Part Two
Ruby woke up in a hospital bed in the on-campus infirmary. Kids usually came in here with sprained wrists or, worst case scenario, a few broken bones, but Ruby walking in—did she walk in?—must have looked really, really strange with blood all over her hair, her clothes, and her arm, especially if she was carried in. Students must have thought she ended up getting this hurt in a spar.
Bandages wrapped around Ruby's sore arm, she raised her hand to her forehead, where a pad of gauze was taped over her forehead. When she prodded it with her fingers, the wound under it stung, but what she guessed was painkillers dulled the effect.
A nurse looking up from her clipboard turned to Ruby's section and stopped. She reexamined her clipboard, using a pen to keep track of the words on the paper. When she found what she was looking for, she turned back the way she came, heels clicking on the linoleum floor.
Less than ten seconds later, Yang came speeding past the curtains, soon followed by Weiss, Blake…and Team JNPR, Sun, and Neptune.
Ruby strained to sit up, fighting the pain that lit up in her arm. "What are you guys doing here?" Ruby groaned.
"That's a stupid thing to ask," Weiss replied.
"Sorry," Ruby said. "Standard question."
"Are you alright?" Jaune asked, standing a little too close to Weiss at the foot of her bed.
Rubbing the back of her neck, Ruby nodded.
"Did Torchwick do that to you?" Blake growled. She stood with her arms crossed and her back straight, but her head drifted forward.
Yang turned back to Blake. "I told you: she tripped and hit her head."
"What about the cut on her arm?"
Yang shot her a look, and Blake closed her mouth, clearly unsatisfied but silenced for the moment.
"Hey guys, we should let her get some rest," Pyrrha suggested.
Everyone offered kind looks before turning and leaving. Weiss said, "Get better," Blake offered a half-smile, but Yang stopped right before leaving and said, "Hey, if you ever need to tell me anything, you can tell me."
Ruby looked at her hands in her lap. When she looked at Yang again, she smiled and walked away.
Ruby thought about what she told Yang outside that building, wondering what she could have said differently to make Yang believe her. God, Yang doesn't even believe it. But if she doesn't buy it, why is she covering for her?She felt wrong for lying to her sister, but she didn't want to tell her about what really happened. If she told her, Ruby would have to tell Yang…Blake, no, everyone. But now, Ruby will just have to wait and see what happens next.
Roman woke up in Neo's bed. He thought for a second that his eyes needed a second to adjust, but then he remembered that Neo is a cave troll who thought by painting all of the walls either oxblood or black, she would become the brightest thing in the room. Unfortunately, she failed to realize that in order to see, she would need to light a few candles.
Neo walked into her room with a box of pizza. Roman couldn't see very clearly, but he was almost positive that she rolled her eyes the second she laid eyes on him. She sat down on the bed next to him, crossing her legs and opening the box. Roman reached for a slice—it was pepperoni, but he could deal.
Neo swatted his hand away. Did you pay for this?
"No, but you and I both know very well why I can't order a pizza. I don't get to enjoy it very often."
Neo rolled her eyes. Who do you think you're talking to?
Roman sat up abruptly, signing the words Is anyone else here?
Just Junior.
Roman threw the covers off his legs and stood up. He was a bit dizzier than he usually is when he wakes up, but he'll live. Wait, how did that happen?
He stumbled into the hallway, and saw Junior sitting at one of the tables swirling a shot glass on the glass table. Probably brandy.
"You should really get into scotch. It'll kill you slower."
Junior looked up from his drink. "The sleeping beauty awakens at last."
"How long was I out?" Roman grumbled, looking down at his feet…and then at his chest. "And why am I not wearing a shirt?"
"Five hours, give or take. Neo suggested we cut off your shirt to get at the wounds."
"What?" Roman twisted to look over his shoulder, seeing that there were, infact, burns on his lower back.
"Neo poured milk on 'em and told me to clean up the mess. So if you want to get a bottle of beer or something out of the fridge, watch where you step." Junior drank the liquid left in his glass, scrunching up his face, and reached for the bottle.
"Whoa, nice face."
"You two, sweetheart. You must be really low on fuel if you can't insult me properly. Grab a drink and take a load off." Junior slapped the table next to him in an inviting manner, but when the glass clattered, he recoiled in surprise.
A moment later, Neo pounded her fist on the wall, and both Roman and Junior's heads turned her way. Angrily, she signed, Don't do that shit! Not with your damn rings!
Junior sighed heavily and Roman chuckled lightly.
When Roman made a move toward the fridge, Neo skipped over to the kitchen, signing, Oh Hell no.
She made it to the fridge first and grabbed the handle, but Roman looked at her with an accusatory expression. "You stole my juice the last time you were at my place."
Neo frowned, but she let go, and Roman opened the fridge to examine her collection. "What time is it?"
"Three o' clock," Junior called out.
"Damn. I wanted to say 'It's five o'clock somewhere.'"
"You still can," Junior remarked.
"Nah, no fun." Roman selected a beer from the bottom rack and sauntered to the table. As he sat down, he asked, "Has anyone heard from Cinder?"
Junior raised an eyebrow, and Neo signed, Neither of us work directly under her. You're kind of middle-management.
"Thanks," Roman growled.
You know what I meant.
"You expecting a call or something?" asked Junior.
"I just figured she watched the news."
Junior shrugged. "It's my place, not yours. Plus, you're not carrying a phone."
Roman took a deep breath and opened his beer. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes except for Neo grabbing a beer from the fridge herself and joining them at the table.
"What happened after I passed out?" Roman finally asked.
Junior and Neo exchanged glances. Neo tilted her head to the side with a yearning look, but Junior shook his head. Have they talked about this already?
Junior turned back to Roman. "We dragged you out, and that's all we're telling you."
Roman's brows creased. "What are you guys hiding?"
Neo looked back at Junior, but his expression didn't change as he turned back to the bottle in front of him. Something looked off about Neo's hands when she knitted them together. There was no tan line, but Roman could tell her ring was missing.
"Hey, Neo, did you lose your ring?" he asked.
Junior's eyes flashed. He glared at Neo with an angry look in his eyes. "You didn't," he seethed.
Sensing that things were about to get tense and knowing that Neo could decimate Junior if things went sideways, he stood up from the table and chugged the rest of his beer. Roman would just have to hope that his friends had his best interest in mind. "Neo, can I take a nap on your bed?"
Sure, but if you eat any of that pizza, I'll kill you with my bare hands. I counted the slices.
"Of course you would, Neo." Roman closed the door behind him. He thought about putting out the candles, but he might be grateful for those in the morning. Neo should consider a place with windows.
He flopped face-down onto her bed and let his consciousness drift away.
Roman woke up dazed, hearing the muffled echoes of a heated argument through the wall.
"Holy shit, Neo! We agreed!" Probably Junior's voice.
Roman waited for Neo's voice before he realized that she doesn't speak. Roman has known her for a long time. Why does he have to keep making that connection? Shouldn't it be second nature by now?
"Save your loopholes for Cinder. You realize what's going to happen, right? You know how Roman thinks. Everything's fucked."
He paused, silence on the other end.
"It doesn't matter anymore. You never lose that ring, and Roman knows it. Let's just hope that Roman is stupid enough to make the right decision."
Oh my God...two chapters in one day. I need rest.
To Jauney boy: I'm not quite sure yet. That's one of the things I'm working out, but I do plan to up my word/chapter ratio, ceteris paribum. I have much more time to handle everything, so if all goes well, I'll be able to write plenty more than I have this past month.
To knight7572: *wink*