"who are we meeting with?"
"oh, it's xiao. a friend from liyue." venti replied as he continued to hop across the street; he was gleaming with pure excitement and joy, and it has been a while since venti dressed normally.
hu tao huffed, fixing her hat with annoyance. "he better be cool cause the sun's frying me alive! i'm so annoyed that we have to walk a lot because of him!"
lumine let out a giggle. she scooped another spoonful of ice cream from tartaglia's cup. "hu, venti's friends are all cool — i mean, look at us!"
hu tao snickered, "well, i mean yes we're all cool except from tartaglia."
"excuse me?"
tartaglia's gasp was followed by y/n's chuckle. she glanced at the scorching sun and the busy downtown street filled with different food and merchandise stalls. today is saturday which means it's their freeday — sunday is not a rest day anymore (well, for her) she has to help in the cafe and as well as advance study her future lessons.
"you're excused."
"that's so lame. you've probably heard it from a twelve year old creator on tiktok who gives 'quirky savage pick up lines slash comebacks ideas that have over twenty thousand or even hundred thousand likes." tartaglia fired back, earning a laugh from lumine.
"the way you had to speak a whole ass paragraph for my reply is enough for me to know how threatened and annoyed you are."
"the way you wear a thick ass coat with this weather and still have the audacity to complain that it's hot will never be funny to me."
"the way you act like you're lumine's boyfriend in front of me but we're literally flirting with each other through dm is hilarious."
childe scoffed. "ain't no way lumi's gonna flirt with someone who looks like you. you came out straight from hell and you smell so bad — lumi's not gonna flirt with somebody who can't afford perfume."
"i bet your ugly ass face would reach the floor if you see how we text each other."
as the two continued to bicker, venti wrapped his hand around y/n's shoulders with a smile plastered on his face. "how is my favorite friend doing?"
y/n pursed her lips together. "well." she replied with sarcasm, blocking the rays of the sun with her hand. "it's hot venti."
"hang in there, love. it'll be worth it when you see xiao." he assured.
"what do you mean by that?"
"he looks like..." venti trailed off then looked at her eyes. "someone who came out straight from a movie or book, someone you'd do and risk anything for?"
a smile appeared on her lips. "are you sure he's just a friend of yours?"
"why of course, yes." he answered but the way he pronounced it was kind of slurry or was it just because of the loud vehicles behind them.
they all reached the mall; as usual, it was huge and packed. it was busy and noisy yet the design was enchanting like it was pulling them to come inside.
the cool air inside sent relief through her system, she sighed and looked around.
"what does he look like?" she asked.
"small? handsome." venti murmured, "he doesn't speak that much but his friends do."
"he doesn't speak but has friends?" she repeated. she didn't intend it to sound like anything offensive but she had to repeat it since she couldn't hear him very much.
venti giggled, "you're just like him, fr."
"shut up." her once furrowed brows were straightened normal when a 'small? handsome' looking guy came to them with his two other friends behind him.
he really did look small and handsome except his features were cold and intimidating — like the type of guy you'd know from one glance that he's out of your league and you have to accept it like that. someone whose reply to your question is just a word and it's a dead end.
"ah! hello there, xiao!" venti exclaimed with strong enunciation.
behind him stood a guy in red sweater, he has dirty white blonde hair with red streaks on it. his eyes; dreamy, and his smile was enchanting in some kind of manner. like it was screaming that he's the most innocent, kind, trustworthy — you name it —- person you'd ever meet.
contrary to that person was an average height guy with indigo hair and indigo eyes, he's wearing a dark purple shirt and looked tired and all. he didn't smile at all nor did he even acknowledge the presence of the people standing before him. in fact, y/n caught him rolling his eyes and sighing tiredly which caused the woman to snicker a little bit.
"venti, took you long enough." his voice was calm and strong.
venti giggled drunkenly, "well you see, my friends are busy these days. i'm so glad they decided to come with me!"
y/n's eyes accidentally wandered across the indigo haired man who only raised his brow at her, she pursed her lips in disgust as a reply before standing beside hu tao.
"ah by the way!" venti exclaimed, tugging tartaglia forward. "this is childe! y'know him right? he used to live in liyue, and i heard his family recently started a business there."
"i do know him." the indigo haired man replied.
"scaramouche? you do?" the guy in the red sweater asked.
scaramouche only nodded at the guy, "kazuha, don't you remember him? he went to inazuma with me."
"ah, so wait. so you, tartaglia, know both kazuha and scaramouche? how? give us context." lumine stepped forward.
tartaglia cleared his throat, he seemed nervous that everyone's eyes were looking at him but he's tartaglia, he doesn't have any fear. "i used to live in liyue because my family started a business there. i met scaramouche during the badminton tryouts, we became friends. after that, we traveled to inazuma for the school's fieldtrip — there, i met kazuha which is scaramouche's friend. to enlighten you all confused people, scaramouche is from inazuma."
"i could see the inazuman genes in him.." hu tao whispered but it was loud enough for scaramouche to hear it. he only snickered in annoyance.
"well, this is lumine — y'know her, right? aether is still in inazuma, he's kazuha's best friend."
lumine replied with, "really? i'm glad to meet another aether's friend."
"ah! aether used to tell me about you, lumine. i'm so glad to finally meet you in flesh." he smiled with kindness. "it's such a shame that you're not going to the same school with us."
"divorced parents things." lumine joked, "i love my mother more, i'm sorry! but i swear, aether and i will probably spend the holidays together."
"that's enough you two," tartaglia pulled lumine behind his back. "and here's hu tao, the infamous edgy musician who's also a liyue runaway!"
"runaway?! you're making it sound like i committed a murder in liyue and ran away!" hu tao exclaimed, her brows furrowed. "i'm hu tao, i didn't commit a murder just to be here in monstadt. i came here with my grandparents because well, they're originally from here."
"that's a lie but yes y'all she's hu tao!" tartaglia ended her speech and then looked at y/n who was busy having an eye contest with scaramouche whose glare didn't falter.
"ah yes, my competitive bestie." tartaglia placed his hand onto y/n's shoulder, so energetic that she flinched back and lost the contest. her huffed cheeks were quickly replaced with a smile, a smile of annoyance that the three didn't even notice.
"she's a big shot from our school — OUCH!" he groaned in agony after receiving a light blow on the side of his stomach. "that hurts!"
"stop making everything so dramatic!"
"i love drama..." the ginger whispered before proceeding. "anyway, she's one of the smartest kids in school. she might look mean or competitive or distant but you'll just find yourself wanting to be her best friend one day." he introduced proudly. "the name's y/n, by the way!"
"i think she's your prettiest friend." said kazuha
"to you." tartaglia replied with a light chuckle as he looked at lumine discreetly.
"she looks mean...." scaramouche whispered. "and annoying."
"you look small....and annoying." she fired back.
scaramouche stepped forward and so did y/n, and once again the eye contact has begun. it was clear that they both hate each other and for some reason y/n's friends felt like what's happening between y/n and scaramouche was a deja vu — it felt like another 'albedo' was added to her life except that they didn't feel any spark between the girl and the inazuman guy.
they were both pulled back when venti and xiao — who they didn't even notice leaving — arrived at the scene with ice creams on their hands. "come stop that and help us!" venti exclaimed.
the conversation between two sides continued until they reached the time zone. it was packed and the queue was long; some decided to play while some decided to wait and wander across the mall.
"y/n."
kazuha approached y/n who was sitting at the bench with hu tao on her side; they were watching both tartaglia and lumine playing the claw machine, being frustrated and agitated about not getting the stuffed toy the blonde wished for.
"kazuha? may i help you?"
he chuckled at her formal demeanor. "i got this at the claw machine earlier..." he showed her the small cat keychain in the color of blonde with teal green eyes, it did look adorable! "well, i want to give it to you."
"to me?" she asked but accepted the keychain with a genuine smile plastered across her lips while kazuha's eyes danced with amusement; seeing a distant-looking woman like her smile is considered once in a blue moon and being able to witness it felt like an honor and a rare opportunity — y/n smiling was a moment to remember.
"yes. hope you'd like them."
"of course! i like them." she chuckled, "it's adorable."
"it is." kazuha replied but his eyes weren't looking at the keychain but to y/n.
noticing the 'heart-fluttering' scene happening between the two, hu tao cleared her throat before snatching y/n away from kazuha. it's not that hu tao didn't want kazuha for her friend, sure he looked kind and trustworthy — he's also romantic! but her vote will always go to albedo. she thinks, albedo is the right person for y/n —- they're made for each other.