Emma Brookstone didn't believe in coincidences. She believed everything happened for a reason, yes, but she didn't believe when people would say "what a coincidence!" To her, that statement meant very little, nearly as little as the words "I forgot" meant.

There were many things the girl hated, those two sentences being at the near top of her list. But she also hated people. People that were short, tall, small, large, annoying, happy, perky, and sad. She didn't care who you were or even how you were expressed, if you didn't "come off" well to Emma Brookstone, she shunned you people like shun velveeta.

So when she brought her new dragon home to the shop and everyone began to marvel over its size and company, she enjoyed the moment while it lasted. But then Kai had so confidently said, "What a coincidence! First you become a ninja and then you find a dragon? Awesome!"

Short story short, Kai had to give her a written apology expressing why her meeting Dust wasn't a coincidence. But it all worked out because now Emma actually had something to frame above her bed. And Kai's letter looked perfect surrounded by a black plastic frame where she could look at it every night and be assured that Kai's ego shrunk a bit when he voiced his apology on paper.

But even with the note above her bed, Emma still couldn't sleep. She was restless all night, tossing and turning until she finally kicked the blanket off of her and shoved it to the floor so she could roll off the bed and scramble to her feet. When she wasn't able to sleep back home in the village, she would always try to entertain herself with a midnight snack in the kitchen.

But try as she might, she couldn't will herself into being hungry. Zane had cooked a hearty meal for dinner just hours prior and Emma was full, not in the mood for a snack.

So instead of rummaging through the kitchen cabinets or standing on her tiptoes to look on the top shelf in the fridge, she sat at the kitchen table and stared out the window of the small shop. The night was at its peak and the stars were brightly shining as they scattered themselves in the sky so with nothing to do, Emma attempted the impossible and tried to count them. From where she was sitting at the table, she could see hundreds, maybe thousands of stars. She knew there were too many to count, too many to even imagine, yet she found herself fascinated in trying to count even just a few.

She started with one - of course - and spoke softly to herself as the numbers continued to increase, first to twenty, then forty, making her way to one-hundred. There were blue stars, yellow, red, green, purple, and much more. She saw the tints and the shades, how some stars glimmered in the light of the reflecting moon and how some "disappeared" when she stared straight at them. She continued to count, the numbers leaving her lips as she slowly spoke them aloud. She didn't want to lose her place. She wanted to continue, to count every star in the little window she could see through.

People fall asleep by counting sheep, numbers, reading a boring play, thinking about past events, even listening to sounds of whales. Counting stars should instantly put someone to sleep, or so Emma thought anyways, but here she was, seventeen minutes in to counting an infinite number of stars, and she was still as awake as she was when she left the room.

With a sigh, Emma whispered "739..." before someone cleared their throat and making Emma whip around to see who could possibly be up at this ungodly hour. And standing behind her with a bottle of water in his hands and a grin on his face was Lloyd, an eyebrow raised at the girl who was counting stars, "What'cha doing?" he asked.

"Counting the stars," she shrugged, "But you made me lose count."

"Did you get the ones in your eyes?" he wondered, sitting beside her at the table and looking into her brown orbs.

Emma chuckled and redirected her eyesight to her hands set on the wood table top, "That was a good one, Garmadon. I'm quite impressed, though I don't know if my brother would be."

"I'll take a step off of the plank and say he wouldn't be. But he's got his hands full with keeping the team under control."

Emma scoffed, "I think he would create a whole new path if he discovered we were flirting. He's a bit overprotective."

"He's got a good heart is all," Lloyd replied, smiling at the girl that was now looking at him. "So why can't you sleep?" he questioned.

Emma shrugged, "I don't know, it's probably nothing. What about you? The green ninja needs his rest."

Lloyd let out a "ha" and rolled her eyes, "I slept a while, then I woke up and noticed you were gone and I decided to go play knight."

"You thought I was in trouble?"

"Your name is Emma Brookstone, all you Brookstone's do is get in trouble."

"That's a stereotype, you can't compare me to my brother."

"I can't compare you to anyone, Emma. In case you haven't noticed, you're one of a kind."

And just like that, Emma realized she was not falling asleep.

Short, I know. Sorry.
Hope it was alright, though. It's unedited. So have fun with that.