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His face was blotched and swollen, evident even in only starlight, sitting on a park bench. What a pitiful sight, Gene thought.
"Go away, Gene," Nelson sniffed. "Can't you leave me alone?"
"No, I cannot." Gene clasped his hands.
He didn't want to be outside this late in Ninjago City. Even if he was training to be a supervillain, petty crime wasn't any more fun to experience from the receiving end.
Gene didn't ask to sit down next to the boy. He didn't ask for him to spill out his life story either; that was freely given.
"Brad didn't have to say yes." Nelson's nose was still stuffy, voice deeper in that sickly manner. "I would have been fine if he just said no. Why did he have to be so mean about it?"
He had to be mean because Brad was like Gene, vulnerable to peer pressure. Darkley's didn't cultivate a culture of giving, only taking.
Lloyd was the best of them. And Nelson was so much like him.
"Would you like to go to prom with me?" Gene suddenly asked.
Nelson straightened up. "Huh?"
Gene rolled his eyes. "I know you don't have a date for it, you were just turned down horrifically publicly. C'mon, why not?"
"I—are you serious?"
He put a hand on the boy's knee. "Don't make me ask twice. Really, you're not a horrible choice for a date. A purple suit would be very villainesque of you."
"Har har." Nelson wiped his tears. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."
"Great, let's get out of this park. C'mon, I'll walk you home."
Nelson was going to be a hero. Brad saw it, was afraid of it. Gene would embrace it. The rest of them in Ninjago City High would just have to catch up.