#ekko: i think the ticking that you're hearing is a heart.

[hisjinx]

Jinx.

she/him/its. 21+. fictionkin. i'm cute, i bite, and i may have rabies!

minors + antis blocked on sight.

❤️@hersilco

[misfits-of-zaun]

"Okay, no, I'm not laughing. Not laughing. Are you okay? That must've hurt."((@F1shbonez))

Shit, was he just gonna keep getting jump-scared by this girl every time she showed up? This was the second time in a row now.

Eyes stinging with a blend of mortification and pain, Ekko gingerly sat up and pushed a stack of books off himself, rubbing at his head. Well, great, his startle reflex had taken out a whole-ass shelf. That was even worse than panic-chucking a random item at the wall; Benzo was going to kick him out of the shop on more mandated leave, at this rate, if he didn't pull his shit together.

Jin- Powder at least had the common sense to stifle her schadenfreude at the sight of his watering eyes.

"Okay, no, I'm not laughing. Not laughing. Are you okay? That must've hurt."

A caustic retort rose up in his throat on defensive reflex, only to turn to ash on his tongue at the jarring sight of genuine concern on her features. A second ticked by, and then another, drawing them steadily further into the acceptable response time window.

Say something, you idiot!

They're all gonna think you're crazy if you keep freaking out like this!

"...Well, I'm better off than the shelf," He managed to mutter out in the direction of the floor, before the pause took them into truly awkward territory. On autopilot, Ekko pushed himself back up to his feet, grimacing down at the mess he'd made, and tried to clean it up. His head was throbbing where he'd cracked it against the underside of the shelf.

"I just - didn't hear you come in."

Yeah, because it was perfectly normal to have such a strong panic response to someone you supposedly had been hanging out with almost every day for years sneaking up on you while you were distracted with work. Not weird at all. Ekko wanted to wince.

You are really blowing this right now - can you just act normal around this girl for five minutes?!

Considering how hard his heart was still hammering, his odds admittedly weren't looking great.

"What did you want?"

@f1shbonez