Who's ready for another dialogue heavy chapter? I hope it's you, because that's all the next two chapters are!

Really, it's going to be more exposition than anything else. There's not much I can say without spoiling, so I'll let the story be my note. Enjoy!

Her mind still buzzing, Ruby walked down the hall and stopped at her door, her key in hand and fully extended towards the knob, ready to unlock it. However, she had yet to insert it, something deep within her just screaming out, telling her that she knew what she had to do. Velvet just gave the biggest clue in the world and now was the time to pounce. Even though she was as confused as she was confident, Ruby begrudgingly agreed with the voices in her head and pulled away from the door, directing herself towards her neighbor.

If- and that's a really big if- Blake was who she thought she was, then there are for more questions that Ruby has. Worst case scenario Velvet is screwing with her and this is just a coincidence. Best case scenario…

Ruby stopped at the final door to the final apartment in the hall and balled her hands into fists, closing her silver eyes and taking a deep breath. Could she really go through with this? At this point the meal didn't matter, it was for pride, now. Actually, for far more than pride. With a seemingly reluctant reach, she raised her left hand up and softly knocked, at first, but gradually got louder by the fifth and final knock. From within the abode, she was able to hear a soft set of footsteps approach, which caused Ruby to regret every choice she ever made in her life up to now. Her muscles stiffened, she bit her own lip and prepared to flee, scolding herself for making such a bad decision, such a rushed decision.

Just as she turned to run, the door began to open with every fiber of Ruby's being cursing her name. "Hey, there." Blake easily, almost happily greeted, "That was fast."

"Uh, y-yeah," She stuttered with a sharp tone, though it was directed towards herself for the lack of judgement. If only Neo were here now, she'd probably have the sports section ingrained into her skull. "Yeah, Vel convinced me that they'd show themselves out."

"Ah, I see." Blake nodded with a confused expression, leaning against the door frame and keeping the door open with her right foot. "So… What's up?"

"Well, uh… I…" Great. Now what? She had to figure out something, else she'll look like a bigger idiot then before! Caught under the careful gaze of amber eyes, Ruby straightened herself out and stood stiffly, rubbing the back of her head with a blush. "I, uh…"

She was cut off, however (implying that she had anything to say in the first place) by a soft chuckle. Ruby looked up and blushed when she saw that she was being laughed at, though understood that really, she had this coming. Probably sat for thirty seconds just stammering. "Ruby, it's okay, you know." Blake said calmly, "It's just me."

With a deep breath, Ruby straightened her shoulders and physically relaxed before Blake's eyes, "R-right." She replied, equally as calm as the taller teen, and as she relaxed she found a way out, "I just wanted to… Apologize for what Neo did earlier." Liar. "It's normal for her to do that to me, but I didn't expect you to get it so soon."

"Yeah, about that." The raven-haired teen's face turned serious as she rubbed the back of her head, where she had been impacted by the roll of newsprint twenty-minutes prior. "That seemed… Way out in left field."

"Yeah, classic Neo style." Ruby affirmed with a nod, "She has a weird way of teaching."

"If you call that teaching…"

"Blake, I know what you're thinking, and this is all a usual standard around here. It's all fine, I promise. Still, I'm sorry that she did that to you. You really didn't deserve it."

With a heavy, dejected sigh, Blake shook her head and closed her eyes. "Sorry, neighbor, but you're wrong." Ruby raised a brow in curiosity, unsure of what Blake was saying. "Both you and Neo had a point. I should have talked to you before doing anything. Now I've wasted an hour of everyone's time and given you less time before you have to work."

"Oh, please." Ruby easily waved off in a scoff, "I can go down to her any time I want. All I do is paperwork and math and a little bit of filing. Neo and I keep the place running."

"Is that so?"

"It's a little more confusing than that, but that's the gist of it." Blake accepted the information and nodded carefully, still leaning against the frame of the door. "That's basically it, I think."

"Are you sure? There isn't anything else? Maybe something pertaining to a challenge I gave you yesterday?"

Crap! The one thing she came to talk about and then tried to ignore! Curse Blake for having a good memory! "Well, uh… See," The teen awkwardly rubbed her head before shying away, "I… I think I'm onto something, but… I'm kinda busy right now, so can I get an extension? Maybe until tomorrow?"

Blake rolled her eyes and smirked, "I thought you didn't have anything going on?"

"Well… Work! I have to work, remember?"

"You just said you could go down whenever you wanted?"

"I, uh… Yeah, well, I have to go and help Neo with some paperwork about the… The… Oh, the water main!" Finally, an excuse. "We have some work to do, now that the main is fixed. You know, double checking stuff, and… Paperwork…" Her voice began to die out as the lie finally became fleshed out in her head, causing her to scold herself. Blake would see through this easily, she's not dumb.

But, maybe luck will be on her side. Blake, once again, smiled and shook her head, her arms folded in front of her chest. "Alright, then, sure." She said through her chuckles, "I'm a sport, I'll give you a chance." Ruby's face lit up at the news, but her joy would soon be, almost happily, dashed by her neighbor, "You will have until we get to our apartments tomorrow to tell me what you know, or what you think you know. If you are unable to do so, you will owe me dinner on Friday to a place that I choose."

Ruby's face fell and her shoulders dropped. Pay for a dinner for anybody was a no-go, because she doesn't have money. Neo and Junior pay for her apartment and Neo buys her any of the provisions that she currently has! How is she supposed to get money?! "O-okay, sure. I accept." She reluctantly said, "I should go. Work, and all that…"

"Sure thing." The bow-wearing teen bounced off of the frame and stood straight, standing above the uniformed teen before her. "I'll see you tomorrow. And, do me a favor?" Ruby nodded, raising her eyebrows, "Give your 'parents' my best."

Blake carefully observed the reaction of the short-haired girl before her, who stiffened physically while sharply turning away, almost seemingly in a huff, but still nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Blake."

"Same time, same place." She retreated back into her own abode and closed the door, leaving Ruby back to her lonesome. She was facing the empty hall once again, but stood by without moving for a good minute, confused with what she should do. She and Neo did have work to do in relation to the now-fixed water main that caused a mess of things, though luckily was resolved relatively quickly. Turns out the boil-water advisory was just a precaution and wasn't necessary, which has a few people up in arms.

Aside for this, however, she really did have nothing to do. Her intention for today was to take a quick power-nap and recharge for a boring, well-written day of work. Now, however, she wasn't even sure if she could think straight; the issue with Weiss was enough to make her lose sleep, but now with the revelations of her neighbor being… That girl… How the hell was she supposed to get anything done?!

With a heavy sigh, Ruby began to walk away, deciding to just skip the nap and go to bed early, tonight. As she did, one thought went through her mind, pertaining mainly to her neighbor: Could Blake already know? As she thought about Velvet's words more and more, everything that Blake has done, every nearly cryptic line makes sense. What makes less sense, however, is why she wouldn't come out and just say it? What did she, and Velvet for that matter, have to gain by keeping this a secret.

Ruby brought up both of her hands to her forehead, running them through her hair but stopping midway and grabbing two clumps, one on each side before stopping in front of her door. She held back an urge to beat herself against the large plank, instead opting to growl to herself in annoyance and confusion: "What the hell is going on, here!?"

Weiss exited the car and nodded towards the driver within, "Thank you, Klein," She quickly said through a rolled down window. "I'll see you after school."

"Don't forget what we all talked about, Weiss!" The man said with a smile, "Sincerity and grace!"

"How could I forget?" After all, she had the bump to prove it. She turned on her heel and charged into the Academy, passing a large statue at the front near the flagpole that bore Vale's Kingdom Flag. Waving goodbye to her favorite worker, and the man she considered to be the father she never had. Once inside she was hit by a soft blast of mild indoor air, a temperature that matched the mild morning that Vale was currently having. October was right around the corner, and it only made sense that the seasonal change was about to kick off.

As she walked down the main corridor and towards the hallway, Weiss mapped out the quickest way to Ruby's locker. To the left and up a flight of stairs, then out onto the second-floor hallway and towards the Science wing, which from the entrance was one wing over. She had been to Ruby's locker a few times already, the only problem was that she never went right to it from the main entrance, it was always from a different point in the academy. Actually, now that she thought about it, what were the odds that Ruby would even be at school at seven in the morning? Weiss got lucky the other day, but there's no guarantee that this kid will even be here, yet.

And that was an attitude that she should get rid of, soon. Ruby wasn't so much a kid as much as she was just young. You don't get into Beacon at fifteen without being a bright mind, and the project on Wednesday proved that much to be true.

Shaking herself free of these thoughts, Weiss turned her attention down the hall and towards the nearest stairwell and began walking towards it. There were few students within the halls of the academy and even fewer instructors. Classes didn't begin for another hour plus, which gave a lot of time for her to find Ruby and apologize for yesterday. Sure, she could have found her in the usual spot, but didn't want to deal with the hassle of her other friends being there. Should Yang or Pyrrha be in, they might give Weiss a hard time, especially after yesterday. She'd deserve it, nonetheless.

Before she realized it, Weiss was up to the second floor and walked out into the open landing where there was no door or wall between the stairwell and the hallway. Just large and open space. Enough space that she could hear casual conversations around the area during usual class times, but now only heard one. It was a familiar, light-pitched voice accompanied by a chuckle of a slightly more matured voice. It had to be Ruby and that new girl… Blake! That was her name!

Still, how would Ruby react to seeing the girl that insulted her the day prior? Hell, how would Blake react? Despite the passive tone, the girl has shown that she has claws and really isn't afraid to use them. The scarred heiress hid around the corner and out of sight, allowing herself to eavesdrop on the conversation between what sounded like two old friends… But that wasn't right, was it? They only just met each other… Yet, by the tone of their voices they were speaking as though they've known each other forever…

"Is it bad that I can see Velvet doing that?" Blake inquired through a giggle. Ruby was quick to respond.

"Well, we've seen what Velvet can do, you know. But she has Coco to be her muscle for her at nearly all times. Still, I can only wonder and fear what would happen if we made Vel mad enough to jump into the fray herself."

"Dear lord it'll be the good old days all over again."

"Except, oddly enough, more pain."

"Eh… I'm not sure about that."

"Oh, meh." Weiss, in her mind, could imagine Ruby easily waving off the new girl with a scrunched face, softly even though she was just listening she knew that was the actions the young teen was taking. "Go do your locker thing and come back, okay?"

"Why don't you want to come with me?" The question had far more of a sly overtone to it, causing the heiress to blush. She didn't mean to hear this! What was going on between these two, anyway?

"Because, Miss Belladonna, it saves on time."

"Wow, Coco was right, you are adorable when you try to act tough."

Ruby's instant retort was to, in a sing-song manner, chide, "Get going, Blake." Once again, in her mind, Weiss was able to visualize the bow-wearing, raven haired teen walk away, and her vision was accompanied by a set of footsteps. Blake must have obeyed the wishes of the shorter teen, which left her alone. Prime opportunity, especially for the prideful heiress. Now was the time to strike and apologize, especially since Ruby was alone and there would be no one else to hear.

With a deep breath, Weiss walked into the hall and turned towards the set of lockers on the left where Ruby was standing, fiddling with her locker. The brunette seemed to pay Weiss no mind as she bent forward to carefully examine the dial. Weiss smirked at the sight and shook her head, understanding just how difficult these locks can be sometimes. Carefully, the heiress approached, trying not to startle her objective who quickly smiled before finally unlocking her given space. "Yes." Ruby cheered silently, balling her right hand, her free hand, into a fist in celebration. After opening the door, she slid her backpack off, allowing it to drop to the ground with a thud and quickly shedding her coat. Once she did this, though, she was able to notice a new arrival and put her full attention on a familiar, alabaster themed girl, standing about two lockers away with her left hand over her right and in front of her stomach in a respectful stance. "O-oh… Hey, Weiss."

Her tone was timid, if not shy, causing a feeling of guilt to instantly wash over the Schnee. Despite this, Weiss' resolve barely faltered. She had a job to do and as a Schnee an obligation to make this right. "Hello, Ruby." She greeted back as the silver eyed teen quickly tossed her signature jacket into the locker. "I was hoping I could talk to you about yesterday?"

"Oh, sure! Of course! I was hoping to do the same, I'm kinda confused about just what it is I'm supposed to do."

Weiss happily sighed, hearing the cheery voice from the young teen giving her a sign that maybe this would be easier than she thought. "You don't have to do a thing. At least, for right now." Ruby's face dropped and her left eyebrow raised quizzically as Weiss continued, "I'm not quite sure what our plan will be for countering the bet, if I even want to participate. I want to avoid putting you in harm's way if at all possible."

"You don't need to worry about me, Weiss. I'm tougher than I look, you know."

"I had a feeling you'd say that. One of these days, probably after the weekend, you and I will sit down and come up with an idea or two, but until then I don't want you to do anything. That being said…" She stalled for a moment, considering her next words carefully. "Ruby, I… Want to apologize for yesterday."

Now, the teen with red-streaks in her hair was totally confused. "Uh… What do you mean?"

"When I called you 'undesirable', I wasn't thinking and I didn't realize just what I said until well after the fact. I realize now just how much I could have hurt you and I wanted to say that I'm sorry for not being smarter about my word choices." Nailed it. At least, she thought that at first, until Ruby began to giggle and shake her head, causing her to be flustered and blush angrily. "What's so funny?" Weiss snapped.

"Oh, sorry, it's nothing." Ruby waved her off, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I was pretty hurt, but only because I hadn't been called that by someone who wasn't my friend or wasn't joking or something, you know? It was just kind of a shock and a hit to the pride, is all."

"And you're laughing about it?"

"Only because I didn't really expect an apology so soon, Weiss. Actually, I was afraid that I'd have to hunt you down for one."

"Why would you ever think that?"

Ruby shrugged nonchalantly, "Stigma. Just what I've been told to understand of… Your types… You know, rich people?"

Icy-blue eyes rolled as their owner's shoulder slumped, her stance now breaking from an at-attention stance to a more cockeyed and comfortable position, leaning to her left a bit. "Yeah, I won't deny it… My friends are pretty prideful."

"And yet here you are! Taking initiative!" Weiss turned away at what she imagined was a compliment. "Look, this means a lot, especially from someone who has a reputation like yours."

"I'll still resent that comment."

"I just want you to know that, despite everything that you said, I'd still like to give our friendship a chance. Despite the stupid bet and despite what our groups of friends think, you and I found a common ground, so to speak." A small hand was extended from the red-themed teen, surprising Weiss for a moment. Was she serious? After all that they'd been through, the vitriol and hate and stigma and even all that happened this past week… She still wanted to give it a shot? Not just get through the bet and be done with it…

She was an idealist, wasn't she?

Still, Weiss shook her head with a small sigh and a smile, worrying Ruby. "Look," The scarred heiress began, calmly, "You're a good kid and I'd like to give our friendship a chance, too. But I don't want to drag you down to our level. Truth of the matter, I have more respect for you for standing above us the way you have and even doing this, problem solving and trying to build bridges." Ruby slowly retracted the hand and listened to her guest speak, though a feeling washed over her as Weiss continued, telling her that she knew what to do. Both Yang and Velvet had done that to her, when she got too longwinded. "Thank you for the offer, but until I can get this all worked out, I'm going to- OMPH!"

A force quickly crashed into her and wrapped itself around her body. It took less than a second to realize that Ruby had rushed into her and wrapping her into a hug. Before the alabaster teen could protest, she heard a soft whisper. "You talk too much." This is what Ruby knew to be the right decision. This is what Yang and others must feel when she goes off on her unending tangents, and ultimately this was for the best. The intent was to show Weiss that she didn't care for this or that or whatever the heiress had to say, that she was hell-bent on being friends. "Don't worry, this happens to me all the time."

Ruby quickly retracted just as Weiss was slowly warming up to the idea and began to reciprocate the embrace, picking up her backpack and throwing up her knee to kick the locker shut. She began to walk away, a sign that the conversation had now ended, but a certain blue-eyed teen couldn't let that happen. This wasn't over just yet. "Ruby!" She called just before the silver eyed teen turned the corner. The girl turned slowly as Weiss finally figured out just what she wanted to say. "We'll be in touch." Was all she could get out before turning on her heel and walk away. Ruby smirked lightly and finally walked away towards her neighbor further down the hall, all the while thinking just how smooth all of that Weiss. Yang would be proud.

As she continued to get away from the girl that had been taking too many lessons from an all-too familiar blonde, Weiss walked to the furthest staircase at the end of the hall, the last stairwell… Or first, depending on which floor you were on. As she approached it at a speed she thought was unmatched, she was met by a familiar and obnoxious presence of one Emerald Sustrai, who was leaning against the wall of another lounge area where there was only one cushioned bench and a desk where usually a security officer sat to observe the hall.

"Don't you know it's wrong to spy, Emerald?" Weiss chastised as the red-eyed teen caught up with her. She didn't turn her attention towards the girl, nor did she even consider that her friend was spying. She knew, for this was Emerald of all people. It would be surprising if she wasn't spying and just sitting there just because.

"It may be wrong, but I'm scoping out my competition."

With a huff, Weiss stopped sharply and glared daggers up at her friend, who was still barely taller than she was, even with the heels she was wearing. "You don't even have a target, yet. You don't have a competition because you're not involved, yet."

"Ah, but I have until the end of the day, right?"

"Well-"

"Right?"

"Fine, I suppose."

"Yes! And now can we talk about what I just saw?"

"And what was it you just saw?"

"Oh, you know!" With a nudge, Emerald tried her best to be as sly as possible. It was an attempt to get her friend to break and blush or do something embarrassing. However, Weiss was too strong willed to fall for that. "That little hug from that little brat? Getting in good graces with her early, huh?"

Icy-blue eyes rolled around as their owner shook her head solemnly, annoyedly. She walked away, leaving the annoying friend behind, but she stopped just before she got to the stairs and turned towards her friend with a half-grin. "Let's just say I'm off to a better start than you are."

Pyrrha sat down at the table beside Ruby, tray full of lunch in hand while across from them sat a familiar blonde and rookie raven-haired teens. The noise of their classmates stirring, speaking and laughing around them silenced the loud devouring of provisions by a certain nurse-in-training, luckily enough. Still, it wasn't a deafening roar, which meant that the group could carry over a conversation. Their table was in its usual spot, though today their seating was different. Ruby and Pyrrha had their backs to the wall behind them, allowing them to see the cafeteria around them. Yang and Blake, on the other hand, had a beautiful shot of… Brick. Literally, just a brick wall. They were that far back in the room.

Aside for that, to Yang's right was a window that was now blind-free, allowing much needed natural light to pour into the room. They would eat outside, but they could see that it was crowded today. No room at any of the six tables, but at least there was room inside! Behind Yang and about three tables over, Cinder and Mercury all sat, but there was somebody new today, someone who looked familiar to the group, but they couldn't remember his name, for some reason. Either way, he was a Junior, like the girls, and a little shorter, probably around Ruby's height, if Pyrrha had to put it. He was bulky, though. Ruby patiently watched how the duo acted around the boy and was concerned, knowing full-well that he was a possible victim to Cinder's scheme. But what could she do? Weiss pretty much barred her from any action.

Speaking of which, silver eyes spotted an alabaster-haired heiress with a darker-skinned young woman close behind her. And behind the second, was… Holy crap, was that Penny?!

"Oh, no…" Ruby muttered to herself, causing the group to glance back at the cashier's desk where Weiss, Emerald and Penny were all cashing their meals out, all conversing with each other. Weiss seemed rather indifferent, yet Emerald seemed intent to hear what the orange-haired girl had to say, smiling as she listened. "I wonder… If that's Emerald's pick for the bet."

"Probably." Pyrrha said with an aggravated tone, "You're sure that you can't do anything about it?"

Ruby shook her head disappointedly. "I wish I could," She admitted, leaning into the table, "But Weiss said that she wants to talk out a plan with me before going further. This is as far as I can go, for right now."

Yang balled her left hand into a fist and slammed it to the table, turning to face the silver-eyed teen with red-streaks in her hair with anger in her eyes. "Listen, Ru," She growled, "I don't care what she says. Don't trust Weiss, got it?"

"No, I don't." Ruby easily countered, "Weiss seems genuinely concerned about all of this, Yang. She wants to do something."

"What she'll want to do is embarrass you further!"

"You don't know that, Yang! Why won't you give her a chance?"

"Because, Ruby-!"

Pyrrha slammed both of her fists into the table, causing the trio around her to jump or yelp in surprise as she cried out, "Enough!" With the attention of her table firmly on her, Emerald eyes calmly opened and turned towards a bow-wearing girl directly across from her. She smiled a toothy smile before saying, "Blake, I'm sorry you had to see and hear all of that." The black-haired young woman waved the athletic girl off as Pyrrha turned towards the blonde, "Yang, I know you don't like Weiss all too much, I get it. But you need to give Ruby an actual chance, okay?" Her tone was a more chastising one, causing Yang to huff and fold her arms in front of her chest. "She seems to know what she's doing and knows more about the situation than we do."

"I get that, but-"

"Ay-up-up! No buts, Yang."

"Anybody but Weiss! Please, even Cardin is a better choice!"

"No, Yang." Ruby firmly denied, "My choice, my friend," She turned to face icy-blue eyes that had locked onto her from a distance, their owner nodding before sitting down once sure that her target had seen her. Ruby returned the nod and smiled, "Sorry."

"Uhg! Fine, whatever. But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Can we please talk about something else, now?!" Pyrrha commanded, "I mean really! Don't we still have to talk about our plans for tomorrow?"

"Yes, we do." Yang sighed with an annoyed tone, "But we should talk with Nora, too, since she's still going as far as I'm aware and I don't want to repeat it all. I'll probably get something wrong, anyway."

"So, what are we going to do?" Blake pondered aloud, causing the blonde beside her to shrug.

"Let's just meet at the usual spot after school?" Ruby offered, which was accepted by all at her table, "One of us will see her once before then, so we'll just bring her right after class. That work for everyone?" The collective group nodded in agreement, causing the one who made the idea to smile. 'Compromise does work! Take that… Anyone who says it doesn't…'

'Good thing you didn't say that out loud, Ru, or else they'd bury you for that. I mean, rightfully so, that sucked.'

'Thanks, Brain, I got it.'

Ruby shook the thought away and rejoined the real world as Blake and Pyrrha rose at the same time, much to the confusion of the aforementioned Rose. "We're going to the snack bar," Pyrrha said, pointed towards the teen beside her who clearly spaced out for the last few minutes, "You want anything?"

"O-oh, no, I'm fine." Ruby shook her head with a soft smile and returned to her still unfinished meal as the athlete and new girl both walked away, leaving her in an awkward silence with a usually spunky friend. She was worried that if she said the wrong thing, it would break out into another argument, even though Yang wasn't known to get heated with close friends. Still, Weiss seemed to be a sensitive topic… Why, though?

Ruby finished her meal and pushed her plastic tray away from her as lilac eyes began to eye her-their owner having finished her lunch minutes ago. She turned her head and waited the return of her friends to save her from the unusual and fairly odd silence. Would one little spat really effect their friendship this much? Ruby hoped not, and luckily her hopes began to grow as Yang began to speak first through the decreasing noise of the dining hall.

"So…" The blonde started awkwardly, the memory of her spat with the red-themed young teen fresh in her mind. "Can… I ask you something?"

"You just-"

"I swear to god if you dad-joke me I will cook tomorrow and make sure that only you eat what I make."

"… I'm… I'm pretty sure purposefully poisoning someone is illegal, Yang."

"Only if they can find your body."

"Oh geez, okay…" Ruby physically stiffened and shrunk at the threat, wishing that her friends would hurry up and save her. "What's up?"

"What's with you and Blake?" Ruby quizzically raised an eyebrow as Yang continued, "I mean, nothing has to be up, but… I don't know, you two seem to be getting along great… Too great."

"Is… Is that a problem?"

"No, no! Not at all! It's just… You know how I can be, after all. Just want to make sure that my worries are nothing."

With a soft smile, the brunette nodded and thought deeply about her rebuttal, interlocking her fingers in front of her empty tray. "Thing is… We know each other… Kind of. Like how Velvet and I know each other, from Patch."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we were friends there."

"Coincidence?"

"Oh, man, I don't even think so." Ruby chuckled, shaking her head, "But fate does have a funny way of working, you know. We both know that we know each other but neither of us have, you know…?"

"Done something about it?"

"Yeah! We've just been sitting on it and it's been an awfully awkward week."

The blonde nodded in understanding, nudging her friend's arm lightly, "So what are you going to do about it?" All Ruby could offer was a confused shrug and in reality, she wasn't far from her true feelings. She knew what she should do but now how, also fearing possible repercussions. But Yang didn't need to know that. "If you ask me, when you two get home you sit down before your parents get home… Or, actually if they're home, you kick them out, and you two just talk it out. That's it. There's an elephant in the room, and like my dad says, the best way to work is to talk out the issues, no matter what they are."

"… Not exactly poetry, but…"

"Did it work?"

Ruby smirked, chuckled and shook her head slightly before eyeing the blonde beside her with a gleam of hope in her eyes. "Yeah, it did." Deep within, she felt a small spark of inspiration. And from an unlikely source, too. Yang was good as a hype-girl, but wasn't real strong on inspiration. This, however, took the cake, and even though it was her father's words, it still resonated within the fifteen-year-old and made her want to talk to Blake right now and figure this whole thing out. "Yang?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

Pyrrha patiently waited in her groups usual spot, sitting along the bench against the wall with her arms crossed in front of her chest, her right leg resting over her left and her eyes closed. The index finger of her right hand was tapping her arm to the beat of a song that played in her head, something to keep her occupied while her friends went to retrieve their belongings. Luckily, Ruby Yang and Blake's lockers were all in the same area, but Nora's was on the completely opposite side of the school's Gen-Ed wing, which meant that she would take the longest. They all decided to meet up here after class to discuss their plans for tomorrow.

Though, if they could hurry up a little… After all, Jaune is waiting on her right now, and right after dropping Pyrrha off at the Gymnastics Training Center, he had to go across town, get his sisters from school, take them home and go to his family shop to close for the night. Needless to say, he was busy and currently being very patient with his girlfriend's situation at hand. Sure, he understood proper planning. A necessity in life. But given that he was on the clock with time running out… Things could go a little faster.

Surprisingly enough, however, the first one to arrive was Nora accompanied by Ren. Luckily, neither had to work today at all, which was a blessing, especially given how busy Fridays could be. The shorter teen ecstatically waved her partner away and skipped to Pyrrha with a smile, stopping just short of her bench. "Well, well, well," Pyrrha admonished, "Someone's here early."

"Earlier than most!" Nora exclaimed, "I didn't have anything to retrieve, so here I am!"

"If only we could say that about the others…"

"Say what about the others?" A familiar voice called from down the hall, one that both teens instantly recognized as Yang's. Turning their attention to their right, both watched as their blonde friend led the trio, Ruby staying close behind and on her friend's left with her red jacket over her uniform, and Blake a little farther out to Yang's right. "is Pyrrha talking crap again, Nora?"

"When isn't she?"

"Hey! That implies that I'm a trash talker!"

Ruby smirked and turned away, barely covering her mouth, "Only on Fridays." She coughed lightly as she spoke to hide her words, but everyone knew that move. Luckily, it was well received as most of the group got a chuckle out of it. Even Blake, despite not getting the joke too much.

Pyrrha, however, just rolled her eyes and sarcastically chuckled. "Ha-ha, very funny, nice shot. If you all don't mind, I'd like to hurry, please. I'm keeping people waiting."

Yang pulled both Blake and Ruby in close and leaned them all into the group before loudly whispering, "It's a booty call." Ruby's shoulders slumped disappointedly as she shook her head while Blake began to madly blush, all the while Nora getting her kick out of the joke. Pyrrha, on the other hand, just closed her eyes, held back a smile and blushed until her face was about as red as her hair. "Sorry, Pyr, that was just too open of a shot."

"No, no. I'll make you pay tomorrow."

"Alright, but seriously," Yang clapped, releasing her captives, "We need to talk about tomorrow. Who's doing and/or bringing what? Also, I'm running out tonight to do some shopping, so if anyone has requests-" Ruby raised a hand quickly, but the nurse in training pointed a finger and shot her down just as quickly, "Usual for you."

"Thank you."

"Anyone else? Special trip for food, anything we want for dinner, or are we going out?"

Nora raised an eyebrow quizzically before speaking, "We'll have so many snacks, why would we need to go out?"

Pyrrha jumped in to Yang's defense, though, "Would probably be nice to have a decent meal tomorrow, you know?" The chef accepted the answer and gestured for the blonde to take it away. "I'm good with whatever, so long as Yang doesn't cook it."

"Yes, yes, Pyr, we get it, I'm a bad cook."

"The never-ending joke."

"Anyway! Moving on. Blake, any requests?" The bow-wearing teen couldn't think of anything, so she shook her head. "Alright, then. If any of you want to bring something, let me know so I can adjust accordingly. I'll have the pop and the snacks at the ready, so… All that leaves us is the time."

"Usual deal?" Ruby inquired honestly. The usual deal was any time after two, just so Yang's father could get going for the day. Sometimes Yang would up later, too, just in case she worked with him. The inquiry was met with a steady nod.

"Yup. Usual deal, and uh…" She turned back, her lilac orbs meeting amber eyes for a moment before turning back to silver eyes about seven inches below her, "You're going to show her where to go, right?"

"Already got it mapped out, Yang. Don't worry."

"Cool, great, uh… How long can everyone stay? Do we know schedules?"

Nora, reluctantly, raised her hand, "I took it off, but I might have to come in anyway, because the person I traded shifts with isn't exactly… Reliable…" Yang placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side playfully, shaking her head after a moment.

Pyrrha decided she should speak up, too. "If Nora has to leave, I'm her ride so I'll take her and if I do, there's really no reason to come back, I don't think, since I'm already so close to home anyway."

"Wow! What party-poopers!"

"Sorry, Yang."

"It's not my fault!"

Blake decided she would jump in and try to salvage what she could and brighten the mood. "If it's any consolation, I don't have anything to do Sunday, and I'm not sure about Ruby but I'm sure they'll be lenient on her." The silver-eyed child raised on left hand and shook her head with a grin, stopping Blake from continuing.

"I've already got it worked out with the others. I'm good to show up whenever on Sunday."

With another single clap, Yang smiled widely and rubbed her hands together, "Oh, I love it when a plan comes together… Alright, so…" She turned to her scroll and stared at the clock, the time slowly ticking away for once to their advantage. "Synchronize your watches, people, for in twenty-four hours, we party until the sun comes up!"

"Is it really going to be as fun as Yang let on?" Blake curiously inquired as she turned the keys in the ignition. Once the engine turned over, she and her younger passenger buckled their seatbelts and waited for an opportunity to back out of the space, unable to do so due to traffic of kids eager to leave the academy for the weekend. "Not that I'm not excited, it just seemed like she was hyping it up."

Ruby shrugged simply, not ever having thought about that. Usually, she had fun at these sleepovers, if that's what you want to call it. "I'll admit, she may have overexaggerated." Ruby admitted, "It's far more fun during the summer when it's warmer and nicer outside, even though they said we'd have a mild weekend I can't help but feel that we'll be basement bound for the night."

"Basement bound?"

"Oh, yeah, Yang and her dad recreated their basement last year and now it's a workout room, and office and a gaming-cave, as Yang put it. They tried to make a bar, supposedly, but didn't have time."

"Aw, darn." Blake sarcastically quipped, "What will we be doing?"

The passenger honestly shrugged as Blake began to back out, finding a space given by a nice Jeep driver, "Dunno. During the summer, we'd go outside in the dark and play Ultimate Cops 'n Robbers."

"Ultimate? What's that mean?"

"It means… Well, you'll find out if you're lucky."

"Why won't I like this?"

"Oh, you'll love it. It'll be Nora and I that hate it." Blake slowly nodded, still very much confused, but wouldn't press further. Whatever the game was, it sounded intriguing but also sounded like hell for some people. "Anyway, what we'll do will depend on the weather. I know that they were talking about rain tomorrow night into Sunday morning, so it all depends on how early we get there and how right the weather people are."

"Implying that they ever get it right in the first place around here." Ruby smiled and let out a soft chuckle as she leaned further into her seat, slouching down and watching the world, or at least the neighborhood outside of Beacon's grounds, go by. The radio was turned down by the driver so she could at least hold a proper conversation. "How do you know the weather report for the weekend if you don't have a TV or a computer? Unless you hide them really well, I haven't seen anything like those in your apartment?"

"I have a radio in there." Ruby playfully chided, "I also see it whenever I work with Neo. She likes watching the news."

"Ah."

"I also have it imprinted on the side of my head, if you recall."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Blake chuckled, "I think I may have the sports section on my scalp." Both occupants shared a laugh as the queue of cars finally began to move again. "Think we'll ever get home?"

"Nah. Not within the hour."

Blake rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers sarcastically before leaning back in her seat, patiently waiting for the right time to move again. "Anything else I should know?"

Ruby unzipped her jacket and stretched her muscles outward. "Unless you want to bring something for everyone to eat, no. Maybe have some cash on hand, just in case we go out? Usually the rule is to pay for yourself."

"Well, that's not too bad, then."

"No, it's not. Last time we did this was before the summer, before they had their basement redone. In the morning, at like, eleven we all finally woke up. Pyrrha and Nora left and it was just Yang and I. She was my ride back home." Blake nodded, gesturing for her friend to continue with interest, "We were so lazy that day that I didn't get back until, like, six when her dad woke up to go to work."

"Wow."

"Neo and Junior were not happy."

"Can I be honest with you? I can believe it." Blake admitted as she finally got out onto the road and out of the parking lot, able to see the traffic light at the end of the block and groaning to herself by the shortness of it. There was barely enough time for five cars to get out. This was starting to get obnoxious. "We need to start leaving sooner." Ruby nodded in agreement while the driver continued, "Anyway, despite what I've seen so far out of Neo, I can tell that she cares a lot about you. More of a 'tough love' kind of woman, but the care is there."

The passenger softly smiled as she reminisced back to the early days with her boss, days that were as good as they were now. Maybe less tense than a few years ago, but still good times nonetheless. "Yeah," She said quietly, staring out the window at the slowly passing wildlife that surrounded the academy. "She's like a mother to me, you know? She cares."

By now, they were a few cars back from the intersection, causing Blake to grow ever anxious. She had her path planned in her mind: Right at the intersection, two miles down the road and to the highway, do some road shenanigans and finally make her way home. "How long have you know her?"

"A while." Was the concise retort. "She was my caretaker when I was a kid, you know? A babysitter, almost."

'Oh, little girl.' Blake growled to herself at the lie, 'You're gonna wanna retract that statement, soon.'

Blake stayed mostly quiet since that point, out of nothing more than shear spite, which worried Ruby a little bit. The black-haired driver seemed interested with her up to now, but that interest seemed to die away. She didn't know what to say, either, that could possibly rouse her neighbor. Blake was a tough book to read, that was for sure, and Ruby has read a lot of books in her short time on Remnant. The silence, palpable and awkward as it was, only served to elongate the car ride and cause a shiver to run down the passenger's spine. She felt and odd sense of déjà vu, that she had been in this situation before with this very bow-wearing girl, being silently scolded or possibly even ignored.

Maybe that had to do with the thought Velvet put into her mind the night before?

"H-hey." Ruby called forth the attention of the driver, who finally turned on the highway and moved northbound to home. "About that deal we made last night?" Blake nodded silently, "I-I'm not asking for another extension, if that's what you're thinking."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… I think I figured it out… I think I figured you out."

Amber eyes quickly blinked three times in surprise as their owner's eyebrows went wide, surprised to hear this from her neighbor. How did she figure it out so quickly? She had to have been given a hint, and not any of the light teases that Blake has made. No, somebody helped… Velvet helped. She had to have, it's the only way. "Did you really, now?" Blake admonished, accelerating the car to a few miles over the speed limit, yet still not able to match some of the traffic around her as they sped through the fifty mile-per-hour zone. "And just what do you think you have figured out?"

"Um, well…" Reverting to old tactics, Ruby tapped both of her index fingers together and began to shy away, shrinking in her seat and staring at the dashboard in front of her, "I don't really want to tell you until we get back to the apartment, you know? Just in case I'm right… Or if I'm wrong… Either way I might get worked up."

"Why would you get worked up?"

"Something tells me that you may know why."

Traffic began to come to a halt as the next, and final, light ahead turned red. Less than half a mile was the difference between here and home, which wasn't that long. Five minutes, if that, and if there was one thing that a Belladonna was, it was patient. Very, very patient. "Alright, I'll humor it." She said with a smirk, "I just hope you don't have any plans tonight, because if you're wrong… Ho boy."

"Honestly, I don't even care for the dinner anymore." Ruby meekly replied, "I just… Nevermind, just get us home, alright?"

With a smirk and a huff, Blake glanced to her passenger who had sunk so lowly into the seat she was practically kicking the engine by now. She noticed a small blush on her passenger's face and pondered just why that could be. Regardless, she had her job and her curiosity had peaked more than once in a few minutes… Patience be damned. "Whatever you say."

Uh-oh. It's all about to boil over real quick!

So, before I get into anything else, I just want to say that my schedule is a little shoddy; I got lucky with some off work, but I'm not sure if I'll get that luxury soon, so the next chapter might take a little longer, especially given the exposition that is planned for it.

Now, let's get back to this chapter... I just love my cliffhangers! Seriously, they make the world go 'round, man! I think I'm going to do something different here and let you all tell me what you noticed in this chapter, or what specifically spoke or jumped out at you, if anything. I know Yang's been acting weird and we aren't sure if we can trust Weiss, but Ruby certainly does.

Now, I have a question: I have some space set aside in the next chapter for a look into Pyrrha and/or Nora's life at home. We've seen Ruby and Blake's, had a small glimpse into Yang's (which we'll see a lot more of that later on, trust me) but I want to know if you guys and girls out there want to see the other group members? If it's in high demand then I'll make it happen. If not, then I'm not sure if it'll make a difference being added in or not, so I might just leave it aside. Up to you all.

That being said, go ahead and tell me what you think and how I'm doing. I'd like to know if you're enjoying it or if there's something really wrong, whether or not it's something with the plot or if it's my writing that's off. I want to hear from you, so go ahead and let me have it, even if it's just a guest review! I always reply to questions, too, so feel free to PM me if you have one.

That being said, I'm going to end it here. I hope to see you all again soon, and don't forget to take it easy out there!

Until Next Time.