Hold Me Close

Stars and Scars.

Ruby watched the new girl from afar. After watching her swiftly take on the bullies, his attention was grabbed. He learned of her quick status of catching up and being in all three paths. He was a little star struck with her abilities. However, he couldn't approach before worrying. He wasn't as talented as the others made him out to be. He just happened to be that good. He sighed before watching her practice. Maybe he could ask her to help him with his education. But he wasn't going to invite her over. If his mother showed up-

He clearly lost track of the real world.

"Are you ok?"

He jerked up before seeing Sapphire standing next to his seat. Oh fuck- He quickly smiled, covering his near panic attack.

"Yeah. Just thinking." She hummed before sitting with him.

"You sure? You looked lost." He purred.

"Just a little tired. I didn't really sleep well last night." A small lie. He was right about not sleeping last night, but his sleep schedule was already fucked. She scanned him before smiling softly.

"Well, if you need anything, let me know." He paused as she started walking away. Instantly, he got to his feet and went after her.

"Actually-" She paused as he caught up.

"Hm?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with school work. I sorta have been falling behind and I don't really work well with the others in the Academics Path. I know you're really good in all three, so I was hoping-" She smiled at his request.

"Of course. If you want, you can come over to my place and I can catch you up." Ruby smiled.

"That would be great-"

~~~

He made sure to text his dad about his plans before joining her to her place. A gentle female voice filled the air as they entered.

"Hello Sapphire- oh? Who's this?" He looked up to see a woman that practically resembled Sapphire. The younger girl smiled.

"This is Ruby. I'm helping him catch up on some school work." The woman nodded to him before they went up to her room.

~~~

When returning home, he practically teleported upstairs. He felt weak as he fought his mind. But the haze was far too strong for him to fight off. He finally gripped the switchblade before freezing at the voices. He slipped into the bathroom, his mind going into a blur.

~~~

"Ruby?"

Not hearing any sound from upstairs made the older man go up. There was no sound in the bedroom, but soft sniffles from the bathroom said a lot. The older man grimaced before entering, finding the smaller boy staring at the damage. Tear-filled red eyes looked up at him as the man knelt down after getting a first aid kit.

"I'm sorry-"

"Ruby." He got to work, tending the damaged arms. Ruby kept his head down as his dad finished. "Do you want to go to school?" Ruby nodded. "Alright. Wear long sleeves since you'll be insecure."

~~~

Sapphire noticed the tear stains. She went over at lunch as he ate a small meal, which didn't look filling. She sat down as he looked up slightly.

"Are you ok?"

He took a minute before shaking his head. He then pushed his food away, which barely looked like he touched it. She stayed quiet as he put his head down, shaking dangerously. He eventually just got up, leaving the untouched food and leaving the lunchroom. She paused as she looked at the food, which was a half sandwich, apple slices and baby carrots. A small nibble was missing from the sandwich, but that was it.

~~~

She saw later at practice the bandages. He looked pale as he tried to get through his solo. She could only watch as he kept running himself into the same hole; his fingers kept slowing down. Mr. Wallace tried to approach him twice, but Ruby was too locked on to steer away. Sapphire went over and sat in front of him, slowly moving his stand out of his vision. She had done this before and the girl that she did it to last time was able to realize she was having an asthma attack. It took a bit longer for Ruby since his vision was blurring up from the tears, but he eventually realized his music wasn't in front of him. Ruby blinked as Sapphire smiled at him.

"Why don't we take a breather, ok?"

He paused before nodding, putting the violin down and following her out of the room. She got him to get some water, which helped calm him down before they returned to the Performance Room. She scanned him as he cleaned his face and steadied his breathing. He did end up getting through the solo, with a lot cleaner of a sound.