5 - Jinx

"Jinx?"

"That's me!" I told him. He froze, eyes wide. There was a hint of fear and panic in them. Eer... maybe I should have thought this through...

"Sorry I showed up uninvited." I continued. Still no reaction. "And sorry about your door lock..." Still nothing. "I kind of broke it, if you couldn't tell." That seemed to get him out of his trance. He blinked a few times, finally shifting his deathly gaze off of me and to the floor. I'm not good with reading people, so I couldn't say what was on his mind exactly, but he clearly was having a hard time.

It was best to keep talking. "Whatever that bat-rat guy told you" I said, referring to the tall chirean who named himself Scar when I first got here, "it's probably true: criminal, rebel, psycho, you name it."

"It's been... eight years..." His mumbling was barely audible, but I was grateful to hear something other than my own voice. "Eight years... one hundred and sixteen days..." He counted the days? With an unforeseen rush of compassion, I walked up to him, leaning slightly, to align my eyes with his. My hope was that our proximity would help with his shock. He finally looked into my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm not dreaming, am I?" Not sure if he was asking me or talking to himself, I decided to reply anyway.

"What, you want me to pinch you?" I gasped at his abrupt embrace. I'm not a fan of snuggy hugs, but something about this was overly comforting, as if he was forgiving me.

"I missed you so much." He said, pulling away but keeping his hands on my shoulders. He squeezed them, as if making sure I was real. As he admired my existence, something changed in his expression, and before I could process it any further, I felt a strong force pull me back at my shoulders. He pushed me away. I struggled with regaining my balance.

"What were you thinking? Disappearing like that?" He yelled, angrily. Couldn't blame him, could I?

I suddenly felt a gnawing turnover in my stomach. The thought of him having to grieve me all these years only for me to return in the end sickened me. Regret consumed me like never before. Guess I'm the CEO of making bad decisions! Should change my name to Scatterbrain while I'm at it. Kind of has a ring to it.

"Listen," I started, not knowing what else to say. "Let me lighten your burden here a bit." I grabbed his shoulders, turned him around and demonstratively sat him on the chair, as if saying that it was my turn to talk. He, oddly, obliged. That was too bad, I was starting to get ready for a fight. You know, like the good ol' times.

Then I let myself do the boring babbling about how I survived, where I went, what I did all these years. No mention of Sarah, though. He didn't need to know that.

"Okay, let me get this straight," he started, "you blew up the beast to escape the Hexgate tower.."

"Yup."

"Then you stole an airship to flee to Bilgewater..."

"Uh-huh."

"And made a living there by robbing others? For eight years?"

"You got it!"

"Then you came here, interrogated Scar, because why else would he tell-"

"That part you didn't get. I didn't interrogate him."

"He didn't tell you where I live?"

"No. Why would he? Aren't you, like... best-friends-forever bros? Or has that changed in the last few years?" His eyes remained intense. Definitely not a man for cracking jokes.

"How did you find my apartment?"

"Easy. You're the only one who has an hourglass engraved on their door, dummy."

"Ugh, of course," he sighed. "I need to get rid of that thing, it's obviously not safe... so, then, why did you come back?" 

My stomach tied a knot. Then, went for a double knot. I really didn't want to talk about it now. I just got here, and, technically, there was no other place for me besides here. If I go back to Bilgewater, I'll probably get killed: see, one big guy versus a small girl is one thing, but many big guys versus one small girl was another. Besides, I knew the real reason behind my return. It didn't have to do with the big guys, or having a home, or Ekko... it was about the gemstones in my pocket. And if anyone were to find out about them sooner than I intended to... Yeah, as I said, not the time for that conversation. I had to dismiss his curiosity.

"Who cares! I'm back, aren't you glad?" I tried to hide my sarcasm but it still went through. I hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Yes, but-"

"Hey, you know what?" I began, coming close to his desk, "while I was playing the waiting game, I read your notes quite thoroughly... I'm not the brightest, but it looks like a multiverse mach-" as I reached for one of his blueprints, he rushed to his desk and put all his papers together in a clumsy scooping motion. At one point, his hand brushed against mine and he noticeably pulled away, as if I was fire. I can't be that scary.

"Uh, it's nothing. Not even close to what you're thinking, hah. It's just, uh, a friend needed help, so, uh, you know, I pitched in." His awkwardness went through the roof. The urge to laugh was gruesome, but I kept my cool. I got his message: his fiddling was none of my business. Not that I cared.

"With my disappearance and all," I asked, switching the subject, "I lost track of places to grab a bite here. You know any?"

"There's a diner close by, should be open by now," he flicked his pocket watch open, checking the time. I took a peak: a little after mid-day. "I can show you around on the way there?" Done deal. We went out the door.

I positioned my mask back on my nose bridge, catching Ekko looking at me as I did. "You don't need that, Jinx. No one will recognize you anyway. People think you died, remember?" That's not what I needed the mask for.

"Some will recognize. I rather not risk it." 

"Since when are you worried about risk?" He challenged me. I smirked. Since a couple tiny, blue crystals killed my entire family.

__

We walked around the neighborhood after dinner. Ekko was telling me stories that happened around here over the years. I was grateful for the lightness of the conversation.

"I can't believe you built all this." I said, observing all the greenery around. It was so beautiful, I couldn't get enough of it.

"It used to be a hide out, you know. Just one tree for all. People came here to escape the streets. Now we have a community where everyone is welcome to live."

"How can you afford all this?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of a water fountain nearby. It was hard to ignore the clarity of the water. The view of the main sanctuary tree was much nicer from here too. I pressed my hands together, forming a bowl and reached down to sip some water from the fountain pool.

"We get funding from Piltover." I coughed, choking. Water spilled all over me.

"What? Piltover? I figured a lot has changed, but was not expecting that."

"Surprising, I know. Sevika is a member of the council now too. She saw our work here and urged to sponsor our start-up. You used to live with her, right?" My jaw dropped. Sevika?? Out of all the people that were dying for such power, Sevika made it as counselor? 

"Holy shit," was all I could say. Ekko chuckled, as if amused by my shock. 

"She really helped out here. Especially with gardening and planting. This is the cleanest place in Zaun. Air and food quality doesn't get much better than this."

"It sure does smell fresh." I said, taking a closer look at the main tree. A mural that was painted across its trunk caught my attention. I squinted to get a better look. I was amazed by what I saw: Vander, Benzo, Vi, other people I didn't recognize and... myself.

I suspected Ekko spotted my mood shift. "That mural, it's... well, it was a tribute to everyone who passed on. We painted it a few months after this place was built, before we realized Vi was in prison and not... you know." He paused, thinking. "You sisters have that in common: disappearing and randomly showing up years later."

His words flew by me. I didn't care to listen. I couldn't stop staring at my younger self. She was painted in an innocent and happy tone. The blissfulness bugged me. Did I really look like that then? 

My thoughts were interrupted: "Are you looking at Powder?" Slight irritation tickled my nerves.

"What do you mean - Powder. I was still alive then, you know. That's me."

"Is it really you though?" He gave me a stern look, one that I did not like. "I knew you were alive, Jinx. It was Powder that died."

Pretty bold for a guy who just met an old friend he thought was dead. I was about to throw fists until-

"Ekko!" I turned to where the voice was coming from, and the moment I deduced their identity, I knew I had to run. 

My only hope was that Ekko would keep his mouth shut.

And so, I did what I do best: vanished.

A/N: Compared to the last few chapters, this one turned out pretty lowkey. For the ~vibes~ yk? Hopefully you weren't too bored :D I'm going for a "he fell first and she fell harder" type story and bArely *sprinkled* some of that in this chapter teehee but there will be more, I promise.

Ekko's pov next, so cya

Word count: 1560