Pushover | Aether x Reader

Five

Ms. Jean appeared to be visibly astonished by the second hand raised. Nevertheless, she continued on with her announcements.

"Alright then, since we have two candidates for the presidency this year. Two weeks from now, we will be holding a speech and voting session. Kunikuzushi, (Y/n), please prepare accordingly."

One student raised their hand.

"What about the vice president, Ms. Jean?"

"As you know, Lumine has held the title of vice president for as long as we can remember. Since she is no longer here, it will be a little difficult to find another vice president that is as competent as her. Seeing as (Y/n) and Kunikuzushi are both excellent candidates for this important leadership role, I will leave the choice of vice president to them. Any other questions?"

The student puts their hand back down and silence fills the room.

"Excellent. Now please open your textbooks, you will now be working on your English project."

__________

The moment a majority of their classmates had poured out of the classroom, (Y/n) slammed her hand on the purple-haired boy's desk, an enraged look on her face as all the grudges she held against him circulated in her brain.

"What's your deal?" She spat.

"Whatever do you mean, (Y/n)?" Kunikuzushi looked at her innocently.

"Cut the crap! You hate leadership roles, you lazy ass! Are you trying to use my classmates to your advantage?"

"Quite bold of you to assume I haven't changed since then, (Y/n). Even if I wanted to use anyone, I wouldn't need the class presidency to do so," he laughed, placing his things in his bag. "I raised my hand because I knew you wouldn't just let me be above you. I did it to piss you off."

And with that, the purple-haired boy strode away, leaving (Y/n) in place to contemplate what had just happened.

'This guy... He really ticks me off!' She pulled her hair in frustration and left the classroom.

She had known Kunikuzushi for quite some time now, and he was the single most annoying person she'd ever met in her life (and that's saying something considering she held grudges against most people). He was a privileged, lazy jerk who used other people to his advantage. What was there to not hate?

"Girl, your voice was so loud I swear my dead grandpa could hear you." Hu deadpanned as she leaned on the wall with her arms crossed.

"Hu... Is it really alright for you to be making jokes like that?" Aether laughed nervously, hands on his backpack as he looked at the distressed-looking (Y/n).

"Yeah, it's called dark humor, dear boy!" Hu scoffed. "Anyway... (Y/n)—"

(Y/n) sighed, knowing she shouldn't let her temper get to her and snap at the wrong people. She had already built up a reputation for being short-tempered. She was known as a mature, straightforward girl who was also easy to tick off.

"Let's just get lunch first, okay?" She smiled softly. "Some (favorite food) will help me feel better."

"No problemo!" Hu threw an arm around the girl's shoulder. "Off we go! Don't fall behind then, pretty boy."

Aether's cheeks heated up at the nickname, "P-pretty boy?"

"Did I stutter?"

"She's not wrong." (Y/n) shrugged. "You coming or not?"

__________

"I've been trying my very best to bring this issue to her attention, Sucrose. However, she seemed so preoccupied every time." Albedo told his current lab partner as they prepared for their next experiment.

Albedo knew everyone and everyone knew Albedo. However, he only actually seemed close to Sucrose as she understood his interest in Science and his goal of creating life from the most basic of components.

"It is quite concerning, yes." Sucrose nodded her head thoughtfully as she examined the photograph.

In the photograph was a beautifully painted picture of a certain (h/c)-haired girl, sitting on a throne like a Greek goddess. It appeared as if the artist had seen her through rose-tinted lenses as she seemed flawless in every aspect, which was not realistic as (Y/n) was only human just like everybody else.

"I believe you should tell her as soon as possible, Mister Albedo," Sucrose said. "This could be a case of a stalker that would escalate if not addressed properly."

"That I will do." Albedo nods.

While the painting looked nothing out of the ordinary other than an artist who admired (Y/n)'s work, what we hadn't seen Albedo mention was the fact that every red mark on the painting had an awfully different consistency from the rest of the painting. It also had a terrible stench... almost as if it was painted in blood.

__________

It was nearing sundown, and Aether was just finishing the last of his errands for Mr. Zhongli. He held two baskets of supplies in both hands as he walked through the empty locker room halls. He was tired and looked forward to heading home as soon as possible.

However, a concerning smell reached his nostrils, making his heart quicken at the thought of what it could be. He dropped his plastic bags and turned around the corner to examine the situation. Lo and behold, there it was, a locker set aflame as a gigantic fire threatened to spread.

Aether stood in place for a few seconds, stunned at the sight before him. Then he realized he probably should be getting the fire extinguisher and putting out the fire.

He was about to do that when something exploded inside the locker. A time-ticking bomb he had failed to see through the flames.

The blond boy was sent back as debris flew around him. He had hit his head on the ground fairly hard, so he found himself rapidly losing consciousness.

If he had said no to Mr. Zhongli's favor, would he have been able to avoid this unfortunate event?