*About 3 years ago*

Skylor's POV

"Mom, Dad, you don't have to look at me like that," I tell them. They are both turned around in the car looking at me with massive grins. Both of their eyes are a bit wide, and I can't help but smile.

"We're just looking at our amazing daughter who has her first table read! We're so proud of you. It's for Ninjago too! Everyone loves that show. Especially us."

"Not only is it a role, but a big role too!" my mom grins from ear to ear, her scarlet hair pulled up in a ponytail just like mine. "I know we already asked you a ton of questions about that cast party you went to, but we won't be able to help ourselves after today either. We're just so happy for you."

"I know you are, and it makes me happy that you two are so invested. You didn't have to get off of work to drive me here, but you did. I appreciate it," I give them both a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I better get going. I can't be late on my first day."

"Good idea. We love you. Tell us if anything exciting happens," my mom says as I get out of the car. I give her a grateful smile, grab my purse, and close the door.

Once I walk into the area with all of the studio buildings, I get shivers all over my body. I've been to places like this plenty of times, but not in this scenario. I've always just been a stunt double, someone who you can't pick out of a crowd. This time is different though. I wasn't cast just to be a body, but to actually act as a seasonal lead. It's so surreal.

There are arrows with the words "Ninjago" written above them to direct people where to go. They rent out about half of the studios here for this show, turning the empty rooms into various elaborate sets. This season, however, we're actually going to fly out to an island owned by Chen Hall, the man who is going to play my father on the show and a highly esteemed actor.

The arrows take me to a door of one of the industrial looking buildings. Inside, I follow even more arrows, which I must admit are very helpful, and find myself in a large room. All around the edge of the room are tables, forming a big rectangle with a hollow middle. Each table has several seats, and at each seat, there is a name tag of the character's name with the actor's name under it.

A decent amount of people are in the room, several of which I recognize as the other new elementals that I met at the cast party. While a lot of people couldn't show up to the one this year, the cast party allowed some of the other new actors and me to get more comfortable, especially with each other. We're all doing this for the first time, and it's good to stick together.

Only a few members of the main cast of the show are here, none of which are the ninja. Wu, Misako, and Garmadon are all sitting next to each other at one of the tables behind their place cards. Dareth is also sitting off to the side eating some Taco Bell.

My parents and siblings are absolutely in love with the show. While I was busy training and practicing to be a stunt double, the two of them were always watching Ninjago. Over the years, I've been familiarized with the characters because of it. While I hadn't watched the full series before I was cast for this role, I decided to watch it to know what I was going into.

All of the hype the show gets is well deserved. The storylines and visuals are consistently strong throughout the series, gradually getting even better over time. The acting is also really well done, and the characters all have distinct personalities.

"Skylor, your seat is right there," Tory, going to be Tox on the show, points over at my seat. I thank her, complimenting her hair that she got freshly died for the role, and sit down.

Got in safely. Love you <3

I send my parents a quick text before going to text my siblings. They flipped out as soon as they heard I got the role, so I feel like filling them in on everything is the least I can do.

I flip through a script with my name on it that I picked up on the way. To avoid spoilers, they don't give anyone a complete script. Everyone only gets the bits and pieces that they're in. Then, everything gets edited together. When I look around, I have the biggest script out of everyone that's already here.

When the door opens, my head immediately shoots up. Zane walks into the room with Pixie who plays PIXAL on the show, their hands intertwined as they share a quiet conversation. She says something to him, and he lightly laughs. They walk over to their seats where Zane pulls Pixie's out for her, so she can sit down.

I'm not in the Ninjago fandom, but I do know that the entire internet broke when the two of them got together, both because the girls who believed they were going to marry him had their dreams crushed and because of their shippers. When I talked to the two of them at the cast party, they seemed happy. I was glad. A lot of people speculated that they were together as a PR, but they are a legitimate couple.

"It's way too early for this," Cole pushes the door open, extending his arms up and yawning. I notice Tory and Chamille starstruck from the two boys.

"It's 10, Cole. That's not early," Wu overhears his comment and smiles at him, slightly teasing him.

"I had to wake up at nine, and anything in the single digits is far too early," he takes a seat three down from mine and crosses his arms, folding them below his head to rest.

As Cole starts to snore, conversation in the room picks up again, and I glance back down at my phone. Opening up a puzzle game, I decide to try to move around the wooden blocks so the red one can be free. I breeze through several levels before I get stuck, constantly moving them up and down and left to right. One of the bricks just won't move from right in front of the exit.

"Where are they? It's fifteen minutes after our start time, and we're missing four members of the main cast!" the producer, Mr. Chambers, sits at a table next to some of the other heads of the show, such as the costume director and stunt coordinator. When I look down at my phone, I see that a significant amount of time has passed. "There might as well be five missing! Cole is completely knocked out."

"Jay and Nya collected their scripts before anyone else. They are most likely in Jay's dressing room reading it as we speak. It is their tradition, after all," Zane informs him. Mr. Chambers sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"And Lloyd and Kai?"

"Lloyd drove with us here. He's somewhere on the premises," Garmadon tells him.

Cole grumbles and stirs his head, eventually looking at the table of executives. "You're all so loud. They're probably off playing scooter hockey somewhere and lost track of time."

"Not that again. I don't care who does it and how they do it, just get the four of them in here within the next five minutes or it's not gonna be pretty."

"Oh come on. I'm always pretty," a voice comes from the doorway, turning everyone's heads. Leaning on the doorframe wearing sunglasses and a fitted red t-shirt, Kai appears to look in Mr. Chambers direction. "Also, we sadly weren't playing scooter hockey. We were going to, but then I locked my keys in my car, and Lloyd helped me get them out."

"I don't care why you were late. Just take a seat," he sighs, straightening out his papers.

"I knew we were going to beat Jay and Nya here," Lloyd says as he and Kai find their way to their seats. I don't realize that the two of them are seated next to me until they physically sit down. Kai is on my side and Lloyd is beside him.

Even though I'm not a super fan of the show, it's still odd seeing all of them in person. The actors in this show, especially the ninja and Nya, absolutely blew up because of it. They're everywhere, from cereal commercials to fashion ads. It's impossible to not know who they are even if you're not in the business. I know they're normal people just like everyone else, but it's still a cool experience.

"I don't believe we've met before," Kai leans back in his seat, resting his feet on the table. "I'm Kai. I'm guessing you know that though, if you auditioned for the show." His eyes slightly squint under his glasses after he says the final sentence.

"I'm Skylor," I introduce myself. His confident demeanor that I saw at the door has faded a decent amount. He seems to be trying to keep it up, but he's not doing too good at it.

"You're Skylor?" he's a bit shocked. I raise an eyebrow, not knowing whether to take it as an insult or a compliment.

"Yes I am."

"Well, I'm glad. We're going to be spending a lot of time together," he picks up his script, flipping through it.

"What do you mean?"

He looks at me perplexed. "Did they not tell you? Huh, that's strange. It makes sense though. I only found out cause Jay texted me."

"Not tell me what?"

Kai looks down and flips to the back of his script. He scans some pages before finding something. "Turn to the fifth to last page."

I open my script and follow his directions. I scan the page quickly, and when I see the directions on the page, my eyes widen.

Kai and Skylor share a passionate kiss with Dareth staring in the background.

When I auditioned, they mentioned nothing about dating any of the ninjas, probably to avoid girls auditioning just for that. When I look back at Kai, he has his sunglasses off, now resting on the table. His eyes are stuck on me.

When I got the role, I just knew that I was going to be a new elemental master who is actually related to the villain. She is a strong fighter and can hold her own. She can manipulate to get her way and can use anyone's powers. She's a powerhouse. They never mentioned her having a love interest.

I take another look at him. His hair is brown and styled intricately as if it took hours to do it this morning. His eyes are lighter than his hair, serving as a compliment to them. He has a nice smile partnered with a singular dimple on his left cheek. His skin is flawless, and his eyebrows look natural and shaped well. There's no denying that the boy in front of me isn't at least a bit attractive.

The entirety of my teenage years was spent trying to build my career. All I had time for was online school, training, and shoots. I never got to experience anything about being a teenager, and even if I'm only 17 now, I don't see that changing any time soon.

Due to all of it, I've never been in a relationship. It's not like I never had any options. I met guys on set who were interested, but I never wanted to pursue anything with them, especially when I had to focus on my career. However, now that's led me into this scenario.

Kai Heath is going to be my first kiss.

---

*current day*

I stare at the menu in front of me, admiring the cursive, golden font. We've been here dozens of times. Even though I know what I want, I can't help but admire it all.

By no means did my family struggle to get by. We lived comfortably in the suburbs and always had food on the table. Even with that, the lavish life is still breathtaking. I purposely don't overindulge in it, but when we do go out for nights like this, it's exciting.

"It's so nice to be able to sit down. That shoot today was tiring," my boyfriend rolls his shoulders back. His brown hair is styled as usual as he looks at me. His eyes, brown with speckles of amber, look into mine in a way that makes me feel appreciated. "How was yours?"

"I posed with some puppies today to promote National Rescue a Dog Day. They were adorable. They took pictures of me cuddling with them, giving them little kisses, and holding them," I set my menu down to look at Kai. He has on a red, silk shirt with the top several buttons undone. His sleeves are rolled back to his elbows. The material clings to his defined arms and chest. He knows exactly what he's doing wearing that shirt.

"Lucky."

"I know I am. It was so..."

"I meant the dogs," he gives me one of his picture perfect smiles as he says that, and I match it with my own smile. I set my menu down and give him my full attention.

"Do you want a kiss?"

"I always do. You know that."

"Well too bad. There are at least 10 people trying to subtly film us with their phones right now."

He shakes his head, a smile still on his face. "You're such a tease. I really thought that one would work."

"It would have if we weren't under the watching eyes of everyone," I counter, keeping a playful tone.

"Not even a peck?" he juts his lower lip out into a pout.

"Nope."

"Bummer," he picks up the menu and scans it again. "I think I'm going to be a bit risky tonight and try something else. Maybe the arancini."

I look at it on the menu and raise an eyebrow. "You're going to hate that. I'm almost certain. You're so picky about textures."

"I'm gonna get it though. I'm settled," he sets his menu down. I sigh.

"Should I double my order of spaghetti just in case?"

"Probably. We should get calamari too," he suggests. "On a different note, I got a call from the studio today. Not only are we getting the scripts for season 13 tomorrow, but they also asked how many tickets I wanted to the Prime Empire premiere with a max of 3 extras of course. Did you want to invite anyone else?"

"Ooo season 13 script. I want to be surprised when I watch it, but I also want you to tell me all about it," I admit. "About the premiere, I'm fine, but thanks for asking. I'd have to pick either one of my parents or one of my siblings, so I'm fine."

"Alright, that's what I assumed but..." suddenly, the doors to the restaurant fly open. Dozens of paparazzi fly through the doors. Their flashes attack the interior like a lightning storm. People cover their eyes and turn away. Kai and I just sigh, sliding on our sunglasses.

"And here we thought we could eat out in peace. Come on, let's just go home. We can pick up Panda Express on the way home," I suggest, standing up. He follows suit, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers.

As we start to walk away towards the back exit, he leans over so his mouth is beside my ear. "Can I have a kiss now?"

"In your dreams, Heath."

"How about in 20 minutes?"

"In 20 minutes."

---

Nya's POV

I lie in bed scrolling through my Instagram. My stream is flooded with various tabloids I don't care about, fan posts that I do care about, and the occasional pictures of my friends that manage to squeeze through all of it.

I'm exhausted, but I need to wait for Gabe to be finished getting ready to go to bed. He turns off the lights when he comes in, and I can't sleep when there's light. It's a curse that's resulted in me being an early riser even if I make it to bed late at night.

I try to distract myself from the exhaustion headache I have by going through Instagram. I scroll and scroll since Gabe takes forever to get ready. As I skim over the posts, I see a picture of my best friend and show brother.

Over and Out: One of the world's hottest couples, Kai Heath and Skylor Sheen, leave their date night after being bombarded by paparazzi.

The caption is written under a paparazzi photo, making me roll my eyes. The paparazzi have always been nosy, but they seem to enjoy harassing Kai and Skylor the most. They're followed practically everywhere by them, just like the rest of us are, but the ones that follow them are a lot more pushy. They don't respect privacy, pushing through whatever barrier they have to to get a picture.

I start scrolling through the comments to see what other people think. A lot of people don't see a problem with how the paparazzi acts, just saying something about how adorable the two of them are together. I keep looking to try to find someone actually calling them out since it needs to happen. It takes me about a minute before I find one.

Just let them eat their ravioli in peace 😥 We're all people who deserve respect and should be able to go on a date together. When they stop going out (like many of the other couples we're friends with), we'll all know why. Alright, rant over, thank you for still reading haha.
When I see the handle, I feel my chest tighten a little bit. Jay_the_Walker

I click on his profile, not having been here for a while. His bio is still the same.

I know my last name isn't Walker but it has a lot better ring than Jay_the_Gordon

Before I know it, I find myself looking through his posts again. I like them when they come across my feed, but it's been a while since I actually looked at them in depth. He has a variety on his page. Some of them are little contests where he randomly sends one of the commenters a prize. He has some of himself, but a majority of the ones he's in are with some of the guys. There is a post with pictures from their sleepover. One is a poorly taken selfie. Sleeping bags are all over his living room floor, and each of them are in one that is their signature color. All of their smiles are so vibrant.

When I see a video, I make it so my volume is barely audible and press play.

"I'm recording," Zane informs them from behind the camera. The remaining boys, all wearing swim trunks in their color, are in Jay's pool. Jay is propped up on Cole's shoulders, and Lloyd is on Kai's.

"Ha, now everyone can see when we wipe the floor with you two," Kai taunts, temporarily letting go of Lloyd's ankles to splash the water in front of them. It gets all over Cole's face.

"Oh, you guys are going down. My pool, my rules," Jay cracks his knuckles.

"If I see any cheating, I will call it out," Zane tells them.

"Oh, why would any of us cheat?" Jay asks just as Kai visibly tries to leg sweep Cole. "Point taken."

"Hey, that's completely legal!" Kai counters. "I'm starting." With that, the two start their chicken fight. Lloyd and Jay duel on top, trying to shove the other off, which is funny to watch. Both of them are so strong that neither looks as strong since they can't make the other one budge. As soon as one tries to push the other, they're met with an immediate counter. It's a high level chicken fight if I've ever seen them.

The more I watch, the more upset I get. I could've been there watching them instead of seeing a playback through a screen. I could've been in the water with them, laughing when I went in on top of someone's shoulders and played a round myself. I wasn't there though. I was here, in my apartment, as always.

"You look sad, Babe," at Gabe's voice, I sublty leave the page and set my phone down.

"I saw one of those Humane Society posts," I lie. He raises his eyebrow before sighing and turning off the lights. His feet audibly shuffle against the ground before the bed beside me dips. The covers move before I feel his body pressed against mine. His arms are wrapped around me as he spoons me.

"You have nothing to be sad about," he whispers in my ear, his breath warm with a hint of mint. His right hand grabs onto my hip bone and pulls my lower body closer to him. "You're the most famous woman in the world. You live in this luxurious apartment. You have an amazing boyfriend that does so much for you. You're on the biggest show in the world. Your life is perfect."

"Speaking of my show, they were asking about tickets to the Prime Empire premiere today. Do you want to come?" I ask him. His fingers dig into my hip a bit.

"To the premiere for his season where you two are surely going to be having sex and making out the whole time on screen? No thanks," he grumbles. I go to counter him, to say that that's not what the season is like at all, but I just keep my mouth shut.

"I'll tell them only to get one for my mom and I."

His hands start to wander my body, initially trailing up and down the natural curve of my side before travelling down to my ass and squeezing it. My eyes shut tightly.

He told me my life was perfect. If my life is so perfect, why do I feel so alone?

A/N: I'm always going to try to italicize the flashbacks, but I might forget so don't be confused if you see it not italicized.

Just to reiterate, this book does have some mature themes. You've been warned! I'd say the main categories are abusive relationships (hmmm wonder where that comes in), cursing (probably just some f bombs or something like that), and sexual stuff (I'm not writing smut tho). If you're worried about the degree of any of those, message me and I'll tell you how much.

I know I already but this in Escapade, but the Ninjago Fanfic Awards are open again this year. If you guys would nominate/vote for this book and my other books, I would appreciate it!

Thank you all so much! Keep commenting, voting, and share it with any friends you think would be interested! You're the best