A few days had passed since Zane had the water poured on him. He hasn't come to school since. Jay said he'd come back once he was over it, but I'm not sure how long that would be. All I know is that I feel bad. The only reason it happened to him is because he was hanging out with Lloyd and I. We're the reason for everyone's low reputation. And Chen and his friends continued to play these stupid "pranks" on us, if you can even call them that. Pranks are supposed to be funny. These are not funny.

Kai and Nya's reputation slowly dropped. They went from being well respected student athletes to being the isolated members of their sports teams. They both say they're fine with it, but it really doesn't seem like it.

Cole, however, is just excited to have people to talk to. He has so many stories to tell and he's just happy he has people to tell them to. He says that the only person he really talked to before is his father. Apparently Cole is the son of a famous dancer and acapella artist. I've never heard of him since singing and dancing aren't really my thing, but his dad does seem cool.

As for Lloyd and I, we're still doing fine. Life hasn't really changed for us since we've always been the outcasts. As for our relationship, that's a different story. The both of us are really awkward and have no idea how relationships like these work. We're just trying to figure things out on our own. We still haven't told anyone about us yet, other than the rest of the ninja, that is...

The weekend approached rather quickly, actually. Today was Friday. We all decided against a meeting at the warehouse today because we all deserve a break. and I had plans to go to Lloyd's house.

I just had to ask my mom first.

I walked out into the living room, where my mom usually was. She was sitting on the couch as usual, but she seemed to be kind of lost in thought.

"Hey, mom-" I began, but she started to talk before I could speak any further.

"(Y/N)... can I talk to you for a second?..." she asks.

"Uhmm... sure. What do you need?" I slowly approach her.

"I've been thinking... I'm... kind if hard on you a lot..."

Wow, you think?

"And... I was hard on your siblings... And your father... And I really need to change... change the way I treat everyone..." she explains.

I'm a bit shocked. I'm the only child of hers left at home and she's just now realizing this?

"Where is all this coming from?" I ask.

"Every time the city is under attack... you come home late. If anything were to ever happen- not that I think it would- but say the city was destroyed... I wouldn't want my son to go out thinking I hate him. Because I don't... I had a rough up bringing myself and I guess I'm just repeating what I was exposed to... which isn't good," she admits with a nervous chuckle. "No amount of apologies can undo what I've done, but you... (Y/N)... every time you come home late... I'm so worried. And I rethink every single one of my decisions when it comes to raising you and your brothers and sisters. I just wanted a good life for you and I sucked at providing..."

I say nothing. I just stare at her... speechless, with my arms crossed and my eyes watering...

Damn, she's really gonna make me cry...

I'm really glad that she's finally realizing how much her attitude has impacted me negatively, but I'm also kinda pissed that it took her this long to realize it.

"So.. I have to almost die for you to finally want to treat me right?" I ask.

I mean, I don't want to be that guy, but she kind of deserves it. She just looks down in disappointment.

"I'm so sorry, (Y/N)... I'm going to try and contact your siblings... hopefully they'll actually want to talk to me... I want to tell them the same thing I've told you... I'm not sure how they'll take it," she says.

"Mom... I'm not mad... I'm just... a bit upset that it's taken you this long to come around... but, I am happy with this sudden change..." I smile slightly. She smiles back at me.

"This might be the wrong time to ask... but," I begin," can I... can I go to Lloyd's house?"

She stares at me for a second. "Just come back before dark, okay?"

"Yes! Thank you," I cheer.

She stands up and hugs me. This is the first time she's given me a hug in a long time. "Stay safe," she whispers.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Today had quite the refreshing beginning. But now I was on my way to Lloyd's place. I was going up the stairs to his apartment, excited to see my boyfriend. I approach the door and deliver a soft knock. Soon enough, Lloyd answers.

"Hi, (Y/N)!" Lloyd cheers.

"Hey, Greenie," I greet, using a nickname I just came up with on the spot.

"Greenie?" Lloyd asks.

"Yeah, because you have such pretty green eyes... oh, and you're The Green Ninja," I smirk.

"You're a dork," he smiles.

"But I'm not the one who watches Star Wars," I tease. "Starfarer," Lloyd corrects. "Whatever, same thing," I joke again.

Lloyd just smiles as he steps aside to let me in.

"Where's your mom?" I ask.

"Work," Lloyd replies.

"Ah."

"Sooo... wanna go to my room?" Lloyd asks. "Ooh, so quick to get me to your bed, huh?" I continue to tease. Lloyd's face turns red. I just think it's funny to set him off like that.

"You know that's not what I meant," he replies, nervously.

"Sure," I joke.

We both walk to his bedroom. He opens the door and I walk in and plop down onto his bed. He does the same, but he lies down a lot more gently than I do.

As we lie down, I turn to face him. "So, what have you been up to?" I ask.

"We just saw each other earlier today at school. I haven't done much since then," he replies.

"You wanna know what I did?"

"What?"

"I thought about you the whole time," I smile as I wrap my arms around him and pull him in tight.

"You're so cheesey," he smiles. "Only for you," I whisper. Lloyd laughs and wraps his arms around me. The two of us are now intertwined in each other's grip. We stay like this for quite some time. We just hold each other. He rests his chin in the crook of my neck as I trace my hand up and down his back. Lloyd hums lightly into my ear.

But after a minute, the humming stops.

"Hey, (Y/N)... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

...

"Why me?" Lloyd asks.

I have no idea what he means by that.

"Uhh... what do you mean?" I ask, the two of us in the same position, neither one of us had moved. But I did stop moving my hand up and down his back.

"Well... out of all the people at school, you liked me... the son of Garm-"

"Lloyd, you being the son of Garmadon has nothing to do with who you are, so stop thinking it's your only defining feature. Because you're amazing," I say with a small laugh.

"But that's it... even if you ignore the fact that I'm the son of Garmadon, I still don't have many... good traits..." he sighs.

"Yes you do," I reassure.

"No... I'm kind of... not that great go be around. I'm always upset or in a bad mood, and I bring others down with me. I kind of suck," he explains.

"You're never in a bad mood around me," I say. I've only seen Lloyd in a bad mood a couple of times.

"That's because you're one of the only things that makes me happy," he says with tired eyes.

"I can't be the only thing that makes you happy... what about our friends?"

"I love our friends... But... sometimes I think that they don't even like me... like they only hang out with me because I'm tagging along with you," he admits.

"That's not true. Our friends love being around you. If they didn't like you, they would have already left us. You've seen some of the stuff that's happened to them, only because they want to be around us. I promise you, they care," I try to tell him.

"I know, but there's always a little voice in the back of my head that says it's not real... that no one really likes me. And that everyone's only nice to me because I'm The Green Ninja," he states.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, that's not why I like you... I like Lloyd Garmadon. Not The Green Ninja... well, I like The Green Ninja, too, but you get my point," I laugh.

Lloyd smiles as well, but he kind of cringed a bit.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" I ask with worry.

"Nothing, you didn't do anything wrong... I just... really don't like... my name," he admits with a nervous laugh.

"Lloyd?"

"No, my last name."

Ah. I get it.

"Sorry, Lloyd..." I apologize, "so... If you could change your last name to anything in the world, what would it be?" I ask.

"Hmmm..." Lloyd ponders as he lays his head down on my chest, "maybeeee..." he continues to think. "Well... I kind of like your last name," he smiles.

"(L/N)? What's so special about (L/N)?" I ask, a bit flustered.

"I dunno... But it's a last name I'd hope to have someday," he teases.

"Okay, it is way to early to think about that kind of thing..." I say as I feel my face begin to heat up.

"Aw, come on. I'm only joking," he laughs.

I know it's only a joke, but I don't really like thinking about that kind of thing. I guess I'm afraid of the future. What happens if we make all of these promises to each other, but it doesn't work out? Not that I think it won't work out between us, but you never know.

"So... earlier... you said I have a lot of good traits... what would those be?" Lloyd asks, changing the subject.

"I feel like I've told you a million times before why I like you," I chuckle.

"Yeah, probably. I just like hearing you say it," he laughs back.

"I like you because you're smart, kind, and brave. You're never afraid to be yourself, and I admire that," I say, as I begin to trace my hand up and down his back once again.

Lloyd just giggles in response.

"When... when did you realize you had feelings for me?" Lloyd asks.

"Hmm... I'm not sure... it happened slowly over time. But I'd say it finally hit me during one of my first stays at your place," I confirm. "How about you?"

"Huh? You wanna know when I found out I liked you?" Lloyd asks.

"Yeah. When did you realize you liked me?"

"Well... this might sound a bit cliche, but almost as soon as we started talking," he said, "the day that you handed me that roll of tape and didn't act like you wanted me dead, that was a good sign that you were a good person," he laughs.

I laugh as well, but this statement does put another thought into my mind. Though our friends and I treat Lloyd with the respect he deserves, others, not so much. People are so mean to him with no given reason. It does quite a toll on him emotionally. I know Lloyd hasn't always been the best in his mental state. With him hurting himself and all that.

"Lloyd..."

"Hm?"

"You're still keeping your promise, right? When you promised not to hurt yourself anymore?" I ask, holding him tightly.

"It's been a hard promise to keep... but, I've kept it so far," he replies.

"I don't want you to keep that promise just because of me, I want you to know that it's in your best interest to... to not do bad things like that," I explain.

"I know..."

I gently grab ahold of one of Lloyd's arms and roll down the sleeve. His arm is covered in scars, but none of them seem to be fresh. It still saddens me to know that he's even done this in the first place, but on the other hand, it makes me happy to know that he's stopped.

I gently rub my thumb up and down his wrist, grazing over some of the scars.

"I don't want you to ever break that promise, okay?"

"Okay."

"I really care about you Lloyd."

"And I care about you, too."

"Maybe we should do something fun to get our minds off things... wanna see if our friends are up for going to the mall? We could head over to the arcade," I suggest, "plus, I think Zane might feel better to get out and do something as well."

I actually a bit concerned for Zane. He hasn't really talked to anyone as of lately. Well, anyone but Jay, that is.

"That sounds fun," I small smile forms on Lloyd's face.

"Cool, you want me to message everyone?" I ask as I pull out my phone and open our big group chat.

"Yeah," Lloyd confirms, "I'd like that."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Make sure to leave suggestions for things you want to happen in the book. I also enjoy all comments and feedback!