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Lloyd wasn’t all for football games. It was way too loud and crowded and he found a hard time finding a seat. Looking down the rows and rows of benches either covered by students, blankets or food, it was almost like the entire school was planning his arrival and somehow made it impossible for him to find a place to sit. Lloyd let a sigh escape his lips, wondering why he was standing there in that stadium any longer. Although his mother insisted he went to support his lousy, judgy, disrespectful school, and Cole, who was on the field playing today, he felt it would be lame of him to leave. Plus he left his phone at home and he had no way of calling her anyway, and there was not a chance he would find someone with the nerve to let him touch their phone let alone give him a ride.
He decided trying to fish out his friends in the crowd was the best option, and it probably would have been easier if the entire school wasn't wearing their school colors. Every student as far as the eye-can-see was wearing light blue with hints of yellow, besides Lloyd, he didn't get or care about the memo.
The only one in the stadium wearing green, Lloyd sauntered on down the foot of the bleachers, trying his best to pick out his group of friends, who which he found, and were hard to miss as they were cheering the loudest as the players began to file out onto the field. He hurried on down the aisle to the four cheering teens, decked out in blue and yellow attire. Lloyd let out a deep sigh of relief seeing his friends as they spotted him out, waving at him as he approached. His heart lightened at the sight of them, the dread of being there slowly lifting. Each of them greeted him as he found the perfect seat next to Jay, who was beside Zane with Kai and Nya following.
“Hey bud! It’s cool to see you, how've you been!” Lloyd couldn't help but grin at the blues and yellows painted across Kai’s face as he poked his head out from the line of teens to see Lloyd.
“I'm doing fine. How’s Cole doing? He excited?” Lloyd responded, covering his mouth with his hands to hide his grin.
“Nervous, I'd imagine. First big game against the Stix City High Serpents this season. Nothing against the Dragons though.” Lloyd looked out to the players gathered in clumps on either side of the field, one end in light blue and yellow with the other end in purple and silver. Lloyd didn't understand football, or any sport for that matter. He couldn't even pick out which one Cole was. As long as he felt like he was there in the loud stadium, football geek or not, he was supporting his friend, and that was all that mattered to him right now.
As the game was getting closer and closer to starting, Lloyd had the strangest feeling. He hadn't been to too many games to notice, but there were three rows of bleachers on his side that were completely empty. He shuffled his feet, feeling a bit out of place. Jay grabbed his attention.
“Are you okay? You’re fidgeting,” he noticed. Lloyd looked in the junior’s direction, trying to remain still.
“Sorry. It's nothing. Hey, what are those benches for?” Lloyd posed the question, curious. Jay stared at them, brows raised.
“Those are reserved for the Drill Team, Dance Company, and the Cheer Squad. They'll be coming out in a minute, they're just finishing up rehearsing beforehand.”
Lloyd’s breath hitched at the mention of the Cheer Squad, eyeing the entryways of the stadium as if Godzilla himself was about to stomp on in at any moment.
If any group of students in the school had to pick on him, at least 52% of them would have to be part of the Cheer Squad, and 90% of it in that said squad would be from one individual alone; Chen. Lloyd had to admit he had much worse bullies who threw far worse threats at him, but unlike them, Chen seemed to be around more often like he was the face of the school itself. While the more physical bullies tried to get away with picking on Lloyd away from the eyes of the teachers, Chen took every possible opportunity to verbally send negative vibes his way like he was keeping some kind of world record. And not only that, the whole cheer team loved him and the whole school seemed to know who he was. Both him and Lloyd were the top faces in Ninjago High, and both for the opposite reasons.
Lloyd pulled his hood over his head and crossed his arms over his knees, staring endlessly at the players on the field and trying to avoid glancing at the entry as some announcer rambled on about some football stuff from the control tower, the crowds on both sides cheering in unison. He drowned out most of the noise for a while until some annoying poppy music started up and Lloyd was tempted to pull tight on the strings of his hood, closing his face off to the world forever.
The Drill Team filed into their seats first, all wearing black shorts and tanks with the word “NH DRILL” in white letters on their backs. Creative. Next came Dance Company, sparkly, also in mostly black but with each uniform having different colorful accents, and finally came the Cheer Squad, who was filing into the bench closest to him, wearing their usual flashy uniforms and, as if Lloyd couldn't get enough of blue and yellow, sporting their school colors. Lloyd tried his best not to pay any attention to the arriving cheerleaders, not sparing them a glance until they all sat down beside him, out of his field of vision as he focused ahead on the field. Not even a second later did Lloyd make the rash decision to look to his side, which he regretted immediately.
Both Lloyd and Chen let out some kind of disgusted yell at the sight of each other, their outburst drowned out by a loud whistle from the coach, signaling the start of the game. Not only was it sketchy that they decided to look to the side at the same time, but they made eye contact, which made Lloyd look away immediately and recoil into the protection of his hoodie, his face contorted into something similar to dread. Chen only sneered, disgust still plain on his face.
“Oh it's just you. Figures.” He scoffed, looking away and crossing his arms tightly.
“Nice to see you too, Bradley.” Lloyd grumbled back, still looking away and partially hidden in his hood. The cheerleader looked at Lloyd in even greater disgust and Lloyd prepared for the worst.
“Hey, hey!” The older boy snapped, causing Lloyd to flinch away a little. “Only my friends call me Bradley.” He tried to meet eyes with Lloyd though the sophomore didn't budge, rolling his eyes as he was turned 3/4ths away from the cheerleader.
“Yeah, yeah. What, do you prefer Chen?” The younger sighed, knowing exactly what was coming next.
“No. And you should know very well by now that you shouldn't really address me as Bradley, or Chen, or anything, because–”
“–you shouldn't even have the nerve to talk to me at all.” They both finished in unison, Lloyd coming off as mimic-y while the other tried to be as strict as possible.
“Yeah, I know, I get it, I'm complete scum, can I watch the game now?” Chen let out some sort of sassy snort.
“Whatever floats your boat, Garmaboy.” Lloyd let go of a very long held breath as Chen finally turned away, resting his chin on his fist and tucking his knees into his stomach. It was going to be a long game.
The game dragged on and Lloyd was surprised he hadn't fallen dead yet. While the four of his friends went to grab a bite at the concessions as half time started, Lloyd decided that he wasn't hungry and offered to watch their stuff, which didn't help the fact that he was trapped alone with cheesy cheers from the audience guided by the Cheer Squad rung in his ears for the 18th time he had been sitting in that stadium.
“WE HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
YOU’RE TEAM IS PRETTY TOUGH
BUT UP AGAINST THE DRAGONS
TOUGH IS NOT ENOUGH!”
Lloyd let out a heavy sigh as the people on the benches behind him jumped up and down, making the most obnoxious sound possible, watching as the cheerleaders did the same, bouncing around and waving their pom-poms like a bunch of idiots. It amused him, however, how much energy they had. It had to have been 9 o’clock and they had been going at it since the beginning. They didn't even look like they were sweating.
Lloyd felt a rush of both relief and curiosity as the cheerleaders sat down on their reserved seats, watching as Chen flopped down next to him, out of breath, but still with plenty of energy left. Lloyd scooted away the tiniest bit and watched as Dance Company filed onto the field in a freakishly organized straight line. Their routine went by in a flash in Lloyd’s mind, it didn't really stand out to him and it was rather short. The crowd cheered as Dance Company left the field and the Drill Team filed on.
As if Lloyd thought he’d had enough tonight, the most popiest, most overplayed song on the radio blasted through the speakers of the stadium, remixed in the most horrific way possible, and Lloyd flinched, wincing and gritting his teeth. He groaned and pulled the rim of his hoodie over his face, trying to drown out the terrible, head-pounding song. Until he heard a voice next to him.
“Ugh, this song is bad. All of this is bad.” For a moment, Lloyd’s heart took a jump and he looked to his right, but only to see that his friends hadn't returned, probably still crammed in the long food line. He switched over to his left immediately, seeing Chen with the most annoyed-looking scowl plastered across his face. He didn't appear to be talking to another cheerleader, but Lloyd stood still and kept his mouth shut, though still a little surprised at the fact that the junior had the nerve to speak to him. Lloyd couldn’t look away from the Drill Team’s routine. By the looks of it, they weren't doing so hot. He reared his attention to Chen again once he spoke up.
“Look at how off they are with the time. Their moves are so out of place. Ooh. Geez, honey, you call that a kick?”
Before Lloyd knew it, a snort escaped him and he began to crack up, trying to hide his face in his hands best he could. He never in his life heard Chen make such a witty yet overly sassy remark that amused him to the point of laughing like that. Chen stared down at Lloyd, slightly taken aback by his action.
“What? They're bad!”
Lloyd hid his face even deeper in his hoodie in attempt to hide another break out of laughter, but it was so audible, even over the obnoxious music, that Chen couldn't help but chuckle a little too, not as hard as Lloyd but enough for him to give a smile, one in which he hid behind a pink pom-pom.
As Lloyd began to calm down from his unexpected fit, the song ended and cheers rose up abruptly, causing Chen’s laughter to halt. He stood upright, a wave of realization coursing through his mind. He looked nervous beyond belief but shoved the feeling away and forced himself to look confident and strong. He stood and strode onto the field with the rest of the Cheer Squad following. Lloyd’s eyes followed the line of cheerleaders, watching them curiously as they stopped in a clump in the middle of the field. As the music started–which sounded better and a lot more tolerable than Drill’s choice of music–the crowd cheered louder, and Lloyd watched as the routine began.
It started with the members of the squad in a small clump at different levels, pom-poms pulsing along with the beat until they all came together to form the letters “NHS”, the individual cheerleaders breaking off to form a staggered line. By that moment Lloyd’s eyes were dead on the cheerleaders, watching as they danced smoothly to the rhythm, pom-poms of different colors flying about in a fluent motion, it was clear they took rehearsing seriously, none of them seemed to be out of place.
Until a lifting section came.
It all happened so fast. One moment, three fliers were flung up into the air, gracefully, yet the thought of them falling made Lloyd tense. He relaxed once they were all caught safely by their bases, going in for another lift. Lloyd was on the edge of his seat watching wide-eyed as three different girls were again tossed into the air with the support of the bases beneath them. Lloyd’s breath hitched as one of the girls failed to land properly, and collided with the base beneath her.
Lloyd could hear a yelp from the mess of people in the middle of the stadium, watching as all the girls in the middle crouched to the fallen cheerleader’s aid. The other two groups had stopped their routine as well, realizing too late that the fall had been too serious to start it up again. The music came to a stop and Lloyd didn't realize that he had been standing.
A commotion burst from the middle of the circle of cheerleaders, and it slowly began to disperse. Lloyd could hear angry outbursts from the middle of the stadium and he wasn't sure if it were his help-those-who-cannot-help-themselves instincts or sheer curiosity that made his feet start to glide forward. He came close enough to start to see what was going on, the surrounding cluster of the other cheerleaders making it difficult to see from afar. He came close enough to see none other than Chen sitting on the floor, grasping his right ankle tightly, grumbling angrily with himself. Lloyd studied the other cheerleaders, and the one that had failed to land the lift properly, some staring at him dumbfounded and some staring in fear from his outbursts.
“What happened?” Lloyd muttered to the one closest to him.
“I-I think Samantha landed on his ankle and he’s not getting back up.” She jittered, staring down at the injured cheerleader, wincing and shaking.
“What are you waiting for, an invitation?” Chen choked out angrily. Lloyd stared around at the girls surrounding them. None of them seemed to step up. Lloyd took a deep breath and began to approach Chen who whipped his gaze around to look at him.
“No. No, stay back! I'm warning you!” Lloyd wasn't surprised at the cowering girls around him as he got closer to the injured cheerleader, crouching down and offering him a hand. Chen hesitated, but when he found that he had no other option, he took it reluctantly.
Lloyd got him to his feet, which wasn't as easy at first, trying to keep him balanced on his uninjured foot. It took a second for the two of them to manage a walking system out of the circle of cheerleaders, who all stared at Lloyd like he was some kind of lion-tamer, watching the two of them leave as a chorus of “ows” and winces came from Chen.
It took five tons of patience and ten minutes of his time for Lloyd to drag Chen off of the stadium and to find some help and he started to understand why none of the other cheerleaders didn't have the guts to step up; Chen was unbearable to take care of, even if he was just being helped across the field. It didn't help the fact that Lloyd was shorter. Chen’s entire weight was on Lloyd’s shoulder and his complaining didn't cease, making him look ridiculous and over dramatic.
Lloyd was as relieved as ever as he reached the edge of the stadium, a young woman in orange attire came running over, her crimson hair tied up and her eyes graced with worry.
“Brad!” She called to him as she approached and both Chen and Lloyd felt a rush of relief beyond belief. She took Chen by his other arm and took him off Lloyd’s aching shoulders, relieving him of the weight and the strong smell of cologne. The older girl in orange muttered a thank you to Lloyd and started to leave with Chen. He heard them exchange a few words along the lines of “Let’s get you home to father.” “I'd rather just see a counselor.” And they left. Lloyd stared after them as they hurried out of the stadium before turning back and finding his designated spot on the bleachers.
Lloyd sat on the cold hard bench with his knees in his chest again, utterly alone, with no one on his right or his left. The rest of the game went a bit quieter than before, the cheerleaders doing their best at leading the cheers without Chen.
“GET UP, GET UP, GET ON YOUR FEET
THE NINJAGO DRAGONS CAN’T BE BEAT!”
Lloyd looked at the ground rather than the game, giving up on trying to pick out which one Cole was amongst the players. They all looked the same in those bulky helmets. As the night wind got colder, he huddled deeper into his hoodie, trying his best to stay warm. Until something tapped his side.
His head peeked out of his hoodie to see Kai, still wearing blue and yellow paint on his face with a warm smile and an even warmer box of Waffle Truck waffles in his hand. He handed it to Lloyd who took it graciously, shoving his hood off his head and golden hair out of his face.
“We thought we’d get you something to make up for being away for so long. Hope you like strawberries.” With cheeks full of waffle and vanilla ice cream, he hummed a thank you to Kai, more hungry than he realized. The four of them sat where they had been before half-time, but with Kai sitting to his right enjoying a waffle of his own.
“Sorry that took so long. Waffles are a delicacy when it comes to these football games. Luckily we got back before half-time was over. What did you do while we were gone?” Lloyd gulped down some waffle and thought of a response to give Kai as he stared down at him curiously.
Lloyd didn't reply right away, his mind was occupied on an abandoned blue, yellow and gray hoodie, alone and stuffed under the bench next to him, out of sight, but not entirely out of mind.
“Nothing happened, really.”