Nya's POV

I sit in the bleachers, looking out on the football field. The football team and the cheerleading squad are sitting out there, and in the center, there's a podium. The homecoming court made up of Kai, Cole, Morro, Griffin, Harumi, Skylor, Chamille, Mackenzie, PIXAL, and Zane are standing on the track.

The whole school is coming out for the homecoming rally, considering it's the day before homecoming. I made sure to get here early, so I could sit in the front and center of the bleachers. I promised Jay that he'd be able to see me during his speech, and I wanted to make sure that would happen.

"Can I sit here?" someone next to me asks. I look up, and I'm met with the bright green eyes of Lloyd Garmadon.

"Yeah, sure," I answer, considering I'm not saving the spot for anyone. He sits down, and for the first time I've seen, he's nervous. He's out of his element.

Harumi and him still haven't announced their relationship to the public, considering my brother is still going with her to homecoming for some reason unbeknownst to me. Lloyd is still trying to support her though, even subtly. In my mind, she doesn't deserve the effort.

"It's a shame that Zane got forced to be on court. He looks so sad and uncomfortable," I look down at the track. The rest of the court is talking with each other, but Zane is standing awkwardly off to the side, sadness etched across his face.

"It is. That never should've happened," he agrees, hesitation in his tone.

"You were there that day. I remember seeing you watch it all go down," I admit, watching Harumi side eye Zane. "Not to sound rude, but what do you see in her? She's so rude."

"Excuse me?"

"Kai's my brother, of course I know that she cheated on him with you."

He lets out a sigh. "Harumi's different when she's around me. We're working on her whole 'rule with fear' thing."

I watch the homecoming court interact. Now, they're all split up. Harumi is talking with Chamille, a sour look on her face. Griffin and Morro are joking around, Morro trying to jump over Griffin's head. Kai, Skylor, Cole, and Mackenzie are all talking in a circle. Zane is off to the side. That's until, to my surprise, Cole invites Zane over to talk with them.

"Attention students!" the principal says into her microphone. The bleachers quiet. "Welcome to this year's homecoming rally! I hope you all have had an excellent start to the year. I'd like to take some time to introduce this year's homecoming court!"

The homecoming court lines up side by side. "First up is PIXAL." She takes a step forward. "Throughout her 4 years here, PIXAL has maintained a 4.83 GPA. She served as co president of the computer science club for 3 years. When she graduates, PIXAL is going into biomedical engineering.

Next is Zane. In his 4 years here, Zane has severed 3 years as the co president of the computer science club, is the active president now, and is on his fourth year of being the president of the chess club. He has a cumulative GPA of 4.83. When he graduates, he is going to study to become a neurosurgeon, so he can help people.

Next is Chamille. Chamille has been part of the cheer squad all 4 years. In her free time, Chamille enjoys going to parties and hanging out at the beach. When she graduates, she plans on going to trade school for fashion.

Next is Morro. Morro has attended Ninjago high all 4 years, and in his time here has played football and lacrosse. When he graduates, he plans on becoming a counselor to help people turn their lives around.

Next is Mackenzie. She has been a part of the cheer squad all 4 years. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her friends. When she graduates, she plans on becoming a teacher.

Next is Griffin. Griffin has been a part of our football program all 4 years, and he has won state in track all 4 years. He attributes his success in running to his friends and family for always supporting him. When he graduates, Griffin plans on becoming a professional track star.

Next is Cole. Cole has been a part of the football team all 4 years, and was part of the wrestling team for 2. He wants to thank his best friend Kai for always supporting him and never giving up on him. When he graduates, he plans on going into sports medicine so he can help athletes get back on the field as quickly as possible.

Next is Skylor. Skylor just came to Ninjago High this year, but in this time she joined the cheer squad where she was able to utilize her tumbling skills. Skylor enjoys hanging out with her friends, gymnastics, and talking to new people. When she graduates, Skylor is going to eventually take over her father's noodle business.

Next is Kai. Kai has been on the football team for 4 years and is the current captain. He wants to thank his team, his friends, and his sister for pushing him to be the best person he can be. When he graduates, Kai plans on going into metalwork.

Finally, we have Harumi. Harumi has been on cheer all 4 of her years here and has been the captain for the past couple years. Her favorite part of cheer has been being around her friends. When she graduates, Harumi hopes to get into politics." Each person steps forward as they are being introduced. "And now, we have a speech from our ASB president, Jay Walker!"

Jay walks out from under an easy-up, which makes sense because the sun is turning the field into an oven. He nervously walks up to the pedestal. His eyes scan over the crowd, but they pause when they reach me. He visibly relaxes.

"Hi, everyone," he nervously greets, placing an index card down. "Homecoming is a celebration of the new school year, welcoming new freshman and for some of us, the start of our final year of high school." He pauses and takes a deep breath. I nod for him to keep going. "Homecoming gives the student body a chance to come together and unite, to make something bigger than themselves. If we can keep that unity past homecoming, we'll be able to do great things." He starts talking faster, and I can see the pressure is weighing down on him. He seems as if he's about to crack at any second.

He closes his eyes and moves the index card from off the podium, so it's out of sight. He reopens his eyes and makes eye contact with me. "We aren't unified. This school is split. People care more about looking cool than helping someone in need. They ignore people who just need a friend because they're afraid of going out of the status quo. They're mean to fit in.

We can't go on like this. If we want to grow, we have to come together. These people who you choose to make fun of are people too, and they're great people at that.

Recently, someone went out of their way to be nice to me. They didn't need to, but they did, and it made my day. If everyone was nicer to one more person, we could do so much. People wouldn't dread school. Our sports team would work better together. Our clubs would flourish. Everything would be improved," he starts to talk as if he's just going on one of his rants. His eyes never leave me the entire time he talks.

"So let's have a great homecoming, and let's keep the positive momentum going forward. Celebrate what we've done and celebrate what we're going to do. Every positive action makes a difference. Thank you everyone," once he stops talking, the nerves seem to sink in even more. His eyes finally break off of me and scan over the entire crowd.

I stand up, balancing on my good foot, and start to clap my hands. On the track, Cole starts to clap, Kai following in suit. Soon, everyone is cheering and clapping for his speech.

---

"I know I already told her, but can you tell your mom I really appreciated the accommodations she made on the meal tonight for me? It was really sweet of her to make me a whole different stir fry," I tell Jay as we walk up to my front door, taking what feels like an eternity because of my crutches. Earlier in the night, I finally had dinner with his parents. They were super sweet, and they were also very talkative.

"For sure. I'm sorry if they came off too strong. They were really excited to have you come over," he apologizes, seeming slightly embarrassed.

"They didn't. They were really nice. It's clear that they love you a lot," we reach my front door. "Do I have to go in?"

"Sadly, but hey, tomorrow is homecoming, meaning we get to spend the entire day together tomorrow decorating the gym, but that also means we have to get ready at around noon for the dance in order to have everything set up in time," he brings up.

"And we're working the snack booth still, right? I don't think I'll be able to dance in this," I gesture down to my ankle.

"Yeah, no one else volunteered to work it, but that's no shock. No one volunteered to help us set up, or organize the dance, or book anything, or..." he starts to ramble, and I listen with a smile on my face.

"I really enjoy listening to you talk, but I also need to shower," I tell him.

"That's a shame, but I understand. I'll see you tomorrow," he wraps his arms around me for a hug.

"I know I already told you as soon as I saw you, but I'm so proud of you. Your speech was amazing," I inform him softly, giving him a kiss on the cheek after.

"Thanks. I just imagined I was talking to you after I was struggling to get out what I wrote down on the notecard, and it worked," he shrugs, putting a smile on my face. I move my head back, so I can look at his face.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I give him a quick kiss.

"See you tomorrow," we disconnect.

He walks to his car, giving me a wave before I walk into the house. When I walk in, I see three people sitting in the living room. Kai is sitting on the couch, still in his football uniform from the game I skipped tonight. Next to him, Skylor is still wearing her cheerleading uniform and is talking to him. 

When she told Kai about Lloyd, they ended up making up. I think she likes him again, which I don't think is a good idea for her considering what happened last time. However, if that's what she wants I'll support her. Skylor and I are friends, and friends support each other.

Sitting in a chair adjacent from them is Cole. He has on his letterman's jacket, considering he can't actually play anymore and therefore doesn't wear his jersey. He's disconnected from their conversation, as if he's not even trying to pay attention. When I close the door, his head darts up, his eyes looking in my direction. Kai and Skylor also look up.

"How was your dinner?" Kai asks, but I ignore him, considering he's only saying it for show since Skylor is here. He obviously doesn't get the hint, since he continues talking. "Were Jay's parents nice?"

"When's the party starting?" I deflect his question.

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, it's the night before homecoming, and you guys just played the homecoming game. There's no way you aren't going to throw one of your 'Kai Smith ragers'," I say disbelievingly.

"I'm actually not. It sounded more fun to hang out with my favorite people. I was hoping you'd join us," he tells me, seemingly sincerely.

"I need to take a shower, and I'm tired. Tomorrow is going to be busy," I brush him off, turning to walk away.

"Nya, wait," this time, the person talking isn't Kai. I look over my shoulder, and Cole is now standing up. He's leaning forward slightly, as if he was about to follow me. I keep walking until I'm out of the room. I walk down the hallway, turning into my room before briskly shutting the door behind me.

I walk into my closet, grabbing a t shirt, a pair of exercise shorts, and underwear to change into after my shower. Afterwards, I look around my room. My eyes settle on the picture of Jay and I that I put on the wall. It's a picture of the two of us from one of our service projects. We're squatting down in front of a cluster of newly planted trees. Both of us have our thumbs up. My favorite part of the picture is how happy we both look.

I put the picture up where the picture of my family used to be. That picture was just a reminder of how things used to be. It was a reminder of when our family was actually a family. Replacing it showed that I finally moved on past that life.

"Nya," at the sound of Cole's voice, I sigh. I turn around. He's standing in my door frame, having opened my door when I was transfixed with the picture.

"I've had a good night, Cole. I don't need you ruining that," I try to get him to go away, but it's clear he has no intention of leaving.

"I need you to hear me out Nya, please," he says softly. "I'm sorry."

"Look Cole, you said you'd leave me alone, yet you keep bugging me. Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it."

"I want you to be happy. We need closure, Nya," he tells me. I scoff.

"How's this for closure?" I gesture down to my boot.

"This apology is different than the others though. I'm not trying to get you back," he sighs.

I raise an eyebrow,"What?"

"I came here to say sorry, and I came here to let you go," he bites the inside of his lip after he says it. "I'm sorry Nya. I'm so, so sorry. I put you through hell. I don't want you to be reminded of that constantly, and I know that's all I am to you at this point, a bad reminder. You need to move on, and so do I. The only way for us to do that is for me to let you, and the hope of us, go."

He closes his eyes tightly, clenching his fists, but it's not intimidating. He's holding himself together. He's trying to not break down.

"I'm sorry Nya. I'm sorry for every bad thing I've done to you. I'm sorry for that first night where I hurt you past the point where you could ever forgive me. I'm sorry I pestered you for two years trying to get you back. I'm sorry I made your brother lie to you. I'm sorry I sabotaged your relationship with Jay. I'm sorry I left you at that party. I'm sorry I even considered drinking, let alone drunk. I'm sorry I put my hands on you. I'm sorry I broke your ankle. I'm sorry I beat up Jay. There's hundreds of other sorries I want to get out, but I know that none of them will help you forgive me.

I don't expect for you to forgive me. If it was the other way around, I sure wouldn't. I just want you to know I'm sorry, and I really wish things would've went different between us. I hope you can at least try to mildly tolerate me for your brother's sake.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I want to be the person I used to be, the one before I got addicted. I tried thinking like he would, and do you know what I realized? I'm happy for you Nya. By trying to push my jealousy aside, I was able to discover how happy for you I really am. I'm happy you found someone who makes you feel like you make me feel.

I saw you looking at Jay today while he was doing his speech. You were mesmerized by him. Yeah, watching you with him makes me insanely jealous, but I can tell you're beyond happy. You smile at him in a way I haven't seen you smile in what feels like a lifetime, and I can't be the reason that smile is wiped off your face. I need to let you go in order to preserve that happiness and to allow myself to find some," his eyes are watery, and I can see him holding back the tears. "You're always going to have a special place in my heart. You're the first girl I've loved. You've taught me so much about strength and persistence. It's time for you to be free. I'm sorry I couldn't give you all that you deserved."

"Thank you, Cole," I have to hold back my own tears.

"I hope you have a great time tomorrow. You deserve it."

A/N finally, I'm soooo sorry that this chapter was so late  (I compensated with it being longer)

For those of you who don't know, I posted the preview to Enmity. It'd mean a lot if you guys checked it out. I have it and it's sequel planned out chapter by chapter (which is why this took so long). If you're a fan of rivalry fanfics, you'll looooove this.

Thank you guys for 10k+ reads on this! It means so much to me. This book is almost above hidden, and I think it'd be cool if it could get more reads than hidden.

Also this book is #2 under the Ninjago tag which is super cool! Thank you all

Homecoming is the chapter after next chapter! Any predictions?

Thoughts?

Thank you guys all so much. I'll try to finish the book within the next week.