clueless ♡ xiao

11 | Strings to the puppet

Noticing your dozing off, Yoimiya dragged you along to yet another shop- dim-lit and brown-tinted. Letters H O T T O P I C glowed in paper-white light as you groaned in annoyance.

"Whatever you do" Yoimiya firmly pressed her two hands to your shoulders, "Do not get lost, alright?"

You nodded slowly, cautious of whatever might lie there, and examined the store. Merchandise from every fandom you could think of surrounded you, ranging from small and cute keychains to questionable pieces. The brick-printed wall alongside the wooden floor insinuated a modern-day city studio feeling- cluttered with all sorts of arrangements and bags.

Legs moving to the sanrio section, your eyes gleamed from the sight of soft and huggable set of plushies. Immediately, you  snatched a pillow-sized kuromi plushie, embracing the cool touch of the polyester.

From your left, a hand reached for one of the stuffed-toys, and you turned to meet the dreadful pair of deep-ocean blue irises and auburn hair. Of course, the inescapable man forcing you to escape your joyous moment.

"What the heck are you doing here?" You pouted, obviously irritated.

"I didn't know Girlie goes to Hot Topic" Childe grinned, "To answer your question, I'm babysitting little Scaramouche"

Scaramouche. Sixth Harbinger, former member of Signora's mixed-gender idol group, and most commonly- most definitely the meanest. He always bore a frown, constantly complaining or insulting another idol and somehow getting away with it. And now, he stood behind your ginger 'friend', yet another trademark grimace presented on his face.

Your breath hitched, eyes searching and flickering from one corner of the of the shop to another. Where was Yoimiya? Perhaps you should've been afraid, or annoyed of God's un-relentless fate, yet with the tight clutch of your kuromi plush in hand, your cheek pressed on its own, you hesitantly welcomed the two.

Plastering a smile on your face, you began, "I haven't seen you in a while, Balladeer"

"I wish it would've stayed that way" A tinge of irritation appeared in his voice, "And how's life been? Better now that Signora's not in it?"

"Scara" Childe warned.

"What?"

Insensitive and crude. Those are the typical words the public would've described him to be if the truth ever showed light, yet you knew the game. You knew it all too well, his mocking tone and choice of words hinting genuine curiosity. What had you been up to all these years? That was the real question.

"Friends like Signora don't escape us all that easily" You responded, the only words seeming to fit for a response, anyway, "Especially to those who actually cared about her"

Especially to those who actually cared about her, if that last sentence was expected to rouse a negative reaction from the Balladeer, he did not show it. A simple nod, as if matter of fact, he replied- which made you victim of your own attempt to bother him. His smile had sharpened, the mocking burn of his eyes danced quicker, and you couldn't pin the exact reason as to why you had felt more uncomfortable than it should've been. Had Scaramouche not spiraled into more insanity than there was left of it, you wouldn't have noticed.

Childe exchanged a glance with you, grasping the situation, "Please, this is literally hot topic. Can we not discuss about serious stuff like this on a beautiful morning?"

"Yeah, goth Scara" You joked, and apparently this was more humiliating than what you had said earlier, because his face grew hot as he crossed his arms in a huff. Yes, of course I agree that I didn't care about Signora whatsoever, but don't call me goth ever again.