The Big Book of Ninjago Oneshots

(Kai x Reader AU) Fourth Time's the Charm

Kai's POV

The very first time I saw (y/n) (l/n) was at an overnight camp the summer before sixth grade. It was dusk on the very last day; our parents would be picking us up come morning. I was all alone (or so I thought) at the archery stalls, running my hands along the sleek, feathered arrows and occasionally picking up a bow and firing a few. The targets were old, beaten up. No one had bothered changing them out, as no one bothered leaving the final day festivities.

However, as I walked out into the field to retrieve my arrows, I heard the whistling of air and an arrow whizzed past my head, just barely missing my ear. I spun on my heels, ready to cuss out whoever had dared mess with me in a rather over-the-top-but-totally-sixth-grade way, only to find my "attacker" was a young girl just about my age. Her (e/c) eyes shine with amusement as her lips lifted into a smirk.

"What're you doing here?" She called out to me, her voice light and airy. "Shouldn't you be partying with your cabin at the mess hall?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I replied, slightly annoyed. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"I asked you first."

My mind went blank with anger. Ooh, this girl's gonna get it, I remember thinking. I'll get her real good.

But I never did it. I never made a smart remark or sassy comment towards her that night, like I wanted to. Looking back, nothing I could have said would have sounded cool anyway, coming from sixth grade me, but it was the sudden calmness that washed over me once she gave me an award-winning smile that I, to this day, have never forgotten.

"I...I'm not much of a people kind of guy," I admitted. It was true. I was known for being hot-headed, short-tempered. She just laughed.

"Neither am I, to be completely honest. So why don't we be awkward potatoes together, eh?" She offered, extending her arm out with a big grin. I couldn't help but catch her happiness like a cold.

And because I took her hand that warm summer night, my life was never the same again.

The second time I ran into (y/n) (l/n) was a little over a year later. I was in seventh grade and had gained a bit more popularity and people-skills. I could hold up a conversation with just about anyone at that point, and people seemed to stick to me like glue as a result. I was constantly hearing rumors about girls who "thought I was cute" or finding anonymous love notes in my locker. The jocks who used to ignore me would make a point to high five me in the hallway. The nerdy kids I used to hang with were long forgotten.

And I thought I was happy. I thought I was happy being considered "cool" by all the wrong people, and so when my seventh grade service assignment was to help clean the local library after school for a week, I felt totally and utterly uncool.

When I arrived the first day, the woman at the desk told me to grab a bottle of Windex from the supply cabinet and wipe down all the tables and computers. At first, I thought this was going to be a piece of cake, but the Ninjago City Public Library is pretty big, and collectively has many, many tables and computers in its three floors.

After about an hour or so, I had reached the end of the second floor tables. I wiped a bit of sweat from my forehead and started up the stairs, going a bit slowly to conserve my dwindling strength.

Popular? Yeah... In shape? Haha, you make me laugh!

When I reached the top, I glanced over the room and spotted a girl sitting at a table in the far corner. Getting curious, I decided to start cleaning at one of the tables on that side of the room, leaving plenty of space so that I could basically stalk her without getting caught.