Author's notes:

2022-03-31: Hey, here is a preview of the next chapter of the story. Please, bear in mind that it is, as mentioned, a preview. Some parts of it might not be included in the final release.

2022-04-04: Hey, a quick update.

2022-04-11: Hey, a quick update.

Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.

Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.

As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)

Changelog:
[2022-03-31]: A preview was released.
[2022-04-04]: The chapter was updated (added around 600 - 1000 words).
[2022-04-11]: The chapter was updated (added around 600 - 1000 words).

Info: Overall, the current plan is for me to write 'My home is where my heart lies' and 'Family tree' alternatively. Between the updates of these stories, I will try to upload other texts. Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to finish some of the short stories. However, I truly doubt that. It seems that most if not all of the stories will be extended both in terms of the time and the number of chapters.

Info: I will try to rewrite some of the older chapters between releasing new ones. I expect to start working on that goal in the middle of January. So, please be informed that the new chapters might take a bit longer to be finished and published.

Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
An entirely new story (possibly Akali x [Irelia, Syndra, Katarina]).
A new short story (Vi x Cait).
An entirely original story (possibly even 2 stories, one taking place in medieval times, the other in the far future)

References:
FLOW - Sign

*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D

End of the author's notes' section.

Evelynn's POV:

It took the magenta-haired woman a couple of days to calm down after that eventful night. It would have been an inappropriate joke to say that she had already forgotten about the incident. In reality, the damage done would require months to heal. Hence, the lawyer was not in the greatest of moods. The saddest part was that it was not her who had been affected the most. Even though Akali had tried to act cooly, she was far from being ok. It was rough knowing that her protege was hurt but unable to help. After all, Akali would have put back her mask, acting as if nothing had happened.

Evelynn opted not to drive to the office today. After waking up early this morning, she had no energy whatsoever to proceed with her duties. Hence, she decided to stay home. Even though the woman knew perfectly well that she would do only a tiny percentage of her everyday work, she called this incident a home office. She was the boss, after all. Therefore, it was within her power to slow down sometimes.

However, her low energy reserves were not the only reason she opted to stay home. Eve could not help but notice a slight difference in her friend's behaviour during that eventful night. Fiora had many valuable traits, but discretion was not one of them. Considering that the headmistress had voluntarily stayed behind to drive Lux home was suspicious at the very least. And… Eve's curiosity was only being fueled by such defined details. Hence, she decided to give her friend a call, asking some uncomfortable questions.

When the headmistress finally answered the lawyer's call, the latter found herself lying on her overly-sized bed, clawing the silken sheets with pleasure. The moment for their little talk could not have been better, and the vixen was confident that she would enjoy it to the last moment.

"Evelynn? What's the matter?" the head of the school asked, surprised. "I didn't expect you to call me; something happened?"

"Oh… I think you're the one who should tell me about this," the siren purred to the phone, giggling a little. "Did little Luxana catch your eye? Do tell, how did the drive back home go?" she continued teasing her friend.

"Ehh…" Fiora loudly gasped. Even though the diva obviously could not have seen her friend, she knew that Fiora's face was the colour of a ripe tomato. "We just talked; nothing more," was added after a brief pause.

"Oh, is that so?" the siren asked, enjoying the situation far too much. "I think there must be something more behind that night. After all, Lux called me on Monday, requesting an off day. So, would you like to brief me about all the spicy details?" Evelynn continued teasing.

"No… we… we didn't do anything like that," the headmistress stuttered. "We… we just talked. And… and… then, exchanged phones numbers, that's all."

"Hmmm… it's getting interesting, dear," the lawyer chuckled. "Tell me more, then. How many messages have you already exchanged? When is your next date going to happen? What did you propose, a romantic supper under the candle's light? Or… maybe something spacier, like a home date with a bottle of red wine. And… after you're both a little tipsy, what will happen?"

"Stop; just stop, Eve!" the head of the school managed to utter. "I've only just met her. I'm not going to try to bed her from the very start. I want to feel something; I want to be loved, maybe for the first time in my life. So, no, I won't try anything funny. I… we'll progress step by step."

"Alright… but remember, hurt her, and I'll hunt you down, darling," the dive added, suddenly changing her tone. "She's still but a child, so don't fuck it up. Or… I'll fuck you up. Other than that, I'm happy that you're trying to find a new way to organise your life."

"Wait, what?" Fiora sounded confused. "What've you done with Evelynn, I know? That cold-hearted bitch would've never cared about anyone other than herself," she allowed herself to joke, giggling slightly.

"Well… maybe spending time with or around Akali made me slightly softer," the lawyer responded nonchalantly. "However, if you asked me, I don't care. I feel better than ever. And… I'd want to extend that protective shield over Lux as well. She's my subordinate, after all. She's also my responsibility."

"Yes, it's safe to say that Akali has changed you," the headmistress commented. "Still, as I've said earlier, I'll proceed slowly with Lux. I'll leave the control over our relationship to her. If she wants us to progress, we'll do so at the pace she'll choose."

"Generous offer, I'd say," Eve spoke. "Well… what's left for me to say. I wish you all the best, then."

"Thank you."

With that, their call ended. Eve hunged up immediately, trying to process everything she heard. Even though the relationship between Fiora and Luxana was a new development, it would soon affect the lawyer as well. Though the magenta-haired woman was happy that her friend tried to change her life, it would inevitably ruin some of her alternatives. Alternatives related to the diva's craving for sex and affection. Akali was young and had all the rights to decide regarding her life. Thus, who was Evelynn to take these away, pushing her into a relationship. That stalemate resided in the diva's mind, not allowing her to take a step in any direction. How far easier would it be if the raven-haired teen just outright came to her, proclaiming the existence of some romantic feeling toward Eve. But sadly, it sounded too much like a fairytale rather than reality. And… thus, the probability for such a development to occur was low, to say the least.

As the woman's phone started beeping again, she expected Fiora to be the one calling her. However, her initial speculation must have been discarded rapidly as the caller's number was recognised. Even though Evelynn was not keeping her mother's number saved on her mobile, she could have recited it by heart. A heavy sigh escaped the siren's throat the moment she realised that. But sadly, there was no way for her to get herself out of the conversation. If he did not answer the call, her mother would have tried to call her as many times as it would be needed for Eve to pick it up. So, with mixed feelings, the call was accepted.

"What happened, mother?" the magenta-haired woman spoke, trying to sound polite.

"I hope you haven't forgotten about the case?" the older woman sounded irritated.

"But, of course, not," Evelynn responded immediately. "Did they try to threaten you?"

"Pff," Eve's mother scoffed loudly. "I'd want to see them try. But, coming back to the main topic, I have the documents you've asked me to collect."

"It's perfect then," the lawyer commented. "So… what's causing the irritated tone of yours?"

"They want to settle down the case without the court's intervention," the mother uttered. "And… I was told that you'd initially agreed to such a solution. As much as I don't want to believe in this, it got on my nerves. So, can you please explain the situation in detail?"

"Ehhh…" the younger woman sighed heavily, already foreseeing the difficulty of the conversation yet to come. "I'll explain everything to you, mother. But, be wary; it'll take some time," Evelynn informed.

"That's what I've already gathered," the older woman responded plainly yet coldly.

Akali's POV (late afternoon, the same day):

A quiet growl escaped the teen's throat when the particular song started to play. There was no need to check the caller; after all, Akali had chosen that song to instantly recognise Katarina's call. Though it must have been admitted, she had decided to do so when their relationship had been far better. Regardless, her mobile was constantly beeping, getting on the teen's nerve. So, she slowly reached out toward the piece of technology whilst thinking about her possibilities.

"What is going on, Kat?" Akali asked plainly, once she decided to answer the call.

"Hello, my dear badass," the assistant opted to disregard the hearable hostility in the teen's voice. "How're you doing? Unfortunately, I haven't had any opportunity to bump into you recently. So, do tell me, how's the school going? Maybe, you'd want to spend the weekend with me? We could, for example, go outside the city. My parents have a few houses scattered across the country. So… we could pick some cosy place to spend quality time together. What do you think?" she continued questioning, her enthusiasm clearly hearable.

"It is not an option," the raven-haired girl responded simply. "The last weekend is still a relatively fresh memory in my mind. So I think it is perfectly understandable that I need some time to get over this."

"But… honey," Kat clearly disagreed. "It wasn't my doing. I couldn't control these people. Even though it was my obvious mistake to invite them in the very first place. But you can't possibly consider me accountable for their behaviour. You know perfectly well that I wouldn't hurt you."

"That is the clue, Kat," the teen replied coldly. "I do not know that. But regardless, I can not take your words for granted, not anymore. So, as stated before, I will take some time off. I need to refocus on my studies, games, and life. Then maybe, in some time, I will be able to trust you again. But please, do honour my decision and do not try to convince me to a trip once per week. I can tell with certainty that it will take me more than a couple of weeks to make up my mind," Akali continued, not really caring how cold and brutal her tone was.

"Dear…, why are you snapping at me suddenly?" the redhead complained. "I'd have never hurt you. You might be still upset; I get it, but deep down, you know that what I'm trying to say is the truth. So please, don't be so cold to me. I didn't deserve this."

"You might be right," the teen started emotionlessly. "However, you might be wrong as well. I will not apologise for my words… at least not now. When the memories finally fade away, we might return to the topic. Nevertheless, I consider that topic finished. Have a nice day, Kat. I think we will see each other soon enough," the raven-haired girl uttered, definitely ending the conversation.

As soon as Akali pressed the red button, the mobile was discarded, thrown away carelessly. It should have been obvious to expect her so-called `girlfriend` not to know that she was not in school today. Was it that challenging to ask around other teachers? After all, it was a rare occasion for the raven-haired girl to be absent. It was not worth the effort to decompose the whole scenario in search of reasons. Yet another sigh escaped Akali's throat. The situation had already gotten out of the assistant's control.

The teen rumbled around her bed for the next couple of seconds, scattering the sheets, trying to find some semblance of peace. It would have been oh-so-wonderful to just deactivate the thinking process sometimes. But, unfortunately, her recent history could be described as eventful, to her own demise. These various memories and thoughts were tricky to handle, and if… not appropriately maintained, they could become menace quickly.

The painful streak of thoughts needed to be dealt with. However, the girl seemed unfit to resolve that problem, finding herself delving deeper and deeper into the bothering matter. So, a simple yet brilliant idea came. Maybe watching some comedies, something really brainless, would allow her to overcome the challenge. With that shortcut solution in mind, the girl quickly jumped out of her bed, heading toward her laptop. The piece of technology was a generous gift that Evelynn had brought Akali a couple of months ago. Even though she had tried to reason with Eve back then that the present was too expensive, she had quickly put it into some use. Since then, the computer has been her best companion during the long hours of studying.

Evelynn's POV (late evening, the same day):

The diva wondered when was the last she had spent an entire day home. It was a weird experience, to say the least, in the siren's opinion. However, everybody deserves to be lazy from time to time. With that concept in mind, Eve had bunkered inside her chambers, doing virtually nothing throughout the day. But, to be perfectly frank, the magenta-haired woman had opted to lower some of her standards just for convenience. Moreover, she had decided to dig into yesterday's leftovers which, for her, was an anomaly. However, in defence of her usual high standards, the meal had been cooked by Akali, delicious as always.

As Evelynn lazily laid down, she randomly started playing with her phone once again. Frankly, the lawyer was somehow upset after the discussion she had with her mother. So, all the notifications had been muted. But unfortunately, she could not run away from reality any longer. So, once the internet connection was re-established, the damned piece of technology began beeping. As expected, at least to some extent, the notification feed was flooded with various messages nearly instantly. Of course, some of these could have been easily discarded. For example, there were a couple of direct calls from her exes. Still, the diva opted to patiently scroll through these to segregate which were important enough to read entirely. Then, she received a message from Akali.

"Hello, how are you doing?" the teen's text was prefixed with a waving emoticon. "Fancy eating something delicious? I am thinking about cooking some stew just to relax."

"Sounds wonderful, darling," Eve instantly typed back. "How was the school?" she asked.

"Ehhh… you have forgotten, right?"

"Forgotten about what? Can you specify, please?"

"You have written a note about me not going to school today. And… as far as I remember, you have stated that the headmistress had been informed about that. Did you inform Miss Laurent?" another message popped within seconds, followed by a confused emoticon.

"Of course, I did," Evelynn opted to play confidently. After all, even if she had not done so, it would have been a breeze to fix the situation. All she would have to do was to call Fiora.

"Ok."

"ETA?"

"Wait… what ETA?"

"When the meal will be ready, dear?"

"Oh… right… I think it will be ready in 30 – 45 minutes," Akali started to write chaotically.