Chapter Text
Ezreal had always been a sensitive kid. He had so many emotions that he felt so much stronger than anyone else around him. And that had been no different on his very first day of school. Only a child, Ezreal didn’t understand why his parents would leave him alone in a place where he didn’t know anyone.
So, much like some of the other kids, he had been very quick to cry. Screaming for his parents to come back, asking why they were leaving him all alone.
Ezreal had been distraught on his first day of preschool. Looking back, it was probably something that many of the teachers and educators were used to seeing.
The outlier came in the form of Sheida Kayn.
When first seeing the boy, Ezreal had felt so much fear. With his tear stained cheeks and quiet sobs, Ezreal had seen Kayn sitting outside by the playground, a little magnifying glass in his hands as he looked at the ants marching across the cement. And the longer he looked at them, the more ants seemed to catch on fire, sparking and then crumbling to little burnt ashes on the pavement.
It wasn’t until an educator snapped at Kayn that he stopped, brought back inside and his magnifying glass was taken away to prevent him from setting more bugs on fire. He looked less than pleased to be sitting at one of the tables, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
Ezreal couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was that drew him to that terrifying boy. But with his teary eyes and stuffy nose, Ezreal plopped himself into the seat next to Kayn, holding out one of the two cookies he had for his lunch.
When Kayn took the oreo from Ezreal’s hand, they seemed to make a silent agreement to stick together. Ezreal, with his strong emotions and Kayn with his mischievous tendencies, would soon become inseparable.
At first, it was just that they would spend their days next to each other, either playing or making crafts. And though Ezreal still cried when dropped off, it never lasted as long. Not when he was quickly searching for Kayn in the playground. Almost instinctively, they would hold each other's hands and rarely let go.
They grew so close so quickly, soon playing make believe where Kayn would always insist that they had to be married and he would go to work while Ezreal would be his wife. And that naturally progressed to them getting married under the playground slide, just the two of them and none of the other kids at the preschool really seemed to like Kayn.
But that didn’t matter because Ezreal liked Kayn. He liked him a lot.
Which is why it hurt even more when Ezreal saw Kayn cry for the first time. It was late in the day, nearing pick-up time. Ezreal had stepped away to go to the bathroom and when he came out, Kayn was nowhere to be found. Ezreal searched through the classroom but eventually, he did find Kayn, sitting under the slide. The same place that they’d gotten married.
And his cheeks were streaked with tears and his eyes were red and bloodshot.
“Daddy says I’m not coming back here,” he’d said, his voice so weak and quiet gasps coming from his lips. “I didn’t want to tell you.”
That was the first time Ezreal saw Kayn cry and the last time he saw Kayn at the preschool.
And for years, that stuck with him. Ezreal had never forgotten about that boy, never forgotten about their time spent together. He looked back on it with such fondness as he wondered where Kayn had gone, where he’d moved to.
Now, in his final year of high school, Ezreal was dropped off for his first day of school and he didn’t cry. But he also didn’t see a boy out in the parking lot, setting bugs on fire.
He wondered if moments like that were what people called ‘core memories’. To always remember Kayn when he looked out to an empty lot of pavement. Or when he saw a red slide, he would remember the sight of Kayn giggling as he pressed the smallest of pecks to Ezreal’s cheek.
It had been over ten years and Ezreal still thought of Kayn at every turn. He just wondered where he was, what he was doing, how he was doing.
Stepping through the front doors to the school, Ezreal adjusted his bag, looking down at the schedule in his hand. First, he had homeroom, classroom 24 with Mr. Graves. Same homeroom as always, so that was nothing new.
Tucking his schedule away, Ezreal slipped down the hallway, smiling when he saw Talon and Lux down by their lockers. Lux was giggling, holding her phone out to their very stoic friend. But even what she showed him pulled a slight smile to Talon’s lips, head shaking. Nearly bumping into a few people around them, Ezreal rushed over to his friends and without a single warning, he pulled them both into tight hugs. And while Lux yelped from the shock of it, Talon was just as quiet as always. He did at least give a smile when Ezreal pulled back, though it was small.
“Man, I missed you guys,” he chuckled, smile only widening when Lux gasped, reaching out to touch his once blonde hair, looking at the freshly dyed stands. “Do you like it?”
“Looks like moss,” Talon mumbled and he pulled on a lock of green hair, his hand quickly slapped away by Lux, her smile brighter than the sun itself.
“Don’t listen to him! It looks good,” she looked delighted as she clasped her hands together, raising an eyebrow. “Trying to impress someone?”
“Only need to impress myself in the mirror. Anyone else’s opinion doesn’t matter.” As he said it, he sent a pointed look over to where Talon was smiling, arms crossed over his chest. “Anyways, which homeroom are you guys in?”
“We’re both in Felix’s,” Talon mumbled, looking down at his phone. “Should probably head over there soon.”
“You still in Graves’?” Lux asked, taking the schedule from where Ezreal had tucked it into his bag, looking over the schedule. “At least you have chemistry with Talon.”
“I already knew there was chemistry between us,” Ezreal smirked, though he was quickly met with his schedule being shoved into his face. A cackle left his lips as he took the paper back, folding it up again. “Damn, tough crowd.”
“Heard there’s a new kid in your homeroom,” Lux quickly changed the subject, both of them ignoring the way Talon looked about ready to throttle Ezreal.
“Okay?” Ezreal raised an eyebrow, leaning against the lockers next to them. “Who cares?”
“Apparently a lot of people, cause that’s all I’ve been hearing. From what I’ve heard, he’s cute but a total bad boy.” Great. Sounded like the type that Ezreal wanted to stay far away from. Talon had been on thin ice when they’d met, dragged into their little friend group by Lux. “Who knows. Maybe you’ll have chemistry with him too.”
Ezreal’s only response was a dramatic gag, bumping his shoulder against Talon’s chest, turning to smile at the other boy.
“The only bad boy I want is—”
“I’m going to homeroom,” Talon quickly cut him off, making Ezreal stumble as he stepped away. And with a small wave over his shoulder, he slipped through the busy hallways.
“Something tells me he’s not interested,” Lux said, though she held up a hand to her mouth like she was whispering.
“He’ll come around,” Ezreal joked, waving a hand. Really, he knew that there was nothing between him and Talon, though that wouldn’t stop him from play flirting with him all the time. And hey, if it got him somewhere one day, he wouldn’t complain. Talon was cute. “You should go catch up with him. I’ve gotta get to class.”
And with that, they parted ways. Ezreal got himself settled comfortably in homeroom, phone in his hands as he scrolled through twitter. As he once again spammed the group chat with Lux and Talon with random posts he found, he hardly paid any attention to the classroom around him. He could hear mindless chatter around him, but it wasn’t until a bag was tossed down on the table next to him that Ezreal lifted his eyes.
“Anyone sitting here?” The low voice asked and Ezreal lifted his eyes to see an unfamiliar face. He’d been in school with most of these people for the past few years, so he at least had an idea of who everyone was. But Ezreal knew he’d never seen this boy before. He would have noticed someone wearing an eyepatch a lot earlier.
“No, go for it,” Ezreal said, shifting his chair a bit to allow room for the boy to sit down, which he did none too gracefully. His magenta hair fell in his eyes as he leaned back in his seat, rocking it onto the back two legs, pulling out a cracked phone. He tapped away on the screen, but Ezreal couldn’t take his eyes off of the boy.
Because even if Ezreal didn’t recognize him from high school, he looked so familiar. His nose was sharp with a bump to the bridge, something Ezreal had seen on very few people. Though an eyepatch covered one of his eyes, the one that Ezreal had seen was such a vibrant green. They were features he’d seen before, on a much younger face and—
The ringing of the class bell had Ezreal quickly looking away, heart hammering in his chest and eyes wide as he stared down at his phone. The screen was black, having shut off while he’d been staring at the new kid. He considered opening up the chat with his friends and telling them that he was pretty sure he knew the new student, but that would involve explaining that he still thought about his preschool crush, and that was something he really didn’t feel like admitting.
Besides, he couldn’t even be sure this was Kayn. Sure, there were some similar features, but that didn’t mean anything. Right? Right?
Tapping his foot, Ezreal waited impatiently for Mr. Graves to step up to the front of the class. He would know for sure once attendance started.
“Alright, everyone,” Graves spoke up as he walked to the front of the class, picking up a clipboard from his desk. “Welcome back, hope y’all had a good summer. Let’s start off with attendance and then we can actually get to it.”
In alphabetical order of last names, Ezreal was growing more impatient. He probably looked crazy, with how he chewed on his nails and stared intently at the clipboard held in the teachers hands.
“Sarah Fortune”
Come on.
“Annie Hastur”
Come on!
“Khada Jhin.”
Holy fuck, hurry up!
“Sheida Kayn.”
That was it. Everything in Ezreal’s mind went silent and he turned his eyes to where the boy next to home was raising his hand. Those hands with painted nails and covered in rings, the same hands that Ezreal had held as a child. Those lips that said the simple word ‘here’ were the same ones that had kissed Ezreal’s cheek and had said they should get married.
The same boy that Ezreal had been thinking about for years. Over a decade. And he was right there.
His throat was tight and it wasn’t until that vibrant, green eye turned to him that Ezreal could hear anything.
“Ezreal Lymere, I know you’re back there,” Graves’ voice finally reached his ears and Ezreal’s head quickly shot to look at the teacher, face burning.
“Sorry, I’m here!” Ezreal croaked out, his voice so very weak. But even as attendance continued, Ezreal could still feel eyes on him. No, just one. A single eye of the most shocking green. And when he turned back to the boy next to him, Ezreal felt his heart stop.
Because Kayn was staring at him, wide eyed and shocked. Confused. And with just the smallest amount of joy.
“Ezreal?” He asked, his voice quieter than Ezreal had ever heard before, and yet so different. He still held the hint of a british accent, though it seemed to have faded over the years. His voice had deepend so much, audible even through his whisper.
And Ezreal felt so weak. It was him. It was him.
“Kayn, I—”
“Lymere, I’m tryina talk up here,” their teacher spoke up, a hand on his desk as he raised an eyebrow at Ezreal. “Imma need you to actually pay attention.”
Ezreal snapped his mouth shut and curled his hands into tight fists in his lap. He had so much he wanted to say. He wanted to hug Kayn, tell him how much he missed him. Wanted to ask how he’d been, why he was back, if he still thought about Ezreal the same way Ezreal thought about him.
No, that’s a bit much.
As Ezreal kept his eyes on the teacher at the front of the class, he could feel his leg shaking again. Why couldn’t this just be over with? Then he could talk to Kayn properly. He’d have 15 minutes in between class to try and catch up.
But the moment Graves had his back turned, a paper slid across the table, and Ezreal stared down at the messy handwriting.
Is that really you?????
Swallowing, Ezreal picked up the pen that Kayn had placed on the paper, glancing up at the teacher before writing down his own note.
I was gonna ask you the same thing.
At first, that was all Ezreal wrote, hesitating for a moment before he wrote once more.
I missed you. How have you been?
It felt casual. Maybe a bit too casual. But regardless, seeing Kayn smile was worth it, he took the pen from Ezreal’s hand and leaned onto the table, scribbling on the paper.
Pretty good. Just moved back last month. We moved upstate for dads work, but he ended up getting a position back here again. Its been weird, being back here
Ezreal read over the message, and then read over it again. They’d just been upstate this whole time? If he’d known, maybe they still could have stayed in touch somehow. His family would occasionally go upstate to visit family.
I can imagine but I’m glad you’re back.
When he wrote it, Ezreal’s eyes flicked up for just a moment to see the way Kayn smiled, oh-so gently. He looked cute like that and Ezreal felt his heart warm. That was the same smile he had gotten used to back in preschool.
Before handing the pen back to Kayn, Ezreal wrote another quick note.
Do you wanna sit with me and my friends at lunch? They’re nice, i promise
The softest chuckle left Kayn’s lips, a sound that had Ezreal’s heart trembling. He didn’t even write an answer, just nodded as he leaned back in his seat. Ezreal smiled at Kayn for a moment before looking back at the note on the table.
It was him. It was Kayn. He was back.
Once Mr. Graves had gotten through his semester introduction, they were all free to go, heading over to their next classes. And finally, Ezreal was actually able to speak to Kayn. But of course, he couldn’t seem to form a single word, couldn’t get his thoughts together.
So, for a minute, they just walked in silence.
“Where are we going, by the way?” Kayn asked when they’d walked down a couple halls, pulling a paper from his pocket. It was crumpled and torn, but Ezreal supposed it was still legible as Kayn opened it up and looked it over. “I think my next class is the other way.”
Ezreal leaned over Kayn’s arm to look at the paper before humming, glancing up to the classes around them.
“Yeah, the computer lab is in the west wing,” Ezreal murmured, a bit disappointed that him and Kayn weren’t going to be in the same class. But that feeling was quickly squashed as Kayn held out his phone to Ezreal. The screen was completely shattered, though Ezreal supposed it was still usable.
“I could get your number, that way you can message for lunch,” Kayn mumbled, and when Ezreal glanced up at Kayn, he found the boy was looking away, cheeks a soft pink. “If you want.”
Ezreal was going to melt.
Taking Kayn’s phone, he typed in his number, adding a couple hearts to his contact name before handing Kayn his phone back.
“Text me so I can get your number,” Ezreal smiled, pulling out his one phone. His beaded phone charm jingled with each movement and he smiled when a text came through. A simple little message that still made his stomach flip.
hi
Smiling, Ezreal saved the contact in his phone and lifted his eyes back to Kayn, clutching his phone to his chest as he saw Kayn still had a hint of pink to his cheeks.
“I’ll message you, okay?” Kayn only gave a little nod as a response and Ezreal could hardly contain himself anymore. Tucking his phone away, Ezreal stepped forward and carefully took Kayn’s hands in his own, feeling how warm they were, calloused and so big compared to his own. They’d both changed so much, but there was something so familiar about holding Kayn’s hands again. “I missed you so much, Kayn.”
The pink of his cheeks was very quickly darkening, rising to his heavily pierced ears as well. And the one eye that Ezreal could see was staring at him for a moment before darting away.
“I, um… Yeah. I should go.”
And with that, Kayn was stepping back, hands slipping from Ezreal’s grasp. Not a single word could be spoken before Kayn was gone, disappearing into the thick crowd of students. For a moment, Ezreal simply stood there, shocked and frozen. Had he come on too strong? Had he just scared Kayn away?
“Ez, what are you doing?” The voice pulled Ezreal from his stupor, eyes turning to where Talon was walking towards him, an eyebrow raised. “We’re gonna be late if you keep standing there.”
Ezreal didn’t even answer. He watched down the hallways to see Kayn’s head of magenta hair disappear around the corner. And once he was gone, Ezreal finally looked over at Talon, the boy’s eyebrow raised and confusion in his eyes.
And Ezreal simply followed him.
As they sat in the classroom, Ezreal stared at the message from Kayn, frowning. He wanted to ask if Kayn was okay, if he’d done too much, or if there was something else that had caused that reaction.
But instead, he just closed out the app and lowered his phone to the desk.
“Who was he?” Talon asked, his voice low and quiet, trying to keep quiet so that the teacher wouldn’t hear. Mrs. Glasc had jumped right into a lesson, not really giving an introduction to the class at all. That always made it easier to talk during her class, as she never really paid any mind to the students.
“Who?” Ezreal asked, though he knew what the answer would be. Talon had showed up so soon after Kayn had left that there was no way he hadn’t seen them together.
“Purple hair. You were holding hands with him. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen him before,” Talon said, not even turning to look at Ezreal as he spoke. He kept his eyes firmly locked on the chalkboard that Glasc was writing on. “Is he the new kid that Lux mentioned? You seem pretty close.”
“Aw, are you jealous?” Ezreal couldn’t help but giggle, and it was then that Talon turned his eyes to Ezreal, unimpressed and the furthest from jealous as he could get. “Yes, he’s the one Lux was talking about. I used to know him.”
“Know him?”
“Man, you’re nosy,” Ezreal smiled, his words only earning him a roll of the eyes as Talon quickly turned his attention back to the lesson before them.
“Forget I asked,” Talon grumbled. Ezreal smiled as he bumped his shoulder against Talon’s arm.
“I knew him in preschool,” Ezreal explained, smirking when he noticed Talon’s gaze flick over to him. “We were best friends, but his family moved away, so I haven’t seen him for a long time.”
“And you remembered him?”
“Don’t think I could ever forget him,” Ezreal admitted, leaning back in his seat. That seemed to prompt Talon to actually look at him, blinking a couple times. “We were inseparable, honestly. He was the only thing that made me look forward to preschool.”
As he said it, Ezreal could feel the way his face warmed, picking at his nails as he spoke. Sure, he knew he’d have to tell Talon and Lux about Kayn, but it still felt embarrassing to admit just how fond his memories of Kayn were.
“How did we never hear about him?” Talon asked after a moment, snapping his mouth shut quickly when Glasc glanced over her shoulder. Ezreal watched her as he mulled over his words. Once she turned around, Ezreal let out a quiet sigh, eyes flicking down to the blank paper on his desk. He hadn’t taken a single note, so to look busy, he began doodling between the lines.
“Didn’t wanna tell you about him,” Ezreal muttered, hoping that his hair covered his face. He could feel just how red his cheeks were. “It’s weird to say how close we were.”
“Seems like a pretty normal friendship from what you told me.”
Maybe it seemed like that on the outside, but there was so much Ezreal hadn’t mentioned. Like how he’d often think about their silly little marriage, and how he’d dreamed of that for years. What he’d felt for Kayn was definitely more than a friendship, something that he hadn’t realized until he’d grown up a bit. And sure, they’d just been kids, but that didn’t change the way Ezreal’s stomach would flip when Kayn held his hand, or how he’d always wondered about kissing Kayn on the lips instead of just on the cheek.
And now, in his last year of high school and nearing adulthood, Ezreal knew very well that he’d had a crush on Kayn back then. Maybe even still had a crush, especially with how those feelings had come rushing back the moment he’d seen Kayn again.
He was older now, handsome and reserved. Like the dark, silent type. A bad boy on the outside but Ezreal knew that Kayn had a soft heart. He’d been the same back when they were kids.
The boy who set ants on fire had been the same boy who smiled so sweetly when he held Ezreal’s hands, telling him that they would be together forever.
The dark clothes, heavy chains and make up could only do so much to hide Kayn’s sweet heart.
But instead of explaining all of that to Talon, Ezreal opted to just say, “I invited him to have lunch with us.”
For a moment, Talon didn’t answer, though he did press his lips together in a tight line. Ezreal knew that Talon wasn’t too keen on new people, so he didn’t seem the happiest about this. But in the end, he just nodded, eyes flicking over to Ezreal for a moment.
“Hopefully he’s the same as you remember.”
“Aw, are you worried about me?” Ezreal smiled, chin resting in his palm as he fluttered his eyelashes, though Talon didn’t even look at him. He just huffed out a sigh and looked down at his phone.
“People change, Ezreal. You may have known him as a kid, but he probably isn’t the same person now. I don’t want you to get hurt, alright? Then I’ll be stuck dealing with your broken heart.” Talon spoke in such a low voice, his words making Ezreal’s skin prickle. Well, that didn’t fill Ezreal with hope…
With a frown, Ezreal leaned back in his seat and looked back to the front of the class. Still, Glasc droned on and Ezreal didn’t pick up on a single word of it. Instead, he was left to ponder the words that Talon had said.
What if Kayn had changed? Well, they’d both changed, obviously. It had been over ten years. But surely he hadn’t changed enough that Ezreal wouldn’t like him, right?
Maybe he should have talked to Lux about Kayn first. He probably would have left the conversation feeling much better that way.
After chemistry, Ezreal’s next couple classes were spent without any of his friends, which definitely made the lessons much more boring. But eventually, lunch period came. With his bag slung over his shoulder, Ezreal stared down at the chat with Kayn, a frown on his lips as he considered what to say.
By the time he reached the back corner of the courtyard where they would normally have lunch, he had the most basic message typed up.
back left of the courtyard is where we have lunch
It was straight forward and a bit plain, very different from Ezreal’s usual texting style, but he didn’t want to make Kayn more uncomfortable. His hand trembled a bit as he sent the message and he dropped his bag to the ground.
Lux was the first face he saw, smiling widely as she practically skipped over, dropping herself to the soft grass with a loud sigh.
“Class is already so boring,” she whined, pulling out a neatly wrapped bento bag from her backpack. It had been a gift from Ezreal a few years earlier, and she still used it to that day. The purple fabric had faded to the point that the star designs were hardly even noticeable anymore. But still, she refused to get a new one. “How has your day been so far?”
“It’s been alright,” Ezreal murmured as he started pulling out his own lunch as Talon approached them. Like a looming thunder cloud over a bright sky, Talon joined them, settling on the grass between them. “Told Talon already, but I invited a friend to eat with us.”
“You have friends?”
“How did I know you were gonna say that?” Ezreal couldn’t help but smile as he glanced up, eyes turning to the courtyard entrance. “The new kid you mentioned today, he’s an old friend of mine.”
Before either of them could answer, Ezreal spotted a head of magenta hair coming through the door, Kayn’s eye flicking around to look for them. Almost immediately, Ezreal felt the way his heart stuttered, lifting a hand to wave at Kayn. And the sight of Kayn’s lips spreading into the smallest smile as their gazes met had Ezreal feeling weak.
“What, that’s him?” Lux hissed, quiet enough so that only Ezreal would hear. “He looks like a bitch.”
“Lux!” Ezreal snapped, though he tried to keep his voice quiet as well before he turned to where Kayn was approaching them. “You made it.”
“Wouldn’t bail on you,” Kayn hummed, gaze flicking to Talon and then to Lux. And just like that, the softness disappeared from Kayn’s eyes, a shocking difference that Ezreal really hadn't prepared himself for. “Names Kayn.”
That was it. That was all he provided as he settled himself between Ezreal and Talon. It took a second for Ezreal to break the heavy silence, letting out a laugh that sounded tense, even to his own ears.
“Kayn, these are my friends. Lux and Talon.” He gestured to them as he said it. “We met back in first year. I met Lux first when we had geography together, and she convinced Talon to start having lunch with us so he would stop sitting alone.”
Kayn hummed quietly and maybe it was just Ezreal’s imagination, but he was sure he noticed Kayn shifting closer to him.
“Makes sense why you and Ez are friends,” Kayn said as he looked at Lux, his face softening just a little bit as he spoke. “Sounds like you two are pretty similar,”
“Are you implying that you and Talon are also similar?” Ezreal asked, unable to hold back a smile as he looked at the two of them. Kayn, with his eyepatch, and Talon with the scar over his eye, both looked at Ezreal, holding the same unimpressed expression. “That was a stupid question. I see it now.”
Even Lux was chuckling as she looked at the two boys, both of them biting out a crude name towards Ezreal.
“So, Ezreal said you guys knew each other before?” Lux asked, directing her attention towards Kayn. Thankfully, she was always pretty good at holding conversations. If it had just been Kayn and Talon, Ezreal would have been worried about a bloodbath.
“We were friends in pre-K,” Kayn supplied and Ezreal could see the way his tense shoulders relaxed a bit. He leaned back on his arm and Ezreal felt his mouth go dry when he watched Kayn’s bicep flex a bit. “He cried every single day they dropped him off. “
“And Kayn got in trouble for setting ants on fire,” Ezreal cut in, watching as a wide smile spread over Kayn’s lips, snarky and content. “He wouldn’t stop pouting because they took his magnifying glass away, so I gave him an oreo.”
“The rest is history, as they say,” Kayn waved a hand, and when Ezreal glanced over to Kayn, he saw the way the boy’s cheeks stained a soft pink.
“We were basically inseparable. We did everything together.” Including getting married.
“Wait, why is that actually really cute?” Lux cooed, eyes glittering as she smiled at them. “It’s nice that you found each other again.”
“Yeah, it is.” The softness with which Kayn said it did something horrible to Ezreal’s heart. Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe and his skin felt way too warm. He stared at the sandwich in his hands with a smile on his lips. His heart would not stop racing and part of him wished it never would.
“What classes do you have this afternoon?’ Kayn asked, as he leaned over to Ezreal, pulling out that same crumpled schedule as earlier. Ezreal hummed as he took a bite of his sandwich, grabbing his own schedule to look at it.
“Math and gym,” Ezreal grumbled, dropping his schedule to the grass. “Gonna be rough semester with those afternoon classes.”
“I have gym with you, at least,” Kayn murmured as he looked at his own paper. “But I’ve got social studies before that.”
Oh, god. Ezreal was going to be in the same gym class as Kayn? Just the thought of that was making Ezreal’s stomach twist and turn. This was not going to be good for his mental health, especially when Kayn looked like he was going to the gym daily.
“Ezreal looks goofy as fuck in gym class,” Talon said around a mouthful of apple, amusement in those stupid eyes as he looked at Ezreal. “Looks like he never learned how to run properly.”
“Keep talking and I’ll fuck up your other eye,” Ezreal bit back, though his face was burning as he said it. It was very clear that Talon was trying to embarrass him, something that Ezreal was not going to stand for.
But when Ezreal saw the smile on Kayn’s lips, he really couldn’t be that mad. He looked so pretty like that, with the warm sun casting a glow on his pale skin. His sharp features looked just a bit softer as he looked at Ezreal, a relaxed smile on his lips.
Quickly taking a big bite of his sandwich, Ezreal turned his eyes away. His feelings for Kayn had definitely stuck around. This was going to be difficult.
Just as expected, gym class was horrible in the best way possible. As usual, their gym class started off with a baseline test for everyone. And while Ezreal was quick to tap out of most of the testing, he got to watch as Kayn easily worked his way through the testing. His baseline was on par with most of the athletes of the school, something that Ezreal was shocked to learn. Even with an eyepatch over one of his eyes, he kept up with them easily.
But The longer he continued on, Ezreal began to notice something. He noticed a glint in Kayn’s eyes and they flicked around to his classmates. He noticed the way Kayn would smile so confidently when he was placed high in the roster.
It became increasingly clear that Kayn was not trying hard to push himself. This was a completion to him, a game. He was trying to be the best.
It was incredible, really.
When the testing was over, Kayn approached Ezreal with a confident smile, heaving chest and his hair slicked back, damp with sweat. He looked pleased and Ezreal couldn’t help but smile when he saw the delight in Kayn’s eyes.
“You did amazing,” he commented and surely it was just a trick of the light, but it really looked as if Kayn’s eyes brightened. “Didn’t realize you’d be the athletic type.”
“Gotta be the strongest to put people in their place,” Kayn hummed, his words doing nothing but confusing Ezreal, especially when he continued. “Some people have to remember what fear feels like. And I’ll help remind them, if I need to.”
Ezreal couldn’t stop himself from shivering as he listened to those words. And he watched Kayn as he stared across the gym. His eyes were on the class's athletes. Most of them were on the football team, and they all stared back at Kayn. The ones that had lost in the test looked beyond pissed, but Kayn held their deathly gazes, cold and confident.
“What are you doing after school?” Kayn asked, though he still didn’t look away from the terrifying staring contest. Ezreal was quiet for a moment, his heart hammering as he stared at Kayn in all of his sweaty glory. He looked so dangerous when he finally turned to look at Ezreal. His eye was sharp, hints of a scowl on his lips. “Ez?”
“Nothing,” he admitted, hating that he was scared of the way Kayn was watching him. Everything about him was confusing Ezreal. This was nothing like what Ezreal remembered him being like. He was cold, threatening and dangerous.
But then he smiled, kind and familiar. Ezreal couldn’t help but relax just a touch with that shift.
“Want to hang out, then?” And maybe it was against his better judgement, but Ezreal did agree.