Beach Weather
••• Chit Chat •••
hello reason, are you into treason?
so you mind if i steal your heart?
oh, is it something sacred,
more than you tried to make it,
and you slowly let it rip apart
•••••
Lloyd was sure that he'd never blushed as hard as he did when Y/n kissed his cheek.
When the door shut and the flurry of Lloyd's worry for her thwacked head had calmed, the realisation that she just kissed his cheek truly set in. His heart stumbled and he lifted his fingers to the spot above his freckles in shock.
The feeling of it still lingered, burning through his nerves and setting his soul alight. His unnatural hearing picked up her racing heart just beyond the door from where she'd leant against it. She cursed herself, which made an overwhelmed chuckle get lodged in his throat, and listened as she stormed deeper into the house.
Lloyd turned from the door and, head spinning with delirious delight, wandered down the steps of the porch. A tabby cat darted across the street, paws padding on the concrete.
He'd never been kissed by a girl before (sure, it was only on the cheek, but it he still considered it a kiss). At least, not by anyone that wasn't his friends' mothers, his own mother, or Nya. And none of them counted.
Lloyd didn't think he'd ever felt as much as he was feeling before, either. It was a tidal wave of emotions, an entire torrent of them. For the first time in a long time, he didn't feel the pressing weight of the Garmadon lineage on his shoulders. He felt... light. Airy. He was happy.
Was this what normal people got to experience?
He paused when a car turned into the driveway, illuminating him briefly in light. Lloyd startled - he didn't notice it coming. Usually his heightened senses were so switched on all the time that it was impossible to ignore, but his head was so wrapped up in thoughts of Y/n that, for once, the world was quiet.
Lloyd stiffened. Y/n might've not known him, but that didn't mean her mother was the same. He would've disappeared into the shadows if he weren't already spotted.
He heard the woman's hum of confusion before the clanging of the keys turning, the dying gutter of the engine switching off. The delightful feelings subdued into something mellow. If she knew who he really was, what kind of history his family held, then he could kiss Y/n's own cheek - kiss it goodbye.
The woman stepped out. She was definitely Y/n's mother, he could see the similarities as easy as knowing when the sky was blue, and she paused behind her open door. She stared at him for a brief moment, and he raised his hand in awkward greeting.
The woman's narrowed eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, my god. Lloyd. Lloyd Garmadon. I should've seen this coming a mile away."
She shut the door behind her with a frustrated grunt. Lloyd didn't know whether to disappear yet or not, but his heart had already sunk. She definitely knew who he was.
Y/n's mother looked at him as she walked up the drive, lugging a heavy bag. "Oh, wipe that sad look off your face, kid. Hold this."
Lloyd, now confused even more, held his hands out obediently for Y/n's mother to drop her bag into. He barely felt the weight. She fished through the bag's contents and pulled out a house key.
"I had a weird dream a few months back, you know," the woman said, and Lloyd really wanted to know what the hell was going on, because he was very much confused. Her eyes shot to him, only a few inches shorter. He was still terrified of her. "From your grandfather."
Lloyd's eyes widened as she took the bag again with a grunt and made her way towards the door. He stared, still with shock, before quickly following.
"What?" he said. "My grandfather?"
"Yep," she muttered, sticking the key into the lock of the front door. She looked back to Lloyd. "She doesn't know why we moved back. You can't tell her, though. Not yet. I shouldn't even be talking to you about this."
Lloyd shook his head in steep bewilderment. "About what? What did my grandfather say?"
"I can't say," she said. "Some kind of fate thing. It's already been fucked up before, though, and I'm not about to be the reason it gets fucked up again."
Lloyd's brow was knitted with deep confusion. "How much about me do you know?"
"I know enough." Y/n's mother sighed. "Look, I get everything to do with... you is inevitable, but... just take care of my baby girl, alright?" She shifted her weight with discomfort. "I kept her safe and sane this long, god only knows how I did it."
Lloyd was well and truly lost. "I don't understand."
"Trust me, kiddo," she said with a sympathetic frown. "If I could tell you more, I would. But we both know better than to mess with the First Spinjitzu Master's plans."
Lloyd looked to the wall, where he could hear Y/n moving about the house. A million new questions flooded through his head. Maybe this had something to do with that tugging sensation he always got around her, and how his sense of logic always went fuzzy.
Y/n's mother turned back to the door and unlocked it. "Go home, Lloyd."
"Wait." Lloyd needed to know. "Am... am I still allowed to..?" He didn't know what to say. Date? See? Be friends with?
Y/n's mother turned around to him. "Are you a dickhead?"
Lloyd blinked. "No. I- I don't think so, at least."
"Are you going to break her heart?"
That was easier to answer. "No."
"Good enough for me," Y/n's mother said.
Lloyd watched her disappear into the house. He heard her greet her daughter and Y/n's call in reply and, for the second time that evening, he was left staring at the door in shock. Things, as it always did with him, just got a lot more complicated.
Lloyd looked up to the sky. "You really couldn't let me have one thing without meddling in it."
The sky, of course, did not reply.
Head heavy with thoughts, Lloyd began his way down the street, on the hunt for a secluded spot that his dragon could take off from. He stared at the sidewalk as he wandered, forehead pinched.
At least one worry could be eradicated; Y/n's mother truly did not care that his father used to be Lord Garmadon, and, well, that was a massive win in his books. Unfortunately, the pay off was about a million tonnes worth of headaches.
He never did want to get Y/n tangled up in the going-ons of his life as an Elemental Master, but... it seemed like it was never up to him to begin with. No wonder why he kept bumping into her as the Green Ninja. Fate was just dragging them both along like ducks on string.
Lloyd thought back to the kiss on his cheek and Y/n's bright eyes after she pulled away. He felt a warm tingle in his chest. He wasn't opposed to this side of Fate's plans, that's for sure.
"Molly! Molly, look." Lloyd's hearing picked up the excited whisper of one of the two ladies that sat on the porch beside Y/n's house. "That must be Y/n's boyfriend."
"Don't be silly, Mei," Molly whispered back. "Where are your glasses? That's Lloyd Garmadon. Y/n wouldn't get tangled up with the likes of him."
Lloyd tucked his hands into his pockets and lowered his head. Sometimes he really wished he had normal hearing. Sometimes he really wished he were normal, full stop. It'd be easier to be around Y/n if he were normal.
He found a darkened alleyway near the industrial sector and summoned his dragon. The green beast turned its head towards Lloyd and churred, rumbling a growl deep within its throat.
"What are you looking at?"
It huffed in response. Lloyd clambered into the saddle and, while wondering whether Y/n would scream or not if she saw his dragon, took off for home.
He closed his eyes while the cold wind bit him. God - even with the new revelation that Y/n's mother had dropped onto his lap, he still couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. What was he supposed to do, now?
Lloyd was used to knowing what to do. He was the team leader, he had to. But this entire situation made him feel so confused. Who was Y/n? What was her mother talking about? Why did his grandfather talk to her, and what does that have to do with Y/n?
Lloyd clenched his eyes at the questions. He could understand Y/n a little better, now. Not having answers was torturous.
And then his eyes shot open. Was this a date? A kiss on the cheek certainly felt like the end to a date. Does he ask Y/n if it was a date, or does he just carry on? Did she think it was a date?
Lloyd fell back onto his dragon and raised his hands to cover his face. He groaned loudly and in anguish, lost only by the rushing wind and the flapping of dragon wings.
He needed to talk to someone about this. He needed to talk to the smartest person he knew.
🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃
"What do you want?" Nya groaned as she opened her door to Lloyd's rapid knocking. "It's Saturday, dude. It's my self-care night."
"Self-care can wait," Lloyd said hurriedly as he pushed himself into her room. Nya stepped back with her arms raised and a scoff.
"Yeah, sure, you can come in," she said sarcastically. Lloyd turned around and the look on his face made her stop. "What the hell happened?"
"I need your help."
"I gathered that," Nya said. She moved to her bed and closed the lid of her laptop, cutting off the middle of her movie. Lloyd followed, perching on the edge with his knee bouncing.
"You know I was out with Y/n today, right?" he asked.
"I didn't, but I do now." Nya looked this nervous boy up and down, brow tight, lip bitten, eyes wide. Her face pinched as she assumed the worst. "Who do I have to kill?"
Lloyd's eyes jumped to her, mouth agape. "What? No! No-one! It's-" he paused to bring in a steadying breath. "I think it went good. I think it went really good."
Nya brightened. She pulled his hands into hers with an excited squeal and leant forward, wearing the biggest smile he'd ever seen.
"Tell me everything," she said.
And that was how he, ten minutes later, was sat gushing about every single moment of his day with a face mask on. Nya was engrossed in each word Lloyd spoke.
When his gushing went beyond just that day, Nya held up her hand. Lloyd silenced.
"Wait - you've been talking to her as Lloyd and as the Green Ninja?" Nya asked. At his sheepish nod, she smacked his knee. "Are you an idiot?!"
"I- it's not my fault!" Lloyd squeaked in defence. He tried to find a way to best explain the whole tugging situation, but the words failed him. He sighed. "It's a weird, inescapable fate thing, I think." And then he told her about his weird encounter with Y/n's mother.
Nya pursed her lips. "That is a weird fate thing." They did, after all, have great experience with weird fate things.
"What do I do?" Lloyd groaned, folding over sideways onto her bed. "It's so confusing."
"The fate thing?" Nya asked. "Or the girl thing?"
Lloyd blinked up at her pitifully. "Both."
"Well, I can help with at least one of them," Nya offered. "You said she kissed your cheek, right? That obviously means she's interested in you."
Lloyd pinged back up. "Really?" That thought had never even crossed his mind, and it left him reeling. Y/n was interested in him? She genuinely, actually liked him? His mind was perpetually blown to bits.
Nya stared at his dumbfounded face. "Oh, honey."
"Don't 'oh, honey' me!" Lloyd shrilled. "Help me!"
"I am!" Nya snapped. "Have you texted her yet?"
Lloyd stared at her with wide eyes. "Isn't it too soon? Shouldn't I... act cool?"
"No!" Nya burst. "Stop getting dating advice from my brother, for- ugh! Girls like one thing, Lloyd, okay?" He leant forward eagerly. "They like genuineness."
"Genuineness?" Lloyd blinked.
"Yes," Nya said. "Girls aren't toys. They don't like to be played around with."
"Obviously." That much Lloyd knew.
"Texting her right now is the best way for her to know you're not playing," Nya said, and his mouth dropped open. She always made so much sense.
Lloyd immediately pulled out his phone. He looked up at her with panicked eyes. "What do I say?"
Nya sighed with a smile. She patted the spot next to her and Lloyd all but stumbled over the duvet to get there, thumbs poised for texting.
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"Why are you staring at your dinner like that?"
My eyes jumped up to Mum. "What?"
My mother stared me down. "You're looking at your food like it personally insulted our entire bloodline and you're too shocked to make a comeback because food just spoke." She placed her fork down. "Did something happen today?"
I watched her with wide eyes. "Yeah."
Her expression tightened just a tad. "A bad thing or a good thing?"
"I kissed his cheek."
The tightness immediately vanished. "Oh! A good thing, then?"
I nodded, expression still shellshocked. "I think so." I winced as a throb went through my head. "I also smacked myself in front of him."
Mum sighed. "I'm not surprised."
I slumped dejectedly. "Yeah... I just hope he thinks being fatally clumsy is cute."
"Who knows, some people are into it." Mum returned to her dinner. "I caught him on my way inside. He's just like you."
I looked up. "What do you mean?"
"Awkward," she snickered. She reached over the table to pinch my cheek. "Adorable."
I swatted her hand away with a scrunch of my nose. "I- I guess."
A buzz of my phone made me jolt. Mum stared at me with wide eyes before lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Is that him?"
"I don't know," I whispered back.
"Do you want to check?" she asked, still whispering.
"I'm scared."
"I believe in you."
"I don't." And then I pulled out my phone, anyway. His contact came up on my notification tabs and a grin curled over my mother's face. My expression must've told her enough.
"Go on." She dismissed me. "I can clean up."
I nodded listlessly, slowly rising to my feet. I quickly pressed the phone to my chest.
"What if he says that he hates me?" I said in horror.
"Oh, Y/n."
"No, no, you're right." I nodded, relaxing. And then I tensed up again and shot her a terrified look. "But what if he does?"
Mum sent me a pointed look.
"Alright, okay." I took a deep breath. "I'm going."
"Wait." Mum's voice halted me at the dining room door. I turned back to her, already frazzled. She pointed at my torso. "Isn't that Lloyd's hoodie?"
I looked down and stilled in panic. I glanced back up at her.
"Um. Yes. It is." I stiffly began backing out of the dining room. "Goodnight." I spun on my heel and fled.
I landed on my bed in a mess of sheets and limbs, staring at the locked screen of my phone with my breath caught. I wanted to see what he said, but I was also incredibly pissed-scared.
But my curiosity, as always, won out. With a grimace, I unlocked my phone.
Lloyd🛹:
hey, i had a really good time today. we should do it again soon :)
Sent 8.48pm
A sigh of relief dropped from my lips. He didn't hate me. Of course, he didn't hate me.
The second part of his text took a touch longer to hit. My phone slipped from my fingers in shock and hit my chest, and I stared at the ceiling with my mouth open.
He wanted to see me again.
I didn't know how the hell I did it, but something in the universe must've aligned. He wanted to see me again.
Pushed now by the massive injection of serotonin his simple message gave me, I fumbled for my phone and texted a quick reply.
Me:
me too! thats a great idea!!
Delivered
Me:
also i forgot to give back ur hoody im so sorry 😣😣😣
Delivered
Lloyd🛹:
nah, don't worry about it. i have heaps
Sent 9.51pm
Lloyd🛹:
you can keep it
Sent 9.52pm
Lloyd🛹:
it looks good on you ;)
Sent 9.52pm
I stared dumbly at the screen. A nervous, flustered feeling sent butterflies creating a tornado within my stomach, and I had to bury my head in my pillow just for a chance to regain my senses.
He did not just say that.
I peeked at the message again.
He really just said that.
Even after I made myself look like a fool all day, he still wanted to see me again. He still sent a flirty text (because that was a flirty text, right? The wink meant that it was flirty, right?).
I had to reply. The last thing I wanted him thinking was that he went too far and turned me off - because my feet kicking the bed and the heat in my face was only a testament to how much I enjoyed it.
Me:
HAHA THANKS ❤️
Delivered
I didn't even stop to overthink, for once. I didn't stop to think if the heart was too much, or the capitals made me sound too eager. I sent what I sent and I pulled up Naomi's contact for an emergency info dump. She picked up on the second ring.
"Y/n?" Her confusion was valid. I never called.
"Naomi," I breathed. "You will not guess what just happened."
Meanwhile:
"LLOYD, YOU HUGE FLIRT!" Nya laughed hysterically, and smacked the boy on the back hard enough for him to see black.
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Monday was another day spent taking a trip to the library. I was pretty sure the staff knew my face by heart.
I perused the shelves, looking for a new literary feast that would last the next handful of days. I'd all but given up looking for the Garmadon records in the history tomes, and now delegated my time to the next most interesting thing;
I picked up a book on really cool rocks.
I sighed as I stared glumly at the cover. Aside from Lloyd, my summer was... really not turning out the way I'd hoped it would. How long had it been since I arrived? A week, almost two? And I'd seen my friends once? Granted, Naomi had actual excuses - her family kept her busy. The others, though...
I put a book on the fundamental knowledge of ancient languages on top of my little tower.
"I thought I'd catch you here," a familiar voice behind me said. I turned on my spot and, as though my thoughts had summoned the man himself, found Lloyd.
"Oh." I thought back to the last time I saw him, when I banged my head on the door frame after kissing his cheek, and winced. "Hi. Hey."
"Hey." Lloyd's crooked smile was boyish and charming and made my knees weak. "How's the head?"
"Fine," I said shortly, floored by embarrassment. I turned my chin back to the shelves, if only to hide my shame. "What are you doing here?"
He looked down at the book in his hand and held it aloft. I glanced over. "My mum sent me on a mission."
I raised my brows at the cover of ancient statues and archeological finds. "History buff?" I recalled Lloyd saying that she worked at the museum yesterday.
He rolled his eyes in good nature. "You could say that. She's an archeologist."
"Professional history buff," I said in awe. "That's my dream job."
"Really?" Lloyd tucked the book back under his arm with a leisurely grin. "I'll have to put in a good word."
"It's only fair," I reasoned, playing along. I stepped down the aisle while my searching gaze picked out various titles. "You've already met my mother."
He hesitated beside me. "Oh... yeah. What'd she say?"
"That you were awkward and adorable," I snickered. I pulled out a book on The Old Wars and added it to my pile.
"I am pretty adorable," he sighed, as if the entire thing was a bother. My grin grew. He changed the subject, looking at the tower of literature in my hold. "That's a lot of books. Did school not give you enough work to do or something?"
I sent a dry look over my shoulder. "Believe it or not, I actually enjoy reading."
Lloyd shook his head in mock disbelief. "Crazy that."
A soft laugh escaped from my lips. I could feel his pride grow.
"Were your friends busy today?"
My joy faded. "They're busy everyday," I muttered under my breath.
I didn't think he heard me - he shouldn't have been able to hear me, but he did.
"I'm sorry," he said. I looked back at him in shock. Did he have some kind of super hearing? "The invitation to meet my friends still stands, if you want."
I smiled at him, small. "Thanks."
He smiled back. Maybe it was worth taking him up on his offer - if only to give me something to do other than read all summer. Though I did enjoy reading. However, going stir-crazy from a lack of socialising was also not in my plans.
"Y/n?" A new voice whispered as one of the librarians poked her head around the aisle. She did a double take on seeing Lloyd. "The- the book that you ordered arrived."
"Thank you, Emma," I replied. She nodded and ducked away, but not without giving Lloyd another look that I couldn't quite decipher.
"You're on a first name basis with the librarian?" Lloyd chuckled from behind me. "Cute."
I stumbled over my shoe at his compliment. The books in my grasp (and myself) would have gone sliding across the floor if it weren't for his arm around my waist and his hand against my tower of literature.
My breath caught. His head was close, too close, way too close, and the smell of spring and summer forests invaded my senses. Lloyd's face turned red and he slowly helped me upright. He took the books from me.
"I think I should carry these," he said. He recovered quickly enough to spare me a smirk.
My blush only worsened. "You've got good reflexes," I said breathlessly.
Lloyd shrugged. "I play a lot of sport."
I knew it. I knew there was a reason as to why he was so... fit.
"What kind of sport?"
"Anything I can get my hands on." He sent me a lopsided grin that made my stomach turn prettily. "I can't sit still for long."
"I love sitting still," I said. "It's my favourite hobby."
Lloyd snickered at my joke. "Then I guess it's true when they say opposites attract."
My amusement was swiftly replaced by another round of blushing. I really couldn't stop blushing around him, could I?
"Yeah," I murmured. "I guess."
We eventually found our way to a table where Lloyd could put the books down. He went off to retrieve some comics while I went to pick up the book I'd ordered; one on ghosts (I'd been itching to broach the subject since Lloyd mentioned the forest being haunted).
"Was that Lloyd Garmadon?" Emma asked as soon as I approached the desk. I nodded.
"Yeah!" I smiled while she checked out the book for me. "Do you know him?"
She just gave me a worried look and turned away to scan through the returned pile on her desk. I frowned at her reaction, but picked up the book and retreated to the table where I left my stash. She must've known about him being bullied, too. That was the only reason I could think of for her to pull such a concerned look.
I still couldn't understand why he was being bullied. I took my seat at the table and began on the book of ghosts, but my head was elsewhere. What could bring people to bully him when he was so kind and charming? I was worried by an answer I couldn't even get.
Lloyd returned not long after with a small pile of Starfarer comics. He took a spot beside me and dug in.
A few pages in, his knee started to bounce. He wasn't kidding; he really couldn't sit still. A small feeling of guilt pinched at my insides.
"You don't have to stay," I said. He froze, looking up at me. "It's boring, I know."
"No, it's okay," he said, returning to his comic and turning the page. His knee started to bounce again.
"Lloyd, seriously," I reassured. "It's fine. You can go."
Lloyd looked over his comic with a serious expression. "I want to spend time with you."
My smile faded as a sense of breathlessness attacked me. I dropped my burning cheeks back to the book, but not before I caught his soft grin.
We sat there for nearly another hour but I couldn't focus, too distracted by the boy beside me. Nothing that I was reading stuck. I realised that I was scanning the words without actually digesting them and shut the book with a sigh.
It was no use in kidding myself; my attention was clearly elsewhere, namely on the boy to my right. I could feel Lloyd's gaze on me as I leant back in my seat and stared at the ceiling of the library.
"Was the book that good?" he asked.
I smiled a bit. "My head's just busy."
Lloyd placed his comic on the table and rested his chin on his palm. "Wanna talk about it?"
I turned my head and stared at his open expression. A lock of his blond hair tumbled across his forehead, and the edge of the faint scar peeked out from beneath his fringe. I pinched my hands between my knees to keep myself from doing something stupid, like reaching out and pushing his hair from his face.
"You probably don't want to know what goes on up here," I murmured with a sheepish smile. "There's a lot." A lot that I want to know about you.
Lloyd wasn't phased. "Try me."
I looked away and gnawed on my bottom lip. I didn't really want to think about his reaction when he realised that my newest - and unwilling - hyperfixation was his own family lineage. That took me beyond the line of being a fool. That ran me straight into creep-town.
He ducked in closer, smile goading and encouraging. I slanted sideways more, because his smile was kryptonite.
"It's weird," I warned.
"I'm great with weird," he vowed. "You would not believe the weird stuff I deal with."
I gave him a scrutinising look. Well, now I just had more questions. Maybe I should've started writing them down, just to give my head some room to breathe.
"Fine." I caved and turned on my seat to face him. He sat up, watching me with his full attention. It made my heart stumble a bit at having his undivided interest - I'd never been good in any kind of spotlight, but with Lloyd, I almost found myself craving it from him. "Can you tell me about your family?"
Lloyd paused. He may had been expecting weird, sure, but I didn't think he thought I'd bring this up.
"... what do you want to know?"
"Anything you're comfortable sharing." I sent him a sad look. "I have a curse, Lloyd."
His face dropped. "What?"
I nodded pitifully. "A curse where I need to know everything ever and if I don't, I will die and get really sad."
Lloyd's shocked expression didn't change for a few seconds until something clicked behind his eyes. He relaxed. "Oh. Ha-ha, very funny."
I giggled. "Did you really think I was cursed?"
He shrugged in defence with a stupid-big grin. "Stranger things happen here. How can I help you with your curse, then?"
I smiled and picked at my nails. "I know that Garmadon's an old name, but I can't find anything in the old records."
He faltered again, and really stared at me. He looked as though he wanted to pick my brain, which was fair. I wanted to pick his, too.
"Have you been researching my family?" he asked.
"Curse, Lloyd."
"Right, right," he said, but amusement still shone wickedly in his eyes. "Yeah, I guess you could say we're pretty old. So old that our records don't really exist."
"That's impossible," I said, shocked.
Lloyd was completely unbothered by the topic now, instead of surprised. He leant back in his chair with his arms crossed, and under the lights of the library, I noticed that he had faint scars criss-crossing their way up his skin.
Not because I was ogling, or anything.
(I was totally ogling)
"Welcome to Ninjago City, princess," he said with a tilt of his head. The pet name brought me out of my staring and stumbling head-first into being a blushing mess. He grinned broadly at my reaction before it fell. "Did you not... Google it, or something?"
"Old records like those aren't usually digitised," I said with my head turned down to hide my face. "At least, not outside the library system."
"Oh." It may had been a trick of the ears, but he almost sounded relieved. My eyes narrowed at my legs in suspicion. More questions, always more, never stopping. It was like an avalanche that had no end.
Lloyd's phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to check and his shoulders fell.
"I have to get going," he said, picking himself up from the table with the book his mother sent him to get. I followed with my armful of literature.
"I should get home, too," I said, even though I could've stayed for another few hours. But spending time Lloyd always left me rattled - in the best way, of course. He always seemed to tip my axis off course. I'd be able to realign my thoughts at home.
"I'll see you later, then," Lloyd said. I nodded in response, only to freeze when he leant forward and brushed his lips against my forehead.
I stared at him, gobsmacked. My arms felt weak, and I feared that I'd lose my books to the floor for the second time since Lloyd arrived. I watched owlishly as he stepped back.
"Payback," he said, and winked. My heart was racing so fast that I had the fleeting concern that it would stop altogether.
When Lloyd left and my stomach twisted with him, I did drop the books.
"Shoot," I whispered, and bent to retrieve them with shaky arms.
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For the first time since what felt like forever, my friends were able to meet up. At least three of them were - Naomi, Aaliyah and Claire.
Ever since I spilled about what happened with Lloyd to Naomi, she'd all but begged for us to meet up, and I was more than happy to oblige. She must've spilled to Aaliyah, because suddenly she was keen to catch up, and then Claire wanted to tag along, too.
It was raining on the Tuesday we arranged to meet up, so we decided to hang out at mine. Naomi was the first to arrive, arms laden with treats, which she quickly dumped on the kitchen table before being given a tour of my new home.
"Bookshelf, always a staple," she noted with a grin at my big stash of novels tucked neatly onto their shelves and double-layered. I smiled sheepishly and pulled her to sit on the bed.
"I think I'm in trouble, Nomes," I said nervously. "I think I like him. Really like him."
She gasped in delight. "Yeah?"
I nodded with a flustered blush to my cheeks. "Yeah."
"That's so exciting," she gushed. "Oh, Y/n, you're growing up! I still can't believe you made the first move."
"I know," I sighed, because it really was out of character for me. Lloyd was making me feel and do a bunch of things that was out-of-the-ordinary. I bit my lip. "He kissed me on the forehead yesterday."
Naomi's jaw dropped. "No."
"Yes!" I squeaked, and hid my face with my hands. I felt like a character from one of my mother's favourite chick flicks, all blushy and giddy and kicking my feet.
Naomi laughed at my expression. "God, you two are going to be the new grossest-cutest couple at school next year." She faked a gag.
I giggled, before my eyes widened with realisation. Naomi went to Ninjago High, and so did Lloyd. She'd know a lot more about him than I did. I leant toward her in earnest.
"Do you know why he's being-?"
A knock on the door interrupted my question. Naomi patted my knee and stood, letting me lead the way down to bring Claire and Aaliyah inside.
"Hey!" Aaliyah greeted as soon as the door opened and threw her arms around me. I returned her hug with vigor. She pulled back her head and sent me a coy smile. "Naomi told me that you have a thing going on with a guy?"
Claire perked up from where she was taking off her raincoat. "You've got a boyfriend?"
"Not really." I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment as we moved to the living room. "I wouldn't call it that."
"Oh, shut up!" Naomi jumped in, practically fizzing with joy. "It's totally like that!" She jostled my arm with a beam. "Tell them what you told me!"
I caved to Naomi's whims and gave a quick rundown on what'd been brewing between Lloyd and I. Claire's face grew more displeased, which made me awkwardly trail off.
"You're still hanging around Lloyd Garmadon?" she asked.
"Yes?" I unsurely answered. I grabbed one of the couch pillows and hugged it. "... why?"
Claire stared me dead in the eyes. "Do you know who he is?"
"I think I do but now I'm double-guessing myself," I said with a wobbly smile. The other two's expressions faded.
"Claire," Naomi warned. Aaliyah silently watched on.
"She needs to know," Claire shot back. Her dark eyes returned to me. "Think, Y/n. Garmadon. Doesn't that ring a bell?"
I hugged the pillow tighter. My breaths were getting shorter.
"I- I thought it did," I confessed.
Naomi grabbed my shoulder and sent me a reassuring smile. "It doesn't matter, Y/n, really. People just... talk a lot."
"'It doesn't matter,'" Claire echoed with a scoff, and typed up something on her phone. "Of course it matters. It matters when this is his father."
She pushed her phone into my hands. On the screen was a photo of the four-armed maniacal overlord that had tried to overtake Ninjago years back. The name hit me instantly, and I had no clue how I didn't make the connection sooner.
Lord Garmadon. Garmadon. That was why I knew Lloyd's last name. He was the son of the evil guy who tried to put the entire world under his rule. My body went numb with shock.
It all made sense - why Lloyd was hated, why people reacted the way they did around him, why he looked like he was uncomfortable in his own skin when in public. Half of my millions of questions was suddenly answered, and it all gave me whiplash.
"Claire, seriously," Naomi hissed. She snatched the phone from my grasp it tossed it back to her. "You're making it sound worse than it is."
"It is serious, though, right?" Aaliyah said unsurely. "Lord Garmadon's... bad. Lloyd's got evil in his blood."
I sunk further into the couch, hiding myself in hugging the pillow. I stared at the threads while my mind raced.
"You're being ridiculous," Naomi groaned. "Lloyd isn't who his father used to be. He's always been kind. And his dad turned good years ago."
"Bad people don't just magically turn good," Claire pointed out.
"I still don't think it's a good idea to be seen with Lloyd, anyway," Aaliyah said apologetically. "People who are close with him got ostracised by everyone in the city. Kai Smith used to be super popular, now nobody speaks to him at all."
"Maybe he bewitched you?" Claire said. "That's what people are saying happened to his mother."
My vision began to grow blurry. I wiped away my tears in surprise; I hadn't realised I'd started crying. The sting in my eyes only grew more noticeable.
Claire saw my conflicted expression and sighed.
"Look," she began, leaning forward to get my attention. I meekly caught her gaze. "If you wanna play hooky with Garmaboy, fine, but don't come crying to me when the entire student body turns on you for dating that freak."
My lips parted in shock. Naomi turned her furious glare to her.
"Oh, my god, Claire!" she snapped. "Shut the hell up!"
"Don't talk to me like that," Claire shot back. "I'm just telling Y/n what she needs to know. Ignoring it isn't going to make it go away."
"Y/n, are you okay?" Aaliyah asked. I wiped my tears away with my sleeve.
"I'm actually feeling kinda sick," I confessed. My stomach began rolling with anxious nausea, and Claire and Naomi's argument was only making it worse. I was too wrapped up in the revelation to be polite. "I- I think you guys should go."
Naomi's face fell. "Y/n-"
"Well." Claire patted her knees and stood. "This was fun. See you later."
Aaliyah glanced between Claire's retreating figure and Naomi and I, caught in an uncomfortable position.
"I'm sorry," Aaliyah said quickly before getting to her feet and chasing after Claire.
Naomi watched them leave. The sound of the door closing solidified something in her, and she turned to me with an expression that barely masked her frustration. She struggled to work it into something reassuring.
"Hey," she said softly. "Are you okay?"
I nodded listlessly. "Yeah, just... it's a lot to take in." My teary eyes looked up at her. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I'm sorry. I thought you already knew." She grabbed my hands and gave them a squeeze with a smile. "He really is nice, Y/n. It's not his fault who his father used to be. If you like him, which we both know you do, then go for it."
I managed to give her a half-smile. "Thanks, Nomes."
"Do you want me to go?" she asked. "Take some time? We can meet up tomorrow and talk shit?"
A giggle bubbled from my lips and I sniffled. "Okay. That sounds good."
Naomi smiled again and pulled me into a hug. I returned it gratefully, and it gave a tiny sliver of clarity in the whirlwind my brain had become.
"I'm sorry about Claire," she said as she pulled away. "She can be..."
"Blunt?" I offered.
"I was gonna say a massive fucking cow, actually, but that works, too," Naomi said. I laughed, I had to with her monotonous delivery, and she joined in.
My mirth faded when Naomi left me to think. I curled back up on the couch and stared at the ceiling, cycling through this new information that had bombarded my brain. It made so much sense, but it also made zero sense, and it had me completely thrown.
I turned to my side and hugged the pillow tighter. I understood now, why Emma looked so shocked at the library, or why the blue-haired girl from the cafe had such an awful expression when Lloyd was around. I understood Lloyd's hesitance when I asked for his name.
I closed my eyes. I couldn't picture him like Lord Garmadon. I couldn't even picture Lloyd standing next to him. They were just so different, and Lloyd had always been so kind.
Maybe Claire was right. Maybe he did bewitch me. I definitely didn't act normal around him.
No. No, don't be silly. But what if he did? I didn't have any proof either way.
I held my eyes with my hands. God, even the Green Ninja acted weird when I brought up Lloyd Garmadon, but of course he did - he fought Lloyd's dad, they were practically mortal enemies. No wonder why he went all awkward.
That meant he lied to me. He did know Lloyd Garmadon, it was imposible for him not to. Did he lie because he hated Lloyd, too?
I curled into myself more. A migraine was growing behind my eyes, I could feel it, the painful niggle behind the bridge of my nose. It was so much information so fast that I couldn't keep up, and now I was suffering.
I pulled myself up with a sniff and stared out the window. It was still raining, just slightly spitting. Something within, something I wasn't entirely in control of, made me stand and retrieve my coat.
Maybe a walk would help me shuffle through this mess.
🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃
Naomi managed to catch up to Claire and Aaliyah. She pulled her jacket's hood further over her head and stormed up.
"Hey!" Naomi called. The two girls stopped and, upon seeing her, Claire rolled her eyes. "What was that?"
Claire shook her head. "I don't know why you're making such a big deal of this."
"Y/n was crushed!" Naomi exclaimed. "You couldn't have found a nicer way to break the news?"
Aaliyah nervously hovered between them, lips drawn between her teeth.
"My god, Naomi," Claire said with a sigh. "Just because you used to have a crush on Garmaboy doesn't make him different than what he is."
Naomi reeled back. That felt like a slap to the face.
"Claire..." Aaliyah murmured. Claire bristled.
"What? It's the truth," Claire defended. "You can't sugarcoat everything."
"Sometimes you should," Naomi muttered. "You don't even know Lloyd. Why do you care so much?"
"I don't care," Claire said as she crossed her arms. "That's why I told Y/n. Because I don't care."
"You don't care about Lloyd or you don't care about Y/n?" Naomi shot back.
"Can we please stop fighting?" Aaliyah whimpered from between them.
"I'm just looking out for Y/n," Claire said, ignoring Aaliyah's timid request. "She's ruining her street cred just by hanging around him."
"She's happy," Naomi reasoned.
"She won't be for long," Claire said. "She's going to ruin her life for some stupid boy."
"Guys, please," Aaliyah begged.
Naomi couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew that Claire never really liked Y/n for no rhyme nor reason, but this went far beyond her usual cool disinterest. This went personal. She became downright nasty.
Naomi shook her head and begun to back down the sidewalk. "You're awful. Sorry, Aaliyah."
Claire's face twisted with rage. "Fine, do what you want. Let's go, Aaliyah. Nathan's waiting for us."
Aaliyah let a look of torn despondency settle on her face before following Claire. Naomi, stung by Aaliyah's disloyalty, turned on her foot with a grit of her teeth.
The remark about her old crush on Lloyd still stung. It was years ago, and the feelings had long since faded, but the principal of Claire using that against her was still a low blow. Naomi blinked away her own frustrated tears. How did the day get so fucked up?
"He's not the one I like now, anyway," Naomi muttered under her breath, kicking a rock as she made her way home.