Author's Note: First Author's Note! Yay! This fic details Ruby and Sapphire as the go through high school, and...that's about it. There isn't really an ongoing story, so each chapter can be read as a standalone. I am trying to get a slight continuity here though, so the stories are in chronological order. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: School Uniforms and Feelings

"Why do we need to wear uniforms?" said Sapphire with a tinge of unhappiness. "They're weird looking, and don't even get me started on how unreasonably expensive they are!"

"Expensive for sure, my dad nearly threatened to 'train the justice' into the headmaster for this 'horrendous injustice'…I don't even want to know what his 'training' entails," Ruby shivered slightly. "Contrary to what you said though, Saph, they look pretty un-weird to me, but maybe that's just because I'm normal and not some barbarian girl," said Ruby teasingly, to which Sapphire responded with a loud "hey!"

Laid out on the floor of Ruby's (immaculate) room were two school uniforms. They were pretty standard looking, the male uniform consisting of a short sleeved shirt with a maroon necktie and dark green slacks with a light green blazer for the colder months, and the female uniform was more or less the same but with a knee-length pleated skirt instead, with all the same colours.

"One problem I have with the uniforms though," Ruby said after looking at the uniforms for a while, "is the colour combination. Really, maroon? And with green too! I'll look like a berry bush."

"You haven't even tried them on yet, so how would you know?" Sapphire retorted. "And I think that the uniform colours are perfectly fine! They remind me of a Flygon. Also, maroon one of the two colours of the Stone Badge of Rustboro City, so it's natural that the Rustboro Collegiate Institute reflects their own gym. Anyways, better maroon than yellow!" Sapphire seemed pleased at her logical retaliation.

"I suppose so," Ruby conceded, and then he remembered something. "Hey! Weren't you calling the uniforms weird a minute ago? Why are you defending it now? Also, you didn't try it on either, so how would you know?" said Ruby, slightly miffed.

"Well you never answered my first question of why we need to wear uniforms, so I don't think you're in the position to question my actions!" said Sapphire, now also miffed.

"Well you could have said so earlier," Ruby grumbled. "We wear uniforms because the school feels that it 'encourages the learning spirit' and 'brings a sense of camaraderie' among the students. At least that's what it says in the pamphlet," Ruby said.

"Well I think that the school just uses these uniforms to make us stand apart from the students of all the other schools and makes us look like snobs for their own benefit," said Sapphire with a "humph".

"Seems about right," Ruby agreed. "But we both know that Rustboro Collegiate is indeed the most prestigious High School in Hoenn. The fact that there is an ENTRANCE EXAM already shows that it's on a different level than the other schools, since they all just accept everyone who applies."

"Yeah," said Sapphire, reminiscing. "That entrance exam was hard! I didn't even expect half of the questions, and some I only knew because my dad taught me. The Pokémon Trainer's School didn't teach nearly enough stuff to pass the exam, even though it's in the same city as our high school!" Sapphire said, still slightly dumbstruck by the memory of the exam.

"Those two are not on the same level," said Ruby. "The Pokémon Trainer's School is just supposed to prepare you for the most basic level. Also, considering you only entered the school after that summer with the Groudon and Kyogre fiasco because I entered the school, you can't really blame the school for only getting two years of formal education." Ruby smiled as he reminisced about the past with Sapphire.

"Nonsense, I didn't choose to enter the Trainer's School just because of you…not at all!" Sapphire was slightly blushing now. "Anyways, I made it in with flying colours thanks to papa and coach, but how did you make it in? In particular how you managed to pass the battle portion. Considering that every time I suggested a battle in the past four years you always ran away screaming, I'm surprised you even accepted to take the exam."

Ruby looked confident as he replied, "Desperate times calls for desperate measures. When I'm determined to achieve something, any obstacle can be overcome."

"Ohoho, I see," said Sapphire in a slight mocking tone. "But the last time you deemed the situation as desperate enough to battle was when the world was getting destroyed, so why were you this determined to get in to the prep school with special emphasis on Pokémon research and battling when you could have easily attended the Unova Art institute? I'm sure you'd enjoy it more and you could easily have gone now that your dad has stopped opposing your every choice," continued Sapphire.

Ruby's gloating stopped abruptly. He mumbled something inaudibly, and then his faced turned tomato red.

"What was that?" asked Sapphire, curious and also sort of worried due to Ruby's sudden change in facial colour. She leaned in closer, causing Ruby's face to turn impossibly redder.

In a voice that was barely louder than earlier, Ruby repeated what he said.

"I didn't want to go anywhere that you weren't going."

Sapphire blinked, disbelieving of her ears. A furious blush started creeping onto her face. She felt that she should say a snarky remark, but her mind was slightly blanking out.

After a rather long period of silence, Sapphire finally broke it by clearing her throat and saying rather nervously, "I-I think we should try on the uniforms now."

"Yeah," Ruby replied, not looking at Sapphire as she got up and left for the bathroom to change.

Having finished changing, the two reunited back in Ruby's room. They both stood there, looking at each other, still blushing.

Ruby was the one who broke the silence this time. He looked Sapphire directly in the eye, smiled, and said, "You look beautiful."

Sapphire's blush deepened, and she hesitated before returning Ruby's gaze and smiling as she said, "You don't look too shabby yourself."