Darkness from Within #7: A Promise Broken (Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

Ariana forced herself to relax, keeping her gaze on Joseph as the hardness returned to his face. He furrowed his eyebrows, covering over any sort of happiness he had been feeling, but Ariana knew they were both thinking the same thing. Did he see us kiss?

When they didn't respond, Lloyd glanced from one to the other, his gaze eventually falling on Ariana. "Is everything okay?" he prompted.

Ariana couldn't resist a breath of relief, so she hurriedly changed it into a laugh. "Of course," she said lightly. "I was only saying goodbye." She caught Joseph's eye again. He didn't see it.

"Goodbye?" Furrowing his eyebrows, Lloyd glared at Joseph and puffed out his chest intimidatingly. "It's not like we're gonna miss him."

Joseph returned the glare steadily, flaring his nostrils. "Right back at you, Garmadon," he growled.

The two boys stared at each other, both their gazes brimming with hatred. Ariana gave a frustrated hiss. "Can't you two get along for, like, two seconds?"

Joseph didn't shift his gaze. "It's a little too late for that," he grunted.

Ariana stared up at him, drawing in a deep breath. It had sounded only like a rude remark, but she knew he meant it for something deeper.

Lloyd gave a spat and drew in front of Ariana protectively. "I think you've stalled enough," he spat. "The Overlord's waiting."

Joseph gave a small smirk. "Before I go, I wanna tell you something, Garmadon," he murmured.

"Oh?" Lloyd took a step closer to him. A low growl rumbled in his throat. "What's that?"

Joseph let out a soft chuckle, drawing a step forward until he was an inch from Lloyd's face. For a long moment, his menacing gaze locked with Lloyd's hard one in silence, and Lloyd tensed, wondering what the Baddie would do.

But what he did completely took Lloyd by surprise.

For the quickest moment, Joseph's gaze softened and the hardness in his face disappeared to where he looked the smallest and least confident Lloyd had ever seen him. "Take care of her, Garmadon," he whispered, his voice so genuine that for the first time, Lloyd thought he really cared.

Lloyd's eyes widened in surprise, but before he could say anything, the hardness returned to Joseph's face and he straightened up, glancing over his shoulder at the Overlord. With one last glare at the former ninja, he whipped around and headed over to his master.

"Wha—Joseph!" Lloyd called, utterly bewildered.

But if Joseph heard his name, he ignored it.

Breathing heavily, Lloyd looked at the ground. Why would he say that to me? he wondered. He never cared about me or Ariana. He scratched his head. Did he?

Shaking his head, Lloyd went over to the party ready to leave and shared another word with the Overlord. Another warning. Another threat. That kind of thing. As he drew back from the three, he glanced at Katy and caught her eye, expecting to find that same, confident, sly gleam in her gaze as he always did, but instead, her eyes were somewhat exasperated. She stared at Lloyd a moment longer, face unreadable, before turning back to Joseph.

Lloyd immediately felt defensive and took a step back. He didn't know why exactly, but he seemed like everyone was accusing him of something. Joseph's tone when he claimed it was too late for them to get along. Katy's blank but strange look. What's their problem? he thought. He knew they were never exactly fond of him, especially Joseph, but this was something different. As if they were disappointed in him or something.