Chapter 36 - Happy Birthday to Me

Once Lloyd returned to the school, nothing happened.

It was almost as if he'd never been gone. As if he'd never humiliated Gene in front of his parents. As if he'd never run away from the school of his nightmares. It was unsettling. Almost as if a brief, suffocating calm was clinging to him before the storm striked. Lloyd could feel something was bound to happen, but nothing ever did. At first, the anticipation was almost unbearable. But slowly, the fear began to drift away. There were more important matters at hand.

For example, Lloyd's fifth birthday would be in two days. He didn't know what would happen, but he did know that turning five had to be significant. He'd have to do something special.

Stealing a cupcake from the kitchen seemed appropriate. Then he'd have to find a candle, or at least a match to use as a candle. Lloyd wasn't going to pass up his chance to make a wish merely because no one was here to celebrate with him.

The only problem would be finding a place where he could be alone. He didn't want anyone to know that it was his birthday, because the other boys would surely plan a special kind of mischief in order to 'celebrate'. The most logical thing would be to wait for everyone to go to bed, then sneak out using his makeshift cape as a portable shadow.

The next two days crawled forward slowly, almost mockingly, laughing at Lloyd as he wished for his birthday to arrive. Class seemed to get more and more boring than usual, the teacher's words slurring together until all Lloyd could really understand was blah blah blah. Every one of his classmates continued to avoid him, although Brad and him did exchange a couple of words while Gene tried to show off his vast knowledge.

"He's so smart, he probably eats books for breakfast!" Lloyd had snickered, turning to face his sworn enemy, hoping to rekindle whatever bits of friendship were left. Maybe, maybe he'd share his birthday cupcake with Brad. Maybe.

"Yup. And special brain juice instead of milk," the black haired boy had answered, a small smirk tugging on his lips.

Lloyd had opened his mouth to continue bashing against Gene, but the ginger haired boy had picked up on the conversation. Gene shot a dangerous look at Brad, and that had been the end of that.

Finally, the day came. Lloyd had stolen a couple of small matchboxes from the teacher's lounge. He had never lit a match before, and he wanted to make sure to have enough matches in case of any failed attempts. Stealing the cupcake had been even easier. Gene's birthday fell upon the same day as Lloyd's, and the annoying genius had received a packet of freshly baked cupcakes from home. After showing them off to the others, making sure to wave them across Lloyd's face, he had placed them under his bed, trusting that no one would dare cross him.

Lloyd, of course, could have cared less about getting in trouble with Gene. Stealing wasn't exactly out of the norm at Darkley's, so the young green eyed boy shoved the box of cupcakes under his sweater before running out of his and the other's room.

The delicious smell made Lloyd think of home. He wondered if his uncle had even thought about his birthday.

After picking the lock of an empty classroom, Lloyd locked the door behind him and placed his meal on the wooden floor. He reached for the matches. Lloyd hesitated for a small moment, wondering if lighting a match inexperienced was really the best idea. But it wouldn't be a true birthday if he didn't get to blow out a flame, so the young boy shrugged off his concerns.

The first match did nothing. Lloyd rubbed it and rubbed it against the corrosive surface, but all the boy managed to do was snap it in half. The second was a bit more effective. A small flame flared up, but it had been so rapid and unexpected, that Lloyd's fingers allowed it to slip. The flame was out before the match hit the ground.

"This can't be so hard." Lloyd told himself, taking a third match out of the box. "Just focus. Would be great to get this over with before getting caught."

Swish!

A flame flared up. Bigger and stronger than the last. Afraid of losing the flame again, Lloyd quickly place the match atop one of the cupcakes. He stared at the sorry excuse for a birthday cake before him, the flickering flame of the candle the only thing illuminating his features.

"Alright, time to make a wish."

Lloyd closed his eyes. He tried to think back on his other birthdays, trying to come up with a new wish he'd never thought of before. It was hard to remember much. Anything before his third birthday was nothing more than a blur.

And, of course, he remembered his fourth birthday as if it had been yesterday.

"Did you get cake?"

"Of course, not getting cake for the birthday boy would be unforgivable right?" Wu raised an eyebrow, and Lloyd nodded enthusiastically.

Lloyd almost chuckled. "You forgot the cake this time, Uncle. Not going to complain. Stealing these from Gene was pretty satisfying."

Without opening his eyes, Lloyd continued to welcome the rush of memories. They were so vivid that, for a moment, he almost believed he was home.

"So, are you ready to make a wish?"

Lloyd nodded. He was. He knew exactly what he wanted.

"Go ahead."

Lloyd closed his eyes. Made his wish. Blew out the candles.

"Looks like I made it just in time for the cake."

Lloyd's eyes snapped open, and he smiled widely. "Dad! My wish worked!"

Maybe wishing that would work again. But maybe it wouldn't.

"It's not just any sweater, Lloyd. It's special. Every time you put it on, you'll know I'm with you. No matter where you are, no matter what trouble you get yourself into…it'll keep you safe. Whenever you wear this sweater, I am with you, son."

Lloyd wrapped his small arms around himself. He hadn't taken the sweater off if he could help it. As long as he had it, he was safe.

"Hey, Lloyd," she smiled weakly, trying to regain control of herself. "How are you doing, birthday boy?"

Lloyd's eyes snapped open. He didn't like the memories anymore. The moment his mother had walked through the door, everything had gone downhill. But his mind kept rolling, the memories, images, and emotions flowing restlessly.

"I'm here to see my son..." she muttered, trying to sound more confident than she really did. It didn't work very well. Garmadon's voice weakened her too much.

"You mean the son you abandoned? You left both of us. Now you think you can waltz back in here and pretend everything is okay? You don't deserve to see him." Garmadon allowed his anger to overpower him, as it was the one feeling he could easily express.

Lloyd hugged his knees. Tears began to roll down his cheeks. He knew what he wanted.

"You left me first, Garmadon!" Misako cried out, suddenly defensive. "You gave in to the evil. You went and tried to get the weapons for yourself. Even though you had me. Even though you knew you'd have Lloyd. You still wanted more. You always, always wanted more. That wasn't fair to me. I tried, I tried so hard to help you, to understand you but...I guess that was worth nothing to you."

"You think I had a choice?" Garmadon's shadow grew larger, and his voice boomed across the room. Lloyd shrank further into his sweater, staring at his father, now more frightened than he had been before. "I fought the evil inside me for years. Just for you. I battled every single second of my life for you. Even though I...even though I knew I was fighting a losing battle, even though I knew whatever I did would eventually amount to nothing...I still fought. Because I love you. I love you more than someone like me should be capable of. Yet you gave up on me. I found a way to come back, even after being sunk to the underworld, but you were long gone. You couldn't even stay to be with your own son."

"I want to go back home," he whimpered. "I wish to go home."

Lloyd blew out the flame.