~ the fold

'TW: No Trigger Warning

What do you wear for a date that isn't explicitly a date but is also completely a date? Half of my wardrobe was on my bed and clothes were thrown out of their drawers. Would Lloyd even care what I was wearing? What was he going to wear? I hope it wasn't a suit and tie occasion, but then again, who went full suit and tie for a Fritz Donnegan movie? Seeing Lloyd in a suit would be hot though, focus! I thought about messaging someone, but then they'd all think I liked him. Did I like him or was it casual? I stared at myself in the mirror. Wasn't it obvious?
After many switches and contemplating, I decided on something cute. A creme turtleneck, black skirt and tights and my leather jacket. It was cute and would class as fancy and casual. It was a cinema date but I'd never been on a date before so finding an outfit was hard.
Brushing my hair back, I applied some concealer to my under eyes and to some red spots on my face, then applied my favourite mascara.

The movie was at 8, I glanced over to my clock. 6:30. Okay maybe I was getting ready a little early, but I still had to eat yet. Dad had just got home from work so I decided to talk with him. I hadn't told Dad that I was going out for a date, I'd just let him know I was going out either a friend. There was no way in hell he'd let me out after knowing I was seeing a boy, especially if that boy was Lloyd Garmadon. He placed his keys on the table, turning around to the coffee machine, switching it on.
His shirt was crinkled and full of oil marks, he was so hard working and I appreciated it massively. He scratched his head, grabbing a mug, twisting to get the milk, then jumping when he saw me. His eyes had blown open wide, but then he double taked.

"You going out?" He wondered, a small crease in his eyebrows.

"Yeah," I nodded, pursing my lips, "With some friends,"

God I felt terrible lying to him, but I really really wanted to go out tonight. It would be a disaster if Lloyd Garmadon was found to be my 'friend'.

"Oh," He shook his head softly, "You look pretty,"

"Thanks Dad," I smile appreciatively, "How was work?"

My question seemed to excite him, "Really good! An anonymous business has decided to work with us, they're supplying the metal and everything,"

"Oh that's great!" I shared his excitement, "But why are they anonymous?"

"Because they're only just starting out. They don't want to spend loads just to flop and have everyone know about it," My Dad grabbed his coffee and took a sip, scrunching his face at the heat... will he ever learn? "They have something to do with Cyrus Borg, that's all I know,"

"Ah," I nod slowly, walking to the fridge and pulling out some leftover pasta.

"But it's good though because it means we profit. We don't have to pay for the materials, just the gas, fire and tools and shipping. That's cheaper then the stuff they want made!" He continued explaining, a content look on his face.

"What do they want made?" I wonder.

"All this crazy stuff. If I had to guess they have something to do with animal protection. They have us making cages and massive sheets of metal," He listed the requests on his fingers, "Kai said there was a new order of some cuffs, weird right?"

I frown thoughtfully, that was pretty strange, though I guess some of the bigger animals would need to be restrained somehow. I unwrapped the clingfilm and opened the cupboard to find some hot sauce. Dad was just about to take another sip of his scorching hot coffee when the door was knocked on.

I stared at him expectantly, "I did it last time,"

He groaned and placed his cup down, waddling off and to the front door. I heard it unlock and creak slightly when it was pushed open.

"Hey Gorg-- Oh!"

I dropped my fork on the counter with a loud clatter.

"Who the hell are you?" Dad asked, his voice on edge.

I raced to the door, pushing my Dad to the side. What the hell?  Lloyd wasn't supposed to be here yet! My Dad tried to push me back, though I pushed him with all my strength, I looked over to the boy on my porch. His blonde hair had been parted into curls that framed his head like a gold frame. His cheeks were red and his expression was sheepish. In his hand, that had now been place by his side, was a handful of roses. My heart melted.

"Dad-- Dad this is my friend that I told you about," I rushed to say, smiling through my teeth.

"You said friends," My Dad corrected, "Why's he have roses?"

Lloyd clenched his jaw and lifted the flowers awkwardly to me. I was just about to take them but Dad snatched out to take them instead.

"Dad! We're meeting our friends there!" I lie, wriggling out and past his body, "Isn't that right Lloyd? We're meeting Kai and Sky there!"

Lloyd hesitated, "Y-yeah,"

"Lloyd?" Dad suddenly lost the tone in his voice, staring at us, "Lloyd Garmadon?"

I bit my tongue harshly and grabbed Lloyd's hand, turning on my heel and running down the walkway.

"Nora Li!" He shouted after us.

"Be back later! I love you!" I yelled in reply, "Go Lloyd, Lloyd go!"

I pushed him forward, relief washing through me when Lloyd pressed the button to unlock his car. Though I nearly ran into him when he halted in front of me, his fingers rushing to open the door for me.

I pushed him away, "Do you want to get burned alive?"

I opened the car door quickly, accidently smacking it into him as he tried to jog around the front. He swiftly opened the door to his side, climbing in and slamming the door. The key his the ignition and seconds later we were driving down the road. Silence engulfed us, we were both on edge, I wasn't sure what to say. I just hit him with his own car door, that was wild. My Dad wasn't supposed to find out that I was going with Lloyd, oh I was going to be in so much trouble when I got home.
I turned in my seat slightly, the tension awkward.

"I'm so sorry about that," I blabbled, "He's very protective over me,"

"You didn't tell him?" Lloyd wondered, his expression unreadable.

"I'm really sorry to have to put it like this, but if my Dad found out that I was going on a date with Lloyd Garmadon then he'd ground me for life," I sighed, brushing my skirt down.

"Oh," Lloyd said in a small voice, "What, because you risked your life for me or because I'm a psychopaths kid?"

"Uh," I trailed off, "Both? But I'll speak to him I swear, I just didn't expect you to be early,"

He nodded, "No, I get it. I'd be the same way honestly. And I'm sorry about that, I was told it would be a good idea to take you to dinner,"

"What?" I felt my cheeks grow hot, completely disregarding his first words, "Dinner?"

Lloyd glances to me quickly, "Yeah, that's what happens on dates,"

"So it is an actual date," I clarified, wanting to take back my words as soon as I'd said them. I didn't mean to say that outloud.

"Um," Lloyd blushed slightly, "You didn't think it was? Oh God this is awkward,"

"No," I shook my head, "I did, I just didn't know if you did,"

His eyebrows raised, "I literally told you it would be,"

"Yeah but I wasn't sure if you meant in a friend way or not," I swallowed, hoping this wouldn't backfire on me.

"No," Lloyd turned nervous again, "Not in a friend way,"

I bit the inside of my cheek and leant back in my seat, trying not to smile like a crazy person. Not on a friend way, did that mean Lloyd liked me too? No, don't get ahold of yourself Nora, it was just date, this is where you find out if you actually like them or if it was just attraction making you want to be with them. There's a difference.
I wondered what we could talk about, the atmosphere was slightly awkward, the main problem being we had partially confessed our maybe interests to each other. I didn't want this to be awkward, I wanted it to be a nice time.

"Where are we going?" I asked, tapping my fingers on my legs anxiously, "Skylor's?" I teased.

A small smile lifted to his expression, "No, somewhere more fancy,"

"Fancy? Where's fancy around here?" I smiled a little

The crease between his eyes faded away as he relaxed, "There's an Italian restaurant near the cinema, I love it there,"

"I do like pasta," I agreed, looking out of the window as he drove, "You're car is really nice,"

"Thanks. My Uncle got it for me a year ago," Lloyd then paused, from his face, that I definitely wasn't staring at... totally, he looked nervous, "My Uncle's rich so..."

I would be lying if I said that my eyebrows didn't raise slightly after his comment. It was a little unnecessary, maybe he was trying to hint that he was paying for dinner, maybe he was trying to impress me? If he was trying to do the first, it was kind of him, but there were better ways to go about the situation and be a lot clearer. If it was the second, then money certainly didn't impress me. Sure, I can respect a hard working man with great finances and inheritance, but that's not what makes me love people.

"Ah," I nod slowly, "That's really cool,"

I tried to think of something else to say, something that we could both contribute to in conversation, but my mind fell blank. I'd read up about reviews for the movie, but I didn't want to spoil anything for him.

"Do you go to this restaurant a lot?" I wondered carefully.

"No, not really," He admitted, "Only for special occasions,"

I nodded, my cheeks turning red a little. Was I a special occasion? Was this date? My thoughts tumbled on excitedly as he drove into a free car spot. I got out of the vehicle, the cold air brushing against my face making me tremble, I'd gotten so used to the warmth of his car I felt frozen. Luckily, we didn't have to walk far to the building. Lloyd opened the door for me, I stupidly smiled as I walked in, that expression being the only one I could muster.
There was a man on an ipad at the check in, he seemed too busy to look up. Lloyd and I waited patiently for a moment, but when it boared near concerning the amount of time we were stood staring at him, my date cleared his throat. As if not realizing he had customers, the employee apologised then smiled at us widely. It took exactly 4 seconds for the recognition to sit in. Yes. I counted. His smile fell and his eyes narrowed, the friendly customer service expression vanishing.

"Reservation for Smith?" Lloyd shoved has hands in his front pockets.

I knew it was far from the right time, but I couldn't help but admire his outfit. It was rare to see Lloyd without something green, but he was still cute either way. His jacket hung loosely to his body whilst his shirt collar showed off the chain of his necklace. His jeans were a light blue colour and baggy, it was a very attractive attire.
Bringing my thoughts back to the situation, I suddenly became confused. Why was Lloyd using Kai and Nya's last name? Was it because it was a generic, overpopulated name meaning that it could be anyone? Probably. If I was well known for a bad reputation, I wouldn't use my last name either.

"That'll be right this way," He walked out from behind the post and walked us to a table for two in the middle of the restaurant.

Lloyd's face twisted, "Do you have anything more private? I'll pay more?"

"No, this is the only table," He pulled out two menus, "Here,"

I glared at the man, snatching the menu snarkily then untucking my chair. Lloyd controlled his disappointment much better then I, accepting the fact that our place wasn't going to change andhe was clearly, already unwelcomed. I glared at the guy until he had vanished to work on something else. Impressively, Lloyd didn't seem too downhearted, his eyes were flickering from my face to the menu.

"Did I tell you that you look really pretty tonight?" He wondered, his voice small.

I held back the extremeness of my smile, "No, but thank you. I like your jacket, it's cute,"

Lloyd look to the table in front of him, his hand fiddling with the fork placed to the left of where his plate should be. His face grew a little red and I couldn't help but think about how pretty he was.

"Thanks... it's um, designer," He mumbled, lips pressing into a think line.

My smile turned slightly sour. I bit my tongue and nodded, hoping that I wasn't giving away my annoyance at that. Lloyd’s beautiful green eyes flickered up to me and I quickly averted his gaze, pretending to be interested in some of the artwork on the walls. What was he saying? Did he honestly think this was cool? Lloyd didn't seem like a pompous asshole before so what changed? I laughed awkwardly, clearing the air. Hopefully he wouldn't say anything like that again.

💫

My wishes were not answered. I was staring at Lloyd blankly, twisting my fork around in my half eaten pasta as I listened to him blabber on about the birthday party thrown for him. I had sat through him already explaining how his house had 5 floors which were super big, and now he was flexing his expensive gifts? I was bored out of my mind, sure, it was cute to see him ramble on, but this was ridiculous. It was supposed to be a date, I was supposed to tell him about myself just as much as he told me about him, but not once had he asked about my life.
Lloyd Garmadon wasn't evil like his father, but he sure had a complex.
The whole thing confused me. How was he so shy and awkward at school yet when we were alone, he couldn't shut up? Then I thought about all the other times it had just been Lloyd and I and he was never like this. He was the complete opposite, never really talking unless I brought up something first, and even then he seemed interested in me, never really wanting to talk about himself. What was going on?

I hummed and ahhed in the appropriate places, if it was an ego thing then I wasn't giving him the satisfaction of impressing me. Soon after, he paid for our meals which did flatter me because it was a kind gesture, and then we were back in his car. Half of me kind of regretted coming out tonight. Maybe I should've made it a group thing. Lloyd had been such a sweetheart to me in the past, I wanted to know what had changed to make him act differently now.
We got out at the cinema, walking in together as the cold nipped at our faces. Luckily, inside of the theatre was warm and the popcorn buckets in our hands were warmer.
I think this had been the closest I'd ever sat with him, I noticed that right away. I crossed my legs over each other whilst Lloyd spread his out. That was kind of cute. I thought for a moment, could I overlook the self-centered personality...? Honestly probably not. Maybe it would be better if we stayed friends. The thought saddened me slightly, why did he have to change when the idea of romantic interest came into the picture.

The lights went off and the big screen turned on. The fuzzy letters of Fritz Donnegan: Silence in Space came onto view with an awesome background song which had my stomach flipping and a wide smile breaking out on my face. Despite Lloyd's attitude at dinner and on the way, I genuinely hoped he enjoyed this movie.

"But Donnegan, aren't you scared?" His love interest worried, grabbing his arms.

"Fear? Fear isn't a word where I come from," I mouth along with the leading actor.

"Fair," Lloyd coughed under his breath.

I smirk at him, eyes pulling away from the screen to shake my head disapprovingly. He giggled quietly, then I didn't hear another peep out of him apart from the quiet chews if his m&m coated popcorn. The film was really good, out of the whole saga, this one had to be my favourite. The romance? The fear? The cliffhanger? I was hooked.
With pretty much all of our snacks finished, Lloyd grabbed my bag and helped me safely out of the narrow row and down the steps in the dark. See this was the Lloyd I had assumed was under all of that anxiety, not some rude asshole. His whole personality change was confusing me.  As we were heading back to his car, I wondered if I should say something. I wanted to know. Surely your personality shouldn't change when you go on a date, if anything you should embrace who you really are.

"Thank you," I beamed when he opened the door for me.

He gave me a toothy smile, "No problem,"

I got in the car and the door shut swiftly after. He joined me in a matter of seconds, taking off his jacket to be warmed by the air conditioner instead. I didn't mind, I got to look at his veiny arms.

"Thank you for tonight," Lloyd mumbled after clearing his throat.

"Me?" I wondered softly, "You brought us dinner,"

"Yeah but it would never of happened if you didn't get me tickets to that lame movie," He joked, his lips curving up when speaking insults about the sagas, "Did you enjoy tonight?"

I was about to make a joke in return, I would've if he hadn't asked me about my thoughts on the night.

I hesitated, "The movie was enjoyable,"

He saw right through me, "Was dinner not?"

I swallowed, "No, it was good,"

I didn't want to hurt his feelings, God, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt Lloyd's feelings, but he seemed saddened by my answer. Could he seriously tell I was lying? Jeez, I must suck.

"Christ... I knew I shouldn't have done it," He sighed, his fingers clenching around the steering wheel.

"What?" I squeeked.

Did he regret the date? Did he wish he took someone else? Done what, what did he mean by that? I fiddled with the strap of my bag, waiting for him to reply. What if this had ruined everything? What if this date had ruined our relationship, therefore spoiling my friendship with everyone else. I'd be expected to try and make friends with other people at school. But they wouldn't want me. They'd think I'd been corrupted and was only trying to recruit them too.
Lloyd's voice cut me from my thoughts.

"I was so nervous for tonight," He admitted quietly, "I just wanted to, ur, impress you,"

My eyes widened slightly, "Is that why you were being imperious?"

"Holy crap, do you read thesaurus' for a living?" He glanced at me quickly before changing his tone, "Yeah, you could say that,"

"I hate to break it to you Lloyd, but all that did was piss me off," I said without shame, at the end of the day, it needed to be said.

He sighed heavily, a guilty expression playing on his features, "I asked Kai for ideas,"

I frowned, he asked Kai how to impress me and came out with all of this? Kai had a girlfriend, surely he knew how to impress girls. Or maybe he was being typical Kai and giving out stupid advise but acting like it was legit.

"Grab my phone out of my jacket," Lloyd said, "My password is 8284,"

"You want me to go on your phone?" I raised an eyebrow, shifting my hand through his pocket and grabbing the phone.

"I just want you to read what Kai told me," He explained, "I'm sorry I ruined the date,"

Before I comforted him or assured him that he didn't, I unlocked his phone and found Kai on WhatsApp.

Kai🔥:
Okay, just follow these
steps and you'll be okay

Me:
Okay

Kai🔥:
You need to keep talking
about yourself, chicks
dig when a guy talks
about himself, it allows
them to get more
information about you.

Kai🔥:
Start telling her how
rich Wu is and how
lucky you are. Tell her
what you got for your birthday.

Kai🔥:
Don't ask much about
her, girls like to remain
mysterious.

Kai🔥:
Flirt with her like no
tomorrow, in the movies,
wrap your arm around
her shoulders, or
maybe go in for a sneaky
hand hold if she rests
her hand out.

Kai🔥:
Be nice, but not too nice,
lead her on kinda, make
her want more.

I frown the more I read. Wow. Kai was a dick.

"As you can see I didn't do half of the stuff he said," Lloyd winced, "But I did do some of it. I'm not sure what I was thinking,"

My thoughts had instantly stopped harassing me and I found myself relaxing slightly. Lloyd wasn't secretly a horrible person and he didn't have a complex. He was exactly like I thought he would be, his friend just gave him terrible advise.

"I think I prefer you when you're yourself," I admitted softly, "I like it when you're you,"

Lloyd's cheeks rose as he smiled but he didn't look at me. I wanted to see his eyes, the way they shimmered in the moonlight. I wanted to see his beauty.

"I like that I can be myself around you," He said after a moment, still not looking at me.

I smile softly, "Kai was horrid for saying that to you,"

"He's getting punched for nearly ruining my first date with a pretty girl," Lloyd muttered angrily.

My mind went into shock. Pretty girl? Ohmygodohmygodimgonnadie. There's no way in hell Lloyd Garmadon just called me a pretty girl. Oh God I could've died happy then and there in his car.

"Maybe we can go on another date?" I suggested lightly, "No unexpected surprises, no Kai's influence... just Lloyd and Nora?"

Thankfully, for the first time in a hot second, Lloyd glances to me, his eyes a very unusual dark colour in this lighting.

"I like the sound of that," He agreed, his face in such a smiley, beautiful expression.

My heart thumped wildly in my chest. Another date with the most gorgeous boy ever? Sign me right up.

🐉