A/N: Surprise update!
Wow, who knew that time would go by so fast? It seemed like not to long ago since I had last started this fic and now I come back to see that it is almost two years old and still not complete.
Dang. Sorry everyone!
A Close Shave
From the back of the mall's shipping area, a figure in a black hooded sweater ran and then ducked behind a large eighteen wheeler. A girl with athletic build, dressed in a bright white and pink tank top, followed closely behind, her sneakers rapidly beating against the hot pavement.
She then carefully tiptoed around to the back of the unoccupied truck, an enthusiastic grin on her face. She was grateful for all the daily morning runs that she had done the past couple of years, because, unlike the other girls, she was still able to keep up with Lloyd at the speed that he was going.
She slowly crept up to the corner of the truck, then, barely stifling a giggle with one hand, peeked around the corner to discover-
No one.
"Huh?" She exclaimed loudly, blinking in bewilderment. She swore that he was headed this way when she last saw him.
She sprinted a circle around the truck, making sure to occasionally look underneath it, then scratched her head in confusion. Maybe he had gone around to the parking lot again.
The thought of losing him after having pursued him for so long motivated her to run at full speed toward the parking lot.
Moments after the girl had left, the same figure jumped from the top of the truck, expertly landing on the ground with a parkour roll. He quietly panted as he peeled away his hood, revealing a sweaty face with locks of sandy blond hair stuck on his forehead.
Lloyd eyes surveyed his surroundings as he wiped the excess moisture from his brow. After he was sure that all his fanatics were gone, he allowed himself of breath out with relief.
He had been running from those fangirls for so long that he actually lost track of the amount of time he spent fleeing from them. A quick glance at his watch informed him that he had been running around the mall for around twenty minutes.
He groaned as the muscles in his legs and core burned from the run. Despite all the physical conditioning that he did as the Green Ninja, he was pretty out of shape because the lack of training that he had right after his Final Battle with the Overlord. This was partially since that his leg had been severely damaged when he was fighting Overlord and, because of his doctor's orders, had a cast put on his injured leg. This didn't allow him to do any training for several weeks.
With a huff, he admitted that maybe he was pretty divided with all these interviews and awarding ceremonies that he had been scheduled for this month to really do any real workouts. All the time that it took being compromised with all those events, going from one place to another drained him mentally and physically, which discouraged him from training like he used to.
He rolled his eyes to himself as he though what his uncle would have to say about his justification for not training these past months. Sensei Wu would outright call his lack of motivation an excuse for crying out loud!
When he caught his breath, he tugged the hood over his head as he walked out of the parking lot. Where he would go from here didn't matter, as long as it didn't involve being around fangirls!
He licked his dry lips as he raced across the street just as the "walk" light finished it's countdown to zero. Man, he was really parched, he thought to himself. Must've been all the running that he's done the past half hour. He'd do anything right now to get a cool drink of water!
He looked ahead of the street that he was in and spotted a convenience store just several hundred feet away. He pulled out a wallet, stocked with a good amount of money, and strode faster toward it.
As he stepped into the store, he was relieved to see that the store was almost empty. He would have no trouble with fans here.
He walked over to the refrigeration units and pulled out a large bottle of water, then made his way to the check-out counter. When he saw that a middle-aged man was attending the counter, he was comforted further, since the majority of his fan base was composed of pre-adolescent girls. The fact that he didn't belong to that demographic almost ensured him that he wouldn't freak out over him being there. He smiled confidently. This transaction should go smoothly.
He put the cold water bottle on the counter and pulled out a bill.
The man looked at the bill with an apathetic glance, then looked up to him and said, "Sorry, but I don't have change for that much."
"Okay, I think that I have a smaller one here," Lloyd replied as he put the bill back in to his wallet and got out another one.
When he looked back up, he saw the man squinting him, a puzzled look on his face.
"Hey, aren't you that Garmadon kid that was on T.V. a couple of days ago?"
Lloyd froze just as he was about to hand the bill over to the man. He took a moment to consider if it was a good idea to admit his identity. He sighed as he uncomfortably muttered, "Yeah."
Then he unconsciously flinched, expecting some sort of exaggerated reaction from the man.
Instead, the man nodded with contentment as he said, "Yeah, thought that you looked familiar. Wow, I've never had a celebrity in my store. This is pretty… cool."
"That's good to hear," he said, feigning disinterest when, really, he wanted more than anything in the world to get out of here. He pushed the bill toward the man as he added, "Is this alright."
"Yeah, yeah sure," the man said as he took the bill and pressed some buttons on the cash register. He pulled out Lloyd's change and handed it to him, but not without saying, "Hey Floyd."
Lloyd almost rolled his eyes at the man's name mix up. "It's Lloyd," he corrected as he stored his change in his pocket and got his water bottle.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," he replied, waving off his mistake as if it was nothing. "Would you be willing to pose for a picture? I'd like to show my regulars that I was graced with the presence of a celebrity."
Lloyd glanced around the convenience store and wondered how delusional this man was to think he even had regulars.
He looked back at the man, sighed once more and, not wanting to seem like a jerk, said, "Okay, as long as you don't submit the picture to any social media sites immediately after you take it. Especially the LFUA."
The man, who had eagerly pulled out his camera phone, looked up in confusion at the last part that he had said. "The what now?"
"Lloyd Fans United App," he explained. "It's some sort of smartphone application that was created by some of my fans for the sole purpose of stalking me."
The man stared back at Lloyd in shock for a short while, then, shaking his head with disgust, replied, "Wow, some people just have way too much time on their hands."
Lloyd nodded, huffing, "Tell me about it. Now can we get this done? I really don't want to run into any of them on my way out."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Garmadon," the man said. "As you can see, business is pretty slow today."
Lloyd smirked and couldn't help but say, "Yeah, no sign of your 'regulars' today."
"Hey, they usually don't come around until later," the man pointed out defensively. "Most of them are busy working over at that mall across the street, the same abomination that's been sucking my customers our since its inception."
"Okay, okay, I take that back."
"Good," the man said. Then he turned and called, "Hey, Murray, can you come over and take a picture for me?"
A pimply, dark haired adolescent looking some years older than Lloyd walked out, groaning, "For the twentieth time Mr. Liang, my name's Michael!"
"Uh-huh," Mr. Liang replied absentmindedly, then shoved the phone in his arms. "Take this."
Michael rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, tell me when you're ready."
Michael set up the camera on the phone as Mr. Liang came around the counter and stood next to Lloyd.
"Ready," he replied after he smoothed out his short brown hair.
"Cheese," the teen unenthusiastically droned.
A small digital click sounded from the phone as the picture was taken.
"Great!" Liang exclaimed with renewed vigor. "Can't wait to get this one printed out and framed!"
"Just remember what I told you," Lloyd reminded the man as he walked out of the store.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," he replied, preoccupied with the excitement of having a picture of a celebrity. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about, Leonard. I don't even use this so-called 'social media'."
Lloyd sighed in exasperation and shouted behind his shoulder, "It's Lloyd!"
"Whatever!" The man yelled back. "And thanks for the favor."
Lloyd opened his bottle and took a swig of refreshing water.
"Much better," he muttered to himself as he wiped his mouth. He suddenly felt more focused now that he was hydrated, which made him think back to his current situation.
He knew that he couldn't simply go back to the mall, lest his fangirls find him again. On the other hand, he couldn't wander around aimlessly on a hot day like this because, with the hoodie that he was wearing, he'd eventually get heatstroke.
He could try to buy different clothes, but that probably wouldn't change a single thing. His fans would still recognize him no matter what he wore. They somehow had their way of hunting him down, possibly because he wore the same hairstyle all the time.
Wait a minute! That's it! He put the hood over his head and ran off, looking for the nearest barbershop.
A black haired barber with a bushy mustache looked up in surprise as the bronze bell hanging near his door rung violently, signaling the arrival of a customer. He shot up from his seat, almost knocking over from the table next to him a pencil and the Sudoku puzzle book that he had been working on and rushed over to greet whoever was at the door.
"Good afternoon," he greeted invitingly. "How may I serve you today?"
"Just need a haircut," the newcomer, an adolescent boy with a black hood hiding his hair, replied hastily. "Something new."
"That's great to hear," the man, though a bit suspicious the young man's motives for wearing a sweater in the triple digit temperatures, said in a friendly manner. "What type of style are you looking for exactly?"
As he pulled off his hood, he replied, "Something that doesn't let people recognize me."
Once the barber laid his eyes on the boy's entire facial appearance, his eyes almost bulged out of his sockets as he recognized him. "You- you're-"
"Yeah, I know. I'm the Green Ninja. Look can we please get on with this," Lloyd replied testily, really not wanting to have someone else gawk over the fact that he was around. He was seriously starting to miss the days when people wouldn't give him a second glance, which was ironic, considering that when he had the body of a little kid, he wanted people to recognize him. It was different though, since, nowadays, he was looked upon with admiration instead of fear like he had once desired.
"Okay, I see," the barber said, looking over the long blonde locks of hair. "Hmm, I'll get a catalogue for you to look through."
"Thanks," Lloyd said as he sighed with relief. Then, he walked over to one of the barber chairs and took a seat.
The barber came back a moment later, with the thick catalog. "Here you go."
Lloyd took the heavy book and opened it. He rapidly scanned through dozens of images for a haircut that he liked.
After several moments of flipping through pages, Lloyd found a layered hairstyle that seemed just right.
"I'd like this one," he told the barber, pointing to the image.
The man grimaced with uneasiness as he said, "Err, I haven't had someone ask for that style in a long time. But, hey, I'll give it a shot!" He took the catalog from Lloyd and walked off to put it back behind the counter. He came back moments later with his tools and an apron for Lloyd to wear.
Lloyd put on the black apron while the man took a spray bottle from the counter.
As he sprayed water on Lloyd's head of hair, the barber said, "I can't help, but ask what in the world are you doing out here in the mall. I could've sworn that you were busy doing interviews with several news channels regarding your victory against the Overlord."
Lloyd closed his eyes and relaxed in the chair as the small droplets of cool water hit his heated forehead.
After thinking over a good response, he replied,"Well, I decided to tag along with my teammates. They came here to do some errands."
"You're talking about the Ninja, right?"
"Yeah," Lloyd said, smiling as he thought about how they were faring right now. "I came over to visit them at the new school."
"That's nice of you," the barber mused. "I honestly haven't heard much about them ever since the defeat of the Overlord."
"Well, yeah, they've been pretty busy trying to get ready for their new jobs as teachers."
He snipped a few inches from the boy's long bangs as he replied, "I wish them luck."
He smiled, sinking into the comfortable chair. "I'm sure they'd appreciate that."
The barber stopped, frowning slightly. "Please sit up straight. I won't be able to get this done correctly if you keep slouching like that."
The boy shot up, eyes opening momentarily, and he grinned apologetically. "Oops."
"That's better, thank you." He continued snipping, occasionally diverting his attention back to the catalog page.
Several minutes passed, much longer than he had anticipated, and he felt himself nodding to sleep from not getting the haircut done. He woke up fully when he heard the barber repeatedly curse heatedly under his breath and he slowly roused.
He was not prepared for what he would see.
In front of him was what could be best described as a sloppy nest of straw, with strands of hair more uneven on the left side of his face compared to the right. The straws stuck at weird angles in the air, with some of them intertwining with each other in short ropes. His bangs, if they could even be called that anymore, defied gravity.
In short, the haircut was terrible. Uglier than he, or anyone, could have imagined. Not even the horrific bowl haircut that he was constantly teased over at Darkley's compared to this.
His face rapidly brightened red, from a mix of extreme embarrassment, utter confusion, and pent-up fury.
Any other person would have yelled at the barber, shouted obscenities that would have any parent in a 25 foot radius cover their children's ears tightly. With his influence, he could have this man out of business by the end of the day. His honed elemental powers could've easily destroyed the establishment within a matter of minutes.
Instead, all Lloyd could focus on now was the barber's contorted face, tears almost leaking from the corners of his eyes.
"I'm so sorry Lloyd. I though that I could fix it by taking off a few inches from certain areas, but, but-" the man couldn't take it anymore and broke out in a melodramatic sob, covering his face with the sleeve of his blouse. "I ruined it! It's so terrible!"
Lloyd pursed his lips, not sure what to say to console the man. He was more than sure that he felt more than sorry about having messed a haircut. Suddenly, he felt ashamed. Maybe he had been slumping a bit during the haircut and prevented the barber from getting his job done.
Did it matter who's fault it was? Looking back up at the man, who was currently wallowing in a puddle of self-pity, Lloyd decided that, even if the man had been the one to ruin the cut, it was an honest mistake. He did tell him that he wasn't too good at giving him the haircut that he had asked for, so he should have known what he was going to be getting himself into. Taking one more glance at his hair though the mirror, he wondered how long it would take to grow back and whether it would matter if it were shorter.
With a sigh, Lloyd made his decision.
"I think this can still be fixed."
The man peered up from his sleeve and sniffled, meekly asking, "You do?"
Lloyd momentarily wondered how he would explain this to Nya and the guys once he met up with them. He put those concerns at the back of his mind as he went on with his idea.
He nodded. "You've got a razor on hand, right?"