A Gleam in Jealous Eyes
Weiss paced and stomped about the warehouse with an air of nervous energy today. A lot had happened since Yang's request for time off, and the business woman was left to pick up a little more slack than she wanted.
Namely, the success of the line had brought in more demands and with that, she had to hire a new model. The girl was nothing too special- not to say she wasn't pretty or didn't have wonderfully white teeth, it was just...Weiss didn't really see that spark in her eyes like she could Yang- or even Nora, if she was talking about lighting or explosives.
Her name was Heather Teese, she was about 5' 8'' tall, and fairly small at only one hundred and ten pounds. Her eyes were a shade of dark blue, and hair a long length of rich black. She had a slim build, of course, and small feet- which made fitting her with shoes easy. Other than that, though, she was like any average girl.
One thing that bothered Weiss about her, however, was that the girl was always butting in and trying to get special treatment. Yang was the only model that got anything special, and that was because she had earned it with all her hard work.
"I need a personal trailer, don't you think?" Heather asked, smiling as she followed Weiss around. "Oh~ I'm just so happy you finally saw my resume! It had to be buried under all the others, hm?" She giggled before she heard the roar of an engine.
It was, of course, Blake's sports car; the photographer smiling softly as not only she got out of the car, but Yang as well. The sight of the blonde brightened Weiss's day, but what really got her smiling was the sight of them working to open the back seat and trunk to fetch the wheelchair of her beloved girlfriend.
Yang easily helped Ruby into it, the runner huffing and saying something that got Yang laughing and Blake chuckling; but what it was Weiss didn't know.
"Heather, why not go freshen up for a second, okay?" Weiss said as she nearly skipped over to the three, leaving Heather to walk off without even a glance. Once she was close enough to the trio, Weiss was bending down and hugging Ruby- who was happy for the hug and nuzzled her face against Weiss' neck before her girlfriend stood up. "Hey, Ruby. I missed you."
"I missed you too, Weiss!" Ruby grinned as she placed her hands on her lap.
"Yeah, Boss, I missed you too." Yang playfully cooed, snickering when Weiss groaned and rolled her eyes.
"Yes, yes." She sighed, pausing for a moment before she smirked and gave Yang a softer look. "I missed you too, Yang."
"I'm glad to see everyone in good spirits." Blake said as she smiled and gathered her gear from the car and slung it over her shoulder. "Well then, since we all said our dues, why not get to work? Yang here has been talking my ear off."
"Well, yeah! My sister made a clothing line and I didn't even get to model it!" Yang whined as she crossed her arms. "You know how upset that makes me!"
"It wasn't that big of a deal, Yang." Ruby said, blushing as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "I mean, I find you getting your GED way more cool." Then proud grin and the rough rubbing of her hair let her know that Yang was far too giddy to put the feeling into words, so actions were needed. It messed up her hair, it hurt a little, but the warmth and joy it brought to her spoke volumes.
"Oh, my gosh! Ruby?! Is that you?!" Four pairs of eyes moved to the sound of the voice, finding Heather gasping and rushing over to the stunned adult in the wheelchair. "Are you okay? Gosh, the first time we see each other for years and you're hurt!"
"Uh... who are you?" Yang asked before anyone else could. There was no way this person was another one of Ruby's street friends if what she said was anything to go by.
"She's-"
"I'm the new model!" Heather giggled before she gave Yang a wink. "I was hired to replace you."
"Excuse me?!" Yang gasped, turning to see Weiss shake her head.
"That's not true. I hired her because I needed a new model. The success of Ruby's line brought in more buyers and since you were looking after Ruby, I needed someone to fill your shoes." Weiss explained, taking note of how pissed Heather looked at the correction. "You're still my top model Yang and very much needed." The relief and smugness that washed over Yang nearly made Weiss forget her own question for the woman. "But, you never explained how you know Ruby."
"We knew each other from school." Ruby said softly.
"Yeah, we dated for like, half the year!" Heather grinned, not seeing the faces of shock the others bore. "But enough about that~ Weiss just said you made that new line?!"
Ruby blushed deeply, trying her best to shrink into her chair and simply disappear. "Well... I just made the images and stuff..."
"So you're an artist as well as super smart?! Wow!" Heather giggled again as she placed her hand on Ruby's own. "That's super cool. So, do you work for Weiss too?"
"I'm her-"
"She's my personal assistant and girlfriend." Weiss hissed, her eyes glaring daggers at the other. She was really starting to not like this woman.
"Oh!" Heather smiled as she winked to Ruby. "Still into girls? I have to admit, it was a fun time with you~."
"Uh... heh... yeah, I..." Ruby was struggling to come up with anything, her eyes darting about to see if anyone could or would help her with... whatever this situation was. "So... can we get inside? It's a bit cold out here."
"Yeah! Good idea!" Heather said, reaching out to push Ruby's chair inside, but Yang was quick to reach out and faster still to growl at the other. "Ooookay." She huffed, holding her hands up before she started walking off. "Don't have to be such a-"
"I wouldn't finish that murmur, if I were you." Blake called out, making Heather spin around and glare before continuing to walk off. Turning to see the others looking at her, she simply let her feline ears twitch freely before she shrugged her shoulders.
As Ruby was pushed inside, the feeling and aura everyone gave off made her almost want to whimper. Whatever happened to a safe work environment? This was clearly going to cause some problems and to be honest, she was betting on sooner rather than later.
Heather was one of those girls that 'wanted to try the other side out' as well as get her 'so smart girlfriend' to do all her homework for her. Ruby knew all this when they dated, and even before, but she was a horny teenager and Heather kept most of the jocks away from her; after all, Ruby was her meal ticket to good grades. Having her distracted or harmed was not going to get her work done.
Ruby scoffed to herself as she thought back to it all. She could remember how those chatty girls and guys would come up to her and try to get her to cry when they told her that Heather was only dating her for her smarts. The smirk that spread across her face was the same one every time- the one that grew when Ruby would tell them she knew all that, but she got to use Heather's tongue in return.
Most gave up on that tactic real quick.
"Ruby? Are you tired?" Weiss asked softly, the gentle hand laying on her shoulder snapped the runner out of her daze faster than the words did. "I read that your medication can make you sleepy."
"I don't take it." Ruby said with a soft shake of her head. "I don't like being tired all the time."
"I'd much rather you sleep than get bored and try something dumb." Yang offered with a gruff voice. "Next time I catch you trying to use your crutches as a mallet to smash a spider- which wasn't there in the first place- I'm going to straggle you."
"Hey! That spider was so there!" Ruby whined as she waved her hands about. "I saw it!"
"You know what I saw? I saw you bashing the floor in random spots with the head of your crutch while screaming as high as you could." Yang said with a wag of her finger. "Then, after all that, you hurt your back and shoulder so I had to struggle with you to let me apply more of the pain ointment, which then led to you whining about it for an hour."
The chuckling and giggling that surround her made Ruby grumble and cross her arms with a pouty huff. She was so glad that they all found it funny, but it wasn't like she had the ability to get up and run away from the spider- which was totally there by the way!
As the laughing group entered Weiss' office, they set Ruby up at her desk so she may see some of the shots taken on the runway. It made her chest swell with pride. Seeing her artwork on the clothes or splattered across jeans had her smiling brightly. What made her even more proud was the fact that on certain pieces, Yang would point out things she liked or huffed about she wanted to model that piece. If Yang wanted to wear her art, then she had every right to be proud!
Weiss was kissing the top of Ruby's head softly from time to time, her fingers lightly trailing down her arms. To have Ruby smiling and in her arms again was making Weiss simply relax and easily let her guard down. She had been so worried, yet so busy with the growth of her business that she barely had time to see the injured runner.
Nora came bouncing into the office, along with Ren, Jaune, and Pyrrha. They were all smiles, genuinely happy to have Yang and Ruby back in the warehouse. It was like the family was back together again.
"Hey, Ruby!" Nora greeted before she stopped in front of the girl and bending down to gently hug her. "When are you gonna be able to walk?! I've been practicing some parkour and I wanna show you!"
"A cartwheel is not parkour, Nora." Ren sighed, though the smirk playing on his lips was clear and amused. "She's been hyper, wanting to spend time with you, Ruby."
"We all have." Pyrrha said, handing Ruby a bundle of roses before she folded her hands in front of her. "We've missed you greatly here, Ruby and we're glad you're finally well enough to come back. Of course, we missed you too, Yang. The place just doesn't have the same energy without you two."
"Yeah, but we have less drama here too, so..." Jaune chuckled before he tried to wave away the glares. "Anyway, with you and the new model, we should be getting tons of stuff done!"
"Yes, well..." Weiss sighed before she clapped her hands. "With our greetings over, it's time to get to work! Pyrrha and Jaune, I need those fabric samples bought and sent up here. Ren, those test photos need to be examined before we choose any colors. Nora, I need you to take inventory of the working and non-working lights, plus what we may be in need of- color screens, lasers, you know the drill."
As everyone nodded and scattered, Weiss had Blake and Yang go to a shooting stage and have them ease back into their own roles. Meanwhile, she had Ruby looking over sheets of ideas for future lines to see if she could either come up with new ones, or improve the ones offered. It was an easy, sit down and relax sort of job, one that had Ruby huffing to herself; but she knew that she wouldn't be much help otherwise.
The workplace was softly buzzing with murmurs and the back and forth of pacing. It was easy to fall into it- easy to lose herself- as she made notes about this or that, or jotted down her own ideas. Ruby was so lost, that she didn't hear Heather sneak up behind her to place her arms around her neck and hug her from behind.
"Oh~! I'm so happy to see you again, Ruby!" Heather purred before she walked around to look Ruby in the eyes.
"Y-yeah... you too, Heather." Ruby stammered as she placed the papers down in her lap. "So, I thought you were going into college or something?"
Oh~ you know how all that goes, plus, my beauty would just go to waste sitting behind a desk all day!" Heather giggled before she placed a hand on her hip and gave Ruby a wink. "Anyway, enough about me. What about you? How'd you get hurt, Sweetie?"
"Well I... I was ran over and-"
"Oh, my, DUST! That was YOU!?" Heather gasped. "I saw it on the news! You poor, poor, baby!" Heather cooed as she leaned in to place a kiss to Ruby's forehead before she was fought off. "What? What's wrong?"
"Heather! I have a girlfriend!" Ruby growled out before she glared at the huffing woman. "You know that!"
"It wasn't like we were gonna make out or anything. Gosh, Ruby, you're still so dramatic." She teased before eying the list Ruby was working on. "Are those the new line ideas? Do you think any would look good on me?"
"Huh? Uh..." Ruby looked down to the list before shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not sure? I really only make up ideas or themes."
"Well~ what do you fancy me in- besides naked, of course."
"I-"
"Heather!" The sharp, scolding tone that came from Jaune shocked both women. "I think that's quite enough." He growled, tried to, really, and gave the other his best glare. He could easily tell the model had no regret, in fact she was rolling her eyes. Swaying her hips this way and that, she walked out of the room.
Ruby felt sick to her stomach, worry and nerves making almost jittery and shaky. She knew she wasn't in the wrong by any means, but she felt... dirty? A large hand patted her shoulder, breaking her from her daze. Jaune was looking down at her with soft eyes and a worried expression. "Jaune I... I don't..."
"It's okay, Ruby. I saw a good bit of what happened." Jaune said before he sighed. "Heather doesn't seem to be a very good person, huh?"
"No... no, she uses people." Ruby said as she rubbed her arm nervously. "We used to date simply because I was smart and she was... well, I guess I didn't mind the sexual favors and stuff."
"Wow, too much, Ruby." Jaune said, a slight blush on his cheeks. "Look, it seems you have something she wants or something. If I were you, hang around others, or just tell her off."
"Yeah... yeah, those sound like good ideas." Ruby mumbled before she heard Jaune sigh. "What? What's up?"
"I forgot!" Jaune groaned as he pressed the heel of his pale to her forehead. "All new employees sign a contract that lasts at least three months."
"Yeah, so?"
"Until that contract is up, Weiss can't fire her unless she's caught breaking it."
"Well...what's...what's the worst that can happen?" Ruby asked, looking up at Jaune before she shrugged. "If I stay away from her, she can't flirt... right?"
"Well...yeah, I guess." Jaune hummed before he smiled. "Just hang with me, Rubes. You'll be fine."
A/N: Hey Guys! Sorry for the SUPER LATER update! October is a busy month, but November is even busier for me! Also, on a side note, I wanted to further explain the three stories I have available on Pateron. If you like how or what I rite here, I'll love what I write there too; plus, there's no minimal pay to get all access to those stories! You pay what you feel comfortable with, no strings attached! Don't want to pay for something you don't even get to test the waters with? No problem! All three stories have their first chapters free to view and read! That means, even if you aren't yet a supporter, you can read them for free! If you like a story and you want to read the rest, become a supporter and the rest of the chapters are available to you at anytime! Now, I know not all of you guys can donate that extra dollar and that's totally fine, just spreading the word would be just as helpful for me! If this sounds good for you, but you have questions, just ask and I'll answer them the best I can. Thank you all for being such awesome fans and I hope you all have a wonderful day!
P.S. My Beta, Minesniper, left me some great notes about the new character I introduced this chapter! They were so great, that I figured I would leave them for you all to read too! XD Minesniper:
Can she get hit with a car next?
Maybe two cars?
Two cars and a train.
Not a normal train either. One of those super-fast bullet trains.
And the train's on fire.
And all the passengers have a deadly airborne disease.