Chapter Text
Lumine sighed as she looked at the time. She had a night shift today. As a broke university student, she had no choice but to work part-time to make ends meet and hopefully save up some money for emergencies. Lumine had found a nice cafe near campus that was open 24/7, and she worked there a few days a week. Unfortunately, she was often called in for night shifts, because there was a shortage of workers in the night, since most workers were students like her and appreciated sleeping at night. You’d have to be pretty dumb or desperate to cover the night shifts with school in the morning, right?
And that she probably was, dumb and desperate, and Lumine cursed at herself again. But the pay was better and nights were quiet, and she had managed to move most of her classes for the afternoon on some days of the week. But yesterday she had an evening shift after school, and today she had classes all day starting at 8am, and knowing she would need to be up all night she tried her best to sleep until she had to go to work. Her social life was seriously messed up - either she was at school, at work, or sleeping. And somehow she had to cram in extra studying too to keep up. Luckily, she often had time to do some school work discreetly in the slow hours of the night when almost no customers showed up. It’s fine, the pay is good, I just need to work for a few months and then I’ll focus on everything else again , she tried telling herself.
Groaning, she got up from bed and washed the sleep off her face in her bathroom. She tidied herself up a bit to look presentable enough, and grabbed her purse to head to work. It was around 11pm, so she still had time before the nearby grocery store closed at midnight. She figured a sandwich and maybe a chocolate bar would keep her awake enough. Coffee was a must too, but that she could make at work. They wouldn’t suffer from her making a cup for herself, or two, or three maybe.
Finally she made it to the cafe a little before her shift started. She greeted her coworkers who looked more than ready to head home.
“Oh yeah, Xiangling messaged saying she won’t make it tonight..” One of the girls carefully told Lumine.
“Oh my god, again? She could at least message me herself! I’m going to die of boredom again…” Lumine groaned and her coworkers shot her compassionate smiles. Xiangling was another student, one Lumine had become friends with due to them working together often. She had a bad habit of ditching work at the last minute, even though Lumine kept warning her that she’s bound to get fired eventually. Working the night alone wasn’t really all that bad - customers were sparse so it was easy enough to manage alone, but the boredom was worse.
Lumine started putting her apron on and getting ready while waving her coworkers goodbye. As usual, it was already quiet, with only a few students at a corner table finishing up whatever projects they had due the next morning. She got to working on a coffee for herself - high in caffeine, high in sugar. Once ready, she leaned back in a chair and pulled out her phone. Technically all of these were against etiquette, but she figured the few customers wouldn’t mind her not standing alert at the counter every second she was there. She pulled up study materials on her phone and got to reading.
The night passed slowly. At some point the last customers left, and it was empty again. Save for the few people coming in to get takeaway coffee, probably for their own night shifts, no one really came in. It was near 1am when someone finally came in again, and though Lumine usually didn’t enjoy serving customers in particular, at least it gave her something to do. She got up to greet the man who had walked in. “Welcome!”
“Is it really worth it to keep this place open all night?” The man looked around at the deserted place, and Lumine figured he was probably another student judging by the laptop under his arm, and the fact that he looked about the same age.
“Ah, well, this is one of the few places open all night in the area, so I guess it makes it worth it.” Lumine shot a kind smile while speaking in her typical customer service voice. The guy’s comment came off as a bit blunt considering he himself came in at night, but it’s not like he was completely wrong either. Lumine herself too often wondered if it was profitable at all, but she wouldn’t complain as long as she got paid.
“Well whatever, just a black coffee, thanks,” he mumbled to Lumine and started digging for his wallet.
“Of course!” Lumine input the cost to the pay terminal and he quickly paid. A black coffee only needed her to pour it from the pot she had already made earlier, so she handed the coffee to him and the man headed to a table further away to start whatever he was working on. Lumine got back to what she was doing before, sitting on her phone. She’d already wiped down the counters, cleaned the machines that needed it and washed all the dishes from previous customers. She felt it was deserved to mindlessly scroll on social media since she quite literally had nothing to do.
She found some comfort in at least the one other person in the cafe apart from her. She didn’t interact with him apart from when he came back to get a second cup of coffee, but the presence of another human and soft clicks of a keyboard were better than being totally alone. It was already nearing 4am when he ordered a third one.
“Long night?” Lumine asked him with a smile while pouring the cup. Might as well try to converse a little since he might be here until the end of my shift, she thought.
“My next-door dorm neighbor decided throwing a party on a Tuesday night was a great idea, so if I’m not sleeping anyway, might as well spend the time on something useful,” he grumbled in response while once again fishing out his card.
“Oh those are the worst! I’ve been there too,” Lumine giggled a little, thinking about how she had also escaped to the cafe sometimes. “Hopefully that’s not a common habit of theirs.” She smiled compassionately.
“He’s an ass so it’s not the first or likely the last time,” he swiped his card to pay. His tone was dry and Lumine figured she wouldn’t try to chat with him again, since he didn’t seem interested. She was surprised when he actually continued.
“You’re a student too, right? I think I’ve seen you around.” He still didn’t sound interested in actually hearing her answer, but maybe that’s just how he always was.
“Yeah! I’m studying journalism. I don’t remember seeing you before, what are you studying?” Lumine did know a lot of people around campus, but not him. She was a little surprised, since he was kind of pretty now that she observed him more closely, and took note of how his dark blue hair matched his eye color. Not that she usually kept an eye out for guys anyway! She didn’t have any time to spare for that stuff.
“Computer science. Not surprised you haven’t, I’m not very noticeable.”
She panicked a little. Did she offend him? She quickly stuttered out an apology. “I didn’t mean like that-”
He interrupted her with the rise of an eyebrow. “Huh? Oh, no, it’s on purpose. Don’t worry.” He waved a hand dismissively and retreated to his table with the coffee.
Lumine still felt embarrassed. She didn’t think she said anything bad in particular, but it could’ve been taken the wrong way. The man was hard to read, but he really didn’t seem bothered. Calm down, obviously it’s fine. He was probably being honest in his response anyway , she shook her head a little to chase away the thoughts. Overthinking was a bad habit of hers. She felt probably one-sided awkwardness in the air for the rest of the night.
Her shift was almost over when the guy started packing up his stuff. She barely noticed, Lumine was practically half asleep at the counter when he headed out.
“Night, Lumine.” He smirked a little before exiting the cafe. That definitely surprised her enough to wake up a little. Huh? How did he know my name? She was confused, she hadn't even remembered to put her name tag on. My friends aren't exactly quiet, maybe he's heard them saying my name? Lumine had only little time to think about it, when the morning shift workers came in and she hurried to let them take over. Finally she would get to sleep, if even just a few hours before classes.
✧✧✧
Lumine had started keeping an eye out for him around campus out of curiosity, but she really didn’t spot him anywhere. Guess he really was “unnoticeable”. She figured she wouldn’t talk to him again anyways, unless he were to walk into the cafe at night again.
On Thursday, she had a couple of hours with no classes in the middle of the day. She had an essay to write for next week, so she headed to the school’s library to spend the hours effectively. The library was big, as expected of a relatively prestigious university. It had plenty of comfortable spots for doing schoolwork, but she chose to seat herself at a table instead of any of the numerous couches or beanbags. Maybe she wouldn’t fall asleep on an uncomfortable chair, or that was the plan anyways.
She didn’t succeed. I’ll close my eyes for just a second , she planned, and at some point got abruptly woken up by a kick to the leg.
“Ow! What-” she turned to look at the culprit and saw her friend Xinyan, with Hu Tao giggling behind her. Xinyan was studying to be a music major, and Hu Tao proudly studied mortuary science. She was odd and filled with morbid curiosity, but most of the time she was normal enough.
“Don’t you have classes to attend?” Xinyan sneered at Lumine.
“Shit, what time is it?” Lumine got a little panicked, thinking she’d slept for god knows how long.
“Just past 11.”
“Thank god, I don’t. Not until 1pm.” Lumine sighed in relief. It had only been half an hour or so.
“You gotta stop taking those night shifts, Lumi. Or maybe stop taking shifts in general, you look like a zombie every time I see you.” Xinyan teased her, but there was genuine concern in her voice.
“I wish I could… I gotta work for at least another month and then I’m good for the rest of the year.” Lumine yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“You sure? I’m sure your parents would jump at the opportunity to support you if they ever saw the way you’re working yourself to death.” Xinyan was right, but Lumine didn’t want to burden them further. They probably could’ve afforded it, yes, but Lumine was stubborn and she knew they already spent plenty of money on her brother since his tuition was more expensive. She had the opportunity to work on the side, so she’d rather just rely on that.
“I’m not! I don’t even fall asleep at school on most days,” she muttered in response.
Xinyan sighed. “Not convincing, plus that’s a very low standard,” and Lumine knew she was right.
“Fineee, you’re right, but I still have to take shifts.” Lumine retorted, knowing she’d been defeated.
“Eat lunch with us, Lumi!” Hu Tao finally spoke up with a cheery tone.
“Yeah! You’ll just fall asleep again if you stay here,” Xinyan continued.
Lumine nodded happily and started packing her stuff up. Any excuse to avoid studying was good, but now she felt extra justified in not continuing since she really would just doze off if left alone again.
✧✧✧
After a trip to the store, the trio seated themselves at a bench on the school courtyard. Fall was starting to get close, but it was still warm and the sunlight managed to give Lumine a bit more energy, That, and the Red Bull she bought.
In between eating their lunches, the girls chatted casually, mostly complaining about classes. They were all in their second year, and had already picked their majors so they rarely shared any classes, letting them gossip about different teachers and annoying students.
“I’m so excited for the afternoon class! I have embalming theory and practice, and we’ll get to deal with real dead bodies finally ~” Hu Tao started excitedly explaining, ready to go into great detail.
With a loud cough, Xinyan interrupted her and changed the topic. “Lumine, what are you doing after school today? We have band practice today, so you’re welcome to come watch!” Hu Tao pretended to scoff and act offended, but luckily didn’t try to continue her speech about corpses.
“I don’t have work today, so I’ll probably just fall into a coma for the night… Sorry!” Lumine smiled apologetically.
“In that case, I wouldn’t let you come even if you begged. You better get rid of all your sleep debt!”
Lumine laughed and agreed with her friend. She was planning on burrowing herself in blankets the instant she got home and not wake up until morning.
Eventually, the trio parted ways to go to their own classes. Lumine did her best to be attentive during her photojournalism class. Finally the clock hit three and she hurried to get to her dorm. She held true to her plan and fell asleep almost instantly when home.
✧✧✧
It was night when she woke up, almost 2am already. She had been lightly awake a few times, but fell back asleep since she still felt so tired. Now she knew she was finally awake enough that she wouldn’t get more sleep for the night, but that was fine- Her sleep schedule was nonexistent already anyways. Lumine’s stomach growled with hunger and she knew she had to get up to eat something.
Seeing her empty fridge, she cursed herself for not going grocery shopping before coming home. Now the nearby store was already closed and her only choices were the cafe or some pub that happened to serve food too. She decided on quickly going to the cafe to grab some pastries or a sandwich, whatever they happened to have, and she could get more proper food before school once stores started opening up again.
Groggily she made her way out of the building and felt a bit more refreshed when the cold air hit her. She was about to continue, when a familiar male voice interrupted her.
“Going to sit at the counter all night again?”
She turned to look at the direction of the sound, a little startled. Fellow students hanging outside at late hours wasn’t unusual, but usually they didn’t talk to her. Her eyes widened a little when she recognized the person as the man from the cafe a few days ago. He started lighting a cigarette.
“Not today, no,” she stuttered out, her surprise starting to calm down. “I work the night shift pretty rarely. I mean, I’m going to the cafe, yes,” she continued, knowing she was rambling a bit. He was the one who started the conversation, so she figured it was fine. “My fridge is empty and I’m starving so I just need to get something to eat.”
The man took a drag from his now lit cigarette before responding. “You’re up at weird hours,” he remarked with his usual tone, and she had a hard time telling if he was trying to be rude or not. Regardless, she got a little defensive.
“So are you!” She huffed at him, before calming herself down again. “Is there a party in your next-door apartment again?”
“Not today, no. Just can’t sleep.”
Lumine nodded at him, feeling a bit awkward again. She had always been pretty bad at small talk with strangers. Desperately she tried to think of what to say next, when she remembered how he strangely had known her name.
“Right!” She exclaimed, his attention now shifting back to her with a hint of surprise. “I was thinking… How did you know my name? I thought it was my nametag, but I wasn’t wearing it..” She shifted her weight nervously.
He seemed to observe her for a second before answering, dark eyes feeling like they pierced her. “Guess I just heard it somewhere.” His answer seemed pretty final, and he started to head back inside, having finished his cigarette. He lazily waved his arm at her before leaving. “See ya.”
That barely eased her confusion. It was possible that he had indeed just heard it somewhere, but Lumine’s overthinking nature didn’t exactly buy it. She decided to not dwell on it, her rumbling stomach reminding her of the reason she was outside in the first place. So a random guy happened to know her name, so what?
Finally she got something to eat from the cafe, a tuna sandwich and a protein bar. Their cafe didn’t specialize in food, but they still carried some smaller stuff, and pastries in the daytime. She’d gotten lightly reprimanded by her coworker for still being up, but she assured them that she’d gotten plenty of sleep, which she really had. Back at her place, she figured she could try to actually work on her essay, now that she maybe wouldn’t drowse off in the middle of it.
Come morning, she hurried to the grocery store right after it opened at seven. She often felt a little guilty, she was always there at either almost closing time or just minutes after opening - the employees had to hate her at this point. She grabbed everything necessary for restocking her fridge and pantries, along with a few ready-made meals for lazy days. After shopping and putting everything away into her cupboards, she was in a slight hurry to get to class. She waved good morning to a few friends also having morning class, before arriving at her classroom.
She’d again agreed to have lunch together with her friends. She met up with Xiangling and Xinyan in the library, planning to head outside to eat again while the weather was still good. She was absorbed enough in their conversation that she almost missed it, but there was a flash of the familiar blue tone in her eyes. She whipped her head in the direction and sure enough, there the guy was, sitting at a table. Seemingly focused on his work, he didn’t look like he noticed her, or he just didn’t care.
Lumine couldn’t explain why, but she found herself marching towards him. Now he noticed her, confusion on his face as the woman quickly approached him.
“So you really aren’t some mythical creature that only surfaces at night!” She exclaimed, the words coming out before she registered them.
“No shit.” His response was crude, eyes now fixed on Lumine, with some amusement dotting his expression. ”I did tell you I study here too.”
Now she felt embarrassed. Her friends stared at her with confusion, and the man in front of her was waiting for her to say something again. Why don’t I ever think before I speak?! She didn’t want to embarrass herself any further, so she tried to pick herself up and continue.
“Well, yeah, I know that but this is the first time I’ve seen you here!” Lumine crossed her arms, knowing she wasn’t making things any better.
“Maybe if you didn’t sleep through all your breaks, you would’ve seen me.” He now smirked at her with a glint in his eyes.
She huffed in frustration. “It was once- whatever, see you. ” She mocked what he had said to her both times before and turned to go back to her friends. She didn’t know why she was so frustrated at everything he said.
Xiangling immediately started whispering questions to Lumine about the guy. She groaned and waited until they were a little further away.
“I have no clue who he is! I met him when he came to the cafe during my night shift, and then last night outside the dorms.. I don’t even know his name,” she huffed. Her friends shared mischievous looks between each other and Lumine grew more annoyed, knowing what they were thinking.
“Seriously, I don’t know him. The only slightly interesting thing about him is that he knew my name despite me not telling him, and that’s probably nothing too. He said he just heard it somewhere.”
“Maybe he’s a secret admirer of yours!” Xiangling continued teasing while they walked through the building.
“I think that’d just be creepy. And he acts too much like an ass to be an admirer of any sort.” Lumine ignored the rest of her friends’ teasing remarks, anything she said would just fan their flames and so she just kept rolling her eyes dramatically. Finally they dropped it and their conversations shifted to different topics while they started eating.
✧✧✧
Another day, another night shift, and another excruciating day of school following it. Days had dragged on slowly, and Lumine had spent her weekend sleeping and studying. Last night was spent working again, and now she had another day where she had a few hours without classes - time for “studying” in the library. In other words, she was once again kicked awake. Quickly registering that she had fallen asleep again, Lumine was ready to see Xinyan start her speech about rest again. But when she looked up, she had to take a second to make sure she was actually awake.
“Now what was that about you not sleeping during school?” The familiar snarky tone spoke.
“You again…” Lumine groaned and buried her face back in her arms. She shouldn’t be surprised about seeing him again, it started seeming like a common occurrence.
“I’m not over the moon here either, but if you’d look around, the library is packed and I figured you could go sleep somewhere else if you’re not studying.” He now crossed his arms and Lumine looked up at him again.
“Nothing’s stopping you from sitting here, there’s plenty of chairs at the table. Didn’t need to kick me awake..” She mumbled, still annoyed at her sleep getting disturbed, despite knowing she was in the wrong here.
“You would’ve freaked out if you woke up and saw me sitting here. I was being considerate.” The man started setting his stuff down at the desk, and Lumine was surprised he actually took the offer. Every word he spoke sounded like an insult, even if he technically didn’t say anything bad.
“You’re not wrong,” Lumine sighed. It dawned on her that she still didn’t know his name, and she felt a little bad calling him “that guy” in her mind, so she decided to finally ask him. “What’s your name? You never told me.”
“You never asked. You can call me Scara.” He was now already focused on whatever he was working on. Lumine resisted the urge to tell him “ Well I asked now!” and instead just nodded at him. When he barely spared her a glance, she succumbed back to her urge to just sleep, in a surprisingly comfortable silence with the annoying guy called Scara.
She woke up to another kick in the leg, but when she looked around, Scara was already walking away. She checked the time on her phone, and panicked a little - almost time for her next class! She then realized that Scara probably guessed she still had class, and didn’t want her to sleep through it. Either that, or he just really enjoyed kicking her. She wouldn’t put it past him, but she still smiled at the gesture before hurrying to pack up and head to class.
She had more journalism, specifically focusing on media ethics and law. Lumine often found it hard to focus during theory based lessons, she would rather do practical work, like interviewing students around the school for whatever assignments. She still always tried her best, because she knew journalism was the right choice for her - it allowed a lot of versatility as a job and she would be able to travel a lot to write about different things. Lumine’s family wasn’t one to go on big vacations, so she’d always grown jealous of her friends seeing all sorts of places abroad. She’d always felt a pull towards traveling and exploring, and she couldn’t stand the thought of being confined to one place because of her job.
The professor gave them some individual work, requiring them to go through different websites and read about media laws themselves. The professor probably could’ve just explained it himself too, but Lumine didn’t mind, since reading was easier for her than just listening. All the material was super wordy and a bit hard to make sense though, so it didn’t take long for her thoughts to wander.
Something about Scara seemed oddly familiar to her. If she had met him before, it would explain the thing with her name, but he probably would’ve told her if that was the case. Besides, if she knew someone who was such a jerk, she would definitely remember him! Still, something about him fascinated her, and she almost hoped she’d run into him again. Maybe he would come to the cafe during her shift again.
✧✧✧
However, it seemed like the guy once again had vanished into thin air. At first it seemed like he appeared in front of Lumine every other day, and then just disappeared. She brushed it off, she had enough stuff going on in her life already.
“Lumi, let’s do something fun today! We haven’t hung out outside of school in a while!” Xiangling caught Lumine’s attention as she was heading home from school. Xinyan and Hu Tao trailed close behind her, waving enthusiastically.
“Sure! I’m free today for once, so you have perfect timing!” Time with her friends was a welcome change to her days of work and studying. For once, she had finished all her assignments early and could spare a day of relaxation for herself.
“There’s a really cute new boba place nearby that we wanted to go to,” Xiangling explained, practically jumping in excitement.
“And we should go shopping too!” Xinyan continued, throwing a hand around Lumine’s shoulders as they started walking to their destination, with loud chatter filling the air.
They all ordered their teas and snacks, and seated themselves at a sofa by a window. The cafe really was cute, they had loads of adorable plushies and different board games scattered around. Xiangling grabbed a bear-shaped plushie and proclaimed how badly she wanted to take it home.
“I really needed this, it feels like forever since we’ve gotten to just hang out like this,” Xinyan let out an exaggerated sigh of relief as she leaned back on the couch, nearly slumping.
Lumine laughed and agreed. “All of us are always either working, at school or sleeping,” she giggled. “It’s a miracle we all had time today.”
They continued chatting and all caught up with each other’s lives. Multiple times they had to interrupt Hu Tao from going into detail about her classes. Lumine herself sometimes allowed her to go on when it was just the two of them, but the others were more squeamish and besides, they were trying to eat.
“How’s your brother, Lumi?” Xiangling asked her. The three had all been friends for years, going to the same high school, but now Aether was rarely around since he studied in a different city.
“He’s good! It sounds like his studies are going well, if his messages are anything to go on,” Lumine knew he was probably acing all his classes, he was always the better student out of the two. “He’s pretty busy, but he’s gonna visit in a few weeks.”
Xiangling squealed in excitement, “We have to hang out together! We can have a party at my place!”
Xinyan and Hu Tao perked up at the idea too. They hadn’t known Aether for that long, but Lumine had made sure to introduce him to all her friends. The girls would never miss a party, either.
“Totally!” Lumine nodded happily. “I’ll let him know today! I’m sure he’ll be down.”
Afterwards, the group went to a nearby shopping centre together, and Xiangling found a plushie similar to the one in the cafe, and didn’t let go of it for the rest of the evening. While the others window shopped at clothing stores, Hu Tao entertained herself in another shop, likely looking at medical scalpels and such. They weren’t even bothered by her behavior at this point.
✧✧✧
Next day, another night shift was waiting for her. She’d taken a nap in the evening again, and felt more ready for the night than usual. The previous day spent with her friends gave her much needed refreshment. She got ready and headed to the cafe, happy knowing Xiangling was for once not leaving her alone.
Her friend was already getting ready once Lumine got there. Their coworkers left at the same time as Lumine arrived.
“Look how much cleaning they left for us!” Xiangling complained, pointing at some spills and a pile of dishes.
“As if I won’t need to deal with it alone like normally,” Lumine playfully rolled her eyes at the girl. Xiangling giggled an apology and the two got to work.
The most eventful thing that happened for the first hours was a group of drunk students coming in. It wasn’t the weekend, so bars weren’t open all night, and they likely had made their way to the cafe after the bar closed. They just ordered some sodas, and retreated to a corner, chattering quite loudly.
“Oh to have the energy to party in the middle of the week,” Lumide quietly muttered to her friend.
“Right, I’m already half asleep from just sitting here,” Xiangling slouched down on her chair to emphasise her point. Eventually the group of people left, and it got silent again.
Lumine’s wish that she wouldn’t admit came true, when Scara showed up some time after the students left. Xiangling immediately started eyeing Lumine with a glimmer in her eyes.
“Fancy seeing you again,” Lumine spoke sarcastically. She figured he wouldn’t be the type of customer to complain to her boss even if she wasn’t in her super-professional mode.
“Before you ask, yes, another party.” Scara slightly leaned against the counter, exhaustion showing in his face.
“Maybe it’s the same loud gang that just left the cafe, I figured they’d just come from a bar,” Lumine suggested, the timeline would match up.
“If there was an obnoxious ginger, then probably.”
Lumine hadn’t paid attention, since she made Xiangling serve them. He probably wasn’t expecting her to have a serious reply anyway, so she decided to just get his order. “Black coffee again?”
Scara thought for a moment. “Not tonight, I might still get some sleep. Just whatever tea you have, as long as it's not sweet.”
Lumine nodded and he paid, taking a seat at a table while she prepared the tea. Xiangling was now making even more teasing faces at her and whispering to her quietly. Lumine just mouthed a “shut up” at her, and with a giggle Xiangling got back to her own stuff.
Lumine finished making the tea, hoping he’d like it. He didn’t give her much to go on, but none of their teas were that sweet without sugar, so maybe he’ll be satisfied. She brought it to his table, and mumbled a quiet “thanks”, before getting back to staring at his phone. She lingered there for a second longer than usual, but he stayed silent, so she took it as her cue that he didn’t wanna chat. Probably for the best, he’d just be a jerk again.
Eventually he left, just raising his hand as a goodbye as he exited. Lumine couldn’t help but feel a slight tinge of disappointment - she didn’t enjoy his company, no way, and they hadn’t even talked a lot - but he felt even more distant now than before. Whatever , she thought, we never did even classify as friends, barely even acquaintances .
✧✧✧
The next weeks went by as usual. She’d mostly stopped thinking about Scara, though they still greeted each other if they happened to pass by in school. She’d squeezed in some more time to hang out with friends, and they were all excited for their mini-party that was coming up in the weekend. It was only going to be the five of them - Lumine Xinyan, Xiangling and Hu Tao - but they were excitedly planning the drinks they’d mix and made a playlist together. Aether was fully on board too, having not seen her sister for a while and rarely having time to party.
Come Friday, Lumine’s friends set off to a liquor store while Lumine went to welcome her brother at the train station. She scanned the crowd of people before spotting familiar golden hair, matching hers.
“Aether!!” She jogged up to him and threw her arms around him while he laughed.
“Lumi, it’s been so long!” He returned the hug and they stayed like that for a moment, until Aether had to push her off, his baggage and sister being too much weight combined. Lumine grabbed one of his bags and they started heading towards the city and the dorms, while catching up on everything they hadn't talked about on the phone.
“The girls are probably setting up Xiangling’s apartment by now, so we’ll get an eventful evening tonight, but the rest of the weekend we can just chill!” Lumine smiled warmly, already waiting for the next days when they’d just get to relax with tv.
“For sure, we gotta catch up on all the new shows,” Aether nodded at her, equally as excited. They used to spend almost all their time together, before school made them part ways, so these opportunities were precious to both of them.
Before long, they got to Lumine’s apartment, where Aether dropped his bags off and took a little break, gathering back his energy after a day of school and travel.
“Want anything to eat? I don’t have much, and we’ll probably order some food eventually anyway, but I have some fruits and whatever,” Lumine started going through her kitchen, looking for something to offer.
“It’s fine, but I’ll eat something if you insist,” Aether responded, and Lumine threw an apple to him, and took a piece of bread for herself. Lumine showed him whatever funny pictures she had taken of her and her friends, and animal videos, and memes. She always sent some of them to him, but she wanted to save the best ones to show him in person. After some time of hanging out, Lumine’s phone started buzzing with messages from her and her friends’ groupchat, where they expressed their growing impatience and sent selfies of them pouting with bottles and cans in the background.
“Guess we gotta get going, or they’ll go insane,” Lumine giggled and Aether agreed with a laugh. They got ready and started heading to Xiangling’s apartment. The good part of dorms was that they barely needed to walk to get there, and they’d have no worry of getting back to Lumine’s place even if it got late.
The others were already raring to go when the siblings arrived, despite it barely even being evening. They got their music started, enjoying the relatively high volume since they would have to quiet down a bit when it started getting later. Drinks were mixed and poured, ranging from simple beers to different cocktails.
“Let’s watch a movie or something! Like some really shitty horror movie,” Xinyan giggled and went to grab the remote. It was a good idea, Lumine knew they wouldn’t focus on it anyways, so might as well be something they can make fun of.
Hu Tao quickly chased after Xinyan, yelling about letting her pick the movie. The trio left in the kitchen sighed, knowing they’d end up sitting through the goriest movie available.
The movie was picked, and the group settled on the couch and floor. Hu Tao had insisted on some slasher flick, where the typical group of teenagers get drunk in the woods and get murdered or whatever.
The evening was full of laughter and chatter, some pillow fights, and lots of drunk selfies getting posted on social media. Everyone got tipsy soon enough after they started the movie, and had to constantly stop the corpse-enthusiast from pointing out all the bloody details in the movie. They were probably being pretty loud, since after a few hours they received many angry bangs on the walls and door from pissed students. Aether was probably the smartest of the bunch, since he shushed the girls constantly and turned down the music a little. They still didn’t bother being totally quiet, it was Friday so everyone in the dorms should be more or less used to parties.
“Xiangling, get up, or Hu Tao’s gonna start dissecting you!” Xinyan playfully shook the girl who had laid down on the floor, and both laughed loudly while Hu Tao pretended to get ready for embalming the girl. The twins joined in on the laughter, with Lumine taking a video of the situation.
Finally everyone settled down a bit, and Lumine tried catching her breath while still giggling. “Aether, we should go get some fresh air,” she said to her brother after calming down a bit. “Do you feel sick?” Aether asked with some concern, but Lumine shook her head adamantly. “No, just wanna get outside for a bit!”
They headed out while the rest stayed, continuing making a ruckus. The walk to the door was normal, but Lumine was drunk enough that she kept giggling at everything and nothing, with Aether playfully jabbing her in the ribs and trying to quiet her down.
Once outside, Lumine slouched down on the ground, taking a deep breath of the cool evening air. It only took her a moment to notice a familiar figure having a cigarette near the door.
“Hi Scara!” Lumine loudly exclaimed, waving her hand, aware of how embarrassing she was being but too drunk to care. Scara smirked at her state and looked like he was about to greet her back, when his gaze shifted to Aether. His eyes widened and he stayed quiet.
Confused, Lumine looked back at Aether, who looked shocked to say the least. The girl stood back up, wondering what the hell was going on.
Aether broke the silence first, with a disbelieving tone. “Kuni?!”
Lumine looked back and forth between the boys, Aether’s words making her gears turn. With an equally shocked look now, she turned to look at Scara again. “Huh!?”