didn’t buy for a second.

“Don’t play dumb,” I snarled. “You just said you knew that I was related to a criminal, but you shouldn’t know who.”

He didn’t answer, but his face said it all.

“You looked into my past, didn’t you?” I breathed out, laughing dryly as I looked away from him. “You… What are you gonna do now, huh? Now that— now that you know Lloyd’s friend is the niece of a yakuza crime boss? Are you gonna banish me from seeing him? Report me to the police?” I goaded him, eyes glinting with dark amusement, daring him to try something.

Kai’s face darkened with barely concealed rage. Skylor’s silence during our discussion didn’t go unnoticed by me.

“Whatever you do won’t be more than I’ve already gone through, I can assure you of that,” I told him, wiping the bitter smile off my face to scowl at him instead.

Sudden understanding dawned on Skylor’s face.

Kai sneered, fists clenching at his sides. “Maybe I will! You’re more of a danger to Lloyd than I thought,” he muttered quietly, his threat making a small pinprick of fear pierce my heart.

“No, you won’t,” came Skylor’s firm reply.

Both of us whipped around to stare at her.

“Why not?” Kai argued. “Do you see her right now? Did you hear her? If she keeps being around Lloyd, she’ll bring more of the police’s attention onto him when he’s done nothing wrong!”

“Have you forgotten who your girlfriend is?” Skylor countered. “I’ve done worse than what she did. Chen was my father. Do you think I deserve to be in jail because of that?”

Kai sighed, almost running a hand through his hair, but stopping just shy of the brown locks. “That’s different!”

“How? How is it any different?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“You’re didn’t— you were never—”

“Yes, I did, and yes, I was,” Skylor interrupted. “I was completely complicit in his illegal fighting arenas and in his other crimes. I was fully aware of it and didn’t feel any remorse.”

Silence met her words as Kai begrudgingly accepted her argument.

“I don’t know if Mari was involved in her uncle’s crimes, but regardless, she left that part of her past behind. She came here to get away and have a fresh start at life,” she finished.

Surprise lit my eyes at her words. Skylor glanced at me, nodding her head in understanding. “I know, Mari. I figured it was why… I see myself in you, you know.” Guilt suddenly washed over me, the memory of my hidden mask burning me with shame.

Turning back to Kai, Skylor jutted a finger into his chest. “And damn it if I’ll let her second chance be taken away from her. I got my second chance — do not take away hers.”

No one said anything after that last line.

“Fine,” Kai eventually huffed. “I won’t report her to the police.”

Skylor raised an eyebrow at him.

He sighed, grumbling under his breath and reluctantly turning to face me. “And I won’t banish you from seeing Lloyd. But I’m warning you: do anything to hurt him, and you’ll wish you never came to Ninjago City.”

Skylor didn’t look too happy with the second part of Kai’s sentence, but she nodded. She was probably thinking the same thing as me: that it was Kai’s way of protecting Lloyd. The same way she was protecting me.

“Thanks,” I said to Kai, making an effort to meet his apology with less hostility. “But I doubt Lloyd wants to be my friend anymore, anyway.”

“Fine by me,” Kai muttered. He yelped when Skylor elbowed him.

“Come here,” Skylor said to Kai, pulling him by an arm to the kitchen, out of my earshot — or at least what it should’ve been if I’d been a normal person. But I had no desire to listen in on their conversation, so I ensured the whispers stilled around them so I wouldn’t overhear anything.

Without my enhanced hearing, I could barely hear the hushed tones they spoke in. But watching them was enough to gauge what they were saying.

As they came to some sort of an agreement, Kai leaned down to peck Skylor on the lips before he pulled his jacket and shoes on and left. As the door clicked shut, Skylor sighed before turning to look at me.

“Me and you are going to have a talk,” she said, her tone leaving no room for debate. But with a glance at the clock on the wall, she sighed once more. “Tomorrow.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Skylor nodded at my agreement and turned to head into her room. “Goodnight, Mar.”

“Goodnight,” I replied, watching her enter the room and shut the door. With a sigh, I eventually got up from the couch to walk into my own bedroom, closing the door with a click and collapsing onto my bed. I didn't bother changing out of what I was dressed in — it wasn't uncomfortable enough to be a priority, not when the day’s exhaustion had worn me down so easily.

My phone buzzed with a notification from where I’d placed it on the nightstand. I turned on ‘do not disturb’ and flipped it over. With my luck, it’d be a text from Lloyd, either saying he didn't want to be my friend or asking me to talk to him about what happened.

I couldn't deal with either of those things right now.

Besides, tomorrow was Sunday. I still had a day to think through what happened and process how I was feeling before I dove into a big discussion with Lloyd and his friends.

But you and Skylor are going to talk tomorrow, too, I reminded myself. Ah, yes. Another thing to add to my laundry list of handling the mess that was my life.

Thankfully, sleep came easily this time. It only took a few seconds to drift into unconsciousness.

——————————

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#lego ninjago #lloyd garmadon #lloyd garmadon x oc #ninjago fic #lego ninjago fanfiction #ninjago x oc #coracal's fics: north wind

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