Lloyd Garmadon.

Evil.

Lloyd Garmadon.

Evil.

Lloyd Garmadon.

Evil.

When I needed to think, I went to the rooftop. The cold air and the far-off sounds of the city soothed me. It was like a personal lullaby with the twinkling yellow, blue, orange lights of the city dancing in the expanse of the night sky. The stars above shared their beat. They danced to the same song.

With a loaded exhale, I closed my eyes. My mind was a confusing mess and I couldn't make sense of anything. Memories were confounding one another, shoving each other aside to get the verdict on my belief.
One must be the truth.

Was Lloyd Garmadon evil?

It just didn't make sense. Sure, I'd known him for, what, a week and a half at least, but still... he didn't seem evil. He seemed perfectly normal. Happy, yes. Maybe a hint of melancholy behind his green eyes, but sweet all the same.

No. He can't be evil. I refused to believe it.

Perhaps Claire did, but she could be wrong. From what I knew, not many people liked Lloyd because of his father - the evil Lord Garmadon - but you can't blame someone for another's misdoings if it's not their fault. That's just being judgemental and prejudice.

Besides, isn't Lord Garmadon good now? Yeah, he... may have tried to destroy the city a few times; but it's not as if he ever succeeded. The secret ninja force made sure of that.
So what's the problem? Aside from society just acting like a herd of sheep and following one another, that is. It's not as if Lloyd ever joined his father, right? It's not as if he ever ordered an attack?

I think...

Ugh. This is just- hard. It's hard to wrap my head around. I just wanted to sleep but my bed was too warm and the chill of the night air was too cold.
But I couldn't stay out here. It's time to go back inside.

When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see the green ninja's dragon fast approaching.

"Move!" he cried, shouting as he wildly waved his arm. "Come on, move!"

I blinked, hesitating in shock, before glancing to the side when I heard a commotion. A small, spherical robot was charging towards me, a blinking red dot making my stomach drop with anxiety. There was no way I could move out of the way in time.

I curled in on myself, waiting for the impact, but a hand grabbed my arm instead. With a sharp, painful tug, the hand hoisted my body up onto the saddle of a dragon.

"What," I exclaimed over the pushing air.
It took a few beats for my brain to catch up. I glanced down at the robot, which was still hot on our heels - or, the dragon's heels.
"What is that thing?" I cried as I turned my gaze to the back of the Green Ninja's head.

"It's one of Borg's security drones," the ninja replied, shouting over the wind so his voice wouldn't get carried away. "Somebody hacked into their mainframes and are making them attack anybody out in the open."

A rumble from the flying drone alerted us that it was still on our trail.
"Why would anybody want to do that?" I asked, jerking my head in an attempt of flicking hair from my face.

"Because there's bad people who want to do bad things," the ninja replied, pulling up his dragon. Before I could ask him why we stopped, he ordered me to "hold on."

Of course I wouldn't disobey the ninja. If he wanted me to hold on, then dammit I'm going to hold on.
I fearlessly wrapped my arms around his torso, pulling myself tight against his back.

Instead of doing, I don't know, a sharp turn or dramatic change in pace, the dragon beneath the ninja and I simply disappeared.

Before I could scream, the ninja twisted in my hold and pulled my face down onto his chest, muffling any sound that I made.

My eyes were wide as I pushed against the soft fabric of the green ninja's gi. We free fell for half a beat, before the ninja swiftly landed on a roof and leapt to the side of the neighbouring brick building, pushing off it with his feet and doing the action again, and again, and again until we reached the bottom of an alleyway.

"We've got to stop meeting up like this."
"Mr. Ninja, this is not the time."

The ninja pulled my face close to his chest again for a reason that was unknown to me. From my peripheral vision, I could see the robot slowly hovering down the street, scanning everything it could. I tensed as it was just about to spot us, but before I could blink, the ninja grabbed a throwing star from his weapons belt and flicked it. The ninja star embedded the metal perfectly, cutting the sensitive wires within its husk.

I could finally relax and breathe. I inhaled through my nose as my mouth was still forced closed, and I almost had a heart attack.

I know that scent...

The fresh, springtime smell of cut grass and bubbling streams. Of course, there was the tang of sweat, but his natural musk was still there and true.

It can't be...

I stepped back in disbelief, making the ninja's arm slip from my waist as I put some distance between us. The dim lighting of the alleyway made it nearly impossible to see.

"Sorry," he apologised, misreading my backing off was from discomfort. "The drones are alerted by sound. We needed to be as quiet as possible."

The words went right over my head, because the familiar ethereal green of his eyes were still very visible.

"Lloyd?" I exclaimed in shock and exasperation. Lloyd froze in an equal amount of shock as his green eyes widened.

"You- you know who I am," Lloyd stated dishearteningly as his shoulders slouched. "How did you figure it out?"

"I-" I caught myself short. Was I seriously about to tell him that I instantly knew who he was because of his scent?
"It's your, uh, your smell."
Apparently yes. Dammit, Y/n.

Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows, his green, green eyes confused. The side of his figure was briefly illuminated by the headlights of a passing car.
"My... smell?"

My face suddenly felt like it was on fire and I hid my head in my hands in embarrassment.
"Yup," I squeaked, ear tips red.

There was a beat of silence, me with my hands shielding my face, and Lloyd probably staring at me like I was a weirdo. Sigh.
There goes any chance of dating him.

Then Lloyd started to chuckle his handsome chuckle. The light amusement seemed so out of place in the dingy, ominous alleyway we were standing in.
"Don't laugh!" I whined from behind my hands, which only made him laugh more. However, his laughs weren't of mockery.

"I'm- I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lloyd apologised between gasps, placing a hand on his forehead as he tried to regain his breath. "I just- my smell? Jeez, I really should take a shower, huh?"

I giggled a little, mostly hysterically because my embarrassment had reached record levels.
"You don't smell that bad," I offered meekly. Lloyd chortled, shaking his head and prying my hands from my face with gentle fingers.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, and during the time I had dug my face into my hands, he had slipped off his mask. A warm, crooked smile was on his face, making my stomach flutter mercilessly.

Out of the blue, Lloyd spluttered in pain and lurched sideways. I jumped in shock at his sudden tumble to the ground, but when I saw that he was clutching his arm I hesitantly turned my head to the opening of the alley, where a second security drone hovered menacingly. A sword - a sword - was attached to it, and a dark liquid was running down it.

A cool shiver ran down my spine. That liquid was blood- Lloyd's blood.

"Shit," Lloyd cursed as the drone swiftly moved in. His dominant arm was sliced deeply, leaving him defenceless against the drone and without enough time to get to his feet.

It's going to kill us. It's going to kill Lloyd.

I jumped into action, before thinking anything through. While Lloyd protested, I quickly snagged one of his katanas and stepped in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Lloyd hissed, both in pain and incredulousness. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

I scoffed.
"Better me than you, Green Ninja," I said, before menacingly raising the sword and bringing it down on the robot when it came in close enough range. It knocked it off course, confusing the drone for a few seconds, before it regained its artificial senses and brought out a gun. I sliced the appendage off before it could shoot.

The drone buzzed in frustration, before bringing forward the sword again. Instinctively, I brought my own sword back and held it horizontally across my torso to defend myself.

The drone attacked again, and an eruption of sparks paired with a sharp clang of metal on metal filled the alleyway.

I was beginning to falter. It was a surprise I got this far, honestly. Just as the drone prepared for another attack that I wasn't prepared for, a second sword impaled it whole.

The sword in my hand clattered to the ground in relief as I slumped to my knees. I was puffing from both adrenaline and the fact that I nearly died. Nothing like fighting a robot in the middle of the night to get you pooped.

Lloyd helped me to my feet, a stern and unimpressed look on his face.
"I protect the innocent," he reminded me as he grabbed his other sword and sheathed it. "You risking yourself is against my job."

I furrowed my eyebrows, ignoring the close proximity we shared.
"Yeah, and you'd do such a great job dead."

Lloyd frowned, before shoving his mask back over his face and grabbing my arm. I glanced at him in confusion.
"You're going to need a ride back home," he reminded me, before wincing. I glanced at his wound.

"Yeah, and you're going to need to be patched up," I pointed out. Lloyd frowned.
"I'll be-"
"Nuh-uh," I shook my head in denial. "Don't even start. You're already losing a lot of blood. Come on."

Lloyd shook his head in exasperation, though his mask hid his small smile. He summoned his dragon and hopped on, pulling me up behind him with his good arm. I wrapped my arms around his waist without thinking, feeling Lloyd tense from my touch.

Without another word, Lloyd ordered the dragon to take off, and we were flying through the night sky again. I shivered. The summer pyjamas I had on was just a singlet and silk short shorts. They offered no protection against the cool wind as we flew over building tops. We soon landed on my roof, and Lloyd let me slip off the dragon first.

The dragon himself (I'm going to assume it's a him) nudged me with his muzzle, making me giggle and pat him. Lloyd sent me a quizzical glance, before hopping off too, making the dragon disappear. He slipped his mask off again, frowning in confusion.

"I've never seen it do that before," Lloyd admitted, grabbing his wound with a wince. I shrugged it off, before hurriedly guiding Lloyd to the entry to my house - which of course was through my room.

As Lloyd slipped inside, he glanced around with a smug grin on his face.
"Hah," he laughed in a hushed voice as I shut the window behind him. "Imagine the other's faces when I tell them that I'm the first to be in a girl's room alone after dark."

I rolled my eyes. Sure, he's the Green Ninja (a concept I was still wrapping my head around), but he's still very much a boy, a teenage one at that.
"Lloyd," I whispered sternly as I switched on the light. "Don't make this weird." Lloyd just huffed in amusement.

He glanced around my room again as I busted myself with grabbing the first aid kit from the laundry. When I returned, he was comfortably lounging on my bed and reading a book from my bookshelf.

My breathing hitched as my steps faltered. Not only was it kind of cool to see him at home in my room, but also his reading face was incredibly attractive. I shook my head, entering the room and sitting at the foot of my bed.

"Can uh, can you take off your shirt?" I stuttered, turning my intense glare to the duvet. Lloyd did as I asked, but not without making a throw away comment.
"At least let me take you out for dinner first," he joked, but I just glared at him. To be fair, that was a stupid move. Now that I had glanced up at him, I couldn't look away when he unbuckled his robe and shoved it off his shoulders, wincing as it brushed his wound.

"P-put pressure on it," I reminded. Lloyd followed my instruction without hesitation, though he did flinch when he pushed down on it to stop the bleeding.

The butterflies in my stomach never really left, but they certainly made themselves known when I ogled at his abs and muscled arms. What else had I expected? He was a ninja, after all.

I had trouble tearing my eyes away from his reasonably bulked torso, catching his amused and aware gaze as I tried to look away.

I cleared my throat as I busied myself with the first aid kit, ignoring Lloyd's chuckles. I blushed, trying to hide from under his observant stare in vain.

"Do you know what to do?" he asked, and I glanced up at his cut. It wasn't too deep that it'd need stitches, but a simple get-well-kiss and a band-aid wouldn't fix it, either. Though I wouldn't appose to a kiss.

Dammit, concentrate, Y/n!

"I think so," I replied, not so convincingly. Lloyd released a breath.

I grabbed a damp washcloth I had taken from the bathroom and gently began dabbing the wound when Lloyd moved his hand. He winced.

"Wanna hold my hand if it hurts too much?" I teased, making it Lloyd's turn to go speechless. He recovered sooner than I would've liked, though.

"Life hurts, Princess," my stomach fluttered at the nickname. "Can I hold your hand all the time?"

I snorted, ignoring the inner me literally dying. Good thing I had a reasonable poker face.
"Smooth," I complimented. "Do you flirt with every girl you come across when you're the green ninja?"

Lloyd scrunched his face in discomfort at the sting as I switched the dirtied washcloth for a cotton bud and anti-bacterial cream.
"Only ones that hit me in the face with a skateboard," Lloyd replied without hesitation. I glanced at his forehead, where a shiny scar had taken place instead of a scab. I hunched my shoulders in guilt.

"Sorry," I mumbled, both for the stinging cream and for injuring him when we first met.

"It's fine," Lloyd shrugged it off with his good shoulder. "Now I can say I've been through worse without sounding cryptic."

I smiled, huffing through my nose as I grabbed a bandage and started wrapping it firmly around his bicep.

"Plus, I would've never met you."

I faltered my bandaging, glancing up at Lloyd with wide eyes.
"Wow," I said. "You really are a huge flirt. What changed?"

Lloyd shrugged, smiling.
"Sorry, I don't get to talk to girls very often," he explained as he stared at me while I continued wrapping his arm. "You're pretty much the first girl I've properly spoken to."

I turned my attention back to his face again, staring with wider eyes.
"Because of your dad?" I asked softly. Lloyd's eyes turned surprised, before slowly nodding. I blinked, before returning my attention to the bandage.

"I won't run away," I promised in a whisper, but Lloyd still heard me loud and clear. I could tell by the way his breathing hitched.

His hand came up to cup my cheek, cautiously lifting my chin. I tore my eyes from the bandage and let them lock gazes with Lloyd.

The ringing from his phone made us jolt back into reality. Lloyd hastily apologised, while I shook his apologies off. Sure, the aftereffects of the almost kiss was awkward as heck, but I wouldn't not do it again.

He answered, while I finished up on his bandage. I didn't hear his conversation, but I did see the significant relaxation in his shoulders.

"They found the guy and shut down the drones," Lloyd explained in relief. I smiled.
"That's good," I said, nodding.

We sat in silence for a little while longer, me picking at my duvet, Lloyd staring around my room again.

"I better get going," Lloyd explained, breaking the silence and shoving his robe back on and doing up the buckles. "The others, they really want to meet you."

I huffed, before nodding.
"I'd love to meet them," I replied genuinely. "I'm guessing they're the rest of your team..?"

Lloyd nodded in confirmation as he stood.
"Yeah, they are. Also a bunch of pains in the asses."

I laughed, nodding.
"Aren't friends always?"

Lloyd smiled his crooked smile, before standing to attention as a thought struck him.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," he said, making me look at him expectantly.

"So, what do I smell like?"

"I- what?"

"What do I smell like?" he repeated his question, entirely amused. I wanted to groan.

"You're going to think I'm a loser."

"I already do."

I scoffed, shoving his good arm in mock offence.
"Rude. I guess, you kind of remind me of spring, in a way. You smell like fields and streams and stuff."

Lloyd chuckled, though he seemed genuinely interested.
"'And stuff,'" he echoed. "That's thorough."

"Shut up," I laughed, rubbing a hand down my face, praying that I could just wipe away the blush. Nope, didn't work. "I'm tired."

Lloyd smiled sympathetically, nodding his head in agreement.
"Yeah, you look exhausted," he stated, making me scowl.

"Leave," I ordered, and Lloyd held his palms up in defence as he slipped out the window and onto the fire escape. He turned back around, leaning his arms on the window sill.

"Hey, we should hang out again soon," he suggested with raised eyebrows. "Maybe then, I can actually kiss you."

I rolled my eyes.
"Lloyd, we barely know each other," I pointed out as I stood in front of him. Lloyd shrugged.
"That's what dates are for."

I huffed through my nose, shaking my head at the blonde ninja.
"You're an idiot, Lloyd Garmadon," I commented affectionately. "Also, you're stalling. Go home."

Lloyd sent me a sheepish grin.
"Drat, you caught me," he said, before raising his palms in defence as I sent him a look. "Okay, okay. I'm going."

"Goodnight, Lloyd," I bid him farewell with a content smile.

"Night, Princess," Lloyd said before reaching forward and delicately pecking my forehead. He disappeared before I could do anything, leaving me speechless and blushing furiously.

Lloyd, you tease. I cursed, before shutting my window and lying my head back down onto my pillow and closing my eyes.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!"

Goddammit.