This Side of Paradise (Aeventi) (finished)

1 - "Overwhelming, Isn't It?"

3rd Person Limited

Aether and Lumine approached the crowd of their classmates, arriving a bit later than anticipated.

Though, that's partly due to the fact that they decided to go together, since Aether insisted on his braid being perfect while making Lumine wait on him.

The twins had been going to the university for a few months now, and this is their first social event with their classmates- it's the end-of-quarter picnic they had been planning for a while now.

Aether had been excited for it, but now that he had arrived and seen the amount of people, he wasn't sure he wanted to make an appearance.

Then he remembered his and Lumine's conversation-

"Aether, we need to start interacting with our class!" Lumine argues, "there are even rumors that we can't even speak English!"

He would do it for her.

(A/N STEVEN UNIVERSE MOMENT)

He unconsciously slowed his walk and shortened his steps as him and Lumine got closer to the crowd of people.

Lumine placed her hand on Aether's shoulder, making him stop.

"It'll be okay, Aether." She attempts to calm her brother, "Let's see..."

Lumine scanned the area, looking for an idea.

She suddenly got one, "How about you simply say hi and chat with people for let's say 5 minutes, then you can go sit at that tree over there." Lumine compromises pointing out the aforementioned tree.

Aether nods, agreeing to Lumine's idea. Lumine smiles and takes her hand off of her brother's shoulder, giving him some encouraging words before running into the crowd of people.

You see, Lumine had always been the most social of the two. Aether on the other hand could barely form a sentence when talking to new people. Though, he's gotten better over the years with the help of his sister.

Aether took a few deep breaths before slowly going the same direction Lumine went, holding his breath as he got closer to the people.

It'll be alright...I'll just talk to Bennett for the five minutes!

Aether thought triumphantly. He suddenly had a new goal in mind: find his dormmate, the only person he was somewhat comfortable around.

However, this goal quickly left his thoughts when Aether found Bennett surrounded by people.

Aether went to make an escape, but it seems luck was not on his side.

"Hey, Aether! I didn't think you were gonna show!" Bennett spotted the blond and waved him over.

Aether sighed in defeat, but took a deep breath and approached the group that was around Bennett. Sure, Aether had seen these people around before, but he'd never actually had to talk to them. The group consisted of people Aether saw at the university daily-
Xingqiu, Razor, Xinyan, Chongyun, Xiangling, Amber, Hu Tao, and Sucrose.

"Well, I figured that I would start socializing...better late than never." Aether attempted to hide his growing anxiety while speaking to the group, and succeeded.

He also hid the fact that his sister forced him to show up, he couldn't have people thinking he was a loser that only left the dorm at his sister's command! That would be plain embarrassing!

"Well, I'm proud of you for showing up and speaking to your classmates, Aether!" Bennett encouraged, giving Aether a thumbs up and a wide smile.

Aether nodded in thanks and turned to the group, steadying his breathing before greeting everyone.