The next couple days passed with little in the way of incident. Jaune went to classes, spent mostly quiet study halls with Blake, and ate lunch with her, Ruby, and Penny. Afterward, he reported to the club room. Thursday was another practice, but the band decided to take Friday off and just hang out for an hour, which Jaune greatly favored to just being a passive observer. They were simple days, but ones he'd never trade away for all the world.
When the weekend rolled around, Jaune felt strangely hollow. Without either the casual fun and companionship of the school days, or the promise of it, he felt empty. That was the only real way to explain it, as if something were missing. Sitting at home on a Saturday afternoon with nothing but a guitar and a few video games, Jaune was simply bored.
Instead of waste away at home, Jaune decided it would be better to get out of the house for a bit. That was how he found himself within the aptly named Vale City Shopping Mall. Not the most creative of titles, but it described the establishment to a T. It was a sprawling, multi-level complex, full of stores and kiosks hawking goods to passersby. While most if ohe action took place under lofty ceilings, there was an open-air courtyard in the direct center.
It was through this atmospheric cutaway which Jaune strode. In the winter it may as well have been abandoned, but on late summer days like this many other people had the same idea as he. Most traveled to and fro, on about whatever tasks they assigned themselves. Some sat on benches or the occasional planter box to converse with friends or family. Stores catering to every niche surrounded the space. Spiral staircases in the corners allowed access to upper levels. Shops on every floor bustled with activity. The mall was truly the commercial heart of Vale.
Jaune had somewhat underestimated just how busy the place would be on a weekend. It made sense now that he saw it. There were people everywhere. It almost looked like a city sidewalk, though not quite as crowded. He had no difficulty walking, but it still surprised him just how many people there were.
And for all of them, they offered nothing at all in stimulation. There were some pretty girls, but other than that none drew his attention. They gave him about the same consideration. Though certainly not alone anymore, he was no less bored. There were even fewer things to do here than at home, which he hadn't anticipated. Maybe it would've been better to just leave.
He walked on about a minute more, ever-present endlessness in the back of his head. Just as he was about to head back to the parking lot, something finally caught his attention.
"Jaaaaune!" From somewhere behind him, a very familiar—and very loud—voice called his name. The boy turned to it with a smile on his lips, betraying not the confusion on his mind.
"Ruby?" He felt an odd sense of déjà vu as the girl's name lingered in the air.
Jogging the short distance to him was none other than Ruby Rose. She wore a red hoodie, black jeans with rips in the thighs and shins, and white skate shoes on her feet. Round-cupped crimson headphones hung at her neck like an oversized piece of jewelry. She stopped just a few feet away, just outside of arm's reach.
"I didn't expect to see you here!" She stated without even the briefest of seconds to catch her breath.
"Yeah, same here," returned Jaune. "What's up?"
"Just looking around," Ruby chimed. "You?"
"Same," said the blond with a nod. "Are you here alone?"
"No. Well, sorta," corrected the girl quickly. "Yang and Weiss were here, but they wanted to go to some boring shoe store, so I decided to go to the Nook until they were done."
"The Nook?" Jaune questioned with a raised eyebrow, until it hit him. "Oh, you mean the Bard's Nook."
Ruby hummed affirmation. "It's my favorite store!"
"Well," Jaune began, "I'm not doing much of anything. Mind if I tag along?"
"Of course not," Ruby shook her head. "Come on, let's go!" She began to walk past him, and Jaune fell in on her right side.
"So, how's your weekend going?" Jaune asked after they'd been underway for a bit.
"Good so far, I guess. I mean, it just started," answered Ruby. There was no malice in her words, though they did reveal to Jaune just how dumb his question had been.
"That's good, I guess." He gave a nervous laugh. "What brings you to the mall?"
"I don't know. Yang was bored, and I was bored, and Weiss said she wouldn't mind hanging out today, so we met up here."
"Oh, that makes sense." Jaune chose to not remark on how similar their stories of boredom are.
"And now there's four of us, so it's even better!" Ruby exclaimed. "Or, there will be, I guess, once Weiss and Yang are done shopping for boring shoes."
"You don't like shoes?" Jaune pondered out of sheer curiosity.
"They're fine, but the store is boring," contested the younger girl. "It's just shoes. There's nothing to do and it smells like rubber and feet."
Jaune gave a genuine chuckle at that. When put that way, he understood the girls' disdain. He probably wouldn't have gone in, either.
They chatted idly about this and that while in transit to their destination. Ruby mostly directed the conversation, a role Jaune was more than willing to let her fill. With such a talkative person, it was easier to respond to them. Not that he minded, of course. He could listen to Ruby talk all day. She was pleasant to be around and he rather enjoyed her company. By the way she enthused her own words and intently listened to his, Jaune was sure Ruby felt the same. Though he was unfamiliar with the notion, it was nice to be wanted, for someone to enjoy having him around.
Their conversation was short lived. The destination lay only at the other end of the courtyard. Ruby strode through the doors of Bard's Nook with an ear-to-ear grin which put her sister to shame. It was a local store, but looked much like a more high-value chain. The inside walls were decorated with fake redwood paneling, polished to an immaculate sheen. The floor followed the same pattern.
There were instruments everywhere. The left side was dedicated to modern band implements. Guitars lined the walls and perched on multi-pronged holders atop tables. There were drums and keyboards scattered around as well. The latter pieces seemed a bit disorganized, but Jaune was sure they had a reason for being that way. The right wing contained all of the accessories. Picks, straps, bags, pedals, strings, drumsticks, everything someone would need to maintain a band. More traditional instruments like trumpets were in a completely separate room, the closed door to which was just to the left of the checkout counter.
There were a few other people in the store, but not many. Specialty establishments like this generally brought in a lesser crowd. Most perused the myriad guitars located wherever the eye could see. One even sampled the product. The emo looking kid strummed on a black and white guitar. It was a heavy song Jaune hadn't heard, and never cared to again. Thankfully, the guy had the presence of mind to keep his volume at a respectable level. Past experience taught Jaune some people preserved no such consideration.
The blond was about to say something when Ruby skittered off to the left. Jaune closed his mouth with an audible click and chased after her. He should've known she'd come to a stop in front of a drum set. It was a standard kit. The shells started off an electric blue which faded to glossy black at the edges. The skins were clear.
"Isn't it pretty, Jaune?" Ruby said without looking away. Part of him wanted to ask how the girl knew he was there, but he thought better of it.
"It's nice," he agreed. "Are you in the market for a new set?"
"Not really." Ruby shook her head. "I just like looking, ya know?"
Jaune nodded. He most certainly did know. He'd never understood the appeal of window shopping until he started playing guitar. There was a distinct thrill in looking at all the pretty paint jobs and wondering what it would be like to play on stage one day.
"Do you see anything you like?" Ruby asked after a moment. Jaune looked around, and located the object of his desire almost immediately. He gestured for Ruby to follow, and the both went to a particular spot on the wall.
Hanging before him was the shiniest, fanciest guitar Jaune had ever seen. Artificial light glinted off its golden pickguard, and simultaneously became lost in the cavernous depths of its white, semi-hollow body. The tuners, bridge, pickups, and whammy bar were all gold. It was majestic, beautiful, and impossible.
"I've always wanted one of these," Jaune gestured toward it. "It's a Gretsch White Falcon."
"It's so shiny!" Ruby said. "You should play it, Jaune!"
"No, Ruby, I don't think I want to," Denied the boy instantly as his stomach performed gymnastics.
"Just try it out," the girl insisted. "Just to see if you like it."
"No, really, I'm fine."
"Come on!"
"You come on. I don't wanna be that guy," Jaune said. "Besides, I don't wanna end up paying for it if something happens."
"Why? Is it expensive?"
"Uh, yeah." Jaune grabbed the price tag and turned it to her. Ruby stood on her tip-toes to get a better look. Her expression fell the moment she beheld the steep demand. Almost four-thousand Lien.
"Oh," she muttered. "Well, I'm sure you'll have one someday." Ever the optimist, Ruby put a positive spin on the situation.
Jane appreciated the gesture, but knew such gratuitous fantasizing on his part would only make him sad. In an attempt to distract himself, and also bring the moment to a lighter place, he led Ruby over to something he knew she would like, a wall display of shiny new cymbals. The way her silver eyes lit up told him it was the right choice.
"I don't mean to sound rude or anything," Jaune said after a moment of inspection, "but they all kinda look the same."
"They do, don't they?" Agreed Ruby, which he didn't expect. "It's pretty easy once you know what you're looking for, though." She took a step closer to the wall and pointed at one of them. "This one's a crash. It's the loud one I use at the end of my fills." She pointed then at one just slightly behind her. "This slightly bigger one is a ride. You'll hear it on a lot of choruses. It accents the drums with a constant sizzle-y rhythm. Oh! And over here," she jogged toward the wall, to a set of clearly smaller cymbals, "these are called splash cymbals. You hear find them a lot in jazz and metal. They have a really short, shimmering sound. I don't really use them, though."
Jaune just stood there with what must've been a dumb look on his face, but thankfully Ruby didn't call him out. Those little bits of information had been more knowledge about cymbals, and drums in general, than he'd ever received. He had nothing against drumming, nut just preferred to focus studies on his own instrument. As such, his brain had a hard time processing the sudden influx. He gave his head a brief shake to knock out some of the cotton. It didn't help.
"Wow," he breathed stupidly. "You really know your stuff."
"Yeah, well," Ruby gazed at her sneaker as she ground something into the floorboards, "I know a little, I guess. I'm kinda a nerd when it comes to this stuff."
"That's cool," Jaune continued. "I mean, it makes sense to know what you're talking about. I'm kinda a nerd about guitars, too."
Ruby brightened instantly at his words. She lifted her head and looked up at him with the honesty and sunlight he'd become so used to seeing in those big silver saucers.
"I know. You're right. Yang says the same thing," observed the younger girl.
"Well, I guess even your sister has her moments." Jaune's little joke earned a snicker from Ruby. It was all in jest, of course. He would never even dream of saying anything genuinely bad about someone kind and warm as Yang. It would be an unfair, blatant lie.
"Ooh, look at this guitar!" Ruby's short attention span took over, and she strode over to one of the tables. "You don't see many green ones."
"No, I guess not," Jaune agreed, joining her. "It matches Penny's eyes, don't you think?"
"It does!" Squeaked Ruby in delight. "Hold on, I have to send her a picture." She dug out her Scroll to do just that. Jaune waited patiently with a smile.
The two of them—Ruby and Jaune—perused for a little while longer. Jaune wasn't necessarily interested in all of the things Ruby decided to look at, but since she was the one who wanted to come here in the first place, he followed her lead. The boy never left her side as she flitted between displays, gawking at any piece which caught her eye.
It wasn't just drums, either. The selection was admittedly small, and wouldn't have held most people's attention long. Hyperactive Ruby fared even worse. She switched from percussion, to keys, to guitars, and back again at random intervals. She seemed to know less about the string instruments than anything else, but admired the colors and shapes. Jaune recognized a lot of them, though his own knowledge mostly stopped at names only. Ruby occasionally commented that one of her bandmates would appreciate some particular specimens.
Jaune chased his own interests as well, whenever Ruby's enthusiasm seemed to wane. That's how they ended up on the opposite side of Bard's Nook, looking through the guitar picks. The blond played with a thick triangle constructed of gray felt. It seemed strange to him. Surely something so stiff and abrasive would make a terrible plectrum. But, he'd heard some people swore by them. To each their own.
The boy heaved a dismissive huff. He gave a few flicks of the pick's point and tossed it back in the plastic box with the others. He glanced over at Ruby to his right just in time to see her mimic his own actions, but with a yawn.
"Bored?" He teased, silently afraid he was no longer interesting.
"No, just tired," corrected the younger girl. "Zwei wanted to go out at, like, six in the morning, and I couldn't fall asleep after that." She explained. Jaune knew not who this Zwei character was, but it sounded like a dog. He breathed a mental sigh of relief at not being the problem, but it was replaced instantly with concern.
"If you're tired, I can take you home." The blond made what he thought was a reasonable offer, but by the way Ruby stepped back and waved her hands, he miscalculated.
"Oh, no! You don't have to do that. I wouldn't want to impose."
"You're not imposing," he reassured gently. "It's not a problem. If you're tired you should get some rest, especially on a Saturday."
"Well, I do kinda wanna go home. You really don't mind?"
"I really don't." Jaune smiled and shook his head.
"Okay! Thanks, Jaune!" Ruby returned his expression.
"Don't mention it," the blond dismissed with a wave. "Come on." He began out the door with Ruby to his left. "I actually managed to get a space pretty close to the front entrance, so we won't have to walk too far."
"How'd you manage that?" Ruby asked with slight wonder. "Yang and Weiss had to park in a parking garage down the block."
"I don't know, but I'm not about to question it, either," said Jaune with a shrug. Ruby had a chuckle at that as they exited the store.
Well, that certainly wasn't how Jaune expected his weekend to go. He'd expected to wallow away in a sea of boring, endless and unbound on the ho-hum waves. There would perhaps be text messages, and in his wildest dreams a cal from out of the blue, but nothing more. And to think he'd actually been looking forward to a Monday. The teenager in him screamed blasphemy at the notion.
He hadn't even expected his little trip to the mall to lead anywhere. Sure, it would've been nice, but the realistic part of his brain knew he'd probably just end up bored somewhere else instead of bored at home. But, trust Ruby Rose to break him out of that.
Vale truly was a small kingdom, a place where literally anything could happen. His incredible week turned into a great weekend as he walked side-by-side with a good friend. The smile Ruby gave him said she felt at least similarly. Jaune couldn't help but praise his good fortune. He didn't have to be alone on the weekend after all.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I really wanted this and the next part to be all one chapter, but they would've been much too long as a single piece. So, I instead expanded upon this scene as a whole, and gave a little more interaction between Jaune and Ruby. Unfortunately, this means I'll have to delay the band's next performance by another chapter, but hopefully the story as a whole will have better pacing in the end. Chapter 10 may end up a little on the short side. I don't know yet, but I'll try not to.
Expect the strangely absent female lead also known as Yang to make an appearance in the next chapter. Again, she was supposed to be in this one. It feels weird to leave my most likely deuteragonist out of two chapters right back-to-back.
If you liked this little chapter, or even if you didn't leave a review and let me know what you think. It means a lot to hear from all of my readers, however few of you there are.
