All Alone PV Ruby Cazares Closed

A girl of average height with brown hair tied into two plaits, pretty blue eyes, and a skin tone that was a variation of white had made her way down to the Great Lake immediately after classes ended for the day. Her name was Ruby, she was nearly always straight-backed, and she carried herself with an air of sharp intelligence, quiet confidence, and something strong, like ambition, passion, power, or all three. She wasn't entirely aware of this air, it was natural for her, but people had told her about it before. She didn't have intentions to change it any time soon, since it felt normal and it didn't give away any information she would hate others to know about her.

The person who had walked so close to Cheryl was not Ruby, and as Ruby walked over to the lake, she watched that student walk away, wondering what had grabbed their attention only to make them leave so quickly. She peered into the glimmering lake carefully and saw a girl underwater there, looking as if she had just got in there. She had her robes and shoes on still, showing that this was probably a random, impulsive act, most likely to escape that other student, whoever they were. Ruby wrinkled her nose slightly and backed away from the edge of the water. She wouldn't like to have got all of that wet, and didn't like the idea of soggy robes and shoes afterwards. Anything in the girl's pockets would probably have been destroyed, unless it was waterproof.

With another glance at the girl in the water, Ruby noticed the Slytherin crest on her robes. She was pleased to see a fellow Slytherin, but wondered why on earth someone in the house of cunning, with shrewd and cleverness as house traits, would be in the water with robes and all on. Although she didn't blame the girl for possibly wanting to go in the water – it was a nice day, after all – she really hoped that this girl could swim and would surface soon. Ruby didn't want to have to deal with someone possibly drowning, not right now, not today, but she would if she had to.

Ruby smiled slightly and was mildly amused by this strange girl. She waved back and watched the girl open her mouth and close it again. The movement was almost like a fish, which was rather fitting, considering what the girl had just done. When the other Slytherin finally managed to speak, it almost made Ruby laugh as she noted how many times the girl said "um".

“I've only been standing here for a moment… No, I did not see you dive, but I saw you underwater. Are you okay, by the way? Why did you do that? In response to your other question, my name's Ruby – Ruby Cazares.” She decided to give both her first and last name this time, which was something that she hadn't really been doing recently, as she had been starting to become increasingly more annoyed with her family, especially her parents.

Everyone made mistakes, and so Ruby wasn't going to just walk away from this girl. Besides, Cheryl was… intriguing, in a way. Weird, definitely, but intriguing. Ruby was curious and wanted to know more about her and why she'd – apparently randomly – gone into the lake and then emerged to act so awkwardly. Ruby wanted an explanation and more knowledge about Cheryl before she let the other girl go anywhere. This was possibly the strangest way of meeting another student Ruby had experienced here so far, and she definitely wouldn't just walk away.

Ruby resisted the urge to roll her eyes or laugh at Cheryl. She didn't want the mask of friendliness she wore to be shattered. Not when there was so much to be gained and so much information to be found out. Besides, maybe Ruby would eventually feel something genuine for this girl. Maybe. Assuming Cheryl was smart enough and worth her time.

The things that Cheryl had said and done first hadn't made a great impression on Ruby. She had been awkward, repetitive, and said "um" a lot, which made her harder to understand. Now, Ruby knew some more about this girl. She clearly got embarrassed pretty easily – judging from the blush – and didn't seem to like social interaction, to the point where she would jump in a cold lake to try and avoid it. She definitely got scared and nervous easily, which she had even said herself. Maybe it was a weakness, maybe it would pass or go away as she aged, or maybe it was something Cheryl needed to overcome, but Ruby wondered how the other Slytherin could cope with having that kind of nervousness.

Cheryl was clearly trying desperately to defend herself, and Ruby would just go with it. There was no need to make her fellow first year more uncomfortable than she already was, when that would only serve to scare her away. “Do you have a type of social anxiety then? Do you just not like talking to people? I apologize if I'm making you uncomfortable and if I came at an inconvenient time. Was there any particular reason you wanted to be alone – did anything happen?” She paused for a moment so Cheryl wouldn't be overwhelmed by the questions. “Thank you for the compliments, yours are nice too,” she replied politely. There was no harm in returning someone's compliment, and it was the polite, proper thing to do, really. Ruby wasn't sure how she felt about Cheryl's name and voice, but that didn't particularly matter.

“In response to your question, I like nature and being outdoors. The grounds and lake are quite nice here. It's also a good place to meet people.”

Ruby nodded as she listened to Cheryl's first comment. “Well, many people won't go and start a conversation with you unless they need to or unless you portray the right things. Maybe you should go talk to them first, rather than waiting for something to happen and expecting something to change,” Ruby said, seeming like she thought this was obvious.

“Do you want to change the fact that you're used to being alone?” Ruby asked. She studied the other girl's speaking and when she thought, from beginning to end. Ruby noted Cheryl's initial surprise, and then the tone of voice, the body language, the meaning behind the words she chose and said, the pauses and the look on her face as she stopped to think, and the chuckling which was suddenly cut off.

When Cheryl became more serious and apologized, Ruby was ever so slightly taken aback, but she didn't let it show. Okay, that definitely cleared things up a bit. It still didn't change Cheryl's weird, awkward first impression on her, but maybe the girl had some potential and could eventually become a friend – when she gained more confidence, of course. “It's alright, there's not much need to apologize,” Ruby began, not quite knowing if it was genuine or not. “I understand how you're feeling. There probably will be a next time, since we're both Slytherin first-years, so you'll have more chances.”

Ruby debated leaving soon, but she'd stick around at least until Cheryl replied and the conversation came to even more of a close.