Garreg Maach was a small religious college in the high hills in the center of Fodlan. It might as well have been the middle of no where. Perfect. It had been a little over a year since Byleth's father had been attacked in broad daylight, leaving her an orphan as a young adult. What was once a kind and mischievous girl was now an apathetic recluse but after so much time she felt ready to heal

Her father had at some point intended for her to attend the school and had bought a small property just across the street, but the idea was evidently abandoned as well as the property. It had taken the better part of the summer for her to repair her dilapidating house but the work had paid off and it was now a quaint cottage, very comfortable for one young woman

She hurried out the door, ducking back in quickly to grab her thermos, before ducking out again and locking her door. She hurried off to the crosswalk, bouncing on her toes to try and warm up in the early October air. She felt as if someone was watching her, but she reasoned they really couldn't be blamed their interest, and continued to try to warm herself

"M-Miss…" She didn't stop but turned to face the tall blond man before her, who suddenly couldn't bring himself to look at her straight "This is yours." He offered her a button and she stopped and inspected it

"No, I don't think so." Now that she stopped moving he finally looked down at her, towering maybe 3 heads higher than her, his blond hair swaying softly with the rush of traffic

"I-I assure you it is! I saw it fall off!" He offered it to her again only to see wide green eyes settle on him accusingly as her small hands moved to cover her chest

"Were you looking at my breasts?" She asked so shyly and gently that he seemed to break. Byleth's pouting face inspected the button one more time before swiping it from him and storming away, the man the whole time stood stunned

"Caught in the act!" A red haired boy laughed, running out to him from their hiding place in a nearby shrubbery

"You lucked out, she should have hit you." A dark haired boy with a loose ponytail sighed

Byleth sighed, hurrying towards the large concert hall, but ducked down a quiet hallway to try and fix her blouse

"Hey! You!"

She jumped, turning to face the voice, a very pretty but domineering blond girl

"You're not supposed to be down here." Her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer

"I'm sorry," She removed her hand from the gap between her button down, exposing the center of her cleavage to the other woman and showing her the button. Her face flushed shyly and the woman took a step back, her face red "I was trying to fix this, I didn't know. I'm very sorry."

She nodded, moving closer

"I'm Edelgard." She offered her a safety pin

Byleth's eyes watered and she took it gratefully, looking up at her new friend with teary eyes

"Thank you so much Edelgard!"

And the blond was slain, immobilized by her smile even as the large bell on the tower chimed, signalling commencement

The blue haired girl rushed away without another word, clutching the safety pin in her hand leaving Edelgard stunned in her wake, remembering her cute expression before she had run off.

Byleth tugged uselessly at the auditorium door, pulling and pushing against it with all her might to no avail

"Thats the stage entrance, the main entrance is further ahead." A chuckle came from behind her and she turned to observe a young brunette man with the faint scruff of a beard

"You look pretty cute hanging there." He laughed again and she removed herself from the door handle. His eyes fell on the gap in her shirt and he looked away politely "You're missing a button."

She flushed in shame and pulled her shirt closed "I have a pin but I wanted to find a seat."

"Follow me, I can lead you to a seat and you can fix your shirt." He gave her a friendly smile, taking off in the indicated direction "I'm Claude by the way."

He mumbled over his shoulder

"Byleth." She nodded, fiddling with the safety pin as the fabric slid out of place

He lead her into the packed hall and toward a handful of empty seats. He felt her hand on his bicep and the gentle springy contact of her breasts against his back "It's so dark in here…" He heard her whisper but his brain was having a hard time keeping up through her innocent touch

He lead her to an empty seat and began to move away

"Oh, are you sitting somewhere else?" She looked up at him with a slight anxiety in her eyes "I um, I'm very new to town. Could I give you my number? It would be nice to have a friend when school starts."

He nodded as if in a trance and she wrote her number on his arm

"Bye Claude, thanks again for the help."