Chapter Text
God, Aether was exhausted. He sighed as his alarm began blaring into his ear drums. His eyes shot open and his mouth was sealed into a tight line.
He didn’t get much sleep last night, the anxiety of going to a new school as a high school freshman with his sister keeping him up. When he deemed his alarm too annoying to continue listening to, he turned it off and ran his hands over his face.
He should get up.
Aether grabbed the end of his blanket and threw it off his body without care. Rising like a zombie, he flung his feet over the side and decided to nab the shower first before getting his twin up. The house was quiet, not anything new as his parents really had no care for them.
He grabbed towels and entered the bathroom in the hallway and god, he really was a mess. Dark bags under his eyes, which was reasonable, he was an insomniac after all, his pale skin didn’t seem so healthy, yet it was a trait he shared with his sister. He laughed at how disgusting he looked.
Aether took a long shower, humming simple tunes here and there. When he finished, he wrapped a towel around his waist and draped one over his head. His long blonde hair, one he had chosen to keep because his sister loved experimenting and dressing his hair in various styles, stuck uncomfortably to his back.
After he returned to his room, he had grabbed his uniform for the new school and slipped into it. It was confusing to him, really. He and his sister were doing fine at their old school. Perhaps their mother had just wanted to have them achieve a better education. They were being sent to a high profile school after all.
Though, it was interesting. Why in the middle of the year?
The uniform, a simple white button up with a black tie, tan sleeveless sweater, and grey slacks- a grey skirt in the girl’s case, hung loosely on his body, even if he had ordered a small. Surely he wasn’t that small!
The white button up, even though it was buttoned all the way, still slipped to one side. The only thing keeping it from exposing part of his collar bone was his black tie. Aether sighed. The grey slacks hung loosely on his hips, too. To combat this, he pulled up his pants and used a dark brown belt.
Once he was ready, Aether checked the time. It was six in the morning. They had to leave by eight in order to catch the public bus to make a trip into the city to get to school. Aether decided to get his sister ready. He swiped his hair brush off his desk and began brushing through his blonde locks, leaving his door to wake his sister.
He kicked his sister’s door open without care. She was hanging off her bed, not giving a single reaction to the intrusion. He sighed.
“Lumine! Get your ass up!” He kicked her side with his bare feet. She groaned and slapped his foot away. He kept kicking her until she stood up and grabbed his attacking foot, putting him off balance as he hopped to keep it.
“Stop, you gorilla!” She spat out. Aether cracked up.
“Get up, you need to get ready. We have to leave by eight and I still haven’t made breakfast. Lumine whined but got up regardless. “I’m just going to make avocado toast.”
“Sure.” She yawned as she pushed herself to her feet. Aether laughed. As they parted in the hallways, he made sure to mess up her hair in the older brother manner. They were really similar in features. Blonde hair, though hers was a few shades lighter, golden eyes that shimmered like the sun, and pale, pale skin.
Lumine growled but didn’t say anything as she entered the bathroom and Aether, the kitchen. He prepared the meal, toasting wheat bread, mashing the avocados they had, and slabbing them onto the toasted bread. There were three slices. Two for Lumine, one for him. He never had much of an appetite, so he barely ate, however, Lumine was a black hole when it came to food.
When Lumine arrived, she was in her school attire with a flower clip in her hair. “Aether, let me do your hair!”
He nodded. “After you eat, hag.” She rolled her eyes but obliged. They made occasional chatter.
“Do you have practice today?” She had asked. Aether nodded. He was a contemporary dancer. Flexible, light on his feet, and graceful. “Cool, cool!”
“And what about you? What are you going to do?” He asked in return. She thought for a minute, legs swinging from her chair since they couldn’t reach the floor, much like Aether’s. They were both pretty short, Lumine being five-foot-two and Aether only an inch taller.
“I’m probably going to just run laps around the neighborhood. Track is already in session and I don’t want to join late. I’ll probably wait until next year.” She said, gobbling the last of her toast. Lumine was a track prodigy, fast and enduring.
Aether nodded. They both placed their dishes in the sink, having a rock-paper-scissors battle over who would wash them when they got back home. Aether had won, leaving Lumine to sulk. They brushed their teeth, grabbed their already packed bags, and left their house by eight, Lumine having braided Aether’s hair right before they left.
The walk to the bus was short. When it arrived a few minutes after eight, they paid and sat. Aether plugged in headphones and began listening to music as Lumine stared out the window. The ride was around twenty minutes. They arrived half an hour before nine. Classes started at eight-forty.
Aether looked at the size of their school, Genshin Academy, and sighed. It was gigantic.
The school was packed with people. Lumine sparkled with joy, being the extroverted twin, while Aether grimaced, the thought of having to talk to anyone of those people already filling him with dread. Lumine was about to run off but Aether held her by her bag. “Remember, don’t attack anyone you don’t know with hugs just yet.”
Lumine pouted but it had no effect on Aether. Though he was a loving and soft-hearted person as stated by Lumine, when it came to his sister, he was protective and would stab anyone who got too close. She nodded. “Do you have your schedule?”
She nodded, pulling her paper from the mess of a backpack that hung off her shoulders. He cringed. He was always neat and orderly while she was just...a slob.
“Room B224.” She read out. He nodded.
“Room B222.” He replied. Lumine lit up.
“That means we’re on the same floor and wing!” He nodded. “Let’s head to our classes now! So we know where to head again! We have time to search anyways!”
“Five minutes?” He asked. Her eyes widened.
“Let’s go now, then!” She grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind her.