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"I'm not blushing." Barbara sighs.
"Sure..." Dahlia murmurs, staring at her in amusement.
Someone yells "LOVE SHOT! LOVE SHOT!" and a chant starts up, there's no going back now.
Barbara closes her eyes. "I swear, if this ends up on TikTok-"
"Too late!" Bennett shouts. "Also you're trending under #HolyShot, haha, get it?"
"Just perfect..." Barbara nearly faints.
Dahlia whispers, too low for anyone else to hear. "Still not backing out?"
"Not a chance!" Barbara raises her glass, he does the same.
"Oh my god, they're actually doing it." Mona gasps, gripping Scara's sleeve like she's watching two rivals finally kiss after five seasons.
"Bold of you to assume they won't screw it up." Scara rolls his eyes, sipping some suspiciously neon drink.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the circle, Albedo adjusts his vest and whispers, "Note the flushed cheeks, elevated heart rate... Classic chemistry between two individuals."
Sucrose peeks up from behind him, clutching a cup of soda. "Barbara's face is red, do you think that's a sign of a- uh- extreme nervous system meltdown?"
"Undoubtedly." Albedo replies. "But I presume Dahlia is experiencing it too. See the subtle dilation in his pupils?"
Razor has been quietly holding a paper plate of pizza and watching like a confused wolf cub, his jaw drops. "Are they... more than friends...?"
Dahlia lifts his own shot glass between them, nudging Barbara's arm until they both have to lean in, mouths to their glasses.
There's cheers, whistles, and somebody even dropping a bottle.
Mona does a full body shimmy like she just won a bet. And Scara mutters something about dying of secondhand embarrassment, but he doesn't look away.
"Eeek! Did you see that?!" Amber squeals, She turns to Mika, who's already blushing himself.
"I-I saw!" Mika stutters with trembling hands. "It was... um... very romantic... Amber."
He stares like a shy dork, but she's way too focused on the drama to notice the lovestruck mess beside her.
Meanwhile, Barbara's still standing in the center of it all.
"So," Dahlia smirks, his voice low... "how long have you been pretending you don't want me to kiss you?"
Barbara blinks, hard.
Her face heats up, she's THIS close to filing a formal complaint to god.
"Excuse me?" she scoffs.
"You heard me." he pauses. "Everyone's drunk at this party anyway, so why don't we stop pretending?"
Barbara laughs, soft and disbelieving, she wants nothing more than to win this argument... then someone behind them yells.
"ALBEDO AND SUCROSE, YOU'RE NEXT!!"
A chorus of cheers rises up, "LOVE SHOT! LOVE SHOT!"
Sucrose squeaks, "I- um- I really don't think I-"
Albedo groans. "Ugh, fine.. we'll do it for the sake of science."
"Wait... A-Albedo-" she mumbles, the other people shove shot glasses into their hands.
"OHHHHH!!!" Amber shouts, jumping up and down. "They're doing it!!"
Mona spins around dramatically. "Okay, if they do it without fail, Scara and I are next."
Scara glares, "The hell we aren't-"
"Save it, Scara." Mona raises her eyebrows. "Or are you a scaredy cat?" She gives him a competitive smirk, causing him to groan from annoyance.
At the center of the room, Sucrose is trembling so hard she nearly drops her glass.
"I-I don't think I'm emotionally calibrated for this..." she stammers, blinking at the liquid. "I haven't even fully processed the hypothetical implications of this situation-"
Albedo dramatically sighs through his nostrils, already adjusting his grip on the glass.
"For science." he raises his glass, she raises her too.
Sucrose peeks up at him, blushing furiously. "F-For science!" she repeats.
They lean in, and sip their drinks. The love shot is clumsy, awkward and some of the drink spills. Everyone still cheers like they just got engaged.
"ALBECROSE IS REAL DUDE" Bennett hollers, the crowd shouts behind him. "OOHHHHHHH"
And not even a second later, the trend continues.
"I refuse." Scara mutters, recoiling as Mona tries to shove a shot glass in his hand. "This is a public execution. I'm not doing this."
"I dare you to leave then." Mona in a sweet yet sarcastic tone. "Consider this your divine punishment for being a menace in every social setting, haha."
"I'm not-" he starts, then stops himself, letting out a reluctant sigh. "Fine. One shot. That's it."
Amber shoves the crowd back to make space. "SHOT SHOT SHOT SHOT-"
"WE GET IT, AMBER." Scara snaps.
Mona leans in, smug as hell just to get on his nerves. "Try not to fall in love with me."
"Oh my god..." Scara groans. "Just shut up and drink it."
They clink, they tilt, and when they part, Mona licks a bit of the drink from her lip with zero shame.
Scara is visibly fighting his irritation, and he looks almost flustered.
Mona grins. "What? Can't stop thinking about it?"
"I'm thinking about throwing myself out the window." He replies.
The crowd is roaring now, and someone starts throwing glow sticks.
Across the room, Mika and Amber are awkwardly sipping cherry and blue raspberry sodas, probably spiked with something. Mika's entire face is the color of a tomato.
"Ooh, I wonder who's gonna get wasted first!" Amber claps excitedly.
Mika chuckles, sharing a nervous smile. "Let's hope... nobody gets wasted?"
Amber laughs. "Ha, you're right. Y'know, you're actually kinda cute when you're nervous."
He gasps, and chokes on his drink.
By the windows, Kaveh leans against the sill, drinking alone quietly, watching the chaos unfold.
"You going to join the love shot circle?" Alhaitham asks, his tone detached at first.
Kaveh laughs softly, "And give those groups more rumors to chew on? No thanks."
Alhaitham flashes a surprising smirk. "Hmph, well... maybe if you did the love shot with me, they'd finally see us as more than just 'roommates'...."
"You what-?!" Kaveh's eyes grow wide as his blush takes over, and immediately pretends to be deeply interested in the contents of his drink.
"Don't act surprised..." Alhaitham mumbles, unamused.
While most of the students dance, drink, and yells over bass music through dorm halls, a different kind of gathering is taking place in the the university's oldest building: The Headmistress' tower, as some students half-jokingly call it.
Lisa Minci lounges in a velvet armchair, she's dressed impeccably as always. Silk blouse, long earrings, a tablet in her hand, glowing green softly with real-time campus data.
She swipes through it once and smiles.
"There's a party going on in the dorms" she says aloud in a smooth low voice. "And drinking, of course."
From across the room, Professor Baizhu glances up over his teacup. "Is it ethical to monitor the students like this?"
Lisa doesn't look up. "Maybe not... but very efficient..."
"I think it's unnecessary..." Kaeya's voice appears, half laughing as he stands in the doorway, late as always. His coat's half-off his shoulder, and there's the faint smell of whiskey on him.
Lisa motions toward the beverage cart without turning. "Help yourself."
Kaeya smirks. "How kind of you, Miss Minci~"
From the far end of the room, Jean raises up from a chair by the fireplace. Her arms are crossed, brow furrowed as always. "You promised to stop intervening directly with the students shenanigans, Lisa."
"I'm not intervening..." Lisa says innocently, finally setting her tablet aside. "I'm just keeping an eye on them. That's what a university head does."
Dottore chuckles from a dark corner, legs crossed like a villain. "Let her play her little games, Jean. She hasn't crossed any lines... yet."
Lisa hums. "Oh, you're all so dramatic."
Later that night...
The other professors have gone to their sleeping quarters.
The door shuts behind Jean with a click, her heels echo down the long hallway.
Dottore emerges from the shadows of the bookshelves, his hands folded neatly behind his back as he speaks.
"You're quite thorough with your position, aren't you?"
Lisa doesn't look up, wearing a gentle smirk while scrolling lazily through a document on her tablet. "Someone has to be."
"And here I thought this place was just your playground." he says, pausing near the bookshelves. "All this effort for some academic project?"
Lisa lifts from her desk and walks towards him slowly, her heels clicking quietly on the polished floor. She stops just short of him, close enough to smell the faint chemical scent on his coat.
"That was my idea..." she says smoothly. "As the founder of Sumerstadt University, I wanted to open its doors to both nations, Mondstadt and Sumeru."
She speaks again with a hum. "Scholars and knights, all under one roof... isn't it cute?"
Dottore laughs softly. "You always did enjoy contradictions, even back in the Akademiya."
"You remember those times?" she muses.
"Oh, I remember everything," Dottore smirks, stepping a little closer, his voice low. "The top student from Mondstadt, the lightning prodigy with an unnerving charm and a stack of books taller than she was."
Lisa giggles with amusement. "Well you were too busy running all kinds of crazy experiments."
Dottore laughs quietly, "You haven't changed."
She steps just a little closer, "Neither have you."
He glances sideways, "The board still talks about me, y'know..." his smirk grows. "The same old gossip... 'Why did she hire him?' 'What was she thinking?'..." He mimics their voices with a smirk. "Some suspect I've blackmailed you."
Lisa raises her eyebrows. "You're dangerous, but brilliant. And that was just what this university needed."
He chuckles, low and dark. "Miss Minci... you should be careful not to praise someone like me."
She reaches up, and adjusts the collar of his coat slowly and deliberate. "Oh, I think you aren't as unstable as you like to pretend."
"You-" Dottore starts, then stops. A flush rises to his cheeks, clearing his throat softly while trying to recover his usual tone. "Tch. That was unnecessary."
"Mm, was it now?" Lisa hums, already amused as she turns away. "I thought it was effective, you look even more harmless now."
Dottore sighs, "I suppose running a university demands more than just intellect, manipulation suits you just as well."
He takes a step towards her, it almost feels purposeful. His voice drops lower, standing beside her ear.
"I'm clocking out."
With that, Dottore walks out. The room is silent now that Lisa is the only one left.
Lisa watches him go with a soft chuckle, blushing slightly, her hand gently resting on her chest.
"My... If only we had overtime..."
Back at the party on campus, the music has only gotten louder. And the students more drunk.
"You seriously had five more shots?!" Mona groans.
"Tch, so whaaat..." Scara is completely drunk, and almost falls over trying to throw his hand on the wall beside her.
"Oh my god-" Mona grabs his jacket to steady him. "You absolute fool! You were supposed to do a simple love shot, not down as many as you could!"
He gives a crooked smirk, slurring his words. "I can do whAtevEr I want.. like this-"
He slumps forward, and Mona's sure he's about to pass out. But instead he's drunk-kissing her, she's in complete shock.
"DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!" Bennett yells from halfway across the room, nearly dropping a plate of nachos.
Everyone looks. Some cheer, others gasp.
"He's out cold." Razor mumbles.
Bennett slings his hand over Razor's shoulder. "UH OH! Looks like somebody's gonna be hungoverrr" he laughs.
"C'mon buddy, let's do a ~love shot~ right here, right now!" Bennett pours them their drinks and playfully forces him to join with him.
"Wooooo~" Razor howls, tilting his glass up alongside Bennett.
"You're the best bro!! I LOVE YOUUU" Bennett kisses him all over, he's a little tipsy from drinking straight out of a bottle throughout the night.
Razor's cheeks warm, and his heart flutters from Bennett's kisses. He hugs him tight, almost protectively. "I... I love you too, Benny..."
Fischl dramatically chants nearby, facing the window with a view of the moon. "This night shall be immortalized for eternity. The moon bore witness! The stars aligned! Passion shall triumph all inhibitions-"
She halts mid-monologue, interrupted by a treacherous scene unfolding in the corner of the room.
A weird guy, looks like he goes by the name Nimrod, begs Noelle to do a love shot with her. He just won't leave her alone, and it's obvious how uncomfortable she is.
"C'mon Noelle, it's just one love shot!" he coaxes, "It's a party! Loosen up! You'll be fineeee"
Noelle backs away slightly, "I don't really like to drink..." her voice is still polite, looking around for anyone to save her.
Fischl steps in, flipping her hair with grace. "Cease your advances, swine!"
Nimrod looks confused at her arrival, as if he did nothing wrong. "H-Huh??"
Her voice raises theatrically, placing herself between him and Noelle.
"I have seen enough." she declares, standing proud.
"You trespass upon sacred ground, hounding one who clearly withholds consent. Begone, lest you incur the wrath of my celestial heritage!"
Nimrod squints. "What are you even-?"
Fischl leans forward, dropping the drama for a very sharp smile.
"Take. The hint."
Noelle peeks over Fischl's shoulder, wide-eyed. "F-Fischl..."
"Fear not, fair maiden," Fischl says as she stares Nimrod down. "No shady nor creep shall darken our night."
Nimrod snorts. "Pfft, weirdo." he mutters, but the crowd has started to notice... a few people giving him side-eyes, and Collei heads their way.
She decides to do them all a favor and drop kick Nimrod, straight in the face. Everyone, in the entire party, claps.
"Collei?!" Fischl and Noelle both gasp.
"You. Were. AWESOME!! I didn’t know you could be so scary!" Collei cheers, fan-girling over Fischl's heroic act.
"Most grateful to you as well!" Fischl chuckles, twirling her hair.
Noelle exhales, visibly shaken. "Th-thank you Collei..." She turns to Fischl. "And, thank you. I didn’t know what to do. He just... wouldn’t stop bothering me."
Fischl's expression softens immediately, placing a gentle hand on her arm. "You needn't thank me. Your safety is more important than any verse I could conjure."
Noelle smiles, small but grateful. "Still... I’m really glad you were here."
"Of course," Fischl says. "Us heroines must look out for each other."
From across the room, Mona watches the whole exchange in stunned silence, standing next to a wasted Scara passed out on a couch now.
"Fischl's going in the community hall of fame tonight." she whispers.
"Already updated!" Bennett grins, tapping on his phone.
Amber shouts, doing a weird interpretive drunk dance. "Mika, c'mon! Dance with me!"
Mika stops mid-sip of water, he's very much not built for this environment and nearly spills it all over himself. "Wait- what?! Amber, I don't really- I don't know how to dance-"
"Give it a try!" she laughs, spinning dramatically in a small circle and almost knocking over a lamp. "We're celebrating! Go Sumerstadt Uni!"
Mika lets out a nervous chuckle, cheeks pink. "You're really drunk, aren't you?"
Amber giggles, "Only a little!" and holds up her fingers with barely an inch of space between them. "Just, like... thiiis much!"
She drags him to the middle of the living room, strobe lights blaring. Razor is nodding solemnly to the beat in the corner, Bennett's headbanging.
Amber starts swaying wildly, grinning like a fool. Mika attempts a shuffle, already dying inside from social anxiety, but unable to say no to her smile.
Tighnari watches from the crowd, chuckling to himself at how bad those two are dancing.
"I thought you didn't do parties." Cyno speaks beside him.
"I don't..." Tighnari shrugs. "But I have to admit, it's kind of funny to watch the other students dance like they just ate some weird psychedelic mushrooms."
Tighnari clears his throat. "You're staring."
"I'm just coming up with the best joke of the century." Cyno keeps a straight face.
Tighnari presses his lips together in gentle frustration. "If you make a pun about us being shroomies again, so help me-"
Cyno leans to his ear casually, "Why aren't you up there dancing? You're not a very... fungi, Tighnari."
Tighnari blinks. "Are you kidding me?"
Cyno just stares, blankly, waiting for him to laugh or cry. Tighnari starts to sweat, that stare is just too intense.
"What? Did I stare you?" he leans closer.
"Stop it!!" Tighnari groans, blushing furiously.
Dehya is watching a dumpster fire happen outside, her leather jacket slung over one shoulder.
Candace appears behind her and throws water on the fire, it disappears instantly.
Dehya chuckles, wearing a crooked grin. "Wow, you're a lifesaver."
"I figured you'd be the one starting the fires..." Candace says calmly with a faint smile.
"Nah!" Dehya's grin widens. "If I start 'em, they're never this small."
Candace gave her a long glance, amused. "Should I be concerned?"
"Probably." Dehya said. "But you keep hanging out with me anyway."
Dehya steps closer, just enough to invade her space a bit. "Hey."
Candace pauses. "Yeah?"
"I like when you listen to me ramble." she says casually. "It's kinda cute."
Candace blushes, raising a brow. "Is that... so?"
She glances down for a second, and gently grabs her hand.
"Well, Maybe I like hearing you talk..."
Dehya scoffs, but in an affectionate way. "Don't mention it, Candy."
Candace laughs softly, the nickname always makes her heart flutter. And she keeps holding Dehya's hand for way longer than a minute, she doesn't want to ever let go.
Back inside the chaos, drunk fools are dancing like it's a rave.
"I just want to point out..." Faruzan rests her hands on her hips, "Parties didn't used to have flashing lights and drinking games-"
"You're so old-fashioned~" Nilou smiles sweetly.
"Hmph, so what!" Faruzan scoffs. "Back in the good old days, there was real food. Not… pyramid shaped bread things and poor little slime drinks."
Layla gasps in panic, "Wait, those were made with slimes?!" she cries hysterically.
Nilou looks concerned, then glances back at Faruzan with a soft giggle. "You don't have to pretend you don't secretly love the current times, Faruzan~ Oh, and those pyramid shaped bread thingies? Yeah, those are called pizza...!"
Faruzan sips a drink, looking away. "Okay, so maybe pizza has been an ancient party snack for the ages... but, all this excessive drinking was never acceptable!"
"Wait..." Albedo suddenly speaks beside Sucrose.
"Wh..what is it Albedo?" Sucrose asks, fixing her glasses.
He scans the crowd with an exaggerated squint. "Where's Barbara?"
Sucrose glances around with him, "I thought she was by the drink fountain earlier."
Bennett points dramatically toward the door. "Nooope. I saw her go outside, like- ten minutes ago."
"And Dahlia?" Albedo asks, voice rising slightly.
Sucrose gasps, then leans in conspiratorially, eyes wide with drunken scandal. "Wait- did they leave together?"
Albedo whispers. "No way... is this true?"
Amber dances her way over to them. "That means yes! Mika, they're totally making out somewhere outside, aren't they?!"
"I- I don't know!!" Mika stammers. "Can we go back to the part where we were dancing and not imagining our friends kissing?!"
Flashback to earlier that night... in the kitchen.
Dahlia's casually leans on a counter. The music loud, several crazy things going on at once.
Barbara's about to retreat to a quiet hallway when she hears a voice behind her.
"Having fun yet?"
She turns, already recognizing the smirk in Dahlia's voice before she sees it. He's leaning against the kitchen counter like he owns the place.
It's suspicious how cocky he's being, Barbara's eyes glance over him and his black hoodie, a red plastic cup in one hand, his eyes fixed on her.
Barbara sighs, not turning away. "That depends... are you going to be annoying all night?"
He sees her hesitation, and his grin softens. "C'mon, let's ditch this party for five minutes. Outside in the fresh air... Just us and the wind."
"Seriously?" She sighs but she's already moving, brushing past him toward the door leading out. "Only five minutes." she says over her shoulder.
He follows, smug but quiet. "You actually agreed..."
A streetlight flickers somewhere across the campus, Barbara exhales. "Okay... fine. You were right. This feels much better."
Dahlia makes a dramatic gesture toward the sky. "What a surprise~ Barbara Pegg admits I was right. October 24th, a historical night."
She gives him a side glance. "Don't get used to it...! We're still on opposite teams."
"Tch, and I'm still sure I make a better musician than you!" He chuckles, knowing she's stuck on their long-lasting band rivalry they've had since the beginning of their semester at Sumerstadt.
He takes a sip from his drink, then holds it out toward her. "Want a sip? It's just soda. Swear on my dorm key. Haha."
Barbara eyes the cup, then him. "A drink from my rival? You really think I'd trust that?"
She takes the cup anyway, sipping without breaking eye contact. "It tastes dull..."
"Better than beer pong juice." he shrugs.
After a beat, he glances at her. "You come to these things because you feel like you have to?"
Barbara frowns slightly, caught off guard. "I guess... yeah. Everyone expects me to show up. Smile. Be... present."
He nods, thoughtful. "Doesn't mean you owe them your time."
"Yeah, well." She shrugs. "Sometimes it's easier to just show up."
Dahlia watches her a moment longer before replying softer this time. "You don't have to fake it around me, y'know."
She looks at him, surprised by the sincerity under the sarcasm. She almost blushes a little.
"Thanks..." she says eventually, quieter now. "That... doesn't mean we're friends now though. I'm still going to beat you in the next singing competition on campus."
He bumps her shoulder gently with his. "Anytime, and... as for the competition, haha I'm not letting you win that easy~"
Barbara giggles softly, until she realizes she's actually... blushing. Her eyes widen a little, is she really falling for her biggest enemy?