i am back


'This is a terrible idea.'

'Ekks, hand me the bucket!'

'Why is this thing so heavy?'

'Ekko versus a litre of water – who would win?'

'You're supposed to be standing watch, Ponytail.'

'Ha – ha. It's barely seven in the morning, who am I even watching for?'

'Ire-Ire'll be here any second now!'

'Why did I let you convince me this was a good idea?'

'I didn't sleep last night for this.'

'Oh be quiet, ya big babies. This's a super idea! We're not real students unless we do a few pranks!'

'...And the water bucket on the top of the doorframe was the one you went for.'

'It's a classic! I saw it in a movie once!'

'Be glad it's just water, she originally wanted to use paint.'

'I want it on the record that I think this is a terrible idea.'

'Booo! You suck.'

'Zoe, leave Ekko alone. His sense of humour doesn't wake up until around nine.'

'Go stand watch, Ponytail.'

'Why bother, Irelia's the only person who would ever come to the clubroom this early.'

'Fine – then go sit in a corner or something, quietly.'

'Make me, big man.'

'Shhh! She's coming!'

'Wha - ?!'

'Surprise!'

'Oh shit.'

'…'

'P-Professsor! Good morning! We, uh - we can explain!'

'Hahah, you look so dumb with your hair like that!'

'Zoe, not helping.'

'Lymere. Give me one good reason to not shoot you, righ' now.'

'Ah – haha, you know Professor, it was just a little joke between Clubmates -'

'Stop laughing, Zoe.'

'But look at him!'

'...Detention, all three o' you. A week's worth.'

'Okay, seriously Zoe, you can stop laughing.'


It was hard to stand straight, but Lux made a good try of it. She was currently alone, though she only had herself to blame for that; arriving ten minutes before the meeting time. She double-checked the time – 8:05. She grimaced, barely noticing as her foot tapping rapidly increased in pace.

This would be the first time she'd be speaking to her Aunt after Needlebrook. Despite Lux's natural inclinations to be optimistic, when the scenario involved Tianna, she found it hard to dispel nerves. Eyes darting constantly between the staircase and the door to the staff room, not sure if she should enter prematurely, if she should just wait, or if she could get away with just leaving.

The door cracked open and Lux jumped. Her head spun to the door, fully expecting the piercing gaze of Tianna's blue eyes -

Instead, Sylas's scruffy beard poked through, eyes closed and body sighing in a gesture that bespoke annoyance. Lux froze. This was another thing she didn't want to face this morning, but unlike her meeting with Tianna, she hadn't prepared for this one.

Sylas noticed her as he came out of a yawn and blinked. For a moment that felt like an eternity no words were said, Lux freezing up. She also hadn't spoken to Sylas since the Practical, specifically since the night out in the cool night's breeze. Her vision contracted in on itself, tingeing with red as her actions sped through her mind -

He cleared his throat deliberately. 'Good morning, Luxanna,' Sylas said. He then smiled, but Lux could see it was very much a forced attempt on his part.

'Good morning,' Lux said. She breathed in sharply and held herself straight.

The silence returned momentarily.

'What brings you here on this good morning?' Sylas said.

'I'm here to see my Aunt.'

Sylas smiled apologetically. 'Ah. I was wondering why she seemed a little more sour than normal.'

She frowned. 'Great.'

Sylas chuckled. 'Well if it's any consolation, I haven't managed to annoy her that effectively in a good while.'

'It's really not,' Lux said, but she smiled a little. At least it wasn't that awkward. 'I just seem to have that effect on her.'

'Don't give yourself too much credit.'

They smiled.

Sylas cleared his throat and nodded behind him. 'She's already in, if you're ready. I doubt she'd want to delay this any more than you.'

She shuffled, nodding and avoiding Sylas' gaze.

For the first time that Lux had seen it, the staff room was bustling with activity. Accompanying the familiar musk of coffee stains was layers of conversations that folded atop each other in a layer of sound that caught Lux off guard. She bowed slightly in greeting to a man, long and luscious brown hair, and hurried towards the back of the room.

She found Tianna at her desk, cramped and stacked with papers begging to be filed away. Lux brought herself to a stop, and patiently waited for Tianna to look up with a face of stone. 'Luxanna. You are early for once.'

'I was just excited to see you, Auntia.'

Tianna huffed. 'Let's make this quick, shall we? I have preparations yet for today's assembly.'

Lux pursed her lips. 'As you say.'

'I will be frank,' Tianna said, placing a stack of papers atop another. 'I believe you are making a mistake.'

'Respectfully, I disagree,' Lux said. 'I would have thought that you'd understand by now, Auntia, that I don't want to take over the house.'

With a deep sigh Tianna nodded. 'If only you would see reason. This avenue is pointless for you to explore – barely worth the risks.'

'That should be my decision to take.'

The expression that filled Tianna's face made Lux freeze, simultaneously contemplative and utterly disdainful. They said nothing for a moment, the sounds of the surrounding teachers doing little to quell the silence between them.

Then, Tianna turned back to her work. 'You may leave.'

'That's...it?'

Tianna did her approximation of a shrug – little more than a slight jerk of her shoulders – and marked her signature onto a file. 'No. I'm sure you will come around in the weeks to come.' She looked up and frowned. 'Did I not say you were dismissed? Or have your ears failed you as your mind has?'

Lux glared. She held it for a moment, too, before deciding it wasn't worth it, and leaving with a grunt. 'I'm sure we'll find out.'

'Yes, I'm sure.'


The hall was packed to the brim; the tension near physical around Ezreal. The students were seated according to class rather than club, so he sat beside Alune's brother, Aphelios. True to form, the boy was sitting quietly, taking in every detail with his grey eyes. A bit to their side was Lux and Alune, chatting away – Lux, in a seemingly subdued mood, pointedly avoiding Ezreal's gaze. He wasn't sure what it was, but they hadn't spoken since...well, since she'd blown him off that night in the lobby. At least actually talked to Ezreal – apparently, Neeko had done a little talking of her own. And it looked like it had been taken in a bad way.

He sighed and leaned back. 'Great.'

Aphelios nodded. His lips moved, but Ezreal couldn't hear over the commotion, and tilted his head.

'Sorry, didn't catch that.'

Aphelios shrugged, then patted Ezreal on the shoulder. He gave Ezreal a solemn nod, as if to say I get it. Ezreal returned him a small smile.

'Thanks.'

Aphelios breathed his agreement. The hall then began to quiet, and Aphelios gestured his chin towards the stage, where the Vice-principal was striding towards the podium. Aphelios retracted his hand and sat properly, and Ezreal did the same.

It took a few more moments before the hall fell properly silent, and Tianna waited with a face of stone. She towered over the students, expression a mix of patience and disdain. Ezreal frowned; he really didn't like her.

Tianna nodded, satisfied with the noise level, and drew a deep breath. 'Welcome back from the first Practical of the year. Before we continue, allow us of the staff to express how pleased we are with each Club's individual performances, and look forward to similar showings throughout the rest of the year.'

At that, proud murmurs shifted their way throughout the room.

'I will announce the standings of the Clubs now before we proceed with the main purpose of this assembly,' Tianna continued, then produced a list in front of her. She paused, then read out; 'In fourth, Luminary.'

Confused murmurs.

'Third, Sorcery. Second, Assassin.'

Silence.

'First, Battle. Well done.'

The hall was still – then a lone whoop resounded from closer to the front row. Ezreal recognised the bounce of Zoe's pastel hair, and then the flustered hushing of Irelia's. Tianna allowed a moment, then lowered the list and continued.

'The staff would like to allow the Battle Club a few words. Club President Souma, if you please.'

That produced Yasuo, clearly grinning, as he stepped up to the podium. He took his time with it; Ezreal could tell he was basking in the other student's confusion. As Yasuo replaced Tianna, he took a moment to simply sweep his gaze over the students, then offer a nod and grin. He cleared his throat.

'Thank you Vice-principal, for those inspirational words, as ever. You heard her, we won. Eat that, Cait.' Yasuo chuckled. 'Here's to continued victories or what have you.'

Tianna sighed and stepped to replace Yasuo – thinking him done. Right before she got to him, though, the boy continued with a snap of the fingers as if he'd just thought of something.

'Though, I'd be lying if I took all the credit. Ezreal! Blonde kid? 'Bout this tall -' he gestured around his forehead, ' - and a bit of an idiot? Get up here.'

Ezreal felt the hundred of eyes snap to him. He knew they didn't know where he was – but he certainly felt like it. At least, he could feel the eyes of his classmates around him. Especially Lux's.

He sat for a moment, stunned – then Aphelios nudged his shoulder, then to the stage. Ezreal cleared his throat, then stood awkwardly.

'Ah, there he is! Come up here,' Yasuo called.

If people weren't staring at him before, they for sure were now. Ezreal cleared his throat and, nervously, waved. Again, Zoe whooped.

Hurriedly and awkwardly he made his way atop the stage, where he approached a grinning Yasuo. Ezreal smiled weakly, then quietly hissed; 'What are you doing?'

'Making a scene,' Yasuo whispered in reply, then smirked and bowed Ezreal onto the podium.

'Why?' Ezreal said, but he was already behind the podium, staring out into the sea of students. Hundreds upon hundreds of young faces – each more intent than the last. Ezreal gulped.

'Uhhh – ahem. Hi, I'm uh, Ezreal, from the Battle Club. First year. We're, er, proud of our win.' He shot an eye at Yasuo, then cleared his throat. 'Yeah, uh – thank you.'

He bowed and stiffly stepped back, Yasuo grinning and waving. Tianna sighed, and took her place back at the podium, starting her speech again. Ezreal couldn't hear what she was saying, however, and rounded on Yasuo in anger.

'What. Was. That?' Ezreal hissed.

Yasuo smiled. 'Just some showsmanship – you did great, by the way.'

'Why?'

'Eh,' Yasuo shrugged, as they walked along the edge of the room. Despite Tianna saying something over the microphone, Ezreal could feel the majority of the eyes in the room on him. 'The Vice-Principal didn't seem to mind.'

'Of course she'd let you - She hates me!'

'Oh, right. Eh.' Yasuo clapped him on the shoulder, grinned, then vanished into the crowd towards a vacant seat.

Ezreal glared after him – but stopped quickly as the eyes were still on him. He then cleared his throat – in a very collected manner, mind you – and shuffled back to his own seat.

He sat down, and cringed into himself – his classmates were all looking towards him. His gaze brushed to his side; Aphelios's lips twisted in a wry smile, next to him Alune looking concerned, and -

His and Lux's gaze met for a moment, and Ezreal froze. He tried to smile, a pathetic attempt honestly, but Lux returned it encouragingly. She mouthed what looked to be the word Unlucky, but Ezreal wasn't sure. Either way, he bit back a groan and settled into his seat, intent on ignoring the pressure around him.


Back in the classroom, Graves quickly had them settle down into their seats – apparently he had something important to discuss. As the students quickly sat, Lux snuck a glance over towards Ez. The embarrassment surrounding Ez was so thick, Lux thought she'd probably be able to touch it. He was stiff; robotically folding into a close approximation of a relaxed posture and head straight ahead. Lux grimaced, she felt bad for the guy.

'Alrigh, alrigh, settle down all,' Graves said with a wave of his clipboard. He wore his signature expression of grumpiness, one Lux found that she was not, in fact, thrilled to see again. 'Well done an all on the practicals; heard y'all did great. Congrats an all. Two things on the agenda today, so keep it down and we'll be done faster.'

Alune leaned in close to Lux and whispered, 'Is Ezreal okay?'

Lux felt a small stab at the edge of her mouth – she didn't know why – but she pushed that away and shook her head as covertly as possible. 'Maybe.'

'I am thinking I can talk to him about this, after,' Alune continued. 'Will you come with me?'

'Not now, Alune -'

Someone to their side hissed them quiet.

'Righ, so first order of business,' Graves said. 'VP Crownguard mentioned the Tournament. In a week's time, we'll be havin the first Tournament of the year, so y'all get your chances to show off your powers and what have you.'

A wave of excited whispers spread around the room.

'Yeah, wouldn' get too excited if I was you,' Graves said, who looked almost satisfied with himself. 'First one's always more of a Exhibition tourny, mostly for the older students. Each club gets two reps, so I wouldn't count on any of y'all getting in.'

A wave of less excited whispers washed across the room.

Graves snorted. 'There's plenty for firs years too, don' worry. In addition to our reps, we got some visitors from Bablyon Academy comin from down the way, they'll be havin two reps from each o their clubs too. The Mid-Spring Invitational – is it still called that? Why? It ain even spring anymore. Whatever. Tourny lasts 3 weeks, ends with a big Dance. After that marks the start of your summer, so look forward to that.'

Excitement again.

'Oh righ, finals are the over the last week of term. Then the Dance.'

Groans.

The Professor was nearly cackling, and Lux half expected a comment from Ez about it. She'd never quite understood the relationship between Graves and Ez, but the Professor often let Ez get away with stuff most students would be given a weeks' worth of detention for. Though today, nothing.

'Okay, second order o business,' Graves continued, getting his chuckles under control. 'I have been informed that we are the only class without Class Reps. Now, I ain' going to assign blame here, but we apparently need a Male and Female rep for our class. Well, have needed em since start of term, but it slipped my mind. Ain nothin to be done about it though. Any volunteers?'

'Wait, you just forgot?' Ez said, shocked. Lux felt a little relief, at least he'd gotten over his embarrassment enough to interrupt Graves' class again.

'Ah, Lymere, perfect – we can add Rep duties to your detention,' Graves said. He ignored the distressed 'What?!' from Ez, and returned his eyes to the rest of the class. 'Now we need a missy. Anyone?'

No one raised their hand for a what felt like an eternity. A thought crossed her mind, fleeting, of her and Ez working on projects together, huddled over one of the study desks, rays of moonlight and the quiet cackling of the fake firepits...

He did like her, but whether or not she did -

She started to raise her arm.

'Rakkor, great. That makes two,' Graves said. 'Lymere and Rakkor, stay behind after class and we'll go over your duties. Everyone else - talk to your Club Presidents for more details on the tourney.'

Lux blinked and lowered her half-raised arm. She turned to Alune, who grinned back at her. Lux shook her head clear, then said; 'You want to be a class rep?'

'No, not particularly,' Alune said with a smile. Her eyes glinted in Ez's direction, and all Lux could do was smile – though it felt a tad more forced that she wanted it to be.

'Be gentle with him, at least.'

Alune giggled and relaxed into her seat, probably to put on the minimum outwards appearance of attention to whatever Graves was saying now. Lux's mind wandered again – and immediately felt her face redden at her idle thoughts. She could just talk to him normally.

Turn him down directly, but gently. She owed him that much, at least.


After Graves dismissed the morning class for lunch, he called Ezreal and Alune over to his desk. As they met, Alune offered Ezreal a small smile. He didn't want to be a Rep of, well, anything really, but at least he'd have a familiar face with him. And plus, he could always pry a bit more about Lux out of her. Did he feel bad about that line of thinking? Maybe.

He still planned on doing it.

'I'll make this quick, since you two have a meeting to attend,' Graves said casually, seated comfortably in his hard wooden desk chair.

'…We what?' Ezreal said.

'Like I said, won' keep you long,' Graves continued, nonplussed. 'All you two gotta do is attend a couple meetings a month, and then occasionally hold a vote in class for stuff that they'll inform you on.'

'What kind of "stuff"?' Ezreal said.

Graves shrugged. 'Hell if I know. Cultural festival nonsense or sumthin'. Anyway, 'sides from that, I don' think you have to really do much more than before.'

'I am thinking we also have to lead the class in morning bows?' Alune said.

'Oh righ, yeah. That too. Should we even bother with that? We haven' since the start o term. Anyway, you two decide amongst yourselves on how you wanna handle that.'

He is a teacher?

'Shocks me to this day, too,' Ezreal grumbled.

'Got somethin to say, Lymere?' Graves said, giving Ezreal the stink-eye. Ezreal cleared his throat and shook his head.

'Where is the meeting we are going to, Professor?' Alune said, carefully.

'Hm? Righ, here,' Graves said, handing Alune a small sheet of paper, which she took and held so Ezreal could see. It read Class Rep Meeting: 12:25, Room 512. Ezreal glanced at the clock on the wall; 12:18. They had a bit of time.

'That'll be all. Tell me if you two have anything you need me to do or what have you. Lymere, come an give me a report when you're done. Oh, and Lymere – be on time for detention.'

Graves turned, purposefully, away, signalling the end of the conversation. Alune looked taken aback, to whom Ezreal returned a shrug. He nodded towards the door, and the two of them stepped out into the corridor.

'And here I thought he couldn't get any worse,' Ezreal muttered, mostly to himself. He must've been a little bit louder than intended though, as Alune hummed agreement.

'He is very...how would you say -'

'Lazy? Grumpy? Just generally unpleasant?'

'I am thinking more "unfriendly",' Alune said.

Ezreal snorted, dodging away from a group of students who dashed through the halls. They came to a set of stairs and began to climb. 'That works. Graves is about as friendly as a ticked off raccoon.'

Alune frowned. 'You should not talk about teachers like this.'

'By his own admission, he barely counts as a teacher.'

'Even still – it is very rude.'

Ezreal snorted. 'I think he's just in a particularly bad mood today.'

'Is this because... He is mentioning detention?'

Ezreal smiled wryly. 'A harmless prank between schoolmates. Honest.'

'I have never had a detention. How did you do it?'

'Let's drop it, please. Long story short is Graves still hasn't grown a funny bone.'

'And what is this meaning?'

'Oh. Uh, he's, just kinda...always been like that.'

'You know him already?'

'Yeah. Met him a bit over a year ago. It went, uh, interestingly.'

'"Interestingly"?'

'There were a few explosions involved.'

'Explosions?'

'And a couple of monsters. Lots of fire, too.'

Alune raised an eyebrow as another rushing student pushed past them. 'What happened?'

'I saved his life,' Ezreal said, grinning. He ducked to the side of a rushing girl, then shook himself straight. 'I guess he might've, maybe saved mine, too.'

'So you are friends?'

'Let's not push it.'

They crested the final step to the fifth floor. Room 512 would be in the first block, room two...

As the hall up here was mostly empty, they found the room quite easily – it was the only room with a sign, written CONFERENCE ROOM. From inside the closed door, Ezreal could hear muffled voices of varying volumes and intensities. Alune checked the sheet again, then nodded. 'It is this.'

Ezreal nodded and slid the door open. Inside, the desks had been arranged into a boxy U formation, with four or five desks to each leg, and most every seat was occupied. The moment the door slid open, all of the occupants snapped towards Ezreal, who froze for a moment. Thankfully, among the faces there were a few he recognised; Irelia was there, sitting quietly at the far end, and Jayce next to her. Jayce flashed him a smile and a wink, whilst Irelia tilted her head quizzically.

'And you are?' A scruffy, dark-haired boy with even darker circles under his eyes said from one of the corners of the room.

'Sorry you two, room's in use – go snog somewhere else,' said a pale, red-haired boy with a glint of bad humour in the light of his eyes. He shot the dark-haired boy a smirk, who rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'Quiet, Hess, Vos,' said another, this time a girl with straight, dark bangs and a no-nonsense scowl that Ezreal imagined was permanent. The scruffy boy raised his hands in anger.

'What did I even say wrong this time, Caitlyn?' Hess said. The other boy, Vos, leaned back into his seat and smirked.

Caitlyn ignored him and stared directly at Ezreal. 'You're Yasuo's charge from this morning. I assume you two are our – long overdue, might I add – reps from class 1?'

Ezreal nodded, and to his side Alune spoke up. 'Professor Graves sent us -'

'Ah, that explains it,' Hess grumbled. He shrugged and gestured to a couple of empty seats. 'Professor pulled this shit last year too.'

'Take a seat, you two. We are discussing the hospitality arrangements for the Babylon students – just watch and ask if you have questions,' Caitlyn said.

'Seriously though, please don't get snogging on us,' Vos said again with another smirk, this time prompting Irelia to elbow him, then shoot Ezreal an apologetic glance. There was a sharp ack.

Ezreal smiled nervously, rubbed the back of his head, and took a seat. As he did, he cleared his throat and whispered to Alune. 'I'd just ignore him if I were you.'

'I do not mind,' was the reply.

Ezreal nodded, relieved. At least she was chill about it. They sat down opposite Jayce and Irelia, at the end closest to the door. Next to them were a couple of other first years that Ezreal recognised, but didn't know the names of. One of them had long, pink hair.

'As I was saying before Hess decided to interrupt,' Caitlyn said, staring pointedly away from Hess as he raised his voice in complaint. 'There will be eight students visiting on a boarding basis – anyone else will be arranging their own accommodations. Additionally will be three members of staff, whom will all be lodging in the teacher's Dorm. We can place the students in a few of the unoccupied rooms in the east wing of the Dorms.'

'If you'd already decided that, why even bother calling this meeting?' Hess grumbled.

'Because, Hess, I want to keep you all informed. Additionally, we will be in charge of catering to the visitor's needs, so I expect you all to be present when they arrive this evening.' Caitlyn nodded to Ezreal and Alune. 'I know you two are new, but I expect both of you to be in attendance too.'

'This is okay,' Alune said. Ezreal mirrored.

'Excellent,' Caitlyn said. 'Ask someone after the meeting for their contact details.'

'I'll help you, Ezreal,' Irelia said.

'Can you send out the details to the rest of us regarding who stays where?' Jayce added.

'I'll do that after the meeting.'

Caitlyn continued on, talking about various logistics surrounding the oncoming visitors. Ezreal, in his already reluctant-to-be-a-rep-of-anything mind, found it all incredibly boring. Occasionally he'd catch Hess yawning then quickly glaring around, or Vos whispering something to someone – typically Hess, who ignored him – then receiving a glare from either Caitlyn or Irelia.

Next to him, Alune seemed to be faring far better. At the least, she didn't look like she was on the verge of passing out. Ezreal sighed. At least one of them was cut out for this job. As he sighed, he caught a glance from her and gave her a small smirk – which turned into a yawn. She stifled a laugh, then returned a soft smile. No yawn though. Traitor.

'You are dismissed,' Caitlyn eventually said, causing a round of thankful moans to ripple throughout the room. As everyone moved to leave, Caitlyn addressed Ezreal and Alune. 'I hope you two weren't too lost.'

Ezreal began to speak, but his words were lost to another yawn. He tried to recover, flailing his arms pathetically. Caitlyn raised an eyebrow, and Alune giggled.

'Yes, it is okay,' Alune said, keeping her smile under control.

'Mhm, yep. A-okay here,' Ezreal forced out.

Caitlyn hummed, then gave a tiny shrug. 'Very well. I'll leave you in Irelia's care – I have a baking class to attend.' She swiftly vanished from the room.

As if on cue, Irelia stopped in front of their desk, Jayce behind – he threw a wink and grin to Ezreal, who nervously returned the smile. Jayce stood still for a second, then hummed.

'Gotta be honest, Ez,' he said. 'You don't strike me as Class Rep material.'

'Neither do you, Jayce,' Irelia said off-handedly. 'So, how was your first meeting?'

Ezreal shrugged. 'Went well enough, I suppose.'

Alune began to stand. 'It is fine. But are they always this, er, how would you say - ?'

'Exhilarating?' Ezreal offered through another yawn.

'Pretty much,' Jayce said. He grinned, nodding at Ezreal's very much un-gauntleted hand. 'No gauntlet today?'

'Not exactly,' Ezreal said. He shook his head. 'I'd been meaning to come to the Clubroom -'

'He broke it,' Irelia said.

Jayce's eyes widened. 'Already? Damn, it's only been like what, a month? How'd you even manage that?'

Ezreal chuckled nervously. 'Long story.'

'I'd bet. Come by the Clubroom later today then, I can take a look.'

'Sounds good,' Ezreal said with more than a bit of relief.

'And when you're done with that, get over to your actual Clubroom quickly. Yasuo's going to explain how we're selecting the Battle Club entrants for MSI.'

'Couldn't you just explain it to me now?'

Irelia's eyes narrowed.

'Okay, okay! I'll be there, don't worry. Ekko, Zoe and I have to leave early, though.'

Irelia nodded, then brought out and fiddled with her phone quickly. As she did, Ezreal's own vibrated in his pocket.

'I've added you to the group chat. What's your number, uh..?'

'Alune.'

'Right, what's your number, Alune?'

As Alune told Irelia, Ezreal sensed an opportunity. He had the perfect excuse to talk to her, then get some information about Lux – covertly, of course. He cleared his throat, and held out his phone.

'I think, uh, I should also get your – wait, uh, what I mean to say is that,' Ezreal said, suddenly stumbling over his words. He stopped, noticing Jayce's lips pressed in a tight line. They looked ready to burst.

You are not good at this, came Ta'an.

'Shut up,' Ezreal grumbled. Even now, Ta'an picked the worst times to cut in. He cleared his throat again, then smiled at Alune. 'Wanna exchange numbers?'

Jayce was snickering now.

Alune, though, simply smiled and nodded. 'Okay.'

So they did, much to Jayce's apparent amusement and Irelia's raised eyebrow.

The bell chimed, signifying the end of break.

'Ah, crap,' Jayce said, sending his eyes towards the clock. 'I've got Professor Gemheart next, and man does he not like tardies.' He winked at Ezreal once more. 'Catch you later, guys.'

He dashed from the room.

'Hmmm,' Irelia said. 'Well, alright. Text me if you have any questions, either of you, and I'll see you later.'

'Will do, thanks.'

She left, leaving Ezreal and Alune alone.

'What do we have next?' Ezreal said, picking his bag up.

'…'

Ezreal raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. Alune was humming with a smile on her face. He raised an eyebrow.

'You good there?'

'Hm?' Alune blinked at Ezreal. 'What, sorry?'

Ezreal snorted. 'Just asked what class we have next.'

'Oh. Sorry, I did not hear - '

He waved his hand dismissively, swinging his bag over his shoulders. 'Nah, I get it. That meeting was boring.'

'Er, yes,' Alune said, still smiling. She picked up her own belongings, then pursed her lips in thought. 'I think we are having history next.'

At that, Ezreal perked up. 'Nice. Shall we go?'

So they did, avoiding the now-empowered rush of students late to class.


Being as it was just after classes, the Luminary Club was fairly empty. Aside from himself and Jayce, Ezreal only saw three or four other people wandering the hall. He recognised none of them.

Jayce was poking away at what used to be the gauntlet, making sounds here and there that made Ezreal twitch nervously, shifting around in the rather uncomfortable stools they used here. He found his eyes constantly swinging from Jayce, to the gauntlet, to his phone, to the clock a the far end of the room, then back to Jayce, and so forth. Alune had sent him a greeting message earlier, so he used the time to quickly send one back. He then got a text from the Battle Club chat, to which he read, then read again, looked back to Jayce, read again -

'Okay!' Jayce said suddenly, clapping his hands together and spinning around to face Ezreal, who jumped. 'I can conclude that you royally – and I mean royally – gave this thing a thrashing. Before anything else, I wanna know how.'

Ezreal breathed a sigh of relief, Jayce was just as jovial as usual. 'We fought a Wyvern up in the mountains.'

'Whoa,' Jayce said, eyes widening. 'Damn, and you're okay? Pretty amazing you got away with just the gauntlet being destroyed then, huh?'

'No, uh, I may have...overloaded the thing when I killed it.'

'Wait, you killed it?'

Ezreal shuffled nervously, but nodded. Jayce huffed.

'I guess that explains the standings.'

'It just kinda happened, y'know.'

'Huh. Well, in any case, this thing's been thoroughly dumpstered. It'll take me a good week or so to get something into working condition.'

Ezreal nodded, relieved. 'Sorry, thanks for fixing it up.'

Jayce snorted. 'This one? No, it's beyond saving. I'll have to whip something new up – and looks like it could use a bit of an upgrade while I'm at it.'

Ezreal's phone dinged again. His eyes flashed towards the screen, seeing the notification from Alune. He grinned and put his phone away. 'Sorry, you were saying?'

'You know, Ez,' Jayce said with a smirk. 'You could've just saved her number from the participant list in the group chat.'

Ezreal grimaced. 'I... didn't even think of that. Was it that bad?'

'Not the worst I've ever seen, but it was sure as hell still funny.'

He groaned. 'Well, she seemed fine with it. It's not that weird to ask a friend for their contact details.'

Jayce grinned. 'Yeah, friends, sure.' He sniggered, then gave a slight shake of his head. 'Anyway don't you have somewhere to be? I'll get to work here, and I'll see you tonight anyway.'

Ezreal checked the time and nodded. He began to rise. 'The station at nine?'

'The station at nine,' Jayce said.

And with that, Jayce poured back over the desk. Ezreal didn't try to say anything more, knowing better than to try and break the spell of Jayce's concentration.

Checking the time told Ezreal it was about time to head over to his own Clubroom. Regardless of whatever else was going on, he didn't want Irelia to get mad on him.

He began the walk over, through the cluttered school grounds as students started to file out in waves.

By the time he arrived at the Battle Club's somewhat remote 'room', Ezreal was the last of the members to file in. Even Neeko was here – she'd been admitted to school with very little in way of objections, apparently the school got a few transfer students throughout the year anyway. She beamed as Ezreal pushed open the door.

'Hello Ezreal!' As she said it, she morphed into a perfect copy of him and struck a pose. Zoe, who was bouncing around nearby, oo'd and aa'd as Neeko did her thing.

Ezreal raised a hand in greeting. 'Heyo. Am I late?'

'Nah,' Ekko yawned, sitting on the bench with his head barely up. 'Just got here.'

Seated at Braum's desk was Yasuo, who cleared his throat as he saw Ezreal. 'Great, now we can get started. Let's make this quick, I hear you three have a meeting with a one Professor Graves?'

'Detention,' Irelia frowned.

'Oooo, nice. Graves stopped giving me detentions about halfway through my first year,' Yasuo said, smile brimming with nostalgia.

Ezreal tilted his head at the president – did he seem a little more... happy? More energetic?

Yasuo hopped off the chair and clapped his hands together. 'Time to explain the format. So, Irelia – if you would?'

She glared.

Yasuo grunted. 'Fine. Each Club gets two reps, and Babylon gets the same. So we end up with a sixteen-person bracket. Questions so far?'

'Babylon has the same club system as us?' Ekko said, and Yasuo shrugged.

'They have some equivalent, sure. Point is they get eight reps.'

'What's the bracket format like?' Ezreal asked.

'Uhh, there's three stages, and four people are eliminated each stage.'

'Wait, how does that work?' Ekko said.

'Booooo! You suck at explaining!' Zoe said.

'What is Babylon?' Neeko said.

Ezreal shifted his weight. 'How do we pick our reps?'

'What do we get if we win?' Ekko asked.

'One at a time, guys,' Yasuo said, clutching at his head slightly. 'It's hard to hear you all sober.'

Everyone gasped.

'Yes, I know – I haven't had a drink in two days. It's upsetting.'

Irelia placed a hand on Yasuo's shoulder. 'I'm very proud of you, for what it's worth.'

'Proud enough to take over the explanation, per chance?'

She glared.

Yasuo frowned. 'Fine. Regarding the prize, it's points for club and prestige. The matches are cast live -'

'What?' Ekko said.

Ezreal tilted his head. 'Yeah, you didn't know? My middle school used to play the tournaments for us when they were on.'

A sharp snort came form Ekko. 'I didn't go to a particularly high-end school.'

'Neither did I, but like -'

'Okay! Before you two start bickering, I'm just going to cut myself in here. People from all over the country watch the event, so it's important for showing off your skillsets if you want to look for sponsors after you graduate. Additionally, we usually play host to some rich assholes – so be ready to kiss some ass if you want to get some connections going.'

'Ugh, as if one of her wasn't enough,' Ekko said, rolling his eyes.

Yasuo continued; 'I know Sorcery holds their own tournament for it. Now, Braum told me that we should do the same, but -'

Irelia sighed and raised her hand. 'So me and who else?'

'Now you'd think that as the President, I would be required to participate, but if any of my dear underclasssmen want to try their hands – who am I to stop them?'

Zoe raised an excited hand.

'Except the gremlin. After what happened last year - I'm not taking any chances.'

Zoe pouted and lowered her hand.

Ezreal shared a look with Ekko, who shrugged. 'I'd rather not.'

'Can we decide later?' Ezreal said with a quick look towards his phone. 'We've got our date with Professor Graves.'

'Ugh,' Ekko said. He glared at Zoe, who sniggered. 'I'm never listening to one of your "great" ideas again.'

'The next one'll be even better.'

Ezreal and Ekko shuddered.

'Fine, we'll adjourn here for the day,' Yasuo said. He turned to Irelia. 'You said you had something else to discuss?'

Irelia nodded towards Neeko. 'I wanted to show Neeko around campus.'

Yasuo nodded. 'Mhm, okay. So go do it?'

'Which, you may remember,' Irelia said through slits. 'Would be something a figure of authority would do. Like - I don't know - a President or something similar.'

'Your sarcasm is duly noted, and appreciated. Ahri's been doing god's work.'

Irelia reddened, but Ezreal and the other detentionees didn't stick around any longer. Ezreal and Ekko waved Neeko goodbye with some grins, and they headed towards the room Graves had designated the 'Detention Room'.


Detention.

Ezreal had heard the tales. He'd seen the movies. He was prepared.

It was beyond boring.

Him, Ekko and Zoe were seated in an otherwise empty classroom, the only sounds the ticking of the clock and the only markings of authority a lazily scrawled SILENCE OR ELSE on the blackboard. Ezreal rolled his eyes; Graves couldn't even be bothered with detention that he set.

What are we doing

'Detention,' Ezreal whispered.

What is Detention

Ezreal leaned back into his chair and shrugged. 'It's a punishment.'

Punishment?

'What are we whispering about?' Zoe said.

'Shh,' Ekko put in. 'We don't want to get into any more trouble.'

'I doubt Graves cares,' Ezreal whispered back.

Ekko, placing his head atop the desk, grunted. 'Let me sleep.'

And so the silence returned, though fidgeting ruffling came through from Zoe occasionally.

His phone vibrated once in his pocket. Quickly making sure the coast was clear – though Ezreal doubted Graves would return until the end of the hour – and thankful for the distraction, he opened the message under his desk.

Alune (17:30): How is detention?

e – z (17:30): i am

e – z (17:30): extremely bored

e – z (17:31): graves showed up for a minute then dipped

A minute passed before he got a reply.

Alune (17:32): That does not sound too bad. At least you can use the time to relax.

Behind him Ekko began snoring.

e – z (17:32): ekko's taking your advice

Alune (17:32): Ekko has detention as well?

e – z (17:32): zoe's here too

Alune (17:33): That sounds like just a normal Club activity.

Ezreal snorted. Ekko stirred – grumbled something incomprehensible - then stilled.

e – z (17:32): you're more right than you'd know

Behind Ezreal, he could hear Zoe rummaging about in a bag. For what; he didn't know, and he honestly didn't want to turn and look. He felt that if he did, he'd just end up confused.

Alune (17:35): Lux says hello

That got Ezreal to sit slightly straighter. Perfect, he didn't even have to try and guide the conversation.

e – z (17:35): heyo

e – z (17:36): what're you guys doing atm

Alune (17:36): We are in Club, President Ahri is explaining the procedure for the tournament.

e – z (17:36): are you going to sign yourself up?

The door to the classroom burst open, followed by a loud, calculating voice; 'So, this the detention room this year?'

In sauntered a girl with an angular face and dark hair that spiked out in a wild bid to escape her head, barely held together by a forest green hair-tie. Her eyes, blood-red, scanned the room with a scowl, eventually finding Ezreal, and her face flashed with recognition. With a grin that spelt trouble, the girl slammed her hands on Ezreal's desk, and leaned in close.

'You're the kid from the assembly.'

Ezreal, quickly shoving his phone into his pocket, frowned. 'And you are?'

'Oooh! Hi Kali! Your hair looks super cool, how'd you get it like that?'

"Kali" smirked at Zoe. 'Love and care.' She refocused on Ezreal. 'Akali, Assassin club, second year. So, we have you to thank for costing us the Practical.'

'It was a team effort,' Ezreal said, backing up a little.

Akali scoffed. 'Sure, you and those losers. Battle Club's never gone anywhere before, why would that change now?'

Ezreal frowned. 'Okay, a little rude.'

'Nah, we lost everything last year,' Zoe said happily.

'There you have it, blondie. Now my question is,' she leaned closer, and Ezreal really wanted to leave, 'how did you do it.'

Kill

Dangerously close now, Akali flashed her teeth. Crimson eyes narrowed to slits, mouth a hair's breadth away from Ezreal's own, she whispered; 'Show me, blondie. Fight me.'

Ezreal shook his head and forced himself to relax, leaning as far back as he could. In his mind, Irelia's nagging from back before Needlebrook played, and he willed away the temptation to take the bait. 'Like I said, team effort. Anyway, we've got a detention to serve, and Graves won't be back for a while.'

'Hmm,' Akali said. 'Interesting. Coward.' She lifted her hands off the table and took a seat in front of Ekko. Then, unceremoniously, her head fell into folded hands atop the desk, and she said no more. As she did, Ekko groggily lifted his head, stared through narrowed eyes for a moment, then grunted and resumed his nap.

Once more the room was qiuet – as much as it could be, barring Zoe's rummaging. Ezreal stared at Akali and Ekko a while longer. They couldn't be actually sleeping, could they? He frowned. More than that, what was her problem?

Graves came back just after the bell chimed, signalling the school was going to lock up soon. He narrowed his eyes at Akali's snoring figure, then shrugged and cleared his throat. That, combined with the shrill bell, brought him everyone's attention.

'It's seven, y'all can go. Lymere, stay behind for a few minutes. Dismissed.'

Ekko and Akali got up and yawned in tandem, then grabbed their belongings and left. If the girl hadn't all but threatened him minutes before, Ezreal would've found the uncanny similarities funny. Zoe waved Ezreal goodbye – 'Laters Ez!' - with a massive grin, and fell up into a portal, vanishing.

Trouble

Now alone with Ezreal, Graves sighed. He fell back into the seat, which had a few cushions placed on it. Graves grimaced, then stood up again whilst glaring at the chair. He grunted, then spoke.

'Well, eventful day for you.'

Ezreal yawned. 'The morning thing was not meant to happen to you.'

'Don' matter,' Graves grunted. 'Still happened. Cleanin up was a pain.'

'Well...sorry,' Ezreal managed.

They shared an awkward look, before Graves shrugged and sat down again - this time on the edge of the desk. 'Tha's not what I wanted to talk about. Did you, er – how was the Class Rep meeting?'

Ezreal shrugged. 'Boring, but I doubt that was what you wanted either.'

'No,' Graves admitted. 'I wanted t'ask you again about Labrys.'

Dangerous

Shrug. 'I already told you everything.'

'The doors add up an all – but there was really nothing beyond?'

Ta'an buzzed. Ezreal shook his head. 'Just an empty petricite room.'

Again Graves sighed, this time deep with exhaustion. 'Seems like an awful lott'a effort to seal away nothing.'

'Maybe it's just the way the Weapons were made,' Ezreal said with a casual shrug. 'There's not been a lot of research done on them.'

'Shockingly little,' Graves grumbled. The day was turning to evening, and the room was washed in a soft orange glow as the sun made it's final moves to escape back into night. With a final, annoyed grunt, Graves nodded to Ezreal. 'Well, you can go then. I'll come get you when I need you.'

Bag in hand and yawn on face, Ezreal stood. 'Okay, laters.'

Graves raised an eyebrow.

'Uh, I meant -'

Graves snorted. 'Laters, Lymere.'


'So how was detention?' A very smug Irelia asked as she set down a tray of food across from Ezreal. Zoe didn't wait – immediately and loudly scooping huge portions onto her own plate. Ezreal followed, but took a respectful amount. It was far less rude to ask for seconds, anyway.

Ekko grunted. 'I got a good nap out of it.'

'Kali showed up! Have you seen her new hair? It's amazing!' Zoe said through muffled chewing.

'Swallow, Zoe,' Irelia said absently. She took her seat, a plate of her own – much healthier, Ezreal assumed – food. 'You guys never told me what you did to get in trouble.'

Ezreal and Ekko ate their food.

'Fine.' Irelia frowned. 'Just don't make this into a habit, especially with MSI coming up.'

'We won't,' Ezreal said. Gorging himself on a mouthful of food, Ezreal once again thanked whichever god was out there for Irelia's cooking. He knew she was doing it out of an out-of-control paternal instinct, but man was he glad for it. The small budget he'd had to work with over the months was looking much more manageable. 'You don't seem that excited about MSI, Irelia.'

She hummed. 'Well, it's not that I'm not excited, per se -'

'Yasuo seemed pretty hyped about it,' Ekko said.

'That was hype?' Ezreal raised an eyebrow. Ekko shrugged.

'For him, yeah. He was surprisingly, er -'

'Chipper?'

'Disturbingly so.'

'I liked it!' Zoe said.

'I am excited for the Tournament,' Irelia said, apparently mostly to herself.

Ezreal, Ekko, and Zoe tilted their heads at her, and Irelia jumped a little. She collected herself – sitting straight, clearing her throat and resetting her face to serious. 'That's not weird, okay. Those looks are what's weird here.'

Ezreal and Ekko laughed – sounds which were quickly quelled by the look Irelia gave them. Not wanting to impose the big-sister wrath, he cleared his own throat and scanned his head for a topic change.

'By the way, what was her deal anyway? That Akali girl, or whatever.'

'Oh, her,' Irelia frowned. 'I'd stay clear of her if I were you – assassin club's trouble, and she's particularly bad.'

'I like Kali, she braided my hair one time last year – it was the new years, and we were stuck in the dorms together -'

'Zoe, you would quite literally make friends with an angry badger if you had the chance,' Ekko said.

'I've tried!' She suddenly pouted. 'It didn't go very well.'

Irelia rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively. 'Regardless, Akali's bad news. I'd avoid the Assassin club in general – the school rules are extremely skewed in their favour.'

Ezreal swallowed his food. 'What do you mean?'

'They can use lethal force in duels,' Irelia said, casually.

'Wait, wait, wait – What?!' Ekko said.

Ezreal scoffed. 'No way that's a thing.'

Shrugging, Irelia ate. 'It's just the rules. People never accept duels with them – and they're at a huge advantage in tournament matches.'

'But – but what's the counterplay to that kind of bull?' Ekko said, incredulous.

'You kill 'em back, silly,' Zoe beamed.

'Can't,' Irelia said. 'A non-Assassin who kills someone in a duel is immediately expelled.'

Ezreal shook his head, snorting. 'Yeah, you can stop with the jokes. There's no way the school's that stupid.'

Irelia smiled. 'Sure, be my guest to find out.' Then she frowned. 'Actually, please don't. I'd never be able to forgive myself.'

'So they just get to auto-win duels?' Ezreal said. 'How is that even fair?'

Again, Irelia just shrugged. 'I just know the rules, I can't explain the logic behind them.'

Ezreal shuddered, hearing Akali's 'fight me' play in the back of his mind. Had she wanted to kill him? No way.

'I've never been killed by an A-Clubber in a duel though,' Zoe said through yet more muffled bites of food. 'They usually kinda suck.' Her brows furrowed and she feigned seriousness; '"They have egos the size of Ire's forehead".'

Ekko almost spat out his food, and Ezreal snorted.

'I'm sorry, what did you say, Zoe?' Irelia said, with the sweetest smile Ezreal had ever seen.

'It's what Prezzers said to me last year! He thought it was super funny, too.'

'And you didn't, right?' Irelia said, smile still sweet and eyes still deadly.

'I think I burst a vein laughing!' As if to prove her point, she melted into a fit of giggles.

Irelia looked like she was about to pop a vein. 'You do remember who feeds you, yes?'

Ekko had managed to not choke. 'Holy shit, Zoe,' he stammered out.

A new voice announced the arrival of another person. 'Hello! Neeko is here!'

Neeko was beaming, oblivious to the situation. Her smile was bright, though she tilted her head quizzically at Irelia. She phased into a replica of Irelia, down to the popping vein – and for once Ezreal noticed the gap between her bangs and eyebrows. He felt bad, but it was very hard not to laugh.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Irelia exhaled. 'You know what, it's fine. Sit down, Neeko, there's food enough for you too.'

Neeko melted back into herself, smile included, and laughed. 'Neeko does not have money, so Neeko is thanking you.'

'Saaaame,' Ezreal and Ekko said in tandem. The three of them shared a bond.

Irelia shook her head. 'At least some of you appreciate it.'

Zoe swallowed her largest mouthful yet. 'Ire-Ire, will you marry me? I want food forever!'

'No.'

Zoe pouted, but kept eating. 'Awww. Why not?'

Irelia ate her meal in pointed silence.

The wide smile on Neeko's face faltered slightly. 'Qiyana is not here as well?'

Tapping his chest with a fist, Ekko grunted. 'QiQi? Dunno.'

'She is friend?'

Ezreal and Ekko shared a confused look.

'I - uh. I guess?' Ezreal said.

'Don't look at me.'

'QiQi's my friend!' Zoe said.

'I doubt she shares that opinion,' Ekko said, finally resuming his meal. The food was running out quick.

As he finished his current plate, Ezreal's phone pinged. He opened it, a message from Alune, asking about the time they had to meet at the station. He quickly checked the time – about a quarter past eight. He looked to Irelia.

'We have to be at the station at nine, yeah?'

She nodded. 'Yeah, so I'll clean up quickly after we're done and we can head over.'

'Okay,' Ezreal said, and relayed the information to Alune. 'Alune's going to come to the station with us, if that's fine.'

Ekko raised an eyebrow. 'What's this?'

'Tactics,' Ezreal said with a grin.

'That's fine. We'll go in a few minutes,' Irelia said.

'Ekko and Neeko play games later?' Neeko said.

'Tellstones? Sure, I don't mind.'

'Ooo, ooo! Can I join?'

Ekko rolled his shoulders. 'I don't have a good excuse to say no, I guess.'

'Yay!'

Ezreal wolfed down a second portion, and made to rise. By the time he was done, Irelia was finishing up her own meal, and the other three were just chatting. Irelia moved to stand, picking up her own plate and the empty serving one. She eyed Zoe.

'This time, you won't forget to put the plates in the dishwasher?'

Zoe pouted. 'I didn't forget! Don't be mean.'

'Don't forget then.' She nodded to Ezreal. 'Let's get going.'


At nine sharp, Ezreal stood with the other Class Reps in the lobby of the Durandal train station, waiting with his back straight alongside Irelia and Alune. Caitlyn had insisted on the posture, though Ezreal thought it was overkill. Apparently, the headmaster of Babylon was a big one for appearances.

'Here they come,' Caitlyn called from the side. 'Act on your best behaviour, everyone, Hess.'

Hess grunted from somewhere down the line.

A group exited the turnstiles, four or five boys and a couple of girls.

Caitlyn stepped forward and shook hands with a tall man with sharp, angular features and dark hair swept to the side in calculated disregard. His face was scarred – faded cuts clawing along his cheeks and above his eyes, mouth and nose covered by a metallic mask-like apparatus that made Ezreal uncomfortable. It was black, with golden, glowing highlights that likely operated as a breathing aide. His golden eyes, deep set and narrow, regarded Caitlyn.

'This place has made improvements.'

Caitlyn gave a small bow. 'Welcome, Professor - ?'

'Viktor.'

'Professor Viktor, welcome,' Caitlyn bowed again. 'I hope you will find our facilities acceptable.'

Next was a large, muscular boy – man, more like – with messy, red hair who towered over the rest. Part of that height came from the two fluffy ears that protruded from his head, the same colour as his hair. He came to a halt, staring around with narrowed eyes on his scarred face before coming to a harsh stop on Irelia – who returned the glare in kind.

'Irelia,' he growled, voice resonating like steam over heated stones.

'Sett,' Irelia replied in kind.

Sett grunted. 'You look like shit.'

'And you look like an overpaid bouncer.'

They glared intently for seconds that stretched hours – then broke into broad grins.

'That was almost a joke, for you. Good to hear you almost have a sense of humour,' Sett said.

Irelia laughed – a sound that took Ezreal aback. 'And it's good to see you've almost found a way talk to a lady.'

Sett laughed. It was more of a cackle, and Irelia and he broke into smiles, as if she'd just made the world's funniest inside joke. A very confused Ezreal exchanged looks with Alune, who was watching on with curious amusement.

'So, these two yours?' Sett said, nodding towards Ezreal.

'Blonde one is,' Irelia said. 'Ezreal, this is Sett. He was second at the final tournament last year.'

'Woulda been first, too, but I got a shit matchup.'

'Ah, the classic excuse,' Irelia said. The two of them chuckled again.

Ezreal felt awkward. He cleared his throat. 'So, uh, you two know each other?'

'Met through a friend last year,' Irelia said.

'Bonded through some...mutual differences.'

Again, they started grinning. Seeing Irelia this giddy was really throwing Ezreal off.

'Anyway,' Irelia said, putting on her usual serious face. 'We've got a room for you in the west wing of the dorms, and your instructors'll be in the teacher's building.'

'Single room?' Sett asked.

'Not sure. You'll find out soon enough.'

Sett grunted. 'Right. Well, if that's all from you, I'm gunna go to the bathroom. Damn long trip.'

They left, leaving Ezreal staring after them. Alune, amused, glanced between the retreating party and Ezreal. 'What is the problem?'

'I didn't know Irelia could laugh.'

'He is reminding me of Aphelios.'

Ezreal raised an eyebrow. 'And just how did you arrive there?'

She shrugged. 'It is, ah, how you say – a vibe?'

'...A vibe.'

'Is this not how you would say?'

'I mean, you can -'

He was interrupted by another man stepping through the gates – and somewhere far away in his head, Ta'an started buzzing.

Sssssssssssssssssss

The man snapped to Ezreal, blinked – and his lips curled into a deep smirk. He was tall, long-faced, with a curtain of slicked-back white hair that fell regally to his shoulders. His eyes, a piercing golden, sparked with a deep knowledge that dug straight through Ezreal and bore into his soul.

Caitlyn, oblivious to any oddities, stepped up to the man and begun to speak. 'Headmaster Swain, welcome. I trust your trip was a smooth one?'

Swain took Caitlyn's hand and shook gingerly, eyes never leaving Ezreal. 'Quite so. I trust all preparations for our arrival are in order?'

Caitlyn nodded, handing him a folder. 'Everything has been sorted. Are all your students ready? We can leave at your notice.'

'At your pleasure, Caitlyn.'

'Excellent. Then, let me once more welcome you back to Durandal, and let's make this year's tournament a good one.'

Swain smiled, and Ezreal's blood ran cold. 'Yes, let's make this an event to remember.'

And somehow, Ezreal knew. Ta'an's buzzing was grinding now, and he knew.

Swain was the same as him.


Evenings for Lux, for at least the past few days, had seen her meeting with Katarina and training for a couple of hours after dinner. Tonight's session was in one of the smaller training rooms – upon Lux's insistence, one within the student's dorms – a cramped, wooden room about the size of a small classroom, or large closet. The only furnishings were an uncomfortable bench and a tattered red matt.

'Aight, I'm beat, let's call it for the night,' Katarina said. She grabbed a deep purple towel and began running it through her sweat-dripped hair.

Lux breathed a sigh of satisfied exhaustion and nodded. 'I'm going to stay a little longer.'

Towel now covering her face entirely, Katarina shrugged. 'Suit yourself. I've got places to be.'

After taking a particularly long sip from her bottle, Lux rolled her muscles and stood at the ready. Arms extended, eyes closed, Lux let the familiar spark of light flow through her – holding in place at the tips of her fingers.

Katarina whistled. 'Why the sudden intensity?'

The light fazed out, concentration broken, and the light retreated inside her. Lux didn't think herself as someone to get annoyed, but as she lost the spark, an image of Tianna flashed in her mind. She gritted her teeth and sighed.

'I'm just... I don't know,' She said.

'Hmmm,' Katarina said. 'Well, that face usually means you got a bone to pick. Didn't your boyfriend win that little bet of his? Get Crownguard off your ass?'

Lux frowned. 'That's just it. Ez did, and Auntia technically told me I can do what I want, but -'

'You don't feel like you're actually free?'

Lux grunted. 'That, and I feel kinda, um -'

'Cheated?'

'I guess,' she shrugged. 'Like I didn't earn what I've wanted for so long, by myself.'

Katarina grinned a dark grin. 'Don't like your boyfriend coming in to save you?'

'We're not dating,' Lux said, eyes narrowing.

'I say,' Katarina continued, ignoring Lux. 'Let the guys save us once in a while. Let them prove they're worth keeping around.'

Lux sighed and closed her eyes again, wanting to get back to training. 'Ez means well.'

'And he's cute.'

Lux's concentration broke again. 'We're not dating. Drop it.'

Katarina's bag replaced itself on the bench, and Lux heard her sit down. 'Just trying to lighten you up. Why're you so touchy about it?'

'I don't want to think about it right now,' Lux said. 'I want to focus on the tournament.'

At that, Katarina's eyebrows raised. 'They usually don't let first years participate.'

'Sorcery does our own bracket to decide, apparently. And I'm going to win.'

'Bold words, bold words.'

Lux, at this point having mostly given up on continuing to train, joined Katarina on the bench. As she sat, she sighed. 'I'm going to win this tournament, Kat.'

'You can try,' Katarina said with a sly smile. 'I won't make it easy for you.'

'You're entering?' Lux's eyebrows shot up.

Katarina snorted. 'I think people have started to forget that I'm more than the Principal's grandkid. I'm more than happy to remind them.'

'Oh,' Lux said. 'I almost forgot about that.'

'That's why I like you, kid,' Katarina said, checking her phone. Whatever she saw caused a smirk and a chuckle – dark and threatening. She rose again. 'And on that note, I'm going to actually leave. Maybe we shouldn't meet up again, unless you want to give away your tactics in the event.'

Lux smiled. 'Who says I've shown everything?'

A grinning Katarina left with a wink. 'I'll tell Garen you say hi.'

Before Lux could imagine what she meant to do, Lux was left alone. She stretched, hearing the satisfying cracks of a good session. Relaxing back into the still-uncomfortable chair, she pulled out her phone and sent Alune a message asking where she was.

As she finished packing up she received a reply, and so Lux headed over to the lounge. The pathway that led that direction had you take a small detour in the gardens, a respite which Lux welcomed, being soaked in a blanket of her own sweat. The night's breeze was a nice reminder of a workout well pushed.

When she arrived in the lobby she quickly spotted her friend, smiled and almost waved – then she froze. Ez was with her, and though she had decided she didn't want anything more, she felt a sudden and strong panic at the thought he would see her like... well, this. She looked down at her clothes – a drenched gym tee and loose shorts – and cringed. Maybe she could quickly sneak away and change before they noticed her.

'Lux! Hello!'

Well, dashed that hope.

Accepting her embarrassment, Lux sighed and forced a smile as she waved. Alune was smiling, beckoning Lux over. As Lux approached, she noticed that Alune had done some subtle touch-ups to her make-up – a little extra eyeliner, a touch more blush – and Lux felt even more naked. She'd scrubbed herself clean before training.

Still, she smiled, trying to make it as unobvious as possible that she'd even be considering this. 'How was the – the..what was it?'

'We went to welcome the students from Babylon Academy,' Alune chirped. 'There are many different people.'

'Mm,' Ez said, tapping his foot at a rapid pace and staring off into space. He finally saw Lux, blinked, then smiled – in a very clearly forced way. 'Hey Lux.' He grimaced, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. He came up after a moment, smiling weakly at the two girls. 'Sorry – I think I'm going to turn in for the night. See you tomorrow.'

He left.

Part of Lux was glad he hadn't said anything – or even noticed, really – the state she was in, but another part of her felt a stab of..annoyance? She pushed it aside and turned back to Alune.

'So, you wanna do something? Otherwise I'm going to shower and pass out, too.'

'That is okay. How was your training?'

Lux grinned, flexing her arm. 'Easy.'

With a giggle Alune gestured towards the stairs. 'Is it okay if I stay in your room for a while? Today was very exciting, I am needing to tell you.'

'Sure,' Lux said, thankful for an excuse to dump her stuff off. 'I'm going to shower first though. You can wait in my room?'

So she did, and Lux quickly hurried through a nice and hot shower before opening the door to her single room.

'Sorry, done.'

Alune was seated atop Lux's bed, humming animatedly to herself with a massive grin across her lips, which only deepened as Lux entered. 'I think he likes me.'

Lux froze, panicked. Then she scoffed at herself. Why should she care? Plus, she knew he liked her, anyway. 'Really?'

'Well, maybe not like yet – but we were talking! It was very nice.' She smiled. 'I think he is very sweet.'

'He gave you his number, didn't he?' Lux said, closing the door behind her and sitting at the deskchair. Alune nodded.

'Actually, he was asking me. I was worried, I didn't know how I could ask him -'

Lux smirked. 'You know you can just add people to your contact list directly from the group chat member's list, right?'

Alune's eyes widened. 'I did not think of this.'

'Well, have you texted him more? Aside from that bit in club, I mean.'

'A little, I do not know how much is too much.'

Lux didn't really know why, but she was already tired of this conversation. Maybe it was because she had no real experience to draw from, so she felt like she couldn't offer proper advice? Yeah. That was it.

'Well, I'm sure he doesn't mind.'

Alune closed her eyes and fell back onto the bed. 'I am hoping so.' She opened her eyes. 'And you? Have you talked to him?'

Lux froze, again. Him? She smiled. 'Who?'

'Professor Sylas!' Alune pouted. 'Have you had a talk since last week?'

She thought back to the morning and her chance encounter. Lux shook her head. 'No, haven't seen him, thankfully.'

'Aw. That is a shame.'

Lux reclined, exhaling into a deep stretch. 'It's fine, I'm not really focusing on romance at the moment, anyway.'

Alune hummed, her legs bouncing against the base of the bed. 'You do not want to go to the dance with him?'

'Dance? Oh, right.' Graves had said something about that. Lux shook her head. 'Haven't thought about it.'

'We could do a double date! It will be fun.' Then she frowned. 'Maybe not – he is a teacher.'

Lux didn't have anything to say, so she just hummed.

Another set of giggles, and Alune sat herself straight with a huff. 'Do not worry, this will be a fun event.'

Forcefully Lux yawned, deliberately looking at her phone. 'For sure. It's getting pretty late, and I'm beat, so -'

'Yes, I think I will also go to bed,' Alune said, still chipper, standing and stretching. She smiled broadly at Lux. 'I will see you tomorrow.'

Lux did her best to return the smile. 'Sweet dreams.'

After the door clicked close, Lux exhaled, a deep and full-bodied sigh. It spread through her entire body, and she lay sprawled on the uncomfortable desk chair. Still, she stared up at the ceiling, not bothered to make the one-step journey to her bed.

She groaned.

Part of her wanted to just call it quits there. Why bother? She hadn't even accomplished anything herself – and she was exhausted even still. An image, one that she knew wasn't real, one that didn't matter if it was, of Tianna standing over a defeated Lux, grinning smugly, mouthing something or another that amounted to the same effect.

The image lingered for a moment, until Lux forced herself off the chair and into a standing position. As she did, her head cleared, and she felt stupid. Stupid for even considering that she should bother quitting.

Without bothering to set out her clothes for the next day, Lux dumped herself onto the bed, and slept.


Side Story – Irelia (part 1 of 2)

'And so,' Yasuo said, dusting his hands together as he finished the final pieces of set-up. 'We're going to do a little team-building.'

Irelia frowned. 'By playing games.'

'Right you are, Sourpuss, we're gonna play some games together.'

It was a tuesday afternoon, about a week after the Practical. Between re-settling in and a bit of light studying in preparation for the end of term exams, Irelia had, for the most part, been ready for whatever training Yasuo would set them for MSI. As she'd predicted, he'd pawned off one spot to her, and left the others to figure out who else would represent them. Ezreal hadn't realised it, but that ploy Yasuo pulled in the auditorium? It was to get Ezreal to participate in Yasuo's place. A very, very roundabout way of doing it, and one that relied on the pettiness of other students to actually work, as well as Ezreal's proven habit to rise to the bait, but a ploy nonetheless. As Irelia had come to – marginally – respect, the guy would always go the extra mile to avoid doing something.

But that left them just over a week to prepare for the first round of the tournament. Irelia had been ready to offer some help to Ezreal, but she'd mostly planned on solo practice. Maybe swing over to Sorcery a couple of times, but she didn't want to bother Ahri more than needed; the older girl was busy with the responsibilities of being a Club President.

She glared at Yasuo, who was grinning.

'When you said "Club Training", I almost thought that you'd actually do your job for once.'

'A na?ve thought, Relly,' Zoe said with a wizened chuckle. She was sitting at the bench – they'd put in a new carpet underneath it to hide the stains instead of cleaning them up – with an identical copy of Zoe next to her, who after a moment mimicked Zoe's movements. Then, she giggled, and phased into a taller girl with colourful skin. Neeko beamed.

'Neeko not know this game.'

Yasuo smirked. 'It's easy. You pick a character and beat up your friends.'

Zoe whoo'ed. 'That sounds like something Ire would hate!'

Rolling her eyes, Irelia leaned to inspect the set-up. A boxy TV set sat on the desk, fairly wide and thick. A few wires led off, notably a couple into a black square console that had a neon blue glow running along it's side. Two controllers hung off two extended cables onto two uncomfortable-looking chairs placed atop the wooden floor. She picked up one of the controllers and fiddled with it.

Pointedly, she looked towards Zoe. 'Why would I hate this kind of thing? I enjoy relaxing.'

Zoe booed. 'You hate fun!'

'I love fun. I'm very fun,' Irelia said, sitting in front of the TV with a huff. 'Yasuo, how do I play this?'

Grinning, Yasuo flipped on the TV. It flickered – sputtering a cough as it did – then finally settled into a stylised menu screen. Yasuo picked up the other controller and hit a few buttons, screen responding by fading into a grid-like menu with muted colours. Though, Irelia figured, that the colours were more on the screen itself than the game. Yasuo nodded and set the controller back down.

'Now you pick a character and we fight.'

'I wanna fight!'

'Neeko can fight.'

Yasuo smirked. 'Two at a time, it's one v one.'

Irelia selected a tall, dark girl with a massive sword. As she clicked her portrait, the sprite winked – I'm ya gal!

Irelia turned to Yasuo. 'Now what?'

'Now,' he said, selecting a hooded man with dual blades. 'We fight. First to two?'

'I've never played this before -'

'Great! Start!'

The match was over quickly; Irelia had no idea what was going on. She didn't even understand how the controls would cause her character to act, and right as she thought she was beginning to get a grasp on them, WINNER in large text flashed across the screen, and it was over.

Yasuo chuckled as Zoe and Neeko whooped behind them. 'A rookie mistake, Irelia.'

'Gee,' she said, placing the controller down. 'You sure got me.'

'I did, didn't I? Round two!'

Irelia scrambled to pick the controller back up. 'Wait - !'

The second round went about as well as the first - as in, it didn't. Irelia lost much quicker this time, leaving Yasuo's samurai character in an edgy victory pose, where his two blades were rammed into the ground. Yasuo himself was grinning like a kid at snowdown. Irelia rolled her eyes and placed the controller down, this time hopefully for good.

'Had your fun?'

'Did you have fun?'

'A ton.' Irelia stood and stepped away from the seat, which Zoe hungrily filled. 'Was that all you called us in to do today? I want to go get some actual practice in.'

'Booo! You're no fun, you couldn't beat me in this game if you tried!' Zoe then picked a curvaceous woman with a massive spear, who posed suggestively as she was selected.

Irelia did not doubt it. 'Sure. Now, I'm going to to practice my forms, so I'll see you all tomorrow. You want me to show you around a bit more first, Neeko?'

Neeko shook her head, tail wagging as she peered over Yasuo and Zoe's shoulders. 'This game look fun. Neeko want to try.'

'Suit yourself,' Irelia said. She made to leave, but was stopped by Yasuo's "I've got you now" voice.

'Ah, but Irelia, that would mean you'll miss it.'

Now, Irelia knew it would be more productive to ignore him and leave. She could go to one of the free training rooms, or the track, or even Sorcery if Ahri was free. Any one of those would have let her actually work her body and get her shape for the tournament – but with a sigh, she let herself rise to the bait.

'What will I miss, President Souma?'

'Yuck, don't call me that,' Yasuo said, then jovially continued; 'You'll miss the first bi-annual-or-monthly Battle Club fighting game tournament; a place where you can pit yourselves against the greatest we have to offer; all at a chance to earn exclusive rewards and glory!'

Zoe and Neeko oo'd and aa'd.

With a sigh and roll of her eyes, Irelia asked the next question. 'And what, President Souma, would said rewards entail?'

'Haven't thought that far,' Yasuo replied, selecting his character and launching himself and Zoe into a match. 'But it'll be fun, and a good teambuilding exercise. I would appreciate it if you participated.'

Irelia considered.

'No.'

'Boooo!' Zoe called, loud sounds accompanying her from the TV.

'Think about it, we can hold the event after school tomorrow,' Yasuo said, mashing furiously.

Sparing a few words of empty promise, Irelia left.

Immediately the wet weather of the oncoming summer hit Irelia full force, with the sky being a dark overcast that hung over the school's valley like a fading black eye. It wasn't raining – yet – but the air was close and clammy to the touch. Irelia shuddered.

Quickly deciding to head over to Sorcery, Irelia huddled inside her jacket, silently cursing the Battle Club's room for being so far removed from anything else on campus. At least, she figured, the flowers along the path added some colour to the otherwise dreary blanket of gray.

Sorcery, meanwhile, was busy. As she entered, struck as usual by the vibrant blues that ran along the walls, she realised she should've sent a text. It was so busy! Irelia cursed herself this time; she hadn't even considered Ahri's time -

'Oh hey, what's good, Irelia?'

Irelia blinked out of her trance to come to face Vos, pale face further reddened from the cold of the day. He gave her a casual wave and smirk. Irelia nodded slightly.

'Vos. Is your President in?'

Vos hummed. 'Think she just got back from a meeting with one of the Professors, should be up on the second floor. You want a drink?'

Irelia walked past him and towards the stairs. 'Thanks.'

Students were duelling on the main floor, and others were conversing as Irelia climbed the spiral staircase. It struck her, again, how large this place was. And once again, she felt guilty. What if Ahri was busy? Irelia supposed she'd have to leave – but then what?

She crested the final step and saw that the door to the President's office was just open. A moment of pause took her. Should she enter? Ahri was busy. Maybe she should come back later.

Irelia began to walk back down the stairs.

'Oh, this is a nice surprise,' Ahri called from just beyond the door.

Irelia's head snapped back to see Ahri poking her head out of the room, ears perked up and lips bent into a sly smile that exposed a flash of white. Irelia stopped on the steps. She cleared her throat.

'I, uh, if you're busy -'

Ahri scoffed and pushed the door open. 'Please. If by "busy" you mean the never-ending stream of menial tasks – which, by the way, I have done all of, without complaint – then I'm swamped. Otherwise, I can squeeze in a minute for my Gir-'

Irelia quickly stepped into the room and shut the door behind her, feeling a little frantic. Inside was a fairly small, square room, walls lined with bookshelves and a deep blue wallpaper that created a homely atmosphere. Her heart was pounding at her chest, what if someone had heard?

Ahri had a single eyebrow raised. 'Come on in, I guess?'

'What if people heard about you?'

The eyebrow rose a little higher. 'What about me, exactly?'

Her tone made Irelia look down. 'That you, you know – me, and -'

The sound Ahri made was somewhere between a pained chuckle and a disdained scoff. Whatever it was, Irelia looked up to see Ahri recline onto a large armchair, blue of course, with her eyes closed. She exhaled deeply, falling into a deep stretch.

When she came out of it, she regarded Irelia with a strained version of her earlier smirk. 'You know I'm not particularly worried about what they would say, right?'

'Well – it's just that -'

Ahri's tails were coiled around her midriff, a few of them making the occasional twitch. 'Irelia. Honey. Babe?' She smirked, then shook her head clear. 'I think you're a little too worried about my non-existent reputation here. Half the kids here just call me some variation on "Ms. Fox". I wouldn't be too bothered about what they think about my dating life.'

Irelia was looking away.

Ahri continued; 'Have you told anyone yet?'

She shook her head.

'Not even Zoe?'

'She's the last one I'd tell.'

'Fair,' Ahri smiled. 'Everyone else would know within the hour.' Her smile deepened into a warm one. 'Are you worried about if Zoe, of all people, disapproves? Last time I checked, she's probably one of the most accepting ladies on the entire planet. She'd adore you even if you were blue.'

Irelia sighed. 'I know, okay? This is all new to me, too.'

Ahri hummed, then let a silence hang for a minute. Irelia looked around, trying pretty hard to avoid Ahri's gaze.

Then, Ahri exhaled, pointedly relaxing into her chair.

'So, why the sudden visit? You should do more of these by the way, I get really bored stuck in here until seven every evening.'

Irelia felt her cheeks heat up a little, but she kept herself in check and took a seat at the other chair, about an arm's length away from Ahri's. 'Don't you have work to do?'

'A good leader delegates, Miss Xan.'

'Hmmm,' Irelia said, thinking of Yasuo. 'That's definitely one way to think about it.'

That got a small laugh, and Irelia felt a little warmth spread through her. She cleared her throat. 'I was actually wondering if you'd spar with me, as practice for the tournament.'

Ahri hummed. 'Sure, but don't you have clubmates for that?'

'Yasuo wants us to play a video game to "practice for MSI".'

'Of course he does.' Ahri snorted. 'What was it, Streets Alpha 3? He's made me play that on more than one occasion.'

'Er, maybe? There was this guy with two swords, and a girl with a giant spear -'

'Oh, so BlaisBlue. I hate that one – it's too gimmicky.'

Irelia stared. 'You can play them?'

'Sure.' Ahri shrugged. 'You get bored when you're friends with that loser.'

Shocked, Irelia leaned back into her chair. 'Well, he wants us to play a tournament as a club activity. I said that it's a dumb -'

'Sounds like fun.'

' - idea.' Irelia raised an eyebrow. 'What?'

'Honey,' Ahri said, sniggering quickly, then quelling her humour and looking Irelia dead in the eyes. 'You need to relax.'

'I relax,' Irelia said.

'Don't pout. You don't. Heck, you feel the need to text me to ask permission about whether or not you can text me later.' She shook her head with a dumb grin. 'Who does that?'

'But what if you're busy?'

Ahri flicked Irelia's forehead.

'Wha - ?! Hey!'

'Dumbass.' Then she grinned, and poked the spot she flicked – Irelia cradling it incredulously – this time much lighter. 'You should do this thing, it sounds like a good distraction. This is a hectic time of year.'

'But it's stupid -'

'You know, it's shocking how childish you can be sometimes,' Ahri mused. She ignored Irelia's voice of complaints. 'Tell you what, how about I join as well? God knows I could use the distraction, and I'm really good at that game.'

'Yasuo said it would be a club -'

'Yasuo would also say he's a three-time downhill running world champion if you asked him. I'm sure he'll let me join if I asked real nice.'

Irelia considered. Ahri snorted.

'Stop with the pouting, it'll be fun. Plus -' She swung her legs over the chair and leaned in close to Irelia. ' - I can give you some, hm, pointers, shall we say.'

Sitting straight, Irelia nodded once, fist close to her mouth. 'Ahem. Okay, well. This doesn't sound too bad, honestly.'

Ahri fell back into her chair with a smirk, a snort, then a set of quiet chuckling. 'And when I win, you and I are going to have a little chat.'

Irelia shuffled in her seat. 'Can we talk about those pointers first?'

'Oh?' One of Ahri's ears shot up. 'Was that an almost flirtatious comment? From you?'

Irelia blushed, and Ahri and her tails folded into a chorus of laughter, quiet yet genuine. Looking at her, Irelia couldn't help but smile. That warmth, the warmth she kept feeling, the one that kept getting stronger, returned, and Irelia savoured it. It was a nice feeling – fuzzy and tight. Strange yet familiar.

She didn't want to risk losing it.


Side Story – Jayce

Jayce saw him.

He barely held it together.

Viktor walked behind the students – did they know who he was? - and carefully introduced himself to Caitlyn. Words were exchanged, but Jayce wasn't bothered to listen.

It was true.

Viktor's appearance, from his mechanical arm to his metal mask that covered half his face, gave Jayce little comfort. The fact that the man had gotten away with so little was criminal. Jayce kept his smile on.

How!

How could anyone let this...monster – anywhere near students?

Viktor finished his conversation with Caitlyn, and began to move towards the exit. Before he left, he stopped over Jayce, and head tilted in mild confusion.

Jayce smiled.

Holding the confused look of near-recognition a moment longer, Viktor shrugged and continued on his way. So he'd forgotten.

He would remember.


Side Story – Katarina

Her hands rushed up his chest, grasping hungrily at the chiselled muscle that he hid underneath the shirt. Their lips connected – she held him down for a moment, then let him enter her mouth – and she growled.

Unwillingly they came up for air, Katarina taking a quick breath before trying to rush back down, but Garen, in his warm, firm hands, held her still for a brief moment. She smirked.

'You tired already, big man?'

Garen, face matted with sweat, grunted. 'You've been spending time with my sister recently.'

She frowned. 'Free tip, hot stuff: sibling talk when your girlfriend's on your lap isn't welcome.'

To make her point, she shifted herself forward just a little – causing Garen to stiffen. She leaned forward, close to his face. She stared directly, hungrily, into his eyes. Grin.

Garen took a sharp breath and tried to set his jaw in a line, returning Katarina's gaze. 'I just want to know why.'

Katarina clicked her tongue and retracted herself – only slightly. She'd give him one more chance. 'Are you worried I like your sister more than you?'

Garen's eyes flashed with shock. 'Wha – no, I -'

She snorted, the sound muffled as she forced her lips onto his again. She let him be bewildered for a moment – then felt herself be pushed away. Again.

This time she glared.

'What?'

Apologetically Garen smiled. Or, tried to – instead, he looked like a child who'd been separated from his new toy. As he should be.

'I'm sorry, I'm just...'

Katarina frowned. 'Just what. Spit it out.'

'Worried about her. She's been awfully touchy the past couple of weeks.'

Ah. She knew she shouldn't upset – Garen was confiding in her, and as his barely-official girlfriend, she was obligated to listen – but her eyes stared, regretfully, at his half-undone shirt.

Garen shook his head with a sigh, then smiling up at Katarina. 'Sorry – I know this is a bad time to bring it up.'

'Uh huh.' Katarina, feeling very sober, hopped lightly off her very aware boyfriend's lap. 'Well, since you asked – she's a little peeved that the men in her life don't get what she wants.'

Garen sat up on the bed. Katarina's roommate was spending the evening doing something else, so they'd taken the opportunity to – respectfully and responsibly, of course – partake in the benefits of a relationship. Or so Katarina had hoped.

'Lux hasn't mentioned any, uh, men.'

Katarina snorted. 'Like you've told your family about our little sessions.'

He reddened and looked away. 'You know I can't.'

'I don't really care,' Katarina said, shrugging out of her school shirt and grabbing something to lounge in. She slipped into it. 'Either way, skooch over, you killed the mood.'

'Kat, I really do want to tell my Aunt about you, but -'

'Garen, you wonderfully stupid teddy bear,' she said, dropping herself back onto the bed, this time much more comfortable. 'I told you before; it doesn't matter. Your whole "I can't tell my family – it's forbidden!" thing only adds to it.' She flashed him a grin. 'Adds to your appeal.'

He smiled – a crooked, tentative smile, but a smile nonetheless – and nodded. 'I know. But I've got a plan.'

Katarina settled in and flicked open Garen's laptop. The screen flickered onto a video site, where he'd apparently been watching a video about the easiest ways to tune a guitar. She raised an eyebrow, then clicked onto the tab of the show they'd been watching. Play.

'And that plan would be?'

Garen wrapped an arm around her as the show began to play. He was close – their bodies resting against each other in a warm embrace. 'The prince is visiting during MSI.'

'Jarvan? He graduated last year didn't he?'

He nodded. 'My family has served as their stewards for generations – since even pre-magical times.'

On the screen, a man in a oversized yellow jacket stepped through a stone tunnel, carved into the deepest recess of a cave. Katarina hummed. 'Yeah, hence your whole "forbidden love" nonsense.'

'Right.' He took a deep breath, Katarina feeling the rising of his deep chest against her back. 'I am going to win the tournament, and formally break away from the family. I'm sure that Jarvan and I can talk it through.'

Katarina didn't say anything for a second. She knew what this implied. She didn't know whether she liked it.

'Are you sure?' She eventually said.

'No,' Garen replied. 'But it's the least I owe you.'

A flash of heat washed over Katarina. She grinned. 'The only thing you owe me, big man,' she shut the laptop and flipped around to face him, 'is a proper kiss.'

He blinked in mild confusion. Katarina snorted, then assaulted his lips with her own. A few twists and turns later, Garen began to take charge, concerns about his family hopefully gone.

And so she let him.