The Melancholy: Part 2
I'm sure I mentioned how lonely I was before coming into high school. Don't worry; I'm not going to go into that depressing spiel again. I just wanted to cover a few more, ah, basics about the current state of my social personality. See, in order to display a good personality for others to befriend you easily, you need to already have a good social standing. Not the kind that I clearly have, which is technically aristocracy, but rather, I mean that you need to be charismatic, friendly, carry yourself with confidence, and you need a few friends. Sounds easy, right?
Well, no one ever says this about the whole thing, but that whole "having a few friends" part carries just a bit more weight than the others. The charisma and friendly state of being, as well as the confidence, can be easily faked. I know. I do it all the time!
Was that too depressing? Sorry.
But, it's true! I can fake those well enough because I'm always with my family during large social events. I observed the formalities, learned the smile, and echoed the same tired old "How do you do?" to every person I meet.
That being said, I am so happy that I met Jaune. Out of all the people I could have become friends with, which actually looks to be near a whopping zero of individuals, he couldn't pick up on the subtle brokenness of my lonely personality. He doesn't ignore it, he doesn't work around it, and he certainly doesn't ask me about it. This is simply because he is so pure and innocent to the point of being blissfully ignorant. I may even go so far as to say he's an idiot, though that would be mean and I honestly don't believe that. If anything he's mildly autistic, and that's completely fine. Truthfully, I probably have some sort of social handicap. That or I accidentally visited Web M.D. a few too many times.
Just once, actually, but trust me; don't use it. It's like TV Tropes, but everything leads to cancer and brain tumors.
Anyway, as I was saying, it turns out that Jaune is actually quite an interesting person. Most people don't seem to think so, but having had zero experience with any sort of true social interaction, I found quite a lot more to be interesting than most people would. That's why I'm not people. I'm Pyrrha!
The first day of school was on a Monday, and every day during that first week, I found out several interesting facts about the good Mr. Arc.
Monday: Jaune is, surprisingly, even more socially awkward than I am. He's probably just as depraved as I am, but he lacks the skills to fake a social personality. He only started talking to me because he said he was, and I quote, "Not uncomfortable with me." I don't know how any other girl would take that, but to me it was the equivalent of being told I'm pretty. I'll allow it.
Tuesday: Jaune can cook, and is surprisingly good at it. On our way to the cafeteria for lunch, I noticed that he wasn't getting a tray. Out of his bag, he pulled out a small blue container. Inside was a lunch that he prepared for himself that morning, and it was an interesting concoction of roasted beef and steamed vegetables. He even allowed me to try a bite. He may be a man, but based on this he'd make a great wife.
Wednesday: I pursued the fact that he could cook. Since my family is well off, I've actually never cooked for myself ever. I could probably burn water. It turns out that Jaune has a lot of older sisters, each of them talented in their own right. One of his elder sisters is apparently employed as a chef somewhere and taught him how to cook. Frankly, I don't know if I should be impressed or jealous. Can I be both?
Thursday: Jaune is terrible at history. Strikingly so. I mean, it's not that strange for a student to be bad at one or two school subjects, but he's so bad that it makes me wonder how he passed the history portion of the entrance exam. I may tutor him. Or Tudor him. Ha, history! Ah...that was a dumb joke.
Today is Friday, and I just learned that Jaune isn't the only person from his old middle school to have moved up to Beacon High School. He apparently was unaware of this, considering BHS is actually one of the larger local high schools. We were walking down the hall on our way to the vending machines to buy some juice boxes and snack. It is worth mentioning that, even though Jaune remembered his wallet after Monday, I made it my business to buy him whatever he wanted from the vending machine; bless him, he forces himself to buy the cheapest items on my account. Trust me, Jaune; my family is not hurting for cash. I digress.
As we were returning from our food run, we turned the corner and I suddenly found myself on the floor with apple juice all over my blazer. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," said a low, calm, even, masculine voice.
"No, it's fine. I wasn't paying attention," I replied. I glanced up and came face to face with what I might describe as the most feminine boy I've ever seen. Sure, he was wearing a boy's uniform and had a boy's voice, but his face was covered in skin that was so smooth that I began to feel somewhat envious. And his hair, holy Lord, his hair! It was jet black; like SR-71 black! And it was straight, long, and very, very pretty, contrasted only by a single streak of pink on the left side. In fact, his voice and uniform were the only markers that told me that he was in fact a he. There are women who'd kill to have such features! He gave me a small smile and offered me his hand to help me up. I, of course, graciously accepted. Jaune was cute, but this boy was gorgeous. There is no way he isn't taken. "Th-thank you," I stuttered.
Jaune stood there for a second before handing me a handkerchief. "Here," he said. I thanked him. He turned to the other boy and smiled. "Ren! I didn't know you'd come to Beacon!" He gave the other boy, whose name was apparently Ren, a friendly hug. I felt like pouting; he hasn't hugged me yet! Though, in his defense, it's only been five days since we met.
Ren returned Jaune's affection, thou in a much more self controlled way, and he was slower about his movements. He seemed the type to move at his own pace apart from those around him. "Well," he answered. "I didn't plan to come here. I agreed to go here because this is where Nora wanted to study." I knew it! I screamed internally. He is taken! I wonder who this Nora is? She's very lucky. I myself wasn't interested in, well, having him. No, I was just curious on whether he was single or not. I did mention how good looking he was, right? Aside from myself, any girl would be insane to leave this boy all alone. Hopefully, this Nora was worthy of his apparent attention. To go to a school other than your main choice is a pretty gutsy move.
But, I'm slightly biased in these thoughts. That, and they're shallow. I came to every conclusion about Ren based entirely on his attractiveness. For all I know, he and Nora could be old childhood friends, or some other such thing.
Still, I wonder what his first choice of school was?
"Nora's here too?" Jaune asked.
Ren nodded. "She left earlier to go the vending machines, but hasn't come back yet. I wanted to find her before class started again." He shrugged. "Plus, she's got my drink for break."
"Incoming~!" cried a high pitched female voice. I swear, it looked like a cloud of dust racing towards us. I panicked and inadvertently grabbed Jaune's arm and screamed right as this wall of dust stopped right in front of us. The dust, and maybe a little debris, cleared to reveal a shorter girl. She had red hair, a bust that rivaled my own, and a wide grin that shined brighter than the sun. Dear lord, it's blinding! Why are you so happy! Happy is good, but you've turned it into a crime! "Sorry I'm late, Ren~!" she said in a sing songy voice. Those vending machines didn't have what you asked for, so I rushed to the other side of the school to get them." In her arms, and just now being brought to my attention, was a pile of plastic wrapped snacks and juice boxes.
She handed Ren a package of fruit snacks and a juice box, as well as a small pile of change; that was apparently all he wanted. That left the rest of the massive pile of snacks for herself. How much sugar does one girl need? Does she eat like this all the time? How is she not morbidly obese? If ate even a third of that I'd have to walk up the hill to school twice a day to burn the calories off. I really don't like walking up it once.
The girl quickly tore into a package of cookies and seemingly swallowed them whole before turning and noticing Jaune. "Jaune!" she bellowed, dropping everything in her arms to hug him violently, and then she returned to her previous stance and picked up all of her snacks. "I didn't know you'd be here!"
Jaune smiled. "I'm sure I told you that this was the school I was applying to."
"Really?" she said, swallowing a package of gummy bears. "I don't remember." Her eyes turned towards me. "Who's your girlfriend."
Jaune did a spit take and looked at me, only now noticing that I was clinging to his arm. Though, I also was unaware until this moment. We quickly stepped away from each other. "Sh-she's just a new friend I've made. That's all. Pyrrha, this is Nora," Jaune introduced us.
"Hello," I said politely with a blush on my face.
"Nice to meetcha!" Nora replied.
"So..." I began. "You must be Ren's, uh, girlfriend?"
Nora laughed. "Nope."
"Oh?" Huh, that's actually kind of surprising. "I'm sorry I just assumed that you two were together. He said he came here because you wanted to be at this school and all that."
"Well, we are best friends!" Nora gripped Ren in a tight hug. Tight enough to cut off circulation, really, but Ren simply gave a small, happy smile. "We've been together ever since we were kids! Just, you know, not together together."
I wanted so bad to shake my head. Being stuck in the friend zone must be a terrible thing. I mean, I've never experienced it before, nor have I done it to someone else, but seriously; that boy must really care for her to have chosen to ignore his first choice of school. I turned to Ren and gave him a bright smile, mentally cheering him on. You'll get her some day! If she won't take you, then I'll break her legs!
Huh...that was uncharacteristically violent of me to think. I barely know these two.
The bell rang, signaling the end of break. Luckily, we have five minutes to return to class before the next bell rings to signal the start of the next period. "We'd better get going," Jaune said. "Maybe we'll see you later?"
"Absolutely!" Nora cried. She waved an enthusiastic "bye" before disappearing in another cloud of dust as she raced towards her classroom. I turned to see Ren shaking his head, yet he still had that happy smile on his face. I don't know what you see in this girl at the moment, Ren, but know that I'm cheering for you. He waved bye and gave us some brief parting words before he slowly followed Nora. He really did move at his own pace, it seemed.
Jaune chuckled. "I love those guys," he said.
"I take it you've known them for a while?" I asked
"Since my first year of middle school, really." He looked at his watch. "We'd better get back to class." Nodding, we began to make our way back.
The final bell rang, ending the school day, and I stood up to prepare to leave. I noticed that Jaune pulled his phone out and a smile crept on his lips. He walked over to me and smiled nervously. "Do...do you have anything to do tomorrow?"
I froze in place. Tomorrow? As in, Saturday? The weekend? That tomorrow? No! As a matter of fact, I have nothing to do tomorrow! "I'm free," I said in an even tone. "Why do you ask?"
"Well," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I was wondering if you'd like to maybe come with me tomorrow."
Go with you? Tomorrow? I felt angels singing holy hymns descending upon me. Hark, there I saw a grand archangel, and she smiled upon me and said in an immaculate, godly voice, "Go! Be with him!" I felt like there was a version of me dressed as a cheerleader somewhere in my head standing next to this holy angel, chanting repeatedly for me to say yes and go with Jaune to...where ever he wanted to go! I honestly didn't care, so long as I went!
But I couldn't allow that enthusiasm to seep through my real voice. That would make me sound desperate or something. I mean, I am desperate, but he can't know that I'm socially depraved. At least, not that bad. "Sure," I said. I gave him my personal cell phone number. "Just send me a text on when and where to meet."
He nodded. "Of course!" He typed in my contact information before racing out the door. "See ya tomorrow!"
I walked home that evening in a state of bliss. Maybe he was asking me out on a date? I didn't know for sure what he was really asking, but that seemed like a likely concept. I mean, I don't really know if he's good boyfriend material or not, but I've never had a boyfriend before so this could be a very helpful experience. But, if that's the case, what in the world should I wear tomorrow? The weather was going to be warm tomorrow, so maybe a sun dress? A skirt and blouse perhaps? Should I wear leggings? No, too hot for that. Open toed sandals, perhaps? Yeah, that sounds appropriate. What underwear should I wear? I mean, he's not going to see them, hopefully, but it's still something to consider, isn't it? Or am I over thinking it? Gah! I don't know!
Thus were my thoughts on the way home. What I was certain of was that I was going to have a great time. Just me and Jaune, walking the city streets. Shopping, eating, maybe a visit to an arcade. You know, typical high school activites. And it would just be me and Jaune.
So, there I found myself; standing in front of the Central Train Station where we were meeting up. I was wearing a white sundress with white open toed sandals, my hair was tied into a pony tail, I had a small red purse that contained my wallet, and standing in front of me was Jaune. Yet, I couldn't help but have a slightly annoyed look on my face.
"Heya, Pyrrha! How ya doing~!" cried the short, orange haired Nora, wearing a pink tank top and white shorts with white and pink running shoes. She was bouncing up and down excitedly as she greeted me, standing next to Ren. He was wearing a green short sleeved button up shirt with breast pockets on each side, unbuttoned to reveal a black tank top underneath, and a pair of off white eggshell trousers and black shoes. He gave me an apologetic look; he must have known what I was hoping for.
And Jaune gave us all an oblivious smile. "All right!" he said happily. "Now that we're all here, let's go have some fun!"
Author's Note
Poor Pyrrha. She only wanted to spend a day with Jaune, but no, Nora and Ren just have to be there. Oh well, it's not all that bad. I mean, she's obviously going to become friends with all of them, so it'll work out. Eventually.
I feel like I could have done more in this chapter, but I didn't. For that I'm sorry. I'll get more of this written out eventually though, so fret not. We'll continue Pyrrha's melancholic story at a future date!
Leave a review to let me know what you think!
Next time: Melancholy Part 3!
Side note: Friendly reminder of my page. I feel bad for putting it in its own chapter for almost every story I have, but as you may have noticed, I wanted to spread the word and try to find some help. Or, you can give me some feedback on what you think I should do. Editing I'm doing with the help of some friends IRL, so I don't have to spend exteme amounts of money on, but everything else I need still costs money. I'll probably need about $$150-$200 before I'm done. I might be overestimating it. I hope I am.
Fun Fact: I have a 9 hour shift tomorrow. I'm gonna be tired as hell. And I also have to work the day after, though its only a 7 hour shift.