Chapter Text
Okay. So she was going to be stuck having lunch with two people she desperately wanted to avoid. How could this go wrong? Jinx had gotten lucky in the sense that Ekko had reached out to Ezreal, and that dick doesn’t know how to shut his mouth. The group chat that was made between the four of them was quickly filled with the two blondes’ drivel. Lux took a lot of the planning on herself, suggesting a few different places to eat. In the end they settled on a place near the park with outdoor seating. The weather was supposed to be nicer than it had been, and it was even going to be a little warm out. That night couldn’t come soon enough. All Jinx wanted to do was lay down and melt into her mattress-- to close her eyes and pretend she wasn’t there for a little while.
When she finally settled in that night, she haphazardly fell back onto her bed, her phone landing a few inches away from her hand as she sprawled out across the mattress. Turning her head to the side, she was met with a familiar face… or more accurately two. The duo of beady button eyes stared at her from beside her pillow.
“...What are you lookin’ at?” she mumbled to the stuffed animals at her side before picking up one of them-- a shark plush she’d named Fishbones.
“Now Jinx, you should talk to your friends in a nicer way than that,” she replied to herself in a silly voice, bobbing Fishbones up and down as if he were speaking.
Jinx hummed as if in thought before laughing a bit to herself “Nah… you guys’ll stick around forever. You can’t get rid of me THAT easily--”
She brought the plush down into an embrace, holding him close to her chest. The woman took a deep breath before looking over to the other. This one was smaller than Fishbones, a small bunny named PowPow that her sister had gotten her years ago. Jinx rolled over onto her side to face PowPow, still cradling Fishbones in her arms. She narrowed her eyes for a moment before letting out a quiet groan. Her thoughts were racing and she could hardly keep up. Maybe if she closed her eyes… no. That didn’t work.
That’s fine. She just… needed to focus on something. Jinx began to idly run her fingers over the soft fabric of Fishbones, and tried to keep her attention on just that. Her thoughts did begin to slow down, but the ones she was left with weren’t too great. There was no need to be anxious over tomorrow.
“This is stupid…” she muttered as she closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure how long she laid there in the dark before sleep finally overtook her, but when the morning came and the sun filtered in through her window, she only wanted to stay there longer.
Still, she somehow managed to drag herself out of bed after almost half an hour of considering the choices that led her to this moment. Jinx stepped into the bathroom and splashed some water in her face. Looking up at the mirror, she inspected the dark circles under her eyes. They were permanent residents on her face, given her utter lack of a proper sleep schedule and late nights spent doing just about anything but study.
With a soft sigh, Jinx began to actually get ready. So many decisions… should she make herself look bad on purpose to scare Lux away? No, if Jinx did that she wouldn’t have enough time to get rid of this stupid little… morbid fascination of hers. She (unfortunately) decided she had to play the long game. Running a brush through her tangled blue hair took a while, which gave her enough time to think about what she could do instead.
If she couldn’t just annoy Lux into leaving, maybe pretending to be friendly with her could do the trick? It was just crazy enough to work. Jinx struggled a little with getting dressed, as she often did when the weather got warmer. She could either suffer through the heat or risk being found out, and she usually picked the former. Last year she’d taken a pair of scissors to an old long sleeved tee to make a crop top, which seemed as good a solution as any. It was fraying at the bottom edges a little, but nothing a little glue couldn’t fix! By the time she was done getting ready she still had about an half hour left of time to kill.
Maybe she could show up early to claim a good table before they were all taken? Jinx really wasn’t one for punctuality, but it sure beat sticking around the apartment twiddling her thumbs. She began her walk down to the small cafe, headphones in and blasting music. She arrived with about fifteen minutes to spare, so she got herself a soda and kicked her feet up on the chair next to hers.
She didn’t want anyone to bother her, so she just scrolled mindlessly through her phone to pretend like she was busy. That lasted all of five minutes before she was tapped on the shoulder. Jinx jumped a little and turned around to see Luxanna standing there, her hair slightly tousled by the wind.
“Sorry if I startled you— I didn’t expect to see you here so early! Do you mind if I sit down?” she asked, gesturing to the seat Jinx had been using as a footstool. With a quiet sigh, Jinx lowered the volume of her music and let her feet return to the floor. Lux smiled and took a seat next to her, folding her hands in her lap.
“So… when do you think the boys will get here? I don’t know Ekko very well, but I think Ezreals going to run a little late,” Lux giggled, her laughter ringing out like a bell. Why did everything about her have to be so stupidly perfect? It was annoying and made Jinx want to… to… Well, she wasn’t sure, but probably something bad!
“I dunno. Ekko is like always on time. It’s honestly kind of freaky.” Jinx shrugged as she spoke a little louder than intended due to her music. The two sat in awkward silence after that for a few seconds before Lux tried to spark up a conversation.
“What are you listening to?” She asked, tucking a golden lock behind her ear. Lux really did want to try to be friends with Jinx, even if there had been an… awkward start.
“Hm? You probably wouldn’t like it.” Jinx chuckled, a small grin forming on her face. She couldn’t imagine Lux listening to anything with a heavy bassline or electric guitar or anything exciting at all.
“I don’t know about that… Can I listen?” She asked, her head tilting to the side as she did so. Jinx hesitated, but offered her one of her earbuds. This was a terrible idea, but on the bright side seeing Lux’s reaction might make up for it.
Much to her surprise, not only did Lux not respond negatively, she seemed to like it! The blonde tapped her fingers on the table along with the beat as she leaned almost uncomfortable close just to keep the headphones from falling. “It’s not bad,” she said with a smile. Before Jinx had a chance to respond, she felt another hand on her shoulder. Both girls jumped as a third voice came from behind them.
“Nice to see you guys getting along! You know, Jinx never beats me anywhere. I think this is a first for you—“ Ekko teased. Jinx cleared her throat and rolled her eyes as she paused her music. The two sat upright again while Ekko took a seat across from Jinx.
She sunk in her chair a little as she spoke up. “Yeah whatever, little man. Can’t I be a little productive for once? You act like it’s totally impossible for me to be on time to something.”
“Early,” He clarified. Jinx groaned, eliciting a little more laughter from Lux.
“You two seem close,” she said with a small smile “Almost like you’re siblings, it’s sweet.”
“Yeah? We grew up together so—“ Ekko began, only to be interrupted by Jinx
“So we ended up being bestest friends and he even had a widdle crush on me when we were kids. Ain’t that right Ekko?” She had to get her revenge somehow, it seemed.
The man rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his neck “Yeah, I must have had more screws loose than you do,” he rebutted, earning a pout from Jinx. She’d get him back at some point or another. They often went back and forth like this, but it was all in good fun. By the time Ezreal showed up, the three were already laughing together and having a fully animated conversation.
Jinx seemed to talk a lot with her hands, waving them around as she explained things. She almost spilled her drink at least twice, the last time ended with her and Lux both reaching for it at the same time. Their fingers brushed together as they each grabbed for the drink. It kept it from spilling, but Jinx soon began to act strangely.
“SO-- Let’s go order some food, I don’t know about you three, but I am STARVING,” Jinx exclaimed as she began to stand up, “You two stay here, Ekko and I can get everything, Right Ekko? What do you want?”
Jinx needed to take a breather and soon. After getting Lux and Ezreal’s orders, she took Ekko by the arm and hurried off inside. As soon as the door closed behind them she took a deep breath and let out a groan. She began to lightly stomp her feet as she tried to get rid of all this dumb nervous energy. Why did it even matter? So what, they touched hands, big deal. Lux didn’t even seem to notice! Jinx didn’t WANT to touch Lux though. Not at all!
“...Jinx? Jinx! I’ve been calling your name for like thirty seconds now. What’s gotten into you?”
When all Jinx did was rub her wrist instead of responding, Ekko knew what was wrong. He sighed, dragging his hand over his face.
“Before you say anything, I’m not telling her about it. She’s… dumb and I hate her,” Jinx complained.
“Really? ‘Cause I thought we were having fun just a few minutes ago,” he countered.
“UGH! Can we just order?” she groaned, dragging Ekko up to the counter.
Sure, maybe Lux wasn’t as bad as she’d initially thought. She had decent taste in music, at the very least, and when she forgot about the whole soulmate thing it wasn’t so awkward, but that didn’t mean anything… right?
Food served as a good enough distraction from earlier, and as an added bonus, Jinx couldn’t say dumb shit with her mouth full. Now that Ezreal was here, she’d have to do less to carry the conversation as well. She may hate him, but she had to admit he was good at gathering attention… even if it was by being an utter buffoon.
What was he even talking about now? Something about school. What was he studying? Archeology? It’s all grave robbing in the end. Jinx wasn’t too concerned with that until the conversation turned to urban exploration. Apparently Ezreal had been interested in picking up the hobby. Breaking into abandoned property? That may be the best thing that ever came out of his mouth.
“There’s this old warehouse about half an hour away from here that nobody’s used since the 60s… or maybe it was the 80s? Doesn’t matter-- point is its big, empty, and probably filled with loads of good loot. I was thinking about checking it out some time next week but I’d need a ride…” Ezreal trailed off, his gaze soon falling upon Ekko.
Before the man had a chance to respond, Jinx slammed her hands down on the table and stood up excitedly “We’re in! But only if I can bring my paint.” She held up a finger towards Ezreal, waiting for him to agree.
“Deal!” He said with a grin, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake.
“Do I even get a say in this?” Ekko sighed, already knowing the answer. In reality, he didn’t mind that much if he was doing it with friends. As long as they didn’t get caught or hurt, he didn’t care.
“Nope-- Hey Lux, what about you? You’ve been pretty quiet, you wanna come?” Ezreal extended the offer to his other friend as well.
She seemed hesitant in her response, pausing before she answered “I don’t know… Isn’t that… illegal?” Lux’s tone was hushed as she continued, “I mean… it could also be dangerous, what if--”
“You can just say you’re too chicken to come--” teased Jinx.
“I am not--” Lux began, only to be interrupted by Jinx jumping up onto the chair and crouching so she was only a little taller than Lux. As she stuck the landing, she folded her arms up like wings and did her very best impression of a chicken’s cluck.
Heat rose to Lux’s cheeks as she hid her face from view with her hand. “Okay, okay, I’ll go! Just stop… whatever you’re doing. People are staring!”
“Okie-doke!” she hummed as she dropped back into her chair. Lux let out a relieved sigh and lowered her hand.
Jinx still doubted they were compatible enough to be lovers at any point, but at least Lux was fun to make fun of. That had to be worth something, right?