drowning | ruel van dijk

twenty

KATE

don't even bother asking me how i managed to get my shit together, because i don't even know how i did it either; change clothes, put on makeup, brush hair, and brush teeth again (just in case...).

i'm really doing this.

i hop into my car, double checking my appearance and the address ruel texted me. why am i nervous? i'm just going to see ruel...

ruel ~ let me know when you get here

me ~ i'm leaving my house now

—————

it doesn't take me long to drive to ruel's place and pull into the driveway; maybe only 10 minutes. stepping out of the car, i quickly shoot ruel a text.

me ~ i'm here! now open up

ruel ~ i gottu...

just as i look up from my phone, i see the boy open up the front door. he waves at me with a grin wide on his face.

"you coming in, or will wilbur have to coax you?" ruel shouts to me.

wilbur? who's that?

teasing ruel, i step out of the car really slow, which causes him to give me a disappointed glance. "you asked for it..." he warns me.

without hesitation, a fluffy, caramel colored dog trots out of the house towards me.

"omg, no way ruel! you got me a dog!" i laugh as i crouch down to pet the dog. its tail wags at me affectionately.

ruel steps out of the doorway to greet me. "you wish," he says, squatting down at my level. he smiles, and my cheeks blush for no reason.

"let's go inside, yeah?" ruel leads wilbur back into the house, myself following right behind them.

it's a cozy home, with comfy furniture and a modern theme. ruel gives me a quick tour, showing me all the rooms and letting me know where to get snacks if i'm hungry, or where the bathrooms are. he's very welcoming, i must say.

finally, we stop before a door along a hallway, which i'm guessing is ruel's room.

i don't i what i was expecting, but when ruel swings open the door and leads me inside his room, it's surprisingly tidy. well, more like barren; there aren't any decorations or posters or anything except for his record label plaques.

a big bed stands in the middle of the room, positioned directly behind a small tv, which i'm assuming ruel uses for gaming, since a bunch of consoles and controllers lie next to it.

"it not too exciting", ruel tells me. "but it works out all right when i'm not traveling or touring." he sits on the edge of his bed, letting me walk around.

out of the corner of my eye, i see what i believe to be a guitar resting against the wall.

"you have a guitar," i think out loud suddenly. releasing how stupid that must sound, i try and save myself from embarrassment. "i mean, of course you'd have a guitar. you're a musician."

ruel lets out a reassuring laugh. walking out of his room, he says, "i actually have many guitars..."

i quickly follow him further down the hall, and we stop at another door. opening it up, ruel reveals to me a whole mini studio; with amps, keyboards, multiple guitars, electronics, a small couch, and everything. there's even more record label plaques displayed on the walls.

"wow! this is so cool! do you write your music here?" i ask.

ruel sits down at the keyboard, turning it on and softly playing some cords. "yeah, sometimes. usually i just meet up with my team and we'll write and record in a bigger studio, but this one's all my own."

the sounds from the piano gradually become louder, and ruel begins to play right hand notes of what i assume is from one of his songs.

the simplicity of the single chords and the melody of the higher keys flow through my ears. it almost makes me want to play the keyboard myself...

my dad had taught me piano. i used to be so good...

"you ok?" ruel stops playing.

i hadn't realized i closed my eyes, but as i reopen them, the urge to play the keyboard overwhelms me even more.

"can i..." i ask ruel, making my way to the mini piano.

he nods, letting me take a seat next to him. rifling through all the possible songs i could perform for him, i settle on my favorite one; a classical, yet elegant piece that i modified myself.

the song starts off slow, but once it picks up it's pace i notice ruel smiling and swaying with the melody.

like i predicted, i fumble with one of the notes and then i continue to mess up. "sorry, i... i haven't played it in awhile," i excuse myself.

ruel has a look of disbelief across his face. "seriously? no, you're really really good! better than me, even! i had no idea you played!"

his compliment fills a hole in my heart i forgot was even there.

my dad and i had a big fight.

"yeah, my dad taught me," i start to tell ruel. "he was a great teacher, but i always found myself modifying the songs to sound like the way i wanted to play them. apparently i offended him, and we got into a big fight about following the rules of piano."

ruel looks at me with sympathy, but i continue. "i never cared to follow them, but after that fight, i just couldn't bring myself to play again. i don't know, it was a weird time. i was only 13."

after a moment, ruel speaks again. "well it seems like doing your own thing paid off, because that song is beautiful." he looks at me, softly.

"you know," he pauses, then: "you're beautiful, too".

without warning, ruel leans towards me —not far, because we're already sitting close— but close enough to give me a light kiss on the cheek.

great, now my face flushes a pink color. "pff, you're too kind," i try to brush ruel's complement off, but i'm not successful. 

in sync, we both laugh at my poor attempt to take a compliment, and i can't help but want to stay like this forever.

—————————

i've been really unmotivated to write for some reason. like i haven't written anything in two weeks! :( maybe it's because i don't really know where the story is going...

love you all <3 stay safe