So, this little thing was SUPPOSED to be a little one-shot back in October for Halloween (explaining the time of season the story is set in). But, I never finished it. A day or two ago, I stumbled upon it in my documents folder and liked what I had written. So, I touched it up and liked where it was going, so I might make this a short or long series. Depending on how I feel, of course. ^^

Yes, this is another high school AU, but I hope some parts will be different enough to keep interest. Also, there is a three way relationship between Ruby/Penny/Weiss in the background, so if you don't like that... I'm sorry. This is going to be set at an M rating, as I might get a little too much for the T rating, eventually. I hope you enjoy!

"I vote we go pumpkin-smashing!"

All eyes look up at the suggestion, some looking confused while others demonstrate a very clear 'no'. The short girl who suggested it looks around eagerly, mouth drawn into an almost cheshire grin. "Aw, c'mon, guys! There's nothing more fun than smacking a pumpkin off a fence with a big hammer! You get to watch it saaaail through the air, then 'boosh'! Bursts all over the place!"

Yang lightly blows a strand of blonde out of her face, giving a small shrug at the suggestion as she goes back to tapping the metal of her hand at the table. It was the afternoon of Halloween (or 'All Hallow's Eve', or 'Samhain' if you were talking to Weiss and her infinite knowledge) and her group of high-school friends were trying to decide what to do tonight. It wasn't often that all nine of them had the night off and could all hang out together at the same time, so they had all agreed to do something…

Not that they could really agree on anything, specifically.

And, by 'not all agreeing specifically', she meant mostly Weiss.

"Right, because nine teenagers walking around and doing such a juvenile activity is such a wonderful way to take up our time, Nora. Besides, that's the kind of thing that Cardin and his little band of delinquents would do. Just smashing up people's hard work..."

Pyrrha speaks up, as well, tucking a bit of red hair behind her ear. "I agree… Vandalism shouldn't be on our list of things to to for the holidays."

"Huh? Who said anything about smashing carved ones? I have a whole wagon full of pumpkins in my backyard." Nora replies, blinking slowly and looking around at everyone. Everyone, in turn, look to Ren for confirmation.

"She really does." The boy says vaguely, Nora's finger currently curling the pink strand of his hair around her finger. He didn't seem to phased, his girlfriend's need to constantly have her hands busy thoroughly known to him. "Don't... ask what they were originally for."

"Hehehe~"

Weiss, looking briefly curious, clears her throat and looks around at her friends. "Anyone else have any ideas for things to do? I would really rather not go out for an evening of pumpkin smacking. Perhaps there is a party going on that we could go to? Something… Oh, I heard of a masquerade going on downtown, as well..."

"Then, we'd have to dress up all fancy and wear those weird masks. Guh… Pass." Nora replies, sticking out her tongue and making a gagging sound. Weiss frowns a bit, cheeks puffing out in a rather cute fashion.

"Well, does anyone have a better idea?"

There's a silence from their friends before the mysterious voice of the girl next to her slips out, making Yang smile a little. Her best friend always seemed to know how to make her presence known, with a completely calm and smooth voice no less. "How about we go to a real haunted house?"

Everyone seems to perk up at that, particularly Yang, herself. A trip to a creepy old house? Sign her up! Weiss, however, doesn't look quite convinced. "Oh? And, what exactly would that entail, Blake?"

Blake folds her arms across the lunch table gently, a simple smile peering out from under her hood (which she had been told many times by teachers to put down, yet it still found it's way back up a scant ten minutes later). "It entails exactly what it sounds like it entails, Weiss. We go to a notoriously haunted house, then walk around and see what we can find. Who knows? You might see a ghost or two..."

Weiss flushes, Blake laughing lightly at the argument they all know is coming. Three, two, one… "There is no such thing as ghosts."

"Regardless of whether you believe in ghosts or not, it is an appropriately creepy place for the season. I think it'd be a nice time, don't you think?" Blake asks and, knowing exactly how to sway Weiss, looks to Yang's younger sister. Ruby hadn't really been paying attention, just humming quietly and drawing little groups of pumpkins with Penny. "What do you think, Ruby? Penny?"

Weiss frowns at Blake, as if almost knowing the tactic Blake was using. Most of their friends knew that Weiss would cave with little resistance, if they could only get her girlfriends on their side. Ruby's puppy-dog eyes were a powerful weapon, in particular.

Especially when directed at a certain alabaster-haired Student President.

"Hm?" Ruby asks, looking up when her attention is called upon and giving a small, nervous laugh as she nudges Penny. "Sorry, I wasn't even paying attention… What was the question, again?"

Weiss glares at Blake, as if demanding that she cease trying to use her girlfriends against her. Blake, of course, does no such thing. "We were deciding what we all might want to do for Halloween, tonight, and I suggested we go to an actual haunted house… Thoughts?"

Ruby seems to consider this for a second, absentmindedly applying shading to the pumpkins and pursing her lips. "I guess that could be pretty fun… Sounds better than going to a party, anyway. Those are always crowded. Plus, it could be a really creepy kinda place! What do you think, Penny?"

"I think that sounds like fun! I have never been to a haunted house, before."

"Now, now, wait-"

"I think it's decided, Weiss."

The pale girl looks around at everyone's seemingly unanimous agreement to go to Blake's haunted house, she lets out a groan and something about 'better things to do' before finally relenting. "Very well, Blake. Seeing how everyone seems to have collectively lost their minds, we will go to your so-called 'haunted' house."

Ruby smiles at her girlfriend, cutely reaching her hand out for Weiss'. Which, Weiss, of course, takes as soon as she sees Ruby is offering it. The ginger-haired girl next to her giggles a little as Ruby leans forward with slightly sparkling eyes. "Aw, c'mon, Weiss! It could be fun! I'll bet we could get some spooky places to draw, too..."

"It could also just be tromping around in an old, dusty house and jumping at our own shadows." Weiss mumbles in response, though having Ruby hold her hand seems to calm her annoyed comments. Plus, Yang notes with a smirk, that Weiss' cheeks have taken a flush in response to the touch. Yup. Weiss was head-over-heels for her sister, that's for sure. Though, Yang knew Weiss wasn't the only one feeling such.

Penny was quite in love with both of them, though she and Weiss seemed to have a common interest in going after Ruby at the same time. Yang… wasn't quite sure about the relationship between the three of them, at first. She was afraid that one or all of them would end up hurt, but they had proven to work well together.

How they figured everything out is beyond her, but she was glad that they were happy.

What with Ruby's artsy clumsiness, Penny's overwhelming enthusiasm, and Weiss' inability to touch either girl's hands without blushing as red as Ruby's hair, it was basically an exercise in trying not to let out a loud 'daaaaw' every time they entered a room.

They had seemed to have the perfect little relationship since they all got together, based off the friendship they had forged. It was something that Yang was kind of jealous of. Ruby had come out about her feelings toward both girls with an amount of courage that the blonde just didn't have. She was a thrillseeker, for sure, but bravery when telling best friends that you've had a crush on them for years?

Not so much. Kinda lacking in that department, unfortunately.

This particular train of thought, of course, puts her eyes toward said best friend. Blake, at the moment, seems to be pleased at the tactical advantage of using the two girls to sway Weiss. Her lips are curled in the lightest of smiles, shiny amber eyes watching her plan go to work.

How'd this happen? When did she start looking at her friend so longingly? When did she start noticing the way the strands of her hair fell over her face, giving her a slightly wild look? Or, the way her lips slightly purse when she's working on something? If none of that, then the devious look she gets in her eye in the rare instances that she's up to something? The blonde bites at her lip and forces her eyes away when Blake's own eyes suddenly move over and meet hers. It was getting harder and harder for her to push these emotions down.

She can feel Blake's eyes on her, probably confused as to why she's suddenly acting so squirrely all of a sudden. Hell, why she's been acting so squirrely LATELY. Don't look, Yang. Get all those thoughts out of your head before you look back and you'll be completely fine… Right.

She finally manages to look back at the other girl and give a feeble thumb's up to assuage her obvious confusion. It seems to calm her down a bit, but there's still a bit of curiosity glinting in her eyes. She just hopes that Blake doesn't end up asking what was wrong, because… what was she supposed to say?

Oh, what's wrong? I was just not-so-subtely checking you out, is all. Nothing big, right?

Yeah… Right. That'd go over well.

"Well," Weiss starts, taking Blake's attention back away from the squirming blonde. For once, Yang is glad for Weiss' need to control the conversation. Thank god her voice was so distracting... "With that out of the way, I believe we should discuss when we will meet up for study groups next week-"

A collective groan goes through about half the group.

Yang sighs as she flops back down on her bed, her hair falling over her face as reaches her hand to strip out of her shirt, then over to fumble with her prosthetic. The straps slip off her body, letting her push it off and onto the bed. With that, she lets out another sigh as she closes her eyes. "For fuck's sake..."

Ruby giggles quietly from where she's standing, leaning against the doorway of their shared room. They lived in a rather small house with only two bedrooms, so they had both decided sleeping in the same room with each other was significantly less embarrassing than sleeping in a room with their dad. The two sides of their rooms were as different as they were to each other.

Ruby had a lot of art on her walls, both from her own hand and from prints bought from those manga conventions she went to. There were places where she'd doodled on wall with a marker, little pictures of flowers and of faces that looked extraordinarily like little chibi (she thinks that's the word?) versions of Weiss and Penny. Her side of the room was much neater than it had been in years past, because of her relationship with her girlfriends. They came over quite often and Ruby always insisted on the room, at least her side, being as tidy as possible.

Yang's side was a bit crazy and she'd be the first to admit it. Posters of bands proudly stuck on her wall, hastily tossed-off clothing that should probably see a wash, little relics of the past sitting on a desk, her laptop… all scattered around. But, it was an organized mess. She knew right where everything was and didn't have any problems getting to it.

"Everything alright, Yang?" The redhead asks as she moves from the door frame, walking over to her wardrobe to start looking through it for something to wear. "You were all fidgety the whole walk home."

"Maybe I'm just internally gagging from that little make-out session you had with your girlfriends before we left."

Ruby blushes a little bit, dropping a sweatshirt she had been holding in her hands and making a strangled little sound. "That… That wasn't making out! They were just… really long kisses!"

"You were all over each other, sis. If I hadn't walked in when I did, Weiss would have been copping a feel. I mean, Penny was already behind you..."

The resulting squeak from her sister makes her smile. "Y-Yang!"

"Relax, Rubes, I'm just messing around." The blonde replies as she puts her arm behind her head to rest on it. Her eyes open slowly so that she can smile towards her, watching her pick the sweatshirt back up. "You guys are cute together. Don't worry about it."

"That doesn't make it any less embarrassing when you bring it up… It STARTED as just little kisses, I swear. Those two just really like ganging up on the short girl, I guess... and you STILL haven't told me why you were acting so weird."

"It's... nothing, Ruby. Just had a long day, y'know? Had to use my hands a lot, so my skin's a bit irritated."

The redhead sends a sympathetic glance toward her sister, coming over toward Yang's bed. "Oh. Maybe you could give it a bit of a rest for tonight? The doctor said you didn't have to wear the prosthetic all the time, right?"

"Yup. Somethin' like that. I can do most things one-handed, by now, anyway." She props herself up on her elbows, quirking an eyebrow upward. "Enough about that, though. Time for the real question… What're you gonna wear to impress your girls, huh?"

"Oh, uh… Well… The usual? It's gonna be a little cool, outside, so I figured a sweatshirt would be good to wear. Do you think they'd like it, anyway?" Ruby asks, holding up the red sweatshirt with a sweet, innocent smile. Those two were damn lucky to have Ruby as a girlfriend, that's for sure.

"I think they'll love it, Rubes."

The redhead makes a happy sound, satisfied with that response, before tilting her head and smirking. "You'd better start getting ready, too, if we wanna get there in time. I kinda doubt you want to go out to a haunted house in your bra."

"Says who? Maybe that's just what I'll do." Yang chuckles lazily, though sits herself up and runs a hand though messy, golden hair. She pauses for a moment before letting a grin slip onto her face. She shouldn't, but… she can't resist. "It's a pretty... bra-d attire, after all..."

A groan comes from Ruby as her sister drops the pun, crossing her arms across her chest. "Yang, that wasn't even good."

"Are you kidding? It was such a pun-derful joke~"

"Yang. Stop. I really don't think I can take any more."

The blonde grins at her sister's sudden pout and decides to allow her this little request. She, naturally, uses every bit of that patented Xiao Long charm while doing so. "Fiiiine, I'll stop. But, only 'cus you asked so nicely. Well… and because you're the cutest little sister a girl could have."

Ruby waves her hand and gives a snort of laughter. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you. I'll bet Nora will like to hear your puns, though. She always laughs at them, at least. Like, really loudly."

"Well, Nora is a loud person normally. So, that doesn't really surprise me. At least she's a lover of fine humor, like myself. So few of those kinds of people left in the world… A sad, dying breed..."

"Oh, hush up and get a shirt on, Yang."

"Yeah, alright…"

"Oh, Penny said she'd meet us here, if that's okay? Weiss'll meet us down with everyone else." Ruby says as she quickly changes her clothes, Yang just starting to slip her jeans off by the time she's done.

"Fine by me, Rubes." Yang replies, only to hear the doorbell ring soon after she says so. Ruby's face lights up and she gives a cheery 'that's her!' before speeding out of the room. It leaves Yang by herself, not long before she flops lazily back onto her bed.

Despite wanting to go to this house, she was… highly worried that she was going to end up doing something stupid. It was getting hard for to act like she wasn't romantically interested in Blake and she was probably already looking strange. If Ruby had picked up on how fidgety she was, then she knew she had something to worry about. Blake was infinitely more perceptive than Ruby, after all.

She can hear a little 'ping' come from her phone, located in the jeans now crumpled on the floor, and she grumbles as she bends over to fish it out. She has to wince as she sees the message on it, letting out a sigh as she sits back down.

Hey, are you okay? You seemed a little off, today...You know you can talk to me, right?

She bites her lip. That was just like Blake, worrying about her friend. She had a big heart, despite most seeming to think she was reclusive and unsocial. To the right people, however…

She taps out a quick response.

totes okay! just a little distracted is all. See you there, k? Your place better be spooky! :3

With that, she tosses her phone back onto the bed and moves to finish changing into a fresh set of clothes. She breathes out firmly as she gets herself ready, biting her lip lightly. This was just going to be a friendly outing with her friends. No reason to get all out of sorts. No reason…

She hears her sister calling up the stairs, along with Penny mirroring it with a giggle, and slips her phone into the pocket of the black coat she puts on over her new shirt.

"Right. Let's go, then."