The jock stormed out of the room. Kate rushed over to aid (Y/n) by grabbing ahold of his arm. He was surprised with her company but said nothing as she offered to treat him for his injury, much to his feeble protest. (Y/n) grabbed his back and was escorted by Kate out of the classroom. People noticed the two walking alongside each other back to the dorms but said nothing and made speculations at the sight.
(Y/n) was surprised when Kate brought him into her room. Her soft and gentle voice commanded him to take a seat on his bed while she acquired a kit to treat him. As it turned out, (Y/n) received a cut on the eyebrow where he got punched but it wasn't large or weeping. As he sat idly, his eyes wandered around the room at everything. He noticed a lot, but what stood out to him most was the violin in its opened case and the white bunny rabbit in its cage.
(Y/n) approached the rabbit and knelt down where he fed a sliced carrot into its cage. The rabbit hobbled over to the carrot and nibbled on it. (Y/n) then stood up and approached the violin and placed the chin rest comfortably between his chin and collarbone and held the bow in his dominant hand. (Y/n) hadn't played a violin before as he only knew how to play a guitar, so he began to pluck at them and used the bow for smoother strumming.
Unbeknownst to him, he had an audience. Just outside Kate's room stood the dirty-haired blond herself who'd heard the violin playing from inside her room. Slowly, Kate walked to her door and peeked inside where she caught (Y/n) playing her violin. At first glance she wasn't at all upset that he was touching her stuff, but with how beautifully he played, it banished the thought entirely as such emotion he brought into the cover brought tears to her eyes.
The tingling feeling on (Y/n)'s brow was numbed as he continued to play until the conclusion of the song, which was where Kate decided to show herself to (Y/n). He briefly ignored her presence as he placed the violin back in its case along with the bow before he turned to face her. (Y/n) noticed that Kate had in her hand a wet tissue and a butterfly band-aid in the other.
"How are you feeling? Are you still sore?" Kate asked concerningly.
(Y/n) smiled. "Yeah. I feel okay, I guess. I appreciate what you're doing for me, Kate."
In return, she just gave him a reassuring smile as she asked him to sit down on her bed. Compliantly, he did as he was asked and allowed Kate to dab his eyebrow with the wet tissue that he didn't realise had antiseptic doused on it. So when it touched his open wound, it stung like hell. He winced but put on a brave face so to appear tough in front of her when really he was sulking over how sensitive he really was about it.
"I'm sorry it hurts, but I don't want it to get infected, (Y/n)." Kate commented.
"It's okay, Kate. You're very sweet for doing this," he said appreciatively.
He noticed her face flush red when he said this, in addition to being so close to him that she was treating him for his injury. As soon as she was finished, Kate dumped the tissue and band-aid packet in the bin.
"You play the violin?" Kate asked curiously, breaking the silence.
"No, actually. I played a bit of the guitar when I was a kid." (Y/n) replied bashfully.
"That was really good!"
"Really? Aw, it wasn't that good."
"No, really. You were amazing!"
"Well what about you? Can I hear you play?"
Kate chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. "I-I don't know..."
Encouragingly, he retrieved her violin and bow and handed it to her. Now that Kate didn't really have a choice, he sat on the floor in front of Kate, cross-legged and attentive to the dirty-haired blonde who was making herself comfortable before she started to play.
(Y/n) was completely mesmerised by Kate's playing - she closed her eyes so she could focus. The melody that was played brought a sense of tranquillity and heartfelt emotion that poured out. When Kate finished playing, she smiled bashfully at the boy sitting in front of her in admiration of the time he took to wanting to hear her play and appraise her. Words could not express how impressed (Y/n) was with her playing.
"You really mean that, (Y/n)?"
"Yeah! Oh man. You have got to totally play more often. It really shows you have a true talent for playing. That was a real tear-jerker." (Y/n) commended.
Kate's eyes lit up in shock that he truly did mean every word. A smile broke on her face at his words of encouragement. It wasn't that moment that Kate realised something and got up off her bed to acquire something that belonged in the drawer of her shelf before she handed it to (Y/n). He was shocked to find that Kate got her hands on his notebook, now handing it back to its rightful owner.
"Kate, I... thank you." (Y/n) said speechlessly.
"I-It's no problem, (Y/n). I didn't look at your stuff, just so you know." Kate responded shyly and combed some hair behind her ear.
"Did you want to see? It's only a bit of story-dabbling."
She nodded her head in eagerness and looked down at the now opened book to a selected page where Kate was given the privilege to see his work.
'General stores were yet to pick up on the new day's work load in the decently small town of Elliot; a town that was rumoured to have its foundation built on a goldmine. While it was common for simple robberies to occur, the search for lost treasure was as dream-worthy as an unguarded stagecoach owned by wealthy oilers or similar rich folk. But what made the town of Elliot unique was its fill of scum: ranged from prostitutes to overly friendly shopkeepers to trigger-happy slap-happy, avaricious, two-faced cheats and lousy gunslingers.
"So why are you bringing me into all of this? Why not little Sean?" RJ asked curiously as he controlled his bouncing on his horse's saddle.
"Because you're responsible, boah. You ain't afraid to get your hands dirty and you sure as hell get the job done. B'sides... you said, and I quote, 'I needs a step up in my line of work, Mr Dogwater.' "
"Yeah, well... I still don't see how herding cattle will help me step things up when folk only come to town to rob Mr Wellers at the bank or search the mineshaft for the gold everybody's raving on about. I don't get it. Why cattle?"
"Because old man Jenkins was found dead in his homestead two days ago off the reserve." Mr Dogwater answered bluntly.
Old man Jenkins was a respected, hard-working man who was a co-founder of the town of Elliot. His death would amass widespread speculation about his sudden death across nearby towns. Such news left RJ at a loss for words as they rode along a dusty road for another town, Headstool. The sun peeked over the horizon, shining light at the two rider's faces as they rode along with one hand on the reins and the other hung by their sides.
They both maintained a steady pace to the point that their horses were walking...'
"This is really good! Is there more?" Kate cheered.
(Y/n) smiled coyly. "Ohh, i-it's still in the works."
"I'm not one for Westerns but I think I'd be interested to read more if you ever get the time."
He was most surprised that she'd taken an interest in his story draft but felt pleased about it nonetheless that she wanted to see more.
"Tell you what, I've got some homework to do on the weekend. If you spend Sunday with me doing homework, I'll give you the special privilege of being apart of my story tomorrow." (Y/n) offered. "Would, umm... would you like to go on a date with me to the Two Whales Diner tomorrow at nine?"
The bravery in his asking her out caught Kate completely off guard. They weren't exactly friends but either were keen to get to know each other better; through dating if they were up for it. Kate's face turned red like a tomato, much to (Y/n)'s delight at the sight as he thought of how cute she looked.
"Y-Y-Yes! I'd love to go on a date with you. On one exception..."
(Y/n) groaned and dropped his head.
"You let me put make-up on you to hide that black eye you're getting."
His head shot up, eyes wide open as he shot over to the nearest mirror and stared at his reflection. In horror, (Y/n) looked closely at his wounded eye where he'd been struck.
"Oh my God. I look like someone threw a dodgeball at my face! I can't go out looking like this! Kate, Kate, please. Please fix this." (Y/n) implored hysterically.
"Okay, okay. Just calm down, (Y/n)." Kate requested in a fit of giggles.
"I-I-I-I can't! I'm so self-conscious about my looks. One thing that's off and I can't get over it for the rest of the day - I just dread what people are thinking about me."
While he was having his panic attack, Kate fetched her make-up kit and approached (Y/n) who was now seated on her bed. It was there that she realised he was not okay. Taking her spot next to him, Kate aided him and consoled him as she wrapped her arm around him and pulled him into a hug until he calmed down.
"Just breath, (Y/n). Breathe. It's okay. I'm here," purred Kate. "Don't worry about what others think about you. You're you, they're them. Don't think about what they're thinking about you because you're different; you're unique, you're special."
After several minutes passed, (Y/n) had fully settled and he was calm and steady. Once he was tranquil, she proceeded to put make-up on his face. Willingly, (Y/n) allowed Kate to touch up his black eye. (Y/n) was so tense when she touched his face with one hand, added to the fact that they were in such close proximity of each other that he could feel her breath on his face. It didn't take long for Kate to finish up, right in time for the bell to ring.
"There. All done." Kate declared.
(Y/n) sighed in relief. "Thank you, Kate. Thank you so much."
"My pleasure. We should be getting to class now."
"Drama?"
"Too much of it."
"No, I mean the subject."
"Oh. Um. Yeah."
(Y/n) sent a reassuring smile her way before they got up and headed out if her room in order to attend their third class for the day. Luckily for (Y/n), he did not have to deal with any jocks or bullied for that class - to him, it was just by judging the looks and characteristics of those who were in his and Kate's drama class. Their teacher, Mr Keaton was most flamboyant and persistent that his students follow his instructions for a big play in two Wednesdays to come.
"... and five of you will have the honour of performing in front of forty people. So I'm encouraging those of you who are interested to listen up and pay close attention to what I will be teaching you." Mr Keaton lectured. "I understand that last time was not favourable for you, Victoria, but hopefully you will have found a change of heart and will participate in this one."
Victoria looked up proudly and with confidence to throw in the faces of others that she appeared most capable for the play in spite of how she dropped out previously.
"Now... I will have each of you come up to this little stage and tell me show me what you got."
A murmur swept through his students who questioned their own capabilities in their teacher's drama class and whether they were barely standard for his requirements. In the audience of young adults, Kate Marsh, who was buddied up with (Y/n) at a two-person desk, leaned over a tad and whispered into the ear of her friend.
"I don't think I can do this," she whispered with a trembling voice.
"I don't like it either, but it's something that we have to do. No matter what happens, I know you'll do your best. Just go up there, get it over with, and get off." (Y/n) said encouragingly.
"I'll try."
"Do, or do not; there is no try."
Kate stifled a laugh by covering her mouth with her hand. The class were handed a list of fictional characters that which they could choose from: should it help them find a better picture of how they were to showcase their acting skills. Each list was identically printed and distributed to the students who were given half a minute before the first student was called up - the list occurring in alphabetical order.
One by one, each student got up and performed.