Chapter 1
Jinx didn't hate gay bars. She hated that her sister always dragged her to them when she went out with Caitlyn, trying to get her to 'get out the house'.
Jinx sat at the bar, a glass of whatever in her cup (literally, that's what she asked the bartender for) before you slinked into the seat next to her. She gives you a side glance, which turns into a look up and down before you catch her eye.
"I can feel you staring." You say with a posh accent. Oh, a Piltie. She'd had her fair share of hookups—no, chats with them. She didn't like them, but she was learning to at least tolerate them because of Caitlyn. And because it was funny the next morning when she saw their faces when they realized they slept with someone from Zaun.
"You were doing it first." Jinx shot back, taking another sip from her drink. The bass from the speakers thumped through her chest, making her wonder if her h
You turned in the barstool, crossing your legs. "You're in Professor Laurent's class, right? The one with all the explosions last semester?"
"That wasn't my fault. The calculations were right, just..." Jinx paused, remembering the chaos. "The materials weren't compatible."
"That's not what Caitlyn told me."
Jinx's eyes narrowed. Of course her sister's girlfriend would tell stories about her. "And what else has she told you?"
"That you're brilliant but waste your time on..." You gestured vaguely at the drink in Jinx's hand.
"Having fun?" Jinx leaned forward, her blue hair falling over one shoulder. "Not all of us want to be stuck in a lab all day like those Piltie nerds."
"Some of us Piltie nerds know how to have fun too." Your stir the drink in your glass, the ice cubes inside clinking against it. "We just don't usually blow things up in the process."
"Then you're not doing it right." Jinx grinned, showing teeth. The neon lights from above cast shifting colors across her face, making her expression look almost predatory. "Besides, what's life without a little chaos?"
"Is that what you call it?" You raise an eyebrow. "I've seen your work. That 'chaos' got you recruited instead of having to apply."
The music changed, something slower but still with that heavy bass line. Jinx watched as couples moved closer on the dance floor, her sister and Caitlyn among them. She caught Caitlyn giving them a concerned look over Vi's shoulder.
"Let me guess - Cait told you to stay away from me?" Jinx turned back to you "Worried I'll corrupt another promising student?"
"Actually," You finished your drink, setting the glass down to look at her, "she told me you'd say that."
"Really? Now I'm confused on whether she was trying to compliment me or trash me."
"I don't think Caitlyn dislikes you. She's my TA and a family freind. It's normal for her to be protective. Plus..your track record.."
"Why are you talking to me then?" Jinx asks.
"Because..I like your work. It's messy but it has meaning. I can't work like that. I feel like everything I make is cookie cutter. That's why I haven't entered into any of the engineering competitons."
"So..you're jealous. I see. Well, not everyone can be as awesome as me, toots." Jinx says with a smirk.
"I was trying to compliment you. I'm not jealous. There's nothing to be jealous of."
Jinx hums, and you sigh.
"Are you usually this hard to talk to?"
"Well, you just told me why my sister's girlfreind doesn't like me off rip. Not much to talk about now."
"Okay, let's talk about something else then. What's your favorite color?"
"There's other people in this bar you know. But it's hot pink. Or blue."
"Those are pretty different colors," you say, trying to keep the conversation going despite her obvious attempts to brush you off.
Jinx reaches for her non-existent long hair, then drops her hand with a frustrated huff. "Look, if you're trying to psychoanalyze me or whatever, save it. I get enough of that from Vi."
"I'm not-" you start, but get cut off by Vi appearing behind Jinx, hands landing heavy on her sister's shoulders.
"Hey powderpuff, you actually talking to someone?" Vi's grin is wide, a slight flush on her cheeks from dancing. "Oh, Y/N! Didn't expect to see you here."
You wave awkwardly. "Hi Vi."
"You know her too?" Jinx groans, slumping forward onto the bar. "Is there anyone in this place who hasn't heard stories about me?"
"Only good ones," Vi says, ruffling Jinx's short hair. "Mostly."
"Get off," Jinx swats at her sister's hand. "Don't you have your own girlfriend to bother?"
"Speaking of," Vi looks over her shoulder where Caitlyn waits by the dance floor, "we're heading out. You good to get home?"
"I'm not a kid, Vi. I'll be fine."
"Could've fooled me with all that pouting."
You watch the sisters' back-and-forth, noting how Jinx's irritation seems more performative than genuine. There's something oddly endearing about it.
"I can make sure she gets home okay," you offer, surprising yourself. "We live in the same direction anyway."
Both sisters turn to look at you - Vi with raised eyebrows, Jinx with suspicion.
"How do you know where I live?"
"Same engineering dorm building? I've seen you in the lobby like twenty times."
"Oh." Jinx blinks, then narrows her eyes. "Still creepy."
Vi laughs. "Play nice, sis. Y/N's good people. She's like, Cait's star student." She gives Jinx's shoulder one last squeeze before heading back to Caitlyn.
"I don't need a babysitter," Jinx mutters into her drink.
"Good, because I'm not offering to be one. Just thought you might want company for the walk back."
Jinx sighs. "Fine. But we're leaving when I say so."
You look at the time. "Well, it's not that late. But what floor do you live on just in case I have to carry you up the stairs?" You ask.
"5th. And you don't have to worry about that. I can hold my liquor. You? I don't think so." Jinx says, looking you up and down judgingly.
You scoff. "I can very much hold my liqour! You know what, I'll order another shot just to prove it."
"Make it two then." Jinx hums, amused.
You could not hold your liquor. And an hour later, Jinx was dragging a drunk you back to the dorms.
"If I'd known you were such a lightweight I would have just went home. Jesus christ." Jinx says, an arm around your waist as you stumble down the street.
"Ugh…not a lightweight. I have like..2 more shots in me."
"More like zero. You should honestly just not drink ever again." Jinx replies.
"That's not fairrrrr! Just because the liquor there is strong I'm banned?" You say with a pout that for some reason, Jinx finds cute.
"Yeah. Just be quiet. The more you talk the more you're gonna want to throw up or something."
"I'm not going to throw up." You snap at the woman as she opens the door to the building.
"What floor are you on?" Jinx asks.
"5th." You mumble, and she sighs, cursing these buildings for being so run down and elevator-less. Slowly but surely you both get up the stairs with you whining multiple times about your heels.
"Is it unusually hot in the stairwell or are you just standing in front of me?" You ask Jinx as you stop to fan yourself. She doesn't say anything but you can swear you see her cheeks turn pink.
"Just hurry up." She says, looking away from you. You laugh loudly and your voice echoes off the stairwell walls and Jinx swears she wants to hear that sound again.
"Are you always this mean or just to the people you like?" You ask as you walk down the hall to your room.
"I never said I like you." Jinx says. "You're just some jealous piltie chick."
You turn to face her, your back against your door. Even through your alcohol-addled brain, you catch the slight defensiveness in her tone.
"I never said I was jealous. Just that your work is different. Better, even." You fumble with your keys, nearly dropping them before Jinx snatches them from your hand with an exasperated sigh.
"Which one's your room key?" She holds up the keyring.
"The silver one with the scratch marks." You lean closer, squinting at the keys. "No, not that one. The other silver one."
"They're all silver," Jinx mutters, but finds the right one anyway. The lock clicks open.
"You should come in. I have some really cool designs I've been working on." You step inside, kicking off your heels with a relieved groan.
"Hard pass. I don't make a habit of entering drunk people's rooms." Jinx leans against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"Not even to see my totally awesome hextech modification plans?" You wobble over to your desk, rifling through papers. "I've been trying to figure out how to stabilize the energy output without compromising the core integrity, but maybe you'd have some ideas-"
"Do you always talk about work when you're drunk? But the answer is no. Sleep it off, Piltie." Jinx pushes off the doorframe. "Drink some water first though. And take some painkillers. You'll thank me tomorrow."
"Wait," you call out as she turns to leave. "Why'd you help me home if you don't like me?"
Jinx pauses, her hand on the door. "Because contrary to what Caitlyn might think, I'm not completely heartless." She glances back at you. "And you're not like every other boring Piltie I've met."
Before you can respond, she closes the door, leaving you standing in your room with scattered blueprints at your feet and the feeling that maybe you'd misjudged her too.
"They're really not boring!" You shout through the door, hearing her laugh echo down the hallway.
The next morning you wake up to a splitting headache and your alarm going off on the nightstand. You groan and check the time before your eyes widen and you begin rushing around looking for something to wear before class. Caitlyn was going to kill you.
You arrive, 15 minutes late but you still arrive, and the room is dead silent as you walk over to your seat and plop down in it.
"Sorry," You say to who you think, albeit tiredly, is your partner. "I overslept."
"You sure do look like it. I'm assuming you didn't take those painkillers?"
The voice who replies stuns you and you look over to see Jinx in replacement of your partner.
"Wh-wh..why are you in my partner's seat?" You ask.
"I don't know, you ask them. I came in and they were sitting over there," Jinx nudges her head in the direction of your partner who was sitting with another person.
"Oh," You mumble, sounding a little upset. "well, whatever. I thought you didn't like me. Why are you sitting here?"
"Why not?" Jinx hums, before Caitlyn walks by and places her hands on the table you're both sitting at.
"Oddly chatty are we today, Y/N?" She whispers, before crossing her arms. "And you came in late. Plus your notebook isn't out."
You swallow. "Sorry Cait. It slipped my mind." You say, pullign your notebook and pencil case out of your bag and opening it.
"It's not like you to forget. Maybe it's just the product of who you're talking to." She hums, before walking away.
"Wow, isn't she a bundle of sunshine today." Jinx says with a roll of her eyes.
You turn to Jinx with a frown. "She's not usually like that."
"Oh please, she's always like that with me." Jinx flips open her notebook, revealing pages of scattered diagrams and equations. "Besides, we've got more important things to focus on. Like whatever Professor Laurent is rambling about."
You try to concentrate on the lecture, but your hangover makes the technical terms blur together. Your eyes drift to Jinx's notebook instead, fascinated by her chaotic yet somehow coherent notes.
"Stop staring at my notes and write your own," Jinx whispers, not looking up from her doodling. "Unless you want Caitlyn to come over here again."
"Your diagrams are interesting." You lean closer, pointing at a particular sketch. "Is that a modified stabilizer core?"
"Maybe." Jinx shifts her notebook away. "And maybe you should pay attention to the actual class instead of trying to copy my work."
"I'm not copying, I'm admiring. There's a difference." You pull back, rubbing your temples. "Though honestly, I can barely focus with this headache."
Jinx sighs and reaches into her bag, pulling out a small bottle of pills. She slides them across the table to you. "Here. Since you obviously didn't listen to me last night."
"Thanks," you mutter, dry-swallowing two tablets. "Why are you being nice to me?"
"I'm not. I just don't want to listen to you whining all class." She pauses her sketching, tapping her pencil against the paper. "Plus, you're less annoying than most people who try to talk to me."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"Take it however you want, Piltie." Jinx returns to her drawing, but you catch the slight upturn at the corner of her mouth.
The rest of the class passes in a blur of technical blabber and stolen glances at Jinx's increasingly elaborate sketches. When Professor Laurent finally dismisses everyone, you start packing up your barely-used notebook.
"Same time tomorrow?" you ask, trying to sound casual.
Jinx looks at you, one eyebrow raised. "We'll see if your usual partner wants their seat back." She pulls on her bag and heads for the door, leaving you wondering if that was a yes or a no.
You go through the rest of your classes as normal until lunch where you met with a friend.
"I mean, she's totally insufferable. I've been trying to compliment her and she thinks I'm being mean."
"Well, she is from Zaun. Those people are insufferable." Your freind says, rolling her eyes. "You're smart anyways. You don't have to talk to her."
You wince at your freind's words. If only she had known that you were previously from Zaun…before your parents moved to Piltover. "I doubt it's that, and they're not that bad. Plus..I like Jinx's work. She really is a talented woman."
"Do you have a crush or something?" Your freind asks. "If not, just let it go. I'm sure your partner just sat somewhere else becasue you were late."
You scoff. "A crush? No, no. It's nothing like that. I just appreciate good work. Plus..when you see someone who's a thousand more times creative than you, you can't help but like them. But..I'll let it go."
You very much could not let it go because as you were working in the lab on what you were trying to make as a project for one of the competitions coming up, Jinx entered.
You look up from the mess of parts in front of you, wondering if it was the professor who allowed you to use the space to be surprised with Jinx.
"Oh, it's you." Jinx hums, walking over to the closet.
"Yeah. Me. I don't think you can go in there," You start and she opens the closet door, looking around for some stuff.
"No, no, don't worry. I got permission from Professor Talis. Were you gonna snitch on me if not?" Jinx asks, still not looking at you.
"Well..no. I don't care that much. This is normal for you, right?"
"Stealing? Wow, you have such a way with words Y/N." Jinx says dryly.
"Well, I always did like poetry." You quip back, and she finally finds whatever she was looking for and closes the closet.
She walks over to where you're sitting and looks at what you're making.
"The reason why the energy output is so weak is because your stabilizer core is positioned wrong," Jinx leans over your shoulder, her breath tickling your ear. "See how you've got it angled? That's restricting the flow."
You try to focus on where she's pointing rather than her proximity. "I thought this would help contain the excess energy."
"That's your problem right there - you're thinking like a Piltie. Always trying to contain everything." She reaches past you, rotating the core assembly 45 degrees. "Sometimes you need to let things run a little wild."
"Is that your engineering philosophy? 'Let things run wild'?"
"Hey, it works doesn't it?" She taps the modified core with a fingernail. "Try it now."
You activate the device, and immediately the energy output readings spike. Your eyes widen at the numbers scrolling across your monitor. "That's... actually impressive."
"Don't sound so surprised." Jinx straightens up, and you find yourself missing her warmth. "Just because I don't follow conventional methods doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing."
"I never said you didn't." You turn in your chair to face her. "Actually, I've been trying to tell you that I think your work is brilliant."
Jinx's hand goes to where her long hair used to be, then drops. "Right. Well. Don't get used to the free advice." She steps back, clutching whatever she took from the closet closer to her chest. "Some of us actually have work to do."
"Wait-" you start, but she's already heading for the door. You watch her leave, wondering why compliments seem to make her so uncomfortable.