Disclaimer: League of Legends belongs to Riot

I woke up to the best sound in the world: rain.

I closed my eyes and just listened to the continuous pitter patter on my windows. I was feeling really lazy. I didn't want to get out of bed.

'Maybe just a few more minutes,' I told myself, but I knew they were empty words. A few minutes never meant a few minutes. If I didn't get out of bed now then I would probably just fall asleep again and find myself waking up in the afternoon.

'But my bed is so nice and comfy,' I thought as I curled up more into my blankets. The weather wasn't helping me at all. I was probably going to stay indoors today so why did it matter whether or not I was in bed or at my desk?

My question was answered by a low growl. 'Why?' I groaned as I rubbed my stomach. It answered me once more.

'Fine, fine! I'll feed you,' I replied, burying my face in Hunter. I kept him on my bed every night. I stayed on my bed for another four minutes before I heard another complaint.

'Sorry! I mean it this time!' I reluctantly untangled myself from my blankets and sat on the edge of my bed. I rose my arms up and stretched, releasing a yawn. I blinked a few times, still feeling a little groggy.

I left my bedroom in my PJs and headed down to the kitchen. My parents were notably not home. They were probably running errands or having some date at a café without me. 'They better not be at Perle's!' I warned, even though they couldn't hear me. They couldn't go to my favorite café without me or at least without bringing me something back.

I stared at my fridge and pondered over what I should eat.

'What do you want?' I heard Hurtle's voice asking me.

'It's not that simple!' I answered the Hurtle voice.

It really wasn't. The only things in my fridge were ingredients. We also ran out of cereal so that wasn't an option. 'Looks like I'm cooking.' My stomach complained. 'Yeah, I didn't want to wait for food either' I agreed.

I cracked two eggs into a bowl and started beating away. It was a chilly day so I decided to make a ham and cheese omelette. As I finished cooking my omelette, I heard a knock on the door. I rose an eyebrow, I wasn't expecting any visitors.

"Coming!" I shouted, quickly plating my breakfast and turning off the stove. I hurried over to my front door and opened it. I didn't want whoever it was to be stuck standing in the rain. The door swung open and standing there was my best friend in a raincoat and no umbrella.

"Hurtle!" I exclaimed and quickly moved aside so he could come in. "Didn't I tell you to use an umbrella when it rains?" I complained. He never liked to carry things and would always opt for the easier route. But that also meant that he was drenched. He dropped his coat on the floor and I glared at him. He saw my expression and immediately picked it up, but the damage was already done. There was a small puddle on the floor.

"I'll go get a towel," he grinned nervously, hanging up his coat.

"Don't bother, I'll do it," I said already halfway up the stairs, "there's an omelette in the kitchen, help yourself!" I shouted as I went through my hallway closet. I grabbed a towel and quickly went to clean up the mess.

As soon as I was done, I went into the kitchen to see Hurtle scarfing down my breakfast. 'I guess I'll make myself another one.' I opened my fridge to get more ingredients. My stomach complained once more, probably annoyed that it was so close to being fed. I ignored it and proceeded to make my breakfast, again.

As I was doing this, I also made Hurtle and myself some tea. "So what's up?" I asked him. He usually gave me a notice whenever he was coming over. I placed the teapot on the counter and handed him a mug. He didn't respond since his mouth was full. "Take your time," I rolled my eyes, walking back to the stove where my omelette was half done.

"I was bored," Hurtle's answer was very simple. I joined him at the counter with my omelette at hand.

"We could've played League or something," I pointed out before eating. He stabbed his fork in my omelette and took a piece.

"Someone's hungry," I commented, pouring us the tea.

"Didn't have breakfast," he shrugged, taking more of my food. I stomach silently protested. "And I came over because I wanted to talk," he added.

"Must be serious," I quirked an eyebrow, "for you to make your way over here."

He remained quiet and we finished my breakfast in silence. He helped me put the plates into the sink before grabbing his mug and walking to the hallway. I followed him with my own mug in hand. We headed to my room. He took a seat at my desk and I took a seat on my bed.

"Alright, what's wrong?" I asked worried.

"I've been thinking about Korea," Hurtle confessed.

"Korea is a nice country," I automatically said. I told myself that I was going to be supportive of my best friend's dreams. I wrapped my hands around my mug and brought it close to my face. I shivered slightly, but welcomed the warmth.

"I told you I was sorry, right?" Hurtle asked, slouching on my chair. I nodded and took a sip of my tea. A couple of weeks after Hurtle found out that he had an offer from Korea, he apologized for not talking to me about it.

"Well I figured it was better late than never – to talk to you about it, I mean," he said. My silence meant that I didn't know how to go about this conversation.

"I talked to Adept last night," Hurtle started and I rose an eyebrow. I wondered just how much the two of them talked. "He told me that he was the other guy at semifinals," Hurtle continued. He didn't look surprised.

"Yeah, I found out about that yesterday," I said, still a little shocked at how small the world was.

"I kind of figured when I saw Cyan clinging onto him," Hurtle smirked. I was pretty impressed by my best friend's deductive skills.

"Really?" I asked. I thought about Cyan and her personality. She did seem really fond of Adept, but that's also because they were dating, right? It was only natural.

"Yeah," Hurtle grinned, proud of his deduction skills, "Just call me Sherlock," he boasted.

"Okay Sherlock," I rolled my eyes as I said that, "What did you and Adept talk about?"

"That's a good question, my dear Watson!" Hurtle straightened up in my chair. I grimaced, this was going to be a long day. "Did you know that Adept is also trying to become a professional?" Hurtle asked me.

"Yeah, I think he mentioned it," I remembered. It wasn't uncommon for someone to go pro.

"Well he's the son of Rekkles and Deft," Hurtle revealed and my jaw dropped.

"Wait, the Rekkles and Deft?" I repeated and he nodded. My parents had told me about their competition when I asked them more about their past. They were nonetheless happy to share stories with me and were glad that I was now interested in their career. They had also showed me pictures from when they were younger. Rekkles was attractive when he was younger, and the story about his bromance with Deft made me squeal. They were a match made in heaven and here I was, friends with their son.

"Enough fangirling," Hurtle said, breaking me out of my trance. I blushed, it was so romantic though! I couldn't help but be interested. "Man, if only Adept was here to see your reaction," Hurtle smirked and I glared at him.

"You wouldn't," I dared, almost regretting it.

"Try me," he stuck his tongue out and I threw Hunter at him – which he luckily caught.

"I'm sorry Hunter!" I cried out, putting my mug down on my bedside table and running over to him. I took him from Hurtle and hugged him before returning to my bed.

"Hey! What about my apology! I almost spilled hot tea on myself!" Hurtle complained as I sat down.

"So, go on," I said completely ignoring his protests.

"Well apparently he and his parents don't get along," Hurtle continued. I frowned. That wasn't good. I knew how it felt not to get along with one parent, but two?

"Yeah," he confirmed when he saw my expression, "Apparently they want him to play AD carry."

"I'd bet. They were both really good," I commented. I remember Doublelift telling me that Rekkles and Deft were both young when they made their debut. Fnatic really wanted Rekkles on their team, so they even waited for him to be old enough to play in the LCS.

"But he wants to play mid," Hurtle reminded me. I took another sip of my tea. That was right, Adept always played mid lane when he could. I thought it was because it was easier to synergize with Cyan.

"So he made a deal with his parents," Hurtle said slowly. He seemed a little hesitant to tell me. "If he could make a team that could make it to the LCS, he'll be allowed to play mid. If not, he has to listen to his parents and tryout for teams as an AD carry," Hurtle explained.

"That's terrible!" I remarked, lowering my mug. His parents were trying to make him play a role that he didn't want to just because they were both amazing AD carries?

"Being an AD carry isn't terrible!" Hurtle protested and I giggled.

"Not everything is about you, Hurtle," I grinned.

"Just saying," Hurtle held his hands up in defense.

"Put your hands up!" I said as he made the motion, "I'm placing you under arrest," I mockingly said. He quirked an eyebrow, but had a very amused look on his face.

"Sounds kinky," he said and I face-palmed.

"Way to ruin it," I muttered, pouting. He just laughed and put his hands back down.

"Sorry sheriff," he apologized, but I knew he wasn't sorry.

"I thought I was Watson," I reminded him.

"Sheriff Watson?" Hurtle put together and I just shook my head.

"We're getting distracted, get on with the story," I said, flopping on my stomach, being careful not to spill my tea.

"So yesterday – when Cyan freaked out," Hurtle went on. I remember Cyan getting mad at Adept for not talking to her about something. I guess this was it. 'At least we got to play Twisted Treeline,' I thought of the positive. We needed one more game for our placements. Hurtle was actually really good at the map. I'd never admit it though – don't need to boost his ego even more.

"It was because Adept wanted us to be on the team and –" I didn't let Hurtle continue.

"WHAT," I stared at him. I couldn't have heard him correctly.

"Adept wants us to be on his team," Hurtle said once more.

"I don't remember saying anything about wanting to –" he cut me off this time.

"I know Aph, I told him that. He wanted me to talk to you about it," Hurtle disclosed. I frowned. Sure I liked playing the game, but I still didn't want to become a professional.

"I also told him that I had an offer from Korea," Hurtle went on like I never interrupted.

"And?" I asked impatiently. He continued to ignore my outbursts.

"And he sounded pathetic," Hurtle said truthfully. "He really wants us to consider it," Hurtle grimaced. Knowing Hurtle, he probably said he would. Hurtle wasn't completely heartless that he'd brush aside a friend – even if he was an online friend.

"So here I am, ready to talk to you about it," Hurtle stated, leaning back. He brought his hands together and interlaced them. He just looked at me, waiting for me to talk.

"What about Korea?" I asked him. I realized I was just looking for excuses. I didn't even want Hurtle to move away, but here I was bringing it up like it was the better option.

"I still have almost two months to decide," Hurtle informed me. Semifinals just happened recently, there was still a lot of time before the Championship actually began.

"So you're willing to give up Korea to form a challenger team?" I demanded. My voice got louder and my grip on my mug got tighter. Hurtle was so close to his dream, was he really going to take a few steps back?

"I don't know," Hurtle frowned. "It's a risk that I don't know if I want to take," he confided.

"I think that… if you were really against the idea, you wouldn't be here talking to me about it," I observed. Hurtle probably would have just told Adept no, and told him that I wasn't interested. But the fact that Hurtle was here in my room talking about it meant a part of him wavered.

He gave me a small smile, "And that's why you're my best friend. You already knew." I laughed. We really did know each other well.

"Wow," I said as I put my mug on the floor before rolling over onto my back. "Who would have thought," I muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

"What?"

"Only a few years ago I was totally against playing this game," I turned my head so I could see him. "Then I was okay with playing the game, but refused to consider it as a career…" I trailed off.

"… and?" Hurtle gave me a verbal nudge to continue.

"And now I'm here listening to you and thinking about whether or not I want to try," I emphasized the last word. This was difficult for me. I told myself for years that I wasn't going to be like my parents. I wanted a normal job, a normal life. I didn't want to be famous – not that I was guaranteed fame anyways. We could end up losing and not making it to the LCS.

"Y'know. I didn't mention this before, but if I went to Korea, my support was going to be a guy named Mada," Hurtle brought up. I narrowed my eyes and flipped back over to my stomach.

"What does 'Mada' have anything to do with this?" I asked him curiously. Who was this 'Mada' person anyways?

"He's the son of Mata… and Madlife," Hurtle mumbled the last part.

"I refuse!" I objected. There was no way my best friend was going to have that person's… spawn as a support.

"That's why I didn't tell you," Hurtle smiled weakly. I huffed. Of course he'd keep this away from me. If I knew, I probably wouldn't visit him in Korea. Even though my relationship with Doublelift was slowly recovering, I still haven't fully forgiven him. I definitely didn't want to have anything to do with Madlife either.

"But… if we made a team, then you'd be my support," Hurtle reasoned. That's right. Assuming that the team consisted of Hades, Cyan and Adept – that would leave Hurtle and I with the bottom lane. I'd be supporting my best friend.

"And we already have good synergy…" Hurtle continued. That was true as well. Years of friendship made us good at reading each other's mind. He almost always knew when I was going to engage or when I was just poking. There were very few things I had to tell him when we were playing together. He knew when I was going to ward, or when I was going to roam. He would then adjust his play. There was almost never a 'Where were you?' or 'Why didn't you fight?'. There was just trust.

Before I could say anything, I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in," I said and the door opened. Both of my parents were standing there.

"Oh hey Jasper," Aphromoo greeted when he looked around the room. "I figured you were over," he stated.

"What's with the serious looks?" Doublelift inquired. Hurtle and I looked at each other before looking back at my parents.

"How did you guys decide that you wanted to go pro?" I asked my parents slowly. Within moments, their eyes widened. They looked at each other, Aphromoo nodded and then they both entered my room. They took a seat on my bed.

"You're thinking about going pro?" Aphromoo asked me. Doublelift didn't say anything. Probably because we've had this conversation together many times before and it usually ended up bad.

"Hurtle's thinking about it," I joked. Everyone knew that Hurtle was going to go pro no matter what. "… and I might be supporting him," I finally said. Aphromoo's face immediately lit up. I rolled my eyes. I figured he'd be happy. He did support Doublelift after all.

"With your ranked team?" Doublelift asked. He didn't express the same happiness that Aphromoo did. Instead, he looked a little worried.

"Maybe," Hurtle interjected. My parents looked at him, almost forgetting that he was a part of this conversation as well.

"We all know that Aph doesn't want to become a professional," Hurtle started and both of my parents nodded in acknowledgement, "And we all know that I got an offer in Korea," once again my parents nodded. This was all old news.

"But one of our friends asked us to make a challenger team with him," Hurtle informed them.

"You guys would have to play in the Summer Promotion," Doublelift pointed out and Hurtle nodded.

"Yeah, we'll have to play in the Challenger Series in Spring." Hurtle already knew what had to be done. "There's no guarantee that we'll make it…" Hurtle trailed off.

"You guys will be in the LCS for one split," Aphromoo jumped in, "and then try to qualify for Worlds."

This was all too much information for me. There were tournaments to participate in, but first we had to make it into the top 20 before the freeze date which was in January.

"That'll give us enough time to build team synergy," Hurtle believed and my parents looked conflicted.

"Possibly. You guys already play together now, right?" Aphromoo asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, we're about to hit Challenger," I told my parents.

"Impressive," Doublelift praised. "Who would've thought that our little girl was going to play League competitively," he said looking at Aphromoo.

Aphromoo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. We know. You always knew this was going to happen."

"I didn't say that!" Doublelift said bewildered. He put his hands up like Hurtle did earlier in defense.

"C'mon dad. We all know," I too rolled my eyes and he grinned at me.

"Well then… I told you so," he smirked and I groaned.

"I didn't say yes yet!" I complained.

"But you didn't say no," Doublelift chuckled.

"Stop mocking her," Aphromoo glared at Doublelift.

"Sorry," Doublelift squeaked, not wanting to piss off Aphromoo.

"Hun, what do you want?" Aphromoo ignored Doublelift's guilty looks and turned to me.

"She doesn't know –" Hurtle began, but he was cut off when Aphromoo rose his hand to silence him.

"I asked Stella," he said, not looking away from me. "What do you want?" he asked me again.

I sighed and just hugged Hunter.

"I'm… not against trying it," I mumbled, not looking at any of them. I could feel them exchanging looks with each other. However, before they could comment… "BUT," I looked up and saw that all eyes were on me. "But I'm still not all for it," I said. I had to be realistic about this. I was barely in Diamond and I only started to enjoy playing the game more.

"We'll let the two of you talk about this," Aphromoo said, getting up. He made a move to my door before looking over his shoulder. "Peter…" he called Doublelift's name to signal that he too had to leave.

"Fine…" Doublelift reluctantly got up, "but you have to tell us what you decide," he gave me a pointed look. I just nodded and the two of them left.

"Well that didn't help me at all," I grimaced.

"They support you," Hurtle told me. I cast my eyes down. I guess that was true. They were willing to let me decide what I wanted to do. If this was a couple of months ago, Doublelift would have immediately agreed to the idea without my input.

"Hurtle, what do you think?" I asked him. I wanted a second opinion.

"Huh? You want my opinion?" he questioned and I nodded. "I think that you should think about it. I'm not saying that you should accept or deny, but you should think about it," Hurtle emphasized the last part.

I groaned. That didn't help me at all. It only confirm what I already knew. I grabbed my pillow and held it over my head. My reaction made Hurtle laugh.

"C'mon, let's go run out in the rain," he suggested, leaving my desk and walking over to my bed. He pulled the pillow from my grasp and tossed it back where it belonged.

"Y'know that'll make you feel better," he grinned.

"So much for staying indoors…" I mumbled before getting off my bed. I decided to listen to my best friend. I could probably use this to clear my mind. I kicked him out of my room and changed out of my PJs. I decided to change into a dress because we were planning on being drenched head to toe. Wearing jeans would make me feel terrible after. I met Hurtle downstairs who grabbed my umbrella and handed me my coat. I tossed him the sweatshirt I brought for him. His coat was already soaked.

"We'll be back!" I yelled and we were out before my parents could ask us where we were going. Hurtle grabbed my hand and started running towards the park. The umbrella stayed closed in his other hand.

"We're going to get sick!" I called out as I chased after Hurtle.

"No we won't!" Hurtle reassured as we neared the park. I felt the rain crash down on me and took a deep breath. This felt nice. As soon as we made it to the park, Hurtle let go of my hand and halted.

"Swings?" he asked me.

"Swings," I confirmed and we raced over to the swing set. We both took a seat and he dropped the umbrella next to him. We were already soaked, but I didn't feel cold – not yet. The adrenaline kept me warm.

We both kicked off the ground. I leaned my head back slightly and let the rain hit my face. We were the only ones at the park. We spent countless minutes on the swings competing with each other to see who could get the highest. Hurtle won, but I claimed that it was only because he had longer legs so it looked like he went higher.

We took turns going down the slides and ran around the jungle gym playing tag. It felt like we were kids again, and not last years in secondary school. My dress was definitely going to be ruined after all of this. Hurtle grabbed both of my hands and we spun around in circles, dancing in the rain.

"Feel better?" Hurtle asked me. We were both sitting on the floor exhausted. It was still raining.

"Much better," I said before sneezing. "And terribly cold," I winced. He rolled his eyes and jumped up. He offered me a hand which I accepted and pulled me up.

"Let's go warm up at my place," Hurtle decided and I nodded. His house was closer to the park anyways. He went to pick up the abandoned umbrella and met me at the entrance. He opened it and shielded both of us from the rain. Not that it mattered anyways because we were already soaked to our bones.

When we arrived at his house, Uncle Turtle wasn't home. We both headed upstairs and he tossed me a towel and some of his clothes. I gratefully took the items and headed into the bathroom. The bathroom floor was already wet due to the water dripping from my clothes and hair. I shivered, deciding it was time to shower.

When I left the bathroom wrapped in a shirt that was too big for me and boxer shorts, Hurtle was already changed. He had two steaming cups of hot chocolate on his desk. He had his league client open and was chatting with Adept. I took one of the cups and let the liquid warm me. I ignored the burning sensation on my tongue.

"If I get sick tomorrow, I'm supporting Hades in top," I threatened Hurtle. He laughed and turned to look at me with his father's smile.

"Adept was asking if we've decided yet," Hurtle informed me.

"Oh? And what did you say?" I asked him. Hurtle looked at the screen and then back at me.

"I haven't answered him."

"Oh," I furrowed my eyebrows. I almost completely forgot about the offer after our trip to the park.

"What should I say?" Hurtle asked me. At that point, I knew Hurtle was already agreeing to the offer, but now he was just asking me for my confirmation. I stared at my best friend. He was willing to give up Korea to make a challenger team that may or may not make it into the LCS. He was willing to stay here in Germany. This was his way of letting me help him decide. My answer could determine whether or not Hurtle stayed.

Was I ready to decide my future career? If I didn't like it, I could always back out. I had the support of my parents, I had the support of Hurtle and I had the support of my teammates – well I wasn't sure about Cyan. I knew Hades wouldn't mind if Hurtle and I joined the team. Hurtle waited patiently for my response. This was a big decision that I wasn't sure I was ready to make. But… a part of me wanted to take the risk. A part of me wanted to see how far we could go. A part of me wanted to… try.

"Tell him…" I started, thinking over my words. I could always spend more time thinking about it. But I knew with one look at Hurtle's face, that I've secretly already decided.

"Tell him that he's got himself a bot lane."

11/22/14