𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 √𝐀𝐋𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐌

021 // DAY 11

TUES DEC XX 10:02 A.M.

"Thanks for letting a stranger crash at your place." You said, looking over at Diluc who was driving you back to the vacation houses.

"Don't worry about it, it just means a favor will be owed." There wasn't much enthusiasm behind his words. He tapped his finger on the steering wheel along to the soft tunes that were playing in the car.

A favor? Oh, he said something about not asking for another favor the other night to Alhaitham when we all went out to Angel's Share. Those two seem to have quite an interesting friendship. You thought to yourself while tapping the back of your phone.

"Don't worry, the favor won't be returned by you."

"I'm sure you would've given me that same look you gave Alhaitham the other night if I was the one in debt."

Speaking of Alhaitham, he never responded to your text message from the early hours of the day. A part of you wished he hadn't opened the message at all while the other part of you wished he had responded. It would have been easier from the start had Diluc explained everything to him.

Though the world doesn't seem to function quite that easily.

If I'm going to tell him, I should probably do it today. Preferably over text and not face-to-face. Hah, I'm such a coward for that.

That was also another thing you were placing your hopes on, that he wasn't going to already be back at the vacation houses. When you saw him disappear without a trace after Piper version two showed up, it was clear that anyone would need space after seeing their trauma right there in front of them.

You gripped your phone while looking down at your feet, different scenarios playing in your head in case he was there.

"You know, you're reminding me of someone right now." The redhead broke your snowball of thoughts. There was a tiny smirk on his face, his eyes glistening with a tiny bit of interest.

"Hm, do I? Getting lost in your thoughts is quite a common trait."

He exhaled deeply, his grip tightening slightly around the steering wheel. "In return for not owing me a favor, you have to do something."

"You literally just said I don't owe you anything."

"I never said that. I said the favor simply wouldn't be returned by you."

It was your turn to sigh, turning your head slightly to face him. "What is it?"

The car came to a stop at the stoplight before the turn down to the vacation houses. "Do you like Alhaitham?"

If someone were to drop a piece of glass, the sound of its shattering would pierce through the thick silence that filled the car. The atmosphere felt a bit... too heavy to breathe in as if the question itself weighed a million pounds. To the few cars stopped beside them it seemed like you were looking at Diluc like he was stupid. Truth be told, it would be technically right that you were looking at him like he was stupid. But it was more or less because you were dumbstruck by his sudden question.

The light turned green, Diluc pressing on the gas pedal as you continued to look at him.

"With how long you're taking to respond to my question, I think I know the answer." He hummed in delight, a smile replacing the sly smirk on his face. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

You closed your mouth as you pressed your lips into a thin line and curled your lips inwards to where they pressed against your front teeth. "Though that's why you have to do something since I would feel bad holding an owed favor against your head."