Things Must Change
Caitlyn sat in her room, studying the familiar patterns etched into the heightened ceiling of her family home. A home first built when the Kirammans had established their status as Piltover elites–however long ago that was.
Her bags were packed, and her walls bare. Not that there was ever much on them.
Caitlyn prided herself on only packing the necessities, unwilling to play into the superfluous rich girl stereotype many of her peers embraced. Her few personal items included:
A collage of prints she obtained at a Piltover market the past summer. They were muted in color, soft browns and blues covered the worded pages with the occasional flower or two. The entirety of the collage did not take up more than a 2x2 square on the wall by her bed stand.
Her rifle, which would be dropped off and secured at a firing range 10 minutes away from campus so she could continue one of the only activities that brought her complete peace of mind.
And her comfort item, a small stuffed black cat she named Onyx, which her mother bought her for her 8th birthday. The majority of her friends, family, and random politicians who knew her mother gave her tiaras, dresses, and baby dolls which the majority of the Piltover elite young girls enjoyed. Weirdly, Caitlyn never took much interest in that kind of stuff.
She’d have to dress up already for the numerous balls and charity events her mother and father took her too, so she did not see much of a point to dress up in her free time as well. No, she liked animals, they were much easier to connect with than humans. Joy filled Caitlyn's heart knowing that no matter how busy her mother got, she still knew her the best out of everyone, apart from maybe her father.
After receiving Onyx she took an interest in black cats, even though they were associated with magic and misfortune, she found something comforting threaded between it all.
She protected it with her life, even going as far as putting her best friend, Jayce Talis, into a triangle choke, which she learned from her mandatory self-defense and jiu-jitsu classes she had been taking at her mother’s request since she was 10.
The gold trimming around her windows glowed in the sun, catching Caitlyn’s eye and forcing her to come out of the trance her room had put her in, the uncanny feeling growing in her gut.
Caitlyn liked things clean and simple, something that her mind never was. She tended to overanalyze; the more she put in front of her eyes, the more jumbled her thoughts became and she did not trust her mind to run wild. She could feel the anxiety creeping in just thinking about it.
She preferred words, documents, and maybe the occasional infographic only when necessary. Words were always simpler, more clear-cut, and digestible. Perhaps her entire family was like that, her mother was at least with all that paperwork she did as a councilor.
Mom, Caitlyn thought, her family was never much for admitting fear, but Caitlyn was terrified. The longest she’d ever stayed away from her family was for a week and a half in high school when she visited the Kiramman’s vacation home in Ionia, alone, to clear her mind before making what her mother deemed to be the most important decision of her life.
Even in Ionia she never felt alone, portraits of them were everywhere and their wedding pictures scattered about the house. She was never without them. She never really knew if she could be without them.
Being part of the Piltover elite meant her mother’s legacy as a peacemaker followed her everywhere. Caitlyn was expected to be the same, the heiress to an idea and a name. Ever since she made the decision to take over her mother’s seat on the council when she retired, the weight of the world was placed on her shoulders.
Caitlyn had to accept that she would no longer have her own privacy; she would constantly be in the public's eye and would begin to prepare for her duties as a future councilor throughout her final years of schooling.
Her mother, Cassandra, was known for creating a ventilation system, one that spread all throughout a nearby undercity named Zaun. Their family crest was engraved on every fan and wind tunnel there, and it would be her job to ensure its functionality, that it grew with the city.
Caitlyn could hear her mother’s words in the back of her mind, The people of the undercity deserve to breathe, a belief that seems so basic it's difficult to grasp just how much her mother had to fight for it.
Cassandra was a senior and respected member of the council, and Caitlyn could not afford to embarrass her or her family's crest.
The walls felt like they were closing in on her, the name Kiramman inescapable as if it were tattooed to her forehead.
Her vision started to tunnel, breath quickened as she felt a familiar burn take over her lungs, mind, and muscles.
Panicked, Caitlyn jumped up from her seat and paced until her mind ran itself blank, expelling every “what if” that plagued her thoughts. This time it was not that bad…
She could calm herself down 99% of the time her mind started to spin, especially now that she was older and had better coping skills that she had discovered through trial and error.
Caitlyn's mind wandered to the 1%, the tears, the exhaustion, the inability to function. Her longest one had been a full 3 hours before she left for Ionia…
Her mother sprang the question all Piltover elites were asked, Do you want to continue the Kiramman lineage as a councilor?
Caitlyn was her parents' only child, if she did not take over for her mother, their seat would be surrendered to the next family in line, risking everything her mother has built.
Every good deed the Kiramman’s name was on would be in danger of being used for selfish or nefarious means by the more common, money-hungry councilors focused on their own status rather than the well-being of the city.
Caitlyn understood that it was not a question, but rather a warning. She WILL take over the seat, regardless of whether she wants to or not. She spent her entire time in Ionia getting comfortable with the idea. Eventually giving her mother a Yes, I do, when she returned home.
Caitlyn had some ideas for the city, and she’d have her mother’s guidance, she could do it. She was a Kiramman after all, and Kirammans did not show weakness. At least not to the public.
Which is why Caitlyn’s mind could not stop thinking about what would happen on the rare occasion she could not calm herself down, when she did not have her parents, the only two, other than the family physician, who knew about Caitlyn’s less-than-ideal situation for a future councilor.
That her head would drown her with ruthless thoughts, convincing her that she would undo all of her mother’s humanitarian work, that she would choose wrong every time. That she does not deserve to breathe.
Her family physician suggested she should talk to someone, a professional who knew how to deal with what he called Anxiety Attacks.
But she knew she could not. What would the public think if they heard that the perfect Kiramman heiress was anything less than that, perfect. No, she’d stay silent, just as the public has seen her thus far, reserved.
To further ground herself she grabbed the current book she was reading, it was a fantasy romance novel that she was well over half-way through, and the spice it contained was oozing out of its pages.
Not even two chapters into her reading session, Tobias, her father, burst into the room, snapping her away from her book.
“DAD–“Caitlyn turned red, she had just reached the part in her book that, well, she’d die if her father ever found out what she read- “You, you startled me,” she exclaimed.
A wide grin pulled across his face, “Are you ready to go?” He swung the rest of her door open to reveal that he was decked out in Piltover University merchandise that they had sent when she accepted her offer.
“We have to grab your mother from her office or else she will never leave, bags are already in the car, let’s roll!” He practically shouted while turning on his heel back towards the foyer, “After we move you in we will get Thai for dinner, Golden Palace Thai is right next to the university, it’s where your mother and I had our first date. Best spring rolls in Piltover.”
Caitlyn heard her father laugh in response to the scrambling noises of her grabbing her personal bag. He knew spring rolls were her weakness, and a warm comfort spread across her chest knowing that she would get one last meal to indulge in her favorite food with her parents before they left her at her new “home.”
Granted they were only an hour away, but she was determined to become independent, she did not need to rely on her parents or anyone. At least that is what she told herself.
Proximity was never her driving factor for what university she chose. Caitlyn, being quite talented academically and with extracurriculars, had a fair range of schools wanting her. It also did not hurt that having a Kiramman go through their program was great for publicity among the other elites in university politics.
It was the fact that Piltover University has tons of greenery and old buildings that make her feel as if she were in one of her fantasy books, and has a shooting range nearby. Also, both of her parents went there, so it was a no-brainer.
Especially when she opened the letter sealed with wax and it stated,
Congratulations Ms. Kiramman,
Due to your extraordinary record, we are pleased to offer you the Presidential Award, a full-ride scholarship for the Criminal Law and Justice program here at Piltover University. We look forward to seeing you in the fall.
Warmest Regards,
President Sofia Arvino
What a lovely way to continue the legacy she was born to carry.
“EKKO, I swear to God if you…”
Vi groaned, it was too late. Ekko had already tagged the old Progress Day posters hung up around The Last Drop, the bar Vander owned and where the majority of the Zaun kids hung out over the summers when they weren’t cramped in a small school that had too many kids and not enough teachers.
It was his personal mission to deface anything and everything even remotely Piltie that dared to touch the bar.
Growing up Vi ran with the same crew, Ekko, Claggor, Mylo, and her sister, Powder. All of them were staying in Zaun next year: Claggor and Mylo were starting trade school while working the night shifts at the bar, and Ekko and Powder were going into their junior year of high school.
She was not staying. In five days she’s set to leave for university, having spent the entire summer debating it, leaving, and there was even a point where she convinced herself to stay.
Vi didn't believe she could leave her stitched together family, they had been through too much. Ekko and Jinx were still just children, and Mylo and Claggor could barely keep their heads on their shoulders.
That was until Powder found the letter two weeks ago. It was sealed with this fancy wax thing that had the crest of the school on it:
Congratulations Ms. Lanes,
Due to your extraordinary record, we are pleased to offer you the Dean’s Award, a full-ride scholarship for the Mechanical Engineering program here at Piltover University. We look forward to seeing you in the fall.
Warm Regards,
Dean Grayson
“Pow- you were not meant to see that,” Vi treaded lightly, seeing tears well up in her sister’s eyes, her shaking already vibrating the floor as she continued to grow more and more pale.
“You’re going.”
“Powder,” Vi began,
“Shut. Up. You’re going.” Powder bit back, picking at the loose skin on her fingers.
Vi’s lips pursed into a subtle frown, as her eyebrows tightly furrowed together. Her sister was mid-panic attack and still telling her to go.
“You won’t get another chance like this Vi, you know that, this will open so many doors and you will be more than just some Zaunite Rat like us–” Powder was talking at a mile a minute, her voice cracking on every other word.
“Full-ride… does Vander know, it was definitely that personal project of yours, your application was shit without it, will you bring them? The gauntlets you made? That’s stupid of course you will–”
Vi slowly crept towards Powder on the floor of their shared bedroom, aware that any fast movement would throw her off and make it ten times harder for her to calm down.
“Hey, Pow.” Vi kept her voice practically at a whisper,
“Ya that’s me, anyways,” her sister continued to speak with practically no air left in her lungs.
“Powder breathe,” Vi exclaimed firmly, placing her hands on both of Powder's shoulders. Her sister was blue in the face and tears stained her cheeks. She gulped in some air while Vi responded,
“I can’t, even with the full-ride there are so many other expenses, not to mention my responsibilities here…” Powder merely stared into her sister's practically grey eyes.
“Violet, if money wasn't an issue, if you knew I would literally hate you forever if you stayed and wasted this opportunity, would you go?”
“It’s not that easy Pow, but yeah. You know how Mom wanted us to get a degree and all, not be stuck in those God forsaken coal mines…”
Powder sucked in, Vi knew she fucked up by bringing them up, Powder barely knew them before they died, courtesy of the enforcers.
“Mom would want you to go, I want you to go, Vander would have a heart attack if you didn’t.”
To Vi’s surprise Powder had gotten through her panic attack practically without her. They were usually brought on by large unexpected changes. And in that moment, the only thing Vi could do was smile as she watched her sister self regulate, all while still convincing her to go.
It was at that moment Vi thought, just maybe we can swing this…
2 hours later she told Vander and the rest of the gang before opening The Last Drop for the night. Vander dropped the glass in his hand, Mylo and Claggor froze, and Ekko immediately attempted to tackle her to the floor with excitement. She would be leaving Zaun for the first time in her life, other than the brief one to two hour trips to the top side that they’d take to cause some trouble before slipping back down to the undercity.
They spent that night partying, as much as they could while working. Vander let them choose the music, a rare occurrence, and let them have what Powder called a “purge day” where they could respond to customers in a non-customer service way if they were being assholes.
After The Last Drop closed for the night at 2 AM, Vander sent everyone on various closing tasks while he pulled Vi to the side.
“I always knew you could do it kiddo, you are too good to not get your degree,” Vander began. Vi knew where this was going, he’d taken over as her parental figure since she was a child, “Your heart's too big for your own good, Vi, I know you don’t want to leave them, but you are an hour away and despite how much I hate it, I know you can get down here in ten minutes flat without the air tram.”
Vi smirked, Vander had grounded her for a day (a huge deal, Vander never did that) when he first watched her scale down from Piltover when she was 15.
“You are going to do so many wonderful things Violet; but you cannot change the world without experiencing it first–” Vander continued as Vi could feel tears begin to pool at the edges of her eyes.
For the first time ever, she believed she could do it. Nothing would stop her from getting her degree and coming back to fix the rest of their city’s systems, air had kind of been taken care of, but her city was still constantly crumbling. She’d fix it, one problem at a time.
“I cannot offer you much help, I can barely keep this place afloat while taking care of the rest of those hooligans,” he chuckled while Vi chimed in.
“I know, I have a plan, don’t worry.”
“Never was kiddo, but… I wanted you to have this,” Vander reached to his wrist and took off the small golden chain he wore. Vi couldn’t believe her eyes, Vander never took it off, never let any of them touch it.
“N-” Vi couldn’t even finish the word before Vander took her hand in his, opened her fist and dropped it into her palm.
“Yes.”
*****
Powder finished her afternoon shift just moments ago before joining Ekko to tag the posters with their paint pens. Spray paint was expensive and reserved for their larger projects.
Vi watched as Powder turned into “JINX,” her street name that had the majority of Zaun and Piltover terrified of the artist. JINX was known for sending messages with her tagging, and nobody knew how she found out about their dirty secrets or how JINX reached the odd places she’d tag, like the underside of an overpass, where she called out a few councilors for trying to sneak in anti-homelessness legislation by hiding it amongst city restoration projects.
Because of that, JINX had a bit of a target on her back, but Powder was different when she was in her JINX persona, of course Vi was still worried sick about her, but JINX had a different way of handling things. She was tougher, quicker, a shadow of Vi’s influence on her sister shining through.
“Okay you two that’s enough,” Vi called out to the two giggling high schoolers.
“Jesus Vi, you are such a buzzkill sometimes,” Ekko volleyed back at her while Jinx finished drawing this monkey like symbol of the ‘resistance’ she and Ekko created against the enforcers.
“Nah we just gotta go pick up Mylo and Claggor, tonight is the last night it’s open before I leave on the weekend,” Vi finished her sentence while Ekko and Powder walked over to her.
“Sis ya sure about tonight? I heard some of the mercenaries are back with the Noxians, it’s bound to be a rough night,” Powder squinched her face up while finishing the sentence, but she already knew the answer.
Vi didn’t have enough money to survive in Piltover, regardless of the scholarship, and she’d sell her soul before giving up Vander’s gold chain. Which left her with one option, the Zaunite betting rings.
It wasn’t exactly legal, but if you could fight, you could win money, and that's all Vi needed.
Over the past two weeks, Vi had been fighting in the betting ring every night it was open and her crew was not working. They all pitched in a few silver cogs the first night and would bet all of Vi’s winnings on the subsequent fights.
Vi put on, what Powder called, her “pit fighter persona.” They’d drench her in oil to hide her pink hair and the fact she was an 18 year old girl, while she’d wrap every part of her body with bandages, only leaving a small portion of her lower abdomen and shoulders uncovered, showing off her surprisingly chiseled muscles that came from the amount of time she spent boxing against a raggedy old machine, and Vander, when he was free.
She originally started to learn how to fight to protect her siblings, they could take care of themselves to an extent, but with the amount of shady characters that hide in Zaun, it never hurt to have a fighting specialist.
Vi wiped some oil from her eyes while the matches began to display on the leaderboard. Despite her having an undefeated record, the men still believed they could take her. She didn’t complain, for some reason she was always the underdog, but it just meant she won more money because everyone would bet against her.
There were a few other patrons that picked up on Vi’s record and started to bet alongside her group, but not enough to take the majority of their winnings.
“Shit,” Claggor hissed.
Vi looked up through the oil in her lashes, damn, Powder was right her first fight was against one of the senior Zaunite mercenaries who recently came back from a trip to Noxus.
“You think you can beat him?” Mylo questioned.
Vi ran through her knowledge of the mercenary, he was approximately five times her size, but he could not move for shit. He was slow, that’s how Vi’d get him.
“Bet it all,” she responded.
“You can’t be serious Vi–”
“Clag I said bet it all.”
The four of her siblings split the clogs they brought with, it was only half of what Vi had won thus far, but she had to save some to pay them all out as a thank you.
She watched them as they bet her blood money, praying to God everything went to plan.
*****
“WINNER!” The announcer called out as Vi stared down at her third opponent of the night.
Everything hurt, she could feel her knuckles bleeding and bruises forming across her body. With the mercenaries back in town she was actually taking a beating. Not that it was enough to stop her from fighting, it would take something extraordinary to take Vi out of the ring.
She had quadrupled her winnings so far, and had plans on doubling them with one last fight.
“Sis,” she turned in the direction of Powder’s voice, she was carrying a coin bag that was practically overflowing, “you’ve gotta call it quits, we’ve made more than we have all summer, you’ll be good for awhile if you’re careful with it.” Words continued to spill out of her faster,
“This next guy, he's a Noxian, never seen him fight before, it’s not worth losing this over.”
Vi went deep into thought while the rest joined them in the back of the room near the bar, they all agreed with Powder seeing that the bruises on Vi had already started to blossom, shades of pink and blue covering her skin.
“One more,” Vi mumbled.
“One more then I am done.” They were all protesting her choice until they looked at the betting board. Vi was in favor to lose like she always was, but this time if, no when, she won, she would triple her earnings.
“Shit- lets do it,” Ekko finally spoke, “we can’t tap out with numbers like that.” They murmured in agreement but a look of fear painted their faces, worry etched into their eyes.
Vi sent them off to bet while she went into the fighters’ room, she’d be called out within 10 minutes if everything went on track.
“Hey kid, I hear you’ve made quite the ruckus tonight,” a large man stood in front of her, a Noxian. She glanced up, gave him a shrug and looked back towards a group of fighters challenging each other to an arm-wrestling competition.
“Not much of a talker, got it, see you in the ring kid,” Vi nodded at him as he took his leave out the door.
She really needed a win.
20 minutes later and she was in round 4 of her fight. The Noxian had won the first round, but she took the last two capitalizing on the weak spot she had found under his right ear which threw him completely off balance if she managed to land a hit on it.
Her nose had been broken again, no doubt about that, and she had blood pooling in her mouth from a nasty left hook she took from him, ‘blocking with her face’ as Ekko had always joked.
Vi knew she had to finish the fight quickly or else her body would give up on her sooner than she’d hoped.
Powder watched from the side, knowing her sister would win, but at a cost to her body that she could feel in her own. A sigh of relief left her lips as she watched Vi finally flip her opponent, knocking him out as he fell strangely on his neck.
“WINNER!” The announcer screamed once again, the four rushed to grab their winnings while Vi ran to the door waiting for them. They would need to get out fast and inconspicuously before the rest of the people there realized just how much they had won.
Coin bags full and Vi half slumped over Claggor, the five ran towards The Last Drop, towards home. They sprayed Vi off with a hose before going to bed at the respectable hour of 3 AM.
Vi stayed up a little longer than the rest of them. She had to sort and count the money, and to her pleasure, she'd have enough Golden Hexes to make the trip to Piltover enjoyable for her siblings who had eagerly volunteered to help her move into her university accommodation.
She placed a few silver cogs into four small bags for each of them, placed them in her bag to give to them before they left her in Piltover, and began to inspect the damages to her body from tonight's fights.
Shades of purple and red littered her body. It actually complemented her bright pink hair in a way that made her chuckle in the mirror before immediately wincing at the pain she felt in her ribs.
She would be fine by the time she left for Piltover this weekend. She considered herself a quick healer, something Powder claimed is not a real thing.
Her mind started slowing down as she climbed into bed. Head hitting the pillow, she drifted off to sleep in a matter of seconds.
3 hours later, her alarm clock woke her up for her morning workout before she had to open The Last Drop one last time before she left for Piltover.
Four days until her life would change forever, she wouldn’t admit it, but she was terrified.
The trip to the university was a short scenic ride through the heart of the city. Caitlyn watched the buildings roll by through the window of her family's car, ignoring the driver when he announced that they would arrive shortly.
She had visited the university numerous times, the first being for the opening of the Kiramman Library of Political Science when she was 12.
“Darling–” Caitlyn’s eyes shifted towards her mother, “aren’t you excited, do you feel prepared?” She sang softly while shooting Caitlyn a smile.
Her mother looked exhausted, her time on the council aging her more quickly than her father.
“Cassandra leave the poor girl alone,” her father chimed in, “she’s your daughter of course she’s prepared, I bet you she has a color-coded, timestamped schedule already on her phone for move-in,” Caitlyn chuckled.
He was right, her schedule had been made the second she received her accommodation information. The Presidential Scholar would receive a semi-private suite. She’d have her own room and bathroom, but share a living space and kitchen with another student, probably another award recipient.
Lists and schedules helped her calm down. In large events or long days, such as this one, Caitlyn needed to list out and plan everything, though it mainly consisted of her tasks and goals for the day. Besides that, timestamps helped keep her on track. It was a suggestion made by her family physician that helped Caitlyn cope with the uncontrollables.
Piltover University slowly rolled into view. It was even more beautiful than normal, with the leaves on the trees painting the campus in different shades of orange, red, and yellow.
“Take us to the main office,” Cassandra asked in a commanding yet gentle tone, “Caitlyn will be getting an escort around campus by another student, and we need to meet them there, thank you.”
It took everything in Caitlyn to not roll her eyes at her mothers superfluous nature. She had insisted she did not need a guide and was perfectly capable of moving in with just her parents. However, her mother insisted, and Caitlyn was not one to go against her wishes.
A few moments later, Caitlyn stepped out onto Piltover University's campus, ducking her head so as to not hit it on the roof of the car, her height was both a gift and a curse. Her driver and father began to grab her bags and piled them onto a little trolley that a student helper would deliver to her room, while she fulfilled her diplomatic duty of meeting the President, thanking her for the award, and indulging her mother by allowing the guide to briefly show them around campus.
Caitlyn followed her mother into the main office. It was a decently sized marble building that looked more like a council-owned building than part of a school. Yet the beauty of the architecture was not lost on Caitlyn, the inside was brightly lit, not with the fluorescent lights she despised, but with a soft golden glow shining through yellow and blue stained glass windows.
“Cassandra!” A woman called out, walking from a back office,
“Sofia!” Her mother replied, “How wonderful to finally see you again.”
“Likewise, we have spent too much time apart, I am thrilled to welcome your family back into the school,” President Arvino shifted her attention from Cassandra to Caitlyn.
Here we go again, Caitlyn thought reaching out her hand to meet her university’s President,
“Caitlyn Kiramman, pleased to make your acquaintance,” she offered a slight smile, keeping the rest of her face still.
“Oh my, last time I saw you, you barely came up to my hip, you’ve grown up so much! So tall too.” Sofia responded with a wink. Cassandra’s face glowed with pride watching her heir step into the sphere of council politics for the first time.
After a few minutes of back and forth with Tobias finally joining them after moving the rest of Caitlyn’s bags, her student guide entered the front room from a side office.
“Ms. Kiramman,” the president began to say, “this is Ms. Mel Madarda, the recipient of the Presidential Award two years ago.”
Caitlyn was stunned, Mel had piercing eyes lined with gold and her skin glowed warmly in the light, making it seem as though she was surrounded by a magical aura. Her hair was tied up in a neat bun with golden threads braided throughout it.
Caitlyn reached out to shake Mel’s hand taking note of her perfectly manicured fingernails. She was beautiful, not Caitlyn’s type, but that didn’t mean Caitlyn couldn’t appreciate an attractive woman.
“I have heard much about you,” Mel began, “both from President Arvino, and Jayce.” Caitlyn’s eyes widened slightly, when Mel gave her a quick wink.
“Jayce- how-” Caitlyn laughed her stumble off while Mel responded,
“We are in the same year, as you know, and he received the Dean’s Award. We work closely on some of the scholarship fundraisers, just as you will.”
Of course, how could you be so stupid Caitlyn? Her cheeks warmed slightly with embarrassment while she responded,
“Yes, I apologize, I believe all the novelty of the day has clouded my brain.”
Mel looked over to see Cassandra and Sofia conversing,
“Don’t worry about it, when I first got here from Noxus, I called President Arvino Mom. I was so flustered when she was informing me of all the expectations that come with the award that I just kind of panicked.” Mel smiled warmly at Caitlyn, like she fully understood everything swirling in her mind.
“Lucky for you, I will explain everything when we get to your accommodation while we have your parents unpack your things!”
“Yes please, that would be lovely,” Caitlyn responded while staring at her father trying to pull her mother away from the conversation between her and her old friend.
“Cassandraaaa, my love, we must go now, please forgive us Sofia.” Tobias folded his hand around his wife’s while nodding his head in Sofia's direction.
“Ms. Kiramman,” Sofia called out, “don’t be a stranger, Dean Grayson and I are always here to help.”
And there my mother goes…
Tobias had to practically drag Cassandra out of the building. Her mother’s favorite family friend was Grayson, but once she found out Grayson would not be in till later to congratulate the student receiving the Dean’s Award for this year, her father was able to coax her into the courtyard where Caitlyn and Mel were waiting.
The tour that Caitlyn previously wanted to keep short, extended well into the mid-afternoon. Mel made it seem like she was seeing the campus for the first time, as she took them through all her favorite study spots, focusing on the less public parts of campus, the ones Caitlyn hadn’t already seen hundreds of times.
It had been about an hour and a half before Mel finally reached her accommodation building, the Honors Hall, where all award recipients lived together.
“Here it is,” Mel said with a smile, “room 6, the Dean and Presidential Award candidates’ shared suite!”
“Wait…” Caitlyn began, “does that mean you and Jayce shared a room?”
Mel’s eyes widened with slight shock, “Oh no Caitlyn, dorm halls are co-ed but suites and rooms are sorted by gender. Jayce and I are roomed with other recipients, him with Viktor, and me with Sevika, you will meet them once we have our first dorm hall meeting; but if the dean and presidential recipients can be roomed together, they are.” Mel took a quick breath in before continuing.
“It will be quite nice considering you two will have to help Jayce and I plan this year's scholarship fundraiser with the others!”
Mel opened the door to room 6, Caitlyn's parents walking in first to make sure all the furniture they sent earlier in the month was properly set up.
“Um, Mel,” Caitlyn called, Mel turned back around to face the doorway where Caitlyn stood, “I have never shared a living space with anyone who are not my parents,” she bit her lip, reopening the crack that had not left since she started high school.
Mel’s face softened, “Do not worry about that just yet, I am sure your roommate will be just lovely.”
“Do you know who my roommate is?” Caitlyn questioned.
“No, but Jayce should have her file,” as if Mel saying his name summoned him, Jayce burst into the room from behind Caitlyn, scooping her up in a big bear hug.
“Hey Squirt,” he laughed while tousling her hair.
“My goodness Jayce, put me down.” She laughed in response, a life being brought to her eyes that had been absent til her friend appeared.
She secretly wanted him to hold on. Caitlyn was not one for seeking physical connection, but on tough days it felt nice to be physically grounded by another. Jayce held on for a couple more moments, only putting her down once her parents came back into the shared space after carefully inspecting her bedroom and bathroom.
Following some brief pleasantries, Caitlyn and Jayce began to unpack her personal boxes in her bedroom while her mother bombarded poor Mel with questions.
“You excited?” Jayce asked from the corner of the room, messing with one of Caitlyn's lamps. She had brought a few so that she’d never have to turn on the overhead light.
“Yeah, I think so, just nervous about living with someone; this is very different from the estate…” she trailed off.
“Hey, don’t sweat it, I am pretty sure your roommate is going to be very chill, and you get used to it quicker than you think. Viktor and I have got a good routine going and once you work out the few kinks, you’ll be happy to room with them for the next four years,” Caitlyn smiled as she saw the blush creep onto Jayce’s face.
“Seems like you are a bit more than roommates,” she said almost cackling as Jayce fumbled with the lightbulb he was screwing in.
“Stop that,” Jayce bit back, but she knew something was going on, and she was determined to figure it out.
“Mel said we would be spending a considerable amount of time together as a group, planning events and all, you cannot hide this from me Jayce… But I am willing to drop this for now if you tell me about my roommate,” Caitlyn said through eager eyes and the sweetest smile she could manage.
Jayce scoffed, “Can’t tell you much Squirt, her file is technically confidential, she should be getting here in another three hours or so.”
Three hours? I’ll be at dinner by that time. Caitlyn did not hide the slight disappointment she felt at having to wait even longer to meet her roommate.
“She has to travel here, kind of, just try and give her some time in the room alone before you meet her, your parents said you’d be going out to dinner right? You’ll see her after that, once your parents leave, it’ll be good that way.”
“Travel? Kind of? What is that supposed to mean?” Caitlyn responded.
Jayce looked at her, “She's a Zaunite,” he said while finally getting her lamp up and working.
Oh… she’s going to hate me.
Jayce could sense the anxiety bubbling up in Caitlyn,
“Look, kid, she will not hate you just because she’s from Zaun and you're a council heir; give her the benefit of the doubt. Viktor is from Zaun too and he is one of my favorite people…” Jayce sighed,
“Just cut them some slack, okay?”
Caitlyn smiled and nodded towards Jayce as they continued to unpack her things.
*****
“Okay, time for me to go meet your roommate!” Jayce winked at Caitlyn as he collapsed the last cardboard box he and Tobias were working on.
“Are you sure you cannot join us for dinner?” Cassandra asked,
“Thank you for the offer, but duty comes first,” Jayce said as he grabbed his bag and started to head for the door.
Caitlyn sat back on the navy blue couch that was almost as dark as her hair. She would be leaving for dinner in a half hour and desperately needed some time to recharge after being social all day.
Her father, sensing her exhaustion, convinced his wife to take a quick pre-dinner walk with him around the university grounds.
Finally, for the first time today, Caitlyn had a moment to breathe.
Looking up from her doom scrolling, Caitlyn enjoyed the current simplicity of her accommodation. The navy couch, big enough to comfortably sit four people, sat on top of a cream colored carpet along with a dark oak coffee table.
The coffee table matched with the TV stand which sat a good six feet in front of the couch. The stand was filled to the brim with movies she enjoyed watching, the majority of them having simple romance plots, juxtaposed with the occasional mystery.
You have got to be kidding me, there was a playstation obviously left as a gift from her father. Caitlyn did not hate video games, but there were very few she could play without the overwhelming stress that came from them clouding her brain.
Minecraft was one of her favorites. She’d only play on creative mode or on a group server with her friends, where she could build to her heart's content. Nothing was ever carried on her character except for the bare minimum, the stress of potentially losing something important made her stomach twist into knots.
Her father was a video game fanatic, so she was well versed in any first person shooter or violence-based game that existed, they just were not her cup of tea. And she was very particular about her tea.
On that thought she turned her body to sit sideways on the couch looking over at the kitchen. It was small but had all the basic appliances one could ask for.
Standing from her seat, Caitlyn began to open drawers and familiarize herself with the new layout. Her tea was organized in a bottom drawer, most likely there to stay out of the way from her roommate.
There was a small island with kitchen bar seats that looked like a smaller version of the one they had in their kitchen at home. It was Caitlyn’s favorite place to sit and do homework after school while her various nannies would make her some sort of snack.
The pantry and fridge had already been filled with grab-and-go foods, an homage to the fact that Caitlyn almost never ate full meals unless someone made her. She was always so busy that there just was not enough time in her day for it.
Standing at the kitchen island she could see both of the doors that led into their separate rooms, they were not huge, but large enough for a full size bed, closet, and desk, with a separate door that led to the bathroom. Caitlyn had added a small purple bean bag chair in one of the corners, with a soft lamp that could change colors using an app on her phone.
It would be her reading nook, pathetic in comparison to her one at home, but nonetheless hers, a tiny slice of silent heaven.
She collapsed down into the little bag and grabbed her book to continue reading. One blissful chapter later, she heard a knock coming from the door.
“Caitlyn, darling, it is time to go. It is almost our reservation time.” Cassandra called out from the other side.
“Coming!” Caitlyn exclaimed, grabbing her phone from the couch where she left it, making sure she had the key to her room.
She was filled with a slight buzz of anticipation for her parents to leave and to meet her new roomate, marking a new chapter of her life.
Roommate, that was weird to think about, nonetheless Caitlyn did her best to purge her mind of every problem that popped into it…
Wait, Caitlyn grabbed a piece of paper and pen from her desk and wrote a quick note to stick on the fridge.
Help yourself to whatever you would like.
Regards,
Caitlyn
There, Caitlyn was sure it would be weird for her roommate to come into their accommodation to it being fully decked out and stocked up, courtesy of her mother.
Her friends, no acquaintances, from Piltover would often be overwhelmed by her family's home, and they were elites themselves. Her roommate might get shell-shocked from the Piltover style suite, and Caitlyn wanted to make sure it felt like her accommodation too.
And also, if they are meant to live together throughout all four years of university, it would make Caitlyn’s life ten times easier if they were friends.
“Caitlyn! I fear your mother is growing quite hangry, please come save me.” Tobias called from the other side of the door.
Caitlyn laughed while opening the door, “Sorry, I had to finish something up,”
“Caitlyn you have been here for less than a day, there is nothing that cannot wait,” her father responded with a soft smile.
A firm hand grasped her shoulder escorting her to their car, she smiled at her father as the driver opened the door for them and she ducked into her seat.
As they drove out of the university past the main office Caitlyn caught a glimpse of Jayce coming out of the front door.
She whipped her head towards the rear of the car hoping to see who her roommate was through the back window, but all she could see was, was, was that pink hair?