I did it! I made Lloyd an adult! Praise the FSM because it will never happen again! Also, trigger warning! Panic attack! WOO! LETS GO!
Lloyd's P.o.v.
I stare at the wall, willing the tears to not fall. I know I need to cry, to get my emotions out, but I can't leave. Not now. A stress headache is slowly building up. I tilt my head back, closing my eyes, hoping to just look tired. It works, I think. No one says anything. Sensei keeps explaining his lesson to us. I hear Zane shift his weight slightly closer to me and start to rub my back. His hand trails circles up and down my back, giving me something to focus on. Something other than my rising panic. Sensei is talking about a battle, and it's messing with my head. I can't get my father's image out of my head when I had to fight him. I shiver. Zane hesitates for a second before continuing. I need to go. Now. I can feel a panic attack coming on.
"Lloyd, give one reason why you should start a fight in this pose?" I hear Sensei ask. I jerk my eyes open and look at him. He's pointing to a picture with a starting stance on it.
"Because it allows you to dodge faster?" I say, sounding a little hysteric. He nods.
"Very good." He continues the lesson.
I close my eyes again. I wait in silence for Sensei to finish. Zane's hand doesn't stray from its path. He's taller than me, and still right next to me, so I lean against him slightly. He doesn't say anything, just wraps his arm around me, tucking his hand under my arm. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying desperately to banish the image. It's getting worse. I'm seconds away from crying.
"Okay, ninja," Sensei starts. I open my eyes and look at him again. "The lesson is over. Get some rest, some of you look like you could use it." He looks at me as he says the last part. We all nod and start walking away. Zane turns to me.
"Are you okay? You look... tired." He says.
"Yeah," I lie. "I'm okay. Just tired." I need to get out of here. I can feel the heat rising to my face. I'm sure Zane noticed, but he doesn't say anything. I fake a yawn to disguise the redness on my face.
"Okay. Go get some sleep. I'll wake you for lunch." I nod, walking off to my room. I dip my head, hurrying a little. My vision is blurry from the tears that haven't fallen. My hair falls around my face like a curtain, blocking out the world. I pass Cole and feel one tear slip down my face. Great. Soon I'll start sobbing.
"Hey, Lloyd," Kai says, nodding at me.
"Hey," I mumble, quickening my pace,
He continues to the other room to talk with the others. I continue down the hall, holding in as many tears as I can. I half slam the door, locking it. I hear the others talking quietly. I climb into my bed, wrapping a blanket around me. My tears fall at a surprisingly quick rate. I don't make a sound, instead, my body shakes violently. I hear a knock on the door, but I ignore it. My panic is almost winning.
"Not now, not now," I mutter to myself.
"Lloyd? Can I come in?" Nya calls.
"N-Not right now. I'm... busy." I tell her, my voice shakey.
"Mhm, I coming in." She says, before opening the door.
"I locked it though?" I say, hiding my face. She shuts the door and walks over to me.
"I learned how to pick locks. I was doing that as I spoke." I nod, turning my whole body away. The bed shifts as she sits down next to me.
"Well, you saw me, you can go now." I try telling her, but my voice cracks.
"Lloyd. I'm not leaving until you're happy again." She says. "Besides, I know you. You only do this when you're upset." She gestures to my shaking body, still wrapped in a blanket. I lean away. She sighs.
"I'm fine, Nya. Trust me." I feel her arms wrap around my middle. She leans against me.
"Fine. But I'm tired." I sigh. She slowly rocks me back and forth, lulling me to sleep.
"Shh," She whispers. "Sleep. You'll be okay." She hums a song quietly. I slowly calm down and she lays me down. I fall asleep to her pushing hair out of my face.
Zane's P.o.v.
I walk into the living room and sit down, waiting for the oven to preheat. The others are sitting around talking. I hear Lloyd's door slam. The others stop talking in shocked silence. They looked at me.
"He's tired. He almost fell asleep during Sensei's lesson. He was half asleep leaning against me." I tell them. They nod.
"He seemed upset when I passed him," Kai says.
"His face did seem red, and I thought he was holding back tears," Cole adds.
"Someone should go check on him," I say, half rising from my chair.
"I got it!" Nya says, bouncing past. I watch her go.
The others resume their conversation. I watch in silence. Kai walks over to me and takes a seat.
"You seemed cold." He explained.
"Well, I am the ice ninja." He laughs with a sweet melodic sound.
"Fine, I'll admit it, I was cold."
"But, you are the fire ninja. You are always hot, are you not?" I ask. He smirks.
"Did you just call me hot?" He asks with a teasing smirk. I blush fast.
"Umm," He slides as close to me as he can comfortably get. He leans his head on my shoulder.
"That's fine. I think you are hot, despite being the ice ninja." He giggles at my flush, getting comfortable. I wrap an arm around him, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. He smirks, closing his eyes.
Nya's P.o.v.
I slowly leave Lloyd's room, shutting the door quietly. I walk into the living room to find the others still there. Kai moved and sat next to Zane. He must have finally worked up the courage to flirt with Zane. I notice a faint blush on Zane's face. I sit opposite Zane.
"How is he?" He asks.
"Better. He was crying, so I helped him fall asleep." He nods as I talk.
"Alright," He says. I smile at Kai's sleeping form. "I'll check on him in a bit." The oven beeps. He shifts, trying to get up. I push him back down.
"Stay. I'll take care of it. Besides, Kai is comfy." He glances at Kai, who had a confused look on his face. He relaxes when Zane stops moving. I head into the kitchen to cook for Zane.
Lloyd's P.o.v.
I wake up with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. It's fuzzy, almost, and I realize I'm anxious. I don't know why. I get up and drape the blanket around my shoulders and walk to the couch. I can still hear the others talking. I stumble into the room. The others glance at me but say nothing. Cole pats the spot next to him. I walk over and curl up against him. His arm wraps around me. I relax and fall back asleep.
Cole's P.o.v.
I can't tell how Lloyd's feeling. He keeps shifting around. At one point he nearly fell off the couch before I could catch him. He whimpers and curls in on himself. Lloyd whimpers again. The others look at him.
"Lloyd?" I ask. He whimpers again, and the lights flicker. We glance at each other. Lloyd yells out and the lights go out for a few seconds. He whimpers over and over.
"Lloyd, wake up. Come on, Lloyd!" I shake him lightly. He gasps and opens his eyes. He curls into the fetal position. He whimpers.
"No, no, no." He whimpers. I place my hand on his shoulder. He jerks out of my grip and falls onto the floor, where he brings his feet to his chest again. The lights go out, plunging us into darkness. Nya appears in the doorframe.
"Is he okay?" She asks, moving to Jay's side.
"He's having a panic attack, that's all," Zane says, kneeling next to him. "If we can calm him down, we should be fine."
"How? He won't let us touch him!" Jay asks.
"We need to figure out what triggered it. Start by pulling the blanket off of him." Zane states calmly. I pull the blanket off. Sensei Wu walks in.
"Ninja, why is the power out?" He asks before seeing Lloyd. "Never mind, I see."
He quickly crosses the room and kneels next to Lloyd. Sensei pulls him next to him.
"We can't calm him down." Zane says. Sensei ignores him, instead leaning down and whispering in Lloyd's ear. Nothing. I get down and take Sensei's place. Lloyd finally starts to respond and calm down, and his whimpering subsides. Finally, the lights flicker back on. Sensei hugs him.
"You're okay Lloyd. It's over." Sensei says soothingly.
Lloyd cries into his shirt, tears soaking it through. Sensei rubs his back. He motions for me to move a little closer. I slide down next to them, wondering what he needs. I'm not expecting it when Sensei puts Lloyd on my lap. Lloyd just goes from crying on Sensei to crying on my shoulder. I rub his back. The others watch silently. Sensei stands and starts talking to Zane. Lloyd's crying morphs into hiccups. Jay comes out of nowhere with a glass of water. Lloyd accepts it and sips at it. I grab the blanket and cover us, hiding the spot where my sweatshirt was soaked. The others nod at something Sensei says and leave. I feel him squeeze my shoulder.
"Thanks,"
"What for? I didn't do anything." I say, watching as Lloyd fell asleep.
"No, you did something. You helped Lloyd regain control and calmed him down. He wouldn't respond because some part of him was scared. Scared about what, I don't know. But he wasn't scared of you. He trusts you." Sensei says. I blush and look down at Lloyd's sleeping form. I brush his hair out of his face. He snuggles closer.
"Where did the others go?"
"To give you guys some space. Here, sit on the couch. It'll be more comfortable than the floor." Sensei says. I stand, holding Lloyd bridal style.
"Wow, he's light!" I remark. Sensei nods.
"Very. I've carried him to bed a few times after the Grundle, and he was very light." He says as I sit down and put Lloyd back on me. Sensei squeezes my shoulder. I watch him leave, stroking Lloyd's hair to keep him asleep. He relaxes. Maybe I'll take a nap too.
YEAH! I did it! I did it! Take that all you people whom I strongly dislike! I think the next one will be a quick RGB sibling Drabble I wrote instead of getting some much needed sleep. Hope the next 24 hours of your life is plentiful in good things and time!