I miss you ~ Plasma (Ninjago)

Chapter 12

Okay so a big part of this chapter is just Melissa and Jacob ARGUING (and Jay getting involved because he's a sweetheart trying to help) but hey they get over it. Kind of. I just wanted to say that before you read a part of this and think 'is this just gonna be them arguing for the rest of the chapter', I'll just say no. Yes, I wrote a bit too much of that but you can just skip over it a little bit, you don't have to read the details, I swear there's more important plot afterwards, I swear.

Melissa's POV

"Dad? ...Jay?" There's a million questions running through my brain right now, so fast I don't even know what some of them are.

"Mel!" My dad stands up as soon as he notices me and he hurries my way. Behind him, I see Jay standing up as well, but he remains in position. I see the smiles on both their faces. Did they come after me? Are they smiling because they're happy they found me? Probably, right? What else would they be doing here...

For a moment, the thought flies through my head that they went to look for the Traveler's Tree alone, but then it's shot down by the reminder that my dad was very opposing to that idea.

"Uh, hey?" I say while getting squeeze-hugged by my dad.

"Thank god." Is all my father says. Lost, I look at Jay.

"We went to look for you." He says. That's when I notice he's standing. As in, he can stand. As if reading my mind, Jay says; "I, uh, I got my leg movement back. It took a while, but here I am." He gives me a quick smile, not maintaining eye contact for longer than a few seconds. Why does he seem so awkward?

Before I can read into it more, the moment I'd felt coming, finally comes. My dad lets go of the hug and switches to anger. "What were you thinking, Melissa? After all the warnings? I forbade you to go!"

"I'm sorry, dad." I say, not looking him in the eye. But I don't mean it. I'll have to play along for now. I was not expecting him to come after me, much less find me. I was... This is insane, but I was actually hoping to stay in this cave for the rest of my life while the village thought I'd died in here. I hadn't really thought about it that way, but I realize that's what my plan was.

"You-" He takes a deep breath, like all the times mom would tell him not to be too hard on me. "You know I was just trying to keep you safe."

"Yes, dad, I understand. I really do." That I do mean. Of course I understand. But that didn't stop me from escaping. Maybe it says something about the place I was, me choosing the small chance of a better life over 'safety' in that stupid-

"Mel, you're coming home with me. I know roughly the way back. We're not leaving right now, I'm way too tired, but tomorrow, we're out of here."

I wasn't expecting this so quickly. I'd hoped he'd wait until at least tomorrow to mention that so I'd have the chance to get a clear view of all my arguments. All the arguments that hopefully would convince him to not make me go back.

Now, I have to improvise.

"Dad, I..." It's my turn to take a deep breath. My eyes shoot away from my dad for a moment to see where Jay is, and he's at the very edge of the cave, his back toward us. I bet he felt like he was intruding.

How am I gonna do this?

A lie, I decide. A lie will work out better than the truth. If I tell him the truth, there's no way in hell I'm ever getting out of here.

"I'm not going home without getting Jay the tea."

My dads eyes now spit pure anger. "How many times must I tell you?!" His voice is raised higher than I've ever heard it before.