(A/N) This strays from the storyline of arcane, it is not meant to be an arcane fanfic, i just wanted to try a more sincere romance fanfic, please enjoy.
Zaun, a place that always draws the wrong attention, where the air is thick with smog and the scent of oil. To some zaun was a way to earn a quick buck, to exploit the city and its lawless streets, but for most a cage of poverty and strife. To you, it was home.
You grew up in the shadows of the towering chemtech factories, where the sun barely penetrated the layer of smog which hung in the air. Life in zaun was tough, so you had to be tougher. Your mother worked endlessly in the factory trying to provide food for you, never having time to rest, while your father, well you haven't seen him since you were a toddler. all you had to preoccupy yourself is the beats in your head and the out of tune piano, laying in a landfill.
Trying to fix this piano is when you first met her,
you were rummaging through a pile of junk, trying to find anything that produces a sound, when you heard a nearby pile fall over. Startled, you turned to see a small girl, similar age to you with wild blue hair and a mischievous look on her face.
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"Whatcha lookin' for, scrap rat?" she taunted, with a playful tone in her voice.
You straighten up, trying to appear more brave than you felt "None of your business, blueberry"
The girl's grin widened. "Blueberry, huh? That's a new one. Name's Powder, by the way."
"Y/n," you replied, relaxing a bit. There was something about her—she was wild, unpredictable, but there was also a sorrow in her eyes that mirrored his own.
From then on, you and Powder became inseparable. You were both outcasts in your own ways, both yearning for something more than the hand they'd been dealt. Together, you both explored the hidden corners of Zaun, climbed the highest rooftops, and dreamed of a future where they could rise above the grime and grit of their surroundings.
Your passion for music remained, and Powder was your biggest fan, listening to you trying to make do with what you had. Your prowess for rhyme impressed her, although she didn't understand most of it. She would sit with you for ages, listening to you making lyrics and watching as you write your rhymes in a small book. In return, Powder would take him on wild escapades through the underbelly of the city, showing him secret tunnels and her graffiti artworks—her own form of art.
you even introduced her to your mom, who was extremely happy to see her son make a friend after worrying so much about him. You always loved your mother, and this love drove you to make more music, to help your mom out.
But Powder was troubled, there were times when she would disappear for hours or even days with no explanation, after she would return with a haunted look in her eyes. You worried about her but knew better than to ask too many questions. You were both broken in your own ways, that's what made your bond so strong.
One day, as you both sat on the edge of a rooftop overlooking the chem-filled canals of Zaun, Powder timidly pulled a small, worn-out pendant from her pocket and handed it to you.
"What's this?" you asked, curiously turning it over in your hands. It was a simple thing, just a piece of metal shaped like a bullet, but it felt heavy with meaning.
"Just... something to remember me by," she said, her voice unusually soft. "In case I'm not around someday."
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You frowned. "Don't say stuff like that, Powder. We're a team, right? Always have been, always will be."
She forced a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah. Always."
Seeing the sorrow in her eyes, you scoot closer to her and wrap an arm around her shoulder. She smiles weakly as you sit in silence, pondering the future to come.
A few days later, everything changed.
You were in the middle of crafting a new beat, your shifty pencil tapping rhythmically against your notepad when the ground shook beneath you, a deafening blast could be heard from a distance ripping through the air. Without thinking, you dropped the notepad and began running towards the explosion, past the fleeing zaunites.
you eventually found your self at the edge of a crater, where a large chemtech factory once lay. swiping the dust and soot away from your face, you squinted and looked around the rubble, when you spotted her, Powder, standing in the center of it all, her hands stained with soot and her eyes wide with shock.
"Powder!" you tried yelling, the dust filling your lungs and making you cough violently.
She looked at him, and for a moment, neither of them moved. her eyes where brimming with tears and a new chaos and unstability was formed within her.
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Then, as if something inside her snapped, she turned and fled into the shadows of Zaun, leaving you behind.
You called after her, but she didn't stop. She was gone, and with her, the last piece of your childhood shattered.
You stood there, clutching the pendant she had given you, feeling the weight of the world press down on him. She had always been a wild card, but this... this was something else. Something had changed in her, something dark, and you didn't know if you'd ever see your friend again.
As you fall to your knees in despair, you think of all the good times, and tears silently fall down your cheek. The girl you had once known, the one who shared your dreams and laughed at your jokes, was gone. And in her place was someone you barely recognized. As the dust settled, you knew your life would never be the same.
But deep down, you made a vow. No matter what happened, no matter how far she ran or how dark her path became, you would find her. Because in this city of shadows, you both had been each other's only light.
