𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩 | 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴

Run Out of Love ❀ Xiao

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𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐰...

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[Modern AU]
;; Angst ;;

"Xiao, hey," I chirped as I got into the passenger seat of his car.

"Hey," he greeted numbly.

I suppressed a sigh and buckled up, waiting for him to get going. We were heading to a concert that our mutual friends, Venti and Zhongli, wanted to see. They invited us, saying they'd pay for our tickets. I was excited for it, but Xiao seemed indifferent.

"Are you excited to see them again? It's been a while, right?" I asked

"Yeah," he said, not even sparing me a glance as he began driving.

I gazed at him with concern for a minute before turning my head to look out the window. We turned out of my neighborhood and I exhaled, seeing a few raindrops land on the glass. It was gloomy, almost dark. I couldn't help but feel down, especially with the situation involving Xiao. Did he even love me anymore? He was becoming increasingly more distant.

"Xiao, are you doing okay?" I questioned.

"I'm fine," he scoffed.

I forced a smile before giving the world outside my full attention. I was hoping he'd cheer up a bit around our friends. He seemed to always be in a bad mood for the past month and a half. I recalled the times we'd have long drives in his car before that, where he'd always listen to me and immediately turn the music from the radio off whenever I got in, but as the rain began pouring down, I could still hear the sound of the tunes drumming in the background.

We stopped at a red light, waiting for it to turn green. Normally, he'd glance over to me so he could make sure I was okay, or admire me. Sometimes he'd even make comments about how I looked on that day. Instead of that, he kept his eyes in front of him, observing the other cars and the traffic lights.

We drove for a bit more than an hour before arriving at the concert hall. Right when we entered the main building, Venti tackled Xiao in a hug, though Xiao managed to stay on his feet. Zhongli walked over afterward, calm as always. I gave him a small smile, which he returned.

"How have you been?" He queried.

"I've been... Meh," I shrugged. "What about you?"

"I've been well. Have you been having troubles with Xiao?" He spoke quietly, and I noticed that Xiao was very preoccupied by Venti bombarding him with questions.

"Yeah," I sighed. "He seems very distant lately. I've been wanting to talk to him about it, but every time I try, he just ignores me or shuts me down."

"Hm," Zhongli hummed, thinking for a moment. "I'll see if I can find a moment to speak with him."

"Thank you," I blessed.

"It's no problem. We should get going now."

"Yeah," I agreed.

We got the attention of the other two and left to where the concert was actually going to be held. Venti was ranting to Xiao for most of the way there. Their friendship was cute, to be honest, but it seemed strange to me that Xiao grew farther from me and closer to Venti. I guess he was prioritizing his friends over his lover, but I couldn't blame him. Most people probably would.

The entire concert was full of effects and lights and loud noises. I felt like I was about to go deaf, but I knew I wouldn't, so I dealt with it. Zhongli seemed to find the volume of the entire thing to be a slight disturbance, but he didn't let it show on his face. Venti, meanwhile, was having a lot of fun. 

I even saw Xiao crack a few smiles now and then, which was weird. I thought he enjoyed the quiet, I didn't expect him to have fun at such a rowdy event. Afterward, we all went to the bathrooms before leaving. I noticed Zhongli pull Xiao aside, and I wished to know what was being said in their quiet conversation, but I didn't intrude. I hoped Xiao would mention it later.

We got in the car after bidding farewell to Zhongli and Venti. He was quiet yet again, and the rain had stopped. It was pitch black out, though. I figured talking about things in the car would be the best option, because normally he'd walk away, but he couldn't do that in a moving vehicle. On the other hand, I didn't want to make him feel trapped, and I wouldn't want to distract him from driving.

"Xiao..." I said.

"What?"

"What were you and Zhongli talking about earlier?" I asked.

"None of your business."

"If you say so... But I'd like to talk to you about something else."

"What is it?"

"You've been getting distant. Is something going on?" I questioned.

"No."

"Are you sure? Because it feels like you don't love me anymore," I admitted.

He was silent, raising my fears to astronomical levels. It didn't seem like he could say anything. He was trying to choose his next words carefully, but I knew he couldn't find any words to begin with. I sucked in a breath, bracing myself for the incoming bullet I knew would hit.

"I think my love for you has run out."

...

....

.....

"I see..." A gut-wrenching feeling overwhelmed my body. "So this is how you've been feeling for the past month?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me until now...?"

"I wasn't sure how to say it, and I didn't want to hurt you."

"Well the longer you wait, the more it hurts," I whispered, my voice cracking as tears spilled from my eyes.

He looked over at me from the corner of his eyes for a split second, "I'm sorry."

"I guess we're over now, huh?" I exhaled shakily, averting my gaze to the window, looking up at the stars.

"Yeah."

"Fine."

He spared one second to look at me throughout that entire conversation.