Dark Whispers in the Summer
"Summer vacation means enjoying the sun with friends, unwinding from the stress that school brought you, and getting that sweet part-time job at the mall. Quinn ignites a flame with the Noxian boy Talon in a different way than she is used to, Lux tries to get her head around the enigma that is the new boy in the city, and Ekko manipulates time itself to get to the girl he wants. Chaos, love, and the supernatural follow these teens and they just want to relax and make a few bucks."
Chapter One: Sunflowers and Skeletons
Los Valoran is the biggest city in Runeterra with the population of over a million. It has everything any person could ever dream of: theme parks, national landmarks, a bustling nightlife, and the biggest shopping mall in the entire country. It was in the middle of all capital cities, making it the easiest to visit. Tourists and civilians alike came to and from the large city and even more so since all schools were out for summer vacation. Teens in the suburban areas always enjoyed this time since the mall was always looking for new part-time employees. From the gated-northwestern community to the crime-ridden parts of Los Valoran, all teens applied to work at the mall.
With all the attractions and activities in their city, it could be pretty expensive to have fun in the summer.
One of those teens was the young Luxanna Crownguard. The smartest girl in her high school, Demacia Capital. Even she needed to make a few dollars to enjoy her time off. At least that is what her father told her. The blonde's original summer plan was to stay home and study for her next year of school. She had a lot to memorize for those tests she knew would eventually have. However, her dad locked up all her books so she could keep her nose out of them.
But Lux found the perfect summer job...
Lux stepped out of Noble Books, a very popular bookstore, with her resume and portfolio in her hands. Her forehead was covered in sweat but she was relieved she got the job as a cashier for the bookstore. She remembered the manager giggling at her uneasiness. The young blonde was the only teen to arrive on time or even at all. So, she got the job on the spot. She gazed around at all the stores, looking for one that sold clothes— which wasn't hard to find in a mall this huge. Her future manager told her that she was allowed to wear whatever she wanted as long as it covered her modestly. Lux was used to that.
The young blonde slowly looked around while searching for any store to browse in.
"Something…" Lux looked down at her white sundress, "Bright sounds nice. Something that says: I-Know-Where-That-Book-Is." She looked into every window, spotting different types clothing in each one. A pants suit? No, too formal. Shorts and a tank top? No, too revealing. A knee-length dress with sunflower print? Perfect! Lux happily walked into the small shop of dresses and other Sunday-school-esq clothing. The older woman at the only cash register greeted her sweetly while resuming counting cash. The blonde kept her bright-blue eyes on the dress near the window, her smile growing rapidly. Her soft hands felt the soft fabric and admired the stitching. It would be perfect to wear around a bookstore.
"This is so cute!" She said lowly to herself. Her eyes looked over to the price tag, "And affordable! Don't find that very often—"
Suddenly, her eyes picked up something at the window in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized the boy her age looking down at the mall's map in his hands. He looked confused at first but recognized where he was. Lux knew him. His name was Kayn and he went to her high school briefly. He transferred there from Ionia near the end of the year so no one really got to know him. But Lux has an unusual interest in him. She had a literature class with him, she sat behind him, and even noticed when he was absent. However, she only talked him once.
Yet, she remembered every single detail. Kayn turned around to to ask her what the time was. He was wearing his jacket with different iron-on patches and he had a metal band's shirt underneath. Kayn was chewing on cinnamon gum and she remembers smelling it. The classroom's clock was broken and no one was allowed to check their phones. Lux knew it was 2:30, forty-five minutes until the school day was over. He thanked her with a toothy grin before turning back around.
She cherished that brief moment absurdly.
Kayn was mysterious as an unopened book— and Lux desperately wanted to take a look at his pages. Maybe it was his long, braided black and blue hair. Maybe it was his tall and strong stature. Maybe it was the way he carried himself. Lux had to admit he was a very handsome young man and he did give off super-cool-vibes. She suspected at one point that she probably had the tiniest crush on him but…
"I should... talk to him," she whispered to herself. Setting down the dress when Kayn began to walk forward, Lux followed him. She didn't know what came over her but all she knew was that her feet trailed behind his. He constantly looked down at the paper in his hands, looked around, and then walked faster. Lux felt people bump into her shoulders as she tried to keep up with the teenage boy in front of her.
Lux swore she saw his blue eye spot her when her turned to the left. Her heart pounded as she followed him down the escalator. Her hand trembled as she grabbed the rubber, moving railing. The blonde's other hand clutched her purse strap out of nervousness. Kayn checked his phone for the time. It was 3:28. It was late in the afternoon so she suspected he was here for an interview. But where?
She recognized where she was going. The escalator went down the ground level where all the weird shops were. Lux never really shopped around here but she did remember having to walk here with her friend at least once. Kayn suddenly took a sharp right into a stairway. The blonde took a moment before she followed him. It was a thin door that resembled a broom closet. How anyone would notice it, or even want to walk into it, was beyond her.
The basement level is where the even odder shops were at. She had never been there but she took a step down the stairs. The pop music above ground began to fade as she stepped further down. It was replaced with an odd metal music in a different language she would never listen to herself. Her light-blue eyes jolted around her surroundings. There were shops offering stones that helped with balance, fortune, and love. Another shop had old video-cassettes for sale— outdated but still selling well she assumed. Everyone around her was dressed in black while she carefully walked around in her white sundress. Yet, no one seemed to notice her.
Just then her eye caught Kayn's long braid entering a old-looking shop. The sign above the door read: Los Valoran's Little Shop of Horrors. The front of the shop had elegant dark glass, their veil keeping the mysteries inside. Lux would be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit curious. She slowly approached the store, noticing the door was shaped like the outside of a coffin. The blonde felt herself sweat. The short heels she wore on her feet clicked on the old wooden floors.
"Oh, goodness." Lux said to herself as she walked into the store. It was a lot quieter in here than outside. It was playing a light classical music but it felt unnerving with the numerous creepy knick knacks staring at Lux. There were skulls in vases, a porcelain doll in a box locked with a chain, and a giant scythe in the back of the store. She tore her light-blue eyes from the weapon and saw Kayn talking to a very tall, very skinny man near the cash register. Kayn was too concentrated on talking to him to notice Lux staring at him. The man handed the teen some papers while Kayn nodded, jotting down words on them.
Lux swore she felt something staring back at her. She turned around and saw the scythe again. Her ears began to ring when she looked at it. Her finger picked at her earrings as she slowly approached it, her heels creaking the wooden floors. Her skin crawled as she felt drawn to the weapon in the huge glass case almost forcefully. It was a deep red like dried blood and it had a closed eye sculpted at the top of the blade. Her finger grazed across the cold glass, feeling an odd sense of evil resonating from the scythe. She stopped and noticed a sign underneath it's encasement.
"Not for sale. Absolutely do not open."
"Weird thing to have in a shop right?" A voice said behind her, making her gasp. Lux turned as saw Kayn grinning at her. Her stomach flipped into her throat as he stepped forward to look at the weapon. The teen's finger tapped on the glass, shrugging when nothing happened. His deep blue eyes admired the craftsmanship before he looked back at the blonde. "Why have it if you're not going to sell it, right?"
Her mouth felt dry and her mind frantically searched for something to say to him. The blonde was drawing blanks. Lux's lips were moving, letting out a few non-English words. Kayn brow raised. Think, Lux! You're in a store that sells weird things. Maybe it's not weird to have a giant freaking weapon with an eye! Say something— you're just staring at him!
"Uh, maybe it's to get people to come inside? Draw people in with something they want to see and maybe they will leave after buying something?" Lux said after her subconscious screamed at her. Kayn slowly nodded and turned back to the scythe.
"Marketing… seems plausible." He replied. Kayn kept his eye on the red-faced girl beside him. He grinned at her nervousness. "We go to the same school, don't we? I recognize you."
"Oh, yes. I sat behind you during seventh period." Crap, crap, crap.
"That's right… I also saw you somewhere else," The teen faked tapping his chin as he thought, "Oh, and I saw you following me here."
"I— I wasn't… I mean…" Lux panicked. CRAP, CRAP, CRAP. "Well, I sort of was but not really. I saw you and I— I wanted to talk to you… but I didn't think you'd want to talk to me."
"Huh?" His brow raised in confusion, "Why would you think that? I mean, yeah, I was on my way to an interview but I was hired while you were looking around. Guess no one really wants to work in a shop that sell supposedly cursed objects." Kayn trailed off, "But I would have talked to you."
"Oh, well…" Lux mumbled. Kayn saw her struggling to look for more words. He felt bad for her. Maybe she wasn't used to talking to new people? The teen had to start over. Kayn stepped back, turned in a circle, and stuck out his hand.
"Oh, hello there, new person I just met at this very moment. My name is Kayn. What's yours?" Lux looked down at his hand, confused. His blue eyes gestured to her hand and then to his.
"Lux," she replied after finally understanding. The blonde grasped his hand, lightly shaking it. She noticed how soft his hand was and she worried that he could feel her sweating. Her pink lips smiled, "Nice to meet you. I saw you at school a few times. Did we have a class together?"
"Literature, I think." He grinned back at her, their hands still locked around the other's. "Nice to meet you too, Lux." He took his hand back, "I got to let my new boss know what days I can work. We can talk more if you want."
Kayn ripped the tip of his map off and pulled a pen from his jacket pocket. He scribbled something on it, folded it in half, and placed it in her slightly sweaty palm. He gave her the same toothy grin from school that made her heart skip before he walked off. His blue eyes were locked on the blonde as he made his way to the back room where his manager was. Kayn gave her a single wink as he disappeared.
Lux's jaw dropped as she looked at the folded paper in her hand. Her finger unfolded it and saw a phone number and a tiny heart next to the words: text me later. The blonde girl's heart was pounding inside her rib cage. She hurried out of the Little Shop of Horrors and pulled her phone out of her purse to text her friend, Quinn.
To: Quinn
Quinn! You Won't Believe What Just Happened Right Now!
She saw her friend's picture pop us as she typed her reply.
From: Quinn
What? Did you get that limited-edition caramel frappe
To: Quinn
I Talked To Kayn!
From: Quinn
Oh... I talked to someone too... I need to see you in person.
It was Talon.
Notes: Hello! Thanks for reading my new AU! Thank you people that voted in the poll about a month ago. I hope you all keep reading for what's going to happen to our favorite teens (and two favorite cops). Yes, I know Kayn and Lux is a weird pairing but... don't you agree they'd look super cute together? Dark, edgy Kayn and cute, bubbly Lux? Perfect.
See you next chapter!