The food? Delicious. The atmosphere? Wonderful. The people?
A little crazy. I had to admit.
I was sure that we would've been kicked out if it hadn't been for the ninja being friends with the owner. Noisy and rambunctious as they scoffed down dish after dish, the team was everything boomers hated about teenagers.
Despite Lloyd's soft words, I was still feeling overwhelmed by the insane energy of his siblings. I felt little while I sat at the table, eating what Lloyd had managed to grab for me before it was taken by somebody else.
"So, Y/n," Jay began, his curly hair even more wild than what it looked like when he arrived. I glanced up. "We heard that you have a killer arm! Why don't you join our cricket team? There's only one other team in the league, though. The monks."
I blushed furiously, dropping my gaze.
"You're embarrassing her," Cole shoved Jay's arm. He yelped.
Nya caught my gaze and rolled her eyes in amusement. I weakly smiled back.
Finally, they must've started to begin feeling full and I briefly had to wonder how much money the poor souls at the monastery spent on groceries to keep these bottomless pits fed. The plates were cleared away and we sat for a little longer, digesting.
My hands were clenched by my side, nervous but not sure why. It didn't usually take me this long to settle into a group of strangers. I guess these guys were special.
A hand ghosted over mine.
I glanced up beside me. Lloyd was laughing at something Zane had said, his arm tucked between us. He looked inconspicuous to the others but his fingers were definitely sliding through mine and squeezing my hand in silent support. I squeezed back in thanks. Lloyd's smile grew just that little bit more lovely.
A decision was made to extend the group date - carry it on to the park. Kai went up to pay, speaking sweet to the red-haired cashier girl. I couldn't tell if she was invested in Kai's flirting or just down-right amused. They seemed to know each other well.
"How's your head?" Lloyd asked as we trailed behind the others while we walked to the park. He trailed a gentle hand through my loose hair and I had to forcibly stop my eyes from fluttering shut at the pleasant feeling.
"F- fine," I stammered, taken aback by how him playing with my hair made me feel. "It's fine now."
"Did you tell your mum?"
"I just told her that I'd slipped," I stared at the ground. "It wasn't hard for her to believe."
Lloyd huffed amusedly. "I bet."
"Y/n?"
Lloyd and I turned at the sound of my name. Naomi stood there, looking stiff as her eyes kept darting between us and the rest of the group.
"Naomi!" I greeted happily, bounding up to her. She quickly returned the hug I offered. "We're just on our way to the park. Do you want to come?"
"Uh..." Naomi's blue eyes were searching over my shoulder. "Sure."
"Great!" I gushed, pulling her towards where Lloyd was patiently waiting. "Naomi, this is Lloyd. Lloyd, Naomi."
"We already know each other," Naomi blurted before her cheeks went pink. "Uh. Yeah. Hi."
Lloyd smiled loosely at me. "Naomi and I were friends when we were younger."
"Much younger," Naomi inputted. Her blue eyes hesitantly glanced up to mine.
"Oh, that's awesome!" I smiled, grabbing both of their hands and swinging them between us. "Though, I feel kind of silly from introducing you guys now."
Naomi nervously giggled, turning to stare at the rest of the group ahead of us. The pink on her cheeks darkened.
We made it to the park, where the others had hovered at the entrance to wait. When we arrived, they stared at Naomi curiously.
"Do you know these guys, too?" I whispered to her. She nodded. "Okay."
"I say we get ice cream," Jay announced as we joined them. "And I say that my word is now law."
"On who's authority?" Kai snorted.
"Mine," Jay replied without a beat to waste. "Ding butt."
Kai narrowed his eyes. Jay was not afraid.
"All in favour of ice cream, say 'aye,'" Cole took the democratic approach.
"Aye," we all answered.
"All in favour of Kai being a ding butt, say 'ding butt,'" Jay lifted his hand.
"Ding butt," we all answered, except for Kai who had begun to sulk.
Jay clapped his hands. "Perfect. Decision's made."
