"Mr Oakhill!"
Someone else called out from further away, all four of them turned to look at the source of the noise. For everyone else this boy seemed to be just another student here at WIA, just another person who they walked past everyday at work. But that just wasn't the case for her. She felt her face scrunch up, he was…oddly familiar.
"Sorry! I'm sorry I'm late! So– I kinda lost track of time, right? And when I actually ended up remembering I had a duty to attend to these, like, year 8 kids were having a tussle in the middle of the hall– and you know how disruptive that can be for other classes! So I sorted that out, and after that I ended up running into some of my friends and we-" he kept going on and on, hands flinging up to chase after his words.
Mr Oakhill and Ms Valerie laughed at the boy's enthusiasm, while Ms Dahlia seemed to scoff in amusement– but all she could do was stand there and stare. There was no way… there was really no way that this was who she thought it was. Realistically speaking, the chance of her ever meeting this specific person in a school so huge was… close to zero. But every bone in her body told her that this was the same exact person she had in mind.
Rubie didn't leave Willowfield all those years ago wiped clean of any connection to the town. She had a life, she had friends, she had memories that stuck with her longer than any academic concept ever did. This boy…sunkissed skin, grey eyes that always seemed tinged with a soft green, a star speckling of freckles, bouncy dark chocolate brown curls… it could only be one person. YV, Kiana, Dawn, Mitzi– the world was just for the five of them, she couldn't forget them even if she tried, and he… this boy was–
"Mr Valentin, quiet you! It's quite alright young man, we haven't been waiting for too long- at least not as long as the other times you've done this."
There was a teasing tone in the way Mr Oakhill spoke, if she was a stranger to the situation Rubie would've thought he was his father or uncle with how friendly and comfortable they were with eachother. The boy just laughed in response, light and airy and familiar. It was all so familiar…
"Yes, alright… Miss Yang, this is Yves, one of our student ambassadors. People like him make sure our student body's happy and comfortable, and he'll be showing you around campus today!"
Mr Oakhill compiled all the documents he didn't give her over to Yves. there was something else about that. Yves. it wasn't what her friend YV was known as, but it couldn't have just been coincidence that he was the only person she knew who had that name.
But he looked different. YV was rowdy, unpredictable and– in their parent's words, unapologetically boyish. His scuffed, scarred skin came to mind, peppered with scabs and bloodied bandages with freckles that brought life to his brash grin and thoughtless impulses. The Yves in front of her was totally different– poised, elegant, carrying an air of glamour and luxury through silky curls and refined golden jewellery.
"If it were up to me, I'd show every student around our lovely campus here, but unfortunately I have responsibilities to tend to as our school's principal… alright then, Yves?" His hand came to knock at the stack of papers in his arms. "There's everything you need to know about her schedule in there, do us well, son!"
Mr Oakhill settled a strong arm on his shoulder as he walked past them, followed by Ms Dahlia, who sent a playful shove to his shoulder before following their principal out the lobby. Yves giggled, the sheen of the ceiling lights catching on his clear lip gloss as he glanced at the file Mr Oakhill handed him, skimming through the densely packed text on the paper while talking.
His eyes were locked onto the pages, but his smile grew wider as he spoke to her, "Hey, welcome to WIA! I know Sir just called me Yves, but people 'round here just stick to YV! Nice to meet you…uhh…"
Rubie was seconds away from telling him her name, but it seemed as if her voice caught in her throat. With how quiet he'd gotten she could tell it was far too late to say anything. Yves squinted, the shimmery eyeshadow on his eyelids becoming more visible the harder he tried to read the tiny print. The beads of gold weaved into his hair clinked against each other like the sounds that came from a wind chime.
"Rubie…" She watched his eyes grow wide, tucking a strand of curly hair behind his ear as if it'd help him read whatever he'd seen on the paper a little better. "Rubie Yang..?"
The first time he'd said her name sounded like someone trying to read a foreign language, the second time? It sounded like the tone you'd use when you remembered something you thought would never cross your mind ever again. The papers rustled and crinkled in his hands, he wasn't looking at the words anymore, he was just looking straight at her face.
"Y-Yeah…Rubie Yang." she mumbled back, realising how strange the air in the room had become.
There was a moment of silence where she couldn't tell what was going through his mind. She'd known somewhere deep in her mind this was YV the very moment she saw him. Yes, he was taller, his shoulders were broader, his hair was longer and the undersides were dyed gold, his voice was deeper and smoother and he'd somehow formed a full face of makeup– but that was him. It was the YV from her childhood all those years ago.
His eyes flashed with surprise, then shock and something that looked like fear before he cleared his throat, and then that chipper, happy go lucky guy was back all of a sudden. The YV she'd seen just a few seconds ago.
"Don't… don't tell me we know each other- y'know people don't just stare into each other's eyes like that for nothing!" hearing him talk was surreal, these people… that voice… she wasn't alone in feeling like this encounter wasn't something meant to happen. Then he shrugged, casually dismissing his comment. "Well, unless we're like, soulmates 'n all that- D'you believe in that stuff by the way? 'Cause you definitely make me-"
"...YV? Like… lived all the way in Eden Heights YV..? We…" she cut him off short, her voice dying down as his eyes snapped back to hers. It seemed as if their mutual suspicions proved true. Everything about the boy in front of her seemed too similar, too reminiscent of the boy she used to know. YV was silent, sorting out what to say in his mind as his gaze lingered over her.
"We used to play together as kids…right?" That realisation must have struck him like a rock. All of a sudden his enthusiasm was back, his eyes got shinier, his voice got livelier, it really didn't seem like anyone could get anymore alive and yet he broke all of her previous assumptions on that. "You're Rubie! Like, lived on Hickory Lane Rubie! Like, childhood besties Rubie? Is that you? That's you, isn't it?"
He leaned in closer, expectant and energetic and awaited her answer only for it to come out as a small nod and little peep. She wasn't really sure what happened after that, but the next thing she knew she was being pulled into a dangerously crushing hug– she choked back a gag, feeling like her organs had just been wrung out dry inside of her own body as his arms wrapped around her a little too tight. Air flooded her lungs when he let go, relief crashing down on her as he started spewing nonsense about how much he missed her and how great it was now that she was back.
He guided her about the school, his student ambassador duties coming with a hefty serving of small talk and catching up. It seemed as if YV had every corner of the place fully memorised, really– managing to chat her up all while listing every bell and whistle to the amenities the school had to offer.
He took her from all the classrooms, to the on-campus facilities like the gymnasium, assembly hall, cafeteria, library, art and music rooms, all the way to the courtyards and sports fields. Aside from a few minor fixes to a handful of them, she was shocked to see how all of it pretty much remained exactly the same. It wasn't like Rubie was expecting life-changing renovations to be made to the building, but at the very least she wasn't expecting it to have remained like a snapshot from her own memory.
The courtyard was empty this time of day– most of the school had lessons to attend anyways. The only signs of life out there being the distant lively screams from the PE class out on the field. She let herself sink into the bench, dangling her feet off the edge of the wood.
"Sooo… I've been wanting to say something but– whatcha do to your hair??" YV dragged his gaze down her head and past her shoulders at her flowing multi color hair, oh- right… Rubie went to grab a chunk of it, it was probably easier for her to recognise him compared to it being the other way around. Last time he'd seen her, her hair was definitely still all that same shade of raven black, but she'd since bleached it light blonde and dyed the ends of it red.
"Well I just… thought it was time for something new…uh- WIA allows dyed hair…right?"
YV looked at her for a second, half lidded eyes blinking at her in full sarcasm before he cracked up at her question. He pulled at his own hair, tousling it around just enough to let the gold shine through.
"Do you think they allow dyed hair?? Don't worry about it Rubes! WIA likes to pride itself on being a fancy private school, but, trust me, it's not too hard to follow dress code! Hair dye's allowed, all sorts of jackets are allowed, makeup's allowed for sixth form… and- oh!" He gestured to all the metal beads and clips in his hair before rolling his eyes and carrying on. "Jewellery's technically allowed but, um, not this much. I just tell 'em its cultural stuff! Call it immoral but it keeps my coils and beads in!"
He winked and laughed in self satisfied pride as Rubie rolled her eyes, things had immediately warmed up between them- it honestly felt like no time had passed since they last spoke. The two of them broke out into laughter, giggling like little kids again throwing around banter like it was a game of catch.
"Oh! But you really should see D- uh," YV stopped his sentence short, his smile faltering for a second as if he'd just realised what he was saying. Rubie raised a brow at him. She waited for him to continue his sentence but he never did.
"I should see… who?" she asked, her voice low, gently prodding him to the best of her ability. He laughed– but it sounded dead hollow. Rubie immediately sensed the drop in the mood, YV's futile attempts at sweeping it under the rug caught by her curious stare.
"Sorry– it's nothing…" then he immediately piped up again, far too quick for her to have kept up with "Oh, but– speaking of which! Lunaris is tonight! Remember that?"
His smile was infectious, and the memories that came along with it were enough for her to forget about the lull in their conversation. It was every Willowfield local's duty to live, laugh, love at the Lunaris Festival, after all. The first night of October always marked the start of the month-long celebration. If her memory served her right, it was in celebration of Willowfield's origins, but as the decades went by Lunaris had sort of become like a second Christmas to them. Stores had special sales, the last 10 days were always off, carnivals and markets were set up around town plaza's like no man's business, and every family in the whole damn town made sure to make the most of all the festivities.
"You got anyone to spend it with?" YV asked, beaming. She blinked at him. "Uh– well, not yet?"
"Really?" he quipped back, his smile dropping in favour for shock, but it came back just as fast. "Well I guess I'm in luck then!"
She wondered for a second if asking him 'why' would be necessary, and seeing as YV was just about ready to explain himself with no questions asked, she let him go on. "Why don't you come with me? I've got nobody to go with either– it'd be great to spend Lunaris together again, eh?"
She scoffed, half in disbelief. "Seriously? You of all people?" the intonation of her voice pointed suspicion his way– in her mind YV couldn't possibly have nobody to go with, it was impossible. "What about the others?"
She asked that as an innocent question, but she watched as his smile dropped and his face went blank again– "oh– the others?" he paused, suddenly uneasy. "...I think they're busy, lots of people in our year are skipping out on tonight, y'know? Studies are getting more and more serious. "
His smile returned to his face like a dog at beck and call, but something about his expression seemed like a warning– a suggestion for her to drop the subject right then and there.
"Oh." she tried to study his expression, wondering whether or not that had been the full truth. "Yeah, I get it… spending opening night with the two of us is fine too!" She settled on that for a compromise, dropping her curiosity but storing his reaction at the back of her mind.
But, regardless– it was fine by her. She wasn't in a rush to force everyone back together, especially considering what had happened when she'd left them all anyway. Their conversation continued as normal after that, jumping from topic to topic and touching on everything from fond memories to their latest interests.
The sun was starting to set at that point, and she felt like it was a nice end to her first day here. The world was bathed in an early rose gold and after YV had made note of their dwindling time too he'd made haste to get back home.
And after that nothing much was going on in her head, just the lingering feelings and memories she'd made that day. It felt strange to admit that she felt a little emptier now than she had just a few minutes ago, but it wasn't something she could let herself dwell on for long. She still had things to do when she got back to her dorm room, after all. School had been out for a while at that point– It was about time she started to head back too.