Jinxed | Jinx Arcane Oneshots

Lost in Her Shadow | ANGST

ANGST

Jinx's hideout was exactly what I expected: chaos with a heartbeat. Toys gutted and stuffed with explosives. Spray paint scrawled across every surface, glowing faintly in the dim light.

Her mind was in this room, carved into every wall and splattered in every color. And right now, her mind was fractured, and I had to find her before it cracked completely.

She'd bolted after our fight. I'd said something about her stunts being "too much" after one of her bombs nearly hit a kid in Piltover. The way she froze, staring at me like I'd taken a sledgehammer to her chest.. I couldn't forget it. And then she was gone, slipping into Zaun's shadows, faster than I could chase her.

"Jinx?" I called out, my voice echoing in the stillness. Nothing.

I stepped deeper into the hideout, my boots crunching on broken glass. My chest felt tight, like the walls were closing in. She had to be here. She always came back here when things got bad.

"Why are you here?"

Her voice came from behind me, sharp and cold. I spun around, and there she was, leaning against the wall, a pistol dangling from her hand. Her pinkish-red eyes locked onto mine, wild and burning, but beneath the fire, I saw it: fear.

"To find you," I said carefully, taking a step forward. "You ran off—"

"Yeah, I do that," she interrupted, tilting her head with a crooked grin that didn't reach her eyes. "Why'd you bother coming? Thought you were done with my stunts."

Her words hit harder than I wanted to admit. "I wasn't.. Jinx, I didn't mean—"

"Save it," she snapped, her grin vanishing. She pushed off the wall, pacing now, her gun swinging loosely in her grip. "I know how this goes. You're here to yell, to tell me I'm too much, to—"

"That's not why I'm here!" I cut her off, my voice louder than I intended. She stopped mid-step, eyes narrowing.

"Then what? You're here to fix me?" she asked, her tone dripping with venom. "Newsflash, Y/N: I'm not broken. I'm Jinx. This is what you signed up for, remember?"

"I'm not here to fix you," I said, softer now. "I'm here because I care about you."

Her laugh was bitter, sharp enough to cut glass. "Care about me? Right. Until it gets messy. Until I get messy." She spun on her heel to face me fully, raising the pistol until it was pointed straight at my chest. Her hands were shaking. "Why shouldn't I think you'll bail like everyone else?"

My heart was pounding, but I didn't move. I met her gaze, steady and unflinching. "Because I'm still here, Jinx. I could've left, but I didn't."

Her lip twitched, and for a second, I thought she might pull the trigger. But then the gun lowered, her arm dropping limply to her side. She looked.. small. Lost.

"Why?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I stepped closer, slowly, until I was right in front of her. "Because you're worth staying for."

Her eyes darted away, her jaw tightening. "You don't get it," she muttered. "I ruin everything. People. Places. Everything I touch turns to ash. It's just who I am."

"That's not true," I said, reaching out to touch her arm. She flinched but didn't pull away. "You're more than the chaos, Jinx. You're—"

"Stop," she said, her voice cracking. She pulled away, backing up toward the door. "You don't know what you're saying. You don't—"

"Jinx, wait," I pleaded, but she shook her head violently.

"No. No, no, no." She pressed her hands to her head, gripping her hair. "You don't get to make me believe it. Because then you'll leave, just like she did."

Her voice broke on the last word, and it felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

"I'm not Vi," I said softly.

That made her freeze. For a long moment, she didn't move, didn't speak. Then she looked at me, and I saw the tears in her eyes, the cracks in her armor.

Her expression twisted, like she couldn't decide whether to scream or cry. Then, just as suddenly as she'd appeared, she turned and bolted, disappearing into the shadows.

"Jinx!" I called after her, but it was too late. She was gone.

I stood there in the empty hideout, my chest aching, my mind spinning. She'd left behind more than just chaos this time. She'd left a hole, raw and bleeding, and I didn't know if I'd ever see her again.

But I knew one thing: no matter how far she ran, I'd never catch up to her this time.