Hidden Away || Ninjago AU

S:2; Ch:8

"I can still smell his cologne!!"

"Psst," Kai whispered in Ash's direction. "Let's grab some food before it gets too crowded."

Ash meanwhile felt a new wave of confusion wash over him. "What did I hear?!" He thought to himself.

"I've got the food! Let's get going!" Kai tugged on Ash, who still sat dumbfounded.

The two dashed toward a corner, making their way through some beaded curtains into a small lounge-like room. Ash stopped to catch his breath. Kai, however, didn't seem tired.

"Care to explain what exactly is going on?" Ash found a chair and leaned back against it. "Why do you have to run from people like that? Why did the girls sound so creepy?!"

"Well, I'm absurdly popular," Kai shrugged. "I'm not a sports person, and I'm not a social butterfly. Strangely enough, anytime people see me, I get all these stares. Most of the time, I end up running and hiding from them all day. I'm used to it though. I like to think of it as a sort of exercise."

"This is a safe spot," Kai continued. "Before the school was privatized, I was in a group. This was our main meeting spot. Although sometimes, we used the gym."

"Group? What kind of group?"

"It's been a while since I last came. It's a bit dusty but it's manageable."

"Well, that was an absurd way of changing the topic," Ash thought to himself.

"Just say you don't want to talk about it," Ash muttered. He stood up from the seat and walked over to the teen backing him.

Kai turned, confused. His hands that were setting the food down paused.

"What do you mean? Let's eat. We need to head back to the E-club before school ends."

Ash felt a shadow pass by and a sudden chill filled the air. He looked to Kai to say something but was stopped by a flash of green in the pair of brown eyes staring at him.

". . ."

"Well?" Kai gestured to the box filled with food.

"Ah, sure," Ash answered, shaken by what happened.

"Also," Kai said, spoonfuls of food inside his mouth. "Don't tell anyone about what happened at the food hall or this place. Especially my sister, Nya."

"Why?"

"Come on, just do it."

Ash bit his lip. The atmosphere felt off. Even Kai who sat eating without pause seemed different, sort of. Was he being watched? "Like the shed?"

Ash forced himself to remain calm. He felt his body temperature rise and his hair stand on edge. The discomfort he felt was similar to what he felt three days ago. Breathe in, breathe out. He didn't want a repeat of what happened on his first day. If things got out of hand, he would be targeted by the ninja.

"If you're not eating, I can help you with that. I have a large appetite."

This guy... "I'm eating, so don't bother. I'm surprised you can even eat so much."

"I have two friends who can eat three times this. One of them is the president of the E-club. You'll meet him some other time."

"Three times?!"

"Yeah! I was shocked too at first. Funny enough, he can eat more, he just chooses to save his money!"

~X~x~X~x~X~

"Achoo!"

"Cole, are you okay?!" Jay turned his attention to his sneezing friend. The sneezing friend in question rubbed his nose with a tissue and sniffed.