(Art is not mine! I have no idea how to draw :P)
Aether POV:
Aether stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep-or rather not wanting to. When he slept, nightmares would haunt his thoughts, plague his mind with things he wished he could forget. But he'd never be able to forget-the day that his parents had been killed would remain fresh in his mind forever. Like an ice cube, refusing to melt despite the heat. He squeezed his eyes shut. Tomorrow was Monday, which meant school. School meant bullying, homework, and just a general sense of depression. His eyes opened again, their brilliant gold color shining in the pitch dark of midnight.He was in 10th grade, and attending a dratted school called Saiaku High School with his sister, Lumine. If he could give it a rating, he'd give it a 0/5 fairies. They were constantly bullied, because everyone knew they didn't have the willpower to stand up for themselves, and were too scared to tell anyone. Besides, the only living creature who would listen to them was Paimon, who no one would take seriously. Aether smiled, thinking about the sweet, century old fairy that had taken him and Lumine under her wing after Hinshi and Leo died.
____________________________________________________________After a restless night, Aether got up, brushed his long, golden hair, and took his medications. He and Lumine had been assigned the same prescriptions-depression and anxiety pills. He swallowed them with some Red Bull(for those who understand, XD), and almost choked to death. He peered at himself in the mirror. Despite him barely caring enough to even eat, he still looked relatively healthy; probably thanks to Paimon forcing food down his throat. He sighed, got changed into a blue hoodie and black jeans, then made his way downstairs. Lumine was already there, wolfing down a quick breakfast of pancakes Paimon had prepared.
"Morning, Aether, hurry and eat your breakfast!" Paimon said, waving to him. "I have to get to work early today, so you have to take the bus. Be careful, and if anyone messes with you, tell me so I can go have a talk with them!"
Aether smiled. "Okay, thank you, Paimon!"
Today his appetite was better than it was in most days, which meant that Paimon didn't have to shove the pancakes down his throat. It seemed that Lumine was also having one of her better days; the pancakes were all gone within 5 minutes. Of course, it was delicious too, since Paimon was basically a goddess when it came to cooking.
After he and Lumine were done eating, they walked to the bus stop. On the way there, they talked about random book series by their favorite author, Zhenyu.
"I heard that he's actually around our age, 16, not 29," Lumine said.
Aether gasped. "No way! He already has so many best-selling books, though! He must be a genius!"
Lumine laughed. "I know, right?"
It was times like these where both of them wondered why they even needed those pills; they were perfectly happy, after all. But as soon as they got to the bus stop, their moods changed.
Pallad snorted upon seeing the twins. "Look who it is," he sneered. "What, your dad didn't have enough time to drive you to school? Oh wait, he's dead!"
Lumine stiffened almost immediately. Aether balled up his fists. He wanted nothing more than to swing his fists at Pallad, but Pallad had his friends with him. Someone threw a piece of paper at them, reading a bunch of mean names. Why are they so mean...what have we done to make them mad? What have I done to make them mad? Aether slowly lowered his head, staring at the ground, not looking up when they yelled insults about his mother, called Lumine a mistake, him an anomaly, and their father the milkman. He blocked out the sounds, every last one of them, and didn't move until the bus arrived.
As he walked to class, he felt rage. At first at Pallad and the bullies, then himself. He was a mistake. If he didn't exist, then maybe Lumine wouldn't have had to watch in horror as Hinshi and Leo were shot in the head by bandits. He shook his head. No. Now was not the time to be thinking about this.
He was off in his own world when he was harshly shoved into a locker. In the seconds it took his brain to process what was happening, blood was already spurting out of his nose. Wha-? Another punch cut off his train of thought. Someone kicked his stomach, hard. He curled up, coughing. He tried fighting back, but could only swipe at their feet. He heard someone growling-someone who sounded familiar. Lumine! After a series of loud snacks and whimpers, the bullies were gone, and Lumine was standing over him, arms on hips.
"Thanks, I guess," Aether said.
Lumine sighed. "No problem. I don't know what their problem is. Also, these teachers suck, how'd they not notice that you were getting beat up?"
Aether shrugged.
"Anyways, see ya later!"
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If anyone is confused, then Pallad and the others are bullying Aether and Lumine for being different and more quiet, since they believe that they are just trying to look cool with a frosty facade.
Also, I'm not the best at writing depression in people, but Aether and Lumine have a more mild case of depression compared to some other characters later on.
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Genshin Highschool AU
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