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Once Ezreal had turned thirteen, he insisted on walking Lux home - "I'm a man now, I have to protect you," he'd said every time she tried to tell him he didn't have to.
It was about a week before she moped to Jinx about it over lunch - "He tries to flirt with me half the time, and it's horribly awkward," she lamented into her sandwich. "I wish he'd just talk to me normally."
Coincidentally, Jinx invited herself to walk home with both of them that very same day.
It was an odd sight at first. Jinx wedged herself firmly between Lux and Ezreal, and chattered on endlessly about anything and everything, leaving little room for the boy to get a word in edgewise. And when he did, she'd openly pick a fight with him about it. Lux had to wonder if this was how she'd spend the rest of middle school, or if she'd ever get to walk home in peace again.
Even Jinx couldn't stay contrary forever, though. She was loathe to admit it, but the more time she was forced to spend with the blond twerp (who, to Jinx's smug satisfaction, had not yet hit his growth spurt, and she was a good head taller than him), the more she could tolerate him. She wouldn't go as far as to say they were friends, though.
(Lux, who had known Jinx for long enough to know better, would go as far as to say they were.)
It became pretty common to see the three of them traveling together from school, making occasional stops for sweets, or gatchapon toys, or to sit by the riverbank and skip stones.
"It's hot," Jinx whined as she whirled a rock across the water. One, two, three, four, five... a pretty good one.
"Summer will be here before we know it." Lux took her turn throwing. Five skips.
"And then summer vacation!" Four skips for Ezreal, who absolutely was not counting and keeping score against Jinx. The exact same way Jinx was not also keeping score.
"And then our last year as junior high students," Lux mused.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Sparkles." The last thing Jinx wanted to think about was more school. Or entrance exams. Or anything beyond the "extremely near future."
"Yeah, c'mon. You can't go wishing away your life!" Ezreal, having thoroughly lost the stone-skipping competition, laid back on the grass. "'These are the golden years of your youth!' That's what Inori-sensei would say."
Jinx snorted. "Inori-sensei probably friggered away her school days and feels bad about it."
"Frittered. Frittered away," Lux corrected, and was met with a wave of Jinx's hand.
"Anyway, Lux's got more "youth" than either of us, let her do what she wants with it."
"That's right!" Ezreal sat up with a start, grinning. "Lux is the baby!"
"Don't call me that!" She swat a feeble hand in Ezreal's direction. "I'm gonna be thirteen soon anyway."
"So where are we going for your birthday date?" He asked loftily.
"We're not."
"You're not." Both Jinx ans Lux answered immediately and at the same time, a timing that had been learned through practice.
"Then what can I get you for your birthday?" Ez tried a new route, trying not to sound put-out. After weeks of pestering, and with only a little bit of time until her birthday, he had to accept that she wasn't going to change her mind.
Lux hummed for a moment, looking out at the water. Neither Jinx or Ezreal could tell if she was thinking about it or dismissing the subject altogether.
"You could let her walk home by herself," Jinx offered. "Since she'll be a "grown woman" by your standards."
"Or," a glint of mischief passed through Ezreal's eyes, "since we're going to get married anyway, I could give you your first kiss as a present."
Jinx couldn't help but let out a peel of laughter. Now that was rich. "We're going to get married anyway" was Ezreal's favorite phrase, but this was the first time he'd really leveraged it to try and get something out of it. Well, something more than trying to make Lux share her ice cream or something equally childish.
Lux didn't laugh with her. She'd looked up, startled by Ezreal's suggestion, and now his eyes were holding hers. He was serious. Like, serious-serious. A playful smile flickered on his lips, but his gaze was earnest and searching.
His chest felt light, like it was full of fireflies. Her stomach felt like it was forming a black hole.
"I..." Lux's mouth was dry. She didn't dislike Ezeral. He was one of her closest friends. And he always seemed so sure that they'd end up together that in some parts of her brain, she'd accepted that as a truth as well - an eventuality. All of her words formed a lump in her throat.
"You haven't had your first kiss yet, right?" Ezreal asked earnestly, not letting the worry he felt over the question seep into his voice. She hadn't kissed anyone, right? Maybe Garen? Her brother did tend to dote on her in your standard overprotective older-brother way. "Family doesn't count."
"Well... I mean, no..."
Jinx stopped laughing long enough to catch on to the tension that was mounting between the two. "Are you stupid? Who would want a twerp like you as their first kiss?"
"I'm not offering to kiss you, string bean!" Ezreal made a face even at the thought. Jinx was everything that Lux wasn't - in a bad way. In a very bad way.
"You'd be lucky to kiss me, you pint-sized potato!"
"Who would want to kiss an ironing board?"
And they were at it again. Lux stood up. "Both of you, stop it!"
Neither one of them seemed to hear her. Ezreal glared in Jinx's direction. "This is between Lux and me. Butt out!"
"Um, I'm her best friend, idiot, her business is my business!" Jinx stood to join Lux to cement the "us vs. you" visual, but Ezreal scrambled to his feet as soon as she did.
"First of all, I'm her best friend, and second of all, that doesn't make it your business!" Curse this height gap, he thought. If he was at least eye-level with Jinx, he was sure he'd be a lot more intimidating.
"She doesn't want her first kiss to be with you, pretty boy!"
"Oh yeah? And how do you know? Did you ask?"
"I don't have to!"
"Enough!" Lux shouted, trying to push her way between the two of them. "You two are--"
Everything happened so fast. Too fast. Lux's words were muffled and stopped. Jinx had turned without warning, eyes closed, and pressed her lips to her best friend's.
The world splintered into shards of ice and seeped into Lux's core. She couldn't speak. She couldn't even move.
Jinx pulled away after what seemed like an eternity, turning to gloat at Ezreal. "There. Now you can't have her first kiss."
But Ezreal's didn't meet Jinx's gaze. He was staring at Lux, which only made Jinx angrier. "I'm talking to you, space case!"
He balled his fists, lips pursing into a thin, thin line. "Look at what you did."
"Excuse me?"
"You made her cry!" He yelled. Jinx's stomach sank; tears had welled and overflowed in Lux's eyes, her hand pressed to her lips, her eyebrows drawn together in an emotion Jinx couldn't place - confusion? Hurt? Anger? She didn't have any more time to figure it out; a fist hit her square in the gut.
"You'll pay for that," Ezreal's voice was low, seething. "For hurting her."
Finally finding the strength to move, Lux took a step backward, eyes fixed on the fight blooming between her friends. Another step. Another. And, with a sudden burst of urgency, she turned and ran the rest of the way home.
Garen had known something was wrong when his sister came home, did not stop in the kitchen for their usual after school snack, and went to her room without so much as a "hello" or an "'I'm home." She didn't answer when he knocked on her door, but he could hear her pacing around through the door.
Pacing was no good. She only paced when she was on the phone, or when she was anxious. A year ago or so, he would have knocked on her door, asked to come in, and talked with her about it. Now, though, she was getting to that "difficult age" for girls. She'd been keeping more to herself, bottled up and locked away in her head.
Still, he couldn't not do anything, right? This was his baby sister. He had a duty at least try and help out.
He knocked.
No answer.
He knocked again. "Lux? You alright?"
"Don't wanna talk about it." Her voice was thick and slow, like she was crying and trying not to let it show. He was at a loss. Something had happened. What had happened? Was this about a boy? Probably, right? Did she have a boyfriend? Had some jerk rejected her? Who in their right mind--
His thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. If this was that boy who usually walked home with her, he was going to blow a gasket.
But it wasn't him. It was Jinx. She looked sheepish and maybe a little defensive, like he was going to turn her away. Oh thank god, it was just a spat between the girls.
"Is Lux home?" Jinx mumbled, so low he almost didn't catch it. Trying not to look too relieved, he crossed his arms. He at least needed to play the role like Lux had confided in him about their little fight.
"She is."
Jinx hesitated for a moment in the doorway, then squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "I want to see her."
Garen pretended to study her for a moment before nodding and letting her in. "She's in her room. I'll be down here if you need anything."
That had gone so much better than Jinx had expected. She thought Lux told her brother everything, but if he'd known what had happened, he probably wouldn't have given her a second look before closing the door on her. She murmured her thanks and showed herself up the stairs.
Lux tried not to hear the third knock on her door - too light to be Garen's. He would have never let in Ezreal. There was only one person this could be.
"Hey." The voice came muffled through the door. Lux felt an icy-hot sensation flash through her, and she clutched a pillow to her chest. What feeling was attached to it? Dread? Excitement? Confusion? Anger? "Can I come in?"
"No." Her voice cracked on the word. Frustrated with herself, she threw the pillow at the door.
There was a pause, then shuffling and sliding sounds. "Welp, I'm not leaving, so I'll just sit here and talk through the door if that's what you want."
When Lux didn't respond, Jinx sighed and went on. "Look, I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have... done that. I was just getting so sick of hearing Ezreal--"
"You took it from me." Lux's voice was quiet, but thick with emotion.
"Huh?"
"You took it from me," she repeated, firmer this time. "My first kiss."
"I don't get what the big deal is! Was the first time you held hands with someone this big a deal, too? When you held hands with kids in elementary school, did you make a big thing of it?"
"That's different!" Lux was standing just on the other side of the door, Jinx could hear it now. "First kisses are special, Jinx, even you should know that! Why do you think Ezreal was making such a show of it being my birthday present? It's... it's practically a sacred rite of passage, and you stole it!"
A slide, and a dull thud. Lux was sitting, leaning on the other side of door.
"It's supposed to be this... magical moment." Her voice quivered; she didn't try to hide it anymore. She curled up, putting her face in her arms. "It's supposed to be with someone you love. And you ruined it. You ruined it for me."
Jinx didn't really know what to say. She'd heard of how first kisses were supposed to be this big thing, but she never really cared to figure out why. People all over the world kissed every day. And certainly, Lux had never mentioned it before. And Jinx would die before she mentioned how much she'd wanted to kiss Lux in the past. "If it makes you feel any better, it was my first kiss too," she offered.
Lux paused. "Really?"
She could hear the bitter smile in Jinx's voice. "Who would wanna kiss an ironing board?"
Lux coughed, trying to cover up a laugh, but didn't say anything for a moment. "Well, it was a pretty crappy first kiss for both of us then, I guess."
"Was it that bad?" The reply was quiet, and something about it made Lux's stomach flip. Had it been bad?
"It just wasn't how I'd pictured it."
"You pictured it with Ezreal?" Jinx almost couldn't believe she was saying it out loud. It was like admitting Ezreal was her rival. Then again, why had she started walking home with them? Was it to keep Ezreal from being weird to Lux, or was it because the idea of him hitting on her every day was enough to make her green with jealousy?
"Not with anyone specific." She didn't even know how she really felt about Ezreal. He was a friend, sure, but did she like him more than that? Or did she like the idea of liking him? Or was she just used to the idea of them being together since he talked about it so often? "More like... I wanted it to mean something."
"...Sorry."
"Yeah."
The silence droned on for eons.
"We can just say it didn't count," Jinx knew it was hopeless to offer, but the words still tumbled out of her mouth. "Your next first kiss just has to be really meaningful to make up for it."
Lux scoffed. "Yeah. Sure."
A thought ignited in Jinx's head, spreading a flash fire through her. Her mouth kept moving before she could stop it. "Hey."
"Yeah."
"Wanna try it again?"
Silence.
Jinx tried to find a hole to crawl into and die. "Kidding! God, you probably th--" her sentence cut off with a yelp as she caught her balance, the door opening behind her. She turned... and there she was. Eyes puffy and red, lips drawn into a pout. Face determined.
Lux scooted an inch closer, closing the distance between their faces. Jinx hesitated, slowly reaching for her best friend's face. The touch of Jinx's fingers on her cheek sent a tingling sensation across Lux's skin.
When Lux didn't stop her, Jinx closed her eyes and leaned in, brushing her lips against the other girl's. Both felt the magic - warmth spread through Jinx's chest, electricity buzzing through Lux.
Lux leaned in, kissing back. Hard.
"Meaningful" didn't even scratch the surface.