𝓦𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓫𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓮 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 | 𝚅𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝐼𝒸𝑒 𝒞𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂 | 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟼

The day he left. His dearest felt every moment without him as if it were a dumbell in their heart. So many feelings... worry, sadness, anger...

 However, more than anything, his dearest was scared. What would life be like without him?  Mostly, they were scared of replacement. That he would find someone better to spend his life with. All they had left was memories.

***

The second the bell rang, I bolted out of the auditorium. I rushed towards the door, hearing someone racing after me. To no surprise, I turned and saw Venti. I sped up, practically running to the school's front door.

I scanned the crowd of students, searching for Bennett, Fischl, and Razor. Just as I located them, Xiangling grabbed Chongyun by the arm and ran up to me. 

"Hey, Y/n! Let's walk home together!" Xiangling insisted, as Venti got closer.

"I had plans to get ice cream with Bennett, Fischl, and Razor... you guys can come along!" I said frantically. 

"Mind if I tag along?"

Dang it.

I ignored Venti, hoping Xiangling would do the same.

"Um, I don't see why not," Chongyun replied. I shot him a quick glare, he responded with a confused gaze.

"Hey, thanks!" Venti eyed me. I tried my best to ignore him.

"Where are the others? Xingqiu and Hu Tao aren't coming?" I asked Xiangling.

"They're walking together, they live in the same neighborhood," She responded, "C'mon, let's find Fischl, Bennett, and Razor! I want Ice Creeeaaam!"

***

Our group started towards the Ice Cream store, just a few blocks away. The sidewalk wasn't big enough for all of us to stand next to each other, So we had to be in smaller groups. 

I ended up stuck with him.

His eyes were locked on me.

"No warm welcome, huh?" He smirked. I responded with a cold shoulder.

"I know you remember me, Y/n," I flinched. Of course I remembered him, he's hard to forget. I stayed silent. He sighed, but I knew he wouldn't just accept defeat like that.

"Flower meadow... it was the day before I left," He muttered, just loud enough for only me to hear.

"We were so carefree back then, we had the freedom to sit there, visit the lake together..." He knew just what he was doing. I looked to him. He had an almost sad smile.

"Enough flirting, guys! We're heeeere!!" Bennett cheered. We rushed up to the line.

"Of course it's long, that would be my luck! I hope you guys don't mind!" He itched the back of his head. 

"Hey, Y/n," Venti said to me, "I can pay for you. For old times sake."

"You don't have to, I have money," I shrugged, pulling some cash from my pocket.

"No. I'm paying," Venti grabbed my hand with the money in it, and intertwined his fingers between mine. My face grew hot.

"What flavor will it be?" He asked. I tried to hide my red face, but it was no use.

"F/i/c (favorite ice cream)," I mumbled. I made quick eye contact with Xiangling, giggling uncontrollably.

"Don't act so flustered, we've known each other for ages," He smiled and winked at me.

I hate him, so why do I want to hug him so bad?

We slowly made our way up the line. 

"A mint chocolate chip ice cream and one f/i/c, please," Venti said to the worker. She quickly retrieved our ice cream, handing them to us with a smile.

"Splitting the money?" She chimed.

"Ye-"

"Nope, I'm paying," Venti squeezed my hand tighter.

"You guys are adorable! How long have you been together?" The worker asked. Venti's cheeks were pink.

"Oh, we aren't dating," I replied. Venti paid, and we went to sit down with our friends. Before we could even make it to the table, we were interrupted.

***

"Venti?" A boy around our age called. The both of us turned to him.

"Xiao! It's been forever!" Venti let go of my hand, rushing over to talk to Xiao.

A friend of his?

"Who's this?" I walked over to meet Venti's friend.

"Xiao, my friend from school!" Venti explained, "After I left, I went to a new school. There I met him!"

"He's a talented flute player," Xiao said.

"Do you mind if I talk to him for a bit?" Venti asked. I nodded, and sat down with my friends. Bennett had already dropped his ice cream, and was trying to clean up his uniform.

I felt a pang of jealousy. Who was that weird guy?

So he had replaced me.

(Helloooooo! Sorry I couldn't post on Friday, I was a bit burnt out. Oooh, we're getting a bit of angst in this fic now? 

Also, OVER 200 READS?!?! Thank you so much for all the support! Have a lovely day/evening! 🤍🌙 ~Starri)