Author's Note

Heyo! Koda here with a new story. I decided to put it out early since I've been gone a lot and this is my thanks to all of you who supported Amnesiac. I'm still writing it but here's my other project. This is the winning poll on profile which is a Ruby Harem story. There is a plot to this story and a lot of the romances aren't love at first sight. Also not every girl falls in love with Ruby. It depends on how the girls interact with her throughout the story. There is also no incest. Sorry guys, but I'm not doing RubyxYang in this story.

This story got its inspiration from Majisuka Gakuen, School Rumble, Clannad, and some other shows as well. It's a Modern AU so if that's not your thing, I suggest you leave. There's some Yaoi in this story but it doesn't really focus on it. It's only in the background. I also have Ruby's age bumped up in this story because I'm not really comfortable writing smut while she's like 15. She's 17 in this story. It's a bit of a slow paced story so some of the romances won't come quick.

Anyway the cover art was made by my friend Liv who you can find on Tumblr(since she doesn't have a fanfic account) at thezombieparadise. She helped me come up with this story as well. After you're done reading this first chapter, we'd appreciate it if you give us some feedback and let us know what you think of it.

Enjoy!

[Quick note]

First Years: 16-17 years old

Second Years: 17-18 years old

Third Years: 18-19 years old

Color Me Once

Chapter 1

"We're only doing what's best for you," he father had told her before he helped her with her belongings into Amber's car. "Please don't be mad at us…"

The thing was that she wasn't. She understood. It had to be done so she could be safe. Sure she'd leave all her old friends, but like he said, this was best for her.

She got into the car and looked at him out the window. She could see the forced smile on his face, showing that he actually didn't want her to leave. He waved after the two when they drove off.

She continued to stare out the window, still seeing that sad expression on her father's face. It gave her a sense that everything that had happened in the past led up to this. She thought she wanted to cry but she wasn't upset. Instead, she reached into her book bag that was sitting in her lap and pulled out her Walkman.

"Are you okay?" the woman driving finally spoke. "I know this is hard on both you and Tai, but you haven't said anything yet."

She shook her head and slipped on her headphones. Her thoughts went back to him.

And the words he spoke earlier sounded more like he was saying it to himself than to her.

Ruby was finally able to go to her new school the week after it had started. She looked forward to meeting new people and exploring a new environment. The school that she was going to was a private school where it costs a lot to get into.

"Beacon Academy G" was what the school was called. The G standing for girls only. Same meaning for "Beacon Academy B" which was on the other side of Vale, only for boys. She was offered to stay in a dormitory, but her guardian, Amber, didn't find it necessary since they lived close by. Both the schools were for really smart kids, something that Ruby paid no mind to. The school also had uniforms, which she didn't necessarily like. The get up was a plain, short sleeved button up, a red tie, and a skirt.

Telling Amber goodbye, she swung her bag over her shoulder and headed out. Once she got outside, she grabbed her bike that was parked on the side of the house, put on her headphones, and peddled to school.

Her bike was one of the many things her dad got her before she moved in with Amber. Today wasn't the first time she rode it. She rode it often before school started. First, she went and explored the neighborhood she lived in, then the city, and soon she would have explored the whole area. People were always outside when she rode her bike, and she did catch a glimpse of people who looked around her age. She never got a chance to talk to them except for her neighbors, but they were old.

When she arrived at the school, she parked her bike on the bike rack and locked it up. There were people just like her already entering the school with their own bags either hanging on their backs or sides. Everyone knew where they were going. Ruby, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure.

She rested her headphones on her shoulders and took out her schedule before entering the school. Everyone else was walking into the classrooms they had to go in while she just stood there and squinted at her schedule.

I should've came prepared, she thought.

"You look like you need some help," came a voice, and at first she thought that was all in her head until she turned around.

The voice was a bit raspy, like the person behind her was suffering from a dry throat.

Looking back, she was met with a lopsided smile as only a single, tinted blue eye was staring down at her. The other one was covered by a beanie and the girl had the same uniform on as her, but wore a red, track jacket over her shirt. She looked just as friendly as she sounded despite how her voice sounded.

"Yea…" Ruby started handing her paper to the other girl. "I don't know where my classroom is."

With a quick glance she told her, "You're in the same class as me."

Ruby just stared at her as she was handed back her paper. The girl pulled her along when she didn't say anything.

"Name's May by the way," she continued. "So you're the new girl, Ruby. Where'd you come from?"

Ruby tried to find the words she was looking for since she was usually the first one to talk to someone new and not the other way around. Her plan was to find someone outgoing, like the girl talking to her, and just start up a conversation. She never had a plan for when someone would talk to her first.

But, May waited patiently, which confused her.

"I came from outside the kingdoms," she finally managed to answer.

May just nodded as she replied, "Cool. This school's pretty great. You'll enjoy here. The other girls, though, might be a problem."

She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck as she steered her into the classroom. The teacher wasn't in the room yet so all the girls were just doing their own thing. May took a seat and Ruby decided to take a seat in the empty desk next to her.

"You might not want to sit-"

Before May could even finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the girl that was now standing over Ruby.

Gum popped.

"That's my seat you're sitting in, new girl," she growled.

She stared down at her with mint green eyes that matched her hair, and just like May, she had her own sweatshirt on, though it was purple and she had the hood up. Ruby was pretty sure the hood part wasn't in the dress code but was also sure that this girl was the type of girl who'd go against the rules. She didn't wear a tie like her and May but there were other girls who didn't either. The look that was on her face said that she didn't want to be messed with.

"Can you hear?" she asked with an arched eyebrow, after popping her gum again.

The girl barely chewed her gum as Ruby saw. No one probably wouldn't even notice that she had gum in her mouth if she didn't pop it a lot.

"I'm sorry Reese," May spoke up with a crack in her voice. "I didn't tell Ruby about your seat."

The said girl's eyes moved away from Ruby and onto her.

"Well next time make sure you do."

Ruby quickly shuffled out of her seat before either of them could get yelled at. She decided to take the empty seat behind May when she saw that no one had claimed it. Along that process, Reese watched her with piercing eyes before taking her own seat and ignoring the two.

May turned.

"Sorry about her," she whispered. "She gets cranky in the morning because of her roommate. She'll be a lot less mean later on."

Ruby nodded, understanding. She wasn't scared of Reese. She was a bit intimidated but not scared. She knew people had reasons for the way they act. It was nothing new to her. That's why she had to move out her house. It wasn't because of her but the people around her. She'd never be mad at someone for being in a bad mood.

"That's Reese if you hadn't heard," May continued in a whisper. "She's actually a pretty cool person despite her cranky mood right now. She'll probably apologize to you later on."

She just nodded again as the teacher walked in. The woman walked in with assertiveness and looked around the same age as Amber, but the glasses she wore made her look more mature.

"Good morning girls," she greeted, sitting at her desk.

She counted each head and stopped at Reese with a frown.

"Reese, what did I tell you about your hood?" she asked.

Ruby noticed the woman never mentioned May, since the girl wore a beanie on her head. Though, it was covering her left eye so something might've happened to it.

Reese just stared at the teacher boredly, making the woman sigh in defeat as she wrote down the attendance. She looked up again, this time her eyes going on Ruby.

"You must be Ruby Rose," she said with a smile. "I'm you're room teacher, Ms. Goodwitch. Welcome to Beacon Academy. Stand up and tell us a bit about yourself."

She froze for a second before slowly rising up from her seat. All eyes were on her now, including Reese's. She always hated to be put on the spot and be the center of attention. Everyone just had a blank expression except for the teacher and May, who were smiling at her.

She took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm Ruby," the girl started nervously. "Before I moved to Vale, I lived outside the kingdoms. I also enjoy art, music, reading, and sports."

She sat back down and everyone continued to stare at her from some odd reason.

"Cool," Reese said to everyone's surprise.

May turned and stared at her incredulously. So did everyone else. Because of this, Ruby thought that it was rare for Reese to say something like that in the morning, especially after she had just snapped on her.

When Ruby smiled at her, she just turned and muttered, "Whatever."

At least she wasn't annoyed anymore.

The class went on after everyone got their attention off of Reese. Ruby didn't miss much of class despite her not being there the first week. They didn't really do anything for the first week of school since they just started that week.

When it got to the second half of the day, everyone either left to go to a different classroom, went outside, or went to the mess hall. There was about 40 minutes for lunch or free period, then it was back to whatever class they had next. Ruby had brought her own lunch that Amber had made her, which was a sandwich.

May invited her to sit with her and Reese outside for lunch. They sat at bench that was under a large tree. A lot of the girls from the school were outside she noticed. It was nice out so it was probably a good day to sit outside.

Reese was less cranky now that it was the afternoon and apologized to the brunette for snapping at her in the morning. She had her own sandwich while May had two hot dogs.

"So what made you come all the way here?" Reese asked after taking a bite of her sandwich.

"My dad wanted me to go to a more private school," Ruby answered. "This one had the best reviews so it was decided I'd go here."

She was slightly telling the truth. She didn't want anyone to know the whole reason why she moved. She didn't want anyone feeling bad for her. Some of her friends already felt that way back at her old school when she told them why she had to leave.

"Oh," was all Reese said then continued eating.

The brunette arched an eyebrow.

"She's always like this," May told her with a smirk. "She's not cranky anymore but she still has that dull attitude."

The other girl shot her a glare before snapping, "I do not!" She glanced at the two hot dogs. "And, it seems like you still have that big mouth!"

May glared back at her, not saying anything. Ruby judged this as a normal thing between them. It made her smile. They were a lot different than her friends from her old school. It wasn't a bad thing, it was more interesting.

"Whacha smiling for?" asked Reese, who was now looking at her again.

"I was just thinking that you two look like you fight often," Ruby answered slowly, not wanting to irritate the girl anymore than she already was.

Her expression softened as she shrugged, "Not all the time. Not as much as my god forsaken roommate."

Ruby raised an eyebrow before May replied, "Oh Reese, Arslan isn't that bad. Maybe if you were a lot less lazy, she wouldn't yell at you so much."

Ruby was still confused which caught both girls' attention.

"Oh right," May started, "Arslan is Reese's roommate. You don't live in a dormitory?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Oh, that explains everything." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't either by the way."

Reese muttered a "lucky assholes" but she ignored her.

"Well a lot of the girls in this school mostly live in the dormitories," she continued. "A few of us, like you and me, live in a home. The dorms here are pretty alright, I used to live in one my first year but then my parents rented a small apartment for me. Basically all the first years stay in there. You'll see a few second years and barely any third years. So yea, it's pretty alright there—"

"—especially the shower room," Reese ended with a smirk at her.

"Goddammit Reese!" May cried, face flushed a deep crimson.

Ruby's own face matched the other girl's as she stared at Reese incredulously. Reese cackled and almost fell back out of her seat as both girls stared at her. One in shock and the other in annoyance.

"Hey chill out May," said Reese after she calmed down then added, with a sly smile, "you were into that anyway."

"Oh my god, Reese!" the other girl shouted, looking like she was ready to pounce on her.

Ruby continued to stare with wide eyes and a blushing face, mouth agape.

These girls were very different from her friends at her other school…

"Wh-What do you mean by that?" She asked Reese.

Reese turned her attention away from May and looked at the the brunette with a teasing sigh.

"Well you see here," she started, eyes closed. "May's a huge pervert. She won't tell anyone though because—" She put her finger to her lip and whispered, "—that's all a secret."

By now May looked like she wanted to strangle the other girl but was trying to keep her composer. She turned to Ruby instead with a panicked expression as she saw her hand covering her mouth.

"I-It's not what you think Ruby," she tried, "Reese was just—"

"Reese that was mean," Ruby interrupted, frowning at Reese.

Both girls looked at her with shocked expressions.

"She didn't do anything wrong. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all."

Reese didn't say anything but glared back at her. This continued for about a minute until she gave up and muttered a "whatever" and turned away.

"Thanks Ruby," May said, rubbing the back of her neck.

Ruby noticed how she kept doing that as she noticed Reese's annoyed expression whenever something didn't go her way. It made her know more about them even though it was such a little exchange.

"But you stop bullying Reese too," she said with a pout causing Reese to look back at her in surprise. "You guys could end up getting in a serious fight."

They both laughed nervously. Ruby narrowed her eyes at them. Judging by their laughing, it already had happened before. She sighed in defeat.

"So how about you tell me about the people here?" she asked, changing the subject.

This time, it was Reese's turn to talk about the school, "Well everyone's quite alright here…except for my roommate and a few other girls. There's also some fighting here and there." Ruby's eyes bulged. "Not as much right now since we just started, but I think everyone's tired of it after what happened last year."

This caught her attention.

"What happened last year?" she asked.

"There was just this big fight between the upper classmen and the lower," May answered. "Like big. The teachers had to get involved, the cops, people's parents came by. It was bad. Luckily, Reese and I and probably a few others weren't apart of it. But, it's all good now since those students have graduated."

"Wait…graduated?"

Both she and Reese nodded.

"You can graduate here even if you get in a fight. Just as long as you don't severely hurt someone." Reese laughed nervously.

The more the two girls talked about the school, the more Ruby started to feel nervous about it but also fascinated. They seemed so used to it. That also fascinated her. She liked these somewhat awkward girls.

Before she could ask anymore questions, the warning bell rang.

"Well, looks like our talk is over," said Reese, stretching her arms out.

Her next classes were alright. She just had P.E. and her major, art. Basically almost all of the second years had P.E. like her so she got to see some new faces. She finally met Reese's roommate, Arslan, and another girl named Neon, which May called Katt. The girl didn't exactly like her like how Reese didn't Arslan, but she never gave an explanation.

Ruby was given a uniform that consisted of plain, basketball shorts and a t-shirt. She had brought her own sneakers with her. It also wasn't her first time changing in a locker room, but it did make her nervous. She didn't want anyone to look too closely at her while she got dressed, but they barely paid any mind. There were girls arguing all around the room. The toilets in the stalls would go off every few minutes. Reese was walking around the room half-naked while May and Arslan were shouting after her.

"We're all girls in here," she had said boredly. "Quit whining."

Ruby couldn't help but stare. She had done it a few times before at her old school, but she wasn't one of the only ones staring. May and Arslan may have had a problem with Reese, but that didn't stop them, mostly May, from staring at the other girls.

Maybe Reese was right, Ruby thought, eyes narrowing at the other girl, whose own eyes were glued to a girl's naked back.

After that whole mess, they played a game of capture the flag outside. Reese and Neon were on Ruby's team along with a few other girls while May and Arslan were on the other team with the rest of the girls. Reese barely tried, making the gym teacher get angry and just sit her out. She ended up taking a nap in the grass.

"Lazy ass," May muttered.

With or without Reese, Ruby's team ended up winning. She was really fast so she had a great advantage.

When P.E. was over and they returned to the locker room, a few of the girls, along with Arslan, complemented her on her speed. At her old school, the girl was on the track team so it did help her win.

Her last class of the day, art, was mostly a mixed class, filled with first years, second years, and third years. She met more students named Pyrrha and Coco, who were third years, and Penny, who was a first year. The girl Penny was kind of weird to her. She sort of spoke differently and reminded her of a robot.

The other two girls, Pyrrha and Coco, were pretty popular with the other girls, but they looked like they didn't really care. Though, Ruby could understand the girls. The two were absolutely gorgeous. It seemed like everybody knew them. They looked more intimidating than Reese when she's annoyed or angry. They actually greeted the brunette since she was new, along with a few others.

The class was doing floral art but doing the drawing portion first. Ruby didn't have a problem and easily followed the lesson. She actually loved making floral art, and it was the first thing she started with when she was younger. She used to draw flowers a lot. Especially roses. They reminded her of her mother.

The art class was more calm and collected than her P.E. class.

Once school was over, students were cleaning up the halls and classes to set up for after school activities. Only a few left the school while others stopped at their lockers. Ruby never really needed to go to hers and instead, met Reese at her locker while she was opening it.

"What's up?" she asked, keeping her eyes on her locker as she put in her combination.

"What's going on with the school?" Ruby questioned, watching a group of students pushed a cart full of materials into a classroom.

Opening her locker, she turned to the redhead and answered, "Oh, it's club activities. Didn't your old school have them?"

Ruby nodded before replying, "We just went to our clubs. We didn't set anything up like this."

She took out her book bag and swung it over her shoulder before closing up her locker.

"Well, it's a lot different here than you're old school," Reese told her. "If you're interested, you can go check them out. I'm heading back to my room. None of them interest me."

"Oh."

She pulled something out of her sweatshirt pocket.

"Want a piece?" she asked handing it to her.

It was gum.

"No thanks," Ruby answered as she watched her stick a piece in her mouth.

She just shrugged and waved her off. Ruby wanted to ask her where May was but the girl was already gone, but she did manage to notice the girl pulled something big out of her book bag and drop it on the floor. After that, she hopped onto it and rode off.

"REESE WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT SKATEBOARDING INSIDE THE SCHOOL?!" Ruby heard Ms. Goodwitch shout from her classroom.

She giggled. Despite the other girl's grumpy attitude, she was actually really interesting and kind of nice. A lot of the girls were really nice in the school, including Arslan. Maybe the only reason why she gets mad at Reese all the time is because she's lazy like May said.

Ruby looked back where the other students were still setting up. She was interested on seeing what clubs there were, but she decided to do it another day. She had to let Amber know first.

When she went outside to get her bike, she saw two girls staring at it like they wanted to take it.

"Um…" Ruby mumbled, grabbing their attention.

They turned to her, eyes narrowed at her and hands on their hips. One girl had long, black hair while the other had her hair cut in a bob with the same color, and they both shared matching, green eyes.

"And you are…?" asked the short-haired girl.

Ruby gulped, staring at both of them nervously. Maybe she spoke too soon about all the girls being nice.

"I'm Ruby," she told them, then her eyes darted to her bike that was locked up on the bike rack, "and…that's my bike you're looking at."

"That's a nice bike," said the other girl with the long hair as she approached the redhead. "That's a really nice bike. Who got you it?"

"M-My dad," she stuttered.

The two looked at each other for a moment and smirked, then looked back at the girl.

"So your dad got it for you?" the short-haired girl spoke again.

She nodded.

"Can you please move so I can get my bike," she asked, moving towards her bike, only to be stopped by the other girl as she grabbed her forearm.

"You're just going to leave us just like that?" She squeezed the brunette's forearm.

"We kind of want that bike you have there," said her sister, grabbing the girl's other arm. Then, her eyes narrowed and stabbing deep into Ruby's. "And we don't take no for an answer."

She squirmed but their grip was so tight. They were waiting for an answer, and if it was anything but a yes, she was probably going to get her ass kicked.

"Hey, you two!" someone called, causing all three of them to find the source of the voice.

It was May. Ruby looked just about relieved to see her friend. She would've ran over to hug her but the two girls were still holding onto her.

"Do you have to ruin everything May?" the girl with the short hair asked.

"Yes Miltiades," she replied with a crooked smile. "That's my friend you're harassing."

The two girls looked at each other again before, sighing and releasing the brunette. They gave both Ruby and May one last look before walking away with a roll of their eyes.

"You alright?" May asked once she was certain that the girls were gone.

Ruby nodded before asking, "Who were they?"

She rubbed the back of her neck and answered, "That's Melanie and Miltiades. They're the Malachite Twins. Long hair is Melanie and short hair is Miltiades. They're both third years and you'll always see them together most of the time. They bully everyone below their grade."

"Oh…"

"It's a good thing I was able to spot you guys before something bad happened. Those girls don't take no for an answer."

"Yea, I've heard," Ruby said, slightly smiling, before walking to her bike.

"That's a really nice bike though," the other girl told her, letting out a whistle. Ruby rose an eyebrow at her. "Oh no, I'm not thinking about stealing it too!"

Ruby just laughed before saying, "I know. I was just playing around."

She unlocked her bike off the rack and hopped on it.

"It was nice to meet you by the way," she told May.

The other girl beamed.

"Same to you. I'll see you tomorrow Ruby."

"See ya."

With a small wave, she rode off back home. It was a very interesting first day for her even though there were some ups and downs. She liked May and Reese and a few other girls she had met. She hoped she'd meet and get to know other students too.

When she arrived home, she parked her bike on the side of the house and walked inside.

"Hey Ruby," Amber greeted when she got in the house. "How was you're first day of school?"

"Great," she answered, setting down her bag on the kitchen table.

"Did you meet any new people?"

Ruby nodded, "Yea, I met a few, but I already made two friends so far. Their names are Reese and May."

The older woman smiled.

"That's great to hear," she said. "I'm glad you like the school and the students. Your father was afraid that you wouldn't like the school."

"Dad called?"

"Yes, after you left to school." She went into the fridge and took some meat out. "He just wanted to know if you left yet. You might want to call him up."

"Yea, I'll do that."

She grabbed her bag and went to her room. Once she got in there, she pulled out her phone and dialed her father's phone number. He answered instantly.

"Ruby?" He called.

"Hey Dad!" she greeted, settling onto her bed.

"Hey Ruby, how was your first day of school?" he asked.

"It was great. Some of the students are kind of weird their but overall they're nice. I already made two friends so far."

She could hear him smile on the other end.

"Nice! Our friendliness does run in the family…" He trailed off, obviously not liking how that sounded.

"Uh," Ruby muttered awkwardly, "how's Yang doing by the way?"

It got silent for a moment, and she was starting to think that it wasn't a good idea to ask such a question to him. The silence broke when he cleared his throat.

"She's," he started slowly, "she's doing alright. She's back at school though. Well, home tutoring, but she's learning. Her drinking's not so bad either."

Her lips curled into a small smile for a moment. Her sister was making some progress.

"She mentioned you," her father told her.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise, smile fading.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yea," he answered. "She wanted to know how you were doing. That was it."

"Oh."

"She's getting there though…"

She knew he only said that to encourage her, but she wasn't feeling it. It was still nice to hear that Yang was actually thinking about her.

When she didn't say anything, he changed the subject, "I found more of your mother's cassettes. Be on the look out for a package in the mail."

"Thanks dad," said Ruby, her smile forming back again.

"No problem. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye dad. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

After she hung up, she set her phone on her dresser and laid on the bed for a while. She wished her dad told her more than that. She wished that he told her that it was more than once that Yang mentioned her. She wished he told her that Yang said that she missed her.

Not wanting to cry, she sat up and pulled her Walkman out of her book bag. She put in a different cassette before placing her headphones on and falling back onto the bed.

Author's Note

(Quick Note: I don't think May has a voice actress yet but her voice basically sounds like Megan Fahlenbock[voice actress of Gwen from Total Drama Island and Jen from 6TEEN]. Same goes for Reese but her voice basically sounds like Ashly Burch[she's a VA of a lot of characters but Reese reminds me of Chloe Price from Life is Strange in this story].)

That's it for now. More characters will be introduced next chapter of course. Again, hit this story up with a review if you can. I'm probably going to do something different than my other stories and like ACTUALLY answer your reviews this time. I don't want to be some kind of asshole so if you guys have any questions, feel free to ask. I know it's the first chapter and I haven't introduced much yet, but that doesn't mean you can't ask any questions that you have.

Anyway, if you like this story, don't forget to favorite and/or follow. If you have something to say, review or even PM me if you want.

Peace out!