𝙊𝙝 𝙈𝙮 𝙈𝙮 𝙈𝙮 | 𝘈𝘭𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘮

16: Moonlight

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PAST

You open your eyes, letting them adjust to the dim lighting. As you take in your surroundings, a sense of confusion fills you. You up sit up in the bed and let last night's events flood your mind. As you scan the room for any glimpse of your friend, your eyes widen in realization.

'If I fell asleep in Alhaitham's bed, where is he?'

You swing your legs over the edge of the bed, letting your feet touch the hardwood floor. Hastily, you try to rearrange the sheets. Once they look somewhat neat, you tiptoe out of the room.

Like his room, the rest of the house is dim. The only source of light is from the living room window, which welcomes sunlight into the house. The light illuminates a sleeping figure on the couch. Though his back was turned to you, the unmistakable mop of silver hair made it easy to guess who it was. A smile spreads across your face like butter as your legs carry you down the stairs.

Before you were even near the couch, Alhaitham began to stir, turning towards you with half-lidded eyes. His action made you freeze in place. Not knowing what else to do, you offered your friend an awkward smile and a wave.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." Alhaitham yawns. He sat up and patted the empty space next to him.

"Come here," he says. Wordlessly, you comply, sitting next to your viridian-eyed friend. He adjusts the blanket so it lays on your lap. You take a glance at him in the early morning sunlight.

His hair was bathed in a warm orange glow, which brought out his orange pupils. The gentle light softened his sharp features. For a moment, it was like you were five years old again, seeing him for the very first time. Of course, that was a long time ago and things are vastly different now.

In a few months, Alhaitham will be graduating and off to college. Just like Kaveh, he'll be up to his elbows in work from his professors and may barely have any free time. You'll only get to see him, Kaveh, Tighnari, and Cyno during school breaks.

At the same time, you'll be starting your last year of high school with Collei and Nilou. The three of you will have to start thinking about life beyond graduation. With your friends already attending Teyvat University, that decision wasn't hard, but you knew the upcoming school year wouldn't feel the same without your entire friend group.

'Time does fly, huh?'

Alhaitham turns his head, catching your stare. "What?" he asks.

"It's nothing." You look away from him with a sigh.

"If something's on your mind, you should say it."

"Well," you start, "I've been thinking about the next few months."

"What about it?"

"It's gonna be so different without you here," you sigh. "Sure, I'll have Collei and Nilou, but it's still going to be different. I've known you way longer than I've known them.

"I know you like the back of my hand. We can always tell when the other isn't feeling well or having a bad day without having to say a word. I always come to you when I'm having problems, and you do the same. We've told each other everything, and I really enjoy spending time with you. I assume you do too, otherwise you wouldn't have kept me around this long," you joke.

"But what I'm trying to say is it's going to be hard walking by your house everyday after school knowing that you're not there, Alhaitham. You're going to be in a totally different part of Teyvat while I'll be here. I'm going to miss you so much next fall," you say. "That's been on my mind for the past few days now."