Achilles Heel
achilles' heel, six.
confession 06;
can someone get me the socials of the h/c-haired girl who's always around kaveh? summer break has started, so i'd like to shoot my shot while it lasts, hehe. she's pretty cute!
—to kaveh's seatmate
• reply by dehya0704: bro i don't know you but she's definitely out of your league
╰┈➤ reply by anonymous: kinda wanted to argue with you but you're breathtaking. whatever you say beautiful
╰┈➤ reply by dehya0704: kill yourself
╰┈➤ reply by anonymous: :(
• reply by narinari: omg @/thesongofyn @/spicynocomedy @/colleilily @/amber_1008_joycheer
╰┈➤ reply by mehrakfan9000kaveh: SHE ACTUALLY PULLS??????
╰┈➤ reply by narinari: i didn't even tag you???
"Is it Childe? Do you think he has finally reached enlightenment?"
"Nari, you're pissing her off." Collei mumbled softly, scared that the atmosphere would grow sullen if Tighnari tried to test Y/N even more.
Y/N, however, wasn't paying any attention to the neverending theories that he had been blabbering about since the moment they all met up at the bus stop. Anonymous confession this, anonymous confession that. Her head was about to explode, both from annoyance and constant sweating, but she skilfully managed to maintain a straight face.
Kaveh was late. Fashionably or not, she didn't know, and neither did she wish to. If he wanted to partake in group outings, he could have at least tried to be punctual for the sake of others.
"He must be stuck in traffic..." Cyno trailed off, watching her brow twitch subtly.
"And he will be thrown into oncoming traffic pretty soon if he doesn't show up."
"If I have to endure this heat for any longer, I swear to God..." Tighnari shook his head, his ponytail swaying with his movements. He was about to add to her complaints, but he noticed a familiar tall figure sprinting towards them. "Oh! Look at that!"
Everybody perked up, releasing simultaneous sighs of relief.
"You made us wait." Y/N stated coldly, not even letting Kaveh catch his breath.
That triggered the blond just a little. "Listen. My place is pretty far from the bus stop and—"
"It's all good. None of us is mad." Collei beamed, stealing a glance at Y/N whose expression was very contradictory to her statement.
"The bus hasn't arrived yet. You're just on time." Cyno attempted to console him. Tighnari caught on and nodded in agreement, pretending as if he wasn't evidently infuriated because of him mere seconds ago.
Kaveh's stare was fixated on Y/N instead, observing every little detail about her appearance— from her countenance to the summer dress that embraced her body. His eyes flickered to her lips, and he was immediately reminded of the accident they had a few days ago.
Her stupid pen.
Stupid me grabbing her stupid wrist.
Stupid stupid stupid.
Unknowingly, his ears turned pink, his brain tucking the memory deep inside in hopes of never letting it resurface again. It was revolting. Aggravating. Unsightly.
"Earth to Kaveh!" Tighnari snapped his fingers in front of his eyes, startling him.
He blinked owlishly.
"Uh... Yeah?"
"I asked if you'd like some water. You look... I don't know, parched?"
"Thank... thank you. Yes, I would."
Collei shifted closer to Cyno. "Did you see that?"
"Indeed. Something fishy is going on."
"Something has been going on for months." She intoned, recalling all the incidents that had taken place between the self-proclaimed mortal enemies. Normal people never behaved like that. Well, unless there were hidden romantic feelings involved.
All chaos subsided as the blaring horn of the bus caught their focus. Y/N was eager to enter first, because she was certain that if she missed the opportunity to secure a seat, her friends would find a way to make Kaveh and Y/N sit together. They had been weirdly persuasive these past few days, saying peculiar things like 'We simply want to see the chemistry between you two'.
Much to her dismay, Collei and Cyno hopped on the bus before Y/N could register its presence. Tighnari, too, brushed past her, shoving her shoulder in the process. She gawked at him incredulously, offended by his audacity.
They are so serious about whatever fantasies they have cooked about me and Kaveh.
"Agh, seriously. No window seats?" She grumbled under her breath, and Kaveh, who was right behind her, cracked a smile.
"Oh? Does miss grumpy have motion sickness? Or does she want to have a main character moment during the ride?"
Ignoring his presence altogether, Y/N plopped herself down, hoping that her beloved project partner would take the hint and sit somewhere far, far away. Preferably where she couldn't see him.
Unfortunately, she felt his presence next to her. His elbow caressed hers, and she had to hold back her violent urges; they included quite a lot of illegal measures.
He definitely did that on purpose.
"Blondie. Can you not ruin my day for once?"
"You ruin mine, I ruin yours. Perfectly fair, don't you think?"
"You're— seriously." Y/N huffed, her shoulders slumping in exhaustion. "A few years ago, I heard your name toss around here and there, more of a concept than a person, and the moment you became my classmate it felt as if you'd begrudgingly materialised out of thin air. You never leave me the fuck alone."
Kaveh grinned, and two dimples highlighted his cheeks like exclamation points. "This is a predicament to you, but plenty of others would love to be in this situation."
"Then why didn't you enjoy your vacation with those 'plenty of others' and chose to accompany me instead, someone you clearly cannot stand."
"I didn't choose to accompany you," He curled a limp strand subconsciously, "I chose to accompany Tighnari. He's kind to me."
Y/N scoffed. "Everyone's kind to you. You're famous among your peers."
A wave of silence stretched between them. Kaveh cleared his throat, wordlessly contemplating whether or not he should open up about his troubles to someone who didn't care.
He released a defeated puff of air, angling himself towards her.
"...It's not genuine kindness. They're nice to me because they want something in return. Tighnari, however... he's transparent. He doesn't treat me like I'm on a pedestal."
This sudden confession surprised Y/N. She was unsure as to how she should react— if she should console him, or if she should act as a listener. Before she could muster a response, a faint whisper escaped his lips, knocking all sense out of her head.
"...And you too. Thanks for that."
"Ah. That's... um," She awkwardly rubbed the nape of her neck, darting her gaze around. "You're welcome?"
Truth be told, she was not used to his vulnerability. They weren't close enough to have deep conversations, hence she was emotionally challenged whenever it came to him.
It had happened on a few other occasions as well, but Y/N would only manage to pat his back for a split second before reducing to absolute smithereens.
"Anyways. How far are you into the project?"
An actual conversation? Wow.
"Three two-page write-ups. Halfway through my part of the twenty-page long paper. Seven out of the fifty slides for our presentation."
Kaveh whistled, visibly impressed.
"You're productive. We still have quite a lot of time, so don't try to outshine me."
"I'll outshine you either way."
"Like hell you will."
And their meaningless bickering was back on track.
"AAGH! Why— no!"
Certain red foxes had befriended Kaveh. Like, genuinely. To the point where one of them tried to escape its cage and follow him outside.
By his terrified screams, it must have been obvious that his small friend sort of succeeded.
That led to the circumstance at hand— zookeepers trying to catch the fox clinging to Kaveh's pants, Tighnari, Cyno and Collei recording his agony with stifled laughter, and Y/N pretending that she didn't know any of them.
In the process of thrashing and flailing around, Kaveh stumbled, falling to the ground with a loud, pained groan. His face contorted with discomfort, revealing an expression laced with pure and utter despair.
"Fuck... my ass..."
Cyno gasped. "Fuck his ass?"
Collei harshly elbowed his ribs, hissing, "Please don't!"
"We're very, very sorry for the inconvenience!" A zookeeper bowed relentlessly, his cap almost flying off his head. Now that the menace was captured and sent back to its rightful location, the surroundings had turned a lot quieter, save for Kaveh's eventual cries. "We'd like to extend our apologies— please feel free to visit the cafeteria, we will not be charging you anything."
"No way. We got free food because of Kaveh's Disney Princess charm?" Y/N raised her brows in surprise, earning amused snickers from the trio.
"I think I scraped my knee..." Kaveh whimpered, brushing the dirt off his clothes absently. He looked at the group, carrying buckets of anticipation, as if asking them to pull him up.
Y/N trudged towards him with reluctance, rolling her eyes.
"Get up, your highness."
Begrudgingly, the boy grabbed her hand, hoisting himself up with a yelp. Tighnari, Cyno and Collei backed away from the scene, giggling among themselves. Though, their action went unnoticed, because Y/N was busy dragging Kaveh to a bench nearby.
His arm was draped over her shoulders, seeking her support. His legs limped against the cobblestone, making Y/N wonder just how tender his body was. The fall couldn't have been that bad.
She settled him down, resting her palms on her waist. He really did seem to be hurt. Or maybe it was his ego that was bruised.
Whatever.
"I'm sorry." He said in an undertone, sounding embarrassed. "I... killed the mood."
"Chill out. We were very entertained, and we also got free food because of you."
Kaveh peered over at her nervously. "...Are you making fun of me right now?"
"Totally not!" She flashed him a mock grin, "Okay, roll up your pants."
"Excuse me?"
"Roll up your pants. Show me the injury." Y/N repeated, every ounce of sarcasm disappearing from her tone.
He was appalled by her demand, hugging his torso in fear. "Why?!"
"Collei! Hand me the water bottle, will you?" She called out, her nose scrunching up in confusion when she took note of the distance between them. "...What are you guys doing in that corner?"
Collei was alarmed, not expecting to hear her name. She exchanged something with Cyno and Tighnari, then rushed towards Y/N in a hurry. The green-haired girl's cheerful mien fueled Y/N's perplexity even more, but she decided not to question it. Taking the bottle from her grasp, she uncapped it, dampening her handkerchief with the pleasantly cold water.
"Can you please roll up your pants?"
Kaveh, although hesitant, did as he was told, eyeing her strangely. He chewed at his bottom lip, scrutinising her with an intensity that could slice her in half.
In a gentle motion, Y/N wiped the wound. Kaveh inhaled sharply, gripping the handle of the wooden bench, and his fingers closed into tight fists due to the piercing ache that flared throughout the affected area.
His gaze remained unwavering while she fished a bandaid from the pocket of her dress. After blowing at his scratch for a couple of seconds, she carefully put it on the injury, her concentration solely on the task she was performing.
"You're such a kid."
"Be quiet." Kaveh cupped his cheeks, concealing the roseate dusting them. "I'm not all that clumsy."
"You're worse than Ishir. And trust me, I've tended to his wounds more than I've heard my own name." Y/N suppressed a smile, a fondness twirling in her irises. "Do you wanna rest? Or can we finally go ahead and eat something?"
Kaveh could feel the breath escaping his lungs, his chest coming to a pause. Hush— everywhere. His world came to a standstill, from the trees to the wind that rushed to win a race with no finish line. Warmth assaulted his spine, his stomach, the roots of his hair, his skin, the idiotic muscle that pumped blood into his veins...
This was the first time he had ever seen a trace of unfeigned benevolence in her mannerisms for him.
And God, did his heart skip a beat.
remember when i lied and said "expect frequent updates".... lol
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