9 - Jinx

"Listen, I need to go over to Scar's. I'll be back in a few hours." Ekko said, as I placed the dishes in the sink. "Make yourself comfortable. You'll be staying here tonight." He left before I could say a word. 

I was so relieved that I didn't have to sleep in junk another night, and it was thanks to Ekko. He was taking really good care of me. When I think about it deeply enough, instances where he's put me first resurface.

The broken screwdriver would not grasp onto the screw. My little hands were not strong enough twist it into position. That was my last screw, and Whisker would be finished. As I kept trying, the top half of the chomper busted open. Pink dust flew everywhere.

"Ugh!" I grunted in frustration. I was so close! I jumped from my bed, throwing the remainder of the chomper across the room. A loud bang spread in the quiet air as it hit the crusty walls. I hugged my knees and leaned my head on them. "Why do they never work?" I mumbled to myself.

"Powder?" someone called out from up the stairs. It was Ekko. "What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing." I groaned, keeping my head on my knees. I listened to his frequent footsteps as he came downstairs. After pausing for a few minutes he sat on the edge of my bed. Why was he here? I just wanted to be alone.

"Where is everyone?" He asked, referring to Mylo, Claggor and Vi.

"They went on another job. Without me." I felt my eyes water. It always made me so upset when they didn't want to take me with them. "Because I'm a loser." I sniffed.

"They are stupid for not taking you. They're the real losers, not you." He defended me. I stayed quiet. "I brought you something." I turned my head and looked at him in anticipation. He reached for his pocket, took out a small jar and shook it in front of me, smirking. I burned from excitement.

"Blue glitter!?" I immediately grabbed it, mesmerized by the tiny reflections of  the sapphire particles. "Where did you get this!?" I was in utter disbelief. I jolted towards him, giving him the tightest hug he could tolerate.

"You're the best little man in the whole universe." I said, my eyes closed to appreciate the rare feeling of elation. He laughed, hugging me back.

"You feel better now?" He asked. I nodded, without letting him go.

The memory made me smile. I didn't even realize how I finished with the dishes from lunch. I scanned the room, as if looking for things to do. Feeling an itch on my back, I reached to sooth it. The thought of a shower suddenly felt so lovely.

I found a clean towel, untangled my braid and turned the water to a heat so high, that I practically melted. Satisfied with my cleanness, I spent the next few hours relaxed: tinkered with the lock for a bit, read some of Ekko's books, munched on an apple. The clock read six. Then seven, then eight. He was still not back. In a way, I was starting miss him.

I went over to his desk, noticing a bounded, leather notebook. Flipping through, I saw Hextech diagrams, scribbles of procedures, various blueprints. Curiosity urged me to fast-forward to the last page. More diagrams. These looked a lot like the blueprints that laid on his desk and were most likely related to the multiverse invention he was working on. 

There was one imagine that stood out to me: he drew the profile of a faceless girl. Her hair was shaded, portraying dark hair. She had the most awful hairstyle imaginable—bangs with space buns. Below the drawing he wrote in sloppy, lowercase letters, "always and only for you". Who was she? Was she his girlfriend? How long have they known each other for? How did they meet? Where was she? Not that I cared...

Annoyed, I closed the lab book and started to study the blueprints. Fascinated, I was admiring his hard work until something bright caught my attention from outside. I looked through the window and saw Vi. She was coming towards the apartment.

Adrenaline rushed through me. My hands tapped all my pockets, looking for any clue of a mask. Nothing. I scanned the room. No mask. Footsteps were approaching. Panicked, I rushed to the first hide out my eyes fancied: a large barrel against the wall with a box on top. I moved the barrel to create more room, and squeezed myself in the tight space, positioning the box in such a way that it casted a shadow on any visible parts of me. I made it just in time before the door opened. I should have fixed the damn lock. I thought to myself. 

Vi stood still by the entrance, turning her ear to the middle of the room. Did she hear me? Noticing her gauntlet, she picked it up, testing its new works. Powering it, she raised her firsts, ready to fight. I could hear the sound of my own breathing. Not good. It tried to calm myself, as Vi started walking forward. She walked through all the rooms, checked all the closets, even checked the ceiling. A mild relief came over me, realizing I didn't hide up there like I usually do.

Then, out of the blue, Ekko walked in, carrying a large, white box. Vi turned to him immediately. She relaxed as soon as she recognized him.

"You scared the shit out of me!" she said. Ekko frowned in confusion.

"You, um... You alright?" He asked her, cautiously.

"Yes, I'm fine, but your place isn't! The lock is broken, someone tried to rob you!" she said, pointing at the door.

"Oh, that." He started. A loud thump spread across the room as he placed the box on his desk. "I'm in the middle of replacing it, that's why." It surprised me how put together he seemed. There wasn't a hint of panic in him. Using the chance to turn away from Vi, he swiftly examined the room, eyes landing on the barrel. He squinted briefly, then looked away.

"Ekko, I'm serious. There was someone in here. I heard them."

"Vi, relax. It was probably the wind outside. There's no robbers around here." He brushed her off. I couldn't see Vi as she stepped away from my limited view, but the silence that followed was excruciating.

"I don't know what the hell is going on with you these days, but you've been real fishy." She finally said.

"How's your gauntlet?" He tried switching the subject.

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this." She replied, ignoring his very relevant question. The door slammed. I assumed she left. I stared to shift around, in preparation to get up, but noticed Ekko place his index on his lips. I stayed low. The door opened again.

"Will you stop doing that!?" Ekko asked, displeased.

"Double checking." Vi's voice said, after which the door closed again. I finally got up.

"You okay?" Ekko asked, reaching to place his hand on my shoulder. I was still upset about the drawing.

"I'm fine." I slapped his hand away from me. He looked hurt, but I didn't care. "Don't need to baby me around." What was he doing here with me anyway? What about his sweet, space bun girl? Poor thing is dating a cheater.

"I found you an apartment a few floors down." He said upsettingly.

"Perfect! Going there right now." I rushed to the door, but he grabbed my hand to stop me.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked with genuine concern. 

"I am going to my new apartment." I replied sternly, emphasizing that there was absolutely nothing wrong with that sentence or my attitude.

"You can't go out like that. Your mask." He reminded me.

"Ah. Right." I began to look for it when he said "You'll need more than that."

"What?"

"If you're going to stay here a while, you'll need to change your appearance." A little after he added, "Jinny. Is that right?"

Every piece of me was so infuriated by him. Every word he said brought out more anger out of my nerves, but, no matter how much I hated him in the moment, he was right. 

"What are you suggesting?" I questioned, irritated. Without another quarrel, he started walking around his apartment, picking up things on his way. What on Earth is this man doing? He then laid out the objects over his blueprints: scissors, ribbons, belts and scarves, face paint, eyeliner, hair dye... I see where this is going. I watched him, amazed by how many things he had lying around. 

"Look, if you're mad at me about Vi, I'm sorry. I really am, but, other than her, there are a lot of people here who will recognize you. So get creative. You're Jinny now." As he walked away and plummeted on his couch, I picked up the bottle of hair dye. A smirk formed on my lips when I read the label.

"Pink? Really? That's the one and only hair dye you have?" I raised an eyebrow, judging him. He only comically shrugged.

A few hours went by. Ekko watched me fix my hair for awhile, but sleep took the best of him. I cut my hair short, just below my shoulders. I didn't have the heart to touch my bands, so they remained the same. After dying my hair pink, I tied a high pony tail. My fashion sense lacked inspiration, so I wrapped a green scarf around my neck to match Ekko's orange one. Tattoos had to be covered somehow and I fixed the issue by claiming the jacket that was on the floor (Ekko can deal without it). The fit was definitely too big, but I was into the style. I checked myself out in the mirror. Voila! That was Jinny.

I shook Ekko awake to reveal my new look. His eyes widened almost instantly, as if he hadn't even slept.

"Woah." He exclaimed, calmly. I gave an exciting, little 360-spin. "You're beautiful." My eyebrows raised from the unexpecting compliment.

"I mean... not that you weren't beautiful before, but, uh..." His hand reached to itch the back of his head. Guess he was thinking hard. "You're a different beautiful now, you know?" I let out a giggle.

"I know." I said, and smiled.

A/N: No offense to any space bun girlies out there, this is just Jinx being Jinx :D how was the little flashback? That's honestly, my favorite part of this chapter, I thought it was SO adowable~ Also, idk about y'all, but I do NOT like Jinny ._. Jinx is just not a green/pink type yk eugh. I hated other colours and vibes more so I just went with this. Gonna make the greatest effort to get rid of her asap LOL #jinnyhater :P

2025 is just around the cornerrrr~ I've been publishing a chapter pretty much every day since I started this, I think I skipped christmas and I'll skip new years eve, so happy new year!! 

Word count: 1704