SUN DEC XX 12:47 P.M.
"I am not wearing that maid outfit."
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I am not!"
"Candace, Kaveh is being mean to me!"
"Oh hush it, Collei!"
"Sounds like someone needs their ass beat."
"Please don't."
"Then get your ass moving. Take the outfit and change. We're all waiting patiently." Without warning, Candace shoved the clothes into Kaveh's hands. Collei stifled a laugh behind her hand as she pointed at the blond. Muffled giggles could be heard behind the green-haired girl.
You watched the staring contest unfold between the two friends, your eyes occasionally drifting to Amber mimicking Kaveh's actions with her hand. The four were grouped up near Kaveh's room, leaving him no route to escape.
Directing your attention back to Mona and Alhaitham, the two were engrossed in a chess game. Mona was leaning over the island, her legs supporting her on the bar stool. You sat to her left while Alhaitham stood across the island from the two of you. Someone was losing the game, and it wasn't the one standing up.
The living room was directly in front of the kitchen, with no wall to signify the start or end of either of the rooms. A black l-shaped couch with a glass coffee table in front of it filled the spacious room, a common-sized television hanging from the far right corner. Underneath the television was an oversized beanbag, a sleeping dark blue-haired girl claiming it as hers. White vertical blinds guarded a set of doors, blocking out the sunlight that dared to peek through. On the other side of the doors was Kaveh's favorite part of the apartment, the patio.
To the left of the patio doors was a Christmas tree about six feet tall with hardly any decorations. Maybe it was because it was guys in the apartment. Or perhaps it was because someone didn't have the energy to decorate. But the look of the plain green tree with the mini lights didn't blend in with the room. Hell, at least your tree back at your apartment had more life to it than this one. Then again, maybe it was because you and Mona were racing to see who could decorate one side of the tree faster.
A closed door almost blended in with the white walls of the apartment. Behind that door is probably Alhaitham's room. The only other room that's visible is the laundry room, and the bathroom is right across from Kave'hs room.
The blond slowly backed into his room, keeping his gaze locked on Candace until he shut the door. Not even a few seconds after closing his door, a high-pitched scream boomed inside his room. Everyone's heads turned toward the sound of the scream while Dehya was trying her hardest not to fall over in laughter.
The walls shook as Kaveh flung the door open, storming out while dragging somebody behind him. Your eyes widened as Kaveh fell to the floor with someone dressed as a ninja standing on his back.
"He tried disposing of the outfit. In trade, I almost disposed of him." A monotonic voice filled the living room. The only identifiable thing of the ninja was his red-orange eyes. Of course, Cyno would stick true to his words. He saw this as a cosplaying event, didn't he?
"It would have been better if you did. One less headache to deal with."
"Aren't you the one that let him move in here?" Mona held her hand on the chess piece to see how Alhaitham would react to her question.
His eyes flickered to the piece she held, watching as she moved the bishop diagonally. "Doesn't mean I did it from the bottom of my heart."
"When did you even get in the room?!" Kaveh yelled, hitting the floor with his fist multiple times as Cyno kept walking back and forth on his back. Alhaitham narrowed his eyes when he looked over as if he was a dad giving his kids a warning.
"A ninja never reveals his secrets. You should be grateful I didn't have my kunai pointed to your neck." Cyno jumped off Kaveh's back while spinning the prop kunai around his finger. Or at least, you hoped it was a fake.
Another figure slinked out of Kaveh's room, their face hidden behind their hand. But it was easy to identify who the unknown person was just by looking at the top of the pullover mask. Poor Tighnari. I guess Cyno wasn't kidding about his text later last night.
"Alhaitham, you're not going to participate?" You turned to look at him.
He slowly turned back to look at you, his death glare remaining. "No."
"Why not?"
"Because he's a party pooper (Y/N)." Dehya's voice entered the kitchen, nearly knocking over Alhaitham as she slid across the floor. If the chess pieces were made of lighter material, the pawn in his hand would've snapped at how hard he gripped it.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to slide across this kitchen floor?"
"Oh, what are you? My dad or something?"
"A party pooper according to you. It's such a silly word."
"We could call you a buzzkill."
"That's white noise. Kaveh says it all the time."
The walls shook once more, snatching your attention. Cyno stood outside Kaveh's door, tapping on the wooden frame with his kunai. Candace had one of the kunai, spinning it around on her finger. The other three had settled in the living room, occupying the couch. Yet the sound didn't faze the sleeping Layla one bit.
But there was one thing that did bother you.
Mona nudged your side, making you turn back around to the small group you put yourself in. Your eyes drifted to look at Alhaitham, quickly glancing down at the chessboard when you made eye contact with him.
Is it because we're dating now that I can't look at him when he's looking at me? But all the other times before when we were together, it wasn't like this.
The roaming thoughts in your head stole your focus as you tried to understand why you were feeling like this. Your actions didn't go unnoticed by the grey-haired male, his eyebrow twitching slightly at how you refused to look at him. Only Dehya had picked up on this, a sly smirk creeping on her face.
Mona nearly fell off her chair as the brown-haired girl gripped her wrist, pulling the losing girl out of her chair and to the living room. "Don't mind us. We're just gonna go disturb Layla now!"
You watched as your safe heavens left you alone with your boyfriend. The atmosphere became more tense for you, keeping your eyes looking everywhere except at him. Tingles of anxiety nipped at your fingertips, watching as the grey-haired male occupied the empty seat beside you. He moved the chair closer to you, beads of nervous sweat forming at the top of your forehead. A relieved sigh filled the tense air, making you steal a look from Alhaitham.
"She was digging her own grave anyways. In two more moves, the game was going to be over." Alhaitham's words slid through the blaring noise coming from the living room. He propped his elbow up on the island and rested the side of his face on his knuckles.
You nodded subtly, inhaling a deep breath. Come on, this isn't a time to be nervous. What are we, in kindergarten?
"This is a spacious apartment. Almost better than mine." An arrow slammed into your head, your eyes wavering at what you just said.
"It was either this one or a two-floor apartment. With Kaveh's funny shenanigans, I chose this one. Even though he complained about my choice for a week." His fingers danced along the marble. If Alhaitham didn't move his seat closer to you, it would have been hard to make out his words.
"Maybe it's because we're known and around people?" The words left your lips without warning. This caused Alhaitham to tilt his head, confused at what you were going on about.
"What?" There was a tiny chuckle merged into the one-worded question. A warm feeling dusted the top of your cheeks at how your thought ran out of your mouth.
"Please just ignore me."
"I can't do that. It would seem quite rude of me to do that."
"It's not hard to. Just pretend I'm not here or something."
"As I said, I can't do that. Your best friend might kill me if I do."
"She can kill me."
"Do you want to go to the balcony?"
His question made you blink profusely, a blank look falling on your face as you turned to him. "If you keep your mouth open, flies will think it's somewhere to venture." His finger pushed your chin up, your mouth closing while leaning back from him. This small interaction caused your face to burn, the touch of his finger drawing back memories from the bonfire.
It was only there for a second, but the corners of his lips moved upward at your actions. Had you stayed focused on his lower face, you wouldn't have seen his finger going to your chin. But you did, snatching his wrist in your hand. "Stop that."
"You get flustered easily."
"I do not."
"Shouldn't you be feeling bad for me?"
"Why should I?"
"Because of the girl I'm dating."
"I- shut up!" You crinkled your nose at his callback at the very beginning of your texts.
His eyes glanced at your nose before looking back up at you. "It's cute whenever you do that."
"Alhaitham!" You let go of his wrist, placing your thumb and pointer finger under both sides of your cheeks bones. The palm of your hand covered your mouth which suppressed an embarrassed smile underneath.
He was going to keep going with the teasing but stopped when he heard somebody clapping. This caused the two of you to look in the direction where it came from, pulling your lips inward to prevent a laugh from escaping.
"Oh, Dehya! The wax strips are going to be needed!"
"No! Keep those items from hell away from me!"
"Quick, he's going to run off to his master!"
"Cyno shut the hell up! Stop, get that kunai away from me!"
Tighnari muted the television when Amber and Collei got up from the couch, watching the two girls join in on the chaos in the corner of the apartment. He let out an exasperated sigh, feeling a bit of pity for the blond.
Alhaitham scoffed when he saw his roommate dragged into the living room. The pressure of the muffled laughs almost made you remove your hand, seeing how short the skirt was on Kaveh. But the funny thing was, he wore it almost too perfectly. Almost as if he had to do something similar in the past.
This made you turn to look at Alhaitham, dread spreading across his face. "No, I am not dressing in a maid outfit."
"But why not?"
"The same reason about you and eye contact."
"Fine." You crossed your arms, letting out a huff of defeat.
"Kaveh, stay still! Hold this bear, no stop that!"
"Amber, they are placing waxing strips on my legs! Of course, I am not going to be still!" Cyno had a secure grip on Kaveh's right arm, sitting beside him on the couch. Candace sat on the coffee table while Dehya had Kaveh's left ankle in a death grip. The teddy bear Amber was trying to use as a prop sat beside Kaveh, Collei putting a blanket over his thighs.
"Your face makes a tomato look pathetic."
"Shut up!"
Alhaitham stood up and walked into the living, curiosity getting the better of him. You followed in his footsteps, interested to see the girls wax the blond's legs.
"And you! I can't believe you let them come in!"
"This should be a lesson to not bring anyone over without my permission."
"We're splitting the rent!" Kaveh snatched the pillow Cyno offered him, hugging it to his chest.
"And what name does this apartment fall under?" Alhaitham crossed his arms, looking down at the dressed-up blond. Kaveh went to say something snarky but squeezed his eyes and brought the pillow to his face. It was hard to tell what was more amusing, the muffled scream in the pillow or the look of satisfaction Candace had from pulling three wax strips off his legs.
After twenty minutes of continuous torture, Kaveh's nightmare came to an end. He removed the pillow from his face, his eyes bloodshot red from the tears that merged in with the pillow. Amber had recorded parts of the free waxing service, sending some of the videos to everyone in the room.
Dehya had no issue putting lotion over the blond's smooth legs. At this point, he didn't care anymore, as his soul had left his body after Candace had ripped three wax strips off his leg at once. His dreadful look almost made you feel pity for him until the memory of him pushing you into Alhaitham played in your mind.
"At least you didn't scream like some baby," Alhaitham commented, smirking at the blond's dead state.
Kaveh narrowed his eyes at his roommate, raising his hand and giving Alhaitham the middle finger. Alhaitham rolled his eyes at this, grabbing your wrist and heading to the vertical blinds. He pulled them back, the sunshine filling the room. Unlocking the door and pulling it back to him, he led you outside.
The chilly wind danced across your nose, but the warmth from Alhaitham's hand made it bearable. A park could be seen from his balcony, the city street separating the apartment complex and the park.
Alhaitham opened his mouth, but Kaveh's words came out instead of his.
"Don't laugh because I'm in a skirt, you stupid bard! Men used to wear skirts back in the day!" He was pointing at Amber's phone screen, his finger shaking in place. The vein on his forehead was threatening to pop out, which only meant one thing.
The reason for his sudden outburst was the person who he lost the bet to.
"Huh?! Yeah, I'd like to see you in a maid outfit! Oh, stop snickering!" Kaveh's outbursts continued on, cutting into the peaceful atmosphere that floated between you and Alhaitham.
"He's almost wearing that outfit too perfectly." You said, your eyes following Alhaitham's back as he shut the door.
He walked back over, his arms resting on the black railing. "I may or may not have taken his clothes when he was showering one day in the dorms."
"You what?" You cocked your head, the sentence not processing inside your mind.
"Remember when I told you about the girl he brought home? I left out the part that I left him a maid outfit to change into after his shower."
Small bits of laughter filled the chilly air, Alhaitham glancing over at you with a tiny smile. A pleasant feeling spread throughout your chest upon seeing him smile. "You really are mean to him."
"Well, he's got me back quite a few times. I'm still waiting for another trick up his sleeve."
"Hm?" You raised your eyebrow. "Why would he get you back?"
Alhaitham hummed, turning his attention straight ahead. "Because I hid his phone, keys, and wallet all over the house. Christmas is right around the corner, and he was already talking about going out with Childe and Kaeya that night."
You shook your head while sighing. "I'm sure he'll get you back in a better way."
"Don't conspire with him."
"Why not?"
"Because it wouldn't be good for you if you did."
"Oh really now?"
"Just, don't do it (Y/N)."
A smile played on your lips, an idea popping into your head. "I totally won't."
"That smile says otherwise."
"Your threats are so scary." Shrugging your shoulders, Alhaitham sighed.
"Right. Keep saying that."
"What are you going to do? Hunt me down in a dark forest again?"
Alhaitham moved a few pieces of his hair back, looking at you. "Well, everyone is gathering again for New Year's. But, nobody under eighteen is allowed."
"Someone really is a party pooper."
"Please don't refer to me as that."
"Do you not like Luca? It's cause he punched you, right?"
Alhaitham froze, recalling the memory in his mind. "I deserved that. But no, it's not because he punched me."
Must be a guy thing. Even Childe dislikes him too. Maybe an ego thing?
The chatter from inside the apartment merged with the quiet outdoors, the two of you turning back to see Kaveh escaping onto the patio. Alhaitham's face dropped as he stared daggers at the blond.
"Can't you see you're interrupting something?"
"I could care less about that. Where are my keys?!"
"I don't know, you tell me."
"And my phone! I can't find it anywhere!" Kaveh started to flail his arms about, making you giggle at his frustrated state. His eyes landed on you, extending his arm out to grab you. He grabbed the air as Alhaitham pulled you to him, putting an arm around your torso.
"Don't even use her as a hostage. Otherwise, your bed will be moved to the parking lot."
Kaveh grumbled some words under his breath, storming back into the apartment as the patio door slammed behind him. Alhaitham let out an aggravated sigh while still keeping you close to him.
The fresh scent of his clothes and his cologne tickled your nose, bringing a calming wave over your body. Your muscles relaxed a bit as you leaned on him, his grip tightening. "You're not nervous anymore, right?"
"No, not anymore."
"Do you want to go back inside?" His grip started to loosen, but stopped when you responded.
"No, we can stay out here a bit longer. Unless you want to go back inside."
Tightening his grip again and chuckling, he looked down at you. "With that noisy maid? I'm good. Who knows, maybe he'll clean and find his stuff. After all, it's in the closet beside the washer."
-
I would just like to say that whenever I think about the end of this book, part of me dies on the inside.