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The creaking of your window tripped all the alarms in your head, springing your body up from the bed like a steel trap. Within seconds, your hands wrapped around the taped handle of the knife stuffed under your thin pillow. Your eyes weren't fully open as you sat straight up, trying to focus your vision as you pointed the sharp blade towards the open window. A gust of cold air filled the room, the patched curtains swaying around the figure perched on the metal frame.
It was dark, only the soft green glow of the jar holding a few firelights providing a dim light in the small room. Your hand lightly shook as you watched the intruder's heavy boots slide off the frame. The hunched figure planted them firmly on the ground, in a crouched position with their back facing you.
"If you're here to rob us, you've chosen the wrong house." You rasped out, trying desperately to control your shaky voice.
At the harmless sound of a snort followed by a quiet chuckle that was all too familiar, you lowered the knife slowly in the air. Relaxing your tensed shoulders as you realized it was only Sevika walking out from behind the curtains and towards you. She was grinning at your attempt of being intimidating, which clearly wasn’t as threatening as you hoped it was.
"You're supposed to knock three times." You scolded, referring to the rule you put in place so you'd know it was her sitting outside your window and not some crazed intruder.
She flopped on the bed, making herself at home as she crossed her legs and propped her feet on the top of your headboard. All her weight pushed down on the thin and rugged feather-stuffed mattress, causing it to bend against the rickety spring frame and creak in the silent room.
"Did you get a new knife?" Sevika inquired, ignoring your remark as she plucked the blade from your hands, bringing it close to her face to examine it.
You rolled your eyes; Sevika had a tendency to guide the conversation the way she wanted it to go. And if you were the lucky bloke she was willingly talking to, then you could do nothing but just float where she set you sail. You pulled your knees up to your chest, pressing the side of your body against the wall as you made room for her on the already cramped bed.
"I picked it up from the heaps," You explained, "Perfectly good knife- just sitting there."
As Sevika dragged her finger along the sharp tip she let out a low whistle, admiring the high-quality blade in her hands.
"Some old bastards probably out there right now- looking for his knife." Sevika teased, flipping the blade in her hand and twirling it between her fingers. You giggled in return, having a tendency to laugh at anything Sevika said without even processing it first- even if it wasn't funny. Sometimes Sevika would talk just because she knew she could make you laugh, the sound brightening her day no matter what.
Sevika didn't say anything else as she played with the blade mindlessly, one hand resting behind her head and her eyes staying trained on the knife. Nights like this were kind of an unspoken agreement, she could escape in your room, and you'd sit with her; talking the night away if she felt like it. Or if she didn't, just sitting in peace while she cooled off. But if she did talk, it was never because she initiated it, you were always the first to ask her about what was bothering her; sometimes she needed that extra little push.
"What happened Sev?"
She looked up, her attentive eyes glancing at you just for a second before she let out a snicker under her breath. She redirected her attention back to the knife as she spoke, "My old mans got his undies in a twist again."
Her eyebrows raised and furrowed as she talked, her tone changing just from recalling the fight she had with him moments ago. She sounded tired and bitter, not unusual after such encounters. It was a rocky relationship, usually ending with the both of them lining up insults and cruel jabs like front line fighters in a messy war. Except in this war, neither side ever won. A truce was usually called for the night and in the morning, they were back up and staring each other down; waiting for the moment they could raise their weapons once more.
"Said I crossed a line today," She sneered, mocking her father's voice as she spoke while flipping the blade in the air with more aggression. You tried not to panic as she continued to throw the knife in the air, sharp blade just centimeters above her face as her fingers moved quickly to grab it.
"Which isn't true-" She was starting to get fired up, voice increasing in volume until she glanced over at you and noticed your worried expression.
She stopped mid-sentence, silently staring at your pursed lips and sympathetic eyes. She didn't want to bring the messy tribulations of her and her father's relationship to you tonight; she was here to escape her father, not let him infest every small bit of happiness she had. So, she chose her next words carefully, attempting to dull the intensity of the conversation.
“I didn’t cross a line,” A soft closed smile replaced her previous look of frustration, "I crossed a bridge."
You snorted dryly, used to her witty remarks that she often used as a defense for her emotions. You didn't ask her what she did specifically. Knowing her, it was probably something stupid to aggravate an Enforcer. It was like she lived to push their buttons, knowing exactly what to do to rile them up. A talent that often found her in deep waters with her father, who less than approved of her deliberate provocations of already tense relations.
The two of you sat in silence after her remark, both of you watching the knife until she fumbled it in her hands. As it clattered loudly to the floor Sevika let out an exasperated sigh, sullen eyes shifting to the ceiling to stare at the paper stars the two of you had hung up months ago.
The night the stars were hung started off a lot like this one; Sevika seeking refuge in your company after an explosive argument with her father. As the night went on and the conversation shifted away from her father, you spoke about how you wished to see the stars, which were often hidden by the smog filled sky. Sevika wanted nothing more than to give you all the stars, wishing she could build an entire planetarium just for you. Instead, she had to make do. Instantly jumping off the bed and searching the room for scraps of paper and scissors. You giggled at her as she colored the stars yellow and cut them out crudely, handing them to you to place on the ceiling with a piece of tape. With a light blush on her cheeks, Sevika softly told you to shut up and to get to hanging them, realizing in that moment she was completely whipped.
Ever since that night you've been falling asleep with the stars hovering over your head, your own personal heavens to lay under.
As you stared at her star filled eyes, they looked slightly red; making you wonder if she had been crying. You honestly didn't think Sevika cried. Sometimes it seemed like she only had two emotions, frustration and deviousness; often times the two of them mixing to create one explosive bomb. Her down-turned lips and agitated eyes proved you wrong though. Her chubby cheeks swelled as she pursued her lips into a fine line. And her eyebrows scrunched over the bridge of her nose like she was deep in thought.
"Ever wonder what life outside of Zaun is like?"
As she spoke you laid back against the bed, pulling the covers out from under Sevika to pull up over yourself. You thought for a moment, thinking of all the distant lands that you've only seen illustrated in books and would probably never see before your eyes. You wouldn't even know the first step to getting out of Zaun; it wasn’t often many did. Even if you knew how, you would find yourself longing for all the things that made you feel at home in the undercity that couldn’t be replicated anywhere else. Moments like this for example, listening to the sounds of the busy streets while the cold breeze flows through the open window. You found yourself so deep in thought that Sevika nudged your leg softly with her hand, still waiting for your response.
"Sometimes. I don't think I'd leave Zaun though." You replied while staring up at the ceiling; even though the stars of Zaun were the same stars that shined over all of Runeterra, the dark nights of Iona or Demacia could never compare to the ones of Zaun in your eyes.
Sevika furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about your response. At her silence you looked down at her, wondering what she was thinking, "Would you?"
Sevika looked at you, softening her eyes as she gazed at your curious face. Her fingers mindlessly played with the metal buckles on her shirt, as if she was mulling over something of extreme importance. Sevika was chewing on something of great thought; a life with you. If you asked her that question earlier, she probably would've shrugged, saying life would take her wherever it wanted to. Otherwise meaning, she didn't have an answer. That is, until she heard yours.
"No." It was a clear and direct, no room for interpretation as she continued, "I have all I need here."
She stared at you as she spoke, a neutral expression on her face. It was like she was only seeing you, like nothing else outside of the room existed or mattered. You smiled shyly at her, becoming flustered by her intense eyes that you shifted your gaze back up to the ceiling. Sevika smiled in response, feeling she did at least one thing right by hanging those flimsy stars up for you.
"Are you staying here tonight?" You asked Sevika, knowing in the morning she'd be long gone before you had even woken up. The first couple nights that happened it made you wonder if you had imagined her sitting in your room. She was like Zaun's very own Peter Pan; climbing into windows only to disappear at daybreak.
"Well I don't want to go back home." She turned her head to the side, not wanting to think about the fact that when she left, she'd have to face the tense atmosphere between her and her father.
"We could run away." You offered, entertaining the idea of a life with no worries, just the two of you together.
"Thought you didn't want to leave Zaun." Sevika remarked.
"We don't have to leave Zaun to run away," You reasoned, "the undercity is large enough to get lost."
Sevika smiled softly at you, knowing the exact place she'd want to take you, "We could build our own little fortress by the ocean."
"Leave a gap in the ceiling so we can look at the stars." Sevika spoke with an air to her voice, like she could see the image of the two of you huddled together on the rocky beach so vividly.
"And no one will bother us." Sevika declared, "No parents, no Enforcers- just us."
"We can look at the stars all night, as long as you want." She pledged, like it was the grandest gift she could give you.
You hummed softly at her proposal, aware of the fact that right now, those were just distant dreams. Storms that would probably never come to fruition. You knew Sevika couldn't leave her father, as much as she bickered and fought with him, she still loved him. Likewise, Sevika knew you couldn't leave your family who relied on you to support them. Two children, already bogged down by the weight of the world and the responsibilities life in the undercity placed on them, just wishing for a moment of escape. But both of you knew that right now, you had to be content with the makeshift stars above you.
"Maybe one day." You softly pondered while looking up at the same stars Sevika was staring at, noticing one was peeling away from the ceiling. The tape was coming loose, the once sturdy points now limp and bowing.
"One day." Sevika promised, knowing if she could see anything in the future that was certain, it was you and the stars.
The rest of the night was spent in silence, Sevika's steady breathing drifting you to sleep. She watched you toss and turn for a moment, making sure you were safe and in a deep slumber before she quietly pulled herself up from the bed and picked up your knife to tuck it back under your pillow. She shut the window on her way out, leaving no trace that she was ever there. Except for the falling star that she pressed back up against the ceiling, the only evidence that Sevika had visited.