Nya was fidgeting in her seat all throughout lunch, her stormy eyes flickering from her plate of chicken stir-fry to my warning gaze and back again. Her knees bounced. She kept running her fingers through her black locks. She gnawed her lips. Jay was sending her odd, worried glances.
Maybe telling her was a bad idea...
"Ready for school next week?" Garmadon asked cheerfully, contrasting against our response; a chorus of unwilling groans and mumbled curses. Wu chuckled lightly.
"Can't we just be home schooled?" Kai asked, almost begging already. "I can't count how many times somebody's sprayed my hair with water. You know I'm terrified of water."
I raised my eyebrows a little at that. Huh, he is?Store that under important information for later... just in case...
"No," Miskao replied as she began picking up the empty plates and piling them on top of each other. "Social interaction with peers outside of your group is important to cognitive growth."
"I didn't realise that cognitive growth had something to do with name-calling and exclusion," mumbled Cole as he stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork.
"Hear, hear," replied a grumbling Jay. Nya pursed her lips in unspoken agreement as she stared heavily at her dish.
Zane and Lloyd remained silent, the former contemplating the existence of lesser human beings than he (presumably - that was my take on it, anyway). Lloyd had a look of being deep in thought etched on his face.
I nudged his arm with my elbow gently, pulling him through the recesses of his mind and sending him a concerned frown. Lloyd, shaken back into reality, only sent me a timid smile in return.
My frown deepened as his gaze dropped to the table again, green eyes flashing a million different thoughts and emotions.
"What about you, Y/n?" asked Garmadon, jolting me back into the conversation. I shook my head, confused.
"Sorry?"
"School," Miskao continued as she reentered the room again. "Are you excited to start at Ninjago High?"
I blinked, taken aback. Was I? My eyes slid along the row of downcast teenagers and I felt my stomach slightly dip. Their expressions weren't all that encouraging.
"Uh... sure..?" I replied uncertainly, lifting my shoulders up and grimacing.
"Rightwellthiswasfunbye!" Lloyd hurriedly slurred, grabbing my arm and unceremoniously hoisting me to my feet. I yelped in surprise as he clutched my hand and began to frantically lead me to the garden.
"What are- what are you doing, Lloyd?" I asked as I tried to righten myself so I wouldn't topple over onto the flat-top stones that made the pathway. I had a feeling that the garden was Lloyd's favourite place.
He remained quiet, though whether it was an angry silence or a frustrated silence or even just a sad silence, I didn't know.
We ventured into the garden further than we'd gone before, following the pathway as cherry blossom trees began to wilt around us, serving as a reminder of the approaching autumn. The pastel pink flowers were browning around the edges as they laid on the ground, shrivelling and curling.
"Lloyd, seriously," I said, bringing him to a stop by pulling my hand back. He continued on for a few steps, his feet shuffling through the sticks and leaves, before running a hand through his hair and leaning back against a tree trunk.
"I- just- I can't-" he shook his head, eyes distraught and staring straight ahead. "That place is horrible, Y/n. I don't want you to get hurt because of me- again."
My shoulders dropped.
"Lloyd, I'm not going to get hurt," I said softly, taking a step forward. "It wasn't your fault. It's never your fault. Stop blaming yourself."
"You almost died!" he burst, snapping his head to me. I flinched. "Because of me!"
"If I didn't jump into that river, you would've died!" I argued, throwing an arm out. "I don't think you realise just how much you mean to me."
"I'm not worth your life-!"
"You're worth everything to me!" I caught him off, fingers curling into fists. "I'm hopelessly, irrevocably, madly in love with you and I would give up everything if it meant that I got to stay by your side."
Lloyd paused. I froze. Wait shit did I seriously just say that?
He laughed a little, breathless. My cheeks burnt.
"Why are you laughing?"
He began to cry.
"Why are you crying?" I asked, beginning to panic.
"God," Lloyd said as he placed his hand over his face. He was smiling, but tears were running down his cheeks. "We're both going to end up dead someday because we're too stubborn to save our own lives."
I confusedly giggled a tiny little bit, baffled and embarrassed.
"I- I'm sorry," Lloyd began, wiping his tears and smiling a little in embarrassment. "I just- you're the best thing in my life. I want to protect you."
