A/N: OKAY SO this is like my first attempt at a full fanfic so uhh constructive criticism is appreciated because it helps me improve! this was originally just a short pov i wrote under a yt playlist which i linked above. also, this fic will contain swearing and really out of character Diluc. i really like his character and i don't view him like that in the canon.
huge thanks to my friend alexi for beta reading this chapter :D
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"That should be all the stuff," you said as you placed the last box down onto the creaky wooden floor. You took a look at your new apartment in slight awe. Sure, it was dusty and it would require a lot of work to set up furniture and all the stuff but it was a house of your own. No parents, no roommates. An apartment all to yourself. You really felt like an adult now.
You turned to your boyfriend Diluc who helped you move all your stuff into your new apartment. Standing up on your tippy-toes, you brushed his red locks out of his face and pecked him on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Diluc. I really couldn't have done this without you."
Your boyfriend only nodded as he turned his body towards the door, "no problem, Y/N. I must leave now but I'll text you later, okay?"
You nodded, feeling a little sad that he was leaving already. "Okay. Get home safe."
The apartment felt all the emptier without your boyfriend's presence, but you weren't going to selfishly keep him there when he had other stuff to do. You opened the door to the room that would soon be your bedroom. It looked so gloomy with nothing in there but a singular bed and several boxes of your clothes and other things. You turned on some music on your phone and got to work putting bed sheets onto the mattress and cleaning up the place a little to make it look a little more homely.
You had never lived alone before, so this whole thing was so unusual for you. At first you lived with your parents, but you quickly moved out the second you saved up enough money to do so. You had moved into a little apartment and you split rent with your childhood friends, Lumine and her twin brother Aether. Eventually, you found an apartment available for rent that was closer to campus than the one you lived in before. Lumine and Aether were staying there because that apartment was only a short walk away from their university. So, you packed your things, said your goodbyes and moved out. So here you are, standing in your very own apartment.
You turned off your music as you felt your stomach grumble. You should go and get some groceries.
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You collapsed onto your bed, absolutely spent from that day. It's been about a week since you moved in and he had helped you with setting up all your furniture so you decided to treat him to a date. It was very sweet of him to help you like that honestly. You met your boyfriend at a lecture at university. It was a coincidence, that you just so happened to forget your pens at home and had to ask the cute person sitting next to you for one. But a happy coincidence nonetheless.
You yawned, rolling over to the side and fluttering your eyes closed to try and get some sleep in. Just as you were about to drift off, you heard the sound of music. Loud, metal music. You reckoned it was from the apartment directly below yours. You tossed and turned, praying that the person would get even a shroud of sympathy for their neighbours and turn it off themselves. You weren't exactly a fan of confrontations.
But after what felt like forever, the music was still playing, and still very much loud. You groaned as you climbed out of bed, slipping on your outdoor shoes before walking out of your apartment. You sprinted down the stairs, coming down to the second floor, the one below yours.
You walked over to apartment 203, the source of the music and knocked on the door.
No answer. You huffed, knocking again but louder. This time, someone opened up the door. It was a man, probably in his early twenties who seemed oddly familiar to you. He had tousled ginger hair and piercing ocean blue eyes. You could hear several other voices behind him in the apartment, which meant he was probably playing music because he was hanging out with friends or something.
He was wearing a plain white tee and some black sweatpants. You had to admit, he was pretty good-looking. But that wasn't enough for your annoyance at him to go away, so you immediately cut to the chase.
"Hey, uh, it's like 11pm. Could you keep the music down? Some of us are trying to sleep," you asked, trying to be as polite as possible.
He looked down at you and smirked, "and what will you do if I don't?"
You blinked, the question catching you off guard, "pardon?"
He leaned forward to stare at you, his face a little closer to yours than you'd like. Before you could get away, someone pulled him by the collar of his shirt.
"Childe, stop harassing the neighbours," another male voice called out as a shorter man came into view, one with purple hair. Another woman came to the door, one with long blonde hair and looks that made you simultaneously flustered and jealous.
"Sorry, dear," the beautiful blonde woman told you, "It's just that this brat loves to be a menace to society. We'll keep the music down."
"You wound me, Signora," the ginger retorted to the blonde woman.
"Um, right," you cleared your throat, "thank you, have a good night."
You quickly turned on your heel and walked away, sighing in relief as the music was indeed turned down to an acceptable volume. You hurried over back to your apartment and back into the warmth of your bed.
This time, you managed to drift off into sleep.
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You yawned as you grabbed your backpack, slipping on your shoes before walking out the door to head out to your first class. You hadn't slept well that night for whatever reason. The day was great so far. You woke up, texted Diluc and had enough time to make a filling meal for breakfast. The sky was clear, your first class was a class you enjoyed. And yet, you had a pit in your stomach. You felt as though something bad was going to happen, as if this all was just the calm before the storm.
As you were walking down the stairs, you passed by the ginger neighbour on your way down.
"Oh? You're the girl from yesterday," he mentioned. "Good morning."
"Morning," you replied curtly. Your impression of him wasn't all that great because of last night.
"I didn't catch your name girlie," the ginger walked beside you as you exited the apartment complex.
"Y/N," you said. "You?"
"Call me Childe," he smiled.
"Right, Childe-" you began as you fumbled with the straps of your backpack, "why are you following me?"
"Hm? I'm simply going this way to get to campus," he replied, a small smirk evident on his face. "Do you want me to follow you?"
You blushed out of embarrassment, averting eye contact, "no, weirdo. What college do you even go to?"
"Teyvat College, why?"
You paused, blinking at him with wide eyes. It all seemed to click at that moment. He was the popular guy on college campus, the one who seemed to know literally everyone.
"You look surprised," Childe commented. "What, hard to believe I go to school?"
You shake your head as you regain your composure, "no, no it's just that I go there too."
"Oh, right I've heard of you," he hums. "you're that one Diluc is dating."
"You know him?" you asked. Odd, you knew a lot of Diluc's friends and acquaintances but you've never heard of Childe from him.
Childe's lips twist into a smile, as he chuckles, "oh yes, indeed."
Well that's not ominous at all. You decided not to question him.
"Alright then," you didn't really know how to talk with this guy, he seemed a little strange. "See you around."
"See you."
You quickly walked away, making your way over to your first lecture. You took your seat beside a girl you didn't know the name of and began to take out your notebooks and pens. The professor entered the classroom, silencing the students so that he could begin the class.
"Um, excuse me?" the girl beside you whispered to you as the professor began calling out attendance. "Do you have a piece of paper I could borrow? I forgot my notebook."
"Oh, yeah sure," you tore out a page from your notebook and handed it to her.
"Thank you," the girl smiled.
"What's your name? I haven't seen you before," you ask curiously.
"I'm Donna, I just changed courses recently," she chuckled nervously.
"I'm Y/N, it's nice to meet you," you rested your head on your hand, looking at the girl expectedly. She seemed nice.
"I like your hairstyle, Donna," you complimented, looking at her light brown hair which was tied into ponytails, "your dress is cute too."
Donna lit up at the praise, "you really think so? Thank you so much! You're really stunning, you know."
"Oh, thank you," you liked her. You didn't talk for the rest of the class and by the time class was over, you had parted your separate ways and had forgotten about her.
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You were practically bouncing off the walls with energy, excitement humming through your veins. Why were you so excited? Because you were going on a date with your boyfriend! Weirdly, you hadn't seen him around campus today but you didn't think anything of it.
Your outfit was laid out on the bed and you had just stepped out of the shower. You heard your phone vibrate with a notification and you walked over to check it. You opened your phone, feeling all your excitement and happiness drain out of you when you saw the message from your boyfriend cancelling the date.
You texted him back confirming that it was okay and quickly turned off your phone. You sighed as you put your outfit back into your closet and changed into some comfy home clothes. You understood that something must have come up, but still, you couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Oh well, you thought, not much you could do about it now.
Suddenly, you heard a knock on your door. You walked over, opening the door to see Childe, the neighbour standing right in front of you.
"Childe? What brings you here?" you stared up at him in confusion. Why the hell would he be outside your apartment right now?
"Heyyy, girlie," he greeted. "Err, I was wondering if you could perhaps help me out with the assignment Professor Lisa assigned us today..?"
... Really? He came to you asking for help with homework? As strange as that was, you didn't exactly want to turn him down. You could probably use a bit of a distraction.
"No problem, come inside," you smiled kindly, stepping aside to let him in. "Do you want anything to drink?"
Childe smirked, "got any alcohol?"
"Childe, it's 3pm," you deadpanned.
The ginger just chuckled, "it's 6 o'clock somewhere in the world."
"No," you stated firmly, instead just grabbing two glasses of water for the two of you. "Come to my room, I have a desk there."
Childe hummed in response, following you over to your bedroom. Bringing this guy you barely knew into your personal bedroom was less than ideal, but you didn't have another table set up right now.
"Sorry it's a bit untidy," you said as you set the glasses of water on your desk, clearing up some of the clutter than had piled up. You pulled out the papers required for the assignment and laid them out on the table.
"Alright what is it that you don't understand?" you ask. You spend an hour explaining to him everything he needed to know.
"Simply put, you have to- hey are you even paying attention?" you glared at the taller man.
"How can I when I have such a beautiful teacher, hm?" he smirked.
You gaped at him at the sudden compliment, "I-I- you can't flirt your way out of studying!"
Childe, ever the menace, just laughed at your expression, "sorry, sorry. I think I got it now, thanks."
You sighed in relief, "phew thank goodness, i have work soon so I won't have time to explain the rest."
"No worries, comrade," he assures. "I can do the rest."
You smiled as you began to put away all the sheets back into the folder dedicated to Ms. Lisa's class.
"How about I treat you to dinner later today with some of my friends, as a thank you?" Childe suggested, standing up from the chair to meet your eyes.
"Oh, um sure yeah, I get off work at 8," you told him as you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.
"Excellent, just stop by my apartment when you get back," he grinned.
"Alright," you replied as you walked him back to the door. "See you later."
Then you closed the door on him.
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A/N: please let me know what you think in the comments, i'll get chapter two released as soon as possible! i get motivation at random times so updates may be slow and/or inconsistent.