Chapter 4 – Cinder

She's seeing red as she slams the boy against the wall, and it's not just the blood that flies in her eyes as she lands another swift punch to his jaw, a satisfying crack following this time.

"What the fuck did you say about my sister?!" she screams, pulling him away from the wall only briefly before throwing him back up against it to punctuate her question.

He makes some unintelligible gargling noises, but is unable to produce no more than that. She grits her teeth harder as she pulls her fist back for one more punch.

"Ms Fall!" an authoritative voice cuts in. "That is quite enough!"

An animalistic snarl rips from her throat as she lets the beaten boy fall heavily to the ground. Without sparing the teacher a glance, she moves to take her trembling sister's hand before pushing past anyone else.

"Ms Fall!" the teacher shouts once more. "Get back here!"

Flipping the bird over her shoulder to anyone who may have stopped to watch the spectacle, she continues her march down the hall and out of the school. As soon as they're outside, she cradles her sister's head into her side.

"One day, I swear I'll get them to stop messing with you," she grounds out with conviction.

Morose brown eyes only gaze up at their elder sister forlornly, silent as they always are.

XxXxX

A gentle knock at the door roused Cinder from her sleep. Groaning, she glanced at the clock to see it was well past noon.

"What?" she bit with as much hostility as she could muster, flinching at how hoarse her voice sounded instead.

"Emerald's coming over," Mercury's voice carried through the door and to her. "We were wondering if you wanted to come get lunch with us?"

Cinder chuckled dryly. "Sorry, but I'm not too keen on being the third wheel on what I'm sure will be a marvelous outing."

She heard Mercury huff before he tried again. "I'm worried about you, Cinder; you haven't left your room in days."

"It hasn't been that long…" she grumbled, staring dejectedly at the sheets of her bed.

"It has, actually," Mercury confirmed. "Three days, believe it or not. Please, Cinder?" he pleaded, something the gray-haired male didn't normally do. "For your friends?"

The word sent a wave of shivers down Cinder's back, causing her to feel worse than she normally did.

"I consider all the people I talk to here my friends."

"You think we're friends?"

"Silly, right?"

"No! I could… I could use some more of those."

What would Ruby say to her in this moment? No doubt she'd be encouraging Cinder to get out and do something rather than wallow in her self-misery. Still, that didn't make things any easier—though Cinder felt certain Ruby would know that, yet continue rooting for her to go anyway.

"Where did you all have in mind?" Cinder ground out.

She could almost picture Mercury's smug smile from the outside as he replied, "How about that place next to Tukson's? I know it's your favorite."

A small smile cast a glow upon Cinder's face then. "Deal," she replied. "Give me five minutes."

Before Mercury left her alone, he mumbled, "Thank you, Cinder," and Cinder couldn't deny her heart felt a bit warmer at the unbridled love that sentence carried.

XxXxX

Even though Cinder didn't want to admit it, the day turned out okay by her standards. She really did enjoy that little café located next to Tukson's Book Trade, and it was a pleasant surprise when the food didn't taste as bland as she had been expecting. For the first time in a long time, flavor was present, and she truly realized just how hungry she was. Because of this, she made sure to fill up, knowing this wasn't to last, and by dinner time, most likely food would be back to tasting like the cardboard it had for the past several years. Mercury and Emerald were good sports about her voracious appetite, however, and didn't say anything, nor did Mercury complain when he picked up the entire tab.

Even when they pulled up to the skate park the three used to frequent quite often before Cinder's dark days, they didn't act like they expected anything of her. Aside from a quick, "Your board's in the trunk, if you want it," by Mercury in passing, her involvement wasn't brought up. Her skateboard may have remained untouched in the car, but that didn't mean this outing was a waste. She was hanging out with friends again; regardless of whether she was joining in or not, Cinder couldn't help but feel this was a monumental step for her.

For the first time in ages, Cinder felt her face begin to ache from the smile she displayed the entire time Mercury and Emerald did their thing. Nothing—aside from Ruby—had made Cinder smile since she could remember, and while she could feel the lingering darkness lying dormant within her, at the moment, she would take the light shining down upon her, however minimal, and take her victories where she could.

I can't wait to tell Ruby, she thought, her smile only becoming more so.

XxXxX

"That's great, Cinder!" the girl all but squealed through the phone later that night. "It sounds like you had a lot of fun!"

"I did, actually," Cinder affirmed. "I…honestly can't remember the last time I felt this…free."

"And how are you feeling now?" Ruby asked. "Since you're back home and it's been a few hours."

Cinder shrugged on her end. "Pretty good still, actually. Emerald's staying the night, and she and Mercury are playing video games downstairs. They invited me to join in."

"And are you going to?" Cinder could almost see the smile on the younger girl's face as she spoke.

Cinder grinned. "I think so."

This time, Ruby did squeal, making Cinder erupt into a laugh that sounded all too familiar to her own ears, yet she couldn't quite place it. When she realized the laugh was her own, however, so foreign from lack of use—because when was the last time she laughed, honestly?—a warmth bubbled in her stomach. Sure, there had been the occasional chuckle recently, but this was a sound unbound from any restraints. She hadn't laughed like this since…

Since…

Shaking her head, the darkness retreated and the light returned. Cinder knew that gloom would strike back with a vengeance all too soon, but refused to let it take control in this moment.

Besides, she took some comfort in knowing that when it did strike, she knew she'd have Ruby on her side to help fight its advances.

"Hey, Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

The line was silent for a minute before a shy, "For what?" was heard.

"For…" How could she possibly begin to explain this? "For being this…constant light in my life," she attempted to explain. "I know we haven't known each other long, and, hell any interaction we've had has been through a damn phone, but… You've helped more than I ever dared to hope."

"Aw, thanks, Cinder," Ruby cooed, Cinder wanting to believe a blush was now displayed across young cheeks.

Another minute passed, and Cinder was ready to say her goodbyes and join the—lively, from the sounds of it—match of Super Smash Bros. downstairs, but Ruby's quiet voice pulled her back.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked.

"Anything," Cinder replied with conviction.

"I've… I've never thought of you as just being part of my job. When you call…it's more like I'm talking to a close friend, than a…client."

An anxious pause.

"Is that weird?"

Cinder had to admit, she was floored by the girl's honest words, never once thinking she could mean much to a complete stranger, despite a kind soul like Ruby. Yet, it didn't sound like a farce; Ruby's words—her feelings—were true. Pure.

Cinder's heart began beating a mile a minute, yet she refused to acknowledge the blush steadily rising on her face.

"It's not weird," she whispered. "And thanks, Ruby; that…means more than you know."

"Anytime," the girl chirped back, no doubt relieved her feelings hadn't been cruelly shot down. "I know the darkness may come beckoning quicker than we'd like, but…you really can always turn to me, okay?"

Cinder's smile grew. "Okay."

"Can I ask you something now?" the girl spoke with a small giggle.

"What?"

"Can I…give you my number?" Cinder could hear the nerves in her voice as she uttered the question. "In case…you call again and I'm not working?"

"Is that the only reason?" she couldn't help but joke.

"Y-Yes!" Ruby cried with a giggle. But after another moment's pause, uttered meekly, "Maybe?"

Laughing once more, Cinder willingly wrote down the girl's number, right under the 1-800-CALL-RUBY that she realized was beginning to change her life. Underlying the new number thrice, she deemed her work sufficient with a warm smile.

"I've got it down," she said.

"G-Great," Ruby mumbled back. "I'll…talk to you soon then?"

Cinder nodded, despite the fact that girl couldn't see. "I can't promise it will be in as high spirits as this time, but yes, definitely."

She heard Ruby expel a deep breath on her end before whispering a quiet goodbye. Cinder echoed it back before continuing to listen to the dial tone as the girl hung up, not being able to possibly know that Ruby was doing the same blocks away.