Lyn entered the grand building, greeted by the huge crystal chandeliers above her. She walked along the shiny granite floor as she headed to the elevator. She greeted the receptionists as she walked, giving them a friendly wave, which they returned. The people at the tower were fond of Lyn because she would often talk to the staff whenever she passed them by. She never acted like a snob and always offered a hand when she saw that they needed it. Lyn reached the elevator and pushed the up button. When the shiny doors opened, she stepped in and pressed the button of the top floor. As the elevator swiftly but smoothly rose up, the brunette leaned against the clear mirrored wall, staring at her reflection in a daze.
'I wish I met him sooner,' Lyn thought as she looked at her own face. Finally, after so many years, she met someone who she could stand on equal ground with. She loved spending time with the Green Ninja and wished she could see him more often. Being with him made her feel… at home, like she belonged. Whenever she was with Caroline and the others, she never fitted in. Although she had no problem being alone, but having a friend when you were lonely was a different story. And Lloyd fit the bill like a glove. He was plain, honest, and fun. She wished to see him again, see his contagious smile, his golden yellow hair, his captivating green eyes… wait what?
She realized what she was thinking and felt her cheeks flush. Her chest started to tighten and she felt her pulse quicken. Lyn shook her head, trying to get rid of this weird feeling. She looked at herself in the mirror and patted her cheeks.
'What's going on? Why do I feel this way?'
Suddenly, the elevator bell rang, startling the young girl. The doors opened and Lyn strode to the dark brown mahogany double doors at the end of the hall. She went right inside and saw that her mother was sitting on the couch in their carpeted living room.
"Hi, Sweetie!" Her mother greeted as she turned her head to look at her daughter. She eyed the brunette as she examined her clothing. "Why dressed like that?"
"Oh, I went out," Lyn replied casually. "Incognito style." She said the last part with a tone of playfulness. Olivia gave a small chuckle. She knew of Lyn's habit of going in public in disguise, and she found it quite amusing. Her daughter then looked around and saw no sign of her father. "Hey, where's dad?"
"Oh your father's had a business meeting and it ran late," Olivia replied as she turned her head back to her activity, which was reading a book and browsing her phone for messages.
"Oh, ok. I'll be in the dining room." With that Lyn strode into the other room partitioned by a beige wall. She sat down on a long dining table and saw the food prepared for her. Lyn was known to come home at night so her parents had her meals set aside in case she came home late. She looked at her dinner for the night: mashed potatoes with two slices of ribs and some vegetables at the side. Her stomach rumbled signaling her not to wait any longer. She downed her food immediately. Afterwards, she cleared the table and proceeded to wash the dishes. The house helps had gone home already, so she was used to tidying things up herself. She exited the dining room and turned towards a short hallway. Stopping at a dark brown door with slight sliver accents, she pushed open the door to her room and went in. Closing the door behind her, she spotted her bed and immediately crashed into it.
She wanted to sleep, but todays events just kept replaying in her head. She wanted to talk more, hang out more. And she also wanted to meet the ninja. If Lloyd behaved the way he did, how much more his entire team? Granted, both of them would have to endure teasing from his brothers, but that's a small price she was willing to pay.
'I wonder what they're like,' Lyn thought. 'I wonder what kind of get together we should have.' She then turned her body around, let her back lie flat on her bed. She looked to her left, where her study desk stood, and saw the stack of books and papers she left.
'Right, priorities.' She got off her bed, sat on her swivel chair and proceeded to do her homework, or what's left of it anyway. Most of it she had already done the day before. Since she couldn't sleep, might as well do something productive.
As she started reading her textbook and answering several questions, her thoughts began to drift once more. She thought what it would be like if Lloyd was in college with her. What course would he choose? Would they be in the same classes? Would their schedules even match so that they could still meet? Or perhaps they could have lunch in the cafeteria together or the café near the library.
Lyn sighed. 'That would be great.' She then snapped out of her thoughts. She shook her head vigorously. 'What am I thinking? Could I be…?' The girl stood up and paced around her room. She let out an insecure laugh.
"Ha! Me and Lloyd? Pfft, as if that would happen!" She inhaled then exhaled. "We're friends. Just friends." She then went back to work, repeating the last part again and again. After ten minutes or so, her phone beeped, telling her that she had a text message. So she opened the screen and her heart skipped a beat, much to her annoyance. It was Lloyd.
"Hey Lyn. I hope I'm not disturbing you. I told the guys that you wanted to meet them and they're really pumped up about meeting you. We were hoping you could visit the Bounty and hang out with us in the afternoon next weekend. Is that okay with you?"
Lyn's eyes brightened with excitement. She was clearly eager to meet the rest of the ninja and spend time with them. Her earlier insecurities were slowly drowned by feelings of exuberance.
"No it's okay. Me, visit the Bounty? I'm so in!" She pressed "Send" and waited a while. Her phone finally beeped again with a other message.
Great! I'll pick you up at 2 pm next Saturday?
It's a deal. See you then
Lyn silently clapped her hands and gave a squeal of delight before going back to her studies. Things were really looking up for her, as far as the brunette was concerned.
Lloyd flew back to the Bounty and landed on the deck. Silence. He exhaled as he went down the hall. He then heard noise coming from the living room. Instead of heading to their sleeping quarters, he opened the door to the living room and proceeded inside. Kai and Jay were sitting on the couch playing Fist to Face 2. Cole sprawled himself on the floor, while Zane sat on one of the couch's arm rests, both watching the red and blue ninja battle it out.
"Hey guys," he greeted them. The rest of the ninja all turned their heads.
"Lloyd!" They all exclaimed. They paused their game and fired their questions as Lloyd approached them.
"So how'd it go?" asked Cole.
"Where'd you guys go?" continued Jay.
"And what did you guys do?" Kai added.
"I hope you had a good time," finished Zane. Lloyd chuckled and gave them a playful shove.
"Jeez you guys," the blonde replied amused. "We just met at Doomsday Comix, read some comic books and just talked. He prompted to take a seat in between Kai and Jay.
"Coming through!" Lloyd said playfully as he plopped himself on the couch, squeezing between the red and blue ninja, forcing the pair to move over to give him some space.
"Hey! You could at least say 'excuse me!' Jay told him.
"Oh, in that case, excuse me!" Lloyd stretched his arms as far as he could, purposely blocking Kai and Jay's vision, and invading their personal space.
"Oh, that's how you wanna do it then?" Kai challenged. He put down his controller and tackled the younger ninja and ruffled his hair. Lloyd ducked down trying to avoid the ninja of fire, but he ended up smothering the ninja of lightning under his weight.
"Hey! Can't breathe!" Jay huffed under his breathe as he tried to tickle Lloyd to get him off him.
"Save some for us too!" Cole said as he and Zane joined the fray. Everyone burst into laughter as they wrestled one another, but mainly Lloyd. Even if they were young adults now, they still made time for childish actions, especially towards each other. After fifteen minutes, everyone was holding their stomachs and trying to catch their breathes. When the could speak again, each took a comfortable spot and the four ninja huddled around their leader.
"Okay, so what happened earlier," Jay started.
"Well, it went well," Lloyd replied calmly.
"Awww, come on Lloyd," Kai replied, groaning. "Give us details."
Lloyd sighed loudly. "Can't really get out of this can I?" The others just shook their head.
"Like I said," Lloyd continued. "We just talked at Doomsday Comix and read some comic books. We really didn't do anything else."
"Doomsday Comix, huh?" Kai replied, putting one hand on his chin. "Not an ideal place for a date." The Green Ninja gave the Red Ninja an annoyed look.
"I'm kidding, okay?" Kai said with a grin. Lloyd just rolled his eyes.
"You read at Doomsday Comix all afternoon?" Jay asked, tilting his head. "There's no place to sit there! Just shelves and display cases."
"Actually," Lloyd replied, "Mother Doomsday was planning on expanding the shop. He-" Lloyd's stomach rumbled.
""Whoops, looks like someone hasn't eaten yet," Cole stated.
"I'll go and fetch you some dinner," Zane said as he disappeared into the kitchen. "Please continue without me."
Lloyd nodded. "Okay, so Rufus has a room behind the counter and he said he plans to make it some sort of reading area. He asked me to check it out, so eventually, that's where Lyn and I stayed all afternoon." The others just mouthed a long "Oh" in response. Meanwhile Zane returned with a tray carrying a plate of shrimps, a bowl of noodles, and a glass of juice. Lloyd thanked him and ate his food in the living room while telling others what else happened. He told them about Lyn's love for comics, about her being a college student and what college was about.
"…Then I walked her home," Lloyd finally finished.
"And?" Kai asked.
"That's it. Then I flew back here."
"You're kidding," Jay said in disbelief.
"Really! That's all that happened. What were you expecting?" Lloyd exclaimed, his voice hinting a tinge of annoyance.
"Then again, you guys aren't exactly official," Cole remarked.
"Not official. Yet," Zane added. Lloyd put his hands on his face. He felt his face burn. Why did he even enter the living room in the first place?
"Come on guys! I thought you wouldn't make fun of me!" The blonde lad complained. "I thought we agreed not to make this a big deal!"
"Alright, alright," Cole laughed. "We'll do our best not to make it that big a deal."
"But. No. Promises." Jay slyly commented. The four older ninja high fived. Lloyd gave a loud groan.
"Well, I guess that's that," he said as he stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna turn in now. Night."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Everyone called after him. Jay zipped to the door and blocked Lloyd's way.
"When are we gonna meet this Lyn? You did promise you'd let us meet her."
"You will!" Lloyd told them. He then remembered his promise to his friend. "She uh, actually wants to meet you."
"Really?!" Their eyes grew wide in excitement as they huddled closely while looking at the green ninja intently.
"Yeah, yeah. I just don't know how we'd all hang out."
"Say no more!" Cole stated, pointing his finger. "Just bring her over to the Bounty!"
"Yeah, that way even Sensei and Nya get to meet her!" Jay chimed in.
"And I can cook her a welcome feast," Zane added.
"Then it's settled," Kai said, putting his hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Lloyd, tell Lyn we'd love to have her over next weekend."
Lloyd didn't know what to feel. He wasn't sure if he should be excited or terrified. He didn't want Lyn to be overwhelmed by the attention, but he was excited to bring her home to meet his family. How would she react? Would she like them? Will they like her? And most of all, would he survive?
"I dunno, everyone," Lloyd said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think it's too soon. I mean, she does goes to college and maybe she has some stuff to do."
"Great, he's chickening out," Cole commented. Kai nodded and swiped Lloyd's phone from his pocket.
"Hey! Give me back my phone!" Lloyd yelled after Kai as the master of fire ran to the other end of the room.
"No can do Lloyd," Kai said as he held the phone up trying keep it away from the blonde's hands. "If you won't text her, I'll do it for you."
"I can text her just fine, thank you very much!" Lloyd retorted as he reached for his phone. Kai sighed and handed it over.
"What'll you tell her?" Jay asked as they all moved towards the couch again.
"How about, 'Dear Lyn, would you do me the honor of coming with me to the Bounty to meet my family?'" Zane suggested.
"Eh, too straightforward," Cole replied. The nindroid just shrugged.
"I got this okay?" Lloyd told his brothers. He then began his message while everyone watched him from behind.
Hey Lyn. I hope I'm not disturbing you. I told the guys that you wanted to meet them and they're really pumped up about meeting you. We were hoping you could visit the Bounty and hang out with us in the afternoon next weekend. Is that okay with you?
Lloyd pressed the "Send" button. He turned to his teammates. "There. I did it. You guys happy?" They nodded.
"But it ain't over until she says 'yes'." Cole told him. Lloyd just rolled his eyes. At least if Lyn accepted, this whole fiasco would be over, or die down at least. Almost immediately, the green ninja's phone beeped. Everyone huddled close to the point their cheeks were pressed against each other and Lloyd was forced to hold his phone out.
No it's okay. Me, visit the Bounty? I'm so in!
Once the ninja saw that, they cheered and started high fiving each other.
"Remember," Lloyd reminded them. "She's coming over as a friend. She's not my girlfriend. So I hope you all treat her as such." The others simply nodded and started whispering amongst themselves. Lloyd ignored them and began texting his reply.
Great! I'll pick you up at 2 pm next Saturday?
He waited for a minute again and he got his reply.
It's a deal. See you then
Lloyd smiled as he put his phone in his pocket. He turned to see his brothers still whispering amongst themselves.
"It's settled then," the green ninja spoke up, trying to get their attention. His teammates whipped around to face him. "Lyn's coming over this Saturday at 2 pm. Don't freak her out, okay?" The ninja just nodded some more, giving their smiles and some thumbs up.
Lloyd sighed as he bid his brothers a good night before going to bed. He had a feeling they were up to something, but he was to tired to really say anything. He was still nervous though. If this is how his brothers react about his friend coming over, imagine what would happen when she actually arrives! Lloyd just shuffled to his bed and lied down. At least Lyn was excited, and that was enough for him. He felt his heart skip a beat as he pondered on the thought of seeing her again, what sort of things he should plan for her. He wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen, but he was sure it was going to be very interesting.