the long-awaited romance chapter! woop woop!
Fun fact: Valentine's Day is actually about Saint Valentine's beheading. :D. Fun.
Also Tall Girl 2 is out. Yep. They made two of those movies. End me (Jkjk)
Reviews!
MoonTheMagical: Yesss, I actually wanted to have that colour a few years ago, but never actually did it. It sounds really cool!
Qxr: Yeah, too bad about the hair.
SomeRandomRobo: Oo, that sounds really fun! I love plays, they're the best. Also your hair sounds so pretty what the heck- now I want to dye my hair. Also idk what you're talking about, that hair colour is completely normal!
Lydia-From-Limmat: Ikr! Best couple. Also yeah I forgot to mention why exactly his hair fell out. I edited the chapter, but if you don't wanna check it's because Ruby misread the time and they left it on for too long.
Chapter 71
Sweater Weather
A touch of red nail polish. A swipe of cherry lip gloss. A few (okay, a lot) of strokes of a hairbrush. Ruby snapped the buckle of her choker on and added an extra necklace with a jeweled ladybug on it. After a quick check of the weather, Ruby decided on a soft red sweater to wear under her signature leather jacket. Black ripped jeans, combat boots, pink heart earrings for festivity, and she was done.
After a few poses in the mirror, Ruby smiled at herself, pleased with the outfit. Of course, she didn't really have to impress anyone. It would just be her and her friends!
And speak of the devil, her phone buzzed with a notification of someone texting in their group chat. Ruby picked up her phone and swiped up to the notification.
Direct Messages with myahxox
myahxox: hey Ruby!
myahxox: just so you know the others can't make it today D: they just texted me.
rubyred: aw rly? that sucks :((
myahxox: yeah ikr? at least we can both go ;)
myahxox: WAIT
myahxox: NO
myahxox: WRNOG SEMICLON II MAENT THSI ONE :)
rubyred: LMAO get wrecked
myahxox: *sobbing*
rubyred: okok, see you at the park in 10 min?
myahxox: ofc, see you there! :DDD
Ruby frowned, flicking off her phone and placing it in her backpack, tossing her wallet and a package of Tik Taks in for good measure. It was odd, both Tulisa and Josh said they were completely free today, and same with Ducky. Why the sudden cancellation?
Whatever. At least it would give her more time to figure out what the heck was up with Myah recently. Up until yesterday, Ruby had been trying to subtly flirt. Complimenting her outfit, texting her in the middle of the night about nothing at all, simple stuff. And Myah had always just blushed and kind of brushed it off.
Ruby yelled a quick goodbye to her mother and Jared, running into the garage and wheeling her bike out from the rack.
But then yesterday…Ruby's cheeks flushed, holding her helmet in her hands. Maybe the two of them had flirted a little, but Myah had never been the one to initiate it.
"Well that's good. Because I didn't want to share you with anyone else." What did it mean? Did Myah like her back? Of course, it could just be a friendly joke, friends would fake-flirt with each other all the time. Or maybe Myah had just been reading too much fanfiction and was in a silly wacky mood.
Or maybe she actually...likes me?
No matter which of the answers it was, their last conversation had been charged with something, and Ruby was determined to find out what.
She fiddled the helmet buckle a little more, then sighed, accepting defeat and running back inside to get her mom to do it up for her, all the while wishing it was Myah.
No. She couldn't keep obsessing over this! What happened, happened, and she shouldn't be making things weird. She should just let it settle, and move on to something else.
Ruby smiled. Yep, no more thoughts about yesterday. Only serene calm.
~lll~
But what if she just wanted to help get my helmet on, and decided to crack a joke? After all, you have to get close to someone's face in order to snap the buckle on. Or maybe-
Oh, and look at that. She was at the park. Normally, Ruby was able to enjoy the wind in her hair and the fresh air on her skin, but worrying about a certain one minute and twenty-nine seconds of her life seemed to be more important to her brain.
But when she parked at the bike rack and clipped the rusty chain onto the shiny purple lock, and a beautiful girl walked up to her on clean white Air Forces and lightly tapped her shoulder, it made all the stress disappear. Because Myah in a pink strawberry off-the-shoulder jacket, white tennis skirt, and matching knee-high socks could erase the memory of her so easily, it was pathetic.
"O-oh! Hey, Myah! Didn't uh, see you coming!" Ruby said, leaning against the bike rack and grinning so wide that she probably looked like a character from a horror movie. Smooth.
Myah giggled. "Yay, I surprised you! Who else would tap you on the shoulder though?"
"A mass murderer?" Ruby suggested weakly. "An evil butcher set on making us his next deli sandwich special?"
"Ha, sounds like a good horror novel! You should write that sometime." Myah joked. Painfully recalling one of her angsty poems from last year, Ruby decided with a shudder that that was probably not the best idea.
"Well, what do you want to do first? We can get some food, go on the playground, just look around…? You've got to choose something." Myah prodded.
"Ummm…" Ruby wasn't exactly sure. Especially because she'd never been to this park before, and she didn't really appreciate being rushed. "How about you give me a tour? Then we'll get to go everywhere in this park."
Myah smiled, lips a glossy pink-rose colour. "Good idea. Let's start with the playground, okay? I know it's kind of childish, but it's honestly really fun there."
"Sure!" Truth was, Ruby had been on tons of playgrounds recently - four-year-old sisters and their friends tend to like them a lot. Besides, they were pretty fun when you weren't surrounded by eight hundred screaming toddlers.
They started walking down a concrete path, Ruby making sure to hop over the little moss-filled cracks in the walkway, a habit she'd had ever since she was little. A ruby-red ladybug flitted through the air, wings like little garnet jewels and body like an onyx. It landed on an emerald green weed and closed its wings, small as a dewdrop on the freshly clipped grass.
After walking a ways down the dusty path lined with unnaturally placed birch trees, they reached a sunny clearing where a small play structure stood on top of a field of sawdust and wood chips, with a fenced-in basketball court on the opposite side. The sounds of playing children rang out from the area; the squeaking of rusty swings, the chatter of a group of roleplayers, the screaming of an exciting game of tag.
Ruby, noticing that two swings were available, grinned an evil grin. "You wanna swing?" She asked, putting on a strange sort of bad-boy voice.
Myah couldn't help but laugh. "Sure, but I'll warn you: I can totally swing higher than you!"
"Oh, I'll take my chances," Ruby replied, taking the opportunity to dash as fast as she could over to the swing set, just barely dodging a little girl in a purple rain jacket and shouting a half-hazard apology to her, before making it to the swing, Myah right on her heels. Pumping back and forth, bending her knees and straightening them to gain momentum, Ruby flew higher and higher into the air. Her crimson hair floated around her, the cool wind adding an extra adrenaline rush to her day (most of it spent sleeping - what else were weekends for?)
"Aw, no fair! You got a head start!" Myah whined, pouting as Ruby sailed to the top, so high that she nearly went over the top. That had always been a goal of hers as a kid, but she'd never quite been able to reach it.
"It is too fair, I'm just faster than you. Ratio." Ruby teased, taking a giant swing back and launching herself through the air. And for a few seconds, she could fly - that is, until she hit the earth in a shower of wood chips and dust. Myah followed, and Ruby stuck her tongue out at her, pulling her left eyelid down.
"Swinging was fun. What's next on our park speedrun, Mrs Tour Guide?" Ruby asked, checking her fingers for splinters.
"Woah, Mrs?! I'm only seventeen, I can't get married off yet," Myah joked.
Ruby gasped in mock horror, clasping one hand over her heart. "You wouldn't marry me? At least consider it! I'm perfect in every way, shape, and form!"
"Alas, I would love to marry you, but it is my father, you see! According to the law, I am only allowed to marry a prince - and you are but a lowly street rat!"
"Truly a shame, Your Highness. I suppose I'll have to meet a magic genie that'll turn me into a prince." Ruby said, voice grand and royal-esque.
Myah giggled. "Well, you are very pretty." Then she flinched, her pale cheeks dusting pink and onyx eyes going wide, searching Ruby's face in a panic. "I mean...uhm."
But it was fine, it was more than fine, and Ruby grinned in a very pleased manner. "Ditto."
Their shoulders brushed as they walked side by side.
It was glorious.
Ruby could faintly make out the strumming of a guitar up ahead, and the sharp static screech of someone tapping a microphone, testing it before a performance.
"What's that?" Ruby asked curiously. The sun was getting more and more clouded by the minute, light being scarce due to the daylight savings. Another clearing was coming up, marked by a metal sign reading 'Courtyard'.
Myah brightened. "Oh, this is my favourite part. So this is the main courtyard, and it's got a ton of picnic benches and stuff, and then there's this big stage beside a gazebo where a bunch of local indie bands play. Plus, there's usually some really great food trucks, so you can buy some food and sit while watching the band's play. It was mine and Avie's favourite thing to do when we were younger." Myah smiled, nostalgia clouding her eyes. Ruby could just tell by the look on her face that this place meant a lot to her.
After ducking through a gorgeous hedgelike floral arbor, they ended up in a large, gravel-pathed area, where groups of people sat at cobblestone picnic tables, munching on various tasty treats wrapped in brown paper. A group of party-hat-donned kids sat on white seats in the gazebo while parents clapped around them, playing a game of musical chairs. And up on the marble gazebo, three stairs up, stood four men fiddling with the speaker wires and other things. Neon flyers on either side of the podium read 'Coming to you live: the up-and-coming band Turtle Shells!'
"Turtle Shells?" Ruby laughed. "Love the name."
"Yeah, they've been playing here forever. They're one of, like, three bands that actually come here, most local bands play downtown or something. But I'm really glad Turtle Shells play here - my mom's actually friends with the drummer, Nole...Something." Myah paused. "Well, Bookface friends with him, anyways. If that even means something."
A couple dressed in pink walked up to them, the man clearing his throat and gesturing behind them.
"Oops! Sorry!" Myah apologized, flushing in embarrassment as the two realized that they were blocking the entrance. They moved out of the way to let the couple pass, then regrouped, this time off to the side.
"So, what should we-" Myah was promptly cut off by Ruby's stomach growling.
Ruby flushed. "Guess we should eat, then."
Myah giggled. "Guess we should."
They had a lengthy discussion about which food truck to go to, and after a while of narrowing down the options, the pair finally decided on two tacos for Ruby, a burger for Myah, and a custom snow cone each.
Balancing two packaged tacos on her left hand, Ruby smiled up at the person working the snow cone truck. "I'll have a cotton candy snow cone, please!" She requested. Mm, cotton candy. She then turned to Myah, who was carefully studying the menu. "Never had a snow cone before?"
"Oh, I have, but only when I was six...there's so many flavors! Which should I pick?" Myah cried in anguish.
"You could try the strawberry, it's my daughter's favourite! Plus, it's our special today - y'know, it being Valentine's Day and all." The apron-clad person suggested, tightening the electric that held their long black hair back in a ponytail.
Math smiled. "One strawberry, then."
"Coming right up!" The person scooped some ice out of a plastic bin, squirted the syrup flavouring out of two bottles, mixed it with an odd metal spoon, and stuck two other spoons in, one yellow and one purple.
"They change colours with temperature - yellow to red, and purple to pink." They explained, wrapping the foam cups in a paper towel and handing it to the pair with plastic gloves.
"Cool!" Ruby chirped, watching the colours shift from saffron to cardinal.
The person smiled, taking the money Ruby handed them and ringing it up in the gray cash register. "You two enjoy your date!"
The two of them flushed simultaneously. "Er, we're not…"
Myah hurriedly thanked the person and they set out to leave, laughing a little at the mix-up. Only the laughter felt off, raw with true emotion lingering behind the humor - which in all honesty, wasn't that funny. They walked around for a little while, eating their snow cones and trying (and failing) to avoid brain freeze.
Ruby, noticing that the place was getting more and more crowded as families started to pour in from the entrance, stuffed the leftover food in her bag and asked "Should we go somewhere else to eat? It's getting a little stuffy here."
Myah's eyes lit up, and she quickly tossed the paper cup and napkin into a nearby wastebasket. "Ooh, I know a place! I found it when I was playing hide-and-seek several years ago - it's behind some bushes in the forest. C'mon, I'll take you there." Myah reached forward, palm extended, and looked right into Ruby's hazel eyes.
Face flushed, Ruby threw the strap of her backpack over her shoulder and took the smaller girl's hand, accepting the proposal and the promise of adventure.
Myah's grip tightened as she tugged Ruby forward, the latter yelping in surprise as they tore down the field, the crisp winter-to-spring air fresh with excitement, the breeze crackling like crumpled paper, a delicious chill running down Ruby's spine as they entered the forest. They wove between tree trunks, crashed through brush and thickets, pine needles the colour of pumpkins showering down on them like autumn-toned snowflakes.
"Watch out for the thorns!" Myah warned, voice sanguine, as they squeezed between two thorny bushes, the leaves soft and promising ripe, juicy blackberries in the late summertime.
And finally, after bursting through the prickly bushes, they ended up on the edge of a small, grassy hill leading down to tall bushels of golden drygrass at the end, and a ditch filled with water and tadpoles in-between that and the silent road. Ruby liked to think of it as a sort of divide, separating humankind from nature. The yellow-orange of the setting sun mixed with the blues of the sky, casting shades of salmon and violet throughout the sky, blending and merging like watercolours.
"It's beautiful," Ruby said in wonder. "I wish I could take a photo, but you know how photos of sunsets always come out too bright on cameras."
"Just do what I do. Focus really hard on the sights in front of you, really really focus well. Then close your eyes for a second, like a shutter snap." Myah smiled. "And now you've got a mind memory to last you forever."
And as Ruby followed her instructions, taking a photo with her eyes, she really and truly hoped that this moment would be one to cherish forever, one that she could frame and hang up on the wall or a billboard.
Myah suddenly flopped onto the soft grassy ground, giggling a little as she made sure she wasn't sitting on anything sharp. Ruby followed suit, making sure to sit not too far away from her, but close enough so that maybe their knees would brush. That would be nice. Myah reached up with her nails coloured the exact shade of a ballet slipper, fiddling with one of her low pigtails. Ruby fixated on the motion, watching slender alabaster fingers comb through silky ebony hair.
"While we're here, there's actually something... something I've been meaning to say for... quite a while now." Myah murmured, fingers combing faster and faster as she spoke.
Ruby's heart thrummed faster, suddenly hyperaware of her senses. The tickling of the breeze getting her hair in her nose. The smell of grass and gasoline. The light of the dimming sun. The faraway screech of a child.
"Will you...um, I mean." Myah took a deep, shaky breath and closed her eyes. Ruby waited patiently, keeping her hands folded politely on her lap. She could wait forever, if it meant she could look at her (in a perfectly innocent manner, of course).
Myah started again. "So I've known you for...how long now? Four, five-"
"Six months and nine days." Ruby provided helpfully. "Not that I was keeping track, or anything."
She smirked, voice dripping with saccharine sweetness. "Of course. You're not down bad, or anything."
Wait, what-
"Listen, Ruby, I…" She finally lifted her gaze from the grass up to Ruby's eyes, something sparkling in her eyes. She took another breath in, just say it already!
In the background, far far away, atop a marble stage, a guitar strummed, and a man began singing, his voice like a forest songbirds'.
Cause it's too co-o-o-o-old, for you here.
And now, so let me hold, both your hands in
The holes of my sweater.
"I like you. I've liked you for...for a long time now, and I just- I just wanted to tell you that." Myah confessed, voice wobbly but holding steady. After a moment of hesitance, she spoke again, this time flatter and more dull. "I-I completely understand if you don't like me back, though you certainly did give off I-like-you vibes, but I totally get if you-"
"I like you too." Someone said, and Ruby realized that it was her. "You're just...you're so sweet- you always know how to say the right thing. And so adorable- that one doesn't need much explaining. Really, none of this does. So yeah, I like you." Ruby smiled, flushed red (though she wasn't sure how, given that her heart had practically stopped the second the confession came out of Myah's soft pink mouth).
And Myah positively glowed, a warm smile of joy spreading across her porcelain face, onyx eyes sparkling with a million diamonds, and she leaned over, shifting her position and wrapping Ruby in a tight hug, chin resting on the leather of Ruby's shoulder. She beamed, hugging Myah back.
And when the smaller girl let go, she rested her face on Ruby's right shoulder, sitting in happy silence as she watched the clouds get thicker and higher, as the sun slowly descended behind the lavender mountains. And right there, under the blanket of nature, Myah lifted her head up and pressed a kiss, light as a butterfly, to Ruby's cheek and closed her fingers over Ruby's own freckled ones.
And there, right there, Ruby thought, in cotton candy snow cone and swing-set happiness, in bright red sweater and strawberry patterned bliss, that she just might be in love.
A/N
YAYYYYY! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
idk man this chapter seems a little gæ
so yay, the softie and the baddie got together! match made in heaven tbh
so now I'm single and Ruby's not. GG, the chapter is now a self-insert. Like seriously where's my girlfriend to take me on a romantic park date!
How was your guy's Valentine's Day? Mind wasn't super eventful, just gave my friends some Kit Kats and watched Saiki K all evening. Which is a good remedy for your crippling loneliness :') jkjk I'm fine
Oh, and what are your thoughts on Tall Girl 2: Struggles of being a pretty blonde straight white girl in an upper class family with three attractive guys who like her, a family who loves and supports her, and popularity coming out of her eyeballs.
But oh no, she's 6'1! Try and beat that.
(dang, I wanna be 6'1)
Have a great day/night!
~ghost the tall girl and epic matchmaker