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❥ 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦
❥ 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦
❥ 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘺: 𝘍𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧
❥ 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦: 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦
❥ 𝘙𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥
╰──➤ 𝙂𝙃𝙊𝙎𝙏 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙄𝙀𝙎
"And then... he ate her alive!"
"Eh!? Hu Tao, stop trying to scare me!" You whined.
The devilish girl giggled and placed her hands upon your shoulders. "It's working, isn't it?"
You pouted and she grinned in reply, sending butterflies around your stomach.
"We're on Wuwang Hill, stop scaring me in such a creepy place..." You muttered.
"Oh, c'mon! It's not that bad!" She said.
"Uh huh... Remind me why we're here?"
"Camping! It's the perfect place for ghost stories, isn't it? The others should be there by now," she stated.
"I'm glad Chongyun's going," you mumbled. "Then he can scare away all the evil spirits."
Hu Tao felt a stab of jealousy, having been reminded of your close relationship with the exorcist. You got scared very easily, which Hu Tao easily took advantage of on a frequent basis, but whenever she told you a "scary" ghost story, you'd go running off to Chongyun because he was a safe spot from spirits. And through this routine, the two of you became good friends, while Hu Tao felt left behind.
"I can protect you from them too, y'know," she responded, holding her hands together behind her back as she walked, feeling the grass caressing her legs.
"I thought you were friends with all the ghosts."
"Oh, don't be silly," she shook her head. "That's not true at all. I only befriend the good ones!"
"O-Okay," you stammered.
Finally, you arrived to the previously prepared campsite. There, Xiangling, Xingqiu, and Chongyun are waiting. You smile and wave at them, while Hu Tao beams. The two of you sit down on the few logs where the others were resting, with a campfire in the middle. There were three tents in the clearing. You sat beside Chongyun, while Hu Tao was next to Xiangling.
"Hey," Chongyun greeted, offering you a small smile.
"Hey!"
Hu Tao huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, looking away from you. Xiangling and Xingqiu weren't unaware of her actions. Xingqiu chuckled at her behavior, while Xiangling patted her on the back for comfort. Hu Tao appreciated the effort, but it didn't do much.
"Hu Tao? Is something wrong?" You asked after noticing her troubled expression and pose.
"No, nothing," she grinned, letting her arms fall to her sides. "Let's tell some scary stories, shall we!?"
Xiangling was quick to agree, and Xingqiu sighed at Hu Tao's denial of her real feelings. You weren't ecstatic about the idea, but you agreed since you didn't want to disappoint Hu Tao. Chongyun was indifferent.
"I'll go first," Hu Tao cackled in an evil manner.
Though you liked her, she scared you sometimes. Especially when she told scary stories. And especially when they were ghost stories. You hated ghosts. The idea that someone could've been watching you at any moment and you'd never know it because they're not visible to you was something you constantly feared, especially since Hu Tao was your best friend. That was why you liked being around Chongyun, because you knew he drove away all the ghosts.
By the end of the story sharing session, you were grasping Chongyun's arm tightly and trying not to panic. You tried to shake all your worries away, but were unable to. You realized you were gripping his arm and let go, acting like everything was fine. Everyone continued conversating like normal, while you were still paranoid something might've been watching you from so far away that it wouldn't have been affected by Chongyun's positivity. Hu Tao noticed your paranoia.
"So who will sleep with who?" Xingqiu queried, closing the book he was rereading.
"I can stay with Guoba!" Xiangling exclaimed.
"I'll stay with Y/n, then," Hu Tao decided. "Don't want either of you boys taking advantage of her."
"T-Taking advantage...?" You whispered, surprised.
Chongyun and Xingqiu gave her annoyed looks, which she laughed off as she got up and went over to you, linking her arm with yours. She skipped, dragging you along into the third tent.
"Uh, Hu Tao? Are you okay?" You questioned as she let go.
"I'm fine, but are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine! Anyways, let's go to bed," you said.
Hu Tao gave you a lopsided smile and you both noticed the small pile of blankets and pillows in the corner. After setting up your sleeping area, you both laid down and you shut your eyes tightly, nervous to be so close to the other girl. However, when you suddenly felt her arms around you, you slowly opened your eyes and stared into hers.
"W... What are you doing?" You asked.
"Protecting you from all the ghosts," she giggled.
Your face burned red and drowsiness started to kick in. You hid your face in her clothes and she blushed. For a few minutes, you contemplated telling her. You listed off the pros and cons in your head, and in the end, you decided to say it.
"Hu Tao..."
"Yes?"
"I'm gonna tell you something embarrassing..." You murmured.
"Hm? What is it?"
"I like you... As more than a friend..."
Hu Tao could feel her heart burst. For a moment, she thought her ears were lying to her.
"I like you too!"
You looked up at her tiredly. "Really...?"
"Really. But... I thought you liked Chongyun?" She mentioned.
"No... Chongyun's great, but I don't like him that way..."
"Thank archons," Hu Tao sighed with relief.
You leaned forward and gave her a short kiss, to which she didn't even have the time to respond to. She remained in shock a few seconds afterward, but promptly realized what happened.
"Hey! You didn't give me time to kiss back!"
The blush on your face worsened, and you could feel your face on fire as you prepared to say your next words.
