A/N: Finally broke my writer's block for this story, so here it what I managed to complete at about 4am :P
The moment that her mother made that comment, Rock's face went pale, then red in the span of a second.
"We aren't dating, mom." Rock almost stuttered, which would have made it even worse sounding than it already seemed. "We're just friends."
"Just friends? I think there's more going on with you two than you admit." White teased as she gave a smirk. "Well, I'll leave this between you then."
She rose from her seat, taking her coffee with her, leaving Rock in the kitchen.
Once she was out of earshot, Rock let out a sigh and glanced at a slip of paper laying on the table. She hadn't seen it before, so her curiosity got the better of her and she read it.
Her cheeks instantly went a brilliant crimson as she realized that it was a phone number...
Silver's phone number.
Rock shoved the number into her pocket and stood up. Her mother had clearly left it there to tempt her, and she fell for her little trick hook, line and sinker.
Grabbing her Cannon, she carefully began to carry it up to her bedroom, placing it on her bed for a moment as she reached for her cell phone and Silver's number.
Hesitantly dialing the number, Rock placed her phone to her ear, listening to the ringing that felt like it lasted an eternity, regardless of who she was calling. But this time, if felt even longer than normal.
"Hello?" Silver's voice sounded from her phone, making her falter before replying.
"H-Hey, Silver, it's Rock." She sat down beside her Cannon, her hands shaking slightly. For whatever reason, she felt nervous.
"How are you, Rock?" Silver replied, sounding amused for some reason.
"Good, I guess. How about you?" Rock answered as Ron crawled out of his basket and hopped onto her lap. She began to scratch his ears, making him purr loudly.
"I'm content." Silver replied, but then added. "I can hear purring. Is that Ron?"
Rock was about to say 'yes', but a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head and saw a shadow in her window.
"Yeah, he's sitting on my lap." Rock replied, carefully keeping her voice casual while watching the shadow carefully.
"Sounds happy to be there." Silver replied, and Rock gave a small laugh.
"He was asleep when I came into my room. He's normally waiting for me in his usual spot." Rock said as she momentarily paused with scratching Ron's ears.
"What's his usual spot?" Silver asked, which made Rock smile.
"Sitting on my window sill." Rock replied, suddenly reaching over to pull her curtain aside, revealing a squirrel on the other side of the glass. "He likes to watch the birds." She added, realizing that it wasn't Silver's shadow like she'd thought.
"I heard you opening your curtain. Might I ask why you did that?" Silver asked curiously.
"I thought you were hovering outside the window. I saw a shadow and thought it was yours." Rock replied, releasing her grasp on the curtain.
"No, I'm certainly not at your window." Silver said before he paused for a split second. "I gotta go now, I'll either talk to you later, or I'll see you at Nova." He said in a slightly quick tone. "Bye, Rock."
Rock raised an eyebrow as she said, "See ya then, Silver." He hung up, and she slowly lowered her phone, thinking hard.
He must have just gotten home to that asshole step-father of his, she reasoned. She read his number from the paper and quickly input his phone number and name as a contact in her phone.
"So... What now?" Rock asked aloud, letting herself fall back onto her bed, staring up at her ceiling.
At that exact same moment, Silver lowered his phone as he was approached by his step-father in the front yard of their house. He scowled behind his cowl as he folded his wings.
"You're late." Wing stated in annoyance, crossing his arms. "Explain yourself."
"Does it matter?" Silver asked, his eyes narrowing. "I was with a friend."
Wing scoffed as he sneered. "With that black haired girl from this afternoon? What was her name again... Black Rock Shooter?"
Silver said nothing, since he had no defense to disprove it, and he'd obviously seen them leaving together. "Yes, I was with her. I flew her home, and I even had a chat with her mother."
"I don't want to see you with her, understood? She's a defiant little brat, and I've heard a few things about her actions in several of her classes today."
"She's not what you think she is." Silver growled angrily. "Her mother seems to like me quite a bit."
"Oh, don't get me started on that. I know you're trying to suck up to her mother, don't lie to me." Wing pointed his finger sternly at Silver while he took a step forward. "You stay away from her, and her mother, do I make myself clear?!"
"Crystal clear." Silver replied. "But your logic and intentions are flawed beyond belief."
Wing growled in frustration before suddenly raising his hand and swinging it towards Silver, who grabbed it with his hand and smiled behind his cowl.
"My mother is right behind you." He said quietly as the front door opened behind Wing, revealing Silver's mother, who was checking her purse for her car keys and hadn't noticed them yet. Unlike Wing and Silver, she had no wings or augmentations.
Quickly releasing his grasp on Wing, they both turned to face her, acting like they'd both just arrived.
"Oh, Silver, you're home! How was your first day?" She asked after looking up to see them.
Without even a glance at Wing, Silver replied. "Met some interesting people, and everything still seems to be the usual first day awkwardness."
"And your classes?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
"Shooting, History, Flying, and Melee classes." Silver gestured to Wing. "Flying teacher."
Wing gave a smile, which Silver ignored. "I'll be upstairs if you need me." He said before he walked inside, an idea forming in his head for something to do later that night.
After eating dinner, Rock decided to finally unbraid her hair so she could have a shower. She asked White for some help.
"Why did you braid it in the first place?" White asked as she began to work at the long braid.
"It's a long story..." Rock replied, but after a moment of silence from White, she continued explaining the incident.
After she'd finished, White had also released her hair from the confines of the braid. "You'd better find a way to fix this." She said sternly as Rock got up from her seat. "Otherwise you'll have to stay like that."
"I know, I know! It was an accident, nothing to freak out about." Rock sighed. "It's my fault for not tying it back in the first place."
White gave a disapproving sniff, but otherwise gave no further effort to her lecture. She simply shooed Rock away, returning to tidying up after dinner.
Hurrying upstairs, Rock went straight to having her shower, finally able to relax her tense body. It wasn't unusual for her to be so tightly wound at the end of the day, but she always enjoyed the feeling of the steam softening her tense muscles, the water warming her skin... and her singing.
When she had finished, she wandered back into her room, draped in a towel, intending to just lay on her bed to wind down. However, as she approached her bed, she heard a sound from outside... it sounded like a whoosh, like some sort of bird had just barely missed her window. She held her towel in place with one hand, then wrenched the curtains aside...
"Silver!?"
She immediately blushed, scrambling backwards against the wall. Silver was hovering outside her window - very close, in fact - and was clearly grinning behind his mask.
Making sure she was still covered, Rock opened the window, her face becoming very, very red with embarrassment as she demanded. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Just thought I'd stop by." Silver teased, but he became serious as he added. "But I can tell that it's a bad time. Should I not be here right now?"
Rock's first thought was to say Yes, but she then noticed a bruise on his face - just barely visible in fact. If she wasn't so close to him, she would have easily overlooked it - and replied. "No, it's fine... But you're right about the bad timing. Gimme a minute to get dressed."
Without even waiting for a reply, Rock closed the window and closed her curtains. She immediately dressed herself in her pajama pants and a tank top, then threw the curtains and window back open.
"Think you can squeeze through here?" Rock asked, trying to figure out a way for him to get inside without her mother finding out.
"Yeah, It's big enough for me. Might want to back up a bit though." Silver gave the window a careful examination as he hovered a few feet backwards. "This might scare you a bit."
With that, Rock moved to the side, watching as Silver moved closer to the window frame, grabbing onto the frame with his hands, then positioned his feet on the edge. He gave Rock a nod, then lifted his feet and folded his wings before swinging his legs inside and streamlining himself to land softly on her bed.
"That wasn't something I'd expected to even work." Rock commented, sitting beside Silver once he had positioned himself properly to sit on the bed.
"I surprise myself sometimes." Silver replied, grinning as he pulled his mask down. It appeared that he was quite comfortable with showing his full face around her, but that meant his bruise was also revealed to her. "You already saw this, I noticed your eyes move to the side of my face."
"What happened to it? Was it him?" Rock asked, moving to her nightstand and pulling out a small first aid kit she normally used for whenever Ron scratched her, but it had what she needed for his bruise.
"Actually, no. Surprisingly it wasn't from him. I hit my face off a branch outside your window while I was waiting for you. I almost got caught by your mom through the window downstairs." Silver admitted honestly as Rock treated his face. "You're actually really good at that." He added, smirking with the other side of his face.
"I have a cat, remember?" Rock reminded him, just as Ron hopped onto the bed and wandered onto Silver's lap. She glanced down at Ron and noticed that Silver was actually wearing more armour - a chestplate that also included a smaller plate to cover his abdomen - than when he was at school. "How's that feeling now?" She asked, finishing with cleaning the bruise of dirt and a small piece of tree bark.
"A lot better, thanks Rock." Silver smiled, petting Ron's back. "So, how was your evening since our call?" He asked with a teasing glint in his eye.
"Not that exciting. What about you? How'd it go with him when you got home?" Rock asked, curious about the sudden way that he'd ended their call.
"Oh, he was waiting for me. He didn't do anything though. My mother almost caught him." Silver shrugged. "Can't say there's much I could do anyway, she'll believe every word he says, and none of mine."
"What if I talked to her?" Rock suggested, not really intending to sound so confident. Silver shook his head, smiling apologetically at Rock.
"Same problem; she believes him over me, even though she's never seen him in the act of beating me." Silver replied, shrugging once again.
"But what if... what if she did catch him? Then would I be able to get through her head?" Rock asked, not bothering to deny her idea. In fact, it was starting to become more and more possible as she considered it: All they had to do was set Wing up to attack Silver just as his mother catches the act taking place!
"The likelihood of that actually occurring is next to zero." Silver reminded her with an amused expression on his face. "But if you insist on trying, I'd gladly do it." He smiled warmly, which made Rock hesitate for the briefest of moments. He leaned close to her - frighteningly close, in fact. She moved her head back slightly, unsure about what he was doing - and his smile changed into an amused grin. "You have... such beautiful eyes, Rock. They radiate so much willpower and honesty."
Rock blushed at the odd comment, though to her it definitely sounded like it was a compliment. "Am I supposed to say something in return?" She questioned him, inches from her face, his strange amusement still firmly in place.
"No." Silver replied, staring at her intensely. "I just wanted to let you know, that's all."
With that, Silver suddenly leaned back, somehow swinging his legs up and over his head. His momentum launched him feet first out of her open window, and by the time that Rock had leaned out, he was already hovering in midair, pulling his cowl back onto his face.
"See you at Nova, Rock." Silver inclined his head before he gave his wings an almighty downstroke, launching himself straight upwards. He flew off, leaving Rock too contemplate his strange comment about her eyes.
