𝚂𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 (𝙰𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚡 𝙾𝙲)

Chapter 18 - Fuming

Amber POV

He didn't bother showing up last night. Ghosted, abandoned, whatever the word was, he'd done it. She briefly saw him at the competition while she was shooting, but after that, who knows where he ran off to? Boys were strange, and she hated how quickly they chickened out of situations.

Especially a certain Calvary Captain.

She walked through the Knights of Favonius at his side, pretending to act as perky as possible, for Jean had assigned her to clear out a hilichurl camp all on her own. The next round was set to begin soon, and she wasn't sure she could make it back in time if she were alone.

Kaeya strode along in his usual, fashionable manner. He waved around his gloved hands and laughed with his eyes closed, although one was concealed by a black eyepatch. Truthfully, he could've been winking and she never would have realized.

"Please, Kaeya! I just need some help with this camp, or else I'm going to be late to the next round!" Amber put on a smile to hide her desperation. She bounced around him like Klee often did whenever she needed something from Kaeya.

"No, I will not help you clear out a camp. I took on your duties last time," Kaeya pointed out. His amusement frustrated Amber further.

"Are you kidding?! I've helped you out so many times-!"

Kaeya's eye wasn't focused on her anymore. He was looking just behind her with a dark expression on his face. Amber turned her head just in time to see the Chief Alchemist Albedo with a brunette at his side. She was wearing his jacket, which was rather odd, considering she'd never seen him closer to anybody other than Sucrose.

Amber continued walking beside him to get just out of earshot of the two. "Who's that?" she asked, no longer focused on her other, more pressing matters.

"I'll help you out AFTER the competition," Kaeya responded instead, lightening his previous mood. "You're forgetting I ALSO made it to the next round."

His smug expression needed to be wiped away instantly. Amber narrowed her eyes and huffed. "You were facing off against a CHILD. It was pure luck that Klee didn't beat you with one of her bombs instead of a boring old arrow."

Kaeya daintily pressed his fingertips into his chest. "I can't believe you'd say that! Haha... you're a bit stranger than usual, and not in a way I like."

The two were pushing through the grand entrance doors. The bright sunlight of early morning stung their eyes almost instantly. Amber strained her eyes to see past the sunlight to glare up at Kaeya.

"Well, some of us are dealing with bigger problems than losing an hour of drinking time tonight," she grumbled under her breath. "Why did Jean have to assign more tasks in the middle of Windblume?!"

"Probably because the work never ends. The world doesn't revolve around our little Outrider Amber," Kaeya replied nonchalantly. He stepped down a stone stair and paused, leaving one leg up and the other down. "But what is this problem anyway?"

Amber flushed a faint shade of pink. "Some guy stood me up last night, and I really needed to talk to him about... things..." Her voice broke off at her own disappointment.

It wasn't like Bayler. He must've had a reason for it, otherwise he wouldn't have accepted her invitation so easily. Unless she had been too desperate, or maybe he didn't feel the same way she did? Too many possibilities circled around in her head.

A knowing glimmer entered Kaeya's deep blue eye. Of course nothing could slip by him. He knew exactly who she was talking about. Asshole.

"Well, if he won't come to you, then you need to go to him. Us guys run from our problems until we can drown them in alcohol! And I know for a fact that this guy," Kaeya's lips formed a smirk. "This guy was at the Angel's Share last night with someone else."