Weiss

"Hi Weiss."

My breath hitched and I jolted back from the startling sound of my name. The sharp, happy voice was familiar, and the culprit of the said voice slid past my shoulder with a dopey smile. She waved at me while the glued strands of her asymmetrical red hair fell past her shoulders.

The one and only, Ruby Rose.

"Ruby!" I hissed. "What did I tell you about scaring me!"

"Sorry," she laughed. Her infectious smile made it a challenge for me to maintain a scolding face. "I know you said not to, but I couldn't help it."

I swear that she'll give me a heart attack one day.

"Forgive me?" Now her lips innocently pushed forward, and her head happened to be tilted already.

Oh no… She's making that face again.

Ruby's eyes widened a little and the rain on her face did not make it any better for me.

She's totally making that face again. Arrrgh — A Schnee must not bend! A Schnee will never bend no matter what.

"You are forgiven," I caved in.

God dammit.

The blond girl next to her, which I presume must be her cousin, snickered. Her hair was more bedraggled than Ruby to the point that she almost looked like a drowned lion. The blond hair lost its usual vibrant color as it surrendered to the unforgiving rain.

"Oh Weiss, let me introduce you to Yang, my cousin." Ruby finally remembered her manner as the light chuckle reminded her of her cousin's presence. "Weiss meet Yang." She politely gestured to the unfortunate, drowned lion before motioning back to me. "Yang meet Weiss."

"Nice to meet you Weiss," she smiled at me, saluting me with two fingers

"Likewise," I nodded, kindly presenting my friendly smile. Yang slowly blinked as she registered what I just had said, and finally broke into laughter. I frowned when I realized why. "No pun intended."

"Hey Rubes! I like her already!" The drenched lion continued roaring her laughter.

I rolled my eyes at her, and exaggerated a sigh to fight off the quirking smile. "I'm guessing you two were not prepared to bring an umbrella today?"

"Nope," Ruby popped the 'p' very proudly. "We kind of —"

Her sentence was cut short but I still picked up an alerted 'watch out' from her. Before a car passed by, she swiftly snatched the umbrella from my hands and pulled me closer to the point of negative distance between us. The car skidded through the puddle of water collecting near the curb and ripped a small tidal wave.

However, the feeling of being completely doused never came. Ruby was reflexive enough to block the incoming water with my umbrella. I could feel her hand pressed against my back, her damp uniform pressed against my dried ones, her dripping wet hair tickling my cheek, and my uncomfortable sodden socks that got caught in the aftermath.

But all of these were the least of my concerns as I was more drawn to the thrumming sound between the protective parasol and the water. What used to be a dull melody blended together with this weird pulsating sound. I could hear it through my ears and feel it through my body.

It made a strange but pleasant melody, something that was beyond my comprehension.

Then, there was a faint aroma of roses accompanied with it.