Chapter 8
You sit through your morning classes, but your mind keeps drifting to Jinx. The friendship bracelet on your wrist catches the light, making you smile. Your professor's voice fades into background noise as you sketch little doodles of bunnies in your notebook.
After your last class ends, you pack up your things, ready to head to Jinx's room. Charlotte and her friends block your path in the hallway.
"We need to talk," Charlotte says, arms crossed. "About you and that Zaunite."
"Her name is Jinx." You grip your bag’s strap tighter.
Lianne steps forward. "We're just concerned. You've been spending all your time with her."
"Yeah, because she's actually nice to me." You stand your ground. "Unlike some people."
"Nice?" Charlotte scoffs. "She's dangerous. All Zaunites are."
Something snaps inside you. "You want to know something? I'm from Zaun too."
Their faces freeze in shock.
"What?" Bella whispers.
"That's right. I moved to Piltover when I was fourteen. So every time you talk shit about Zaunites, you're talking about me too." Your voice rises. "You've been horrible friends. Judgmental, elitist, looking down on people you don't even try to understand."
"But you're different-" Charlotte starts.
"No, I'm not. And neither is Jinx. You just never bothered to see past your own prejudices." You push through them. "I'm done pretending to be someone I'm not just to make you comfortable."
"Y/N, wait-" Charlotte reaches for your arm.
You pull away. "Save it. Find someone else to be your token friend from the undercity."
You walk away, leaving them stunned in the hallway. Your hands shake, but your steps don't falter. For the first time since moving to Piltover, you feel truly free. You arrive back at the building and walk to Jinx's door before knocking on it weakly. She opens it, and notices your upset facial expression.
"Woah. Was class that tiring?" Jinx asks.
"No, class was..fine." You think back to your notes scattered with drawings of Jinx, and then your 'freinds'. "My freinds confronted me about you—so I gave them a piece of my mind. Plus, I told them the truth about me being from Zaun.." You walk past her into her bedroom, taking off your jacket and shoes.
"They didn't deserve you anyways." Jinx says, taking your bag and setting it down. "I'm glad you were able to at least tell those bitches how you felt. I was wondering how long you were gonna let them get away with talking to you like a peice of shit."
"I know, I'm an idiot. I should have told them off from the start. But my mom—she wants me to forget all about being from Zaun. It sucks." You sit down on her bed. "Anyways..we should get started on the project right?"
"Yeah, sure. But if you're too tired I can just work on it alone. You can take a nap or whatever." Jinx shrugs.
"No! I'm not going to slack off because of a little petty argument. Let's get started." You cross your arms. Jinx smirks and nods.
"Whatever you say. But..if you fall asleep within the next hour, you owe me lunch."
You roll your eyes. "Not happening. I have a work ethic." You open your laptop and begin talking about Jinx about different topics you can use for the presentation. You do the research and put the data together and she makes the slides.
"And then, Vi smushed Cait's face into the cake! It was fucking hilarious. But..she didn't quite like us using our tradition on her birthday. She's just no fun." Jinx says as you skim an article.
You smile and look up at her. "That sounds funny, but Cait is definitely not the right person to pull that kind of prank on. Did you tell her before hand at least?"
"No? It's supposed to be a surprise, duh." Jinx scoffs. "I'm..surprised you've never heard of that. Do you not have siblings?"
"No, I'm an only child. My dad could barely take care of me when my mom was gone. I don't think she was pressed to have any more." You explain.
"Lucky you. There was a point of time when I hated Vi." Jinx says, looking down at her own laptop.
"Really? Like..hate hate?"
"Yep. She kinda ran away for a bit after a spat with our adoptive dad. Got arrested..said adopted dad died and left me with his emo best friend who ran a gang. No sign of Vi until I was around 16. She came back eventually—with Cait, who was super uppity and annoying, but for some reason I just couldn't forgive her for leaving me."
You lean back onto the bed of pillows behiend you, processing Jinx's words. "That must have been really hard. Being alone like that."
"Yeah, well." Jinx fidgets with her bracelet. "Life's shit sometimes. But we worked it out eventually. Took a lot of yelling and broken stuff, but..." She shrugs. "Now we're okay. Most days."
"Is that why you cut your hair?" The question slips out before you can stop it.
Jinx's hand automatically reaches up, finding empty air where her long braids used to be. "Sort of. Had a bad night, thinking about all that old stuff. Grabbed the scissors and..." She makes a chopping motion. "Vi found me in the bathroom surrounded by blue hair. She helped clean it up, didn't even lecture me about it."
You scoot closer, wanting to reach out but unsure if you should. "It looks good though. The short hair suits you."
"Yeah?" Jinx runs her fingers through her fringe. "Better than the braids?"
"Different. But good different." You notice her screen has gone dark. "We should probably get back to work."
"Right. Environmental solutions." Jinx straightens up, typing something. "What if we did something about the chemical runoff in Zaun? Like, actually useful stuff instead of just theory?"
"That could work. We could propose a filtration system using hextech..." You trail off, watching Jinx's fingers fly across the keyboard.
"Already on it. Been thinking about this since I was a kid, watching that shit poison everything." Her eyes light up with actual interest you rarely see her have for assignments. "We could design something that actually helps people down there."
You feel warmth spread through your chest, watching her passionate about something.
"Sounds good to me."
You both work for the next few hours, sometimes in silence, sometimes with a bit of banter or conversation in between or music. When you finish your final slide, you look up at Jinx with a big smile.
"I'm done! Do you need any help with any of your slides?" You ask.
Jinx looks up from her laptop, shaking her head. "Just adding some finishing touches and I'll be done. Then we can relax. My eyes are about to fall out of my head if I have to look at this screen any longer."
"Me too. I'm exhausted." You close your laptop and set it on Jinx's nightstand, moving to sit next to her to watch her work. She freezes up, before relaxing and letting you watch. She eventually finishes and looks over everything quickly.
"Looks good to me," Jinx hums before looking at you. You smile at her tiredly.
"You did a really good job! Thank you for helping me, by the way." You say, and she shrugs.
"No problem. We are partners anyways. But I wouldn't have minded doing it, especially with the shitty day you had today."
"Honestly, it wasn't that bad. I mean, I couldn't pay attention because of..you, but besides my ex-friends coming to patronize me, it was fine."
"You couldn't pay attention because of me? I wasn't even in any of your classes." Jinx says with mock offense.
"Not..like that." You roll your eyes, but you knew it was like that. "I just enjoy spending time with you. Is that so wrong?"
"No complaints here, toots. So, does this mean you were excited to see me?" She asks.
"Um. Maybe?" You laugh nervously. "Isn't that normal?"
"Maybe. I've never had a lot of close friends to know. I mean..I enjoy hanging out with Ekko, but with you it's..different."
"That makes me feel special. Oh, by the way. What are you doing for break?"
Jinx shrugs. "Probably just going home and doing nothing."
"I wanna show you around my house in Piltover before my dad makes me stay with him for a few days. It's huge—we even have an indoor pool."
Jinx was at first trying to listen to you gushng about how much fun it would be to decorate the Christmas tree together and stuff, but she couldn't focus. All she could think of was how she wanted to hang out with you more. As more than freinds. Before she can even stop herself, she blurts:
"Can we go on a date?"
You freeze, staring at Jinx with wide eyes. Her face flushes red as she realizes what she just blurted out.
"I mean- forget I said that." She scrambles to backtrack, closing her laptop with more force than necessary. "I'm just tired, and you were talking about spending time together, and-"
"Yes." The word tumbles out before you can overthink it.
Jinx stops mid-ramble. "What?"
"Yes, I'd like to go on a date with you." Your heart pounds against your ribs, but your voice stays steady. "I thought... I thought you weren't interested in relationships?"
"I'm not. Usually." Jinx fidgets with her bracelet again. "But you're different. You make me want to try." She looks away, embarrassed by her own honesty. "Plus, you're kind of cute when you ramble about stuff."
"I do not ramble-"
"You've been talking about Christmas decorations for like ten minutes straight."
Heat creeps up your neck. "That's because I'm excited about it! And don't change the subject. You just asked me out."
"Yeah, and you said yes." Jinx finally meets your eyes again, a small smile playing at her lips. "So... dinner? Tomorrow night?"
"Don't we have to present our project tomorrow?"
"After that, obviously." She rolls her eyes. "Unless you're planning to pass out from stress before then."
"I'll try to stay conscious." You bump your shoulder against hers. "Where are we going?"
"Let me worry about that. Just wear something nice." Jinx puts her laptop and notebook away in her desk drawer, clearly done with both work and this conversation. "And maybe don't tell Vi yet. She'll never shut up about it."
"Deal." You gather your own things, trying to contain your grin and failing miserably. "So... this is really happening?"
"Unless you change your mind in the next twenty-four hours." Jinx walks you to her door. "Which, you know, no pressure or anything."
"I won't change my mind." You say it with complete certainty.
Jinx was nervous. Maybe too nervous. She'd paced around her dorm room like 50 times, fixed her hair even though it already looked fine, and Jinx normally wasn't the kind of person to care about her apprearance. But when it came to you, it mattered. She wanted to impress you. Honestly, she was surprised you even agreed to going out with her, after everything.
But the thing is..Jinx had never been on a proper date. Fine, maybe she spoke to old hookups again at bars. But that wasn't a date, that was just an awkward situation. She'd picked out a fancy resturaunt in Piltover because she wanted to impress you. And she also made a mental note NOT to sleep with you no matter how beautiful you looked. She didn't want you to get the wrong idea about her intentions.
There was a knock on the door and Jinx stopped staring at her makeup in the mirror and opened the door, taking a deep breath first.
You stood outside Jinx's door, fidgeting with the hem of your dress. The hallway felt too quiet, too still, like the calm before a storm. When the door swung open, your breath caught.
Jinx wore a deep burgundy blazer over a black top, her usual casual style elevated into something that made your heart skip. Her short hair was styled with more care than usual, though that one longer piece still fell across her face in that way that made you want to brush it back.
"Wow." Jinx's eyes widened. "You clean up nice, Piltie."
"Says you." You gestured at her outfit. "I didn't even know you owned anything this fancy."
"Vi's closet might've been raided." She ran a hand through her hair, then remembered it was styled and dropped her arm with a frustrated huff. "Ready to go? I got us reservations at this place uptown."
"Reservations? Who are you and what have you done with Jinx?"
"Shut up." She locked her door, keys jingling. "I can do fancy. Sometimes. When properly motivated."
The way she glanced at you made warmth spread through your chest. This was different from your previous interactions - no teasing undertones, no casual brushoffs. Just Jinx, trying her best to do something right.
"You didn't have to go all out," you said as you walked down the hallway together. "I would've been happy with street food in Zaun."
"Yeah well, maybe I wanted to." Her shoulder bumped yours. "Besides, can't have you thinking I'm some broke college student who can only afford noodles."
"But you are a broke college student who can only afford noodles."
"Details." She pressed the elevator button. "Tonight I'm pretending to be a responsible adult who makes good life choices."
"That might be stretching it a bit far."
Her laugh echoed in the empty hallway, genuine and bright, and you couldn't help but smile. Maybe this whole 'starting over' thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Jinx leads you to a black motorcycle decorated with blue and pink graffiti and tons of diffrent stickers in the school's parking lot and you grimace.
"Is this Vi's?" You ask nervously.
"Huh? No, it's mine." Jinx smirks. "I'm surprised you never knew. Maybe it's because Caitlyn usually drives us everywhere.." She says in thought before noticing your worried face. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm a safe driver!"
"Um, are you sure? Are you licensed?"
"Yes, I have a license. And yes, I'm sure I'm a safe driver. Mostly. But I'll go slow for you. Please?" She says with a pout and clutches her hands to her chest.
You stare at Jinx, trying to decide between calling a cab or agreeing. You of course, agree. You didn't stand a chance against Jinx's sad face.
You let out a loud groan. "Fine. Fine, we can take the motorcycle."
"Yess! Just hold on tight and I promise nothing will go wrong." Jinx says with a smile.
"You're lucky I like you. This is crazy." You huff as you get on the motorcycle and wrap your arms around her waist.
"I'm surprised, none of you rich Piltie kids drive motorcycles? That's like a spoiled kid's wet dream."
"Not mine, thank God. Am I going to get motion sickness from this?" You ask nervously. Jinx rolls her eyes.
The engine roared to life beneath you, and your grip around Jinx's waist tightened instinctively. The vibrations traveled through your body as she revved the motorcycle.
"Ready?" She called over her shoulder.
"No," you muttered into her jacket.
She laughed, and for a moment you wanted to hit her for laughing at your suffering. But you liked her too much to do something like that. "Too bad!"
The motorcycle lurched forward, and you squeezed your eyes shut. Wind whipped at your dress, and you were grateful you'd chosen something that wouldn't fly up. The city lights blurred past as Jinx wove through traffic with practiced ease.
To your surprise, she actually kept her promise about driving safely. No sudden turns, no racing other vehicles, just smooth navigation through Piltover's evening traffic. The initial terror faded into something almost enjoyable - the warmth of Jinx's body against yours, the thrill of movement, the city spreading out around you.
"You can open your eyes!" Jinx shouted over the wind. "The view's worth it!"
Slowly, you peeked one eye open. She was right. Piltover at night was beautiful, all gleaming towers and hextech lights painting the sky in shades of blue and gold. From this angle, you could even see where the city descended into Zaun, where neon signs cut through the chemtech haze.
"Not so bad, right?" Jinx's voice carried a hint of pride.
"I guess not," you admitted, loosening your death grip slightly. "But don't get any ideas about making this a regular thing."
"We'll see about that." The teasing lilt in her voice made your stomach flip, though that might've just been the motorcycle taking a turn.
You passed through the upscale district, where restaurants spilled warm light onto pristine sidewalks and well-dressed Piltovans strolled arm in arm. Jinx navigated to a parking spot outside what looked like an expensive restaurant, the kind with crystal chandeliers visible through floor-to-ceiling windows.
"Here we are," she said, cutting the engine. "Still alive?"
"Barely." You unwrapped your arms from her waist, immediately missing the contact. "I can't believe you actually made reservations here."
"I wanted to impress you." Jinx says quietly, bouncing on her heels.
"Well, you've done exactly that. But you know, anything you picked would have been great." You hold her hand.
"Thanks," Jinx says breathlessly, unable to keep her eyes off your face. "We should go inside. For once I kinda don't wanna be late."
You nod and follow her into the restaurant. You get a few odd stares from patrons at Jinx, but she doesn't seem to care. You do feel bad though, knowing she must have felt out of place at the expense of you.
You are seated at a beautiful table with a tall window overlooking the city. You glance around the dining room in awe.
"Wow..it looks even more beautiful inside. I bet my mom wouldn't even take me here for fun and we're basically rich now." You say with a chuckle before looking at Jinx. "I really appreciate it."
"No problem. I want you to feel special anyways." Jinx says with a smile. "You don't possibly know what any of these fancy words on the menu mean, right?"
You look down at the menu and open it, reading over some of the options.
"Well, tell me what sounds good to you and I'll tell you what any funny words mean."
"Okay, well...what the hell is a foie gras?" Jinx squints at the menu, her nose wrinkling. "Sounds like something Vi would scrape off her boots."
You can't help but laugh at her expression, leaning over to point at the item. "It's actually duck liver. Pretty controversial dish, actually."
"Duck liver? Rich people are weird."
You read the menu over again. "You can say that again. Honestly, it seems like there's nothing 'normal' on this menu. Maybe pasta might be the safest thing?"
"Yeah, pasta sounds fine. I just don't want any duck liver on my food. That sounds disgusting." Jinx huffs.
"Well they have some normal pastas like chicken carbonara and alfredo. Alfredo with truffles is pretty good too!"
"Looks like I'm getting alfredo with truffles." Jinx hums, and closes her menu.
"I'll get the same too so if it's gross we can experience it together." You giggle. The waiter comes back to take orders and you order a glass of wine along with your pasta. Jinx gets apple juice, surprisingly.
"Apple juice, really?" You say with a smirk.
"Hey, I like apple juice and I'm driving, remember?" She crosses her arms and you giggle.
"Well now I feel out of place! I'm surprised they even had apple juice, imagine if they came back with like a juice box or something."
"If anyone's taking their children here they're an idiot, so I hope not." Jinx sighs.
There was a long silence between you both, and you could feel Jinx staring at you as you played with the sleeve of your dress.
"What do people on dates usually even talk about?" You ask, and Jinx shrugs.
"I don't know. I've never been on a date. Have you?"
"Um..well.." You laugh nervously.
"I've never been on a date either," you admit, fiddling with your napkin. "Actually, I've never... done anything before."
Jinx's eyebrows shoot up. "What do you mean anything?"
Heat creeps up your neck. "Like, anything. You were my first kiss."
The apple juice Jinx was sipping catches in her throat. She coughs, grabbing her napkin. "Wait, what? But you're-" She gestures vaguely at you. "You're you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're gorgeous and smart and-" Jinx cuts herself off, running a hand through her hair before remembering it's styled. "Shit, if I'd known that was your first kiss, I wouldn't have-"
"Wouldn't have what?"
"Been so...aggressive about it." Her cheeks flush pink. "I just assumed you'd done all this before. You seem so put together compared to me."
You laugh softly. "Put together? I'm a mess. I just hide it better than most people."
"But still, never? Not even in high school?"
"I was focused on getting out of Zaun. Dating wasn't really on my mind." You shrug, trying to seem casual despite your burning face. "Plus, it's not like there were many options down there."
Jinx stares at you, her expression unreadable. "So that time in Vi's apartment, when we almost..."
"Yeah." You take a large sip of wine. "That would have been my first everything."
"Fuck." Jinx leans back in her chair, running both hands down her face. "I feel like such an asshole now. No wonder you got so upset when I ran off."
"It's okay. You didn't know."
"Still." She reaches across the table, hesitating before taking your hand. "I'm sorry. You deserved better than that."
"It's okay. It's just good that we're past that." You intertwine your hand with Jinx's.
"I don't want to…you know, on the first date by the way." Jinx blurts, and you laugh.
"Well, thanks for telling me. Does this mean we're going to have more dates?" You wiggle your eyebrows, and you can see Jinx turn red.
"I guess, if you wanna." She shrugs. "I have some..fairly disposable income if you want to go out more."
"You're starting to sound like a Piltie, talking about 'disposable income' and 'reservations', you know."
"Well, when I'm spending all my time with you, I learn a few things."
Your food eventually arrives and you look at it excitedly.
"Wow, it looks good right?" You say with a smile. Jinx nods.
"It's not the stuff from Zaun I'm used to, but I guess it looks alright.." She pokes at it with her fork and then twirls the noodles around it. You stare at her, waiting to see her reaction as she puts the fork in her mouth and begins chewing.
"Wow, this is…surprisingly good." Jinx says as she chews. You pick up some noodles and take a bite, surprised by the flavors. Usually fine dining in Piltover is small servings and strange flavors labelled as "unique", but this was actually decent.
"It is. I'm..honestly shocked. I've had my fair share of terrible Piltover food." You say with a laugh.
You and Jinx continue eating, sharing comfortable silence punctuated by her occasional commentary on the other diners. She points out a woman wearing what looks like a stuffed bird on her hat, making you snort into your wine.
"See? This is why I don't usually do fancy places," Jinx whispers, leaning across the table. "Everyone's trying so hard to look important."
"Says the girl who made reservations at the fanciest restaurant in Piltover."
"That's different. I'm trying to impress you, not random strangers." She twirls pasta around her fork. "Though I'm starting to think I could've just taken you to get street food and you would've been happy."
"I would've been happy getting drive-through." You reach for her hand again. "It's not about the place, Jinx. It's about being with you."
Her fingers tighten around yours. "Yeah, well. Maybe next time we'll do something more our speed. Like breaking into the dean's office."
"Jinx! You know that is more your speed."
"Kidding! Mostly." She grins. "Though I do know where they keep the test answers..."
You kick her under the table, making her laugh. The sound draws more disapproving looks from nearby tables, but you couldn't care less. This version of Jinx - relaxed, playful, openly friendly made you happy.
You wanted to see it every day of your life, if you could.
Once you finish your food the waitress comes back to take the plates and ask if you are interested in dessert. She hands you a dessert menu before leaving.
"Hmm..what do you think we should get?" You ask as you look over the menu. Jinx shrugs.
"I don't know. I'm sure anything you pick will be as sweet as you," Jinx says with a smirk. You roll your eyes playfully.
"You are so corny." You giggle. "I'll just get the strawberry shortcake."
"Strawberry?" Jinx asks. "I haven't had those in forever. We don't get a lot of fruit in Zaun that isn't rotten."
Your heart aches at the reminder of Zaun's conditions. "Then we definitely have to get it. We can share - their portions here are huge anyway."
"Sharing dessert on the first date? That's pretty bold." Jinx wiggles her eyebrows.
"You have literally kissed me—multiple times."
"Fair point." She laughs and waves the waitress over. The waitress takes the order before hurrying off, and you look over at Jinx.
"Have you ever thought of..tutoring instead of doing odd jobs?" You ask.
"I don't think I'm the most patient woman in the world," Jinx hums. "You would make a good tutor though."
"Honestly..I've tried. I actually tried tutoring in highschool. I got 'fired'," You emphasise with air quotes, "because I have a habit of thinking people already know topics and leaving them confused."
"Oh, yeah. You do do that. You kind of think everyone knows the stuff you know."
"I know! It's really bad. So I've just decided that I'll leave the tutoring stuff to other people. Like you. You know, the tutors at the academy make a lot of money." You urge, but Jinx shakes her head.
"I make more money extorting people for test answers."
You roll your eyes playfully. “Well..I hope I can change your mind someday.”
Jinx hums. “Maybe someday.”
The dessert arrives - a delicious show of fresh strawberries and cream. You watch Jinx's eyes widen at the sight.
"That's... bigger than I expected," she says, picking up her fork.
"Here." You cut through the cake with your fork, gathering a perfect bite of strawberry, cream, and cake. Without thinking, you hold it out to her.
Jinx hesitates for just a moment before leaning forward to accept the bite. Her eyes close as she savors it, and you find yourself staring at the way her lips curve into a smile.
"Good?" you ask, your voice slightly hoarse.
"Amazing," she confirms, stealing another bite. "We definitely didn't have anything like this in Zaun."
After finishing the dessert and paying (Jinx insists, despite your protests), she leads you back to her motorcycle. You're less nervous about climbing on, wrapping your arms around her waist with confidence.
Instead of heading home, Jinx takes a turn toward the heart of Piltover. She parks near a small park you've never noticed before, hidden between towering buildings.
"I want to show you something," she says, taking your hand.
In the center of the park stands a massive tree, its leaves glowing a soft, ethereal blue in the darkness. The hextech-enhanced leaves cast shadows across the grass.
"I remember you mentioning blue was your favorite color," Jinx says softly. "They engineered these trees specially for Piltover's centennial. I say this is one of the only cool things Piltover really has."
You stare up at the glowing branches in wonder. "It's beautiful."
Jinx turns to face you, her features softened by the blue light. You lean in first this time, pressing your lips to hers in a gentle kiss. She responds immediately, pulling you closer.
When you break apart, you rest your forehead against hers. "I want to do this again," you whisper. "Another date. Your choice this time."
Jinx grins. "I think I can come up with something good. Though it probably won't involve any fancy restaurants."
"Good," you say, kissing her again. "I'd rather have something more us anyway."