#prob my last post before chilumi month starts so enjoy!!

[naralumi]

chilumi as... high school au!

a childe x lumine headcanon/au based on the typical high school au trope!

part of my chilumi as... series

summary: student council president lumine is in charge of the new kid, ajax. he makes her feel like she's in some teen romcom, but she's trying to play it cool. he isn't even that handsome. besides, she's like... the popular girl. why would a handsome transfer student fluster her so much?

ayaka, 7:49am: are u guys meeting me for coffee before class? <3

lumine, 7:55am: just aether, i have to get to school early. responsible for the new kids orientation. lunch together? :D

perfect grades, a good reputation, solid extra curriculars and a sensible circle of friends. it was only expected that lumine would be voted as student council president in her senior year - the campaign (which she had been dreaming about since she was a freshman) wasn't quite as exciting as she had hoped, she ran uncontested. still, her best friend ayaka had helped her make signs and got her law student older brother to proofread her speeches. it was good practice for the future, or at least, would make her college applications stand out more. she needed all the help she could get to cinch an ivy league scholarship.

the one teeny-tiny issue was that, despite how good being student council president sounded in theory, it actually took up a lot of time. she was sort of the school's own personal errand girl. maintaining her 4.0 gpa, math tutoring and volunteering alongside these new responsibilities left her negative time for herself. not even for an iced latte with aether and ayaka that morning.

"i'm here," lumine knocked on the door of the staff room, crossing the threshold as the clock struck eight, out of breath from running down the street, heavy book bag in tow. her hair was stuck to her face; she must have been an absolute sight to behold. "sorry i'm late."

"you're not late, miss young" mr porter laughed, like the very notion that lumine could be capable of such a thing was ridiculous.

"in fact, i was early." a tall boy with a cheery voice, reddish brown hair and bright blue eyes stood up. lumine hadn't even noticed him in her hurry to meet her homeroom teacher.

"you're ajax?"

"yes. ajax morozov." he smiled, reaching out to shake lumine's hand. his pale skin felt soft and warm around her own; and she stared up at him, slightly intimidated by how this guy managed to be the most handsome boy she had ever seen, and also the most adorable (she was a sucker for freckles, and he seemed to have millions of tiny ones dotted across his cheeks, sprinkled like powdered sugar).

ugh, lumie, be cool.

"i'm lumine young."

"i heard you're the student council president. and a math tutor. and you do something with... horses?"

great. "mr porter told you all about me, huh?"

"i had to boast our star student! mr morozov doesn't know anyone here, his whole family just relocated from california."

"we move a lot," ajax shrugged. "enough about that."

"you... left california... for ohio?" lumine couldn't hide the horrified look that spread across her face. "you poor thing."

"why don't you give ajax a tour while it's still quiet?"

"yes, why don't i?"

**

ajax talked a lot. not in a bad way - he had questions, he was interested in everything lumine was saying, and really seemed to want to get to know her, too, not just interested in finding out where he was allowed eat and pee. it was a little bit embarrassing, though, having to talk about how she lived on a ranch with her parents and her twin brother and had to live up to all the amazing things mr porter had told him about her. like, sure, her qualities all looked good on paper, but her haircut was kind of lopsided (she was never going to forgive aether for being distracted while trimming it last week) and her breath was bad in the morning and she had a lot of dry skin in weird places. she was not perfect. but ajax, by god, ajax was. he had to be. he looked like he just stepped out of a fairy tale. he was a prince, high royalty, handsome and wealthy and well travelled (he told her he spoke five languages fluently, which made lumine's a+ in french look meaningless) and kind. all the boys at her school were kind of jerks, so she couldn't imagine how he'd fit in with them.

lumine had never been interested in looking twice at a guy in her class, but now she couldn't tear her eyes away from ajax. so unprofessional! this was meant to be about pointing out the fire exits and giving him tips on what foods to avoid in the cafeteria, not securing a prom date before the rest of the seniors realised that there was finally a hot guy in their midst.

"i'm still quite hung up on the fact you live on a ranch. that's so...,"

"it's exactly what you expected when you moved to ohio, right?"

"yeah," he laughed. "los angeles is a different world."

"i spent the summer mucking stables and teaching kids to ride ponies. not exactly hot girl stuff, but my parents paid me well."

"you worked at horse summer camp?! you're a weird horse girl!"

"hey!" lumine punched his arm. "it's not my fault! i was born into it!"

"yeah, i know all about that."

as a comfortable silence fell, she led him to the last stop on their little orientation, which was their homeroom. "so, we have to be here by 8:45 every morning. we can chill at lunch, too, but most people just sit out or go for a drive."

ajax nodded. "got it."

"come on, there's a seat next to mine that isn't assigned yet. i'll show you."

"it's definitely under the teacher's nose, right?"

"you think you know me?" she grinned. it was actually at the very back of the classroom, hers by the window, and the one that would now be ajax's in front of it. "i prefer a view. just love staring at the parking lot."

"you can stare at the back of my head now if you get bored of cars."

"noted. can i have a look at your schedule?"

"be my guest."

they took their seats and ajax reached into his pocket. "here. do we have any classes together?"

"yup. you're taking all ap?"

"moving around a lot doesn't leave me much time to make friends, so i study instead."

"well, stick with me, then. i'll make sure you don't get lost." lumine paused for a minute, unsure if it was appropriate to pry. "any reason for all the moving?"

"it's a long story."

"we have about ten minutes before everyone piles in if you feel comfortable telling it. you don't have to, though. just curious." "oh, i don't mind at all, it's just... ugh, it's boring. i always look super mysterious when i transfer schools," he shakes his head. "but it's nothing fun. my dad is a business man and his offices keep expanding, so we travel so he can help with the set up and transition period or whatever, and then it's usually onto the next one within six months. he promised that we wouldn't leave her til i graduated considering i'm a senior now, but if duty calls... well, no big deal. i'll get my credits from wherever and finally settle down when i get into college."

"that sounds rough," lumine said, gently. "do you have any siblings?"

"yeah. three younger, none of them have started high school yet, and two older ones i haven't seen in a while. it's pretty tough on the kids, i don't mind so much, but they haven't learned to not make friends or put down roots yet."

"hm. i get you. what's the point, right?" "exactly. dad says it'll be different every time, but it never really is."

"i have a proposition for you."

"really?" ajax raised his eyebrows.

"yeah. you and me. we'll be friends. no questions asked if you disappear tomorrow. i won't cry or make you feel guilty for being a terrible bestie, so you don't have to feel bad. but if you fancy riding a horse or studying for the sats together, then i'm your girl. you can even come for coffee with me before class. me, my twin brother aether, and my best friend ayaka usually carpool to starbucks and then to school because we can't survive without iced lattes. if you're down, you're welcome."

"that... sounds great."

lumine was chuffed with herself. what a great student council president she was. now, the only job remaining was to not develop a crush on ajax morozov. getting attached would be against the rules.

lumine, 8:59am: ayaka, help. i think i like the new kid. he is so beautiful and his voice is like butter and when i talk to him i feel like im gonna THROW UP. where the hell are u two. ugh now i know how u felt when you ran into miko at the pool