Lightbreeze is a Lie

Chapter 3

@DanielAnarc, a Happy Birthday to you!

Cole forced his eyes open. He looked at the time- 10:11 A.M. He sighed. Once again, he was the last one to wake. Then again, that was probably because he was the last one to fall asleep.

With a groan, he forced himself out of bed. All of the other ninja had already left the room except for Jay, who was busy murmuring to himself. Cole wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to interrupt, and before he could decide, Jay turned around. "Finally!" he cried. "I thought you were going to sleep the day away."

Cole grinned. If there was one person he wanted to talk to, it was Jay. Even though they were complete opposites at times, Jay always knew how to enlighten him or make him feel better. "I thought about it," he teased, "but then I wouldn't have the chance to see you talking to yourself in the mirror."

"Hey!" Jay exclaimed, even though he understood it was a joke. "It's very therapeutic in troubling situations. Like, if I want someone to talk to, I just say, 'Hi Jay, how are you?' and then my reflection says-" Jay took a moment to make his voice deeper and finished, "'I'm doing fine. How are you on this beautiful day?'"

Cole chuckled. Jay probably wouldn't have said that out loud if Nya was in the room. At the thought, he remembered his friend's current predicament. "How are things going with you and Nya?"

Jay snorted with contempt. "You must mean with Kai, not Nya. Because I can't seem to get a break from him when I try to say but two words to his sister." He softened his tone a little. "I mean, does he care for her? Obviously. Does he have her best interests at heart? Looks like it. But is he being overprotective? By a long shot." When Cole nodded for him to keep going, he added, "Like, imagine he and Skylor went out on a date, and I kept bothering him or trying to get him to divert his attention. Can you truthfully tell me that he wouldn't explode with anger?"

"No," Cole admitted. He saw Jay's point. If only Kai could let Jay and Nya get some alone time. He was sure they'd find a way somehow. "I hope you can make things work."

"I hope so too," Jay replied. He smirked, and then asked, "How are things going between you and Lyd?"

Cole didn't put up a front fast enough. Jay immediately noticed something was wrong. "What is it?" he asked. "Are you two fighting or something?"

"Not exactly," he confessed. "I feel like she isn't- I mean, well..." As he was trying to explain, Cole realized that he had no real reason to doubt her. What had she done? Just supported the idea of a few stupid lanterns. That and a dream had been enough to shake his faith in her? What was he thinking?

In a moment, Cole realized exactly how stupid he'd been. He let out a loud laugh and told Jay, "You know what? Everything's fine."

Jay looked even more confused. "Are you sure?" he questioned.

"I was just overreacting," Cole assured him. Jay seemed skeptical, but he nodded and left the room. After a moment, Cole put on his gi and made himself look presentable. He could smell good food from the kitchen- which probably hinted that Zane was cooking -and wanted to get there in time for the morning meal.

He walked out into the hallway. To his initial delight, Lydia was just exiting her room. She turned to face him with a smile and a casual wave, but that wasn't what made him stop dead in his tracks.

She was carrying the same lantern he'd seen on his windowsill.

. . . . . .

Lydia watched in confusion as Cole stopped short in the hallway, almost as if he was startled by something. But what was there to be startled of? She could already sense that no one was behind her.