Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Chapter 3

Oscar's shift was done around five. Much too late to meet at a dog park. However, he could still feel uncontrollably butterflies in his stomach as his eyes scanned over the numbers on the receipt once more. He likely had the number memorized by now with how many times he had looked over the sequence.

He was home now, his scratchy dress-pants and button-up shirt were tossed to the side and replaced with an old t-shirt from a high school dance fundraiser and basketball shorts that were only ever used for lounging around his room. Oscar paced around his room as he debated if he should call or not.

He really, really wanted to call her.

But wherever he fell on the anxiety spectrum seemed to be working against him.

Would she remember she gave him her number? Was she asking him out or did she just want someone else to talk to about books? Should he call or just text? Scratch that, she's blind so he should definitely call her, just to be courteous and not assuming she had a text-voice-reader thing or worse make it so other people around her could hear his half of their conversation.

What if she gave him her landline? What if someone other then Ruby answered? Like her sister, or worse—her father. Oscar wasn't sure his heart could handle that level of stress. He didn't even know if he could handle the stress of calling a girl on the phone. He wasn't exactly popular in high school, the lineup of photos from school dances where he was by himself or in a group of guys was enough to prove that fact.

"Hello?"

There comes a time in everyone's life when they hate how their body moves and acts on its own before the mind realizes what the body is doing. Since, while he was freaking out, his fingers were dialing the number.

This was that exact moment for Oscar.

"Is anyone there?"

Oscar debated hanging up. It was Ruby who answered, her soprano voice was unmistakable to the point he was sure he could pick it out in a crowd. However, Oscar had no idea what to say in response to her question.

"I can hear you breathing," Ruby stated in a flat voice making Oscar flinch. "I swear Whitley if you're prank calling me again I will tell Weiss and you know who she'll tell. It isn't funny anymore."

"Whose Whitley?" Oscar slapped his hand over his mouth as soon as he asked the question. He wasn't ready to carry on a conversation with Ruby. He needed at least another hour to prepare.

"Oscar!" Ruby didn't ask. She stated that it was him. She must know his voice well enough know she didn't have to. The realization warmed Oscar's heart a bit (while he also ignored the part of his mind that reminded him that people who are blind often have better hearing and she can likely pick up infractions in his voice that are unique to him better than others). "Sorry, I'm about to eat dinner. Do you mind if I call you back?"

"No, that's fine." Crap, Oscar really should have waited till 6:30 to call. He could hear two other people on the other side of the line arguing about something incoherent.

"I'll call you back when I'm done, Ok?"

"Yeah, that's cool."

"And Oscar."

"Yes." Oscar was a little embarrassed how eagerly he was answering her. But, Ruby didn't really seem to mind as she giggled in response to his abrupt reply.

"I'm glad you called." Then the line went dead. Oscar couldn't have felt more alive though as he felt the smile grown on his face.

He suddenly threw his hands in the air before letting his body fall face first on his bed covered in Toy Story bed sheets that he had used since he was six years old. Oscar kicked his legs in wild excitement before rolling over onto his back to stare up at his ceiling covered in various movie posters.

Of course, as time passed Oscar could feel himself coming down further and further from his high and sense the doubt beginning to sink into his mind. He still wasn't really sure what she thought of him. He was also beginning to wonder how she was going to call him back. Finally, he was able to shut his mind off. Ruby said she was happy he called. So, he was going to trust her to find a way.

Time passed. Oscar ate dinner with his aunt. Still no call.

Slowly his doubts returned.

Until his phone rang at 9:13.

Oscar doesn't think he's ever answered his phone so fast in his life.

"Hello," Oscar says—almost breathless from the quick movement and the sudden racing of his heart.

"Oh good, you're still up," Ruby said in a joking manner but all Oscar can focus on his how happy she sounds and how it makes his mind muddled goop.

"Oscar? You still there?"

"Uh yeah, sorry just got distracted." Oscar did his best to recover but if Ruby noticed his failure to do so she didn't say anything.

"Sorry it took me so long to call back," Ruby started apologetically. "Yang, my sister, got into it with my dad about some party during dinner and it took her ages to calm down enough to help me get your number in my phone so I could tell Google to call you."

"No need to apologize, I wasn't worried." Crap that sounded bad. "Not that I didn't want you to call back or wasn't exited. I just figured you would call when you had the time is all."

Oscar was worried for a moment he was over explaining or only insulting her or looking like a complete idiot. Possibly a combination of all three. But Ruby just laughed again as if to wave off his concerns.

"You're ok," she said with a hint of laughter still left in her voice. He exhaled a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. "So, how do you feel about meeting at the Forever Falls Dog Park in town around 11 tomorrow? We can get lunch tomorrow while we're out."

"Sounds good," he replied with almost no hesitation. He didn't have work so he could stay out as late as he wanted and his only class was at 9:30 and ended at 10:45, plenty of time to meet her there since the park was only about a five-minute drive away from Signal Community College.

"Perfect, it's a date. See you then!"

"Yeah." Before Oscar can protest her good-bye, she hangs up, leaving him to stew in his own thoughts.

"Wait… did she say date?"

Oscar wasn't sleeping that night.

…

When Oscar arrived at the park it's eleven sharp and he was looking left and right in an attempt to find Ruby. They really should have discussed some kind of meeting point the previous night so it would be easier for him to find her. Luckily though, the park wasn't very big for being in the middle of an urban area so he saw what he assumed was her about a football field away from where he was standing.

As Oscar walked closer, hands shoved in his pockets to prevent him from fidgeting, he could see that it was indeed her. Zwei was sitting on the bench next to her with his head in her laugh and Oscar couldn't help but smile and fight the urge to take a picture of the two.

"Hey," Oscar called and Ruby looked in the general direction of the noise with a smile on her face. "Sorry I'm late, traffic was bad and my professor decided to go over the lecture time."

"You're fine," Ruby reassured, but Oscar guessed the way she was holding her phone with one earbud hanging out of her ear that she was nervous he had stood her up.

"So…"

"Yeah…"

Maybe the two of them should have made a list of things they wanted to talk about so they weren't just sitting there awkwardly.

"Where do you go to school?" Ruby asked suddenly and it made Oscar jump a bit. He had just started petting Zwei which made him forgo his master and give Oscar his attention instead. The puppy wasn't wearing his vest today and only had on a red collar.

"I'm taking classes at Signal Community College," Oscar admitted with a small smile. "I'm hoping I'll be able to transfer to Beacon University here in another year or so."

"That's cool I'm at Beacon right now, what's your major?"

"Please don't laugh," Oscar pleaded and Ruby cocked her head in curiosity.

"Why would I laugh?" She was genuinely curious about why he thought she would. Oscar bit his lip. He didn't want to tell her the years of bullying in high school that ended with most of his notebooks set on fire or thrown out into a field or dropped in a puddle.

"I'm an English major," Oscar stated simply. He left out the part of which aspect of English he wanted to go into.

"So am I," Ruby said excitedly, turning her whole body to face the sound of his voice as if to emphasize her excitement. "Which aspect are you looking at? Teaching? Marketing? Journalism?"

"Creative Writing actually," Oscar admitted weakly. He was ready for the laughter, if not laughter at least questions on how he was going to make a living with such a focus. At least how that wasn't a one in a million shot.

There was silence and Oscar peaked at her, expecting disgust or some kind of other facial expressions to give her away. Instead, she was smiling brightly and almost vibrating with excitement.

"That's the discipline I'm in too!" Ruby replied and Oscar was a little shocked. Though he really shouldn't have been. If she was determined enough to learn brail, make her phone work so she could call and text (and he had seen her doing with someone named Weiss as she mumbled words into the earphone speaker and the phone read the text back to her), and remain cheerful of everything around her—then she could write just as well if not better then anyone else. "What kind of prose do you write?"

"I mostly write poetry." Ruby made a face at that one. "What's wrong with poetry?"

"It's too vague and you always have a limited space and there are so many rules."

"First of all, Epics are a thing so your limited space point is void. Second, how are there too many rules? I can't argue with the vague though."

She laughed and their conversations continued like that. Arguing over if poetry or narrative was the best kind of prose though they both admitted to reading both regularly. They laughed and she held Oscar's hand as they walked around the park, claiming it was Zwei's time off to play and she forgot her cane at home so she needed his help to prevent her from walking into a tree. Oscar didn't protest though, as he liked to cool feeling of her hand in his own and how it made his heart hammer in his chest.

They moved on to other topics and learned more about each other.

Oscar learned Ruby's favorite color was red. He pretended to be shocked on that and she hit him on the arm for that as he laughed. She confessed she missed seeing the color and then they changed subjects.

They talked about how Oscar never knew his parents since apparently his mother died during birth and his father left him with his aunt when he proved incapable of caring for Oscar alone. Ruby leaned a little into him at that, confessing she also didn't really know her mom since she was killed in a car crash when she was young. Apparently, she had been taking a cab from a doctor's appointment and some teens had run a red light hitting her side of the car.

They moved onto the happier aspects of Ruby's family though. How Yang and Ruby had always been super close even though they still disagreed on a lot of things, and how Yang is currently in love with her best friend though Blake doesn't know and is dating someone else instead which had led to a few arguments between the two friends. They talked about Yang having a different mom then Ruby and how Yang's mom didn't really come back into her daughter's life until she was grown. How her dad never did truly get over either of his loves and is the best mechanic that Ruby has ever known.

"Wait, you mean to tell me your uncle is the Qrow Branwen?" Oscar asked in a moment of shock and Ruby just giggled again. It was about their second lap around the park now and Zwei was off in the grass to the side chasing the last of the butterflies for the year.

"Yep, my uncle Qrow is the best," Ruby stated proudly with almost a hint of arrogance working its way into her voice which Oscar thought was the cutest thing ever.

"And he's been in an on and off relationship with Winter Schnee, who is also your friend's older sister, for the last two years? And you are also best friends with Penny Polendina?"

"Yep."

"I think I'm going to faint."

"Please don't, you will take me down with you," Ruby teased—squeezing his hand for emphasis. "If you need to sit down, then we can go get food. I'm starving anyway." Now it was Oscar's turn to laugh.

"Alright then, where do you want to go to eat?"

"Anywhere with pizza." Oscar couldn't help but snort at her reply.

"Alright, pizza it is."

As it turns out the nearest pizza joint happened to be owned by Jaune's family, so getting cheap mediocre pizza was apparently going to be easier then Oscar anticipated. Oscar was mostly surprised by how willing Ruby was to get into a car with him to go to a secondary location. Surely she didn't think they knew each other that well after an hour of talking about their deepest and darkest secrets.

"Smells good," Ruby said when one of Jaune's sister's set the cheese pizza down in front of the two of them. Oscar did his best to ignore the knowing wink she gave him.

"Trust me that's the best part," Oscar joked which got him a kick under the table from Ruby.

"If you don't like it then why do you eat here?" Ruby asked before taking a bite of the still hot food. Oscar smiled at the face she made when she put the tomato, cheese, and cardboard food in her mouth.

"Because it's also cheap college kid food," Oscar stated simply before taking his own slice of the offensive food.

"Fair enough," Ruby stated and they ate in silence for a few minutes.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose your sight?" The question came out of Oscar's mouth before he meant it too. He wanted to ease into it, maybe hang out a few more times, but apparently, his stupid mouth had other ideas.

"I don't mind, it isn't like it's a secret," Ruby said whipping her mouth with a napkin after fumbling for it for a few seconds. "Have you ever heard of Stargardt Disease."

Oscar shakes his head no on instinct.

"Ah, no," he finally blurts when Ruby doesn't respond after he shakes his head.

"In basic terms, it's a disease in children where their eyesight deteriorates rapidly and severely and, in extreme cases, leads to blindness. My mom had the disease as well and as it turns out my dad was also a carrier. I had to have glasses to help till I was about ten, then they gave up on glasses since nothing else was going to help it until I finally became fully blind at age sixteen though I was legally blind by thirteen."

Oscar didn't say anything. It had to suck growing up, knowing that someday you might not be able to see anything at all.

"But I still saw and read as much as I could before that, and surprisingly, other than having to rely more on technology not much has changed. I can still type on a key bored though someone has to proofread and I can still text my friends. I can still read and I still go to school."

Oscar doesn't think he has ever met anyone as strong as Ruby, and he can feel himself falling hard, not because she's happy, but because she doesn't use her unfortunates' circumstances in life to justify being cold or cruel. She is just Ruby, the same girl despite what has happened to her. While he was sure there was some unhealthy feeling pent up in her judging by the strain in her voice as she talked, she was still trying.

And that's all anyone can ever ask for.

"So, I see your uncle has a book signing at the store in a few weeks. Will I see you there?" Oscar asks this as he's exiting out of the pizza joint with Ruby and Zwei, having split the bill between the two of them, and was headed back to his car to the park. It was late now, as they got into his beat-up truck. Ruby mentioned she couldn't stay later than five because she had a checkup.

"For your eyes?" Oscar had asked once in the truck and Ruby snorted.

"Nope, I get to have my good bits poked and prodded at," was what she came back with and once Oscar realized what she was talking about, he kind of shut up about it after.

Once in the parking lot Oscar could see who he assumed was Ruby's sister. They didn't look anything alike, Yang having wild blonde hair and violet eyes that Oscar could see from ten feet away. But judging by the look she was shooting him, he could just tell he would have a big sister speech eventually.

"Hey Oscar," Ruby said causing Oscar to tear his mind away from the horror that would be meeting Ruby's family. "Can I feel your face again?"

"Sure," Oscar said leaning in closer so she couldn't have to stretch too far to find it. Despite how they had been running around her hands were still icy and felt good against his flushed cheeks. She did what she did last time, letting her fingers gently trace the bridge of his nose and the contours of his cheeks and lips. She ran her fingers through his hair and he sighed a little at that.

Then her lips were on his.

Well almost on his, she was to the left a little bit so she got mostly just the corner of his mouth. She tasted sweet, like chocolate chip cookies, but she also tasted a bit like the Arc family pizza. It was a strange combination, but it was her so Oscar didn't mind. He moved a hand to cup her cheek and readjust her slightly so they were kissing full on again. It was slow and they were lost in the moment, or maybe Ruby didn't know Yang was there. And maybe Oscar forgot she was there.

Until there was a knock on the window causing both of them to jump.

Yang stood on the passenger side of Oscar's truck and was laughing her ass off as the sudden movement and how quick the two were to separate. Ruby was mumbling some kind of death threat as she quickly gathered up her and Zwei's things. Oscar just sat there dumbfounded.

"I'll text you tonight," Ruby said quickly before opening the door. Oscar reached out and grab her hand through before he could even think about it. She tilted her head back to hear him better but her face was mildly confused as Yang stood there on the other side of the open door still laughing.

"I had fun today," Oscar said with a smile he knew she could hear.

"Come on sis, tell your boyfriend goodbye before we're late." They both blush at Yang's statement but neither of them protests her wording.

"Later Oscar," Ruby says and Oscar smiles again.

"Yeah, Later Ruby."

Oscar doesn't know what will happen next when Yang closes his car door and he watches the two sisters bicker as they drive off in Yang's yellow Camaro. But he is sure of one thing. He is hopelessly in love with Ruby Rose.

And, a quiet voice in his head things, she might just love him too.

BRK: And so this story comes to a close. Thank you for your support and I hope I have your support and future works. Have a good day wherever you are and I'll see you soo. Later Gators!