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Digital_Hex- - - - - - - -A fan-fiction by Digital_Hex

Chapter 8

        White Cross really was nice. After my venting in the drama room, she didn't ask for an explanation, she didn't say anything at all.

        As I learned, she couldn't.

        White Cross was mute.

        She had very good calligraphy, though. She wrote out looping messages to me, using fine care with her quill.

You're Digital Hex, right?

        My heart skipped a beat as I read that. She remembered my name?! Then I remembered that we shared math class. She definitely remembered my name from that class.

        I nodded to her. I opened my mouth, but paused, coming up with a better idea. Carefully snatching the paper from her, I pulled out a pencil of my own and began writing a response on the paper.

And you're White Cross, right?

        I returned it to her. She giggled silently, smiling. She had an adorable smile, she really did.

        After she read the silly message, she looked back to me and rolled her eyes.

Scritch-scratch went her pencil.

Ba-dump went my heart.

        Carefully she levitated the message back in front of me, her magic holding it almost daintily.

Now that we're done with formalities, do you care to tell me what that was about?

        I knew what she was referring to. I sighed, hanging my head. I shook my head once, telling her no.

        She scrawled more onto the paper.

It's okay if you don't want to, I just wanted to let you know... The music, it was beautiful.

        I turned and gave her a surprised look. She blushed before returning to the paper, glaring intently at it as she added a footnote to the bottom of the page.

Different, but beautiful.

        I smiled, lightly bumping my hoof against her shoulder.

        “Thanks, Cross,” I said.

        She smiled again. There was no way I'd ever grow tired of seeing that smile.

        Returning to the paper, her quill was off. A moment later, she brought the paper back to floating in front of me.

Do you want to hear some of mine?

        I raised a brow at her, surprised. She was offering to play me some music?

        I waved a hoof in front of me, ushering her on.

        “I'd love to,” I said respectfully.

        She pulled her massive violin case out and removed the violin, setting it before her like a contrabass rather than a violin. Granted, the violin was as tall as she was, so it was reasonable.

        Looping a band of magic around the neck of the violin to hold it steady, she slowly adjusted the pegs, sliding the bow across the strings with a hoof until she had the desired sound.

        Content with the sound, she sat back down and rested the neck against her shoulder, looking exactly like a cellist.

        Running the bow slowly against the strings, she added smooth flicks evenly until she reached an apex. Sliding the bow downwards, she started an upstroke as she pulled back again, flicking it about to add leaps in the pitch.

        She played slowly but gracefully. It was as powerful and strong as a bass instrument, but had the pitch and tone of a violin. She played it masterfully, using her magic to adjust the pegs minimally as she created the music.

        It was beautiful.

        I found myself swaying along to the sound, entranced by it. I smiled; I couldn't help it. I didn't always listen to slow music, but when I did, I gave it a chance. This definitely was a chance I was glad I made.

        Did I mention it was beautiful?

        All too soon, the music slowly bled off. The song was done, the magic gone.

        I sighed, wiping away tears I hadn't even realized I'd shed.

        “That was... beautiful,” I croaked.

        Whoa, hold up. Why was my voice so constricted?!

        White Cross looked down, blushing madly as she levitated her violin back into the case. She tried to hide it, but I could still clearly see it. She was pretty cute when she wasn't trying so hard to look serious.

        I realized I was staring at her when she poked my on the side of the head with the pencil. I snapped back to reality, seeing her blush was even darker.

        Taking the paper she had once again hung before me, I decided to read it aloud.

“Did you really think it was beautiful?”

        I raised a brow at her.

        “Yeah,” I said in wonder. “It was, like... awesome.”

        She gave me a goofy kind of smile, her blush refusing to disappear. Was this the first time somepony had ever told her that her music was good?

        She took the paper back. I used that time to feel my face. My hoof came away burning. Yep, I was blushing, too.

        Cross again gave me the paper, and I read it quickly. It only had one word on it.

Thanks.

        I looked over at her. She was obviously excited that I'd called her work good. The smiles we both wore would probably never disappear.

        Aaand then Raindrops burst through the doors.

        Buck.

        “I saw them go here,” Rainbow practically bellowed as she strode into the drama room. “Gosh, I haven't been in here in ages!” she exclaimed while munching on a half-eaten baguette. Behind her was a lanky green pegasus. He looked familiar. Where had I seen him before...

        “White Cross!” he called, a powerful sweep of his wings causing him to hop right next to us. More specifically, in the little space between Cross and I, leaving him teetering along the edge of the stage.

        “I was wondering where you are! You had me worried!”

        He then turned to me.

        “And you, I read all about you!”

        I looked left, then right, then left again before innocently lifting a hoof up to me.

        “Wait, are you referring to me?” I asked, oddly enough feeling a lot more confrontational than normal. It had to have been the music.

        The pegasus lifted me up with a hoof, dangling me in front of him.

        “You almost killed a few students at your old school. You won't go anywhere near my sister again, got it?”

        He waited for a response.

        I waited for him to let me breath.

        Suddenly, the doors barked open again.

        “Heat, put him down!” a strong feminine voice shouted. The green pegasus before me growled before complying.

        “I thought we had your anger problem under control, Heat!”

        Heat continued growling, turning to face the mare who had recently entered. She was a white unicorn with a calm blue mane falling down her neck. Her eyes were covered by tinted reading glasses, though these were sitting on the edge of her snout.

        “If we ever have this problem again, I will have no choice but to report you.”

        She then turned to me.

        “Are you alright?” she asked.

        “Fine,” I huffed.

        She turned back to Heat.

        “This will not happen again. Do you understand me?”

        He didn't respond.

        The mare growled, her horn sparkling a light blue color. A few vinyl records from behind her (I had no idea where they came from prior) floated menacingly in the air to either side of her.

        “Do you understand me?” she repeated.

        Heat growled.

        “Understood.”

        “Good,” she said, letting the records disappear with a POP!

        “Now,” she said, “in case none of you noticed, the bell has rung. Please continue to your next classes.”

        Raindrops waved me a good-bye before trotting out of the drama room.

        Heat strode off, huffing to himself as he sat down in the seats facing the stage.

        White Cross poked my side cautiously, causing me to jolt. I think I startled her a little bit, and I made sure to be very considerate to her when I asked her what she wanted. She answered with the paper, now almost completely full of words.

Sorry about my brother, he can get... protective, sometimes.

        I took a deep breath, trying not to let the encounter get to me. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to smile. I knew it looked fake.

        “No problem,” I assured her.

        Together, we both trotted away and found seats in the auditorium, waiting for the class to start. The usual filler students slowly poured in, although one particular pegasus decided to sit near us. There was the entire auditorium open, but he sat right next to us, only one seat separating him from me.

        What. Gives.

        I turned and looked him over, trying to judge if he was a threat. His hide was dark brown, with a blue mane that was light near the base of his hair but turned gradually darker the further out it got. His icy blue eyes were focused straight ahead.

        “Yo,” I said. Jeez, I was suddenly VERY confrontational, wasn't I?!

        The pegasus almost jumped in surprise that I was talking to him.

        “Wha- me?” he asked, his voice strong but shy.

        “Yeah,” I said, leaning back. “You had the entire auditorium open, and you sit there?”

        I gestured with my hoof, creating a sweeping motion of the mostly empty room.

        “I... I was just...” he mumbled.

        I lifted a hoof to my ear. “Can't hear you,” I growled. Guess I was a tad touchy, too.

        “I was.... just trying to...” he whimpered. I still couldn't catch what he ended with.

        “What?”

        “Just trying to look like... I had friends....” he practically sniffled.

        Now I felt bad for the guy. He must have been one of those kids who got picked on for having no friends what-so-ever, and just wanted to make it look like he had friends. Heck, why didn't he just, I dunno, try and MAKE some friends?

        “Fair enough,” I sighed, returning my focus to the stage. The white mare from early had returned, this time she was dragging a massive set of double-stacked speakers behind her. I could clearly see her cutie mark.

        It was a double bass clef.

        Refusing to use her magic, she attached each and every cable the speakers had, opening a laptop that was inlaid on the surface of the table that jutted from the side of the... monstrosity. A beautiful monstrosity, mind you, but... wow.

        The massive speakers began pounding out a steady bass line. The sound carried through the entire auditorium with ease, immediately shutting up anypony who hadn't taken interest in what she had been doing before.

        Now, each of the individual speakers in the set were easily TALLER than me, so it wasn't all that surprising that the ONLY thing we could hear was the bass line.

        “Hello, everypony,” the mare said, defying any and all reason as she spoke above the crushing noise, and clearly at that.

        “I am Miss Clef, and welcome to Music Is Art.”

        Hot.

        Damn.