A/N: Hey guys! Blue again. I'm so so sorry this is a week late. Life got a little busy and I dint get the chance to edit this chapter till now. I'm sorry for leaving you on a bad note for so long... Buuuut... There may not be resolution in this chapter. Regardless, I hope you like it. Thanks for the support. Enjoy the Roses!

Chapter 10: Regret

This was turning out to be a wonderful Saturday for Blake. Her parents surprised her with the next installment of one of her favorite book series and she had been reading all day. It was a hefty book, but she had no doubt that she would be able to finish it within twenty-four hours.

The plot was too gripping, put it down was nigh impossible.

Besides that, she knew that her two friends would be veeeery happy soon. Weiss was finally, finally heeding her advice. Unless she wasn't, in that case she would have to dial up the teasing. Get one of them to act.

It was so obvious they liked each other, she could tell from the moment the pair shared that ice cream cone. Blake would have thought that Ruby would be the one to ask Weiss out first, but this would be good for the heiress. She needed to take more chances and be a little more... Bold.

The raven-haired girl could see it now. Monday would roll around, she would walk into school and see Ruby and Weiss, holding hands as they walked down the hall.

Blake had to shake her head at the thought, it was so cute that it was distracting her from her actual book. Couldn't be helped though, She was always a hopeless romantic.

From Shaaaaaaaadooows...

The bookworm's phone went off, playing her favorite song of all time (she swore to herself that she would never change it).

The phone read 'Weiss Schnee'.

Ah, so she did it. She was grateful for the call, but she just wanted to get back into her book. Hopefully she could just give a quick congratulations and be done with it. She loved Weiss, but she needed her reading time.

"Hey Weeeeiss." Blake teased. "Did you ask her out?"

"Um." She said, her voice hoarse and shaky. "Can you come over?"

She didn't sound right.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked. She set down her book and sat upright in her bed. "What happened?"

"Can... Can you just come over?" Weiss pleaded. "Please."

"Yeah." She told her friend. "Yeah, I'll be right over."

"Thank you." She said. She then hung up.

What happened? It was a sure thing! Ruby liked Weiss, Weiss liked Ruby. It should have been simple! How did it get messed up so bad that it made Weiss sound like that?

Her book would have to wait, this was more important.

Blake told her parents were she was going and then she headed off to the Schnee manor. It wasn't a particularly long walk but it was becoming a little more difficult with the changing weather. The late Autumn air bit her face as she crunched through leaves to get to Weiss. Arriving at the house, she rang the doorbell and was not surprised to see her butler, Klein, open the door.

"Oh! Miss Belladonna! This is a surprise." He said with wide and gentle eyes.

"You can just call me Blake, Klein." She chuckled. "And Weiss asked me to come over. May I come in?"

"Yes of course!" Klein said, stepping to the side to let Blake in. "I can still see why Weiss likes you. You have such nice manners, Blake."

"Thank you, Klein."

"Do you need me to lead you to her room?"

"No, I think I know the way. But thank you."

"Ah, before you go, you should know what just... Happened here."

Blake stopped in her tracks and turned back to the kind butler.

"What happened?" Blake inquired.

"I don't know exactly, but her friend, Miss Rose, ran out of her room and out the door."

"Ran?"

"Like a speeding bullet, ma'am." He confirmed. "I wanted to give Weiss her privacy, but I heard her... Crying."

What happened?

"That's very odd." Blake commented.

"I'm surprised, Weiss really seemed to like her." Klein sighed. "You understand what I'm saying."

"I'm just as shocked as you, Klein." She agreed. "I'll go figure out what's going on."

"Thank you." He said.

Blake nodded and made her way up the stairs to Weiss' room. When she arrived, she had the immediate urge to burst in the door to see her. However, she knew that would do no good whatsoever, so she decided to knock instead.

"Weiss? It's me, Blake." She announced.

"... Come in." She heard a small voice call out after a moment of silence. The raven-haired girl did as she was told and entered her room. Weiss was curled up in a ball next to her bed. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, and she had pulled her hair out of its usual high ponytail.

"I... Got my point across." The crying girl said.

"Oh, Weiss." Whispered Blake. She cut the distance between them and got down on her knees to hug Weiss. The broken girl hugged her the best she could, but the affection just made her cry even harder. "Tell me what happened."

"I messed up Blake! I messed up so so bad." She sobbed. The raven-haired girl pulled back to get a closer look.

"Weiss, I know this is hard, but I need you to explain to me exactly what went down."

The girl wound up blubbering about everything that happened. Her first failed attempt, she appreciated the witty line that Weiss wanted to use. It would have been very cute...

Then there was the wooden rose. Blake's eyes widen at that. She saw Ruby work on that, the younger girl put her heart and soul into that rose. It must have meant a lot to give it to Weiss.

And yet, here Weiss was.

On the floor.

Crying.

Then Weiss told her about the kiss.

And the terror in Ruby's eyes.

Did Weiss simply make the fear up? Were her anxieties making her think that? She got her answer when she told Blake of her confession. Her confession that was met with coldness.

That wasn't very Ruby-like.

"I-I told you." Weiss said, her voice rough and raw.

"Told me what?"

"She would look at me like I had two heads."

"You know, Weiss," Blake started, humor infiltrating her voice. "That last piece of advice was just a joke, I didn't mean for you to take it literally."

"Oh, NOW you tell me." Weiss complained, but found herself laughing instead of crying this time.

"NOW you choose to listen?" She teased back.

Weiss laughed even more at this and Blake got wrapped up in it too. It was much better than crying, so she was thankful it would relieve her friend of that pain. Even if only for a couple minutes.

"She hates me, Blake."

"No she doesn't."

"You didn't see the way she looked at me. She was scared of me." Weiss said, her tears resuming.

"That's just so... Odd."

"Is it?" She asked hopelessly. "I kissed her. I made her so uncomfortable she had to leave."

"Maybe she just needs time to process." She said with a shrug. "Things will be better on Monday."

"Or they could be worse."

"Hey, there can only be one cynic in our group, and I called that years ago."

"On the contrary, I have been reigning champ for a while." Weiss admitted with a pitiful laugh.

The raven-haired girl's shoulders slumped at that and she sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry." Blake said. She draped her arm around Weiss' shoulder and pulled her in closer. "I know you usually cried to Ruby, I know I'm not her. But just pretend I am."

"Blake," She sniffed, looking over to said girl. "You're close to me too."

"I know I am, but it's different with Ruby." She replied. "So I'll be that, I'll be whatever you need right now. You can cry, scream, whatever. I'm here for you."

The ivory-haired girl shuddered before a fresh set of tears fell down her face.

"Blake?" Weiss whimpered.

"Yeah?"

"I think I love her." She said. After that, the sobs came back in full force. Blake held the girl and let her cry as much as she needed to. It was a bit jarring, she hadn't seen Weiss cry openly in years. It was a good sign that she was able to do this, but under very unfortunate circumstances.

"I know, Weiss."

XxXxX

Weiss managed to get herself to stop crying after a couple hours of Blake holding her. She was thankful that the girl stopped talking and held her. She didn't think she would be able to handle another hope-filled speech.

It wasn't ok, nothing about this was ok. She didn't want Blake to lie to her.

The raven-haired girl offered to stay over, just in case she needed her, but Weiss turned her down. She had already been such a bother to Blake, taking her away from her (no doubt) relaxing Saturday.

Weiss would be... Alright. She would cry, she knew that much.

Yet, the words that Ruby said rang in her head. 'Just beyond the horizon, there is change. There's good things, new friends, the love of your life could be just beyond that horizon.'

The last part felt like a knife in her heart, but she tried to push it aside and remind herself of the other kind words.

There was good beyond the horizon, even if she couldn't see it.

Even if Ruby wasn't there to see it with her.

Sunday was a struggle, but she pulled herself out of bed and tried to keep herself active. If she wasn't busy, she would think. And if she was thinking, her mind would drift to Ruby. And if it drifted to Ruby, she would cry. Of course this didn't always work, but she made certain she was in her room before she continued her weeping.

And then, after what felt like an eternity, Monday rolled around. The ivory-haired girl didn't quite know what to expect. Part of her hoped that Ruby would act like nothing happened. It would be much easier that way.

Although, another part hoped she had time to think it all over. That she realized she too had feelings for Weiss and she was just surprised. Weiss imagined her taking her aside and hugging her, nuzzling her neck affectionately. She imagined that they would pull apart for a moment, and then really kiss.

Of course this was only in her head, only in her dreams.

And she doubted this dream would even become reality.

She went through the motions of her first class. It was the only class she didn't share with Ruby. There was a time when she relished that one class, she relished being away from the bubbly girl.

Now she regretted that. If she could, Weiss wished she could slap her past self and tell her to wake up.

The bell rang, ending her first class and Weiss practically sprinted out of the room. She sped away to her next class and sat down. She wanted time to mentally prepare herself. When Ruby entered the room, she would give her a sweet smile and ask how her weekend was. She would try and act like nothing happened.

But the second bell rang.

Ruby didn't come to class.

Or the next one.

Or the next one.

Then it was lunchtime. Still no Ruby.

Weiss decided to forgo getting food, her nerves soured her appetite. Besides she wanted to be there when Ruby showed up.

If she showed up.

"Weiss?" A voice asked. The heiress shot her head up, hoping to see Ruby. But it was only Blake. She had a tray in her hands and looked very concerned. "Can I sit down here, or do you want to be alone."

Weiss spent years alone and it made her miserable, she didn't want to deny herself the company any longer than she had to. Shaking her head, Weiss attempted a smile. It was weak though, she could tell.

"No, please stay." She told Blake. The bookworm took her seat next to Weiss. At least she still had Blake. She always had Blake, and she was so grateful for that.

"How are you feeling?" Blake asked.

"Better, I think."

"Good, that's really good." She said, her eyes fixed on Weiss. "Have you talked with her yet?"

"She hasn't come to any classes. I don't know where she is."

"Oh, skipped class?"

"I... I don't know." Admitted Weiss. "I'm beginning to think that I don't really know her well at all, Blake. I'm just as clueless as you. Maybe even more so, at least you are quite perceptive."

"Come on, Weiss." Blake chided. "You know that's not true."

"Do I?" She raised her voice. "I don't know about her family, her favorite book, her favorite food. I don't even know if she does eat!"

"Woah, Weiss. Calm down a bit."

Apparently the ivory-haired girl's shouting garnered some attention. The tables around them, and even some further away, had their eyes on her. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to care. Oh wow, a Schnee showing emotions, big deal. She could do what she wanted, she was human too.

What she really cared about was talking to Ruby, trying to straighten everything out.

And as if the universe read her mind, she saw her.

Ruby.

Standing by the doors of the lunch room. She leveled Weiss with a gaze that said 'come here, we need to talk'.

She wasn't in her uniform though, opting to wear her usual red hoodie with blue jeans and a white tank top that had a wolf design on it. She smiled, but it wasn't full. There was apprehension there and... Sadness.

Sadness that Weiss caused.

The heiress took a breath and walked over to Ruby without saying a word.

"Hey Weiss." Ruby said, her tone soft and cautious. "I need to tell you something."

There she was, the girl she had fallen so hard for. She was so happy to just be in Ruby's presence, but she had a feeling this talk wouldn't go well.

She had a feeling that Ruby would break her already fractured heart.

"Alright." Weiss whispered. Ruby lead her out of the lunchroom and into the empty hallway. Ruby leaned against the wall on one side, Weiss stood by the other.

She was right there and yet she felt so far from her.

"Sorry I freaked out and ran back there." She said with a nervous chuckle.

"I apologize for my actions, they were very inappropriate." Weiss answered, slipping back into the way she used to speak to her. Ruby cocked her head at that, she had clearly noticed.

"It's ok. Um, It's fine."

"Regardless, that was unfair of me. I should have asked for permission before I... Before that happened."

Why was she acting like this? She was shutting down, shutting Ruby out. What good would that do?

"Why are you talking like that?" Ruby questioned, as if she could read Weiss' mind.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Like that!" Ruby exclaimed. "L-like we aren't... Aren't friends."

"I... Assumed you would be upset with me and would need... A break."

"I..." Ruby looked pained at her statement. God she wanted to cross the halls width and pull her into a tight hug. To capture roses and joy in her arms. But she feared what Ruby would think of that.

Nothing was the same.

Nothing would ever be the same, she saw that now.

"Was that all you wished to talk to me about?"

"No..." She whispered.

"Then what?" She snipped, a cold edge of defense inching its way into her voice.

Now she really wished she could slap herself.

"I'm... Leaving."

Everything went cold.

"Wh-what?" Weiss gulped.

She couldn't be serious. She couldn't be leaving.

"I'm leaving Atlas, Weiss." She repeated. "My family and I, we have to go back to Vale."

This felt like a surreal dream.

No. that would imply that Weiss somewhat enjoyed it. This was a nightmare, utter hell.

"Oh." Was all she could say.

"They brought it up Friday, but confirmed it yesterday."

"Oh."

"I wanted you to know."

"... Oh."

She was frozen in place, couldn't move an inch. This had to be her fault, right? No, it was her family.

But what if she asked about her family more, tried to see what was going on with her. She was so wrapped up in her own issues that she didn't even think that maybe bad things were happening to Ruby too.

Did she use their sleepovers as an escape from her own family? Was it bad? All this time she could have been helping Ruby and she wasted it. She could have helped more. She could have tried to be a better friend.

And now it was too late.

"I... Think it would be best if you didn't try and call me anymore."

The words plunged into her heart like a knife. Not only was Ruby moving away, but she didn't even want to hear from her.

"Ok." Weiss softly replied, not even bothering to look Ruby in the eye. She knew if she saw those warm silver eyes looking at her coldly, she would lose it. She would bawl in the hall.

"I have to go now." Ruby announced. "Goodbye, Weiss."

"Goodbye." She repeated. She didn't have any fight left in her. It was just gone.

She heard Ruby walk away, out the door, leaving Weiss behind.

Leaving Weiss.

People had left her before, but this had to be the most painful. Ruby tore out her heart, the heart that she herself had thawed. She didn't want it anyways, the plan was to give it to the redhead in the first place.

Or maybe she already had.

Now that she thought about it, she gave Ruby her heart long ago. Back when she first saw those silver eyes. Eyes that felt like home.

What are you doing? A voice from within her screamed. You're letting her walk away!

She has to go.

No! You go talk to her! Make this right. The voice commanded.

But... There's no way she'll talk to Weiss after everything that-

You will never know if you don't try. Said the voice. And if you don't try, you'll always regret it.

But-

Weiss.

The voice was right. She had gone through too much with Ruby to just leave it at this. She needed to talk with her again. Sort this out.

Weiss Schnee burst through the doors and looked around, trying to find Ruby. She then heard her voice, talking to someone. Probably calling her parents. She was about to round the corner when she saw her.

But... Ruby didn't have her phone out, the red-head seemed to be just talking to herself. She didn't know why, but Weiss ducked around the corner, keeping herself hidden from Ruby's view.

"Yes, it's done." Ruby said, a serious edge in her voice. "I told her."

Her.

Was she talking about... Weiss?

"I guess." Ruby sighed. She slumped her shoulders and glanced back to the school, sadness and pain in her silver gaze. "Doesn't feel right..."

Ruby jumped, looking very fearful.

"No! No she'll be fine." Came a rapid response to... Nothing? "Please don't."

Don't what? What was going on? Weiss wanted to ask Ruby if she was ok, but she was technically eavesdropping. She didn't need to add another thing to the list of things that she had done wrong.

"Please, please. Don't take her memories. Let her remember." Ruby begged. She was on the verge of tears. What did she mean 'take her memories'? "She can handle it, just let her remember me."

A look of relief washed over her face.

"Thank you." She said, breathing easier. "Yes, I'll come back."

Ruby took another glance at the school. This time she was crying, Weiss was sure.

And then...

There was a brilliant burst of light. The heiress had to shield her eyes from it, but as soon as it dulled, she took another look. Attached to Ruby's back was a pair of white wings with silver tips. They unfurled to a large wingspan and fluttered in the Autumn wind.

And in a moment, she vanished into nothing.

"Oh my god." Weiss whispered, backing up from her hiding place. "Oh my god."

What the hell just happened? Did she just make that up? No, it couldn't be. It was so real. Too vivid to be a dream.

Far too vivid.

She stumbled back into the school and leaned up against the wall. What did she just see?

Ruby Rose.

Her Ruby.

She was...

"An angel." Weiss whispered the impossible words.

Ruby always defied her expectations, but she had to say, Weiss never saw this coming.