A group of teenagers briskly walked past him as he made his way into the dormitory.
Their expressions were bright and full of life, seemingly the exact opposite of his. As they crossed him, he tilted his head to hear only a few bits of conversation. Plans for the weekend, a gathering of friends. The door behind him shut, leaving him alone to his morbid thoughts. He looked back, glancing at the ponytail of the girl escaping around the corner, and then, it was gone. Exhaling deeply, he continued to the Multi-Purpose Room. It had anything a group of teenagers could use, a ping pong table, the latest gaming console in the other corner, board games, and even a kitchen to make food. No that he cared about any of those things especially. Opening the door with a bit of bounce in his step, he made his way inside.
What he cared about was the upright piano... and definitely not the bawling girl on the sofa in front of it. She was rather short and petite, adorning the standard school uniform for girls. He though the red streaks in her hair were quite pretty. She couldn't be older than he was, but she apparently went to Beacon as well.
He cursed under his breath and looked away from the girl. She already noticed him so leaving was out as an option. As much as he would like to leave and not deal with it, he waited all day to play piano again. Also if she ever saw him again, not only would he be a loner with no friends, but he would probably be a loner with no friends hated by a bunch of girls. All girls were basically friends with each other, and were essentially a pack of wolves in groups in his view. Hurting one would only anger the pack and that was not the kind of trouble he was looking for.
The girl was now sniffling and looked at him with the biggest silver eyes he had ever seen.
"Wha- What are you looking at?" She sputtered out. Whatever he was about to say instantly died in his throat. The gods above must have cursed his already dreadful existence. What now? He hated social situations in general, and he definitely didn't know what to do in a situation like this. Damn his social awkwardness! If he had not been so quiet when he was younger, he might've been able to say something now.
The girl covered her face with her hands. "Go away."
A thousand knives punctured his soul. He began to turn, just wanting to return to his room in solitude. As he reached for the door handle, he stopped. He was reminded of the group of people he had passed by at the entrance. He didn't know why, although he had a sinking feeling he knew why. He looked back at the young huntress, and then to the piano behind her.
Gracefully, he made his way across the room, behind the girl to the piano. He put his bag down on the side, adjusted his chair, put his feet on the pedals, and begun to play
[Chopin: 24 Preludes. Op. 28: No. 1 in C Major]
The girl perked up, hearing the rising sound of the piano behind her. She turned in her seat and listened to the boy who barged in on her crying play. Whatever it was, it made her stop crying. If she had to describe the music itself, it was as if two lovers were meeting each other after a long time. She could feel his nervousness, and his excitement, almost akin to the feeling one would have after meeting old friends. The song reached its climax quickly, before getting softer, and finally ending. How short and sweet, she thought.
Then, everything was quiet. As soon as Jaune stopped playing, he rubbed his hands together, picked his bag up, and began to leave. The girl was staring at him with an expression unreadable to him, but the tears had disappeared completely from her eyes. The feelings of a women, how could anyone possibly deduce that? But confidence swelled within him allowing him to speak.
"Um, sorry for barging in on you... I'm...I'm no good at consoling someone... and Im not really good at talking... but-"
"Ruby." She said blankly. He stared at her in confusion. This time she spoke with a brief laugh."My names Ruby Rose, it's nice to meet you...?"
"Oh, um, I'm , uh, Jaune. Jaune Arc." Without thinking he put out his hand for her to shake. H e realized how dumb that must have looked, but nevertheless she shook it with a smile.
" That was a nice song you played, what is it called? Sounds like its classical?"
Now even he had a smile, seems like the girl was slightly interested in music.
"Oh, haha, it's Chopin's Prelude in C Major!"
"Oh Chopin, I heard about him...once. Isn't he that guy from like a bajillion years ago? But Prelude in what now?"
She looked adorable as she looked at him. "Someone once called it the "feverish anticipation of loved ones", if that helps."
Now she was staring at him again." That guy is really good at naming."
"Yeah I know."
Things were quiet again, before Jaune was about to speak up again.
"So, um, why were you-"
Just then her scroll rang. There goes his attempt at being an anime protagonist. Giving him a chaste smile, she turned in her seat and took the call.
"Yang, now is not the... What? Dad sent Zwei in the mail? How the heck did he.. Why? Ok, I'm coming now!"
She got up from her seat, getting her bag. "I have to go, but um, if you ever want to talk about the naming conventions of music, just find me in the cafeteria! Bye Jaune!" In a hurry, she bounced out of the room.
As for Jaune, he was out of words. He got his things, and left the room as well, but this time with more happiness than when he had entered it.
