***Well, here we are! This is the longest chapter I've written in probably a month - it's around 3500 words. What can I say? I'm becoming a pretty big advocate of Coliel romance <3

Okay, also, don't kill me when you're done reading Cole's POV. And don't kill Lloyd, either. I can't write a story if I'm dead, and Lloyd...I still need him! LOL

Also, I never knew this song was about depression until today. I guess I never listened to the lyrics. Huh.

And just a note: If you all haven't noticed by now, I double-space before and after flashbacks, then italicize all the words in the flashback.***

***(Cole's POV)***

"Some party, huh?" Vania beams, gazing up at me.

I nod and smile for her benefit. "Yeah, sure." I don't really want to be here.

Kai and I are the only members of the team who attend parties. Now that he's seriously dating Skylor – actually, they're engaged – he spends a lot less time with the night life.

Technically, Lloyd did attend one party. That was the night he got absolutely drunk and almost subverted his team after breaking Nya and Jay up. Now, however, Lloyd stays away from anything resembling an external social life. He really only has the team.

Okay, he has the team, minus Nya and Jay. Jay's just plain snappy toward him, and Nya...I think she dislikes being around Lloyd more than even Jay does, but she does a pretty good job of hiding it.

So essentially, Lloyd has me, Zane, and Kai. And Kai doesn't even know what happened that night, or he might break ties with Lloyd, too.

"Coooooole?" Vania says, drawing out my name. "Are you all there?"

I shake my head. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry." I stuff my hands in my pockets. "Hey, I'm going to check out the kitchen and see what there is to eat, okay? I think I see some of your friends over in the TV room. Do you mind if I join you later?"

She nods emphatically. "Yeah, of course! Have fun!" She rushes over to the people I pointed out, glad to rid herself of me. I guess I'm too distracted to be an interesting date tonight.

I make a beeline for the kitchen. With luck, I'll be out of here in the next half hour. I might as well grab a snack for the road.

I pause when I hear crying coming from the back porch. If someone's upset...

I'm an all-around nice guy. I don't like to hear people hurting. Maybe I'll be turned away, but if there's anything I can do to help, I'd be happy to cheer up whomever it is.

***Music Cue***

I gently open the back door, rehearsing what I'm going to say in my head. Hey, I'm Cole. I heard you crying. Are you okay? Do you need me to call someone for you? I could give you a ride home.

All those thoughts flood my head as I see my best friend curled in a ball on the back porch, sobbing.

What's he doing at a party?

And...why is Nya with him?

"I'm sorry," Jay hiccups. "I didn't mean to drink so much. It just all happened so fast." His voice is slurred.

Nya rubs his back, biting her lip. "Jay, this isn't good. You've been so depressed lately. You should get help."

Recovering from my shock, I rush to join them. "What happened?" I demand.

Jay just cries harder when he sees me.

Nya wraps her arms around him in a hug. "Jay decided to drink away his worries, if you couldn't tell," she sighs.

"Yeah, well that definitely didn't work for him, given how emotional he is." I pat his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nya's leaving me," he sniffs.

I give her a questioning look. "I thought you two were already separated."

"We are." She turns to Jay. "Listen, buddy, let's go back to the monastery, okay? It's a good thing tomorrow's Saturday. You'll have plenty of time to sleep this off."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I frown. "Jay can't drive right now, and...you don't have your license yet. How, exactly, are you getting back?"

She hitches a shoulder. "How do you think I got here when he called me? I can drive, Cole. Jay and Skylor have been teaching me."

"You drove here illegally?" I shake my head. "Honestly, that doesn't surprise me."

"I'm sorry," Jay mumbles. "I guess I sh-should've called someone else, Nya. I tried Zane, b-but he's out with PIXAL tonight. And Cole had his d-date and all..."

"It's okay, Jay," she soothes him. "But we've got to get you out of this depressive cycle. It's hurting you."

"The only way to make me better is for you not to l-leave!" he wails.

"I still don't get this whole 'leaving' thing," I put in.

Nya ignores me. "It's okay, Jay. Everything's going to be just fine." She looks up at me. "Will you help him out to the sidewalk? I'm going to pull the earth drill around."

"The earth drill?!" I shout. "You brought my baby?"

"It's not like I wanted to take it, Cole. It's not discreet at all. But I'm definitely not ready to drive a motorcycle yet, and I really didn't want to bring Jay back on one of those, anyway."

I moan. "Next time you get drunk, Jay, call someone with a car!"

"I don't want there to b-be a next time," Jay sniffles. "I don't wanna be Lloyd!"

"You're not Lloyd, Jay," Nya says comfortingly. She strokes his shoulder. "See you in a minute, okay?"

"Th-thank you," he sniffles.

I plant a hand on my hip. "You pull the earth drill around, but I'm driving him back."

"Whatever." She rolls her eyes. "I guess I'll drive whatever car you brought, then."

My mouth opens and closes. The truth is, I brought my dad's sports car – it's just a tradition for him to let me bring it on dates. It makes girls feel special.

In other words, Nya will not be driving that vehicle.

I cough. "Why don't I...leave my ride here for a few hours, then come back and pick it up?" But...if I'm not around, I can almost bet someone will hotwire and joyride my dad's old car. Or egg it, just to spite me.

And I'm not about to leave Nya here to watch over it. I get that she can take care of herself and all, but she's not even seventeen yet. Plus, she has the same aversion to parties as Jay. I'm surprised she showed up, but I suppose helping him was a big enough incentive.

Seeing my torn look, she pats my arm. "We'll be fine, Cole. I'll be careful. We'll take backroads."

"Kai would kill me for letting you take backroads while in the car with a drunk boy."

"It's Jay," she argues. "Enough said."

Pretty much.

I look over at my best friend. "You didn't take any drugs, right?"

"N-no," he whimpers. "I'm sorry I even came. I betrayed my parents. I betrayed Nya." He chokes on the words.

"And don't forget you betrayed yourself." She heaves a sigh. "Do you mind following us to the monastery, Cole? Just in case I do get stuck in a ditch or something."

I nod. "Yeah, sure. Pull the earth drill around." At least it's a big, clunky SUV. There's not much she can do to damage her.

I mean, the earth drill did face a lot of damage this past summer. While Nya, Lloyd, and I were fighting Lord Garmadon, we ended up in an underground mine. Said mine collapsed on us, and we managed to take cover under my sturdy baby. She did face quite a bit of damage, though, and we had to totally revamp her.

As Nya walks away, Jay buries his face in his hands. "I disappointed her."

"Yeah, you did." I sigh. "She's right about you being in a destructive cycle, Jay. Drinking can make depression worse. It's not an answer to your problems, either – it's supposed to be something you enjoy. And you're supposed to do it responsibly. How much did you have?" I pull out my phone to text Vania I need to leave.

"Almost three cans of beer," he mewls. "That's bad, isn't it?"

"For someone who's never had a drop of alcohol? Probably. When did you start drinking tonight?"

"Dunno. It's a blur." He inhales sharply. "She probably hates me now!"

"She doesn't hate you, Jay." I pat his back. "Let's go around front, okay? Nya will be waiting for us soon."

"Okay. I already threw up, so hopefully I won't do that all over your earth drill." He rubs tears from his eyes.

Jay has thrown up in my earth drill too many times to count. Back when the team first formed, Kai got injured on one of our missions pretty badly. Jay just wasn't used to the sight of so much blood, so he threw up. Then there was the time I thought it was a good idea to take the earth drill to visit Jay when he got his tonsils out. When I took him home from the hospital, he got sick from the anesthetics and ended up ruining my seats. We reupholstered the whole thing after fighting Garmadon.

My baby will probably need reupholstered again after tonight.

"I don't know why she wants to leave," Jay mutters.

I snap out of my thoughts. "Huh? Who?" I can be a little slow, or at least, it seems that way when all my friends are either super intelligent or good with words.

"Nya," Jay replies. "Because of her parents and all."

"Oh, yeah. I thought her breaking up with you had to do with them."

"Yeah. And now she wants to leave us all." He wipes his sleeve across his nose. "But she doesn't like me talking about it, so I'll stop."

I frown. "What do you mean? She wants to leave the team?" I've honestly thought Lloyd or Jay might quit in recent months, but...never Nya.

"Yeah, the team. And Kai and...Ninjago City." He lets out a strangled breath. "And she hasn't let me talk to anyone about it."

"Wait, Jay. You have to slow down. It sounds like – and I could be wrong – that Nya plans to, like, run away."

He blinks his intoxicated eyes. "What don't you understand?"

"You really mean she wants to run away?" I blanch.

"Yeah. But she doesn't like me talking about it, so you can't tell her I said anything." He gets a sick look on his face before doubling over.

What the heck have I missed?

***(Seliel's POV)***

The walk home from work is long, especially after a six-hour shift. But then, today was a short day. I usually work seven-hour school days, then one nine or ten-hour day on the weekends.

Today, there just wasn't as much to clean up.

I drag my tired legs across the sidewalk. My left knee gives a little, and I bite my lip.

I'm pretty sure not going to the doctor for my injuries from February was a bad idea. But it's not like my dad and I have any sort of medical insurance – we can't afford it. And I just didn't have the out-of-pocket funds.

Plus, my dad would've actually killed me if I'd gone to see a doctor.

I hear the bass thrum from a house down the street, and I roll my eyes. So many spoiled rich teens have all the time in the world to get sloshed and have parties. Me? No. I don't even know how I'm going to afford this month's groceries.

I'll probably see if the local food bank has something to spare. I may not like eating, but I have to have something.

Some part of me says I could make it without food for another day. But I haven't eaten since yesterday, and work and school are taking everything out of me.

Up ahead, I see a dark-haired girl helping a clumsy boy into the passenger side of a giant SUV. An SUV with...a drill on the front, surprisingly.

Supporting the uncoordinated teenager's other side is...Cole Brookstone?

What's he doing here?

Oh, right. He's a hot, social teenager. I'm sure he goes to lots of parties.

Right as his head turns my way, I try to duck behind a car. I really don't want him to see me in my work uniform, looking a bedraggled mess.

And walking home from work. That pretty much brings home the fact that I'm poor.

Unfortunately, he spots me anyway and does a double take.

My life is just the greatest right now.

He says something to the dark-haired girl, who nods and goes back to situating the most likely intoxicated teenager in the SUV.

Cole jogs toward me. "Sel!"

I heave a sigh. Before today, I could stay under the radar. Not anymore, apparently.

"Hey, Cole," I greet him, forcing a smile.

"What are you doing here?" he smiles.

"I'm...walking." In my work uniform. Smelling a mess. Looking a mess. You know, the usual.

"Okay. Well, it kind of looks like you've had a long day," he assesses. "Did you just get off work?"

"Yes." Let's stick with honesty for now.

"All right. Do you want a ride home? I was just about to leave."

"I...no, thank you." I don't want him seeing where I live.

"Cole!" calls a female voice.

I look over to see a golden-haired girl skipping out of the house. She runs up to us.

Barely giving me a look, she says, "Cole, I'm getting a ride home with some friends tonight. Thanks for the date, though!"

Date? That shouldn't bother me as much as it does.

"No problem, Vania." He gives her a side-hug, then turns back to me. "This is Seliel. Have you two met?"

Vania beams. "No! But I love your hair."

"Oh. Th-thanks?" She's too pretty to notice anything good about me. Where's the catch in this?

"You're welcome. Hey, I should be getting back inside – I left a really tense game of truth or dare. But it was nice meeting you!"

Cole grabs her hand before she can go. "Be careful, okay? Make sure you're not alone, only drink from beverages with lids..."

"I get it," she giggles. "Have a good night!"

And she goes running off.

Leaving me in an awkward situation.

I cough. "Um, your girlfriend seems nice."

"Vania?" he laughs. "Vania's not my girlfriend. Here, let me drive you home." He puts a hand at the small of my back and leads me toward a vintage red car.

My eyes bug. "This...is yours?"

"It's my dad's," he shrugs. "He lets me use it when I take out girls. Not that I was really going out with Vania – it was more of a 'social outing as friends' thing."

"I'm not sure why you needed to clarify that." But I'm glad he did. "Listen, I'm fine to finish walking home."

"Why? Do you want to walk home?" He looks confused.

One weird part of my brain says that I should exercise more. The other part of me is entirely exhausted.

But I can't let Cole see the mobile home park I live in. That's just embarrassing.

"I'll walk," I shrug. "But thanks."

"It's not safe to be walking the streets of Ninjago City at nine-thirty in the evening, and you don't have a phone. You really should let me take you home. Trust me, it's not too far out of my way. I'm already going to be out driving, since I'm following a few friends home."

"I..."

"Come on, Sel," he says, giving me a half-smile that makes my heart flip. "I could even take you through a drive-thru so you get something to eat."

"Trust me, I don't want anything for a drive-thru," I laugh humorlessly. No, thank you.

"Not hungry?" he asks.

I bite my lip on a lie. I have a feeling he'd see right through me, and letting him know I don't want to eat because of my messed-up head...that's just too personal.

"You know what? I'll take you up on that ride," I agree, trying to distract him. "Thanks." Maybe he can drop me off a few streets away from home or something.

My tactic works. "Okay," he smiles. "Sorry, but I have to follow Nya and Jay home first. Jay – if you couldn't tell, he isn't in shape to drive. And Nya's not very used to driving yet."

"Ah." I have no idea who these people are.

Cole guides me to the passenger side of his dad's car, and I revel in the feel of his touch. He doesn't seem to think that I smell bad or that I'm gross to touch.

I realize Cole is beginning to break through my barriers.

He comes around his side, opening the door. "So...how are you tonight?"

I shrug. "Meh. You?"

"Just a little upset." He runs a hand through his hair before turning on the vehicle.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Well, Jay – the friend I was talking about – he's kind of depressed. Okay, really depressed. He's my best friend, so it stinks to see him like this." He shakes his head. "But enough about that. Tell me about life since you left six years ago."

"It stunk," I deadpan, staring out the window.

Cole laughs at first, but he soon sobers. "What do you mean, 'it stunk'?"

"I don't mean anything." I heave a sigh. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem. Any time."

I like how he doesn't press the issue of my life in past years or how I don't have a car. I'm sure he's curious about all that.

"Hey, Seliel...can I ask you something kind of personal?" he says.

Here we go.

He goes on, realizing I'm not going to respond to his question. "Um, if you don't mind...why didn't you wait for me that day back in February? I get it if you were busy and stuff, but if you really didn't want to hang out with me, you didn't have to."

I press my cheek to the cool glass of the window. "It's not that I didn't want to hang out with you, Cole. It's just...I got an important text from my dad, and I had to leave."

The air between us is incredibly tense.

"Your dad?" he finally says. "How's he doing?"

Oh, yes. Cole knows full well that six years ago, my dad was not the best of men. It makes sense he'd be concerned about him now.

I inhale shakily, clinging tightly to Cole's sweatshirt. I've never seen my dad like this before. He's always been verbally abusive toward my mom and me, but...I'm actually terrified of him right now.

In the dark of my closet, I feel Cole hug an arm around me tightly. "Don't worry," he reassures me. "We're going to be okay. If he finds us, I can defend us. You have to run if that happens."

I chew my lip. I could never leave Cole, especially with so crude a weapon as a baseball bat. My father may be scrawnier and shorter than Cole, but I know he keeps a gun in his bedroom. What if he tries to use that?

"Promise me you'll run, Sel," Cole says gruffly. "I'm not losing you."

"I can't lose you, either," I hiss. "Are you kidding me? First my mom, and then you? I couldn't take it."

"Don't forget that you're not the only one who's lost a parent."

I swallow back shame. I so easily forget what Cole's been through, just because I wasn't around when his own mother passed.

"I love you, Seliel," he promises. "And I fully intend to see you out of this alive and well."

My heart squeezes. Cole...loves me?

"Seliel!" my father's ragged voice yells. "Get here, now!"

I close my eyes and bury my face in Cole's sweatshirt, just for a moment. I have to be strong, though, so I pull back.

My father's footsteps come closer, his string of curses ringing louder.

"You have to run, Seliel," Cole breathes.

The door to the closet swings open, revealing the broken and hardened eyes of a man who's just lost his wife.

"What are you doing in here?" he demands. "And why is the Brookstone boy with you?"

"You know he's been w-with me since m-mom passed a few days ago," I say quietly. "He's my fr-friend."

"Get out of my house," my father growls at Cole.

"Okay," he says bravely. "Seliel, are you ready to go?"

"She stays!" my father bites out. "Now, leave. I don't tolerate trespassers."

"I'm not leaving without Sel." Cole hugs me closer to him.

"Then neither of you are leaving," my father grunts, drawing up a fist. He aims it right at Cole's face just as my friend thwacks him with the baseball bat.

"Run, Sel!" he shouts.

"Seliel?" Cole asks.

I blink. "Oh, sorry. Um, my dad's doing fine." At least he isn't around most of the time anymore.

"That's good to hear," Cole replies, for lack of anything better.

"Yeah."

Oh, for the joy of awkward rides home.

***Voila. A chapter. I should probably go update "Under the Lights" now ;)

What do you guys think Cole's going to do with the news that Nya wants to run away?***