Sapphire waited in the Master's Study Room. She and Ruby had agreed to meet there to get some studying done. Ruby finally showed up, clutching a notebook close to his chest. She smiled as he sat down beside her.

"All good?" He nodded softly as he put the notebook down and fished a pencil out of his pocket.

"Yeah... almost forgot... that's all-" She smiled softly at him.

"It's alright." He smiled faintly.

~~~

She later learned how big of a gap they had between each other.

He was really only talented with Calligraphy, which looked incredible. But the rest? He was fighting for his life. His Violin skills weren't as on par as she thought, his art was usually on a basic level, his academics were down the drain- he relied heavily on his Calligraphy to bypass the system.

She decided to help him out as much as she could. Being a percussionist, she was able to help him out a lot. She helped him stay on tempo and even helped him with notes with the piano. However, whenever he would make a mistake, he never went to the nearest measure. He always went back to the beginning. She finally stopped him.

"Let's start right here." He looked confused, but he followed her lead. Instantly, they passed the rough part without any flaw. He almost didn't realize until they neared the end.

"Huh?" She smiled.

"Now let's start at the top." He blinked before following. They reached the end without fail. He paused as they finished.

"What-" She hummed.

"You keep trying to start at the beginning."

"It's easier-"

"Yes, but everyone knows that if there's a trouble spot, you slow down and work on that part before you restart entirely." He was quiet as he looked over another piece. She mentally sighed. He had a lot more on his plate than she thought.

She learned it was only in Music. His art, calligraphy and academics weren't this busy. But he had 8 solos, 3 ensembles, and 10 competition (both solo and group) pieces. He had four instruments he was using; violin, flute, cello and bass clarinet; to cover all the pieces. She watched from afar as Mr. Wallance spoke to the younger boy in a soft voice. Ruby seemed to listen to his words, but clearly didn't follow as he went back to practicing. The teacher sighed before she overheard his mutter.

"That woman- she's going to run him into a hole again-" Again? "I can't believe she still has some sort of parental control of him-" Oh- he was talking about Ruby's mother. "I need to send another letter to his father to warn him-" She stayed quiet as Ruby's violin started another piece.

~~~

Ruby's father was taken aback when the smaller boy hugged him from behind. It raised a red flag as he turned and completed the hug.

"Ruby?" He nodded softly, almost answering the unasked question. His father said nothing more, gently rubbing his back and swaying the hug. A soft voice finally escaped the child.

"I don't want to see her-" His dad winced, knowing what he meant.

"I know-" He then pulled away. "Do you want to see if you can stay the night with Sapphire? She seemed to be nice to you." Ruby nodded faintly. "Alright. You text me if you get the approval."

"Ok-"