Chapter 14
Lloyd's POV
I've known the guys for a long time. And in the years I've spent with them, I don't think I've ever seen them this freaked out before. Normally, I'd feel bad. But right now I only have three words for the situation... Claire's a genius.
I look to Claire, who now has her hood down and is straining to laugh.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER IS GOING ON HERE?!" Kai roars.
That's it. Claire and I burst into laughter, it hurts so much that we're soon on the floor.
"I can't believe you fell for it!" I manage to say, clutching my sides.
"What?!" They all shout, obviously not aware that this was all a prank.
"YOU JUST GOT PRANKED!" Claire and I scream in unison, laughing even harder, noticing their expressions. They're too hilarious to even describe.
"But- But how?! You're supposed to be dead... How?!" Cole stutters, shaking his head.
She and I break into more fits of laughter, satisfied with their reactions.
I expect them to yell at us or try to kill us for pranking them like that, but they just stand there dumbstruck, mouths hanging open in silence.
"This does not compute." Zane analyzes. "You two are supposed to be mad at each other. Why is it that you're pranking us."
Claire wipes a tear out of the corner of her eye as she starts to explain.
"We were teaching you a lesson for trying to mess with our relationship. We had a little talk and sorted it out, also formulating a plan to do this. We thought it would be best if we acted like we hated each other. That way you wouldn't see this coming."
"You did all of this because you were mad at us!"
Jay's outburst makes us crack up even more... never before have I had this much fun. Who knew that my death would do this to them. Well, my fake death.
Claire and I are still laughing on the floor of the bridge when the door opens, revealing my uncle. He looks at each one of us, stopping at me and Claire.
"Sensei! They played a cruel prank on us! I say they deserve a punishment!" Jay shouts, with a pointed look.
"You missed it, Wu! It was great..." I comment, not caring to take into account the looks of annoyance from my friends. Man, they're going to hate me for life.
"What!?" They all explode again. Claire and I fail at suppressing our snickers.
"Sensei was in on this!" Cole shouts, looking from us to Wu, who is also trying not to laugh.
"I had no idea they'd approach it with a prank this hilarious... but yes. I was in on their plan."
"So you're not going to punish them?! They scared us half to death! How is that funny?" Jay argues.
"It was more than funny..."
Jay, Kai, Cole, and Nya shoot me a glare.
"Nobody asked you, pipsqueak!"
I put my hands up in defense, trying to ignore Claire's chuckle at my given nickname.
"They were only trying to teach you that your efforts to set them up were not appreciated. They told me beforehand to see if they had my permission, which I gave. I do not agree with your actions and feel as if they deserved some 'revenge'. Now, I would appreciate it if we can all settle down for the night. It is quite late, and don't forget that sunrise exercises are in the morning."
"Yes, sensei." They all grumble.
Wu leaves the bridge with a cheerful chuckle, leaving Claire and I alone with my friends. Once the door shuts Claire breaks the silence in her awkward way.
"Well, I'm famished. I think I'll go eat something. Awesome pranking has its cost, you know. Anyone care to join me...?"
"You're inviting us to eat with you after all of that!"
"Well of course. We're even now, and I'm certainly not mad anymore."
"Well, I am," Kai argues, taking a step towards Claire with an accusing finger.
"Your problem, not mine, red."
Kai scoffs, obviously really offended. I can only imagine how many dents Claire has already made in his ego. Actually, how many dents she's made to everyone's ego. I hate to admit it, but she's already affected my pride as well. Not that I'd tell her that or anything... for now I'll just let her think that I'm extremely awesome.
However, even though I can cope with it, we all know that Kai doesn't like to get beaten. I wonder if Claire's trying to get under his skin. It wouldn't be surprising if that's the case. It pretty much sounds like something Claire would try to do.
"Excuse me? I have a name, you know... or are you just too good that you can't use it."
"If that's what you want to believe, then go ahead. I'll just have you know, red, that I enjoy the use of nicknames. Even ask Minty over there how annoying I can become... But if you have a problem with a joke or two, you can deal with that yourself."
Kai mutters something unintelligible but backs down from his miffed stance. I really think he was just a few moments away from actually getting his revenge. Note to self... avoid Kai tonight. Claire might have been able to slip away from the situation, but I'm still on Kai's murder list. No doubt that training tomorrow will be painful.
"Okay then, let's proceed with the evening. Zane," Claire starts, looking to Zane, who flinches when she says his name. "What's cooking."
My robot friend shakes his head. "Nothing really. Would you like me to make something real quick?"
"Yes, please. Make that a meal, Zane. I say that we all head down to dinner."
"Sounds like a plan..." I add. Claire gives me an appreciative smile.
"So now we don't have a choice?" Kai mumbles.
"Nope!" Claire tugs on my arm. "Lloyd and I have a lot to tell you. Now we can at least have a conversation without a fake outburst."
"Ditto." I agree.
The others hesitate, looking from me to Claire.
"No more pranks today, we promise. Tomorrow though..."
Nya waves her hands. "I don't even want you to finish that sentence." However, instead of yelling at her as Kai did, Nya playfully nudges Claire. "Remind me not to get on your bad side ever again."
The two girls giggle, Skylor following with a smile, proceeding towards the dining room, and leaving me with the guys.
I nervously chuckle. This conversation was not going to end well. "So... about all of that..."
Jay cuts me off with a loud yell. "Are you kidding me! That. Was. AWESOME, DUDE!"
"So you're not going to make my life miserable?"
"Ah, forget about it. Two good things came out of this." Cole starts, soon interrupted by Jay.
"We're even now, bro. No hard feelings..."
Cole glares at Jay, irritated that he interrupted yet again. "Right."
"And what's the second one?" I ask, knowing that I'm not going to like the answer.
"Claire and Lloyd are back together!" Cole and Jay shout in unison, high fiving.
I sigh, wondering if Claire will have to go through this much torture when she's with Nya and Skylor.
"It's not like that, guys. We're still just friends."
"Still meaning that you hope you can be something more?" Kai questions, with a smirk, obviously recovered from his anger.
I roll my eyes.
"Can we go eat? Pranking you guys was a lot of hard work..." Noticing their smug expressions, I continue. "And by the way, I didn't see you guys making fun of Jay when he formed a crush on Nya."
"That's because he's Jay. Plus the fact that we've dubbed you the least likely to get a girlfriend." Cole comments, Jay snickering behind him.
"Hey! I could easily get a girlfriend if I wanted to..."
"Maybe the Green Ninja could... but Lloyd's another character."
I don't know whether I should laugh about how close that statement is to what Claire's been saying or if I should feel offended.
I decide to stay silent. I know that they're teasing me in a joking manner, but I can't help but wonder if getting a girlfriend is that easy. Getting Claire to like me was hard enough, but if I met a girl who didn't know I was the green ninja, would they want to be with me? It makes me think about all of my fans. Do they like me for my character or just because I'm famous for saving Ninjago?
And most importantly... Why does Claire like me?
Because I risked my life for her? Because I save countless lives? Does she admire my abilities?... or is she drawn to my personality?
Is she in love with Lloyd Garmadon... or the Green Ninja?
The last one sticks in my mind, no matter how much I want it gone.
"Hey, Lloyd... something wrong?" Cole asks, noticing my silence.
"Yeah. Everything's fine. I just was thinking things through."
Cole nods like he understands, which he doesn't, and changes the subject. "So, you are basically telling me, that when you and Claire fought... it was fake?"
I shrug off his surprise. "Pretty much. And afterward, we'd hang out in secret. Did you know Claire has a dragon?"
Cole looks confused, probably debating whether we should talk about Claire's dragon or the fact that we would 'hang out'.
"No."
"It's really cool. She calls it Arian."
"Isn't that another word for silver?"
"Huh. I never thought of that. Maybe."
Cole considers me for a long time. "So back to what you said earlier..."
Nice try. "Yeah, I never thought we'd be able to act it out like that. It was pretty funny. Basically the whole time I was trying not to laugh."
Cole looks irritated. "It was interesting alright."
He sighs in defeat and instead says something that has no revelation to Claire, to my relief. "So what do you think training will be like tomorrow?"
"It's hard to tell. Sensei's kind of unpredictable."
"True. But, of course, nothing is hard for you when it comes to training."
"It might seem like that... but ever since Claire came, I've been rethinking that." I claim. It's true though. Normally I'd be the best out of everyone here. Training to become a sensei has been my top priority... but Claire just came in, without the extra training I was given and was able to balance the fight.
"I still can't believe she beat me in that little quarrel."
"Get used to it. Claire's basically looking for a fight. It's in her nature."
"Maybe to you. But to me and the others... Claire's kind of just seen as distant and odd. Kai had no idea that she'd be able to kick his butt." Cole explains.
"Claire's not odd. She's just... different. Really different."
"She says the most random things. Either for humor, or she's just lost it." He states
"I think it's both."
Even I don't know whether or not that statement is correct. Although it's quite amusing... it's also confusing to understand. And while I can understand why Claire asks such random questions, I have no idea what's with her occasional random comment.
"I sure have one answer regarding that girl though."
"Yeah?" I ask, curious.
"Claire's confusing."
"Welcome to the club, Cole."
"I mean, girls, in general, are all confusing... even Nya, I guess."
Cole has a point. Nya seems really mature. She's never late for training, she never slacks off like Cole, Jay, and Kai, and she never gets involved in their somewhat stupid ideas. She's too smart for that. But, when she sees Claire or Skylor, she acts like every girl in existence. Giggling and shopping... it's like she's split in two.
To me, all girls are the same. To me, they wear too much make-up. To me, they're too emotional. It's just a list that can go on and on. And it never changes, no matter what girl you're talking about... except Claire.
That's probably the most confusing thing about her. Girls are supposed to be predictable. Looking pretty, smiling and giggling too much, doing things that girls do. But not Claire. She has a natural beauty. One that doesn't require makeup. Her hair doesn't need to be styled. It's already perfect. Her differences are what make her interesting. The fact that she doesn't need a fake personality. That she stays away from anything that will make her like all of the other girls... that's what I like about Claire. It's what everyone likes about Claire, I realize.
Cole sighs, bringing me back into reality, and suddenly I realize how alone he must feel. Kai has Skylor. Jay and Nya are together. Zane has Pixal... but Cole has no one. He usually hangs out with us, but when talking about romantic situations, he must be really uncomfortable. It makes me wonder whether he doesn't have a girlfriend because he hasn't tried, or if he hasn't found the right girl.
"She and you really do belong together, you know that right?" Cole claims.
"Are you guys going to ever stop teasing us... it's getting extremely annoying."
Cole waves his hands in defense. "No. I really mean it. I was making fun of you. I really do think that you two are good together."
Me too.
"And why do you think that?"
Cole thinks for a moment. "Before the tomorrow's tea hit you, you were just little Lloyd Garmadon. But when you were older, you became more focused on being the Green Ninja."
It's kind of scary how I was literally thinking the exact same thing only moments ago. There's Lloyd Garmadon... and the Green Ninja. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"I think that Claire makes you, you again. More Lloyd and less Ninja..."
I consider that. In some ways it's true. I never knew how much I missed the occasional prank until today. And the last time I had as much fun as when I'm with Claire was when I was a kid. And it's true that I haven't been thinking about training all day every day. Maybe Claire has been changing me.
"I-I guess you're right."
"Of course I am... It's kind of obvious though. Lately, you haven't been as serious. Even Jay of all people has noticed that you're acting differently."
I glance at Jay out of the corner of my eye, who is talking loud and fast about something that seems to really be annoying Kai.
"I wasn't aware that I've been acting differently. Until now at least."
"According to Jay, when you're in love you never notice you're acting differently."
I'm so busy assessing his words that I don't realize we're supposed to turn...
"You okay, Lloyd?" Kai asks, concerned, as I run into the wall.
"I'm not in love." I blurt out.
Kai, Cole and Jay exchange looks.
"Sure looks like it."
"I ran into the wall because- Ugh! Never mind. Let's just go eat."
About an hour later, we all calm down and head to bed. Except for me.
I can't stop thinking about her. And it's not like the usual thinking about her... Where I imagine her ginger hair and brown eyes. Or the sound of her laugh. Or the jokes that we share. Tonight, I'm not even thinking about her five favorite things... No. Right now, I can't shake the feeling that Claire's not completely safe. I can't shake the feeling that there's one extra lifeform on the Bounty... I can't shake the feeling that they're looking for Claire.
Forty-five minutes ago we all went to bed... and I'm still lying awake thinking that something's not quite right.
And a nearby scream tells me that I'm correct.
AHHHHH! YOU ALL GOT PRANKED! I don't know who actually knew that the whole thing was a prank, but I know some of you thought it was that mysterious assassin... speaking of which, what's with the scream? LOL- It's hard to believe that you guys don't know what's going to happen, but I'll be eager to tell. Also, I'm genuinely sorry for the delayed chapter, but you see... there's this thing called youtube. And whenever I try to put on music for inspiration, I always kind of end up staring at the screen until I decide what I want to type. But hopefully, I can get back in the habit of uploading sooner. Thank you to all the reviewers – BedazzleDewdrops, MMM, Guest, PaPaCyclone, and lloydenia for your comments :D Also a shout out to Lambluvr for favoriting the story! Welcome to the family of supporters!
Lloydenia: I never thought about how my story could make someone's day... thanks for the new view on things :D Your comment kind of gave me a new sense of motivation. Also, I'm glad you liked the prank.
Guest: I don't know who you are... BUT YES! I totally agree with the whole cliffhanger thing. They're great but annoying. But, hey, I'm happy I was able to create some suspense. And from the looks of it, it's making the story good... or not... Yeah I'll just leave it as I'm happy you liked the chapter XD
MMM: LOL! He's not dead! Sorry but seeing that I fooled the readers, as well as the characters, made me crack up :D Thanks for sticking around!
-Rainbowaly03