***(Lloyd's POV)***
I tense. There's no way we're not going to crash.
Keeping a hand on Rumi's, I jump off the bike. I do my best to pull her to me so I can break her fall, but we hit the ground so fast.
The collision jerks my head back, and I see stars. Something sharp stabs into my back. As Rumi and I roll along the ground, I hear my precious motorcycle wham into a tree.
Everything spins. Everything hurts.
In the back of my mind, I hear the other biker race past us.
"Lloyd?" Harumi asks. "Lloyd!"
I groan.
"Lloyd, are you okay?" Her hands grab onto the front of my t-shirt.
"Oww," I grunt. "Please...move."
"Oh, my. You're not dead." She releases a huge breath. "You're not dead." Her whole body sags against me.
"Oww...Rumi...move!"
She flops to the side, and I manage to catch a breath. The fog in my head clears.
It just means more pain.
I hear a strangled noise next to me, and I realize it's Harumi. She has her hands over her eyes, and she's shaking.
"Don't cry, Rumi," I wince. I try to sit up.
She uncovers her face, and I see that she's...
Laughing.
I fall back to the ground. "This isn't...funny."
She can't speak for laughter.
I stagger to my feet, holding onto a nearby tree for support. "We need to get...out of...here. The other...bikers will be...passing through soon."
She makes her way to her feet, but doubles over in giggles.
Well, I'm glad one of us isn't injured.
I retrieve my phone from my pocket and hit Kai's number. I won't be able to live this down with him, but he's the closest person in proximity. Plus, he already knows I came to this party, so I don't have to make up any excuses.
I try calling his number, but it doesn't patch through.
Huh. That's –
Oh. I don't have any service here.
I wave my phone in the air, attempting to get a signal, but it's no good.
My eyes travel to my motorcycle. I slowed the speed by a lot when I got into Hiroshi's labyrinth, so it's not in terrible shape. However, the headlight is busted out, and the front is mangled. I'm not going to try driving it out of here.
"I think we're going to have to...walk for a while," I inform Rumi through gritted teeth.
She finally gets a breath through fits of hysteria. "That was awesome!"
I hold out my arms in a gesture, then feel pain shoot up my elbow.
Great.
"That wasn't...awesome, Rumi," I yell. "We could've gotten...killed!"
Every time I talk, my labored breathing makes it impossible. I need to calm down.
"But we didn't," she smiles. "I mean, we're certainly not going to win the race, but we have the best story to tell!"
I hold my side. "I, for one, am not feeling...too great. Are you...injured at all?"
She assesses me, her eyes gaining a slightly serious depth. "No, I'm fine. Where are you hurt?"
"Everywhere," I growl. I limp in the direction the other biker drove.
She starts laughing all over again, and I briefly wonder if she's gone crazy.
I never should've come to this stupid party. I never should've agreed to a motorcycle race. I never should've –
I trip over a rock and topple forward. My phone launches out of my pocket, and I take a deep breath before picking it up.
Amazingly enough, it has two bars of service.
Keeping it in the same position, I hit Kai's contact again. This time, the phone rings.
Kai picks up on the fifth bell. "What now, Lloyd?"
"Kai! Thank goodness you...picked up. I need you to come...get Rumi and me ."
"From the party?" his garbled voice asks.
Oh, great. The connection's breaking up.
"No, from Hiroshi's...Labyrinth."
"From where? I can't hear you."
I steady my voice as much as possible. "We're in Hiroshi's Labyrinth. Rumi and I hit a tree."
Kai curses. "Are you okay?"
"That's to be determined, for me. For Harumi..." I shoot her a look. "I'd say she's just...fine. A little hysterical and...a little drunk."
"Okay. I'll try to ping your location."
"Yeah, that's not going to work. Service is...horrible out here." I think, once again slowing my breaths. "But Rumi and I can head to the nearest road, and you should be able to...track us there."
"Fine. And Lloyd?"
"What?"
"You're going to have a lot of explaining to do with the team."
I sigh, running a hand through my locks. "Can you think of...any good lies?"
"None I'm going to share with you. See you soon."
"Fine. Bye." I shake my head, moaning miserably.
I turn to Harumi. "Let's get out of here, okay?"
She's still laughing her head off, and I snatch her hand.
"Come on, Rumi, we need to get out of here."
"Oh, I need another beer," she giggles.
"I think that's the last thing you need." I drag her back along the path we drove.
"Aww, Lloyd! Like I said, it really takes the edge off. You should try one."
"Well, one of us needs to be alert enough to...get us out of this. Does it not make sense to you that we...almost died?"
"I understand perfectly well."
I take a moment to grab my phone flashlight and shine it in her eyes.
"I think you hit your head," I sigh. "Let's get out of here."
"Oh, Lloyd, I'm fine. Stop worrying!"
"Okay. I guess you have a good reason for acting like a psychopath."
"I'm not psycho!" she insists, chuckling. "I just think it's great that we're alive!"
"Well, can you not laugh so hard about it? We still have to...deal with the aftermath here."
"I can't help it," she wheezes.
I frown. "Rumi, is this just how you react to fear? Like, instead of freaking out, you get hysterical?"
"I'm not afraid, Lloyd."
"I am," I mutter. "Here, Kai's going to...pick us up at the backroad we turned off of. We're almost there."
"Kai's coming to get us? Do you know him well?"
"Yeah. We...uh, hang out a lot, and his sister Nya...is my best friend." I try not to give away that we're on a crime-fighting team together.
"Ah, Nya. She's the one you're secretly in love with, right?"
"Uh...watch the 'in love' part. That's kind of fast." I mean, of course, I love her in a best friend way, but...I'm just not ready for the whole "in love" thing. I'd kind of like to take our romance slow.
I pull a tree branch out of our way, and pain shoots through my arm. I let out a grunt.
"Lloyd, are you sure you're okay?" Rumi giggles.
"Not really, but we'll find out soon."
"Oh, I hope you're all right!" Laughter bubbles out of her throat. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I don't mean to make light of you being hurt, but..."
I sigh, finally getting out of the forest. My eyes train on her, and I plant my hands on her shoulders.
"It's okay, Rumi. Just let it all out."
She hugs me, chortling against my shirt.
I take the moment to text Kai that we've made it back to civilization, then go back to holding Harumi.
"Does this happen a lot? I mean, do you always laugh when things go wrong? You didn't answer me earlier."
She shrugs. "A lot of the time. It's much better than crying."
"I guess." I rub her shoulders. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Fine, I'm sure. I'm always fine." She hiccups. "Well, not always."
"Uh-huh. Hey, how much did you have to drink tonight?"
"I don't know, maybe four cans of beer. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. I just...you're getting kind of emotional."
She hiccups again, looking up at me with sad eyes. "You make me emotional."
I blush. "Mmkay. Do you want to talk it out?"
"Talk what out?" She's still shaking.
"Your feelings."
"Oh, that sounds fun. Do you want my feelings about you, or about life?"
I can't help a smile. "Let's stick with your feelings about life, okay?" I'm not sure I want to dig too deep into her emotions regarding me.
' The idea scares the heck out of me.
"Okay. Well, life? It stinks."
I blink. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah. And do you wanna know why?"
I ponder this. "Do you really want to tell me?"
"Indeed, I do. You're such a boring guy, I know you won't go and spill my secrets to the world." She titters. "I'm kidding. You're not boring. You're incredibly good, which I should find boring, buuuuut I don't."
"Oh, um...thank you."
"You're welcome!" She bats her eyelashes at me. "And when I'm this close, I just want to reach up on my tiptoes and give you a big ol' – "
Suddenly, headlights shine in my eyes.
It's one of the bikers.
Harumi blinks slowly. "Who's that?"
A feminine figure steps off the motorcycle. "Hey, girlie," her high-pitched voice smirks. "It's Violet."
***(Harumi's POV)***
My blood turns cold. What's Ultraviolet doing here?
"Hey, Vi," I smile, flipping around to face her. I start to stumble, but Lloyd grabs my arm to steady me.
"I was just checking on you two. I saw the crash, and while I couldn't resist beating you to the finish line...I thought you might introduce me to your friend."
I recall her text and frown. Why would she want an introduction? She already knows who Lloyd is.
Before I can ask, he's already taken action.
"I'm Lloyd." He holds out his hand for a shake. "And you said your name was Violet, right?"
She laughs, ignoring his hand. "My, oh my, you're funny. By the way, you're not bad on a bike."
Her tone bothers me. She sounds...sweeter than usual.
"Thanks," Lloyd replies. "I drive a lot. Umm...Rumi and I already have someone coming to pick us up from the crash, so you don't need to worry about that."
"Oh, I'm not here to pick you up."
I finally find words. "Then what do you want?"
She shoots me a venomous look. "I just want to talk."
"Great," Lloyd says. "Well, shoot. Look at the time! Harumi and I should have our ride coming any minute."
Her eyes narrow, creating a haunting shadow in the motorcycle lights.
"Mind if I have a word with you, Rumi?" she hisses.
I tense. "Why?"
"Oh, does there have to be a 'why' for everything?" she exclaims. "Can't friends talk, just to talk?"
The look in her eyes says "don't cross me", so I numbly nod. "O-okay."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Rumi?" Lloyd asks. "I mean, our ride could be here any minute." He draws the words out.
I shrug. Nobody crosses Ultraviolet.
"We won't be long," I reassure him.
Violet roughly grabs my hand and drags me back into the labyrinth.
"What do you think you're doing?" she growls. "You got drunk, when I specifically told you that Lloyd is a person of interest!"
"I'm not drunk," I argue, crossing my arms.
"Yes, you are! How do you expect to join the Sons of Garmadon if we can't trust you?"
"You can trust me," I slur.
"Obviously not." She spits. "You're out."
"What?" I cry. "N-no. You can't do this to me!"
I need this. I need the gang. They're the only way I can get close to the guy who can tell me my parents' last –
Ultraviolet scoffs. "I can, and I will."
My tired mind searches for something, anything, to change her mind.
"I have an in with the Jades," I try. "I can get you information. Favors."
"No."
"What about my brother, an elemental master? If you don't have me, you can't get to him. And I'm sure he can identify other elementals for your – "
"I said 'no', Rumi. Give up and go home."
No. This is bad. The Sons of Garmadon are my only way to healing.
I gulp. "I...uh...I can get you close to Lloyd."
She raises a brow, and I stumble on.
"You know he likes me, Vi. I know he likes me. You can exploit that relationship." I bite my tongue, hating the betrayal that slips off of it.
But I have no choice.
She moans, curses, and points a finger at me.
"One more chance, Rumi. Your initiation is tomorrow night. You fail, and there will be no more opportunities." She gets right up in my face. "Are we clear?"
I hide any trace of fear. "Fine. But my initiation's going to have to be late tomorrow night. Lloyd is introducing me to some friends of his."
Her eyes light with interest. "Let me know whom he brings, okay? Do you know Garmadon's relationship to him?"
I shake my head. "Lloyd just said the guy knew his mom a long while back."
She cackles. "Garmadon's his daddy, Rumi. I asked you to check up with Lloyd because I thought he might reveal something about his father that we didn't know."
I nod. The Sons of Garmadon may not have fully integrated me yet, but their quest to join the dark lord...that, I know about.
I could care less whether he joins or not. All I want is to learn what he knows of my parents.
"You should get back," Ultraviolet instructs. "Tell Lloyd I wanted to make sure you were okay or something."
I'm pretty sure that excuse isn't going to work, but whatever. "Fine."
I toss her a wave, then get out of there as fast as I can.
My fuzzy mind makes it hard to focus on getting out of the labyrinth, but it's a straight run. I think. It's not like I can go back and ask UV how to get out. She'd probably kick me out of the gang immediately.
Ten minutes later, I sit down in defeat. I'm lost.
I fish around for my phone in my back pocket, then light up the screen. It doesn't have any service, and I curse.
How am I supposed to get –
***Music Cue***
"Rumi?" someone calls.
Lloyd.
"Over here," I yell back.
Footsteps approach. "Where are you at?"
"Sitting on a rock. There aren't many places to be, silly." I shine my phone flashlight to show my presence.
He's suddenly in front of me. "I was worried about you. Are you okay?"
I smile at his sweetness. "I am doing absolutely wonderful, thank you very much! Violet was just worried about me because she thought I'd had too much to drink."
"Really? She looked...angry."
"She just had her brows done, and let me tell you, her stylist is a phony." I shrug. "Hey, wanna get out of here? Did Kai arrive yet?"
Lloyd nods, extending a hand. "Yeah. I told him I would come find you." His eyes look me up and down. "You're sure you're okay?"
"Positively great," I yawn.
He chuckles. "I don't think you're long for staying awake. Let's get going."
He leads me a crooked path out of the labyrinth, and I stumble over every rock and twig in my path.
Lloyd stops abruptly. "I usually only do this with Nya, but...do you want a piggyback ride? You're having a lot of trouble."
"Lloyd, you are one thoughtful boytoy." I wrap my arms around his neck, and he lifts my legs around his back.
He groans in pain at first, but locks his jaw. We trek through the woods like that until a pair of headlights fill my vision.
Lloyd sets me down, then covers my eyes. "Don't stare at Kai's lights. They're LEDs, so staring directly at them is bad for you."
I try to remove his hands. "I didn't notice."
"You're drunk. Here, come this way." His hands still over my eyes, he guides me toward the vehicle.
I giggle. "This is fun. It's like a surprise!"
"You...need to get some rest."
I hear a car door open, and Lloyd's hands uncover my eyes. He helps me inside, then buckles my seatbelt.
"You're so sweet," I coo. Then, noticing the front seat, I squeal. "Kai, what's up?"
He smiles oddly. It looks a bit...strained.
"Not much," he answers. "Just saving you and Lloyd from imminent danger."
I giggle. "You're so funny."
He gestures to the seat beside him. "You've met Skylor, right?"
"Oh, yeah." Her name vaguely rings a bell. "Hey."
"Hey." Her response is cold.
I notice Lloyd has moved in beside me, and I lean my whole body against his shoulder.
"Mmm, you really do smell good," I sigh. "Do you mind if I close my eyes, just for a sec?"
He grabs a jacket from somewhere in the car, then pulls it over me. "No problem."
"You're so considerate," I grin. Another yawn escapes my lips.
"I try. Why don't you get a little rest until we get back, okay?"
"Sounds good to me. Good night, Lloyd." My eyes drift closed. "You're the best boytoy I've had in a while."
"Um...thanks. Good night, Rumi."
Suddenly remembering something, I kiss his cheek, then curl back up with my head in his lap.
***So, yeah. Hopefully, I'll get another chapter posted for ya tonight! I know I'm behind by two days LOL I also had yet another idea for a Ninjago AU, and...I have too many ideas :P ***