Chapter Text
Ekko sighed as he pushed back from the desk, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his locs. The latest edit had been posted, and he stared at the monitor for a moment.
Frustration had been his first emotion when his feelings toward Jinx surfaced: who had once been an academic rival, but over time they'd become something close to friends. What had first been animosity when he saw her face quickly yielded to admiration : of her technical prowess, of her engineering mindset, of her tireless work ethic, of the brilliant mind hidden behind meters of sarcasm and snark.
Jinx liked to play dumb for the professors— to get under peoples' skin and set them off, rile them up— but having been forced to work with her on a number of projects and assignments, Ekko had gotten a rare peek behind the curtain. Jinx was a genius, a visionary, someone with ideas as grand as his own: passionate.
And, Ekko was hesitant to admit even to himself, he admired... other things about her. She was beautiful. She was incredible. And she was completely unattainable. Ekko was certain she hated him, so he vented his feelings in this way, and in the countless sketches of her in his notebooks.
Ekko grumbled and groaned as he shut off the monitor, stretching as he stood. Jinx was going to be over soon, and he needed to wash up quick and then log out of the alt account.
Nodding, Ekko headed to his bathroom to wash his face.
As he stepped out and returned to his bedroom, his heart stopped and his blood ran cold. Standing in front of his computer was a woman. Odd enough, given he’d never really had a woman in his dorm room before. But the woman had blue hair, split into twin braids that reached below her hips.
‘How did she even get in?’ Evidently not an important question but his mind was reeling. Jinx was in his dorm, in his room , in front of his computer, and…
It was turned on. And she was staring at the edit he’d uploaded.
Fuck.