Chapter Twenty-Seven: Something Special

Thank you so much for the positive responses to the last chapter! I'm so glad I finally have time to update again!

CaptainSteve1: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I missed reading your reviews so much when I couldn't update. I am doing okay now, and I hope you are as well! :)

The Night Ninja and Nuppa Nuppa: Thank you, friends! I'm so glad you liked it!

ThePowerOfOats: Thank you so much for your review! I'm happy to hear you've been enjoying this story. I hope future chapters do not disappoint!

I wrote this chapter while experiencing something very similar to Lloyd, so it really comes from the heart, I guess. I hope you all enjoy!

(P.S. Greenflame is still just one-sided in this story—I haven't changed my mind on that. Partly because some people really hate it, and also because it actually ends up giving me a good opportunity to articulate feelings of my own I had to deal with.)

As Lloyd entered the shared bedroom, he heard Kai release a loud sigh. The blond glanced at his friend curiously, only to find the red ninja lying on his back atop his comforter, staring at the ceiling with his phone at his side.

"Everything okay?" Lloyd asked, wanting to be an ear for the brunette but remaining cautious about the possibility of overstepping his boundaries. As he kept his gaze on his friend, he couldn't help but notice how cute he looked with his spiky hair all ruffled and his usual confident demeanor set aside for the moment.

Kai sighed again. "Why are girls so confusing?"

Lloyd let out a laugh, rolling his eyes at the question. "Humans are complicated, Kai," he stated. "Besides, I'm not the one to ask. You know my relationship experience is basically Brad and that's it."

"Fair enough," Kai conceded.

Noticing the dejected tone in his voice, Lloyd pressed further. "Is this about Skylor?" Everything in him screamed at him to not press the subject—he didn't want to hear about Kai's relationship unless it was with him. But they were friends, and at that moment, Lloyd couldn't stop himself from doing whatever he could to be supportive.

"Yeah," Kai replied. He pulled his gaze from the ceiling and brought it to the green ninja. "I just...I don't know where we stand, Lloyd," he admitted.

Lloyd tilted his head. "What do you mean? I thought things were going well…"

"I don't even know anymore," Kai said, shaking his head. "We've been texting and FaceTiming, but it's just so hard to tell how this whole thing's going without seeing her in person."

The blond shrugged, a little confused. "It's really that different?" He asked. "I mean, texting, yeah. I can see that. But what makes video calling so different from seeing her face-to-face?"

"I don't know, Lloyd. Maybe...maybe I'm just overthinking everything…"

Stifling a sigh of his own, Lloyd walked over and sat down on the bed next to Kai. "What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

"No, it's all good," Kai said. He bit his lip. "We were talking earlier today, and I thought things were going really well! But then, all of a sudden, she tells me she has to go. I mean—I don't know—maybe I said something stupid and she doesn't like me anymore. Maybe she's really tired of this whole long-distance thing and it's just not worth it for her. Maybe…" He shook his head. "I don't know."

"Maybe she just had something come up?" Lloyd suggested. "Kai, that stuff happens. You don't have to automatically assume it's something awful. You said it yourself: you don't know why she left. It probably has absolutely nothing to do with you."

Kai blinked. "Oh, right." He looked back up at the ceiling. "First Spinjitzu Master, Lloyd," he breathed. "Why do I do that? Why do I assume the worst?"

"Hey, it's not just you," the blond reassured him. "I do it, too. Literally so often. I'll say one thing I think is really stupid, or someone will react to me in a certain way, and I just start telling myself I'm a screw-up and they hate me."

Kai shot up to a sitting position. "Yes! Yes, you do it too?"

Lloyd chuckled. "Yeah, just about every day."

The brunette grabbed his shoulders. "So you get it? You get why I'm freaking out?"

"Yes, I get it," Lloyd told him with a soft smile. "But you don't need to. It's probably nothing, Kai."

"I know," the red ninja conceded. "But it still worries me. Maybe it's just hard for me not to have an answer. Still, I don't wanna think about how it could be something bad."

"Are you kidding me?" Lloyd nearly snapped. "You're amazing, Kai. Seriously, you are." He let the words leave his lips before he could filter them through his sensible brain. Knowing it was too late to turn back, he continued. "I don't know exactly what it is, but there's something really special about you. You're so awesome, and if Skylor can't see that, she's a fucking idiot who doesn't deserve you."

Kai stared at him, lips parted slightly. At his silence, Lloyd blushed and looked away, his heart rate speeding up. Crap, he thought to himself. Was that too much?

After a few moments of sitting in stunned silence, Kai spoke again. "Th-Thanks, Lloyd," he said quietly.

Lloyd shrugged—partly to act nonchalant, partly because every word he said was so obvious to himself. "I mean, it's true. You're just such a great person. You're brave, smart, confident. You've been through shit, and look at where you are now. You deserve someone great, Kai, you really do.

Kai smiled. "Skylor is great," he murmured.

A pang of sadness hit the blond, right in the heart, but he ignored it and took a breath. "I...I can tell," he stammered. "I mean, you're great, so if you think she's great, there's gotta be something special about her." What am I saying?! Shut up Lloyd!

"You know, you're pretty fuckin' great yourself."

Lloyd blinked in surprise. "Tha-Thank you!"

"I mean, you are the chosen one," the brunette added with a smirk.

Lloyd mimicked his expression. "Still upset about that?"

"Hell no. Bloodline or not, you were born to be the green ninja. You've proven yourself time and time again." Kai shoved Lloyd playfully. "You said I've been through shit, but look at you! You've lived one hell of a life, kid. And you're still so young! First Spinjitzu Master, you're only twenty-one! You're barely old enough to drink, and you're already learning things and gaining wisdom I couldn't access until I was much older."

The green ninja narrowed his eyes. "You're only three years older than me," he reminded him with a chuckle.

"Technically seven," Kai countered. "But okay, whatever. Point is, you're pretty damn special." He placed his hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "And I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

A friend.

The blond forced a smile. Well, he half-forced it. Part of his heart broke knowing that was all Kai saw him as—all Kai would ever see him as. But the other portion felt flooded by a warm glimmer of happiness. Even if he and Kai were only friends, they were just that: friends. And Lloyd felt just as lucky to have Kai in his life, even if their relationship was purely platonic.

While the master of energy couldn't deny that the jealous part of him didn't want things with Skylor to work out, his love for the red ninja outweighed his desire for his own storybook ending. What he wanted more than Kai's affection was for the master of fire to be happy, even if that meant being with Skylor and not Lloyd.

Lloyd smiled. Kai was happy—he could see it in his sparkling brown eyes. Skylor made him happy. This friend—this person he cared about more than his own damn life—was happy. So Lloyd was happy, too.

Eee, so cute! I love Lloyd.

Speaking of characters I love, have you ever just...loved a character so much...and identified with them so much...and then they just get killed off by the writers of the show/movie/book? Cause that happened when I watched a different show right after my last update and I'm still so sad about it! I cried until I got physically sick and I didn't sleep and I just...ugh it *s*u*c*k*s* :'(

It's so interesting how these characters who aren't even real leave such a real impact on us. Stories are just so powerful!

Til next time!

Century xx