Key felt as if she had just run a marathon because of how fast her heart is beating at that very moment. She mentally composed herself before smiling at their captain who has a dark expression.
"Why are you still awake, Captain?" she asked and the man walked closer to her as she stood their frozen
'Why does this seem familiar?' she asked in her mind as their Captain continued closing in their distance
"Do you know what time it is?" Rasheed asked and she gulped a little before bowing her head and opening her phone with her slightly shaking hands
"It's… two fifteen, Captain." She answered as she looked up and met Rasheed's eyes with hers after looking at the time on her phone's lock screen
"What time did you leave yesterday?" she gulped as she tried to recall the time she left
"Six pm?" she wasn't sure, she didn't take note of the time she left
"Four," confusion flashed across Key's eyes after hearing his captain
"You left at four pm," Rasheed said in a low voice before lowering his face near hers that she can almost smell his minty breath
Key drank alcohol and went clubbing to console her cousin, therefore, her clothes reek of alcohol from those that spill or trickle from Poupée's lips as she whined and cried, she also drank the bottle of liquor to stop her cousin from drinking it herself so her breath will also reek of alcohol.
"You went drinking?" Rasheed asked and Key gulped a few more times before slowly nodding
"I accompanied my cousin and…" Key was supposed to continue when she realized something
"Why are you still awake, Captain? Have you been waiting?" she asked and met Rasheed's dark gaze
"Never mind," the captain of JLNC turned around and was about to leave when he stopped in his tracks
"What's –" Key was supposed to go upstairs as well but she bumped into Rasheed's back when he stopped, she was about to walk passed Rasheed when he noticed an unfamiliar man standing by the shelves and looking at them, no, their captain to be precise, in shock.
"Captain… I didn't know you are…" The stranger looked at Rasheed before looking at Key and his thin almond eyes widened a bit
"What are you…" the stranger looked at Key in confusion, which made Key look at him in confusion as well before turning her head to their captain who seem to be locked in a staring contest
"I'm going ahead, Captain." Key excused herself and walked past the two guys
She went up the stairs, the stranger's way of looking at her puzzled Key's mind, however, she decided to pay no attention to it.
She went inside her room and headed to wash up to freshen up before heading to sleep, by the time she has sat on the bed, it was already two thirty-five in the morning. She smiled when she received a message from a friend she dearly loved and who held a special place in her heart.
She tapped the messaging application and saw that she received it at eight pm, she's probably shopping with her cousin at the time or they were on their way to the bar, thus, she didn't notice it immediately.
She pressed the name then the voice-messaging icon and placed it near her lips.
"How are you doing, babe? It's been a while, hasn't it?" she said and raised her finger from pressing the voice-messaging icon
She waited for a few moments but she didn't receive any response, so, she decided to rest as she still have training the next day along with the rest of the team and must wake up early for the said training.
She set her alarm on and placed her phone on the nightstand next to the bed then lay on the bed and slept peacefully.
"Good morning, everyone," she smiled and greeted as she walked down the last step of the stairs
Despite going to bed at almost three am earlier that morning, Key managed to get up at seven am, and even with only four hours of sleep, she look vibrant and full of energy as she entered the gaming area.
"Good morning, Key," Quant and Opal greeted her
"Good morning," El said and she headed to the gaming chair before turning on her computer
"You arrived late last night?" Bright asked while entering the gaming area
"Yes, I'm sorry about that." She immediately turned around and smiled apologetically at Bright
"Oh, right, Key," Dewy called her, taking her attention
"This is – Girlfriend ni Captain!" Key's brows furrowed at what the stranger she saw last night had said but then her eyes widened when she realized what he had said
"Ah, no, you got to be mistaken," Key said and shook her head then stood up
"Are you, by any chance, señorita?" Key got more confused because of what the stranger asked her
"Señorita? What is he saying?" Key is confused but then she figured he probably have mistaken her for someone else.
Key is in a way used to it, as she may have been mistaken as someone else a couple of times in her life. She doesn't mind being mistaken as someone else, as long as, it's not someone who has an unpaid stack of debts, has pending cases, or is running from the authorities.
"I'm Keychantel Desmond, Key, you are?" Key introduced and offered her hand
"Rio Hisashimoto, substitute mid-laner," he introduced himself and shook Key's hand
"You look familiar, so familiar," Rio said while looking at Key intently and Key couldn't help but chuckle a bit as Rio's surname is somewhat audibly familiar to her
"What a coincidence, your surname sounds familiar as well." Key said and took her hand back
"Have you met somewhere perhaps?" Dewy asked them and Key gently shook her head
"He doesn't look familiar but his surname sounds familiar." Key answered
"And, Key, there's also another one," Bright took Key's attention and Key looked at him, he then pointed at the stairs where another guy, with disheveled ginger hair, is currently descending
"My, oh my, how have you guys been?" he's smiling brightly as he went to the guy members of JLNC, with the exception of their captain who is nowhere to be seen, for a high-five
"Hello, pretty lady," he said and smiled at Key who then returned the favor and smiled as well
"Hello, good morning, good sir," Key replied and the man stood up straight
"Key, this is Alexei Barnett," Bright introduced the unknown guy with disheveled ginger
"So, you got yourself a girlfriend, Bright?" Alexei asked Bright with a mischievous grin that for some reason reminds Key of a certain someone from her past
"Xei (sey), this is Keychantel Desmond, or Key, the new off-laner of JLNC." Bright introduced Key
"Hello again, I hope we'll get along," Key said and offered her hand
"That might be a bit hard, milady, as you see, I am also an off-laner player for JLNC." Alexei said and Key took her hand back after seeing that the man did not intend to shake her hand
"Then, let's enjoy playing with the team?" Key smiled and Alexei nodded
"Oh, you're up," they looked at the stairs and saw their captain wearing a frown on his face and his arms crossed as he stepped on the last step
"Why are you frowning so early in the morning, cousin?" Alexei asked and Key looked at him with surprise then her eyes widened in realization
"No wonder he reminded me of that someone." Key thought and mentally shook her head, indeed, the world is becoming smaller as time passed, by means of her encounter with people who remind her of her past getting more frequent than before.
"Dewy, file a complaint on the nearest lounge for serving liquor to a minor," Rasheed said and Key's eyes narrowed and glared at their captain
"I'm not a minor, captain," she reined her irritation
"But you don't deny drinking?" Rasheed turned to her with narrowed eyes
"Would you prefer that I lie, Captain?" she asked and met his narrowing gaze
"And there's no rule we can't drink, right? Because if I remember correctly, we drank after we won the training match against IBJ." Key pointed out a fact and the team couldn't help but shake their heads
"Yeah, Nico, there wasn't any rule forbidding you from drinking as long as you don't drag the team and company name in any scandal while drinking." Dewy said and looked at Rasheed
"People don't even know my face yet, Captain, what's there to worry about?" Key asked him and he shook his head before heading to sit on the chair in front of his computer
Key went back to her seat between El and Opal again then she saw that Rio sat on the gaming chair in front of the computer across El then Alexei sat on the gaming chair across hers.
***
Translations:
> Girlfriend ni Captain -Captain's girlfriend! (Filipino)
> Señorita - young lady or young miss (Spanish)