try again ; xiao

fourteen.

[TW: mentions of weapons and violence!]

"please remember my answer is you."

•••

— monday ; y/n returns to school

all eyes were on y/n the moment she stepped foot on the school grounds. she felt an immeasurable amount of pressure surrounding her. she gave quick glances to the students around her. some of them held scared expressions, moving out of the way when y/n walked passed. others were less judgemental, but whispered within their groups, side eyeing the girl. y/n hung her head low, staring at the ground and trying to ignore their loud whispers.

—

kazuha stopped in his tracks when he saw a familiar head of h/c hair. he rushed after her, catching the attention of several bystanders. when he caught up to her, he grabbed her arm, taking her to a less crowded part of the school.

y/n's eyes were now fixed on her maple friend in front of her, trying not to trip as her tears fell down her face. kazuha abruptly turned around to see his friend crying. upon noticing her expression, he suddenly paused, grabbing a tissue from his bag. 

"here" he softly smiled at y/n. she took the tissue, smiled - well, she tried to smile - and thanked the kind soul. the pair continued walking until they reached the school's garden. since it was winter, the flowers hid their beautiful colours and the animals burrowed in their warm homes, keeping away from the cold frost. y/n walked along the bridge above the small stream, the water still slowly flowing down the river.

"are you alright?" kazuha's gentle voice snapped her out of her thoughts. she shrugged, sniffing. 

"why is everyone suddenly giving me stares and whispering stuff about me? what did i do?" she folded her arms, resting them on the handles of the bridge. the male joined her, resting his chin on his palm.

"this is what i heard, but i'll try to put it in nicer terms. apparently, you have been bullying a certain student for a while, and a fight video was recently leaked." y/n's eyes widened at the last part, but she continued listening. "everyone's been talking about it for the past week, and there may have been several rumours spread about you, but that's all i know for now".

excuse me students, could [y/n] [l/n] please go to the office. thank you.

y/n rolled her eyes at the announcement. she waved goodbye to her friend, about to head to the office when she remembered something. she swung her head around, running back to kazuha and hugged him tightly.

"thank you, kazuha. for always being there for me." he smiled at her, hugging her back. 

"you're welcome, y/n. hope everything works out for you." he let go of her, once again waving goodbye as she left the garden. 

— at the office ;

y/n was positive that lumine was behind this, but how did she record the video? who helped her? and for what reason? puzzling questions flooded her mind until she reached the office. y/n took a deep breath before knocking on the door and entering the room. y/n was face-to-face with the very girl that she despised.

"oh. what are you doing here? don't you have a few more weeks left?" the words fell out of her mouth like venom. lumine sat on the wooden teacher's desk, one leg over the other. she picked up the snow-globe next to her, shaking it and admiring the snowflakes as they fell.

"what do you want?" y/n frowned, closing the door slightly behind her. lumine chuckled, getting down from the desk and slowly circling around y/n like a shark.

"simply put, i want to ruin your life. it's only fair, y/nie." y/n raised her eyebrows at her plan, but remained calm. 

"do you know how long i've obsessed over xiao? how long i've loved him or how long i've been waiting for the right moment to confess?" she hissed, sitting down on the office chair. 

"i was hanging on by a mere thread, hoping and believing that i would have a slight chance with him all these years. i dreamed and thought about times i could be with xiao, only for them to be crushed and ruined by you." her voice was laced with malice as it grew deeper. lumine stood up from her seat, slowly making her way towards y/n. 

"i have waited 3 years, y/n. 3 fucking years." lumine pushed her against the wall, but y/n still hovered a few centimetres above her.

"is that all you got, shorty?" y/n smirked at the blonde girl. frustrated, she pulled out a knife and held it against y/n's neck. though, it wasn't hard enough to puncture her skin. 

"how 'bout now, bitch?" lumine tilted the knife, sending a deathly glare at the girl. y/n gulped. 'xiao, please help me..'

the door slammed open, as if xiao had read y/n's mind. the cyan haired male stood at the doorframe, panting heavily. the blonde's head immediately turned towards the boy.

"my sweet tofu!" lumine's eyes sparkled at xiao. 

"get your fucking hands off her." he unarmed lumine, shoving her to the ground and throwing the knife beside her, the blade digging deep into the carpet. he took off his jumper, draping it over y/n's figure. 

"it's okay. i'm here now." xiao smiled at her, cupping her face and slowly tracing his thumbs over her soft skin.

his fond expression shifted to rage. he approached lumine with heavy footsteps, the girl now fearful of what he was going to do. she stood up, trying to appear confident and maintain a powerful aura.

"you've got some nerve. first day back and you're already treating her like shit." xiao growled at lumine. with every step he took, she moved further away. her back was now up against a wall. 

xiao glanced at the knife that stuck out of the ground like a carrot. 

"y/n my dear, could you pass me the blade?" she obediently followed his instructions. xiao muttered a 'thank you', before continuing his business. his left hand held onto lumine's neck, his right hand clutching onto the weapon. 

xiao placed the sharp side of the blade on her throat, the area becoming red from the pressure. before he could continue, another student interrupted.

"oh my, what do we have here, comrade?" a tall, ginger male entered the office. y/n's eyes widened at the sudden appearance. 

"sugar tart! perfect timing!" xiao dropped the knife and released his grip upon the ginger's presence. immediately, the blonde ran to the ginger, tightly embracing him. 

while they had the chance, y/n grabbed xiao and ran out of the room.

•••

lmao the amount of times i spelt 'lumine' like 'lime' 😂😂

i felt really motivated to write this so hope you enjoyed! 

also I'm terribly sorry to all of you tartaglia and lumine lovers - they are evil in this book

anyways, thanks for reading, ily guys and have an awesome day/night <33