I was laying silently on the couch watching mindless television just waiting for Lloyd to come home. I had been doing this for hours but I really had nothing better to do. Occasionally I would pick up my phone and check my notifications even though I knew there would be nothing new for me to look at. The time for Lloyd to arrive home grew nearer and it was starting to drive me crazy. I knew he would come through the door any minute now but the boredom from waiting had really gotten to me.

After a few more minutes, I hear some fiddling with the door handle then the front door swings open and Lloyd enters, tossing his bag on the floor next to him.

"Lloyd! How was your day? I missed you," I cheer as I quickly sit up. My quick movement sent some pain to my side but I just clenched my teeth and tried to ignore it.

"It was... fine," Lloyd's voice shakes as he pulls his hood over his face and avoids eye contact.

Something was wrong.

"Lloyd..." I stand up and reach out to him.

Lloyd just flinches and I hear his breath shake from feet away.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I ask with worry as I try to come a little closer but all he does is back away from me.

"Nothing, I'm fine," he tries his best to seem like he's okay but I see his eyes welling up with tears.

"Lloyd," I sigh, "you're not fine... come sit down. Talk to me," I say as I step back a little bit before sitting on the couch and a pat the spot next to me signaling him to come sit with me.

"There's nothing to talk about, I'm okay, I swear," Lloyd insists as he raises his voice.

"No, please," I beg, "I really wanna know what's going on. Please tell me. I'm worried," I admit.

Lloyd huffs as he comes and sits next to me. He says nothing for a little while. He just pulls his hood down and tries to wipe away his own tears. The faint sounds of his sobs fill the room and the sound is just heart breaking. But I let him cry. He needs to let it all out.

"It's okay... don't be afraid to tell me anything," I say as I scoot a little closer and wrap my arms around him and he does the same. He shoves his face deep into my neck as his tears dampen my shirt and he grips onto the fabric of my clothes as hard as he can as his sobs become a little louder.

Lloyd cries in my arms for what feel like hours but I know only a minute or two has passed. His crying becomes a little less loud as he finally pulls away and wipes him face with the sleeve of his jacket.

"Do you wanna tell me what's wrong?" I finally ask and Lloyd nods as he still wipes away his tears.

After trying to catch his breath, Lloyd begins to speak. "I dunno what's wrong with me," he hiccups between his words, "every day is the same thing over and over again. I don't know what I do wrong," he wines.

"What happened today?" I ask.

"The same thing that happens everyday," he says, "it's just that sometimes it really gets to me," his voice shutters. "I try my best to not let what everyone says hurt my feelings. I don't want to be this weak," Lloyd spat in an insulting manor directed at himself.

"You're not weak. You've gone through this stuff every day and you're still here with me right now, right? You've fought so hard just to be in this moment right now. That's the opposite of weak. It's okay to cry and let it out sometimes. I know it hurts to go through that but you've already made it this far," I comfort him as I place a hand on his shoulder.

"What's the point...?" He mumbles.

"You've got so much ahead of you," I simply state.

"Like what?" He looks up at me with pained eyes.

"Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like in the future when you're out of school?" I ask with a determined smile. I know that whatever Lloyd envisions will be some kind of inspiration to keep going.

"Well... yeah, sometimes..." He answers.

"What do you see in your future?"

"It's... It's dumb..." He looks away.

"I'm sure it's not. What do you imagine for yourself in a few years from now?" I insistently ask.

"...Can I be honest with you?" He sighs.

"Of course."

"I see... I see me and you... together... And..." He begins as he tries to find his own words, "ugh..." He huffs, "sorry, this is probably too much to tell you all at once..."

"No, keep going," I push him to tell me more. I'm rather intrigued to see what he thinks his future will be like especially since I'm involved in it.

"I just thought... after high school, we'd maybe move in together..." He finally says, "And I know I'm thinking way too far ahead- I mean, we've only been dating for a little while now-"

"No, it's okay," I cut him off, "that's sweet. I like it."

"What about you?" He asks.

"Hm?"

"What do you see for yourself? After high school, anyway," he asks again.

"I dunno... I haven't really thought about it," I shake my head. And to be honest, I'm telling the truth. I've tried to imagine what life would be like after school but it's all just fantasy outcomes. The kind of stuff everyone hopes their life would be like. A big house, lots of money, that kid of thing. But I've never actually sat down and thought about a realistic future.

"But... now that you mention it," I look away," I really wouldn't mind sharing your same idea for our future," I smile anxiously as I continue to avoid eye contact.

"...Really?" Lloyd looks up at me and I can see him holding back somewhat of a smile.

"Well... yeah," I look down at my hands and I'm just nervously tapping my fingers. "I don't see us breaking up anytime soon, so... hopefully we'll be together after high school..." I feel my face heat up and I do my best to hide it. I don't know why but talking to Lloyd like this gets me all flustered.

"Do you ever think about getting married?" He asks suddenly.

"Okay, it's way too early to think about that!-" I quickly interrupt. I'm really not ready for that kind of talk. It makes me a little uncomfortable. I know Lloyd has hinted at it before and I hate to shoot down a conversation like that but I don't know if I can handle it.

"Sorry," he apologizes nervously.

I know I love Lloyd a lot and everything. But I need to take things slow.

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

The days progressed and Koko was kind enough to take me back to the doctor every so often to get my check ups to make sure I was recovering properly. The doctor said I was doing great but that's because I've been walking everyday like he suggested. He told me that most patients don't walk as much as they're supposed to when they're recovering because they can't bear the pain but I'm so ready to get back to normal that I'd do just about anything to speed up the process.

During my week off from school Lloyd would often come home in a bad mood and in some cases in tears. It broke my heart to see him like that but whenever he came home I'd talk to him and try my best to make him feel better and then I'd watch one of his favorite movies with him. I didn't care for most of the movies but it made Lloyd happy and that's all I could ask for.

The week felt like forever but I felt myself feeling nothing but relief when it reached its end. I had just gone to bed for the last night of my week off from school and I was excited to get back to school in the morning. Not because I like school but just because I want to be there with Lloyd. I know everyone's been giving him a hard time since I've been gone. Especially Chen.

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

"Hey, (Y/N), wake up!" Lloyd cheers as my eyes open wide. I had gotten plenty of sleep that night so I was well rested for the first time in ages.

Even though I had gotten plenty of sleep I still had to rub my eyes to get my vision right. I sat up slowly. Most of the pain wasn't there anymore but sitting up and doing anything particularly straining was a lot for me.

"Good morning, Lloyd," I smile as I wrap my arms around him. Waking up next to him was one of the best parts of my morning. It's actually the only good part of my morning...

"Morning," Lloyd hums and smiles and I place a small kiss on his cheek. Lloyd blushed and kissed me back until he left the room to go do whatever it is he does in the mornings. As usual I just slapped on some new clothes and I was ready. I went out into the living room and waited for Lloyd. He came out of the bathroom and entered the living room with a little more excitement then he would normally have.

"Ready to go?" He asks. I just nod.

I stand up and head out the door with Lloyd. We walk side by side until I gently grab his hand in mind. This is one of the first times I've ever held his hand while walking. I know I've done so before but it was always when I made sure no one else was looking. I still don't want anyone to see but I'm less uptight about it now. When Lloyd looks down at our locked hands he just does nothing but smile and I can hear him giggle faintly. Just the sound of his laugh was enough to make my heart melt.

Once we got close to the bus stop I let go of his hand as we turned the corner to see the usual kids waiting for the bus. I noticed I was getting a lot more abnormal stares that I would normally get. But I just ignore it. As Lloyd and I wait patiently for the bus the other kids continue to stare. Normally I would just ignore it but it was a little more intense than usual...

"Hey, Garmadon," one of the kids calls out in a stuck up voice. My heart sank. I was hoping none of them would talk to us...

Lloyd just looks up at the boy calling out his last name.

"I thought your boyfriend got stabbed? What's he doing back at school already?" The kid grins as he calls me Lloyd's boyfriend. He's using it as an insult but little does he know.

"Leave him alone," I look at the boy with an angry expression. "If this is about me you don't need to bring anyone else into it."

"Heh," the kid scoffs and steps toward me, "And what if I don't?"

I throw my bookbag to the side and start to walk toward him, "well maybe I'll make you-"

At this point I was pissed. Just because he was trying to start something with Lloyd without reason. I was ready to fight then and there until Lloyd grabbed my shoulder and I turned to look at him.

"(Y/N)," he calls.

I stop in my tracks and conveniently this is the time the bus pulls up. I look back to the boy who was trying to insult Lloyd and he just scoffed as he boarded the bus. Lloyd and I got on afterwards but I had my eye on him the whole time.

When Lloyd and I sat down he looked to me with concern. "I don't need your help if you're only going to get into fights..."

I just sat in silence looking down at my bag sitting in my lap. I was feeling nothing but anger.

"Especially now. I don't want you getting hurt," he says as he looks out the window.

I just sigh. "Sorry," I bluntly apologize. There wasn't much sincerity but that's because I just disagree. If someone's going to talk like that they need to be put in their place.

"I can tell you're thinking too much about this. It happened all the time while you were out of school. I can handle myself, I promise. Just calm down," Lloyd tells me.

I close my eyes for a second and take a deep breathe before I just look out the window on the opposite side of the bus.

We didn't speak to each other the entire bus ride to school...

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

When the bus finally parked outside of the school everyone loaded off and Lloyd and I were instantly greeted by Zane and Jay.

"Friends! Hello!" Zane shouts as he waves his hand in the air and Jay sits quietly next to him.

Lloyd and I walk up to the two and they smile at us.

"It's good to see you back at school!" Jay cheers, "how do you feel?"

"I feel... fine," I respond. I'm not feeling great. But I don't think I've ever felt great.

"That's good. How long do you think it'll be before you can officially start fighting again?" Jay continues to ask.

"Well..." I start, "Wu said probably not for another month or two. And that was over a week ago, so..." I shrug, "I dunno to be exact, but I hope soon."

"As long as you do whatever your doctor reccomends you should be in optimal health," Zane adds in.

"I've been trying," I nod.

We continue to make small talk as we walk into the building. I'm getting a lot more weird looks then I would get normally. I'm assuming everyone knows what happens. I know word gets around quick but I didn't know the entire school would even realize I was gone let alone know what happened.

"Does everyone know?" I whisper to the others.

"Well, we tried to stop him but Kai has... a loud mouth," Jay laughs nervously, "he just had to tell everyone," he sighs.

"Ughhh..." I groan. I know everyone's going to give me a hard time about this.

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

After first period began I still felt everyone staring at me. Especially when I went to go get the work I missed from the teacher. It felt like everyone's eyes were tracking me as I walked up to her desk and it just felt humiliating. At least Chen wasn't there. I knew that would make it at least ten times worse. He's probably skipping class.

About halfway into class I couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was staring at me and judging me so I asked to use the bathroom. I was given the hall pass and I just wandered the halls for a bit to clear my mind before actually going to the bathroom.

I walk into the bathroom and see Chen in the corner smoking. Of course he was skipping class to smoke. What else could he possibly be doing?

"(Y/N)," he grins, "Good to see you back," he says sarcastically.

"Shut up I just came to use the bathroom," I growl.

"Oh, don't mind me then," he still says in a snarky voice with an evil smile. I know he's up to something.

I never thought the day where I'd have to piss in the same room as my enemy would come but here we are.

I walk up to the sink and wash my hands and Chen walks up next to me putting his cigarette out in the sink just inches away from me.

"So what was it like?" He starts, "what was it like to get sliced open? You know no one really missed you. I had a fun time pretending you were dead," he laughs.

"Very clever," I just focus on washing my hands, "did it take you the whole two and a half weeks I was gone to come up with that one?"

"You talk too much for someone who got stabbed in the lung," he spits.

"And you talk a lot for someone who doesn't seem like they'd have the brain capacity to even comprehend speech," I look up at him.

"It's sad that you didn't die..." He ignores my last statement, "I would have loved to see Lloyd cry over you," he hisses.

"For hating him so much you sure seem a little obsessed with him. Are you sure you don't have some type of crush?" I ask just to see how mad he'd get at the accusation.

"What, are you mad I'm going to steal your boyfriend or something?" He asks with a cocky tone.

"That would have almost been funny if I haven't heard it a million times before. You wanna give that come back another go?" I sarcastically ask with a smile.

"Like I care if you thought it was funny," he scoffs.

"That's cool but I don't remember asking. Just go away already you've been lingering in this bathroom for so long that the smell of shit is starting to rub off on you," I say as I cross my arms.

"And if I don't? What are you gonna do, fight me? I don't expect you to go very long with a collapsed lung," he shoves me back, "or you could always tell on me again."

"Don't fucking touch me, man," I shove him back a little harder until he grabs me by the hair and I take a sharp breath and I feel the pain well up at my side from the instant breath. I start breathing even heavier from the panic and it only makes the pain worse. I look over at the mirror and I can only see myself struggle in my reflection.

Chen drags me by my hair until we're both looking into our own reflections. He looks down at me as my face is only inches from the sink.

"That guy who stabbed you," he starts with a twisted smile, "he should have been aiming for the head," he nearly shouts through gritted teeth before banging my head off the faucet.

The pain coursing through my forehead causes me to panic even more as I begin to hyperventilate and I drop to my knees. I try to catch my breathe but I don't feel like I'm getting any air. I look up at Chen and as soon as my eyes meet his he kicks me in the nose knocking me onto my back.

I lay on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor as pain runs through my entire body. I groan without even attempting to move. I look out of the corner of my eye and see Chen come around in front of me. I see him draw his leg back like he's going to kick me again so I pull my knees up to my chest to protect myself. He goes to kick me in the chest but kicks my legs instead. I try to get back up but he just shoves me onto the ground again and my head hits the wall behind me.

I sit balled up in the corner of the bathroom just hoping he'll leave me alone already. My breathe is so loud that it echoes through the dimly lit room. For as heavily as I'm breathing I'm surprised I'm not already unconscious. I feel so light headed like I'm about to pass out.

Chen gets down on one knee and grabs my hair and tilts my head upward so I make eye contact with him. I can't see it but I can feel blood trickling down my face and I think the back of my head might even be bleeding.

"Had enough?" He snarls.

"Suck my dick," I insult even through my heavy breathing.

He punches me in my face delivering the final blow before he stands back up. My head lays gently on the wall behind me as I groan in pain and my vision becomes foggy and my eyelids grow heavy.

"You're pathetic," he whispers before walking out the bathroom door and I feel the last bit of energy leave my body as my eyes flutter close.

At least I did what Lloyd asked. I wasn't the one doing any fighting...

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

Hello.

Watch me leave you with this and then not update for another few weeks because I'm working on other books or something. Don't kill be for this please. I beg.

I'll try my best to update this book a little quicker so you don't have to wait so long for the follow up for this chapter but there are no promises.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

(: