Halfway House

Chapter 2

Less serious fic maybe means I'll work on it faster? Maybe?

Like she had planned, Riven pushed the window to the room she was staying in open and leaned over the sil. The night had come hours ago, but like most people, she wasn't able to sleep in an unfamiliar place. However, for once, her tummy was full of good food, even if she ate it hidden away from everyone else, and there wasn't any danger on the horizon. When Jinx had brought the plate of food up to her, Darius was close by, and he looked like he recognized her, but just shrugged and moved on. Karma wasn't wrong about the house being loud and chaotic, even if there were only seven teenagers in the house, including her.

Riven took a deep breath of the cold night air and folded her arms over the wood. Instead of picking her backpack up and leaving… another day in the house wouldn't hurt.

"Hey." The voice came out of nowhere, and Riven cursed in surprise. She looked up, seeing pink hair. "Thought I heard a window."

"What the fuck are you doing up there?" Riven asked, leaning a bit out of the window to look properly at Vi.

"Smoking. Come on." Of course as the hand was lowered, Riven stared at it for a few moments. The roof? Why would anyone- Letting out a long sigh, she took the hand on both of hers and got surprised when Vi lifted her as if she weighed nothing.

"You're weird." It wasn't meant as an insult, and it wasn't taken as one, given how Vi laughed.

"We all are." She shrugged and pulled a battered pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. "Do you smoke?"

"Haven't tried it." Riven shrugged back, but couldn't tear her eyes away as Vi put one between her lips and lit it. As she exhaled a cloud of smoke, she finally looked away, crinkling her nose at the smell.

"Don't. It's a bad habit." shThe air became silent again, other than the distant sounds of Piltover's nightlife shouting and praying, as well as the clubs they were outside of still playing their booming music. "By the way," As Vi spoke again, Riven looked at her. "Sorry about the intimidating look, earlier. Strangers, y'know."

"It's fine, I understand." Riven lifted a hand and gently punched the other teen's shoulder. "This place isn't as bad as I thought, either."

"First rule; hurt Karma, and you'll get a few broken bones." The way that Vi told her that, casually, as she flicked some cigarette ash into the air, was jarring, and Riven stared for a few moments before slowly pushed herself away. "You have nothing to be scared of if you don't do anything."

"How the hell can you say something like that?" Vi just laughed at the question.

"Because it's true." Violet eyes fixed on her, but there wasn't any of the malice that Riven expected. "I'm not trying to scare you off, I'm just giving you a rundown of the house."

"I've never had anyone so casually threaten to hurt me before." Riven just laughed and shook her head. "There's usually more anger, or… I don't know."

"Because it's not an actual threat." She moved again, wanting to relax back on the cold roof, and was almost thrown forward at the harsh pat on her back. "You don't look like you'd do anything like that anyway, Riv." Another new thing; a nickname.

"Great. Anything else?" Riven asked, pushing herself back up the roof tiles. "Or can we go back inside?"

"You'll pick it up the longer you're here." Vi inhaled the last of her cigarette and stubbed it out. "Everyone is nice but- Oh, right, not entirely a rule, but, give Jinx space." As she spoke, the teen got up and stepped over the apex of the roof. "She's not completely there, as much as I hate to say it."

"I still don't believe that you two are twins." Instead of trying to sneak back through the window of her own room, Riven followed Vi, carefully, to the small balcony below.

"Here's another mindfuck for you; she's the older one." She scoffed at Vi's statement, lowering herself down carefully.

"I don't believe you." She opened her mouth to speak again, silenced by Vi's hand lifting and gently jabbing her shoulder.

"Quietly." Vi whispered, gingerly opening the glass balcony door and perking through the curtains. "Don't wake Jinx up." It was almost preferable to climb back onto the roof and into the window to her own room, but Riven crept into the room, blinking to adjust her eyes to the dark. There had been two beds, but they had been pushed together into the centre of the room long before Riven's arrival, and Jinx had stretched herself across both of them. Her hair was taking up most of the room, though.

"Sharing?" Riven asked, turning in a circle to look around as she moved towards the door. It was obvious that the two of them had lived in this house for quite a long time; given how many posters, drawings, and even damage littered the walls, as well as the almost overflowing closets, and numerous gadgets, broken, working, or in pieces were scattered around the floor.

"Yeah, well," Vi waved a hand, grinning as she closed the balcony door and drew the curtains again. "Nightmares, y'know?"

"Or you just got kicked out of bed by her." As the taller teen took her jacket off, she put it over her shoulder and started to make 'shoo'ing motions to Riven, leading her to the door.

"Go! To your own bed!" The order was still in very quiet, hushed voices, but one pink eye opened, seeing the source of the noise, and Jinx turned over, pulling one of the blankets over her head. "We'll talk in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah. In the morning." Riven grinned, waving her off as she walked silently back to the room she had been given. As Vi shut the door, as quietly as possible, she turned back and walked towards the makeshift double bed, throwing her jacket over the chair next to her cluttered desk. She sat down on her 'side' of the bed to take her running shoes off, and flinched at the feeling of a hand on her back.

"You stink." Jinx mumbled, barely awake.

"Love you, too." The reply came in a half-laugh. "I needed a smoke."

"Keep it over there." As the older twin mumbled again, she threw herself to face the other way. "You're going to be fucking freezing, too." Vi just rolled her eyes, still smiling, and laid down, pulling her own pillow out of the strangling mess of blue hair. As the night progressed, a couple of hours before the first signs of sunrise, the door opened again, and Ekko silently slipped in, worming his way into the bed between his sisters. Karma knew, and completely understood, the fact that the three of them were an inseparable family at this point; but was never happy to learn that the three of them slept in the same bed. She could accept the sisters being so close, but knew that if the Piltover Wardens heard of all three of them doing the same, they could, and would, come down hard on her for being a careless caregiver.

The first alarm in the house was Darius', and he got up in the first few beeps, sitting on the edge of his bed in his underwear and turning it off. Draven, however, swore in their native language and further tangled himself in his blankets. After stretching his arms above his head and twisting his torso in both directions, the older brother got up and cracked his back properly, groaning when it popped in the right places.

"Will you get out of here instead of having an orgasm?" Draven growled, gripping a corner of his double-stuffed pillow, ready to use as a mace.

"Why? Is it because you're scared of waking up early?" As he was chided, the annoying growling was heard again. "If you're wanting your beauty sleep, you'd have to stay in bed for at least a week." Draven flipped himself over, pillow in hand, swinging from the top bunk of the bunk bed they shared, and squarely hit Darius in the top of the head, glaring as he jogged out of the room, barely giving himself enough time to grab a pair of shorts. The clock read seven AM, and Darius paused for a moment outside of the room to pull his red basketball shorts on before he started walking through the house, towards the kitchen. As with every morning, he needed his pre-workout breakfast, and the rest of the house needed their coffee.

Nobody enjoyed being woken up, even Karma, who often rose early to tend to the temple. Coffee was always the best way to wake everyone up. The kitchen in the house was large; more than enough room for around fifteen people to move around comfortably. A third of the room was for the large dining table, even if it was rarely used for anything other than homeschooling. Raising a gang of teenagers single-handedly was not an easy job.

A few minutes after the smell of coffee being brewed started to fill the house, as well as the noise from the blender for Darius' protein shake, and the first person to slowly pad downstairs was his workout partner, still in jeans and a tank top, already putting a cigarette between her lips.

"Good morning, Vi." She just mumbled a half-asleep response back. Not a lot of sleep has been gained. "Why don't you go back to bed?"

"I'm up now." Many lighters were hidden around the house, as both twins smoked, and Vi reached for the one on top of the doorframe from the kitchen to the rear garden. It was out of Karma's view, so it hadn't been confiscated. "I got kicked out of bed, anyway. Ekko has pointy elbows."

"You could have just gone to sleep in another room." Darius shrugged, opening the cupboard above his head for a glass. "Kick that new kid out of hers."

"I'm not a dick like you." As Vi lit her cigarette, she hid the lighter on top of the doorframe again and opened it. Karma hated it when they smoked indoors. "Besides, Riven needs to settle in. Treating her like shit isn't going to help."

"I remember her from Noxus." He joined his friend at the door, handing her a cup of coffee as he had his own protein shake. "We were kids, though. She vanished years ago. Years before Draven and I got put here." Vi didn't offer any response, she just watched her friend as he reminisced. "Quiet kid. Nobody really noticed her until she went missing."

"Unlike you guys?" He laughed at that question.

"Remember, there's reasons why we got placed in Piltover. We probably would have ended up in jail if Karma wasn't so fucking nice."

"Cheers to that." Vi raised her mug, and Darius laughed, tapping his glass against it. "If she hears us talking about her though, she'll wake up."

"Yeah, but we're talking nice. She won't mind." As he finished his drink, Darius stepped back inside and opened the dishwasher, sighing when he saw it full of clean dishes. "Fuck me…"

"It's too early." He threw a half-hearted glare at his friend and set his glass down to put the clean dishes away. Vi stubbed her cigarette out on the wall as she exhaled the last of the smoke, and dropped the butt into a metal bucket full of water next to the door. "I'll give you a hand." The next person who had gotten up was actually Riven, who stayed half-hidden in the front room to listen to the teens talk. Darius wasn't wrong in saying that there was a reason why he and Draven were moved from home to home, but she wondered if anyone here knew that they had been nicknamed 'The Blood Brothers'.

Swallowing her nerves, Riven stepped into the kitchen as the dishwasher was almost completely empty, and Darius turned around at the sound of footsteps.

"Morning." He grinned, knowing that exact look of uncertainty. "Don't look so scared."

"It's probably both of us." Vi laughed, stepping behind her friend and grabbing his chest in both hands. "You can't be scared of this!"

"Fuck off!" It was tense for a moment, as Riven was certain that there was about to be blood when Darius turned to throw a punch, but the sight of the two of them play fighting made her relax and smile. While Darius had more muscle, he was only two inches taller than Vi, and he was the one who got put into a headlock. A hand on her shoulder made Riven jump, tensing up for a moment until she turned to see Karma.

"Don't break anything, you two." She was smiling, and when Vi saw her, Darius was let go and allowed to straighten up again. "Darius, after your workout, could you join me at the temple?"

"Yeah, of course." He pushed Vi gently towards the door with a hand on her back. "Come on, you've had your shitty breakfast."

"You're just fucking jealous that I can keep up with you when I smoke." Karma gently pulled Riven into the room by her bicep to allow both Vi and Darius to head back upstairs.

"How was your first night?" The remaining teenager jumped in surprise and turned to face Karma's soft smile. Riven's intention was to not even stay the night, so hearing 'first night' made her bristle. "Was it quiet?"

"Too quiet." Riven sighed, leaning against one of the counters as Karma poured herself some coffee. "I could hear Piltover but it was… It didn't feel real."

"You'll get used to it soon." After taking a short drink, Karma placed her cup down and re-tied her thin robe. "Like I told you yesterday, every child deserves to grow up in a good home. This one may be chaotic," The point was proven with a heavy 'thud' from upstairs. "But I like to think that it is of good quality."

"Can you even control people like that?" Riven asked, her folding her arms over her chest and looking at the ceiling.

"It isn't about control." Karma started, picking her cup of coffee up and leaving the kitchen. "I don't try to control anyone; it's a matter of them respecting me just as much as I respect them."

"But teenagers suck." Riven's comment made Karma chuckle. "I know you've done it, though. Vi told me that rule #1 of the house is that if I hurt you, I'll end up with broken bones."

"Yes, well," As Riven spoke, Karma walked through the house, towards her room to change. "They're all protective of me in their own ways." She turned around at the door, with a soft smile. "The first rule is actually not to go into my bedroom." Riven nodded. "If you would like, I'll give you some money, and you can ask someone else if they can show you around Piltover; since you do need clothes."

"Uhm, yeah, I can do that." Stepping backwards, Riven lifted her hands and untied her hair, letting her dirty, white hair fall to her shoulders. "I think I should shower first, though…"

"There are clean towels in each bathroom." The woman smiled again and turned slightly to place her coffee down. "Don't worry about anyone walking in. Each bathroom has strong locks."

"I won't even ask…" Blowing a stray strand of hair out of her out of her face, Riven turned and took a few steps before Karma spoke again.

"One last thing! Has anyone told you about Jinx?"

"Vi said something about her. Something about her not being 'completely there'." She nodded. "And to give her space if she needs it."

"That sums it up quite nicely." Karma sighed softly and forced a smile back on her face. "Go and shower. And feel free to find yourself some breakfast. As much as I try to place routines for meals, it never seems to work." As she closed her bedroom door, Riven let out another sigh. It sounded like every day here was going to be insane. As she walked across the house, and upstairs, the sound of laughter and clinking of metal weighs got louder. It was almost impossible for her to not stop at the open door and look inside.

Darius noticed first, mid squat with a heavy barbell over his shoulders. He only glanced for a moment, giving Riven a grin, then focused again on his exercise, muttering 'fourty-two', and straightening his back. The room wasn't large; it was the same size as most of the bedrooms, and full of equipment. A treadmill, quite a few different sets of weights, yoga mats rolled up against one of the walls. On the opposite side of the room from Darius was a punching bag that looked like it had endured five years of constant beatings, and a chin-up bar that Vi was hanging from, lifting herself up and mumbling her own number under her breath. The two of them seemed like polar opposites, but also completely in sync.

"You're staring." The sudden voice made Riven jump almost five feet into the air. Jinx just grinned when the attention was turned to her. "You're not supposed to stare, you're supposed to join in."

"At least you're not saying that to me this time…" Ekko mumbled as he walked past, his mouth stretching into a yawn as he patted his mohawk straight. Jinx just rolled her eyes and grabbed Riven's wrist, pulling her down the hall.

"Shower, right?" She asked. Before a response, Jinx pushed the bathroom door open and pulled the other teen inside. "You took your hair down, so you've gotta be getting ready for showering." Riven didn't know what to say, so she just nodded. With a grin, the shorter teen flicked one of her newly-tied braids back over her shoulder, and walked out of the room without another word, closing the door. After staring at it for a few moments, Riven walked over and locked it. Strange people, but still… friendly? Loving?

Sighing, she walked to the glass shower that was a quarter circle, pressed against the wall, and started fiddling with the controls, trying to figure out how to turn it on.

I was gonna have this chapter be longer, but… Who votes that I make the chapters longer?