Befriending the Criminal

Ferris Wheel

GAH BUSY WEEKEND... AND WEEK. ANYWAYS GUESS WHO HAD A BLAST AT THE MOVIES (it was actually pretty hectic cause there was a power surge on Friday during the movie - LIKE THIRTY MINUTES INTO IT - so we had to come back on Saturday to watch it)

'LOVE, SIMON' IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER, OKAY. IT IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE NOW. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT (AND HUGELY IMPORTANT TO ME), BEAUTIFUL, AND INSPIRATIONAL. IT IS A FREAKING MASTERPIECE. I COULD TYPE UP A WHOLE *insert number here* PAGE REVIEW ON IT. AND YES I SAID IT. FIGHT ME. (The last scene of this chapter was actually inspired by this amazing movie)

Now for the sad news... this is the last chapter :')

Thank you all so much for the wonderful support of this fic. I couldn't have done it without you :) It really means a lot to me. Thank you so so much for everything. It's been a great 20 chapters to share with you all and I hope to share more new ones with you sooner or later! I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have, and enjoy reading this final chapter :)

Love, Me (see what I did there?)

***

Jay gently pushed the door open, poking his head out. He slipped out of the room and made his way into the kitchen, his mind set on getting a breakfast. It was unbelievably quiet in the house and Jay was beginning to wonder that Lloyd and Cole had left somewhere without him. Lloyd had spent the night at their shared home last night, though technically he spent the entire week not at the Garmadon's house, and Jay was oh so thankful for the company.

He had begun to grow more flustered around Cole. The weirdest part was that he often found himself throwing compliments instead of comebacks at Cole. Sometimes, when he did bite back at the older man, he found them strangely odd. Even Lloyd could tell.

"Good morning to you too," came Lloyd's voice from behind.

"You're here? Wow. I uh, I thought you left somewhere." Jay cleared his throat. "Er, morning."

Lloyd waltzed into the kitchen and put a hand on the counter, leaning against it. "Jeez, really, Jay? You always think that." He opened one of the cabinet doors beside him and tossed a box of cereal in Jay's direction. Jay opened his mouth to speak but Lloyd cut him off instantly. "We're out of milk, by the way."

Jay shut his jaw and nodded. "Right. Thanks."

"Hurry and eat up. Party starts at noon."

"Mhmm," Jay agreed, pouring the cereal into the bowl. He reached to his right and whipped out a spoon, dropping it into the bowl. He slid into his seat, breakfast in front of him and started to eat. "More like picnic party, if you ask me. It's super sunny outside, and it's winter!"

"Still pretty cold though!" Lloyd called back to him as he slipped out of the kitchen.

When Jay finished his breakfast, he got up from his chair and started for his room, with a granola bar in his hand. As he made his way to the stairs, he passed by Cole's room and a thought crossed his mind.

He hadn't seen Cole since he woke up and Jay started to wonder if he was okay. Every morning since the Overlord, Cole had one snarky comment to hit Jay with. And this time, there wasn't one.

Jay stopped in front of Cole's door and just stared at it, questioning what he was doing and what he was about to do. Without even realizing it, Jay held his breath and raised a hand before the door, bracing himself to knock. He started to countdown in his head, starting from 5. The second he hit 1, his hand dove to give the door a steady knock.

"Uh, Jay. What are you doing?"

The brunette threw his hand up in the air and jumped backwards, scanning the hall for the blond who had scared him.