001: its always going to be your fault

Ky sighed as she navigated her way through the bustling halls, the familiar sea of stares following her every step. The outlier of her disheveled appearance stood out like a sore thumb among the crisp and clean lines. This wasn’t necessarily something she wasn’t used to as she just brushed off the stares and headed to the cafeteria. 

As she approached the cafeteria, her eyes caught sight of an unusual scene at one of the tables. The pale, usually inexpressive transfer student stood in front of the dark skinned, cheerful Garden Club leader with an unexplained tension between them. 

“Oh, Sammy! You’re back from your vacation?” she called, breaking the tension that hung in the air.

At the sound of her voice, Sammy turned, his chocolate-brown skin glowing in the cafeteria light. His bright blue eyes sparkled with warmth. “Yep! I’m finally back from Greece! It was really nice, to be honest… Anyway, how’s your-”

Sammy’s question was cut short by the charcoal haired male as he bumped his shoulder walking away. 

“What- hey V- wait up!” Ky shouted after him. 

Ky glanced back at Sammy, her expression apologetic. “Ah… sorry about that, Sammy. We’ll catch up later!” she said before hurrying after V. She hadn’t noticed the slightly regretful look Sammy wore on his face as he watched the back of V’s head recede from sight. 

…

“Hey, V, what was that about…?” Ky asked as she slid into the seat next to the charcoal-haired boy, a furrow of confusion etched on her brow.

V let out a weary sigh, poking despondently at his food. “Nothing you need to worry about…”

Ky shrugged, her uncertainty still lingering. But her attention soon drifted as she spotted a commotion near the entrance of the cafeteria. 

The chatter surrounding her increased in volume as a group of students with their heads held high smirked at each other. 

Squeals of excitement erupted out of nowhere as Ky winced, covering her ears. 

“Damn… so loud for what…?”

With a groan, she ran a hand through her dirty blonde hair. She sighed as she realized this year was shaping up to be exasperating.

…

The sounds of an angel filled the empty auditorium as the singer seemed to pour her heart out with every vowel and constant she pronounced. And yet her voice was that of a fallen angel as her pure voice did not -in fact- reflect her soul. 

The illusion of pureness was cut short by a slow, sharp clap that sliced through the singing. 

"Wonderful... brilliant. Now, if you're done showing off to anyone with the ability to hear, can you please go and deal with Kira?" The male said with a hint of exasperation in his voice. 

The female scoffed as she rested her left hand on her hip, "First of all, it's not 'showing off', it's our duty bestowed on us to be the perfect role model those simpletons at this school strive to be-"

"Oh don't give me that nonsense grandma and grandpa use to lecture us over and over again." The male interrupted, crossing his arms, "The only reason this stupid student hierarchy exists is because they wanted to have an excuse to be pompous, cocky b******s without being seen as such." 

The female scoffed, moving her coffee brown hair behind her shoulder as she did so, "Don't catch dad hearing you say that, Daren, or your sketchbook won't be the only thing he throws in the trash."

Daren scowled slightly at her, "Oh f**k off Diane. This is such bullshit anyways. I know for a fact that no one in their right mind would do this if they weren't a cocky b*****d."

"Just zip your mouth and be useful for once by recording me gracing your ears with 'Ave Verum Corpus'."

Daren sighed, "Have you forgotten what I came here for in the first place?"

Diane rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, "Ignore Kira. It's not like she's going to do much anyways."

He shrugged, "Well, if you say so..."

The auditorium was filled once again with the angelic sound produced from Diane's vocal cords as a strawberry blonde haired student slipped away from the entrance, contemplating whether or not she should report the interaction with her leader.

…

Later, as music filled the air and set the tone in the music room, a raven-haired girl sat at the piano, her fingers dancing fluidly across the keys. Each note seemed to breathe life into the space, creating a sound so enchanting that it captivated anyone who heard it. 

V entered the room, and though he took a seat beside her, she continued playing, wholly absorbed in her craft. When she finally finished, he clapped, a small uncharacteristic smile breaking across his face.

“That was… beautiful,” he said, his admiration evident as his voice was soft. 

The girl turned to him, her long hair framing her face like a delicate portrait. “Thank you,” she responded, her smile enchanting. “But I feel like something is… missing…”

V tilted his head, puzzled. “But the piece is finished, right?”

“Yeah… but still,” she sighed, her brow creasing with contemplation. “I just don’t know what it is…”

V slumped in his chair, watching as she revisited the music again and again. Every encounter with her stirred a sense of déjà vu he couldn’t shake, like he had known her in another life.

The moment broke as the girl stood to leave, her hair flowing behind her like a silk banner. He sighed, wishing he could linger in her comforting presence. But he followed her out, feeling oddly lost without her.

His admiring gaze instantly changed into one of indifference as he continued down the hall. 

As he made his way to the exit, a commotion to his left caught his attention. Curiosity piqued, he peeked into the hallway and spotted Ky - the school commoner and his supposed friend - holding a spilled cup of orange juice and stammering an apology to the girl in front of her.

V sighed as his perfectly normal afternoon was ruined. He knew Ky well enough to predict that she would say something she would later regret. Deciding to stay behind, he watched, concerned, as the awkward encounter unfolded.