Chapter Three – The Second Day

Bard woke with a start. He forgot where he was, and what he was doing. Rolling over to his side, he was met with the sight of Ezreal drooling all over his pillow, clutching his blankets to his face.

"Mmmm… Please, not like this… Ohhh… Oh that feels good…" Ezreal murmured.

Bard slowly sat up. After checking to make sure all his things were in order, he walked over to Ezreal's bed and inspected his face. He looked like he was having a good dream. Upon further inspection, Ezreal's moans were not those of pain.

"Yeah that's it… Don't stop. Ohh right there. Wait, hold up… No, wait, I'm not ready… I'm not ready! Sar-"

Ezreal bolted upright, gasping for air. He looked around and saw Bard watching him. Blushing slightly, he slid out of bed and slinked to the bathroom.

"Uh, hey Bard, I'm just gonna use the bathroom real quick. Forget uh, forget what you saw. That is, if you saw anything. Which you didn't." He quietly closed the door.

After about ten minutes, Ezreal pushed open the door and yawned loudly.

"Man that was a big dump. Hey, you ready to hit the cafeteria?" Bard chimed indignantly in response. It was about time. After gathering their things, they headed off.

Waiting for them at their usual table were Soraka and Lux. Lux cheerfully smiled when they approached, but Soraka looked uneasy.

"Hi honey! How's it going? Look, they're serving your favorite today!" Lux exclaimed.

Ezreal peered over her shoulder at her food. He looked away, disappointed. "That's not my favorite."

Lux frowned in annoyance. Things were not starting off well. Forcing a smile, she tried to get the conversation back going. "Got any plans for later today?"

Ezreal scratched his chin. "Hmm… Actually yeah, I was meeting up with someone later."

Lux's eyes widened. "Who?" Ezreal waved his hand in the air. "It doesn't matter. Don't worry about it." But Lux was obviously worried.

Meanwhile, Bard sat down next to Soraka. She was poking her food with her fork, but she didn't seem to be eating any of it. Bard chimed in curiosity.

Soraka looked up at him and smiled. "I'm not hungry. Thanks for worrying." Bard pushed the food closer to her with his fork. She sighed in resignation. "You're right. I should eat." She ate a couple of bites and stood up. "I'm heading out. I've got some support stuff to do with the other supports. Not to mention some other stuff." She looked over at Lux, pained. "See ya."

Someone at the other end of the room caught Ezreal's eye. "Hey uh, Lux, I just remembered I've gotta do something, so I'm gonna head out too." Lux pulled on his sleeve. "Nooo, stay here with meeee. I'm looonely." Ezreal smiled. "Sorry Lux, gotta go." He walked away after patting her head, leaving Lux pouting.

Bard ate his food contently. Ignoring Ezreal's previous warning, he ate the scrambled eggs. He noticed Lux glaring at him from the other side of the table.

"I've got my eye on you. You seem awfully close to Ezreal. Too close…" She made a jabbing motion in the air with her fork and stormed off. Suddenly, Bard's stomach felt weird. He couldn't tell if it was Lux or the eggs.

One of Bard's meeps crawled onto the table, chiming. Bard played with it with his fork, rolling it over and lifting it into the air. It seemed to be enjoying it.

Ezreal slowly made his way to the other side of the cafeteria. Waiting for him was another one of the adcs, a certain frost queen.

Ashe was playing with the tip of one of her arrows as Ezreal approached. "Well, well, well. What do we have here. A young explorer, by the looks of it." She continued feeling the tip of the arrow, uninterested.

"Hey Ashe. Is there a reason why you signaled me from all the way over here?"

"I've got a message for you from you know who. I don't particularly like playing messenger, so you have to pay a price for it."

Ezreal grinned. "Anything. Just ask."

Ashe raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Okay, lover boy. I want you to tell Garen that Lux is pregnant. Simply as a joke though. You can tell him the truth later."

Ezreal ran his hand behind his neck. "I uh, are you sure you want me to do that?" He looked around nervously. "Isn't there anything else I can do? Please. Anything."

Ashe pulled out a letter and waved it in the air. "Those are the terms."

After a moment, Ezreal snatched the letter out of the air. "Fine. But it's not gonna be pretty."

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME IT WAS A JOKE I'M SORRRRRYYYYYYY-"

"IN THE NAME OF DEMACIA I WILL END YOU!"

Garen charged after Ezreal, swinging his sword overhead. The explorer seemed to be having a hard time getting away. Tripping over his own feet, he ran headfirst into the back of Bard. Bard turned around, confused.

"Oh thank Leona. Bard, you gotta help me out. Get me outta here!" Ezreal pleaded.

Bard chimed happily. Opening a portal, Bard grabbed Ezreal by the back of his shirt and jumped in, closing the portal behind them. They landed on the grounds outside the institute. Ezreal panted, throwing his head in the air behind him.

"Phew. Thanks for the fast getaway Bard. You're my new getaway driver." Grinning, he pulled a letter out of his pocket. Bard chimed in curiosity.

"Oh, this? It's a letter from Sar- I mean, someone I know. Don't worry about it." Ripping it open, he scanned the contents of the letter thoroughly, holding the paper mere inches from his face. "Yeeeesssss!" Ezreal shouted.

Bard chimed twice. Ezreal threw his fist into the air and brought it in to his side. "This is great! Holy Leona this is amazing-"

Lux stood a short distance from Ezreal, tapping her foot rapidly. "What's great, Ezreal? What's so amazing?"

Ezreal quickly hid the letter behind his back. "Uhhh… Nothing. I was just uh, talking with my friend Bard here," Ezreal stammered, tapping Bard's belly, "and he shared one of his cool artifacts with me. Right Bard?"

Bard chimed in response, pulling out the blue stone from earlier. It hummed and glowed slightly. Ezreal pointed to it. "We're on the brink of an amazing discovery here!"

Lux crossed her arms. "Uh huh. Yeah. Now tell me exactly what it is the stone does?"

Ezreal bit his lip. "It uh, well it appears to be some kinda source of extreme power." Clear sounds emanated from the stone as it changed colors. Ezreal jumped.

Lux coughed and backed away, staring at the stone angrily. "Okay then… You haven't forgotten about our date later tonight, have you?"

"Our date…? Oh yeah, our date! Our date. Our date at 7:00- no, 7:30. At Kat's Bar. Right. Righto. Righterino. Got it. I haven't forgotten. I was just uh, getting ready. With Bard." He chuckled nervously. "Let's go Bard."

The two left, leaving Lux standing alone on the grass. Looking down while walking, she spotted something lying on the ground. It looked like a piece of paper. "Oh, what's this?" She quietly read the paper.

"EZREAL-"

Bard shut the door behind them quietly. Ezreal was rummaging through his closet, looking content. "Which do you think looks better, the black or white suit?" Bard pointed to the white one. "Yeah, I think so too. Hey, Bard, I've been thinking about something for a while." Bard sat down on his bed, and it creaked under his weight.

"After this date, I'm thinking about breaking up with Lux."

"…"

"I know, it's a bit sudden. But for some reason I just don't feel like I'm the best match for her. I'm an explorer. I love being out in the open, exploring new places. The thrill of adventure! And Lux, she's… well, I mean, she's nice but… She doesn't feel the way I do. She's a warrior, but she's still a Crownguard at heart, and she and Garen have to manage things at home. I'm just not suited for that kind of-" Ezreal patted his sides. "Hold on. Where's my letter?"

Bard chimed in innocence, holding his hands up in the air. "My letter, where's my letter?" Ezreal looked through his stuff hurriedly. "Oh don't tell me I left it…" Ezreal jolted upright.

"Listen, Bard, we gotta get out of here."

Bard chimed numerously as Ezreal threw his things into his backpack. Bard didn't want to just leave now that he had gotten used to the place. And more importantly, he didn't want to leave Soraka just yet.

Ezreal put his hand on Bard's shoulder. "Relax. We'll be back sooner than you know it. We just gotta hide out in the Donger's place for a bit while I sort out this stuff-" A sharp knock at the door interrupted him.

"Eep!" Ezreal dove into the bathroom and shut the door right as Bard opened the front door. Soraka stepped into the room.

Bard chimed happily. Finally his day was getting better. Soraka looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Bard… I…"

Bard hugged her tightly. He didn't care what she was about to say. He was only glad to see her. Things were getting pretty crazy around the Institute. But something wasn't right.

"I'm sorry Bard."

The last thing Bard glimpsed before he blacked out was Soraka looking down at him, holding her charged staff in her hand.