◢◤◢◤◢◤ NOTICE !
This chapter contains a non-consensual kissing scene. If you are sensitive to this, please skip this part. As always, you are more important than the story — Aris ♡
◢◤◢◤◢◤ YOUR POV !
group message: shino🅱️oo's 🅱️itches
(yoi_miya, u/n, missfrostflake, thomahawk, kazuhaha, and 6 others)
missfrostflake
AAAA TODAY!!!!!!
kokomisangonomiya
Today! It's today!
arataki_yeetto
is two erly fro this
u/n
ur lame!! 😕🥱
shinoboo
please PLEASE turn on
autocorrect, it'd do all of
us some good
scaramoucheee
or, alternatively, learn
how to fucking spell
kuyooo_sara
I can help you.
yoi_miya
ten o'clock and we goin
for the juguluar !!!! 😵💫
sunnyaika
yes ma'am
u/n
🫣🍿
arataki_yeetto
i'llk hsve you ALL knw
jm NTO fallaig reading
missfrostflake
You're not WHAT?
kokomisangonomiya
Again, but in Inazuman
u/n
this guy is OUT HERE
tomotomo
gives me headache 🤕
lets remove him!
shinoboo
he is a leech. trust. he will
always come back
arataki_yeetto
I WILL!!!!!
u/n
look! a coherent sentence!
look at u go itto🥰😍
group message: you all suck end point
(tartagalicious, scaramoucheee, rosa.lohefalter, u/n)
tartagalicious changed the group name
party central
tartagalicious
lets geta a party bus
u/n
:o
rosa.lohefalter
Good luck on that one
tartagalicious
it would be FUN!!!
so much fun with my 2
best friends && their gf
tartagalicious deleted a message
u/n
HUH? 🤔📸📸
rosa.lohefalter
Idiot
scaramoucheee
dumbass.
u/n
yk what??? its my bedtime gn!
rosa.lohefalter
Goodnight, Y/N
tartagalicious
gn bbg 😘
What you meant to do was put your phone away, far away, and get to work on the essay you had been procrastinating for a while now. It wasn't due soon, but you wanted to get it done.
Instead, of course, you fell asleep.
It was nicer when you were dreaming. The world became what you wanted it to be. Whatever you wanted, at your fingertips. An endless supply of your favorite food, and you had it. The power to control all the elements was yours. But it was only in your dreams. Only ever in your dreams.
So you cherished every moment.
But right now, things felt different. Less within your control. You walked through an empty Narukami High School— though it was less like walking, more like trudging through muddy water.
Was that your heart racing? Out of fear or because of anticipation? Only one way to find out.
You explored the winding hallways of your school. But, despite this being your fourth year, every turn revealed something new. To the point you started to doubt you were in Narukami. You looked around more; finding unfamiliar surroundings outside the windows and new names on the doors of classrooms.
Then it started to click. Seirai Academy. You had invented whatever you decided the interior of Seirai Academy looked like. You had only seen pictures of the outside, so this was... interesting.
You wandered some more, until you stumbled upon a gymnasium packed with people. The Winter Formal...? You could only assume.
You stepped inside. Music started blasting. You took a step back and the music stopped. As if the gym was in its own little bubble of sound, even inside your dream. You were quite entertained by the simple action until you noticed two people walk through the door. Huh?
now playing . . .
» a dream i cant remember : quadeca «
0:00 ─〇───── 2:36
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
The music and time slowed as you approached the two figures. You knew they looked familiar, but you couldn't believe your eyes. It was you, walking into the Winter Formal.
It was you. And Scaramouche?
And you woke up. Wishful thinking... you knew it was. You also knew Scaramouche didn't plan on going to the dance in the first place. You never thought he would, but part of you had been wanting him to change his mind. Even if you were going with Rosalyne.
Part of you wanted him to acknowledge whatever happened that night. Even if it felt like a million years ago.
You rolled onto your side, only to now feel your phone buzzing beneath you. Huh?
You answered without reading the caller ID, "Ah! You're alive! Phew..." Ayaka said.
You laughed, "Good morning to you, too."
"Good morning! Afternoon? Anyways, I'm just trying to make sure you're coming to the dance, right?"
"Of course! I'm going with Rosalyne, as friends."
"Rosalyne...?" Short pause. "Oh! I know her. I didn't know you were friends with her. She's rather... hm, I don't know, intimidating?"
"Right, that's what I thought! When I first met her, I mean. She's cool, though." You reassured Ayaka.
"Alright, then. I can't wait to see you there!"
Ayaka hung up before you got a chance to respond. You sat up in your bed and finally checked the time. Damn, it's five already?
group message: hu tao's clients
(tao77, chxngyxn, guhuageek, xiangliiing, and five others)
tao77
@ u/n
@ u/n
@ tartagalicious
guhuageek
@ u/n @ tartagalicious
yunjin
@ u/n
u/n
YES? YES IM HERE?
chxngyxn
@ tartagalicious
GET HIM!!!
xiangliiing
@ tartagalicious
tartagalicious
🥱 WHAT!
tao77
gm :)))
yunjin
Good morning, both of you!
lawfei
You all ruin lives.
u/n
whyh
tao77
i moss u :((
guhuageek
Yep we moss you
u/n
i moss u too :(
tartagalicious
fiends u r fiends
i am. A BUSY man!
tao77 added taobestfriend
taobestfriend
How do I change my name?
u/n
what 💀💀
lawfei
Who?
tao77
tao!
taobestfriend
I am Zhongli. How do I
change my username?
tartagalicious
holymymshitt nvm
u/n
👀 what was that, childe?
yunjin
NO WAY...?
HU TAO ACTUALLY??
xiangliiing
and boom! the plot thcikens
u/n
respectfully,,,, privately,, some1
explain pls
pretty pleae :))))
group message: THE LAY DEEZ !!
(tao77, xiangliiing, yunjin, shen.he, lawfei)
tao77
You have earned your place
among us, Y/N.
u/n
help whts w/ the capitals
& peridos
scared
tao77
idk! anyways! welcome to
the plotters & the schemers
yun, its ur turn to explain
yunjin
Is it? Alright, well. First, we
are here because we are tired
of our friends pining for each
other and not being together.
xiangliiing
TAYAAADDD 🥱🥱🥱
shen.he
i am here because i can't
figure out how to leave
lawfei
Shh 🤫 Let the lady talk
yunjin
Second, Childe has had the
worst crush on Zhongli for
a long time. Since Xingqiu
and Chongyun won't take a
hint, we need more chaos.
We're bored :)
u/n
never ever say we're bored
like that again pls
ok! sounds fun! im in
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zhongli12345
Okay, I've figured it out
catgirlxiao
How
tao77
so.... The numbers?
zhongli12345
Zhongli1, Zhongli12,
Zhongli123, and Zhongli1234
were all taken
zhongli1234
Shame, I wonder how
u/n
HUH?????
chxngyxn
its xingqiu
u/n
oh its xingqiu nvm
zhongli1234
Boring 🥱
Changing my user brb
xiangliiing
stay gone!!
catgirlxiao
Tell me how, please
tao77
dont
u/n
no❌❌
You decided to check the time again. Six. Ah, shit. You had an hour to get ready before Rosalyne would get there. You sent a quick message to the group chat and got your shit together as quick as possible.
◢◤◢◤◢◤ ❝ but if you need me ❞
It has taken most of the hour you had, but you could finally sit back and say you were ready. In an old dress you stole from your mother before she left and had stashed in the back of the closet, you felt... ready to take on the world.
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You entered the Seirai Academy gymanasium with Rosalyne, and could hardly contain the excitement. Though there was something slightly off-putting about it looking exactly like your dream, you were too caught up in the music and the moment to really care. "I'll be right back." Rosalyne said, and you nodded.
She left your side and you immediately went to find Ayaka or Yoimiya or someone. Thankfully, they found you first. Yoimiya almost tackled you in a tight embrace. She exclaimed, "We're all here!"
"You guys look so good." You told both Ayaka and Yoimiya.
"Thank you. Where's Rosalyne?" Ayaka asked.
"Not sure, she said she'd be back soon, though."
"Alright, alright, let's go, everyone else is already on the dance floor!" Yoimiya grabbed your wrist and dragged you along to the rest of the group. Where, conveniently, Itto had somehow started a dance battle... with himself.
"What's he doing?" You looked around. Everyone else had cleared a space for him.
Shinobu shrugged, "Nobody knows."
"We're not going to stop him." Thoma, noticeably taller than Ayaka, rested his elbow on her head. "Good evening, ladies."
Ayaka swatted at his arm, "If you messed up my hair, you are paying for it."
"My sincerest apologies."
After that, you fell into the rhythm of the night. Laughing and joking with your friends, not caring about anything else in the world. Besides, what could go wrong? You were surrounded by people who you loved and cared about.
And then you realized Rosalyne had yet to return. You told Ayaka you were going to find her, and quickly headed off. You weren't all that concerned she was in trouble or anything, you just wanted to make sure Rosalyne was having a good time, too. You had agreed to go with her, after all.
Eventually, you found her leaning against the wall, talking to Childe. You waved to both of them as you approached, but Rosalyne took a step forward and cut you off. "Can I talk to you?"
"Yeah, of course! What's up? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, here— just follow me."
Rosalyne took your hand and guided you through the crowd of people along the outskirts of the gym. You swore you heard your name, but couldn't stop to respond. She led you into an empty hallway. One without another person in sight.
And then she stopped. You stood there, watching as Rosalyne paced back and forth for a moment, your back to the wall. "Hey, are you alright? Talk to me."
You hesitated again, "Rosa...?"
And then she was in front of you, her hand cupping your cheek. And then she was kissing you, your hand closed around her forearm, trying to push her off. You didn't want this, any of this. You only wanted a friend. "No— stop—"
But she didn't hear you. Nobody would.
You stood, petrified. Unresponsive. Until someone shoved Rosalyne off of you. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Scaramouche?
Your eyes darted between the two. Scaramouche, in a nice, jet black tuxedo, his indigo eyes filled with rage. Rosalyne, taking several steps back, filled with horror as if she just realized the gravity of the entire situation. The weight of what she had just done. "I— I didn't mean..."
"Shut the fuck up. She told you to fucking stop. What the hell is your problem?" Scaramouche continued.
Rosalyne said nothing. Scaramouche said nothing. You were close to tears. Not now. Yes, now. You walked past Scaramouche, found your way into the gym again, and out the doors before you could watch anything else happen. The last thing you heard replayed itself in your mind. "Stop crying, don't expect any fucking sympathy from me."
Once you were outside, you weren't quite sure what to do with yourself. Rosalyne had been your ride here. Start walking? You guessed that would be your best option now.
You only started sobbing when all the pieces connected themselves. The occasional joke from Childe, written off as him saying more stupid shit. Rosalyne and Scaramouche... you never would have imagined it. Until you did, until you imagined the worst. Were you just a competition for them? Was it a challenge to see who could get you first?
Well, they had their winner. And their victim.
"Y/N." Scaramouche said from behind you. "Y/N, wait." He fell into step beside you.
"What... what the hell just happened?"
"What? Rosalyne's thing for you? Childe told me a while ago."
"So I was right— it was just a competition for you. Who could get the girl first? Was that it? Well, lucky for me, you can screw off. I don't want anything to do with either of you anymore."
Scaramouche stopped walking. Despite yourself and whatever shred of dignity you fought to keep, you waited for him to talk. "I didn't give a fuck about her. Who she liked, who she wanted; until it came to you. You think this is a game for me to enjoy? You think I like whatever you've done to me? This stupid feeling I get when I'm with you is eating me alive, Y/N, but I don't want it to stop."
"If caring about me is such a pain in the ass, don't do it then. It's clearly not worth it to either of us."
"I just said I don't want to stop." He had taken a step closer now. Two. "Can I take you somewhere else..." Scaramouche hesitated, "Please?"
You could only nod.
◢◤◢◤◢◤ ❝ i'll be right there ❞
You ended up sitting next to him on the roof of his car. Everything was silent up until now, and even then, you were both blanketed by the tranquil sounds of the night to calm your racing thoughts. You knew this place, the gazebo in front of you. You were in a small corner of Yuugen Park. Next to Shakkei Pavilion.
"You were never a prize to be won." It was Scaramouche who broke the silence.
It was another beat of pure quietness before he spoke again, "Truthfully, I don't care what Rosalyne or Tartaglia think right now. If this makes me a bad friend, then it makes me a bad friend." He was facing you now. And you were facing him. It was like an open invitation, but it was the last thing you wanted.
So you did what you actually wanted. You wrapped your arms around him and buried your face in the crook of his neck. Lost yourself in the scent of his cologne, in the soft fabric of his tuxedo. It took Scaramouche a long second, but he returned the embrace. He mumbled something into your ear, "...as long as you need..."
"Do you hate me now?" You asked. You should be looking at him now, but you couldn't bring yourself to let go. If you did, he could leave. This moment would be over and you could never have the chance of this again. As long as you need.
"No, I don't, why would I? Nothing that happened tonight was your fault."
"Then why does it feel like it is?"
Because it was.
"Because you're blaming yourself for everything you didn't do."
"But Rosalyne's—"
"What? My friend?" Scaramouche laughed, a dark sound. "Don't worry about Rosalyne; right now she is the furthest thing from a friend."
And then you finally found the courage to ask the real question, the one that had been eating you since you saw Scaramouche at the dance. "Why were you there?" You said you weren't going.
At that, he held you a little tighter. "I had a question for you. But that can wait right now."
"Ask."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Scaramouche pulled away, he still held you close though, but now you could see each other. Instead of his constant nonchalance, he seemed... different. He spoke carefully, cautiously. Slow.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
◢◤◢◤◢◤ WORD COUNT : 2,562
(A/N) 😈 kthxbye