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High school was not easy for Diluc. His classes weren't really the problem; he was at the top of his class in every subject. The issue lied within his peers. More often than not, they'd whisper to each other about him or make fun of him. Most of them assumed he was clueless to the fact, however he knew, he just couldn't do much about it.
Kaeya regularly stayed by his side, shielding him from bullies and unwanted attention. Their father had made sure they had all of their classes at the same time, allowing himself to rest easy knowing they'd be together. Today, however, Kaeya was home sick, leaving Diluc alone at school.
"Your brother isn't feeling well, Diluc. He won't be at school with you today," Crepus had informed him as the two ate breakfast. Diluc immediately felt nervous but nodded, understanding. "Have a good day, boy. I'll be here watching your brother, don't worry."
So for the first time since he began high school, Diluc walked alone. He followed the same path they always had, though it was lonelier now without his brother there rambling away. He sighs to himself once he reaches the school, glancing up at the tall brick building. Clutching his bag tighter over his shoulder, he heads inside.
The first few classes went fine. He sat in the corner as he always did, silently taking notes as his teacher spoke. Today, though, he took the notes twice, knowing Kaeya would need them too. A few minutes before they were to be dismissed, his teacher approaches him, squatting down beside his desk. "Hey, Diluc. Is Kaeya sick today?" Diluc nods. "Alright, can I ask you to give this to him then?" His teacher hands him another copy of the assignment they were given. Diluc nods again and the teacher mumbles her thanks before returning to her desk.
Finally, they're dismissed for lunch. Like always, Diluc waits for the rest of his classmates to leave first. He didn't like being stuck in a crowd, so he preferred to trail behind the rest. Once he leaves the classroom, he slowly follows the large group of students down the hall towards the cafeteria. He tries to ignore their loud conversations, all about things he had no interest in, but it seemed impossible without his brother here to distract him.
"Hey. Picture Book. Over here." Diluc turns towards the voice and sees his classmate who bothers him more than anyone. He quickly turns back around and walks a little faster, hoping to avoid a scene. No such luck. "Hey, I'm talking to you, freak!" The boy grabs Diluc's bag and yanks it backwards, pulling the young man with it. He's immediately knocked to the floor, surrounded by laughter.
"Why don't you speak, huh? You think you're better than the rest of us?" Diluc shies away from the boy's face, disliking how close he'd gotten. "Let me see this." The boy snatches Diluc's bag from beneath him, too quick for Diluc to attempt to stop him. He digs through the bag until he finds Diluc's communication notebook; the same one his brother and father had made him years ago.
"This is pathetic," the boy laughs, flipping through the worn and aged pages. "These drawings look like shit." Diluc grits his teeth and reaches for the book, but the boy raises it into the air out of reach. "You must have it pretty easy getting to use something like this instead of talking like a normal person."
The sound of the pages being torn was enough to give Diluc a panic attack. His eyes began to water and his breathing became shallow as he watched the boy destroy his notebook.
Laughter erupted from the boy's friends as he continued to rip the pages. Diluc covered his ears and squeezes his eyes shut, breathing in and out quickly, unable to take any full breaths. "Now you're gonna cry?" The boy shouts, grabbing Diluc's arm and pulling him upwards. Diluc squirms under his grasp but he wasn't nearly as strong. "Aw, your little baby brother isn't here to save you," the boy fake pouts and throws Diluc to the floor a second time.
Diluc didn't know what to do, and he was scared, so he closed his eyes and ears once again and began screaming. He curled himself together and yelled as loud as he could. He was at the age now where he was usually able to handle his emotions better, but he was so upset and scared, his rationality had abandoned him.
"Hey! What is going on here?!" he hears his teacher's voice, then the sounds of footsteps running away. "Diluc? Are you alright, dear?" She places a hand on his shoulder and he yells once more, flinching at the touch. She retracts her arm and takes a step back to give him space, then sits down on the floor beside him. "You're okay, dear. Breathe." Diluc slowly lowers his hands and opens his eyes. He stares down at the torn pieces of paper and feels more tears well in his eyes. Father and Kaeya are going to be so upset with him.
"Come on, Diluc. Let's get up off the floor, hm?" Ignoring his teacher, Diluc begins desperately picking up the pieces, piling them together. Maybe he could fix it. He could tape it back together. "Don't worry about that, we'll get it swept up." Diluc squeals through gritted teeth and throws himself on top of the pile. He can't lose any of these pieces. He has to fix it.
His teacher looks down at him with a frown, unsure of what to do. She wasn't entirely educated on how to handle Diluc during times like these; typically, his brother would be here to help alleviate the situation. She leans back and tries to think of what he would do if he were here.
"Diluc, let me help you pick it up. I won't throw any of it away. I promise." Diluc slowly lifts himself off of the floor and scoots to the side, allowing room for his teacher to help him. She does, and soon they've gathered every piece of paper into a pile. He dumps the pile into his bag, along with whatever was left of the notebook itself. "Now, would you like me to sit with you at lunch?" Diluc nods.
"Alright. Come on, then." Diluc finally stands up from the floor and follows his teacher down the hall. As they walk, he wipes the tears from his cheeks and takes a deep breath. Oh how he misses his brother.
When Diluc arrives home, he's scared to go inside. He doesn't want his father or brother to see his notebook, because he knows they'll be so upset with him. However, he knows he has to, because his teacher gave him a letter to give to his father. He tried reading it, but it was in cursive, and he didn't know what it said.
"Ah, Diluc!" Crepus greets his son at the door. "How was school?" Diluc stares forward, pale faced and nervous. "Hey, you okay?" Crepus' voice softens as he approaches Diluc, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Diluc can't stop the waterworks that come. He had cried earlier that day, sure, but he didn't allow himself to really let it go until now.
"Hey, hey, you're okay, Luc. Come here." Crepus opens his arms, inviting Diluc into a hug. Diluc accepts and throws himself into the man, sobbing against his shirt. Crepus pets his hair and shushes him before resting his own head on top of Diluc's. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Diluc steps back and, through more sobs, shakily pulls a piece of paper from his pocket. It was a torn piece from his book that had 'sorry' written on it. Crepus furrows his eyebrows as he takes it from Diluc's hand, now confused. "Did something happen to your notebook?"
Diluc inhales sharply and quickly, still choking back sobs, as he removes his bag from his shoulder. He dumps the contents of it onto the floor and several pieces of paper fall. He continues to cry as he opens the notebook, showing all of the now missing pages. "Oh, Luc," Crepus frowns, kneeling down to examine the mess. Amongst the papers he sees a note addressed to him and picks it up.
Dear Mr. Ragnvindr,
I am disappointed to have to write this letter, but I want you to remain informed of your son's experiences here at school. Today, a few of his fellow classmates mistreated him and destroyed his personal belongings. I want to assure you these students will be dealt with accordingly and punished appropriately, however I felt it was right to make you aware. If there's anything more I can do to assist Diluc and your family, please inform me. I lend you my sincerest apologies and best regards.
Crepus crumples the paper in his fist and returns his attention to Diluc. "Hey." Diluc looks up at his father through red eyes. He points at the 'sorry' piece of paper in his father's hand. "You have nothing to be sorry for, my boy. We'll make you a new one, okay? We'll spend all weekend working on it. Don't cry, dear boy. It's alright." Diluc sniffles and wipes his eyes again before nodding. He then begins digging through the pile until he finds the piece with his brother's name on it and shows it to Crepus.
"He's feeling much better now. Do you want to help me make him some soup?" Diluc nods, a smile finally appearing on his lips. Crepus chuckles and ruffles Diluc's hair. "Hey, think positive, son. Your new notebook will have some much prettier drawings in it, don't you think?" Diluc looks down at himself as he giggles. He was so thankful his father wasn't upset. He hoped Kaeya wouldn't be either.