Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

( Anonymous User ) - 01:11 AM

hey! is this Ezreal Lymere?

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 01:32 AM

hii!! thats my name yes!! ૮₍ ´ ꒳ `₎ა

( Anonymous User ) - 01:32 AM

finally found u haha

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 01:34 AM

૮꒰꩜ ㅅ ꩜;꒱ა ??

( Anonymous User ) - 01:34 AM

its kayn

u know me

( Anonymous User ) - 01:40 AM

u called me 2 weeks ago for that discount? the insurance thing

i didnt even want one but u convinced me haha

( Anonymous User ) - 01:58 AM

i rly like ur voice haha

Ezreal stared at the screen of his computer, unblinking and motionless as he tried to come to terms with the idea that an unknown client of his job as a telemarketing seller had gotten a way to find his MySpace account.

He had been the employee with the most sales for three months straight now - given his charm, patience and alluring voice - so Kayn’s story would be far from unique. That’s just what he did on a daily basis: Fool drooling, lonely, idiots so they would buy whatever was the most expensive insurance plan that week.

He thought of blocking the guy right away, but curiosity took the best of him.

Afterall, meeting strangers online never hurt anyone, right? It’s not like people died because of that.

( Anonymous User ) - 01:59 AM

ur prettier than i thought too

( Anonymous User ) - 02:04 AM

haha

( Anonymous User ) - 02:16 AM

add me

Ezreal raised his eyebrows with a light scoff.

“Yeah, right.”

But then again… He and Lux had been competing on who had more friends on that damned website since highschool, and he just needed one more to beat her count until she found yet another girlfriend to add.

° . • ° 🩸 ° . • °

As soon as they met in a telemarketing call - where Ezreal convinced Kayn to buy an insurance plan he wasn’t even interested in having - Kayn had become obsessed with the idea of not only talking to him again but also meeting in person.

His gentle voice and soft chuckles haunted Kayn’s dreams since he first heard them, so with a few calls, sweet talking and threats, Kayn was able to get Ezreal's name off of the company, and found his MySpace profile soon after.

Kayn wanted to watch how Ezreal’s smile reached his eyes, how he bit his bottom lip as he thought of what to say next, how his nose scrunched up like a bunny’s when he tasted something zesty.

He wanted to hear Ezreal’s voice again.

He wanted to make Ezreal laugh, just as he had done once in that one call.

He wanted Ezreal .

Kayn needed to hold his small hands between his own, and compare their sizes for better visualization in his mind, later.

Needed to touch his soft skin, trail the veins on his arms and his jugular with chaste kisses.

Then suck on his collar bone. Bite his neck until he drew blood.

He needed Ezreal.

As fast as he could, as soon as he could, whenever, wherever, no matter the cost.

After what seemed like hours, a notification popped up on the corner of Kayn’s screen, telling him that Ezreal had accepted him as a ‘friend’ on the website.

His bedroom was dark and a bit too hot - almost suffocating - though Kayn couldn’t bother to get up from his desk and open the nearest window.

He had better things to do, of course.

Almost immediately, Kayn opened Ezreal’s profile again, now having access to the whole thing - most of his pictures and posts marked as ‘friends only’ - and mindlessly scrolling through them, his breathing short and shaky.

For each mirror selfie, goofy smiles and cheeky winks, Kayn could physically feel the effects that stranger had on him.

His lips were cracked and dry, even though he licked them at every new picture added to a special folder with Ezreal’s name.

His heart beated fast and loudly, pumping boiling blood directly towards Kayn’s cock as if his brain judged that was the only organ he needed functioning at the time.

He quietly palmed the already half-hard erection forming on his stained sweatpants, letting out a soft sigh while using his free hand to continue browsing on Ezreal’s profile.

Kayn liked every picture he opened, saved each one he liked, stroked his cock for every like he gave, almost mechanically.

He leaned his face closer to the screen, bumping his chin onto the table and continuing to caress his erection until shiny droplets of pre-cum could be used as lube, streaming down his hand and onto the already stained gray sweatpants.

Curled over himself as if trying to deal with an awful stomach pain, Kayn laid his cheek on top of the keyboard nearby, causing several pictures of Ezreal to pass by quickly, like a feverish slideshow made for his own pleasure during another sticky-wet dream.

Kayn drooled and gasped, breathing through his mouth as he pulled and twirled the piercing on his shaft, approaching his climax only to carefully press a thumb against the tip of his leaking cock.

The sliding of pictures came to an end as Kayn reached the oldest one posted, in which Ezreal sat on top of his bathroom sink, posing with a cheeky smile to show the tattoo on his ankle while holding his flip-phone.

A pomegranate, only the line-art of it, no colors.

Kayn took in a sharp breath, blinking away the tears that stung his eyes after spending so much time with them open, too close to the screen that burned Ezreal’s pictures to the back of his eyelids.

He shivered, stroking his cock while eying the tattoo and trying to visualize how it would look with his seed covering its delicate lines.

Kayn came soon after, gasping for air and trembling like a rabid dog.

As an involuntary reflex, he kicked the computer’s CPU under the table, turning it off by accident.

Left in the dark, his hand covered in cum, dripping in sweat and sticky with his own drool that spilled to the keyboard, Kayn sighed.

“...Great.”

He muttered sarcastically.

° . • ° ☆ 🐇 ☆ ° . • °

Ezreal watched in awkward wonder as his notifications were flooded by Kayn’s likes, his cheeks a bit heated with the anxiety that - perhaps - he had misjudged the creepiness levels of the stranger.

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 02:22 AM

u rly like my stuff huh!! lololol ૮₍´｡ᵔ ꈊ ᵔ｡`₎ა

Kayn didn’t respond this time, but his likes kept on coming.

Creeped out, Ezreal went in his profile, looking to know more about the man while waiting for his answer.

Kayn’s account had a bright red background, black words written in edgy fonts and a whole bunch of spinning knives as a frame.

His bio said simply “Kayn, 24”, followed by several skull emojis.

The last post shared was a mirror selfie in which Kayn partially hid his face using his hand and dark bangs. The raven had smudged eyeliner down his cheekbones - like he’d been crying, or at least trying to look the part - and red eyeshadow faintly smoked on his skin.

He wore a leather jacket, full of spikes, chains and sewed badges, only adding to his “misunderstood” performance as the caption of that picture would like the reader to believe.

“Just a glimpse into my dark reality… A full stare into my twisted perspective would make most simply go insane… lmao”

Ezreal scrunched up his nose in a grimace, cringe crawling up his spine like his body tried waving the red flags in front of the screen, as if Kayn’s profile didn’t already count as one - Red background, bloody gifs, emo makeup, and all.

“I’ll deal with this tomorrow.”

The blonde murmured, turning off his computer after sending a quick text telling Lux to check his profile - Now with one new “friend” added, definitely proving he was way more popular than her.

“One friend popularer” in his words.

Laying in the dark, Ezreal couldn’t get rid of the warm tingling in the back of his head, the same one that always seemed to surge whenever his gut sensed something was simply not right.

Both the tips of his ears hurt from how hot they burned, and an anxious knot in his throat made sure he wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to sleep anytime soon.

He sighed, closed his blue eyes and tried searching for the memory of the one call that intertwined both his and Kayn’s lives.

“Your laugh is really nice to hear.”

Ezreal giggled in response, twirling the headphone’s cord in his index finger while tapping a pen on his lips, fidgety as ever.

“I get that a lot, actually.”

He smiled, biting his bottom lip as he underlined the words “ likes laugh ” by the side of Kayn’s full name and phone number on his worksheet.

“But I don’t know why. I don’t really like my laugh as much as other people do.”

The man on the other side of the line paused for a second, and Ezreal raised his eyebrows.

“Hello?”

“Sorry, it’s… Your voice. I think it’s pretty. Like a siren’s.”

Ezreal grimaced slightly, then forced out an innocent chuckle.

“You’re too nice, Kayn. I understand you're not just saying that to get a bigger discount?”

He teased, and the client stuttered a bit in his response.

“No, I’d never! I mean it. It’s, uhm… A nice voice. Makes me feel welcomed and cared for.”

Ezreal rolled his eyes with a discreet sigh, noting down “ ??? krazy mf lololol ” in his worksheet.

“Well, I do care, y’know? I’d hate for you to get into some kind of freak accident and, God forbid , end up in debt somehow. That’s where the insurance takes part, right?”

The blonde tried to put on the sweetest voice he could, feeling his blue eyes glimmer in response to his own words.

Across his desk, Lux raised her eyebrows with a scoff, watching her best friend play his act for yet another client. Ezreal blinked tiny droplets of tears away from his vision and winked at her, biting his lower lip.

“Plus, if you pay only five dollars more, you get this cute little plushie through the mail! It’s the company’s mascot, y’know? I love him, I have like, three of those.”

He heard the sound of pigeons fluttering their way past his office’s windows, and the clattering of Lux’s keyboard as she typed.

Looking up at the ceiling of the room shared with a few other employees that worked on calling more clients, Ezreal noticed the usually boring gray and white tiles were gone, giving space for a wide blue sky to stretch far beyond his sight.

He blinked, and suddenly Lux, their desks and headphones disappeared as well.

His colleagues' voices and the clattering of Lux’s nails onto the keyboard faded into the sounds of crickets and frogs croaking in the distance.

“Uhm. Kayn?”

Ezreal got up from his chair and took in the new scenery he had been dropped to, realizing he had been sitting on top of a sizable rock, covered in moss.

The woods around him were barely illuminated by dawn, pine trees grew taller by the second, all bearing strange scratch-like marks that were uncannily similar to eyes, watching him at all time.

Feeling like his tiny heart might just explode out of his ribcage, Ezreal threw himself on all fours, simply knowing he had to run for his life. The tall grass prickled his face as he sped through the dirt, trying to find a safe spot to bury himself into, paws now hurting from the harsh terrain’s unkindness.

After what felt like hours of running from a threat whose simple presence made his stomach twirl, Ezreal stood with his ears up, looking and sniffing for whatever tried to get its claws on his tiny, furry, body.

He smelled the metallic scent of blood before he could feel the sharp pain of fangs tearing his flesh, filling his mouth, streaming down his neck, staining his white fur and dripping down to the dirt ground.

He could taste it, too. Taste himself - his blood and tears, his own vomit, his tongue as he bit on it - being chewed alive while facing the fox that caught him.

It frothed at the mouth and further stained his fur at every bite it took, crushing his bones as if they were simple crunchy treats inside an already delicious rabbit-pie.

Ezreal opened his eyes with a soft gasp, breathing in like he had been holding the air in his lungs for the whole duration of that creepy nightmare.

He sat up, reaching for the half empty glass of water on the bedside table and downing it all in a few desperate gulps.

“Fuck…”

He muttered, dragging a hand through his face and brushing his messy blonde hair while trying to calm down his own heart.

 K - 08:03 AM

srry was that too much? haha

Chapter Text

 K - 08:03 AM

srry was that too much? haha

K - 08:03 AM

i dndt mean to like them all but u look rly pretty couldnt help it haha

K - 08:06 AM

r u up already? i usually wake up later than this but i was excited to chat again XD

K - 08:23 AM

guess ur not haha srry

Ezreal shivered at the sight of Kayn’s profile picture - his hand, signaling ‘rock on’, with rings and a spiked bracelet, a bit blurred too - and tried his best to formulate a response that didn’t scream “I am afraid for my life”.

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 10:29 AM

hi!! I was already up, but busy, sorry! ૮₍｡´> ˔ <`｡₎ა

K - 10:29 AM

np np! XD i figured u might be at work or somthg hahaha

K - 10:30 AM

how r u also

K - 10:34 AM

ah ur off again X(

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 11:03 AM

yep! actually logging from the work computer, like a criminal! ૮ • ﻌ - ა

Ezreal sighed, looking down to his worksheet, full of scribbles that served as a guide for each client he interacted with, their likes and whatever little quirks Ezreal could use to his advantage when he eventually called again, offering another product.

“Well, you seem terribly down for someone popularer than me.”

Lux teased from her desk, taking off her headphones while on break. Ezreal offered her an awkward smile and slid his chair towards her side of the table they shared.

“Yeah… I guess fame has its consequences.”

He murmured, bumping his forehead onto the girl’s shoulder. Lux chuckled softly in response, petting Ezreal’s hair for a few seconds of quiet tenderness.

“Tell me about it, then. What happened?”

The other smiled, smacking her lips to spread the lipgloss she applied. Ezreal dramatically groaned, pulling one of the sheets from his side of the shared table and pointing to Kayn’s name, circled in red.

“Kayn, hm? That’s… Not a name I recall, really.”

Lux mused, leaning in to read Ezreal’s scribbles.

“It’s not anyone we know from highschool.”

Ezreal explained, sighing as he felt the tips of his ears heating up.

“I guess he found my profile after we spoke? I don’t know how. He asked me to add him, so I did, and he’s making me a bit uncomfortable now.”

Lux straightened her posture, her round green eyes wide open in a mix of worry and annoyance.

“You added a stranger just to beat my score!”

She connected the dots, grabbing the back of Ezreal’s chair and spinning him away from her embrace.

“It sounds really bad when you put it like that, but c’mon! At least he’s hot, I guess…”

The blonde stuttered, putting his feet down so he wouldn’t spin all the way to the wall.

“It is bad! Are you trying to get kidnapped or something? Block the guy, it’s not worth it, Ez. Plus, if he found a way to get your name after that call…” Lux brushed her bangs back, closing her eyes as her left eyebrow twitched. “That should’ve been the first red flag. Are you insane ?”

Ezreal shrunk his head between his shoulders, blushing even harder now that he was being properly scolded.

“It didn’t seem like a bad idea at first…”

° . • ° 🩸 ° . • °

After easily convincing the janitor responsible for keeping watch on the building’s front doors that he was actually Ezreal’s long term “situationship”, Kayn found himself entering the unlocked apartment without any impediment.

He wore a black hoodie, jeans and a cap to cover his dark hair. Not too suspicious, but not recognizable while in a crowd, a bar, or a grocery store.

The only place Kayn would most certainly stand out as a sore thumb would be on the corner of Ezreal’s pastel colored bedroom. And he was ok with that.

First things first, Kayn placed the bouquet on the nearest table he could find.

He grabbed one of the lilac post-its Ezreal had left around - in which he listed a few items to buy on his next visit to the market - and wrote a quick message on the blank side of it.

Still holding a large stuffed rabbit in his arms, he walked around for a bit, taking in the sight of every decoration, painting, trinket and furniture placed in each room. All of them just transpired with everything that made Ezreal… Ezreal.

The various, bright, different colors, paper flowers inside a tall vase, plushies filling the only couch he owned, all matched the giggly blonde that charmed his way to Kayn’s heart.

Little rubber bunnies stood on the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen, organized by size, smaller to taller.

Hanging on the corridor that led to the only bedroom of the apartment, a corkboard had several polaroid pictures pinned to it, along with post-it notes, tiny drawings and messages left by Ezreal’s loved ones.

Kayn photographed everything that called for him, though ignoring the pictures where Ezreal was shown with his friends. Male friends, specifically.

He caressed the wall on his way to Ezreal’s bedroom, letting his hand slide towards all of the extension of that corridor, as if he could leave his mark there without the owner of that apartment even knowing.

Kayn entered the bedroom and breathed in deeply, trying to memorize every note of Ezreal’s scent. It was a sweet, mind numbing drug.

He got closer to the bed, leaving the stuffed rabbit sitting next to Ezreal’s other plushies before letting his weight drop on top of all of them, laying on his back with both arms open and a satisfied sigh.

His perfume filled the room, and Kayn wondered if the other always smelled like a walking-pastry. Like he would melt under the rain, fully made of sugar. Like Kayn could just take a bite off him, and savor the taste of strawberry cake.

Without much hurry, Kayn pressed one of Ezreal’s pillows onto his face, breathing in as deeply as he could.

He lazily palmed his crotch while respiring Ezreal’s perfume, essentially smothering himself with the pillow when the oxygen became scarce.

He imagined how it would feel to have Ezreal on top of him, sitting on his lap while holding the pillow tightly over his face, squirming against his body and struggling to keep Kayn - a panting, drooling mess - pinned under him.

“I know what you did when looking at my pictures.” He would say, using one of his hands to choke Kayn while still smothering him. “You’re such a pervert… I like it.”

That only made him grow even harder. Kayn waited for multicolored dots to start dancing around his vision before finally allowing himself to breathe.

He swallowed thick saliva, panting as he squeezed his own throat, pulled a condom out of his pocket - aware enough not to make a mess - and slipped it on his cock, which was already out and throbbing.

“Ezreal…”

Kayn grabbed one of Ezreal’s plushies, pressing it onto his face and sniffing the faint scent there. That one was a little more worn out than the others, probably due to years of being hugged every single night.

It smelled like sweat, sleep and soap. Like Ezreal would probably smell after a whole weekend without leaving home or changing clothes.

Kayn panted against the plushie, rapidly stroking his cock with nothing but his own pre-cum as lube, arching his back as he thrusted into his calloused hand. The rings in his fingers added good friction, with bumps and nubs to poke his penis not that gently.

“God, Ezreal- Mghh … Harder…”

He groaned and drooled on the stuffed animal’s fur, only letting go of it when deciding just his hand wasn’t enough.

Kayn needed more , something solid to hump against.

He pulled one of the various pillows and hugged it, slumped over the bed like a rabious dog as he took out his cap and pants, grinding against his hand and onto the pillow while muttering Ezreal’s name over and over.

Kayn wished Ezreal was actually there, lying below him with his mouth agape and eyes rolling back on his pretty little skull, moaning Kayn’s name back in sloppy kisses at each thrust.

“You’re stupidly big!”

He’d cry out, amused by the bump forming in his stomach.

“And still you take me so well, bunny.”

Kayn would respond breathlessly.

All he could do was imagine, yearning for the real thing.

For Ezreal’s smooth hands choking him as they fucked, his teeth against his neck, chewing on his jugular and trying to dig his way past Kayn’s ribs, to fit between his lungs and fully replace his heart.

“Come inside me, Kayn, please!”

Kayn let out a strangled whimper, nodding and biting on the pillow he assaulted as he finally reached his climax, filling the condom with hot spurts of semen that came in lengthy waves.

He panted and groaned hoarsely while he still fucked his hand and pressed his face onto the nearest plushie he could find, trying to prolong the orgasm for as long as he could.

“I’m so full…”

Ezreal murmured by his ear, giggling softly.

He laid there for a while, face down on a pile of Ezreal’s stuffed animals, his cheeks tingling in shame, his pants stuck halfway down and his long hair a tangled mess.

Kayn still breathed heavily as he sat up, trying to get rid of the annoying buzzing that pierced his left ear. Once again, Ezreal was nowhere to be seen, though filling the whole room.

After making sure the condom didn’t leak anywhere on Ezreal’s blankets, pillows or plushies, Kayn wrapped it and left it under his cap on the nightstand, planning on taking it with him once he re-made the bed.

He didn’t.

° . • ° ☆ 🐇 ☆ ° . • °

Ezreal didn’t reply to any more messages during his shift, at least not in front of Lux.

Though a bit weirded out, he didn’t follow her advice on blocking Kayn as soon as possible, before his behavior got creepier, if it wasn’t already.

As he arrived at his building, one of the main janitors employed there held the door open for him, smiling gently as they exchanged pleasantries.

“Ah, Ezreal! I almost forgot, a friend of yours came by earlier to return something he borrowed. I didn’t really know his face like that other one who always brings you take-out, but he seemed like a good kid. Good for you, good for you. ”

The man patted Ezreal on the shoulder, calling down the elevator for him.

Frozen in place, Ezreal didn’t even reply to the older man’s endless chatter, stumbling his way up through the stairs without waiting for the ride.

Just like in the nightmare he had the night before, his heart pumped adrenaline across all of his body, threatening to burst upon any minimal inconvenience to the overstimulation that fogged his brain.

His lungs burned with the sudden physical effort, stinging his ribs and the sides of his torso as if it tried to stop the body from getting to its destination.

Once again, Ezreal felt like the tiny rabbit in his dream, trembling in anxiety as he tried to run from his own fate, but just ending up even more tangled in the webs of the fox that chased him.

“Please be Ekko. Please be Ekko. 

Please be Ekko, or Phel, or anyone but that freak!”

Ezreal jumped the last few steps as he got to his floor, bursting through his apartment's front door and regretting ever leaving it unlocked in the first place.

“I'm calling the police!”

He yelled out to an empty room, still breathless and heavily panting.

Ezreal looked around, his blue eyes widened and slightly twitchy.

Over the dining table, a bouquet of various spring flowers rested with a post-it note by its side.

These made me think of you (though you’re already on my mind 24/7 haha) 

Hope you had a nice day today! Answer my messages when you feel like it! :)

Ezreal crumpled the paper after reading, putting both hands on his head with a shaky sigh.

“What have I gotten myself into…”

He muttered, his heart still drumming against his ears in a way Ezreal almost felt like he could start bleeding through them if the erratic blood pumping’s pressure became too much for his body to handle.

Ezreal hurried towards his bedroom, panting and shaking in fear as he tripped on the fluffy carpet next to the door and almost fell to the wooden floor.

Next to his bed, on the nightstand he once spent a whole afternoon painting to match his room’s aesthetic, a black cap had been left to sickly ruin the pastel palette Ezreal had picked for everything around it.

It was almost as if it swallowed all the light and joy curated for the safe space Ezreal built for himself.

An intruder, a threat, a fox that didn’t even try to disguise its fangs as it approached him with the intent to bite.

As Ezreal picked up the cap, a wet dripping sound was followed by something falling to his feet. He looked down to his shoes, once again paralyzed as he took in the sight of a single used condom, still warm.

Ezreal felt the bitter taste of bile crawling its way to the back of his mouth, threatening to make him throw up anything eaten on his lunch a few hours prior. He let the cap drop to the floor, stumbling back until he hit the nearest wall and watching as black splotches danced around his vision.

The blonde muffled a strangled, horrified, cry with his clean hand, staring at how his fingers were now sticky with some kind of clear fluid he was almost sure he knew the origin of.

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 11:34 PM

wh at thef vuck

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 11:34 PM

how did uou het my afress

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 11:34 PM

le.ve me alone

K - 11:35 PM

do you not like flowers?

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 11:35 PM

if you show up without being invite,d again im callinng the police

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 11:36 PM

freak

° . • ° 🩸 ° . • °

Kayn frowned at his screen, watching as Ezreal’s profile picture disappeared from the chat.

With his mouth dry and hands a bit trembly in anxiety, Kayn tried going back to everything he’d done that day.

The apartment was unlocked, he didn’t break in or broke anything while there.

They knew each other. They were friends on MySpace. Kayn was allowed to come in.

He brought flowers and left a sweet note.

He even gifted him a new plushie. It did have a built-in hidden camera, but the blonde wouldn’t know or suspect that already , would he?

K - 11:38 PM

ezreal?

Unknown User - 11:40 PM

did u unfriend me haha

Unknown User - 11:41 PM

i’m sorry

Unknown User - 11:41 PM

i didn’t mean to be creepy i thought u would like the surprise

Unknown User - 11:44 PM

do u like the plushie at least?

Unknown User - 11:45 PM (Not delivered)

please answer:(

Unknown User - 11:46 PM (Not delivered)

did you block me?

Unknown User - 11:49 PM (Not delivered)

please respond:(

Chapter Text

° . • ° 🩸 ° . • °

Inside his dark room, now filled with various pictures printed in cheap paper and many items featuring Ezreal's face - a body pillow with a hole sliced onto it, a flimsy life-size cardboard cutout, and so on - Kayn maniacally re-read every single message exchanged with Ezreal.

Unknown User - 02:43 AM (Not delivered)

ez please

Unknown User - 02:44 AM (Not delivered)

ples :( ad me back

He had at least three other tabs open with attempts to create different fake accounts to reach Ezreal again, trembling and rocking his body back and forth like a drug addict going through a withdrawal crisis.

“He can’t do this to me. He can’t do this to me.”

He muttered, eyes twitching, face itchy, tongue dry.

Ezreal refused every single friend request, even after he’d spent three hours editing the perfect profile with a pink and glittery aesthetic made by someone that didn’t exist.

Unknown User - 06:51 AM (Not delivered)

i sent a mesge to u p,hone is that ok

Unknown User - 06:52 AM (Not delivered)

di,d u blok m eagain :(

Kayn re-watched the only recording the plushie left on Ezreal’s bed could capture before being destroyed:

Ezreal entered his bedroom almost tripping on his own feet, found Kayn’s cap and then the condom beside it.

He let the hat drop to the floor, stumbling back until he hit the nearest wall.

The blonde muffled a strangled, terrified scream with his clean hand, staring at his fingers now tainted, sticky and covered in Kayn’s cum.

Ezreal ran out of the pastel colored room, and faint sounds coming from the bathroom indicated he most likely threw up his lunch.

A few minutes later, he came back with a black trash bag and rubber gloves, throwing Kayn’s cap, condom and the plushie inside it.

End tape.

Only darkness from then on, until the stuffed bunny’s camera battery died naturally.

Unknown User - 10:27 PM (Not delivered)

:(

It didn‘t feel fair.

Kayn visited his home again - despite Ezreal’s warning about calling the cops - but wasn’t allowed past the same doorman that had let him in the last time.

It wasn’t fair.

He soon got in using the building’s back doors, with the help of an unsuspicious resident and the excuse of forgetting his own keys.

Ezreal’s apartment was locked. Kayn tried using the key copies he’d made after his first visit.

In a few seconds, he realized that Ezreal had changed the locks and added a third, tougher, one.

He didn’t mean to leave the condom there.

He didn’t mean to seem creepy, either.

He was sorry.

Kayn slipped a note under the door, and left.

can we talk?

° . • ° ☆ 🐇 ☆ ° . • °

“So what you’re saying is… This unknown man fell in love with your voice through the phone, tracked you down, added you as a friend on MySpace, which you let him do , and then visited you to give you flowers .”

The police officer in front of Ezreal read the report in his hands, sounding almost bored as he chewed on a piece of gum.

The whole room smelled like cigarettes and days old coffee. Ezreal felt almost sick, as if he hadn’t already vomited twice that morning while trying to prepare for that interview.

The walls were due to some repainting - stained with black mold, blood and other unknown substances - the floor was cracked in several spots, and a security camera placed on the up corner of that office was turned off, its lens covered by spiderwebs all the while a dead cockroach lied close to the table they shared.

“He’s not unknown , his name is Kayn. Kayn Shieda , and I have all of the info you may need if you’ll just look at what I brought-” The man interrupted Ezreal with a snort, spitting his gum on the nearest trash can and missing.

“Look, missy, by the way you described it, the poor guy’s just trying to be nice. Perhaps you should give him a chance instead of jumping straight to the worst case scenario before he even gets to ask you out on a date.”

Ezreal’s eyebrow twitched as he tried to keep his posture straight and breathing steady.

He’d brought a bag with all of what Kayn had left in his apartment, plus every screenshot of their conversation and a few files Lux helped him retrieve from their client lists, proving Kayn had indeed been called when he said they first talked.

Ezreal had everything and anything the detectives might need, if they would just listen to him.

“He broke into my house and left a used condom in my bedroom. You are- …Not listening. And no help. At all .”

The blonde hissed, gathering his belongings and getting up before he could be accused of disrespecting an authority figure. The man leaned back on his chair, waving a sarcastic goodbye as Ezreal left the room.

As soon as Ezreal was out of the the neighborhood's nearest police station, he jumped straight into Ekko’s arms, hiding his face on the other’s chest and murmuring a muffled “I’m screwed”

Ekko awkwardly held him close, petting Ezreal’s hair while waiting for him to stop trembling.

“Let me guess, they didn’t help at all?”

He sighed, pressing his cheek on the top of Ezreal’s hair. The blonde shook his head, sniffling softly before stepping back from the hug. His blue eyes were watery and a bit reddened for at least a week now, due to the stress of feeling constantly watched and followed.

“It’s alright, Ez. You’ll be ok.”

Ekko offered him a tender smile, even though his words didn’t seem to convince even himself. He gently ruffled Ezreal’s hair and then patted both his shoulders, holding them to make sure Ezreal paid attention to what he said.

“I don’t mind if you keep sleeping in my place, and the same goes to Lux.

You’re… Not alone. Alright?”

Ezreal shook his head, but didn’t respond much else.

He now walked around carrying pepper spray, a ‘stranger danger’ alarm for kids, that sounded loudly with the push of a button, and a pocket knife just to be sure.

Still, Ezreal felt like a prey being chased around endlessly, always out of breath.

Always tired. And scared.

He felt powerless, weak.

“I can’t keep living like this. I won’t survive this sick game he’s making me play without even asking if I wanted to join.”

Ezreal felt angry.

In Ekko’s bedroom, Ezreal used his friend’s computer - and profile - to look more into Kayn’s MySpace account.

No recent updates.

The blonde scrolled down, passing by pictures of Kayn, shirtless in his bathroom mirror, always with his hair covering his face for some reason.

Most of Kayn's posts showed his guitar practices, with few likes and zero comments. He usually played various covers, and the ones he seemed most excited to present always ended up being emo songs.

In every video, he introduced himself with a crooked and embarrassed smile, his right eye covered by the usual eyepatch.

He had a single photo posted on Father's Day, hugging an older man Ezreal assumed was his dad, even though they didn’t look much alike.

The oldest video posted on the account was from a month before, and started playing automatically before Ezreal could even process what he was watching.

Kayn was slumped over his bed, with his bangs covering his face - as always - in his barely illuminated room.

He wore a red tank top and showed off his abdomen by biting the hem of his shirt, muffling his moans as he stroked himself lazily. One of his eyes, when hit by the yellowish light of his bedside lamp, was visibly lighter than the other, in a contrast of dark-chocolate and honeyed-caramel, both glued to the camera, as if he stared straight into Ezreal’s soul.

“Fuck…” He groaned hoarsely, pulling onto the piercing on his shaft.

Then, he called for Ezreal’s name.

Ezreal quickly closed the tab and got up, almost automatically.

He put his hands over his - extremely pink - face before letting out a frustrated bottled-up yell that lasted until his voice cracked and died inside his throat.

Ekko entered the room soon after, holding a baseball bat and ready to smash an intruder’s head.

° . • ° 🩸 ° . • °

“Your laugh is really nice to hear.”

Kayn could imagine him twirling a few blonde locks on his index finger, biting his bottom lip as they chatted. Ezreal giggled cutely in response.

“I get that a lot, actually. But I don’t know why. I don’t really like my laugh as much as other people do.”

Kayn paused for a second, having to stop himself from reaching inside his pants and jerking off right then and there.

He remained silent for a few minutes, trying to calm the rhythm of his heart, which practically threatened to leap out of his chest and leave the apartment to find Ezreal without its owner's help.

All because of that voice.

That sweet chuckle.

The way Ezreal patiently paid attention to everything Kayn had to say.

How he hummed to show he was still listening while typing on his computer.

“Hello?”
Ezreal called from the other side of the line. Kayn’s breath hitched a bit.

“Sorry, it’s… Your voice . I think it’s pretty. Like a siren’s.”

The blonde laughed innocently, smacking his lips before responding.

“You’re too nice, Kayn. I understand you're not just saying that to get a bigger discount?”

He teased, and the client stuttered a bit in his response.

“No, I’d never! I mean it. It’s, uhm… A nice voice. Makes me feel welcomed and cared for.”

Kayn huffed softly, bumping his forehead to his desk as he tried to wait out the erection that only seemed to harden and grow even more.

Each time Ezreal giggled. Each time he called for Kayn’s name, almost like he knew the effect he inflicted, the damage he caused.

“Well, I do care, y’know? I’d hate for you to get into some kind of freak accident and, God forbid , end up in debt somehow. That’s where the insurance takes part, right?

…Plus, if you pay only five dollars more, you get this cute little plushie through the mail! It’s the company’s mascot, y’know? I love him, I have like, three of those.”

Ezreal’s sweet voice chatted away through the homephone, and Kayn quietly palmed his crotch, shivering at his own touch.

He huffed silently, biting the insides of his cheeks like a sick dog that scratches and chews off pieces of its fur.

Kayn tasted blood.

Metallic, sweet, and dark red, like the room around him. His bedroom. His blood, his mouth.

Bitter, and boiling hot, and thick and gross, because it wasn’t Ezreal’s.

It wasn’t Ezreal’s.

It stained the inside of his mouth, dripping to his desk, to his lap, through his pants, burning and scarring his cock like acid, corrupting everything it touched.

Not Ezreal’s, never Ezreal’s.

“I know what you’re doing, you creep.”

The blonde whispered through the phone.

Kayn didn’t respond, for now the blood from his mouth started to fill his whole bedroom.

He got up from the flimsy leather chair and looked around, making his way to the nearest window as the blood reached his ankles, stained his clothes, his skin and every piece of furniture.

Kayn opened the blinds, then lifted the window frame, holding onto the wooden panel as he vomited more blood to the dark and starless abyss below.

The abyss spat back twice as much, invading Kayn’s bedroom with a wave of red that quickly raised to his knees, thighs and then waist.

“It… It hurts…”

He muttered in between his gasps for fresh, untainted air. Kayn grasped his shirt, trying to get rid of it and understand what made his heart ache like it was being squeezed by a ghost hand.

“Do you like this, pervert? Does the pain make you hard?”

Kayn reached back to the phone next to his computer, only to hear Ezreal’s sweet giggle coming from the other side of the line.

“ Please , Ezreal…!”

Kayn cried for help, falling to the pool of blood as he threw up pieces of meat along with unknown pink tissue, pus and a few loose teeth, like a gorey smoothie coming straight from his core.

It filled his bedroom, his mouth, his lungs.

It hurt. It drowned him. He couldn’t breathe.

Kayn woke up with a loud, breathless gasp, soaked in cold sweat and hugging the pillow he had sewed one of Ezreal’s selfies to.

“ I… Gotta talk to him. ”

He muttered to himself, still struggling to breathe.

“ I gotta see him. It’s gonna kill me if I don’t. ”

Chapter Text

° . • ° 🩸 ° . • °

Unknown User - 11:01 AM (Not delivered)

i really need to see u, ezreal

The rest of that week passed by like a gray blur. Muffled and out of focus as if everything Kayn did happened in third person, and not through his brown eyes.

He remained in his room all day, like everyday, drifting between dreamless naps and bloody nightmares. The howling wind outside the apartment could be compared to a storm sweeping across the Pacific.

It's all happening again. You always push people away with your… Dense self.

Kayn opened his eyes. Still hugging the body pillow with Ezreal’s face sewn on, he sulked into his own mind as one jumped off a cliff directly into the sea.

That voice came from inside his head, echoing around his skull and making his teeth itch. It belonged to him, despite him having no control over it.

And it's all going to hurt again. All over again. You always do that to yourself, boy.

Kayn sat up in bed. He ran a hand over his face, expression tired.

There was a faint knock on his door.

“Are you okay in there?”

His father’s - with whom he still lived - voice asked from the other side. Kayn nodded instinctively, not bothering to actually respond with more than a groan.

He stared at the mirror near his wardrobe, unable to see his figure in the darkness of the early morning. Slowly, he placed his bare feet on the wooden floor, standing up unsteadily.

And still, I don't change. It hurts, and I won't stop myself from doing it all again.

As if hypnotized, he brought the tips of his fingers to the left side of his chest, slowly digging his short nails into the flesh.

Warm, thick, and pulsating liquid oozed out, flowing more as he dug deeper into his chest.

Kayn let out a painful grunt as he tore that piece of skin, flesh, and whatever else was there along with his heart.

He threw a repulsive piece of already decaying organic matter onto the floor.

It happened to others, and it will happen to Ezreal if he doesn't get away soon.

I ruin people.

Any and everyone that gets close enough to your cage.

Is it my fault if they stuck their fingers in here?

The blood pouring from his chest gushed more strongly and in greater quantity as he knelt on the wooden floor of the room. In a painful impulse, he began to vomit the same black fluid that was also coming out of his nostrils and eyes, not allowing him to breathe properly.

Everything I touch becomes rotten, and I don't know why I even thought it could be different. I don’t know why I bite, every time.

Once again, Kayn drowned in his blood, his guts, and feelings he couldn't quite control.

That oil-like pus, though as thick as honey, filled the room in seconds, sticking to his hair, soaking his clothes, preventing any chance of escape.

Zed's alarm echoed next door, grabbing Kayn by the shoulders and forcibly yanking him from his nightmare so that he awoke already sitting up, with messy hair and deep dark circles under his eyes.

“It's going to be one of those days.”

He grumbled in a hoarse voice, realizing he had scratched himself during his sleep, evidenced by the numerous scrapes on his neck and chest, complemented by the dry blood under his nails.

° . • ° ☆ 🐇 ☆ ° . • °

With a sigh, Ezreal took in the humidity of that rainy late afternoon.

Lux glanced at him, smiling pitifully as they made their way towards the nearest bus stop after another tiring day of work - Where, then, both would jump in different buses and Ezreal would have to survive the rest of the trip to Ekko’s house alone.

“You seem tired.” She bumped their shoulders, getting a bit closer under the lilac umbrella they shared.

“Somehow, I’m always tired.” Ezreal sighed again. “It’s been weeks since I’ve had a good night's sleep.”

Lux nodded, biting the inside of her cheeks. She knew that as well as she understood the reason for Ezreal’s unrestness; Jumping from Ekko’s couch to her spare mattress so he wouldn’t have to go back to his own apartment, where dried out flowers, plushies and rotting treats sat untouched by his front door.

The stalker’s sickening behavior had de-escalated after that first break-in, as he realized Ezreal now felt not only terrified, but also disgusted by his apparent “ love ” demonstrations.

Now gifts arriving via “anonymous” mail were the norm. He knew Ezreal’s likes - Plushies, chocolates, bunny shaped mementos - though didn’t seem to realize the reason none of them were being kept after their delivery on Ezreal’s apartment, his shared office, or Ekko’s and Lux’s homes.

Most of them ended up donated to the local church, or in the trash, in case those sweet treats were poisoned.

Still, that method was the most effective on terrorizing Ezreal while avoiding the already unhelpful police, since excessive gift giving from a stranger didn’t essentially break any laws.

They waited side by side, and Lux even missed her bus so Ezreal could be the first one to go when his arrived, avoiding standing alone in that dark, empty bus stop.

Lux smiled gently as they waved goodbye, and Ezreal tried to retribute the gesture, though his eyes didn’t seem to respond the same way.

Always tired. Always scared, anxious and paranoid.

It didn’t feel fair .

Ezreal sat near a window, fidgeting with the bunny plushie that he used as a keychain for everything important - His home keys, Ekko’s spare one, a sharp self-defense poker shaped like a cat’s head and the loud alarm that he could sound if feeling threatened.

The bus was mostly empty, though a bit too warm and moist for Ezreal’s comfort.

A young girl still in her school uniform sat by his side, and he sighed in relief after shooting her a knowing smile.

They were both safe. She knew it, too.

Ezreal would make sure of it, for as long as he could.

The girl typed on her phone for a while, and Ezreal watched the rain outside through his sleepy gaze, counting the stops until the one he was supposed to leave and keep going on foot.

The bus stopped for the fourth time. The teen lifted her head, waved goodbye to him and rushed to jump off. A few unknown faces got in.

A man down the corridor sat reading a pocket book. His hair was dark, and despite the weather - or the time - he wore a cap.

Ezreal stared.

The stranger looked over his shoulder, and found his glance, a bit creeped out. Ezreal turned his head with a soft gasp, pretending like he hadn’t been caught staring like a paranoid weirdo.

The man had a small nose, and a mustache. Blue eyes. Not Kayn, clearly. His hair wasn’t even that dark.

Ezreal was safe. Kayn wasn’t on that bus.

Not now, and none of the times Ezreal mistook a stranger with the same complexion, clothes or hair color, staring until he made sure no one was about to hand him a note telling him to keep quiet, comply and get off the bus when ordered.

The sun had already set when Ezreal got to his destination - The complex where Ekko lived was a newly built one on the edge of town.

Still partially under construction in some of the communal areas, the whole thing felt like a ghost town, especially during the night.

When the quiet and dark emptiness of the evening took over, all the scary shadows and misplaced noises felt even more present and threatening as Ezreal walked through those streets.

Accompanying him, only the “ For Sale! ” signs under - uncanny - promotional pictures of perfectly happy nuclear families, white picket fences and all of what that complex still wasn’t.

Not a concrete paved maze, cramped with the same model of a single modest house built over and over until it ran out of space, but the fertile land to cultivate the 50’s American dream.

The smell of freshly baked cookies would flood the streets while loving housewives waved goodbye to their hard-working husbands, who left for a fulfilling job after kissing their cheeks in synchrony.

Cheerful children played on the sidewalks, and elderly people chatted by their front doors.

Everyday was sunny, lively, and warm. At least, that’s the feeling that place was supposed to evoke.

Looking over his shoulder for the third time that minute, Ezreal stepped in a puddle that dirtied his semi-new lilac converses.

He sighed. Kept walking.

Only a few streets in, and he reached that patch of the way. The one he hated the most, where he ran through a full block of uninhabited houses, streets pitch black since there wasn't a reason for the complex’s owners to keep paying for the electricity bills of a whole ghost neighborhood.

An owl screeched nearby, and he nearly vomited his heart out.

He adjusted his backpack and marched on, faster, eyes locked onto the nearest lit streetlight, at least ten uninhabited houses away, leaving a single wet shoe print at every step.

Almost there, Ez.

He shooed a mosquito close to his face, then slapped his own arm as another discreetly seemed to find its way to suck on his blood.

Was it always this quiet? Were the empty houses always so threatening? Why would anyone actively choose to live in a place like this? He should probably shame Ekko for that decision later.

The shadows watched him from every window, mingling and dancing around the corners, inside empty doghouses and flowing by creaky unused swings made for children that weren’t even born yet.

They taunted Ezreal. Knew what he feared, and somehow, that unknown darkness was kinder of a presence than a man in a black hoodie following him home.

Ekko still wasn’t back from his shift. Damn him.

Out of breath after sprinting for the few last meters up to the house, Ezreal took off his shoes and backpack, sighing loudly as he made his way inside.

He turned on every lightswitch, the living room’s cheap television and the radio Ekko kept in his kitchen, trying his best to muffle that uncanny quietness that accompanied him since hopping off the bus.

Still, every step of Ezreal’s fluffy socks against the wooden floor seemed to sound just as loud as a pencil falling from his desk during a final exam.

Any movement would creak and ring through his bones just enough for him to be aware of his lack of company during a few more hours. He should probably get a dog. A big rottweiler, maybe.

Every little unidentified noise felt like a blood-curdling scream heard somewhere in a dense forest.

Out of reach, but present nonetheless. A warning that whatever caused it was probably coming for him next.

Ignoring the bitter idea of checking his MySpace account for Kayn’s daily attempts to add him using fake personas, Ezreal took a bundle of freshly clean, matching pajamas from the bag he brought after leaving his apartment - A tanktop and shorts set, lilac like most of his favorite pieces.

With a borrowed towel hanging over his shoulder, he headed for the only bathroom in the house, connected to Ekko’s bedroom. After locking both the bedroom and restroom doors, Ezreal set a kitchen knife by the toilet, close to the shower, and quietly took off his clothes.

Ekko’s radio was now next to the sink, filling in the silence with catchy pop songs as the blonde let hot water wash away a little bit of the tension that seemed to be always weighing on his shoulders.

The fruity scent of his shampoo - Strawberries and pineapple - got carried along the steam, taking over the bathroom with the smell of a juicy fruit salad on a summer day. After properly washing his body and hair, Ezreal allowed himself to close his tired eyes for a while, wet bangs covering most of his face as the muffled tunes coming from the radio grew more and more distant.

Soon enough, only the sound of water dripping from the faulty shower echoed through the moist room. It felt suffocating. The dampness, the heat, the nauseating sweetness now stuck to him.

Ezreal stepped out of the shower, reaching for his towel.

The fogged mirror refused to reflect his exhaustion as he turned off the radio. Even so, static could still be heard. Maybe it crawled in through his ears while he slept, like a nasty brain worm that ate him from inside out, only to die and then rot somewhere close to his frontal lobe.

With his hair still moist and messy, Ezreal quietly put on his pajamas, listening in through the noise that filled both the bathroom and his head, bleeding through his eyes, ears and mouth in waves of grey, black and white static.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

He heard knocking on the bedroom door.

“ Ekko ?” His voice sounded hoarse, strangled by the white noise that surrounded him. “It’s locked. I locked it.”

No response.

“Ekko, it’s not- That’s not funny .” Ezreal reached for the knife by the toilet.

More knocking. More dripping. More static.

Then a dry thud. And another.

One more thud , and then a crash,  followed by the cracking of wood .

Muffled steps, coming closer.

Then silence.

A pair of feet approached, and stood quietly on the other side.

With his eyes focused on the slim crack below the door, Ezreal had a hand on the doorknob and another firmly gripping his knife.

“Go away.” He hissed, barely a whisper. “Go away .”

The doorknob was forcefully turned a few times, and Ezreal immediately let it go, stepping back.

Knocking.

“I know it’s you .” The blonde cried out. “Please, just- Just leave me alone.”

Thud.

Ezreal steadied his grip on the knife.

Thud.

He sharply breathed in through his teeth.

Crash.

He lifted the blade.

…And that was Murdering Me Gently With Her Music, by rising star Seraphine on her new album, Red Flags! A great song, really, so profound and…

The radio host brought him back to reality, along with the fading out of a popular song that dragged the nightmarish daydream with it.

Crickets chanted somewhere outside as Ezreal left the bathroom, combing his hair with extra leave-in conditioner.

The shower dripping still bothered him, growing far away when he unlocked the bedroom door and made his way to the living room.

Chapter Text

° . • ° 🩸 ° . • °

Since his teenage years, Kayn had been very particular about his privacy and boundaries when it came to his bedroom. No matter the tiny house, seedy neighborhood or trashy apartment he and his father shared, Zed was never allowed to come in, snoop around and pick up Kayn’s ever growing collection of half-empty mugs.

Until he was about sixteen or so, Zed would half-respect the idea, waiting for Kayn to be in school so he could clean up the boy’s room along with the rest of their home. When Kayn got older, however, the moldy corners, dirty bedwear, empty dishes, and nasty stains that smelled zesty became his own problem to deal with.

He was fine with that, even though his cleaning duties would normally stay unattended until the rot got unbearable.

“Bud, you in there?” Zed knocked, listening in for any signs of his son.

No answer. Zed tried again, and then checked his cellphone for any unread texts.

“I need that screwdriver you borrowed back, Kayn.”

° . • ° ☆ 🐇 ☆ ° . • °

With his hair still damp after a long scalding-hot shower, Ezreal let out a heavy sigh. No sign of Ekko yet, which meant he probably accepted a double shift for some extra cash.

The blonde took the borrowed radio back to the kitchen and absentmindedly started his routine of re-heating whatever was left from their previous dinner. Popping a few hot-pockets and half a slice of pizza in the small electric oven, Ezreal lowered his head, typing on his flip-phone while waiting for the food to get ready.

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 00:03 AM

hey loser u showing up for dinnerrrr??

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 00:04 AM

ill eat ur htpckts if u dont ψ(｀∇´)ψ

OKKE - 00:06 AM

sup blondie

took an extra hour but ill be there soon enough 👍

OKKE - 00:07 AM

DONT eat the meatballs and mozzarella ones

those r mine

°✧.* EZ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ - 00:08 AM

lol i know u love ur balls and cheese

OKKE - 00:09 AM

nvm.

Ezreal grinned, sending a few more kaomojis before lifting his head again as the small and outdated oven sounded its usual annoying ping. He slipped the phone in his back pocket, humming happily along to a commercial song that played on the living room's TV.

Leaving the flavors Ekko preferred untouched, the blonde took the other half, cutting one of the hot-pockets to make sure it was properly heated.

He stuck a finger in the middle of it, soon groaning in frustration. Still disgustingly cold.

With that, Ezreal’s blissful attempt to better his mood and ignore the constant paranoia of staying home alone was stuck back in the oven as he slammed its door closed with certain frustration.

Just in time to place his re-re-heated meal on a tray in order to eat while watching TV, Ezreal heard the front door swing open.

“Ekko?” The blonde called, closing the fridge with his hip, freshly-made iced tea in hands. “Dinner’s ready! Come get your balls while they’re hot.” 

He listened for any kind of response.

There was no hearty laugh, a chuckle, or even a snort of sorts. No shuffling of fabrics as Ekko took out his usual heavy jacket and left it on the coat hanger.

Just the front door opening and the wind brushing stray leaves inside.

Then nothing.

“...You there?” Ezreal called out once again after struggling to swallow the saliva that pooled inside his mouth.

He felt nauseous already, but knew better than to tackle the first person who came in sight like the previous week, when he almost gave Ekko a concussion after the friend failed to quickly identify himself when arriving back home.

Four ice cubes clinked inside the bunny-themed glass, accompanying the rhythm of Ezreal’s steps as they came to a sudden halt. The simple aluminium tray slipped from his hands and fell to the floor with a loud crash, followed by the other items that shattered upon impact.

Pieces of glass and ceramic flew all over. The knife brought for that meal almost hit Ezreal’s bare feet, sliding under the couch.

By the front door, Shieda Kayn stood slightly slouched, still holding the screwdriver he had used to break in.

“ I just want to talk .” He muttered breathlessly, as if the sight of Ezreal alone was enough to make his blood pump faster.

This is it. Ezreal thought. All of these days and nights I spent fearing the worst... It finally happened.

Maybe he’ll make it quick. Maybe I won’t even feel anything.

This is the end of my suffering.

Kayn looked disheveled.

His cheeks were flushed, the redness spreading all the way down to his neck and up to the tips of his ears, like he had just been running a marathon. Jumping over the barbed-wire fence of Ekko’s housing complex wasn’t as easy of a task as he previously planned.

Dark and unkempt hair fell upon his eyes - one covered by the usual eyepatch - only exalting the maniac energy he already exhaled even before that first face-to-face encounter.

He wore the usual matching set of dark clothing - A hoodie with the logo of his favorite band, jeans and a cap - which, when compared to Ezreal, his blonde locks, doe eyes and lacey lilac pajamas, made him look even more out of place.

This is it . Kayn thought. All of these days and nights I spent dreaming about meeting you... It finally happened.

This is the end of my suffering.

“I just… Want to talk.” Kayn repeated, gripping the screwdriver on his right hand as if he just might poke Ezreal’s eyes until they were nothing but a bloody goo inside his skull.

Before he could step closer, Ezreal bent down and reached for the first thing in sight, hitting his shoulder with a well-thrown purple converse.

Kayn barely budged or recognized the attack - He apathetically looked down at the shoe, and then back at Ezreal. His breathing was shallow, loud and unstable, making his whole body tremble.

For a split second, neither of them moved nor talked. Both stared, waiting for the other to initiate any kind of action, aggressive or not.

Following the ticking of a clock that slowly ran out of batteries until it completely stopped, they were frozen in place.

The living room, its brown rugged leather sofa, the TV screening a trashy reality show, Ekko’s skate left close to the front door, it all seemed perfectly propped up for a True Crime exhibition that showed how terrifying and violent the last moments of Ezreal’s life were.

Pointing out exactly everything he had done wrong, and how much it contributed to his fate. A cautionary tale, told to anyone who dared enter a little off the beaten path museum by the side of a dirt road.

No one had showed up in years. It wasn’t worth it.

The place was falling apart, its walls rotten with mold, the sounds of rats roaming up the ceiling way scarier than any hoax alien mummy made out of paper-mache on display. 

The wax doll representing Kayn stared with its lifeless eye, his skin a bit yellow-ish and dry from the passage of time - His lips slightly parted, holding a spider’s web in between them, with tiny little eggs hanging from the corners.

Maybe he came to life under the shadowy covers of night, like a zombie. Maybe the eggs were nothing more than the leftovers of a crunchy snack.

Ezreal hated him, though made from the same low-quality wax and exploited by the same con-artist that found interest in his story.

Hated his brown eye, painted in cheap markers to cover for a few spots that already had faded over time. Hated the artificial light flickering over both of them, day and night, persevering though it should've been switched for a new one months ago. Hated the promo-cap chosen to substitute the black one Kayn always wore - AKSHAN’S MYSTERY MUSEUM, it read, COME GET THE SCARE OF A LIFETIME.

That vision haunted him. Becoming a victim, a number on a chart.

A doll in a museum no one bothered to visit.

With that vision in mind, Ezreal took the hint and turned away, slipping on the remnants of his dinner as he jumped over the leather couch.

Kayn quickly jolted after him, grabbing the blonde by his tank top and almost ripping it off when Ezreal fell to the carpeted floor.

“ Please .” Kayn gasped, breathless, following Ezreal’s desperate attempt to get up and pulling him by his ankle - The one with a pomegranate tattooed on it.

A simple red-lined little thing, barely the size of a grape. Its crimson shimmer reflected deep inside Kayn’s pupil, blown wide like a cat’s after spotting its prey. 

“Let. Me. Go .” Ezreal promptly kicked Kayn’s chin, nose and mouth - one kick to each word said - scurrying towards the kitchen as the man hissed in pain.

Kayn ungracefully stood back up, licking the blood that ran down his lips and stained his uneven teeth.

He accompanied the path of Ezreal’s bloody footsteps to the other room, slumping his ever-so-twitchy body against the open door frame while watching the blonde scramble to grab the sharpest boning knife available in one of the various cabinets.

“Don’t… D-Don’t come closer.” Ezreal shrieked, his sweaty hands trembling as he pointed the weapon towards Kayn, who kept silent, still gripping Zed’s borrowed screwdriver. “I mean it.”

No response.

Kayn tasted his own blood again, then swallowed. Ezreal observed his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

Ekko will be here soon. He prayed. I just have to hang on a little longer.

“I don’t wanna hurt you, Kayn.” The blonde visibly trembled, blue eyes as open as they could be, burning with tears that he refused to shed while Kayn watched. “ Don’t make me do it.”

Ezreal’s whole body shook in response to each quivery breath. His feet bled, and he could still feel a shard of the white ceramic plate stuck in his heel, penetrating further and further onto his flesh.

His frantic heart pumped blood like an unhinged machine, following the fight-or-flight orders his foggy brain screamed to every other organ.

He felt terrified. He felt exhausted. Most of all, he felt angry.

He would get out of that encounter alive, no matter what.

A flash of light went through the living room window and traced Kayn’s silhouette for a split second, shadowing his sharp features, though the maniac glimpse in his eyes remained unopposed.

Ekko’s car slowly pulled up on the gravel driveway, blasting whatever underground music he felt like listening on his way home. Ezreal’s eyes widened in relief.

He’s here. Help’s on its way.

The car’s headlights turned off, and Kayn’s expression was visible again, under the kitchen’s flickering fluorescent lamp. With the threat of someone else soon getting in the house, a witness , his face contorted into something more sinister, more desperate.

With that, they knew. There was no way both of them would get out of that kitchen unharmed.

“Ez?” Ekko’s voice called from afar, as the friend took in the sight of the doorknob screwed out of the door, a slightly out of place couch and a shattered plate of food. 

Kayn stared. Ezreal didn’t respond.

Just like in a bad dream, his voice died out before forming any real word - Any hoarse call for action, or whimper that signaled his location.

“ Ezreal?” Ekko sounded somewhat more preoccupied as he took in the threatening sight of that tall shadowy figure looming by the kitchen doorway. “Hey. Hey, no -”

It happened fast. Too fast.

In a moment, Kayn picked the front door's lock with a borrowed screwdriver.

By the other, he laid on the kitchen floor, bleeding to death.

After a few short steps and a frightened shriek, the knife perforated his stomach, going upwards and puncturing the aorta, almost all the way through Kayn’s torso. He practically walked right into it, betting on the possibility that the scaredy hare he had been chasing all of those months wasn’t going to fight back when push came to shove.

Once again, both seemed frozen in place, two mannequins posed on the perfectly tragic moment that ruined Ezreal’s life. Another scene pictured in that damn museum.

Kayn looked down at his stomach, where his and Ezreal’s bodies were conjoined by the blade, then back at his freckled face, as if the betrayal of that act caught him off guard.

“... Ah .”

Kayn gripped onto Ezreal’s bloody hands in a last effort to keep him close, slumping forward and letting his weight crash on the blonde, who wasn’t strong enough to hold him up for too long.

Ezreal fell on his knees, hugging Kayn’s shoulders so he wouldn’t go head first towards the cream colored tiles that were now covered in blood.

“Ezreal, what-” Ekko gasped as he reached the door, brown eyes widened in shock. “Are you hurt? Are you bleeding? Ez-”

“Call an ambulance.” Ezreal hissed, holding Kayn close, the raven’s head laying on his lap. He looked up, blissfully staring at Ezreal as if he had not just been stabbed in the gut. As if he didn’t cough out the blood that pooled inside his dry mouth.

Ekko didn’t react. Not immediately. He stared, considering their options. Considering the idea of taking just too long. Of not calling at all. Not for at least thirty minutes.

“What are you WAITING FOR , Ekko?” Ezreal yelled out, warm tears finally streaming down his face. They dripped onto Kayn’s skin, and he shivered with a soft, absent smile.

The blonde touched Kayn’s cheeks, taking off the cap and eyepatch so he would feel more comfortable. He brushed away Kayn’s messy blue-dyed bangs, only managing to stain his fair skin with blood.

Under the eyepatch, Kayn’s other eye was a lighter shade of brown. A little closed and probably fully blind, due to a scar that ran from his eyebrow to his cheekbone.

“Stay with me. Stay with me, you bastard.” Ezreal sobbed, caressing his messy hair and face in order to keep Kayn awake. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. ”

Kayn awkwardly smiled, still staring quietly, like a faithful devotee that witnessed the arrival of his patron saint. Like he would gladly die for a chance of sharing the same room as Ezreal, even if only for a few minutes.

Don’t worry about it. He seemed to imply. I still love you.

Ezreal’s vision blurred with even more tears, which promptly fell upon Kayn’s face, like a gentle spring drizzle.

“Don’t. It’s not my fault.” He whispered. Kayn, looking rather out of it due to the lack of blood, responded with a chuckle before grimacing in certain pain. “Don’t do this to me.”

“Sorry.” The raven muttered back, intertwining their fingers and pressuring Ezreal’s hand closer to his cheek. “You’re… Really pretty.”

“Don’t speak.” Ezreal tried wiping away the tears that moistened his stalker’s face to no avail, for he couldn’t stop himself from crying harder.

“You are.” Kayn insisted, his voice hoarse and almost sweet sounding. Like he knew his time ran short. “Your eyes, they’re… Pretty. And your… Y-Your nose. I really, really like your nose.”

He raised a frail hand, tracing a line from Ezreal’s nose to his lips. Ezreal didn’t shrink away from his touch.

“I w-wish you’d… Given me a chance.” His bloody finger stained Ezreal’s skin further, going towards his chin, then his neck and the rim of his lilac pajamas until it fell back to the hard cold floor.

Ezreal paused, holding in his breath.

Kayn’s brown eyes seemed to darken, lifeless, though still somehow reflecting the blonde’s image. A small smile was now permanent on his lips.

For a moment, Ezreal watched his own terrified expression - The crying mess he presented himself as, the puffiness and the red splotches that crawled on his face, messy blonde hair glued to his moist cheeks.

He had always been such an ugly crier.

“...Kayn?” He called in a hoarse whisper, holding Kayn’s chin to urge any kind of response.

None came.

Paramedics arrived not long after. It took at least two people, plus Ekko, to untangle Ezreal from Kayn’s body, though any attempts at resuscitation met no success.

The man that pumped his hands against Kayn’s chest slowly stopped, looking up at his colleagues and shaking his head. One of them declared the time of death - 01:44 AM.

Upon hearing those words, Ezreal, who was sitting with a thermic blanket wrapping his shoulders and a cup of warm tea between his hands, jolted forward.

“No. No. Get up.” Ekko held him back, hugging his friend from behind as tea fell to the kitchen floor, mixing its yellow-ish tone with the blood that stained the tiles. “He’s lying. He’s lying, he’s pretending, he’s lying. All he does is lie!”

Ezreal tried wiggling his way out of Ekko’s embrace, still sobbing as he spiraled into a full-on meltdown that, in all fairness, was bound to happen sooner or later.

“He’s doing it for attention. That’s all he does, that’s all he does. ” He gasped for air, his voice hoarse and cracking. “Get up, Kayn, we’re not done! I’m not done with you!”

A paramedic blocked Ezreal’s path, keeping him from watching as Kayn’s body was gently slid into a grey bag, zipped closed and moved out of the room.

“We’re not done. He’s not dead.” Ezreal kept sobbing, finally giving in to Ekko’s hug and slowly losing the strength on his legs. “It’s not my fault. I didn’t mean it. ”

° . • ° ☆ 🐇 ☆ ° . • °

“I’m… Really sorry for your loss.”

The words fell flat towards the fuzzy carpet that gave way to Kayn’s open coffin, meaningless.

Ezreal had his face down, wearing a black suit Ekko lent him at the last minute - Good thing they wore similar sizes, since Ezreal’s formal clothes were all pre-transition ones. Though it looked a little loose, he’d hate to show up in a dress for what was about to be the most agonizing hours of the last few days.

Kayn’s father sat on a folding chair next to his son’s body, as relatives and friends came and went to make sure he was still breathing, and hadn’t turned into a complete statue picturing a distressed parent grieving the loss of their only child.

The man lifted his gaze, taking some seconds to recognize Ezreal for who he was.

Of course, there was no way he could forget the face plastered all over Kayn’s bedroom. The same room that would give off red flags enough to intervene, had he seen the state it was in before it was too late.

Zed was a mess. Unshaven, greying hair unkempt and out of its usual style. Dark semi-circles weighted under his eyes, which were glassy, moist and reddened, much like Ezreal’s.

“You made it.” He greeted the blonde, sounding like those were the first words he said in a while. The man got up, pulling Ezreal into a tight embrace that most likely ruined the bouquet he carried as a gift. “Thank you for coming, Ezreal. It means a lot.”

Ezreal didn’t respond, sinking into his arms like a scaredy child looking for comfort under their parent’s wings. He closed his teary eyes, letting the scent of Zed’s manly cologne take over his senses, strong enough to burn and numb out his nostrils.

To everyone’s surprise, Zed had never seemed to blame Ezreal for Kayn’s demise. Not to his face, at least. Instead, after learning the details of the whole ordeal, he immediately took a much kinder approach, seeming ready to comfort Ezreal in their shared grief.

We’re in this together. He assured. And I’m sorry too. I should have seen it coming.

More than anything, the man blamed himself. For not being there. For not picking up the signs that his son spiraled out of control. For borrowing that damn screwdriver.

There must have been something else I could have done. He once told Ezreal, who only nodded in response. Implying the contrary was useless, he knew. He wouldn’t accept the idea if Ekko or Lux tried, too.

People came and went around them, praying over Kayn’s body as they left Zed to the only other person that seemed to somehow understand his loss, even if in a totally different way.

Once they finally parted, Ezreal sniffed in snot, careful not to ruin the sleeves of Ekko’s suit before handing Zed the crumpled bouquet.

“He was sick.” The man hoarsely said.

Ezreal nodded.

“I’m sorry.” He responded.

Zed nodded back.

“I know. I’m sorry too.”

Standing over Kayn’s coffin, Ezreal looked down, hands carefully grasping the wooden borders. He appeared comfortable enough. Peaceful, even.

Kayn’s face was clean of any blood, freshly shaved. His pale lips were slightly parted - It almost seemed like he smiled.

Wearing a black suit with a red tie, matching eyepatch and newly bought shoes, Kayn reflected the perfect image of whatever Zed most likely saw when looking at his son.

His pride and joy, his only child. His little buddy, forever 10 years old and asking to sleep in his bed, too scared of the shadowy corners of his own room.

There was a small clump of dust and fabric attached to one of his eyebrows. Ezreal carefully caressed his cheek, then using his thumb to brush off the small disturbance to his vision.

He was handsome. Could have been, if his face wasn’t distorted into whatever Ezreal saw in his worst nightmares.

Ezreal learned a lot about him during the previous days and the few speeches given since his arrival to the funeral.

He played the guitar, both electric and acoustic. His favorite colors were red and blue.

The scar on his face came from a motorcycle accident a few years prior. He didn’t have a license.

He liked anime, a lot. Way too much. They shared interest in some bands and shows.

He once had a pet bunny that became roadkill after escaping its cage.

He could be kind, attentive and awkwardly sweet, despite his strange mannerisms.

It all made Ezreal wonder, staring at his unmoving peaceful complexion, if there was a world it didn’t have to be this way.

An alternate timeline, a different universe, where Kayn maybe took another approach. Where Ezreal accepted his gifts, and his feelings. Where they met by accident in a random café, and exchanged numbers then and there, without any stalking necessary. Without fear, and without death. Without the incessant paranoia that now followed Ezreal anywhere he went, slipping into his intrusive thoughts, his dreams, his skin, bones and every organ.

Thinking about it too much made him dizzy.

Kayn was dead. Everyone knew. He made sure of it.

Still, it seemed like he would never get rid of the feeling of being followed. Of the fear Kayn might just pop up again, breaking in through a window, coming out of a closet or from behind the shower curtains.

He hated it. He hated him for what his mind had become, and the trauma that persisted even after Kayn was gone.

“Please rest.” Ezreal whispered, combing his slim fingers through Kayn’s hair in order to mess it up a bit. So he’d look more like himself, and not the boy Zed’s blinding love made him out to be. “And don’t come back.”

° . • ° ☆ 🐇 ☆ ° . • °

Ezreal knelt down to brush a few dry leafs out of the tombstone.

While softly humming, he nudged the ragged bunny plushie that sat below Kayn’s name, making it sit straight after the harsh autumn wind knocked it over. That stuffed bunny was one of the last things sent by Kayn, arriving at Ezreal's apartment days after his death in a manner that only fed his trauma and the shadowy ghosts that followed the corners of his vision.

It was the only gift Ezreal ever kept, too, though only so he could later use it as a little warden watching over the tombstone. Maybe Kayn would feel less lonely with a buddy to hang around during the days he and Zed didn’t visit.

“Can’t you keep things looking minimally organized for a single week?” Grumbling, he replaced the bouquet of dry flowers over the grave with a new one. Pink carnations were the choice for that day.

At some point, not long after the funeral, Ezreal realized he would never be able to just let things go.

His soul and Kayn’s were well too entangled by then, even if not consensually.

Kayn forced himself into his life, and became his . His stalker, his trauma.

His ghost.

Besides Zed, Kayn didn’t seem to have anyone that actually cared. His few childhood friends had lives of their own, and the distant relatives were too far. So, Ezreal made up his mind.

If not to relieve his conscience on stabbing the old man’s only son to death, Ezreal would do it for himself. To take control over what was left of his narrative, and make sure Kayn knew they would never part again.

That was an active choice. To hate so much, the feeling melts down into a wobbly pitiful little thing, and ends up softer, more malleable.

Some days, Ezreal actually felt like those visits were somehow therapeutic. Like he was so close to an epiphany, to forgiving Kayn, and learning to love what could have been.

Other days, Ezreal wanted to rip the stuffed bunny’s head out with his teeth and dig his way down to Kayn’s coffin so he could hysterically laugh at his decaying corpse, pulling him apart limb by rotting limb to make sure he would never be followed home again.

Most of the days, he just felt like sobbing.

The wind blew his blonde hair off its usual messy style, and Ezreal closed his eyes, taking in the greeting with his face up.

The sun had already started setting as he got to the graveyard, meaning he’d have to make his way back home in the dark. Warped shadows grew around him, following the shapes of crosses, angels and other statues that were meant to bring beauty and peace to that place.

Strangely, that particular visit felt rather peaceful, if not a little melancholic.

“Zed came recently, hm?” He murmured quietly, hands on his thighs, sitting on the pavement like one would meditate. “Sorry I couldn’t make it sooner. Finals are… Tough.” 

He meant it.

After three years and a few months, Ezreal had never missed a single one of their weekly meetings, even if it meant standing under harsh rain, pondering if the cold that soaked straight to his bones would ever reach inside Kayn’s coffin.

Maybe he’d like that. Maybe his suit was too hot, too tight. Maybe the pristine shoes Zed bought for his son’s corpse weren’t made out of the best material to pass the eternity wearing.

“Besides that, there isn’t much going on, I think.” He shrugged, looking away to follow a path of ants that carried shards of leaves, seeds and crumbs towards a small hole under the tomb’s marble base.

Were they feeding him? Digging six feet under and drilling through the wood so they could make an orderly line to his slightly parted lips, throwing in their offerings in the hopes of awakening him once more? Why would they? Ezreal regretted washing away those ants that got into his orange juice three weeks prior. Did they hate him for that? How much? Well, he never really liked ants to begin with.

“I met a guy. At uni.” He clicked his tongue in hopes of showing those pesky little ants who was the boss. They didn’t seem to mind. “Nothing serious, for now. He’s nice enough, and handsome.”

Ezreal sighed, taking in a few more moments of quiet company between them, the stuffed bunny and the ants.

“Would you show up at my graduation if you had the chance?” He murmured, eyes still fixed onto the line of little brown dots. “It’d be fucked up.”

After at least 40 minutes spent between silent meditation and a bit of gossip on Lux’s and Ekko’s personal lives for good measure, Ezreal finally got up from where he sat.

Giving Kayn’s tombstone a gentle pat, he sighed.

“Same time next week?” He barely managed to smile. “Don’t miss me too much, weirdo.”

° . • ° ☆ 🐇 ☆ ° . • °

Ezreal took off his lilac converses and hung his heavy coat by the door, greeting Lux with a tiresome smile.

“I drew you a bath.” She gently said, holding his cold hands to make sure he wasn’t shaking - At least not as much as the first few weekly visits to Kayn’s grave.

It had been years, and still, that promise managed to drain every ounce of life and happiness Ezreal could manage to gather during the other six days of the week.

With blonde hair, blue eyes and a soft doll-like face, both were often mixed up for a set of twins, or siblings in any matter. Never again. Not anymore. 

Since the incident, Lux could physically watch Ezreal wither away, looking barely alive.

Like a succulent left to die in some depressed teen’s bedroom. Never getting the sun it desperately needed to flourish. Only drinking enough water to pass by.

A shadowy memory of his past self. A walking corpse, mirroring the one he once left six feet under.

“Thanks, Lux.” He murmured, slipping away from her grip and towards their shared bathroom.

One pill for his back and rib pain.

One for anxiety, another for his incessant paranoia, and the shadows on the corners of his vision - The ones that always seemed just out of sight, like ghosts teasing his inability to catch more than a glimpse of their warped figures.

One more pill for insomnia, and then muscle relaxants so he could maybe have an actual chance of sleeping that night.

Ezreal didn’t bother grabbing a glass of water, chewing on the bitter remedies as he got rid of his clothes.

Standing naked in front of the mirror just above the sink, he wondered if whatever beauty Kayn once saw in him had already been washed away after the night that ended both their lives.

He had always been lightweight, but food had long stopped feeling tasty enough to fill his cheeks and bone-y complexion.

His once well-cared for blonde hair now seemed to fall at an alarming rate, looking longer, dirtier and more frail than ever.

Dark bags weighed under his glassy eyes, confirming the night terrors that plagued any attempt to sleep.

Still, he somehow managed to graduate. It would all be over soon enough, and he could finally focus on his future beyond living semester to semester. On getting a new job, and helping Lux with the bills she paid with the same kind of phone calls that got him to meet his stalker.

She was proud of him, he knew. Ekko was too.

They admired his strength, they said.

He lived through hell, and survived. He kept on living, as if there was ever the option to just give up.

He’d rather not think of ever sharing the same dirt that buried Kayn’s coffin, or else he might throw up for the third time that day.

Ezreal slipped into the warmth and foam, sighing and finally allowing himself to relax as the various pills effectively lowered his inhibition, blood pressure and racing thoughts.

The bath salts and products Lux poured into the water soaked his soul into a tropical-fresh smelling puddle, caressing his lungs at each breath. The usual anxiety seemed far enough to make his ribs stop hurting for once, allowing in deeper sighs.

With his eyes closed, Ezreal sank a little further.

The tip of his nose scraped the frothy bubbles in a way that tickled, though he couldn’t bother to move away from them. His arms and legs felt… Heavy. His tongue was unusually dry and rubbery, stuck to the roof of his mouth.

Maybe he overdid his dose. Lux would probably lecture him on that later, slapping his head with a rolled-up gossip magazine.

Still, he sank deeper, until only the top of his blonde head remained out of the water, like a small moist island floating over the thick piña-colada scented foam.

The warmth took care of the tension in his muscles, covering him like a slim coat of honey that unhurriedly entered through his ears, nose and mouth, enveloping every single organ, bone and vein.

It felt peaceful.

It felt like dying, or being dead.

It felt like nothing. Like floating through space, unworriedly and uncaring of any human issues.

He had no finals to work on. No trauma, no anxiety disorder. No stalker, or ghosts following his every step.

Submerged for a few seconds, Ezreal finally re-opened his eyes, slowly realizing the inevitable: His body felt numb all over. Too numb to move.

Oxygen ran low. His vision burned, bothered by the salts and soap.

He tried pushing his feet against the bottom of the bathtub, but they only slipped and flapped aimlessly just like his arms, prickly and unhelpful.

Facing the foamy surface of the water as he desperately stretched to reach air, Ezreal could only watch the last remaining bubbles of his breath floating upwards, leaving him without so much as a graceful twirl.

His lungs started to hurt, tightening and crumpling over themselves when the need for air became unbearable. Water came in through his nose first, burning its way towards his trachea and filling in the space that it wasn’t supposed to touch. More bubbles came out of his mouth as he instinctively tried breathing through it, only further swallowing liquid and foam in the process.

Is this it? He thought. All of it, for nothing? All of my pain, all of my fear, for an accidental drowning on a Thursday night?

No. Please, God, no .

Not like this .

Ezreal’s fingers grasped onto the borders of the bathtub, too weak to actually pull himself out of it.

Please. Please. Not like this.

Already too blurry and dazed, his mind’s eye pictured Kayn. Wearing his slightly dusty suit and red tie, he wasted no time in fishing Ezreal out of the water by under his arms, holding him tightly.

I’ve got you.

Ezreal gasped for air and coughed out the sweet smelling foam, a sobbing wet mess as both hugged, his legs still trembling while he recovered his breath and spat out even more soapy water.

I’ve got you now. Come.

“Ez? Dinner’s ready.” Lux gently called. “Are you done?”

Only the dripping sink could be heard inside. No water movement, no soft humming.

She knocked again. No response.

“...Ezreal?” Her voice cracked. “I’m coming in.”