"Isha?" Ekko repeated the name.

Jinx nodded. "She dropped into my life one day—literally. Some creeps were after her, and I decided to just take them out."

Ekko cringed at how nonchalantly she'd said those words.

"I guess she ended up following me after that. Saved me from Vi and her topside enforcer friend. I let her stick around after that."

"She saved you?"

Another nod. "They were planning on killing me. It's how I lost my finger." Jinx wiggled all but her middle finger. "Isha latched onto me and just wouldn't let go."

Ekko shook his head in understanding. It didn't feel that long ago that Vi was the one who was arguing with him about how Powder was still in there. Oh how the roles had reversed. "I see."

He chose not to further prod Jinx on the matter. Still, he was curious. The two sat in silence. Ekko running through all he'd experienced and learned in the last hour, while Jinx continued to think fondly of her memories with Isha. The two remained that way for what could've been hours but only felt like minutes, lost in thought.

Ekko had been so deep in thought that he almost forgot Jinx was in the room with him. It wasn't until she spoke again, voice raspy, that he was reminded of her presence.

"She felt like my second chance, y'know."

Her voice was small, quiet, and laced with hurt. Without asking, Jinx had continued to tell Ekko about Isha. From what he could see, it looked like Jinx had needed to verbally process her love for this person.

Which was strange to think about. Because Ekko hadn't thought it possible for Jinx and love to be used in the same sentence. But seeing the way she talked about this Isha, the way her heart longed to be with her again and how much she'd changed Jinx, Ekko knew without a doubt that Jinx had cared for this girl deeply. She loved her.

"It was like I was Vi this time. I got to take care of Isha. I taught her new things. I kept her safe. She was..." Jinx trailed off, her voice cracking with the next word. "Everything."

Jinx's lip quivered, her voice wavering as she spoke. Ekko could tell she was fighting back tears. It felt as though he'd never seen her cry.

"I was finally turning around because of her. I didn't... care—about Piltover, Zaun, Silco's dream." She breathed. "I didn't care about anything. Just her."

Whoever Isha was, Ekko wanted to meet her.

"What happened?" He asked.

And he regretted it the second he did. Tears sprang in Jinx's eyes, cascading down her face and further smearing her already ruined makeup. She bit back her sobs, pulling her legs to her chest and curling in on herself tightly.

Ekko just felt like he kept messing up with her. He was too curious for his own good. Especially when it came to Jinx. How stupid was he, hearing her tell him about how this girl meant everything to her and how they seemed inseparable, to end up asking what had happened when it clearly couldn't have been good?

"Jinx, I didn't mean to—"

"She's gone!"

Jinx wailed, grabbing what she could of her hair. She was rocking back and forth, the tears still pouring out of her eyes. It was her fault.

"I jinx everything! It's who I am, Ekko! Isha should have never met me! She was just a kid!"

Ekko was at a loss for what to do. He swallowed thickly, eyes locked on Jinx while she tugged on her hair at the memories of what had happened. The things he would do to be able to go further than four seconds back in time. To have never asked such a stupid question in the first place.

"Vander—no... it wasn't Vander. Whatever possessed Vander... it killed her."

Her cries rang through the room. Ekko hated the sound of them. He desperately wanted to reach out and comfort her, so unsure of what to do. But he knew she flinched at the slightest bit of contact.

Ekko got off the bed, scooting next to Jinx. His knees hit the ground, sitting on the back of his legs. Jinx's head was twitching, shaking left to right. He heard her faintly repeating 'shut up, shut up, shut up,' under her breath.

Suddenly, tugging on her hair wasn't enough. Jinx tried digging her nails into her head, and when that didn't do the trick to stop the voices ringing in her mind, she pulled her fist back and smacked it into the side of her head.

The pain dulled the voices, if only for a second. Jinx balled her fist again, extending it to hit herself in the head once more. Her effort was cut short when strong hands grabbed at her wrist. She moved to try using the other arm when it, too, was caught and held back.

She pulled and pulled, eyes screwed shut while her body twisted and turned, but to no avail. Whoever was holding her wasn't letting go. The voices screamed in her head at her.

Your fault

You ruin everything

Nobody can get close to you

Ekko's next—

Her fist pulled free from the person's grasp while she knocked it into her head once more. She was once again forcefully grabbed on her wrist, but it didn't matter. The voices finally began to die out.

"—Would you stop that?!"

This voice was desperate, and real. Jinx blinked, her eyes fluttering open and reality coming back to her. She was still struggling, realizing it was Ekko who had pinned her arms away from her. The touch made her whole body cringe.

"Let me go!" She screamed at him.

Jinx continued to writhe under his grasp. Her eyes caught his briefly, but it was all she needed to see how terrified he looked. His face screamed pure panic. Now that she was focusing on it, Jinx could even feel the way his body was slightly shaking.

Ekko watched as Jinx's clenched jaw relaxed. Her eyebrows lowered, teeth unbarred, and she hiccuped as her sobs picked up again. He had no time to react before Jinx flung herself on him, arms crossing over his shoulders while she clung to him as if her life depended on it.

It was his turn to be stiff under her touch. He responded much quicker than she did, though. His posture relaxed and he awkwardly patted her back in reassurance. Jinx sobbed even louder, if it was possible.

Minutes passed, Jinx's body violently shaking under Ekko's hold. He lightly traced circles over her back in a comforting notion as she continued to soak the collar of his shirt. Despite all the bad she'd done, all the hurt she had caused him and the Firelights... his heart ached for her.

Jinx sniffled, her shaking lulling into a small tremor.

"Everyone close to me dies." She whispered. Ekko wouldn't have heard her had her voice not been speaking right next to his ear. "Because of me."

Ekko shifted to pull away from the embrace. His hands rested on her shoulders while her eyes refused to meet his.

"It's not your fault, Powder." He felt it would be contradictory to call her Jinx right now. "Vi told me what happened that night. You couldn't have known."

Jinx cupped her face in her hands. "Vi told me to stay. I should have listened."

Regret was laced in her voice. What could Ekko say? Two things could be true at once.

"Just because you should've stayed doesn't mean it's wrong that you didn't. You did what you thought was right. I know the Powder then would never have done anything to hurt her friends. Her family."

Jinx didn't respond. Her tears had stopped. She pulled her hands away from her face while Ekko retraced his from her shoulders. Her face was unreadable. Devoid of emotion.

"Give me a minute," Ekko said, stepping out of the room.

Ekko's previous words repeated in Jinx's mind. What really happened between then and now that had changed her so much? She used to never even be able to fight, and now she could kill someone whose name she didn't even know.

What would her former self think of who she turned into? Was she always doomed to turn out this way? Ekko spoke of a universe where she'd been everything she used to want to be. Was it possible to start again, even if things had been so horribly different here?

The door opened, pulling Jinx from her thoughts. Ekko had returned, a tray of food in one hand and a wet rag in the other. He crouched next to her again, setting the food in front of her.

"More food already?" She asked.

"You'll wanna eat as much as you can before tomorrow."

"What's the rag for? Am I that messy of an eater?"

Jinx began picking at the food on the tray. She pretended to be uninterested at first, but it was warm and tasted so much better than any food she had in months. It wasn't long before her bites turned greedy.

"You're a messy crier," he stated.

He reached to wipe her face but Jinx was back to dodging any and all forms of contact. Ekko was tempted to use the hug against her already but thought better of it. He held his hand out expectantly.

Jinx finally rolled her eyes, holding still while Ekko delicately wiped the makeup from her face. Something about his touch made her not want to pull away. Though she'd rather die before telling him that.

Ekko used his free hand to gently hold Jinx's chin. He moved her head up, down, and around while wiping all traces of makeup from her skin. She sighed.

"You done yet?"

He was. Ekko stopped cleaning her face, but he still held her chin in his hand. He waited until Jinx's gaze met his. Jinx was surprised at how understanding and comforting his eyes were.

"I don't think you're a Jinx," he said softly. "And I don't think you want to be. Not anymore, anyway."

She took a deep breath to keep herself from crying again. Her lip shook at his words. Jinx blinked, voice low so as to not crack when she spoke.

"For what it's worth, Ekko... I never stopped thinking of you as a friend."

Ekko snorted lightly. He smiled and shook his head, sighing as he said, "Neither did I."

The corners of her lips tugged upwards, and Ekko relished in the few seconds of the smile that was displayed on Jinx's face.

"Eat up. Once you're done you should try getting some rest. I'll wake you up when it's time," Ekko stood.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?"

"I don't know, maybe the bed?" His voice was thick with sarcasm.

"Then where will you sleep?" She asked, adding a 'duh' at the end.

Ekko smiled. "Don't worry about it. For now, I gotta figure out what strategy we're gonna use for tomorrow."

He opened the door once again.

"Goodnight..." Ekko didn't know whether to address her as Jinx or Powder. He turned and left without another word.

Jinx frowned. She continued eating, but it seemed like the food didn't taste as good as when Ekko was there. Still, she finished her tray.

She saw herself in the mirror, face clean and free of makeup. Her face looked softer, reminding her of her younger self. Did she dare hope that she could have another chance? She wasn't sure. Ekko was one of the last people she would ever want to see get hurt because of her.

Jinx decided to put her thoughts aside for once. She sat on the bed, laying down and turning on her side. How could she sleep at a time like this? Ekko was crazy if he thought she'd get any sleep. She closed her eyes.

Her body accepted the sleep almost instantly. Not a minute later and she was snoring, which she was sure to deny the next morning when Ekko accused her of it.

Hello Lovelies :)

I loveddd writing this chapter. Please let me know your thoughts. I plan to post the next chapter soon depending on the feedback this one gets

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