Chapter Text
september 1st 2008 16:20
there were two little kids at the mall. one of them got lost and separated from their parents by the wave of people. when the wave passed, the little child realized their parents were no longer with them. the child began looking around, but, to no avail, the parents were nowhere in sight. consumed by fear, the child began crying, however, no one paid attention to it.
the child kept crying and crying, it became louder and louder. the few adults bypassing made a few pitying comments but helping the child wasn't in their minds at all. the child felt abandoned, to say the least. until the second child, a small boy with teal hair, around the other's age came over, "you... why are you crying?" the small boy wasn't sure why he bothered, he usually wasn't one to interact with others.
"my parents...i can't find them.." the child's sobbing increased with each word that came out of its mouth. the boy looked at the other for a brief moment. sigh. "follow me," without waiting for an answer, the boy grabbed the other's hand and began walking towards the mall's security center.
on the walk the child was purely mesmerized by the boy. the boy was the light in the never-ending darkness for the child. the walk from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor was a long one, but for the little girl that just met her knight in shining armor, it passed by very quickly. she didn't realize that by the time she was done staring at the unapproachable-looking boy, they were already at the security center and the boy already explained the situation to the workers.
"little girl, could you please tell us your name so that we can call your parents?" the child was slightly taken aback, "y/n..my name is y/n"
and so the staff announced that a little girl named y/n was looking for her parents. after ten minutes her parents came in rushing to take back their child.
that wasn't the last time the two children met. in the following months, they met many more times. and so, the both of them became friends, their parents did too. the girl was the one that talked most of the time and the boy silently listened to her giving a few short answers here and there.
2019. 5th november 16:35 future musicians
xiao
y/n why did you just create another groupchat?
furthermore, what the fuck is this name?
venti
xiao yknow if you didn't text anything first we could have pretended this doesn't exist?🧐
xiao
...
you
okay
so
uhm
xiao
just say it.
kazuha
oh hi
what's going on here?
venti
idk
y/n created another groupchat and here we are🤷♀️
you
soooooo
remember the
uhm
music contest...?
venti
which one
there are like 100 of them
you
yknow what
first
@goldenboi
get here
aether
i am here
you
ok so
anyways
promise me you won't get mad at me
i'm talking to you all
kazuha
y/n don't tell me you murdered smn and now need help with disposing of their body?
you
WHAT
NO
WHY WOULD I DO THAT
venti
honestly
sounds like smth you do
you
VENTI WDYM
WEREN'T YOU ON MY SIDE???
venti
i never said anything about being on your side
xiao
y/n just tell us what you did
i have an assignment to continue
you
fine
well
uhm
i signed you 4 up for the music contest that's a part of the upcoming festival
the one that's going on in school
kazuha
i would prefer if you murdered someone
venti
YOU'RE MAKING XIAO PERFORM IN FRONT OF A GIGANTIC CROWD??
BAHAHA
aether
i thought it would be smth worse
like blowing up your house
or smn's else
xiao
...
you
I'M SORRY XIAO
you can't back out tho
venti
y/n you are an amazing friend
helping your friend face his fears
truly an amazing friend
xiao
i don't fear people
i just don't like interacting or being in their presence
aether
keep lying to yourself <3
you
AETHER-
that's so savage of you
i love it <3
kazuha
what's done that's done
nothing can be changed now
why didn't you sign yourself up too then?
venti
kazuha did you forget already?
i thought your memory is better than this smh
xiao
that one time y/n had to sing in music,
with her atrocious singing she made the teacher go deaf
and he quit afterwards too
you
HEY
IT WASN'T THAT BAD
xiao
whatever
user @almondtofu went offline
aether
ok anyways
y/n
can you please send the info
of the contest
you
image
aether
is it all or are you forgetting to send smth?
you
oh wait
"our school will be holding the first ever festival and a public one at that: 'school winter festival'. it will be held from 25th till 29th november. the main event of this festival will be a musical performance contest. every student or student group can sign up for the contest and have a chance to win certain prizes. the winners will be decided by public voting, anyone that visits the festival, be it a student or outsider can vote for your performance, the only exception is you and/or your groupmates. every single performance will be recorded and posted on the official homepage. There will also be other activities prepared by each class and the student council."
they said more details will be added later on
aether
abt the performance
does it have to be like a soundtrack or a song
and if it's a song
does it have to be 100% original or can we just yknow
sing a cover
venti
didn't take you for a lazy one aether
but to answer your questions
we can sing a cover
and it can be both
an instrumental piece or a song that is sung
kazuha
it was y/n's idea to sign us up
shouldn't she come up with a song for us then?
aether
kazuha,
if we let her do that...
we most likely will end up singing some shitty version of a barbie song
you
why do you think i would embarrass you guys like that? 😇
(i totally would btw)
but in my magnificent opinion yall should come up with your song
venti
i agree with y/n
kazuha
well
i think it would be a creative process
aether
if yall are agreeing then
i will too
@almondtofu wby?
xiao
what about me?
venti
go read the prev messages
xiao
ugh
even if i disagreed it would be 3 vs 1
aether
so you're agreeing
okay good
great
now we have to write a song
how exciting
you
aether
you literally agreed too
aether
whatever
i'll go work on my assignment too
we can talk more abt this tomorrow
user @almondtofu reacted with thumbs up
6th november 8:13
you
ugh
this shit is soo boring
i'm tird
aether
hi, tird
i'm aether
you
of it...
venti
LMAO
didn't even give a chance
you
kindly
venti stfu😡
xiao
y/n focus on class
i don't want to get another text saying you don't understand anything
you
fine
11:55
you
hey hey
the teacher let us go early
and i have a free period for lunch rn
anyone free
12:02
kazuha
i have a free period now too
wanna meet up at the cafeteria in our usual spot?
venti
count me in then
aether
i'm gonna have math
can't join
you
sad
you always have to eat without us
but i mean you do have your friend group so it's alright
aether
ig
i'm off to hell now
venti
:(
anyways
@almondtofu
will u join?
you
you did not just do that to aether
xiao
it's venti y/n
what did you expect from him?
and no i won't join, i have math with aether
aether
huh
you
wtvr
gl
see u at the spot venti and kazuha
18:40
you
guys
i forgot to tell you
but
there is a form yall need to fill out
abt the music contest
xiao
can't you fill it out yourself?
it was YOUR idea to sign us up
venti
now now xiao
don't be so mean to our dear y/n
you
venti
did kazuha share some of his weed with you or smth???
why do you sound like that kaeya dude??
kazuha
y/n
i don't consume or own any type of drug
you
whatever
i won't fill out the form for you guys
bcs
i decided to be so nice
and not make you perform smth i would want
xiao
how considerate coming from a person who signed us up with no warning and didn't ask for our consent either
aether
we should kind of be glad tho
what if y/n filled out the form
and said we are gonna perform a barbie song
in pink dresses
while sending hearts to the audience
kazuha
it's sad that i can't say y/n wouldn't do that
cause i know she would
you
WHY DO ALL OF YOU HAVE A BAD OPINION OF ME
I'M LITERALLY AN ANGEL ON EARTH
venti
you can keep lying to yourself but don't lie to us <3
aether
moving on
can we just give the answers and u fill out it for us rn
i won't be in school tmr
kazuha
it would be nice if we filled it out faster too
you
alright
i will send each question one by one then
"what will be your stage name? if you are performing in a group then what will your group go by?"
venti
deadass pulled out the hardest one
aether
is this really the first question or are you pulling out in random order
you
i'm hurt you think i'm not doing this in an organized manner🙁
ofc it's the first one
kazuha
how abt smth that connects us all?
aether
like pain?
kazuha
no
venti
we're leaving this question to last
y/n what's the next one
you
"what is your name, if you are participating as a group what are the names of all group members"
but i alr filled it yknow
so the next one is actualyyyyyy
"will you be performing an original song or will you be performing a cover?"
venti
original duh
you
so the next questions are a little more in detail
so uhmmmmmm
yall need to plan your performance
and who has what role first😁
aether
just give us the questions already
you
"what type of music genre will you be performing?"
"what instruments will you be using?"
"is there anything specific that you need on the stage?"
"how long is your performance?"
venti
@almondtofu get yo ass here
we need to decide on those answers for the contest
19:05
venti
@almondtofu you there??
xiao
I am here
was pondering over some of the questions
I think the group name could be "4nemo"
you
like yall are four and all emo??? 🧐
xiao
...
kazuha
moving on
i think that's a great name
any other ideas xiao?
xiao
i have been thinking over some of the questions
and i think i may have an idea for the whole thing
you
ohoho
someone has been taking this seriously
aether
well
someone has to clean up after your mess
you
wtvr
i have to go now anyways
good luck figuring this shit out
xiao
bye
you
bye
user @smthsupercreative went offline
xiao
if i remember correctly
aether you played drums right?
venti tenor saxophone and kazuha bass guitar
kazuha
i'm surprised you remember
but yes, i still do play it sometimes
aether
i honestly never expected a calm person like kazuha to play bass guitar but ok
venti
tbh same
but yeah xiao we still do
why ask? 🧐
xiao
i was making sure
i have a rough idea for the performance
which will include
kazuha singing and playing bass guitar
venti playing his tenor saxophone
and aether on the drums
aether
and what will you be doing?
xiao
i am gonna be the lead singer
aether
guys i think he may not like this
that's only my opinion tho
venti
nah
he sounds excited to me
xiao
...
kazuha
so apart from instruments and singing chores,
do you have any other ideas to add?
xiao
for the lyrics,
the only thing that has been on my mind is ''okay''
kazuha
since we two are gonna be the vocalists, i believe we should also be the songwriters
how about we meet up on the weekend and discuss them?
xiao
sounds good
11th november 14:20
kazuha
we are done with the lyrics btw
you
yeah xiao told me already
but
kazuha aren't you supposed to be in class?
kazuha
no
i have a free period
and decided now is a good time to say it
you
ok ig
i just didn't take you as one to text during class
so i was surprised
14:34
venti
you're done already?
i thought you're gonna take even longer
you
you contributed zero effort to them so stfu
venti
and apparently I keep betraying you y/n
aether
can smn just send the lyrics already
kazuha
file.jpg
aether
ok ty
17:25
kazuha
i assume everyone has read the lyrics by now
no?
venti
i have read them
and honestly
didn't think YOU two would come up with smth like that
you
tbh same
makes me wonder if there was a third party helping yall
kazuha
i assure you there was no 3rd party
you
if you say so
aether
xiao said you and him are gonna be singing
who is singing which part?
you
the most important question tbh
xiao
kazuha is gonna be singing the 3rd paragraph and i will be singing the rest
aether
well okayyy
what abt the instruments and rhythm
anything planned there?
kazuha
not yet
we will need everyone to get together with their respective instruments
venti
okkk
you
there are 2 weeks till the contest
good luck 😉
venti
y/n you're literally the reason why we're doing this
you
ok and
we all know you four wanted to form a band for months
i'm just helping yall🙄
18:00
venti
ok no but we forgot to decide when to meet up
kazuha
oh yeah right
it slipped my mind
when do your classes end on wednesdays?
venti
15:20
aether
16:10
@almondtofu
xiao
also 16:10
kazuha
then let's meet up at 16:30 in front of the main entrance
don't forget to take your instruments to school
24th november 6:15
you
soo
the official list of who is performing when came out
and yall are in the 8th spot
3rd day at 14:30
aether
isn't that the day that the festival bcms public too?
kazuha
it is
a few days ago the class president said that detailed info will be given to each group
you
a lot more ppl than i thought actually signed up
46 performances
they barely fit it into the time limit
venti
tbh for our school that's a lot
you
good luck with your performance ig
i am still mad yall didn't let me join your practices but oh well😔
read
27th November 12:40
it was the third day of the school winter festival. since it was winter outside all the activities and stalls took place inside the school or some other buildings. the 5th performance ended not too long ago and now there was an hour-long break till the next performance. currently you were heading to your class to fix some things. yesterday when the whole class had to prepare their activity, one dumbass forgot to copy the rules of the game you were preparing, so in the end, you took the responsibility to copy the rules and carry the papers to your class.
since there was time to kill you thought it was a good idea to do it now - totally not because you forgot to do it in the morning. while you were walking to the school printer, which surprisingly was still open, you encountered xiao.
"oh hey xiao, what are you doing here? i thought you would be hiding in some dark corner or something"
xiao looked at you with disbelief filling his eyes. it wasn't the first time that you pulled out a similar text but it never got less annoying.
sigh
"i'm on my way to a rehearsal.."
"you're still practicing? i honestly never expected you to take this seriously. i mean i signed you all up as a joke that i didn't think you would take seriously. i assumed you would just go tell the teacher that you were forced into it and make them take you off the list. so in the end i came to the conclusion that you did want to be in a band. "
you looked at xiao intending to tease him, but to no avail, he didn't fall for it.
"I guess you are right then. maybe i did have a slight wish to be in a band"
xiao uttered and hoped you wouldn't press on for more. dealing with your antics was the last thing he wanted to do today and he also had something else to deal with right now. since it was his first-ever public performance; you decided to spare him, for now. "well alright then, i'm off to copy some papers. see you later" you waved at him and left.
honestly, xiao was astonished that you left him alone, but not like he complained. and so he left for some last practice runs before he had to perform in front of a few hundred people or so and also to deal with another matter. for big events or anything like that, the school had built an in-doors stadium a few years ago, it could hold up to seven hundred people.
anyways, there has been this one question on xiao's mind. why did a middle school host a public festival? weren't high schools supposed to do that? but at the same time, it was considered a public event, and middle schools hosting public events wasn't anything new.
14:25
the previous performance just came to an end. in five minutes your friends were supposed to begin their performance that you really have been greatly looking forward to. but unexpectedly the speakers announced that a group that goes by "seeds" are gonna perform now. being taken aback you went on your phone to check the performing schedule.
you immediately noticed that there were changes added to the schedule. you don't know why but "seeds" and "4nemo" were switched with places. "seeds" were originally supposed to perform as the last band, but now that they switched places,"4nemo" are gonna perform last. honestly, what the fuck was the name "seeds", couldn't they have come up with something better?
feeling betrayed you left the stadium and went to find xiao. first, you went to his classroom.
"is xiao here?"
"uhh xiao..? let me think"
one of his classmates began pondering.
"no sorry. haven't heard from him. that guy barely speaks to anyone when it isn't about business anyway." and so the classmate turned back to his other friends and continued doing whatever he previously was.
you realized that asking around won't help you. thinking xiao would tell someone where he is, was stupid. so in the end, you went back to the stadium to listen to the last performances. while you were half listening, half daydreaming you remembered texting him was an option too.
when you pulled up your phone the first thing you noticed was the time.
15:23
according to the schedule, the pre-last performance of the day began three minutes ago. the last which is also the next performance will start at 15.50. the third day of the festival was coming to an end. and so you decided to leave too.
on your way to the gates, you saw kazuha talking to someone shorter than him with dark purple hair? you weren't really sure except for the fact the other's hair color was dark. you didn't feel like bothering the two so in the end you just walked home.
in all honesty, you were still feeling upset that you couldn't see your friends' performance. so you just weren't in the mood to go talk to anyone.
once you were home you finally chose to text your friends.
future musicians
you
so why did no one think of informing me that your places are switched with some fuckings seeds??
aether
sorry ig
one of the members of seed couldn't make it
to their original timing
so xiao proposed the idea of us switching places
you
alr ig
venti
xiao prbly did that bcs he didn't wanna be in front of a crowd or sum
using the excuse of "helping other ppl"
read
29th november 15:39
it was finally the time for your friends' performance, and it could start any second now. the lights have been turned off for almost two minutes and the whole stadium was dark, the only few light sources being some phones and the recording staff.
finally, the lights turned on and you could see four figures on the stage.
slow music began playing. later on, the singing began.
yeah, positively thinking got me reaching out positive i'm blinking, but I don't know how
xiao's voice could be heard through the large space.
positive an oxy just went in my mouth positive i've died tonight, no fucking doubt
his voice was still somewhat calm and unhurried. but with each word dancing out of his mouth it became louder.
okay, okay, dirty habits well you don't say, you don't say
gradually his voice became even louder.
i got dirty in my own veins, cobain try to stop me, i'm like no way, no way, yeah
you could tell he finally reached the rhythm that the main chorus followed. for some time the singing ceased and only the melody could be heard.
then xiao and kazuha switched places on the stage.
baby, pass the bottle quit with all the stalling not sure if i'm breathing i've been addy rollin'
kazuha's calm voice was a surprise for the audience, but they ate it up.
catatonic, speeding like this shit was stolen you wouldn't believe this even if you saw it
and the audience began screaming. it clear how much they enjoyed this specific performance.
billie jean, i'm dancing on my own shit narcolepsy, you know how it goes shit
the swearing in the song was even a surprise for you. when you first read the lyric you couldn't believe kazuha was involved in the writing process.
ask me how i'm doing, yeah, i'm coping i said, "i'm coping"
and with the last part of the verse kazuha and xiao switched places back. the audience's excitement didn't quell down, in fact, it rose.
all i know is okay, okay okay, okay, dirty habits well you don't say, you don't say
previously the audience was shy, but now they were fully going at it. from your observations: there were a lot of down bad people for xiao.
i got dirty in my own veins, cobain try to stop me, i'm like no way, no way, yeah
honestly you couldn't really blame them. if it were not for his introverted personality xiao would be a popular guy.
all i know is okay, okay tryna fuck me i'm like okay, okay pop another i'm like okay, okay psychopathic but it's okay, okay, yeah
and so verse was once again sung. next followed "wow, yeah, wow, oh shit" as some sort of sub-verse.
i can feel it in my brain hit the tongue, watch it dissolve, just take a taste, yeah dissolve, just take a taste, yeah
this part was still sung by xiao, but his voice came to a somewhat quieter and calmer state.
she gonna make decisions either way i swear ever since i hit it i ain't ever been the same, yeah
with the last few words his voice adjusted to the main rhythm once again.
okay, okay, dirty habits well you don't say, you don't say i got dirty in my own veins, cobain
and so the song resumed back to the main chorus, and with that, the audience began loudly cheering once again.
try to stop me, i'm like no way, no way all I know is okay, okay tryna fuck me i'm like okay, okay
what did you think about all of this? it was amazing.
pop another i'm like okay, okay psychopathic but it's okay, okay, yeah
you were really looking forwards to this day. it did meet your expectations and even more. there wasn't a lot but there was some choreography included in your friends' performance, and it looked great. but while you were immersed in the land of thinking you noticed that the performance came to an end.
one of the reasons you noticed something is off is because the crowd's cheers were louder than previously, and the lights came to a halt. it was the after-performance excitement screams from the audience.
you were sitting in the middle yet close to the first back row seats, thus you weren't able to see the details, for example, your friends' expressions. so you weren't able to notice that they actually looked excited, even xiao. but of course, he looked less excited than the other, but still did nonetheless.
but the people in the first rows noticed it very well. some people clearly saw that the group in front of them was looking up with a hint of gratitude in their eyes, and naturally, some of the people looked behind them and tried to locate the spot the group was looking at. but to no avail, it was hard trying to find someone when you didn't even know how they looked.
there was still roughly half an hour until the voting would start, so you went backstage to look for your friends. to your unfortune, there was a group that wasn't of small size hoping to get backstage to meet the people who performed in person. the guards, who were actually the unfortunate council members who happened to receive the duty of upholding peace and ensuring that no one gets hurt, were busy holding off the group.
usually, the council members would let you pass since they knew you were a close friend of a group that was performing, but they didn't get the chance since they were busy dealing with crazy people. seeing that there is no chance of passing, you went to the school gates and texted your friends.
future musicians
y/n
hey where are yall at?
a few minutes passed and there was no response from anyone. you guessed that they were probably busy dealing with some other matters and left it feeling slightly disappointed.
once you were about to leave the school grounds and head home you remembered the voting still has yet to begin, and so you slowly went back to the stadium. on your way there you overheard multiple people talking about how much they liked the last performance.
when you arrived outside of the stadium - where some of the stalls and billboards were located - you noticed there was a group of roughly the same people that tried getting backstage, surrounding someone. looking up you saw white hair, a little too similar to kazuha's. there also happened to be a golden head too, a teal and dark blueish one.
then it hit you, they were your friends!
despite realizing that, you didn't try getting through the crowd to get to your friends. you knew it would be useless, the people seemed to be tightly pushing each other in order to get as close as possible to the middle, if you tried squeezing in, with no doubts you would probably be squeezed to death yourself.
you stared at the group for a little longer before 'mumbling' to yourself a little too loudly, "isn't it close to the voting time?", you side-eyed the group of people and heard them saying something about wanting to be first at the voting. fools. you thought to yourself.
they just heard someone mumble about the voting being soon, and not even checking if it's true they all ran to vote despite it passing max 15 minutes since the last performance concluded. nonetheless, it was a good thing since you were able to help your friends so.
"thanks, i thought they were gonna squeeze us to death! such enthusiastic fellows.." venti mumbled the last part to himself.
you went to a more secluded spot before something like before repeated itself and chatted the time away. you and your friends were so immersed in your conversations that you almost missed the voting.
"wait, isn't there 15 minutes left before they announce the voting results?" aether was the one who first remembered. "oh yeah right"
and so you all went to the voting site hoping you weren't too late and still can vote. naturally, you voted for your friends and they voted for some other individuals.
when the results were finally announced, 4nemo was in first place. you knew your friends did an amazing job, but seeing them win the 1st place was still surprising. a lot of congratulations were in order after that.
then you all decided to hold a sleepover at xiao's house. on your way there, no one seemed to have fully calmed down from the excitement and happiness that overcame them. even xiao occasionally smiled.
30th november 9:30
fortunately today was the weekend - so after the small party you held, you all could sleep in. that was until your phone kept ringing. it didn't wake you up, but it woke up kazuha, on account of that he had better hearing than everyone else. kazuha wasn't the only one who got woken up by it, xiao who did just pretend that he didn't hear anything and kept sleeping.
then kazuha woke you up and said your mom has been calling you for the past half an hour. you took the phone, thanked kazuha and went to another room to not disturb the others.
"hmm yes mom?"
you asked in a sleepy voice almost dropping your head to the ground
"did you just wake up? sorry for disturbing you but i wanted to inform you that we are moving on monday. me and your dad already arranged everything with your school." your mom said in a sorry voice.
those few sentences were all that took for you to wake up. uneasiness and regret filled your heart
"we're moving?? so suddenly??"
"i'm sorry, i know you are very close to your friends but we have to move. for a few years, then we will come back, i'm really sorry"
you knew that your mom wouldn't make you move so suddenly with no good reason, especially so suddenly.
"well alright...i'll be home in an hour or two"
you disappointingly answered along with hanging up. since kazuha was up you told him that you have to go home and that he tells the others. after getting your stuff you walked back home, taking a longer path on purpose to clear your mind.
when you arrived home it turned out that your parents got an amazing job in a country overseas. at first, they wanted to leave you here, in teyvat, but then realized you have no relatives here and you're not old enough to live with no guardian.
so your parents came up with the plan that for the next 3 years they're gonna take you with them overseas, and when you turn 18 they're gonna send you back. just for your senior year in high school.
you agreed. there wasn't anything that you could do anyways. your parents were already doing so much, trying to get something more would be too greedy. then you texted your friends about it and they proposed to have one big hang-out tomorrow before you leave.
and that's what happened. the next day you all had a lot of fun for several hours. unfortunately, it came to an end and you all went home. and the next day again, you shared your goodbyes and parted for 3 years.
then a year later after y/n moved, venti happened to meet a certain boy that goes by heizou and they became 5wirl after that...
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