Author's Notes: Alright. I'm doing to be going with the more conventional style of uploading chapters as a finish them. Before I was finishing and editing entire stories before uploading anything but now I don't really have to time to do that. Because of this there is no schedule for updates.
I wrote this because I wanted to expand on the setting I've built and give it more scope. The Freljord Incident was written with this goal as well and I feel like it turned out very well. (Also that is the squeal to Spark, some people don't know this so I'm repeating it here. If you liked Sparks go read that.) Because this is an Expansion I would recommend reading Sparks if you haven't already as that fic establishes characters and events I'm going to use.
Secondly to expansion this story is an experiment. I want to see if I'm a talented enough writer to take character with a very distinct personally but limited depth and give him depth. I also want to see if I can make said character more like a human then a movie star. I'm referring to Jayce. If seeing Jayce in the tag didn't deter you then I'm assuming you don't really mind him.
I want to improve my writing further so any constructive criticism and comments are welcome. Keep in mind the dates I have at the beginning of scenes, these are important. I'm very excited to see how this does. For you romance buffs this WILL have content for you but I like to put plot first; as always. Enjoy and if you have any questions shoot me a PM.
A Face is just a face.
In no way is it indicative to a person.
A face can be shaped by the wearer at will.
Changed at will, as it were clothing.
If someone is truly in pain, you will never see it on their face.
The face only shows what they wish you to see.
~Celene.
Chapter 1
Keeping Up Appearances
8.8.23CLE
The speech leaked under the cheap door of his dressing room, mixing with the dull buzz of star-rods and his own breathing. He blinked, painstakingly pulling the electric razor across his face to prime his signature five-o-clock shadow. With a scowl he stiffened his blocky jaw and ran the blade slowly downward. He growled as the bulbs lining his gilded mirror glanced there artificial light off the blade and into his eyes.
He jumped as knuckles slapped against the door. The cheap hinges rattled. The razor slipped from his hand onto the counter in front of him with a clatter though he withdraw fast enough to avoid being cut. He swore. "Fuck."
"Jayce!" Jayce remained silent, almost hoping he would go away and take the stress with him. A pause, then another knock. Jayce decided not to dwell on what he could be thinking. He was clearly in the room. He filed him as a dumbass in the back of his mind and sighed. Publicity awaits.
"Yeah?" he called back.
He could practically see the weasel like grin worming its way onto the theater director's face. He was a short stocky man with a lust for money; and women to a lesser extent. Jayce could understand why someone could easily get controlled by both. He shook his head. The man made a sound, a sound that Jayce had never heard anyone else make. It was a cross between a laugh and squeal of excitement. "You're on in ten minutes big guy, you should get out here." he said then with annoying whistle he turned on his heel and walked off towards the ballroom.
Jayce frowned, turning back to his mirror. Spotting his reflection his frown deepened. Hurriedly he examined his face, spotting no imperfections in his shave he flicked his eyes up to his hair. Opening his mouth he extended his tongue, planting his index finger on it for a brief second. He reached up and pinched the length of hair above his forehead. With a twirl of his finger he tightened his grip on it before pulling. It sprung into a curl.
Blinking his People face sprung forth, a confident smirk with a perking of his eyebrows looked back at him from the mirror. He held the expression. Yep, that's Jayce alright. He thought. With some effort he intensified the expression. Kill me. It fell from his face to be replaced by the dullness he preferred; but the camera's never liked that.
Jayce exited his dressing room backward. "Oh, oh! Oh! Jayce." Cameras...he stared at his door for a brief moment, extending the time he could spend without his face on. "Mr. Jayce!" The voice belonged to a child. He pondered. "Mr. Jayce!" the child called again. He made sure to put the proper face on before turning around. The child couldn't be more than six, he lit up; giving Jayce a good view of the two front teeth he was missing. His eyes flicked to the small action figure in the child's hand and in that moment he felt a seething hatred for his project director. Pushing the rage at being forever cemented as the Defender of Tomorrow away he grinned.
"What's your name?"
The kid suddenly stepped backward, his father's head landing on his head. A pudgy man Jayce recognized as the theater janitor. Jayce almost let the expression slip from his face. His eyes flicked to the exit door that led out into the alley behind the theater; propped ajar by a yellow mop bucket. A prick of guilt stuck him in the chest. Ignoring it returned his eyes to his young fan. The kid suddenly looked very shy. "His names James." this child's father spoke up.
Jayce knelt down to eye level. "What can I do for you James?" he asked as heroically as he could while remaining at the proper volume to not alert the theater director whom couldn't be far. Jayce had personally requested much to the distaste of his manager that there be no backstage passes.
"W-well uh. Mr. Jayce I saw you on TV with your transforming hammer. I just wanted a picture." he forced a shy smile. "I've been taking stuff apart sense before I could walk around. I don't know, I just want to be like you and invent something cool one day." Jayce frowned for a millisecond. His eyes flicked up to the boy's father whom clutched an old fashion film camera in his fingers. The raising of a bushy eyebrow signified that he'd seen it. Jayce held the eye contact for a moment before smiling at his son.
"Go ahead, only one picture though, that's the rule." James grinned. Moving from between his father's legs so that he was next to Jayce.
"Say future." Jayce almost snorted but contained it.
"Future." James said brightly. Jayce opted to simply smile.
Click.
"Sir!" the weaselly theater director was trotting toward them arms swinging wildly to keep balance as if attracted by the click of the camera. "Si- Charlie?" he recognized the boy's father as an employee. Blinking his eyes snapped to the door that was propped ajar. Charlie held his bosses eye contact. Opening his mouth to say something.
"Don't worry about it." Jayce spoke up. Reaching over the kids head he pulled the photograph from the slot on the camera's front and handed it to James before ruffling his hair. "I need to hurry but if you stick around until after the raffle I can sign that for you." Jayce met the director's eyes, the message was clear. He glared.
"You're the best!" James called as Jayce got to his feet and turned on his heel. The second he was facing away from them his face slackened. He decided not to say anything, swallowing the knot that was forming in his throat as he walked off.
The journey to the ballroom from his dressing room was only a short stroll. It was deserted as the staff were all at their stations. He blinked. It he couldn't put his finger on exactly when it had developed. Jayce was something he invented on the spot because he was scared of the cameras. He had never wanted it to explode so hugely; he just wanted to look cool in his fifteen seconds of fame. In all honesty Jayce found himself tiring of it quickly and it has progressed to the point where he may even hate it. He turned the thought over in his head before scowling.
He paused at the rear door to the ball room. Running his hand over his face he noted that he was developing a headache. He straightened his collar and puffed out his chest. Strapping a huge smile to his face she placed his hands on the double doors and pushed them both open forcefully. The effect was perfect as they swung wide into the room.
- - - 4.5.20CLE
The crash subsided to quickly be overtaken by the blaring of the fire alarm. Everything hurt. The room was black with clots of billowing smoke. Jayce blinked. His mind spent a moment pondering why he was suddenly on his back and how he had gotten there. The desk in front of him had warped inward as if struck by a meteorite. Jayce inhaled only for the breath to spill from his lungs again as a cough.
He shot bolt upright. A foreign sound came from beneath the cheap metal desk. Something was clattering, vibrating against the leg of the desk with an obnoxious rattle. Jayce felt his jaw drop. "Oh my god..." He fanned the smoke from his face and leaned forward. Crawling several paces on all fours he spotted it. One of the crystals jittered against the floor like an excited dog. It was glowing a dim blue; dimming farther the longer he looked until after a moment it stilled and returned to the milky glass form he had been experimenting on for the last week.
His tests had yielded nothing until now. Crystals said to have once been used as a great power source responded to nothing. They were rocks or so he had begun to think. He reached to grab the crystal.
Instantly he regretted it as the small object burned into his palm. With a yelp he shot upright only for his head to collide with the desk. The desk flipped. The shattering of glass beakers filled his ears. Jayce coughed again, gripping his scalp staggered to his feet. The tap of fast approaching footsteps caught his attention and before Jayce could react the door flung open. It struck the wall with a crash. Before him stood Samantha a team member on the crystal project and a friend sense school.
He brown hair framed a driven expression as she stood with her pink slippered foot extended through the doorway. His expression dropped off. "MY LAB!" her brown eyes flashed as she spotted Jayce. The fire extinguisher in her hand came up. Before Jayce could process what was happening his hair was blasted back as she angrily covered him in fire retardant foam. "How did you manage this with nothing but basic chemistry and a rock you dipshit!?" Jayce shielded his face with his hands as she gave him another blast from the fire extinguisher before running past him into the lab only to find there was no fire.
Coughing Jayce waddled after her towards the window. After a moment of suffocating fiddling the latch and the brushing aside of a distressed spider the panel gave and swung outward into the upper city of Piltover. The wind outside made quick work of the smoke filling the lab and soon it was thin enough for the two scientists to see one another. Samantha bushed her hair out of her face. "No fire." she exhaled. It was then that she spotted the desk.
A hole that spanned roughly ten inches had been melted straight through its center. The floor around it was slick with assorted chemicals. She looked up at him, expression pensive. "What did you do?"
Jayce felt his hand raise to the back of his neck sheepishly. He shock the foam from his hair. "I don't remember all that great. I had a pipet in my hand. I was really sleepy. I stayed up all night toying with the fucking rock." Jayce sighed. "I guess I zoned out."
Samantha eyed him in the most judging expression he had ever seen. She puffed out her cheeks and gave him a third blast with the fire extinguisher. "THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHIRT!" Jayce retorted, shielding himself with his arms.
"FUCK YOUR ZANNY CAT SHIRT! I HATE IT!" Samantha shouted back.
"ITS LIMITED ADDITION! I GOT IT SIGHED AT THE CONVENTION!" Jayce fled the room. Samantha growled and turned to pursue. She stopped. Jayce shyly peaked his head in the door once again; confused as to why she wasn't chasing him like she normally did. In the crux of the overturned desk sat the crystal. A clear liquid leaked around the desks corner towards it. She reached for it. "Don't touch it. I burned the shit out of myself." Jayce said urgently. She paused, her eyes flicked to him then back to the crystal.
The liquid and crystal touched. The room flashed blue and Samantha found herself on her back in an identical manner to how Jayce had been moments before. The crystal shown blinding blue and jumped around the room like a ratiocinating gunshot. Jayce ducked as it bounced out of the lab and down the hall. It put out a light or two on its way down before it struck exit sign above the door; broke it and clattered to the tile where it lay still. Jayce blinked his heart rate peaking. He turned and rushed into the lab. The smoke was already leaving through the open window has he helped Samantha to her feet. She coughed. "Mercury." she pointed to the ruptured bottle labeled Mercury that rolled along the floor. "It touched the Mercury and reacted." the two looked at each other. Her hair was blown back and smoldering. He was coated in foam and looked as if he had just escaped a laundry-soap explosion.
"The chairmen is going to kill us." Jayce said.
"My sexy ass he will. We just made him his carrier." she retorted. "Grab some tongs. I need to find a letter machine."
- - - 8.8.23CLE
The light of the ballroom bit at Jayce's eyes. He blinked the glare away and the room melted into view. The convention floor was covered with circular tables. A white table cloth covered each. Opera wafted through the massive room from speakers near the ceiling. A low murmur jumped about as did the jingle of connecting wine glasses. The chatter intensified at his appearance. He forced a confident smirk and looked about; fists on his hips.
Around the room he spotted many people he had seen before. Piltover's Finest where sitting together against the far wall from him. Eyes shied away from them. Police had that effect on a lot of people; Vi being Vi did nothing to lessen that effect as she appeared to be rather drunk already. Her partner of two years hid her face behind a fan in what appeared to be embarrassment. He scanned the room farther. The Mayor was here. A number of exceedingly rich looking people sat around him. Some he recognized. Owners and CEO's of corporate entities. One spotted him and pointed to the others. Monocles were raised and Jayce was thrown numerous waves and smile. He snapped his fingers and finger gunned there way.
He then half winced as he spotted what appeared to be a swoon from Vi whom may have thought the gesture was meant for her; as she was very slightly off to the table's right. Jayce decided to go with it and grinned at her before turning his attention towards the room's rear. He paused; surprised.
Samantha waved at him with a bright grin. Jayce's fake smile slid off his face to be replaced by a genuine one for a split second. He hadn't seen her in some time. After their fight and the Viktor incident she hadn't spoken to him. She had left Piltover and pursued the magical arts. The last Jayce had heard of her she was undergoing the evaluation to take on summoner training and study at the Institute of War. From the hooded light blue robe she wore she passed all there tests. Samantha herself was a surprise but the woman sitting next to her was so out of place looking Jayce stared stupidly for a moment.
She was armed first of all, heavily armed. How she had managed to get weapons into the party he had no idea, let alone a heavy crossbow. He recognized her though didn't know her name. Jayce sense his reflection and entrance into the League of Legends had never returned to the Institute in person. The whole experience had been somewhat traumatic. He had seen her on the field numerous times.
She sat with her arms crossed over her chest; face clad in a perpetual scowl of boredom. Her eyes were hidden behind tacky horn rimmed red-lased glasses. Her hair was tightly kept but not carefully tended too. She wore no makeup to speak of. She was clad in a deep blue body sock. A cape fitted with metal shoulder guards and spare ammunition lay over her shoulders and upper chest; layered above a miniature brown leather jacket. The collar of the jacket protested the garment being on top, awkwardly threaded through the neck space of the garment so the collar sat half popped. She was pale. Jayce was unsure what she was looking at behind the glasses but he smiled at her. A thin eyebrow climbed into view above the horn rim of her glasses.
Jayce then paused. His interest was piqued. His foot left the ground in a step toward the table but never made it. "JAYCE!" Vi boomed from next to him. Eyes flicked to the disturbance as Vi with ease wrapped him in a hug that lifted his feet from the floor. "I MISSED YOU, YOU NERD!" Jayce let out a soft growl of protest and a flare of red in his cheeks as the drunk Piltover Enforcer placed him in a headlock and ruffled his perfectly crafted hairdo with her knuckles.
"Vi..." he grunted, wriggling loose. All eyes were on the two. Without thinking he played along. "VI!" he jeered excitedly. His fist cocked and he punched her jokingly in the shoulder. He caught his eyes flicking over her shoulder to Samantha's table. The odd woman had her mouth slightly ajar in astonishment but made no motion besides that. Jayce was unsure why he cared. "How have you and Caitlyn been?"
Vi huffed. "She's boring like always. And I haven't gotten to brake a bone in three weeks." She smirked. "My reputation seems to be scaring all the faces I want to punch away. Crime is the lowest it's been in four years."
"That's good." he small talked. "Photo shoots for me are on an all-time high. It still boggles my mind."
"I can see why. ~ Mr. Future" Vi's expression turned stupid. Jayce felt his grin crack slightly. He abused his height and leaned backward away from her.
"Caitlyn!" a thickly accented voice. It was one of the men that had been sitting at the Mayor's table. "Control your watchdog." the sheriff was busy carefully maneuvering between chairs in a skirt much too frilly to move safely. Vi snorted.
"I put a crook through his living room window last month; that guys doesn't like me." Vi retorted. Jayce felt his ability to care slipping. Events like this were so boring to him. They had no passion or creativity it was all politics.
"Ha! Excuse me for a few minutes Vi." Jayce said brightly. He made his way for the room's rear. There wasn't much time left and once the clock began Jayce wouldn't have the freedom to speak with Samantha. He had maybe five minutes. His eyes once again flicked to the odd woman. She hadn't moved in nearly five minutes her arms remained crossed with the same scowl on her face. Jayce decided to try and ignore her.
He marched passed a group of very expressively dressed woman. He shot them a smile; the response was a parade of giggles. Jayce felt a little sick to his stomach. He ignored it and marched forward. "Jayce!" Samantha squeaked.
"Sammy!" he replied. "What are you doing here? I thought you were training with the Institute."
She glanced shyly at the woman next to her. Jayce glanced at her. Gloved fingers drummed against her forearm. Samantha speaking pulled his attention back to the left. "About that... It kind of a long story but... ahh." Jayce looked at her questioningly. "You see."
"She's under my protection." The woman said from her right.
Jayce looked at her confused. "From what? Why?" he said worried. She said nothing.
"Just... Magic bullshit." Samantha said very softly.
"So are you in danger? Should I talk to the police? I have connections. I can get you the best protection around." Jayce said worried.
"Hpm." her guard let the sound slip. Jayce shot her a questioning but challenging look. She remained static. Question about what she must be thinking sprung into his mind. The 'Jayce face' had yet to fail him and him not fully understanding why it worked so well in the first place only served to compound his confusion.
"Thanks Jayce." Samantha smiled. "But I'll be fine."
"Jayce come here for a moment." He recognized the Mayor's voice from behind them. It was time to get to work. The raffle would start any moment. He suppressed the frown he felt coming instead settling on a confident grin.
"Excuse me ladies~" he shot them a gleaming smile. Aimed at the guard rather than Samantha herself. The scientific side of him was at work now; experimenting with the social setting and her reaction. She ignored him. He decided to push the experiment farther. With a click of his tongue he brought out the finger guns. His thumbs snapped forward with a wink. A few jealous sounds erupted from around him but the subject of his attention did nothing bot cock of an eyebrow at his display. He was forced to act on it or risk pushing it too far. He turned on his heel.
"Ahh Jayce. I'm glad you're well." The Mayor was a short pudgy man with a top hat and mustache. He fit in with the high class of the party so well it was painful. "I'm glad we could get together for this little sponsorship."
"Well Mr. Mayor I don't know how little anything like this could be. The money this makes with allow for years of scientific sturdy. This is everything that Piltover is; I would hardly call that small." Jayce faked a smile and bowed. He had never liked this guy. The man never seemed interesting in anything that didn't involve food, even the future of his people.
"Yes, yes well. Just remember we're using your publicity to advertise. Win a week with- will be very profitable if it can draw in this kind of crowd. And you're a great place to start. How does it feel to be the first sponsored lady-killer?" it took all of Jayce's willpower to keep from coughing at that question. The black weight of depression nipped at the back of his mind at the word. He forced a somehow bigger grin then before.
"Pretty good. But this Is for Piltover's Future." He said proudly.
The lights dimmed. The murmur of the parties occupants disappeared as a man in an expensive suit walked into the cleared space in the center of the room. A spotlight framed him as he cleared his throat. The music silenced as he cleared his throat. A speech followed. Jayce tuned him out as she seated himself next to the mayor. He pretended to listen. His eyes flicked to Samantha's table. She waved at him. Admittedly he dreaded the next few minutes as it meant a week without solitude. A week of Jayce.
Some minutes passed, the speech droned on. Jayce blended in with the rich crowd perfectly. Toasted wine glasses when expected and clapped when they clapped. Finally after nearly twenty minutes of corporate speech Jayce was required to pay attention. Why did I sign up for this...?
"-without farther blathering and delays." soft chuckles of humoring wafted about the room.
"YOUR JOKES SUCK!" Vi called from the other side of the room.
"Vi!" Caitlyn hissed. The man ignored her, knowing she was completely immune to anything he could do. He cleared his throat to let her know she had annoyed him. A gesture to which Vi let out a single barking laugh; and went on.
"As you know everyone names were pooled into this hat when you entered. The winner gets to spend a week with Jayce, The Defender of Tomorrow and the Hero of Piltover. The proceeds will be donated to the academy of science and development." He reached into the upturned hat in front of him. Jayce felt his heart start beating frantically. Part of him questioned how everyone else looked so bored. A slip of paper was pulled up to his mustached face. He squinted slightly.
"Shauna Vayne." he called out. Vi exploded with cackling laughter. Jayce traced the spot light as it passed over him toward Samantha's table. Jealous eyes all fixed on Vayne. The woman managed a tiny sigh.
"Samantha. Kill me." Vayne ordered. A murmur of question came drifting around from the room.
"Congratulations." the man said.