What happens when the unapproachable Xiao befriends Venti?
Xiao a boy who holds in his present a many burden.
Venti a boy who holds a past he cannot erase.
At the same time, the story will also focus on our side characters!
We have-
Kazuha
Ganyu
H...
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Ganyu was the first to finish her meal. She stood up with her plates to go to the sink. "I will be here in a while", she said. "Be fast. I will come to look for you if you're late.", said Venti who was still worried about that boy who just would not let Ganyu breathe.
"I am done with eating as well. I will go along with you", said Hu Tao and the two girls went together.
"Why does today seem so long..!? I feel like I'll be stuck in here forever. The time is ticking way too slowly", complained Aether. "I am glad I was not the only one thinking that", replied Lumine and Venti.
It was indeed a strange day. So much happened in one day that it had made them tired. "We met Xiao... made friends with him. Then the whole Mr.Diluc situation happened. And then Ganyu's insane pursuer... I want today to end already" , said Aether.
"Why are you so quite?", Venti asked Xiao. His face was so close to Xiao that Xiao had to slide away a bit. "I don't like to talk while having my meal ", he said.
"Come on! You gotta talk whenever you can you know." , said Aether. "You are surely not someone I wanna talk to", replied Xiao. "What!? You did not just-" "Aether! Your pants have a ketchup stain!", said Lumine. "Huh!?? Where??" "Right here! At the edge of the knee", she said and wiped it off with her handkerchief. "Be like Xiao and don't get distracted while eating", she said. Aether just gave a grumpy look to both Lumine and Xiao.
After a while when Xiao was about to have the last bite of his almond tofu, he asked Venti who had already finished his bread,"Where is Kazuha?"
"He was telling me something about completing his due assignments. He is in class doing them. I think he is having his meal there at the same time. He prefers working alone so we don't bother him whenever he has due assignments. But Hu Tao and Ganyu sure are taking their sweet time. I think I will go look for them after all. Although Hu Tao is along with her, I am worried."
Xiao held Venti's hand as he was about to stand up and leave. But he immediately let go of his hand to prevent any awkwardness. "Umm... I will go along with you.", said Xiao. Venti smiled at his redness. "Sure", he said in a cheerful tone.
"Shall we come along?", asked Aether.
"Its alright. Two of us will be enough to find Ganyu and Hu Tao.", said Venti and left with Xiao.
They both were walking through the corridors. Once in a while, Venti peeped into the classrooms. "These are junior classes. Why are you looking into them?", asked Xiao. "Hmm? You never know. If its Hu Tao, always expect the unexpected.", replied Venti.
Xiao walked a bit behind Venti. This was the first time he was able to befriend so many people in one day. And He knew that he could do that only because of Venti.
"Venti..."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you "
"Huh? For what?"
Xiao stopped walking and so did Venti.
"Thank you for today... We both don't really know each other yet... but I would like to know more about you... and tell you about myself as well. I want... to be friends with you after all"
Venti stood frozen. He was feeling a certain way he had never felt before. The Xiao standing in front of him was speaking with such honesty that Venti did not know how to reply. Xiao's golden eyes were so beautiful that Venti had lost himself for a moment in them.
"Umm.... Venti? Is there something on my face?"
Venti immediately snapped out of it and gave a smile. "Oops... kinda spaced out right there,Ehe~", he stopped smiling and looked at Xiao.
"Xiao... You want to know more about me. But I don't want to know anything about you"
"Huh?", Xiao was taken aback by Venti.
"You see... it would be unfair for me to know more about you and not tell you anything about me in return. But I don't think I can ever tell you anything about me... afterall...", he smiled and said,"I don't even know myself"
"Venti..."
"I like the way it is right now... Strangers and yet not strangers. Unknown yet known. Noticed... yet Unnoticed... this is my relationship with everyone of my friends."
Venti said his words and walked away. Xiao did not follow. He could not understand...
why were Venti's eyes so dead as he spoke?
Why did Venti's voice crack as he spoke?
Why did Venti even speak such words?
Xiao could not understand.
He stood in the empty corridor which soon got flooded with students after the bell rang. They pushed him as they walked in clusters. But Xiao did not move. Not until a hand was kept on his shoulder. He turned around to see Ganyu.
"Xiao? What are doing here standing all alone? You will get hurt or fall down in this commotion. Come with me", she pulled Xiao along with her and out to the cafeteria which was now all silent with no students. "Now tell me, what happened?", she asked with a look of worry.
"Ganyu... me and Venti were searching for you and Hu Tao. And then... I kind of had a weird conversation with Venti."
"Me and Hu Tao?... we were in the class with Kazuha. And... what do you mean by weird conversation with Venti?"
"Venti... told me that he does not want to know anything about me and does not want to tell me anything about him either... I don't really get him... why would he say s-"
"Xiao", Ganyu interrupted him and spoke in a serious tone,"All of us are the same."
"All of you?"
"You see... we all have some secrets we cannot reveal... our deepest truths. Revealing anything about us would mean revealing our past and we cannot do that. Not even to our closest friends."
Xiao spoke no more. Somewhere inside of him he realized, he had not really made friends on his first day of school. The people he considered his close friends were no more than classmates.
"Xiao?" "Don't talk to me anymore " "But we are-" "I said Don't talk to me!", Xiao yelled at Ganyu and walked away angrily.
Ganyu stood all alone with a sad look on her face.
"Xiao... you can not understand us... not until you've been through what we've seen...Or maybe you are going through something we don't know and are brave enough to share it with us. I wish... I wish I can be brave enoughto tell everyone what I keep deep within me as well"
