The Boy Who Cried Fox

Home economics

Ei left the boys to sit with her friends and Venti showed Zhongli to the table he usually sat at. And Childe just so happened to be there. As Venti was half way through introductions, however, Lisa took this opportunity and asked Zhongli about the forehead kiss.

"So, darling, I heard you gave Ed Sheeran here a kiss, hm?" She tilted her head as she watched her ginger friend turn into a tomato.

"Lisa!" Jean was about to scold the brunette but Zhongli beat her to it.

"I did. Is there something wrong?" Zhongli was still confused as fuck. Venti face palmed at his friend's innocence and explained to the gang.

"He has 5 younger siblings. Seeing Childe like that reminded him of them and did what he normally does when they are in the situation." Venti sighed. He had done this so many times that he lost count.

"I see." Diluc hit the back of Kaeya's hand as he reached out to pull Diluc's ponytail. They continued to talk about random topics until Sandrome walked up to them.

"Tartaglia. Pierro sent me here to tell you to come over to the Fatui's table right now." Sandrome's voice may be high pitched but it can be demanding at times like this.

"Well, tell that fuckass no." Childe turned his head away from the girl, who just retreated like nothing happened. Everyone was surprised but Zhongli sensed that he was scared of what consequences he would face.

"Damn bro, you would usually say yes." Aether was gaping at the ginger.

"Well, why would I sit with a bunch of assheads who just broke the new kid's nose?" Childe rolled his eyes and continued to play with a piece of food on his plate. Zhongli's eyes widened at this statement and tried his best not to show how emotional this simple sentence made him.

"I-I got to go." Zhongli stood up and rushed out and went to the library. He remembered his way around this time and soon found the familiar walls covered from head to toe in books. He picked the same history book he found earlier and began reading. Checking his schedule before getting engrossed in reading, he had one free period followed by one more lecture and then he could go home. Setting his alarm again, Zhongli started to read. He was finally snapped out of his book trance when someone flicked his forehead. In front of him was Ningguang and 2 other girls.

"Hey, remember me? This is Beidou and Yelan." Ningguang pointed at a brown haired woman and a black haired female with an uneven short cut. Zhongli nervously waved at all the attention he was getting, especially from 3 girls. The only women he knew were his 2 sisters, his ex and Ei.

"So, do you have any plans after school?" Beidou pulled out a chair next to him.

"Yes, sorry. Maybe next week?" Zhongli averted his eyes from the 3 girls who all looked slightly disappointed.

"Aw, well, I guess we can wait." Yelan leaned back into the chair and Zhongli began to read again. Not even 15 minutes in did his alarm ring, bringing Zhongli back to reality. Turning it off and bidding the girls goodbye, Zhongli hurried to his next class, home economics. He met Ei on the way, who seemed to be dreading each minute they got closer to the classroom.

"I hate home eco. You know I can't cook!" Ei complained like a child when she saw Zhongli in the hall.

"I'll help you, don't worry." Zhongli reassured the stressed out kagemusha before opening the door.

"Hey Chef Mao..." Ei nervously greeted the teacher. She was returned with a small glare and then their teacher's gaze softened when he saw Zhongli.

"I suppose you are the new student? Well, since you and Ei seem close, I'll pair you two together." Chef Mao pointed at a table to the front of the class, still eyeing Ei as if she was going to burn the class down.

"Beelzebul...did you burn a class down?" Zhongli was suspiciously looking at the nervous wreck of the fencing club's leader. Normally confident and overprotective, she was now cowering at a cooking pot.

"I nearly did, Morax, but I swear it was an accident!" Ei covered her face with her hands as Zhongli looked up to the board. Almond tofu.

Z: Are you serious? I make that everyday. Oh well, guess it's easy enough for me to teach Ei.

Zhongli began to cook the first batch before teaching Ei. 5 minutes later, it was done.

"Mmm! It's so good!" Ei's face lit up as she took the first bite. "Teach me, teach me!"

Zhongli just gave a small chuckle before doing so. But the pair didn't know that the entire class was watching them. Several people whispered one too many things and it hinted that they were being shipped together.

"Now we wait for 2 minutes." Zhongli smiled at the half head shorter girl and then realized that 2 hands were cupped over his ears. Ei turned around and glared at the entire class as someone had said something too loud.

"I know what you're doing. Remember, I'm a lesbian." Ei uncovered his ears and turned back as if she hadn't threatened the entire classroom. A while later, Chef Mao came over and tried the dish Ei made. Fiddling with her fingers, Ei avoided all eye contact until their teacher answered.

"Wow. I'm proud of you Ei. A+. And Zhongli, do you want to be her partner for the rest of the term?" Cher Mao applauded the surprised purple haired girl before turning to the brunette next to her.

"Why not? I mean, this is what friends are for." Zhongli smiled back before trying the almond tofu Ei made. When the 2 finished eating, Zhongli waved to Ei as he had to hurry up and do something urgent. Not even Childe could say goodbye before Zhongli was gone from campus.

"Hey Venti, where's Zhongli?" Childe was worried as he hadn't seen the brunette since lunch.

"Oh Morax went home. I think he should finish moving by today." Venti remembered the time he called Zhongli that there were a lot of boxes being shifted around. Childe thanked Venti and decided to go and hang out with Aether and Lumine for the rest of the day. Childe went to their dorm. Because they were twins they were the only people who shared a dorm that was a girl and boy. Nothing interesting happened besides Aether and Childe playing games while Lumine was out buying food. The week went on normally with Childe showing Zhongli to his classes and the 2 soon became very close. And Venti and Ei knew it. Maybe Lisa too.

Words: 1135