Chapter Text
Rock lightly played on her record player and crumpled candy wrappers littered her bed.
Jinx leaned against the headboard. She reached into her bag of candy for another fruit chew.
She looked at the polaroids on her dresser where she drew hearts around her former enemy.
Life was strange and confusing, wasn't it?
When she pulled the bomb, she thought about her and Ekko starting over in the afterlife. They would have been able to be happy together like they use to.
She was supposed to die. She wanted to escape her fucked up life and be free from all the pain and heartache.
Except she did die. The shimmer surgery had resurrected her from the dead.
Before she ditched this damned town, she wanted to pay respects to her former childhood friend.
Vander, Mylo, Claggor, Silco, and now Ekko. She killed everyone that use to care for her
Except for one thing.
Ekko.
That fucking asshole wasn't dead. She saw him walk into Benzo's shop.
Her plans had changed then. She had a few parting words for that little shithead before she disappeared.
However, things between her and Ekko took a surprising turn. They were able to reconcile and became friends again.
Whenever it rained he would come by her room to visit. She played old jazz records and enjoyed each other's presence. Just like her and Silco use to do.
If she didn't eat in her room, she sat at an empty table away from everybody else. Ekko would come over to sit by her.
Ekko became accustomed to Jinx barging into his private study unannounced. He let her sit with him while he worked. He let her draw on his desk and his arm with markers.
Jinx would have some blood splattered on her after a shimmer raid. He patted her shoulder, "You did an incredible job tonight, Jinx."
She simpered as she thought of her best friend. The doll sat comfortably on her pillows. She held the doll and admired her handiwork.
Its hair is made from thick, white wools of yarn. its hourglass symbol was etched onto a bullet casing for its dreadlock cuff.
She painted its face paint and used a marker for its smile. She drew its symbol on its apron with two blue and pink hearts.
When she found out their leader's identity, she wasn't able to kill Ekko. Imagining Ekko falling and bleeding out in front of her made her nauseous.
Ekko was supposed to be her enemy yet a small part of her still cared about him. After that discovery, she started to purposely miss him.
It also infuriated her. She was confident that he hated her. She should have been able to kill him. He wouldn't have cared about what happened to her.
Since she couldn't muster the guts to hurt him: she took out all her anger on a doll. It wore a stupid owl mask and a green jacket.
She would throw the doll on the floor and stomp on it. Unlike the real Ekko, she stabbed or even shoot it without hesitation.
The doll was a good outlet for her anger and frustration at her ex-friend. Her stupid feelings made things ten times more complicated and it was all his fault.
She liked this one better.
Instead of acting as a stand-in for her punching bag; she had something she could cuddle at night with a permanent smile on its face.
She wished it was the real thing. But the ragdoll will have to do.
"You're so cute. It's nice to finally say that to you." Her finger twirled around its hair.
"Although, the real Ekko is simply perfect. You're just a mini version of him. A mini Ekko...little man..." She gasped softly. "A mini man!" She beamed and then giggled.
"I would have used his real hair. But I didn't know how to get it without looking suspicious." She stroked its hair.
"I can't exactly go up to him to say, 'Hey, Ekko! Do you mind if I cut your hair? No? Why?' "She scoffed and waved her hand dismissively.
"'No reason! Just needed it for something!' So, I had to settle with yarn. Yarn is okay. " She rambled.
Its brown button eyes stared back at her.
At moments like this, she sometimes forgot about the original subject and was jabbering about something else.
But Ekko would sit patiently with a sweet smile. His warm brown eyes watched her as she prattled on and on.
Those same eyes sparked in excitement when she told him different ways she wanted to mutilate Enforcers, Sevika, and the Chem Barons.
"His eyes are beautiful. He's also pretty and dreamy and handsome.
I want us to be boyfriend-girlfriend type of friends. But he's my friend-friend. So, I can't really tell him all this." She shrugged.
She rubbed its cheek with her index finger. She imagined doing the action to the real Ekko.
Her cupping his cheek and he would hold her hand as he nuzzled it. He would tenderly press his lip on her palm, eyeing her softly.
Jinx touched her chest and sighed dreamily. Gods, even daydreaming of feeling his lips on her made her lightheaded.
"But I can't talk to Ekko about Ekko. I mean, he would love it. It'll boost his ego. But in a like-like sort of way?" She blew a raspberry. "No way. That be stupid. He's too perfect to be with someone like me." She said.
"I don't have no one to talk to except you. Vi is out of the question for obvious reasons." She frowned, she took one of the wrappers and tore it into tiny pieces.
"Mylo keeps teasing me, Claggor and Vander hardly say anything," She sprinkled the ripped paper on her bed.
"And Silco hates Ekko. He loves me but he thinks I'm wasting my time." She murmured, gently tugging its hair.
"But he seems...happy with me? I dunno. Sometimes I think he's crazier than me." She chuckled weakly.
"I tried to kill him. I killed his friends though. I kidnapped him and held him at gunpoint."
It was easy killing off the other firelights.
They were pests that annoyed her father and he wanted them dead. She was helping him and just doing a job.
It didn't matter to her. She didn't know them nor cared. She was never going to see them again anyway.
But here she was. In their base camp with their ghosts forever memorialized on the mural.
Including hers.
"But he still wanted me to stay. He hasn't kicked me out yet. It's only a matter of time before he's sick of me," She held the doll tighter. "Just like, Vi."
Her vision and surroundings became blurry as she stared at the toy. Everything started to become dark.
Just like Vi? How could I say that?! He's nothing like Vi. Vi replaced me. She doesn't accept me. She wants Powder. Ekko likes me for me.
But that's the thing. It makes me happy that he does. But I kill everyone I care about. I shouldn't have came here. I should have stayed away.
No. I made the right choice, right? Coming here. He asked me to stay. He wanted me to.
I was just tired of being alone. I just wanted a friend and I missed him a whole lot.
"Things can be different."
"We won't know if things can turn out better if we don't try,
That's what he said.
Everything's been going great so far. I want to believe him but-
She gingerly touched her forehead. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
She sighed softly and rubbed her temple. She was having a little fun before her downer thoughts crept into her brain.
This isn't about them right now. It's just you and a doll. A doll and you. You'll be fine for now. Just relax a little.
"Sorry about that," She smiled weakly. "But anyway, you're nice. Just like regular Ekko. Only that you don't talk. Your likeness is almost the same but not quite,"
She cracked a grin and held its stubby arm. "For starters, I can't replicate those biceps. Regular Ekko is a total hunk. I mean,hubba hubba!" She giggled, tossing the toy in the air.
She nearly dropped it when she heard knocking.
"Hey, Jinx. You got a minute?"
Her heart wanted to sprout wings and flutter out of her chest. It wanted to meet face-to-face with the person responsible for causing it to feel this way.
Ekko.
Even though her hair was perfectly fine, she smoothed her hand over it. She wanted to make it neat just in case.
"I got hours!" She called. "I gotta go, mini man. The real one is here." She whispered, she adjust the orange scarf around its neck and kissed its cheek.
She hid the doll in the closet and then the polaroids in her nightstand drawer. She scanned her room to double-check for any missed Ekko-related memorabilia.
If that bomb didn't kill her, the embarrassment of him ever finding out about these things will surely finish her off.
She curtly nodded to herself when everything was cleared. She grabbed a stick of gum from her candy bag before she opened the door.
"Got hours? He chuckled heartily. "I like that one. That's really good."
"Hm. Well, when you hang around a loser who has a magic stopwatch and makes time puns then it starts to rub off on ya." She smirked.
"Hm. Well, I guess this loser will change his mind." He returned her smirk.
She raised an eyebrow, "About what?"
"I was talking to Heimerdinger about the importance of kinematics and dynamics in robotics. And I want to-
"Wait a minute!" She held both of his arms. "Are you building a robot?!" She exclaimed.
That damn smug grin made its usual appearance, "Yeah, but it's just a small one. Like for toys." He clarified.
"Um....hell yeah! Of course, I wanna build a robot!" She exulted, shaking him slightly.
Gods, he's so fucking cool!
Not that she would tell him that, of course. He would never shut up about it if she does.
She bounced and hummed as they walked down the hallway.
"Can I have one?"
Jinx glanced at the stick of gum still in her hand. She crumbled the foil wrapper and flicked it at his face.
She chewed the gum, "Mmmm! Strawberry!" She smiled innocently.
His glare did nothing but incite her to point and laugh. She blew a small bubble but it was popped by his gloved finger.
"Hey!" She glared at him. Ekko mockingly laughed at her. She swatted his arm and he elbowed hers.
The two of them bantered back and forth, playfully pushing each other as they walked down the hallway.