This isn't a story about someone who desired to fall in love, neither it's a story about someone who dreaded falling in love. It's just a story, about two people who happened to be at the right place, at the right time. Y/N and Xiao.
Who knows, ma...
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𝓨ou groggily pushed through the day, which seemed like it was never going to end, having no mood to do anything else other than sleep and eat. You thought of going somewhere first, like to the grocery store, but the memory of buying sushi ingredients before the concert was painful, or to the park, but that reminded you of when you saw Kazuha. And we aren't even going to talk about going to the studio, because that was the last place you wanted to be at right now.
The instant noodles seemed tastier than anything else, though you most likely lost your sense of taste from the mood. You didn't brush your hair and you literally almost fell asleep in the bathtub while taking a morning (noon) shower. Time was a long-lost tale for you now, you simply lost track of it.
But it's not like you were depressed. It was a Sunday, you know, nothing big, just you lazying around, not thinking much, because you've exhausted the emotions out of yourself, I guess.
And yet, for whatever random reason, you picked up your phone after finishing a full ice-cream container. Many notifications popped up, as well as the time, but your eyes flickered past them as if they weren't there. Lazily swiping at the screen, you suddenly stopped in your tracks. A notification titled "Xiao :3" sat on your screen. Your eyes widened as you clicked your phone open.
And there it was. You read the message quickly the first time, and then went through it the second time to make sure that you weren't imagining things. With every re-read your mind faded back in to reality. You quickly swiped back the lock-screen to see the time:
07:19 p.m.
"Ten minutes!" you screamed quietly to yourself, dashing away to your bedroom. The phone left forgotten on the counter.
You didn't know why you wanted to get there. Why you wanted to be on time so badly. You knew perfectly well that Hu Tao will be there, that she will be performing together with Kazuha, Heizou, Venti, and..Xiao, but that didn't stop you. Something about this moment, about the message that Xiao sent you, felt like you needed to be there. Yes, you might be delusional, but to you it felt like ⸺ Xiao sent you that message because he needed you. He needed you to be there.
You flung on whatever you could find in the closet, it didn't matter, but it did, since you popped on a pair of earrings and smashed a headband onto your head. (A/N: I'm sorry if you're not into jewelry or into headbands specifically, you can imagine anything else if you like.)
Can eleven minutes ever be enough to get somewhere with no head-start preparation? You would've probably won a world record for the speed at which you got there, for it took you three minutes to get dressed, under fifteen minutes to get to the packed city center, and less than eight minutes to get allowed inside.
You were SO desperate, in fact, that you frustratingly stopped waiting for the taxi and ran all the way to the stadium. You should sigh up for a marathon, perhaps you have a chance at winning.
As you ran into the stadium and pushed your way through the gigantic crowd of people that felt like a people-jam, so crammed it was. The music was already booming through the stadium, but you didn't catch a chorus yet, so you knew you still had a bit of time.
The people you left behind whispered curses at you as you pushed them brutally aside. You did mutter countless apologies, but there was nothing else you could do in this case.
As you finished shoving past people, which took a good deal of time, you finally stopped at a place where you could see the whole stage well. Too well, in fact. The light danced upon Hu Tao, who stood in the center of a platform which was a part of a built formation of something looking like plastic forms of flying water and purple rays. The 4NEMOs stood on small elevated platforms on different levels around the platform. The whole thing, from the music to the costumes to the stage setting, was simply put- spectacular.
✧ And when Hu Tao began singing, your heart pinged painfully against your chest at the way her voice fit in perfectly with Xiao's. As the light danced upon them and the music sprang into an energetic blast with Xiao rapping out every single word without a single flaw, Hu Tao following with her strong but god-like voice soon after, you felt more and more weight upon your heart. Yet, you couldn't tear your eyes away from the stage. Xiao wanted you to be here. He invited you, personally, to hear this concert. He must be proud of it. Performing with his childhood friend. Awesome.
And yet you wanted Xiao to acknowledge your presence. You wanted him to know that you were there for him. But there was nothing you could do, really.
It was not your time. The light wasn't on you right now.
Realizing this, your hope plummeted. You felt your emotions slowly leak away from you, again. But before you could totally let it all go, you quietly, subconsciously, whispered,
"Xiao."
In that very moment, Xiao caught your eye. From where you were standing, somewhere in between of what you would call far and what you would call close, you could see the golden of his shining eyes glisten in your direction.
The both of you froze. Everything fell away. All you could feel was all the things you wanted to, no, all the things that you had to tell him that you didn't, pounding at the walls of your skin with such a strength, that you thought they were just going to rip out of you. And then, as your heart beat became the only sound you could hear, you realized that you only feel admiration and respect for him, or should I say: love. But instead, you broke eye contact, and you ran away.
You didn't apologize to the people you pushed aside, nor did you look back. Your heartbeat was still the only thing you could hear, and you were for once glad that you were deaf to the world.
As you left the stage-room, you thought you could hear someone's call chasing after you in the darkness.
"Y/n!!"
⊹˚₊· ──── ⋆°*‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱‧*°⋆ ──── ‧₊˚⊹
ଘ(˵╹-╹)━☆ Author's Note
OOF! It feels like I wrote this in one breath! We're nearing the end now, people! I'm gonna leave y'all hanging until maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, when I'll write the end to this wonderful first-time masterpiece of mine, lol! Hopefully you're enjoying this, for I certainly am. Feel free to try and guess the ending. It will basically be a wrap-up of all the loose ends and small plot-twists I threw here and there in the book.
Have a good whatever-time-of-day-or-night, everyone! See you soon 😊 !
