You leaned against the wall as you flipped the metal lighter around in your hand. It was now Thursday. One more day until you had to make a choice about the competition. You were at the shop currently even though no one else was.

Sett watched as you stared off at one of the posters you had made. He had noticed that you had been out of sorts since you had that double date with Evelynn and her parents. You didn't really talk about it, but he could tell something was bothering you.

Sett: Mutt.

You looked over at him, not dropping the lighter.

Sett: You okay?

You nodded.

Sett: You're quiet. You sure you're alright?

Y/N: Yeah. I'm fine.

Sett: You don't seem fine.

You turned back to the poster before you caught the lighter and closed it.

Y/N: I met Evelynn's parents.

Sett raised a brow.

Sett: I heard. So, are you two a thing now?

You shrugged.

Y/N: I don't know. But I do know that I have absolutely no future that could possibly match hers.

Sett: What do you mean?

You pushed off the wall and walked over to the counter.

Y/N: Well, Evelynn is going to college and shit after school.

Sett: So?

Y/N: So.......I don't know. I just don't know. I can't explain it.

You just didn't feel like you and her were going to walk the same path. There was nothing wrong with that, but Evelynn came from a rich family and was very comfortable with her way of life.

You could never provide that for her.

Y/N: Maybe we shouldn't be a thing.

Sett: Because you're both from different ends of town?

You looked at him surpised.

Sett: Kid, if you're happy with her, be with her. If not, let live and let die. You can still be friends.

Y/N: But....

Sett: Nope. No buts. Backgrounds be damned. Be happy.

Y/N: But...

Sett smacked the back of your head with the book he was reading.

Sett: Backgrounds. Be. Damned. Be good to yourself.

You just whined as you rubbed your head.

Y/N: Why do people keep hitting me with books?

Sett: Because you're an idiot. Now, do you have an answer for me?

He was talking about the competition. You had been thinking about it for a while and you were still conflicted about it. You didn't want Sett to waste his money on you. Especially over something like this.

Besides, you didn't want to end up embarrassing yourself in front of the entire town. You were a good surfer, sure, but you never considered yourself a professional.

Y/N: I....need one more day.

Sett just shrugged.

Sett: Whatever. Just let me know tomorrow.
--------------
You jogged down the street with music playing from your earbuds. Your thoughts were filled with recent events which were honestly causing a bit of stress.

You were conflicted on two fronts. Your future, and your social life.

You were actually smart. That was evident now that Nocturne knew that you were manipulating your grades to stay under the radar. You failed. But you could also get into any college, you were sure.

Yet that would only bring more financial hardship to your mother.

Then there was Evelynn. She was one of the Blades. The most popular girl in Blades Academy. You were a nobody. Why was she still wasting her time with you?

Wouldn't she be better off with anyone else?

Then there was the competition. Would you enter? Would you give it a shot?

You still didn't know.

Akali: Oh shit. What's up?

You stopped and looked over to find Akali sitting on the sidewalk. You took one of your earbuds out and looked around for the other Blades. They were nowhere to be seen.

Y/N: Uh, hey.

Akali: Out for a jog, huh?

You slowly nodded. What was she doing here? There was no one around and she was just sitting there.

Y/N: What about you?

Akali looked around for a moment before she turned back to you.

Akali: I dunno. I don't even know where here is.

Y/N: Right.

She reminded you of Kayn.

Akali: So, how was that date with Eve? I heard her parents showed up.

Oh. Looks like you're having a conversation with her.

Y/N: Well, uh, I had fun. They were nice.

Akali: Yeah. They're cool. Her mom is hot. Her dad is too.

What was with this girl? Wait...

Y/N: Are you high?

Akali: Like a mother fucking kite.

There it was.

Akali: Took some acid. Went for a walk. Found you.

You looked around the street. Has she just been sitting here this whole time? And how long as she been sitting here?

Y/N: Okay.

Akali: So, how have you been, man? Good? You look good.

Y/N: Thank you. I've been good. You?

Akali laughed a bit.

Akali: I'm good.

She turned back to the road and nodded. She then turned back to you.

Akali: Can you help me get back home?

You sighed.

Y/N: Come on.
------------
Akali balanced herself on the edge of the sidewalk as you walked alongside her. She had her arms out to keep herself up, but really you were just holding her hand to make sure she didn't fall over.

Y/N: So, you took acid?

Akali giggled.

Akali: Yeah. I just wanted to relax for a bit.

Y/N: Most people smoke weed to relax. Not drop acid.

Akali: I only had acid.

You looked at her oddly. She only had acid? Did she just have a stash of acid laying around?

Akali: Do you smoke? Wait, you do. You smoke at the beach.

Y/N: Yeah. But that's it.

Akali: Cool. I can respect that.

You thought of something and turned back to the young girl.

Y/N: Does Evelynn do....drugs?

Akali nodded and turned to you.

Akali: Yeah. We go to parties and stuff. Never seen her do anything crazy like coke or whatever. But I know she's definitely done stuff like acid, ecstasy, and, uh, molly that one time.

She done that stuff? Wow. She didn't seem like the type. Hell, she didn't really drink at the beach.

Akali: But she's not, like, crazy about that stuff. I think she just does it for the sake of the party. But she also doesn't over do it. Ahri makes sure we don't.

Y/N: So, do you do this often?

Akali: Some days are rougher than others. Do you smoke much?

You shook your head.

Y/N: Only when I hang out like we did at the beach.

Akali: Do you drink much?

Y/N: Same case.

Akali nodded.

Akali: Cool. Cool. So, uh, you and Eve dating now?

You shrugged.

Y/N: Who knows? We haven't talked about it.

Akali: I think you should.

You looked at her.

Y/N: Why?

Akali shrugged.

Akali: You both seem like a good fit for each other. You're always making her smile and she really likes you. Plus, like, you're cool and nice and shit. Definitely better than those assholes who keep asking her out.

Y/N: How do you know they're assholes?

Akali laughed.

Akali: Cause some of them asked me out, too.

She laughed some more while you held her hand a bit tighter as she started to lean off to the side. You were now walking through the nicer side of town up towards the street Akali lived on.

This was now the second time in the last week that you've been here. The restaurant you and Evelynn went to was about a mile or two to the west. You might actually be able to see it pretty soon.

Akali: But, yeah. You should totally start going out with Eve. She'll say yes if you ask.

You chuckled.

Y/N: Would she, now?

Akali: Fuck yeah. Go for it.

You just nodded. You gave it some thought and figured you could come back to it. However, since you did have her here, maybe you could ask for some drugged up advice.

Y/N: Hey.

Akali: Hey.

Y/N: There's a surf competition coming up.

Akali: There is?

Y/N: Yep. I was thinking about entering. Should I?

Akali thought about it before she nodded.

Akali: Fuck yeah. Go for it. Why not?

Y/N: I might end up wasting all that money.

Akali: True. But isn't it still worth a shot?

You looked at her.

Akali: I mean, like, better to try and fail than to regret, right?

She had a point. She was high, but she had a point. Akali hopped off the sidewalk and began to walk next to you, but she kept holding your hand. You looked down at your hands and then back at her.

Akali: We're friends now. We're going to have soft tacos later.

Y/N: Is that...an invite? Or...

Akali: Yeah! Totally! Come eat soft tacos at my place!

She pulled you along as you were forced to go along with it.
-------------
Akali: Aw yeah! Sprite!

She grabbed the can of soda from her fridge as you looked around confused. You were now in her house which was massive. It was on the edge of the hill that over looked the town below and provided a beautiful view of the ocean.

With no real option, you agreed to hang around and eat soft tacos. Also you just wanted to make sure she was okay since she was still, you know, high.

Akali: Want some root beer?

She looked at you from the fridge and you shrugged.

Y/N: Sure?

Akali: Cool.

Akali reached into the fridge and hand you a can of soda. You looked at it and saw that it was a Pepsi. You looked up at the girl as she walked over to the counter.

Akali: Alexa!

There was a ding.

Akali: Play my shit.

Alexa: Playing the Playlist called "Akali's Shit".

Akali: Thank you, you beautiful bitch.

Music started playing through the speakers around the house. Some kind of old hip hop song. Akali began to dance to it before she sat across from you at the table.

Akali nodded as she popped open her soda and took a drink.

Akali: So, you're cool.

You looked at her for a moment before you just nodded.

Y/N: Thanks.

Akali: You're also hella, fucking handsome. You and Eve will have some good looking kids.

You blushed a bit. Kids? You were only 16. Kids were the last thing on your mind.

Akali: I wish a cute guy would be interested in me. All I got are assholes.

She suddenly smacked the table.

Akali: Wait! Wait wait wait! You have single friends, right? Like, uh, Kayn and, uh, Ezreal? They're cool. And, like, cute.

You awkwardly moved a bit before you took a sip of your drink.

Y/N: Well, Lux kinda has a thing for Ezreal.

Akali: Shit. What about Kayn?

Y/N: Not, uh, mentally sane. We're not entirely sure what's wrong up in that headspace.

Akali: But he's single?

You stared at her before you slowly nodded.

Akali: Dope. You think he would be down to get down?

Y/N: S-Sure?

Akali: Cool.

She laughed a bit as she crossed her arms and sat back. You awkwardly sat there trying to figure out how your life got to this point. You hardly knew this girl yet you were here in her house as she tripped on acid.

You heard the front door open and someone enter the house.

Akali: Mom?!

Ashe: Yes!

You watched as a older woman enter the house. She set her purse down before she noticed you and her daughter sitting at the table. You nervously lifted a hand and smiled.

Ashe: Oh, you didn't tell me you had guests.

Akali: Guest. Ma, this is Y/N. He's my friend.

Y/N: Hi, ma'am.

You got up and shook her hand. She smiled politely.

Ashe: I'm assuming my daughter has already asked you to stay for dinner?

You nodded.

Y/N: Soft tacos, right?

Ashe: Yep.
------------
Akali: These tacos are bussing.

She took another bite, the meat spilling onto her plate as you finished yours. Ashe simply enjoyed her food.

Ashe: So, you're the one Eve told me about.

You shrugged.

Y/N: I guess so.

Ashe: Well, she spoke very highly of you. And now I can see why. You're a very polite boy.

You smiled.

Y/N: Thank you.

Ashe: It's hard to find people your age with manners these days. And I should thank you for getting my daughter home.

Y/N: It was no problem. It's just.....what friends do.

You looked back down at your plate for a moment. Friends.

You pulled out your phone and clicked on the group chat. You sent out a text and put your phone away. You then smiled.

Y/N: Thank you for the dinner. Best tacos I've ever had.
------------
You stood in front of the fire you and Akali had set up on the beach. Said girl was currently nodding her head to imaginary music.

Y/N: How long does acid normally last?

Akali: The good shit lasts 9 hours.

Y/N: Jesus.

You spotted headlights over at the parking lot and smiled. Your friends all walked over to where you and Akali were waiting.

Ezreal: Well, this was completely unexpected.

Jinx looked at Akali.

Jinx: What's she doing here?

Akali just smiled.

Akali: Y/N and I are friends now.

Everyone looked at you. You just nodded. No point in fighting it. Everyone gathered around the fire as the waves crashed behind you a ways back.

Xayah: So, why did you call us out here?

Lux: On a Thursday.

You just took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

Y/N: Look, I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. But one of them was the competition.

Kayn: You gonna do it?

Y/N: Well, that's what I was trying to figure out.

You looked up at them.

Y/N: It's no secret that my mom has been working her ass off ever since my dad passed away.

Akali nodded confidently.

Akali: I can confirm that I did not know that. Sorry for your lost.

You just nodded as a thanks.

Y/N: And, uh, we could always use the extra cash. You all get it. We all...

You looked at Kayn and Akali.

Y/N: Uh, most of us grew up on the Southside. Broke. Living from paycheck to paycheck. We do what we can to get to the next day.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Y/N: And, you know, $10,000 is a lot of fucking money for people like us.

You looked back down to the fire below.

Y/N: The money isn't anything life changing.

You then closed your eyes. You saw your mom. You saw the bags under her eyes and the tiredness on her face. You saw her paying the rent and the bills with what money you had.

You then opened your eyes and looked at your friends.

Y/N: But it's enough to help my mom. I can't just keep watching her fade away.

Ezreal placed a hand on your shoulder as the fire cracked. Your friends all smiled as you nodded.

Y/N: I'm doing it. I'll enter the competition.

Everyone smiled at your resolve.

Akali: Whooo! Dance time!

Everyone turned to Akali as she started to dance to music that wasn't there. Right, she was still tripping. And no one else knew.

Kayn just shrugged and started to dance along with her. They were both on completely different rhythms, but they looked like they were having fun. So, you joined them.

Soon enough, everyone was dancing to nothing. But it just felt good to dance.

It felt good to smile.

Man: What the fuck are those kids on?