Puzzles
"Sooo…"
God, the silence was literally killing her. Well, not literally. But it was close. If she'd have known it was going to be this awkward, Ruby would have just waited for Yang, no matter how long she took with the suspiciously busted vehicle.
Ruby sighed. Might as well learn something from the other, rather frosty, passenger.
"What's your story?"
Weiss finally looked away from the passing scenery, confusion marring her otherwise impassive expression.
"What?"
Feeling less awkward now that Weiss was actually talking to her, Ruby felt her confidence grow. She turned in her seat, her back to the tinted window and completely facing her puzzled companion.
"I said, what's your story?"
Weiss shifted in her seat, thrown off by the unexpected question. She really should have expected that, actually. This girl was something else.
Weiss cleared her throat.
"My father is the CEO of Schnee—"
"No! Not that one. If I wanted to know that, I would, um, Google it or something. I mean, I could do that right? You're famous enough. I do see your name in practically everything, like this one time I was grocery shopping with Yang, she's my older sister by the way, and then—"
"Ruby, where are you going with this?"
Ruby could feel her cheeks heat up. Word vomit sucked.
"What I meant was, what do you like to do in your spare time? How old are you? What school do you go to? What's your favorite color?"
"My favorite color…?"
"Yeah! Since your family's kinda loaded I figured you must have been to a ton of places. And seen soooo many things! So answer the questions!"
Ruby grinned, feeling her previous enthusiasm returning. Weiss was at least a little responsive, honestly, it was more than she expected.
"Well, um, I'm 18. I'm taking some classes with a private tutor. I guess my favorite color is blue. And, I…I fence, play the piano, read. Nothing extraordinary."
Ruby could feel the eagerness drip out of her very existence as Weiss continued to talk. Didn't Weiss do anything fun?
"As for places I've gone, well, I haven't really been to very many places."
"Really? Not even for vacation and stuff?"
"Father is always busy so we don't have time for leisure."
Weiss responded in a clipped tone.
"Oh. Ok."
Ruby turned in her seat and faced forward again. Weiss was done sharing, apparently.
Silence once again reclaimed the space within the car, snuffing out all of Ruby's future attempts at small talk.
"What about you?"
"Wh-what?"
"I've told you about myself. What about you?"
"Oh!" Ruby perked up, excited by the fact that Weiss actually took some initiative.
"Well, I'm 16, I skipped ahead a couple of grades so I take some classes at the local university when I can. My favorite color is red, if you couldn't tell." Ruby gestured towards her attire-red hoody, red sneakers- and tucked some loose red streaked hair behind her ear. Red. Red. Red. Like Roses.
"I like to cook, well mostly bake actually. Oh! I also go diner hopping with Yang, my sister, when she has a day off. It's really fun!"
"Diners?"
"Yup! I like to taste-test their milkshakes, its very cathartic, kinda tastes like childhood, you know?"
Weiss grimaced, avoiding the overeager stare. That was a loaded question.
"I've never…My parents were always busy so they…We could never go out, the company required my parents' constant attention. And now, the chefs always cook for me so going out to eat is completely unnecessary."
Weiss could feel heat prickling the back of her neck, embarrassed with the fact that she didn't have a conventional childhood. Private tutors, non-stop lessons on proper etiquette, there was simply no room for childhood friends, let alone forays into town for fastfood.
"So you've never had a milkshake?! Or gone to a diner?!"
"What part of that did you not understand? I just said I have no need to go to places like that." This girl is so frustrating!
"Let's go now!"
"Wha—Now?"
"Yes, now! I mean, I don't have anything to do and I'm pretty sure you don't either. Mr. Driver! Take us to the closest diner near that address I told you earlier. It should be near a park."
"Wait! You dolt! We're complete strangers! I don't even know you! Besides, how do you know I don't have anything to do? For all you know, I could have a completely full schedule right now!"
"Yeah, 'cause I'm obviously an axe murderer. Besides, a friend of mine once told me strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. As for your schedule…I call bullshit! The sun's almost setting and I don't know about you but I doubt you have anything to do now. Don't worry, it'll be fun!"
So caught up in her jumbled thoughts, Weiss paid no heed to the route they were taking until the car slowed to a stop. Weiss glanced outside.
They were at a diner.
The old driver turned around to face them.
"I shall remain until you have finished matters here, Miss."
"Awesome! This is gonna be great! Weiss, you've gotta try everything! Especially the milkshakes. I've been here before and they're pretty good, not the best but more than capable for your first try!"
Ruby was already outside before Weiss even touched the door handle. She watched Ruby hobble towards the diner. Weiss released a sigh, already bracing herself for the impending headache. Before she could fully open her door, the aging driver stopped her.
He gave her a smile.
"Please, enjoy yourself, Miss."
Weiss looked away, trying to hide her own growing smile.
"Thanks."
They sat in a booth near a window. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the restaurant in a red glow.
Ruby fiddled with the sugar packets, arranging them by color, trying to think of something that would interest them both. It seemed as if every positive step Ruby made with Weiss, they took a huge tumble backwards.
"So you said you fence? What's that like?"
A waitress came and placed two menus on the table, gave them a smile, and went to refill other customers' coffee cups.
"Well, I don't anymore, but I used to compete. It was a nice way to clear my head."
"Why'd you stop?"
Weiss frowned, thinking of an answer. Seeing this, Ruby immediately backtracked, trying to fix the awkward situation she'd inadvertently created.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I was just curious, is all…"
"No. It's ok. I was just too sick. I was thirteen at the time. Father immediately pulled me out of school and hired tutors. I was forbidden from doing anything too strenuous."
Ruby pouted, prepared to say something on the matter, but before she could reply, a waitress arrived, notepad and pen in hand. They placed their orders, Ruby a chocolate milkshake, Weiss a vanilla one.
"Your turn."
Ruby paused to think.
"I like to look at vintage weaponry."
Weiss blinked. Well, that was certainly…different.
Ruby snorted.
"Yeah, that probably sounded weird, huh? I don't even know why I got into it. It's not like I can actually afford to buy stuff like that but it's just really fascinating and my mom was really into it so…"
Ruby tapered off, not knowing what else to say. She hoped Weiss didn't catch that little slip-up with her mom. That was still a touchy subject she'd rather not bring up.
"Did you know there are several museums in Germany dedicated to weaponry and warfare?"
Taken aback, Ruby was struck speechless. What?
"Now pass me some napkins, would you? This table is absolutely filthy, and I refuse to get my clothing dirty."
Amidst Weiss' borderline frantic cleaning of the tabletop, Ruby could only stare. She'd revealed a lot to Weiss. More than she would if it were someone else and not, well, Weiss. Ruby couldn't wrap her head around it. Weiss was a complete stranger. Came from a completely different world. She was rich and probably had a nice family and wasn't someone who liked the same things Ruby did. And Ruby was just…Ruby. Nothing special. Prone to awkward situations and silly behavior. But as she continued to watch Weiss, white blazer now absent, the sleeves of her oxford shirt rolled up, arguing with the slightly miffed waitress about the state of their "absolutely deplorable eating conditions", Ruby could only giggle. Perhaps she could be someone Weiss depended on, too.
"I told you to stop complaining. Now we'll probably never be able to go there again."
Weiss huffed, throwing her blazer over one shoulder.
"Yes, well, I don't see why they got so mad. I merely asked for some cleaning supplies to finish what they obviously couldn't."
Ruby giggled and continued to walk towards the park, her crutches clacking on the sidewalk.
"You're so right. How could they resist your charm? Especially after saying you could do better than all of their wait staff combined."
"I was only being truthful."
Ruby laughed as she sat on the unoccupied swing. She could hear children playing nearby, shrieking and laughing without a care in the world. Ruby set her crutches on the ground next to her and then gripped the chains of the swing. She idly kicked at the ground while looking at the sunset. She heard Weiss settle into the swing next to her, the metal creaking slightly.
The air smelled like lawn clippings with a slight metallic tang to it. Probably from the chains. Plus there was this annoying pebble in her shoe. Even though Ruby made every attempt to walk carefully through the park. So annoying.
And yet…
She loved every second of it.
"Yang always took me to this park. We actually live in that building right over there. Anyways, she would push me on this swing all the time. So hard it felt like I would just keep going, you know? It felt like I could fly, as corny as that sounds."
Ruby sighed, buried in nostalgia.
"Sometimes I forget how easy it was. I haven't been able to do a lot of things for so long, I forget that this disease isn't me. That I'm a completely separate person. No one gets that. It's hard and it just sucks."
She kicked a pebble with her last statement. Watched it as it rolled to a stop, not very far from where she sat on the swing.
Damnit.
She was getting attached. This was the very reason why she didn't want to go to group therapy. She tried to warn Yang, but…it was nice. Being able to talk to someone.
God, she was so useless.
Broken.
So broken.
The sound of a zipper being pulled jolted Ruby out of her thoughts. She looked at Weiss, who was fumbling with the zipper on her left boot. When she had it undone, Weiss took a deep breath and sat up.
"I get it. I understand. And I don't think it will ever be ok, because frankly, we can't know that. All we can do is just keep going. We've been dealt a terrible hand,"
Weiss gestured to her leg and Ruby finally looked down only to see…
A prosthetic. Her boot barely concealed the mix of metal and other materials Ruby could not identify.
"…but maybe it doesn't have to be that bad."
At this, Weiss finally gave Ruby a smile. A small, real, genuine smile.
Maybe she was right.
They were both broken, shattered, incomplete in more ways than one.
Maybe they could fit those pieces together.
"Thanks for walking me home, Weiss. It was a lot of fun."
"I admit, it was rather enjoyable."
They both lingered on the steps leading to the entrance of the apartment building. Neither knowing what to say next.
"Um-"
"Well-"
They both stopped abruptly. Awkward.
Ruby leaned her crutches on the railing and moved forward, enveloping Weiss in a tentative hug. Before she could return the favor, Ruby let go and grabbed her crutches.
"See ya later, Weiss! And goodnight!"
Weiss continued to watch her until she disappeared into the elevator. Shaking her head, Weiss let out a sigh and made her way to the idling car waiting by the curb. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her blazer to ward off the slight chill, only to feel a slightly crumbled piece of paper that wasn't there before.
Weiss stopped and pulled it out, unfolding it and smoothing out the creases.
She could only smile. Ruby had a talent for making her do that, apparently.
It was the receipt.
And on it was a phone number.
AN:/ So sorry for the late update. I kind of explained it on my other story, Freakshow (shameless plugin). To summarize, it was just a mixture of life getting in the way and a high school friend passing away. I just need time. I figured a little delay is a lot better than forced writing. Anyway, I should be getting back into the swing of things, if not weekly, than bi-weekly. Don't worry, I have no intention of abandoning this story. I've grown too attached to it. It might take awhile, but it will be finished. Constructive criticism highly welcomed (I only read through this once, so please point out any mistakes and I will be sure to fix them).
ps. Diner hopping is a thing. A wonderful thing. Much better than bar hopping, I think. I mean what's better than greasy food and milkshakes? And you'll actually remember it. Just a thought.