the other side | ninjago

out of sight, out of mind

Lloyd returned to the cafe the next day, but this time he didn't wear his uniform. Sadie wouldn't recognize him, but he just needed a moment to himself. He didn't want to distract her while she was working. He sat at his table, watching as she poured her coffee and he pondered the next step for the team. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was dressed in a small black dress with a green apron overtop. Every day, she looked perfect, but Lloyd knew he could never be with her, especially now, because he would only endanger her.

Even though he knew she was tough, he didn't want to put her in that situation because he genuinely cared about her. He was falling fast, and he'd learned the hard way that he couldn't do it. He sat at his desk, sketching various plans on his sketchpad, but he kept getting distracted. They made eye contact when he looked up. She smiled at him, and they resumed their normal routine.

He wanted to get some coffee, but that meant she had to take his order. He was aware that he would become nervous, so he decided to avoid it this time.

He went outside, changed into his uniform, and walked back into the coffee shop to say hello to her. He approached the counter.

"Hey Sadie, how are you?" said Lloyd.

"Hey, green ninja! I'm doing well today. You want the usual?" She said

"Yeah, I would love it, thank you!" he said.

She went back into the kitchen to gather all of the necessary ingredients. She started making his coffee as people approached him asking for his autograph, distracting them from each other.

This is exactly what he was afraid of.

She handed him his coffee and gave him a smile.

"Maybe we can sit down again sometime soon. I would love to get to know you more," said Sadie.

"Yes, of course!" said Lloyd, blushing underneath his hood.

They made a few more remarks before leaving the conversation to be continued another day. He desperately wanted to reveal his true identity to her, but he was too afraid that it would cause too many problems for the two of them.

He returned to the bounty to share what he had written with the team, but on his way back, he couldn't help but notice something was off. He was walking down a small alley next to the coffee shop, but there was no one else there. After hearing some rustling within the garbage can, he moved forward. He knew it had to be an animal, so he didn't worry. He walked past the trash can, which was flanked by a small dog with perked-up ears.

When he leaned down to pet it, it wagged its tail. He thought it was so incredibly cute that he wanted to take it home, but because it had a collar, he knew he couldn't. He made his way back to the bounty to see his friends.

Once he got back to the bounty, all of his friends were on deck.

"Where have you been, hotshot?" asked Kai.

"Just patrolling," he said. Just as he said this, he shot his head over to Jay and gave him a look before he could make any sort of sarcastic comment.

"Do you have any ideas for what to do next?" said Nya.

Lloyd then responded, "Actually, yeah, so I was thinking..."