The Crazy Art Called Love

7 | Out and About

~~Lloyd's POV~~

I was texting Rumi before I went to sleep. We were exchanging photos we took and got into a conversation about our favorite animals.

Me: I'm just saying, nothing beats a red panda.

Rumi: You're kidding right? What about a dragon!

Me: I owned one.

Rumi: Porcupines?

Me: Too prickly.

Rumi: Is it alright if I call?

Me: Go ahead.

This was the first time we engaged in a video chat. I made sure to keep the volume down just in case it would wake up the others. My phone began to ring and I quickly pressed the answer button.

"You're being ridiculous, Lloyd. Red pandas aren't the only ones that are adorable." Harumi's face filled my screen. She was also already tucked in but I could not find any tiredness in her eyes.

Her hair was in a high ponytail and a facial mask rested on her face. She wore matching jade green, silky pajamas and I wanted to ask her if she had ever slipped off her bed before.

"Of course they are! Did you know they stand up when they see another creature just to make themselves look scary?" I defended. "I would take you to the zoo but Ninjago City doesn't have one."

"Wait. We really don't have one?"

"No, we don't. But I do want to see a red panda someday."

"I'll take you to see one as long as you promise to prove to me that they are adorable."

"You have yourself a deal."

We talked until the late hours of the night. I never even realized the time not until Harumi yawned.

"Oh. It's 2 in the morning." I pointed out after checking the clock. We had been talking for 4 hours now.

"Really? Well I need to get some sleep now. I have a lot to do tomorrow." She said and I nodded.

"Goodnight, Rumi."

"Goodnight, Greenie."

The call ended and I looked at my lock screen for a few minutes. It was our most recent photo together. I never really placed any thought when I changed it, I just liked the picture that's all.

I turned off my phone and placed it on my bedside table before getting some rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few days were filled with more adventure than our last. After Harumi led her parents to believe she really was just in her bedroom for 3 days, we resumed our activities.

"Where are you going?" Kai asked with his arms crossed as I got caught in my attempts of sneaking out. I stopped walking and turned around to find everyone else right behind me.

"Rumi wants to go skydiving." I grinned. I was really excited and I placed no effort in hiding it!

"Oh no, you're not." Cole protested.

"But--." I opened my mouth to try and reason with them but I was immediately cut off.

"No buts. This is the 5th time you left to go do some dangerous activity with that girl." Nya pointed out.

"How much longer until both of you get in serious danger?" Kai added.

"Look. I'm a ninja, and I can handle myself out there. We've been through worse right? What's the difference if it's for fun?" I sighed. "And may I remind you that this was your idea. You wanted me to find a girl so now I have one. "

When I saw that they were about to say something I immediately cut them off.

"And just to be clear, a friend that's a girl."

I turned around and headed out the door before they could say another word.

"For now. Soon they'll both be dead." I heard Jay state from the inside which made me roll my eyes.

"Ow! What? It's true." Another whine and I knew Nya had smacked the back of his head at that statement.

"I'm beginning to wonder if we have drove him too far on finding a suitable mate." Pixal concluded and I did not hear the rest of their conversation after that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jump!"

"What? Now?!"

"Yes, Lloyd!"

I stood on the edge of the door of the plane, my hands gripping the sides of a rail. The winds were too strong and we were really really high up. We were both wearing a set of matching diving gear. From the suit to the helmet and shoes, we looked exactly the same.

"How about we don't." I suggested and placed a huge smile on my face.

"We're not up here for nothing, Lloyd. You have to trust me!" Harumi was already yelling and I still had a hard time understanding her from the winds.

"Fine. On three!"

I slowly let go of the rail and reached out to grab her hand. She kept a tight grip and I knew she was also scared even if she says she enjoys it.

"Three!" Harumi exclaimed and jumped out of the plane causing me to get dragged out with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"ATV racing!" I exclaimed as I read out the piece of paper in my hands. "This is gonna be fun."

We got to the dessert and immediately placed on our gear. It was a pretty big place to race and there was no one around that could possibly get hurt.

"Ready, Greenie?" Harumi called from my right as she revved the engine of the vehicle.

"Ready to beat you!" I challenged and started my engine as well.

The sand began to shift from their original places as we drove through the dessert. I felt the cool breeze hit my face and it was just what I needed to stay cool from the heat of the sun. I could hear Harumi cheering from beside me, a wide smile on her face.

~~Harumi's POV~~

"Sledding!" I stated, another piece of paper on my hand.

"I hope you brought padded jackets." Lloyd laughed and set course to the wailing alps.

"It's freezing, Lloyd!"

"You think I don't know that? I can barely feel my hands!"

"Why would you even add this there?"

"It was fun when I saw it! I didn't think you'd pick it now."

We were both standing outside of his car and was immediately greeted by the cold winds of the forest. There was a tall mountain just up ahead and I knew we had to start climbing otherwise we would lose a lot of daylight and I was certainly not letting this day go to waste.

"Hang on, I think I have some equipment in here." Lloyd stated as I rubbed my arms to keep myself from freezing to death.

"You have an emergency kit in there?" I asked out of curiosity. How come I never saw it?

"I call it, my Rumi preparedness kit." He held out a box covered in jade green paint. He opened it and it revealed equipment for all kinds of activities. "It's best to be prepared for whatever you want to do."

I smiled at that and tried to calm down the fast beating of my heart. What was going on?

"Here take this." Lloyd held out a padded jacket and some gloves.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Rumi."

"Maybe now we won't freeze to death."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Three, two, one!" We both counted down the numbers right before we slid down the mountain. I sat in front of our makeshift sled and hung onto the reigns while Lloyd clung onto my waist.

I couldn't deny that I was blushing a lot from his actions but it's a good thing it was cold. The perfect disguise, although I can't speak for my heart which was going crazy inside my chest.

"Woo-hoo!" He cheered from behind me which made me laugh at his antics.

I leaned back a few inches away from his shoulder and turned my head to get a good look of his face. He had a jade green beanie on his head which I found adorable and that smile can brighten up my day at any time. Lloyd turned his head to meet my eyes as his grin widened. He then returned his attention to the snow but his expression quickly changed from happy to panicked.

"Watch out for that tree!" He extended his hand to point it out and I immediately went to check what he meant.

"What tree—" My eyes widened as the perennial plant entered my field of vision. It was a birch tree and it certainly did not seem like it was going to move.

We both leaned to the side, barely dodging it before we let out a sigh of relief and continued sliding down the mountain.

"Who plants a tree in the middle of nowhere?!"

"I don't think anyone planted that, Rumi."

"It's a good thing we dodged it."

Suddenly, a small hill of snow appeared out of nowhere which caused our sled to go upwards. Lloyd and I let out a scream, my grip on the reigns tighter than ever and apparently so was his around my waist, until we landed on a fresh pile of snow.

"You jinxed it." He accused with a laugh as he freed himself from the snow.

"I did not!" I said back with a pretend offended look on my face as I fixed the green beanie on my head and dusted the snow off my jacket.

"How are we down here then?"

"Mother Nature."

I felt a snowball hit my face. That's how he's going to play? I immediately went to create the same thing.

"That's ridiculous, Rumi!" Lloyd laughed as he easily dodged the snowballs I threw at him.

"What other explanation is there, Greenie?" I called out in frustration for I couldn't hit him at all.

Right before I could throw another snowball, Lloyd tackled me to the ground and my head collided with the soft snow. It was getting really cold but that didn't seem to bother either of us. I laughed and messed up his hair before pushing him off me. I didn't want him to feel my heart race. Although, I'm still wondering why that was happening.

We proceeded to make snow angels and just laid on the snow. Things could never be any better.

~~Lloyd's POV~~

"I believe it is your turn to pick." Harumi held up the box for me once again as we sat in my car.

It was the start of another day which meant another activity for me and Rumi. I placed my hand inside and grabbed the first piece of paper I could reach.

"Bungee jumping." I read out loud. I had gotten used to all sorts of activities that required jumping off a high place so this wasn't much of a surprise.

"Sounds fun! Let's go." She cheered on and strapped herself in with her seatbelt.

I have to admit, dangling upside down 30 meters in the air above a bed of water was not how I envisioned this to go.

"Ha—Rumi!!" I yelled as the bungee cord stretched once more making me bounce in air.

"Woo! Go Greenie!" I heard her cheer from ground beside the elevator I had to ride to get up here.

Harumi had her phone in the air which meant she was recording and I knew we were going to laugh about it again later. The second my feet felt the ground once more, I laid down and took a second to catch my breath.

"Are you alright? That looked awesome!" Harumi exclaimed as she approached me.

She leaned forward and brushed a few piece of my hair that was stuck on my forehead. Probably from the sweat I worked up while dangling in the air. I took a moment to capture her eyes in mine. It glistened against the sun. Such beautiful brown eyes that I could easily find myself getting lost in.

"Lloyd? Hang on, I'll go get you some water." When she left that was the only time I understood what she had said.

A bottle was pressed to my lips and I sat up to take a drink. I felt myself regain my senses and I took a deep breath before smiling.

"Your turn!" I teased and Harumi rushed over to the elevator.

I held her phone and filmed her as she jumped off and dangled in the air like how I was a few minutes ago.

~~Harumi's POV~~

Blood rushed to my head as I hung upside down. I turned my head and waved at Lloyd before I was brought down. I now understand why he needed to lie down for a bit.

"No regrets. At all." I smiled which made him laugh.

"Easy there. We wouldn't want a repeat of yesterday's 'teach me how to drive' incident." He nudged my shoulder.

"That mailbox came out of nowhere and you know it!"

"Mailboxes don't just pop out of nowhere, Rumi."

"I blame your car." I crossed my arms as we walked back to the vehicle.

He laughed and messed up my hair, a little gesture we both had gotten used to.

"Where to next?" I asked excitedly and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Oh. I was actually hoping we could cut it short today. Master Wu has requested we would all be present for today's training." He scratched the back of his head.

"It's alright, Greenie. No big deal. I have places to be anyways."

I tried to hide the fact that I didn't want to go back to the palace so soon. But if Lloyd had plans, I did not want to get in the way. We drove back to Ninjago city and he dropped me off at our usual noodle house.

"See you again soon, Rumi." Lloyd stated with a smile before driving off and I stood there to wave.