Soon, Lloyd and I approached the front door to his apartment. After the whole 'cute name' comment, the rest of the walk had been mostly silent, other than the occasional comment the two of us would make here and there.

We stood outside of the door for a second, looking each other in the eye. I swear, his eyes were like a perfect, emerald ocean.

"I uh... I had fun," Lloyd said with a small, warm smile. I return the smile.

"Me, too. We need to go out and do stuff like this more often," I say, as both of our faces share a look of sincerity.

"Yeah, for sure..." he replies. We continue looking into each other's eyes for a while, until he snaps out of the stare. "I should... probably get inside, ya know, before my mom kills me," he laughs.

I laugh at his comment. "Alright. See ya at school."

"See ya..." he turns away and opens the door to his home. The door swiftly swings shut behind him, and I can instantly hear his mom yell at him from the other side of the door. I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying, but it was something along the lines of; "Lloyd! You said you would be home over an hour ago!" I just chuckle, turn around, and make my way out of the building and toward the direction of my own home.

The walk to my house wasn't that long. Lloyd and I lived somewhat close. Just a few blocks apart. But my house was a bit further than I would like it to be. My house was actually, well, a house. Not an apartment. So it was down a little further, but still closer to Lloyd's place than most.

When I approach the door to my house, I realize I still have the stuffed dog in my hand. Before entering, I unzip my bag, shove the dog in there, then zip it back up.

I turn the handle of the door to my messy home. I enter, letting the smell fill my nose. You don't really realize that your house has a scent until you've been away from it for a while, and then come back. My house had a very distinct smell, and not a good one. It smells of smoke and cinnamon. My mom always left out cinnamon scented candles to mask the smell of smoke, but it never worked. The smells just combined and it left quite the odd stench.

Speaking of my mother...

"Where were you all night? You were gone and you didn't even tell me?" Her voice echoes through my ears as I freeze in place. She sat idly on the couch with the same stern look she always gives me. I couldn't tell you the last time I've seen her actually smile.

"I was at a friend's house. Does it matter?" I tell her, silently refusing to make eye contact.

"Yes, it matters. You were gone all night. I didn't even see you yesterday."

"Why do you just now decide to care? I'm never home, but the one time I stay at a friend's house all night, that's when you decide to make a big deal about it?!" I feel my fists and shoulders become tense. I still refuse to make eye contact.

"Don't yell at me," she says. She doesn't even answer my question.

"I'm not yelling..." the both of us stay silent for a while.

"Why can't you just tell me where you were? You always have to make things so difficult," she tries to pry an answer from me again.

I felt so frustrated. The way she talks to me makes me feel so... so belittled. Like she doesn't value me. Instead of looking into how I'm feeling, it's always about her. I'm making things difficult for her. I always ruin everything for her.

"I was just at a friend's house, okay? Why don't you believe me?" I try to tell her again.

"Because you're never 'at a friend's house.' You're always out doing something you're not supposed to be doing," she explains.

"Yeah, well I'm not lying. I was at a friend's house last night, and we went to the mall after school today. If you're so 'concerned' about where I am, why don't you just call me?" I rant, anger filling my voice.

"Maybe I think you're lying because you've never been to a friend's house before. You never talk about any friends," she tells me, yet again, not even acknowledging one of my questions.

"Well, I made a friend... Is that too much for you to believe? That your worthless son actually made a friend?" My angered tone grows stronger, and I feel as though I'm on the brink of tears as my body begins to shake.

"You're not worthless," she sighs. As if telling me I'm not worthless is a hassle.

"Well, sometimes I really feel like it," my eyes begin to water.

"Don't cry... I'm sorry..." she apologizes. She does this a lot. She sends me into a mental breakdown, then apologises for it. As if somehow saying sorry will undo her actions.

"I'm... I'm really tired..." I wipe my eyes and head to my room.

I walk into my room and make sure to close the door behind me. My room isn't anything special. It's normally a little messy, but not too bad. Some of my shirts are on the floor, but I make sure it never gets too out of hand.

I plop down on to my bed. I stare at the ceiling as soon as my head hits the pillow. I feel like I'm going to cry, but I don't let it happen. I hate crying. It makes me feel weak and vulnerable. I hate it.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the bad guy. Like I'm the one who's tainted my relationship with my mother. This bickering back and forth probably started with me over reacting, like I always do. Maybe if I just tried to calm down once in a while, I'd actually have a good relationship with her.

Maybe...

I close my eyes and imagine I'm back at my old house, in my old room, still sharing a living space with my brothers. I really wish they were here to tell me everything is okay.

I open my eyes, interrupting my thoughts and readjust myself into a more comfortable position. I'm now laying on my side staring at my wall, but I'm more focused on the posters hanging there. I still have those posters of all of the ninja hanging on my wall. I told Lloyd that I'd probably take them down, now knowing that he's The Green Ninja, but I don't know if I actually will. After knowing Lloyd is The Green Ninja, my brain still can't really process them as being the same person, and Lloyd even says he's an entirely different person when he's in his ninja alter ego, so I don't really see it as weird to keep the posters up anymore.

I don't know how I didn't realize he's The Green Ninja sooner. There's no one else in the entirety of Ninjago with those perfect, emerald green eyes.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Anyway, hope you like it. I'm still open to any suggestions for the story.