Garmadon's Spy | Ninjago x Reader

Ch.19 "The Terrible Loss At The Arcade"

I stood outside the apartment complex I lived in, wearing the finest outfit I could arrange without looking like I was dressed up for a date, because I wasn't.

Lloyd texted me an hour ago, when I woke up to make breakfast. He told me we're going to the arcade at two, and that Zane would pick us up since his mom got him a car.

I didn't know that Zane was a senior until now, I thought he was Lloyd's age, a junior. But that didn't matter.

I waited for another five minutes. No one showed up, again. Where the hell were they? It's two-thirty! And I've been standing here ten minutes before the agreed time!

I almost walked into the building again if it wasn't for Lloyd running towards me, stopping and catching his breaths with his hands on his knees.

"I'm here," he panted. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

He was dressed in, as always, a green hoodie. How many green hoodies did this dude have? I swear I have seen him wear one every time I saw him. Or is it the same one? I didn't know, and I didn't care.

I let go of the glass door's doorknob and coldly asked "Why are you late?"

He took out his phone and showed me a group chat, the others had cancelled on us.

"Zane told me a few minutes ago, I was at the candy store waiting for him to arrive, thinking they already picked you up. I had to run the whole way back home."

He held a nice green gift bag, it was indeed from the candy store I worked at. He wasn't lying, but something wasn't adding up.

"Why didn't you take a Taxi or an Uber or something?"

He looked at me as if he wasn't expecting the question, and then facepalmed after he put his phone in his jean's pocket. "I'm such an idiot, I forgot cars exist."

I stared at him until I started laughing. He raised his eyebrows then smiled.

"So, how long have you been waiting here for?" he asked.

My smile faded as I remembered. "Forty minutes."

He paused. "I'm so sorry."

The weather was too hot, boiling, since this was the afternoon and the sun stared down at me. I could even make a whole breakfast on the ground if I wanted.

"Let's get going." Lloyd started walking until he noticed I wasn't following him. "Aren't you coming?"

"Hell no, I'm not staying a second in this boiling weather." I suggested, though I was more of a demand "Call for a car, I don't want to walk."

"It's just a few neighborhoods away."

"I don't care." I spent too much time standing outside in the heat and I could collapse any moment now.

"All right." He pulled out his phone and said "Let's wait for the car inside. You look like you're going to faint any second."

~~~

We arrived at the arcade only a few minutes after we got in the car. Lloyd was right, the arcade wasn't that far. But it wasn't close enough for us to be walking, and I was pretty sure Lloyd wasn't athletic enough for that.

We entered the building and the cold breeze of air from the air conditioner greeted us.

"Remind me why your friends cancelled on a place like this," I said, taking in the awesomeness of the place.

"Something urgent came up."

"To all of them?"

He stuttered "Well, umm- they- uh.. they must have had their reasons and didn't want to tell me."

As much doubt I had in what he said, I didn't care enough to question him any further and just started walking around with him following me.

We played some games and he won over me in all of them. I was careful around my injured arm and avoided moving it much. And you could tell that I didn't take my loss at the games very well and tried so hard to take revenge on Lloyd by beating his score in his favorite game...I couldn't.

He laughed after seeing my frustration when I lost the last game, and I wanted to punch him in the face for it.

"You laugh at my gaming skills one more time, and I'll make you regret inviting me over."

"Okay, sorry." He was still grinning. He mocked me again "How do you keep losing at level one? I still don't understand."

"It's a hard game!"

"You can say that to all the other games you lost at."

Okay, I've had enough.

I took a step closer to him and he stared me in the eyes. I didn't know if he was scared or just surprised. Or maybe I just stepped too close.

"I said don't laugh, Lloyd Garmadon, or I'll make you regret it."

He stared at me for a few more seconds. "Geez, I was just messing with you. Why did you take it so seriously?"

Because I absolutely hate the idea of not being the best. Something at the back of my mind said that.

I took a step back and stared at the place. We were just in an arcade playing some games, nothing to be angry about.

Still, I let my anger out at him. And it surely wasn't just about him winning and not me. It was jealousy, and I admit it, jealously of Garmadon choosing him over me.

"I'm sorry," I said, a little more than a whisper.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." He stared at the door. "Should we get something to eat? I'm hungry."

~~~

"See you tomorrow," I said to Lloyd before I walked in the apartment complex and headed to my apartment with a smile on my face.

I was thinking in the elevator while eating the rest of the candy Lloyd gave me on our way back.

The elevator door opened, and my smile faded as soon as I laid my eyes on the man sitting on the ground in front of my door.

Brandon was holding his head in his hands before I called out his name.