desire ~ k. kazuha idol au

• chapter two •

You opened your mouth to scream in fear, but the mysterious person was just too fast for you.

In the blink of an eye, the hooded figure that had been sitting on your bed jumped up and placed their hand over your mouth.

This way, your upcoming scream couldn't escape you and you had to resort to mindlessly struggling and kicking.

How did they get in here? you thought in panic. Did Noelle not lock my room door properly, when she came to drop off my bag?

Your heart was pounding. You threw yourself against the person's ribs and waved your hands around, desperate to get out of their tight grip. Despite your violent thrashing, the person wasn't fazed. They kept their hand tight against your mouth, so you couldn't utter a sound.

As you flailed your arms like an angry child, your hand got caught on the person's hoodie and you snatched the hood off their head.

The person under the hood seemed to be a young boy, about your age. His messy platinum hair was loosely tied in a ponytail, with a bright red streak evident on the side. His eyes were a striking crimson color. There was a bright red furrow down his cheek where you had scratched him.

He looked horribly guilty that he was treating you in such a way.

The two of you suddenly froze in the midst of your struggle when you both heard urgent rapping at your hotel room door.

Your eyes lit up with hope. Finally, someone would come and save you!

You yanked yourself out of the boy's grip, as he had loosened in shock when the knock at the door came. You made a beeline for the door at once.

A warm hand suddenly gripped your wrist and you looked back at the boy who you had been fighting moments ago.

There was a worried look shining in his eyes. He had placed his finger over his lips, signaling to you that he wanted you to be quiet. He wanted you to tell no one that he had been here, in your room.

You wanted to scoff. You wanted to say, "No way!" and open the door to see who it was.

But before you knew it, you had cast one look at his puppy-dog eyes. With a defeated sigh, you grabbed the unknown boy by the hand and shoved him into the closet by your door.

Upon slamming the closet door shut, you looked up as the urgent knocking came again. After dusting off your coat and fixing your crazed hair, you strode over to your hotel room's door and opened it.

The source of the knocking had come from two girls, clearly panicking over something. One of the girls' hair was halfway out of her bun, and they were both flushed red in the face.

You raised your eyebrow as you looked at your guests. Who were these girls, and what were they looking for? And why so urgently?

"We... Ah..." one of the girls began, stopping to clutch the stitch in her chest as she breathed heavily.

"We were wondering if you've seen Kaedehara Kazuha anywhere, by any chance?" her friend piped up, standing straight and smoothing out her hair. "We were told that he was hiding somewhere on this floor."

You frowned. Kaedehara Kazuha? Who on earth was that?

"Um. No, I haven't seen him...  sorry?" you mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Ah." the two girls said, both sounding clearly disgruntled. For a moment, their eyes traveled to the new Teyvat International badge pinned on your shirt, and you gulped nervously as they exchanged annoyed glances and stony glares with each other.

Finally, after a very awkward silence, the girls departed, not saying another word to you.

As soon as they turned the corner, you breathed out a sigh of relief.

You suddenly remembered the boy that you had shoved into your closet. You shut your room's door, making sure to lock it properly, and you went to the closet.

Upon opening it you let out a gasp. The white haired boy was nowhere to be seen, and when you looked around the rest of your room, you couldn't find him at all.

You shook your head. Was he just a figment of your imagination? After all, you were tired after a long day at work.

After a fierce debate with yourself, you shrugged it off.

It was probably just something you imagined. There was no way some random guy would just enter your room and sit mindlessly on your bed…

Shaking your head again, you went to change into your pajamas. Tomorrow was going to be another long day at work…and you couldn't let these hallucinations distract you.

✧•✧•✧

"Ugh..."

The bright sun was seeping through the curtains, awakening you from your slumber.

You turned your head sleepily to the side to see what time it was.

8:45am...

"8:45?!" you screamed in horror. You would surely have disturbed the neighbors, but at that point you didn't care.

Scrambling out of bed, you threw on a sky-blue sweater plus some jeans, and put your lab coat over it. You yanked your long (h/c) hair into a high ponytail, finally fastening it back with a large white bow.

You grabbed your files, papers, and cellphone off your desk, as you didn't have time to put them in a bag. After taking a sip of your coffee from last night, you dashed out of your room without a minute to spare.

First day on the job and I'm almost late... you thought in panic, scattering guests and employees alike as you ran down the hall.

As you ran down the hallway, you didn't watch where you were going as you turned the corner.

Crash!

"Ow!" you shrieked, falling onto the floor. Your papers and files were strewn all over the hallway from the force of that impact.

What is it with me and bumping into people these days? you thought in annoyance, dusting off your skirt and starting to pick up your files.

"I'm so sorry. Do you need help?" a calm male voice asked above your head.

"Yes, that would be great, as I'm already late for work." you grumbled.

After a few minutes, the boy finally helped you pick up your papers from all around the hallway.

"Here, let me help you up!" he said, and you saw a hand extending towards you.

"Thanks," you murmured, taking his hand and looking up.

Your mouth dropped open in shock as you were met with the striking sight of some familiar, bright crimson eyes.

"No way..."