ALBEDO "the way i loved you"

chapter seven

"thank you for coming here, dear. beidou mentioned the both of you — my, you both look dreamy." she remarked as they took the seats — unfortunately facing each other.

"ah, the food looks amazing." albedo cheekly muttered.

beidou's sister chuckled, "do you know how to eat and peel seafood?"

"yes," albedo nodded "my sister likes to go on adventures, especially in the ocean, we like to catch fish and crabs. i must say, i am kind of good at eating seafood."

y/n was watching both of them talk in silence, her hands on her lap, back straightened as she waited for the owner to finally turn to her and talk but her next remark caught her off-guard.

"that's great! be a good boy and make sure to help your girlfriend peel them, alright?"

she choked on her saliva and started coughing, she could feel her cheeks turning red, and as she struggled to breathe; albedo was holding a glass of water and offered it to her. she had no choice but to accept it, and as their hands slightly touched, she managed to look at him. though he looked flushed judging from the redness of his ears, he remained calm and unfazed.

she put the glass down, "uhm i'm afraid you got it wrong...we're not dating!" y/n defended, followed by an awkward laugh.

"really?" beidou's sister asked, slightly confused. "i think beidou has mentioned about her friends being lovers or did i hear that wrong?"

she choked again but to manage to come back to life. "no... that's not us. we — we're not dating or anything.." she let out another awkward laugh, asking albedo for help in silence. "i, you know — that's probably not us, yes.."

"we're not dating yet." albedo said, breaking the thick-ice forming around them.

she just stared wide-eyed, her mouth parted, and her heartbeat stopped. it felt like her world was crumbling and her 'intelligence' cannot do anything about it. it was like her fate telling her to accept the problem and swallow it — with no complaints at all. she fell into a deep humiliation when beidou's sister laughed and told the staff about what he said, mentioning something about 'young love' or something.

his bright eyes were glistening with joy and amusement, his grin didn't falter — he was picking at her — no, more like he was proud that he was able to say and spat something like that without even stuttering.

"yet is the magic word." beidou's sister shook her head, amused. "remember kids, take it easy. you have all the time in this world. oh my, i'm rooting for the both of you. take care of each other, yes?"

with that, she left both of them in silence. y/n felt like it was deja vu, beidou also did the same earlier — do these two sisters have a habit of storming off leaving nothing but awkwardness to the remaining people? she sighed, picking up her chopsticks, and started eating without saying anything — too taken aback and tired to complain. her mind was wandering in utter-darkness where millions of questions were flying and mixing up together, leaving her in daze.

"what do you mean by that?" she finally had the courage to ask.

"by what?"

oh dear, he was acting oblivious! she could feel her cheeks turning red – no! it doesn't have anything to do with stupid butterflies that any hopeless romantics made up! it was anger, annoyance, and everything red that unfortunately ended with a tight-smile.

"forget it." she mumbled, "just take my notes, alright? i do not have time to play or chat with you. rest assured, everything here is true."

albedo stared at her for a while, "what's your plan after this? will you leave as soon as possible?"

"of course. is there a reason for me to stay longer?" she tilted her head.

he smiled in response, "me."

again, she was taken aback. the way her heart sank after that was annoying, her organs, all of them were acting funny and she hated that! "stop fucking around with me. you're really annoying."

"no, no, i have something to tell you."

"what? just say it."

"i —"

"what? i have a vision of what you're about to tell me and i'm telling you to stop immediately or i'll leave you here." she threatened, stabbing the dessert hardly.

he stared and chuckled, "what? what do you think i'm about to say?"

"is acting oblivious and stupid really your forte?"

"i don't get it. I'm curious about what do you think i'm about to tell."

"sit and think about your action earlier," she spat "i'm certain that you will tell me that you like me and expect me to fuck up big time."

his eyes squinted, there was a twinkle of mischief on them. he pressed his lips together, it looked like he was about to burst laughing then he raised his hand, waving them continuously with an amused smile on his lips. "what? y/n, i — i don't like you.." he laughed, but there was bitterness in it. "why are you thinking about things like that?"

she stiffened, dumb-founded before she turned her hea away. "albedo, i swear to god, you're fucking with me!"

"no, am not!" he defended, still amused. his cheeky grin grew wider when he noticed the faint tint of red visible on her face, it was not just on her cheeks, but all over her. she was red, embarrassed and all. "i was about to tell you that you will be my topic in this week's feature writing assignment."

she finally had the courage to look at him. clearing her throat, she leaned forward, her hand on her cheeks. their eyes met, and it was her cue to fire back. "hey albedo, isn't that the same thing?"

then, it was his turn to be flustered.