Ruby was nervous. Finally, she was going to hear what her crush thought about her. She'd accepted it as she daydreamed through Oobleck's class, about her and Jet. Yang probably wouldn't have stopped teasing her if it weren't for the fact that they were in class, and though Weiss did have to poke her every now and again to bring her back into reality, she knew how she felt now.
After the last class of the week had ended, Yang had told Weiss and Blake that she and Ruby were going to do some shopping. Both seemed suspicious at first: Ruby had never been a shopping type of girl, and Ruby herself agreed with them there, but they accepted it, and the two sisters left for the aforementioned park, in search of Jet.
Rows and rows of benches sat in front of a large patch of grass, complete with a pond in the centre. Ruby zipped from hiding place to hiding place as Yang advanced, searching. Finally, they spotted Jet, sitting on a park bench further away from the teaching buildings. Ruby perched herself within the leaves of a tree as Yang called out to Jet.
"Hey! Jet!" Yang called, waving. Jet turned his head, a familiar warm smile on his normally cool face.
"Hey Yang." He called out in reply. Yang sat on the bench next to him, and he turned to face her. "What did you need?" he asked. Over time, Jet and Yang had become very good friends.
Back in the tree, Ruby heard a snap behind her, and turned to see another girl, crouched behind her. Her silver hair and eyes, along with the fact that she was a similar sort of height to Ruby could only mean one thing: this was Izzet.
Ruby jumped in understandable fright, and wobbled dangerously on her branch. Izzet reached out and caught her, pulling her back up, Ruby noting how soft her touch was. She was wearing jeans, with a grey jacket very similar to Jet's. She put her fingers to her lips, making a 'shh" noise, the pointed to Jet and Yang, who were engrossed in conversation. Ruby looked questioningly at her, and Izzet sighed.
"Don't react. I'm speaking to you telepathically." a soft voice in Ruby's head suddenly spoke out. "Think what you want to say to me." Izzet pointed to her temple as she said this.
'What are you doing here?' Ruby thought, watching Izzet.
"The same reason you're here." came the delicate voice.
'How are you doing this?' Ruby asked, feeling a little impressed at this ability.
"I'm mute you see, so I don't normally communicate." Izzet's voice reverberated in her head. "But when I need to, I use telepathy. I can tell something's up with Jet." she continued. "I just want to prove my theory."
'Something up with Jet?' Ruby thought, originally to herself, but Izzet seemed to hear this.
"Yes." Ruby turned to look at Jet and Yang. The two seemed to be amused. Yang was cracking up laughing, and Jet was attempting to control his own laughter. Ruby did not seem to have missed much, and she turned to face Izzet. The girl continued to watch the pair, a concerned expression on her face, similar to how Weiss looked sometimes when she was worried.
"He's been distracted in his classes. He can't keep up his normally stoic persona. Even during a practise fight in Vale, he was distracted, which nearly allowed me to take him by surprise." Izzet thought to her. Ruby was about to inquire further when Jet suddenly looked up, and his eyes focussed on the spot they were in!
Izzet quickly grabbed Ruby's hand, and the whole world suddenly turned grey. She kept a hold of Ruby's hand as she marvelled at what had just happened. Every single thing in the world had turned its own shade of grey.
"Don't break contact with me." Izzet said, using her telepathy.
'What happened?' Ruby immediately thought back. The world was completely silent. Everything was frozen.
Izzet and Ruby both jumped from the tree, and Izzet led her to another tree, closer to Yang and Jet, who were frozen. With a blast from her scythe, Ruby took them both, and they settled on a branch of the new, taller tree. Izzet was still grasping Ruby's hand, and as she attempted to pull away, Izzet tightened her grip.
"Stop." Izzet's voice reverberated through her mind, worried. "This is my semblance. I can manipulate time. I've stopped time right now, so that we could move and continue to listen. I will now resume it."
Ruby knew about Izzet's semblance, but it was still awe inspiring what this girl had just done.
As she continued to think, the colour began to flow back into the world. Once it had fully been restored, everything resumed, as if someone had hit a 'play' button on a paused movie. Jet was still looking at where Izzet and Ruby had been, and Yang had turned to look too. From this tree, Ruby could hear their voices a lot clearer, and Izzet remained silent, focussing on their conversation.
"What is it Jet?" Yang asked.
"Oh, nothing." Jet turned back to her. "Thought I saw something in the tree." Ruby relaxed, and Izzet gave a relieved sigh.
"Soooo, Jet." Yang said causally. "Is there anyone you like? Any girls, I mean." Jet looked surprised at the question, but maintained his composure.
"Hm, let's see." he said, teasingly. "I have one, though I'm not sure if she feels the same for me." Yang's eyes widened, as he continued. "I can't tell you her name, but I could always describe her."
"Go ahead." Yang said, leaning in, and from the tree, Ruby and Izzet did the same.
"She's pretty, quite small, with a very distinctive scent." Ruby's heart was beating rather fast.
"What of?" Yang asked.
"That would be telling." came Jet's cryptic response. "She wields a unique weapon, and her semblance isn't dust related."
Ruby was distracted by Izzet turning to look at her, but she quickly shrugged and turned back to watch.
"And," Jet said, in a decisive voice, "she's in this park." Ruby jumped in shock, and this was mirrored by Izzet.
"Hm, I wonder who that could be?" Yang asked to herself, looking around at the other people in the park.
Ruby turned to Izzet and tapped her. She turned to face her.
"I've heard all I need to hear." Ruby whispered. "Can you stop time and help me leave?"
Izzet smiled kindly, took Ruby's hand, and the lush green of the tree and the park once again became a monotone greyscale.
Once they were out of the park, Izzet and Ruby parted ways with Izzet giving a friendly wave. Smiling, Ruby returned it, before sitting on a bench in the street and waiting for Yang. All she had to do was hear Yang's opinion, and the matter would be decided. Although, Ruby thought she already knew what she was going to say.