~ Part 6 ~ | To Earn One's Respect

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** The Gift of a Friend (Demi Lovato) **
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"And when the hope crashes down
Shattering to the ground
You, you'll feel all alone
When you don't know which way to go
And there's no such leading you on
You're not alone."

~ Demi Lovato

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This chapter is dedicated to @nanimaus5 ! Thank you for voting!!!

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

*****

There was a creak as his foot pressed onto the floorboard. The boy froze, his eyes wide as he looked fearfully into the dark dusty room. The air was thick and warm. Only a little bit of light got through the dust coating the tiny little window. It reflected from the side, barely lighting anything. It only caused the shadows to become longer and thicker than before. A musty smell filling his nostrils, reminding him of his grandmother's house. Old and sour.

This place is much creepier than Grandma's. He thought as he looked around. Even if she has those scary dolls.

Loud chuckles and jeers from behind him made the boy look back. Irritable anger filled him as they teased him mercilessly.

"Too scared, Rod?" Someone called tauntingly.

"He'll never be able to do it." Another snorted.

Rodrigo swallowed hard. It felt like a million butterflies were having a fit in his stomach. He probably shouldn't do it but his urge to prove his bravery outweighed his desire to back out.

Fear gripped him in its fist, making his heart beat faster and faster as he forced himself to continue into the small space. The silence was eery, every tiny breath coming from his mouth, every footstep he made, seemed so much louder than it was.

Something wispy hit him in the face and Rodrigo flinched back. He gagged when he realized he had just stumbled through a large spider web.

"Stupid spiders..." he muttered, swiping at the bits that caught on his tongue.

Rodrigo walked blindly, his step stuttering as his foot caught on something. He tripped with a yell and a loud thud sounded. His elbow caught a box, sending dust flying everywhere as it was shoved aside. He groaned, the snickers of the kids outside the door carrying in a faint echo against the walls.

Rodrigo pressed his lips together in a thin line as he sat up. He brushed the dust off with a grumble and sent a glare back at his friends. The little voice inside his mind said: "This is stupid." And it was. But he'd long since ignored that little voice inside his head.

Rodrigo was well aware his friends weren't what parents called "model students." They were more often referred to as the group parents wanted their children to stay away from. Their reckless behaviour and tendency to do the exact opposite of any rule tended to do that. But they had his back when he was in trouble. That was more than he ever got from his family.

Earning their respect meant everything to him lately. If he had to walk around in a dusty attic to appear tough and cool then so be it!

"What's taking you so long?"

He sighed and turned to push himself to his feet.

"Just getting comfortable! Why don't you join me?" Rodrigo offered.

A rush of excuses followed and Rodrigo snorted. Of course. What a bunch of chickens.

As he moved something caught his eye. The sun created just enough light that he could make out shapes. Rodrigo yelped as a large silhouette suddenly looked over him. It had been blocked by the box but now the piercing eyes that had been hidden before glared down at him.

Rodrigo's jaw dropped and he staggered back, his mouth open wide as he screamed-

*****

Cole stumbled as his feet suddenly collided with a body. There was a thump as the person sitting on the steps fell over. Cole bit back a curse as he regained his balance, arms flailing.

"Crap- I mean- crud. Uh- sorry Lloyd." Cole apologized sheepishly as Lloyd rubbed his nose, stunned.

"It's okay." Lloyd's voice was unusually gravelly as he regained his perch on the stair.

Cole ignored it at first as he started to continue on his way. He was to relieve Kai of babysitting duty, but Cole paused when he saw how sad Lloyd looked.

Kai's gonna kill me. Cole mused as he turned around and plopped down beside Lloyd.

"Sooo...." Cole drew out the vowel awkwardly. He made a popping noise with his lips as he spoke, nudging Lloyd lightly with his foot. "What's up?"

That earned him an unimpressed eyebrow raise. Curse my awkwardness.

Cole blamed his father for his lack of social skills.

Why?

Because everything's his father's fault these days. It was sad but true.

His inability to deal with grief?

Lou.

His horrible cooking skills?

Lou.

Climate change?

Probably Lou! His tours aren't travelled on bikes after all!

Cole huffed. "Look, I'm not as good at talking about stuff as Nya or... or Kai. So you're gonna have to give me something."

There was a beat of silence before Lloyd scoffed. "Kai isn't good at talking."

"I mean... once he stops hating you he does it a lot." Cole couldn't hold back a grin.

"Just because he does it a lot doesn't mean he's good at it." Lloyd shook his head, but his lips turned upwards into a small smile.

"Good point," Cole agreed with a nod.

They sat there on the staircase a beat more, watching as the students ran back and forth. They appeared oblivious to their older peers on the step. It was a comfortable silence but Cole wasn't exactly sure if it was supposed to be this quiet. Should he say something?

He glanced at Lloyd in the corner of his eye. The younger boy looked less tense than he had before but his eyes held a lost emotion in them. The same empty, broken expression that had filled them when Cole had first met Lloyd.

Cole chewed on his lip anxiously, his fingers drumming on his knee as he tried to figure out what to do.

"Are you..." Cole said hesitantly. Lloyd's head slightly moved and signalled that he was listening. "Are you okay?"

Lloyd opened his mouth, carefully picking his words as if the answer wasn't as easy as yes or no. "I'm... better," Lloyd replied at last. Cole's brow furrowed at the vague answer, noting how Lloyd didn't say he was okay. Just better.

"That's not a yes..." Cole said slowly.

"No... it's not." Lloyd gave a forced laugh. "My Mom's here."

Cole wasn't sure what to say but "Oh crud." was the first thing that came out of his mouth. That made Lloyd snicker.

"I always seem to be having a midlife crisis, huh?" Lloyd let out a breath that was either a chuckle or a sigh- it was hard to tell. Maybe it was both.

"Life's hard." Cole shrugged. "There's always going to be something in your life that causes you to be somewhere between bashing your head through a wall and laughing hysterically until you cry. Life is a midlife crisis. But hey! If you manage to figure one thing out you can try ignoring all the others until you're forced to deal with them."

Lloyd's face scrunched as he tried to figure out what Cole was saying. To be perfectly honest Cole wasn't too sure what he'd just said either.

"That... kind of makes sense?"

Cole was glad one of them thought that.

"I'll always be having some sort of... crisis. But that's okay. I'll just have to figure it out, one thing at a time." Lloyd reasoned.

"Yeah, that's totally what I was saying." Cole nodded along with exaggerated understanding.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "What do you do when you're in a crisis?"

Cole grimaced. "Well, my coping mechanisms aren't always the healthiest."

"Why?" Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "Is it something really bad?"

"No!" Cole protested. "I just... storm off and go climb a mountain."

Lloyd's eyebrows flew up. "A mountain? As in... a crap ton of rock? Or a little hill?"

"A crap ton of rock." Cole smiled, shaking his head.

"Why do you consider that bad?"

"I'm not sure... I guess it always felt like I was running away. It never did much except allow me to pour my anger and sadness into scrambling up a cliff. But when I came back I still felt angry and sad. Just more empty." Cole sighed.

"I see..." Lloyd glanced at his shoes as he thought.

"The last time was a little better, when my Dad dropped by and all. I just talked with Wu a bit. I'm not totally out of my crisis but I don't feel so empty." Cole shrugged.

Wu was healthy for him. He talked with him about the bad things instead of shoving them away and trying to force him to forget. The odd old man was someone who understood Cole. He hadn't felt that connection in a long time. It was nice to finally be able to rely on someone.

Lloyd was silent. He didn't look any happier. He looked... tired. Just tired and torn. But he looked slightly less depressed than when Cole had initially seen him.

Cole mentally tried to prepare a new pep talk but before he could his stomach decided to raise its voice. Cole flushed as a giant growl sounded.

Lloyd looked at him, eyebrow raised and Cole covered his stomach self-consciously.

"Wanna go start dinner?" Lloyd asked m, amused.

"Yes please," Cole said a little too quickly, making Lloyd laugh.

Cole smiled as Lloyd got up and started down the hall. He didn't know the kid as well as Kai or Nya but he found himself respecting Lloyd more and more. Things weren't perfect.

But it was okay.

And for once he didn't mind things only being okay.

*****

Dinner was a huge event at the school. When there were more than seven people to feed the last meal of the day tended to be. The arguing of kids and bickering of teenagers made it absolute chaos. There was a lot of hustle and chatter as the original six hurried to try to get something that was at least a little edible together.

Misako watched with interest, hanging just outside of the kitchen as the group of kids began food prep. They all pointedly ignored the woman leaning against the doorframe as if she had become apart of the wall. The girl shot her a glare while Kai appeared suspicious of their behaviour towards the newcomer. It seemed they hadn't had time to inform the brunette of the... situation.

Misako grimaced. The woman had been well aware that this would be an unpleasant experience. Especially as Lloyd's new friends gained the knowledge of who she was. Misako hoped she'd be able to show them all that she had good intentions. She wanted to let them see she was here as a desperate mother and not as a villain.

A memory of a little green-eyed boy wound its way through her thoughts. It wasn't going to be easy. The cold interactions with both Wu and her son made it clear. But Lloyd was worth every uncomfortable and terrible situation. She had made the mistake of giving him up when things got hard. She wasn't about to do that again.

Laughter caused her to direct her attention back to the teenagers. She was amazed at how they worked together, they all seemed in sync in the way they moved easily throughout the area. Zane taking charge as he read out the recipe while Cole and Kai got out the ingredients. Jay was just washing his hands while Nya pulled out the pan needed.

Lloyd wandered by her, his fingers working to open a packet of gummies. Misako frowned and wondered if she should say something. Before she could Nya strolled past him and plucked the candy from his hands.

"No sweets before dinner, remember?" Nya scolded him.

Lloyd pouted but reluctantly went to help with something else. Kai was currently eyeing the food packet in his hands. He attempted to read what it said but it wasn't in English. Misako held back a laugh as Kai repeated the word over and over before giving up.

"What is this stuff, Zane?" Kai asked, passing it over to Jay.

"Bami Goreng. It is a dish I got from the Dutch store," Zane replied causally.

"When did you go to the Dutch store?" Jay exclaimed.

"Pixal and I were going around town and-" The talk boy broke off as the rest of the group exchanged sly smiles. Zane scowled. "Do not start-"

Nya squealed. "Aw! Zane! Did you guys go on a date?"

Kai and Jay snickered as Zane's pale skin turned beet red. "We were taking a break from our research!"

"Did you go to Ninjago City just to see Pixal?" Cole propped his elbow on Jay's head, making the shorter boy complain.

Zane huffed, he stirred the food a little more aggressively than required. "No. We had been going over the data." He wordlessly put out a hand. Misako watched as Cole handed over what he needed without more prompting.

"Hmm..." Kai narrowed his eyes at his friend. "So were you going to ask her out or did you just chicken out?"

Zane sputtered and shot Kai a glare. "Why don't you set the table?"

"I did the table at lunchtime. It's Jay's turn now." Kai jabbed a thumb at the ginger.

Jay whined. "But I want to be here when we tease Zane too!"

"Oh don't worry, there's plenty of time to tease Zane." Lloyd snickered.

Zane waved the wooden spoon threateningly at them until they all stopped laughing to duck his swings. Misako felt her heart pull as she watched Lloyd smile, his eyes brightening as he grinned.

This was his family.

The family he always deserved.

This was where he belonged. Where he could be loved. Misako regretted many things but she didn't regret asking Wu to look after her baby boy.

Lloyd caught her eye, his gaze flicked away before glancing back. His smile dimmed and Misako watched as he noticeably became less comfortable. Nya caught on as well and she took Lloyd by the shoulders, guiding him out of the room. The look Nya gave Misako sent a message loud and clear.

You don't deserve him. It screamed.

No, I don't. Misako's eyes replied calmly. But I'm going to earn it.

NOTE******

The seeds have been planted.

I repeat:

The seeds have been planted.

Also Happy Pride!

LuckyBugBooks 🐞