"God, what a rough week!"
"I know, right?" "Literally three exams in one day? Like, are they trying to kill us!?"
The midnight-haired man giggled at the blonde's comment, and the blonde followed soon after.
"Kaeya," said a booming voice from across the bar, "don't think you can leave this time without paying your bill. I'd like to keep my job, please and thank you."
"Yeah, about that...." Kaeya looks down at his empty wallet and looks up with big eyes and says,
"Aether; my best friend, my amigo, my main man."
Aether looks at him and sighs, "Yes, Kaeya, I'll cover your bill... again".
"Thank you! I knew I could count on you!" Kaeya exclaimed
10 minutes go by, and the two boys are just chatting about school and the exams when a familiar face walks through the door. A boy with medium-length blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes captivates and intrigues Kaeya. He must have been staring because Aether nudged him,
"Oooooo, someone's got a crush!"
The blonde's comment knocks Kaeya out of his trance; he covers Aether Month while shushing him.
"Shhhhh, it's not like that; I just could have sworn that I'd seen him before."
"Well yeah, you've seen him before; he's in our Chemistry class, you goof," Aether says, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "He's literally a prodigy, 4.6 GPA, honour roll, and he graduated high school with his Associate's degree. The kid's Einstein."
Kaeya wasn't listening; he was too busy staring at him. "Well, go talk to him!" Said Aether, startling him.
"Absolutely not; I don't even know his name!"
"It's Albedo" Aether said, "His name's Albedo."
Kaeya, after 10 minutes of beckoning from Aether, finally gets enough courage to talk to Albedo. He approaches him and says,
"Hey, Albedo, right?"
Albedo turns his head and sets down his drink.
"Yeah, Kyle, right?" He says it in a sarcastic tone.
"Haha, you're so funny. No, it's Kaeya," he replies, rolling his eyes. "I didn't know you were the drinking type."
Kaeya pulls up a chair from the bar and sits in it backwards.
"I could say the same about you, Kaeya Alberich," he continues, "but what brings you here?" Albedo says he is looking at Kaeya with his ocean-blue eyes.
"Well, my brother owns this place, so I stop by to bug him after practice," he remarked, glancing over at Diluc, who was cleaning wine glasses.
"Practice? I didn't think you were athletic; what do you play?"
"I'm very athletic, actually!" He said angrily, "I'm in a band; I never cared for sports." Albedo looks at him confused.
"You're in a band?"
"Yes, is that so hard to believe?" Kaeya responds a little hurt.
"Not really; you look like a band kid," Albedo remarks.
Kaeya gasped and leaned backwards. "How dare you! I'm so insulted."
"Oh, I'm sorry, your highness; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Kaeya looks at Albedo.
"Well, I'm sure if you saw me perform in person, you'd see how good I really am!" Kaeya said, muttered
"When is your next performance?"
Kaeya, startled by the response, said, "Oh, it's tomorrow at the arena downtown." Kaeya said excitedly
"What time?" Albedo said
"Starts at 11 and ends at 3," Kaeya responded.
"Well, I was supposed to watch my sister tomorrow, but..." Kaeya looked down, upset. Albedo continued, "I'll just have my lab partner watch her."
Kaeya looks up and smiles, "Wait really!?"
"Yes, really, she says I need to do more social things anyway," he says, admiring Kaeya's childlike energy.
"Oh, I have to go; Klee needs me to make her dinner."
"Klee?"
"My sister," Albedo says, pushing in his chair. "I'll see you tomorrow, pretty boy."
Kaeya's face goes red while Albedo laughs and walks out, giving him a wave on the way out.
"I think I'm going to puke," Kaeya says, walking back to Aether at the bar.
"Oh? What happened?"
Kaeya goes into detail, telling Aether about the entire encounter with a red face. "Oh, my archons, we must practice right now."
"You're so right, oh my Lord Geo."
They race out of the tavern, Aether double-fisting a cocktail while Diluc rolls his eyes and laughs to himself.
"I'm glad he's found someone."
