Sequel to "A Thousand Years"
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I dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life.
Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time.

Dear Paul,

I probably read your letter to me a thousand times over. I also probably played that song (You know, the one where you wrote lyrics all over) a thousand times as well. Reading what you wrote made me really change my opinion about you. I hate to say that I based you off your sister Rana and thought you were stuck-up and only distanced yourself from others because you thought that you were better than everyone else. But you aren't like that. You're more like Yin and a little bit like Tara. And that's a good thing because I'm good friends with both of them.

I'm keeping this short and sweet because I'd like to talk to you in person. Hope you'd enjoy some extra company in the music room.

Yours Truly,
Ruby

*****

Hold still right before we crash because we both know how this ends.
A clock ticks until it breaks your glass and I drown in you again.

I walked up to the top floor and found Paul's dorm. "Beacon" was carved in bold and solid gold letters. Yep. This was certainly Paul's dorm.
"What the hell are you doing?" Rana asked. She had approached the door without me knowing. Looking at her, she represented what a typical popular girl would look like. She had long and curly blonde hair and blue eyes. And she was Beacon so she had more money than most people will ever have in their entire lives. Everyone feared her because she could ruin your life just by snapping her fingers.
"I'm dropping off something for Paul." I told her. And it was true. I was delivering my note to him.
"Why him? He's such a loser!" Rana asked like I told her that I was dropping a note off to the most annoying person in school. "He's a loner with no friends!"
"Change that statement to "A bitch with no friends" and you're describing yourself." I said as I slipped the note underneath the door.
"You're going to regret saying that to me Ruby Rose!"

Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need.
Chasing relentlessly, I still fight and I don't know why.

*****

The next day, I walked into the music room and found Paul in there, just like I had hoped to.
"Oh, you weren't kidding." He said, putting down his flute. "You really did come."
"Did you really think I was lying?" I asked as I walked up to him. I had to look up at him a bit since he was taller than me. If I had to guess, I'd had to say that he was at least five foot eight or so.
"Yeah." He replied, looking away. "I did."
"You should know that I'm not the type to lie."
He looked back at me. "I should've known better."
Silence fell upon us until I was the one who broke the silence. "So you play the flute?"
That's when his smile got really big. "Oh, I play more than just the flute. The first instrument that I taught myself how to play was guitar. I started teaching myself at about three or so. Once I mastered the guitar, I moved on to the piano. Then the flute. Then the trumpet. Then the drums. Then the clarinet. Then the saxophone. Then the..."
"Wow, you know so many!" I told him, really impressed that he knew, let alone taught himself, how to play all of those instruments. "Is there anything that you can't play?"
"The triangle." He laughed and I laughed too. "But I'm not the best at the tuba. Those things are so damn heavy and they could really hurt someone!"
"They really could!"
Silence fell upon us once more but this time, he was the one to break it.
"I know that this is a really dumb question but would you like me to teach you how to play one of the many instruments that I've mastered over the years?"
I smiled and nodded.
"Really?" His eyes lit up and I got to see him smile again.
"Of course." I nodded and smiled back at him. "It's really amazing just how much you love music."
"Thanks." He said. "What would you like to learn?"
I didn't even have to think for another moment when I told him, "Guitar."
"My favorite." He told me as he walked over to where one was sitting in a storage room. He emerged a few moments later with it in his hands and a moment after that, he was standing right behind me.
"Just a warning, learning an instrument from someone involves a lot of hands-on stuff." He said like he was genuinely concerned that I would not be interested anymore when he told me this.
"I'm up for it." I told him, giving him a smile to make sure he knew that I wasn't kidding.

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?
If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

Paul placed the strap of the guitar around my neck and shoulder. He grabbed ahold of both of my hands and placed them on the guitar.
"What song shall I teach you today Miss Rose?" He asked, going into teacher mode with me.
I giggled. "The song you wrote lyrics over in the letter that you sent me."
He smiled. "Okay but you've got to ask me nicely first."
I smiled back at him and rolled my eyes. "Can you please teach me how to play A Thousand Years, Mr. Beacon?" I tried so hard to hold in laughter after calling him Mr. Beacon.
"Why, of course."

Walk on through a red parade and refuse to make amends.
It cuts deep through our ground and makes us forget all common sense.

I don't know how much time had passed, but as some point I was able to play the entire song.
"Wow, I'm impressed." Paul let go of me and I yearned to feel his warm touch again. "You're a fast learner. But I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from the great Ruby Rose."
I smiled and looked down at the ground. "Everyone says that I'm great."
I felt breathless as he lifted up my chin and looked me straight in the eye. "That's because you are. You're going to make so people proud of me. Hell, you already are making so people proud of you. But you're going to be a hero."
I felt my face get extremely hot. "Thanks." I paused for a few moments. "Well, I better go. Thanks for teaching me the song."
He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. "No problem. Hopefully I'll see you around."
"Yeah, you will." I smiled back at him. "I can promise you that."

Don't speak as I try to leave because we both know what we'll choose.
If you pull then I'll push too deep and I'll fall right back to you.

I caught up with Paul after school. He was sitting in the courtyard playing a flute instead of a guitar.
"What's up musical genius?" I asked him, causing him to jump and almost drop his flute.
"I'm no musical genius." Paul replied, his cheeks showing hints of a blush.
"Yes you are." I insisted as I sat down next to him. "Don't you let anyone tell you otherwise."
"Thank you." He whispered, moving the flute in his hands. "Really, thank you."
"You have nothing to thank me for."
"Yes I do. You aren't like the rest of them. You don't see me for the money that my family has. You see me for who I am as a person."
I looked down at my feet. "Can I confess something?"
"Of course. I'm listening."
I still avoided looking at him. "I was always told to stay away from you. "He's a Beacon, Ruby. He's nothing but trouble", "He's just an arrogant Beacon with more money than what he knows to do with", and "Beacons are terrible. Save yourself the heartbreak and rejection by just staying away from him. Especially avoid Paul because he's only quiet because he waiting for the right moment to strike and take advantage of you." are just some of the things that people around here have told me about you and your family. And, as you can probably guess, I didn't listen. The only Beacon who even lives up to any of that is Rana."

Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need.
Chasing relentlessly, I still fight and I don't know why.
If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?
If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

Paul frowned upon hearing the name of his oldest sister. "Rana's a fucking mess. She makes me, Tara, and Yin look so bad. I hate her. I know she's my sister and I'm supposed to like love her or whatever but holy fuck she's ridiculous. I can't fucking stand her."
"It must suck being related to her."
"It does because I have to put up with her bullshit."
I nodded. My eyes darted down and I saw that my hand was pretty close to his. A part of me hoped that he would grab it. A moment later, I had decided that there was nothing wrong with the girl making the move so that's exactly what I did. I looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back at me as I scooted closer to him. But his smile quickly faded.
"W-what's wrong?" I asked him, afraid I had done or said something wrong.
"I'm going to miss you Ruby Rose."
I gave him a confused look. "What do you mean? I'm not going anywhere."
He didn't respond as he stood up. I stood up along with him but something in the look in his eyes told me that he needed his space. But I never expected what happened next.

He leaned in and kissed me. I instantly responded by kissing back and closing my eyes. I felt my heart pound in my chest and when the kiss ended, I found myself yearning for him to kiss me again, for him to just wrap his arms around me.
I yearned for him to tell me that he wanted to be more than friends. Sure, he kinda made it obvious in his letter but I wanted to hear the words escape his lips.

So I didn't follow him as he ran off. I just watched him until I could no longer see him.

Why are you my clarity?
Why are you my clarity?

I couldn't sleep. I had gone to the music room several times to see if Paul was there and every single time, he wasn't. I was worried about him. I talked to Tara and Yin (Obviously not Rana because she wouldn't give a fuck) about where he could be and they seemed kinda off. It was almost as if the Beacons had a secret that no one wanted to get out.
"Have you been hanging out with the Beacons?" My older sister, Yang, asked me. I guess she couldn't sleep either. Weiss and Blake were both fast asleep and either one of us wanted to wake them so we kept our voices down.
"Yeah."
"I don't want you getting hurt."
"Yang, I appreciate your concern for me but I can take care of myself. Besides, they aren't so bad. Except for Rana of course."
"I saw you talking to Paul earlier."
"Yeah, I was. What's your point?"
"He's kinda a mystery. No one really knows anything about him. He also has tons of money. He might try and take advantage of you."
I shook my head. "No, Paul, h-he's different. He's so kind and just wants people to see him for him and not his money or judge him based on how Rana acts. He's like everyone else. He has dreams. Sure, it's not to become a Hunter but he still wants to be a musician because that's what he's good at and loves to do."
"Ruby, do you like him?" Yang asked. I could see a small smile on her face.
My eyes darted up to the ceiling and I found myself smiling. "Yeah. I...I think I do. When we kissed earlier... I can't explain it. It just...felt so right. I don't know if anyone else can make me feel that way."
"Well, go get him then!" Weiss suddenly piped in. Her voice nearly made me leap in the air. "Boys don't always need to make the first move. You can do it."
The next thing I knew, I was getting up, grabbing my weapon, and putting on my slippers because I couldn't be bothered to get dressed. I left the dorm and ran, making sure to keep my steps quiet so that I wouldn't wake anyone or get caught by any teachers.

"Paul!" I called his name as soon as I was outside. Something felt strange, like something just wasn't right. "Where are you? You've been gone for hours now!"
As I walked around calling his name, I became increasingly worried. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a body laying on the ground. I immediately ran to it and everything came crashing down.
"P-Paul!" I got down on my knees and just stared at him. He was covered in blood and a bouquet of roses, a piece of paper, and a guitar laid near him. I should've wondered how he managed to exchange his flute for a guitar without my detection but I didn't.
I wondered who, or what, killed him, noting the bloody flute.

Once I examined him more closely and looked at the wounds that he had sustained, I determined that he was murdered by a Grim. The wounds also showed that he tried to fight, but he didn't have the proper weapon so he ended up passing away.
I fucking lost it at that moment. I held him close to me, not caring that his blood was getting all over me. I kissed him on top of his forehead, tasting his blood. I found myself staring at his lifeless body. I would never get to see those big blue eyes staring at me ever again. I would never to get to see him give me a warm smile ever again. I would never get a guitar lesson from him ever again.
Paul Beacon was to never leave his mark on the world through his music.
He and I wouldn't have our moments that I loved so much ever again.

The moment that I realized all of that stuff, I realized that I couldn't and wouldn't let another Grim kill the innocent ever again. Plus, there was no way in hell that I wouldn't let Paul die in vain. He had a life ahead of him.

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?
If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

And I'm going to live that life for him.