Chapter 10

Claire's POV

This is so exciting! Lloyd and I are going to pretend that we hate each other, while we secretly are setting up the best prank in the history of Ninjago!

What is also exciting is yesterday's conversation... Lloyd likes me! It's going to be hard to hide my smile around him.

"Claire, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine." I respond. I have to make it seem like I hate Lloyd. But everything in me wants to blurt out everything that happened and how I feel.

Okay... you can do this Claire.

"I'm sure that whatever happened yesterday was a mistake." Nya says, casually, but not casually enough.

"It was a big mistake alright. Yesterday I learned the truth. Love hurts. It's a simple solution... never admit to yourself your true feelings."

"That's not what I meant, though. Maybe you should talk to Lloyd. Get his side of the story."

This is funny enough... I can only imagine the prank that we'll pull.

"I'm not talking to him until he apologizes. Nothing will change my mind, Nya. So don't try."

She sighs... in defeat. "Fine. I'm going to go down to breakfast. Are you coming?"

"Sure. But if he's there, I'm not staying."

She gives out another sigh. "If you insist."

We walk to the dining room in complete silence. Amazing and awkward silence! Score for the best idea ever!

"So, Lloyd. Have you seen Claire."

"Yeah... we had a little chat last night. She went completely hysterical! Can you believe her?! She yelled at me. I saved her life!"

Jay nervously laughs. "You don't say. Maybe she wasn't feeling well."

"Oh that wasn't it. No, today proves one thing... Claire is a phsyco."

We reach the dining room just in time. I can see how much fun Lloyd is having. It's about to get better.

"Glad to see that you can observe things Lloyd... Up until now I thought your head was empty. I'm also glad to see that your nice and innocent friends haven't picked up your obvious stupidity."

"Did you just call me stupid? Who ran into a burning building and saved, oh I don't know, one person?! Also, who risked my life to do it? Oh yeah... that was you. You landed yourself in the hospital. I think the person with no brains is you."

I'm so glad that we made up yesterday or else he would have burned me pretty badly.

"I didn't ask you to come save me. That was all you... and now your trashing me for saving a life. Excuse me?! You only saved one person... me."

"That might be the biggest mistake of my life!" He rises out of his chair to make this more dramatic. The other's whip their heads back and forth, watching us rant. I rise out of my chair as well, stifiling my laughter and how hilarious this has gotten.

"It sure is! I suggest that you watch your back, because I'm going to finish that fight we started earlier. In the end... I'm going to win."

"Is that what you think? I have stopped several armies... and what have you done? Stopped a few robberies?"

"You're going to find out what I can do as I tear you limb from limb."

We step closer and closer to each other, struggling as the others hold us back.

"Okay, guys. Maybe we should calm down and think about... butterflies?" Jay urges.

"Ha! Good luck with that, Jay. As you can see, Claire's having the usual temper tantrum, from which no one can stop until she gets what she wants!"

"Temper tantrum?! Are you for real?! It takes two to fight Greenie!"

We pull harder to reach each other.

"Is it too late to have a quiet breakfast?" Kai asks the two of us.

"Not until I get an apology!" I yell

"Apology for what?! I didn't do anything!"

"Oh you did something alright. Don't act like you don't know it!"

"I thought I didn't know anything! Would you just make up your mind already?!"

"Enough!"

Wu's voice can make anything stop. And so we stop fighting. Well, fake fighting.

"Claire, Lloyd, I thought you settled your disputes."

Lloyd and I look at each other. To anyone else his eyes would look angry, but deep down, his emerald green eyes show compassion and warmth. I could stare at them all day long.

"It seems that we've seen each other in a new light, Sensei." I respond.

"Ah. I see. Well, let the others eat in peace. There's something I need to tell the both of you, if you would follow me."

"Yes, sensei." We say in unison and bow.

We walk side by side in silence, and I'm longing for him to say something... but he doesn't need to. Instead he slips his hand into mine.

We're walking down the hallway in silence, holding hands after we just fought... and no one knows. Not exactly romantic, but that's okay. I don't need all of the fancy stuff, just as long as we can be together.

When we reach Wu's quarters, my hand is no longer comforted by Lloyd's warmth as he unlatches our hands.

Wu clears his throat. "So what exactly happened last night? I take it 'nothing good'?"

Lloyd and I let out the laughs we were both holding from that fight.

"Oh. Did I miss something?"

"Don't tell the others, but we're pretending to hate each other." Lloyd says between laughs

He looks surprised... and really confused. It's not a good look on him.

"If you really have to know... the others tried to mess with our relationship. We're planning on pranking them, but we don't want them to see it coming." I explain.

"Hm." He stokes his beard eyes flitting from Lloyd to me.

"With your permission, of course." Lloyd adds.

"I have no problem with a prank... but just don't let things get out of hand."

"Wait, so you're not going to oppose this?"

"Are you kidding? I'm in on a prank on my students. If anything I'm looking forward to this."

I roll my eyes. This man works in so many ways.

"I also didn't think it was right for them to attempt to set you up. You have my permission to make this great."

Lloyd and I exchange smiles. "We won't you down, uncle. Just don't reveal our secret, okay?"

"I have no problem keeping a secret, Lloyd. Now, you two may leave."

We bow again and exit.

"Lloyd, I'm seriously thinking that we should be comedians. That was the best thing ever!"

He slips his hand into mine again as we start for an unknown destination.

"I hope you didn't think any of that was true..."

"I didn't take any offense. I was spending most of the time trying not to laugh."

He smiles. "It was pretty funny."

"So, what time are we going to the park?" I ask, even though I already know the answer. All I could think about was this 'date'.

"I said after training... but maybe we should go right now. The others will think we're still in Wu's quarters."

I try and make it seem like it's no big deal, but everything in me is saying 'yes! The sooner the better! I've been dying for this!'

"I'm cool with that." I say instead.

He smiles, it looks really boyish on him... it's not exactly saying 'I'm hero of Ninjago', but it's still loveable.

"Okay. Ready to sneak out then?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

He jumps off the decks and summons his green dragon. I know I have my own, but I want an excuse to sit with Lloyd.

"Got room for two?" I ask. "My super healing may have made my leg heal faster, but it still hurts every now and then."

I lied. It doesn't hurt at all.

"Sure!"

With that I jump and land on the dragons saddle, which is big enough for two.

"Hold on tight. We like to go fast."

I do as he says and wrap my arms around his waist. It feels so unnatural, but also makes me want to stay this way for longer than I have to.

My attention is drawn away from the gesture but to the ground. It's a long fall, and heights aren't exactly my favorite thing.

I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. I can just make out the sound of his heartbeat.

"Scared?" He asks.

"A little."

"Well, we're almost there."

He's right. Our ride ends shorter than I thought it would.

"I haven't been in the city in a while so you'll have to show me around."

I look up at him as he stares off. We're not in our ninja gi, but instead are wearing normal clothes. He's wearing his normal green hoodie and jeans while I wear a green t-shirt with a white hoodie and light blue skinny jeans.

"Do you ever brush through your hair?" I ask, noticing his tousled blonde hair.

"Yeah. I like it messy though."

I don't mention that he wouldn't be Lloyd without it, and that I like it that way too.

"Your turn."

"What?"

"Ask a question, loser."

He smiles his ridiculous smile again.

"What do you like to do in your free time?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"A normal one?"

"If you didn't notice... we don't do normal. Ask another one."

"Hm. If you could swap your silver powers for another one, what would you have?"

It's acceptable, I guess. "Absorption. That way I can use all of the other elements."

"True. But according to Zane, Skylor is not able to harness the full ability of each element... only the basic parts of it."

"Right. Look at you. You are smart after all."

He chuckles. "I never actually went to a proper school."

"Neither did I. So?"

"I went to a boarding school... it was called Darkley's School for Bad Boys."

Bad boys? Isn't he the Green Ninja?

He sighs. "If you didn't know, my dad was Lord Garmadon. My mom sent me there so she could research ways to stop the fight between me and my father. I got kicked out though because I didn't have the 'morale' to be Ninjago's greatest villain."

"Then what?" I ask, intrigued by his story.

"I met the guys in Jamaniki village when I swore to release the Serpentine if they didn't hand over their candy."

I laugh... Lloyd Garmadon was this childish.

"Wait a minute. You said the school was for bad boys. You were only a kid when you met them?"

"Yeah?"

"How are you this old now?"

"Tomorrows tea. I'll tell you later. Anyways-"

"Did you say tomorrows tea?"

"You aren't very patient are you? Yes, I said tomorrows tea. What's wrong with that?"

"When, where, why, how? I'm just so confused."

"Um, well. You see there was a Grundle on the loose and the guys were turned into kids by my dad, so to turn the Grundle back into bones and my friends to their original ages, I had to use tomorrows tea... which ended up affecting me. Why do you ask?"

Lloyd used the tomorrows tea. I'm older because of him. I'm not complaining... but destiny has a way of tying everything together.

"Claire?"

"I was at Doomsday Comix when you used the tomorrows tea... I was eleven years old."

He gasps. "W-What?"

"I was there, Lloyd."

He sizes me up. "You were there... when I used the tomorrows tea?!"

"Yes!"

"Claire, I'm so sorry. I thought it was only my childhood that I was risking. If I knew that you were there, I-"

"Lloyd. I couldn't be any happier. And besides, if you hadn't used it... I would have never met you."

I grasp on to his hand and look into his emerald green eyes again. Actually more like up into his eyes. I never took the time to notice that he is a little less than a foot taller than me.

"What's your story?" He asks.

"Nothing much. Wu found me when I was a little older than 4. He trained me to become the Silver Ninja... and then I left after he became obsessed with the prophecy. I lived in Jamaniki ever since... but I was somewhere else when the Serpentine attacked. I heard a lot of stories after that, but I didn't know you were there.

"I prefer not to think about it. I was such a bratty kid."

He wrinkles his nose in distaste, and I can see that he actually regrets his childhood... maybe he thinks he could have been the Green Ninja a lot sooner.

"What do you say we have some breakfast before we go to the park." He asks, changing the subject.

"Is my favorite number 99?"

"It sure is!"

We walk, swinging our linked hands back and forth, for a good ten minutes before Lloyd stops at a café.

"What would you like."

I look at the display in the window.

"Those muffins look nice..."

"Which one?"

"Surprise me."

He smiles and shakes his head. "Ladies first."

He gestures towards the door, which he gladly opens to let me in. A bell rings and a cashier steps up to the counter.

"Ah, another couple. What can I do for you, young man, and this fine young woman?"

"Two muffins please."

"What kind would you like."

Lloyd whispers something into the cashiers ear. He nods and turn to pack up our order.

"That will be $3.00 please..."

Lloyd gives the man the money and brings our order to an outside table.

"Oh boy. What did you get?"

"I'm 99% sure that you'll love it."

"Okay then." I say, taking a seat across from him.

"Close your eyes." He instructs, "That way you can guess what kind it is."

I do as he asks, and slowly close my eyes.

"Now hold out your hands, so I can give it to you."

I fold open my hands, and feel him slip the muffin into it. I raise it to my mouth and take a bite. It's weird not knowing what I'm eating.

"Well?"

"It tastes like banana... is there nuts in this?"

"Yup. You're not allergic are you?"

I open my eyes take another bit of the muffin. "Nope."

"So... are you going to tell me this miraculous plan of yours."

"Not so fast. When we're in the park I'll tell you."

"Then what are we supposed to do now?"

"Um. Converse?"

"About what?"

"Anything!"

He thinks for a moment, then raises an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"Yes! Have you ever had a conversation before? That's usually how they work."

"I thought we didn't do normal."

I roll my eyes. "Leave it to you to turn my words around."

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?"

"Lloyd!"

But my efforts mean nothing. I can already feel the blush creeping onto my face.

"What? I thought we can talk about anything."

I stick out my tongue at him. "Very funny. Did I ever tell you how annoying you are lately."

"Actually, I think you did."

"Well, I mean it. You are the definition of annoying."

"Well then you're the definition of beauty."

There's no doubt about how much I'm blushing.

"I-I"

"Don't deny it. Every mirror gets better when you look into it."

Lloyd... being romantic. Where did this come from?! And why am I enjoying it so much?! Say a funny comeback, Claire...

"Very flattering. Where'd you pick up that line from?"

"I'll have you know, it came from my heart and soul."

I look into his eyes, for probably the fifth time today, and can tell he means it. This morning comes back to mind... Lloyd likes me. Lloyd likes me!

Being friends... there's a line you can't cross. Is he trying to cross the line?

The real question is... do I want to cross it?

I think I already know the answer.

"Your eyes are fascinating, did you know that?" I ask him. And it's beyond true... his eyes are emerald green with a bit of jade around the edges. I've never seen the color displayed in anyone's eyes before. Fascinating doesn't even describe them.

"What do you mean?"

"The color. I could look at it all day."

He sets the muffin down. "Same could be said for you..."

Why am I the one blushing? And why can't I come up with a comeback.

"Anyways, I thought you should know, before we return to the bounty. I don't want you thinking otherwise, okay? Promise me..." He asks.

"I promise."

"Good." He stands out of his chair and offers a hand to me. I take it, and use it to stand up. "To the park?"

All I can do is nod. Like before, our hands are linked... and there's no one here to stop us. Along the way, I notice that I'm pressed closer to him than before, something I didn't do willingly.

This wasn't supposed to be a date... but the truth is, It's turned out to be the best date ever.

No. We're not a couple, like the man said. We're two lovers learning how to love.

Lloyd's POV

Why did I say all of that... How did I say all of that.

I told her she was beautiful, that every mirror gets better when she looks into it... I said all of that without getting sick. I said all of that without even thinking about it!

I tell myself to calm down, but it doesn't work. My heart is beating faster and faster, no doubt heard by her. Claire makes me nervous. I always find myself holding my breath when she's around.

Pull yourself together, Lloyd. She's your friend...

For now.

I guess it is true. I do want to be with Claire... But does she feel the same?

"So what happened after you met them?"

Her questions brings me back into reality.

"W-What?"

"You were telling your story and I interrupted. What happened after you met your friends."

"Oh." I go red at the memory. They humiliated me in front of the whole village. I released the serpentine and commanded them to strip the village of its candy. I had them build a girl-free tree house that I could rule Ninjago in. "Let's just say, a lot of stuff that would ruin my ego. I released the serpentine and got revenge on my school... but once again I was stopped by the Ninja."

She chuckles. Knowing her, this isn't the end of this conversation.

"After they stopped me the second time, Uncle Wu took me in."

"Did he already know you were the Green Ninja?"

"No. That came later. So, after that the guys had this whole contest thing about who the Green Ninja would turn out to be. They thought it would be one of them."

"Boy were they wrong then."

"You have no clue. Anyways, one by one they unlocked their true potentials, but it was Kai that had the hunch of who I was. He ended up saving me from the Serpentine. He said he unlocked his true potential when he realized his job was to protect me... the Green Ninja."

"Wow. Wait, you were still small then, right?"

"Yeah. They were terrible trainers."

"What happened next? Let me guess... Great devourer?"

"You guessed correctly. But it was good in the end. We ended up having to give the golden weapons to my father, the only one who could destroy it."

"You gave him the weapons?"

"Uh-Huh. My dad combined all of the weapons to make the Mega Weapon."

"That's how he turned your friends into kids... and made the Grundle come alive."

"Look at you, filling in the blanks."

"You'd be surprised at how much you hear on TV. Anyhow, I already know what comes next. Overlord, digital Overlord, Anacondrai, the attack in Stiix."

"Apparently TV is reliable."

"I didn't get to watch the news very often, but I heard a lot of the stories from travelers."

"Makes sense. What did you do then?"

She rolls her eyes. "Back to that question. I mostly did chores or errands."

I wrinkle my nose. "Chores. Is that all that you did?"

She blushes. "I like to run. And I always watched the stars... It usually depended on what day it was."

What day it was? "What do you mean. There's a difference in the days of the week?"

"Yeah. Mondays I'd stay in the house and cook. Tuesdays I would draw. Wednesdays I used to run. Thursdays-"

"Okay. Okay. I get the point." I pause, running over what she said in my head. "You mentioned your home. Where did you stay?"

"Oh. Well I was a little girl when I sought refuge in the village, so I had foster parents. They felt like real parents..."

Her face falls, tears starting to form around her eyes. She never got to say a proper goodbye. She never got to tell them why they died.

"Claire, I'm sorry about what happened. I promise you that we'll find out who did it."

She nods. "I think they'd like you. They were always so protective of me... they didn't want me to get in relationships. But I think they'd approve of you."

"They sound like great parents. Unlike you, I never had anything close to a parent until I met the guys. And I hardly knew my father."

"I never knew my birth parents either. They died when I was young..."

"When Wu found you."

"Yeah. All I can remember is waking up to my mom screaming. The next thing I knew, my dad rushed me out of the house and into the woods. He said to stay there... but he never came back. I stayed there for about three days, by the same tree, hoping at any moment he'd come back for me."

Claire's story makes me feel bad about even thinking my life was terrible. Her tragedies don't even compare to mine.

"Lloyd, who do you think set the fire?"

"The one last week?"

"Uh-huh."

"I thought it was just an accident."

"It wasn't. I know it. Don't ask me how I know, but someone wanted me dead. Just like they did with my village. Someone knew I'd be there... that's why they set a fire."

I think about what she's saying. It does make sense. But who?

"I don't understand why anyone wants you dead."

Deep down I know it has something to do with her powers... how she's the Silver Ninja. But I never knew about a Silver Ninja. How would someone else know.

Unless there's a prophecy. One Wu never told us about.

Claire looks at me. Her eyes tell me that my assumption is correct.

There's a prophecy about Claire.

"I've never heard of the Silver Ninja. How come there's a prophecy that Wu never told us about."

She looks away from me.

"Because... It was because I never wanted to be the Silver Ninja." Claire pauses. "At first I did, but every time I thought about fighting crime, I thought about that night with my parents. It was selfish of me to never want to end up like them."

"That's part of the reason why you left Wu... It wasn't just about me and my friends. You didn't want a destiny at all."

Claire doesn't reply. However, she doesn't have to. I already know that I'm right.

"Have you told Wu?"

"No. But I think he knows."

"You said that you'd end up like your parents... Why? Why did you assume that you'd die?"

"I-I. The prophecy- It..."

It said that she'd die.

I inhale, shaking.

"My prophecy stated that I would save Ninjago... but fail in the process. Failure meaning... death. Wu never wanted to tell me about it. He wanted me to train with all of you and then he'd eventually tell me... but I stumbled across it. I've been running away from that life-"

"Until now." I finish for her.

"They came after me anyways. The evil that I was meant to stop."

I squeeze her hand tighter. That feeling of wanting to protect her is back. The anger for whoever is after her. And a new anger at destiny... how it could do all of this to her. To me.

It hits me like a truck... Claire isn't going to survive. But what about me. What will I do without Claire. I can't let her die. I won't let her die. The prophecy has to be wrong.

Can destiny be wrong?

Claire looks like she's asking the same question.

"Look. I won't let any of the that happen to you. Not if I can help it. Let's just focus on the here and now..."

She smiles, but deep in her eyes I can still see the doubt. She doesn't believe that the prophecy can be avoided. To be honest, I don't either. But I can't let her know that.

"So when you say the here and now that means the awesome prank that we're going to pull."

I smile along with her as we stop at the park.

"I guess it's time to reveal your plan, your majesty the queen of pranks. I've been dying to hear it."

"Well that's exactly what you're going to do, loser."

The rest of our afternoon is spent with each other. The minutes of her time left on Ninjago decreasing with each laugh we share.

Hey everyone! I hope you are all eager to keep reading the story because the prank I've come up with is emotional, dramatic, and hilarious all at once. Don't hesitate to predict what will happen. And yikes! Claire's in for a lot of trouble... I can't wait to reveal who the enemy is. They're not someone used in Ninjago, but a villain that is owned by LEGO. For now, that's all I'll give away, but the villain's identity will be revealed in just a few short chapters. So don't forget to come back and find out. That's all for now.

Guest: I do agree with your character development point. And you're right. It makes Claire and Lloyd enjoyable. Also, I really appreciate your idea for a rivalry between Claire and another girl... Maybe I can revise it to be Lloyd against another boy. Only because I can't see Lloyd liking another girl. I want you to know that I will take it into consideration. it makes me happy to see another fan reviewing :D

-Rainbowaly03