I cackled writing this chapter and the title name please I'm so funny 💃 (jk im not my humor is dry asf)
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EARLIER IN THE MORNING . . .
WED DEC XX 7:09 A.M.
"Did you do something yesterday? One of the constellations in the sky came out ... a bit later than it usually does." Layla purposefully left out which constellation came out late to study Alhaitham's reaction. Though all she got was the silent treatment in return.
This is too troublesome to continue. I'll get tired if I continue this ... Layla sighed, her eyes drooping along with her shoulders as Alhaitham kept his nose in the book in front of him.
There was no point in trying to argue with Alhaitham at seven in the morning. The only reason why she woke up this early was to question him, even though she was bribed by Mona to do so. If Mona had come down to interrogate Alhaitham instead, she would have brought everyone out of their deep slumber. Layla noticed something was off with the male as his usual upright posture was that of a slouchy one. She knew already he wasn't going to give a straightforward answer.
"Kaveh pissed me off. I'm sure you know that's a daily thing already though." Alhaitham responded, turning over a page in the book he was reading. He could feel the intent stare from the dark blue-haired girl which started to make him feel uneasy. Though Kaveh did warn him the two astrology girls would notice that something happened yesterday and Alhaitham failed to heed the warning.
"I'm tired. But just know ... the stars are always watching over our actions. I think something interesting is going to occur today ..." Layla yawned, putting a hand over her mouth and walking back upstairs. There was no use trying to get any more answers out of him. Besides, the longer she stayed in that suffocating atmosphere the more she would begin to wake up.
The only thing that concerned her was that when the two came back from the library last night, (Y/N) didn't respond in their group chat. That alone raised the flags that something happened and with Alhaitham's short response, she was thinking the two were connected.
Huh ... Well ... He'll figure it out. Hopefully.
Alhaitham raised an eyebrow at the tired girl, trying to decide whether or not that was her awake self or sleep-walking self doing all the talking. Layla was the one he least expected to ask about the sudden change of everything, as the girl would avoid these kinds of situations as they would grow too tiring for her.
I'll just have to walk on eggshells around everyone today it seems. He thought, closing the book and getting up from the chair. He walked over to the kitchen, his eyes landing on the coffee machine. If he was going to get bombarded with questions from (Y/N)'s friends, he needed his morning coffee first. His hand pulled the sink handle toward him, the water pouring out of the faucet.
Though it was a short-lived thought as the front door opened. A noisy blond came through, scouting the area until his red eyes landed on the grey-haired male.
How the hell did he get in here? The door was locked, unless someone gave out their key again. It was probably Mona.
(Unfortunately for Alhaitham, Mona wasn't the one who gave away her key. It was actually Tighnari when Kaveh gave Cyno twenty dollars for Alhaitham's headphones.)
"What do you want at seven in the morning?" Alhaitham turned back around, snatching the coffee decanter to fill it up with hot water from the sink.
"Drop that coffee decanter right now."
"What?" His grip tightened around the handle, slowly turning to look at the blond like he was some crazy maniac.
"If you want to start redeeming yourself, then get your ass over to my house."
"I should throw this scalding water on you."
"I'm not afraid to go tell her right now that you have no intentions of apologizing to her face."
"I never said those words." The grey-haired male narrowed his eyes at his friend, sighing as he turned off the water. He dumped the hot water in the sink and placed the decanter back in its home. His hand unconsciously went to his neck to grab his headphones, his eyes widening as he grabbed air.
Where the hell are my headphones? "Give me a minute, then I'll come with you."
Kaveh had to suppress his chuckle when Alhaitham realized his headphones were missing. Maybe you shouldn't have left them unattended in your room yesterday, as well as lashing out at (Y/N) like that. "Nope, we gotta go now."
"I need my headphones." Yesterday was such a mess I didn't even grab my headphones when I got back in the house last night.
"Unless you want me to wake up her two best friends and the poor soul who can hear extremely well, I suggest you come with me."
They both knew where this conversation was going if Alhaitham didn't comply with Kaveh's demand. "Someone in this house would think a murder just took place if you screamed. Just let me get my phone off the table in the living room."
Kaveh shrugged his shoulders while watching his friend put back the decanter in its home. "Not my fault someone decided to be an ass yesterday."
The mention of yesterday caused a string to be pulled near Alhaitham's heart, his hand going up to his left eye and dragging it down his face slowly. "What's so important we have to do at your place? Aren't the other three going to find something suspicious?"
"They're still asleep." Kaveh partially lied through his teeth as he opened the front door, turning over his shoulder to make sure the grey-haired male was right behind him. Alhaitham shoved his phone into his front pocket, raising an eyebrow at Kaveh's staring. "Just don't raise your voice."
Everything would go to waste if Alhaitham didn't follow him. The sixty dollars would go down the drain that he paid Dehya, Cyno, and Candace to stay upstairs until everything was over.
"I think you should take your own advice on that," Alhaitham said with a snarky tone, shoving his hands into his sweatpants while following Kaveh out of the house. "What are we going to talk about?"
"Your apology." Technically, it's not a full lie nor is it the whole truth. Kaveh thought to himself as he nodded, putting a hand to his chin while staring intently at the house they were going.
"Shouldn't we do this in private so prying eyes and eager ears can't hear us?"
"Don't worry, there are towels to cover the gaps under the doors."
"That's not making me feel any better dimwit."
"I can scream right now and get everyone awake."
Alhaitham kept his mouth shut, letting out an annoyed huff at Kaveh's threat he kept dangling around. The last time Kaveh screamed, the police were called to their dorm as a report said it sounded like someone was begging for their life. This was back in their first year at Teyvat University when a petty argument about which side of the room Kaveh was going to get. He just had to go and scream like some child crying about not getting a toy.
In the end, Kaveh got the side of the dorm he wanted as Alhaitham didn't want a repeat of that day ever again. After that, it was very seldom for Kaveh to win any fights. But when Alhaitham started to feel the low-lying threat start to crawl its way in, he let Kaveh win the argument.
Kaveh inhaled a sharp breath as he placed his hand on the doorknob, closing his eyes while saying multiple prayers in his head. Once the door opened, the first part of his plan would go into motion.
I'm stealing sixty dollars from Alhaitham once this is all over. Better yet, that'll be the fee for getting my advice.
As far as the other three in the house knew, Kaveh was going to pull a silly prank on Alhaitham. It was definitely something silly, but not a simple prank. He also told the three not to come down until they heard the front door slam shut and a text message saying the coast is clear from himself.
Alhaitham took in the familiar surroundings again, his fingers twitching with anxiety when he looked into the living room. All that he could see was himself from yesterday telling (Y/N) to get out of his sight, her tears vividly fresh in his mind. It felt like someone put a string around his neck and began to tighten it, tearing his gaze away from the living room to the kitchen.
Kaveh took note of his friend's actions, internally sighing at this. You got one shot Alhaitham, don't fuck this up.
His red eyes swept across the bottom floor as if he was looking for something. He nodded to himself and walked over to the living room.
Kaveh took his seat on the couch as Alhaitham slowly dragged himself into the living room. His eyes met with the blond's who motioned for his friend to sit to his left.
Alhaitham rolled his eyes and trekked over, cautiously sitting beside Kaveh. He didn't know if it was such a good idea to sit beside the blond since the two almost went at one another yesterday.
"So what's this marvelous idea of yours for my apology?"
"I think you should beg for her forgiveness. Get on your knees and dig your head into the ground." Kaveh smirked at Alhaitham who gave him a look of disgust.
"No. I'm not doing that."
"I think it's a fantastic idea. Because then she will see you're burying your pride for her." The blond raised a finger in the air, conducting to the mischievous tune in his head.
"I do not have that big of an ego."
"Don't give me that answer when you were the one who pushed her away for saving your ass."
"And what if she would've gotten hurt for my sake?"
"Are you deaf? (Y/N) literally confessed the love she had for you! And she's hellbent on not apologizing for going after Callie." Kaveh kept his voice down to the best of his ability but knew the further this dragged on, Alhaitham would soon realize his plan. "So help me if you try being dumb right now."
Being dumb would work in Kaveh's favor. After all, if Alhaitham said a certain phrase, the plan would be set into motion. It was just a matter of getting him to that point and Kaveh was successfully rowing down that river. If by any chance Alhaitham figured out Kaveh's plan before it could fully take place, the blond would be in deep shit. And by deep shit, Kaveh would have to beg Alhaitham not to kick him out of the apartment they would be settling into after winter break.
His eyes looked up at the television, seeing the black screen display the reflection of the kitchen. He reached out to the coffee table and hovered over the remote, his thumb gently pressing the power button. That was a close one.
"Why did you turn on the television?"
"In case you get too loud. We can blame it on the people talking."
"You're not very bright, aren't you?"
"Sorry, did you say something?" Kaveh raised his voice intentionally, Alhaitham rolling his eyes in response. At this rate, the two were going to be bickering back and forth for who knows how long. In a way, it would benefit the blond but at the same time, it would also make him grow even more agitated than he was with Alhaitham.
Let's just push his buttons and see what happens. He nodded to himself, extending his arm out and slinging it around the grey-haired male's shoulder. Alhaitham went to turn to give the blond a death glare but instead, he had to lean to his left. Otherwise, Kaveh's head would've slammed into his nose.
The grey-haired male held in his snarky, rude comment knowing he was being held at gunpoint. One wrong move or word would set the prey into motion, calling his saviors to rescue him and antagonize the predator.
There was definitely something weird about Kaveh and his actions. Alhaitham had noticed that when Kaveh barged into the house and dragged him out. Nothing seemed out of place, nor were there any recording devices in eyesight when he came into the second house. Then again, perhaps Kaveh was acting weird just to keep him on edge. There would always be pranks involved when the blond was like this but with how serious everything became within a day, there would be no way he would be acting like this.
One thing was for sure, Alhaitham wanted to avoid pissing off Kaveh. A part of him wouldn't be sure this time around if he could hold back his fist that wanted to mark the blond's face as he did yesterday. It would be extremely bad if a fight were to break out as the hushed housemates upstairs would come running down the moment something would break.
"So, are you still bent up on (Y/N) going after Callie?"
"I was just worried for her safety."
"That's not a direct answer."
"The answer is quite expressable."
"Alhaitham, so help me if you don't give me an answer within your next sentence."
"No, I was never mad at her specifically for doing that."
"Huh?!" Kaveh's words pushed out of his mouth before he realized it, gawking at his friend.
Sadness swirled in Alhaitham's eyes as Kaveh turned slowly to look at him from the side. The grey-haired male had his fist resting above his lips, his thumb resting in between them. "I became angry with myself for not being able to deal with her properly. A part of me thought that if she magically showed up that night, I could face her. But, I couldn't. I'm upset with myself for not finding the courage like (Y/N) did that night."
Kaveh had to blink a few times to make sure he heard his friend correctly. He wasn't expecting such a blunt statement like that this quickly but that was all in his favor. "I can't believe the Alhaitham is admitting a fault."
"I thought we were here to help me come up with an apology?"
"We are, you're just being extremely difficult."
"Kaveh, are you going to continue gawking at me or are you going to start helping me?"
Bingo.
A small smile formed on Kaveh's lips, his true intent hiding behind it. "As your wonderful best friend, of course, I'm here to help. I just need you to do one thing for me." He extended his right arm out, holding up his pointer finger.
"And what's that?"
"Don't scream."
Alhaitham raised his eyebrow as he glanced over at Kaveh, who still had his face right next to his. As he was getting ready to push the intruder away, he froze for a moment as he could've sworn he heard something move.
He couldn't turn around as the blond kept a death grip around his shoulders, his hand dangerously close to Alhaitham's neck. Was that my imagination?
"Kaveh, you're so hilarious." He looked up at the television, seeing the news channel displayed.
"Why thank you." Kaveh kept his face centimeters away from Alhaitham's. As if he was doing it on purpose.
If the three weren't upstairs, Alhaitham would've already pushed Kaveh away. But as the two knew and discussed, it would sound like a murder took place if Alhaitham stepped out of line.
"That's not a compliment you dumbass." The news anchor lady was going over the last segment of the hour, her hand waving around the different areas of Teyvat.
"Dumbass? Am I really the dumbass now?" Kaveh held back a snicker as he made sure to keep an eye on Alhaitham. Everything would go to waste now if he caught on.
"There isn't any other–" Alhaitham stopped mid-sentence as the screen turned black for a split second, his eyes widening. By the time he realized what was going on, it was too late.
A pair of arms slung themselves around Alhaitham's neck, a bag being thrown right over his head. Due to the overwhelming pressure of the arms on his neck, someone grabbed a hold of his hands while another person grabbed his legs. His wrists and ankles were tied together too quickly, restricting his only possible chances of a successful escape. As if someone had perfected this straight out of a movie, a pair of arms put themselves under his armpits and lifted him with the other two people.
Alhaitham tried his best to break away with his hands but the person that lifted him straight up dug their fingers into the soft spot under his armpits. He winced in pain, biting the inside of his mouth. So this is what Layla meant.
"For a second there, I thought he had caught on."
"You should've seen the look on his face when he spotted you in the reflection when it switched over to the commercials."
"I never want to get that close to his face, ever again."
The two men snickered at Kaveh's disgusted face, the three of them going down the stairs sideways to ensure no one would get hurt. Even though the three of them were certain they nearly gave Alhaitham a heart attack, it didn't bother them one bit. He deserved it after all.
"Childe, did you do something to our hostage? He stopped struggling after ten seconds."
"Hm, no?" He smiled at Kaveh, a sweatdrop forming on his forehead. "I just gave him a little nudge. See, I can do this too." He raised Alhaitham's upper body in the air, his hands releasing for a split second before latching back on. A shiver ran up Kaveh's spine at Childe's actions, praying to never end up in Alhaitham's spot. He would take the grey-haired male's scolding any day over having the ginger's hands near his ribs or heart.
This is it. I'm going to die. Those were the thoughts rushing through his head, his heart begging to escape from its cage. They're going to give me a heart attack and rule out my death as an unknown one.
"It's unfortunate we can't go with you two. We were instructed to stay here instead." There was a reason why Kaeya said what he did. Even though he and Childe weren't in the loop completely about the current situation, he knew what he needed to know. Alhaitham stiffened a bit, the dark blue-haired male smirking at this.
His plan? To make Alhaitham regret ever deciding to be a dick to (Y/N). There was one person who was able to always draw people out of their sad mindsets, and he excelled exceptionally well in it.
"Is there something behind me Kaeya?" Childe asked, turning over his shoulder to see if he was going to bump into something. His eyes landed on Diluc's car that just pulled into the long driveway.
"I'm just looking at the raging storm that's going to be breaking out in the next few days."
"Oh, Kaveh! Which house is (Y/N)'s?"
"It's the third house. The one to your left. Do you see the dark red car and the white car in the small driveway? Yeah, that one. I don't think her room is on the front side though." Kaveh nodded while using his head to point at her house. The blond picked up on Kaeya's petty game while Childe didn't seem to really care for it. Many thoughts were running through the ginger's head, looking down at the bag covering Alhaitham's face. You reap what you sow.
Childe hummed to himself as the four of them drew closer to Diluc's car. The redhead had an amused smile on his face at seeing Alhaitham's current condition as he compared the idiot to a tied-up pig.
"Throw him in the backseat." The redhead opened up the passenger side door, pulling the back of the passenger seat to the front and pulling the chair forward. "Just don't hit his head on the roof."
"Why can't we throw him in the trunk?"
"Because if I get pulled over, his smart-ass self would make noise." Diluc grabbed a small bag out from the backseat floorboard, holding it up for Childe to see.
And it's not suspicious to have someone tied up in the back of your car?!
"I got it." Childe had a malicious smile on his face. This smile caused Kaeya and Kaveh to drop Alhaitham's legs, a grunt emitting from the tied-up man. The two men watched in astonishment at how quickly the ginger managed to get Alhaitham in the backseat without getting in himself. If they had blinked, they would've missed the swift movements the ginger graciously displayed.
Diluc put the passenger seat back upright and pushed it back, the sound of the seat clicking back being the second to last thing Alhaitham heard. The last sound he heard was the car door slamming with someone shifting the car side to side.
Light re-entered his eyes as the bag was ripped off his head, his eyes meeting with sneaky red ones. Alhaitham narrowed his eyes at Kaveh, clenching his hands that were still tied up. The blond pulled out of his phone, Alhaitham attempting to lunge forward to snatch it from him. It was a failed attempt as he stopped himself in time from getting his head caught in the small space between him and the driver's seat.
The blond felt content with himself, looking at the photo he snapped of Alhaitham. He turned the phone screen to Alhaitham as he shook it from side to side. "I think I just found my new source to blackmail you with. Should I send it to (Y/N)?"
"Don't you dare."
"I won't on one condition."
"And what's that?"
Kaveh pulled his phone back to him, a mischievous look appearing too quickly on his face. "You have to get on your knees as part of your apology."
Alhaitham wished he didn't ask what that one condition was. No actually, he wished he never even argued with (Y/N) in the first place.
But as an infamous saying goes, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Dread washed over the grey-haired male as he looked out the window to see Diluc talking to Childe and Kaeya. The redhead handed the bag over to the ginger which caused a small smile to spread on his face. As he was getting ready to read their lips, loud music erupted in the silent car. His eyebrow twitched in response to this.
As soon as Alhaitham's gaze was back to Kaveh's, the music stopped. "We have a long day ahead of us. Can't have you getting distracted now."
"That's a bit hard to do when I know the two of them are staying here. They'll be bugging–"
"I don't think you have the right to worry about (Y/N) when you caused her to cry." Red emotionless eyes stared straight into Alhaitham's soul to purposefully shut him up. It irked every nerve in Kaveh's body how Alhaitham kept switching back and forth on this topic.
He was right after all. Why should someone who was the cause of someone's tears have the right to worry about them? It would be a bit different if the tears were flowing with happiness, but they weren't.
Alhaitham remained silent as Diluc walked around the car, opening the driver's door and shutting it after he got in. "You took the bag off of him?"
The blond turned to face Diluc. "Yes, I did. I wanted him to see the consequences of his foolish actions." He's referring to me witnessing Childe and Kaeya's presence today. And to confirm they are staying behind.
"By the way Alhaitham," it was now the redhead's turn to face him. "I can't guarantee anything for you this time around. Simply put, you fucked up."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"You owe me a favor. And you owe (Y/N) a whole-hearted apology."
"I know that– Wait, what favor? As far as I know, we're even."
Diluc turned back around and put his hand on the emergency break. "I'll let Kaveh do the talking. For now, just stay put."
Childe and Kaeya watched as Diluc reversed down the driveway, looking over at (Y/N)'s house. "Do you think she's awake?"
"No. That girl is probably going to be in bed all day long." Kaeya watched Childe set down the bag, his eyebrow raising in question.
Childe raised his hand up and balled it up. He popped his thumb up, pulling out his phone. "Well, I guess we'll just have to make our appearance known. Besides, she owes me a hangout."
Kaeya chuckled at the ginger who snapped a photo of him giving a thumbs-up to the house. "That's quite like you to take advantage of the situation."
"It's not taking advantage," Childe turned to face Kaeya, pressing the send button in the group chat. His eyes were smiling alongside his wide grin. "It's making yourself known."
"Besides, every predator eventually becomes the prey it once hunted." He grabbed the bag off the ground before making his way over to the third house.