Ruby and Ren had sequestered themselves in a far corner of the library; one of many hidden alcoves that allowed for studying without interruption. Nora sat idling nearby playing with her scroll quietly.
They were a strange looking group; their personalities totally different from one another. Many would figure that they wouldn't be able to study well together, Ren being rather aloof, Nora extremely boisterous, and Ruby socially awkward, but they managed to work together cohesively.
Ruby paused in her writing and set her pen down. She flexed her fingers and shook the cramp out of her hand. She took the time to stretch and reflected on the past events that led the three of them studying together.
Exams were coming up for the end of the second semester at Beacon. Ruby rushed frantically towards her dorm, hoping to get there before anyone left. Rose petals scattered in a whirlwind behind her, and when she slammed the door open to the room they swept inside like a twister.
Yang was the only one in the room, jumping back from the doorway a bit startled by her sister's entrance.
"Geez Ruby, where's the fire?" Yang chuckled at her own words.
"Oh good, you're here." Ruby said in relief. "Yang can you help me study for the exams?"
A small frown formed on Yang's mouth, her eyes apologetic as she spoke.
"Sorry sis, I'm a bit busy right now. Have to help out one of my professors for some extra credit."
Ruby's head fell forward slightly at this and Yang could imagine her with puppy ears drooping low atop her head from such discouraged behavior. She walked over to her and patted her back assuredly.
"C'mon now sis, you can always ask someone else for help. What about Blake or Weiss?"
Ruby sighed. "They're both busy. Weiss is in town getting some supplies or something and I don't even know where Blake is, it'd take too long to find her anyways." Ruby's tone was defeated and she looked ready to just sit in the dorm being melancholic.
"Well, what about JNPR? I'm sure one of them could help you."
Ruby pondered over this a moment and perked up a bit. "Yeah, I guess I could ask them. I just hope they're not all busy."
"Alright then, there you go. Well I've got to go now Ruby. Good luck with your studies." Yang said and she left the room with a wave.
Ruby stood in the middle of the room a moment longer thinking about which member of JNPR she should ask.
She considered Jaune, but he wasn't much better than herself at academics. Nora was out of the question, for Ruby didn't think she could handle her boisterous behavior. Ren would be a likely candidate, but Ruby couldn't help but feel shy around him. The boy was unusually quiet, like Blake, but she was more familiar towards the Faunus than him. Pyrrha was nice, and really the only other person Ruby felt comfortable being alone with.
Having decided, she went about collecting her books and papers for studying. Walking over to the JNPR dorm across the hall she knocked on it and waited for someone to appear. She was a bit surprised to see Ren silently opening the door and giving her a blank stare, a small smile then appearing on his face when he recognized her.
"Oh, hi Ruby. Did you need something?" Ren said politely, pushing open the door wider to speak more directly with her.
"Um, I was wondering if Pyrrha was here. I wanted to ask her if she could help me study."
"Unfortunately Pyrrha is not present, she took Jaune with her to the gymnasium for some training." Ruby deflated. Why was everyone so busy?
Ren took notice of the slump in her posture and smiled as he made a suggestion.
"However, if you don't mind my company, would you like me to help you?"
Ruby smiled brightly at his offer. "Yeah! That would be great."
"Alright then. Let me just get a few things and we can go somewhere quieter. Nora's sleeping in the room right now and I wouldn't want to wake her."
Ruby nodded and Ren disappeared behind the door. She was glad that Ren had offered to help her, she didn't know much about him and wasn't expecting him to do that. He never seemed the type to really talk to many people, and he always seemed tired so Ruby didn't want to bother him too much.
Ren returned with some folders in hand and the two decided to go to the library. When they got there Ren led her to a small area hidden in a far corner of the library. It was a quaint place, two small sofas placed perpendicularly from each other and a short desk between them. There was a window that let in sunlight that was filtered through the branches of a tree that stood outside. It was a pleasant atmosphere and Ruby found herself less stressed.
Once they settled in Ruby began peering over her notes and past assignments. At first she was too nervous to ask Ren for advice. He was looking over his own notes contained in the folders he brought and Ruby didn't want to interrupt him. She was having trouble figuring out dates and events for her history text though, and didn't want to just skip over it just because she was being too shy.
Luckily she didn't have to say anything, Ren being the one to initiate conversation.
"Having some trouble with something?" He leaned towards her, eyes skimming the pages as Ruby nodded sheepishly.
"Well, let's see if I can help you understand it better." Ren smiled at her and began leading Ruby through methods to memorize dates and events in history.
It was relatively easy to understand Ren's explanations, things were not complicated at all as Ruby had first thought, and he showed her simple ways to take notes and recall them easily. She was able to talk freely with Ren at this point, her nervousness dissipated with the comfortable manner they worked in.
It wasn't until late in the evening that they realized how long they'd been studying and so returned back to their respective dorms.
Nora awoke from her nap with a loud yawn and a languid stretch of her entire body, cracking open an eye to observe the room. She opened both of them in puzzlement when she noticed she was alone.
"That's weird. I thought Ren said he'd be in here all day."
Nora rubbed her chin in thought and then suddenly sprung out of bed. "Oh well. Maybe he went to do something real quick."
Satisfied with that answer she strode to the bathroom to freshen up a bit before returning to the room and digging in a bag full of comics, picking out one of them to read.
It wasn't until several comics in that she noticed how late it was and that Ren had still not returned from wherever he was. Nora was beginning to get worried that a Nevermore could have swooped down and taken him away or that he was off riding an Ursa without her.
The sound of the door opening drew her attention and she beamed a smile at Ren as he entered.
"Heya Ren. Where have you been all day?" She said to him eagerly.
Ren was a little tired, the long amount of time spent helping Ruby study without taking any breaks was taking its toll on him.
"I was with Ruby." Was all he could reply with his tired mind, and he soon flopped onto his bed with a sigh.
Nora eyed him curiously, wondering why he seemed more listless than usual. Must've been something he ate.
"Awww did you two have fun? Next time you should let me join you."
"I didn't want to wake you up, and it might be best if it's just me and Ruby together." Ren mumbled against his pillow, his face half buried in it.
Nora pouted at the statement, wanting to ask Ren what he meant by it being "best", but the sound of light snores and steady breathing made her hold back. Ren rarely got any sleep some days, partially from insomnia and then from working too diligently, so she decided to drop the matter.
However the next few days she wished she hadn't, for Ren had been going out with Ruby more often than Nora felt comfortable with.
It wasn't much of a problem at the start. Nora was happy that her best friend could be friends with adorable and shy little Ruby, but he hadn't spent much time with Nora anymore. Classes were always keeping them busy and Ren would then be off with Ruby doing whatever it was they did.
Quite frankly it made Nora feel a bit left out, and she was starting to miss Ren's company. She had gotten so used to the boy hanging out with her more than anyone else that she felt maybe he was getting tired of their friendship. That perhaps he was moving on from her and becoming best friends with Ruby instead.
The thought made Nora resolve to figure out what exactly was going on between Ruby and Ren. She thought that if she followed the two around and watched what Ruby did then maybe she could figure out why Ren was replacing her spot as best friend with Ruby.
It wasn't until the one day that Nora was able to stalk them through the halls, finding them always in the library and on occasion the cafeteria. On another day the two went downtown to buy the necessary supplies for a certain art project, Nora trailing them the entire time.
She wasn't the best at reconnaissance, so it didn't take long for the two to notice her odd behavior. When Ruby pointed it out Ren had assured her that it was simply Nora being herself, and the two brushed off the subject. When she followed them to the city though, they decided that it would be time that they confront her about the situation.
The next day Ruby knocked on the JNPR dorm, Nora behaved nonchalantly and pretended to occupy herself with a comic on her bed while Ren opened the door. Instead of him leaving though Ruby walked in, surprising Nora who stared at the two in confusion when they approached her.
"Nora we need to talk." Ren's said.
"Sure Ren, what's up?" She said cheerfully, hoping to ease the tension in the air.
"It's about Ren and I." Ruby said. "We've noticed you've been following us around for a while now, and we want to know why."
Nora stared blankly at the two for a few quiet seconds, the other two watching her expectantly. Under the pressure of their stares Nora caved quickly.
"Okay, okay. I was following you guys around because I wanted to know why Ruby was replacing me as your best friend. I thought that by watching you two I could learn how to be your best friend again."
Nora was expecting to see disapproving frowns, but instead she heard laughter. Ruby was trying to hide giggles behind her hand, the restrained squeaks sounding adorable to Nora.
"What made you have this idea?" Ruby said between her barely contained giggles.
"Well…You and Ren have been spending a lot of time together and he never told me why I couldn't hang out with you two, so I thought he was mad at me and ignoring me or something." Nora said honestly.
Ren was smiling at her, the laughter showing through his eyes as he held out a hand towards her.
"Nora, you know me better than anyone, and I would never replace you as my best friend."
Nora laughed delightedly at his words, leaping at him for a hug. Ruby squealed in surprise when Nora jumped at her next, the two tumbling to the floor in a fit of giggles.
Ren chuckled at the two and they all sat on the floor discussing the last few days and inviting Nora to join them with studying; under certain conditions.
Presently all three of them were together, though Nora didn't study with them all the time. Her company was welcomed and she would often remind them to take much needed breaks they would otherwise neglect without her.
Despite their earlier miscommunications Nora had been relatively less mischievous and was actually very helpful when both Ren and Ruby were stumped on certain subjects. Despite Nora not seen studying the three of them passed exams with flying colors.
Even after exams were over they would still gather together to just hang out on a regular basis.