The Icey New Boy

Part 20: 20 Hours with Zane.

Lloyd's POV: I heard everything. I heard the yelling, I heard Cole saying Jay had 4 seizures...

I heard Wu praying to his father for help.

Doctors scare me. Surgeries scare me. Garmadon had made me go under unnecessary surgeries just so I wouldn't turn out 'weak'. Well he definitely didn't succeed. I'm one of the weakest in the powers section of training... Especially since my oni powers might not even be my actual powers. 

I most definitely didn't need bronchial thermoplasty. That's for people with more extreme versions of asthma. I didn't need him actively breaking my bones. 

I listen to the rain. Zane's just as quiet. "Did Garmadon make you do unnecessary surgeries as well?" I ask. "Many." He says. "I guess I should go now." I say, starting to stand up. "Don't... please" He says, grabbing my hand. 

Zane's POV: "I won't." He says, holding my hand. I standing up. He sits on my bed.  I give him fluffy pjs and a make up wipe. "You ok with a pair of my pjs?" I ask. He nods. I give him some of the fluffiest pjs I have and grab one equally fluffy for myself. I hear him sniffle. He pulls his knees to his chest. My heart hurts seeing him cry. 

His eyeliner rolls down his face. Black tears seeping into my already black wool sleep top. I walk over to him in my white fluffy pjs and wipe his face for him. He hics and heaves. Once I remove all the makeup from his face, I pull him into a hug. He and I sit there like that for a while. 

We must have fallen asleep like that, because we wake up under a blanket and in each other's arms. I look at Lloyd. His eyes are puffed from crying to sleep. I look at the time. It's 10 AM. Lloyd and I are late, I see a text from Cole. "Wu gave us the day off, once you're up, we'll go to the mall to get clothes for Kai." I text him back. "I'm up, but Lloyd's still asleep. I don't wanna wake him up. He cried himself to sleep last night." I text. "Kk." I put my phone down and relax.

As soon as I relax though, Lloyd stirs and get's up. "Mmm." He silently moans. He sits up and takes off the pj top, then goes back to sleep. I shake my head.

I can't help myself from looking at his back. It's covered in scars. They're similar to mine, but his have a deeper quantity and depth. I grimace at the thought of Garmadon.... And the Overlord.... Slicing open his back.

"Lloyd, are you ready to awaken?" I ask him, quietly. "Yeah, why?" He asks. Then he sits up. "Oh.. This is your room!" He says, turning red. He reaches for the pj top and covers his torso. I shake my head and laugh. "It's not funny. DID YOU SEE MY BACK!?" He screams suddenly. "It's ok, Lloyd, I have them too." "Oh." He hugs me.

After he pulls away, he asks "Why do I need to wake up?" He asks. "We have to get clothes for Kai." "Oh, that's right. He's gone up a few... I'm so tired though!" He says, leaning down onto me.

Eventually, I convince him to get out of bed and prepare himself for the day. I make him a coffee. "Hey Cole?" I call. "Yeah?" He responds, coming into the kitchen. "Do we have any sweeteners for coffee?" I ask. "Oh, yeah, up here!" He says, raising his arms above me and opening a cabinet I'm too short for. "Why is it where no one can reach?" I ask. "I'm the only one who drinks coffee with this. Jay's doctors say he shouldn't drink to much caffeine due to his seizures, so he tends to get any caffeine from soda, Kai still has coffee sweetener as a fear food, you drink chai instead, and Lloyd generally doesn't drink coffee since he just doesn't like it unless it's really sweet, like Dutch Bros, or I don't know... Ziggy's. The logo of Starbucks makes him mad, so he just doesn't drink it."

I nod, both confused and understanding of the Starbucks thing. We got Starbucks catered all the time in Garmadon's organization, but the logo didn't really mean anything.

I add the Hazelnut and Vanilla mix in with oat milk and then add eight sugar cubes in for him.

He comes out of the bathroom, dressed in black, ripped, wide jeans with a punk pu leather belt with chain rings; he has on a black, really tight form fitting shirt with bracelet sleeves; an emerald green, gothic rivet harness belt; he's wearing fingerless, black leather gloves that have a hand slot cut out in them, and emerald green lugged platform converse with doodles from black sharpie all over them. He doesn't have any coloring hair spray in his hair today, but he does have heavy eyeliner done, rhinestones under his eyes, and some black lip gloss on.

Kai comes out of his room, dressed in a red shirt, a pair of Jay's sweatpants, 1 nose ring, brown boots, and his hair in a ponytail, kind of gelled. I look at my own attire. Combat boots; a white, long sleeve shirt that's underneath a black sweater with white accent marks on the back, a pair of jeans rolled at the ankles with a few rips, and a dog tag necklace. Those two look so much better than me. I look at Cole, in sweatpants and a sleeveless hoodie. He isn't in shoes, and his hair is down and messy. I look at his beefy arms. There are some scars on the wrists that are barely visible.

"Oh, if you two are ready to go, I should put my shoes on." He says, running out of the room in his socks. I shake my head. "Here's the coffee, dear." I say, handing it to Lloyd. He turns red after taking it. "Dear?" He asks. I turn red as well. "Sorry, uhm... I shouldn't have... I'm sorry-" "It's ok" He interrupts. He drinks a sip then leans into Kai.

"You want a sip?" He asks. "Oh, sure." Kai says, taking the cup. It's a travel mug, so Lloyd could bring it into the car. He takes a sip. "Mmm, that's good coffee. It's warm and... and sweet." He says, stumbling over the last two words. His eyes scan the kitchen finding the ingredients I still hadn't put away. "Y-you can have it back." He says, giving it back to Lloyd. I look at him. He trudges over to the couch and adjusts his boot. Lloyd and I walk over after putting away everything but the hazelnut-vanilla, and join him on the couch, seeing tears fill his eyes. Cole comes out of his room. "Oh, buddy." Cole says, embracing Kai in a hug.

I look as Cole and Lloyd use ASL to communicate. I know a little bit. Happened. Fire. Drank. Sweet. Fear.

I feel incredibly sympathetic for Kai. He's going to have to go clothes shopping, and we're trying to find a way to get him to eat more of his fear foods. "I think I'm going to throw up." Kai whispers, still crying. "You're not gonna throw up Kai!" Lloyd says. "This is all too much." He says, shaking his head. "First Jay, then I need to purchase a new wardrobe, then the coffee. I squeeze his hand. "It'll all be ok. You have us, and Wu's given us today off, so we can visit Jay after getting you clothes." Cole says. "I agree. We can all purchase items Jay will sincerely appreciate while we're there as well. And we can help with the expenses of articles since you need so many more."

Cole pulls Kai to his feet. "Well, let's go get you clothing now."