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Okay let’s run down the happenings of the last week and why Luxanna Crownguard currently is in such a pickle. Well, last year she moved out of her home with the help of her friend Jinx, who she then moved in with. Honestly best decision of her entire life. But only last week did she hear that Jinx’s birthday is today, and no one told her. But it also seemed like no one was concerned about it.
Last year she missed her birthday, but she definitely wanted to throw a party for her friend. She did throw such a wonderful party for her last year, so she has to return the favour. If no one else will do it, she will.
What she also found out just a few days ago, while overhearing a phone call of her landlady, that Jinx had a sister. Sarah (she was one of the few allowed to call her by name) was talking to her on the phone. But it seemed like Jinx’s sister just wanted to make sure she is doing alright. They didn’t have the best relationship and haven’t seen each other in ages.
Lux wanted to change that. Just as Jinx helped her with her relationship with her own brother on her birthday, Lux wanted to do the same. Then she will throw a big surprise party, and it will hopefully be Jinx’s best birthday ever.
She even made a list of things she needed:
- Find out Vi’s contact info and invite her. (under false pretence if necessary)
- Decorate the house with Jinx’s favourite things (Monkeys, sharks, rockets, explosions etc.)
- Invite a bunch of people for the evening
- Oh, and bake a cake.
First, she took care of the hardest part, inviting Vi. It went smoother than expected, after a small amount of research she found out Vi can be hired as a personal trainer. Lux wasn’t about to start a boxing career, but she managed to call her and ask for a lesson. She will be seeing her later today and that way she can surprise her about Jinx’s birthday as well. At least that was the plan.
The second and third part was already done. Invites went out over the last week, but everyone had to keep quiet about it, because it was a surprise party.
And she decorated their house this morning. Sett allowed her to take the day off, he also gave her a recipe for some great cake, which she was in the middle of baking right now.
That’s when the unforgivable smell of haircare products entered her nose.
“Oh Luuux,” sung the voice, as Ezreal slid into the room, with what he calls style, “I must tell you about the adventure this dashing hero had today.” He winked and sparkles appeared around his face. Strange as ever, Lux rarely understood was the deal was with him, but he had great stories to tell.
But currently she had to be careful not to burn the cake and she was on a strict timer.
“Ah, Ezreal… right now is not the….”
But without letting her finish he just started rambling, “I was on the beach today, no on the daring cliffs of Valoran Town. You must know the harsh winds in this region are especially dangerous.”
Lux has been on the beach here. There were no daring cliffs and the harshest wind she can describe was a light breeze this time of the year.
“Ez, I really have to…”
“Then I see these three young ladies. They were so far out into the ocean, flailing their arms screaming for help.” Then he hopped on the counter and struck a heroic pose. “Of course, I Ezreal, the prodigal explorer, the hero of the Sentinels, stepped in and swam out into the dangerous sea.”
Ah, there was no stopping him. At least he always makes his stories sound interesting.
“There were stormy waves, sharks, and unsightly sea monsters. But I defeated them all. It was a tough battle. But nothing for an experienced hero like me.”
Editor’s note: There are no sea creatures anywhere near the beaches of Valoran Town. Even though Jinx once tried to migrate some sharks there.
Ezreal mimicked the moves with which he supposedly took out all those evil creatures.
“When I finally reached our damsels in distress, the storm has cleared. I took all three into my arms and carried them safely to the shore.”
Editor’s note 2: There was no storm, and Ezreal just swam out too far, thinking there were girls out there. It was just a reflection of the sun, and he was extremely dehydrated… again. The local lifeguard Taric had to carry him to safety after he almost drowned. He needed to be revived by mouth to mouth. Ezreal still can’t get the picture out of his head of his rescuer kneeling over him, shirtless, muscles glistening in the sun.
“The lovely girls were like: “Oh thank you. You are our hero!” Ezreal had hearts in his eyes, though Lux wondered who he was thinking about.
BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP
Suddenly the fire alarm went off.
“Oh no!” quickly Lux shoved Ezreal to the side. “Nononononono!”
It was too late. Smoke came out of the oven as she opened it. Inside she only found the black burned remains of her shark shaped cake. It was Jinx’s favourite flavour as well, bubble-gum.
Lux sighed in defeat. She guessed this just will have to be a birthday without cake. They can still make do somehow.
She turned around to face Ezreal, when she noticed all the decorations she hung up this morning where gone.
She looked mad, and before Ezreal met her wrath he teleported away. Wherever he went doesn’t matter right now, what happened to her decorations is far more important.
Looking around the living room, is when she found a trail of little paper sharks, and rockets going upstairs. Oh, whoever stole them will hear a mouthful from her. Already in a mood the blonde stomped upstairs following the trail to… Veigar’s room.
She didn’t even bother knocking before storming in.
“Gaagh,” he screamed immediately, “Don’t you know it is rude to barge into a sinister lair without knocking?!?!”
Was that what she was looking at? The little furball build his own pillow fort in his room. Apparently, he stole every single piece she put down this morning for it. Said lair was surrounded by all the paper sharks left, meanwhile the walls of the fort were festooned with rocket defences.
Another heavy sigh escaped her list.
“Veigar!” she said more sternly, “Do you know what day it is today?”
It was rare for her to get mad but today was important. She was celebrating the Birthday of her best friend, and it has to be perfect. Seemed like she scared the little guy, as he hid behind his pillows. Shit! That was the last thing she wanted to do, scare her roommates. They were all her friends, and she had to be honest, what Veigar build with his little fort was cute.
“Hey! I’m sorry I got mad,” she said carefully kneeling down to the entrance, “How about we make a deal.”
Little yellow eyes poked out of the darkness. “What kind of deal?”
“You let me borrow the rockets and sharks for the day, and you can have them for the rest of your life.”
He seemed to consider his options.
“It’s Jinx’s birthday today, and I wanted to surprise her with a party.”
Now he seemed to genuinely regret taking them. But quickly he cleared his throat, going back to his “imposing” demeanour.
“Fine young knight,” he spat out, “you drive a hard bargain.”
Then he stretched out his little hand to seal the deal. Lux was about to shake it when her phone rang, looking at the caller she saw Vi’s number. Her appointment should’ve been in an hour, giving her enough time to get ready.
“Hey, Miss Crownguard,” Vi said over the phone, “We might need to reschedule our first session. Something has come up today, or rather something interrupted me, and I won’t be able to make it. It is a private matter I hope you understand.”
“Oh,” Lux said disappointed, and she slumped to the ground.
“Miss Crownguard?” Vi inquired more as the girl stayed quiet.
“No, I-I understand,” Lux choked out the words on the verge of tears. Today was supposed to be the best day for Jinx. Seemed like she already failed completely, “I-I’ll call you to let you know when I’m free.”
“Okay, until then bye!”
And she hung up, leaving Lux in silence.
She saw Veigar still waiting for her to shake his hands, but it just felt futile at this point.
“Keep the stuff, I don’t need it anymore.”
Sad and defeated she strolled out of the room and fell onto the couch.
The cake was burned, the house wasn’t ready for a party, and the big surprise guest also wasn’t showing up. This party has been a failure before it even started. Why did she even bother planning it for Jinx. Lux was failure, for once she wanted to plan this all by herself. What was she trying to prove? That she didn’t need help from anybody, that she is her own independent girl.
She’s a bad friend, and Jinx will know it. Someone just end her.
BANG! A loud crashing sound thundered through the house, as someone suddenly barged through the door. But Lux at the moment couldn’t care less. It was probably better if they don’t even notice her, so she tried burying herself deeper into the couch.
“Honey! I’m home!!!” shouted a familiar high-pitched voice.
Kill me now, thought Lux not wanting to face her closest friend.
“And you wouldn’t believe who I crashed into today!”
Lux stayed silent, just praying it would all go away.
“Hey Sparkles? You there?” Jinx asked, the voice being much closer than Lux expected. “Hey, Sparkles!” Suddenly a finger poked her into her side. That one spot where she is extremely ticklish.
“Gargh!” Lux jerked up. She regrets that Jinx out of all people found that spot. “Jinx!”
“There you are!” Jinx said before jumping into Lux’s lap and wrapping her arms around Lux’s neck. “Sooo, why the long face?”
Was it that obvious?
“Oh, happy birthday,” she Lux choked out, “Surprise…! I-I wanted to throw you a party but I screwed up everything.”
“Hang on, you sound familiar,” sad a new voice coming from behind Jinx, “Miss Crownguard I presume?”
Where did Lux hear that voice? Wait she did just a little bit ago on the phone.
“Vi?” Slowly Lux turned to see the pink-haired woman she saw in all the ads. Though she was still in a police uniform.
Jinx grinned at Lux recognizing her sister.
“Aw, you already know Fathands?” she said before her face scrunched up, “Wait How do you know each other?”
Lux sighed and leaned back. Jinx was still clinging to her. “Don’t be mad, but I overheard a conversation between Sarah and your sis, and since you never mentioned her, I thought you don’t get along with her that well, and as a birthday surprise I wanted to see if I can fix that. Like you did with my brother.”
“Aaaah, that’s why I found her stupid cop car in town.”
“The car you vandalized?” Vi interjected.
“Pfff, I did not vandalize it,” Jinx countered, getting up from Lux and pointing at Vi.
“Uh huh, and what do you call scrawling the name “Officer Fat Hands” onto the hood,” her sister spat back.
So, Jinx threw up her hands. “Hey, I just wanted to make sure people know who to return it to, whenever you inevitably lose it.”
“But my name isn’t Officer Fat Hands!”
“Sure, it is. It’s what I call you.”
It was kind of nice seeing these sisters like that. Reminded Lux of one of the few bouts she had with her brother.
“Urgh, anyway.” Vi facepalmed before turning to Lux, “Nice to meet you. I guess you’re also the blondie my sis can’t stop talking about.”
Wait Jinx talks about her?
“Uh yeah, that’s me. Call me Lux.”
“Lux it is” Vi got closer and shook Lux’s hand. She had a firm grip. “So, I’m guessing hiring me was just a ruse”
Lux nodded shyly, moving to the kitchen area. “I wanted to throw a big birthday party for Jinx. But the cake is burned. Veigar took all the decorations, and for a moment I thought you bailed out on me, and then there are still a ton of other guests coming, and I got nothing for them.”
“Aww but today has been so much fun because of you,” said the blue haired gremlin. hopped onto the counter and took a sample of the burned cake. “Mmmh, ooh, this cake is good. Better than cupcakes.”
Jinx liked burned cake? Well, it isn’t the weirdest thing she ate, Lux guessed.
“You really think so?” Lux looked up from her downtrodden position. Maybe there was a little hope.
“You kiddin? This is the best cake I’ve ever had, and one of the greatest days this year alone.”
Lux took a little solace in hearing that. But there is still one thing left on her mind.
“But there are still all our friends I invited, and the party is ruined.
Her roommate still perked up at hearing that.
“They’re still coming?” A mischievous smile formed on her face, “and they don’t know I’m already here.?”
Then she clapped her hands together.
“Alright Blondie here’s the plan,” she said, “Oh, and Vi, call Top Hat! She’s invited too.”
Vi in the corner just shook her head. “Why do I think this is a bad idea.” Before taking out her phone and dialling the number of her girlfriend.
Alright everything was set. They called down Veigar to help them out. Vi, Jinx, and Veigar, where hiding throughout the house at the ready for the guests to arrive. Lux is just waiting to open the door.
Ding! Dong!
What felt like ages of waiting finally was over. The anticipation was killing her. She opened on the door, and pretty much everyone invited was waiting outside.
Ekko, Caitlyn, Miss Fortune, Sett, Yuumi Yasuo, and Yone were all invited and let in one by one. Ezreal too has found the courage to return. Lux wanted to invite Garen too, but he was on an important business trip. But he would come back later, to celebrate. In reality he just wanted to check out if Jinx is a good friend to Lux, he has noticed how close the two have become.
Once everyone was in Lux spoke up.
“Thanks everyone for coming and keeping it quiet. But I dunno when she will be here so we will have to be quick. So here is the plan!”
She held up her finger to explain. But suddenly a bright flash emitted from the tip, and everyone in the room was blinded.
Once everyone opened their eyes they were surrounded. The 4 held paint guns and bombs. Jinx standing in the middle grinning ear to ear, “Surprise!”
It was a massacre. Whether it was a red scarf, or an “ugly” top hat, or a traditional yukata, nothing survived the barrage of paint.
The only thing audible between the gunshots and chaotic screaming, was the gleeful laugh of Jinx, and Lux harmonizing into a perfect melody that can make ears bleed.
This is a surprise party exactly to Jinx’s liking. Everyone got pranked today.
Eventually things died down and the party began for real. Pretty much everything went as expected. Yasuo and Yone took care of the food and threw one hell of a buffet. Despite all that everyone had to try Lux’s amazing, burned cake. Jinx had no problem with it, but the rest of the guests had to force down every single bite. Not that Jinx would complain, it was fun to watch.
By the end of the night Jinx and Lux ended up entangled on the couch, next to Caitlyn and Vi. They were battling it out in a new fighting game that just got released.
“Jinx, stop throwing out all those rockets,” Vi grunted on the other end.
“Hehehehehehe, Skill issue! You won’t get past me and Sparkle’s bullet hell!” Jinx giggled back.
They were winning by a longshot, already at a 10-winstreak. Caitlyn just tried her best to calm Vi down so that she won’t flip the table.
After the round was over Jinx leaned her head onto Lux’s shoulder.
“Hey Luxie, today was the best birthday ever. Thank you!” Suddenly Lux felt something wet collide with her cheek, as Jinx left a little peck there. Suddenly her heartrate picked up, and the room felt five times hotter than it was before. It also didn’t help that she started glowing.
Distracted from the game though, Vi finally punched through and defeated Lux.
“Ahaha. Take that! I win!”
But it was a premature celebration, as Jinx’s character entered the round.
“Not so fast Fat Hands! The fight ain’t over yet and you hurt Luxie! Time for revenge!”
Just like the other times Jinx utterly destroyed the other pair’s team.
So much today went wrong, but still Jinx managed to have a great party. Jinx is her good luck charm, because no matter how bad the day got, she always knew how to make things better.
Who needs perfection, when you have the perfect imperfection. Her life just got a little bit more exciting.