~ current joys

'TW: No Trigger Warning

Me:
What do I get him for his
birthday?

Me:
What do 18 year olds want for
their birthday???

Mr.Show Off:
Bitches

Me:
Kai

Me:
What do 18 year old Lloyds
want?

Mr.Show Off:
Idk man I'd still say Bitches

Me:
Thanks for nothing 🥲👍

💫

Me:
You have to help be because I
want my gift to be better then
all of yours.

Me:
Sorry not sorry

Wife:
Uhhh

Wife:
Candy?

Wife:
Comics?

Wife:
Bitches?

Me:
NYA STOP HANGING WITH KAI

💫

Babygirl:
Lloyd has recently showed
interests in Fritz Donnegan
movies.

Babygirl:
He told me about one of the
movies being played in the
cinema again. He seemed
interested.

Me:
OH?

Me:
That little rat

Babygirl:
Did I get him into trouble?

Babygirl:
It wasn't my intention.

Me:
No Zane

Me:
Lloyd is just a little sneak

Babygirl:
Okay then. I hope you find
something!

I shut my phone off with a sigh, staring at my ceiling with a small smile, disbelief making me let out a small laugh. How could he tell me that the movies sucked, yet he told Zane that he wanted to go and see one? He was so convinced the movies sucked that he made me read a comic.
I picked up my phone again and rang one of my favourite girls. She answered on the fourth ring.

"Hey, Sky's noodles, what can I get for ya?"

"Hey Skylor!" Then my brain short circuited, "Wait, your phone number is your work number?"

"Oh hey Noor! And yeah it is. It's so the notifications make me feel famous and I can text people whilst still looking professional," She explained, snickering at her silliness.

"Makes sense," I nodded, actually thinking the last point was pretty smart, "What time do you get off work? I gotta go shopping for tomorrow,"

"Ooh! For Lloyd?" I could hear the grin, "Hmm, I can get off at four then we can go to the mall?"

"Yes, I love it," I agreed, "Should I meet you there?"

"Invite Nya and Pix then we'll have a girls day. Nya'll pick you up," Skylor's phone shuffled against her long hair, "I gotta go babe, another phone call,"

"Okay, I'll see you at four!" Then I hung up because my girl needed her business.

I did as she asked, messaging Pixal and Nya and as if the girl had read my mind, she offered to pick both of us up. I assumed Skylor would be using her motorbike to get there, so I didn't bother her further. I rushed to get ready, I didn't need to, I had an hour to get ready, but I was just too excited. After styling my hair, I waited for the curls to react to the heat and grabbed my phone. With just a few clicks, types and scrolls, I had brought two tickets for Fritz Donnegan: Silence in Space. As soon as I brought them, I had a slight regret. Should I have waited to buy tickets for everyone? Would Lloyd assume I'd brought one for me and one for him? No, I'd make sure to tell him that it was for him to bring a plus one, he had the choice.
I put on a knitted sweater and some warm leggings, deciding that would be a good approach since it was becoming warmer. Watching the clock tick down on my phone was like hell, I wanted to be with Nya and Pixal immediately, the vibe was always good with them.

I decided to wait the last 10 minutes downstairs. My Dad was sat at the kitchen table with his head in one hand whilst he gazed over some  paperwork. If I had to guess, it was to do with the vandalism. The fact that it had happened because of me made me sick to my stomach, my father was now stressed out that some of the money he had put aside was now being used go fix the store front. He looked up when he realized I was there and gave me a small smile, I returned it with a guilty conscious.
We spoke after I had broke down in front of The Green Ninja (something that made me regret my life choices). I explained the whole deal about how I had made friends with Lloyd and his friends which included Kai and how everyone bullied them for being 'freaks'. I explained how I had stuck up for him and a some guys hated me for it. I said I didn't know their names. I lied to my Dad.

"You gonna be home for dinner?" He called out, knocking me from my thoughts.

"I'm not sure yet, probably not but if anything changes, I'll message you," I told, trying not to let my mind ruin my excitement.

He nodded, licking his finger to flip over the papers in front of him. I bit my lip. He seemed to be a bit more okay with the fact that I was friends with Lloyd Garmadon now knowing that Kai was also friends with him, but it didn't diminish his stress. I understood it to an extent, but I still hated how easy it was for people to give into the crowd and follow how everyone else acted.
My phone went off and I checked it, relaxing when I saw Nya's message pop up, she was around the corner. I told my Dad goodbye and left the house, locking the door after me. I was more then surprised to see an old Chevy car roll down the road with Nya as it's captain. I thought she might be into new things, new car makes and new fashion, but maybe I was wrong. I quickly skipped to the back left door and shut myself in excitedly. The smell of sun warm leather, fresh mint and crisp leaves filled my senses. Damn, this was a well looked after car!

"I'm so happy you're here because I need some back up," Nya turned in her seat before changing the cars gear, "Tell Pixal that Zane is totally into her,"

My eyes widened as I turned to the blonde girl who was blushing, "You don't think Zane likes you Pixal?"

"I am not sure," She sighed softly, twiddling with her fingers, "Maybe?"

"He so is!" Nya groaned, taking off down the road.

"Agreed," I nodded eagerly, "Zane is so into you! He looks at you like, like, oh I don't know, like he wants to give you half of his heart or something,"

"Yes!" Nya slammed her hand on the dash before quickly composing herself for all of our safety, "That's exactly how he looks at her,"

"Isn't that too much?" Pixal asked, her voice quiet.

"Babe no!" Nya shook her head, pulling up to a red light, "Guys should be bowing at your feet every second of the day! If half a heart isn't enough for you then he should gladly be giving up his whole heart,"

"Without a thought," I added, looking between the two.

Pixal blushed again, "I suppose I'd give him half of mine if he wants it,"

"Oh stop," Nya's voice was suddenly thick with emotion, "You're gonna make me cry that's so cute,"

I let out a half scoff, half laugh at her reaction, Pixal shared a look with me, "Nya is menstruating,"

"God Pixal!" She huffed, "Your Dad really sucked at teaching you how to say things normally didn't he? Period. I'm on my period!"

I giggled at them, "If we've established you'd give Zane half of your heart and he so clearly would give you half of his, then why has nothing happened between you two yet? He literally called you Sweetheart over text,"

"This!" Nya exaggerated her nod, "Did I or did I not just mention this?"

"You did... and I'm not sure," Pixal frowned slightly, "I'm just nervous,"

"Skylor's gonna have a shitone to say about this," Nya cackled, then her eyes met mine in the reerview mirror,   "How's the shop?"

"Kai tell you?" I wondered, my joy from the talk fading slightly.

"He told me that you were a dork and ugly cried in front of The Green Ninja," The girl snickered, "But yeah he told me,"

I groaned, my head rolling away from her gaze. That's so embarrassing, "The shop's getting fixed but my past actions are not so I'd really appreciate if you just didn't mention it,"

Even Pixal laughed at that, "I'm glad things are getting better, why were you crying to the Ninja anyway?"

My smile fell when I recalled the exact reason why I broke down, "No reason,"

"You sure?" The smile in Nya's voice was evident, "Kai heard some details that described a certain little blonde nerd,"

"Yeah no," I rambled, trying to find a way to change the subject, "There's this other guy that I hang out with and like and he's just super nice,"

"Oh?" Pixal frowned at me, only for the frown to turn into a confused smile at the sound Nya made.

"Oh Hon, the only other guys you hang out with are Kai, Zane, Cole and Jay. I hate to break it to you, but Cole's gay, Kai's taken, Zane's got a future babe, and Jay and I are off and on so none of them are on the market," Nya explained, but my interest perked up.

"Wait a sec," I found the perfect a way to change the subject, "You and Jay aren't a couple?"

"No," She shook her head, "Kind of? It's complicated. We used to date,"

"What happened?" I wondered, this was news to me. I'd always thought they were dating!

"There was this guy," She paused, trying to find the right words, "And he sorta made things difficult for us," Nya's tone turned sour, "He tried grooming me and Jay knew and tried to stop him but he got really hurt,"

I stared at the side of her face for a hot second. What the hell? "What do you mean?"

"Jaylen met up with him after school but the man had backup," Pixal added to the story, I was completely hooked but also a little sickened, "He was admitted to hospital for a month,"

"I kinda blame myself for the reasons as to why we aren't dating right now," Nya continued, "I'm scared I'm gonna get him hurt again,"

"Nya, no," I shook my head and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"I know, it's silly," She assured me, "Kai understands but still tries to push me with Jay. The guys head over heels with me, I just need to sort myself out,"

She let out a soft laugh, clearly trying to ease the tension that had now fallen, but it was definitely fake. I shared a look with Pixal who was picking at her nails. I had been so toned into the story that I didn't realize Nya had parked off to the side of the mall already. I grabbed my bag and got out, immediately turning when I heard a wolf whistle.

"There's no way three gorgeous lady's have come all the way here in Lloyd’s Chevy Nova just to meet little old me,"

I relaxed again as soon as I saw the woman with auburn hair. There was just something about her that oozed confidence and calm that completely changed how I felt. Pixal let out an excited sound and ran to hug the girl tightly. Sky laughed loudly, kissing the side of her head before dropping one arm and walking them both back over.
I stared back at the car I was just in. That was Lloyd’s car? Did he know that Nya had taken it? Did his Uncle buy it for him? Maybe my thoughts about Nya were right and she did like to keep up with trends and fashion and it was Lloyd who had the old taste. It made sense, I mean, he loved all the original Fritz Donnegan comics so much that he told me he hated the movies and all the new adaptations. I was so going to annoy him now that I knew that he wanted to see the movie. Thanks Zane.

"Hey Skylor," Nya blew the girl a kiss.

Skylor smiled at her then shot me a wink, "Where we going to first?"

"Bookstore,"

"Candy shop,"

Pixal and I looked at each other and then shared a laugh. We both had priorities, clearly mine was more childish. We ended up going to the bookstore first. Pixal needed some technology books to study over as she was one day going to take over for her father. She went on this long rant about a car her father was helping her build for her birthday and we were all immediately interested. Nya ended up picking up a Starfarer comic for Jay which I thought was cute, then we made the walk over to the biggest candy store in Ninjago.
I had decided that the movie tickets weren't enough for Lloyd’s 18th birthday and wanted to get him a little gift that would remind him of when I first tried to prove myself to him. Strawberry fizzers. Kai had later told me that after I'd brought him a bags worth of the candy, he would constantly see Lloyd with them shoved in his mouth. The wrappers seemed to be endless and when Cole stole one Lloyd went insane. Lloyd Garmadon was clearly a massive victim to the sweet tooth. After I'd brought what I had needed, the girls and I grabbed food like I'd thought we would. By the end of the night, I was completely buzzing with excitement for the next day where we'd all be together again and celebrating Lloyd’s birthday.

💫

I was grateful that coats existed the morning I woke up on March 4th. Despite the cold that violently shook my body as soon as I had stepped out of the shower, I couldn't help but he excited about the day planned ahead. Kai was picking me up at 12 and we were told to meet at quarter to 1. It was a far drive and I had a feeling Kai wouldn't exactly be the best at road safety so that's why I messaged Zane to try and come up with an excuse to be in the car too.
I was ready to go, sat on my doorstep at five to 12. I fixed my brown leather jacket and looked up to the sound of an engine. The window rolled down and two devious smirks met me from the car. Kai Smith and Skylor Chen were literally doppelganger. Zane had leant over and opened the door and I gladly slid in next to him, enjoying the warm heaters. We didn't really speak about much, Kai and Skylor were talking quietly to each other in the front, I caught snippets of their conversation but not enough to depict their words over the radio. Zane questioned me as to what I had gotten Lloyd and my face dropped.

I'd forgotten his gift. I had forgotten Lloyd Garmadon's birthday present. Kai quickly calmed me and said I'd have to take the car back with Lloyd so I could stop at mine and grab it. Kai always had good ideas, it was just his craziness that hid most of them and turned them into something stupid.
Before we'd even parked the car, I spotted Nya and Geo fussing over Lloyd as a distraction whilst Cole towered over him and put a party hat on his head. That was so cute.
We all rushed out, wanting to get our own share of the birthday boy.

"You can legally drink now!" Kai sighed with happiness, "We can take you to clubs, you can find a nice lady and hook up, you can get shitfaced Lloyd, shitfaced!"

Lloyd laughed, but his cheeks turned red, "Stop it,"

"You're not ei-eighteen for long Lloyd," Jay exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders and steering him towards the front desk.

"It's not a big deal," He tried to shut up everyone's commotion

"It really is," I disagreed with him with a shy smile.

He recoiled from Jay and smiled at me, "When's your birthday?"

"November 14th," I chewed on the inside of my cheek to stop a wider smile from taking over.

"I'll make yours a big deal and then you'll know how this feels with a bunch of friends like them," He promised, the outside of his eyes glowing a darker shade of green.

I was forced to look away from him when Nya swooped an arm over my neck, "Here's you're ticket,"

"Oh," I took it from her, "Thanks,"

We were made to walk up to the entrance and scan our ticket. With all the posters around, I realized this wasn't just a maze, it was a maze full of historic artifacts that we had to find, like a treasure hunt. I thought the idea was fun, but it surprised me to know that Lloyd was a history buff. We were the outskirts of Ninjago, it made me so happy that the workers weren't glaring at all of us. One even gave Lloyd a wide smile and a happy birthday. I watched the exchange with a happy heart. We were given a few maps and then were allowed through the gates. The bushes were high, they towered over us.

"Cole, put me on your shoulders," Kai suggested, tugging on his friends arm.

"How 'bout fuck off?" Cole scoffed, shoving Kai away with a laugh.

"Cole," George grinned at the man, I internally screamed at the way Cole's features softened when he turned to look at his boyfriend.

"Yeah yeah, swearings not allowed," Cole rolled his eyes then took Geo's hand, "So what's the plan, we split up?"

I smiled at Cole when he looked at me. It made me so happy that he was comfortable with showing affection to George in front of me now.

"Yeah sounds good," Nya nodded, turning to Lloyd, "Groups of 2, whoever finds everything first gets to nominate a team captain to give Lloyd birthday beats,"

"What if they're on my team?" Lloyd objected, which was a totally valid question.

"Doesn't matter, birthday beats," Nya shrugged, "I pick Jay, Sky and Geo to be on my team,"

"Fine," Lloyd crossed his arms, frowning at the girl, "I want Nora, Cole and Pixal,"

"I'll have... ew but I don't really want to have Kai," Nya scrunched her face up, "Zane come here,"

"Wow," Kai gawped, Skylor laughed.

"I only picked Cole because if Nya won he'd get selected to punch me," Lloyd whispered close to me, "He punches really hard,"

My heart fluttered, "Wise move, Leader,"

Lloyd laughed quietly before addressing his team, "Well start left, they'll take right,"

"See you later Loser Boy," Skylor blew Kai a kiss who glared at her.

We started walking away, I looked to the map we were given and found the closest artifact. Once we'd arrived, we took a picture of the Serpentine statue as proof of our findings, then meandered around the tall greenery for the next one.

"I think we should split up," Lloyd suggested, "We'll cover more ground faster that way,"

"Yes, I agree," Pixal nodded, taking the map out of Lloyd's hand, "Kai, Cole and I will go to The Mega Weapon, you and Nora find something else,"

Lloyd made a sound of hesitation, "I thought I was the leader?"

"Girls know best," Kai shrugged, following Pixal who was already walking away.

"Women," I called out to him.

"Exactly," He cried back.

Lloyd and I stood there watching them leave until they were out of sight.

"Did that really just happen?" He wondered, looking to me.

"I think so yeah," I nodded slowly, trying not to think about the fact that I was alone with the boy that I cried to The Green Ninja about.

"Oh!" Suddenly he seemed excited, "I gotta take you to an artifact!"

Before I could say anything, he had started running. My eyes widened, oh God not running. Despite my hate for the action, I followed him as best as I could. Lloyd was fit, I already knew that, but Holy hell. Did he really need to run that fast? I was so thankful when he stopped and waited for me to catch up. He didn't even seem breathless.

"Uncle Wu used to take me here all the time as a kid," Lloyd explained, putting a hand on my arm as I caught my breath.

I waved him off, I was fine, I totally wasn't dying right now, "Oh, that sounds fun,"

Lloyd chuckled, clearly knowing I didn't actually think that, "There's this statue here. She reminds me of you now that I think about her,"

I frowned at him, what the hell? We walked down a few more paths until there was a small opening. Lloyd had never been more right in his life! This statute was insane, it was almost as if I was looking into a stone mirror. It was a woman holding her hands close to her chest, her eyes were wide and her hair was flowing by her hips. Carved along with her features was this long dress that stopped before her ankles, it was build to portray it waving in the wind.
Id never seen something so beautiful.

"She was carved into a mountain side along with the other Spinjitzu masters involved with the Civil War," Lloyd spoke after a long moment, "For some reason they moved her here instead,"

"Why do you think?" I asked, turning my head away from the gorgeous peice of work to look at the gorgeous peice of man beside me.

He shrugged carelessly, "Maybe there's a flaw somewhere?"

"They went this way! I saw them I swear!"

Suddenly Lloyd and I's soft gazes turned into glares of worry. There was no way. There was no possible way that Jacob Mahoney was in the same place as us, at the same time, doing the same thing. This couldn't be real. Before I could react, because it was Lloyd who had snapped out of the shock before me, Lloyd grabbed my hand and pulled me to the back of the opening. He shoved me behind the statue but I panicked.

"Only I'm covered," My grip tightened on his hand, "They'll see you!"

He grit his teeth and his eyes darted around for a solution. Before I could even think, I grabbed his other hand and pushed him against the stone of the statue. His eyes widened but I didn't have time to marvel at their beauty. I stepped wayyyy too close into him, my main hope that because I was directly in front of him, Jacob and whoever he had with him didn't see us.

"They're literally-- what?" His tone dripped with confusion.

My wide eyes met Lloyd's instantly, my breath caught in my throat. Not only was his face millimetres away from mine, but our hands were tightly held together and our bodies were practically pressed together. To make matters worse, though depending on who you'd ask the matters currently happening would be described as a dream, Jacob and his crazy friend were just a few steps away from us, away from finding us. The longer I stared at Lloyd, the longer I watched his green eyes start to bleed into a dark pink. I was completely caught in the action. Did he need to go to the hospital? Was he okay? Hadn't I seen this before?
The footsteps and evil voices became quieter as they walked away mumbling about a potential wrong turn. Lloyd still stared at me, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink too. I was enthralled in his beauty that I didn't pull away, I was too caught in the way he looked. And it seemed like he was too, because, and no I wasn't imagining it, he started to lean closer into me. My heart whipped against my ribcage. We weren't, were we? I wouldn't hate the idea, absolutely not, but this was insane.

He was so close I could smell him. The cologne he was wearing that smelled like spiced amber, the mint on his breath... and I was so close that I was seconds away from tasting him too. My hand squeezed around his tigher and I felt myself shut my eyes. God I wanted to kiss him. I so wanted to kiss him more then I'd ever kissed anyone before in my life.

"Nerds!"

We both flinched apart from each other, the empty space in my hands now burning from the loss of contact. Lloyd brushed his hair away from his face, peeling back the celebratory hat away from his head. My heart still banged away in my chest as I watched him act like nothing happened. Lloyd walked around the statue to be faced with Kai.

"How'd you know we were here?" Lloyd huffed, an annoyed glint in his voice.

"Your phone tracker, duh," Kai rolled his eyes.

I walked towards them as if nothing happened, although my hands still felt as if they had been dipped in acid with how fast he pulled away from me. I looked at Pixal, then Kai, then was shocked to find Cole staring at me with a frown, but he didn't look angry.

"How many did you guys find?" I ask, a fake happiness in my voice.

"We found three, you?" Pixal answered.

"Uh," Lloyd hesitated, "Just this one,"

"What?" Kai hissed, "Nya is going to win and you're going to get your ass kicked!"

"I'm gonna get my ass kicked anyway," Lloyd shook his head, "Jacob is here. That's why we hid. They were looking for us,"

"Are you kidding me?" Cole frowned, his glare dangerous.

Lloyd rose his eyebrows, "Nope. Happy birthday Lloyd Garmadork, here's a punch in the face,"

"Don't say that," I muttered, hating the tone he talked about himself in.

"Jesus," Kai sighed, placing a hand on his hip, "C'mon, I'll text Nya and we'll complete this thing together. Safety in numbers right?"

"That's sounds good," I nodded, eager to be with more people so there was less chances to be around Lloyd.

My mind buzzed. What the hell just happened? He tried to kiss me, I didn't imagine that, and yeah, sure, Kai had totally ruined the moment, but why did he pull away so fast? Did he not want to kiss me? Did he change his mind? What had happened and why did it hurt so much?
Just as Kai suggested, we met up with Nya who was fuming that Jacob was here and tried to find Lloyd and I. The game of trying to win to give birthday hits to Lloyd vanished and we all worked together to finish this thing. I'm pretty sure Skylor, Nya and Cole clocked onto something with me, they kept talking to me and making jokes, but I couldn't stop thinking about the near kiss with Lloyd.
Two hours later, we showed all of our proof to the management and they awarded us a prize of any keychain artifact. Jay picked a Serpentine, Cole picked the Mega Weapon, Lloyd picked The First Spinjitzu Master, Skylor picked the sword of the Red Ninja, as did Kai, Nya picked a Destiny's Bounty and Zane and Pixal picked a borg Tower. I picked the statue of the woman who looked like me, the statue Lloyd and I nearly kissed behind.

As Kai had suggested earlier, Zane took Lloyd and I in a car to my house. I sat in the back whilst the two boys spoke quietly up front.

"Lloyd, Nora had forgotten her gift for you and we are collecting it as we drop her off," Zane told, looking focused on a turn.

Lloyd twisted in his seat quickly, face shocked, "You got me a birthday gift?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "You need a gift for your birthday,"

"That's..." He stared at me for a second, "Thank you,"

"You haven't seen it yet," Zane reminded, "Why are you thanking her?"

"Because it's a nice thing for somebody to do," Lloyd explained, sitting back in his seat, "Seriously Nora, thank you,"

I smiled contently in the back, hope filling me back up at the thought of Lloyd getting his gift. I didn't speak to any of them for the rest of the ride home, there was no reason to. They were busy talking about a video game and something Wu was working on. I liked hearing their voices anyway, it was relaxing. When my house came into view, I unbuckled my seat belt and hopped out as soon a the car stopped. I heard Zane scolding me for it but I was already at my front door so I didn't hear everything.
I knew exactly where the bag was, left by the front door where I had struggled to put my converse on. I left the door open to grab it, my hand clutching the doorframe as I leant over to grab the handles. I then flung myself back out of the door and terrifyingly nearly headbutt Lloyd. He caught me, luckily.

"Thanks," I rushed to say, not wanting him to comment on my blush, "Open it,"

Lloyd looked like he wanted to say something, but ended up not. He took the bag out of my hands and peeked in, his face softening as he saw his favourite candy littering the whole thing. Though his expression twisted in confusion when there were two papers at the bottom, he dug his hand in to retrieve them.

"What-- how did you--?" He looked at me, his eyes accusing.

"Zane told me," I felt a little smug and let it show, "I thought the movies were dumb?"

"They are!" He defended himself, "I just want to prove it. You know, for science reasons,"

"Mhm," I teased, "Good luck finding someone cool to bring with you,"

"Are you saying you're not cool?" He bit back, an equal sized smile on his face.

"Huh?"

"I'm bringing you," He told sternly, "There's nobody else dumb enough to go and see this movie with me,"

"I don't know whether to feel insulted or complemented," I admitted, giving him a fake frown.

He laughed, "It's a date,"

My expression fell immediately, "A date?"

"See you Friday," He smiled then tentatively took a few steps away from me, leaving me dumbfounded and staring as he got back into the car, "Thank you!"

I heard him yell before he shut the door, but his eyes were looking out of the window at me as Zane started the engine and continued to drive, only this time it was away from me. I felt insane. Blood rushed to my cheeks and my heart hammered.
Date? Was it just decided for me that I was going on a date? I mean, I wasn't complaining, I'd love nothing more, but I wasn't expecting it! Holy crap, Lloyd Garmadon is taking me on a date on Friday! But did he mean a date date? He could've just meant a hangout date. Oh my God it didn't matter. Lloyd wanted to hang out with me. He wanted to hang out with me, the girl he nearly kissed!
My breath was shaky when I turned around to enter my house. I was going on a date. I had nearly kissed a man. I was going on a date... and I was going to die if I kept thinking about it. 

🐉

Only Ninjago ogs will know who the guy that groomed Nya is... 🧞‍♂️

Also if this chapter is rushed I'm so sorry I just wanted to get it out because AAAAAHHHH development.

If there are mistakes, I'm super sorry!!