Disclaimer: League of Legends belongs to Riot

"Do I really have to go?" I whined to my fathers.

I clutched the card in my hands. My parents received an invitation to a 'Former North American League of Legends Pros' reunion (they definitely need a shorter title for it).

According to the invitation, a bunch of them now resided in Europe. I guess this really was where all the retired professionals went. I'm not sure why though – California has much nicer weather.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Aphromoo answered.

I looked at him doubtfully, "Yeah, because a reunion for a bunch of old people will be fun."

"Hey! We're still you—"

"Dad, don't even," I stopped him before he could even start his rant.

"Okay fine. But..." Aphromoo turned his head and gave me puppy dog eyes, "…you get to meet our friends! And their kids!" Aphromoo made dramatic hand motions to emphasize how important this was. I crossed my arms, still unwilling to go.

"And… Jasper will be there too." He had a triumphant look on his face. He knew I could be swayed to go just by the presence of my best friend.

"Going all-in, eh?" I rose my eyebrow, but he just gave me an innocent shrug. I pursed my lips and gave it a thought.

I let out a quick sigh before giving in.

"Well... I guess if he's going to be there…" I started, looking down at the invitation and away from Aphromoo's hopeful gaze, "then I don't mind going too."

"Great! I'll let them know," Aphromoo said happily. He took the invitation from my hands and pulled out his cell phone. I'm sure he wanted to confirm with them before I could change my mind. During the whole conversation Doublelift didn't say a word.

Doublelift and I haven't talked much since the brunch. Aphromoo did most of the conversing during family activities. For a while, Doublelift only gave me one word replies or grunts. So in return, I did the same. Eventually we both ended up ignoring each other completely. We're both terribly stubborn, but he started it!

"Alright. I confirmed that the three of us will be attending," Aphromoo said as he hung up.

"When did Andy buy a house in Germany?" Doublelift asked his partner. He was looking over the invitation that Aphromoo handed to him and finally decided to speak up.

"Not sure, maybe he's planning on moving the team over to Europe," Aphromoo joked.

They were talking about the owner of Team Solo Mid: Andy "Reginald" Dinh. Thanks to his management, Team Solo Mid was still a top team today. In fact if I recall correctly, Aphromoo said something about TheOddOne's son being on the current roster.

"So Aphy, I think I still have some old CLG shirts you can wear to the reunion…"

"Yeah… no. You already used your trump card." I smirked at Aphromoo's crestfallen expression.

"You can't win every time, Dad," I said as I skipped away from the living room. At least I was able to retain some of my dignity. 'He was never good at Poker anyways.'

I swung my backpack over my shoulder and opened the front door.

"I'm leaving now!" I shouted.

"Bye hun!" Aphromoo called out from the kitchen. I heard Doublelift grunt.

"Really Peter?" Aphromoo questioned before I closed the door. 'I'll just leave him to the wrath of Aphromoo,' I thought as I locked the door.

I walked down the block, humming as I made my way to the park. This was the park where Hurtle and I spent most of our childhood playing. It was also where I met Hurtle every morning before school. We made it a habit of walking together.

"I heard you're going to the reunion." I looked up to see my best friend walking over to me.

"What – I only agreed to that like… fifteen minutes ago!"

"Dad got a call from your parents," Hurtle shrugged. "Apparently Aphromoo wanted to make sure I was going so you wouldn't get mad at him."

I face-palmed. "That father of mine…" I muttered, moving to Hurtle's side. Hurtle grinned as we left the park.

"How's Uncle Turtle?" I asked, making small talk, "Did he get over his cold?"

"Yeah, finally. I had to babysit him all of yesterday!" Hurtle complained. We didn't play ranked 5s yesterday because he was too busy.

I giggled, I could imagine WildTurtle demanding the reluctant Hurtle to take care of him. After the divorce, his parents decided it would be best for Hurtle to live with WildTurtle. Xpecial was moving to the city over and they thought it wouldn't be fair to make him transfer in the middle of the school year – something I was grateful for. School just wouldn't be the same without him.

"Oh yeah. I managed to get into Plat I yesterday," I said proudly. I was stuck in Plat II for the longest time. Well, not really stuck. I didn't like playing ranked games. The only reason I would play was to make sure I didn't decay.

"Did you duo with Hades?" Hurtle asked. There was a playful smile on his face.

"Yeah, he's a much better AD carry than you are," I teased.

"Hey!"

I decided not to tell him that Hades was actually playing top for all of our games.

"I still have another shirt if you want." I looked at my bedroom door to see Aphromoo holding one of his old CLG shirts. It was almost identical to the one he was wearing.

"And match with you? Ew. No thank you," I retorted. I wrapped my arms around me and pretended to shiver in disgust. My father just laughed and threw the shirt at my face.

"Hey! That was uncalled for," I complained, removing the shirt from my head. Aphromoo stuck his tongue out at me. "How mature, Dad," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Go get dressed, we're leaving soon," my father ordered before leaving the room. I shook my head at his retreating figure. I closed my door before peering into my closet. There was no way I was going to wear this shirt.

After getting dressed, I met with my parents downstairs. Doublelift was also wearing a CLG shirt. 'Oh goodness, they're actually matching.'

"For someone who didn't actually want to go, you're more dressed up than we are," Aphromoo said as soon as he saw me. Although he said that, he had a huge grin on his face. I was wearing a white strapless dress that went down to my knees. I had also decided to put on some eyeliner as well.

"Seemed like a special occasion," I shrugged as I put on my flats. I wanted to leave a good first impression. This was a reunion after all.

"Just admit it, you wanted to go," Aphromoo teased.

"Never."

"Hey, long time no see," a guy greeted us by the front door. He gave both of my parents a hug before turning to me. "And who is this?" he asked.

"Andy, this is our daughter Stella. Stella, meet Andy – the owner of TSM," Aphromoo introduced.

"Nice to meet you!" I said with a smile on my face. Even if I didn't want to be here, I knew I had to be polite. 'So this is the famous Reginald' I noted.

"Likewise. Come on in," Reginald moved to the side so we could fit through the door.

"Aphy, go find Jasper. We're going to talk to Andy for a bit," Aphromoo said. I nodded and removed my shoes before going further in. It was only proper to do so in an Asian household.

I scanned the room for my best friend. I spotted Uncle Turtle conversing with others and walked over to him.

"Hey Stella," he greeted me with a hug when I reached him.

"Hey Uncle Turtle, do you know where Hurtle is?" I asked. He pointed to the living room couch and I thanked him. As I left, I could hear the people he was talking to laughing at him.

"She calls you Uncle Turtle?" one of them said.

Hurtle was talking to a guy and girl. They looked younger than us. I tapped his shoulder before sitting on the armrest next to him.

"Hey Aphy," he said, moving over so I could slide next to him on the couch. I bit my lip wondering if I should call him by his summoner name or his real name.

"Hey Jasper," I greeted in return before looking at his companions, "Hi, I'm Stella."

"Wait, but didn't he just call you Aphy?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just a nickname, don't ask," I lifted my shoulders and shrugged.

"Weird," the boy responded. "I'm Dustin, and this is my twin sister Abigail," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled.

"They're Altec and Pobelter's kids," Hurtle informed me. My mouth formed a small 'o' as I stored this piece of information in my head.

"Who are your parents?" Abigail asked.

"Aphromoo and Doublelift."

"Oh! Rush Hour," Dustin said excitedly. "Do you play League?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged once more, "Occasionally," I answered. Hurtle snorted at my reply, but I ignored him. "How about you guys?"

"Dustin plays a lot more than I do. I prefer FPS games," Abigail replied.

"That's cool, I'm terrible at FPS games," I confessed. Hurtle just nodded his head in agreement. "Hey!" I smacked his arm.

"What! You're the one who said you were terrible," Hurtle complained, rubbing his arm.

"You didn't have to agree!" Our little argument just made the twins laugh.

"Are you two dating?" Abigail asked. I rose an eyebrow and looked at Hurtle.

"Ew. That's almost like incest," I said.

"Yeah, she's like the little sister I never wanted," Hurtle agreed.

"What – not even. I'm the older one!"

"Only by two months! You're short enough to be the little one," Hurtle argued.

"You two like to argue a lot," Dustin interjected. I couldn't deny that. Hurtle and I shared a lot of playful banter.

We all talked for a while about miscellaneous things. Then I noticed that Abigail was no longer in the conversation. She was busy staring at the other side of the room. Finally, the boys realized that we both weren't talking.

"What are you two looking at?" Hurtle asked.

"Not sure," I replied and Abigail looked back at us, a little embarrassed that we caught her.

"I-It's nothing!" she said, sitting up straight. Dustin just rolled his eyes when he identified who she was looking at.

"She's just looking at Dimitri," Dustin informed us, "She's been crushing on him since forever."

"T-That's not true!" Abigail flailed her arms, trying to deny it.

"Who's Dimitri?" Hurtle asked curiously.

"He's Dade and Hai's son," Dustin answered, ignoring his twin sister. He pointed at the tall Asian who was talking to some of the adults. As if he felt all of us staring, Dimitri turned his head and looked toward us. He waved and the twins waved back. He excused himself from his conversation and walked over to us.

"Hey Dustin, Abigail," he greeted as soon as he reached us. The twins greeted him and Abigail had a small blush on her face. She was cute.

Then he turned to Hurtle and me. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Dimitri," he said, reaching his hand out.

"I'm Jasper," Hurtle shook his hand.

"Stella," I greeted, shaking his hand as well. He had a strong grip.

"When did you get here, Dimitri?" Dustin asked as Dimitri took a seat next to Abigail. She had a huge smile on her face.

"Just a few minutes ago."

"I'll be right back," Hurtle stated, getting up he walked over to the dining room where more people had gathered. He was probably going to talk to some of the adults. I forgot that this was a good opportunity for him to network.

As the rest of us continued to talk, I couldn't help but notice that there was something familiar about Dimitri. I just couldn't put my finger on it. I also noticed that he was giving me quick glances every few minutes. It made me feel a little self-conscious.

Soon the twins were called to the kitchen by their parents. They told us that they would be back soon and left. Well, Abigail reluctantly left. Now it was just me and Dimitri.

"So do you play League?" I asked, trying to start a conversation. I could tell that we both felt a little awkward.

"Yeah," he responded. There was a moment of silence when neither of us spoke.

"Do you?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Not often," I said. Now that the twins were gone, I realized that Dimitri was actually a quiet person. "I only play the game casually."

He smiled, "Not going to try to go pro like everyone else?" I laughed at that.

"Nah, only Hu – I mean Jasper is planning on going pro." I caught myself. It was strange having to use Hurtle's real name so much. I'm sure he wouldn't have minded if I just used his summoner name, but Dimitri didn't know what it was.

"How about you?" I asked, switching the topic from my best friend to him.

"I'm thinking about it. I have friends who are trying to go pro," Dimitri shrugged, "I'd consider joining a team with them."

"That's cool," I nodded my head. I don't think I ever considered the possibility of joining the same team as Hurtle. I'm not sure if that would change my mind about playing professionally.

"I'm only Plat I anyways," I confessed. Dimitri tilted his head before shaking it. "What?" I asked confused.

"Nothing, just had a déjà vu moment." I didn't ask him for what he meant.

"STELLA!" I turned my head to find the source. I saw Hurtle beckoning me over. I looked back at Dimitri and he was already standing.

"Don't worry about me," he said with a smile. I thanked him and walked over to Hurtle. He was standing with another Asian boy.

"Aphy, this is Lust," Hurtle introduced the boy to me. I gave him a funny look. 'What kind of parents name their son Lust?' I wondered.

"That's his summoner name," Hurtle added as I shook his hand. 'Of course there isn't anyone who'd name their son that,' I mentally smacked myself.

"I'm Ham Jang Ho," Lust said. He only looked half Korean.

"I'm Stella Black, nice to meet you. I'm assuming you're Lustboy's son?" He nodded in confirmation.

"Lustboy and Bjergsen are my parents." After he said that, I had a small epiphany.

"You're the one who met up with Hurtle a while ago!" I exclaimed. When I talked to Hurtle about his dinner with Xpecial, he mentioned something about his parents' former teammates.

"Yeah, he might be my future teammate," Hurtle spoke up.

Our conversation continued on, but I couldn't help but zone out. I stared in front of me and watched my best friend and his potential teammate talk.

His potential teammate.

I almost forgot that Hurtle might be leaving.

11/15/14