The new wukong skin is so cursed LOL
The Cait and Leona ones are great tho. Yone's cool too. Shame no skin for taliyah, zoe or viktor, but hey - what can you do.

'You did what?' Irelia said.

'That's what I said.' Ekko said.

Ezreal looked at the wooden floor. Oh hey, a new stain. The clubroom could never have too many of those. 'I'm so screwed.'

'You're down bad, is what you are.' Ekko said, leaning against the bookshelf. ' He laughed, once, then shook his head and stared at Ezreal. 'What the hell came over you?'

'I don't know! I wasn't thinking! I just saw Lux there, scared, and -'

'Dude,' Ekko said. He ran a hand through his hair, wet from the afternoon's sudden rain. 'It was funny. Now, I'm just genuinely worried about you. We have no chance at winning this thing.'

Ezreal perked up. 'We?'

'Yes, we, you dumbass. We, since you brought the rest of us into it.'

'Well, this poses a bit of a problem.' Yasuo said. Honestly, it was a miracle the President had managed to get that sentence out in one go, considering he looked like he was going to explode from laughter.

One blessing was that Zoe was nowhere to be seen. At least Ezreal wouldn't have to deal with her reaction today.

'Are you guys going to help me or not?' Ezreal grumbled.

A short and shrill laugh escaped Yasuo's tightly zipped mouth. His grin was practically shaking.

'Of course we'll try,' Irelia said, sidelong glance at their mature leader. 'But Ezreal, this is a really big deal. It's borderline impossible.'

'Do you think they'll let me keep the room to myself if they kick you out?' Ekko said.

'Gee. I wonder.' Ezreal said.

Ekko shrugged, then smirked. 'Guess I wouldn't really wanna find out. I can almost tolerate you now.'

'Well,' Yasuo said, gulping down his outburst. It looked like that took a ton of effort, too. He exhaled and stood straight. 'It's not like we've never won before.'

Ezreal's stomach fluttered. 'Really? When? How?'

Yasuo shrugged. 'Once, in my first year. There were only four of us, but we managed to clutch out a win. It's the reason we have this big a room.'

This was big?

'How'd you manage?' Ekko asked, notebook in hand.

Yasuo smiled. Gently. It was a weird look for him. 'That's, hm. Let's just say we...didn't really win.'

Ezreal frowned. That wasn't helpful.

'And?' Ekko said. He hadn't moved his pen.

'And that's all I'll say on it, I don't think we can do that again. Not if I can help it.' Yasuo said. He shook his head and the smile was gone, replaced by his usual shit-eating grin. He looked at Ezreal. 'All this over your girlfriend, Ez? How noble of you.'

'She's not my girlfriend,' he grumbled. 'She was just in trouble, and -'

'Regardless of your intentions, Ezreal, you're an absolute idiot for it.' Irelia said. Her arms were folded, and she had the straightest posture possible. She glared at Ezreal. Oh no. This was her mom mode, no more ha-ha's about his crush. 'If Lux wanted your help, she would have asked you. And even if she needed your help, she wouldn't of made you stake expulsion on it.' She huffed. 'Idiot.'

Ezreal cringed and looked away. He knew she was right.

Ekko inched close to Ezreal, wicked grin. 'I'll help you out if you do one tiny thing for me.'

'Anything.'

Ekko's grin widened. 'Admit you're in love. Really say it.'

'Don't be an ass.' Ezreal went red.

'Want my help or not?' He leaned onto Yasuo, who was once more a single step away from nuclear explosion. 'Say it.'

'...No.'

'Say it.'

It was times like these where Ekko's stupid face really got on Ezreal's nerves.

He looked to Irelia for support, but...

She was just scowling, at both him and Ekko.

…

He really needed someone in his corner.

'I -' He gulped. 'May, have an, um, crushonlux.' He rushed out the end of the sentence, voice droning off into the air.

'What?' Ekko's grin getting deeper and deeper. 'Sorry, didn't catch that last part. Acoustics in here are awful.'

'I like her, okay!'

'And there it is!' Ekko launched up, posing victoriously. Yasuo joined him. They laughed for what seemed like five hours. Ezreal flushed so scarlet that he was sure he was going to melt into the floorboards.

Irelia sighed. 'Regardless, we'll obviously try and help you in any way we can, but -'

The door opened, and an especially grumpy looking Graves stepped through. He lingered at the door for a moment, looking around with a scowl, then pushed towards the group. Behind him followed Professor Sylas, who looked equally serious, if a little less pissed.

Yasuo and Ekko immediately quieted.

'Battl' Club.' Graves said. He nodded to Ezreal. He smiled weakly back.

'Professors, what can we do for you?' Irelia said, voice tired. Graves gestured to Sylas, who cleared his throat.

'I'll be joining you as a temporary advisor for the next week or so.'

Ekko looked horrified.

'Lymere, I want you to understand that I do not support the foolish decision you made,' Sylas said. 'But. That doesn't mean I want you to be expelled for no reason. So I'm coming with you to Needlebrook.'

Ekko's horror only got worse.

'I'd come too, but I need'ta stay here,' Graves said, mostly to Ezreal. 'The Cat won' let me out o' her sight.'

'And so, Malcolm enlisted me.' Sylas finished. Graves grunted.

'Sums it up.'

Irelia nodded and gave a slight bow. 'We're happy to have you, sir.'

'Yeah, sure. Thanks, Professor Dregs.'

Ignoring Yasuo, and sending Ekko a reprehensive glance, Sylas focused on Ezreal. He held his hand out.

'Thank you for sticking up for her.'

Ezreal smiled. Finally. 'Of course, sir.'

He shook his hand.

The moment their hands touched, Ezreal felt a flash of electricity run up his body. It was brief, but shocking, and he quickly pulled his hand back with a yelp. He stared at his hand, then back at Sylas.

Sylas didn't react. He was staring blankly at Ezreal, blue eyes suddenly clouded. He was like a statue, frozen in stone.

'...Professor?'

Sylas coughed, and was back. His eyes, back to clear, darted around the room,landing on Ezreal. He breathed in, then nodded. 'Right. Well, that's all I wanted to say. Carry on, and I will see you all on Friday.'

With a final, furrowed look at Ezreal, he left the clubroom.

Graves stared after him, confused, then shrugged and addressed them. 'Always bin' a weirdo. Anyway,' he brought out a clipboard. 'I suppose I'll inform y'all about the lodging arrangements.'

'Okay, Ponytail'll tell me later. I gotta go do something before the trip.' Ekko said, quickly grabbing his belongings and dashing out the room.

As his figure vanished through the door, Zoe replaced him. Throwing him a wave as he left – Ekko replying with a wink and a laugh – she bounced up to the group, shaking off water like a puppy.

Ignoring the serious scowls, Zoe saluted. 'Reporting in!'

Only Yasuo returned the gesture. 'Acknowledged.'

She giggled. 'What're we doin' today?'

Ezreal glanced at Graves, who sighed. He fixed Ezreal with a hard glare. 'Don't worry about the other thing for now, I'll take care o' it. Come back with good news.' He nodded to Irelia. 'Braum'll tellya the rest I suppose.'

'Understood, Professor.'

'Hm? Whazzall this?'

Graves nodded to Irelia, and swiftly moved to leave. As he opened the door to the increasingly heavy rain, he locked a final eye with Ezreal. He scowled.

With a weak smile from Ezreal, Graves left.

'He's always so grumpy. Anyway! What's up?' Zoe beamed.

Irelia frowned at Ezreal, who flinched away. Before she could say anything though, Yasuo cleared his throat and recounted the conversation.

By the end of it, Zoe's jaw hit the floor.

'Ezzie did what?'

'That's what I said.' Irelia said.

Smirking, Yasuo flicked on the fan. 'Real hero, he is.'

'Prez, please.' Ezreal groaned. Yasuo sniggered.

'Point is, we need to work together or we're down a member.' Irelia said.

'But, but, but, but,' Zoe stuttered, face flying between Ezreal and Irelia. 'WHY?'

Flushing, Ezreal looked away. 'I – I mean, I thought she was being really rude to Lux...'

'Oh,' Zoe's eyes narrowed - but since they were so huge, they were still about twice the size of Ezreal's. 'She's the reason?'

'I know how it looks, but seriously, I didn't do it just because of her!' Ezreal was desperate. 'I just made a mistake!'

Zoe was pouting – angrily. It was a funny face, and in most other scenarios Irelia and Ezreal would be smirking about it. Now, Ezreal just felt bad.

'We just gotta win! It's simple. Then both Lux and I'll be safe. Easy.'

The mood in the club was a little dull for the rest of the day, with Irelia making notes and Yasuo sitting silently in his chair. It was hard, especially because Zoe was being despondent as well.

Ezreal tried to push it from his mind.

It couldn't be that bad right?

...Right?

Friday came quickly.

Lux had spent the remainder of the week hurrying about, preparing, and being annoyed at Ez's newfound ability to avoid talking to her at any cost. She knew he was fast, but come on. He'd really mastered his blink, and at this rate he could probably win an olympic sprint.

The Durandal Central Station was abuzz with activity despite the early hour. The platform was a wide-domed cathedral-like hall, glass and metal walls streaming the natural morning sunlight onto the otherwise drab stone platforms. There was one platform separating the two ends of the hall, tracks on either side. Lux sat at a wooden bench at the far end of the backmost platform, head in hands and eyes threatening to close.

She yawned. The club was taking the earliest train, at 8:30, and still wouldn't arrive in Needlebrook until well after sundown. Normally, Lux would've been alright with the time – Ekko would be the one she'd be worried about – but she'd not gotten much sleep the past few days.

A light tap came at her shoulder. Blinking her tiredness away, Lux smiled at Alune. Her friend regarded her with concern.

'Are you okay?'

Lux stifled another yawn and nodded. 'Mhm. Didn't get much sleep is all.'

'You are worried?'

'Well -' Lux didn't really want to say any details, but yes. Just not for herself. 'No, not really. Just too excited, I guess. I can't wait to see the ocean!' Lux raised her arms in a victory pose. At least she thought it was.

Alune clearly didn't. She tilted her head, puzzled, but smiled and replicated the gesture. 'Ocean!'

Lux's return grin quickly dipped into another yawn. Alune giggled and stood.

'I will get you a coffee. You seem to need one.'

Lux nodded, head returning to her hands as she leaned forward. 'That'd be great, thanks.'

After Alune left, Lux let her eyes close again. She could catch a few winks here, and probably a couple more hours on the train. She groaned. What the actual hell was Ez thinking?

'Hey, Stinkyface!'

Lux, blinking in confusion, opened her eyes to Zoe. She was pointing at Lux, face contorted in a position that Lux could only assume was meant to be threatening. She bit back another yawn, and sat straight.

'Good morning, Zoe.'

'It's no use trying to trick me with your nice words! I'm onto you.'

Once again, Lux just blinked. She suddenly understood why Ekko often showed up after Zoe left at breakfast.

'Um, sure? What's up?'

Zoe pouted, then reaffirmed her pose. 'You can't have him!'

Lux frowned. 'I don't know what you mean, but calm down. It's too early for this.'

'I see what you're doing. You're tricking him into thinking he l...li...likes you, so you can use how awesome he is and stuff! Well, I'm onto you, lady!'

'R-right. And who are we talking about, might I ask?'

Zoe threw her hands up like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'Ezzie! Du-uh! You tricked him into doing this dumb bet, so he can clear your thing or whatever!'

Lux stared. What? Ez was acting weird, yeah, but she hadn't tricked him into anything. Sure, she was confused by what he did, yeah, and she didn't quite -

Wait. Ez's actions were so dumb, he'd have to have been acting on something other than his brain...

What if he...?

It made too much sense.

Oh.

Lux heated up.

Zoe scowled and pointed again. 'A – HA! See! I knew it! Well, you can't have him, he's mine -'

Lux wasn't listening. Ez liked her? No way, right - ?

It was the only explanation.

And suddenly, she didn't feel just tired anymore. She felt exhausted.

She stood, looking around.

'Okay, yeah, thanks Zoe. I'll, um, catch up with you later.'

Ignoring whatever the girl was saying, Lux walked off.

Where to? She wasn't sure. The train hadn't arrived yet, but soon. She didn't think about that, she needed to clear her head.

Why?

She pushed her way past a few other Sorcery club students, edging her way towards the stairs. They lead up to the overpass to the other platforms and the exit. She climbed them.

But what reason did he have? Her? Why?

How long had this been going on?

Ez?

Another face flashed through her mind.

'Luxanna, good morning.' His voice. God, was she down enough to imagine it now, too?

She sighed.

'Lux, you good?' And now Ekko's voice, too?

Wait, Ekko?

Her eyes snapped open.

She was on the overpass, face buried in crossed arms, leaning against the railings. She turned, shooting up straight.

Sylas, Ekko, and the rest of the Battle Club were approaching, bags in hand. She blanked for a moment, not registering. She scanned them -

Ez was looking away, nervous smile on his lips.

Suddenly, she drew the biggest blank of her life.

'Have you seen Zoe? She just up and left.' Irelia said, looking around.

Professor Braum beamed. 'You are excited for trip, yes?'

'Your face is quite red. Are you alright, Luxanna?' Sylas asked.

She smiled, tightly. Nod. 'Mhm.' She looked away from him, her vision turning red. But when she looked away -

Ez.

She turned and walked away, calmly.

Before she could really register anything else, she was back at her previous seat, a very concerned Alune rising and rushing to her. She had cold cans in either hand, and fumbled with them, trying to help Lux.

'W-what happened to you?'

Lux grunted and sat. 'Mhm.'

'Are you okay?'

'Mhm.'

'That smile is very, uhm - creepy? No, that is not the word...'

'Mhm.'

'O-okay?'

'Mhm.'

'T-the train is here! Let us go.'

'Mhm.'

The train was massive.

It was made of metal, a towering mass of snaking silver that ended in a single chimney, already smoking. Behind, Ezreal counted at least five cars, each three floors high and littered with windows. It was just...huge.

'It's the only direct line that goes in this direction,' Irelia explained. She grabbed her bags, one rucksack and one large suitcase, both black. She had one more, a large pink one. She stepped through the doors, and lead the way up to the top floor. The interior was white and sleek, with blue carpets and blue neon lining the corners of the walls. 'It goes only twice a week, and it stops pretty much everywhere in the south of the country before we finish at Needlebrook.'

Ezreal followed, his own bags – two, stuffed and red – weighing him down a bit more than Irelia. He grunted up the stairs. 'The one I took from home was so much smaller.'

'Same here.' Ekko said, bringing up the rear.

They reached the top, sliding doors opening to rows of seats. The seats were arranged in groups of four on either side of the cabins running down the hall. There were about five or six clusters. Above, shelves large enough for even Zoe's huge bag overlooked either side. Windows were placed at every group, along with curtains.

Irelia stopped midway through the cabin and placed her bags on the shelf. The two boys did the same, Ezreal looking around.

'Where's Zoe and the Prez?'

Ekko shrugged, struggling a lot more than the other two. Ezreal smirked. Shortie. 'I saw Yasuo earlier, but Zoe just ran off.'

'They'll turn up eventually.' Irelia said. Done with her own luggage, she moved to help Ekko with his. He grunted thanks under his breath. 'You know those two.'

Ezreal huffed, both bags up and secured. He lounged into a chair. 'It's a long journey, right? What's the plan?'

'Nearly ten hours, yeah,' Ekko said. He sat next to Ezreal, and Irelia across.

'No plan, we just take it easy. I'd suggest using the time to revise.'

Ekko groaned, and Ezreal shrugged.

The door slid open behind them, and a pair of footsteps joined them. Yasuo sauntered in, carrying Zoe by the scruff of her collar. She was pouting.

'I found the squirt.'

Zoe blew a raspberry at Yasuo. He ignored it.

Irelia furrowed her brows. 'And where were you?'

'Nowhere.'

'Found her trying to claw her way into the Sorcery Club's cabin, and man, did the runt look like she was going to murder something.' Yasuo said, dropping her down.

Zoe dusted herself off, another raspberry at Yasuo. Irelia chopped her on the head.

'Don't be rude.'

'I was just looking! I wanted to like, I dunno - talk to Tails, or something.'

'Uh-huh. Just sit down and sit still.' Yasuo said. He looked around the empty cabin and whistled. 'We get this all to ourselves?'

Irelia shrugged. 'I think so, the school has this entire car reserved.'

Yasuo whistled again. 'Nice. Right, in that case I'll just be over here. Bug Irelia if something comes up.' He dropped his small carry-on onto a seat, and placed his sword atop the shelf. He stepped down the rows a bit, and flopped down. Soon, snoring could be heard.

Irelia rolled her eyes, Ezreal and Ekko smirking a little. Zoe just crossed her arms and pouted.

'What's up, Zoe?' Ezreal asked. She glared at him.

'Nothing.' She huffed and looked away.

Ezreal tilted his head. He looked to Ekko in confusion, who just shrugged and nestled into his seat, closing his eyes. Ezreal turned to Irelia next, who was staring out the window, lips pursed.

'So, what's Needlebrook like?' He asked.

Irelia just kept staring out the window.

'Irelia?'

'Hm?' She snapped back, blinking. She gave her head a slight shake. 'What, sorry? I didn't hear.'

Ezreal frowned. Everyone was acting weird. 'I just asked what Needlebrook is like.'

'Oh,' she breathed out, reclining a little. Zoe was still pouting, so Irelia gave her one of the looks. 'I've never been, but from what I can find online it's a fishing town. Population of around 500 or so. It's places like it where the country gets a lot of it's seafood. Apparently, there's a fairly active market, since it's a port and all, but we'll have to see.' She sighed. 'I don't know much else.'

Ezreal nodded. 'And the God-weapon fragment?'

'I looked into it, but there wasn't much to find.' She frowned. 'Ezreal, I know this is important for you to know, but -'

'No, it's okay, you've done what you can.' He sighed. He started fidgeting. 'I'm just a little worried.'

'I wonder why,' Irelia said, snorting. 'I still think your best bet is to go and apologise to the Vice Principal, explain the situation, and -'

'No,' Ezreal said. 'I can't do that.'

She smiled, albeit very lightly. 'You're an idiot. Why couldn't you have done this during one of the Tournaments? We can actually win those.'

Ezreal groaned, ruffling his hair. 'I don't know, okay. Forget it, just tell me how we can win this. I need to, for Lux.'

She raised an eyebrow.

'And so I can stay. Obviously.' He wasn't blushing. Course not. 'There's gotta be some secret technique or something, right?'

'I don't know, Ezreal,' She sighed. 'Usually how this works is we get a set amount of tasks, we do them, report to an advisor, and we get some bonus points if we do anything particularly noteworthy. Each task is worth, say, ten points. The winner is usually decided by the bonuses.'

'That sounds easy enough, though.'

'The problem is,' She continued, placing a notebook on the table. 'There are too many tasks for the amount of members we have. We just don't have enough time. Take Sorcery, for instance. Let's say they get..sixty, odd, tasks for a day. They have over fifty members. They can easily get them all done. Then you have us - we get the same tasks, but there's five of us.'

Ezreal frowned. 'But we could still do it in theory, right?'

'Sure,' she said, scribbling something down. 'In theory. It doesn't matter how fast you are, Ezreal, it's still really hard.'

Ekko yawned awake. He gave the two of them a tired glance, one more at Zoe, but leaned into the conversation.

'What'd I miss?'

Irelia gestured to her notes. Ekko gave them a quick look over, and after a few moments he nodded. 'Okay, so there's a system. Good.'

Irelia brought her notebook back. 'Yeah, and it's pretty simple this time.'

Ezreal groaned. 'This isn't fair.'

'No one asked you to be an absolute idiot.' She put her pen down. 'Seriously, just talk to the Vice Principal, I'm sure she knows this is beyond unreasonable and -'

'I can't.'

'Well then, good luck.'

With a final, encouraging smile, Irelia brought out a textbook, and began scribbling away.

'Don't worry, Ponytail.' Ekko said. He reclined into his chair, yawning deeply. 'We'll win eventually.'

'I don't follow.'

'Doesn't matter; there's a system here, so there's a way to exploit it.' He grinned again. Then another Yawn. 'And I am really good at breaking systems.'

And with that, Ekko closed his eyes.

Ezreal looked out the window. The train was still docked at Central Station, but any second now -

A whistle sounded, and the train started to move. The silence in the cabin began to be buried under the growing rhythm of the train's chugging, the drab station replaced with a fantastic, sweeping view of Durandal city.

Ezreal slunk into his seat and tried to sleep.

The train was coming to a stop.

Ezreal snorted awake, a muffled voice sounding over the intercom;

'- Heading for – Needlebrook. The time is – 10: 52. We are currently at – Terbisia. This train will be stopped for – 35 minutes. This train is -'

Ezreal stretched. He looked around.

To his surprise, only Ekko and Zoe were still there. Less to Ezreal's surprise, Ekko was still sleeping.

Jumping past, Ezreal tapped him on the shoulder.

Ekko woke with a sharp grunt. 'Mm, up, I'm up.'

'We're stopping over for a bit. Wanna get some food?' Ezreal said, reaching for his bag.

Ekko rubbed his eyes. 'Whattime issit?'

Ezreal retrieved his wallet and tossed the bag back up. He glanced at Zoe – she was sleeping too. He tapped her shoulder, and she woke slowly. 'About 11 or so, we'll be at this stop for about a half hour.'

'Mm,' Ekko shook himself awake and stood. 'Aight.'

'Zoe, wanna come with?' Ezreal said.

After stretching, she beamed. 'Yay!'

Ignoring the whiplash he felt from her change of mood, Ezreal left the train.

Terbisia was a riverside town; the most notable thing about it being it's placement on the railway system. It was where a majority of connections happened, and from here the lines split off in all manner of directions into the south. Ezreal had actually been here, briefly, on his initial trip to the school. He smiled. It seemed like an age ago.

Because of his previous visit, he managed to guide them to a concession stand hidden away at the far end of the platform. Like Durandal Central, there were multiple platforms, but no roof laid the sky bare above them - gray skies threatening to split into rain. Ezreal and company hurried into the store, a small glass square with a neon-lit JENNY'S sign above the door.

Inside was as he remembered. Waist-high shelves lined the walls, a single island with snacks in the centre. The cashier was off in a corner, close to the door. It vaguely smelled like candy, mixed in with the faint scent of fresh apple pie – which confused Ezreal, since there was no oven in sight. He shrugged and entered.

Maybe due to the time, maybe due to the weather, the store was mostly empty. Which suited Ezreal fine; it was tiny. Aside from himself, Zoe, and Ekko, there was only one other customer, and the bored-looking clerk. Ekko scanned the island with excitement, and Zoe let out a small squeal.

'Mooncakes!'

'Damn, I haven't seen these in ages.'

'Yeah, this place has some good stuff.' Ezreal smirked. 'And it's cheap.'

Ekko and Ezreal grinned.

Ezreal left them to their own devices, and moved to the back of the store. If Ezreal remembered right – and he often did – there was a particular brand of chocolate...

Ah, perfect. He grabbed it off the shelf, and quickly chose a carton of juice to go with it. Not much of a meal, sure, but Professor Sylas had told them before they left that the school would provide lunch. Free of charge, no less.

He paid, and waited at the door for the two to join him.

As his companions got in line, there was a clatter from behind Ekko. Ezreal looked, and saw the other customer, a tall and gangly man in an elaborate coat, drop a handful of energy bars onto the floor – after colliding with Zoe. She was apologising profusely, but the man didn't seem to see her. His hands were full with a variety of other things – magazines, sandwiches, even a box of cards. He looked down forlornly, his face contorted in a guise of pure agony. He carefully crouched down -

Ezreal picked up the fallen items. 'I got it, sir.' He eyed Zoe. 'You okay?'

Zoe flushed, then stood and quickly joined Ezreal in picking up the man's stuff. 'Yeppers! No worries! All good here!'

She looked up to the man. 'I'm really sorry! I didn't see you...'

'Have no fear, child. And thank you, my good man.' His voice was deep and rhythmic, flowing musically. 'I seem to have taken on quite the load.'

'I'll say,' Ezreal said, carefully placing the retrieved atop the pile of other stuff. 'You going to eat all that?'

'Oh heavens no,' he said, adjusting the pile to properly support the stack. 'I simply lost the draw.'

'Ah,' Ezreal said. He looked over to the cashier, Ekko just finished paying. He looked around, and tilted his head at Ezreal.

'Let's go, Ponytail.'

Ezreal glanced at the man. 'Do you need any help?'

'If you would, it would be fantastic.' He moved to pay for his haul.

Ezreal smiled apologetically at Ekko, who shrugged. 'It's cool, we got time.'

Grinning, Ezreal moved to help split up the man's load. Zoe joined, still apologising. After he paid, the four of them left hurriedly – they didn't want to test the weather.

'I gotta ask, what's all this for?' Ekko said. He was carrying a stack of magazines, all art related.

'Why, my good man, these are for my crew's enjoyment. We have a long trip ahead of us today.'

'What do you guys do?' Ezreal asked.

The man beamed, proud and dramatic. 'The Royal Zhyun Theatre Troupe. I assume you have heard of us?'

'Zh...Jhyu...n? Tsyun?' Zoe, hidden behind a towering stack of boxes, said.

Ezreal and Ekko shook their heads.

Theatre man looked agast. 'Oh, you poor children!'

Ekko snorted. 'Never been a drama guy myself. My schools never had that kind of thing.'

'Same here.'

'Drama's laaaaaaaaame.'

'That sounds a great shame. Drama is the window to the soul; a mirror in which we can experience the greatest depths of a desire.'

'Mmmmm... What?' Zoe said.

Ezreal didn't follow. 'Right. I'm Ezreal, by the way.'

'Ekko.'

'Zoe!'

'Ah, forgive me - where are my manners? I am Khada. I am part of the Zhyun's road crew.'

Ekko grunted as they began to climb a set of stairs. Their platform was on the other side of the station. 'Road crew? You're not an actor? I coulda sworn -'

'Ah, my dear Ekko, I am but the greatest actor; the invisible. I guide others down a path of beauty that I can only envy. True beauty is unseen – it is experienced.'

Once again, Ezreal just nodded. 'Right.'

'Uh-huh, okay. I think I get you?' Zoe said, her long hair bobbing behind her.

They topped the final step, and walked along the overpass.

Ekko shrugged. 'Still, seems kinda a waste.'

'There is no waste in my performances.'

'Whaddya mean by experienced?' Zoe said.

Khada laughed – a low and rumbling sound that rubbed at Ezreal's skin. He didn't know why, but he felt a chill.

'It is simple, my dear. There is drama in everything – latent, waiting. I reach in. I pull. They dance. Together – we all experience the drama. That, my dear, is true theatre.'

Ekko shrugged. 'I don't get it.'

'Same here.' Ezreal said.

'Everything?' Zoe asked.

Khada nodded. 'Everything. It is our job, as pursuers of beauty, to unlock that latent potential. We must take action.'

'Action, hmm?' Zoe said, droning off.

Soon they were back on the platform with their train. Ezreal blinked, wait -

'Khada, where are you guys headed?'

'Ah, did I not mention?' He said, guiding them down the platform, past the school-assigned carriage. 'Needlebrook's Greenfang Theatre. We will be performing a classic rendition of the Wolf and the Lamb, four times over the next week.'

'Ooooh!'

Ekko huffed, and Ezreal couldn't help but mirror the gesture. 'What are the odds.'

Khada tilted his head. 'And you? I assume you are students?'

'Yes sir, we're going to Needlebrook as part of a Practical Exam, as Durandal God-weapon Academy students!' Ezreal said, proudly.

'Zoe and I, yeah, but you? Maybe not for much longer, Ponytail.'

'Oi.'

Ekko sniggered.

Khada hummed. 'So you are Military-in-training? Very curious, very curious...'

They entered the third carriage back, and stepped into the lower floor.

'You will be in Needlebrook to see our performance, yes?' Khada asked as they walked down the hall.

'I didn't even know there was a show going on.' Ekko said.

'Same here.'

'That simply will not do!' Khada said, stopping the middle of the aisle. He turned, managing to keep a hold of his stack. A few other passengers shot rephrehensive glares, but mostly just ignored him. 'I will not allow this opportunity to pass you by. Have no fear.'

'Uh -'

'Thanks?'

Khada nodded dramatically, and resumed his journey down the hall. Ezreal and Ekko exchanged looks. They shrugged and followed.

Something felt a little off, though. Turning, Ezreal saw Zoe standing – quietly. Brows furrowing, he called out.

'Zoe, you good?'

'Hm?' She blinked, eyes no longer narrowed. She beamed up at Ezreal. 'Yeppers!' She looked away again, then nodded. 'Action.'

With a shrug, Ezreal followed Khada and Ekko. Zoe was just being...well, Zoe.

She appeared through a portal in the floor, just ahead of him. Her face was dead serious.

'Ezzie, take my stuff!'

'Wait, what are you -'

Too late to argue, Zoe dropped her stack of stuff through a new portal. The exit appeared above Ezreal's pile, boxes landing square atop his own. He reacted quickly – barely managing to catch it all. He breathed out in relief, and glared at Zoe.

'Zoe, you have to warn me when you do something like that.'

'Okies thanks laters bye!'

And she vanished through the portal, leaving Ezreal with double the load. Staring straight ahead for a moment, he ultimately just shrugged and continued. Zoe was just being Zoe, he supposed.

'Here we are, my good men.' Khada said.

'Oh, Jhin, you're back?' A playful voice came from one of the seats. She double-took. 'Geh -! That's too much stuff!'

'I spare no expenses, Isa.' Khada said, setting his load down. He gestured to Ezreal and Ekko, who lay their own piles down with a quick bow. 'I was lucky enough to be assisted by these two fine gentlemen.'

'Uh, hey.'

'Yo.'

'Jhin, come on, you gotta stop doing this,' someone said, this time a mature male. He stood, offering a handshake to the two boys. He was large and had a handsome, if a little rugged, face. 'I'm Taij. Thanks for helping our man here.'

Ezreal and Ekko fumbled around, saying it was alright. Taij laughed.

'Ahem, Taij,' Khada said, inserting himself back between them. 'These two young lads are also happening by Needlebrook. However, they have no current plans to see the show.'

'Oh, that's a shame.' Taij said. He laughed gently, fixing the two with a smile. 'It's a hell of one, let me tell ya.' He winked.

'Yes, quite. I would propose -'

The train's whistle blared over the speakers.

Ezreal and Ekko locked eyes.

'Oh shit.' Ekko said.

'Irelia'll kill someone if she thinks we aren't on the train.'

They turned to Khada and his troupe and bowed apologetically. Quickly. 'Sorry, we've gotta go!' Ekko said, already breaking into a full sprint.

The train started moving.

'It was nice meeting you, sir!' Ezreal added. He wasted no more time than Ekko.

The two of them quickly retreated, practically running through the aisles. They passed through the other general-public carriage, Ezreal only bumping into one person – to Ekko's three – but they eventually made it through. With short breaths they re-entered the Battle Club's floor.

The only ones there were Professors Sylas and Braum, and Yasuo. They were sitting over a table, relaxing. Braum and Yasuo had flasks with them, and they were laughing. Sylas was laughing along too, but he didn't have a cask of his own.

The door opening turned their attention. Yasuo raised a hand.

'Oh, look where the newbies are! Wanna come sit with us?' He was grinning.

'This trip is fun, yes?' Braum said. He laughed. He had two seats to himself, and even then he was spilling his arms out. He laughed again.

'Right-o, the kids are back, put the booze away, boys.' Sylas said, rising from his seat with a smile.

'Booo!' Yasuo said, imitating Zoe's raspberry technique. Braum, once more, laughed, and put his and Yasuo's flasks away into a bag. Yasuo shrugged and leaned back.

'Is that...allowed?' Ezreal asked. Yasuo waved a hand.

'I'm 19, it's fine.'

'Uh, okay.' Ekko said, avoiding Sylas's gaze and sitting down at their previous seat. Sylas ignored him, too. Ezreal rolled his eyes, he didn't get why Ekko had such a dislike for the teacher. In his own experiences, Sylas seemed nice enough.

'Legal age is 18 here, kiddo!' Yasuo called out, now lying across the seats. His legs were dangling off the side, swinging comfortably. 'I ain't going to waste it!'

'Ignoring him,' Sylas said, catching Ezreal's attention. 'I have some business to attend to. I will leave the cabin in your care, Professor.'

Braum nodded. 'Yes, leave it to Braum.'

'Good, good. I'll by in a bit then.'

He exited the cabin.

'Where were you guys, anyway? Zoe is whatever, and Irelia's off doing,' he waved his hands around vaguely. ' - something. Where were you two? Braum and I get bored, y'know!'

Braum stroked his moustache. 'Sylas does not like to drink.'

'He's boring.' Yasuo pouted.

'We actually ran into someone,' Ezreal said, taking a seat next to Ekko. 'You ever heard of the Zhyun Theatre Troupe?'

'Nope.' Yasuo said.

'Yes – it is very famous, no?' Braum said.

'Apparently, yeah,' Ekko said. 'We ran into one of their road crew members or whatever. He was -' he furrowed his brows in thought. ' - weird.'

'Weird,' Ezreal nodded. 'But get this – they're going to be in that theatre in the town!'

'Sorry, I'm back now! Did anything happen?' Irelia said, doors sliding open and her swiftly stepping through. 'Has anyone seen Zoe?'

'No.' Yasuo said.

'She was with us a couple of minutes ago.' Ekko said.

Ezreal laughed. 'She just portalled away.'

With a grumble, Irelia tossed her bag back up to the shelf. She eyed Yasuo for a moment.

'Are you drunk?'

'Not yet.'

'Great,' Irelia said, eyes rolling. She shot a glare at Braum. 'You shouldn't let him do this, you're our advisor.'

'He is grown man. He can make own choices, yes?' Braum said, smiling down at Yasuo. Yasuo grinned and shot him a thumbs up.

Irelia shook her head and sat. 'So? What'd you guys get up to?'

Ezreal repeated what he'd said, but Irelia's reaction was much more positive.

'Zyun's here?!' Her eyes were wide, and there was emotion – besides annoyance – in her voice. Ekko and Ezreal recoiled a little. 'Where? When?'

'We, uh, just met a stage hand.' Ezreal said, scratching the back of his head. Ekko nodded.

'Yeah, he said they're doing a show.'

With an amazed huh, Irelia sat down again. 'No kidding.'

'Drama's lame.' Yasuo called.

'Oh, go walk it off, old man.' Irelia called back.

As the train ride resumed, the Battle club members fell into their own activities. Irelia just sat and studied for a while, until a ping from her phone prompted her to smile and leave without a word. Yasuo left for a while, too. Braum sat, content. Ezreal and Ekko, now both wide awake, passed the time playing Tellstones, a board game Irelia had in her bag. Not that they looked. It was definitely not stealing. They'd put it back - she wouldn't mind.

Zoe didn't come back. At about 3 o'clock, Ezreal began to get slightly worried. She'd been acting weird all day - all week actually – and he wondered if she'd gotten herself into any trouble. But with Ekko's general flippancy about it, he pushed those thoughts aside.

At around half past 3, Lux burst through the doors, a ball of pink energy narrowly whizzing past her head – incinerating the back of a chair as it did. She looked to Ezreal and Ekko with a sheepish grin, before being followed in the room by a very angry Zoe.

'Have you calmed down?'

Lux breathed in and gave a single nod. Alune handed her a bottle of water, which she took with muttered thanks. Deep breaths.

The first and second floors of the car were for the members of the Sorcery club. Despite the size of each, it was a real squeeze to fit everyone in. Lux sat with Alune, and across from them was two empty seats – for now.

For the last ten or so minutes, the train had been stopped at Terbisia. The other two people in their cluster had decided to stretch their legs for a bit, leaving Lux alone. Not that she minded, or even really noticed, her mind had been operating on an entirely different plane for the past few hours.

She groaned. She'd never been the type to think about this kind of thing. Never had to. All-girls school. And now a boy liked her?

And another girl liked said boy?

And she herself liked another boy?

She groaned.

To Lux's marginal relief, Alune at least hadn't begun sniggering like a child again, but it was a small comfort. She looked around out the window.

'Do you want to go and take a look around?'

Small shake of her head. 'No, I'm fine. I just want to sit for a bit.'

'Okay. Do you want me to stay?'

Another shake. 'If you want to go get a snack, don't mind me. I'm just going to be here.'

'Okay,' Alune said, standing. 'I will bring you back something.'

She left.

Sweeping looks around the cabin, Lux ultimately stayed in her seat. She pulled out the book she had brought – the latest in a series of true crime thrillers she liked – but she couldn't concentrate. The words just seemed to float off the page.

Zoe's outburst in the morning had been eye-opening. Not only because of Ez, which of course surprised her, but it also made her realise.

She had a crush of her own.

On her teacher.

She wanted to die.

It went without saying, but she was really happy Sylas was on their trip, whatever the reason. More time with him could amount to nothing but good in her eyes. His face bubbled up in her mind's eye.

She wanted to die.

Thinking herself into that particular hole, time passed by Lux quickly, and she barely turned a page. Eventually Alune returned with a bar of chocolate for Lux. The other students trickled back in, and before she knew it the train ride resumed. Lux passed the time, idly chatting with Alune about nothing at all.

The scenery rolled by; green forests past the wide berth of river, the midday sun peeking over the tips of the tall pines between the dips in the mountains. Lux stared out with wide curiosity, she'd never been to this part of the country. It was a soothing view.

Eventually though, Lux's eyes began to tire. Despite how pretty the deep countryside was, she pushed her gaze away with a sigh. She stood – she needed to stretch her legs. Alune asked if she wanted her to come along, but Lux turned her down. She was still in thought and wanted to be alone for a bit. So, with a smile, Lux waded her way out of the crowded cabin.

She decided to head towards the back end of the train, and towards the public-occupied sections. Not for any particular reason, she just wanted to explore. The door slid open, and she stepped out.

A few students were already in the connector, a fairly open space with door to either side and one more opposite her – presumably leading to the other cars – and along the wall fold-up benches and a rack for a single bike. Lux recognised most of the students here as fellow Sorcery clubmates, but didn't know any of them by name. She considered where to go, the Battle club was on the third floor -

But both Ez and Sylas would be there. She frowned.

Different idea, then.

She moved past the cabin and to the back door. It opened with a bit of force – the door was surprisingly heavy – and stepped into a small, rectangular room with ribbed walls. Here she could hear the wheels of the train turn against the track, and smell coal burning mixed with the soothing scent of the rolling nature around them. A weird combination.

Not wanting to spend more time than needed, she hurried through and out the door opposite.

The next car was instantly different. People in casual clothes, work clothes, and all other types of wear littered the room. People were sitting with their luggage, cramming and chatting in the landing room of the train. No one paid her any mind as she slipped in.

Someone she recognised caught her eye, bushy tuft of hair and lazily-worn uniform. In his hand was a small, metal flask. Lux politely stopped just behind him.

'President Yasuo?'

Yasuo turned slowly, grinning when he saw Lux. 'Freshman Lux. What brings you out here? Your boyfriend is back in the cabin.'

'I could ask you the same.' Lux said, ignoring the comment. She looked around. 'It's crowded here.'

Yasuo nodded and scooted over, offering Lux a tiny bit of wall to lean. 'It's not that surprising, this line doesn't run much. Either way, I needed some air.'

With a nod, Lux occupied the space Yasuo left. 'Yeah.'

As Yasuo took a swig from his flask, Lux just looked around. She kept stealing glances at the door to the other cabin, a small ball of nerves worried that someone could step through...

'Something on your mind? Or Someone?' He said, not looking up from his drink.

Lux straightened and calmly shook her head. 'No, not particularly.'

Chuckling, Yasuo thumped his flask atop Lux's head.

'Wha -'

'It's okay, you can tell me. I may know a thing or two about whatever it is.' He winked.

Lux flushed. Was it that obvious? She looked away; she didn't want to talk about it, to be perfectly honest. She'd always rolled her eyes at the girls in novels who would worry over guys. She cringed. Now look at her.

So instead, Lux shook her head. 'Nothing like that.'

Yasuo shrugged with a knowing smile. 'If you say so, First-year. But I do recall being told about a certain blonde boy and his heroic declaration, risking everything he has for -'

'Okay, stop! Please!' Lux blushed. Yasuo laughed, low and warmly.

'I'm just playing. I actually went and asked little miss Ahri if you guys would, hm, make the exam a little easier on us.'

'...What'd she say?'

'She told me to piss off.' He smirked. 'Said; "You clown, you'll have to work for it this time. It might be good for you, even."Real prima-donna, she is.'

Lux saw the chance to turn the conversation away from Ez. 'You seem close to the President.'

'Ahri? I've known her a while is all.' He said with a sigh. Despite the dramatic exhale, though, Yasuo smiled. 'More than a while, actually.'

'Is she, um, your – um...'

Yasuo blinked at her for a couple of moments, then laughed. And he kept laughing. Lux opened her mouth to apologise, but Yasuo raised her hand to cut her off.

'No, no, that woman? No man alive could put up with her shit.'

'I didn't mean to, um, assume -'

'Don't worry about it,' Yasuo said, last laugh extinguishing itself. 'But to answer your question: No. Ahri and I are not an item. I've known her since we were kids.'

'Oh – what was she like? When she was a kid, I mean.'

Yasuo's smile wavered for a split second. 'Hmm. She was...nice enough. I'm not too sure, to be honest. Same as now? She was better friends with my brother.'

'Oh, you have a brother? Does he go to Durandal?'

At that, Yasuo's dumb grin folded into a warm smile. Lux stared, noticing for the first time the dark circles under his eyes.

'He did.'

She felt like she'd stepped over a line.

'I-I'll, um, head back now, President Yasuo.'

Yasuo shot her a sidelong glance. 'Alright.'

As she turned, Yasuo continued in his usual, commanding voice;

'First year, you don't need to worry about us. Ezreal is a dumbass, but the Battle Club is tough – we'll pull through.'

Lux nodded and left.

Pushing herself through the connecting shaft again, Lux found herself back amongst fellow students.

Feeling a little renewed, somehow, she stepped down towards the top floor -

'There you are, Poohead!'

Lux blinked, surprised at the, um, crude address, and looked around to face Zoe. She was flushed, and still clearly angry.

Lux felt stupid, she'd blown her off earlier.

'Zoe, I'm sorry for walking off earlier -'

'Hmph!' Zoe huffed, crossing her arms and turning her nose up with a pout. 'Whatever. I don't care. You care. I don't.'

Lux forced a smile. She wasn't good with kids. 'Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. I, um, want to talk to Ez, is he here?'

At that, Zoe's anger flared again. 'Why? You're not trying to trick him again, are you?!'

'I don't know where you got that idea from,' Lux said, shifting her weight onto her other foot. 'But no, I just want to talk to him.'

'Grrrr...' Zoe closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. She opened her eyes – focused. 'Action.'

She struck a pose, pointing to Lux dramatically. 'I won't let you hurt Ezzie!'

'Zoe, seriously -'

With a flourish, Zoe threw her arm back, rolling up a sleeve. At her wrist was a watch – the strap bulky and metallic, the top wide and flat. She punched in a command, and backhanded the air with a thwap.

A bolt of pink erupted from the device, launching itself backwards at an upward angle. It travelled for a moment, then stopped – Zoe's gaze turned meaningfully at Lux. She smirked.

Lux felt an impending sense of danger. 'Zoe, please, let's not be silly -'

'Action!' She yelled, sending her arm forward. As she did, a portal swallowed her arm – Lux saw it appear behind the bolt, striking it and launching the energy at great speed.

At her.

Lux yelped. Diving backwards, she thanked her luck that the sliding doors parted just fast enough to let her through. The blast streamed past her ears, whimsical trail of fire leaving a smouldering afterimage as it collided with the back of a blue seat.

Looking up, Lux saw Ezreal and Ekko, mouths agape. She smiled at them, calmly, then jumped up as she heard another thwap! Zoe followed through the door, another pink blast following through towards Lux.

She jumped to the side, the bolt narrowly avoiding her chest. Lux raised her head at her attacker, angry. 'Zoe! Stop it!'

'Lux, are you okay?!' Ez's voice, rapidly closing.

'I'll prove you're not good enough for him!' Zoe said, batting another pink back.

Cursing, Lux stood, and spun around to See Ez closing in. She froze. He froze.

They stared at each other for a moment, Lux's face feeling a little heated – Ez's own cheeks flushing just a smidge -

'What are you doing?!' A fourth voice, Ekko, yelled, grabbing Ez's collar and throwing him into a cluster of seats and tackling Lux after him. Another blast landed where she stood.

The three landed in a heap, Ekko on top. He pushed up, glaring down at Lux and Ez, before throwing his glare at Zoe. 'And what are you doing?! This is a train, Zoe!'

A bubbling sound came from the ceiling, and Zoe popped through, landing on the small table between the seats. She struck a pose. 'I'm taking the drama guy's advice!'

Ekko stood, shaking his head. 'This isn't what he meant! You could've killed her!'

Blowing a raspberry, Zoe fell back into the portal above her.

Ez and Lux were on top of each other. They stared. Lux was drawing a blank.

How should she act in front of him now?

Should she say something?

'For the love of -!'

Something grabbed at her collar, dragging her off of Ez. She let out a yelp, and Ez gasped.

'What is wrong with you two?!' Ekko said, spinning Lux around. He wasted no time, grabbing Ez's shirt and pulling him up, too. 'Ponytail, I swear to god - your love life just keeps making -'

At that, Ez snapped back to reality. 'Hey! I didn't ask for any of this!'

'You didn't have to, Ezzie! I'll show you, you don't need to worry about her anymore!'

Ekko glared at Ez, who averted his gaze.

Lux cleared her throat. 'R-regardless, this needs to stop now -'

'Professor!' Ez called, averting his eyes from Lux's. He blinked away -

And double-took. 'He's sleeping?'

Ekko groaned.

With a menacing laugh, Zoe reappeared, this time through a portal on the window. The light around it sucked itself into the portal, a deep chasm of neon mess. Zoe's head stuck out.

'You can't beat me! Give up now, Stinky!'

'Zoe. Stop. Or I'll tell Irelia.' Ekko said.

'Re-re won't -' She slipped back through the portal. Her voice came from behind the aisle of seats. ' - stop me!'

And suddenly, Lux felt angry. Not frustrated like she was with Qiyana. Just angry. She jumped, willing the light inside her to form at her fingertips.

Eyes widening, Ekko put out his hands. 'Wait, Lux, don't -!'

'Fine, you brat! Bring it!' Lux called, throwing a ball of controlled light over the seats. She could feel a thread connecting her to it, faintly. She let it travel for a moment, before snatching that thread and expunging the ball. Zoe yelped, then an 'Ouuuu!'

'Neat! Lemme try!'

'Zoe, let's just calm down!' Ekko.

A ball of light, similar to the one Lux just threw out, rolled to a stop in the aisle. Lux stared at it – slightly discoloured, bright pink and blue cascading in on itself – as it exploded.

The light hit Lux, hot against her skin. She recoiled, a sharp gasp as she fell back into the seat.

Childish laughter followed, Zoe appearing from the shelf above her. She stuck her tongue out and threw another ball of pink light.

As Zoe fell back through the portal, Lux brought up her arms defensively. She formed a barrier just in time, the ball exploding just in front of her. The pink bounced off the white, and she grimaced.

'Zoe!' Ez said from somewhere behind, and blinked next to Lux. He grabbed her, and blinked back a row. 'She didn't trick me or anything! Just calm down!'

In response, a translucent bubble of pink phased through the seat, connecting with Ezreal with a plop. He blinked, looked at Lux, then slumped to the floor.

'Ez!' Lux said, shaking him.

He snored.

'Ezzie'll stay out of this,' Zoe called, not blinking this time. 'I'll beat you before he wakes up!'

There was a shuffle behind Lux, and Ekko hopped over a seat to join her. His shoulder had a scorched hole, exposing a lightly burned streak of skin. In his hand was his blue baton, glowing slightly. When his eyes fell to Ez, he scoffed.

'Great. His fault and he's sleeping.' He stood, sighing. 'Last chance to give up, Zoe.'

'No!'

'Ekko, I'll just -'

'You'll what?' He said, turning to her. 'Nearly kill her? Or have her kill you? No, this time, let's end the fight without anyone nearly dying.'

'What about Ez?' She asked, still shaking his shoulder.

Ekko rolled his eyes.

The next thing that happened didn't make sense. As Ekko drew back his baton, Lux saw the air around him shift – it phased blue, glitched out – then normal. Ekko was no longer pulling back his baton, as if his body had rolled back.

Before Lux could process, he jumped forward down the aisle and towards the exit.

As he did, Zoe appeared from the ceiling, throwing forward another one of her copied pink blasts, then fell back through. Lux lifted her hands to form a barrier, over both her and Ez.

Pink light flashed over her, sparking against her own white -

Brilliant blue engulfed the train car, the sound of lightning thundering as the blue flashed a deep cyan. It washed the pink and white away.

And just as quickly, it was gone – followed by a loud and high pitched Ow! Ez groaned at her side.

'...What happened?'

'Ummm...'

Lux blinked, and peeked her head out around the seats.

Lux stared, Zoe crouched and clutching at the back of her head. Ekko huffed, resting his bat on his shoulder. Glare.

'Are you done?'

'Muuuuuu -' Zoe said, sending a pout at Ekko. 'Meanie.'

'You're lucky I didn't knock you out, brat.' He sighed, letting his baton fall. He turned to Lux and Ez. 'You two, apologise to her.'

'For what?' Ez said, confusion clear on his face. Lux felt a little embarrassed.

Glare. 'She's a kid, Ponytail. I dunno what you said to her, but this is your fault.'

'I didn't say anything!'

'I'm sorry, everyone.' Lux said.

Ez snapped to her, eyes wide and palms forward, shaking them in dismissal. 'No, no, you didn't do anything wrong.'

'You ask me, she's just as much to blame as you and you.' Ekko said, glaring at both Zoe and Ez. 'Work this shit out after the trip, would you? We got enough to think about without you trying to kill each other.'

Zoe grumbled something, prompting Ekko to lean towards her.

'Ahh? What was that? Something I should tell Irelia?'

For once, Zoe's reaction wasn't energetic. She simply nodded, and looked away. '...Sorry.'

Nodding, Ekko rose. He rolled his neck, and walked back to his seat. Zoe glared at him.

'Why can't I copy your move? The big blue whoosh?' She said, voice low.

'Can't copy what ain't there, shortstuff.'

He tossed his baton back on the shelf, and reclined into his seat.

Lux looked between Zoe and Ez, and her embarrassment grew. This whole situation was her fault, essentially all because she didn't notice her friend had a crush on her. And that she didn't realise that Zoe was jealous. She sighed.

On top of all that, she hadn't even been able to do anything. She'd just sat and stared at Ez, like an idiot, wondering how she should approach him.

This was childish.

'I'm sorry, Zoe.' She said.

Zoe looked up, eyes wide and slightly wet at the rims. She was pouting. She opened her mouth – probably to say something incredibly witty – but closed it quickly. She averted her eyes again.

'You still can't have him.'

Lux smiled.

'Uhh, s-so...' Ez stuttered his way towards them, rubbing at his hair.

Deciding to just not be weird about it, Lux addressed him normally. 'What's up, Ez?'

'I...uh...' He said. His face was flushed, but at least he was talking to her. This was the first proper time since his outburst. 'I'm, uh. Sorry. For putting the pressure on you.'

She shook her head. 'Just don't get kicked out over me, you dummy.'

Smile. 'You bet.'

The door slid open, and a confused – and angry – voice called out.

'What the hell happened in here?!'

Everyone froze.

Irelia was not happy.

Five hours later, the train came to a stop.

Ezreal looked up from his hand of cards – he'd bricked – and out the window.

'Finally.' Ekko said, throwing down his own hand, face down. He stretched.

More careful with his own hand, Ezreal followed suit. He yawned as well. Whatever Zoe had done, it was potent. As his eyes inched open, he shot her a glance.

Irelia had not been happy. In fact, she'd spent a good hour chewing out all four of them, then few minutes trying to wake Braum from his own Zoe-induced coma. She'd complied, eventually, and Braum had only laughed.

At some point Yasuo had wandered back in, barely noticing the state of the cabin, and slumped into a deep sleep.

After the chewing, Zoe had been awfully quiet. Ezreal had told her that what she did was stupid, but also that he wasn't mad at her. That seemed to cheer her up a little. Not much though.

Sylas eventually came back, and had lost it at the state of the car. If Irelia was bad, then Sylas...

Well, Ezreal didn't really want to talk about it.

Either way, the group had eventually calmed down enough to fall into an uncomfortable silence. A few hours in Ekko brought out cards, and Ezreal and him began to play. They asked if Zoe or Irelia wanted to join, but both of them had just glared.

Ezreal sighed. 'Okay, what's the move now?'

Irelia, who had previously been sitting quietly with her phone, shrugged and stood. 'We'll make our way to the Inn, and we'll actually start tomorrow. I have to go explain to the Professors what the hell happened in here, then I'll join you.'

Zoe looked away with a grimace.

'Okay, look,' Irelia said, sighing as she lowered the bright pink bag. She handed it to Zoe. 'It's whatever. Hopefully we'll get off with a detention, since the school has insurance. But seriously, don't do it again.'

'...You're not mad anymore?' Zoe asked, quietly. She hesitantly took the bag from Irelia.

With a small smile - forced, but genuine – Irelia patted Zoe on the head. 'With you, that would be a waste of energy. It's okay.'

'Yay!' Zoe said, beaming.

Turning to the two boys as they rose, Irelia's smile stayed. It was still forced. 'You two as well, but seriously, Ezreal...'

He grimaced. 'I know.'

Shrug. 'Well, whatever. We have a long week. Let's not start it by getting at each other's throats.'

Ekko rolled his eyes and elbowed Ezreal jokingly. 'Lay off the romance stuff, dude. You're no good at it.'

'Ignoring you.'

Ekko sniggered.

The door slid open, and Sylas stepped through. Face still angry, but he had cooled off. 'We have everything?'

Ezreal fished the last of his bags down, and stepped through.

'Let's do this.'