Why Don't We
••• Hooked •••

TW: mild spicy content 

I shifted to the realm of consciousness to the sound of Lloyd softly humming a tune to a song.

My eyes squeezed, not wanting to wake. I was having a such a nice dream. I didn't want that to slip away.
"Morning, precious," Lloyd murmured and my eyes opened, vision blurry with sleep. I seemed to wake into another dream, one where Lloyd's hand was stroking my hairline gently with his thumb, the other incased in my own hold. His fingers clasped tightly around the promise ring. Legs were tangled under the duvet.
I closed my eyes again and sighed through my nose, relaxing into his touch.
"Mmm. G' mornin,'" I mumbled, dropping my chin under the duvet.
"It's wakey time," Lloyd noted, poking my stomach. I softly groaned in retaliation, not wanting to leave the warm bliss of the bed. "Don't you want breakfast?"
My eyes opened at the mention of food. He looked amused.
"Yeah," I grumbled so he slipped from the bed and I held back my discontent whine.

I sat up, duvet pooling around my waist. The morning sun filtered through the window as Lloyd pulled the curtains back. My head swam, sluggish from having had little sleep. After a long night of of sitting on the hood of his car and snuggling while talking about many meaningless things, we had sneak in at two in the morning.
"Awake yet?" Lloyd asked as I shivered at the morning chill.
"No," I groaned. He threw a pillow at my face and I blinked in surprise. It landed on my lap.
"How about now?"
I stared at him. "Still no."
He grinned, pulling me up from the mattress. I teetered unsteadily, brain swirling from the sudden movement. He grabbed a discarded hoody that was sat over the back of his desk chair.
"Arms up," Lloyd ordered and I did as told. He slid the hoody on and tightened the drawstrings until only my nose was showing. "Warm?"
"Mmhmm," I hummed. He chuckled, pulling away the hood from my face. I blinked slowly.
"Ah, there you are."
"Here I am," I smiled lethargically.

The others were already teeming around the dining table, with the exception of Jay, waiting for breakfast. A chorus of good mornings went all round.
Nya stared at my pants in surprise.
"Are those my pyjamas?"
"She didn't have anything to wear to bed," Lloyd shrugged. "So I grabbed some from your closet."
"Oh. Alright."
"May as well clear a drawer for her," Kai snickered.
"Or better yet, move in," Cole teased.
"Ahaaa," Lloyd said dryly as he pulled me to sit down at the table. "Funny."
"It'll happen sooner or later," Nya shrugged.
There was a sudden crash from the kitchen and then the sound of somebody running down the hall.
"Wait- WAIT-" Jay yelled, smashing into the room and we turned to stare at him, breathing heavily and eyes wide. Like a feral chipmunk with freckles. "I hear Lloyd! I need to know!"
His blue eyes dropped to the ring on my hand and he screamed.
"Ah! She said yes!" Jay yelled, pointing at the ring. "Guys, she said yes!"
"To what?" Cole asked before following Jay's gaze and landing on my hand. His eyes widened. "Is that a ring?!"
"A promise ring," Lloyd quickly said. "Not engaged, not yet."
"NOT YET-" Nya gasped loudly. "Isn't that a bit fast?"
"Everything about their relationship has been sped to an abnormal pace," Zane reminded. "We suspected and Neuro confirmed. This should not be surprising."
"Well, gee, catch me still being surprised," Nya sassed as I shifted on the zabuton, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. Cheeks flushed. "They've only known each other for four months!"

"Mm, yeah, but," Kai lifted a finger in counter. "The prophecy said that they should've met before Lloyd's big fight against his father three years ago. He messed that one up big time."
"Would you let it go?" Lloyd stressed a whine. "We've already been over this!"
"The prophecy clearly demands that their bond be strong," Zane pointed out. "To not, it may prove to be fatal."
"Oh, goody," I mused. "That's a nice thought to start the day with."
Zane shrugged. It was the cold, hard truth.
"Wait, wait, lemme see," Cole scrambled forward and grabbed my hand, peering at the ring as it sat over the table. "Isn't this Misako's?"
"It's handed down," Lloyd elaborated with a soft smile.
"Wouldn't that make it a ring that's like... over a thousand years old?" Cole asked, glancing up at us. "Hope you don't lose it. That's a pretty valuable family heirloom."
My face dropped in fear.
"Nice, Cole," Jay shot as I began to thoroughly panik, clutching my hand closed tight against my chest. "Now you've scared her."
"What! It's just facts!"

"Oh, my god, why did you give me this I'm notorious for losing things-"
"She's broken," Kai frowned.
"No takesies backsies," Lloyd declared and I deflated.
"You shoulda just have gotten me a ring pop," I said sullenly, staring at the pretty silver ring engraved with dragon heads, which suddenly felt a lot more heavy than it did before. "At least those only cost, like. A dollar."
"You know, I did consider a ring pop as a joke," Lloyd confessed.
"Oh, damn, you should've."
He hummed with a nod. "It really would've enhanced the moment."
"I reckon."
"Wow, haha, it's almost as if you two are made for each other or something," Jay chimed up. A second later, Dimitri burst into the room, looking frantic.
"JAY!" Dimtiri yelled. "You left the stove on!"
"I'm on it," Nya stood, swiftly exiting the room.

The rest of the team turned to send Jay a glare.
"I got excited," he sheepishly chuckled.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

Ninja never quit, and I guess ninja never get weekend breaks, either.

The team was called out for another mission after breakfast had ended - this one being a gang robbery in city centre. While I was worried for the team (especially Lloyd)(yes, I do play favourites), I also saw this as a blessing in disguise; with no Lloyd hanging off of my arm, I could talk to his parents about his odd behaviour that had emerged recently in peace.

"What were you wanting to talk about?" Garmadon asked as he set a cup of tea in front of me. Misako settled beside him, half listening, half pouring over a scroll she had snagged from the shelf inside the scroll room, in which we had stolen. Wu was less than pleased to be kicked out.
I shifted uneasily before them, unsure how to approach the subject. My finger tapped on the ceramic of the cup, promise ring gently clinking.
"Is it the size of the ring?" Misako asked. "We can get it altered."
"O- oh, no," I shook my head. "It fits perfectly. Thank you. For last night. And for letting Lloyd give me your ring. It... it really means a lot."

It really means a lot? Very dry, you ineloquent bastard. His family literally gives you an heirloom that's worth probably hundred of thousands by now because of its age and condition, and you only say it really means a lot?

Misako and Garmadon smiled, amused at my expression while I mentally chided myself for being an idiot.
"You're part of the family," Garmadon said with a voice that radiated pure dad.
"Honestly, I'm not sure who was more excited," Misako snickered, placing the scroll to the side. "Lloyd to give you a promise ring, or us when he said that he wanted to give you one."
I softly smiled. Wow. When did they adopt me? Nice.
"It's... it's not about that," I said, eyes dropping to the untouched tea in front of me. "Lloyd's been... acting weird."
Garmadon straightened. "How so?"
I inhaled, brow furrowed.
"I think it started with the fight with Axon," I murmured, hand tightening around the cup from the dull throb of fear that pulsed in my chest. I tried to push it down. "That whole- er, thing. Happened. But since then he's been really, um..." I tried to wrack my brain for a better word but came up blank. My face pulled into a confused look. "... clingy?"

"That could be because Axon tried to kill you," Misako pointed out, absolutely not beating around the bush.
"But it's not just that," I shook my head. "Neuro spoke to me personally when we met up with him. He said that because of his genetics, his instincts aren't... humanistic."
Garmadon nodded, humming as he rubbed his chin.
"Have there been any other instances?" Misako asked.
"Uh. A few," I replied, eyes falling to the side in embarrassment. "He may have, uh... marked me."
Garmadon spluttered in shock. His tea almost spilt from how he knocked the table.
"How?" Misako asked, eyes wide in surprise. "Do you know why?"
"He just said I smelt weird and then rubbed his face on my neck," I replied, cheeks burning. It hurt my dignity to tell them, but Lloyd's well-being was at stake and I had priorities.
"Think back to what you were doing before that," Garmadon said, green eyes holding a look of confused concern. "What may have triggered this reaction?"

I bit my lip in thought, eyes following the grain of the table as I thought. I got out of gym, maybe it was the sweat? But I wasn't sweaty? Maybe it was the type of deodorant I used? But Lloyd said it wasn't that...
What did we do during gym again? The trust falls, that's right. And that... Chen...
My eyes widened. I glanced up at Lloyd's parents.
"During gym, we were doing trust falls and stuff," I began. "I was partnered up with Chen. Maybe he didn't like the smell of him on me? But how can he even smell that?"
"Descendants of the first spinjitzu master have heightened senses," Misako explained, brows tight over her eyes. She shared a look with Garmadon. "But I've never heard of marking. Garm?"
He shook his head, bewildered.
"I'm at a loss myself," he admitted.
"Oh," I piped up. "Also he can purr."
"Purr?!" Misako blanched. "He can purr?"
I nodded.
"It kind of reminds me of how his elemental dragon purrs..."

My words trailed off when Garmadon and Misako slowly turned their heads to share a look when the word 'dragon' slipped from my mouth. I glanced between them, on the alert.
"What? What is it?"
"I think we have a lot of research to do," Misako said tensely, standing and scouring the shelves of scrolls.
"Can I help?"
Misako paused, glancing at Garmadon. He shrugged, nonchalant. Misako sent me an appreciative smile.
"You're tech savvy, aren't you?" she asked. "Why don't you search up everything you can about Lloyd's grandfather. We have a lot of information here, but not everything."
I nodded, pulling out my phone just as a bunch of voices arrived at the entrance of the monastery.
"Research will have to wait," Garmadon said as he stood. "We should see if anybody's injured."
I nodded, standing up myself. Misako placed a hand on my shoulder, a worried look on her face.

"This... instinct problem," she began tersely. "He isn't making you uncomfortable, is he?"
"No," I replied honestly, shaking my head. "Apart from the whole Axon thing, it's been pretty harmless. Yeah, it's weird, but I don't think Lloyd would ever do something that would make me uncomfortable."
Misako smiled, relieved. Her hand squeezed my shoulder in support before she left the room.
I glanced up at Garm.
"Can you purr?"
"No, Y/n," he replied, shaking his head in disbelief at the oddity that was his son. "No, I cannot."

Nobody was hurt too badly, aside from scrapes and bruises and a few little bleeding knicks. Lloyd immediately made a beeline for me when I emerged from the room with Garmadon, the others already recounting the mission to Misako and Wu as they undid their belts and unwrapped their gis.
"How was it?" I asked as Lloyd dropped his chin on my shoulder. His face held scratches, some bleeding.
"In and out," he mumbled, breath brushing my ear. "Clean bag and tag."
I'll pretend to know what that means. Garmadon was staring at his son with a contemplative look. Misako shared it, eyes catching. He moved off to talk to the others about the mission.
"C'mon," I said, pushing Lloyd's head off of my shoulder. "Let's-"
Lloyd growled quietly at my attempt of moving him off. I paused. He tensed, pulling back himself.
"Did you just growl at me?" I asked in shock. His expression was as clear as day; embarrassedly stunned. He didn't even mean to do it.

"I- I'm sorry," he apologised, stammering from bafflement. "I d... I don't know what that was."
I nodded slowly, concerned.
"Let's just get your cuts cleaned," I murmured, pulling him towards the med bay while the others continued to explain in excruciating detail how they took out the bad guys.
"I'm sorry," Lloyd said again, voice troubled as we walked down the hallway. "I think... I've been feeling weird recently."
I glanced back at him.
"You've only now noticed?"
Lloyd's brow furrowed as I sat him down on a gurney and grabbed disinfectant and bandages. "What do you mean?"
I shook my head, sitting cross-legged on the gurney before him as I focused on my task.
"Talk about it later. I've gotta clean your cuts."
Lloyd stared at me as I cleaned up his face, making sure to get any bit of grime out of his injuries before gently putting plasters on each of them. I sat back.

"Anywhere else?"
Lloyd nodded, unbuckling his gi before pulling off his undershirt. His chest was littered with scars, some fresh, some months old. Maybe even years. A few newer cuts were brimming and leaking blood, so I got set to cleaning them, not giving me the time to be flustered.
"You've got so many," I murmured, wiping at a slice below his ribs.
"Life of a ninja," Lloyd said with a smile that wasn't really a smile as he picked up a cotton pad and dipped it into the disinfectant. He started on his arm.
My eyes followed the line of the particularly gnarly scar that had bothered me since I first met him, running down from his shoulder to his hip. It sat directly over his heart. My chest ached.
"This one looked painful," I said quietly, finally finding the nerve to ask about it. Lloyd's heavy gaze was loaded with emotion.
"It was," he said in a sough. "Probably the closest I got to dying."
I knew that it would've been, but the revelation of it still had my entire state of being seizing in shock and illness. The cotton pad dropped from my hand in as my head whipped up to his with a horrified look on my face. Lloyd's eyes widened.
"D- don't worry!" he rushed, shaking his head. "I'm here! I'm fine! I'm not going anywhere- oh, sunshine, please don't cry."

But my waterworks were already hard at play, lips trembling as I tried to keep it together and not think about Lloyd dying by a mauled chest. Unfortunately, my brain was working against me and it was all I could see. Blood pouring, eyes dimming. Stop it stop it stop it-
Lloyd pulled me into his lap and I hugged him fiercely. I knew that his line of work was dangerous, of course it was, but hearing him say something like that-
"I'm sorry," he whispered as I curled tighter against his chest. "That was dumb. I shouldn't have said it like that."
I shook my head, inhaling shakily.
"I wasn't thinking," he confessed.
"When are you ever thinking?" I choked a giggle, a brazen attempt of laughing it off. Lloyd snorted, following in stride. But my face quickly fell again.
"Please don't die," I whimpered, pressing my forehead against the skin of his chest.
"I won't," he reassured, cupping my cheeks with gentle hands. "Promise ring, remember? I promise to always return to you."
He wiped away my tears with a thumb.

"Smile for me, princess, please," Lloyd whispered. "I want to see your happy face. No more sad face."
"No more sad face," I giggled, but it wasn't heartfelt. Lloyd smiled carefully, dipping down for a soft kiss.
"Hey, hey!" exclaimed Jay as he and the others entered, looking to get their injuries tended to. "This is the med bay. Not a bed room."
I sat back, Lloyd's hands slowly slipping from me. Blushing, I busied myself in cleaning the cuts on Lloyd's arm.

I could feel his troubled gaze on me.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

"We have a theory that since Lloyd is the green ninja, he's more prone to his grandfather's genetics than me or Wu are," Garmadon said over the phone as I tried to study and listen to him and Misako at the same time.

"It makes sense considering how similar in power Lloyd and his grandfather are," Misako commented. "Have you found anything on your end?"
"Every site I click to just tells me the same stuff. But there is this museum exhibit opening up next week," I replied, pushing away my English homework and scratching my head in stress.
"What's the exhibit?" Garmadon asked.
"Something about a recently unearthed shrine that was buried at the base of the wailing alps," I sighed. "Would that be worth looking into?"
"It wouldn't hurt checking out," Misako said. "Both at the museum and at the site. Good job, Y/n."
Half an hour after the call ended, some random blond superhero crawled through my window.
"Hey," Lloyd greeted, leaning his arms over the back of my chair.
"Do you have an aversion to doors or something?" I asked as I scrawled out some notes for psychology.
"Ha-ha," Lloyd said dryly, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "You left the monastery pretty abruptly yesterday."

I remained quiet. Lloyd spun my chair around and his face fell in concern.
"Did you sleep?"
"No," I muttered, trying to spin the chair back around but he was holding it in place. "Couldn't sleep."
"Nightmares?"
I paused, avoiding his green gaze. He knew exactly what I was thinking about.
"... maybe."
"Y/n-"
"Can we talk about something else?" I begged quietly. "Distract me. Please."
Lloyd faltered, swallowing. His gaze dropped to the ring resting against my collarbone and he smiled.
"I love your new necklace," he gasped in mock surprise, lifting the chain with a finger. "Why did you put it on a chain?"
"Because this is a thousand-plus year old family heirloom and if I lose it I might actually simply stop existing," I said before lifting my gaze to Lloyd as he grinned. "At least on a necklace it won't be able to slip off."
"Fair," he shrugged.
"Also it's easier to hide from my dad."
Lloyd nodded. "Also fair. Have you eaten today?"

I opened my mouth to reply before pausing. "Wait, what's the time?"
"Three in the afternoon."
"Oops."
"Okay," Lloyd said shortly before lifting me up into his arms. I squeaked in surprise, instinctively latching onto him as he carried me to the kitchen. He plopped me down on the bench before venturing through what we had in the pantry.
"Toast?" he offered and I nodded. He placed the bread in the toaster and returned to me, placing his hands over my thighs.
"You gonna tell me what's wrong?" Lloyd asked, to which I only shook my head again, silent. He sighed, going to leave but I curled my legs around his waist, hooking my feet.
"Now you're in my guard and can't leave," I said. Lloyd frowned, almost insulted.
"Everything about that is so wrong," he said with a shake of his head. "You're not on your back, you're on the edge of a bench - if I were to step back, you'd fall-"

"Oh, my god, it was a joke," I groaned, unhooking my legs and pushing him away with my foot. "Go. Leave. I don't want you in my guard anymore."
Lloyd chuckled, draping his arms around me, anyway. "Where's your mum?"
"At work," I sighed as my legs dangled on either side of him. "Are you going to help me with the art assignment or you going to make me do all the work?"
"The art assignment," he dropped his head back with a groan. "I forgot about it."
"It's due on Friday," I reminded. "And you generally have busy afternoons. Can you spare a few hours now?"
"Of course," Lloyd smiled. "After you eat."
After I'd had my toast, Lloyd lead me back to my room. I resettled on the chair and he took the bed, scrolling through articles on his phone while I typed out what he spoke aloud.
I had trouble concentrating; brain filled with thoughts of shrines and werewolf boyfriend instincts without the werewolf part. Of Axon's attack and Lloyd's genetics and prophecies. Of cuts along chests, over hearts, deep and threatening.

I sat back with a groan, running a hand through my hair in agitation. My head throbbed with stress.
"I took art to do art, not to write essays," I grumbled, as if it were my only problem that I was overthinking about. "This doesn't even make any sense!"
I roughly rubbed my tired eyes with the palms of my hand, the sleepless night and the late night before catching up to me. I brushed my hair to the side in frustration. I just wanted to nap. Sleep this all away. We were barely halfway through and I needed to forget about everything else before my brain exploded.
"Ugh, this is so HARD," I slammed my hands onto the desk. "Why the hell did she give us such a difficult topic to do? I'm going to rip my hair out-"
Lloyd's lips brushed over my neck and I inhaled sharply, stiffening. The pencil clattered to the floor. I hadn't even heard him get up.
"Calm down," he murmured against my skin as he placed a line of whispering kisses from the underside of my jaw down to my shoulder. I felt myself bristle pleasantly. "You're too tense."
"B- because this project sucks," I stammered, enraptured by the dip my stomach did when Lloyd's hands found my hips, sliding up the shirt to brush his thumb against my skin.
"Then let me make you forget about everything else," he offered, obviously knowing that it wasn't just the project on my mind. His breath fluttered against my neck. "Do you want me too?"

"I..."
I forgot how to speak.
"Y/n?" he asked, pulling back as he waited for my response.
I swallowed sharply, stomach hot and twisting with anticipation.
"Y- yeah," I nodded weakly, reaching up to tangle my hands through his blond hair. "O... okay..."
Lloyd chuckled breathily at my response and the hem of my shirt crawled up as his hands found purchase at my waist, squeezing the flesh. I lurched with a gasp at the feeling, instinctively dropping my head to the side and exposing more of my neck to him. Lloyd took to it without hesitating, kissing a specific spot that had my toes curling and heart crying. A brief flash of worry found itself at the forefront of my mind - was Lloyd acting on his instincts again? The idea was quickly abandoned as all thoughts disappeared when Lloyd sunk his teeth into my neck in an open-mouthed kiss. My brain error'd, completely blank, as I shivered at the feeling of his teeth digging into my skin - deeper and harder than before. His name tumbled from my lips within a sigh, succumbing to his touch while the butterflies in my stomach erupted into a cacophony of wings and warmth.
"Am I doing it right?" Lloyd murmured as he pulled back to sweetly kiss the same spot.
"Yes," I sighed in bliss. His hands slipped out from my shirt as he pulled away and the warmth went with him. My eyes blinked open in bleary confusion until Lloyd lifted me from the seat and took my spot, dropping me down onto his lap. He lifted his neck to the side with a cheeky smirk. I stared at him in foggy disorientation.

"Wanna mark me now?" he teased and my brow furrowed slightly.
"Mark..?" My eyes shot open wide. "Mark?! Lloyd, what did you-"
I scrambled from his lap and leapt to my mirror. I gasped in horror.
"Lloyd, we have school tomorrow!" I complained, staring at the love bite in defeat. It was large, marring my neck in a bright red glow. Indents from his teeth still sat on the surface of my skin. It was sure to bruise.
"Just chuck on some contour, you'll be fine," Lloyd snickered from the seat, totally nonchalant. I shot him an irritated glare as he swayed the chair from side to side with his feet. He raised his palms in amused defence. "Hey, you told me to keep going!"
I groaned, dropping my head into my hands.
"I don't have any contour, I ran out ages ago!" I cried. "Ugh, mum's going to kill me."
"Oh, sorry. Do you want to even it up?" Lloyd quirked his brow in suggestion, eyes hooded. I threw a pillow at him and he blocked it with a laugh.
"Stop it!" I whined. "This isn't funny!"
"It kind of is."
"It ISN'T!"
"It's just a hickey," Lloyd chuckled, pulling me towards him by my hand. "I don't get why you're freaking out. We're dating, it's natural."

I stared at him. I picked up the pillow and repeatedly hit his face.
"Hey- HEY- OI-!"
"STOP BEING FERAL!" I yelled, bringing the pillow down on him again and again. "YOU HORNY TEENAGE BOY."
"Stop, stop!" Lloyd laughed, grabbing the pillow with his hands and halting my attack. He tossed it aside and hooked an arm around my waist, making me stumble forward and land on him. I glared down at him, scowling. He opened his neck, inviting me with a smug grin and lidded eyes. My resolved wavered.
"I'm angry at you," I huffed. The look in his eyes didn't change.
"Yes..?" he raised a brow, eyes intensely red.
"I hate you," I snapped, dipping down to press a kiss against his neck. Lloyd's hands shot up to grip at my waist with a gasp and my arms raised to tug on his hair, exposing more of his neck. He relaxed, dropping his head back against the chair with a rumbling sigh as I returned the affection he gave me.
Lloyd's grip on my waist pulled me in deeper to him until he wrapped his arms tight around my waist in a hug. I nuzzled the crook of his neck before softly kissing my own mark on him and sighed.
"We're going to get in trouble," I murmured, digging my head under his chin. He hummed, the sound reverberating soothingly through my head.
"It was worth it," he mumbled, satisfied. I shook my head.

"You're crazy, Lloyd Garmadon," I grumbled.
"Crazy for you," he coed and I groaned, shoving his face away while he cackled at my expression. "I'll make it up to you."
I eyed him warily. "How?"
"Pizza, on me," he offered. "Your mum won't be home 'till late, right? We can set up a movie and everything."
My expression softened. "That sounds nice."
Lloyd smiled. "Alright, then."

While Lloyd ordered dinner, I hauled a thick blanket over to the living room. I paused, hesitating at the entrance and swallowing back the spike of anxiety that decided to crawl up my throat.
Stop it. Stop being an idiot.
I stepped into the room, avoiding the non-existent bloodstain of where Axon's shoulder had landed and threw myself onto the couch. I curled up in the blanket, trying to distract myself.
Maybe this wasn't the best idea.
But then Lloyd walked in, looking uneasy and masking it terribly. He seemed to avoid the nonexistent bloodstain as well. I turned on the tv, flicking through our movie choices as Lloyd sat on the other end of the couch.
"You gonna join me or what?"
Lloyd quietly shifted towards me, shuffling under the blanket until he laid beside me, arms wrapping around my waist.

We silently watched the movie. I think neither of us were paying attention, heads far away and sullen.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

"Morning, lovely," Lloyd greeted as I entered the car for school. "Sleep better?"

"Crashed like a sleep deprived teen," I hummed, dropping my bag at my feet and eagerly accepting Lloyd's good morning kiss.
"You are a sleep deprived teen," he pointed out and I huffed.
"You didn't have to say it."
"Your words," he shrugged, pulling out onto the street. I pouted, crossing my arms before my eyes widened in shock.
"H- hey, why aren't you covering-!" I squeaked in alarm, staring at the god forsaken mark on his neck. "LLOYD!"
"What?" he chuckled like the smug bastard he was. "It's a badge of superiority."
"What? Wait- did... do the others-?"
"Yep," he smirked, eyes on the road as he drove. My face fell into a look of embarrassed horror. "Kai wants to give you a high five."
"I hate it here," I breathed in shame, sinking my chin deeper into the high collar of my turtleneck.

Walking into school with my mark on Lloyd's neck felt like the walk of shame itself, whereas Lloyd himself was positively vibing with the situation. I wish I had his confidence, but alas, I didn't, so I hid my red face in mortification as we entered the building.
"Ahh, there she is!" Kai snickered loudly, pulling me into a side hug before noogying my hair. I didn't even care. I let him do it sullenly. "I'm so proud."
He pretended to wipe away a tear.
"Let's see yours," Nya reached out and I quickly ducked behind Zane.
"Wow, would you look at the time?" I laughed nervously. "I should get to class!"
"Class does not start for another ten-"
I elbowed Zane. He backtracked.
"Ah, yes. Class time. Goodbye, Y/n."
"Bye-bye!" I chirped before quickly spinning on my feet and ignoring the shit-eating grins on their faces.
Aside from Zane. Thank you, Zane. Legend.

Before I could hide myself away in class, my path was intercepted by Naomi.
"How was your date!" she blurted, wide eyed and smiling.
"G- good!" I replied in shock, surprised by her sudden appearance. "Great! Wonderful!"
"What was the surprise?" she gushed, holding my shoulders. My cheeks burnt as I went to retrieve the chain from under my turtleneck.
Naomi's eyes caught something else far more important.
"The hell is this?!" she asked, yanking the turtleneck down and I gasped in horror. Her eyes widened. "Y/n, you freak!"
"Shut up!" I hissed, pulling the material back from her hands. I didn't even make it out of the same hallway as the ninja, whose gazes were heavy on my back. I could feel them laughing. "It wasn't even my idea!"

"He gave you a hic-!"
I slapped my hand over her mouth, eyes wide and frantic. I shook my head, begging her to keep it down.
"She isn't the only one," Lloyd said as he slung an arm around my shoulder with a mischievous smirk. Naomi's eyes found Lloyd's love bite and she screamed into my hand.
The entire hallway was staring.
His neck was clearly on display.
People were already whispering.

I dropped my head with a defeated groan.