Point Of View: Roy Payntace
Noire was suspended from school for the entire week. Peter was suspended for 3 days because apparently what he did wasn't that bad. To be fair, Noire actually concussed him, it turned out, but it still felt a little unfair, and that's coming from the guy who was getting strangled.
Now that two were down from my usual friend group, with Noire out and Uni not talking to me, my days were that much more dull that week. At least, they were up until Friday where I woke up to a text message. It was a rather wordy message from Noire asking me kindly to go to her classes after school, pick up the homework for the week and deliver it to her. I responded that I'd do it, being the friend that I am, but I certainly questioned on the inside why she didn't have Uni do it. If Uni really was in that little of a talking mood, it must have been seriously bothering her.
It was a lot of work making my way to all her classes like that, very time consuming, but I set my mind to it and saw it through to the end. By the end of it, I had a solid stack of work to give her. No doubt it wouldn't be much for someone like her, but it was more than any average student could reasonably handle. I deposited it all in my backpack and began making my way slowly to Noire's house, doing my best to remember the exact directions. I took a solid three turns I wasn't quite sure of, in a row at that, and that's when I started getting worried.
Sure enough, though, I actually nailed it and arrived at the front entrance of the intimidatingly large house once again within a reasonable time frame. My knuckles connected with the wood of the door as I knocked firmly a couple of times, shuffling my feet awkwardly as I waited. It took a few moments, but I heard the faint voice of a woman inside. "Coming!" The door quickly opened inwards and out popped the head of a short girl, I mean very short, with tomboyish gray hair and piercing blue eyes. She looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. "I'm assuming you're the one bringing Noire her missed work?" Her voice was authoritarian and straightforward in tone.
"Uh, yeah, that's me," I confirmed, scratching my head as I shifted under her gaze.
"Come on in, then. She's been waiting for you," the girl said, opening the door and standing aside. She didn't seem particularly thrilled to be letting me in, but she also didn't seem to be particularly pissed or anything either; she was just sort of nonplussed. I ignored that and stepped inside. I must have looked around like a lost puppy because that's when she spoke back up. "She's in the main room, down the hallway past the staircase."
"Thanks," I said.
"Yeah. If you'll excuse me, I have important things to get back to," she said before walking off and leaving me alone and a bit confused. Something told me that was the Kei I had been told about. I shrugged to myself and wandered on down the hall to the main room, deciding to pay it no mind for now.
"Noire?" I asked, entering the room.
Noire was sitting on the couch in the room. "Hmm?" her voice hummed as she looked up. "Oh, Roy! There you are, I was just about to text you... N-Not that I'm happy to see you or anything!" Despite her rather par-for-the-course defensive reaction at the end, she seemed... tired? Her voice wasn't as firm and direct as it usually was.
I dug out the giant pile of work I owed her and laid it on the table in front of her. "Hey. This is everything."
"Thank you, Roy. I appreciate the effort," she said, looking at the stack then back up at me. "Would you like to sit down for a while? I just made tea a little bit ago if you'd like some."
"Uh, sure, why not?" I shrugged, sitting down a little ways from her. "Noire, are you alright?"
"What? I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! Why? Does something seem off about me today?" She asked.
"I wouldn't really say that, you just... maybe it's just been a long week," I sighed.
"You can say that again," she agreed, pouring us both some warm tea. "I'm just glad we get some time to breathe this weekend."
"Here's hoping that goes smoothly," I chuckled lightly, sipping my tea.
"Don't jinx it," pouted Noire. "You know what kind of stuff saying something like that can invite."
"What could possibly go wrong?" I quipped irritatingly. Noire rolled her eyes and scoffed a bit, but a light smile remained on her face. "Either way, I'm looking forward to it."
"That makes two of us, then," Noire smiled. "N-Not that I've been waiting all week or anything!"
"Right." I laughed. Noire didn't say anything in return and we both sipped our tea in silence for a few moments. Finally, my concern got the better of me. "Hey, is Uni alright? She hasn't talked to me at all lately."
"I dunno,' Noire admitted. "She hasn't been talking to me much lately either. Why? Are you worried or something?"
"Kinda," I confirmed. "I mean, she's usually at least somewhat willing to talk, but..."
"Ugh, if it means that much to you, I guess I can ask her what's going on later," Noire sighed, crossing her arms.
"I'll take it," I laughed, finishing off my tea. It's then when all the liquids of that day hit me all at once. I was stricken with the sudden need to piss like a broken fire hydrant. "Speaking of things I need to take, where's the bathroom?"
"Back through the main hallway, first door in the left hallway," Noire recited with a smile.
"Thanks, I'll be right back," I said, getting up and leaving the room swiftly, leaving my bag there.
I traversed back through the hall and down the left hallway into the bathroom. It was a nice bathroom. Bright colors on the walls with a well-cleaned toilet next to a similarly well-cleaned and organized sink. It was a shame I was going to have to take a leak in it, but business was business.
I remember that piss-taking particularly long. One of those 'man this is really taking a while' kind of pisses, you know? By the time I finished washing my hands, I noticed the sound of someone coming down the stairs outside the door. I was done in there, so I left anyway, only to come near face-to-face with a rather surprised Uni. That surprise quickly turned sour as she realized it was me. "Oh, you're here," she said rather sharply.
"Really? One bad comment from my brother and that's what I've been reduced to?" I asked, a little shocked. "Look, I'm just here to give Noire her homework for the week."
"Whatever," she sighed, turning tail and slowly ascending the stairs again.
"Wait, Uni," I stopped her.
She impatiently turned and glared down the stairs at me. "What?"
"You're still coming tomorrow, right?"
Hesitation settled in for a second. "I guess," she uttered, looking away.
"Good..." I didn't say anything else. I just kind of... walked off back towards Noire in silence. Something really was bothering her, but that answer sated my curiosity for the moment.
Noire was idly looking through the stack of papers she now had to deal with as I walked back in. "It's amazing how much can pile up in just a week," she sighed.
"You want some help on it all?" I asked.
"What makes you think I need help?" Noire huffed, glaring at me as I sat back down.
"Nothing, it'd just make it go faster, probably. Besides, I've already done some of this stuff myself," I explained.
"Thanks, but no thanks," she denied me. "I work best on my own. No offense, of course, it's just how a mind like mine works."
"That's fair, I guess," I shrugged, sitting back against the leather couch idly.
Something made Noire hesitate for a little bit, as if the words were right in front of her but she couldn't force them out. "Roy?... Could you maybe... play the guitar for me again?" she asked.
"Huh?" I asked dumbly.
Her face began to slowly tinge red. "It's nothing big! I just thought you might be interested since you said you liked the guitar and all! D-Don't think anything weird because of it!"
"No, I mean, I can, I just... didn't really expect you to ask that," I admitted.
"I mean, it's not like I've been having a really rough week or anything," she shivered. "I just thought I'd ask..." She was clearly losing her touch on these defensive comments right now, so I got up and went to grab the guitar in the corner of the room without questioning it further. It was probably the right thing to do to make her feel better.
Sitting down with it was a welcome feeling to feel again. She wasn't wrong about me liking the guitar, it was a nice piece of work, but that didn't make playing it any easier. I decided to stick with something rather simple with that in mind. I began a relatively upbeat tune, trying to keep it in steady time as I remembered the lyrics. I was no singer, but I recited them along quietly anyway, if only on impulse of liking the song that much.
A strange union the other day
It's a dead Russian, the papers say
But it would be nice if they realized
That she thought 'he is mine'
This town has got you down and I know
I was helping you
While your hope died under northern skies and it shows
I was helping you to realize
The reason why, it was no surprise
No way
The act will pass by no-one
And I'm sad to say it's no different today
Be comforted by we share the same skies
And for once pay no mind
I have decided it's best that you know
I'm still thinking about
Old lies as north-west skies grow cold
No point in denying
Anxiety was my favorite feeling after jealousy
Yeah, I'll concede
That I could not
Be as nervous as I was
I could not
No way
This town has got you down and I know
I was helping you out
While your hope died under northern skies
And it shows
I was helping you to realize
The reason why, it was no surprise
No way
I'll admit, I didn't actually know the bridge too well, but I did my best. Regardless, when I finished, I was greeted by the sight of Noire with her eyes shut, soaking it in. As the realization that it was over came to her, her deep red eyes fluttered open. "It really does feel different when it's right in front of you," she muttered.
"Was that to your liking?" I inquired.
She cleared her throat. "Yes, that was wonderful, thank you," she replied.
"I hope that made this whole suspension deal a little less shit in some way," I said, smiling and adjusting my glasses.
"You have, actually," she assured me. "I... don't get many visitors, so... n-not that that means it's a big deal or anything! I'm just being nice!"
"Sure you are," I laughed. Her response was no more than a swift pout.
We spent the rest of the afternoon talking with me occasionally showing her some music on the guitar. Eventually, she started actually asking questions about the instrument, which prompted quite the technical conversation on it. The longer I talked and the more I played, the closer Noire migrated to my side. Eventually, she was sitting close enough that our legs were almost touching. I didn't particularly question it, I figured she was just getting a better view of my playing. It was about then when that girl from earlier came walking in. "It might be pertinent to note that it's supposed to start raining soon out there. Do you live nearby?" she asked.
"Hello to you, too, Kei," Noire sighed. "Sometimes you can be a bit too to the point."
"I thought it might be best to let him know before that changes," Kei said to Noire before looking back to me.
"Yeah, I actually live a ways away, so it might be a good time for me to hit the road if it's gonna start pouring again," I said, getting up and grabbing my bag. "I'll see you tomorrow, Noire."
"Yeah... tomorrow," she said, a bit deflated. I wasn't going to stand around and question why, after all, I was now on a timer, but I'm not going to say I didn't notice it.
"Oh, and miss Kei, thanks for the tip," I added as I walked down the hall towards the door.
"Please don't call me miss," Kei said sternly.
"Note taken!" I called back down the hall.
Finding my way back home was a bit more difficult than finding my way there. I find that things usually look a lot different from the opposite angle, as I'm sure a lot of people would agree. Naturally, the rain that shortly followed my departure didn't help either. Not to mention it was a rather intense rain rather quickly, going from sprinkling to pouring in a matter of thoughts. I was quickly soaked thoroughly as I made my way back past the school. That was about the time where I just took off my glasses and put them in my pocket I could see so little with them.
By the time I was passing the lilac sisters' apartment building, I was shivering furiously in the cold rain. I'm pretty sure my books were probably ruined at that point as well, but I don't quite remember. Somewhere along the way, I had exchanged walking for a brisk jog to speed things up, although as we've already discussed, I can't run worth a damn, so I can't imagine it actually really did much.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I was approaching my own home. The rain refused to let up, but so did I as I continued rushing up the driveway. It was there where I felt a strange feeling like there was someone watching me. Right as I was about to turn around to check, the front door swung open and AJ stepped out. "HEY!" he shouted down the driveway. I wheeled around to see... nothing... "Get inside," AJ demanded.
"What?"
"Just do it, man, I saw that guy again!" he said. He didn't have to say any more. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Without hesitation, I rushed inside, throwing my bag down by the entryway and stopping inside to catch my breath. "Fuck, did you see that?" AJ asked, looking out the window in disbelief. "He was there one second and then he wasn't."
"Dude, you better not be making this shit up," I said, finally catching up to my own breath.
"I'm not, I swear, he was right there behind you," he swore.
"Whatever, he's gone now... If what Arkas told me is anything to go by, we're not gonna be in the dark about that guy for much longer, either," I told him.
"Dude, I hope so. I feel uncomfortable with this, like I'm being hunted or some shit." He walked in and sat back down on the couch. " Moving swiftly onwards to something that isn't that... So, you talk to that Uni girl again?"
"Yes," I said. "I'd like to reiterate that you're an asshole, by the way."
"Oh really?" he accentuated. "You gonna tell me why?"
"She's still pissed about the thing you said!" I pointed out.
"Seriously?" He asked. "What kind of pole is up her ass? Look, if it'll make you feel better, I can apologize tomorrow."
"Something tells me that's not gonna do anything, but you do what you want." I left it there and walked away.
"It'll work itself out one way or another, Roy," he said, kicking his feet up and laying his whole body on the couch. And my, it certainly did.
A/N: Another shorty before what will be a pretty lengthy chapter. No, I'm not sorry. :p
Also, have I ever mentioned how hard chapter titles are? I know I'm doing them all entirely for nobody but myself, but good lord, man, they actually take effort.