Chapter Text
Oh, moving from one town to another is most likely being considered to be a nice way to start anew for some people, but for me it's quite unnecessary and too much of a hassle.
However, now that I think about it, it wasn't so bad. Moving to a new town means, being able to explore more places, the opportunity to try out new foods and the fact that I will be able to meet new faces, new people. But that is the problem, I've never been a social butterfly and never ever will be. Making friends isn't just really my forte at all. So meeting new people? Hell no.
In general, I am not really a fan of chatting and interacting with strangers, most especially to the people who doesn't know how to shut up and when to behave. They seriously get on my nerves.
Recently we moved to a medium-sized town located next to a forest, everyone knows each other, and it is literally the least dangerous place in the world. Well, that's what my father told me.
The main reason why we moved though still confuses me, I don't really know, I guess it's just my father's boyfriend running away from his job as usual.
The change wasn't bad like I said, well maybe except to the socialising part, the town where we are going to move is a tranquil place afterall... I just hope nobody bothers me there, and I'll be happy.
"We are here!" My father's boyfriend, AKA my step father, Childe announces as he parks the car calmly.
I actually hope this place is as quiet as they say it would be, and hope that this will open a door for me to have new interesting experiences. As soon as Childe parks the car infront of the house, we immediately went out of it to go straight to our new home, it was a two-story building, light cream colored a bit on the yellowish side with some parts decorated with reddish wood and brick. It didn't have much to highlight other than the small, well-decorated bushes that surrounded the place, with small white flowers and abundant petals on them, neatly cut leaves, and not a trace of bugs or debris can be sighted. On the right side was a small building, most probably would be the garage, upon seeing it.
I saw Childe parking the car there and soon enough he joined us to check the exterior of the house.
After a little look outside, we decided to go inside already and I must say that everything inside was neatly organized, not a bit of dust or dirt, there was little furniture here and there, perfectly organised. The flooring had been recently been laminated with plain brown and reddish wood designs, it gave a little modern touch to the place, it really fits well.
The moving truck arrived a few minutes after we started exploring the house. Once it has arrived, we proceeded to unload the truck of our things, organizing and decorating the interior of the home. During this we had the opportunity to choose rooms, the house has 4 rooms, one at the end of the corridor going up to the stairs, that would be my father and his boyfriend's room. Another room at the beginning of the same corridor, facing the stairs, That would be my sister Ganyu's room, and on the left side, at the beginning of the corridor would be my room.
The last one right in the middle of this corridor will be reserved for guests, since no one else could actually sleep there, there are only four of us.
Hell, setting up a whole house is really a tedious job, the spaces can sometimes be a real obstacle, I was about to go to sleep in the living room when my wardrobe wasn't placed properly next to the bed.
We were all busy the whole afternoon arranging the furnitures and everything. So right after I finish my part on fixing the house, I decided to go take a nap in my new room. In the end I wasn't able get a decent rest though, but it is better than nothing.
When I woke up the sun's already rising up. So despite my lack of rest, I decided that this morning I would dedicate it to explore the place, maybe find some quiet and nice spot in town to escape whenever I'm angry or need some time alone.
I hastily made my morning routine, had a quick breakfast and dressed to go out wearing a black sweater with a turtle neck, a pair of sweatpants of the same color it is adorned with green lines on both sides though, over that I put on a light gray coat to be make it a bit more warmer. Because actually, winter was just around the corner, and it was not uncommon for me to feel very cold during this season.
Although it was still quite early and very cold, it was interesting how many people are already outside to exercise, chat, or take their pets for a walk. It was also strange that no one had approached to say hello during the morning, or yesterday, considering that everyone knew each other? Actually, it is very rare, no one welcoming the new neighbors.
I should stop thinking about it, actually whether we got a welcome or not, it is not really important. I wandered around to familiarise myself with the place a bit and to avoid myself getting lost during my exploration, we don't want that don't we?
Though I am quite sure if I get lost in the town eventually someone will find me and take me back home anyways. After a few minutes of the walk. I decided that I agree on my father's opinion on this place now, It was indeed really calm, and that seemed perfect to me. I decided to explore a little further and looked for shops or food places. I spotted a small cafeteria on the right side of the street, and on the left was a boy was running hurriedly towards me, and yeah, you guess it right, crashed into me making him fall to the side of the pavement. This guy seriously needs a pair of glasses.
"Watch where you're going!" I reprimanded a little angry, the boy who was sitting on the ground infront of me .
"Sorry! I was late for work." he apologized as he lowers his head apparently a little confused, maybe because he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. And late for work? What excuse
was that?
"Even if you're late, you should look straight to where you are going precisely to avoid accidents."
He was silent still, with his eyes
downcast, although a few seconds later he directed his hand to the left pocket of his jacket, from there he took out a pair of glasses which he later put on... Wow, he actually wears glasses.
"I guess I should use them more often hehe," he said raising his head again now with an animated, and I must admit, cute smile on his round and pale face.
I ignored it, I just turned around and headed for that cafeteria I spotted prior to the accident with this boy, because heck, I'm starving, I should have eaten more earlier.
The boy that bumped into me though has a pair of incredible turquoise eyes that beautifully adorned his face, contrasting with the blush that slowly rose to his cheeks. And this blush ... It certainly gave a tender touch to the boy's soft face.
He just stood on the sidewalk, watching me intently as I directed my steps towards the cafeteria.
I went in the cafe and took a seat at a table at the back of the place, where only a few people sits, eating the appetizers carefully prepared by the employees.
I took out my phone and decided to check my social networks, scrolling selflessly through the timeline that the app showed me. Just a few seconds later the very same boy who has turquoise eyes from before entered. Oh, does he work from here? He hurried over to the staff room and, not a minute passed when.
"You're late on your first day?!" the cry of a very angry girl was heard, clearly directed at the boy who just entered the premises. And actually, yeah, he was late on his first day. Wow, how dedicated he is to his work. I noted sarcastically from the back of my mind. Other than that, nothing else was heard at the scene until the boy walked out of the door with his uniform, which is composed of a short red apron at his waist with a front pocket, a black long-sleeved shirt and over his head, a beret that matched the apron. With a notebook in hand and a smile on his face. He started serving the customers of the place. He seemed to be quite fast and efficient in his work, taking customer orders and sending them to the kitchen to be prepared immediately.
The cook also seemed to be efficient, the orders despite being ready in a short time had a level of presentation worthy of admiration, I can't say much about the taste of the food, after all they have not taken my order yet.
The turquoise-eyed boy after a while finally came to attend the area of tables where I was sitting, but he passed by my table going directly to the one in the back occupied by two boys with a short sky blue hair and royal blue hair respectively.
He stayed to have a little chat with those guys for a while, then he took their orders and took them to the kitchen, and a few minutes later, he returned to the area where I was sitting.
He approached the table quickly and stood right next to me, looking calmly back at me with an equally cute smile as the one he gave me earlier outside the cafeteria.
"Here you are! Sorry to be late, I, uh..." He sheepishly started.
"it doesn't matter." I replied, shrugging my shoulder off.
"Hehe, I don't recognize you, did you just moved into the town recently?" He asked which I gave a slight nod in response to the question, and his smile only brightened up more, now accompanied by a small glint on his beautiful eyes.
"I see, how long have you been here?" the words that come out of his lips sound curious and innocent, and it is obvious to his expression that the boy is really interested in knowing more about me.
"I moved in yesterday. "
"Oh! That's great, and what do you think of the town?" He leaned over the table slightly invading my precious personal space, and it must have been noticeable in my expression that I was weirded out because just a few seconds later, he quickly got up now with an intense blush rising to his cheeks.
"Ehm, sorry, I got carried away ... Anyway, my name is Venti! And yours?"
"Xiao. "
"Xiao, ehe, it's a nice name!"
His smile only got bigger and his eyes closed into small crescents, slightly pushed by his flushed cheeks.
"Will you take my order?" I suddenly threw a question out of nowhere, changing the topic. And I am here to eat first and foremost.
"O-oh, yeah, what's your order?" He took out his notebook again ready to write. I glanced slightly at the menu, I suddenly wondered, do they sell Almond Tofu? I'm in the mood for one right now.
"Here ... Do you have Almond Tofu ...?" I asked, taking my gaze from the menu to Venti by the table.
"Doesn't it seem like a dish out of place of a cafeteria?" the boy asks, tapping his chin gently with the pencil he previously used to take notes in the notebook. The disappointment in my face after hearing what he said was probably so obvious, because only a short moment passed until Venti took back what he said earlier and added, "Hey don't be sad, of course we have almond tofu, one is on the way!" He wrote down the order in his notebook and quickly left the table to deliver the order, now it's just me along with my thoughts, again.
The short time I was waiting for my order was pretty okay and maybe a little comforting, just a little.
A few minutes later the waiter, Venti, returned with a plate with a beautifully decorated serving of Almond Tofu and gently placed it on the table.
"Do you want something else?" he asked again putting that big and animated smile on his face on the process.
"No, thank you, " I replied calmly, taking a piece of the Tofu to savor it, and just as I thought earlier, the chef has really a talent for making dishes quickly and effectively, it is definitely worth admiring because the dishes not only look good, but the taste is also amazing.
For some reason the boy stood by the table, just moving back and forth slowly, watching me eat my food, god. This is really weird.
"How is the Tofu?" he inquired, tilting his head a little to the right on his shoulder.
"It's really delicious."
"Hmhm well, I was thinking that maybe since you're new in the town I could give you a little tour."
I considered saying no to the offer for a few seconds, but in the end after a long thinking I really want to know the town a little better, to know more places to go to when I'm bored, and where to go to relax when I'm upset. This has left me torned on what decision I am going to do.
"What do you say?" he asked after a few seconds, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Don't you have work to do?"
"Good escape" he said calmly, he wrote down something in his notebook and then tore the page to leave it on the table. The price of the delicious Almond Tofu I ordered was written on the sheet, along with a name and a phone number. Oh, it's his phone number.
"Do you usually give your number to any stranger you see?" I asked instantly, it's so werird to give your number to just anyone, and much to someone you met less than an hour ago
"Hey, as an excuse I've never met anyone new in 4 years in this town ... I don't see anything wrong with wanting to meet the new neighbors." The last part was said in an obviously lower voice, as if he didn't want anyone to hear him.
"That's a stupid idea." I commented with my eyebrow raised.
"Not at all!" He said with a small laugh
"Send me a message, I really would like to be the one to take you to know the town!" That was what he said before he left the table with him winking his eye provocatively, I'm sure he wants to see me hit his cute face...Wait, cute?
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"Can you tell me where you have been young man?" My step father asked.
Great, I barely made it to my front door and I already have this idiot in front of me, interrogating me. I decided to just walk past him, and head straight for my room. Oh yeah, I'm tired enough that I
don't want to deal with that guy for anymore. Everything is noticeably more annoying when he is around me. His prescense alone is bothering me enough added with his stupid comments and opinions, and not only that, since he came to live with us he has been stealing all of my father's attention, it is just so annoying to have him around.
After mentally complaining about Childe's presence, I threw myself on my bed fully prepared to waste time on my phone. And speaking of phones. I took out the paper with the number I got in the afternoon, and I glanced at it several times, wondering if should I send the boy a message?
The part of the tour sounds good, but... I'm not entirely convinced by the guide, I don't know. If I will be able to endure that's boy's personality and hyperactiveness as for the entire duration of the tour. But, I'll save that for later. I put the paper in a drawer on my desk, and put my phone on it as well. Ah, all of a sudden I just have that question in my head. Should I text him? I don't know, if I don't say anything to him it will seem rude, he offered me to be my guide around town, and I can't just pretend he didn't offer, but, I guess I'll think about this another day.
"Xiaaoo!!" Just a second after saying my name, Ganyu threw herself fully on me, imprisoning me in a hug from which, honestly, I had no intention of escaping "Where have you been all day?"
"I went to explore the town a bit."
"Oh yeah? Have you not seen any pretty girl?" she joked with a mischievous smile.
"Funny girl."
"The possibility fits!" She broke away from the hug and then leaned back next to me, looking directly at a purple diamond-shaped sticker that I sticked on the ceiling above the bed just in the
morning, oh yeah, I'll lay my eyes there when I'm bored as hell, or like right now, that I have doubts about what I should or shouldn't do.
"Mhn. And you even left the house today?"
"uhm, no, now it's not that simple, if it's not you, I don't have anyone to hang out with, and you were missing all day!"
"And why don't you just go out look for friends, or whatever?"
"I don't know, I didn't see anyone interesting outside. Oh but, in the afternoon a blond boy came to say hello, brought us a welcome cake and invited us to lunch tomorrow!"
"it's not like I'm going to attend"
"Dad will drag you along." She gave out a little laugh and turned her gaze to me.
"It's funny just imagining it. But, Xiao, as your little sister I care about you. You should look for some friends too, you always look so lonely, and according to you, you always run away because Childe annoys you all the time, I thought that while you're not here, you could spend time with someone besides me!"
I turned to her and saw her giving me a puppy look, that always gets me everytime. Ganyu always worry about my social life more than I worry about it. But maybe she's right, I should look for at least a friend? I could try, just for her sake... But, who? Venti?
Oh Venti, the only decent interaction I've ever had with someone outside of my family, even though he seems like someone quite energetic, I don't know, he's way out of my comfort zone. Although, at the moment, he's kind of my first and only choice ... I guess I could try to give him a go.
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Tomorrow came and just as Ganyu have predicted, my father really dragged me to that lunch plan with the new neighbors.
"Leave me alone. " I said trying to get my wrist out of my father's grip.
"Come on, give this lunch a try, maybe you will like the neighbors.
"
"Nothing to do Xiao, we are here!" We stopped in front of a considerably small house, but it is big enough for 2, or maybe 3 people. The walls painted with a light color, pale yellow with hints of brown in some areas. In front, a small area serves as a garage, and the door to the side, the
main entrance to the house. Childe walked to the door, we followed a few steps back. He knocked once, twice, it took only a few seconds for them to open. A young boy appeared through the door, a little short in stature, fair and well-groomed skin, along with a thick blonde hair in a long braid at the back. The boy quickly invited us in, upon entering, a homely aura is felt throughout the place. A dimly
lit corridor welcomes us. We went through the hallway until we reached what appeared to be the living room, fully illuminated by natural morning light.
On the left side of the room, hanging on the wall is a large television on a long, elegant piece of furniture. In front of the television, a couple of sofa. One of them has another boy, also blonde, but of a paler and greyish color, has sat. Behind this sofa, a wooden table takes its place with 3 chairs arranged neatly around it forming the dining room.
"I'm glad you came! Please take a seat." the boy pointed to the big chair, with a soft smile on his face, and turned around towards the kitchen "this ... I guess this will be more of a breakfast than a lunch haha.."
"No problem, we are happy that you invited us, Aether" Zhongli, my father answered, as polite and calm as he has always been. My parents stayed chatting for a while in the kitchen with him, and another girl which I heard was the blonde braided boy's twin, appeared
They spent a long time in the kitchen, preparing a breakfast, It was supposed to be a lunch, right? That consisted of a couple of homemade cinnamon rolls for each one. The pale blond haired boy, whose name turned out to be Albedo, offered us coffee, hot chocolate, and milk to accompany the cinnamon rolls. I chose to have a cup of coffee, as did my father and Childe, while Ganyu prefers a cup of warm milk.
The whole brunch, yeah breakfast and lunch, was filled with talks and laughter, in fact I can't relate with them that much and neither did Ganyu, so we felt a little left out. At some point, Aether, I discovered that's the name of the boy with the long blonde braid, invited us to explore the house, Ganyu preferred to stay in the living room with the others, but I accepted it, just to stretch my legs a little.
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"Then, we found out that there was no ghost, it was just Albedo sleepwalking, in some strange way." Aether finished telling the story of how they once believed that the house was haunted by strange sounds at night and things that changed places.
"Uh..." is all I'm saying, actually, the story was interesting, but just weird. I can't sa anything about it that much.
"Hahaha, whatever, Xiao, I wanted to ask you, would you like to go to a coffee shop near here? Tomorrow morning! There is someone you should meet, sure you guys would get along great!" Aether sounded quite excited by the idea, but actually I wasn't that excited, but I still agreed, just because exploring the town a little more would do me good. I suddenly remember the boy from the cafeteria, Venti, I had not sent him any messages or calls yet, should I do it and accept his offer? What will happen if I decline? These were the questions that had been running through my head from the moment he gave me his number, but they had disappeared this morning since I was a little bit distracted. Now they are back to bother me again, I don't know what should I do?