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Lux loved Valentine’s Day. It was the perfect occasion to show affection to your loved ones, whether it’s a romantic interest or not. She always received lots of gifts on the date, and she made a point of getting something special for everyone she cared about. Lux dedicated her whole day to love, grateful that most people she knew adored her. However, this year, the blonde felt sad. Her graduation was at the end of the semester. Soon, she and her friends would separate to go to college. They’d go to the same university if they could, but there was no guarantee they’d be accepted in the same place. So, Lux had decided she was making the most of her senior year. Friends and studies were both her priorities. She was happy she didn’t have any crushes because dating in high school seemed too complicated to her; it was bound to end in broken hearts. The blonde was perfectly fine with making eye contact with random girls and imagining fake scenarios in her head from time to time. She had nothing to complain about.
She entered the school with a smile on her face, like she did on a daily basis. Lux was greeted with many wishes of “Happy Valentine’s!”, cards and bouquets of flowers filling her hands, privilege of being one of the most popular girls there. She thanked her colleagues wholeheartedly, and the girl had to adjust her grip to hold everything without letting it fall. She needed to put her gifts aside, so she walked to her locker.
“Luxy!” Seraphine ran to her when she was halfway through the corridors. “Happy Valentine’s Day! Hm, I’ve been struggling to write a song. Could you help me in the music room?”
The blonde frowned at the question. Sera rarely had trouble with music, and Lux wasn’t exactly skilled in that field to be of any assistance, but she wouldn’t say no to one of her best friends. “Happy Valentine’s for you, too! And sure, just let me put these in my-”
“No!” Seraphine interrupted her, blocking her way. “I mean, the music room is nearer, let’s go-”
The taller girl was beyond confused, something was clearly wrong. “Seraphine, what are you hiding?”
“Oh, I suppose you were going to find out either way.” She let Lux go to her locker. Ezreal was there, apparently trying to clean it. The spray paint wasn’t coming off. Lux could read the words written in blue paint: 'Fuck Little Miss Perfect.' "Every star has their haters, unfortunately."
“Hey, Lux,” Ez showed her a sympathetic smile. His eyes widened at the flowers. “I see you got a lot of love already.”
“People are too kind to me,” she said, looking at the flowers. She got white roses and sunflowers, her favorites. “Except for the person who wrote that, I guess.”
“I wish you didn’t have to see it. It’s a tasteless joke.”
“I know. I won’t let it bother me.” Lux knew she couldn’t please everybody, though she tried to. She had a lot planned for today, so it was best to ignore this taunt and forget it ever happened.
Lux opened her locker, arranging what she received inside of it with care, in an attempt not to get the petals completely crushed.
Then she heard a ticking sound, like a working clock, or…
Lux only had time to cover her eyes with her right arm before she was covered in pink paint by a bomb stuck in her locker’s door.
“Oh, my- Are you alright?” Seraphine came by her side, putting a hand on her back. Lux was in a state of shock.
“At least pink looks good on you,” Ezreal tried to lighten the mood. It didn’t work. “We’re gonna find out who did this.”
Lux breathed deeply. She knew who did it, and she couldn’t keep pretending these pranks didn’t affect her. Jinx had messed with her school supplies, her car, her clothes and now her whole locker. This was the last straw for Lux.
“Let’s go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up,” Sera suggested gently.
“No. There’s someone I need to talk to first,” the blonde said, her hands passing on her cheeks to remove a bit of the paint, which was starting to dry on her skin. Her friends looked at her with expectancy. “Alone.”
“Are you sure?” Ez had to ask.
“Yes, absolutely.”
They knew her well enough to notice she wasn't going to change her mind. When Lux was determined to do something, nothing could stop her. “Call us if you need anything, okay?”
“Of course, Sera. I’ll be back soon.”
Lux needed to search for the blue-haired anarchist who insisted on tormenting her. Earlier, she had seen Jinx’s motorcycle parked outside, so Jinx had to be somewhere within the building. Lux vaguely remembered the places they used to hang out in the first two weeks of freshman year, when they were still friends. If she had to guess, Lux would say her ‘old friend’ preferred to smoke alone before the ring of the first bell. She recalled just the place Jinx used to go.
There, on the school’s rooftop, Lux found her sitting in a terrible posture, legs bent and her back curved, a cigarette between her fingers. It had been years since the last time they talked. The girls saw each other in the corridors, Lux quickly glanced at her sometimes, looking in the opposite direction immediately after. She was still interested in Jinx’s life, and the blonde heard of her mischiefs and (supposedly) accidental explosions in the chemistry lab. Jinx could be with Lux amongst the top students if she stopped skipping classes and missing deadlines.
Lux was nervous to confront her, she didn't like to fight, although she felt more upset about the paint in her clothes.
“Look, Jinx,” she shouted, opening her arms to show the other the result of her bomb. “Does it make you happy to see ‘little miss perfect’ like this?” Lux had an angry tone. Jinx simply laughed at her face. Typical, she can’t take anything seriously. Lux didn’t wait for a response, making another question, one she had asked herself many times but could never grasp the right answer. “Why do you hate me?"
Jinx stopped laughing, she didn’t expect to hear that question. She was still surprised the blonde was talking to her at all. This wasn’t the first prank she did to her, though this one was probably the most… personal one. 'Little Miss Perfect' was the name she called Lux in the fight that ended their friendship. They never truly talked after the discussion, and Jinx thought she could annoy her to catch her attention. It was hard to get a reaction from Lux, Jinx had to push her limits further and further over the years. And now she finally got something more than an eye roll or a gasp. A grin showed up on her face. It was the perfect opportunity to tease her. The blue-haired girl got up and threw her used cigarette on the ground, stepping on it before speaking. “Who says I hate you?”
“Well, you obviously have a problem with me, and I have no idea why, because you were the one that shut me off!”
“You think I shut you off?” Liar. “You abandoned me, Lux.”
“I would never do-”
“Yes, you did, when you became this preppy girl who craves everyone’s attention. You only care about your status, your popularity. You chose them over me,” Jinx interrupted her. She wanted to say more, to hurt more. Once, she had been the person Jinx trusted to tell everything and anything. Lux used to understand her better than she did herself. But then she met new, rich friends, and Jinx was left out.
“You are wrong,” Lux said, her eyes getting watery. “And why did it have to be a choice? We could’ve all been friends if you weren’t jealous of me.”
“See? Always so full of herself,” Jinx taunted, getting closer to her until she was right in front of the taller girl. She raised her head and kept eye contact. “I like to mess with you because you’re an easy prey. Do you really wanna hear how I feel about you? I don’t hate you. I’m not jealous of you. I pity you, Lux. You’re pathetic.”
“I’m pathetic?! You’re a complete hypocrite. You care about your reputation, just like I do to mine. In your case, you get into fights, smoke, and waste your potential to keep this rebel and tough facade. You're better than that and you know it.”
Jinx was driving her crazy. The girl loved to make her lose control. She didn’t mind what the other said; she had heard worst. Jinx stayed silent and observed. They were mere inches apart, and the shorter girl saw she was panting by the movement of her chest. Lux’s eyes seemed like thunder, electric, and her face was flushed. The blonde clearly forgot how things easily heated up between them. Jinx had thought about it every single day, the shock wave she felt, like two conflicting forces colliding and exploding. Pure and raw adrenaline.
After minutes of silence, Lux turned around to leave. Her hand reached for the door handle, and she didn’t look back. She would have left and forgotten Jinx’s existence, but the door didn’t move.
Jinx watched her attempt to force it open for a few seconds. “It’s stuck, Lux. It happened to me before, the only way to leave it is to jump-”
“I’m not jumping from a three-story building. I like being alive, thanks,” Lux spoke, not letting Jinx finish her sentence. “I’m gonna call Ez, see if he can open it from the other side, or at least ask for help.”
“Do whatever you want, blondie,” Jinx shrugged and went back to sit on the floor.
Lux talked to her friend and explained her situation. Once the call ended, she sat ahead of Jinx, keeping some distance. “He and Sera are going to help us. Luckily, we’ll only miss the first period.”
“Your boyfriend will come to save you in shining armor?” The blue-haired girl mocked her.
“I don’t have a boyfriend. Ezreal is a friend.”
“I don’t care.”
Lux sighed. “What I mean is, even if I was in a relationship, I wouldn’t have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, cool,” Jinx smiled. Her gaydar was right. “Was I your gay awakening?”
Lux's cheeks got bright red, and she looked like she was going to choke up. This is priceless. “What? No!” The blonde was an awful liar.
“I totally was your gay awakening. Oh, shit. Remember when we were thirteen, and you suggested we should kiss just to ‘take the tension of the first kiss out of the way’,” Jinx did air quotes with her fingers. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice you were flirting with me.”
“It wasn’t flirting,” Lux would keep in denial. “I was a stupid thirteen-year-old that had a stupid idea. I'm glad you talked me out of it."
“Right. You can’t deny you had a crush, though.”
“Fine, I admit. Maybe I had the tiniest crush on you,” Lux declared, avoiding Jinx’s eyes. To tease her, the shorter one got up and sat in front of the blonde with her legs crossed, where Lux had no choice but to look at her. Jinx almost felt like in the old times. Next, she saw regret in Lux's expression. “Look, I... I’m sorry if I hurt you in the past, even if it wasn’t my intention. It’s our last year, I don’t want it to end with us mad at each other. Actually,…” Lux stopped what she was saying to open her backpack. She handed a box of fireworks to her. “I bought you this, for Valentine’s.”
“They’re like the ones I got for you on your tenth birthday.” Though she and Lux weren’t friends anymore, Jinx still considered it one of her happiest memories. She laughed as the memory played in her mind. They almost blew Lux’s house – and their hands – trying to launch the fireworks on their own, and when it finally worked, they screamed and jumped in excitement while looking at the bright colors painting the sky.
“Exactly!” Lux seemed glad Jinx reminded it. “I thought we could do something similar again, someday.”
“Let me check if I heard you right." Lux made it so easy to make fun of her. "You’re asking me out on a date on Valentine’s Day? How cheesy, Lux. Very subtle of you.”
“I-I’m not asking you on a date-” Seeing her stutter was funny, Jinx couldn’t stop laughing. “You’re such a tease. I hate you,” Lux said, but she was laughing, too.
“I missed your laugh.” Jinx had no trouble saying that out loud. Screw it. She got on her knees and leaned forward over Lux, her voice so low it was barely a whisper, “I missed you.”
Jinx’s lips touched hers. Lux didn’t move away, in fact, she put a hand on her neck to bring the blue-haired girl closer. Their kiss was brutal, desire combined with their previous feelings of loathing. Lux was soft and tasted like mint, Jinx noticed, as their tongues explored each other’s mouth and she bit Lux's lips. She must have eaten candy earlier. The kiss got into its own rhythm, as if their heads, mouths and hands had rehearsed beforehand. The pressure Jinx put on Lux’s body made her lay on the concrete. They kept kissing harshly until they heard a sound on the door.
It didn’t open immediately, which gave them time to pull themselves together. Shortly, the door started working again. Lux’s friends hugged her and looked at Jinx with disdain.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jinx,” was all Lux said at the end of their encounter.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Luxy.”