☆ · - Anything Like Her - · ☆ (Xiao x Reader)

♬ ten thousand ifs ♬

Against every single opinion I've ever had, I was currently hiding in a bush outside Lumine's house, holding a basket of flower petals, a banner that's almost twice as tall as myself, along with boxes of chocolate and bouquets of roses in varying shades.

Where Xiao even got all this stuff, I didn't even want to ask.

Lumine's house was in one of the nicer suburban neighbourhoods, with a huge birch tree shadowing the porch in her front yard. I was currently waiting in the backyard, waiting for Xiao's signal to shoot confetti into the air and present the banner. With the help of a mysterious inside person that Xiao wouldn't tell me the name of, we'd set up a small space in the backyard, complete with a rose petal lines path and fairy lights. On Xiao's signal, I would play Lumine's favourite love song on the speakers.

It was quite cute, and I felt happy for Xiao, I really did.

Yet a small voice inside my head kept interrupting me, telling me that I was envious.

Of course, just like those feelings for Xiao, I pushed away the voices just as easily as I had crammed my love into a dark box.

Sighing, I thought, wasn't it about time for Xiao to give the signal now? Slowly, I turned, expecting to see a single balloon peeking out the window--

I was met with a boy who had bright golden eyes, blonde hair styled into a braid, and an impish grin.

"Who--" I tried to ask, but he put a finger to my lips, shushing me.

I instinctively backed away, frowning. "Personal space?" I asked.

"Sorry," He instantly apologized, "I do that to my twin sister a lot, it was impulsive, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's fine, now tell me who you are." I demanded.

He snorted, "Chill, I'm Aether, and now I wanna know exactly what you are doing in my backyard."

"What?" I said, stupefied. This was Lumine's house wasn't it? Then I took another look at his face, and realized that the resemblance between him and Lumine was uncanny. I vaguely remembered Lumine talking about her twin brother, what was his name again?

Alistair, Altar, Aster? Aether.

"Wait-- you're Lumine's twin, Aether?"

"Yup, that's me. How do you know Lumine?" He responded.

"Ummm... I'm her friend."

Well, Lumine and I weren't exactly friends, more like acquaintances.

"Y/N?" Aether asked.

"Uhh... you know me?" I asked.

"...Yeah, Lumine's told me about you."

I hesitated, unspeaking.

Aether filled in the silence, "You know, Lumine can seem kind of prickly sometimes, but she's actually got a really kind heart, and I know it's true that she can come off really mean sometimes, however--"

"I know." I said, cutting him off. Lumine didn't like me, I didn't like her, what was the big deal? It's not like I'm trying to be besties with her.

He looked at me with questions in his eyes, but didn't say anything more.

That, I truly was extremely grateful for.

Just then, Aether pointed up to a window on the 2nd floor.

A blue balloon was sticking out, and for just a millisecond, I got a glimpse of Xiao and Lumine laughing together through the open window.

"Looks like it's time." Aether said. I nodded, and got to making sure Xiao's promposal stage was impeccably perfect. Then, once everything was set, we hid behind the huge cardboard heart cutout, ready to pop confetti and throw flower petals.

"What's this, Xiao?" Lumine's distant voice drifted from inside the house.

My heart clenched as I watched the back door open, revealing Xiao determinedly leading a blindfolded Lumine to the stool that stood in the center of the stage.

Lumine sat, and Xiao slowly removed the blindfold from her face.

I couldn't help the barrage of negative emotions that escaped my chest.

Holding her hands, Xiao knelt and said the words that completely destroyed my heart.

"Lumine,"

It felt like an eternity.

Xiao was still speaking, "I treasure all the time we've spent together greatly, so I hope my next words don't ruin it all."

Lumine's eyes were filled with wonder. Mine overflowed with tears.

"Please Lumine! Go to prom with me, please be my girlfriend!"

The words Xiao had yelled were so loud that I was sure the whole street would've heard.

Lumine's face turned red.

"X-Xiao..." She stuttered.

"I-I-I... have a boyfriend..."

Xiao's face fell.

I felt horrible for the relief I felt.

"Well, I just got one 2 seconds ago, and it's you, you silly goose!" Lumine giggled.

Xiao looked like he didn't understand, but eventually it hit him. "M-me?" He stuttered.

Lumine smiled and poked his cheek, "Of course~"

"LUMINEEEEE!!!" Xiao pushed her teasingly, which only made the two laugh harder. "LUMINE, THAT HAD ME WORRIED, YOU'RE SUCH A MEANIE!!!!"

I was shocked, completely still. There was a barrage of emotions, but what could I do? I just had to bury these feelings like I always had.

A warm hand tapping my shoulder brought me back to reality.

"Y/N, the confetti." Aether motioned to the basket in my hand.

"Oh, right." I whispered back.

"On three?" He nodded.

"One... two... three..."

Boom!

A huge explosion of confetti and rose petals filled the air.

Lumine and Xiao turned around, and in that moment time seemed to go on forever.

There, was Xiao, the boy I'd always loved, and then their was Lumine, a bright twinkling star that raced through the night sky.

Lumine was perfect for Xiao, I thought bitterly.

She was everything, so maybe if I just let go of my selfishness and let Xiao be happy with her, everything would stop hurting.

--

by: cat