This Side of Paradise (Aeventi) (finished)

14 - "I'll See You Tomorrow"

my current favorite song ^

3rd person omniscient

Xiao made his way to the tavern, delighted by the fact that it was still open.

The red haired bartender looked up upon hearing the door open.

"Oh, Xiao...no Venti today? You're not really the type to drink alone...or at all." Diluc pointed out as Xiao sat down.

"I'd rather not get into it right now, Master Diluc." Xiao said simply, ordering some random drink that had the coolest name.

"Death After Noon, eh? Didn't think you'd be the type to drink that. It's my brother's favorite, so it's one of my specialties." Xiao nodded and decided to look around while Diluc prepared the drink.

Xiao didn't recognize the others that were in the tavern, but he assumed they were a bunch of upperclassmen.

Xiao didn't realize he was zoned out until he felt a light tap on his shoulder from Diluc, who was handing him his drink.

"Thanks." Xiao muttered quietly, observing the drink.

He drank almost half of it in one gulp, taking in the bitter taste of it. He almost immediately felt the heat rush to his face (he was definitely a light weight) just from half.

How the hell can Sir Kaeya drink so much of this stuff daily....Xiao thought to himself, taking another sip.

That final sip was probably the worst decision he's ever made.

"Hey..." A voice Xiao didn't recognize called out to him, "You should get home."

The person that the voice belonged to gently grabbed Xiao's hands, helping him stand up.

"I'll pay his tab." The person says to Diluc who was behind the counter.

There were more words exchanged, but they were unknown to anyone aside from Diluc and the strange person.

Xiao was too far gone to notice himself leave.

The person guides Xiao to a place he didn't recognize, laying him down and leaving to grab something.

Meanwhile, Aether and Venti were saying their goodbyes outside of Aether and Bennett's dorm.

They had left the Christmas party along with everyone else.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Venti." Aether waves while Venti walks away.

Venti waves back, but he couldn't get his mind off Xiao.

What was he going to tell me...? I saw him leave, but I didn't see him come back- or come to the dorms...

Venti hesitantly approached Xiao and Xingqiu's dorm, lightly knocking.

A tired Xingqiu opened the door, "Xiao's not here. Try again in the morning."

Xingqiu closed the door after saying that, leaving Venti speechless.

Venti decided to just go to his dorm and go to sleep, thinking that he will try again in the morning.

(a/n i feel like a comedic genius whenever I play Cancer by MCR on the way to my leukemia checkups)

And try in the morning he did, once again knocking on the door, only to be greeted by a very annoyed Xingqiu.

"It's 8 in the goddamn morning, Venti." Xingqiu complains, "If you're that worried then try calling him."

"But everything's going straight to voicemail," Venti complains.

"Just wait, he'll be fine. If you don't find him by tonight, then file a missing person report or something..." Xingqiu closed the door on Venti.

(a/n just got my genshin account hacked and stolen. what the fuck. I had c1 Hu Tao, staff of homa, and Venti, but the only people who knew that were my friends. I don't wanna start over 😑😑😑)

Venti sighed at the closed door, and trudged back to his dorm.

Meanwhile, Xiao was just waking up, angry at the appearance of a headache from hell.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked to his left, where the desk next to his bed would be. Instead of seeing that desk, there was a wall there.

Xiao immediately realized that he wasn't somewhere he recognizes.

"What the hell..." He said to himself quietly, making sure he was still fully dressed and not missing anything valuable.

His full wallet was still in his pocket, along with his dorm keys, car keys, (dead) phone, and an old gum wrapper.

He looked to his right, seeing a small desk with a glass of water, a few small pills, and a piece of paper.

He decided to read the paper first, picking it up.

The handwriting was obviously rushed, but still nice nonetheless.

I don't know who you are, but you were so drunk last night at the tavern that I didn't want you to get taken somewhere horrid. on the counter, you'll find some aspirins and a cup of water. Please text me at the earliest convenience so I know you're okay, if I don't reply, then I'm at work.

P.S. don't worry, I slept on the couch

-420-690-0000

There was a name at the bottom of the note, but the handwriting at this point was too sloppy to read.

He puts the note in his pocket, took the aspirin, downed the water, and stood up from the bed, his hand immediately reaching up to his head due to his headache. His headache was slowly subsiding, but that didn't mean it was completely painless.

(a/n GUY.exe by Superfruit > tbh)

Xiao took a minute to realize that he was still on campus once he got outside, even though the streets were pretty much empty due to the early morning and cold.

He realized that he was on the other side of campus than where he needed to be, and that he didn't have his car. He began the long walk to the side of campus that his dorm is on, his headache calming down as the cold increased.

This...is going to be a long walk. Xiao regrettably thought to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

sorry the update took so long

more hospital stuff going on

who should the guy who helped Xiao be? thinking of him as a love interest.

I'm kinda tired
once again, sorry for the late update on the story

have a good day/night!

-Venti

word count: 1004