Waking up, Lume felt as if she had been sawn apart with a grinder, but realizing she hadn't, she simply wanted to drop dead.
° Lumine's POV °
*Waking up felt like absolute shit, and I didn't even know where I was. Looking around, I realized I hadn't been kidnapped by a maniac; I was at home. I saw a glass of water and two headache pills on the table. My backpack was nearby—I guess Aether handled everything for me so we wouldn't get grilled with questions like, "WHY DO YOU HAVE THE SAME HANDWRITING?!" Though I'll probably have to explain eventually that ours is just identical. I took the pills and caught a scent from the kitchen. I headed there as if under a spell. In the kitchen, I saw Aether cooking another portion—for me or for himself, I wondered.
"Aether," I called my brother. And bingo, he heard me.
"What is it? By the way, go wash up and brush your teeth," he told me.
"Fine," I replied.
I went to the bathroom, stripped, and turned on the shower. Warm water flowed, even though I'd turned it to hot—I guess Aether had just showered. I shivered from the initial cold, but then the hot water kicked in, and I felt the warmth. After washing up, I threw on a robe and went to brush my teeth. My toothpaste was strawberry-flavored with sparkles, while Aether's was peach and vanilla—though he smells like peaches and his hair smells like vanilla, or vice-versa, or both, or maybe he doesn't smell at all; honestly, why the hell am I obsessing over his scents? I brushed my teeth and went back to my room. I checked my phone—6:40 AM. I was surprised I'd woken up so early. Ten minutes later, the runt called me. On my way down, I almost fucking killed myself, but I survived.
Entering the kitchen, I saw Aether eating WITHOUT ME. I'd kill him, but I'm too lazy. I flopped onto a chair, turned on my phone, opened TikTok, and started eating. I checked the time—7:10 AM. They say you should eat slowly so the food digests, but looking at my plate, I realized life was over because I'd run out of food. Being a strong woman, I went to get dressed. I put on a shirt and a huge hoodie over it—it's cold, okay? I also wore wide-leg pants with tights underneath. Then I sat at the desk and started on my makeup. I did my lips like a Korean girl—don't know how it happened, but I looked amazing. Then came the fucking eyeliner wings, and oh a miracle, I got them right on the first try—standard black wings. Then blush, god knows why 😮💨, but it was light pink. My phone showed 7:40 AM—time to leave. But when I stepped out of the room, I didn't see the little brat; I figured he was waiting for me.
When I got to the entrance, I saw his shoes were gone, so he was waiting outside. I put on my leaf-colored sneakers.
I saw Aether; he was waiting for me with my backpack.
"Hey, Aether!" I shouted.
Aether turned around; he was in a big T-shirt with a hooded jacket over it. He also wore wide-leg pants and black sneakers. His hair was braided, and you could see an earring in his ear. I found my hair clip in the backpack and put it on. It was a clip with two flowers, one light blue and the other white. I walked up to him, and we headed to school, talking.*
° End of Lumine's POV °
Aether and Lumine talked cheerfully on their way to school. When they entered the classroom, they saw... no one? Oh right, the schedule—motherfucker. They headed to the store for snacks. They bought some, sat on a bench, and talked while eating. It was finally break time, which meant Computer Science was next. The twins entered the school and the correct classroom; they weren't the first, but they weren't the last either. Everyone took their seats and the lesson began.
The teacher explained the topic, gave assignments, and that was it. The bell rang for the break, and everyone went to change. Everyone headed to the locker rooms except Aether, who decided to change last. Only one person remained when Aether entered. In the locker room was Xiao, sitting alone with his phone. Aether noticed him.
"Xiao, why aren't you leaving the locker room?" A stupid question, perhaps, but no one was there to answer.
Xiao looked at Aether quizzically, as if asking, "Why haven't you changed when everyone else did it ages ago?"
"It's noisy out there, and you can't hear it as much in here," Xiao replied.
"C-could you leave?" Aether said, stuttering.
"Why?" Xiao asked. "Just change. I'm not looking," Xiao said firmly.
Aether was very shy, but he started changing. He was wearing an oversized T-shirt and pants. When Aether came out, Lume approached him.
"How was it?" she asked.
"Well, there was one person, and he didn't look," the boy answered.
"I see."
A muscular man walked in with... HORNS?! Everyone was in shock. The bell rang.
"Line up, fast!" the man shouted.
"Alright, kids, I'm your new PE teacher. My name is Arataki Itto, but to friends, I'm just Itto," the new gym teacher said.
"Alright, 10 laps. Boys do 20 push-ups, girls 15." Whistle "RUN!"
While the class was running, Aether began to feel unwell. Xiao noticed this.
"Take a short break, then run again!" the gym teacher shouted.
For Aether, it was a relief. He sat on the bench and tried to catch his breath.
"Are you alright?" Xiao's voice appeared out of nowhere.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Aether replied without thinking.
"It's obvious you're not well. Maybe you should ask to go to the nurse?" Xiao insisted.
Meanwhile, the quartet was watching them.
"Lum, are they banging?" Venti asked.
"Right? They look like a couple!" Kaeya and Tartaglia chimed in.
"I doubt it," Lume replied thoughtfully.
"Alright then," her friends said.
Meanwhile, with Xiao and Aether:
Xiao kept insisting, or so it seemed to Aether. But Aether kept refusing. This made Xiao angry, though it didn't show on his face.
"Aether, I'm going to go ask for you myself." Xiao tried to stay calm.
"No, everything is fine. There's no need to worry," the youth replied.
Xiao finally snapped and was about to do exactly what he said.
"Xiao? Xiao, where are you going?" Aether asked worriedly.
In the PE teacher's office:
"Hello," Xiao began.
"Greetings," Itto replied.
"I think Aether is unwell. I'm taking him to the nurse," Xiao said.
"Yeah, sure, take him," Itto said.
"I wasn't asking you; I was telling you where I'll be with Aether," the boy said.
"Hahaha!" the gym teacher laughed. "I guess I didn't catch your drift at first. Alright, then."
"Goodbye," was the last thing Xiao said.
In the gym:
"Aether," the boy shouted loudly as he approached him, "let's go. No arguments."
Aether had to give in and go with him. They walked in silence, but when they reached the office, Aether said:
"Thank you, Xiao. Well, I'm going in, and you go back to class."
Xiao walked back to the gym in silence.
° Aether's POV °
I'm surprised Xiao took me. I said goodbye to him and entered the nurse's office. As soon as I entered, I didn't see her. She came out and asked what was wrong with me. I told her I felt sick, etc. She told me I was an idiot who just wanted to skip tests.
The Abortions
Lyney
"Lynette, where is my uniform!!"
Lynette
"Are you fucking serious right now?"
Lyney
"Yes."
Lynette
"No shit. You don't care that it's the middle of the lesson?"
Lyney
"No."
Lynette
"Spoken like a true tool."
Lyney
"😭😭😭😭😭 Freminet, come here, I have depression 😭😭😭😭"
Freminet
"It's your own fault."
Lyney
"Damn it 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭"
Aether
"You're a loser."
Lumine
"And where are you, exactly?"
Aether
"At the nurse's. I felt sick, and she said I'm fine and just an idiot who wants to skip class."
Lumine
"Well, damn."
Venti
"Anyway, Tartaglia wiped out in the locker room. Hu Tao and Kaeya are burying him."
Lumine
"AND YOU DIDN'T CALL ME?! 😡😡😡😡😡😡 I'm coming right now, you're gonna get it."
Tartaglia
"I have been resurrected.
Replying to user: Lumine
'I'm coming right now, you're gon...'
Please don't 😨😨"
Kaeya, Venti, Lumine, and Hu Tao
"Holy shit, he's actually resurrected."
Diluc
"Go do your PE and stop doing dumb shit."
Kaeya
"Aw, Diluc((( "
Diluc
"Shut your trap."
Kaeya
"😭😭😭😭😭😭"
Aether
"What's with the bullying?"
Zhongli
"Aether, I read the chat above. Go change and inform the teacher that you are leaving."
Aether
"Alright."
° Zhongli °
I am surprised that Xiao is worried about someone.
***
When Aether got home, he went to the bathroom to wash his hands. After that, he went to his room to change. Once changed, he lay on the bed and started scrolling through TikTok. Two hours later, there were about 1–3 lessons left (he had no idea). Aether got dressed and went to the store. Walking down the street, he smelled the flowers, thinking about how "delicious" they were. There was the store. He entered and went to the grocery section.
"Okay, milk, tomatoes, cucumbers, butter, flour, and a lot of other things needed," he said to himself.
He paid for the groceries and went home. Lumine was waiting for him there.
"Listen, kiddo, I'm going out. Bye-bye," was all Lume said.
Aether wasn't surprised and said goodbye to her. He washed his hands again and changed. And then, a miracle: he finally went to the kitchen to put away the groceries. But damn it, he forgot to ask Lume when she'd be back.
Chat: Lume 😎 / Slave ✨✨
"Hey! When are you coming home? ° 5:20 PM °"
"In two hours. ° 5:40 PM °"
"Ok. ° 5:50 PM °"
Time to cook then, Aether thought. Tonight's dinner was borscht 😔👆. Two hours passed, and the food was ready. Aether sat down to eat and wait for his sister. She arrived 10 minutes later and sat down to eat as well.