Chapter II
The restaurant is most definitely fit for aristocrats of sorts, with dark blue walls and bronze coloured beams lined up around the walls with fancy carvings in them. The tables are decorated with cream cloths that drape over and gather on the floor a little bit, with a single silver candelabra set on top of them all, all of them lit and dimly glowing despite the fact a few of the wall lights are on. The floor is bronze coloured and soft despite the fact I'm wearing steel toed boots. I'm absolutely awestruck. Yang is purely flabbergasted.
"Whoa. I didn't think it'd be so... fancy." Yang says thoughtfully as people turn their heads to us as we sit in the far corner of the restaurant. She frowns at me as though severely disappointed and sighs sadly.
"And you're dressed as if you're ready to fight someone." Yang pouts at me, arms crossed at me. I can't help but roll my eyes at her this time.
"All of my dresses are too small for me." I retort. Yang gasps in shock horror.
"It's because of your boobs, isn't it? I knew you'd fall under the boob curse sooner or later!" Yang exclaims. I shush her to be quiet as others start to stare at us with narrowed eyes and disapproving scowls. But Yang laughs it off as she leans back in her seat. I can feel my cheeks going redder by the second as Yang starts to calm down.
"Stop embarrassing me!" I plead. Yang grins at me widely.
"Maybe you should have worn a dress tonight." Yang replies smugly. I stick my tongue out at her as I reach for the menu in front of me. Yang laughs as she picks up her own menu in front of her. I glance over the meals and I can feel my mouth watering slowly. But my mouth quickly dries up when I look at the prices. The average meal costs at least seventy dollars each. I glance up at Yang to see her looking absolutely distressed, and my stomach sinks heavily as I realise we're both thinking the same thing: she won't be able to afford it.
"I didn't know food could be so expensive here." Yang laughs, her chuckle strained as she rubs the back of her neck gingerly. I raise an eyebrow.
"We're in the most expensive restaurant in town." I mumble. Yang sighs.
"I'll figure out a way to make this cheap." She declares under her breath.
"I doubt it." I grumble.
"Ruby?" A voice asks from behind me. I know that voice. I turn my head to see Jaune Arc, a boy with messy sun blonde hair and blue eyes that were appropriate for a blonde person and two years older than me. He's wearing a white long sleeved button up shirt, black waistcoat with matching trousers, shoes and tie. I've only known Jaune for two years, but he's most definitely a friend that I intend to keep close to me. He looks surprised to see me. In all honesty, I'm surprised to see him too.
"Jaune! Wait, you work here?" I ask. Jaune nods at me.
"My uncle owns this place. Why are you two here tonight?" Jaune asks me. I quickly narrow my eyes at Yang who then flinches at me.
"Yang here thought it would be a good idea to eat at a restaurant where she can't afford even one meal." I reply, shaking my head slightly.
"Really... wait right there." Jaune quickly walks towards the bar where a man with dark hair stands. He goes behind the bar, and I can see the two of them talking quickly, Jaune quickly glancing at Yang and I whilst the man points at us. Yang leans forward over the table.
"What did you do?" Yang whispers in awe.
"Ain't got the slightest idea." I whisper back, looking around to avoid the man's eyes. I see a lot of different people here. In the other corner I see a man called Sweet Tooth, although no one knows his real name, cigarette in hand as he blows smoke obnoxiously, his piercing green eyes narrowed as others around him start to cower, ginger hair styled over his eyes. I put my hand in my pocket and hold onto my gun. The last time I remember seeing him, he swore to see me bleed to death. I see Mr Schnee, with his thinning hair and timid eyes as he sits near the back exit, nervously glancing around, adjusting his tie, looking as if he's expecting a knife in his throat. I heard today that three of his finest guards were killed in a bar today. I understand why he's so paranoid.
But I feel my heart stop as the girl from earlier on strolls in, looking powerful and beautiful dressed in blue. A lot of people turn and stare whilst others blank her out. And I watch her sit at the table close to the table I'm sat at with Yang. I can't help but feel blessed by an angel. She glances at the menu for a while, eyes focused. But then she glances up at me, as if she knew that if she looked just to her left she'd see a common looking girl not too far away. We stare at each other, but this time I can tell that I've gone white. She gives me a small smirk as I feel my heart flip. I see Jaune bounce back to us, a triumphant grin on his face.
"I just spoke to my manager about your meal, so you can eat as much as you want and not pay for it. Just make sure you two have a good time, 'kay?" Jaune asks the two of us. Yang bounces in her seat and claps merrily as my mouth drops.
"Wait, how the hell did you do that?" I ask, shocked.
"It's being docked from my wages, it's no big deal." Jaune replies with a shrug of his shoulders. My eyes widen at him in disbelief of him doing something so generous yet so stupid.
"Jaune!" I hiss, not wanting people to know that Yang and I were getting special treatment. Jaune smiles and shakes his head at me.
"Look, regardless of what you choose, I'll earn twice as much back in a few hours. It's fine." He adds.
"But-" I start.
"No takies-backies!" Jaune gabbles quickly, rushing off suddenly to another table before I can finish my sentence about how I couldn't just indirectly take his wages. I sigh as I turn my attention to Yang, who is now looking at the menu with such a sparkle to her eyes it makes me want to kick her in the shins.
"You better give him those fifty dollars as his tip, you know." I snap, picking up my own menu. She thinks I don't know now, but I can tell that Yang is grinning at me as my cheeks go pink in embarrassment.
"Is there anything else you would like, ma'am?" My waiter asks me, with short brown hair and dense blue eyes that weren't as dense as his skull. I shake my head at him.
"I'm fine, thank you." I reply, taking a sip of my wine that I had ordered. I stare at the glass as my waiter leaves; staring at the wine and how even though it was called white wine is wasn't exactly white. I set my glass down and look around. Torchwick is not too far away, and he glances at me. A snide smirk on his face appears as he tips his hat towards me in a mutual respect. I simply look away, because there was no way in hell that I would consider him an ally. The two girls now look far more at ease, the blonde one ordering a long list of orders with the girl in red scowling at her, only to order something small for herself from the blonde waiter that is serving. I see him look at her in a way that easily shows his willingness to help them, and the love he has for the red girl is so obvious that it even causes me to pity him. But I see my father, the owner of the diamond mine company that run across the country sit in the corner like a coward. If he wasn't so lenient about letting his guards have the day off today, maybe today wouldn't have been their last when they tried to play with me in more ways than one. I still have the bruise over my thigh that the third man left on me. But it doesn't matter: they'll both be meeting in hell by the end of tonight.
"Excuse me, blondie." Torchwick calls out to the blonde haired waiter. The boy stops in his tracks outside the kitchen doors and turns to him, looking terrified. The general chatter that had filled the restaurant has come to a sudden halt. The boy points to himself.
"M-Me, sir?" He asks timidly. Torchwick nods at him, a cruel smirk on his face. I've only just noticed that his bodyguards are standing by his table.
"Bring me some coffee if you don't mind. Black. No sugars." Torchwick commands. I can't help but frown. He's never struck me as the coffee lover, in all fairness. The boy nods quickly before rushing off into the kitchen area. I hear sounds of cups clattering against each other nervously, spoons dropping, and then the boy comes back, black coffee in hand and setting it down on Torchwick's table with shaking hands, pale faced and obviously terrified. I watch Torchwick take his cigarette out of his mouth and have a sip of his coffee, eyes closed as everyone in the room collectively hold their breath. He opens his eyes, sharp and harsh.
"I asked you for coffee. I did ask for coffee, didn't I?" Torchwick asks him in a low voice. I can very easily tell that he's not particularly happy with his coffee. The boy swallows hard.
"Y-Yes sir?" He replies. Torchwick stands up slowly, and the next thing I know he throws the coffee in the boys face, who stumbles back whilst yelling, his hands over his face. I try not to wince. That was too cruel, even for Torchwick's standards.
"They why, may I ask, did you serve me this shit?" He asks in a disgusted tone, cigarette back in his mouth. The boy moves his hands, face bright red as he starts to tremble more.
"I-I can get you another coffee if you want-!" The boy begs as he backs away towards the kitchen doors. Torchwick snaps his fingers as his guards move towards him.
"You've just ruined my evening. Take him out, boys." He commands. Usually at this time everyone else would turn away and ignore what was going to happen, as if they were never there and would never hear the screams that would come out of the boy's mouth. Even I turn my head away to brace myself. But then there are audible gaps of shock of terror.
"Ruby?!" The boy asks in terror. I look up to see the girl in her red jacket, hands in her pockets as she scowls at the two large men that tower over her fearlessly.
"Pick on someone your own size." The girl with the red hood demands in a low voice. I imagine that Torchwick will tell her to step aside, that he doesn't want to get a kid involved. But when he chuckles mockingly and looks up to see who's trying to be the hero, he stops chuckling immediately. The cigarette in his mouth drops onto the table and goes out immediately. His eyes are surprised, awestruck… furious. Deadly. He's scowling at her this time, eye twitching as though he was a time bomb that was ready to explode way before it was meant to. I glance at the girl, who surprisingly keeps her ground as she pushes the boy back. She fairly shorter than him, but she towers over him in a sense. It's impressive. Torchwick's face slackens from his scowl as he puts his hand in his pocket, eyes dark and sociopathic. I react on impulse; I know exactly what he plans to do, and I quickly slide underneath my table just as Torchwick hurtles a bomb towards the boy and the girl.