♡♡♡

you found a new friend.

you absolutely loved spending time with your him. especially because at school, normal friends that you always hung out with was hard to find, maybe also because your life was a mess. well, you hung out with hu tao and ganyu, but they were always mostly busy, especially ganyu.

one day you're so tired that you want to sleep forever, the next day you feel like a god, and more moods that other people found weird. also, you like to talk about seriously random stuff.

but xiao listens to you. sure, he isn't very talkative, responsive or social, plus he's blunt, but he stays with you. he doesn't have any other friends, so you developed friendly habits with him.

you both walk home together now. sometimes, even if his house was about two streets away, he'll still walk you home. you ate lunch together, did homework together, or sometimes pick each other as partners on some school activities. (since venti isn't his classmate, maybe?)

you had so much fun with him for the past week, that you actually forgot and never got to tell him about the frogs. you also met venti, and he was quite nice and surprisingly, you got along well.

also, day by day, you were being approached by more strange stupid cringe girls who liked xiao. you were aware that he was popular, and you expected to be hated by some stupid girl that pretends to be different and quirky but doesn't know the difference between romantic and platonic relationships. girls with brains growing on their ingrown toenails.

sometimes, just sometimes, he doesn't even stop you from calling him best friend. just sometimes.

right now, you were by a vending machine at school with him. xiao was standing beside you, drinking some yogurt drink. you planned to tell him about the frogs by now.

"(y/n), did you study? the project is a week away."

"um... no?"

"you'll fail. possibly, me too."

"then let's not do the project?"

"but-"

"okay, hear me out. what if we don't do the project, then the frogs will be safe? "

interrupting him, xiao glanced at you with his amber eyes. "no, the-"

"no no, wait! before you refuse, i'll do anything! just please, help me! please please pretty please??"

you begged him, shaking his shoulders. his expression was unreadable, until he flashed you a teeny tiny smile.

"then, make my favorite dish."

"okay! okay, i'll do it. so, promise me we won't kill any frogs?"

you held out your pinky to him. he looked at your pinky then glanced at your eager eyes, before interlocking his fingers with yours.

"promise."

"yayy! so, what's your favorite dish?"

♡♡♡

"why won't he tell me?!"

you frustratedly slammed your locker door, catching the attention of other students. a few girls glared at you, approaching you.

"i'm telling you, leave xiao alone. back off, hoe."

they strutted outside with their umbrellas, leaving you frowning. you were absolutely mad. it was raining, the silent sound of the raindrops relaxing you.

it's because xiao didn't tell you his favorite dish, so you should figure it out yourself. you didn't know where to start, and what ingredients to buy.

you weren't angry because of some petty pea-sized brain girl. you couldn't care less.

so you had an idea, and quickly fixed your appearance and your stuff.

♡♡♡

you knocked on the door nervously, fixing your school tie. right now, you were in front of the student council room, waiting for someone to open the door.

a tall brown haired girl opened the door, approaching you.

"ooh hi! (y/n), right? ganyu, (y/n)'s here!"

"beidou, greet guests more formally."

"oops. come in!"

you went inside the air-conditioned room, seeing beidou the treasurer, ningguang the president and jean the vice president. the student council sure is diligent.

"greetings, (y/n). what brings you here?"

ningguang was sitting on the other end of the table, writing something. jean sat beside her, taking and organizing some paperworks into a binder. she nodded at you stoicly, before continuing her work.

as professional as always, you thought. "hi, um, is ganyu here?"

"yes. she's in the storage room, fetching something." ningguang flicked her hair, her eyes still fixated on the papers

"okay, thank you."

you entered the storage room, peeping inside. and inside was ganyu, standing on a stool.

"hi, ganyu!"

she was startled, the book almost slipping off of her hands. "ah, (y/n)?! what are you doing here?"

you entered the storage room, locking the door. the smell of dusty old books wafted through the air, the blinking dim light illuminating your surroundings. there was a tiny window on the side, the outside almost dark, and it was also raining. of course, classes ended half an hour ago.

"do you know xiao's favorite food?"

"um, xiao? wait," ganyu got down from the stool, a binder in one hand.

"as i remember, he liked almond tofu. i'm not really sure, but he liked it ages ago."

"oh, i see! thanks ganyu!"

"you're welcome, (y/n)..."

ganyu's voice trailed off as she watched you speed walk outside the room hurriedly.

♡♡♡

ran downstairs, clutching your bag. as you reached the entrance, you were surprised.

xiao was standing there playing flappy bird. you approached him, walking slowly. you looked at his phone from his shoulder, his hair tickling your cheek.

"oh, you still play that game?"

he glanced at you from his shoulder, letting the bird hit a pipe and die. poor bird.

"yep. it passes time." he closed the app, putting his phone in his pocket. you stood beside him, your bag in your hands.

"are we going to go home now?"

"what?"

"you were gone so i waited for you. are you done...?"

xiao looked at the floor hiding his face. he was shy in telling you that he waited for you, since he wasn't the type to go around waiting for people.

"you waited? for me?"

"..."

you were touched. he was obviously trying his best in understanding how usual friendship works, no matter how much he'll deny it. you smiled at him genuinely, looking him in the eye.

you then threw your arms around his neck, hugging him. his warmth was comfortable in the midst of the cold rain, the pitter patter of the raindrops relaxing you.

"thank you, xiao."

xiao's eyes widened, his ears red. he was flustered and he didn't know how to respond. so he just shyly and awkwardly slithered his arms around your waist, patting your back.

you felt his chin rest on the top of your head as you buried your face on his chest. you couldn't be any happier, your life was finally improving, and you found a friend who'll always be there with you.

let's just hope that you don't catch feelings-

♡♡♡

you walked home with him, sharing umbrellas because your umbrella miraculously disappeared from your bag. you weren't complaining, though.

you knew who the culprit was when you got home to an empty house, your phone buzzing.

[ new message! ]

hu tao 👻

i stole your umbrella :)
have fun walking with xiao bestie

♡♡♡