Chapter Text
Sykkuno yawned again, hiding the motion behind his hand and slouching down in his seat. He forced himself to blink, trying to keep his attention on the professor, who was droning on about numbers.
Sykkuno focused his tired eyes on the board, not making sense of any of the numbers and letters and looked down at his blank sheet of notes. Ugh, why did he choose statistics as his major?
He silently berated himself for staying up too late again. Even with knowing he had an early class the next day, Sykkuno still ended up online playing League into the early morning hours.
Not the greatest idea, he thought, knowing that he’ll probably do it again, as was the trend months beforehand.
As his final year in college, Sykkuno had started the year a little optimistic. Sure, he didn’t have any close friends, and he was shy and awkward, but he vowed that he would try to be more confident. He tried his best to say hello, and even attempted to start a few conversations with his classmates, but after a few weeks, he could feel them giving him a polite distance. Maybe it was his stuttering, maybe it was his social awkwardness.
Sykkuno quickly abandoned the grand scheme he had for his senior year and retreated back into his shell, where he spent his nights at home playing games online instead of going out to clubs and parties. He would’ve been standing awkwardly in the corner anyways. At least online, with no one looking at him, he didn’t need to worry about maintaining eye contact or smiling. As long as he did well in his games, his teammates were happy and even gave him compliments.
Completely zoning out, Sykkuno missed most of the lecture, only tuning back in as the professor dismissed the class, reminding them of the homework they had due at the end of the week.
“Remember,” the professor called out over the sound of scraping chairs as students got up to leave. “Please submit it in the course dropbox before midnight! Any late submissions will not be accepted.”
Sykkuno hurried to shove his notebook into his bag, slinging the messenger bag over his shoulder. He’ll catch up on the lesson with the textbook later. He joined the swarm of students filing out of the door, shuffling down the hallway and out of the building block.
With his last class out of the way, he headed over to the lab for his part time job. He enjoyed his job as a labbie, as most days it was quiet and peaceful while he caught up on his assignments. Besides, it paid decently for a college job as he tried to support himself. His parents had been kind enough to offer to pay for his housing, but Sykkuno felt guilty and eventually agreed as long as they paid for half of it.
He did manage to find a studio apartment off campus for cheap, though that might’ve been due to the sketchy neighborhood it was in. But Sykkuno hadn’t had any issues so far with the place. Sure it was old and small, with an outrageous water bill, but he didn’t have to deal with any troublesome roommates, and it was only a short walk to the nearest bus stop.
Sykkuno reached the labs, clocking in, and took a seat at one of the computers in the front of the room, digging out his laptop and opening his Advanced Probability course ebook. He knew senior year was going to be rough, but even just a few weeks in, he could feel the stress building up. Along with his senior research project, the other courses he was taking was definitely not easy.
Sykkuno put on his glasses and lost track of the time as he worked through his assignments. He had to stop a couple times as students came by to ask questions, mostly to get something to print. Time passed quickly, and Sykkuno looked up at the clock as he felt his stomach growling.
9pm already. Guess it was past dinnertime. Sykkuno knew his mom would disapprove, and he agreed his diet of frozen burritos and fast food definitely wasn’t healthy, but it was cheap and fast. As a poor college student paying for his own groceries, cheap meant good.
He started to pack his work into his bag, strapping it over his shoulder. He took off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes. He glanced at the lab, making sure everything was tidy and in place for the next labbie to take his place before shutting off the lights and locking up the door.
He walked briskly through the campus, as it was already nighttime. He didn’t want to miss the bus and wait for the next one. He was lucky to have made it, running the last few feet to catch it. Sykkuno collapsed in a seat near the front, trying to catch his breath.
As the bus pulled away from the campus to make its way through the city, Sykkuno leaned back and stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by, inwardly sighing. He had been so optimistic that this year would be different, though now he couldn’t even imagine why. It’s not like the universe would treat him differently, just because he was a senior.
He felt frustrated somehow, but not knowing why. He just knew he wasn’t happy with where he was in life right now. Wasn’t that what college was about? Finding who you were? Sykkuno felt like he failed terribly in that department so far.
In his musing, he almost missed his stop, reaching up to pull the line to stop the bus last minute. The driver jerked the bus to a stop, but he gave Sykkuno a glare as he stood up to get off.
“S-s-sorry!” Sykkuno stuttered as he passed, quickly dropping his gaze to the ground and got off. It wasn’t on purpose, he didn’t mean to make the guy so mad. Sykkuno sighed, feeling like he was an inconvenience to everyone he came across.
He started walking to the direction of his apartment at a brisk pace. It wasn’t the best neighborhood, and probably wasn’t the safest place to be out at night. He kept to the main street that was illuminated by the streetlights. As long as he didn’t venture down any dark, sketchy alleyways, he should be fine.
A block away from his apartment, Sykkuno heard a noise as he was walking past an alleyway. He stopped, frozen in his tracks, scanning up and down the street. Not seeing anyone, he cautiously started walking again, before hearing the noise again. It sounded like…whimpering?
He peered around again, and noticed a lumpy shape crouched in the alleyway. Sykkuno gulped. He stood there conflicted. What if it was someone who needed his help? He thought. He couldn’t abandon someone in need.
On the other hand, what if it was a trap? A drug dealer or mugger just waiting for him to let down his guard?
“H-h-hello?” he called, wincing at his stutter. “A-are you okay?”
There was no response, but the lump moved a little. Peering into the darkness, Sykkuno saw the person raise up their head. The person sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve. He was in an oversized black bulky hoodie that looked worn and frayed.
Sykkuno prayed he wasn’t going to get mugged and inched his way closer to the alleyway.
“Uhhh,” he paused. “A-are you alright?”
The person looked up at him, and Sykkuno was startled to stare into brown, soulful eyes. He couldn’t look away until the other guy broke contact, sniffling.
“I’m fine.” The other guy replied, soft and in such a low tone Sykkuno almost missed it.
He blinked, not expecting such a deep, calming voice.
“O..oh, uh…okay.” Sykkuno stammered, not knowing what else to say. It felt weird to introduce himself, sketchy to ask for a name, and definitely rude to press for more info. Cursing his social awkwardness again, he mumbled, “Well, goodnight then!” before turning back around to the main street again.
Against his better judgement, he glanced back at one more sight of the guy. The guy stared back, still sitting with his back against the alleyway wall. With a nod, he broke eye contact and stared up at the night sky. Sykkuno gave an awkward wave and walked away, heading home.
After a few more minutes, he reached his dinky apartment building complex, walking up the three flights of rickety stairs and down the hallway with a broken light before stopping in front of his apartment door. Digging through his bag for his keys, Sykkuno entered his quiet apartment and closed the door.
Finally, in the safe place of his apartment, he felt himself relax. There was no need to put up a front or worry that he’ll say the wrong thing to offend someone. Here, he could just be himself.
Dropping his bag to the floor, he stepped out of his sneakers and shuffled into the kitchen, opening the freezer and picking out a frozen burrito. There was hardly any food left…he’d need to make another trip to the store soon, Sykkuno noted. He did a few quick mental calculations, praying he had enough to make it through the month. He lived frugally, trying to save as much as he could.
Putting the burrito on a plate to defrost, Sykkuno went into his room, grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the small connecting bathroom. Taking a quick shower, he changed into comfy sweats and a t-shirt. He padded out, heating the burrito in the microwave and drying his hair with a towel.
When the microwave beeped at him, he took the burrito out, taking the plate over to where his desktop was. Another night, same routine. Sykkuno booted up his desktop as he munched on his burrito. Loading up League, he made sure his mic was working before starting to queue for a game.
While he was waiting, Sykkuno finished his quick dinner and washed the plate, getting back in time just to accept the match. As champion bans and select got locked in, Sykkuno started recording.
“What’s up guys? It’s Sykkuno here!” he announced cheerfully. “And today, we’re playing Lee Sin in the jungle.”
Sykkuno’s commentary of the game went on as he played game after game. Knowing that he’ll regret the lack of sleep again the next day, Sykkuno made peace with the fact that he’ll wake up early to make a cup of coffee to survive the next day. And so, he lost track of time as he indulged himself in the world of League.