𝙊𝙝 𝙈𝙮 𝙈𝙮 𝙈𝙮 | 𝘈𝘭𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘮

3: Stares

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PAST

A fifteen-year-old Kaveh smirks at his gray-haired friend. The two of them are in Kaveh's room, supposedly doing homework together, but Kaveh notices his friend is distracted. He follows his line of sight through the window. 

You, Nilou, and Collei are outside, in your backyard. The three of you are working on a group project. A smile is glued to your face as you and your friends put the finishing touches on the project. 

Kaveh noticed how Alhaitham's viridian eyes haven't left you.

"You're staring at her, again," your brother points out. Alhaitham's eyes widened in surprise.

"Sorry," he quickly says, tearing his gaze away from you.

Kaveh chuckles at his friend's antics. "Don't worry. I approve." Alhaitham rolls his eyes.

"It's not like that."

"Not like what?" Kaveh asks innocently, earning a sigh from Alhaitham.

"I like her, but not in the way you're implying," he responds. Kaveh's smirk only grows.

"It's obvious, you know?"

"Is it?" Alhaitham questions with worry lacing his voice.

"So you do like her, then?" Kaveh teases. Alhaitham chooses to stay silent, glaring at your brother in response. This only made his smirk grow. He also noted how the tips of Alhaitham's ears were colored red.

"Well, whenever you do get the guts to ask her out," Kaveh says. "I really do approve, but you better treat her right, or I'll beat you up." Kaveh laughs at his empty threat, but Alhaitham is deep in thought. Your brother stops laughing and looks at his friend in concern. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," he responds coldly, an unreadable expression plastered to his face. "Let's get back to work."

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PRESENT

You glance at your phone, checking for your dorm information.

"I'm in this building," you say to your friends. The seven of you are all standing in a circle, near one of the many dorm complexes scattered around campus. You're all hoping to have dorms relatively close to each other.

"Man," Collei groans, "I'm in a different building."

"I'm in the same building as Collei," Nilou says. Tighnari shakes his head.

"At least you guys are in the same complex!" he yells. "Me and Cyno are on the other side of campus. It should be a crime to split us all up!"

"We're in the same building as Y/N," Alhaitham says as he nudges Kaveh's arm.

"What floor?" you ask. "I'm on the second floor."

"We're on the third," Kaveh responds.

"Nice! I'll be sure to come bug you two," you tease. Kaveh rolls his eyes while Alhaitham smiles softly.

The three of you enter the dorm building, your brother leading the way to the elevators. You notice a few lounge areas around the first floor, all with tables and chairs, even a piano in the corner of the room.

"Seems cozy," you mumble to yourself.

The three of you stand in a comfortable silence while waiting for the elevator door to open. Two other people stand near you and your brother – one of them being a tall man with boba in hand and the other being a shorter girl – their frost blue eyes and hair captivating you.

"Alhaitham, Kaveh," the blue-haired man greets. Alhaitham nods at him.

"Ayato," he says. "I hope you had an enjoyable summer."

"I did," Ayato responds with a laugh. "I was rather busy, but thankfully, I have Ayaka to pull me away from my work." Your eyes widen in realization, but before you can say anything, the elevator dings as the doors open, and the five of you enter the elevator.

"Ayaka?" you ask. The blue-haired girl hums in response. "I think we might be roommates. I'm Y/N."

"Nice to meet you!" she beams. "My friends and I are all going to buy a few things for our dorms after we settle in. Do you wanna come with us?"

"Sure!"

"Fair warning, they can be a little crazy," she sighs. "Especially Itto."

The elevator dings again, signaling that you've arrived at the second floor. You and Ayaka excitedly leave the elevator first, laughing and chatting like old friends. The three boys follow behind you two.

"It's good to know Ayaka is getting along with Y/N," Ayato observes. "She was a bit nervous about not knowing her roommate that well." Your brother smiles.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Y/N has a way of making everyone feel comfortable, and in all honesty, she could befriend a tree if she really wanted to," Kaveh jokes.

"That's comforting," Ayato says. He pauses to take a sip of boba, "Say, how long have you known Y/N, Alhaitham? You, Kaveh, and her do seem quite comfortable with each other," he notes. 

Alhaitham, though, isn't paying attention to the conversation. Instead, his full attention is on you and how your laughter seems to echo in the hallway.

"Alhaitham?" Ayato asks. "Alhaitham?" he repeats.

"Alhaitham!" Kaveh shouts as he gives the gray-haired man a gentle shove.

Alhaitham stumbles forward, but quickly regains his composure. "I apologize. I zoned out."

"Zoning out while staring at my sister?" Kaveh asks with a smirk. Ayato takes a sip from his boba to stifle a laugh.

"I wasn't staring at her. I was simply staring in her direction," Alhaitham says matter-of-factly. "Besides, the minute you opened your mouth, I didn't want to listen to what you had to say. It's not my fault your voice is so annoying."

"No need to get so defensive," your brother teases. Alhaitham rolls his eyes.

"I apologize for zoning out. What were you saying earlier?" he asks Ayato, completely ignoring Kaveh.

"Well, I asked about how long you and Y/N have known each other, but seeing all this, I think it's safe to assume why you rejected the romantic advances of so many people last year," Ayato muses. Your brother cackles at Ayato's comment while Alhaitham crosses his arms unamused.

"Well, to answer your question, I've known Y/N since I was six," Alhaitham states. "Seeing as she's Kaveh's little sister and our moms are friends, it's only natural for us to be this close since we all grew up together. As for what happened last year, I wasn't interested in any of those people."

"Because you're interested in my sister," Kaveh teases, earning a chuckle from Ayato.

Alhaitham rolls his eyes at your brother's antics, trying to cover up the fact that the tips of his ears started to turn red. Knowing he had nothing more to say, Alhaitham quickly walks towards your dorm, leaving the other two to laugh at his flustered state.

"Don't worry too much about him. He's been like that about Y/N since he was fourteen," Kaveh whispers. Ayato's eyes widened in surprise.

"I admire his persistence," Ayato says before sipping his boba. "Tell you what, why don't we make a little friendly wager? We both know Alhaitham is incredibly stubborn and refuses to admit anything, I bet the soonest those two get together would be after Y/N graduates." Kaveh contemplates his words.

"I'm not one to bet on my sister's love life," he says. "But would it be considered a bet if it's factual?"

Ayato chuckles. "Well, at the very least, please keep me updated. It's quite amusing to see Alhaitham all flustered about this."

"Of course," Kaveh says with a laugh.

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A/N: We get to meet some more Inazuma characters next chapter! :D Hope you're all enjoying the story so far!