Author's note: Once upon a time, this was intended to be a oneshot. Technically, this chapter could probably actually stand alone. That said, ideas kept running away with me. We get to know a little about Pearl in this and the next chapter (which were originally to be one chapter), but there will also be glimpses into Rose's life in the next, and I found myself wanting to explore that further - like how in SU there are things we may be able to guess, but are never told about her. I wanted to delve into that more here. I currently have it planned out to span 18 chapters in total, but that's subject to change.
Rose glanced again at her classmate, a few spaces down the barre from where she stood – Pearl. It had only been a couple of weeks since the semester began, and the Intro to Ballet class only met twice a week, but Rose knew her name. Pearl always made her smile with how happy she always seemed about the class; it was adorable, and it always brightened her day.
That's what was so concerning about right now, however, and why Rose's worried gaze kept falling on the younger woman. Pearl looked troubled, and her eyes shone with tears she was holding back. They had never spoken before, so she wasn't sure how well-received she would be if she tried to talk to her… but as other students trickled in, nobody else talked to her either, and Rose decided it was something she needed to do. If Pearl had a close friend, well, that friend would probably be better suited to talking to her than a stranger. But no one was talking to her, and Pearl looked upset, and she refused to leave it that way.
Pearl looked up as one of her classmates came over and stood next to her. Even having only had a few class sessions, everyone had more or less stuck to their initial lineup at the barre, and Rose didn't normally stand by her. She was well aware of this, because she occasionally did catch herself looking at Rose when her eyes weren't focused upon her own movements in the mirror. Rose was beautiful, and she found herself admiring her very quickly. That was actually part of why she didn't think she would ever talk to her. She had never had the courage to talk to girls she was interested in.
Although she had come over here with the intention to talk to her, Rose realized that she hadn't planned out what to say at all. Introducing herself seemed strange, having already had class together a few times, and particularly since she already knew Pearl's name. So after a moment of hesitation, she simply got to the point. "Are you okay?"
The question seemed to surprise Pearl. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, the words seeming too automatic to be genuine. The way she was biting her lip didn't seem all that fine, either.
She supposed she should have expected that. Even though she truly did genuinely care, she was little more than a complete stranger to Pearl. "You just seem a little troubled about something," she commented. I know you don't know me, and I understand if you don't want to talk to me about it. But… I want to help. She didn't want to make Pearl uncomfortable by saying such things, but she did hope that showing she did care might help a little, if Pearl realized that's what she was trying to say.
Pearl made a small sound of agreement before averting her eyes, tears barely held back. As she did so, Rose glanced around, shifting slightly so that Pearl's face would be hidden from the view of anyone behind her. Pearl was shorter and much more slender than she was, so she really hoped that would work. "I hate talking in front of people," Pearl admitted after a few seconds. A tear started to fall, and she looked completely embarrassed as she wiped it away.
Rose couldn't help herself – she reached out, and when Pearl didn't object, she pulled her into a hug. "There are still a couple of minutes before class starts," she said. "Would you like to go talk about it?" She looked at the changing room, which did hold a few people, but they were more wrapped up in their own business than even here in the classroom, and people rarely wandered to the back of it unless they were seeking privacy.
Already, Pearl felt humiliated. Getting emotional like this in class, and in front of Rose, no less… But it was too late to change it, and she knew everyone would see that she was crying if she didn't. A part of her did recognize that this was a good thing, though, in that she may be able to get it out of her system before class began. If she were to be realistic, it was almost certain that she would have ended up crying during class had Rose not spoken to her. So she nodded.
"Okay," Rose said. Still trying to shield Pearl's face as much as she could, she pulled away, giving a small gesture to the changing room.
Pearl followed Rose as the two went to a back corner, where almost no one was likely to go. It was almost certain that they would be overheard, but at least it gave an illusion of privacy. When they were there, she leaned against the wall, arms wrapping self-consciously around her body. "I had to read something in front of everyone in my last class," she said. "And I… I completely messed it up." Before she could stop herself, she continued, "I always do that. Every time I have to talk in front of people…" She hung her head, unable to bring herself to look anywhere near Rose.
"That's okay. It doesn't come easily to everyone. And this is your first year here, isn't it?"
Pearl did look up at that statement, surprised Rose would know that. She nodded.
Rose smiled at her and was somewhat playful as she said, "I thought so. I would've noticed you around campus."
A small smile started to cross her features, and a slight blush colored her cheeks. She doubted Rose really meant that, though. Still, it did successfully cheer her up for the time being. Later, when she was alone and lost in her thoughts, she would probably end up being hard on herself again. But for right now, she felt more like she would be okay during class.
She was going to continue to reassure her, but it seemed that had successfully distracted her from fixating on the issue, and they didn't have that much time left until class started, so she thought it best to let the matter drop. She kept her tone light and conversational as she said, "You know, I… really enjoy having this class with you. You always seem to enjoy the class so much; it brightens my day." She gave a playful laugh, not wanting to seem too serious.
Pearl's cheeks flushed brightly, and she felt at a loss for words.
That was response enough for Rose, though. Not wanting Pearl to say anything that would lead to her feeling further embarrassed, she said, "Come on, class is starting soon."
Pearl followed her out, and somehow, the two of them ended up next to each other on the barre.
As class started, Pearl found herself stealing glances at Rose every so often. It was a bit of a distraction, which she normally hated during dance classes, but... she could hardly complain. It didn't take long into the class for her concentration to fall back to her own movements, though. She was so caught up in it that she didn't notice the way Rose had begun to glance at her, now that she wasn't looking.
Eventually, they would move to paired exercises. But as for right now, they were focused on the very basics, such as the starting positions, which were individual. Partnered work would take place quite a bit later in the semester.
It didn't seem like long at all to Pearl until the class was over, so wrapped up in it. This was her favorite class, and she was always disappointed when it ended. They were expected to do a certain amount of practice, but she made a point of coming to the studio daily. It was relaxing, and a way to stop herself from feeling overwhelmed with stress. Although she had to take an intro class, she had taken ballet lessons for years, only forced to stop during high school; unfortunately, the professors insisted she start at the beginning after having taken four years off. So when she practiced, it still went far beyond what they did in class.
Still, even though it was below her skill level, she really enjoyed having a studio to dance in again, and to be around other people who enjoyed ballet, too. Not all of them did; there were certainly some only here to get their athletics requirement done. She considered those people an insult to the dance itself, unless it was accompanied by a genuine interest. But Pearl found that most people there did seem to enjoy it.
She made a point of getting to the changing room as quickly as possible. Since it was an intro class, she wasn't the only one, but she was one of the few who were still shy about changing in front of others. She felt it was silly in light of how many years she had danced, but she still felt embarrassed about others seeing her body. And as much as she really wanted to talk more with Rose, she really didn't want to have to change in front of her. Rose was beautiful, and she… was very critical of her own body.
Rose was a little confused at how quickly Pearl scurried off; she normally didn't do that. It dawned on her, however, that the younger woman may feel self-conscious about the changing room. Rose herself didn't really mind changing with a large group of other people who were also changing, but of course, some people were more embarrassed about it than others.
It went without saying that she would respect Pearl's preference for privacy, but she did hope she would have an opportunity to talk to her again before leaving, now that the ice had been broken. In particular, she had a feeling that if she didn't talk to her in normal conversation, Pearl would feel uncomfortable and embarrassed around her for having been emotional earlier – the younger woman had looked embarrassed enough as it was. But it didn't change the way Rose saw her at all. Such things happened to everyone from time to time, and Pearl was just quite unlucky that it had happened almost immediately before a class.
As she walked out of the changing room, Rose again caught her attention. The other woman was standing just outside the entrance of the changing room, casually leaning against the wall and appearing to be texting someone. But when Pearl neared, she put her phone away and smiled. "I was wondering, do you have another class after this?"
Pearl shook her head, a little surprised Rose was still talking to her. "Do you?"
Rose shook her head as well. "In the evening, but not for a few hours yet. But I was thinking of heading to a café I know nearby... would you like to tag along?" Rose was smooth. Very smooth.
"O-Oh! Of course!" Pearl's face reddened, and she grinned.
Rose smiled at her, then began to lead the way, walking side-by-side.
"What's your evening class?" Pearl asked as they headed for the café.
"Advanced Piano," she replied. It might have sounded immodest, as though she were complimenting her own abilities, but it was the actual title of the course.
"Oh," she said, although her expression revealed that she was actually feeling rather impressed. "What other classes are you taking?"
"Improv Vocals and Opera Singing. It's quite a shift, but it's interesting. Oh, and I'm taking Intro to Philosophy..." The latter one being to finish one of her last general requirements.
"I see~ Have you declared a major?"
She nodded. "I'm majoring in voice; I want to become a singer. I also have a minor in piano."
"That's so cool!" Pearl said before she could stop herself, face flushing in admiration.
Rose chuckled. "I know you can't have declared yet, but so you know what you want to study?"
"I want to be a dancer!" she replied, excitement shining in her eyes. Realizing how enthusiastic she sounded, she blushed further and lowered her voice as she continued. "Other than that, I'm not sure. I suppose I'll want to minor in something, but right now I'm pretty focused on this and my general requirements."
"I see~ What else are you taking?"
"Latin 1, Environmental Science, and... Intro to Poetry."
Hearing the way Pearl said the last class, she gently asked, "Is that the class that you were having trouble in?"
Pearl nodded, shoulders slumping a little. "I had to read a poem I wrote in front of the class. I... I thought we would be reading poetry, not... writing it and having to share it," she admitted. She tried not to remember how she had felt when she had been trying to present - how she had felt like she couldn't breathe, and her legs would give, and she would pass out...
"It can be hard putting your feelings out there like that," Rose said, taking Pearl's hand and giving her a reassuring smile as she noticed the way the younger woman seemed to become increasingly uneasy as she spoke about it.
Pearl nodded. In the back of her mind, she recognized that Rose had taken her hand, and it brought a smile to her face as she walked closer to her, but she tried not to do anything that would interrupt their conversation.
"I used to have trouble with that in my Intro to Voice class," Rose told her. "Even if it's not a song you wrote, or even a song you chose… a lot of emotion goes into performing it. …Do you feel the same way about dancing?"
"Umm. Well, before a performance, yes. But as soon as I start actually dancing, I forget about all the people…"
Rose nodded, understanding. "That's how it became for me, too, with singing."
"How did you stop feeling nervous about it?"
She gave the question sincere thought. "Well, everyone else in the class is doing the same thing. I had never sang by myself in front of anybody before, other than some high school choir solos, so I suppose it just took me a few times to get past that block." She looked a little apologetic as she added, "I'm sorry I can't give better advice. I've just… never really been a shy person. –Not that there's anything wrong with being shy. It's just a difference that I don't know how to give you advice on."
Pearl nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sorry for talking so much about that stuff, the first time we've ever talked…" she said, looking away.
Rose gave her hand a small squeeze and smiled. "I suppose that means I should have talked to you sooner," she teased. When Pearl looked back up at her, a little surprised, she explained, "I had thought of talking to you before, but I didn't know if you had places to be after class, and I didn't want to distract you."
"Oh. Um, I wouldn't have minded you distracting me, anyway…" Her face turned bright red as she realized what she had just said, and Rose laughed.
"You're too adorable," she said, amused even after she had finished laughing. When the younger woman pulled slightly away, however, she realized that Pearl was legitimately embarrassed now that she had laughed. "Oh… I'm sorry, Pearl. I didn't mean it in a bad way. I like that you're honest about your feelings."
Pearl didn't say anything, pride still a little damaged. She found it hard to believe, suddenly, that Rose wasn't just saying that to be nice. That Rose wasn't just being nice in general, taking some sort of pity on her, and she wasn't completely deluding herself for thinking this might be an expression of some sort of interest in her.
"Pearl." She stopped, putting her hands on Pearl's shoulders and moving to face her. Her tone, like her touch, was gentle yet firm. "It's okay. It's not a bad thing." She didn't know Pearl very well, and couldn't pretend to know what exactly about her laughter had struck such a chord, nor what to say to reassure her. So instead, she did so in her own manner. "It just so happens that cute girls are my favorite," she said, a little cautious in allowing the teasing into her tone so as not to hurt her again.
Pearl looked up at her cautiously, but Rose seemed completely sincere. "I…I'm sorry," she started again.
"No more apologizing," Rose said lightly. She offered a quick hug before holding her hand again. She hoped that, as they got to know each other better – assuming Pearl wanted that as well – the younger woman would start to feel more comfortable around her.
She very nearly apologized again, but bit it back this time. Rose really was a kind person… "Okay."
"Good." She smiled as they continued toward the café, which was quite close by now.
Rose already had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to order, but she stopped and looked at the menu for Pearl's benefit, guessing it was probably the younger gem's first time here. It was fairly standard café things, but they did have a few specialty items as well.
When Pearl looked at her, seeming ready, Rose smiled and nodded her head a bit toward the counter, indicating for Pearl to go first.
Pearl ordered a bubble tea and a pastry. When she was reaching for her wallet, Rose put a gentle hand on her arm before adding her own order and bringing out her wallet. The implication was clear, and Pearl's face flushed as a shy grin spread across her features.