Slapped by Reality (Venti Fanfiction)

Chapter 2 (rewritten)

I had meant to sleep for at least an hour, but my nap is cut short in the most disruptive way possible. This girl in green probably has too much free time and decided to ruin my peaceful state by shaking me and yelling into my ear. I guess I'll allow it. I don't need another ten people looking down on me for passing out in front of the cathedral.

But as she pulls me up with a happy grin, I change my mind. I will not allow it. This girl radiates 'I-am-that-one-super-cute-girl-in-your-class-who's-really-nice-and-chill-but-I-make-people-nervous-because-everyone-wants-me-to-like-them' energy. And I do not react well to that kind of energy. My hands suddenly become sweaty and my voice starts cracking and every motion I do is clumsy and stupid and not likable at all.

I can almost see flowers surrounding her as she beams and tells me she is Venti the Bard. Her dark teal braids that fade to turquoise at the tips jump up and down as she bounces. I say I am Maude while wondering how that's possible. Venti's eyes are bright cyan and seem to glow. She looks like she stepped out of a fairytale.

I came to realize that every person who looks like a fairytale is a fairytale. They are all the main characters of their own stories. 'Kaeya and Mean Old Diluc'. 'Diona vs. the Wine Industry.' 'The Adventures of Fischl and Oz.' I haven't even gotten started.

All these people look very different compared to the other citizens, who have plain brown eyes and hair or blonde hair and blue eyes. They have rare eye colors, rare hair colors, beautiful tailored clothes, and they always have an interesting goal and an interesting, if not sad, back story. (I have gotten this information from the insane amounts of gossip that my classmates produce.) It's almost as if fate is a thing.

But is there a main character with normal features? Never. Everyone in Mondstadt are either main characters or side characters or characters to fill the empty space in the background. "Venti is a main character for sure."

She cocks her head. "Really? I am? Is that good or bad?" I hate myself for blurting it out. My face becomes a bit redder.

I shrug and try to play it cool, but my hands seem to be producing more sweat than the rest of my body. "It depends on the story. But you're probably in a good one." I look down at the ground. I see an ant marching towards me with a speck of dirt.

I don't need to see Venti to know she's grinning. "You think so? Thanks so much! Well, I guess, yeah, I am pretty main-character-ish. I'm pretty awesome, you know? Like, I'm the number one bard in Mondstadt!"

Ah, so she isn't quite an 'I-am-that-one-super-cute-girl-in-your-class-who's-really-nice-and-chill-but-I-make-people-nervous-because-everyone-wants-me-to-like-them' girl, but more of an 'I-am-that-one-super-cute-girl-in-your-class-who's-really-nice-and-chill-but-I-know-how-cool-I-am-so-sometimes-I'm-bratty-also-people-get-nervous-around-me-because-they-want-me-to-like-them'. A big difference, though it doesn't seem like it.

"Well, enough about me. What were you doing on the ground, missy? It doesn't work that well as a bed. Next time, maybe try a bench instead." It seems she is also an airhead.

I opened my mouth to form an answer, but the meeting with Jean flashed into my mind. I had completely forgotten about it. Why did I ever forget about it? That meeting defines me as a person. It labels me as 'the disgrace of the Brandt family.' No, it's not edgy. It's real, it's true. And even though I shouldn't, I want it kept secret.

A lie slips past my lips with ease. "I was just walking around to see what the city looks like, but I got so tired climbing the stairs that I kind of collapsed once I got up here." I should have come up with a better one. Who falls asleep after climbing stairs?

Venti puts her hands on her hips and huffs. "Yeah, those stairs really are waaay too long. Who has the stamina for that? Not you, not anybody, not even me! And I have great stamina!"

I nod and lick my chapped lips. I want to leave.

Venti can't read my closed-up body language. "You said you were checking out the city. Are you not from here? I thought you were a local! Though I guess your accent is a bit different..."

"I come from Springvale." I check the ground again. Where did the ant with the speck of dirt go?

"Springvale... Springvale... oh, Springvale! The small hunting village, right? That place is awesome. They have the best meat there, but the apples are heavenly too. Oh, but you know something weird? People are saying that there's a family from Springvale that got caught-"

"Yeah, I heard." My voice cracks as I cut her off. Are people starting to gossip already? It's been a week, sure, but nobody was there, and how would it reach the City of Mondstadt? People are starting to know. My stomach does flips and somersaults.

"Just curious... is it true? But, like, you don't have to answer if you don't feel like... Hey, Maude, are you okay?" Her eyes crinkle in worry.

"No... Oh, sorry, yes. My head just hurts a bit." I smile, but on the inside, all is madness. My limbs tremble and my stomach is dying. I feel abnormally light, for some reason. As if this is a dream. Is this a dream? Please let it be. Please let my whole life be a dream.

"Maude?"

The world becomes blurry. I stare at the ground, which looks like blobs of grey. A soft hand touches my shoulder.

"Maude, what's wrong?" Venti's gone. A soft, motherly person is here now, with a comforting voice. Are they here to help me? Or are they here to laugh?

My knees collapse, and sounds come out of my throat. Is it laughter or wailing? I don't know. Both are equally embarrassing. Equally stupid. People come to laugh, not to help a random stranger. This motherly person will help me for now, and then tell all their friends about how they met an insane person in front of the cathedral. The rumors about the family in Springvale will spread like disease, and then everyone will know to hate them. And then a neighbor of mine, surely, will spill which family, and all heads will turn to me, and they will look at me like I'm a rat, and that I'm worthless and corrupt. They will say I, we, my family, we. We don't have human compassion, we are animals, villains, horrible. Nobody will buy from us again. I, we, my family. We, I will become poor and bankrupt with no money anymore and I will live in the woods with no one. The only person who will speak to me will be my reflection, dirty and greasy because I don't have a tub to bathe in, skinny and weak because I have no shelter against the storms, and there will be no more worth in me anymore, forever abandoned and forgotten and-

"Maude, calm your heart. It's okay, it's alright. You are safe right now. Nobody is here to hurt you." The motherly person holds me tight. My eyes are glued closed. The cloth that is against my head is damp.

"Ease your heart. It's okay. It's all calm." The motherly person rubs my back. My once ragged breathing steadies. My tense shoulders loosen. My eyes flutter open and a bright world welcomes me.

I realize my head is laying on a shoulder that I have been crying on. The motherly person continues to comfort me, and I realize that person is Venti. I have been crying on a stranger I had just met. Why am I like this? Why do my arms cling onto her back?

Why do I ask "Could you be my friend?"

Why does she say "Of course"?

I'm just asking for a betrayal, where she will realize that I am nothing more than trash. And then she will avoid me, and I will be heartbroken because of the feeling of being alone.

And I would also be tricking her into thinking I am the victim. I would be hurting her too. But why does that come last? Why can't I be more considerate of others, like Venti? I this why I don't have good friends? Because I care more about myself? My boulder of guilt becomes a bit heavier.

I am too tired to think anymore. Venti holds me tight, and I continue to cry.