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“I’m not doing it.”
“Why not?”
“Why should I?”
“Why shouldn’t you?”
Today was a bit different from Chongyun’s usual routine. It was the annual school festival, held to celebrate the many, many years Genshin High had been running for. Students finished up with their first two classes, then headed off to either hang out with friends or man their already set-up stalls.
Chongyun was strolling along the cobblestone path in the middle of the stalls, feeling the infectious excitement in the air. Xingqiu had, of course, tagged along. It had become a recurring joke amongst many that where Chongyun was, Xingqiu would closely follow. They were inseparable, and it was times like this that Chongyun wished this wasn’t the case.
“Just take one bite!” Xingqiu insisted, shoving the Jueyun Guoba in his face. “It won’t kill you.”
“And if it does?” Chongyun challenged. “You better make sure you can handle the funeral bill, because-”
Bumping into someone mid-sentence, he let out a string of apologies. He looked at the individual and realized he had made a grave mistake.
“Chongyun!” Xinyan yelled, grabbing him and ruffling his hair. “I was looking for you.”
“I-Is that so?” he gulped. XInyan was known for having a fiery personality, and such events amplified his explosive energy. He preferred to stay away from that.
XInyan pointed in the other direction. “Xiangling and I were planning on going to the haunted house, and that reminded me of you.”
“There’s a what?” Xingqiu frowned. “No one told me about that! Chongyun, you have to go now!”
“Why are you so enthusiastic…?” Chongyun glared at his usually composed friend.
“This is a perfect opportunity,” XIngqiu snickered. “I don’t have to put in the effort to scare you myself.”
“You little-”
“C’mon,” Xinyan said, dragging Chongyun along with him. “Time’s a-ticking, and my girlfriend’s a-waiting!”
They walked to the front of the haunted house, where Xiangling sat waiting for them. She noticed them approach her and waved happily.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” she giggled at Chongyun’s crestfallen expression.
“Hm, that may be true,” Xingqiu nodded. “But what kind of exorcist walks away from this stuff? Or are you really as authentic as the rest of your family?”
Chongyun squinted at them. “You’re trying to taunt me.”
“Who? Me?”
“You think I’m afraid?”
“I didn’t say that. ”
He groaned. “Fine, I’ll go! But you’re coming too.”
XIngqiu sat down on a bench, a book in their hands. “Pardon?”
“Don’t ‘pardon’ me!” Chongyun said. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I was planning on finishing this chapter while you go in,” they replied. “I’m sure I can hear your screams from outside perfectly fine.”
The audacity. Chongyun was ready to pull them in by the ear when Xiangling intervened.
“If you come with us,” she said. “I’ll make it worth your while, Xingqiu. Have you heard of ‘Legend of the Shattered Halberd’ ?”
They immediately stood up. “Don’t tell me… you have it?!”
“I know someone who does,” she replied. “I could possibly give up my source… if you join.”
“...I see,” Xingqiu mumbled. “I’ve been outplayed.”
“Don’t tell you’re scared,” Chongyun smirked.
“I’m not,” they said a little too quickly. “Whatever, let’s just go.”
“I think they’re both wimps,” Xinyan whispered to XIangling, earning a chuckle from her. The group handed their tickets to Aether, who stood in front of the door. He grinned at them as he let them in.
“Have fun,” he said. “Oh, and we aren’t responsible for your laundry if you end up pissing your pants.”
“Nice try,” Xinyan rolled his eyes. “But the only one who needs to hear that is Chongyun.”
The mentioned boy huffed as he followed everyone inside. The room was very dimly lit, with arrows pointing in the direction they were supposed to go. Xingqiu knelt next to a stain on the ground.
“Ketchup,” they said quietly. “I mean, I knew it was. I thought Chongyun wouldn’t, though.”
He glared at them. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Not stupid, my dear Chongyun,” they said. “Only easily misled.”
Xinyan led the group along the path, holding Xiangling’s hand. Chongyun noticed his bookworm friend staring at them, and decided to tease them as payback for before.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You want to hold my hand?”
Xingqiu blushed, clearly startled. “How- No, I don’t. I’m not a child.”
Chongyun blinked at the reaction. He didn’t expect that, and it kind of piqued his curiosity. He brushed his finger against their hand, causing them to jump in surprise.
“Oops,” he smirked. “My hand slipped.”
“Oh, shut up,” Xingqiu frowned, grabbing his hand. “Just this once, I’ll indulge you.”
“You? Indulge me? That’s f-”
“BOO!”
The pair let out a high pitched scream, nearly jumping out of their skin. They ran to catch up with the other two, not bothering to check who it was that screamed at them. The person wearing the bloody mask shook their head as they watched them run.
“What was that? ” Xinyan laughed heartily. “And you two were acting so full of it outside.”
“They caught us by surprise!” Chongyun insisted.
“Maybe if you two were…” Xiangling spoke, her eyes drifting to their hands. “...aware.”
Chongyun felt his cheeks warm up. This was supposed to be his chance to make fun of Xingqiu, and now they both looked silly.
“Gay gay homosexual gay!” someone chanted from afar. He had half a mind to yell at them to shut the fuck up.
As they walked, lights began to flash in their face. Xinyan yelped as he tripped over a fake bloody arm, grabbing onto Xiangling for support. He laughed again, running faster. Chongyun could feel his infectious energy affecting him too, and his composure slowly fell. He looked at Xingqiu, who had unconsciously clinged onto his arm in fear. He yelled, making them yell along with him. Once it was clear no jumpscare had actually happened, they punched him lightly in the arm.
“Asshole,” Xingqiu grumbled. “I’ll get you back for this, I swear.”
Chongyun pulled away from them. “You’ll have to catch me first.”
He ran away, laughing as Xingqiu shouted at him. “Don’t just leave me here!”
Another person wearing a mask popped out from the shadows, scaring them both. At this point, XInyan and Xiangling were way ahead of them. To be honest, it didn’t really matter. He would never admit it outloud, but Chongyun enjoyed his time with XIngqiu. Especially when it was just the two of them.
“Finally caught up, huh?” Xiangling smiled as they rejoined them, both out of breath.
XInyan rolled his eyes at them. “It’s true what they say, you really are inseparable. Maybe next time, we should let you two go on your o-”
A shriek from ahead stole everyone’s attention. Someone was coming towards them, or more specifically, spider-walking. It was like something out of an actual horror movie, and that terrified them.
“Get to the exit!” Xinyan yelled. They all ran like their life depended on it, only stopping when the sunlight touched their skin once again. Chongyun and Xingqiu collapsed onto the grass, while Xiangling continued to stare at the figure still approaching them.
“Oh my god,” she gasped. “Bennett?!”
The poor boy continued to crawl towards them, sighing all the while. “Hey, guys…”
Xinyan poked at him. “Dude, how are you doing that?”
“Actually,” he said. “This was an accident.”
Three of the haunted house operatives came out as well, removing their masks. Venti, Xiao, and Lumine stood in front of them.
“We have no idea how he ended up like that,” Lumine shrugged.
“But hey,” Venti smiled. “He fit our theme, so…”
“Are you even getting paid?” Xinyan asked, to which Bennett shook his head.
“I apologize for frightening you two,” Xiao said, turning to the pair on the grass. “I wasn’t aware you could emit such high frequencies… I may have to take a break from this.”
Venti kissed him on the cheek. “You go do that. And bring me something to eat! Scaring the shit out of people is hard work.”
Once Xiao was gone, they turned to Chongyun and Xingqiu. They grinned from ear to ear.
“This is a haunted house,” Venti said. “Not a homosexual house. You would do well to remember that.”
The red on their cheeks made Venti cackle as he refitted their mask and headed back inside. Despite their teasing, neither noticed they were still holding hands, nor did they think to let go.
As the sun set, Chongyun sat with Xingqiu along the cobblestone path.
“Another year goes by,” Xingqiu spoke wistfully. “Time is fleeting, my dear Chongyun. Doesn’t it make you feel helpless? We can’t do anything to stop it, we can only allow it to pull us along.”
“That’s true,” Chongyun nodded, reaching for their hand. “But we can still make the most of it. And I know exactly how to do that.”
“Mind filling me in?”
“Well, if I had to spend my time with anyone in the world, I’d be happy to do so with you. No matter how insufferable you can be sometimes.”
Xingqiu smiled, and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “What a charmer.”