~ Part 2~ | Nerds Alike

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** I'll Stand By You (The Pretenders)**
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"So if you're mad, get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well I'm a lot like you
When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
'Cause even if you're wrong"

~ The Pretenders

This chapter is dedicated to @Pixiedog2 thank you for all the comments! I love reading them!

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

******

Nya raised an inquiring eyebrow at her blonde-haired friend. The boy was unusually quiet, appearing deep in thought as he stared blankly at his textbook. At last, Nya couldn't take it anymore and promptly flicked Lloyd in the forehead, making him jump and recoil from the blow.

"Why did you do that?" Lloyd pouted, rubbing the abused flesh with his knuckles.

Nya rolled over on her back to regard him with a goofy smile. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Lloyd feigned obliviousness and bent back over his work.

"What do you mean, what do you mean?" Nya mocked him by making her voice comically low. Lloyd rolled his eyes. "You've been staring at the same page for fifteen minutes, something's up."

"Nothing's up!" Lloyd protested and turned the page to prove it. "I'm just a slow reader!"

"I dunno, you seem to read through those stupid comics awfully fast." The ravenette teased.

Emerald eyes narrowed dangerously. "Fritz Donnegan is a classic and you know it!" His annoyed expression was met with a snort.

Nya sobered, turning back onto her stomach and tilting her head at him in concern. "Come on, Lloydie. What's going on in that thick head of yours?"

"You are so rude." Lloyd sniffed, reluctantly shutting his textbook. He let out a sigh as he tried to sort through the thoughts and emotions in his mind. "I guess... I still feel lost here. It's all new and weird! I barely know any of the group other you and Kai."

Now it was Nya's turn to roll her eyes. She exaggerated the motion by swinging her gaze up to the ceiling dramatically. "Good grief, it's not that hard! Just say: "you wanna play video games like anti-social, computer-obsessed, zombies?' and then move on with your life."

Lloyd scrunched up his nose. "Stop doing that. My voice is not that deep. Besides, it's not that easy. I can't just randomly go up to them!"

"Well, what do you want me to do? Set up a play date for you guys?"

Lloyd made an annoyed groan and scowled at her. She was making it seem stupid. Of course, Nya knew it wasn't exactly as simple as she was making it sound. But she found that saying that the social challenge was stupid would push him to step out of his shell and talk to someone other than her.

"How are things with you and Jay?" Lloyd artfully changed the subject with a smirk.

He already knew all the ins and outs of the blue-eyed 'adorable dork' as Nya put it. She would come back to their dorm after little dates and gush about him for hours on end while Lloyd busied himself with homework, reading, and napping as she talked.

Nya gave him the stink-eye but couldn't pass up the chance to squeal about Jay. They weren't anything serious yet but Nya could already feel how deeply she cared for him. It was in the way he smiled and her heart fluttered, how her mind automatically locked in and memorized everything he said, how right his hand felt in hers...

"We're doing good," Nya said softly, her cheeks flushing and Lloyd smirked at her dreamy expression. "We went walking around the garden Wu has behind the school. It was so peaceful back there! He's so sweet! We talked for hours and I almost didn't want it to end."

"She's in lo-o-o-ove!" Lloyd sang, making the girl give him a shrew-eyed glare.

"Go help Jay and Kai with lunch," Nya instructed him, jerking her chin.

Lloyd's brow furrowed. "What? Why?"

"Bonding and all that crap, so you can get to know Jay. It will help with Kai there."

Lloyd chewed on his lip but reluctantly got up. "You're just trying to avoid being teased." He accused her of a fake- pout.

"Mwahaha. You caught on to my evil plan." Nya responded dryly before swatting at him. "Now shoo! I can't watch you sadly mope anymore! It's too pathetic!"

Lloyd made a face at her, to which she returned, before disappearing out of the room. Nya sighed to herself, shaking her head with a smile before returning to her school work.

Unfortunately, now that more students were here the peace was broken by screaming kids.

*****

"KAI! STOP! FOIL DOESN'T GO IN THE MICROWAVE!"

"WELL I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!"

"YOU'RE GOING TO BURN THE SCHOOL DOWN!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SNEEZED IN THE SOUP!"

"AT LEAST THAT WON'T CAUSE A FIRE!"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW-"

"Need some help?"

Jay screamed at the sudden tentative offer and jumped backwards, almost crashing into the counter. Kai snorted loudly and looked up from the stove at the green-clad boy with a confused expression.

"Why would you want to help?" Kai grumbled.

Lloyd hesitated but he soon realized it was a rhetorical question and the brunette didn't really care for an answer.

"So, what are you making?" Lloyd questioned, he walked over to the counter and sniffed suspiciously at the steaming pot.

"Just canned soup and microwaved hot dogs. Nothing special." Kai shrugged.

Jay gave Kai a look. "If it's so simple why are you failing so bad at making it?"

"Excuse you, we're doing this together." Kai hooked his arm over the back of Jay's neck, making him grunt. "Best friends forever, right Jay-Jay?"

Lloyd chuckled as the ginger-haired boy squirmed in his classmate's hold. "I hate you." Jay huffed, tugging at the headlock.

Lloyd took a spoon and began to stir the soup as Kai released the smaller boy. Jay whined a little and rubbed his neck as he went towards the fridge.

"Are you good with pouring the water, Kai?" Jay teased.

Lloyd glanced at Kai in confusion, who scowled. "That's not funny!"

"What's not funny?" Lloyd tried to get in the loop.

"Kai's afraid of water." Jay stage-whispered.

Kai shot him a dirty look. "When I said I was afraid of water I meant pools and stuff, Jay." He shivered. "Drowning is my biggest fear."

Lloyd's gaze stayed on the streaks trailing behind his spoon as he listened to the conversation. Kai's words jogged a reference in his mind.

"'Fear isn't a word where I come from!'" Lloyd was surprised when another voice joined his, he turned to glance at Jay in surprise. The other boy had an equally shocked expression.

"That was creepy..." Kai commented uneasily.

"You read Starfarer?" Lloyd asked incredulously. He ignored Kai and directed his attention to Jay.

Jay nodded enthusiastically. "It's been my favourite comic since I grew out of Daffy Dayle!"

"What's your favourite one?"

"Version fifty-two, Planet Abeona," Jay answered immediately.

"With the weird buff alien dudes?"

"And the crystal of Aera Cura?"

"What the heck is happening?" Kai cut in, his eyes darted back and forth between them.

When neither of them answered and they continued talking about the series excitedly Kai threw his hands in the air.

"That's it! You two nerds can talk about your weird comic book, I'm going to go set the table!" Kai huffed, he grabbed some plates and left the kitchen grumbling to himself.

Lloyd and Jay exchanged amused snickers as they watched him leave. There was a small pause when Kai disappeared but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was...nice.

Jay smiled uncertainly at Lloyd, slightly surprised when it was returned.

"I never did thank you," Jay spoke up at last. Lloyd glanced at him curiously. "For getting my necklace back from Brad. You didn't have to do that."

Lloyd's smile widened as he turned back to the food, after a moment the green gaze flicked back to him. "I did." He said simply. "I had lost so much of who I was. If I hadn't I would've lost more."

There was a pause before Lloyd continued. "Then you would've lost something too and I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself."

It was odd to hear the once guarded boy talk so freely. His words were as cryptic as his uncle's and for the first time, Jay could really see the similarities in the two.

"It was from my birth parents," Jay said. Lloyd's brow furrowed but he waited for Jay to continue. "It was a horrible storm. Lightning and thunder everywhere. But my ma said she could hear the faint sound of a baby crying outside. So she opened the door and there I was, dropped off on the doorstep. With nothing but a blue blanket and a tiny necklace looped over my neck."

Lloyd's eyes widened. "You're adopted."

"I didn't know until a few months before I came to the school..." Jay gently pulled the silver chain out of his pocket. The links weave through his fingers and his eyes watched the light from the window dance off the little lightning bolt charm. "I guess my parents were worried I'd feel different if I knew. So they kept it a secret. Until I found out..."

Jay took a deep breath. "I was so...so mad at them for not telling me. I spiralled into a panic attack... I felt so alone. I already felt foreign but now.... now I know I didn't even belong in the first place."

There was a moment of silence as they both thought.

Lloyd contemplated his answer carefully before he spoke. "Are your adopted parents, good parents?"

Jay blinked in surprise. "Yeah, they're great. They baby me and fuss over me- all the normal parent stuff. Make sure I'm safe and happy, have everything I need and most things I want"

Lloyd's gave a sad tilt of the lips. "Then isn't that all that matters? The world gave you the opportunity at starting a new life with people who love you. Not everyone gets a second chance at parents, Jay. You may be adopted, you may not know why, but you do belong because your parents want you there."

Jay bit his lip guiltily when he realized what was going on in Lloyd's head. "I'm so sorry," he apologized. "I must sound horrible whining about my parents... when all of you don't have the same luck as I have."

"Just because others are suffering more than you doesn't mean you don't get to be hurt or confused, Jay," Lloyd told him. "You shouldn't compare it with others' situations or believe that your problems are worse than others... but we all have our stuff and we need to let it out. No matter how bad it is."

Jay was quiet. The words sunk in and he tried to figure out the confusing emotions inside of him. Lloyd was two years younger than him, yet he had all these complicated, wise thoughts going on in his brain. How did handle it all?

He tilted his head as he looked at Lloyd. Nya cared for him deeply. Jay could tell the friendship they had was one that was good for them both. He had been worried at first that Nya had a crush on the blonde-haired boy but he came to realize their bond was much more different. Lloyd was a complex person and Jay's ever-moving mind had trouble grasping the intricate details of who he was. But it was the small things that Jay did catch. Maybe it was time Jay made more of an effort to do the small things too.

"You belong too, Lloyd." Jay reminded him. "We all care about you."

Lloyd chuckled a little bit, the laugh seemed disbelieving but he smiled gratefully anyways. "Thanks, Jay."

authors note****

Anyone ever heard the song: She's In Love from The Little Mermaid The Musical?

No? Just me? Okay. XD

Anyways that's what I imagined Lloyd was singing.

I hope you liked this chapter, I'll keep this note short since there's technically no point to it, I just like to talk. I promise Misako and Morro will be coming into play soon! *wiggles fingers together evilly*

Hope you all are doing well! Hopefully updates will pick up. I've been doing this big thing in my personal life and it's been taking up most of my time which is why I spend less time writing.

But our spring break is coming up soon! That means looottsss of writing!

See you all soon!

LuckyBugBooks 🐞