Flames of a Phoenix //Ninjago - Next Gen\

T w o

There was a long pause, too long for my liking. With the air thick around me, I force myself to open my eyes and glance around at the group. As expected, their facial expressions were nothing but confused, probably still processing the news. I feel Nya's hand slip from my forearm and I turn my attention to her.

Her face is scrunched, eyebrows furrowed as her mind tries to connect the dots. Finally, she parts her lips, "Wait, you have a son? Did I hear you right?" She raises her gaze to my face, lips pursed.

"Since when?" Emilie was the next to speak, snapping everyone out of their stupor and turning their eyes to the girl, "I mean, I know you and Lloyd are freaky but—"

"Emilie!" Kat hisses, nudging the taller girl with her elbow, "Don't say stuff like that, now isn't the time."

"What do you mean, now isn't the time?" Jade interrupts, pointing a finger at my face as she switches her eyes between Kat and Emilie, "They literally have a child, which by the way, we had no idea about!"

"Shh!" I reach out and grab Jade's outstretched hand, lowering it to the ground as I step closer to the group, "Can you keep it down, the others could hear you!" I whisper harshly at them, panicked eyes glancing over my shoulder, expecting to see any of the guys to come out of the Monastery.

When no one does, I heave a sigh of relief and look back towards them, letting go of Jade's hand when she tugs at it. I straighten my posture, feet shuffling underneath me. "It's...He's not Lloyds." I mutter, not meeting their faces and instead keeping my focus on the stone steps leading down the mountain behind them.

I hear some of them gasp, "What?" Maddy questions, stepping closer to me, "If it's, sorry, if he's not Lloyds, then...?" I turn and see her send Jade a quick peek out of the corner of her eye.

"Whoa, whoa, no!" I knew what she was implying and was quick to shut it down. "Kai and I, we weren't even together for that long! There's no way we did any of that, that's for sure." I shift around and grab Jade's shoulder, her grey-blue eyes drifting off to the side, losing focus. "Jade, I swear—"

"I know." She reaches up and lightly pats my hand, a small smile on her lips, "I trust you, that and Kai and I have talked about that ages ago." Relief floods my system and I take my hand off her shoulder, "But you need to be honest now, if it's not Lloyds, then whose?"

Now, things were starting to get harder to explain. Rubbing the nape of my neck, I roll the options around in my head. Do I explain how I brought back supernatural beings that were once created by Lord Garmadon to kill us with an Element that's supposedly forbidden or do I take the easy route and go on a small roadtrip with them and show them personally so they don't get the wrong idea.

"How about instead of telling you, you come meet him and our son?" I suggest, tone hopeful. Sure, I haven't prepared for them to meet my other family, but what's the worst that can happen?

"I think that's a good idea." Maddy grins, stepping forth. "Not only do we get to meet this guy, but we get to see your son! We're aunties!" She gushes, grabbing onto Jade's arm and shaking her excitedly.

"And," Nya speaks up, a smile curling on her lips, "If I think this guy is a total ass, I hope you don't mind me testing a few new moves on him." She curls her fist and punches her other open palm.

Chuckling, I gently push her shoulder, barely knocking her over. "There's no need, really." A smile tugs at my lips, my anxieties being brushed to the side for a moment. "But, can it just be us for the moment? I don't want to overwhelm anyone."

"But, you are going to tell the others, right?" Emilie raises an eyebrow at me, "More importantly, tell Lloyd?"

Of course, I was never going to keep this a secret forever. I told myself years ago that I'd come clean and tell everyone, but just not yet. Not until I know the girls weren't going to overreact, not until I know they can back me up if Lloyd accuses me of anything. Which, I don't believe he would, but my insecure self-conscious tells me otherwise.