Excitement buzzed in the air as students gathered in the university's main hall. It was that time of the year again the Fine Arts and Engineering Festival. A tradition that forced two completely different faculties to work together.
Wind slouched in his chair, arms crossed, while Sea sat a few seats away, eyes glued to his phone, pretending Wind didn't exist. Their friends, however, were far more entertained.
Autumn and May exchanged knowing smirks.
Just then, the teacher cleared her throat and tapped the microphone.
"This year's festival will be a collaboration between the Fine Arts and Engineering students. You'll be placed in mixed teams, responsible for booths, decorations, and performances."
Students cheered.
"Oh, and one more thing," the teacher continued, flipping through her clipboard. "Due to… recent events, some students will be paired together for a 'learning experience.'"
Silence.
"Wind and Sea, you'll be working together."
A record-scratch moment.
"WHAT?!"
Both of them shot out of their seats.
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Did you two already forget your meeting with the Headmaster?"
Wind siad,"No we didn't miss."
While Sea muttered under his breath this is so unfair.
The teacher smiled too sweetly. "Then maybe you should have thought about that before you turned the university hall into a wrestling ring."
Laughter rippled through the room as students whispered excitedly this was going to be fun.
The teacher said ,"I don't want anymore comments from you to sit back down. "
"…Fine," they both muttered, slumping back into their seats.
Their friends?
Loving every second of it.
Jam nudged Babe. "This is gonna be good."
Gun chuckled. "They might kill each other before the festival even starts."
Yotha smirked. "Or… something else might happen."
Autumn and May?
Sitting back, looking far too pleased with themselves.
Later that day, the Fine Arts and Engineering groups gathered for their first planning session.
Wind and Sea were forced to sit together. Not by choice Autumn and May made sure of that.
Sea kept his arms crossed, refusing to look at Wind. Wind, meanwhile, tapped his fingers against the table, pretending Sea didn't exist.
Their friends were thriving in the awkward tension.
"Alright!" Autumn clapped her hands. "Let's throw out some ideas for the festival booths."
"Something fun, something engaging," May added with a grin.
Gun leaned back. "How about a haunted maze?"
Jam groaned. "Too much effort."
"What about a photo booth?" Babe suggested.
"Too basic," Yotha countered.
Sea shrugged. "We could do a mechanical bull challenge."
Wind scoffed. "Yeah, because watching people fall on their faces really says 'cultural festival.'"
Sea smirked. "You just don't want to fall off first."
Wind rolled his eyes. "Like you'd last more than five seconds."
Before they could start another argument, May cut in smoothly.
"Okay, lovebirds, focus."
Wind choked on his drink. Sea nearly fell out of his chair.
Autumn bit back a laugh. "Moving on what if we had an interactive competition booth? Something that gets people involved?"
Babe grinned. "Oh! What about a Dunk Tank?"
"Who's getting dunked?" Yotha asked, amused.
Autumn smirked. "Wind and Sea, obviously."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
The two shouted in unison, causing the entire room to burst out laughing.
Seeing their chance, Autum3n and May exchanged a quick glance.
"Since Wind and Sea are so great at working together," Autumn said innocently, "they should handle decorating the outside of our booth."
May grinned. "Great idea! The exterior is the first thing people see, so it has to be perfect."
Wind and Sea looked horrified.
"You planned this, didn't you?" Wind hissed under his breath.
Sea groaned. "I hate all of you."
While he said that they were grinning like devils.
The next day, students gathered in the courtyard to begin festival preparations.
Wind and Sea were stuck decorating the outside of their booth. Together.
Neither of them were happy about it.
"You better not screw this up," Sea muttered, adjusting a stack of banners.
Wind huffed. "Please. I could do this with my eyes closed."
Sea raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
Just as Wind was about to reply SPLASH
A cold water balloon exploded against his chest.
The entire courtyard went silent.
Sea stared, checikshly "…That was an accident."
Wind slowly looked down at his soaked shirt. Then back at Sea.
"Oh, you're dead."
Before Sea could run, Wind grabbed a nearby bucket and
SPLASH.
Direct hit.
The perfectly organized setup turned into chaos within seconds.
Students dodged flying balloons, screams and laughter filling the air.Even Gun, Jam, and Yotha got dragged into the mess, launching balloons at random people.
Autumn and May?
Absolutely THRIVING.
Wind and Sea?
Completely soaked, panting from laughter, for once not glaring at each other.
Then realization hit.
The moment lingered as they stared at each other, their heavy breathing the only sound between them.
Sea's shirt clung to him, droplets of water tracing his jaw. Wind's hair was a mess, water dripping down his face.
Something felt different.
Sea's heart stuttered.
Wind's fingers twitched.
It was like time had slowed down.
Then
Wind snapped out of it, shaking his head. He turned away sharply, running a hand through his wet hair.
Sea quickly looked down, stepping back, forcing his expression into a scowl.
"…You're paying for this," Sea muttered, grabbing a towel.
Wind scoffed. "In your dreams."
Just like that they were back to being at each others throat .
But something had definitely changed.
Their friends?
Watching closely.