"Lloyd!"
"Y/n!"
"Lloyd!"
"Y/n!"
"Lloyd!"
"Why are we shouting each other's names in our faces!"
"I dunno!"
Lloyd stepped back and pulled a confused frown. I grinned, poking his arm multiple times as we began to walk down the park pathway where we had just met up.
"It's Day of the Departed!" I gushed, clutching his hand excitedly. Lloyd smiled at me in amusement, watching me practically buzz with excitement. "I love this holiday! It's almost as good as Christmas."
Lloyd's grin widened, tugging me against his side as we subtly stumbled. He pressed his cheek against my head before pressing a kiss to my temple.
"How are you celebrating tonight?" he asked. I smiled.
"Mum and I just do something small," I began, entwining my fingers through his as we strode through the park. "Very basic, but traditional, you know? Just a couple of candles with pictures and a bowl of my great-grandmother's ramen noddle pork soup."
"Ooh, that sounds nice," he mused. "I'll have to come over and try it some time."
I nodded eagerly, swinging our arms between us playfully.
"Well, since it's a special recipe, mum always makes it for my birthday," I explained. "So, you'll just have to wait a little while."
Lloyd groaned dramatically and clutched his stomach.
"But I'm starving!"
"Then eat toast."
Lloyd's expression dropped into a dry frown.
"One: ew. Very low on quality protein and vitamins. And two: ouch. You would make me eat toast?"
"Yes," I nodded. "Because I suck at cooking."
"I'll cook, then," Lloyd shrugged. We stepped out of the park and took in the celebratory decorations flooding the streets in honour of our ancestors. "You just need to keep me company. You know what they say, the best ingredient is love!"
"The best ingredient is cheese, because that was very cheesy."
Lloyd hissed through his teeth. I grimaced.
"That was just painful to hear," he shook his head in disappointment. I sighed, staring dejectedly at the pavement as we walked.
"Trust me, it was more painful to say," I admitted. "What are you doing tonight?"
Lloyd hummed as we strolled, swinging our arms between us as we basked in the sun. Summer was drawing near, and school was threateningly close. I wanted to extended the holidays out, even for just a week.
"My family will celebrate my grandfather," he commented. "I think the rest of the Monastery is doing something for him, too, before going off on their own."
"Man, that's so cool," I sighed, dropping my head onto his shoulder as we began down a new street. "I wish I could be there."
"I wish you could be there, too," he said, before his voice dropped an octave lower in sorrow. "Cole's been taking this whole 'departed' day hard. Because, you know, he's a ghost. I wish you were coming so you could help him, too."
"Me help him?" I echoed with a confused frown. "How could I help him?"
"Well, you guys are good friends," Lloyd mused. "You seem to know just what to say when it comes to stuff like this. He told me how you helped him out when he first became a ghost."
"Oh," I said quietly. "It- it was just because you weren't there. You would've done a better job. I'm no team leader like you are."
"No, but you're protective," he reasoned with a small smile and bumped my shoulder. He caught my gaze and held onto it. "You love your friends. That makes you perfect for pep talks - more than teammates, as friends."
I pushed my face into his shoulder, hiding my blush. He always knew just what to say.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" I asked. Lloyd's grip on me tightened in reassurance.
"He's tough," Lloyd said. "There's nothing he can't handle. Trust me, Cole will be fine."
Cole was not fine.
"What do you mean you lost Cole?!" I spoke harshly down the phone to Nya's frantic voice. It was nearing midnight, and my mother had just gone to bed. The ceremony we held for my passed ascendants was short and meaningful, filled with messages to them, scented candles and ramen noodle pork soup.
But now Cole's pulled a Will Byers and has gone fucking missing.
"How can you just lose a whole ninja?!"
"He's not exactly human anymore, Y/n," Nya retaliated. "It's easy for him to slip out of sight!"
I groaned, holding a hand to my forehead.
"Did anyone talk to him at all today?" I asked. "Maybe, I don't know, see how he felt? Being a ghost wasn't exactly on his bucket list."
Silence was my reply. I shook my head.
"You guys suck."
"We're gonna go looking for him," Nya informed. I could just hear the faint sound of background voices, undoubtedly the rest of the ninja. "I'll call you when we find him."
"Are you sure you don't need my help?"
"We'll be fine," Nya replied. "Seriously, don't worry. I think the sensei's already might know where he went."
I huffed through my nose, tapping my fingers on my knee as I glanced out my bedroom window. The moon had a slight green sheen across it, making me only slightly unnerved.
"Alright," I finally said. "Stay safe. Tell me as soon as you find him, okay?"
"Will do," Nya said with a warm tone. An incomprehensible voice shouted in the background. She snorted. "Lloyd sends his love."
"Aww, I love him, too."
The rest of the night was silent. I didn't sleep a wink, mind plagued by what ifs and tragic endings. Even I knew that they were dumb, but that didn't mean that they stopped.
It must've been six in the morning when I finally fell asleep.
I awoke to people making pleasant conversation in the living room.
Too tired to recognise the voices, I threw on a discarded hoody (that was definitely Lloyd's) and pulled my hair back into a tangled pony tail. I stumbled to the living room to quench my lethargic curiosity of who was there.
Lloyd and mum were gossiping over tea and biscuits.
"Alright, well, I'm gonna go back to sleep-"
"Y/n, come join us," mum urged, moving over to make room for me on the couch. I sighed and yawned at the same time - yaghed? Sawned? - before stumbling over and collapsing onto the couch.
"Morning," Lloyd grinned. I lifted a hand tiredly.
I'm not a morning person.
"Heeey," I drawled, staring a biscuit and munching on it. "Why are you here so early - wait!"
I swallowed the biscuit quickly. I narrowly avoided choking.
"- did you find Cole? Is he okay?"
Lloyd's grin brightened, which only made me more confused.
"Y/n," called Cole's voice from the entrance of the living room. I glanced over. He rubbed the back of his very real neck with his very real hand. "Sorry. I just went to the bathroom. We thought that you'd want to see me like this before tomorrow."
"Cole!" I shrieked, leaping to my feet. "Oh, my god!"
"Hehe, I know."
"You're human again!"
"I know!"
"How?!"
"Another ghost dude named Yang sacrificed himself for me!"
"Oh."
"Yeah, it- it was actually kind of sad," Cole frowned. "Mad respect for that dude, though."
He thumped his chest before holding a peace sign to the sky.
"Hey, Cole, you do realise this gives you no excuse to not go school now, right?"
Cole's gaze widened.
"Fuck."
