I bounced on my feet the whole way to the bus stop Lloyd told me to meet at. I was five minutes ahead of schedule but that didn't help soothe the jittery, gaping hole in my stomach from nerves. At least Lloyd would be there.
Accompanied with the nerves was the looming fear of the bullies he told me about. Not fear for me, of course, but fear for Lloyd. I knew what he went through, and I really hoped that over the summer, it would've died down.
He wasn't convinced.
Truthfully, neither was I, but I could still hope.
There were five students already there and waiting, four on their phones, one reading a book. The girl reading glanced up at my approach before looking me up and down.
"You must be new," she concluded with a smile before putting her hand out for me to shake. "I'm Leila."
"Y/n," I greeted with a smile before sheepishly glancing down at my flats. "Is it that obvious?"
"A little," Leila giggled, adjusting her hoody. "You actually put effort into your outfit for starters."
I bit my lip.
"Whoops," I shrugged. She grinned before her grey eyes flickered over my shoulder. It immediately fell into a distasteful sneer.
"Garmaboy's here," she announced over her shoulder to the other students. They glanced up for a beat before turning their attention back to their phones, typing with newfound ferocity. There was a heavy stab in my stomach as I gazed at their disgusted expressions and any smidge of appreciation I had for Leila disappeared. I felt deeply offended.
"What's wrong with Lloyd Garmadon?" I asked, probably a little too hotly to be considered normal. One of the others sent me an incredulous look.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked dubiously. "He's Lord Garmadon's son. What isn't wrong with him?"
I frowned. C'mon, seriously? That's such a weak-ass excuse.
"Ah, okay," I nodded in acknowledgement, my stomach boiling, and there was a look of relief on Leila's face. "Now I understand." That you're all fucking assholes. Any hope I had drained away and was immediately replaced with protective rage.
Yeah. This year at Ninjago High School is gonna be a fucking riot.
I turned my back to the students and spotted Lloyd walking towards us, looking absolutely apprehensive as he stared at the ground, his hands shoved into his pockets. His fringe covered his face, almost shielding one green eye from view. He was a completely different Lloyd. I hated it.
He finally glanced up when he was ten metres away, the sullen look on his face brightening when he saw me waiting. Unlike our peers, who scrambled to the other side of the bus stop, I stepped forward with a smile.
"Hey," I said with a half-forced smile (it was hard not to be happy around him, but I was still reeling in anger at the other students' actions), holding out my hand for him to take. His eyes flickered over to the others before turning to me, hesitantly linking his fingers through mine. Leila dropped her book.
"Hi," he replied quietly. I squeezed his hand in reassurance and support, sending a sympathetic smile his way. He really didn't want to go to school, and I couldn't blame him.
"Where are the others?" I asked as he stepped towards me, leaning against the bus stop. He shrugged.
"They don't take the bus, which is understandable." His gaze shot to the students who I could feel were shamelessly ogling. Oh, boy. "I wasn't going to take it this year, but it'll be better with you."
"Hell yeah, it will be," I grinned, an attempt to get him to laugh. His lips quirked in the corners, still not allowing a smile. I felt my heart begin to hurt for him.
"Hey," I said softly and cupped his cheek, demanding his attention. His green eyes found mine. He was all ears. "If anybody says anything, I'll kick their ass."
That did the trick. He snorted, sending me an amused glance. Any thought of our audience escaped his mind.
"With your terrible form?" he raised his eyebrows. "Unlikely."
I mockingly gasped, lightly slapping his arm with the hand that was just holding his face.
"I do kick ass, thank you very much!" I exclaimed, pouting dramatically. Lloyd grinned, shaking his head. I huffed and crossed my arms, sticking my nose in the air. "Like you could do any better."
He scoffed, sending me a confused look, knitting his eyebrows together. His lips curled into a curt, amused grin.
"Did you think before you said that or was it impulsive? Because I'm pretty sure we both know the real facts, here," he asked cockily.
"Not at all," I shook my head and leant against the pole of the bus stop. "Hey, are the art teachers cool, here?"
Lloyd shrugged.
"I don't know," he replied. "All the teachers ignore me."
"So, they're assholes. Cool, thanks for informing me."
