Ninjago - Heart of Stone

Chapter Thirteen: The Hunt

Jay grinned, patting Cole on the shoulder. "Don't feel bad," he said, "you could do a lot worse than Lexi." He smirked, glancing over at Nya. "A lot worse."

Nya swatted him on the arm, rolling her eyes. "Look, Cole, if we've noticed, then Lexi probably noticed, too. And if she hasn't said anything, then she probably likes you back!"

There was a hint of something more in her tone, but Cole was too preoccupied to try and read into it. "But-- what about Lloyd? And Misako? Do you think they know? Do you think they care? What about-- what about Wu? What if he--"

"Whoa, dude, chill," Jay said quickly, "you're just being paranoid. It's totally normal to have a crush on someone."

"Especially if that someone is Lexi," Nya added. Jay and Cole both turned to stare at her, and she threw her hands up defensively. "What? I'm just saying-- you can't tell me she isn't pretty!"

"Fair," Jay assented, "but listen-- Cole-- trust me on this one, okay?" He gripped his friend by the shoulders, looking firmly into his eyes. "If you really love her, just tell her. If she likes you back, she'll tell you, and if she doesn't... well, life goes on."

"That's kind of deep," Cole said, smiling faintly. Jay grinned.

"I'm not a complete idiot," he said, "now come on-- I believe it was you who said we needed to keep moving?"

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It had been an hour since Lexi had spoken, and Lloyd was worried.

They'd woken up to Wu hauling them out of bed and ordering them into their ninja gis, saying that they needed to get a head start on finding the clock. After a brief conversation about how to go about this task, Julian had suggested splitting up and covering as much ground as possible. No one had disagreed (perhaps because, due to the early hour, everyone was still too groggy to think clearly) and so they'd divided themselves into small groups and headed off on their respective journeys. Cole, Nya and Jay went West, Kai, Zane, and Julian went East, and the whole Garmadon family had gone North. Misako and Wu had started out at the head of the pack, but they'd eventually slowed down and ended up at the back. Lloyd had tried making conversation with his sister, but she'd obviously been distracted; she answered everything he said with a small nod and maybe a slight humming noise, but that was it. He'd eventually given up and stepped back, allowing her to take the lead. That had been about half an hour ago, and she was still plowing ahead, head held high, refusing to so much as look back.

"Hey... Lex?" She didn't turn around, which was not surprising but still concerning. "Think we should take a break?"

Lexi shook her head, still not looking back. Lloyd sighed, quickening his pace and falling into step beside her. Lexi took no notice of him, but she had to know he was there.

"Come on," he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially, "what is it? Is it because Mum's here?"

Lexi turned to glare at him, and Lloyd was surprised by how much venom was behind it. "Leave me alone," she snarled. Lloyd bristled.

"Listen," he said, his voice still soft, despite the fact that Lexi had made no attempt to lower her own, "I get it if you hold it against her, but you can't just--"

"This isn't about that," Lexi snapped, "I'm just-- I'm tired. I didn't get much sleep last night."

One look at her told Lloyd that was a lie. Her face was full of colour, and her eyes looked bright and alive. Even Lexi seemed to understand that she wasn't fooling him, but she didn't say anything more. Lloyd sighed.

"Lexi," he said again, "just-- just stop for a second, okay? Just-- just stop." He grabbed his sister by the arm, keeping his grip firm even when she tried to pull away. He steered her sideways, bringing her behind the privacy of a tree, looking her firmly in the eyes. "You have to be honest with me, Lex. Tell me-- what's wrong?"