Polar Opposites

Chapter 4: Too different

"What's with the long face?"

Large curious eyes peered into his for clues. Xiao pulls back, he hates it when Aether does that. But it was too late, his friend had already deciphered his foul mood with his devilish intuition.

"You're sad you didn't get to lunch with Albedo?" he teased, peeking up with dramatic sadness, "And now you're stuck with just me?"

"Don't put it like that," he growled, "Some idiot wanted to fight me again, that's all."

Raising his brows, Aether bites into the osmanthus toast sandwich - Zhongli's newest concoction, and sours his face.

"And because of the fight," Aether began with his mouth full, stopping to swallow the chunk whole, "You didn't get to catch Albedo for lunch?"

Xiao pursed his lips, furrowing his brows to offer a glare that his friend has already grown accustomed to. He always regrets oversharing his life with Aether. But the boy had a way with words that somehow manages to pry him open without him even noticing.

"Both of you are so different though," Aether wonders aloud, "He's a prim and proper cherry boy. And you,"

He leans forward, breaking into a silly smirk with his mouth still full,

"You're a delinquent."

"I am not !" Xiao scoffed, feeling strangely defensive, "I don't start fights for fun."

"But you don't end them either," Aether shrugged, waving Zhongli's toast in front of his friend, "Just like this bread and my mouth, you two don't go well together."

What a strange comparison. But then again, Mr Zhongli's bread never goes well with anything. His eyes narrowed to a glower, teeth beginning to bare fiercely at his friend.

"What are you trying to say?"

Swallowing the final piece of toast, Aether spared Xiao a playful glance,

"That you might get him in trouble."

The bell rang and Aether got up first. Despite how annoyingly roundabout his friend can be, Xiao knew that he had good intentions at heart. And it was precisely so that his words circled his mind in vexing echoes during his trip back to class.

Different huh... That might not be a bad thing. Ugh, who cares, he shook his head in frustration, Albedo already has a girlfriend anyway.

Just as he dragged the door open, Xiao narrowed his vision to the ash-blonde, feeling his heart clench at the mere sight.

In a brief flash, a figure passed Albedo from the back. It was as if time slowed before his eyes as Xiao watched intently, a cup of coffee released from a hand over his classmate.

Their first meeting, by the sink.

"I erm, spilled coffee on my blouse."

Rage boiled to a spill. And the next thing he knew, he was at the back of the class, fist plummeting down on the long-missed culprit. Every blow felt heavy and restrained, until Xiao snapped his head at the annoyance clinging to his arm.

"Stop, stop!"

Albedo might have been yelling at him for a while now, but it was only when he saw the wavering teal that Xiao registered the words.

Why are you stopping me? His glare seemed to hiss. But his frown only encouraged Albedo to tighten his grip over his arm.

Irritation welled up, but before he could snarl back at him to back off, a fist shot up against his jaw, knocking him back. The stranger took the chance to pounce on him, snatching his turn to exchange his portion of blows.