Playful (XiaoLumi and Xingyun Fanfic)

14- The New Kids

Chongyun's POV

I was surprised when Xingqiu didn't wake up after about an hour or two. I was even more surprised when he slept through the entire night without waking. When I woke up, around 9:00, and Xingqiu was lying on his side, shaking, but asleep. I rested my hand on top of his. I knew he was having a nightmare, but I couldn't even guess what it was about. He stopped shaking after a minute, murmuring something, and opened an eye slowly. "Yun...?" he murmured, his bangs covering part of his eye. I nodded slightly. "Need anything?" I asked as he sat up in bed. "Did you... I thought I was..." he murmured. Oh. "I brought you back here after you passed out on my lap." I said. He flushed bright red. "I... I'm sorry..." he stammered. "Eh~!? No, no, no, no, did I- were you uncomfortable? Does it make you uncomfortable when I carry you?" I asked, rushing to block his apology. "Teh? No, I... rather... like it." "Were you awake!?" "Oh. No. I just had a feeling that somebody had carried me." "Oh. Sleep well, then?" "Mhm. Thank you."

"Hey, Qiu?" I started. Xingqiu turned to me, tilting his head slightly. I found it cute when he did that. "Hm?" "I know you already know... I know I've told you this, but... I like you. Do you wanna be my boyfriend?" I asked, forcing it off of me. Xingqiu turned red all over. Was he going to reject me? I knew it. He was bound to have somebody else. "I was... going to ask you... the same thing... I'd really- I want to be your boyfriend, Yunyun." Xingqiu said. My heart skipped a beat, heat rising to my cheeks. Xingqiu leaned forward and pecked my lips extremely briefly, sending my heart on an emotional roller coaster all over again. Both of us turned away, flustered, and I got up and hurried to grab a popsicle.

Xingqiu curled up in the corner of the room with a book, the too-well familiar diary placed next to him. I saw him glancing at it, and each time he did, my worry for both him and it grew larger. Meanwhile, I was calling my Aunt Shenhe about some family stuff (nothing big). When I hung up, I told Xingqiu I was gonna get some food and left to do just that. When I got to the small cafeteria, there were four people there as well. Xiangling and Bennett were chatting happily while eating something (most likely cooked by Xiangling herself) and Gorou and Thoma were eating muffins, stealing bites of each other's. I got myself a plate of noodles (cold, obviously) and sat down to dig in. "Hey, hey, Chongyun, c'mere and try some of this stuff!" Bennett waved me over and I sat down next to him, Xiangling on the opposite side of the table. She pushed a plate toward me and ate whatever was on it, instantly regretting it. "EHHHHHH I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, IT'S SO SPICY!!!!"

Thoma awkwardly set a glass of water on the table in front of me and walked away, sitting back down next to Gorou. The water was gone in an instant. "You guys are so meaaaaaan... you know I hate spicy food." I complained. Xiangling snickered and Bennett was laughing so hard that he fell off of the bench. I rolled my eyes and left, and in the hallway, I ran into somebody. "Oh, sorry." I said, glancing at the person. One had navy hair like Xingqiu and the other had bright red hair, both having their hair tied into ponytails. "You must be Chongyun. I'm Kaeya."

Gorou's POV

On Monday morning (Thoma had to practically drag me out of bed, I wanted to keep sleeping...) in science class, Mr. Albedo asked two boys to come to the front of the room. "Class, this is Diluc and Kaeya. They're adoptive brothers and new here at Qixing Valley School. Let them introduce themselves to you all." he said, taking a seat next to Sucrose. The tan-skinned one with the navy ponytail gave a grin and wave. "Hey, I'm Kaeya, this is my idiot brother, Duckie." he sighed. The other boy, fair-skinned and with red hair, scowled. "My. Name. Is. Diluc." he said through gritted teeth. I could tell things would be tense between them. Things got even worse when he invited another boy to come up. He had short, unevenly cut purple hair and menacing eyes. "I'm Scaramouche. Fear me." he said. "Scara...?" Thoma muttered. "You know this guy?" I asked. He didn't seem to hear me.

"Aye. I'm Ajax... or Tartaglia. But call me Childe, it's easier." My face lit up. "Childe, hey!" I said. When walking back to his seat, Childe ruffled Aether's hair and Aether blushed. "So you transferred," he said, fiddling with the end of his braid. Childe nodded, grinning, and sat down behind Aether. I see. That's why Aether always blushed and smiled like that when anybody mentioned Childe. I was still confused as to Thoma's reaction to this Scaramouche person. I figured I'd ask him after school.

"Long time no see, Gorou, Thoma." Childe laughed. He'd been assigned a dorm with Scaramouche, while the adoptive brothers (begrudgingly) were sent to unpack their things in their shared room. I smiled. "Yeah, funny." I replied. He turned the corner to go into his and Scaramouche's room, and Thoma and I retreated into ours. "Hey, Tho-Tho, you know this Scaramouche guy?" I asked. "Heh, what?" he replied, pulling out a small piece of paper and started folding it. I sighed. "Tho, you're a really bad liar, you do know that? Plus... you're doing origami again. You do that when you're nervous or upset with something." I noted, sitting down on his bed next to him. He stopped, his hand hovering over the neat paper squirrel in his hand. "I guess... I do..." he murmured, setting the squirrel aside. "What's with Scaramouche?" I asked. He tensed, sighing. "Long story. But... I guess we have a history of- eh... it's really hard to explain... Scara used to be a close friend until his sister told me that he had a crush on me. Then I kinda severed all ties and we haven't- " "Hey, Thoma, can I talk to you for a minute?" interrupted a voice from outside. Thoma shot me a look that I Couldn't decipher. Some regret, some anger, some apologeticness. Then he left to talk to whoever called him outside. Now I was genuinely worried.