ALBEDO "the way i loved you"

chapter twenty-one

when the third semester started, y/n oathed to focus more on her studies. thus, she gave her blood, sweat, and tears upon reviewing some of the lessons in advance — in order to forget the thoughts crippling through her head.

she's still not on good terms with her brother; she will never approach nor talk to him unless he did it first.

she realized that it was not her fault – she did what she could and that was enough. she'll just wait for the right time 'till her brother realizes everything. he's a growing human being after all, he makes mistakes and should settle everything out in time.

as she was struggling with chemistry, her phone beeped.

'kazu' it notified , causing her brows to slightly raise, she opened the message and received warm greetings from her friend.

kazu: would you like to hang out with me today? i have plans for us :))

figuring out that she'd spent most of her time at home, y/n agreed and started to fix herself.

kazuha, she doesn't know why and how the friend of her friend became a part of her life. she sees him as a friend – someone who can lean on during hard times – someone who will cheer you up through words and acts of service – and someone whose smile is enough to light up your day.

"y/n!" kazuha greeted with enthusiasm, plastering a welcoming smile as he spotted his friend lost in the middle of the crowd. he waved his hand. "you're here!"

she chuckled, "nice to see you again, kazu."

kazuha smiled, liking the way she pronounced his name, it sounded like y/n sang the first word from a love song – fluttering enough to mesmerize her audience. "i apologize for suddenly asking you to hang out, aren't you busy?"

"nope." she answered as they walked through the park, the orange sky seemed to make her features light up. "not busy at all...i wanted to spend this break at home – like, not doing anything at all." she lied, laughing.

kazuha nodded, obviously agreeing with her statement. "you're a hard worker, you certainly deserve the whole week to rest."

ah, if only kazuha knew that she's lying.

"mhm, how about you? you went to monstadt during your break?"

"well, yes? xiao asked me to come in liyue but i decided to pay you a visit." kazuha answered plainly, "it's been a while since the last time i saw you."

"when was it again?"

they walked towards the ice cream stall, scanning the menu with interest. "during childe's birthday? albedo was it? he seemed mad when he saw me talking to you..."

she felt guilt seeking through her system, "sorry about that...i think he was in a bad mood that time?"

"certainly." kazuha let out a light chuckle but it was not convincing enough to make her believe that he bought her excuse. "since i asked you here...it's my treat."

y/n giggled, "oh, really? did i hear that right?"

"yes however...."

"however?"

"would you like to watch the fireworks with me tonight?"

there was a long pause between them — the hope from his eyes didn't vanish. as seconds passed, it seemed to disappear and he was ready to cover his sadness and disappointment with a fake smile.