It's Complicated

Overworked

I was tired. Tired of everything. I was tired of the over worked hours that I was on for Wu. I was tired of my Friends trying to distract me. I was mainly tired of Morro and Nadakhan.

It all started when I came back with Lloyd. They were waiting for me by my locker. I put on a fake smile for Lloyd. I was going to fight my own battles. My friends didn't need to get hurt because of my problems. That wasn't fair to them. 

Lloyd seemed to see through it.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem distracted." Lloyd said as he tried to turn around to see what I was looking at.

I quickly blocked his view. He frowned at my sudden movement, and then raised an eyebrow.

"It really is nothing, but I need to get to my locker, Lloyd. As you can tell, I am having a long week and a really rough time. I will be fine, Lloyd. I will see you at lunch." I said as I smiled at him again.

He fell for it that time. He returned the smile, and then turned around so that he could find his locker over the swarm of students. 

I sighed, and slowly turned back towards my own locker. Morro and Nadakhan's eyes caught mine, and their smiles turned malicious. I was shaking, and it was becoming hard to breathe. I slowly made my way over.

"What's up guys?" I asked as I looked towards the two that seemed to have grown 3 feet taller.

"What did I warn you about?" Nadakhan snapped as he circled me.

"Say about what?" I asked, realizing at this point that everyone had went to class.

"He said to stay away from Nya, and what did you do? You didn't just leave her alone, but you also became her boyfriend! Now, you have to pay." Morro said as he pounded his fists together.

I still felt the pain from when they had 'taught me my lesson'. That was a few hours ago, and now it was time for lunch. I wasn't that hungry, and my eye was swelling with pain. I knew that I was already going to get practically yelled at by my friends, and I didn't want to die completely by just skipping.

I quietly went and grabbed my backpack out of my locker, and my feet shuffled towards the Cafeteria. No one seemed to notice that I was 10 minutes late. Everyone was engulfed to their own conversations.

I walked to my table and sat down. I made sure my head was down, and I was aware that the entire table went silent due to my arrival. I made sure that no one saw the bruise that I was 90% sure was all around my eye.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Lloyd asked as he put his comic book aside.

"Around." I mumbled as I continued to look at the table.

"Then where the hell have you been around to? I heard from Zane and Nya that you didn't attend classes." Kai butt in as I heard his arms placed on top of one another.

I stayed silent and looked at the table.

"Look at us Jay." Zane said as he looked at me puzzled. 

I faced myself so that they only saw the one side of my face.

"Look at us with your entire face." Nya said, annoyed with my  antics.

I sighed as I finally faced them. They all gasped in shock when the saw my eye. They went silent for a while.

"What happened?" Kai gasped, mortified.

"I got involved with some people." I said. 

I knew instantly that Kai knew what I meant. His face was replaced with a grim line.

"I don't understand. It wasn't like this before, unless..." Lloyd started to say before he stopped and looked at me with wide eyes.

"I didn't want you to worry about it. I am already basically invading your life, I didn't need to pile on more of my problems." I said as I looked to my hands.

I was barely aware of Nya rubbing her hand up and down my back and laying her head on my shoulder in support. 

"Are you okay?'' Nya asked me as she and I walked to her house with Kai and Lloyd behind us.

"I'm just tired. You know, with all of this that is going on." I said as I kissed her head.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked as she grabbed onto my hand.

"I didn't want to worry you. I wanted to face my own battles on my own. I didn't want you to think something was more wrong with me than it already seems." I whispered the last part quietly.

"Hey. Look at me." Nya said as she stopped and pulled me to the side of the sidewalk.

"There is nothing wrong with you. You are smart and kind and caring. What happened with your Mom and Dad wasn't your fault. You are not a freak. If you are a freak, then so am I." Nya said as she looked at me with a stern look.

"But.." I started.

"If you are weird, then so am I. You might have a little bit of darkness, but I do to. We all have that little bit of weirdness or darkness. I want you to learn to love yourself the way that I love you." Nya said as she gave me a sad smile.

"It is easier to love other people before loving yourself darling, but I will try this interesting and almost impossible task." I said with a smile as I quickly kissed her lips and ran past Kai and Lloyd.

"HEY!!!" Nya yelled as she laughed, and then ran after me.

We ran all the way to her house, and when I stopped to catch my breath, Nya knocked me over into the ground. She lowered her head down, and our lips were once again interlocked with each other.