~ Part 11 ~ | Childish Pranks and Teenage Girl Gossip

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** Say Something I'm Giving Up On You  (A Great Big World)**
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"And I am feeling so small
It was over my head
I know nothing at all
And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl
Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
Anywhere, I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you"

~ A Great Big World

This chapter is dedicated to SageNinjaMorro . You're a new reader to this story but I still appreciate the votes and comments! :)

(comment or PM if you'd like a shoutout!)

******

Lloyd had heard absolutely everything Kai had said. He wasn't exactly surprised, Kai had made it very clear that he didn't like Lloyd. But he couldn't help but feel slightly hurt. Only slightly. Lloyd had long learned just to shake it off. But that didn't mean he was going to ignore it.

Now Lloyd is a pretty good kid. He didn't exactly love doing things that hurt people. Even though his graffiti was vandalism he always sought to empower people with it. Sometimes a giant message on a wall was what people needed. He also knew that a few harmless pranks was enough to make this place less boring. He didn't like horrible pranks that hurt people but if Darkley's had taught him anything it was that people were cruel and sometimes you could rebel against their expectations. The best way to do that is to rise in the way that they will make them hate you with all their heart.

"I wanted to give these to you." Master Wu said, reaching into his desk. Lloyd jerked his head up, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

When he was much younger he had thought his uncle was some sort of physic, Lloyd sincerely hoped Wu wasn't a mind reader. If he was then he just got insight on all his ingenious plans to make Kai practically explode.

Lloyd's theory was disproven when a piece of paper slid across the desk. Creases in the page signalled that it had been folded previously. Lloyd looked up at his uncle curiously. Why would he give this to him? Wu offered an encouraging nod. Lloyd hesitantly reaches over and picked it up. His heart speeding up as he recognized the careful handwriting.

Dear Wu,

I sent you this letter regarding my son, your nephew, Lloyd Garmadon.

My absence in his life is not something I can explain. Unfortunately, my pride stops me from doing that...explaining. Maybe eventually I will be able to tell you. But not today.

Lloyd is growing older, the world is a much darker place than I would like to think and he's been placed in the thick of it.

I feel that it is time for a new adult to step into his life to guide him. I was hoping it could be you. I know that you're going to refuse but he can only be on his own for so long, Wu.

He's at Darkley's, placed in the very heart of Ninjago City. Please find him. Don't let my little boy fall under the same trap his father did. Don't let him get lost.

Love,
      Misako

Lloyd slapped the paper back on Wu's desk with a slam. Making the old man jump in surprise. The boy pressed his lips together, looking around as he tried to grasp his emotions. So many of them swirled inside him but he didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say. For so long he's held on but people keep snipping at the rope. One by one the threads are cut before the last one snaps and he falls, falls so hard that he may not be able to get up.

"What are you doing?" Lloyd asked out loud, voice low but hard. "What is your big plan at the end of this?"

"Well, I gave you the letter, then I'm going to get some tea." Wu replied calmly.

Lloyd glared at him, irritation rising. Wu sighed, trying to formulate the words for what was happening in his head.

"I'm trying to help you, Lloyd." Wu said at last. "But I can't help you if you don't trust me."

"And how's this going to help me trust you?" Lloyd practically laughed, cold, hard, and close to hysterical.

"We can't keep going in circles, nephew." Wu told him, voice gentle but stern. "Don't let the world bring you to your knees. Don't let the darkness consume your soul. For once you get stuck in the poison of humanity it's very hard to get out."

Lloyd shook his head in disbelief, he hardly knew what his uncle was talking about. He never did say anything directly.

"Become who you are." Wu continued.

"I don't know who I am!" Lloyd snapped, arms moving in violent gestures. "I'm just some kid pretending- pretending that they have everything figured out, pretending that life is as freaking messed up as it is, pretending that they have more talents than just writing on walls!"

"Sometimes you have to write on walls to make people listen." Master Wu smiled softly, interrupting the boy's rant."Words have power."

"Words. Have. Power." Wu repeated, voice rising as he stood. "Words can tear people into war or sew together the frayed ends of peace. They can make people rise, they can cause people to fall. Words can be ones greatest weapon. And those who have the words, who know the words, who are able to use these words, must use their words wisely. For words can be our biggest ally and our greatest enemy."

Lloyd wasn't sure what to say. His brain was tired, his body was tired, his heart was tired. He wasn't sure what to do. So, he just did the only thing he could do. Lloyd stood, grabbing his notebook and rising out hit chair. He turned to leave but Master Wu called his name one last time.

"Lloyd!" Lloyd turned back. "Take this with you." The letter was pinned between his fingers, stretching towards him like an olive branch.

Lloyd could walk away. Lloyd could keep on moving. But he didn't. He couldn't. So, he took it. Grasping the paper, Lloyd gently teased it from his uncle's grasp. He chewed on his lip, pausing in the door for a moment before stuffing the paper in his pocket and walking out.

Wu massaged his tired eyes, a single tear breaking from his gaze and falling down his cheek. The droplet fell onto the table as he clasped his hands over his mouth.

"Why can't I get to him." He whispered. "Why can't I do this?"

*****

"What part of friendship bracelets is 'peaceful?'" Cole grumbled as he tore aggressively at the embroidery thread.

Zane finished another perfect knot and briefly glanced at his friend. "Perhaps the part that says 'friendship?'" The boy replied dryly.

Jay snickered and examined the book for cool designs. The little Friendship Bracelet 101 booklet was covered in images of intricately tied bracelets and little girls smiling from the page.

Cole stopped wrestling with the stuff, cursing his large hands, and looked at Kai who sat beside him. He was surprised when the boy didn't join in to tease Cole's subpar bracelet-making skills. Kai's lips were drawn in a pout and he showed obvious signs of Kai-sulking. This time Cole knew exactly what it was about. The dark haired boy couldn't help but smirk as his gaze flicked to Lloyd who was quietly making a green bracelet across the room.

"You know he's only going to hate you more now." Nya spoke up, she made a four with the string and pulled, the knot slid up the thread.

Lloyd shrugged and tried not to appear too pleased, yet his lips couldn't help but twitch upward when he glanced at Kai.

Chaos had erupted that morning when Lloyd had somehow managed to get some glitter in Kai's hair gel. Kai has managed to scrub most of it out but there was still a few flecks of sparkle that dotted his head.

"He already doesn't like me." Lloyd reasoned, he frowned when he knotted the wrong piece. Nya glanced at the blonde beside her and watched as he tried to fix the mistake. He was right of course, that Kai didn't like him. She blinked as she remembered Master Wu's words.

"His situation reminded me a lot of yours, Kai and Nya. Which was why I had hoped you would reach out to him."

Nya remembered feeling abandoned, watching all the other kids with their parents who loved them and stayed with them when they were sick, hurt, or just needed comfort. Nya wondered if Lloyd had felt those feelings too. He probably had. Nya had been lucky enough to have Kai with her. But Lloyd didn't have anyone.

Nya ties off the end of her bracelet, snipping off the extra thread and presenting it to Lloyd. It was a blue and deep maroon colour with a fishtail design done intricately down the whole thing. Lloyd paused when it went into his line of vision and glanced at her.

"Here." Nya said, nodding to it.

Lloyd's brow furrowed with confusion. "What?"

"I want you to have it." She raised it again, a little more encouragingly. Lloyd's gaze flicked to the bracelet, then to her face, with an uncertain expression. He hesitated but took it, pinning it onto the table with his arm and allowing her to secure it onto his wrist.

"Thanks." Lloyd mumbled awkwardly, examining it. "Er... you can have mine, I guess..." He reached for his own and placed it by her.

Nya smiled at it, taking it in her hands. It was simple line design in various greens. A little too loose in some parts, lopsided in others. But she appreciated it none the less. "Can you help me put it on?" Nya nodded to it.

Lloyd did as she said, fastening it and then cutting it the extra pieces for her. "Thank you." Nya looked at it fondly, making Lloyd flush.

Jay had paused his bracelet making, his unreadable gaze watching them with eagle-eyes. Nya laughed and nudged the blonde boy, making Lloyd jump but grin back at her.

"What is it?" Cole noticed the sudden change in his friend.

Jay turned back to his task. "Nothing." He muttered quickly.

******

"Thanks for walking with me, Jay." Nya couldn't help but feel flattered as the brunette strolled quietly beside her.

Jay continued on with her to her dorm and paused at the doorway, his hands twiddled nervously. Nya tilted her head and noticed how he hadn't made a move to leave.

"Do you need anything?" She asked him.

Jay hesitated a moment, opening his mouth to say something then closing it. Finally he just gave a nervous smile and began to back away. Jay slammed into the wall clumsily, he yelled and righted himself with another awkward wave.

"G-goodnight, Nya." Jay stumbled over his words and speed-walked away as fast as he could. Nya watched curiously as he muttered to himself, an amused tilt of the lips was still on her face as she entered into her dorm.

Lloyd was on his bed, all dressed and moving the extra pillows off. Nya waved at him and got her nightwear before changing in the bathroom. When she returned Lloyd had settled in and she scrambled up into her own bed.

Lloyd reached to turn off the light but Nya stopped him. "We can keep the light on." She said, her eyes briefly twinkled teasingly. "You can read your comic book in the better light."

Lloyd flushed, his mind scrambled as he tried to think of an excuse but gave up, reaching for the graphic novel and flipping it open. Nya sighed, sinking back into her blankets as she stared up at the ceiling. Lloyd's eyes flicked to her, moving back to his book before back at her again.

"Did Jay finally ask you out?" Lloyd piped at last.

Nya shot up into a sitting position and whipped to stare at him. "What? No!"

"Oh?" Lloyd smirked. "Then are you going to ask him?"

Nya sputtered, her eyes glared at him warningly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"So, you don't have a crush on him?"

Nya gave him the stink-eye, huffing and crossing her arms. "Ah, so you do." Lloyd snickered, reaching to grab the corner of his next page. "If your nervous about him not returning your feelings- forget it. He's really into you."

Nya debates between sulking and talking to him. Eventually her teenage girl took over and she turned back around. "What about you? Any crushes? Anyone you're interested in?"

Lloyd was silent for a moment. "There was...one person."

Nya squealed and bounced up, getting on her knees. She didn't have many friends back in Ignacia and talking about crushes with Kai... Uh- no. Just no. So, she may be acting like a fourth grader but she couldn't bring herself to mind. Even though Lloyd stared at her like she was crazy.

"Who? Were they tall? Short? Crazy beautiful? Or like average but has a personality of gold?" Nya demanded.

Lloyd looked overwhelmed at the questions being thrown at him. He paused to contemplate. "He was tall. Very tall." Lloyd told her at last.

"He?" Nya's smile widened.

Lloyd looked relieved by her response and couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah. His name was Markus."

"Was he amazing or was he a jerk?"

Lloyd squinted at her. "What?"

"Because if he wasn't a jerk I could say his name was hot but if he was a jerk I have to say 'what a jerk name'" Nya explained.

Lloyd still looked confused but continued on anyway. "He was...well he wasn't exactly either. Markus was the only one that was... nice. He had this smile that made my brain stop working and we used to hang out all the time." Lloyd smiled to himself, picking at the loose string on the friendship bracelet. "I finally worked up the courage to tell him I had a crush on him but... Darkley's is sort of homophobic so he got scared I guess and ran away. The next day I learned that he dropped out of Darkley's and transferred to a new school."

Nya just looked at him with a deadpan stare. "What a jerk name."

Lloyd snorted. "Yeah... I decided that the kids at Darkley's weren't worth my gayness after that."

Nya tilted her head curiously. "Are you gay, bi... or-"

"Bisexual." Lloyd said quietly. "Figured it out a few years ago."

"Any internalized homophobia?"

"Not... much. I don't know. Ninjago City is pretty good with the LGTBQ community so I wasn't totally shunned, I guess." Lloyd answered uncertainly.

Nya decided to spin the conversation to a more positive direction. "So, you like both girls and guys- right?"

Lloyd nodded.

"So... what are your thoughts on Jay?"

Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "I dunno. He has that cute sort of attractiveness." Lloyd shrugged.

"And his eyes just seem to light up when he gets excited. When he smiles you can't help but be happy to and-" Nya broke off when Lloyd shot her a knowing look.

"Okay, maybe I have a crush on him." She admitted. She flopped down, exhaling loudly. "What about Cole?"

"He's attractive, can't deny that. Has a really high voice for a big guy though. What's up with that?" Lloyd turned towards her, placing down his comic.

Nya laughed, propping her head on her hand. "How about Zane? Sort of mysterious, intelligent..."

"Eh...he's okay. Seems more like a Mom-friend then someone I'd be into." Lloyd joked.

Nya snickered, laying back down with a smile and staring up at her ceiling once more. Lloyd smirked at her. "What? Not going to ask my thoughts on your brother?"

"If you have a crush on him-" Nya's voice was deeper with warning.

Lloyd laughed hard, shaking his head quickly. "I don't! I swear." She looked relieved. "He's good looking but all that hair gel? No, thank you!"

Nya coughed, choking as she laughed. When she finally was able to breath again. she smiled at her roommate. "You're not so bad."

Lloyd smiled, something in his eyes changing. "You're pretty okay too." Nya leaned to turn off the light and almost knocked over her lip balm on the dresser.

"Even if you're too chicken to ask a guy out."

Nya threw the chapstick at his head. "OW!"

Authors note****

*slow happy smile* 😏

Yes, our Lloydie is bisexual. I've been reading these crazy adorable gay fanfics that are just so cute and I had to have a little bi-bud in here.

I may or may not be planning a little male love interest for him... we'll see.😏

I'm actually straight and I need to educate myself more on the Lgtbq+ community and the various terms etc. So if I get something wrong please let me know AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I swear I never mean to be offensive.

I've been building on Nya and Lloyd's relationship as you can tell. I'm loving their dynamic right now. Don't worry, I didn't forget about Kai finding out Lloyd was the green ninja. That will play out later.

Thank you so, so, so, so, much for the 3K reads! It doesn't feel that long ago that it was 2K!

Just checked, it says January 20th but I do some editing if I see a typo here and there. But it probably was around then. I'm so happy to see that people are enjoying this story!

Feel free to comment or PM me about anything, except for like...hate comments and stuff. I hope you all are having a good day or night!

LuckyBugBooks 🐞