So, this is how Vriska met John. I hoe you guys enjoy.

Editted by timewornInkslinger, written by me. If you like this you should check out our co-written fic "Four Quadrants" which takes place about a year after this.
Reviews are great, so please leave some, okay?

The first time she heard him play was at the piano at the local mall. She was wearing a scarf and a hat as she didn't want to be recognized. She was a famous actress, after all.

He was wearing a fedora and a fake mustache that was a few shades off of his hair color. At the time, she thought that he was a freak; a freak with mad piano skills. She couldn't prevent herself from stopping in the middle of the mall to listen to him play. Too soon, the song ended and the mysterious pianist stood and left, leaving no traces of his presence behind besides the last notes that lingered in her mind.

She threw herself into music. While it had never concerned her much before, she now took the time to listen to the music. Yet no kind of music or instrument could affect her the way that the anonymous pianist had. He had made her feel normal for the first time since she was 17.

It was the evening before her 24th birthday when her friend, Kanaya, called her.

"Hello." Vriska said, answering the phone.

"Vriska, have you made plans for this evening?" Kanaya asked her, her voice calm and tinged with a slight English accent, like always.

"Nope. Why? Do you want to do something?" Vriska asked her best friend. Kanaya hadn't always been her best friend, before her there was someone else, someone who Vriska didn't like to think about because of the feelings of loss and regret that were associated with the name. Kanaya had helped her through a lot of rough spots in her life, thus earning the highly coveted title.

"Yes. I was hoping that you would be interested in going to a piano performance with me." Kanaya told her. Vriska's eyes lit up. Kanaya was the only person she had told about the pianist.

"YES! Did you hear that, Kan? That was eight exclamation points. Let's go!" Vriska said excitedly. Kanaya laughed and told her that she would be there in half an hour. Vriska quickly tore her closet apart until she found a simple yet elegant black dress to wear and stepped through her room, careful to avoid the dice and eight balls lying on the floor.

Forty minutes later she was in the passenger seat of Kanaya's car, trying to hide her excitement beneath a façade of nonchalance. "Who are we going to see perform?"

"A very famous pianist by the name of John Egbert." Kanaya explained, smiling as she saw through her friends act.

"John Egbert? That's a really weird name." Vriska laughed. Kanaya shook her head and she found a parking spot. Soon they found themselves seated, facing a sole piano on the stage. The lights dimmed as a man, presumably John Egbert, walked onto the stage and sat down in front of the piano. There was something familiar about the way he sat, Vriska just couldn't put her finger on it. Then, he began to play.

She gasped quietly, loud enough for Kanaya to look over at her and notice the shocked look on Vriska's face as the notes that had been featured in the backgrounds of her dreams for weeks now echoed in the theater.

"What is it?" Kanaya asked, expressing concern for her friend.

"It's him. This is the piano player from the mall." Vriska whispered back.

"Are you sure? It could have just been someone playing the same song."

"I'm positive, Kanaya. That is him. I need to talk to him."

"Do you?"

"Yes. I don't know why but I do. I think I've found a new game." Vriska smiled.

"A new game?"

"Yes, now shush, I'm trying to listen."

Kanaya stopped talking but couldn't stop feeling concern for John Egbert. Vriska was like a spider, if she wanted someone, all she had to do was spin her web, slowly and surely, and by the time it was complete her prey would be unable to escape. Her prey this time around? The young pianist.

After the show, Kanaya lost Vriska in the crowd of people exiting the theater. She knew Vriska and knew that it was not an accident. Kanaya sighed and waiting in the lobby while everyone cleared out, waiting for her friend.

Meanwhile, Vriska snuck into the backstage area and looked around for the black haired man. It was much less busy than the sets of movies and TV shows that she had starred in, for which she was thankful. Of course, there were still many people involved with the famous pianist.

There! A flash of black hair caught her eye and she ran after it, narrowly avoiding people and props. He was exiting through a back door!

"No! Wait!" she called after him. He stopped and turned. Vriska didn't stop running fast enough and crashed into him.

"Woah. Are you okay?" John said, laughing a bit. Vriska blushed and took a step back.

"Yes, I am okay. Oh, and what an honor this is! Meeting such a famous pianist." Vriska said, flipping her hair.

"I wouldn't say that I'm so famous. But you seem very familiar. Have I seen you before?" John asked, smiling brightly at Vriska.

"No, you haven't." Vriska said quickly, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. He was much more attractive than she had imagined.

"Wait! Yes I have! You were in that one horror movie that my friend Dave took me to see! Woah! You look a lot hotter when you aren't a zombie." John said, then he blushed when he realized what he had said. "Uhh, sorry." Vriska smiled. He found her attractive? That made her game so much easier.

"That's okay. Thank you. I'm flattered, actually" she giggled, a sound that seemed unnatural coming from her but she had perfected over the years. She flipped her hair over her shoulder again.

"So, what is your name?" John asked.

"Vriska Serket."

"John Egbert, but I think you already knew that."

"Hey, John. There you are! We've been looking for you everywhere!" a girl with long messy black hair and green eyes ran up to John. They could have been siblings, they looked so alike. Behind her were a pair of blondes, a boy and a girl. The boy's eyes were covered with black sunglasses while the girls eyes were an unnatural purple. She recognized the girl.

"Hello, Rose." Vriska said, smiling at her best friend's girlfriend. She didn't like Rose very much but she made Kanaya happy and, regardless of how Vriska might act, Kanaya's happiness mattered to her.

"Vriska? You don't seem to be one who goes to piano recitals, so am I correct to assume that Kanaya is around here somewhere?" Rose asked.

"Yes, we were separated. She is probably waiting for me in the lobby. I think I will go meet her now." Vriska replied. "It was nice meeting you, John." she smiled.

"Wait! Kanaya? Like, the girlfriend that you haven't introduced us to, Rose?" John asked.

"Yes, that is the Kanaya I was referring to. Vriska is her best friend." Rose said.

"I think you should introduce her to us! We can all go out to eat together." the black haired girl said excitedly.

"It is rather late in the evening…" Rose began.

"Nonsense. Kan and I usually eat dinner late. I'm sure she'll be happy to eat with you guys. She's been really curious about you."

"Really? That's great. Let's go find her!" John said.

"I suppose that is acceptable, as long as she doesn't mind." Rose said.

"She won't mind. Let's go!"

Soon, the six of them found themselves in a little bar and grill, getting to know each other. Jade had recently broken up with her boyfriend and she was a famous botanist. Dave was a movie director and a writer, he also managed a webcomic what was becoming well-known. Rose was writing the third book in her book series "Complacency of the Learned". John was going to take a short vacation before going on tour in Europe with several other talented musicians. Kanaya was working on designing a new line of dresses for her fashion design mentor's brand and hoped that they would be accepted. Vriska had an audition coming up; she was planning on branching out and would see if she could land a role in a romcom.

They found that they all had a good evening and it wasn't the last time the six of them had a meal together. Vriska didn't know when it happened, but, gradually, her feelings changed. She no longer wanted him for entertainment, it was no longer a game. She wanted him to succeed in everything he did.

She wanted him to love her.

A month after that first meeting, Vriska woke up to a text from John that read "hey, vriska meet me at the starbucks on main street at noon, okay?"

She glanced at the clock. 11:00am. She jumped out of bed and hurried through her messy apartment, taking a quick shower and getting dressed. She grabbed the first hat in her closet and donned a pair of thick sunglasses before running out of the house.

When she arrived at the chain coffee shop John was already there. He was sitting near the window, two coffees already on the table. She walked over and sat down. She glanced at the cup and smiled with pleasure when she realized that it was her regular drink.

"Hello, John." she said, smiling but still looking at him carefully, not sure what this could be about. None of his friends were around, which was a first for them.

"Hi, Vriska." he said, not looking up at her. She frowned. What could this be about?

"What's up?" she asked, glancing away, hiding her curiosity expertly. She was an actress, after all.

"Well, you know that my vacation is coming to an end in two weeks and I've been offered a position in France as part of a classical music group after the tour. I've been thinking about accepting it." John began. Vriska froze. No no no no no no no no. This couldn't happen. This would ruin everything. She stared at him, wide eyed.

"Oh, that's great." she said, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice. No! She was not like this. She would not be upset if he left. She didn't love anyone.

"Yeah! It really is! But, I wanted to know. Vriska, will you give me a reason to stay?" John asked. He finally looked up at her, met her wide eyes with his own. Hope and embarrassment met worry and nervousness.

"What do you mean?" Vriska asked. He couldn't be asking her what she thought he was; that was impossible. No way, not with her terrible luck.

"Well, God, I don't know how to say this without sounding sappy but, will you be my anchor, to keep me in place? Will you be the hand that the yo-yo always goes back to, regardless of the length of the string? Oh god, that sounds stupid. Vriska, will you be my girlfriend?" John finally said. Vriska smiled, a genuine smile. All of the feelings that had been scattered all over since she'd had a falling out with…someone…finally fell into place.

A/N: Awww, look at that. I wrote fluff, aren't you proud of me?

So, the next story in this series will feature Karkat, Gamzee, and Aradia.

All reviews are welcome!