Once I arrived home, my mother was emidiately on my ass.

"Where were you?"

"Why were you out so long?"

"Why didn't you call me?"

That sort of thing. I just told her that I got caught up in the attack and that I was hiding. She believed me. She just went on about how worried she was. She didn't sound very sincere, though.

I asked her about going to Lloyd's house. She seemed hesitant, but she eventually said yes.

When I made it to Lloyd's house I just knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

I hear the soft sound of Lloyd's footsteps approach the door. As the door swings open, I'm greeted with Lloyd's wide smile.

"Hey, (Y/N)!" He cheers with the cutest smile on his face.

"Hey, Lloyd." I smile back as I step into his home.

"(Y/N)!" Lloyd's mom approaches me. "It's so good to see you again!" She hugs me tight, as if we have known each other for years.

"Mom..." Lloyd groans.

"Are you staying the night, (Y/N)?" She asks.

"If that's okay with you," I say.

"Of course it is! You're always welcome to stay the night!" She cheers.

"Thank you, Koko," I smile.

I then proceed to Lloyd's room. I brought a bag of my belongings and some things for school. I just sit it in the corner of his room. Lloyd sits down on his bed and I sit next to him.

"Soooo..." Lloyd starts.

"Today is a lot to take in, isn't it?" I sigh.

"It really is. I just need to relax," Lloyd laughs. I laugh too, but then my mood changes to that of a more serious one.

"Lloyd... can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he replies.

"What... are we?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" He looks at me.

"Are we like... a thing now? Like... what do you want us to be?" I look deep into his green eyes.

"I don't know... what do you want us to be?" he asks back.

"That doesn't matter. I want to know how you feel," I reply.

"Well... I would like for us to be... something... if that's what you want," Lloyd says nervously.

"Like boyfriends?" I ask.

"Like boyfriends, yeah," he confirms.

"I think I'd like that," I smile.

"Good, because I was starting to feel pretty awkward," he jokes.

I just throw my arms around him and bring him into my embrace.

"Are we gonna tell anyone about us?" Lloyd asks.

"I don't know if we can. With all of the harassment we get... who knows what people would do if they found out we were a couple?" I express my concerns.

"...Do we tell our parents?" He asks again.

"If you really want to tell your mom, you can, but I don't really know if I'd like the way my mother would react," I say.

Lloyd just gives me a look of sadness and concern. I know he wants to be happy and open about our relationship to everyone, but I'm not sure if being open is exactly what I want right now. I'm not ashamed of Lloyd, because I know Lloyd isn't the problem. The problem is that we're both guys. I'm not sure if it's something my mother would approve of.

The two of us lay down next to each other in bed. We both just get lost in our own thoughts.

"(Y/N)?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I, uhh... can we... can I kiss you?" Lloyd asks.

"... yeah." It was definitely a strange question, but I'm not complaining. When we kissed earlier, it was quick and not very emotional. I'd like to try again.

Lloyd slowly brings his face toward mine. I cup one of my hands around his cheek and do the same. Our lips touch and we kiss. I've never kissed anyone before today, so I have no idea what I'm doing, and I'm sure he's in the same boat.

We pull away and he smiles at me. I smile back at him. It was an enjoyable kiss. Hopefully we can take it further in the the future, but we haven't even been together for a whole day and I definitely want to take things slow and savor each moment with him.

I still have my hand on his face. I slowly stroke my thumb across his cheek and look him lovingly in the eyes.

We lay in silence for a while, both lost in thought.

"I think... I think you should come out to your mom first... then we can see where it goes from there. If she takes it well, we can tell her we're a couple. I don't know how soon it'll be until I'm comfortable with making our relationship public... but it's something I do want in the future," I explain, still with a smile as I continue to stoke his face. Lloyd smiles in return.

Lloyd means pretty much everything to me. He's changed my life for the better. And I don't think I would have ever accepted the offer to be a ninja if it weren't for him. He's way too good for someone like me. He's strong, smart, and not to mention he's good looking. And me... well. What do I have? I have bad grades, average strenght, and mediocre looks. He's just... too perfect for someone like me. And I want to tell him this, but I've never been the greatest at conveying my emotions. I have a hard time telling people how I feel. Just another shitty trait of mine.

Our thoughts were soon interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

"Boys, dinner is ready," Koko's gentle voice flows quietly through the room.

"We're coming," Lloyd announces to her.

The two of us sit up and push through his bedroom door and go to the table.

We both sit down at the table and Koko brings the both of us our food. Someone actually bringing me food is a weird experience. I always make my own food.

Koko gives us both a bowl of noodles. And it's not the stuff I'm used to. When I eat noodles, it's either 18 cent ramen, or the stuff that comes in a can, so I guess this is a nice change. And the noodles actually have more than just a flavor packet in them. It's actually got vegetables and stuff.

Koko sits down with her own bowl and we all begin to eat. It's definitely better than what I'm used to.

"So, what have you boys been up to lately? Anything interesting?" Koko asks.

We saved the city and almost died.

"Nah, we haven't been doing much," I say.

"Oh..." Koko sighs, "well I'm super glad you two are friends! Lloyd's never really had any friends, and-"

"Mom," Lloyd groans.

Not everyone enjoys their mom talking about their lack of friends.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy. You two are probably going to be best friends forever!" Koko smiles.

Well, we're a little more than friends, but I enjoy her enthusiasm.

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

That night, Lloyd and I went to sleep cuddled together. The way I had always hoped we would. It wasn't anything too much, though. I just wrapped my arms around his gentle resting body end enjoyed the feeling of him in my hold.

In the morning, the two of us walked to the bus stop together and held each other's hands on the bus. We sat in the back, so no one could see us. Lloyd would occasionally whisper something in my ear, like "you're so cute," or "I'm so glad to have you." Something of that sort.

When we got into the school building, we went our separate ways to our lockers to gather our things. We met back up in our first period class and sat next to each other.

"Hi, (Y/N)," Lloyd greeted with a loving smile.

I didn't say anything back though. I just smile at him.

"Don't forget, we're sitting with everyone else at lunch today," I remind, referring to the rest of the ninja.

"I know," Lloyd smiles.

And as usual, Chen enters the room before anyone else. I don't know what it is, but I seem a bit more defensive this time.

...Am I jealous? Of Chen?

I think... I think that since Lloyd and I are now a thing, the fact that Lloyd said he had a crush on Chen bothers me a little bit. I know there's no possible way he would leave me for Chen, obviously, but knowing he has feelings for Chen makes me a bit angry.

My eyes follow Chen across the room. Chen doesn't notice, but Lloyd does.

Lloyd places a hand on my arm, drawing me out of my focus on Chen as I turn to face Lloyd. He looks me in the eye and smiles. "You don't have to be mad. I'm over him," he whispers low enough that Chen can't hear.

The once angry expression clears from my face and I smile back at him. Though, I still am a bit jealous. I know Lloyd is just saying that to make me feel better. You can't just have feelings for someone one day, and not have feelings for them the next. That's not how it works. And I know Lloyd wouldn't consider going to Chen. I know that. But... I feel weird about it.

The class period came and went. When the bell rang to go to second period, everyone was eager to leave their boring class to go to another class that's just as boring.

I had lost track of time during class, so I didn't get to pack up my thing before the bell rang, leaving me desperately trying to clean up my things before I was late to my next class. I was shoving papers into folder and pencils and pens into my bag. As soon as I finished gathering my things, I left the classroom to see Lloyd waiting outside the door.

"Why did you wait for me? You're gonna be late for class," I say.

"I know. I just wanted to walk with you," he responds.

"Oh... okay," I say.

"Did you not want me to walk with you?" He asks, a bit panicked as if he had just realized he'd made a mistake.

"What? No- of course I wanna walk with you. It's just that, we've never really walked together before," I state as we begin walking down the hallway. "Our classes are pretty far apart."

"I know. I don't mind being late, though. Because I get to walk with you," he smiles.

"You're cute," I smirk.

"Am not," he retorts.

"Yes you are."

The both of us walk to my next class and I look to him with a smile before entering the classroom.

"Bye, I love you," he whispers before going off to his own class.

What?

I love you?

That's not something you say to someone you just started dating. That's something that comes after maybe a few weeks, or a few months.

I try to clear my mind of it as I enter my classroom. I sit down and wait for class to begin.

He can't possibly be feeling that strongly toward me only after a few days. I feel like most people my age don't know the gravity of the word love.

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

As lunch approached, I met Lloyd at his locker before going to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Lloyd," I mumble as I approach him.

"Hi, (Y/N)," he smiles wide. "I told all the others to meet us here."

And before either of us can get out another word, we hear Kai from behind us.

"What's up, bros?!" Kai shouts as he places a hand on my shoulder and shakes me a little bit.

I laugh nervously as his actions kind of spooked me a bit. Kai has always been a loud personality.

Nya, Jay, Zane, and Cole slowly walk up to us and Lloyd and I greet them.

"Ready to head to lunch?" Lloyd asks.

We all nod and we walk off to the lunch room together. It definitely turned some heads. I guess people weren't used to this mix of popular people and, well... not so popular people. Nya and Kai had very high reputations. As for the rest of us? Not so much.

The seven of us get our lunch and sit down at a table together, trying to ignore any incoming comments that would be directed at us.

"Sooooo, how have you two been doing?" Nya asks, smirking at Lloyd and I.

"We're doing fine," I reply.

Lloyd is almost in a dazed state. He's just looking at me with a big smile and a light blush on his face. I just look to him and return the smile. He's so cute.

"How do your parents feel about it?" Kai asks.

"Uhh, well," I begin as Lloyd is snapped out if his trance. "The thing is... we haven't told our parents yet," I say as I avoid eye contact.

"Really? Are you afraid they'll be upset?" Kai continues to question. "Kai, knock it off. That's a personal question," Nya nudges him.

"No, it's fine, really. And uh, yeah. We are a bit afraid of what my mom will say. I don't think Lloyd's mom will see it as that big of a deal, but my mom has expressed some... distaste towards Lloyd," I answer, a bit ashamed of my own mother. Lloyd seems a bit upset as well.

"You'll tell her someday," Lloyd says.

I hope so....

...

"Gah!-"

The sound of a loud splash and Zane's scream fill the air. I look over to see Zane soaking wet along with one of Chen's friends holding an empty water bottle.

"Oops, sorry, 'bout that," she giggles as she walks away.

This seems like something straight out of a bad high school movie.

"Zane! I'll- I'll get you some paper towels, buddy!" Jay exclaims as he shoots up from his seat.

"N-n-no n-need. I-I ha-have to g-go!" Zane rushes off and takes off the wet sweater vest he has on as he runs out of the cafeteria with his white button up shirt exposed. Zane's voice was so shaky, it almost sounded like his voice was glitching in some kind of way. Probably a result of being extremely embarrassed.

This incident of course attracted everyone's attention in the entire cafeteria. All eyes followed Zane out of the cafeteria, then everyone's attention quickly turned back to the rest of the table. I try to pretend like I don't notice the extra attention. This is easy for me because I've been doing it for quite a while. Some others at the table have a bit harder of a time ignoring all of this negative attention.

Lloyd is a bit anxious from everything that just happened and he squeezes my hand a bit hard under the table.

"We should go check on Zane," I say.

"Where did he even go?" Kai asks.

"...The office?" Nya adds.

"I think I know where he went," all eyes from the table are now on Jay, who suddenly approached the table. "He probably doesn't want you guys to know where he is... he has a bit of a 'secret spot,' you could say..." Jay adds on. "I'll go check up on him."

And with that, Jay walks off out of the cafeteria.

I hope he's okay...

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

I am so sorry this chapter took so long. It's been a while since I've been in the mood to write. I guess my anxiety gets the best of me occasionally. I am feeling better, though. Hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience to you guys. Chapters will probably be coming out at a more frequent rate now that I'm feeling a bit better.

Anyway, as usual, if you see spelling or grammar mistakes, let me know. And if you have some suggestions for the book, don't be afraid to let me know!