My very first fanfiction! Hope you guys are fans of rose garden, because there is going to be a lot of it in this. Hope you enjoy! Go easy on me.
Chapter 1:
An orange glow encompassed the town of Vale. The sun cast it upon the quiet neighborhoods as it began it'd descent behind the horizon. The beams of light it gave off being it's goodbye before it was to be replaced by the moon, though there was still a good few hours before that was to happen. To most of the citizens of Vale this time of day signaled for moms to start setting up dinner, for the children to begin making their way back home from playing, and for fathers to return after a long day's work. A time for family's to be together. However, one young boy was doing the exact opposite of that. His name was Oscar Pine. His feet pounded against the wooden stairs that lead from the back door of his house to the drive way. The screen-door behind him creaked as it was slammed shut, the boy not looking back as he rushed out of his house. "Oscar! You get back here before dark, alright! Or you'll be in so much trouble!" A voice called from the other side of the screen-door. He could hear his aunt giggle after she said that, letting him know he wouldn't be in that much trouble should he arrive late. He chuckles as he calls back through the door. "I'll be back when the sun comes up again! Save me some dinner!"
The sleek black bike sat idle in the drive-way, held up by the kickstand on the side. Oscar worked a whole summer to save up enough to buy it. When he finally managed to pay for it he nearly cried tears of joy. It was a constant joy in his life. He swings his leg over the side and mounts it. The grip of the handle was familiar to his hand, having rode it practically every day since he got it. The eagerness he felt building in his chest. He relished every time he got to ride it. That sense of joy was brought back down when another mosquito appeared, this time landing on his arm. He slaps and misses, just like last time. In his rush to get out of the house he had forgotten his jacket, and was kicking himself for doing that. Going back into the house to get it would just let him get trapped by his Aunt. He would just have to do without it for now. He didn't have time for anything like that tonight. He just wanted to get away from it all, and he knew just the place to do it. A place he had been going to ever since he moved to the town a few months back. A little place of his own where he could rest his head.
There was a small creek on the outskirts of Vale. A dirt road followed it, running alongside of it. Not a soul was around out there. No one to tell him that he needed to respect them. No one to remind him that he needed to take school more seriously. No one to bother him in the slightest. It was no wonder why he loved it out there. Just him, his thoughts, and the sound of the running creek. Sometimes if he was lucky, a few fireflies would even come out and make their appearance. He sat on the edge of the road, sitting at the top of a small slope that lead down towards the river. His feet were placed close to the water, letting the tips of them dip into the cool water. It was a warm summer night, and he hadn't brought anything to drink with him, so he had to cool off some way. Sweat was building up on his body, making his shirt stick to his body. The gel he used in his hair beginning to lose its effectiveness from the humidity and sweat, leaving it in disarray after all the time he spent on it. He lets out a heavy sigh and falls onto his back, looking up at the blazing orange sky. Except that wasn't what he saw. Instead he was greeted by the sight of a girl his age. She smiles down at him. "Hi there!"
Oscar's voice was caught in his throat as he stared at her. She was absolutely beautiful. Her hair was a blend of black and red, her tips being red while the rest was black. It was cut short for a girl, most others in the town preferring theirs long and flowing. Just from that he could tell she was different. It framed her face perfectly. She was short, just a tad bit shorter than him. Her body was lithe and athletic, shown off by the clothes she was wearing. Beacon academy track was printed on the t-shirt she was wearing. Must've been out on a run when she stumbled across him. That explains why she looks so athletic. Not that Oscar was staring at her body, of course. She had large silver eyes. Oscar could get lost in them forever, her eyes being the most striking feature to him. In fact, he hadn't been able to look away from them since she arrived. The girl just sat down next to him on the slope as she waited for him to say something, turning and looking at him with that friendly smile of hers. "Y-you have silver eyes! Er, I mean…" He blurts out to her, causing the girl to blush a bit and turn away. "T-thanks for noticing?" She says back to him unsure of how to respond to that. It causes Oscar to have a growing pit of nervousness develop in his stomach and to look away, as if a rock on the ground next to him had suddenly become very interesting. Maybe if he looks hard enough at it, he'll find how to save himself from further embarrassment. "And you have Hazel ones." His worries diminished when she turned back to him. She had a small smile on her face. A sign to let him know that he hadn't totally embarrassed himself or ruined the moment. The two make eye contact, both of them staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like eternity.
The two teens blushes just grow bigger as they stare, Oscar cracking first and looking back at that rock that might hold the secrets of the universe. "Oh, u-um, thanks for noticing." He parrots her words back at her, not knowing what else to say to her. 'Dammit, why did you do that? Why are you being so lame!? Say something cool!' His internal voice chastises himself. The rock just lays there, not giving him the answers or escape he was hoping for. He isn't looking at her, so he can't see her response. The awkward silence was making him crazy. "You've got freckles too." That's something he didn't expect from her. "What?" His gaze returns to looking at her. "Did you never notice them?" She asks as an attempt of making a joke about his response. Oscar can't help but crack a smile. "You've got red hair." He says back to her in a more playful manner, losing the nervousness to his voice "You've got tanned skin!" "You've got mud on your shoes!" "Well you've got uh, uh…" Her eyes roam over him, trying to find something about him to point out. Her body leaps before she can even consider if it's a bad idea or not. Her hand scoops water up from the creek into her palm and throws it at Oscar, splattering it across the well-worn running shoes he had on. "You've got water on your shoes." Now it was Ruby's turn to feel like she might have just made a huge mistake. She should've thought about what she was doing before she did it. "I'm sor- "Before she can get a word out, Oscar splashes her back. The water hitting her right in the face. "And you have water on your face." He says with a smile, the girl wiping it off with her hand as she stands, a huge smile rivaling Oscar's. "Oh, it is so on."
The cool water of the creek ran between their legs as the two splashed at each other. The low summer sun hitting their backs as they did so. "Gotcha!" Ruby laughs as she throws water at Oscar, hitting him square in the chest. It just made his already wet shirt even wetter, the fabric of it see-through due to all the water. Now it was Ruby's turn to look at Oscar. 'Wow, he's kinda muscly.' The delay in her actions as she thought of that gave Oscar the perfect chance to splash her back, waking her from her thoughts. "For someone on the track team, I thought you'd be faster than that." He quips at her as he backs away from her, trying to retreat from her range of splashing. Ruby was not to be escaped from. "Hey, I'm on track team, not the 'splashing others with water' team!" She giggles as she chased after him, splashing after Oscar as he ran around the stream. "Pfft, maybe if that was an actual team I'd actually play a sport." He continued to out move Ruby in the water, finding that he had an easier time moving through it than she did. "Grrr!" Ruby let's out a playful growl as Oscar keeps evading her. "No escape!" She says before she suddenly lunges at him, catching Oscar by surprise. "Wha- "And he's tackled to the ground by Ruby, forcing both of them to fall back into the water.
Oscar and Ruby both became submerged beneath the water, the water rising just enough to cover the two. His eyes open to see her floating above him. Her hair shifting in the water, moving with the flow of it, her eyes closed. She still had a huge smile on her face. Oscar couldn't help but get the same smile on his own face. Nothing else mattered to him right then. Just being there, happy, with a girl he just met and was almost sure he was in love with. Reality came reeling him back in when he realized he couldn't breath and needed air. Oscar pushed Ruby up with him as he sat up, breaking the surface as they sit there. Not the most romantic moments, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. He gasps for breath while Ruby does the same, though she can't get hers back since she keeps laughing every time she manages to do it. "Told you there was no escape!" "Haha, well, you had to sabotage yourself to catch me. We'll call it a draw then." "A draw!? Why, I've never lost in a splash fight in my life, so I demand a rematch!" She demands from him, but from the tone of her voice he knew she was just kidding. "If you want a rematch, fine." He says as he stands, preparing for another bout of splashing with her. He extends his hand down to her, which Ruby graciously accepts.
He pulls her up to her feet, perhaps pulling her a bit too close, but if he did, she didn't notice or doesn't mind. "Wait a second…" Ruby pauses and takes a step back from him, looking up to the sky. The sun was practically already over the horizon, leaving the sky a purple as the moon begins to take its place. "Crap! I promised my uncle and dad I'd be back from my run before dark. I've gotta go!" She says as she makes her way out of the stream. 'Wait! You can't go yet! I don't even know your name!' Oscar scrambles after her, trying to find the courage to ask her for her name or anything like that. "Ah, wait!" Ruby turns back around to look at him, obviously in a hurry to try and rush home. So anxious to get home that she was jogging in place. "Maybe I can give you a ride on my bike? Got to be faster than on foot, right?" He offers to her, motioning to his bike, propped up against a tree. "Really? Thanks so much!" He hadn't asked for her name, but maybe he'd have a chance on the way back to her house?
Oscar peddled like his life depended on it. Well, romantic life maybe. Soaring down the town streets as fast as his bike could carry him and ruby. "Left!" She commands him as he turns hard. "Tell me sooner!" "But this way is so much more fun!" She was right about that; his heart hadn't pumped this hard since he found a fox in the chicken coop of the farm he used to live on. "Right!" Oscar narrowly avoids crashing the two of them into a garbage can as he turned, hoping the curb. He was new to this town, she relied on ruby to let him know where to go and what to do. She did her job well, even if she was trying to make it as 'fun' as possible for the two of them. "Shortcut!" She points to a small path between two yards. Was shaving off time and possibly getting in trouble from whoever owned the houses worth it? Yes. "Hold on tight!" The two go racing down the dirt path, the ride bumpy as they did so, the two of them nearly being bounced off once or twice, with Oscar almost crashing into the bushes a few times. It worked though. Shaved a good amount of time off on their journey at the cost of bruised butts and shaken nerves. The sun's last fading beams were almost gone, the street lights lighting the night more than the sun did right now. Oscar peddled even faster, not wanting to make Ruby get in trouble. Luckily his clothes had mostly dried by this point, otherwise they'd have never made it in time. Biking in soggy jeans would've been impossible. Suddenly, a dog ran out in front of them, causing Oscar to brake. The two nearly went over the handrails of the bike, but they held on tight enough to not be sent to the ground. "It's right there!" Ruby calls out to him, her house at the end of the street. Oscar breathes a sigh of relief, that just barely, they made it.
Oscar draped himself over the handlebars, trying to catch his breath as Ruby hopped off the back of his bike. "We made it!" She said happily, ecstatic that she had made it in time. Oscar lazily waves his hand in victory, before collapsing back down on the handlebars. "Wooo hoooooo…." He says tiredly. "Now my uncle won't know that I was late at all!" She beams at Oscar, grateful for his help in all of this. "Spoke too soon." A rough gravelly voice calls from the door of her house, a man with a five o clock shadow and red eyes standing there. He stares daggers at Oscar. Ruby visibly deflates when she realizes her and Oscar got caught in the act. "Hurry on inside." Qrow commands her to come inside, since it's already dark out. "Aww…alright. Thanks anyways…" She looks back at him, it just now dawning on her that she didn't know his name. "Oscar. Oscar Pine." "That's a nice name. I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose." "What she means to say that she's off limits, now beat it kid." Oscar and Qrow have a battle of glares. If someone was to walk between them right now, they'd be liable just to die from the looks alone. "I…I'm just going to go now." As much as Oscar wanted to stay there with her, he knew it would only cause more trouble. Not point in making her family angry at him as well. He gives her one last look before he takes off down the road, trying to remember and figure out just how the hell he was supposed to get back to his house.
Ruby walked into her house, Qrow following her close behind. He shuts the door behind him and locks it shut. "Oooh? Who was that I saw you riding with?" Ruby's sister Yang asks her from the couch, having seen it all through the living room window. A wide toothy grin on her face as she asked her sister. "A new boooyfriend?" Yang playfully teases her sister. It was the first time she's ever seen the boy before. "What? No! He's just someone nice I met on my run who offered to take me home." "Mhm, suuuure Ruby." Yang says to her as she props back open the boxing magazine she had been reading, letting Ruby escape from any more teasing for the night. "Be sure to go to fast now! I don't want to be an aunt just yet!" "Gross, Yang!" Well, almost escape more teasing for the night. Ruby walked into her room and collapsed down on the bed, face stuffed into a pillow. 'Oscar? Be my boyfriend? Pff, no way, I don't even know him. No way he could be into someone like me. Right….?'