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A yawn escaped out of a certain blonde haired boy as he look at the bubbling beakers and flasks in front of him. Each glass container has different colored liquids inside and each of them has a specific chemical inside.
He gently pushed his glasses upwards as it was slowly sliding off the bridge of his nose.
Albedo was his name and currently he was experimenting if he could create a some sort of concoction that may revive some selected organisms after they die. Although it was good to be true, the people from his former village have been studying the art of resurrections.
He doesn't remember much of his childhood. What he remember is that he was suddenly somewhat 'saved' and was transported to the outskirts of Mondstadt.
It has been 2 days since he started this experiment. He skipped all of his past classes just to pursue this passion.
Another yawn escaped his lips, Albedo admits that he was sleep deprived and insomniac. Even if he wanted to sleep he can't, all he could think of is research, research and research.
( a/n : admin is going to make a thesis/research paper about the fermentation in kimchi and i am not looking forwards to it ;; )
Albedo felt a hand gently place itself on his head. The tired student looked up and saw his mint haired friend, Sucrose who was just finished with all her classes. She placed her stack of books on the tiled counter and gave Albedo a list.
"Assignments. You might wanna do them quick; the teachers aren't happy that you skipped classes for 2 straight days" Sucrose turned to the boiling liquids and grabbed a pen from her bag. "Go grab some caffeine by the café near our school. Be careful.."
The boy nods and sleepily removed his white colored lab coat. He almost knocked over a beaker but luckily it was just filled with distilled water.
Researching was an unhealthy addiction to him as it was the only way to forget about his problems.
While walking down the hallways, students were looking at the researcher with a weird look. Maybe because of how he looks, drooping eyes and dark circles below his eyes. His manner of walking would also seem that he was exhausted and would give out at any moment.
The excruciating heat from the sun made Albedo hiss as he step out of the campus. He should've brought something to shield him away from the bright light.
At last he had arrived in the coffee shop.
The ambience was calming to some but Albedo recognizes the wistful scent of the caffeine rather well. A memory that he'd rather not remember popped inside of his mind, replaying scenarios that made him wish that he'd rather meet his end.
"Welcome to Cafféin, what would you like for us to brew?" A cheerful blonde twintailed girl looked at the customer with a euphoric look on her face. "I haven't seen you here before.. We have a special offer for newcomers. Buy a loyalty card and get up to 50% off on all the coffee you'll buy in the future!"
Albedo shook his head, the scent alone of the freshly brewed coffee makes him want to hurl. He just went to buy a cup of joe since he needed the energy to stay up and have no choice but to resort to coffee.
"What beverage has the highest caffeine content?" The researcher tucked his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. "The stronger the better"
The blonde, which was named as Barbara on her nametag gulped as she look at the menu. It was a surprise that someone as young as him liked dark roasts, usually only those who are aged orders dark roasts in their café.
"W-We have the dead eye coffee which is tripled the amount of espresso.." Barbara awkwardly smiled at the customer. "B-But no one really orders that drink so I suggest you-"
"I'll take it" Albedo cut the cashier off by placing his payment on the counter.
Barbara was very much stunned about this but nevertheless complied to what the customer had wanted. She timidly asked for the name in which the boy monotonously replied his given name. The cashier had gestured for him to sit on the chairs and wait until she calls his name for his order.
Albedo didn't want to stay much longer in the premises of the café but he had to get his coffee. Although he could've refused what Sucrose told him to do, he could not as she was a rather stubborn individual. A couple of minutes went by and he got used to the scent of freshly ground coffee beans, though the nostalgic feeling was still there.
"Death Eye order for Albedo!" Barbara called out and eyed the blonde haired boy towards one of the seats. She felt sorry for the boy so she threw in a piece of strawberry flavored candy and a positive note. "Here you go.."
Albedo eyed the candy and the note. He didn't say anything but he took them off his cup and tucked it inside of his pocket before walking out of the café.
It was a good thing that he ordered an iced beverage as he could feel the heat of the sun pierce through his skin. His face scrunched as he took a sip on the coffee only to meet a very bitter taste of the beverage spread through his tongue. But he could feel the effects of caffeine immediately as felt a sudden jolt spark up inside him.
The blonde haired student decided to take a reroute back to his school. He wanted to admire the buzzling city before returning to his school and continuing his experiment. But as he pass by a park, memories started flooding once more.
A blurred face of a person popped up inside of Albedo's mind and he knew exactly who it was within the moment they popped up. A name escaped out of Albedo's lips, a name that he promised himself not to think nor call out once more.
"(Y/n).." Albedo looked down on the half full cup on his hands. Once again, the wistful scent of coffee brought him back memories when the two were still together. He didn't realize that he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, in his own little world and not minding the other people who just walk past him.
(Y/n) was his salvation.
They protect Albedo from doing reckless things like what he was doing right now, drinking caffeine in hopes that his body will shut down and not wake up or getting too addicted towards his research until he gives out due to the stress. None of Albedo's friends know of his dire situation as he keeps a straight face all the time. But he could felt that he was this close into breaking and giving out.
Even the innocent laughter of the children playing by the park couldn't cheer him up. His own distortions still hugged him tightly, reminiscing what horrendous thing he has done to the lone person that truly love him with all their heart.
No one could hear his pleas, a yearn for finding himself was all he could think about.
But nevertheless, he continued walking with his head down while sipping the remaining contents of his caffeinated drink.
