~ Part 5 ~ | Hearts Racing

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**  Fight Song (Rachel Platten)**
~*~*~*~

"Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
Into motion
Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion"

~ Rachel Platten

This chapter is dedicated to Booky_The_Trickster . Thank you for supporting me as I wrote this book! I enjoyed listening to your awesome puns! XD

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

******

Nya swore loudly as she saw Kai stumbling along, leaning heavily on Jay. He looked horrible. Absolutely horrible. His lip was split open, there was bruising on his face and he clutching a hand to his side. Nya's hand flew over her mouth and Zane placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly as Cole ran to help them.

"H-hey." Kai forced a smile. "No swearing."

"Shut up, idiot." Nya hovered around him, checking his wounds and making him wince. "What the freaking heck happened?"

"Stupid kids from Darkley's." Jay chewed at his bottom lip, eyes full of guilt as Cole took over. "I'm sorry, Kai."

Cole curled his lip and wanted to punch something but he waited until he had gotten Kai to the backseat before he made any sudden moves.

"Darkley's?" Zane's brow furrowed. "I am unfamiliar with that term."

"Darkley's School for Bad Boys." Cole sighed. "It's literally an academy where rotten kids go and become even more rotten."

Kai touched his finger to his lip, hissing in pain. Nya swatted his hand away. "I gave the little brat, Brad, a good knock around."

"You were in a fight?" Nya shrieked.

"Well...yeah." Kai gave her a funny look.

"His bruised knuckles and wounded body has pointed to that conclusion." Zane added.

Nya made an odd sound in the back of her throat and her hands contorted into strangling gestures.

"Nya, I think you should calm down-" Jay tried to say gently.

"Don't tell me to be calm!" Nya snapped. "Everyone in the car- now!"

They hastily obeyed, Zane and Nya scrambled on the back with Kai and Cole and Jay were in the front. There was mostly silence on their ride, the only noise was the rumble of the tires and the slight whine from Kai or whisper from Nya.

Cole kept his gaze straight ahead as he drove but his eyes began to flick to Jay, who was unusually quiet. The ginger head sat there, staring at his hands, shaking.

"Are you okay there, motor-mouth?" Cole asked gently.

Jay wrapped his arms around himself. "I'm fine." He said softly. "I just want to get to the school."

Cole nodded understandingly, hesitating for a second before he floored the gas. Zane exchanged an amused smile with the ravenette through the review mirror and Cole raised an eyebrow.

"So..." Cole turned to look at Zane briefly. "How'd you meet Pixal?"

"Who's Pixal?" Jay couldn't help but say when Zane reddened, avoiding their gaze as he focused on using the tissues from the glove compartment to dab at Kai's lip.

"The real question is who the heck names their kid, Pixal?" Kai interrupted. Zane scowled at him and not so accidentally pressed a little too hard. "Ow!"

"Pixal's Zane's girlfriend." Nya brightened a little, eyes sparkling as she smiled knowingly.

Jay whipped around. "Zane has a girlfriend?"

"No. I have a friend who is a girl. There is a big difference." Zane interjected defensively, narrowing his eyes with irritation and embarrassment.

"Zane and Pixal sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-HEY!" Cole paused his singing when he was hit by a bloody Kleenex. "That is disgusting! I am the driver!"

Kai snorted as Zane met Cole's gaze with an unwavering one of his own. "Do not spell out that word like a child." Zane scowled at him.

"What? Kissing?" Cole flashed a goofy grin before ducking another object. "NO THROWING STUFF AT THE DRIVER!"

"No goading a man with a projectile." Zane retorted.

"I can't believe I'm injured and you're too busy bickering over Zane's obvious crush to care."

"OW! WHAT THE HECK, ZANE?"

******

Master Wu didn't know what to think when he saw Kai comes hobbling in, limping, and leaning heavily on Cole and Zane. Nya and Jay ran to keep up, they were all talking anxiously at once, topics ranging from threats (Kai and Cole), health concern (Nya, Jay, and Zane), and some sort of teasing (everyone except a grumpy Zane).

Master Wu stood in the middle of the hallway, watching with a blank expression on his face as his students froze. "Master Wu!" Nya let out a sigh of relief. "Where's Mistaké? We need to get him checked out."

The headmaster didn't ask any questions and simply allowed them all to follow him to the small room where Mistaké was doing a puzzle.

"Looks like a bear attack if I've ever seen one." Mistaké commented as Kai collapsed on the cot.

Zane gave her a funny look. "It was a fist fight."

"Ah, so I won't need the rabies shot. Good." Mistaké grabbed Kai by the head and looked him over aggressively. Making him whine in protest.

Master Wu cast a look at the rest of his students hanging around the doorway. He motioned for them to follow him. They obeyed, waving a goodbye or mouthing "good luck" and following Wu to his office.

"I'm not sure if I want to ask." Master Wu mused to himself as he sat down.

His students almost looked sheepish as Master Wu carefully slid a piece of paper into his desk. Cole and Nya started off by talking about how they lost Zane before turning it over to Jay.

"It was..." Jay hesitated. "It was really scary."

Nya slipped her hand in his as he recounted what had happened. "I-I guess I never really realized how harshly the world would view us... This kid... Brad... said some stuff. Kai got upset and attacked him. It's all a blur." Jay took a shuddering breath. "There was a huge group. Taunting us. Saying horrible things. This one boy tried to break up the fight but he couldn't do anything. Kai was so angry. The look in his eyes..."

Jay sobbed a little. "It was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault, Jay." Cole protested, putting an arm around Nya.

"Kai doesn't blame you. He made his own decisions." Nya agreed.

"It's okay, Jay." Master Wu's eyes were sad. "I knew starting the school would create different challenges in society for you but I never knew it would create a physical impact on my students."

He rubbed his temples in thought. "Of course I should have known. People need a reason to shun other people. To make them feel powerful. Racism, sexism, homophobia- all of those horrible things are an example of horrible people trying to prey on what they believe is different."

"I've been bullied my whole life, Master." Jay spoke up. "It was always small. I have never been in a fight like that."

His deep blue eyes turned his his friends. "I'm done with society trying to push me away. We need to be louder or else we'll never be heard."

Nya looked into his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"This has to be something much bigger than a school, Master Wu, if you want to change the world." Master Wu was silent for a moment. But then his lips slowly turned into a smile.

"You have an amazing imagination, Jay." Master Wu folded his hands together. "What big ideas do you have for us now?"

******

Lloyd sighed, the water in the sink ran red as he soaked the towel. The boy inspected the head wound with concern. When the angry brown haired dude, Kai, shoved him aside Lloyd's head had slammed into the brick wall. Lloyd was pretty sure he didn't have a concussion but the gash on his temple wasn't looking great.

"Look at you, little Lloyd the Loser is licking his wounds." Brad called from where he was laying on his bed. Lloyd sincerely regretted helping him with his injuries.

"Don't tell me you're mad that I didn't want to get involved with the police?" Lloyd hissed through gritted teeth.

But as he dabbed the bloody towel to his cut his mind strayed to Kai and the ginger kid. Were they alright? Kai's friend sounded so scared. Rightfully so, Lloyd witnessed- and been in- many brawls but he had never felt the fear he had today.

"I got fifty disruption points." Brad said, his voice seeming faraway and uncaring but there was this hard edge that got Lloyd's heart racing. "And I was looking at your little resume and you know what I found?"

Lloyd fought to keep his breathing under control, he slowly turned and stepped out of the tiny bathroom.

"One." Brad set his gaze on his roommate. "One measly little disruption point. And do you remember what it was for? Sneezing in the library."

Lloyd kept his face emotionless, tossing the towel on the ground and raising an eyebrow. "So?"

"So, little faker, you're not much of a bad boy are you? You stop fights, you read comic books under your blankets at night, you do vandalism but secretly in the most convenient spots for the that people own the building." Brad sat up, his tone getting dangerous.

"And all of this can get you, Lloyd Garmadon, son of the best politician representing our school's political view, expelled for being a good guy." Brad's face split into a dark smile as he observed Lloyd's reaction.

Lloyd's green eyes darkened and he glared deep into Brad's eyes. "If you say anything..." he said in a deep low tone, getting in face-to-face with the dark haired boy.

"Oh I won't say anything." Brad smirked. "The teachers will notice eventually. And when they do I'll get to watch as your world falls apart."

Brad stood, patting Lloyd on the shoulder and sliding an envelope into his hands. "Maybe your uncle will come and get you, Broken-Boy."

Lloyd stared down at the letter. A sickening feeling of nauseating fear spreading through his veins as he watched Brad's retreating shape.

Note*****

Here's something to lighten the mood. My rabbito is cleaning his adorable little face.