#cross?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Stanford Pines thought he had never seen anything quite so pitiful as the girl who was now noisily crying right in the middle of the library of Backupsmore. He waited, trying to see if anyone would move to help her. 

An irritated, protective fury built up when nobody did- all the poor girl got was confused, agitated stares from the other students. Typical. They should have better manners than this! Before he knew exactly what he was doing, Ford stepped over to the brunette with tears rolling down her face. 

Gently, awkwardly, he offers, “What’s wrong?”

Sniffling, the girl pulls herself together enough to look at him directly. She’s actually rather pretty- at least, she might be. Right this moment her bronze curls are frizzled at least an inch from her head and look very tangled from where Ford was standing. There were deep circles under her dark oak colored eyes and the veins showed on her top lids- she’d been depriving herself of sleep for a long time. Ford knew the look- he saw it in the mirror more often than not. Her nose was almost cherry red, and running currently. The glasses that perched on the bridge of her nose were cockeyed and scratched in places- an old pair.

 “I- I have a paper due- and a lab report- and reading I haven’t done- and I- I-“ 

A high pitched whimper escaped her as the tears redoubled. Small hands curl into fists and try to rub out the thick streams of tears leaking from her eyes. 

“Calm down,” Ford murmurs, trying to take a page out of Fiddleford’s book with the soothing tone he used. Hesitantly, he put a hand on her shoulder- and yelps in surprise when he is abruptly hugged tightly. Those small arms were strong, most unexpectedly. 

When he hears that tiny keening noise that follows, something in his heart breaks for this girl he barely knows. Quietly, he shepards her into the shelves to avoid anymore awkward stares from their classmates. Very gently, he wraps his arms around her shoulders- so small and soft- and hugs her back. The happy whimper that follows was almost worth the simmering embarrassment in his gut at being stared at- he’d hated it since he was small, always being stared at for his hands… 

“Th’nk you….s-s-sorry….” 

He patted the top of her head. Her curly hair was floofy, and a little bit scratchy. “Don’t be. Are you a freshman?” 

There’s a pained, sheepish titter. She cuddles into his yellow sweater vest. This is strangely comfortable- it almost reminded him of nights back at Glass Shard after one of them had woken themselves up with a nightmare… He squashes that thought as he hears her speak again. 

“N-no. I’m a Junior. Second semester. I’m just… stressed something awful… Th-thanks again for c-coming t’ my rescue back there…” She talked a little like Fiddleford. Was she from Tennessee as well? 

“No problem. Couldn’t leave a girl in tears alone.” What are you DOING? You sound just like Stanley… 

“Heh, m-maybe you’re p-proof that manners ain’t- aren’t dead yet…” She sniffles, a smile slipping across her face as she looks up at him. 

He’s a little rattled at how pretty her soft face looks at that smile- it’s like the sun coming out after rainclouds. 

“A-anyways… I gotta go clean up, ai- isn’t right for a girl to go around l-like this…. Can I know the name of my hero, at least?” 

That question had a bit of a titter in it- he had a confused suspicion that she was joking about the “hero” part for a moment, and then it hit that she was just covering for her own muddled emotions winding down. 

“Stanford… Stanford Pines.”

“June! June Gilbert. A-anyways, see you round on campus sometime?” 

That bright smile was back again, even if she was still crying a little. It was befuddling. But a little gratifying to know he’d caused that smile. 

“…Maybe.”

“Heh. Yay! S-see you then.”

 And like that, the odd encounter was over. The girl slipped from their place in the stacks like a small soft wraith- she knew these bookshelves better than even Stanford did. The male in question stared after the retreating girl around his age in utter befuddlement- he didn’t understand girls on a regular basis… 

And somehow he seems to have just made friends with one. 

A tiny smile slid over his lips. Maybe that wasn’t so bad, actually.