Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.
The car pulled up alongside the curb, slowing to a stop at the foot of a ten-story dorm building.
"Oh wow, they're so big up close." Ruby pressed her face against the window and peered up, trying to catch a glimpse of the top of the multistory building.
"They aren't that big Rubes." Yang laughed lightly, "They're way shorter than the buildings downtown."
"Yeah but this is a school Yang, not some big fancy business." Ruby twisted her neck to try and get a better view of the building from inside the car, succeeding mostly in smashing her nose against the glass.
Yang laughed quietly to herself at her little sister's antics. She'd seen skyscrapers before, buildings that were dozens of stories tall and this still impressed her.
"You could always get out ya know?" Yang reached over and pulled on the door handle just enough to disengage the lock. Ruby went tumbling out the door and fell in a heap on the ground.
"Oww, Yang." She whined from her spot on the curb. Yang laughed much louder this time, clutching her sides as she did. Ruby's face went bright red and she shot to her feet. Yang stopped her laughter and glanced around as Ruby ducked bodily inside the car.
"Wha-? What are you…?" Yang finally found what Ruby must have seen. A very prim looking girl dressed all in white with hair to match was marching inside the dorm at the head of a small procession of butlers. They were all carrying multiple boxes or pushing entire dollies loaded with baggage. The girl carried herself with a certain elegance, but she walked like she owned the ground beneath her feet.
"Oh," Yang faked a drastic realization. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I embarrass you in front of a potential friend? Or maybe romantic prospect?" Yang nudged her sister pointedly with her elbow just to get her blush to grow. "She's cute, I'll give ya that. Looks a little stuffy though. At least you know she's not your roommate. Definitely got a single with that much luggage."
Ruby lifted her head from where she'd been hiding in the seat and punched her sister in the arm.
"Could you not please?" she righted herself in her seat and crossed her arms in a huff.
"You know I'm just playing." Yang stretched her arm around Ruby's shoulders and hugged her tight. Ruby squawked indignantly as her face was pressed into Yang's cleavage.
"Agchk, Yang. Can't breathe." Ruby flailed her arms about aimlessly as Yang continued to hold her close.
Finally she relented and Ruby relaxed a little, letting her arms drop over Yang as well. They both hugged for a moment before Yang pulled away and looked seriously into Ruby's eyes.
"You must be nervous right? It'll be okay Ruby. I know you're younger than everyone else and it's can be scary moving away from home but-"
"I'm actually really excited." Ruby bounced in her seat as she pulled away from Yang. "I mean yeah I'm nervous. I don't know anyone here and I didn't even get to finish high school at Signal but it'll be so cool to have a roommate and no bed time and…" Ruby's eyes went wide with realization, "Do you think they have cookies in the cafeteria? I can have so many cookies." Her voice climbed until she was shouting in their tiny car and Yang winced away from her excitement.
"The Freshman Fifteen is gonna be so real for you." Yang giggled as Ruby's face fell.
"The Freshman Fifteen? What's that?" She screwed up her face in confusion.
"Don't worry, you'll know soon enough." Yang giggled again and finally undid her seatbelt. "Now come on, we better get you all unpacked. I bet your roomie is already in there, taking over the whole room."
Yang and Ruby both clambered out of the car, neither falling on their face this time, and pulled some boxes from the trunk. Ruby wasn't bringing all that much because she didn't have all that much to bring. Clothes and sheets were packed into one box with school supplies and stuff like combs and her toothbrush packed in another. Yang grabbed a long poser tube and slung over her shoulder. They were ready to go.
The room was small with dull gray walls and a tiny square window at the far side that looked into campus. No one else was in the room when Ruby and Yang arrived, though many students were bustling in and out of the other doors on that floor.
There wasn't much in the way of decorations either, just two small beds with nightstands and large wooden desks pushed up against the wall. That's what Yang was for though.
"Alright, well at least we get a blank slate to work with." Yang hefted the large box she was carrying onto the end of the bed and glanced around.
"Do you think we're allowed to paint?" Ruby grimaced at the dingy walls.
"Uhh… I'm not sure. I do know you can hang up posters though." Yang slid the strap off her shoulder and opened the tube crammed full of posters. Ruby arbitrarily picked the left side of the room and they began taping the posters to the wall to liven up her room a little. Achievement Men obviously went up first, then X-Ray and Vav along with one that declared some people's love of grapes. Ruby pulled a few of her favorite engineering companies out of the tube as well, Vale Aeronautics, Lone Pine Firearms, even one from the Schnee Energy Company. Last but not least Ruby put a poster of a cat hanging on a string right above her desk.
"Hang in there." Yang read out loud, "I like it." She smiled and patted her sister on the shoulder.
"There's just one last thing." Ruby dove into one of her few remaining boxes and rummaged around. Yang set a bunch of her clothes and sheets out on the bed as Ruby threw packaging and newspapers out of the box behind her.
"Are you alright in there?" Yang watched as Ruby nearly fell into the box, trying to reach down to the very bottom.
"Got it!" she called out from inside the box. She finally emerged clutching a small framed photo. She propped it up on the desk, off to the side but clearly visible. In the frame was a picture that Yang didn't see nearly enough. It was Ruby and her standing with their dad, Taiyang, and Ruby's mom, Summer. They were all smiling and the sun was shining and it was all so bright.
Yang choked back a sniffle and took a quick breath to steady herself.
"That's sweet Rubes." Yang cleared her throat.
"Yeah well," Ruby dug the toe of her boot into the carpet without facing her sister, "I didn't mean it to be all sappy or anything." she turned around, "I can put my sheets and stuff on myself."
She tried hard to keep any tears from her eyes, breathing slowly and blinking a lot.
"Are you sure?" Yang checked her scroll, "I don't have a ton of time but if we hurry-"
"No really it's okay." Ruby smiled up at her older sister. "I don't want you to be late for work. It's important, being a police officer and all." she giggled lightly and Yang let her worried look fade into a soft smile.
"You know that if you need anything I'm just in the city. I can drive up here anytime. I want you to text me and come over for dinner sometime. I'm sure even my cooking is better than the cafeteria stuff you'll get here. And-"
"Yang. It's okay."
"I know… I know. It's just. It's a big deal." Yang let her eyes drift around the room, never falling directly on Ruby.
"Like you said. You're just in the city."
"Yeah."
"Hey Yang?" Ruby asked hesitantly and Yang ripped her searching eyes off the walls.
"What? What's up Ruby? Did you forget something?"
"Yeah." Ruby leaped forward and wrapped her arms around Yang's middle. "I love you Yang."
Yang immediately returned the hug, squeezing her little sister hard against her.
"I love you too Ruby."
They stood for a moment, keeping the embrace close and not speaking. They both knew they didn't need to. Eventually Yang pulled away and took a step back.
"I better go Ruby. Be safe."
"You too sis'." Ruby called out happily as Yang moved out into the hallway.
"And get that prissy girl's number." Yang called out. Ruby screwed her face up in shock and slammed the door on her sister.
Ruby kicked her feet idly, staring around the still half-empty room. She had unloaded the rest of her stuff, made her bed and put her clothes away in the small closet set into the wall by the door. Her roommate still wasn't here though.
"I wish I had a laptop, or maybe a game or something." Ruby flopped backwards on her bed and stared out the small window.
She sat for as long as her attention could hold her there, roughly thirty seconds, and then jumped back up to her feet.
"I guess I should just explore then."
She grabbed her scroll off the desk and left the room, not bothering to lock the door behind her.
It was warm outside even if summer was coming to a close. Vale was near the ocean and never got really cold, no matter what season it was.
The dorms were built in little clusters around small fields and places for students to spend time outside of class. Ruby walked out of her group of buildings down the path towards the cafeteria. The sidewalk stretched alongside a big parking lot and all the way past the cafeteria to another group of dorm buildings. There was no point in going to the other dorms so Ruby went to the cafeteria instead.
Inside the tables were lined up in neat, even rows with long benches on either side. It looked a lot like the cafeteria at Signal, just way, way bigger. Ruby glanced around and was amazed at how many people were already here. She knew she had one of the last days to show up but still, there were so many people and it was only half full.
Her chest started to tighten up and Ruby felt like maybe exploring hadn't been such a good idea. She darted back out the double doors and into the air outside. She took a moment to catch her breath and get a hold of herself.
"C'mon Ruby." she chided herself, "You told her you were totally ready for this."
Ruby stood tall and exhaled.
"But, I'm not hungry." She lifted her chin victoriously and strut off in the other direction, deeper into campus.
The buildings were really spread out with lots of trees and big grassy fields in between them. It looked like most places were still closed up from the break but a couple buildings had people coming in and out.
Ruby wandered among the big, old fashioned buildings rather aimlessly, just trying to take it all in. She was in college now, all on her own. It was exciting but really scary.
Eventually she stopped outside a building near the middle of campus that looked like a little convenience store. It was only a single story and had big windows with advertisements and sale signs.
Notebooks and pencils and textbooks and tape and staplers and all kinds of school supplies were spread out on neat racks and shelves inside. But, there were also a bunch of different microwave foods and toothpaste and sweaters with the Beacon Academy crest on them and even condoms.
"I definitely won't be needing those." Ruby giggled to herself and walked past them.
She emerged from the store a little bit more relaxed than before. At least now she knew where to come get her books and stuff. Ruby glanced around and had a horrific realization. She didn't know which way the dorms were. She had left through a different door than she came in through and all the buildings were just tall and brick and looked the same and she wasn't even sure which was she had come from.
She took a deep breath and started forward.
"I can do this."
Twenty minutes of wandering later had Ruby completely lost somewhere on a far side of the school. She had decided to just pick a direction and go but apparently had chosen incorrectly.
She pulled out her scroll and decided that looking at her map might help a little bit. She found herself first and then the dorms and struck out for her new home which she had been so quick to lose. She kept having to glance at her scroll though as the paths were all twisted between trees and buildings and it all would have been very nice had she not been lost.
Ruby ended up just watching herself on the scroll and only looking up occasionally to make sure she didn't walk off a ledge or something. She didn't check to make sure she didn't run into anyone though.
"Would you watch where you're going." A shrill voice accosted Ruby as she stumbled backwards to the ground.
"Oh, oh I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking and-" Ruby held tight to her scroll and fell right on her butt.
"Clearly." The girl threw her long white ponytail over her shoulder and Ruby realized who she had just run into. The rich girl from the dorm that morning. There was no mistaking that white hair. "Do you have any idea who I am? Winter warned me this school was full of degenerates but I thought I might at least get through a single day without being run over."
"No, really. I'm sorry." Ruby stood up and dusted herself off. "I was just lost."
"How could you possibly get lost? It's just a school, not a maze."
"I got kinda turned around and I don't know how to get back to my dorm. But...uhh….I think we're in the same building. Do you think you could show me the way back?" Ruby knew that she was on the right track with her map but it wouldn't hurt to try and use this to talk to someone right?
"I really don't have time to be guiding someone else around. I have many, very important things to be doing." The girl threw her chin up in the air haughtily and Ruby sighed. At least she still had her scroll.
"I'm sorry." Ruby let her head drop and started off the way she had been going.
"Now wait right there," that shrill voice called out. Ruby tensed up, ready for another verbal beat down. "I suppose I could walk back with you, as long as you promise not to run into me anymore."
"Oh yeah, definitely. I totally promise." Ruby waited for the white haired girl to start down the path with her towards the dorms. She didn't move though, she looked like she was waiting as well. "Umm, what's your name?"
"My name is Weiss."
"Well, Weiss. Do you know where you're going?" Ruby glanced at her scroll again to ensure she had her directions right and then back at Weiss.
"Of course I do." She stomped over to Ruby on her very thin, tall heels. "I was simply waiting for you to introduce yourself."
"Oh," Ruby started up, startled, "Well, I'm Ruby Rose." She stuck out her hand for a handshake which never came.
"Well Ruby, we better get going." Weiss clacked off down the sidewalk past her, now headed the right direction. Ruby gathered herself and quickly followed after her.
They walked for a moment in relative silence, only the sharp click of Weiss's heels on the concrete filling the air. Ruby couldn't take that rhythmic clicking anymore so she spoke up.
"So Weiss." She started eagerly, " What's uhh… What's your last name?"
"Schnee." Weiss responded quickly. "My name is Weiss Schnee."
"Wait you mean like Schnee, Schnee? Like Schnee Energy Company Schnee." Ruby stopped in shock but had to hurry and catch up as Weiss kept walking.
"Yes you dolt, that Schnee. My family owns the Schnee Energy Company." Weiss kept walking without even turning her head to face Ruby.
"Oh, well that explains all the butlers." Ruby mumbled to herself.
"I'm sorry?" Weiss finally jerked her head around and stared directly at Ruby. She could feel her heart jump right into her throat.
"I was just saying that I saw you this morning, getting all your stuff inside. That's how I knew we were in the same building." Ruby stumbled through her excuse, mostly glad that she didn't actually stumble over her own feet as well.
"Well do try not to run into me in the hallways." Weiss stopped. "There, I think you can find your way back from here."
Ruby shook her eyes off of Weiss and looked around. They were back in the field by the cafeteria and she could see their dorm building from here.
"Aren't you gonna come all the way back?" she asked.
"Oh no. I have to go speak with administration and get something cleared up. For some reason the cable isn't working in my room." With that Weiss turned quickly and started off towards a building Ruby hadn't been to yet.
"Wait...You have cable?"
Ruby quickly opened the door to her dorm and swung inside, shutting it quickly behind her. She groaned and let her forehead fall limply against the solid wood barrier.
"Ugh, could that have gone any worse?" She moaned to herself quietly.
"Could what have gone worse?" A very bright and chipper voice piped up behind Ruby.
She jumped, startled by the presence of someone else in her room. Ruby spun around, not knowing what to expect.
"Hello." The girl standing across from Ruby was about her height with bright red hair and freckles to match. She had green eyes and wore fairly simple clothing, simple but cute on her. Ruby also noted that she had some pretty firm looking arms and her legs filled out her leggings with muscle. The girl waved happily.
"Oh, uhh, hi." Ruby slumped against the door and let herself slide to the floor.
"Is something wrong." The redhead walked over and leaned down so her face was precariously close to Ruby's.
"No. Well yeah, but it's okay. I just…" Ruby trailed off, distracted for a moment by this other girl's gaze. She was just staring straight at her, barely even blinking. "It's nothing really." Ruby shook off her confusion and went to stand.
The other girl immediately offered her a hand up and Ruby was surprised at how firm her grip was. She practically picked Ruby right up off the ground, she was so strong.
"I'm Ruby. I think I'm your roommate." Ruby accepted the help up and tried to recover some of her dignity.
"Salutations, I'm Penny Polendina. It's a pleasure to meet you." Penny extended her hand again and Ruby shook it happily. "I believe I am your roommate as well. It's either that, or I put all my things in the wrong room."
Ruby leaned around Penny's shoulder and examined the dorm room. Penny had indeed set all of her things up on her side of the room. It looked like she was one of those people that went out and bought a bunch of brand new things that all matched for her dorm. All her sheets and pillows and even her desk organizer were different patterns of green and black. She had lots of gadgets too, a cool looking alarm clock with a place for her scroll to plug in, a shiny looking laptop with some alien head on the front and...Ruby froze.
"Is that a tv?" Ruby could have sworn her jaw hit the floor.
"Oh yes. There are a few shows on the internet that I watch and I have a game console that I brought as well. I am sorry we can't have actual television shows, but I hope you do not mind that I brought it." Penny seemed bashful.
"Mind? Do I mind?" Ruby turned back to Penny, "Of course I don't mind Penny. That's awesome!" Ruby threw herself at Penny and gave her a hug.
When Penny didn't respond by returning the hug Ruby pulled back and looked at the ground.
"Sorry. Sorry. I got really excited. I come from kind of a huggy family." Ruby shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh, no. That is quite alright." Penny seemed unsure of what to say. "I, well, I do not come from a very affectionate family. My father loves me very much but we do not hug very often. You just took me by surprise."
Ruby brightened up.
"Well if we're going to be friends, you're gonna have to get used to lots of hugging." Ruby laughed.
"You think...You think that we will be friends?" Penny clutched both her hands in front of her.
"Well yeah. Pfffftt," she waved a hand dismissively, "We kind of already are."
"Oh thank you Ruby. I promise I will be the best friend I can be." This time Penny lunged forward and wrapped Ruby in a hug. Ruby would have been happy to return the gesture had Penny not been crushing her with those incredibly strong arms.
"Ahh, okay, that's enough hugging. Thanks Penny." Ruby made sure to pat her on the back as she was released so Penny knew that she appreciated both the hug and being let go.
She moved over and sat on her bed so they could keep talking. Penny followed and hopped up on her own bed.
"You're really strong." Ruby commented, hoping she could find out why.
"Thank you. I train very hard." Penny crossed her legs and returned Ruby's bright smile.
"Okay. What do you train for?" Ruby cocked her head off to one side, red dyed bangs falling in front of her eyes.
"Oh." Penny seemed surprised that Ruby would want to know, "Well, I do martial arts. I practice Karate, Tae-Kwon-Do, Judo and Jiu Jitsu. Though, they only have a Tae-Kwon-Do team here at Beacon."
"Oh wow that's so cool." she snapped to attention, "So you can like fight and do all kinds of crazy stuff?"
"I'm combat ready." Penny flashed her a big thumbs up and then dissolved into laughter. "I don't fight people Ruby. It's a sport just like Tennis or Track. That means that I'll be gone a lot at practice or for matches."
"Oh okay. I would love to come watch you compete. It sounds so cool." Ruby threw herself down on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
"I don't know when the first real matches are yet but we have a few practice rounds with other members of Beacon's team coming soon. You could come to those if you really wanted to." Penny sounded even more excited than Ruby, even hopeful.
"I would love to Penny." Ruby smiled and waited for Penny to reply. She didn't for a few moments but then Ruby had an idea and she shot back to a sitting position. "Penny, I have a great idea."
"What is it friend Ruby? I will help you." Penny nearly jumped off her bed to Ruby's side.
"Why don't we put our beds on top of each other so they're bunk beds. We'll have so much more room for stuff." She threw her hands up above her head in excitement but Penny leaned back, her smile fading.
"Ruby, we aren't allowed to modify school property. 'No defacing, modifying or damaging any school property in any way'." She recited rather stiffly.
Ruby fell back on her bed, enthusiasm drained out of her in an instant.
"It was a good idea though. This room is rather small." Penny offered as a sort of half apology.
"Thanks Penny." Ruby was glad that she had at least wanted to do it but she could understand not wanting to break any rules on their very first day.
"So, would you like to watch one of my favorite shows? It's called 'Red versus Blue' and my favorite character is named Caboose. I think you'll like it." Penny jumped up from her spot on the bed and start fiddling around on her laptop to get the show playing.
Ruby watched as she plugged the computer into the tv and started the video. Penny seemed pretty fun, a little weird but so was she. This was gonna be great.
A/N - Okay, what do you think? Tell me now if it's bad, please. This one is gonna be long. Volume Four is over now and I need to distract myself for the hiatus. Welcome to my therapy.
This story is going to jump around to a few character's perspectives as we go. There are three main characters and every chapter will go through them in the same order. Fan Fiction only lets you list four characters in the description so I just stuck to those three. The story will have many more characters though as we've already met Weiss and Penny. Other than that just know that this is a slightly real world AU. No dust, aura or even Grimm but they use scrolls, go to Beacon and live in Vale. So yeah.
If you've read my stories as they publish before then you're probably pretty used to my four or eight chapters a week pace. I have found that I can no longer sustain that. So I'm only going to post these once a week but they should always be around this length or longer. If I get ahead of myself I may post more often but I really don't see that happening. Thanks so much for reading everyone!
-Zach
P.S. - Really please let me know what you think. Good or bad, I'd love to hear from you.