Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Vi hadn’t expected to end up at Piltover High, out of all places. Especially with her…circumstances.

She didn’t think she’d actually go through with her stupid plan, as Jinx had already repeated countless times. The discussion that led to this stupid decision pretty much sounded like this:

“Have you ever thought of being a guy for a day?” Jinx chatted, scrolling on her phone.

“Uh…not really, why?” Vi felt beads of sweat running down her back as she did another pushup. 

“I don’t know…being a guy just seems easier than being a girl, y’know? No periods, no getting hit on by creepy men, and you can just bang and scram.” 

Vi paused mid pushup, raising an eyebrow at Jinx. “Did you seriously just say ‘bang and scram’?”

“Yes I did. I mean it makes sense right? Ooh, Ekko liked my story.” Jinx sat up in her chair, grinning.

“You’re so whipped.” Vi swigged a drink of water, and continued, “Was it the basketball one?”

Jinx nodded. “Yeah.”

“You sure he liked it because of your shitty basketball skills, or me teaching you how to play?” Vi chuckled.

Jinx stuck her tongue out. “It’s definitely because of me. And I made a two pointer!”

“Yeah, after like what, thirty attempts? You only posted the video where you made the shot and cut out the part where you missed,” Vi chucked the empty bottle of water into the bin. She stood up, wiping sweat off her brow. “Our basketball team in Zaun is kind of trash. We don’t even have a proper court to play on, just a concrete box and a makeshift hoop made out of scrap yard junk.”

Jinx peeked over her phone. “The court in Piltover’s really good. Everything’s sleek and shiny, and the training grounds are massive .”

“Yeah, yeah, stop flexing. I’m not smart enough to go to Piltover high on a full ride scholarship like you. I’m slumming it out in Zaun, for fuck’s sake.” Vi groaned.

“Wait…” Jinx’s eyes lit up, and Vi knew it was going to be another one of her stupid ideas as soon as she opened her mouth. “What if you come to my school and make it on the team as a guy ? No one in Piltover cares about the women’s team, if you make it to the men’s team, you’ll definitely hit it big with skills like yours. Who knows, sis, you might make it to a good college on a basketball scholarship!”

Vi snorted. “You seriously think that’s gonna work? I’ll be found out as soon as I step foot in those shiny ass classrooms.”

Jinx suddenly jumped off the couch, making a beeline for their room. She emerged a few seconds later with a crumpled piece of paper. Seeing Vi’s confused face, she explained, “It’s an application to transfer schools with all the details filled out already.”

Vi frowned. “Where and how did you get this? Jinx!”

“Okay…I might have snuck into the Principal’s office and stolen a successful application form and erased most of the important stuff. Y’know, for an emergency. Sorry.” Jinx didn’t look apologetic at all, in fact, quite the opposite. She bore a self satisfied smile on her face.

Vi took the application form and looked it over. Her sister hadn’t been wrong. All the details had been filled out neatly and her new identity was already given. 

“Sebastian Hastings” . That was Vi’s new name. Huh.

“So, sis, whaddaya think? I know I’m a genius.” Jinx exclaimed, dancing around the living room.

Was Vi seriously going to do this? She had a passion for basketball…so it didn’t hurt, right? A chance to join the elite basketball team and take her shot at making it big, finally digging herself out of this hole for both herself and Jinx.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Vi finally said, and Jinx whooped and cheered.

“I’ll see you in school!”

Vi sauntered into the office, giving it a look over. It was overly fancy, with tables out of dark oak wood with gold trimmings, polished to a shine, like pretty much everything in this school. Vi didn’t get Pilties and their obsession with gold rimmed things.

The person behind the desk barely looked up at Vi, before she coughed and the person finally looked up, and Vi realised she was probably supposed to be talking. She slapped down her application form onto the table and got out, “Hey. I’m Sebastian Hastings, and I’m a transfer to this school?”

The person took the paper and read it over, clicking some stuff on the computer in front of her. Finally, she smiled. “Welcome to Piltover High, Sebastian! The principal has requested to see you before you officially move into the dormitories later.” She pointed at the door behind. 

Vi nodded, and knocked on the door that read “Principal’s Office” three times before entering when she heard a soft “come in”. She sat tentatively in the chair in front of the Principal’s desk. “Hello.” She greeted, not sure of how Pilties usually greeted their teachers, or principals, or whatever.

The principal swiveled around in her chair, plastering a big smile on her face. “Sebastian! I was waiting to see you. What do you think of the school so far?”

Vi hadn’t expected to be interrogated as soon as she had enrolled into this school. Somehow, she already regretted her decision to listen to Jinx. “Uhh…” She trailed off, before clearing her throat. “It’s nice. Very clean.”

Vi wanted to smack herself. Clean and nice was the only adjective she could think of? 

Nonetheless, the principal seemed satisfied with her answer and nodded. “I hope you can adapt to the environment here and make new friends. You can go put your things down now. Your dormitory is…?”

“6A.” Vi replied, thankful that she read her form over dozens of times. 

“Ah, right. Well, again, welcome to our school! I hope you enjoy your time here.” 

Taking that as her cue to leave, Vi quickly exited the principal's office, letting out a large exhale. She had to remember to deepen her voice, or not she would be busted.

Before the school year started, Vi had convinced Ekko to teach her how to be more manly. Vi considered herself already quite masculine, with the short haircut and muscles too. But she didn’t know how and what guys talked to each other about. Like did they talk about girls? Compare the size of their dicks or something? 

Firstly, Ekko had cut her hair even shorter and more jagged, to give her that “manly” look, and told her how to talk to other guys. Vi remembered something about calling them “bro” or something, but to be honest, she had forgotten already. She could just wing it, like everything else in her life. Ekko had asked if Vi wanted to borrow some of his clothes, but she insisted her clothes were already masculine enough, and he agreed. Most of her closet were just basketball shorts, and she sometimes wore a belt and rings too, so she could pass. Ekko had also agreed to answer Vi’s calls as fast as possible in case she needed advice for guy stuff.

So, overall, Vi felt pretty prepared.

She walked into the A block, hauling her large duffel bag with all of her stuff along. Luckily, Piltover High provided most of the books needed for the school year, so Vi only had to bring along her scuffed up pencil case and stationery. Vi strolled through the corridors, trying to find her dorm, praying that her roommate was nice so she wouldn’t have to deal with a bitchy guy for a few months.

Finally, she found the room, taking out her keys and opening the door. Immediately, she was hit with the smell of cologne, and cursed to herself. Of course her roommate was those types of cologne wearers. They wore so much she felt sick when walking past them on the street. 

For the most part, the room was neat, with his stuff stacked up against his side of the room and a few socks strewn around. Vi’s side of the room had a simple bed, with a bedside table and a study table and a chair. It also came with a fan but other than that, the table was empty. Perfect for all of Vi’s clutter she definitely would have as the school year continued.

Her roommate was nowhere to be seen, which Vi was grateful for. She unpacked all of her stuff, like her clothes and school things. She didn’t take out her sports bras, but stuffed them deep into her bag so she could wear them when no one was around. Vi was flat as a board anyways, and with a sports bra she could pass off as a male. She also put her tampons deep into her bedside drawer and prayed that her roommate wouldn’t go through her stuff and find it.

It was around the middle of the day then, and the first day of school would start tomorrow. Vi glanced out of the window, and most of the students were milling about campus, talking to their friends. Some were at the grass patch enjoying a picnic, and some were catching up on their schoolwork. Fuck, Vi was really about to do this con. Well, not that much of a con, because she wasn’t going to scam anyone of their money.

Over the next hour, Vi decided to walk around the school, exploring everything. She had met up with her sister as well, Jinx bouncing excitedly around as she showed Vi her favourite parts of the school and some quiet spots she liked.

“That’s the chemistry lab, and that’s the physics lab. The apparatus they have is insane! Top notch stuff,” Jinx ranted as Vi nodded along. As much as she hated to admit it, Piltover was so much better than Zaun. Jinx had also shown her the basketball court, and Vi was in awe of it all. 

After a few hours with Jinx, it was late and they headed out for dinner. Jinx was munching on her burger loudly. “Vi, when the school year starts, we shouldn’t talk that much. You’re probably gonna become like, a jock, and that’s kinda weird. You get it, right?”

Vi felt a twinge of disappointment, but she understood where her sister was coming from. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Good luck, sis!” Jinx said, raising up her bottle of soda, clinking it with Vi’s. “Here’s to a fruitful school year without you fucking anything up and revealing your true identity.”

Vi clinked glasses, and drank.

Chapter Text

Finally, with Vi tired out of her mind, she went back to her dorm, finding the door unlocked. Her roommate was back. 

She pushed the door open and closed it slowly, in case he was sleeping. Vi turned around and saw him on his bed, reading a book. He looked away from his book and looked her up and down, and Vi prayed he didn’t notice anything weird.

“Hi.” Vi started, and cringed at herself from how high pitched her voice had gotten. “I mean, hey, what’s up roomie?” Fuck, that was even worse.

He blinked at her.  Fuck, he definitely knew. Instead, he just grinned at her. “Hey. I’m Jayce.” 

“And I’m V – I mean, Sebastian. Nice to meet you, bro.” Vi deepened her voice. She reached out her hand for a fistbump (did guys usually do that when meeting each other?) and luckily Jayce returned it with enthusiasm. 

Vi glanced over at what Jayce was reading and saw it was a science textbook. “You seriously studying already?” 

“Yeah, I gotta keep up. And this hextech stuff is pretty interesting. You should check it out sometime.” He said, turning back to read the book.

“Sure man,” Vi replied. She was not going to read some stupid hextech book. Not in a million years.

“So, uh, do you know when basketball tryouts are?” Vi asked, falling onto her bed.

“Oh! Do you play basketball too?” Jayce’s eyes suddenly piqued with interest.

“Yeah, I transferred to this school for the basketball programme. The team’s really good.”

“Damn, my roommate is my future teammate as well! Good luck for tryouts, man.” Jayce shook her hand. Was this something Pilties did? Vi didn’t question it and shook his hand back firmly.

“Thanks,” Vi quickly added, “bro.”

Jayce shot her another grin, and Vi let out a small exhale. Things were going well so far. 

Vi decided to take a shower before bed and quickly put her sports bra on and a baggy sleepshirt. Hoping Jayce couldn’t see the slight bulge on her chest, she crawled into bed. 

“Are you sleeping?” Vi heard Jayce ask.

“Yeah.” Vi replied. She heard Jayce moving around and the room was plunged into darkness. After a moment, a light was switched on and Jayce was sitting at his desk, continuing to read his book.

Vi closed her eyes. Did guys say goodnight? Before she could dwell on that more, she drifted into sleep.

Vi was woken up in the middle of the night by snoring.

Groggily wiping her eyes, she checked the clock. 5AM. The school day didn’t start for another 2 hours. She swore under her breath and squinted over at the other bed. Jayce was drooling, his mouth half open, and letting out the most obnoxious snores known to man.

She closed her eyes again, trying to fall back asleep, but it was hopeless. After tossing around for about 10 minutes, Vi gave up and decided to go train. She needed to do well for tryouts anyways.

Rubbing her eyes again, she walked blindly into the toilet and rinsed her face, then brushed her teeth. Vi put on her training clothes, took her basketball out of her bag and headed to the basketball court. 

The court was indoors, so it wasn’t exposed to the elements unlike the one in Zaun. Vi couldn’t count on her fingers and toes the number of times she and her team had to train in the storm or the scorching hot sun. 

Putting down her water bottle on a bench, Vi was surprised to see someone running laps around the court. The lights weren’t on, so she couldn’t make out clearly who it was, but they were really tall. 

Vi cleared her throat so that she could project a deeper voice. “Hello?” She called out.

The running figure stopped in their tracks, but didn’t say anything.

“Sorry, but I’m gonna turn on the lights because I need to train. Is that okay?”

The voice that came as a reply shocked her. “Sure.” The person had a British accent, and they were clearly female.

Vi flicked the lights open and squinted. Her eyes took a while to adjust to the sudden bright lighting. When they refocused, her breath caught in her throat. The person was stunning .

She had deep midnight blue hair, which was tied up in a high ponytail, damp with sweat. Vi could make out her cerulean eyes, and she had legs for days .

Vi repeated herself. “Sorry about this. Basketball tryouts are tomorrow, so…” she trailed off. Fuck, she probably sounded stupid as hell.

“No worries.” The girl flashed a tight lipped smile before continuing her laps around the court.

Vi peeked at the girl again, and confirmed to herself that yep, she was beautiful. She swore to herself. She had to focus on basketball, not crushing on some girl. With that, she began doing some drills, practicing her layup, and scoring two and three pointers, trying to pointedly ignore the girl running around the court. 

After about an hour, Vi had worked up a sweat, and she returned to the benches and drank some water to replenish. The girl also seemed to have finished her run, sitting down at one of the benches on the opposite side of the court.

Vi wanted to ask for her name, but decided against it. If she was that girl, she wouldn’t want some random ass guy to walk up to her and ask for her name. That was creepy. Or was it? 

Vi hopped around in her shoes, hearing the squeak it made against the floor, and worked up her courage. Fuck it, she was gonna do this. She needed to have the confidence of a jock. Like a man who hadn’t been told no in his life.

Before Vi knew what her legs were doing, she was already in front of the girl. 

“What’s your name?” Vi asked nonchalantly, leaning against the wall.

The girl looked up, looking Vi up and down, clearly judging her. Vi instantly regretted her decision to do this. What made her think she could just chat up a topsider?

Another painful moment of silence passed between them, before the girl spoke. 

“Caitlyn.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” The words were out of Vi’s mouth before she could process anything, and she wanted to dig herself into a hole and never crawl out, because Caitlyn frowned, clearly creeped out.

“Fuck. I mean, I’m sorry. I just –” Vi paused, unsure of what to say next. “My name is Sebastian, if you wanted to know.” The name sounded foreign on her tongue.

Clearly, the girl didn’t give a shit about knowing Vi’s fake name, but she still nodded, looking uninterested as hell.

“I’m just gonna, um…” Vi speedwalked to her bench, grabbed her water bottle, and basically sprinted towards the exit. She could feel Caitlyn’s eyes on her as she made her shameful escape. That was the worst first impression she ever could’ve made. She swore under her breath. Fuck this school and the Pilties in it. Okay, but that was partially her fault. Maybe fully.

Still reeling from the embarrassment, Vi’s stomach growled, and she went to the vending machine to buy a snack for breakfast. Munching on her sandwich, she headed back to her dorm to take her school supplies.

Somehow she made it back without getting lost. Jayce was there, spraying on his cologne and flexing in the mirror. He was dressed only in his boxers, and Vi groaned internally. Men and them sleeping half naked.

“Hey man,” He greeted, looking up from his packing.

“Hey.” Vi said simply, walking to her bag and chucking whatever stuff she needed inside.

“Did you go to train just now? You’re all sweaty,” Jayce asked.

“Yeah, I woke up from your snoring.” Vi said, shooting him a look. 

“Sorry about that. Viktor always says that about me.” Jayce said casually.

“Who?”

“My friend, Viktor. I’ll introduce you to him later.” 

They wordlessly finished packing and headed to the classroom block. Vi checked her schedule. She had math first period. Fuck.

“Hey, you have math first period too!” Jayce interrupted her thoughts. “Let’s walk there together.”

Wordlessly, Vi nodded, and walked beside Jayce through the hallways. Surprisingly, most of the student body seemed to know him quite well, offering him fistbumps and greeting him with a pat on the shoulder. Jayce bathed in the attention, acknowledging everyone with a stupid grin on his face.

“This is Viktor, my best mate.” Jayce introduced Vi. “Viktor, Sebastian. Sebastian, Viktor.”

Vi took in Viktor’s appearance, and it was unexpected how someone as popular as Jayce would hang out with someone like Viktor, but she didn’t question it. With one hand on his cane, Viktor flashed a weak smile. “Hello, Sebastian.”

“Nice to meet you. Jayce has been really nice to me, being my new roommate and all.” Vi said politely.

“Oh? Jayce and I were roommates too. That’s how we got to know each other, actually.” Viktor had a fond smile on his face now, gazing at Jayce. 

Jayce ruffled his hair in embarrassment. “Viktor!” He hissed, glancing around. 

Vi took in the look shared between the two of them and instantly understood. She raised an eyebrow at them.

“Roommates?” she said, breaking the moment that was happening between the two of them. Gross. “I thought people shared the same roommate throughout the years?”

Viktor coughed, and Jayce flushed. 

“Well…one of the teachers – anyways, it’s a long story, but after that we weren’t allowed to be roommates anymore.” Jayce garbled.

“Ohhh.” Vi dragged the word out, secretly enjoying seeing the both of them squirm. “It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone.” She didn’t mention how obvious it was and didn’t question how the whole school didn’t know by this point, but maybe her gaydar was just that good.

They both smiled gratefully at her and they headed to class together. Coincidentally, Viktor also had math first period, which Jayce had already known since they’d checked their schedules with each other the day before. And they were roommates.

First period was uneventful, with the teacher doing a short introduction of the syllabus and then ranting about how they were older now and he didn’t need to chase after them for their work, the usual bullshit that Vi didn’t pay attention to. The teacher was short and stout, with a receding hairline and an unkept beard that Jayce kept poking fun of. 

Jayce was Vi’s seat mate and Viktor was directly in front.

“Do you think it smells like cheese?” 

They were hunched over their worksheets, completing a quiz even though it was the first day, for god’s sake.

“What? The beard?” Vi whispered, glancing over at Jayce.

The teacher narrowed his eyes at them, shooting her a warning glare before turning back to his laptop. 

“Yes, the fucking beard! It looks like a rat died in there or something.” Jayce muttered under his breath, scribbling something in his worksheet.

Vi peeked at what Jayce was scribbling and almost barked out a laugh when she saw a disastrously drawn portrait of their teacher instead of the usual equations. “Dude!”

Jayce elbowed her and because of him she accidentally drew a streak across the paper in pen. “The teacher’s gonna kill me when he sees this,” Vi groaned, kicking him under the table, earning a hiss.

Jayce ignored her, and turned his attention to Viktor instead. 

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“What?” Viktor swiveled around, glaring at Jayce. “Stop kicking my chair, I can’t focus.”

Jayce feigned innocence, looking at Viktor with pleading eyes.

“Can you give me the answer to question 5, please?”

“No.” Viktor said shortly before turning around.

“Dumbass.” Vi chuckled under her breath before turning back to her paper. 

Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, she turned around and her eyes widened. 

“Jayce!” Vi whisper shouted, glancing at him.

“Fucking hell, what is it?” He said, sounding annoyed as hell.

“Young men, that is not the language we tolerate in this school! Detention for the both of you!” The teacher shouted, earning snorts from around the classroom. Someone even whistled, “I think this is a record for the fastest detention anyone’s ever gotten in the school year.”

Viktor was holding back a laugh, and Vi would’ve laughed too if not for the fact that she would’ve gotten more detention, so she zipped her mouth shut. 

Finally after another gruelling hour, it was lunch. Vi sat with Jayce and some other boys, but Viktor hadn’t joined as he preferred to eat his own packed lunch in a quieter area and he hated crowded areas. 

Placing her tray down on the table, Vi sat heavily down on the bench and opened her milk carton, sniffing it carefully.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t drink that. Even if it’s not expired, it still tastes sour. From personal experience, the toilet is not going to thank you for that.” Jayce said wisely.

Vi made a face and began picking at the other items on her tray, listening to the other guys bantering.

Suddenly, a hush came around the whole cafeteria, and one of the boys on her table whispered, “It’s her!”

“Who?” Vi craned her neck and looked around the cafeteria. 

“Caitlyn Kiramman! How do you not know who she is?”

Vi’s heart dropped as soon as she heard the name. Fearing the worst, she followed everyone’s gazes – and it was the girl she met this morning at the basketball court. The girl who thought she was a complete weirdo .

“Who is she? Why does everyone look scared of her?” Vi demanded.

“Dude, do you live under a rock? She’s the daughter of the school board’s head, and the head of the school council. Her nickname’s ‘ice princess’ because she doesn’t talk to anyone outside of group projects.”

“I’m so screwed.” Vi moaned, burying her head in her hands. “I saw her at the basketball court this morning and I asked her for her name, then I kind of flirted with her and now she hates me. That’s why she was judging me when I asked her who she was!”

“You’re actually fucked!” Jayce howled, slamming his apple juice on the table. “She’s known for rejecting every guy’s advances, no matter how hot they are.”

Curiosity piqued, Vi asked, “Has any girl asked her out?”

“Girls? I don’t think anyone’s asked. No one even dares to approach her anymore. She’s a scary person. Her piercing gaze on you is just–” Jayce shuddered.

The other guys started discussing Kiramman’s life, like how her mother got onto the school board and how all the teachers love her. 

“I would wanna get a pass on her if I had the chance though. Just look at those tits!” Dylan, one of the guys, wolf whistled.

Vi choked on a bite of her pasta, feeling anger for this girl she doesn’t even know bubbling up. She swallowed her food heavily, frowning. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

“Oooh, someone’s got a little crush!” Dylan chortled, and Jayce came to her defense. 

“Sebastian’s right. Dylan, shut up.” After letting out another stupid giggle, he shut up. Jayce seemed to be the leader of this group from how everyone was listening to him. 

After all the other boys left for class, Jayce stayed back to talk to Vi. “Hey, sorry about that. Those guys can be assholes sometimes, don’t take it to heart, alright?”

Vi smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks, man.”

“That’s what bros are for, right?” Jayce slapped Vi on the back before walking away. Huh. Maybe her roommate wasn’t that bad.

At that moment, the stupid bell rang, filling the hallways with its obnoxious shrilling. 

Vi checked her schedule and it was chemistry next period. Groaning internally, she weaved through all the people rushing to class and tried not to get lost but failed. Everywhere she turned, the stupid hallways seemed to repeat itself, and with three blocks in total, Vi was extremely confused. 

After stumbling around aimlessly for a few minutes, Vi finally saw the sign that read “Chemistry Lab” and sprinted towards it. Checking her watch, she swore under her breath. She was ten minutes late. Whatever.

Pushing the door open harder than expected, Vi stood in the doorway, panting from the exertion. She cringed awkwardly, hearing the dull thud of the door hitting the wall beside her.

“To whom do I owe this pleasure of being,” The teacher glanced at the clock on the wall, “10 minutes late to class?”

“Sorry, I got lost,” Vi said, still trying to catch her breath. 

“Well, it is the first day after all, so I’ll let you off the hook. You can call me professor Heimerdinger.” The teacher said, no, squeaked, from his little pedestal at the front. He was perched on top of a little stool, being too short to see over the teacher’s desk.

Vi would have laughed if not for the whole class staring at her. Face hot with embarrassment, she slung her bag over her shoulder again and scanned the room for an empty seat…and her gaze landed on the only one – next to Caitlyn. Darn her luck.

Slowly, Vi shuffled towards the seat, still feeling the gaze of everyone on her back.

“Now now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s focus up here on the whiteboard, thank you…” The professor said, tapping the whiteboard with his absurdly long ruler. The students all turned towards Heimerdinger, and Vi finally calmed down a little.

“Can I sit here?” Vi asked, though what was the point, because that was the only empty seat. If Caitlyn said no, then what, she would have to stand the whole lesson?

Caitlyn barely spared a glance at her, before nodding and turning back to the whiteboard. Vi threw her bag down onto the floor and pulled the seat out, then proceeded to get all of her chem materials out as well. 

Dumping her ziploc bag that served as a pencil case on the table, Vi couldn’t help but feel an inkling of satisfaction seeing Caitlyn’s narrowed eyes observing the three pieces of stationery she owned.

Vi tuned in to whatever Professor Heimerdinger was ranting about, something about qualitative analysis and accuracy. She hoped Caitlyn had miraculously forgotten their encounter that morning, though that was highly unlikely with her bright pink hair.

Vi was beginning to doze off. She snuck a glance at Caitlyn, and she was scribbling away at her notebook. Her desk was set up with different colours of post it notes, with a set of coloured highlighters and multiple pens. Extra much?

“...and your seatmate is going to be your partner for pretty much all projects and activities we’re going to do this year. Now, I’m going to hand out a recap worksheet. Please submit it by the end of class.” Heimerdinger droned on. 

What the fuck? Did she hear what the old man was saying correctly? The whole fucking year? With this Piltie girl who didn’t even talk to anyone?

The incessant scritch of the pen Caitlyn was using to write notes stopped abruptly, as if she was also registering this information. She kept a poker face, not showing any signs of distaste from being paired up with Vi.

Caitlyn took the papers that were handed down to her and passed one to Vi. The tension between them was palpable, both not wanting to start a conversation with the other. Vi wrote her name and the date down on the recap worksheet, and noticed that Caitlyn had torn off a post it from her little stack.

“My number.” Vi almost jumped out of her seat from the sudden interruption of her posh British accent.

“W-what?” Vi stumbled.

Caitlyn was looking at her with an eyebrow raised, holding out a post it note. “For our future group projects. We will need to discuss things.” 

“Oh,” Vi said dumbly. “Right. Sure.” She took the post it from Caitlyn, nearly ripping it in her haste. Vi swore she saw Caitlyn’s eyes twitch. Stuffing the slip of paper into her pocket, she focused back on the lesson, but didn’t take in anything the professor said for the rest of the duration.

Before she knew it, the lesson was over and Professor Heimerdinger was dismissing them. 

“Don’t forget to bring your safety goggles for our next lesson! We’ll need them for titration!” He called out cheerfully as the students milled out of the door. Vi felt a bit bad for him because no one was paying attention, all desperate to get out of this hellhole.

Caitlyn followed suit, packing her bag meticulously (if that was a thing) carefully dropping the books in her backpack and arranging her highlighters according to colour and putting them back into her pencil case.

Without a second look back, she was out of the door. Vi threw everything into her bag, draping it over her shoulder and headed for her next class. Why the hell was school taking so long?

Chapter Text

Caitlyn was surprised, to say the least.

She had woken up at 5AM today, like every other day, and had gone for her morning run at the indoor basketball court. (she wasn’t going to admit that she was scared of the dark) 

Caitlyn enjoyed the solitude and quiet of the mornings before chaos erupted in the school. Imagine her shock when a voice interrupted her morning run and asked if they could turn the lights on for training. Sure, no problem with that.

It was her first time having someone to share the court with in the morning but not the first to have a stupid jock hit on her. Many guys had tried before, coming up to her, testing out their cringy pick up lines. Caitlyn didn’t even have to look at them to reject their advances.

Since Caitlyn was 11, she’d known that she’d liked girls. Ever since watching Harry Potter and seeing Emma Watson come onto the screen for the first time, and her stomach flipping when she made eye contact with her middle school crush, she’d known. Guys were just revolting and disgusting in every aspect possible – Caitlyn couldn’t possibly fathom having a future with a guy.

So when Caitlyn saw the unnamed guy with pink hair approaching her, she steeled herself for yet another awkward introduction, hoping to be proved wrong, that it was just him being friendly – but was disappointed. Though, there was something about him Caitlyn just couldn’t place. For one – his pink hair, stark against basically everything, and his voice – there was something unidentifiable about it. She was probably just hallucinating from the late nights and unhealthy amounts of caffeine in her system.

She’d stayed up the previous night yet again even though the first day of the semester hadn’t even started yet, working on another project for the school council. Her mother had nagged at her again to “start early on projects” so the school reputation could be kept up. All the other school council members were slacking off, lazing around, but Caitlyn had to do everything just because she was “privileged” enough to be the daughter of the board head.

Caitlyn could feel another headache coming on just thinking about that. Sighing, she rubbed her temples and tried to focus on what was in front of her. Her cup of tea, already lukewarm by her side. Her laptop, with a spreadsheet of the school's budgets on screen. And…the annoying redheaded guy with his new sidekick, Jayce. 

“Detention is so boring! What time is it?” Sebastian whispered.

“Look at the clock, you idiot.” Jayce muttered. 

“I can’t read it, my eyesight’s shit.” Sebastian snarked back.

Caitlyn suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. They did know she could literally hear them clearly from the front, right? She cleared her throat and shot them a warning glare, though she wasn’t really bothered by them at all. Luckily, they took the hint and fell silent, sheepishly returning to their worksheets.

Turning back to her laptop to hide her amusement and putting a poker face on, she read over some emails, deleting those that weren’t important. It was easier to keep a mask on, to be cold and unfeeling, not letting anyone get past her guard. Caitlyn had learnt the hard way to not let anyone in. Ever since that incident in middle school which she would not like to revisit, she’d not had a single friend. The only “friends” she’d ever had were there only for her wealth and status. Caitlyn was independent anyways, she didn’t need friends, though she had to admit it did get a bit lonely at times.

Caitlyn took another sip of her tea. She made a mental note to dump this cup out and make a fresh cup later, just to feel a sharp jab on the side of her forehead. What the…

A paper airplane had hit Caitlyn square in her face, landing directly into her lap. Looking up, she heard hushed giggles coming from the two boys in front of her. Caitlyn sighed. She was in no mood to deal with these jocks’ bullshit right now. Glancing at the clock, she exhaled in relief as she saw that there was only a little time left before detention was over and she could be freed.

“If the two of you could act more mature for the next few minutes, that would be great.” Caitlyn remarked, shuffling a stack of papers.

She wondered how the hell these two even got detention on the very first day of school, but she didn’t really want to talk to jocks.

As soon as the clock hit three, both of them sprung out of their seats. 

“Hurry, we’re gonna be late.” Sebastian urged.

Jayce hurriedly picked up his bag, sprinting out of the door with Sebastian close behind. Finally free, Caitlyn packed up all of her stuff and headed out, deciding that she was going to practice her shooting which needed some refining.

Jayce pushed the door of the basketball court open, and Vi followed. They had made it to tryouts about 5 minutes early, which in Jayce’s words, “is still considered late because Coach doesn’t appreciate tardiness”.

Vi took a deep breath before stepping into the court. The air was thick with the squeaks of sneakers and the sharp, echoing bounces of basketballs. It wasn’t the sounds that got to her – it was the energy. Everyone here looked so at ease, like they belonged. She tugged her hoodie a little tighter over her head, feeling like she had “impostor” written all over her face.

Keep your head up, Vi. Confidence is key. You can definitely beat these egoistic Pitlies.

Vi subtly adjusted her posture, adopting the kind of cocky swagger she’d seen in guys her age pull off effortlessly. It felt unnatural, but the players around her didn’t seem to notice. 

The drills started simple, passing, shooting, basic stuff. Vi could handle that with ease. The coach watched at the sidelines, nodding and shaking his head. 

During a drill, Vi had accidentally knocked against one of the other guys, earning a shove, muttering under his breath about “rookies wasting time”. She had felt a wave of anger crash over her, but she had clenched her jaw and allowed it to happen. Vi couldn’t let the coach witness her losing control. She needed a clear head in the game.

At the end of all the drills and conditioning, it was time for scrimmages. It’s a 3V3, Vi, Jayce and another blonde haired guy against 3 others. Based on Vi’s observations throughout tryouts, they weren’t bad, but they were too hot headed and lacked stamina.

Vi adjusted her shirt – it was clinging uncomfortably to her skin from her sweat. She took a chug of her water and fanned herself. This was it. Her chance to prove herself and enter Piltover’s basketball team – it all boiled down to this. She needed to impress the coach, or all of this faking to be a guy bullshit would be for nothing.

The whistle blew, and the game started. The court was chaotic, players calling and shouting for the ball left and right, curses being uttered under their breaths. Vi stayed on the edges at first, watching, following – waiting for her opportunity to strike.

Then it came.

“Sebastian!” Jayce called out, passing the ball to her.

Vi caught it, fingers pressed against the ball, eyes darting around, scanning the court. She dribbled, weaving between two players, and there it was – an opening. For a split second, panic flared in her chest. Don’t fuck up, Vi.

She took a deep breath in, aimed, and shot, trusting her arms and wrists to follow the motion through. It seemed like the whole court had frozen in time for a moment, but the next, with a soft swish – she’d scored. She’d actually scored.

Laughing in disbelief, Vi accepted a fistbump from Jayce. “Good shot, man!”

“Thanks,” Vi said breathily. She glanced over to where the coach was standing, briefly making eye contact, and he nodded, just barely. 

After another scrimmage, tryouts were over. Vi thought she’d done pretty well, with the next scrimmage being nothing special, just passing and dribbling without much chance to score. Vi shook all the other player’s hands before she stepped off the court. She was exhausted after all that running and dribbling.

"Hey, guy with the pink hair over there!”

Vi turned back, walking over when she realised the coach was calling her over.

"You’re not bad for a rookie. Nice shot, kid.” He said, nodding in approval and giving her a once over.

"Thanks, coach.” Vi said, injecting a little more confidence into her voice.

"Look out for the list of people who made it on the team, eh? Should be in a few days.” The coach clapped her on the back before turning and shouting at another player. "Anderson!”

Taking it as her cue to leave, Vi dipped both her hands into her pockets and heard the telltale crumple of a note. Fishing the note out, she stared at Caitlyn’s number written on it, burning it into her eyeballs. She’d have to add Caitlyn into her contacts later. 

“Watcha doing?”

Vi startled, dropping the note and scrambling to pick up the drifting piece of paper. 

“Jayce!” Vi reached her hand out to try to pry the note out of Jayce’s fingers.

“You already have someone’s number? Tell me who it is.” He said gleefully, sticking his arm out behind him and backing away.

Vi groaned. “It’s not what you think. It’s Caitlyn’s–”

“Kiramman?” Jayce interrupted rudely. 

“For a group project. Chemistry class. Prof paired us together for some reason.”

“Ah, I see…” He said mysteriously, still holding the note out of Vi’s reach.

“Just give me the fucking note back, Jayce.” Vi shoved into his shoulder and snatched the note from him, uncrumpling it and stuffing it back into her pocket.

Jayce giggled annoyingly. “I’m exhausted, let’s go and shower.”

Fuck. Showering. It had completely slipped Vi’s mind that she was going to have to use communal showers with the other guys . Maybe she could come up with an excuse to not shower now and figure out how to sneak out to do it later. Or just suffer through it? How was she going to make it out alive? Just the thought of sharing a room with naked guys sent shivers down her spine.

“Sebastian, you good?” Jayce was a few steps in front of Vi, pausing to look back when he realised she wasn’t following.

“Oh. Yeah, yeah. Coming.” Vi said, snapping out of it.

They arrived at their dorm a few minutes later, muscles aching and sticky with sweat. Jayce rummaged through his drawer, taking out a change of clothes with his towel. Vi pretended to look through her bag, before saying, “Hey, you can go shower first, I need to, uh, talk to my mom.”

“Alright then.” Jayce said, not suspecting anything and walking out of the door.

Vi heaved a sigh of relief. She’d decided to sneak out at night instead and figured that Jayce was too much of a heavy sleeper to notice. Vi would die before stripping naked in front of a bunch of other sweaty disgusting men.

It was midnight and Vi was ready. Hopefully most of the school population would be asleep by then, or she was screwed. 

Vi carefully took out her packed bag of nightclothes, her toiletries and her towel. She nudged the door open, wincing when it let out a creak. Jayce let out another snore. Thankful that he slept like a pig, Vi sprinted all the way to the communal showers and luckily she didn’t see a soul on the way there.

She quickly set down all her stuff and showered, enjoying the ice cold water splashing onto her skin. Dumping all her dirty clothes in a separate bag, she wiped herself dry and went to brush her teeth.

"What are you doing here?”

Vi jumped, a large dollop of toothpaste that she was in the middle of squeezing falling onto the floor. "What the fuck?”

The silhouette of a familiar blue haired girl emerged into view. Vi quickly covered herself with her towel. If Caitlyn saw her sports bra and boxers, she was screwed. Or maybe she would think Vi was a weirdo with some sort of kink for wearing bras.

“It’s,” Caitlyn paused, glancing at her watch and speaking in that pretentious accent, “twelve twenty one AM.”

“You just wasted a big ass squeeze of my toothpaste! Do you know how much groceries cost nowadays? That was like, 50 cents worth of toothpaste on the floor.” Vi gestured to it, already melting into a goopy puddle of green and white.

Caitlyn raised a single eyebrow. “You haven’t answered my question.”

“Wouldn’t expect someone like you to know how much groceries cost,” Vi muttered. “What are you doing here? Isn’t it dangerous for someone like you to be here at this time?”

“Someone like me? Am I some sort of damsel in distress to you?”

Caitlyn’s accent got even more obvious when she was angry. It was cute – what?

“Why are you smiling?”

Vi morphed her face back into a scowl, crossing her arms defensively. “Maybe I just like taking showers at night. Why are you judging so much?”

“I’m not judging, I’m–” Caitlyn sighed. “Whatever. Go back to…whatever you were doing.”

“Mind your own business, Cupcake.” Vi said, squeezing the toothpaste onto her toothbrush and running it under the water. She grinned when she heard the unmistakable sound of Caitlyn spluttering behind her.

“W-what? Cupcake?”

“Cause you’re so sweet, like a cupcake,” Vi shrugged, now rinsing out her mouth with water and gargling. 

“Unbelievable.” Caitlyn muttered under her breath. Vi spat out the water and washed her toothbrush, placing it back into its cup, smirking to herself.

“Like what you see?” Vi gestured to the towel that was still wrapped around her body, flexing a bicep and winking.

Caitlyn flushed, quickly turning around and looking down. “Put some clothes on, please .” She crossed her arms tightly around herself, blatantly staring at a spot on the wall. “And don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Vi asked, blinking innocently, now fully dressed in her oversized sleep shirt and pants. 

Caitlyn groaned audibly. “You’re infuriating, you know that?”

“What would people think if they saw you with me here, huh? The ice princess with some random guy at the showers.” Vi teased. She leaned slightly closer to Caitlyn, putting one arm onto the wall for support.

“Shut up.” Caitlyn pushed Vi, stepping back and putting some distance between them.

Vi gasped dramatically, putting a hand on her chest. “Oh, the princess told me to shut up! Good golly me, what shall I do?”

Caitlyn shot a glare at Vi, but she could tell she wasn’t really angry. In fact, the corner of her mouth twitched up slightly. Just slightly. 

A loud clang from one of the buildings broke the moment, and Vi took a step back, clearing her throat. Caitlyn tucked a hair behind her ear, resuming her neutral expression.

“I’m going back to my dorm now. We didn’t see each other here, okay? Nothing about this tomorrow.” Caitlyn shot a stern glare at Vi.

Vi put her hands up in mock surrender. “Sure, Cupcake.”

With a final groan and roll of her eyes, Caitlyn disappeared into the night as quickly as she came.

That was…a weird experience, Vi thought. Ice princess wasn’t so icy after all.

Chapter Text

The next day came quickly, Vi bored out of her mind with Heimerdinger explaining what an acid base reaction was, and her seatmate being extra attentive as usual.

“This is called neutralisation, with…” He droned on, Caitlyn writing the sentence down.

Vi elbowed Caitlyn lightly, earning a glare. “What?”

Vi paused for a moment, listening to what Heimerdinger was saying before she spoke, training her eyes on the whiteboard. “You still haven’t told me why you were out and about at midnight.”

Caitlyn ignored her, highlighting the phrase ‘hydrochloric acid’ in her yellow highlighter. “What’s it to you?”

Vi shrugged. “Just curious.”

“Who was the one telling me to mind their own business yesterday?” Caitlyn muttered.

“So you admit you were out at that time,” Vi grinned.

Caitlyn didn’t reply for a moment, listening to Heimerdinger teach. She glanced at Vi. “You agreed not to mention this again.”

“Well, I changed my mind.” Vi leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms above her head. She heard Caitlyn letting out a soft sigh, still concentrating on her work.

“We aren’t supposed to be talking during class,” Caitlyn hissed.

“If you tell me what you were doing yesterday, I’ll shut up.” Vi imitated a zipping motion on her mouth. A smile tugged on her mouth when Caitlyn let out another sigh of annoyance.

“I…go on these walks at night sometimes to clear my head when I can’t sleep. I have a lot of responsibilities on the council, and my mother–I don’t know. It’s stupid.” Caitlyn mumbled, looking down at her paper.

“Hey–whatever it is, it’s not stupid, okay?” Vi looked at Caitlyn, seeing that she was worrying her lower lip. Caitlyn seemed taken aback, and their eyes met for a slight moment.

“Hastings! No talking during class!” Heimerdinger shouted. Caitlyn quickly averted her gaze, looking back at her paper and staring at the question like it was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen.

The entire class was looking back at Vi now, and she cleared her throat in embarrassment, running a hand through her hair to make it even messier.

Heimerdinger looked slightly pissed, smacking the board a few times with his ruler and looking Vi up and down. “What is the salt formed when sulfuric acid reacts with sodium carbonate?”

Caitlyn glanced at Vi, looking guilty that she hadn’t been called out by Heimerdinger too.

“Sodium sulfate.” Vi said easily. 

Heimerdinger narrowed his eyes. “That is…correct. Pay attention next time.” He huffed, turning back to the board and continuing his lesson.

“That was good.” Caitlyn whispered once a few minutes had passed. Vi didn’t say anything, just grinned at her while spinning her pen between her fingers.

“We’ll be starting our titration practice now, please take out your safety goggles…” Heimerdinger pranced around the room, humming to himself while checking on all the equipment.

Fuck. Vi had completely forgotten about Heimerdinger’s reminder to bring them yesterday. Caitlyn had already put them on, rearranging the flasks on the desk.

"Where are your goggles, young man?” Heimerdinger’s voice rang out from behind.

"Sorry, forgot to bring them.” Vi shrugged. Heimerdinger frowned. "You’re lucky that I have an extra pair today.” He handed them over and Vi said her thanks, turning back to Caitlyn while he returned to the front of the class.

"Are you ever serious?” Caitlyn said, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you not see me answer that question? Didn’t even have to pay attention.” Vi said noncommittally.

Caitlyn only scoffed lightly, but not in a condescending way. 

Heimerdinger demonstrated how to do the titration at the front of the class. Caitlyn was paying full attention while Vi was playing with the pipette, rolling it around on the table back and forth. 

"Will you stop that? It’s distracting me.” Caitlyn hissed.

"Mm.” Vi rolled it back and forth one more time before placing it back on its stand, just to annoy Caitlyn, grinning when she saw her eye roll.

Finally, Heimerdinger finished demonstrating and they were allowed to start the titration on their own. Immediately, the sounds of the clanking of glassware filled the room, and everyone hustled to pour the chemicals into the burette.

Caitlyn began setting up everything needed, washing all the equipment carefully with tap water then distilled water while Vi sat there looking at her.

"Are you going to help?”

"Nah, I prefer watching you do it.” Vi leaned back in her chair.

"Can you–” Caitlyn began, but Vi was already up, pouring the chemicals into the burette and setting up the conical flask. Caitlyn huffed but made no comment. They worked together silently until they could finally begin titrating.

Vi sat back to let Caitlyn try first. Caitlyn swirled the conical flask, slowly opening the tap of the burette and watching the liquid go down. The indicator in the conical flask suddenly flashed yellow, then orange, and Vi heard Caitlyn curse under her breath. She had overrun it.

Hearing Vi’s chuckle, Caitlyn whipped her head around, thrusting another conical flask into her hands. "You do it then,” Caitlyn glared. Vi sat up straighter in her chair, and to Caitlyn’s surprise, proceeded to do a perfect titration. Vi held up the flask, letting the light seep through the liquid, the light yellow liquid glistening. 

"How–what?” Caitlyn spluttered. Vi winked at her and had to hold back a laugh seeing Caitlyn’s expression. To add fuel to the fire, Heimerdinger came to check on them, and upon seeing the flask in Vi’s hand, took it to the front of the class and made it an example of the perfect titration.

"Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is what the perfect titration looks like! The colour is perfect, you see,” He announced, holding it up. "Anyone who gets this colour and shows it to me will not have to do the homework assigned today. Sebastian, consider yourself excused.”

Vi beamed at Heimerdinger, who returned the flask to her, Caitlyn still gaping beside her.

"I can’t believe you.” Caitlyn said, aggressively starting another titration.

“What can I say? I’m just naturally gifted.” Vi smirked. Caitlyn groaned in frustration.

By the end of the class and after multiple failed attempts by Caitlyn, she was thoroughly disgruntled. Vi heard her muttering “I’m going to get it next time” under her breath.

Heimerdinger was yelling about some group work that had to be done over the next week over the din of students chattering and packing their bags, and Vi tuned it out.

She checked her schedule, and fuck, her next class was literature. She was going to have to endure an hour of whatever teacher rambling away in her ear about things she couldn’t bother to give a shit about.

Vi followed the sign that pointed to the literature classroom when she heard a step behind her. Swiveling her head around, she did a double take when she saw Caitlyn Kiramman behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“Going to class?” Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at Vi before stalking into the literature classroom. Why did they have so many classes together? First chemistry and now literature. Fate was definitely cursing Vi.

Vi hurriedly pushed the door open behind Caitlyn, swearing under her breath when she had to sit next to her again because there was no other available seat. Grumbling to herself, she took out all her materials and settled into her chair. 

The teacher began introducing herself, going through the usual motions of having a new class. Caitlyn, per usual, was listening with rapt attention while Vi found herself drifting to thoughts about what she was going to eat after school. A burger? Nah, too much. Maybe some fries and a coke. That sounded good.

Suddenly, Vi felt Caitlyn’s gaze on her, drilling into the side of her skull. 

“What?” Vi asked, twirling her pen between her fingers.

“We’re supposed to discuss the implications of the fire escape,” Caitlyn said. Vi looked at her like she had grown two heads. 

“That sounds like gibberish.” Vi stated, watching Caitlyn grow annoyed. 

Caitlyn sighed. “It’s a symbol of escape and Tom’s desire for freedom.”

“How am I supposed to know if that’s the answer or if the author just took some interior design classes and wanted to put a fire escape at the entrance to look cool?” Vi thumbed the pages of the book, letting the pages slowly flutter shut.

“You’re supposed to do a close reading of the text.” Caitlyn snapped. “Then you could use contextual clues to deduce the answer.”

“Blah blah blah. This class is stupid.” Vi said, casually scribbling on the pages of the book. “Who even names their book ‘the glass menagerie’? And are we just going to ignore the fact that Amanda says a racial slur?”

“Oh, you actually read the book? I’m shocked.” Caitlyn muttered under her breath.

“I’m absolutely flabbergasted too.” Vi mimicked Caitlyn’s accent. “But only the first two acts. Then I got bored.” She said, continuing in her normal voice.

Caitlyn glared at Vi, and Vi ignored her, burying her face in the book on purpose. Caitlyn looked absolutely disgusted, clearly confused by what Vi was doing. 

“I’m absorbing all the information.” Vi explained, earning another eye roll. “But yeah, I can’t do this analysing shit. It’s like, meaningless to me. All the words blend together.”

Just then, the teacher asked a question, and Caitlyn immediately raised a hand, answering it perfectly and earning praise. “Good job, Kiramman.” The teacher turned back to the board, writing the word “escapism” in large letters. 

“Now can anyone tell me the significance of escapism to Laura in the book?” The teacher said, scanning her eyes around the class, her gaze finally landing on Vi who was pointedly looking down at her table and fiddling with her stationery.

“Boy with the pink hair. Hastings?” She glanced down at the namelist, Vi nodding to confirm it was her.

“Uhh…” Vi trailed off for a moment, racking her brain for the answer. How the fuck was she supposed to know this? After a few beats of awkward silence, she felt a tap on her knee. A small slip of paper slid to her, clasped between slender fingers. Vi read off the answer.

“Laura uses her glass menagerie as a form of escapism because she’s too scared of the real world?” Vi said, albeit uncertainly, but exhaled a breath when the teacher nodded in satisfaction. “Good answer.”

“Thanks. You saved my ass.” Vi glanced at Caitlyn, who looked unfazed, having taken the slip of paper back already. 

“You’re welcome,” She said curtly. “Now could you please tell me how you did that titration just now? I can’t seem to figure it out.” Caitlyn’s eyes were filled with sincerity, and just a tinge of envy.

“Sure, Cupcake. Next chem lesson.” Vi replied. She could tell that Caitlyn wanted to say something regarding the little nickname she had been given, but held her tongue, which Vi considered a win.

The rest of the lesson passed quickly, Vi scribbling random doodles on her book, Caitlyn noting things down meticulously. Everytime Caitlyn took out another one of her highlighters or pens to colour code something, Vi suppressed an eyeroll. Literature couldn’t possibly be that serious.

After class, Vi checked the bulletin board in the hallway for any updates about the basketball team, but there was nothing. Frowning, she went to eat lunch, being waved to by Jayce to sit at his table again.

Caitlyn had headed to the school’s editorial office after class – there’d been a scheduled meeting during lunch that she had to attend. She actually enjoyed the presence of some of the people in the editorial club. 

Her mother had forced her shoulder yet another responsibility of overseeing the editorial club, but after a while Caitlyn found herself enjoying the work. At first she had minimized the contact she had with the members, but after seeing how passionate they were about videography and journaling, it was contagious. The members were also really pleasant to be around, not treating her like her mother’s daughter but just Caitlyn .

They were a small group of only four people, including Caitlyn, and published the school's newspaper every two weeks. They also went to the school’s major events to take pictures and videos. Caitlyn went to most of the events too, seeing how she was head of the school council and had to show support for the school. 

“Hey Maddie,” Caitlyn greeted one of the members in passing, sitting down at the central desk for meetings. Soft light filtered through the windows, the curtains half pulled. 

“Oh! Hi!” Maddie said enthusiastically. She was a bubbly individual, always bursting with energy and joy. The other two members were sitting at their personal desks, transfixed on their screens, seemingly editing a video. 

Hearing Caitlyn’s voice, they perked up. Sky walked over, sitting at the desk too. Maddie had already made herself comfortable beside Caitlyn, rearranging some papers. Lux sprang out of her seat, twirling her blonde hair around her finger. “Caitlyn! It’s good to see you.”

“Same to all of you,” Caitlyn said warmly. These were the only people in school who weren’t terrified of her, and she was grateful for that. They weren’t exactly close friends, but they were nice, and that sufficed. 

They discussed the next major school events happening, what was going to be on the next edition of the school newspaper, and so on. Eventually they drifted into gossip, Caitlyn just listening in while they talked. She wasn’t much into gossiping, preferring to just observe and listen in.

“I heard that Jayce was fucking Viktor,” Lux whispered, eyes darting around as if anyone could even eavesdrop.

“Jayce Talis? You’re joking, he looks about as gay as a ruler. Yes, that means he’s straight, Sky.” Maddie chimed in.

Caitlyn hummed, absorbing the new information. She used to talk to Jayce when she was younger. Their mothers knew each other and they would meet at social gatherings their mother attended, forced to go. He was okay to talk to, but their interactions were minimised once his mother stopped bringing him to events. Eventually they drifted altogether.

“I mean, Viktor doesn’t exactly look straight.” Sky said. “But maybe he’s bisexual.” She continued, getting that faraway look in her eyes.

“Stop with that sappy crush, Sky. It’s so obvious.” Lux laughed, Sky flushing.

“Let’s talk about the new jock, Sebastian. What is up with his bright pink hair? Like, what went on in his mind to dye his hair that colour? His hairstyle’s also kind of wonky, if you look closely.” Maddie commented.

Caitlyn suddenly felt a wave of defensiveness wash over her. “He’s actually pretty nice.” 

“How would you know that?”

“I sit beside him in chemistry and literature.” Caitlyn frowned.

“Okay, whatever,” Maddie brushed it off, continuing to gossip about other people. 

Caitlyn thought Sebastian didn’t make a good first impression with his flirting on the first day of school, but he was actually smart . Not like other jocks with all muscle, no brain. He was teasing, but not like those people who did it so much it was exasperating. And Caitlyn hated to admit it, sitting beside him wasn’t so bad. Better than Dylan, for example.

“Caitlyn, are you okay?” Maddie’s voice jolted Caitlyn out of her train of thoughts. She felt Maddie’s hand on her arm, warm and intruding , and she quickly jerked her arm away. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Caitlyn mustered, still thrown off by the unwanted contact. Maddie held her gaze for another moment before looking away, her cheeks tinged a slight hue of red.

Clearing her throat, Caitlyn stood up and excused herself, muttering about rushing some homework for next period. No one questioned her even though she wouldn’t be caught dead doing homework last minute. She usually did it as soon as she got home and showered.

Sighing, she headed over to the shooting range to pass the rest of the break. Shooting cleared her mind of all the things she didn’t want to dwell on. It was just the sound of her steady breathing and the noises of her rifle, the familiar weight pressed in her palms.

Caitlyn lined up another shot, exhaled, and pulled the trigger. Pulling off her earmuffs, she nodded to herself in satisfaction. Another bullseye. 

“And then it literally blew up in my face! How crazy is that?” Jayce exclaimed, enthusiastically talking about his hextech crystals. 

Vi listened, mildly entertained, poking at her lunch. She mixed the sad broccoli and carrots around her plate, looking at the small green flakes slowly falling off and mixing with the carrot pieces. She’d scarfed down the bread and cheese, finally shoving all the vegetables into her mouth. Vegetables were rare back in Zaun, so Vi’d take all the nutrients she could get.

“So, I’m hosting a party at my place this Sunday, and all of y'all are invited.” Dylan waggled his eyebrows, crudely using hand gestures and imitating taking a shot. “There’ll be beer, of course. I used my dad’s credit card to order a few boxes. Oh, and take caution when drinking the punch. It has special ingredients, if you know what I mean.”

The rest of the table hooted with joy, clapping Dylan on the back. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Jayce said, turning to Vi. “Sebastian, are you going?”

Vi considered it for a moment, before shrugging. “Sure.” If she was going through with this basketball thing, she needed friends to get her through the year. And who was she to turn down free alcohol?

“Alright!” Dylan said. “There’ll be a bunch of hot chicks there, you won’t be disappointed.”

“Also, could I bring Viktor if he wants to go?” Jayce asked.

Dylan made a face, but nodded. “Sure. Bring him if you want.”

Just then, the bell rang, and all the guys parted to go to their respective classes. It was math for Vi and Jayce, so they headed to class together. 

The day passed quickly, Vi thankfully not getting detention with Jayce again after math lesson. Viktor had saved their asses by giving them the answer to a question they were stuck on.

They’d agreed to go to the gym after school, both spotting the other. Vi had to admit, having a gym buddy made her workouts much more efficient. It was more motivating as well, with Jayce hyping her up to hit her PRs. 

Vi was unloading her plates after a particularly tiring bench press, worn out after so many reps, sweat trickling down her shirt. Usually she would wear a tank top, but, well, she couldn’t show her tits. So she stuck to an oversized shirt. 

Vi hesitated, wanting to ask Jayce a question, but not wanting to offend him. Whatever.

“Hey, Jayce?” Vi said, treading carefully.

“Mm?” Jayce mumbled.

“Why do you hang out with those guys? I mean, sure, you’re all jocks, but just look at the way Dylan talked about Viktor. You said yourself that he’s kind of an asshole.” Vi started, observing Jayce carefully for his reaction.

Luckily, he didn’t seem phased. Jayce loaded up a 20 kilo plate onto the  bar, prepping for squats, answering almost like he’d said this before. “They’re not exactly ideal, but they’re good company. They invite me to parties, we talk about random things, and everyone’s happy. It’s high school, if I didn’t have them, I would basically be an outcast.”

Vi considered his answer. “Yeah, that makes sense. But if I were you, I’d be careful around them. You’re cool though.”

Jayce smiled at her, looking sincere. “Thanks for looking out for me, man.” 

“Anytime, bro.” Vi added the “bro” at the end after a moment of thought, slightly cringing when it came out of her mouth, but Jayce seemed satisfied with her answer.

“Spot me?” Jayce asked, already under the bar for the squat.

“Yeah,” Vi answered, getting into position behind him.

Caitlyn was hunched over her desk, frowning as she glared at the chemistry question. Somehow, she just couldn’t get it. It was so stupid. The question stared back at her, mocking her. 

Calculate the maximum mass of copper(II) nitrate produced in the reaction. 

Caitlyn groaned, putting her pen down. There was no way she was getting this on her own. She’d already underlined all the key information in the question, stared at it for twenty minutes but to no avail. How did Sebastian get this so easily?

Sebastian. She’d forgotten about him. She could ask him, right? Caitlyn suddenly remembered that she’d given her number to him, so the only way she could contact him is if he texted first, and he hadn’t.

Caitlyn glanced at the clock. It was 11:32PM. What were the chances that he was at the showers again at this time? Last time it had been around midnight when she saw him. She glanced down at her worksheet again, and made up her mind.

Caitlyn was right. Sebastian was at the showers again at this hour. 

“You’re too predictable.” Caitlyn said, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall, a respectable distance away from him.

Sebastian froze like a deer caught in headlights, towel slung around his shoulder and hair wet and ruffled. Luckily, he had clothes on this time. “Are you stalking me?”

Caitlyn snorted, mock offended. “Why would I stalk you?”

“I dunno. But really? At the showers? If you want to see a sneak peak, just say it. I won’t judge.” Sebastian smirked that smirk that made Caitlyn want to strangle him.

Caitlyn exhaled through her nose, steeling herself not to be riled up. That was exactly what Sebastian wanted. 

“Can I have your number?” It was only when the words were out of her mouth when Caitlyn realised how it sounded.

Sebastian’s smirk grew even wider. “Sure, I guess. You’ve wanted it all this time? I’m too irresistible.”

Caitlyn spluttered, choking on her own saliva. Sebastian’s smirk turned to an expression of concern, watching her pound at her own chest. “I’m fine,” She finally got out. Her cheeks burned. 

“I needed to ask you how to do a stoichiometry question, that’s all.” Caitlyn said firmly. “And for the group project Heimerdinger assigned.”

“Oh shit, there was a group project? I didn’t even know.” Sebastian said, not looking bothered at all, continuing to dry his hair, water droplets flying everywhere. Caitlyn didn’t appreciate being splashed by the water, but held her tongue.

“Your number, please.” Caitlyn took her phone out, already in the page where you added a new contact.

“Someone’s eager.” Sebastian took the phone and typed in his number, handing it back once he was done.

“Do you ever shut up?” Caitlyn muttered, stuffing her phone back into her pocket.

“Not around pretty girls,” He winked. 

Caitlyn flushed again. “You’re shameless.” She couldn’t believe a guy was teasing her like this. Though there was something different about him she couldn’t place. A gut feeling. She pushed that feeling away. 

“Thank you.” Caitlyn said, turning back to walk to her dorm. She made it a few steps before hearing Sebastian’s called out reply.

“You’re welcome, Cupcake!”

Caitlyn groaned internally, quickening her pace. Unbelievable.

Chapter Text

Vi grinned as Jayce smacked her on the back. 

“Good job, man!” Jayce sounded genuinely happy. 

Staring at the sheet of paper behind the bulletin board, Vi grinned even wider. She’d made it to the basketball team. She was even at the top of the list, which was a win in her books. It meant she was a starting player, along with Jayce and three others.

She couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear even as she walked into chemistry class. 

Caitlyn squinted suspiciously at Vi as she pulled out the chair behind her. “What’s gotten into you?” 

Vi turned to her, still beaming. “Made it to the basketball team.”

The corners of Caitlyn’s mouth turned up. “That’s great!”

“Thanks,” Vi said, and she meant it. Subconsciously, she let out a breath. Making it to the team meant that the reason she came to Piltover high in the first place was fulfilled.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Vi carefully scooped it up, glancing up at Heimerdinger to make sure he was distracted.

He was reprimanding a blonde student. “Young lady, this is unacceptable! Please revise more –” 

Vi had heard enough. She switched her phone on, seeing that she had been added to the ‘pilt high basketballers 2025’ group chat. Pressing the button to switch on silent mode, she scrolled through the chat.

Unknown number: lets welcome sebastian to the team! this is jayce btw

Unknown number: heard you did good during tryouts

Unknown number: isnt it class time now

Unknown number: jayce stop texting under the table i can see you from here

Vi suppressed a laugh, quickly sending a simple “hi guys” before stowing her phone back into her pocket. She made a mental note to save everyone’s numbers later.

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at her, but didn’t comment further. Vi half expected her to sternly tell her to put the phone away.

“I thought you would’ve scolded me for using my phone,” Vi said.

“Do I really look like the type of person who would do that?” Caitlyn looked offended, taking her eyes off the board to shoot a glare at Vi.

“No offense, but yeah.” Vi said shamelessly. “Considering your reputation, I thought you would have marched my phone straight to Heimerdinger yourself.”

Caitlyn furrowed her eyebrows. Vi could’ve sworn she saw – what was that – a flash of hurt? in Caitlyn’s eyes, but it passed so quickly she brushed it off as a trick of the light. 

Caitlyn turned away wordlessly, her face composed into that scarily stoic expression again. Vi shook off the twinge of guilt she felt. Why was she even experiencing that? She felt like she had said or did something wrong, but had no idea what.

For the rest of the lesson, Vi had actually paid attention to what was on the board for once; she felt too uneasy to talk to Caitlyn. Caitlyn seemed perfectly fine in silence, meticulously recording down everything Heimerdinger said like usual.

Vi hated this awkwardness. Usually (if it could even be considered usually?) they wound quip at each other at least a few times, but today it was eerily silent. Not a single peep from Caitlyn.

Whatever. If Caitlyn had a problem with her, she could bring it to Vi herself. She shouldn’t dwell on this too much, Vi chastised herself.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Caitlyn let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, feeling the heat of the rifle slowly seep into her palms. She holstered the gun, setting it back into the cabinet.

Ever since Sebastian had made that comment in chemistry, she hadn’t been able to focus all day. Usually, she’d let comments about her just slide off. She was like a brick wall, never allowing anyone to see into her. But today, her mask slipped. Her protective gear.

Caitlyn didn’t have a plausible explanation to why she was feeling this way. Over the years, there had been countless snide remarks made towards her, she had been the victim of being teased, mocked, and made a fool of. But one single offhand comment from Sebastian had made her feel like shit the whole day? That was new . And Caitlyn hated the unknown.

She’d gone to the shooting range during lunch to clear her head, but it clearly hadn’t worked. Caitlyn thought about her reputation. Sure, she was known as being an “ice princess”, but that had actually worked out for her since less and less people had approached her to strike up a conversation. She had no interest in what they had to say anyways. She was independent, and always had been.

But the way Sebastian – stop , Caitlyn scolded herself. She needed to just stop thinking. Shut her brain off.

It was unfortunate that she bumped straight into someone as she was hastening towards her next class, trying to physically shake off her thoughts.

The person – Maddie, Caitlyn realised – quickly squatted down to pick up her books strewn all over the floor. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see where I was looking and – Caitlyn?” Maddie sputtered.

Caitlyn realised she had just been staring at Maddie, not saying a single word. Quickly, she bent to help pick up her fallen books, thrusting it into Maddie’s arms. This was the last social interaction she needed right now.

“Oh! So sorry,” Caitlyn managed to get out.

Maddie looked up, peering at Caitlyn closely. Caitlyn shifted uncomfortably.

“You okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

Caitlyn squashed the urge to say that's because I bumped into you. Instead, like a civilized individual, she smiled tightly. “I’m fine, just skipped lunch, that’s all.” Which wasn’t a lie.

Maddie opened her mouth again. “Hey, do you wanna come to this party with me on Sunday? Dylan's house. Basically everyone is invited.”

“Dylan?”

“The one in Jayce’s group, yeah.” 

Caitlyn paused. “I’ll think about it.” The only name that rang out in her head was Sebastian. It was going to be incredibly awkward.

“Thanks,” Maddie beamed, brushing past Caitlyn with more contact than necessary. Caitlyn shivered involuntarily.

The rest of the school day passed without much hitch. Vi’s lunch table buzzed with excitement for the upcoming party on Sunday, and she let herself be excited with the idea of drinking vodka fruit punch till she was blacked out. 

Dylan was loaded . His dad was some really important person in the government or so Vi heard. His house was basically the designated “hangout spot” for the friend group, considering he had a big yard with a BBQ pit, a large pool, and endless bedrooms for people to sleep off the alcohol in.

Vi had obviously not acquainted with this sort of wealth before, and she was actually kind of eager to make use of all the amenities in the pool. But sadly, she probably couldn’t swim in fear of exposing her identity. Even jumping in the pool with clothes on would make her shirt painfully transparent, fully exposing the bra she wore inside.

The group was animatedly discussing who they should invite to the party. Dylan was listing down all the conventionally attractive girls that he already invited. Jayce casually asked what selection of alcohol there would be, though Vi thought he looked like he couldn’t handle his alcohol.

“So, Sebastian…are you a lightweight?” Dylan grinned, leaning forward.

Vi thought about it. She hadn’t exactly drank that much, just experimented with a few shots in her childhood bedroom with some old friends when she was 16. One of her friends had stolen the bottle of vodka from the beat-down convenience store on the outskirts of the city. Vi didn’t enjoy the taste of it, but she definitely liked the feeling of being a little woozy after a few.

She shrugged. “I haven’t really tried drinking a lot. Yet. We’ll see at the party.”

Turns out, Vi wasn’t a fan of the fruit punch they served. It was a watered down solution of hand sanitizer tasting crap. She cracked open a bottle of beer from the fridge instead, nursing her drink while observing her surroundings. She hoped the plant she discreetly poured the drink into didn't wither or disintegrate.

Jayce had driven Viktor and her to the party in his red mustang. They were together at first, but after an hour, they had mysteriously disappeared, and Vi didn't need to wonder why. She made sure not to open any bedroom doors.

So that was why she was alone, nursing a drink. The party was pretty decent. Somehow, Dylan's house had a disco ball, the lighting reflecting off of it onto the floor in hundreds of tiny colourful squares. There was bass boosted music playing, with drunk people grinding against each other and enjoying the music. 

Just then, Dylan entered the picture. He swaggered in, clutching a cup of his own disgusting concoction and taking a glug out of it. He made a beeline towards Vi.

“Sebastian! How's the party so far?” Dylan slurred.

“Great,” Vi said, sipping her beer. “This beer you have is pretty good.”

“Beer?” Dylan wrinkled his nose. “There ain't any beer in this house other than in the basement.”

“I found it in the fridge,” Vi explained. “Thought it was there for the party.”

Dylan shrugged. “Beats me.”

He sauntered off, disappearing into the crowd. Huh .

Vi tipped the rest of the beer into her mouth, tossing the can into the bin. She went into the dance floor, planning to enjoy herself. She lost herself in the music, bobbing her head to it and swaying her body to the beat. Too bad she couldn't get laid. The fact that she didn't have a you-know-what was probably very jarring and didn't sit well with many girls.

After a while of aimless dancing, Vi needed a breath of fresh air. She was hot and sweaty from all the bodies pressed around her, and her head was starting to pound from the bass music. She quickly pushed her away out of the rowdy crowd and stepped out into the lawn.

The fresh air was nice. Mostly. Vi thought she caught a whiff of cigarette smoke floating around somewhere. The night air made the hairs on her arm stand up. Random people were passed out on the lawn chairs and on the lawn itself. Crickets chirped in the trees. And - what was that? A faint splashing noise caught Vi’s attention.

Vi thought it was just someone swimming around in the pool and chilling, but she was very, very wrong. A girl was in the pool, sinking fast . Her arms flailed out in the air weakly, struggling against the water, only making faint splashing sounds. 

Without thinking, Vi rushed towards the edge of the pool, instantly laying down on her stomach. She stretched out her hand, which luckily she was in arm’s reach of the girl, grabbed her arm and pulled hard .

With some effort, the girl finally got pulled up onto the tiles. She wasn't moving

Fuck. Vi quickly sat her up, pounding on back, helping her cough all the water out. She must have tuned out the sounds of the party. All she could hear was a shrill ringing in her ears.

Please be okay , she thought.

After a few bated breaths, the girl finally took a shuddering breath. Vi heaved a sigh of relief, finally taking a closer look at the girl.

Caitlyn Kiramman? What the hell?

“Sebastian?” Caitlyn slurred. “Is that you?” Her voice was still hoarse from the water.

Vi froze. After a pause, she said, “Yes, it's him. That's me.” Stupid. Vi couldn't even say a few words properly. She cleared her throat.

Vi moved her hand up and down on Caitlyn's back, helping to sooth her and make sure all the water was out of her lungs.

“Why are you stroking me?” Caitlyn suddenly said, albeit sluggishly.

Vi’s face flushed beet red. She jerked her hand away as if stung. 

“Why are you here? You could've drowned, Kiramman! What if I wasn't here?” Vi scolded. She felt like she was reprimanding a toddler.

When Vi heard no reply, she looked down.

Sleeping. Caitlyn was sleeping . Just after almost losing her goddamn life. Vi could have laughed at the absurdity of this situation. 

Caitlyn's head lolled in Vi’s lap, letting out a light snore.

Well, at least she seems to be fine now.

Looking around, Vi tried to figure out what her next step should be. She couldn't drive her back to the dorm as she didn't even have a car, and not to mention Vi herself was tipsy. So those were definitely not safe.

“Hey, is that girl okay?” A random voice called out, scaring Vi out of her wits. A drunk male student had gotten up, having witnessed the whole thing. He swayed where he was standing, a few meters away from them.

“I probably shouldn't go near the pool, right?” The guy said wisely. “Yeah,” He giggled at himself. “Don't wanna end up…like her…”

Vi just nodded uncertainly. He collapsed back onto the lawn with a sigh and she turned her attention back to Caitlyn. Why was she even at the party? She didn't seem like that type of girl, but Vi probably shouldn't make assumptions. 

Jayce. Viktor. Vi needed to find them. Jayce could drive them back to the dorms. She staggered up, carrying Caitlyn bridal style, walking towards the house.

Luckily she met them just as she was about to step in. 

“Hey guys, I think we should go back. Fucking hell, Caitlyn almost drowned just now and it's getting late.” Vi said urgently. “Did you guys drink? Can one of you drive us home?”

Jayce and Viktor looked like they had just tussled. Jayce’s collar was tucked out like a vampire, and there was a fresh red welt on his neck. He didn't even bother to hide it. Viktor’s hair was tousled, face slightly flushed.

“I'll drive,” Viktor offered.

“Thanks.” Vi said tightly.

Vi put Caitlyn in the backseat. At first she wanted Caitlyn to sit up in the seat but after she flopped down a few times and even banged her head on the window once, Vi changed her mind. Instead, she lay Caitlyn down on her back, her head in Vi’s lap. It was the easiest position she could be in while feeling comfortable.

During the drive back home, Vi’s mind was a mess. She briefly explained the situation to the couple in front before staying silent the rest of the ride. How did Caitlyn even get caught in the pool if she couldn't swim? Vi hated to admit it, but she genuinely had felt terrified that Caitlyn had almost lost her life.

Caitlyn snored in her lap, looking as peaceful as ever. Vi took this rare opportunity to gaze at her in her full entirety. Her hair, still wet, was plastered on the side of her face. Vi gently brushed them out of her eyes, tucking them behind her ears. Even after a near death situation, Caitlyn was still somehow breathtaking. Just now, Caitlyn had felt shockingly light in her arms. Too light. But that was something to think about for another day. Vi stored this thought at the back of her brain. For now, all she needed to do was get Caitlyn home safely. 

After Viktor parked the car, Vi brought Caitlyn back to the dorm and bid goodbye to Jayce and Viktor, but not before seeing Jayce peck Viktor on the cheek. She couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Shit. Vi didn’t even know which dorm Caitlyn was staying in. She hadn't planned this far yet. She dug in Caitlyn's pockets, feeling something cold and hard. 

Room 78 , the key read, well faded but still distinguishable. 

Vi set Caitlyn down on the floor next to the door, whipping out the keys and turning the lock. Carrying Caitlyn again, she kicked off her shoes and stepped into the dorm, looking for the bed. The study light on her desk was still on, piles of worksheets and textbooks all nearly organised on the table. Typical.

She set Caitlyn down on her bed, looking around. The place was not very homely, the only personal thing that wasn't clothes or work being a picture hung up on the wall. Vi went for a closer look. In the picture was a young Caitlyn with a gold medal hung around her neck, grinning widely while holding a rifle almost the same size as her. Vi let out a chuckle under her breath. She'd probably ask Caitlyn about that some other time.

Suddenly she remembered what had happened the other day. Caitlyn had ignored her that day, and was avoiding (Vi wasn't actually sure) her. The thought left a sour taste in her mouth.

Sighing, Vi stood up, took a last glance at Caitlyn’s sleeping form, and softly closed the door.