"True beauty is all around, it just takes a keen eye to see it."

⛓

"Page 394, page 394," Skylar quietly repeats the words to herself as she flips through her textbook.

Upon seeing the horror show of questions that await her, she slams the book shut with enough force to blow her paper off the desk.

"Nope!" She declares, standing abruptly from her chair.

The woman cracks her back, stretching out all of her stiff muscles. She's been sitting for the past three hours, and although the questions in her book are the last that she must complete, she can't stand to continue.

As she wanders into the main living space, she discovers the distinct lack of human companionship. Of course, Rae left earlier to attend his afternoon classes.

Despite this knowledge, she frowns. She's become quite fond of his constant mumblings when he's thinking.

Venturing further in, she smiles again, spotting her basking ball python on his rightful shelf—in his terrarium of course. She skips over, assuring his optimum comfort before easing him from his place atop his stone hide.

Although unhappy with this development, Mr. Noodles entwines himself comfortably in his carer's hand. That is not to say that he doesn't hiss a grumble of annoyance at her.

With a grin, Skylar kisses the top of his head, making up for disrupting her friend's peace. She loves him just as much as he pretends not to love her.

He makes a noise similar to a grumble and nuzzles into her palm, soaking up the warmth from her skin. This makes her smile, and she holds him closer as she makes her way over to the record player sitting beside the TV in the living room.

A selection of vinyl records rest on the shelves above the player, each one proudly kept. The one she wants sits in its usual spot in plain view, the track having been her favourite since childhood.

'A Night At The Opera'. An absolute classic if you ask her. Of course, anything from the 70's and 80's counts as classic to her, but Queen will always top the list.

She hums the tune to 'Invisible Man' as she carefully slides the vinyl out of its cover, delicately placing it on the player. With a gentle finger, she sets the pin on the record.

The music starts almost instantaneously, building in volume and intensity to a beat that makes Skylar rock her hips. As the noise grows, she hops back over to Mr. Noodles' terrarium, placing him back in just in time to bang her head to the beat drop.

If the ball python could speak, he wouldn't. He'd groan.

Despite his small brain, he already knows what to expect from this woman. But even though he pretends to dislike her actions, he watches with interest, flicking his tongue in false boredom.

Skylar whistles the tune, practically skipping into the open kitchen. There, she wrinkles her nose in disgust at the failed attempt of breakfast sitting in the sink.

With little else to do as she procrastinates, she chucks it in the bin, lip syncing with the music. The pan gets dropped in a sinkful of hot, soapy water alongside two dishes. Normally it would go in the dishwasher, but the egg is burnt black on the metal and the only thing that will get it off is an intense scrubbing.

With the dishes cleansed and the dishwasher on, Skylar gets about clearing out the fridge. Neither of the roommates can really cook, so the only things that fill the appliance are pre-made meals, milk, eggs—not anymore—and condiments. Even then, about half of its contents are expired.

She makes a grim face, frowning at the items of food. Almost everything gets chucked out, and the young woman makes a grocery list, ensuring that she only writes down the necessities. She's learnt that Rae isn't the best when it comes to purchasing vaguely named foods.

A light chuckle leaves her lips at the memory, and she shakes her head at his confusion. The poor man couldn't tell the difference between milk and cream, which came as an awful shock to the woman when she had a mouthful of cereal the following morning.

But at least he can actually cook to some extent.

An involuntary shudder rolls down Skylar's spine. Her experiences with cooking have yet to go well, and have generally scared her away from the cooking utensils. The only thing she can even remotely cook is ramen noodles.

The woman starts whistling, smiling to herself over the pleasantness of the day despite her still looming homework. The sun's out, with not a cloud in the sky, and the golden trees of autumn sway gently in the breeze along the street. Other than that, it's absolutely freezing outside, even though she can see some people walking about in shorts and t-shirts.

Then, the music changes, the next song beginning to play. Although, it appears more time has passed than she originally thought, as the third song on the track starts up.

She sniggers lightly at the song, finding it greatly amusing with all the innuendoes within the lyrics. For someone so shy, she certainly has an interesting sense of humour.

As she gets into a small groove, her confidence grows, and she finds herself softly singing along. It's when she remembers that Rae isn't home that she actually starts to lose herself.

Her smile broadens as she glides across the hardwood floor, swaying gently and twisting into spins. The fabric of her denim hoodie flows around her, in strange grace that a klutz should be unable to have. Each beat brings a new rock of movement, and the woman allows herself to swing to the melody.

It's stupid. So ridiculous that it shouldn't have even been released. But here she is, dancing passionately to the smooth rock. And to think Roger locked himself in a closet to ensure it was the B-side to 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

At that thought, Skylar bursts out in laughter, shoulders shaking in amusement. As she takes the moment to regain herself, the song changes yet again, the lyrics calming her great mirth.

"Ooh, you make me live
Whatever this world can give to me
It's you, you're all I see
Ooh, you make me live now, honey
Ooh, you make me live,"

She smiles softly, recalling stupid memories of time spent with her own best friend. Lizzy sure had a way of convincing her into doing questionable things, even before they dated.

With that in mind, she starts to do the dance she created with Lizzy. The two of them had developed the groove over the past decade, designing it to only match up to this song.

"Ooh, you're the best friend that I ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine and I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
Ooh, you're my best friend,"

Her foot drags lightly against the floor as she sweeps it across her other. The swift movement spins her in a tight circle, leading her to hold her arms outward in a position of grace.

"Ooh, you make me live,"

Harmonic vocals join the vinyl recording, though she certainly doesn't think she's singing that well. But nonetheless, she sings with a smile.

"Ooh, I've been wandering 'round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine
You've stood by me girl
I'm happy at home
You're my best friend,"

Her delicate skips guide her around the living room furniture, leading her in circles across the rug. Each time her foot touches the floor, a warming feeling grows in her belly.

"Ooh, you make me live
Whenever this world is cruel to me
I got you to help me forgive
Ooh, you make me live now, honey
Ooh, you make me live,"

She doesn't care if the curtains are wide open right now, the idea that people could be watching completely escapes her. Living in the moment—actually, that doesn't quite fit. Savour. She's savouring the moment as it comes.

"You're the first one
When things turn out bad
You know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love the things
I really love the things that you do
Ooh, you're my best friend,"

Her lashes flutter as she shuts her eyes, gently touching the back of the couch.

"Ooh, you make me live,"

Dark hair flows behind her as she spins, a broad smile gracing her features as she does. A quick laugh leaves her before she belts out the lyrics to the best of her ability, easily forgetting that she has neighbours.

"I'm happy at home
You're my best friend
Oh, you're my best friend
Ooh, you make me live
You're my best friend,"

She comes to a steady stop, gently easing her momentum with a graceful step forward. It's been several weeks since she lasts smiled this widely. It feels good to be herself again.

As she regains her breath, she feels the hairs on her back prickle. That simple sensation is all it takes to make her raise her head.

Embarrassment flushes her face, cheeks going bright red as she meets the blue eyes of a captivated looking Rae. His expression withholds an unfamiliar charmed look, almost as though his eyes have glazed over.

"H-how long—?" Skylar gulps, praying quietly.

"Most of it," he hums softly as he places his keys on the kitchen counter.

"O-oh," she mumbles, looking down at her feet in awkwardness. Her hands start wringing themselves as she tries to distract herself from the moment.

"Hey," a gentle hand raises her chin to look up, the owner giving her a small, warm smile. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. You're extremely talented."

"No, I'm not," she denies, worming out of his soft grip.

Rae delicately grasps her upper arm, keeping her from running away, and makes her face him, "No, really. You are. I've never seen or heard anybody do anything remotely like that. And trust me, I've seen a lot of things."

Skylar allows herself to remain where she stands, confused by his praising words. It's been a while since anyone but family has said something like that.

"Thank you," she finally says, smiling appreciatively.

"You're welcome," the young man grants her a kindly expression before actually letting her go.

The moment his hand is gone, she misses the close contact. The warm feeling in her belly disperses a bit as well.

"You should do it more often."

Skylar looks at him, mortified at such a simple suggestion, "No!"

He chuckles a bit at her reaction, shrugging his shoulders slightly, "You really should. I don't mind all too much. So long as I'm not working."

"No way!" She shakes her head, declining his offer as quick as she can.

"Alright," he raises his hands in surrender, backing off to move his bag to his room. "I was just saying. But you do look pretty when you dance."

The woman splutters indignantly, staring after him in shock as her ears start to glow red.

What did he mean, 'pretty'?

⛓

Yay! Finally complete!
It took me way too long to get past one little bit.

In case any of you were wondering, the song Skylar was laughing at was Queen's 'I'm In Love With My Car'.