(A/N: Hello everyone! I have a little change for the book. I first thought that it'd be good if every nation has their own school and the characters of a nation only go to the school of their nation. But then a culture festival wouldn't really be logical, at least I think so. So, I've changed it that all the characters go to the same school; "Teyvat High School"!

Also, I know it's October right now, but for the sake of the book, please imagine it's still summer 😭)

After days of hard work, endless rehearsals, and plenty of fun moments shared, the culture festival finally arrived. Luckily, no classes are on the program for today. The culture festival started at 11:00 AM. Our performance is on 4:00 PM, so we have plenty of time to enjoy the festivities.

I walked to school with Ayaka today. As we walked through the school's gates, we were greeted with all sorts of different stuff. There were booths, stalls and decoration as far as the eye could see. The atmosphere was really great.We spotted Yoimiya and the others at the entrance of the school building. We made our way over to them.

"Hey everyone." I said and waved. The others waved back and greeted us. "I'm so exited! Watch us be the best ones performing today." Yoimiya said with a confident grin.We walked up the stairs in the school building, our destination were our lockers. Yoimiya, Itto and I have our lockers pretty close because we're in the same class. Ayaka's and Thoma's are a bit more spread out.

I unlocked my locker and put my bag inside. I left everything there except my phone. The others put their stuff in their lockers too. We met at the stairs again to go down."Who's up for some snacks? I heard the food stalls this year are gonna be great!" Thoma said and smiled. We quickly made our way outside again. There were a bunch of different food stalls with food from all over Teyvat.

"I feel like eating Takoyaki." Yoimiya said as we walked past the different food stalls. "Really? You choose to eat food from the nation you're from in the culture festival? Be a bit creative." Itto said and playfully rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, okay? I just like Takoyaki." Yoimiya said and shrugged.

In the end, Yoimiya did take Takoyaki. Basic. Ayaka decided to go for 'Saurus Crackers' from Natlan. They were cookies with Natlan's Saurians on them. Itto got 'Mondstadt Hash Brown', fried mashed potatoes. Thoma said he wasn't thirsty and just picked a 'Sparkling Berry Juice', a non-alcoholic drink from Mondstadt. I picked 'Fried Raddish Balls', a speciality from Liyue.

Itto was next to me as we walked through the different booths and stalls. I looked over to him and was met with his gaze already on me. "Want some?" he asked and smiled. I looked at the food he had and then nodded with a smile. "Sure. Do you want some of mine too?" I asked, extending my hand that held the food.

I took a piece of the fried mashed potatoes he got and he took one of the fried radish balls. "Mmh, those are really good!" Itto said with a bright smile. I swalloed the piece of the fried mashed potato. "These are not so bad either. Didn't know that you have good taste." I said and chuckled. "Well, now you do~" He said with a grin. I rolled my eyes.

We continued wandering through the festival, checking out various booths and stalls. The air buzzed with excitement. Students were rushing from one activity to the other, others holding prizes they won from different booths.

As we passed by a stall selling handmade accessories, Yoimiya stopped in her tracks. "Ooh, look at these!" She pointed at a collection of beaded bracelets. "We should get something matching as a keepsake!" Yoimiya grinned, already looking through the different bracelets.

"Yeah, why not? Seems like a nice idea." Thoma said and smiled. We joined Yoimiya in looking through the bracelets. The five of us got matching ones, in our favorite colors. I looked at my wrist and smiled.

After we made our purchases, we headed to a game stall where a group of students were cheering each other on. It was a classic ring toss, with prizes from keychains to plushies. Itto, of course, couldn't resist the challenge.

"Watch this, I'm gonna win that giant onikabuto plushie." Itto said, his voice full of confidence.

In order to win the biggest prize, which were big stuffed plush animals, you had to successfully throw 4 out of 5 rings. "Yeah, yeah. You shouldn't talk to early." I teased and crossed my arms, watching him.

Surprisingly, he scored all five. "Who doubted me?" Itto asked with a smirk and looked at me. He got the giant onikabuto plushie. He held it in his hand, looking down at it for a short moment before handing it to me.

"I'm giving it to you." he said with a grin, but there was a softness in his eyes that made my heart skip a beat. I blinked, a bit surprised but touched by the gesture. "Thank you." I said, feeling a blush creep up to my cheeks. "You didn't have to, though."

"Uh, 'course I did." he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You need a good luck charm, remember?" he asked with a smile.

I hugged the plush beetle to my chest, feelings its soft fabric against my skin. Itto's grin was as wide as ever, but there was something more in his eyes—a genuine warmth that made my stomach flutter.

"You're too sweet sometimes, you know that?" I said, my voice softer than I expected it to be right now. The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them, but the way Itto's expression shifted made me glad that I did say it.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, don't get used to it. I've got a reputation to keep, you know." he joked, his usual bravado coming back in full force. But even though he said that, there was a slight blush coloring his cheeks, betraying his tough-guy behaviour.

I chuckled, more at ease now. "I'll keep that in mind."

I looked down at the big beetle plushie. "Do I have to carry this around the entire time now?" I asked with an arched eyebrow. "I mean, you can go put it in your locker." Itto said and shrugged. "That's a good idea." I said and nodded. I told Ayaka and the others that I'd go put it in my locker. Itto tagged along.

We entered the school building and walked up the stairs, the buzz of the festival slowly fading away as we walked through the quieter halls. It was a nice break from the excitement outside. Itto walked by my side, his hands stuffed into his pockets, occaionally glancing at me.

As we reached my locker, I unlocked it and carefully placed the plushie inside, making sure it wouldn't get squished by something. Closing the door with a soft click, I turned to face Itto, who was leaning against his locker, which was close to mine.

"You're really attatched to that thing already, huh?" he teased. I rolled my eyes playfully. "It's a good luck charm, remember? I gotta take care of it." I said and shrugged with a smile.

As we stepped outside again, the atmosphere was still as lively as before. It was almost overwhelming how much there was to do, but in the best way possible.

"Okay, what next?" Itto asked, glancing around at the different booths. "I'm feeling like winning some prizes." he said. I raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we go back to the others?" I asked, looking at him. He wants us to stay alone?

He shrugged nonchalantly, a mischievous grin on his face. "Nah, they can wait. This is our time. Besides, I promise I'll win you something awesome." His enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself smiling despite my initial hesitation.

We played some more of the games. Itto won two keychains at a game stall, giving me one of them. "Sadly, they're not matching ones, but just imagine they are." Itto said with a smile. I chuckled. "Sure."

We met up with the others by chance again. Yoimiya rushed over to us. "Where were you two?! (Y/N), I called you so many times!" she said, holding up her phone. "We had some fun by ourselves." Itto said, putting his arm around my shoulder.

"He forced me." I said and pointed at Itto. "I did not!" he protested. "Whatever." she said. Thoma and Ayaka joined us too. "We found a nice ice cream stall. Who's up for it?" Thoma asked with a smile. We all agreed and made our way to the ice cream stall. We sat down on a shady bench under a tree and ate the ice cream.

As the clock ticked closer to 4:00 PM, we made our way backstage to start getting ready for our performance. The atmosphere shifted slightly, the carefree festival fun giving way to a more focused energy. Everyone was a little nervous, but excited. This was our moment to shine.

Thoma was tuning his bass, Yoimiya and Ayaka chatting with some girls who performed eariler and Itto was just walking around.

I was playing some random stuff on my guitar to check if it was good in tune. The high E string could be tuned better. I turned the tuning peg, and when I just got the perfect note, I heard a sharp twang.

My guitar string had snapped.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

(A/N: HELLO SWEETIES!! I'm sorry, I had to end the chapter like that- Wanted some more sweet interactions between (Y/N) and Itto ('♡ヮ♡') !! I'm once again writing this during class HAHHAHAHAH Also, I feel like I'm not giving Thoma enough screentime lolz... STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!! BYE, MY POOKIES!!)