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Steam filled the bathroom and billowed out the hallway through the cracked door.
Ekko stood under the shower and let the scalding water wash over his body.The pain felt good and he relished in the sensation over his skin.
He cupped his hands under the water and then splashed his face. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing hers gazing back at him.
He couldn't do it.
He thought killing her would solve his problems and be the end of it.
Her smiles used to be full of joy, and her laughter was contagious. Now, only her smiles were wide and sadistic at the bloodshed she caused.
But for once, her smile was wistful. Her eyes gleamed with unspoken apologies.
It was Silco's fault for destroying their lives.
It was Jinx's fault for choosing Silco and willingly working for him.
It was Ekko's fault for not saving her.
He didn't kick the bomb fast enough. His ankle was sprained but he tried moving her. His broken hoverboard couldn't even carry two people anyway.
And now she's dead.
He sat under that bridge and cried for her after he heard Silco leaving with her.
I keep trying to do right by her, but it never works out. I'm just a fucking failure.
He sighed heavily as he turned off the water. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel.
He was drying his face off when he felt a hard whack to the side of his head.
He groaned when he came to. His head throbbed and his vision was blurry.
Wherever he was, the room was only dimly lit by candles. Shimmer-colored eyes stared back at him. "You're awake."
Holy fucking shit.
He knew whose voice that belonged to.
"What the fuck? Jinx?!"
"That's me," She sings-song in a monotone voice.
A cacophony of emotions brewed inside him. He was confused, relieved, and even happy that she was alive. But he was mostly shocked at seeing her.
"Oh my Gods.You're alive?"
"Am I alive?" She scoffed. "You would have liked it if I died, wouldn't you?"
"What? No!" He answered earnestly.
"Don't lie to me," she removed PowPow from its holster and loaded it with bullets. "I fucking hate liars. They make me sick."
"I wouldn't lie to you. I would never-"
"People will say anything to not get killed." She cocked her gun.
My bat.
I need my bat.
He couldn't move his hands. He couldn't move anything except his head.
He looked down at himself; he was clothed. He remembered getting out of the shower before everything went black.
His arms, legs, feet, and chest were tightly bound to a chair with rope. He surveyed his surroundings and realized he wasn't in his room.
He struggled to break free from his restraints to no avail. "Where am I?"
Jinx huffed. "Back to where it aaaallllll started," She droned.
She didn't need to elaborate. He could never forget. He was the one to follow Silco and informed Vi of where he was holding Vander.
The canary by the docks.
He should have never told her. Or at least try to help. It was all his fault.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"You're so rude," she twirled her gun around her finger. "Can't two old friends just catch up?"
He rolled his eyes. "Cut the bullshit. You just came to kill me."
She hummed in consideration. "That depends on how much you piss me off, sunny boy," She drolled.
"But I have good news. My name will go down in history as the woman that killed the council!"
He didn't care about what happened to Topsiders but that news still surprised him. "You did?"
Jinx beamed, "Yes, sir-y! I'm going to be famous even when I'm good and dead!" She bubbled.
"But being famous comes with a price. You see, if the Enforcers don't kill me first, then those losers at Stillwater will try.
Killing the daughter of an infamous drug lord would rack up the bragging points, ya know? So, I'm leaving. I wanted to talk to you before I left."
"Talk to me? But how did you know I was even alive?"
Gods, she hated being weak. It was the reason that the little girl's bloated, decomposed body was floating in the well.
But she was never going to see him again so it wouldn't matter.
"I thought you were dead. I was going to Benzo's shop for old-time sake," She admitted.
"And what did I see? You, waltzing inside like nothing happened." She shook her head at herself. "I should have known. Nothing ever stays dead," She grumbled.
What she omitted was that she made a metal bouquet of flowers.
She hid in an alley and watched him enter. She couldn't believe that she was crying over him yet there he was.
She threw the bouquet in a nearby dumpster and stormed towards the shop.The door was obviously locked.
The shop had been boarded up for years. Nothing but bittersweet memories of her ex-friend and his father figure.
But unfortunately for him, she remembered his secret entrance.They used it when they wanted to eavesdrop on Benzo and Vander or Benzo with his customers.
"I was in the shower when you kidnapped me," He noted.
Since I was distracted, she was able to use it to her advantage and took the opportunity to pistol whip me.
"Yep," She shrugged nonchalantly. "You aren't special. I did the same with that Enforcer chick too."
She didn't have time to leer or gawk at him. She had to get him dressed and out of his home before he became conscious again.
Caitlyn?
Ugh. No way. She would rather have her eyes bleached than see that mess again.
Ekko?
Well...
Under different circumstances, she wouldn't have minded seeing the Boy Saviour undressed.
His eyes widened.
Caitlyn? She was with Vi the last I saw them.
His heart wanted to plummet out of his body as panic arose.
No. No, no, no, no, no. Oh Gods, no.
"What did you do with them? Did you kill Vi?"
Jinx rolled her eyes and sighed.
Oh, right. He's still talking.
"You see, big sis and I haven't gotten along since she started dating that demon," She said. "So, maybe! I'm just chock-full of surprises!" She giggled.
"You're not funny, Jinx," He admonished.
"No. I'm hilarious," She smirked at her quip.
She stood in front of him with her arms crossed. She wanted to get a good look at him one last time.
His hair was down, and he wasn't wearing his usual face paint.
His brown eyes were glaring at her, his cute wide nose scrunched up, and his mouth was twisted in contempt.Yet, his full lips looked very soft.
Again, under different circumstances, she would have loved to kiss him. She always wanted him to be her first kiss.
She would have loved his mouth to touch other places on her body.
He had no right being this pretty and making her heart swoon the way he did.
She reached out and brushed a stray, damp dreadlock out of his face. His hair was as soft and white as the clouds she saw in Piltover.
Ekko cringed and turned his face away from her.
Sometimes, he had dreams of them being happy and he felt her tender touches, smiling warmly at him as she did.
But he didn't want it like this. Being held against his will in a dilapidated building where their lives were irreparably ruined.
Out of everything she's done, this sudden act of affection was bizarre.
Her heart squeezed painfully as she retracted her hand.
Even my touch disgusts him.
He thought he saw something flash in her eyes...was she hurt?
He yelped when she backhanded him. He suppressed a groan from the stinging pain in his cheek.
She cackled and pointed at him.
She was being nice to Ekko for the first time in years, and he didn't even appreciate it.
She felt immense joy when she slapped Sevika awake. She even sighed in content from hitting that ogre that always looked down on her.
She wanted to hurt him like he just did to her. She should have felt better...but she didn't.
He heard her laugh while they fought. It was shrill, filled with unbridled satisfaction as she shot at him and his gang.
His eyebrows furrowed, and he turned his head to her. Her pupils would dilate from the high of mowing them down with her bullets.
This time was different.
Her grin didn't reach her eyes. Her laugh almost sounded forceful; adding faux glee in enjoying his pain.
At least he hoped so.
"What happened to you? Why did you take shimmer?"
Yesh. He sure asked a lot of questions. It's not like we're friends. It wasn't any of his business anyway. It's not like he cares.
She grabbed the sides of his chair and leaned close to his face. He ignored how the proximity made his heart skip a beat, and his cheeks warm.
"Because I thought it was juice. It looked yummy," She innocently smiled.
"Instead of trying to destroy it, you and your wannabe street trash should try it. It tastes as good as it looks." She grinned widely while shaking his chair.
Jinx laughed when Ekko's lip curled in disgust. He was always so serious.
He couldn't reason with her. He tried so many times in the past, but she wouldn't listen. She liked how she turned out.
He sighed dejectedly, "You're so talented and smart. You wasted everything, Powder."
"My name is not Powder!" She threw a chair with enough force to smash the wood into pieces as it hit the wall.
"You and Vi keep calling me by a dead brat's name! It's Jinx! J-I-N-X! Jinx!" She shouted. The utensils clattered with every banging of her fist with each letter.
Her eyes glowed brighter in her fury. Her teeth gritted into a snarl and growled, her chest heaving with every ragged breath.
His whole body froze.
Holy shit.
He wishes there was a way to get out of here. He wanted to go home, but his location had been compromised.
The Firelight Base. Did she know where that was? Gods, he prayed she didn't find that out, too.
He released a breath he was holding. "Jinx," He quickly corrected. "It's Jinx. I slipped up. It was an accident."
She turned her gaze at him. For the first time that night, he sounded startled.
She had the gun loaded when she broke into the shop. When he was unconscious she took out the bullets and then reloaded when he gained consciousness to scare him.
Her display of strength from her outburst wasn't planned. She slowly grinned, and her giggling turned into peels of maniacal laughter.
Not so tough now, huh?
She sighed happily when her laughing subsided.
She walked around his chair with her finger tracing the wood.
"You know what else is funny?" She yanked his shirt and sneered. "How you got everything to lose while I got nothing.
Why does the universe favor you so much? I went through the same thing, but I have nothing to show for it." She said bitterly.
He stared at her for a moment.
So that's what she thought of his life? That it was somehow better? That everything in his life was carefree with zero problems?
"You think I have everything I wanted? That my life is so fuckng easy and perfect compared to yours?" He chuckled sardonically.
"Yeah, I have new friends. But every time I step out of my home, I have to worry about you or Enforcers killing them!" He seethed.
"I lost everyone! I saw Benzo get killed! I lost Mylo, Claggor, Vander, Vi, and you. All in one night!
It has nothing to do with the universe. It's your shitty decisions that got you here! It's why you're on the run now!
We went through the same shit together! But you wanted to be coddled and let Silco turn you into what you are now." He exploded.
"And what is that? Hm?" She challenged. "A monster? Yeah, real-"
"A corpse!" Ekko spat, his voice broken slightly. "He turned my best friend into a corpse of what she used to be!"
Her eyes widened. She released his shirt and backed away. Her chest suddenly became tight and it was hard to breathe. Mylo liked that and was laughing at her.
A corpse.
Something that was slowly rotting away, in front of his eyes for seven years.
Someone that should have been dead but was still staggering around acting alive and well.
He sounded hurt; the tears sliding down his face providing evidence of his feelings. As if seeing her grow up into what she was now has caused him excruciating pain.
She swallowed a big, painful lump down her throat but managed to chuckle, shaking her head.
He and Vi thought they knew everything. Silco didn't create her. She had dormant traits laying within her that she discovered with him.
She was going to tell him that, but Ekko had more to say.
"I had no one else to go to. You were all I had left. But after Silco adopted you, you left me. You turned your back on me for him and I was alone.
You said Vi abandoned you, Jinx. But you wanna know how I felt? That you abandoned me too."
Her heart stopped beating, all the air sucked out of her.
Her ending their friendship to embrace her new life with Silco felt like a betrayal to him. So much so that he felt abandoned by her.
Abandoned.
No.
How dare he?! She wasn't like Vi.
Was she?
Her stomach churned at the comparison.
I'm not like Vi.
I would never do something like that.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
Jinx pointed the gun to his forehead. "You're lying!" She stormed. "I could kill you!"
He was emotionally drained.
If she killed him, then at least he was able to tell her everything he wanted to say to her for the last several years.
He would miss everyone at his base. His best friend, Scar, was second in command. At least his community would be safe in his hands.
He pressed his forehead against the barrel. "If you think I'm lying then do it. Kill me. This will be the last time you'll keep hurting me."
Her gun stayed there for two minutes. She trailed it down his face, jaw, and chest.
In a better world, it would have been her hands caressing him. He would look at her in adoration as if she was something to behold and treasure.
But this was reality. Not a stupid, childish fantasy.
Her finger was dangerously close to pulling the trigger.
She used to have everything.
They scrapped for coins and struggled to get by, but she had a loving family and her best friend was her first crush.
Her inventions failed but she had Vi encouraging her. She believed in her when she didn't believe in herself.
Now she had no one.
Her birth parents were murdered.
She killed Vander and her brothers.
She killed Silco.
Vi went with the Enforcer.
Her ex-friend felt like she betrayed and abandoned him. He wanted her to kill him.
She truly was alone in this world.
'Do it,' Mylo encouraged. 'Then we'll finally have someone better to talk to. Besides, he was our friend too.'
No.
'No?' Mylo scoffed. 'You're never going to see him again. If you missed him so much then make him join us. It's the only way he'll ever talk to you again.' Mylo mocked.
'He hates you. If he hated you before he hates you even more. You're nothing but a mistake. A Jinx,' A smile crept along his face. 'A corpse.'
Her anguish and rage escaped her body into a roar.
Gunshots rang out into the night, crows cawed and flew away.
Smoke emitted from the barrel of her gun, she breathed heavily, tears brimming her eyes.
Silco's eyes were wide in shock when she shot her before they eventually closed.
Vander, Mylo, Claggor, and Silco.She killed everyone.
Ekko's eyes were still open too. They used to be filled with warmth and his presence comforted her.
All she felt was his cold, gaze bore into whatever was left of her damaged soul.
He was glaring at her. He didn't flinch from the shots she fired in the air.
She let her gun slip from her hands and dropped to her knees; gut-wrenching sobs tore through her chest and she covered her face with shaking hands.
Her sorrow strangled her until she heaved for breath and coughed.
She couldn't do it.
She desperately tried and wanted to forget about him over the years, but she couldn't. Her crush on him still lingered. She yearned for how things used to be.
She missed their friendship. She missed him.
A part of her cared for him even though there was no chance that he felt the same.
Ekko leaned his head back on the chair, closed his eyes, and listened to her cries.
He felt empty. Tonight had hollowed out his emotions but a single tear managed to escape his eye.
Why did their lives turn out like this? They always seemed miserable around each other.
You can't change the past and have to move towards the present. But time doesn't heal all wounds.
He missed what they used to be. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted both of them to be happy one day.
They didn't deserve this. They deserved better.
Ekko opened his eyes when she stopped sobbing and stared at her hunched figure. Her hand slid down her face and she stared back at him.
Her eyes were red with black tears staining her face. She snorted and wiped the snot from her nose.
She stood and took out a switchblade from her pocket.
He eyed the knife in her hand, looked at her face, and braced himself.
She didn't shoot him but probably wanted to stab him instead.She wanted his death to be more painful than a quick gunshot.
She wanted to feel the knife plunge into him, his blood running down her hands, choking on it while watching as he slowly succumbed to his stab wounds.
Instead, she slashed her knife across the restraints.
Without the rope around his chest, he was able to breathe deeply. He sighed his exhaustion then rubbed his wrist.
"When things got really bad, I used to remember how you were always there to comfort me." She shook her head with a sad smile. "Now all we do is hurt each other."
"We can still go back to that. We can still try."
"No. We can't. We changed too much." She grabbed her backpack from under the table.
"Where are you going?"
She had to leave this cursed city. She didn't know where she would hide but she knew for certain where she was heading after all this.
She put the straps over her shoulders and smiled weakly. "To hell." She sniffed and wiped her cheeks.
She was going to leave again. She was going to slip through his fingers again and lose her forever.
"We don't have to end it like this," he stood up. "We can figure something out."
She shook her head. "It's too late. Everything between us is tainted, Ekko. You're twenty. You're too old to be playing hero. You-"
Jinx's eyes widened when Ekko enveloped her in a tight embrace.
A reasonable person would have high-tailed it out of there. But she used to be his childhood friend and his first love.
As fucked up as the situation was, she still is.
Only her.
She was going to disappear, and he wanted something good to remember her by.
She hadn't had any physical affection since Silco and Vi. She should have pulled away but there wasn't any fight left in her.
The two of them slowly sank onto the floor. He was so warm, his strong arms around her lithe frame.
She kidnapped him, slapped him, and threatened to murder him, yet he was being so tender with her.
After everything she did, this sudden act of tenderness was odd.
But it was welcomed.
She clung to him and buried her face into his shirt. Can you feel euphoria from a hug? Because this felt amazing.
"Please stay," He pleaded.
Stay? After the torment she put him through tonight he wanted her to stay?
She shook her head. "I can't. I'll get you killed. Not you. Anyone but you," She rasped.
"It won't happen. Things can be different."
"You don't know that. It'll all come crashing down and you'll blame me. Killing people is what I'm good at," She sniffled.
"You don't know that either. We won't know if things can turn out better if we don't try," He beseeched.
"Why are you doing this? Why do you want me to stay?" She whimpered.
"Because I'm tired of fighting you. I never enjoyed it. I just want peace. I want my friend back. Please, P-Jinx. I'm sorry. Please, Jinx." He nuzzled the crook of her neck.
He was so naive. So desperate to ignore the fact that he couldn't save everyone. His hero syndrome wouldn't let him believe otherwise. "You have to let me go."
She didn't even want to let him go. His hug was welcoming and brought her comfort.
His arms tightened around her. "You're not a jinx. I'll protect you. I'll be happy that you stayed. I want you here." His hand cradled the back of her head.
She thought she ran out of tears, but he was able to make more fill her eyes.
Oh my Gods.
Her insides felt warm and fuzzy, her surroundings became a soft blur of pink with hearts everywhere.
Only him. She wanted to cradle his head and keep him there.
She savored the slow caresses on his back while the other traveled to his head.
Only-
No.
Her eyes shot open and her hand stopped at his nape.
You can't stay. You'll only hurt him again. You'll only cause him more problems. You have to leave.
She rapidly blinked herself out of her daze, her hands tightly gripping his shoulders.
Gods, what the fuck was she doing?
"Let go!"
She roughly shoved him away, his back hit the table with a grunt: it nearly toppled over with the glass cups and plates shattering on the floor
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Her hands reached out for him but she held them to her chest.
Mylo rolled his eyes. His little sister was so predictable.
'You're hurting him again. That's all you're ever good for.'
She scrambled to get up and sprinted to the door.
"Jinx, please!"
His big, teary, brown eyes pleaded with her when his words couldn't.
She couldn't look at them anymore. The pain constricted into her body and clenched her heart with its razor-sharp talons.
She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped the straps of her backpack tighter. "I'm sorry, Little Man. For everything."
A flash of blue and a trail of magenta bolted down the hallway.
"Jinx!"
He ran after her, but she already vanished.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a piece of paper on the floor. It must have fallen out of his pocket.
He kneeled to unfold it, the letter was written in blue and pink markers:
Dear Ekko,
I'm sorry.
You always knew how to make me feel better when we were kids. Before the incident, you were always my favorite person.
You still are.
Goodbye,
-JINX
Her favorite person.
The confession made his heart soar yet shatter him at the same time.
He wanted to tell her that she was his favorite person, too.
What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I still love a woman that breaks my heart?
He sat on the floor and then held his head in his hands.
She was gone.
His sadness simmered and boiled into anger.
Nothing he said worked, and his pleading fell on deaf ears. Someone from his past that he wanted to have but couldn't.
He was useless when it came to her.
He failed her.
Again.
Always letting her down.
That was all he was ever good for, right?
Jinx was exiting the canary when she heard him scream. She whipped her head around and gasped softly, "Ekko?"
She wanted to go back. Take him up on his offer that things can be different.
She didn't want to be alone, and he was giving her a chance even after everything that transpired.
Ekko gave her hope. She wanted to be happy. With him. She longed for that so much. She wanted her dreams to become a reality.
She wanted a friend. He was all she had left.
She took two steps forward in the doorway when Silco appeared in front of her.His pristine suit was riddled with bullet holes and stained with blood.
'You shouldn't go back, dear. He's not worth your time.' He advised.
"But he's-he was my friend."
'He refused to accept you. Just like your sister. He'll be with you for ten minutes before he rejects you again.' Silco said.
Jinx frowned. "But he said-"
'He lied. Everyone does.' Silco reminded her. I'm your family. I would never steer you wrong. Have I?'
Jinx's eyes dropped to the floor as she shook her head.
'This is about your survival, child. I'm not there to protect you anymore. You have to do what you must to make it in this world.He'll only slow you down and hurt you again. Just like everyone else in your life.' Silco stated.
Jinx looked past him and into the dark hallway.
She didn't want to hurt Ekko anymore. She wanted to show him that she was capable of doing more.
Silco's features contorted into an irritated scowl. His daughter was smarter than this. Why was she hesitating for some boy?
'You need to leave him, Jinx,' He said sternly. 'Now.'
Her eyes glazed with fresh tears and her lips trembled.
A lone firelight flew past her as she ran away.