got a prompt on my rosewick blog and this also somehow turned into a whole verse

It was Ruby's first after party and boy was she nervous. Sure, she had Yang to stick to, but it was still awkward for her. She had just barely started getting over the awkwardness that came with being younger than everyone in her year, and now she was among a large group of other students who were all older than her but up to almost five years. Of course Yang was no help once they had been there for not even five minutes.

Ruby had hidden herself at the snack table, watching everyone else as she nibbled on crackers and took small sips from her punch. Her stomach fell as she saw Yang coming over, a suspicious grin on her face. She had just enough time to set her cup on the table before Yang threw her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders with a shake.

"Hey little miss wallflower!" Yang squeezed Ruby closer. "You know, this is your opportunity to talk to people who have the same interests as you."

"I know," Ruby mumbled, scanning the room, eventually finding a certain face and snapping her attention to the table below her. Of course, no matter how much she hoped she didn't, Yang had noticed, and Ruby could practically hear the grin on her face.

"C'mon," Yang grabbed Ruby's wrist, dragging her around the table. She tried to protest and stand her ground, but her sister was older and stronger which meant she was helpless. Keeping her eyes on the ground, she didn't need to look up to know who they had stopped at.

"Hello!" Her sister sang, letting go of her wrist.

"Hey," that baritone voice responded, causing Ruby to shudder slightly, "tech, right?"

"Yep! Me and my sister!"

And now Ruby was being pushed forward and she had no other choice but to look up. She didn't want to, but her eyes didn't leave his face; instead of looking at the wall behind him, she found herself mesmerized by how close she was.

"Hey," he smiled at her.

Ruby had no idea what to do. She simultaneously wished she was far, far away, yet also that she could get closer; she wanted to hunch over and avoid eye contact, but her spine was frozen stiff as she looked up. Worst of all, she could feel her face getting hotter by the second.

"C'mon Rubes," Yang gave her a small shake, "isn't there something you want to say?"

"I-I," Ruby stammered, voice cracking. What was she supposed to say? She never thought she'd get this close to him! "Y-you, um, th-that, I me-mean, w-we, uh no, we'll, wait…"

"What is it sis?" Yang teased as Ruby continued her attempt at words. "Something important to tell us?"

"Is Timmy stuck in the well, Lassie?" He laughed lightly, and oh god she didn't know how much longer she could do this. He may be attractive, but if he plays along with Yang then it's time to throw down.

"Sh-shut up!" She squeaked, quickly trying to think of something to say. "M-meet me in the pit, jerk!"

And now Yang was hunching over at her side, laughing like a maniac. Instantly, she thought that was a mistake and cursed herself in her mind. Before she could close her eyes or walk away she heard him laugh, sticking out to her ears over all the other sounds.

"But that's where the band is!"

Oh, oh he is good. At this, Yang had to move away to support herself on some furniture, oblivious to the glare in her direction. Ruby then turned back to him, biting the inside of her cheek at his grin.

"S-sorry, uh," Ruby muttered, finally looking for an escape. He must have noticed because he tapped her shoulder and pointed to an empty place by the snacks. Nervously, she followed him and leaned against the wall with a thankful sigh.

"I've seen you around," he began, his voice softer now, "I heard you skipped a year, is that a rumor or is it true?"

She looked over briefly before returning to her feet. "Y-yeah, it is. I think I can actually skip another year, but I dunno if I wanna do that…"

"That's really cool. You must work really hard."

"Hah, yeah, well, I just didn't want to be alone to be honest. But even though I'm in high school with my sister, it's still weird being younger than everyone else."

He hummed in thought, taking a sip from a cup she didn't notice he had. "I bet."

"Though the theatre makes things a bit better as well," she confessed, shuffling her feet with a nervous laugh. "I know it probably sounds a little stupid, but I always wanted to work in the high school's theatre tech program. I, I'm kind of a nerd for that kind of stuff."

"That's fine," he laughed softly as well, motioning with his hand to the crowd in the room, "I'm pretty sure everyone in here is a nerd in some way or another. Besides, I think it's great that more people want to be in theatre tech. It always seems to be lacking."

"Yeah, and no one really appreciates the work because they're always focused on the actors."

"Well I know I'm appreciative of your work."

"Th-thanks…" she coughed slightly.

There was a dull moment briefly as he moved to refill his cup, even offering to do the same for her. She mentally shuffled through conversation topics in her head; this really wasn't her area of expertise, she had no idea what to do to keep things moving.

"So," he began, drawing her attention up to him again, "you hear the musical this year is going to be Into the Woods?"

Her face lit up instantly; grinning wide and eyes practically sparkling. "It is? I mean, I heard it might be, but I wasn't sure!"

"Yep," he quirked his lips slightly, an action not missed by her, "I'm pretty excited because I always wanted to land a role in it, and it'd make for a nice last musical."

"Ah, I just love the music though! Stephan Sondheim makes some of the best music in theatre! His tonal resources are so fascinating! How he can use dissonance and a high chromatic style yet still keep that diatonic and chromatic tone! And the polyphony in the vocals! Ah! I've just always wanted to play his music!" She stopped abruptly, noticing her hands waving in the air. Embarrassed, she pulled her arms to her chest and looked away.

"S-sorry, I kinda got carried away there…"

"No, no, it's fine! I think it's great that you're so passionate about it! I can agree that his music is engrossing, but some of his vocal work can be brutal."

"Haha, well, I guess I can't really see it from a singer's point of view…"

"But you mentioned playing the music, do you play anything?"

"Huh, oh, yeah! I play in the orchestra, piano really. It's kind of hard, though, since I'm not the only pianist there I can't always get to play. I mean, I can kind of play the violin, but not that well…"

"That's pretty neat! How long have you played?"

"Been playing piano since I was young, I don't really remember when I started. Violin? Uh, not that long, I just picked it up because it was needed in middle school."

"That's really cool! I tried to play the trumpet before, but I stopped when I got into high school and joined the theatre."

Their conversation continued at a nice speed. It was surprising to Ruby at how well she could talk to him. She lost track of time, too caught up with talking to her biggest crush, but soon enough Yang came over and said they had to go soon.

"Well, uh," Ruby began, turned slightly to him as she started to leave, "s-see you later?"

"Sounds good, Red," and he actually held out his hand. She felt a small blush on her cheeks as she took his hand, shaking it timidly.

"Red?"

"Yeah, you're name is a kind of red, and you wear a bit of it, so I figured it'd make for a good nickname!" He explained, tilted grin back on his face before sliding down. "Is that a problem? Do you not like it?"

"N-no! It, it's fine! I like it! I, I mean! I have to go! So! See you around, Roman!"

Oh boy she dug her own grave there. Face now a deep shade of the very color of her new nickname, she spun around and began running to the door, tripping over her own feet.