Hello all! With a little help from the fine people of the Lancaster discord, I came up with a new story to tell. Speaking of which, /FNamjKAp is the URL to join us. All new story with all new ideas with the same trashy writer because that is what we do here. Anyway, if you enjoy please consider sending a follow, favorite, and review my way. Enjoy!

GodRealm

Italicized – Inner thoughts

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Beacon academy was the be all, end all of schools when it came to learning and training to become a Huntsman/Huntress. It was here at this very school that some of the biggest and brightest of students were molded into the champions that served to protect the world of Remnant. The academy was the shining crown that belonged to Vale and its students would become the protector of the great city after graduation, similarly to the other academies located around the world.

With minds like Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch, amongst other eccentric personalities that taught at the school, there wasn't much that the students had to be concerned about when it came to their future. Starting with the basics and working their way up, each student would become part of a four-person cell that worked cohesively in order to survive each mission they were tasked with. Once they had achieved the ability to work as a team, they would spend the next few years building on that before being able to officially test for licensure after graduation. Yes, life in the academy prepared you for the tedious road ahead into adulthood and everything else it had to offer.

Well, mostly everything.

Yes, fighting was a basic skill that needed to be learned for the encounters with Grimm amongst the other dangers that lurked in the world, there were some things that couldn't truly be taught in the classroom. While they could learn every way to handle themselves in battle and hone their skills as leaders, that wasn't all there was to life. Similarly, to modern schools where students ascertained different subjects such as arithmetic, science, or possibly religion; these places also couldn't help younger adults learn about everything. No matter what institution of learning a student attended, there are things that can't be taught, but rather, had to be experienced.

This would be the case for one five-foot-two redhead that stood in the student locker area within the compounds of Beacon academy as she stared at one of the names engraved on one of the metal structures. The nameplate read "Jaune Arc", someone she was all too familiar with and someone she could call a friend. The girl in question was none other than Beacon's red reaper and leader of Team RWBY, Ruby Rose, and she was on a mission. This wasn't just any mission though. This particular excursion was a personal matter that she needed to address; something long overdue in her mind at least. What was the task? A covert operation that involved infiltration without detection and a hasty retreat once she had planted the object she was currently holding. Once it was left there, the appropriate target would then take hold of it, initiating the second step. What was the second step? A meet up planned between two parties with a discussion on how things would move forward, hopefully one in length. From there, they could move on with step three. What was step three? Well, that was unknown.

Gods, she hoped there was a step three.

Ruby let out an audible sigh as she repeated each of these things in her head. This whole ordeal was becoming overwhelming these days. This task had been weighing more and more on her and she became more anxious about it with each passing minute, but the idea of acting now after all this time was creating a new type of anxiety within her. It was clear to her what she had to do, but that didn't make it any less daunting task.

She gulped silently to herself as she checked over her shoulders for any bystanders in her general vicinity. Coast is clear. She wanted to be sure no one saw or heard her. She had carefully chosen this time with the hopes no one would be present in the locker area. She even faked having to run to the restroom during Professor Port's "oh so interesting" history of Huntsman battles a few minutes before class ended to make sure she had the hallway to herself—something that had apparently paid off.

With no one around, the redhead focused back on her goal, Jaune's locker. With a silent squeak, she opened the small door and examined its contents. In quite the Jaune fashion, his textbooks were scattered carelessly with papers from old smashed against the sides. She smiled to herself as she had correctly guessed what she had imagined it would look like. She didn't have much room to talk herself. While her locker was slightly more kept, it wasn't so immaculate as compared to someone like Weiss. She just had to be better than everyone… at everything.

Shaking herself of these thoughts, she returned to her self-designated assignment at hand. She took one last deep breath before reaching into his locker, object in hand, and placing it a top one of his textbooks, leaving it noticeable, or so she would hope. Once that was done, she closed the locker gently, continuing to remain stealthy in her duty. Ruby could feel the sweat on her palms as she finished the last portion of step one. It had taken weeks of planning and then even more time to work up the strength to follow through with her ploy. This was all new territory to her. It was something even a year ago she could not conceive herself doing, but now she had finally undertaken. She had done it…

She had put the confession letter in his locker. Now she would wait. Nothing was going to stop this now.

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GodRealm Proudly Presents…

A Lightning in a Bottle Production…

With characters and locations created by Monty Our and Rooster Teeth…

Who Asked for Your Advice?

Chapter 1: Request from a Rose

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Ruby grinned confidently at her actions. Taking such strides towards what she wanted, or rather, who she wanted was a step in the right direction. She needed to build off of this momentum and get ready for the confrontation she was going to have with Jaune. It was one thing to write a simple letter and leave it for him, but confessing her feelings, oh how she dreaded that idea. The thought alone was stomach-churning.

It was truly bewildering how Ruby Rose, currently in her fourth and final year in Beacon Academy, proven in combat amongst her peers and Grimm alike was terrified of telling a boy two years her senior that she had feelings for him. It was embarrassing more than anything; the idea of doing it, but even more so that she was terrified to do it. What if he didn't feel the same way, or rather, what if he liked someone else?

No. No, she wouldn't give in to such cogitation. She had already come this far and she needed to see it through. For the sake of step three, she needed to complete step two.

Ruby bit her lip softly. But how? She contemplated to herself. How did she do it? What words did she choose? What was her face supposed to look like when she did? Gods, why was this so complicated?

Maybe the best bet from now until the meeting time would be for her to practice it over and over to get it down pat? Yes, create a flow and work of that. There wasn't exactly a true method of confessing one's love for another, so she just needed to become comfortable with saying it.

Ruby clinched her fists as she accepted this as fact. Practice saying "I like you, Jaune.", over and over? Piece of cake… right?

"Okay," She spoke to herself. "time to give it a try."

Ruby took a deep breath in anticipation, clinching her fists even tighter. Wait, why were her palms so sweaty? This was just practice. "Jaune, I l-" She stopped herself, turning a cherry-red. Well, that was no good.

Ruby coughed this time, clearing her throat. That's all it was, just a slight lump in the pharynx. Time to try again. "Jaune…" She paused. "I loooooo- Nope. That doesn't sound right either."

Curse these one-way mind tricks that she was psyching herself out with. It was almost as if she was already in front of him and he was staring at her with that big, goofy stare he had. She could now feel the trembling in her legs as she tried to re-focus. This was bad. She was just practicing now. What was going to happen when she had to say it to his face in a few short hours? Was there an actual manual for this? This was going to be more difficult than she had initially imagined. How annoying.

Ruby let out a frustrated groan as she ran her hands through her hair. What a pain this was becoming. She should kick his butt just for putting her through all this. After all, it was his fault in the end, or at least, that was how she saw it. For right now, she just had to concentrate and get it down once so she could build off that.

"Jaune, I-"

"Hey, Rubes."

"Wahhh?!" Ruby yelped as the voice spoke from behind her, nearly launching herself against the lockers in front of her.

She turned around to see none other than the blonde knight she was imagining speaking to prior to his actual appearance. He offered a shy smile and raised hand, giving her a gentle wave. Flanking him to his right was one of his teammates from Team JNPR, and another goofball in her own right, Nora, who was waving over-zealously at her with both hands and a huge grin plastered on her face.

What kind of cursed timing is that? Ruby thought to herself as she clenched her chest, recovering from the surprise.

"Oh, hey you two." She finally spoke after calming herself down. If they had heard what she had been trying to say moments earlier she'd have probably found herself in an early grave via death by embarrassment. Perhaps it was for the best she was struggling with blurting out the simple sentence. She also deserved minus points for not being aware of her surroundings.

"Ooooooooh, whatcha doing, Ruby?" Nora commented excitedly. "Did you cut class? Did you? Did you?! Bad girl!"

Typical Nora.

"Knock it off, Nora." Jaune chastised causing her to pout. "You're the one making us leave mid-class because you don't have your book."

Nora snorted at his comment. "Yeah, well, that's my problem."

"When the professor sends me to 'watch you' and make sure you make it back; it becomes my problem." Jaune retorted with a monotone and finger quotes.

"Well, duh, that's a leader's job." Nora rebutted. "Plus it's Thursday, it's your turn anyway."

Ah, Nora duty. Ruby forgot that was a thing Team JNPR had discussed a while ago. It was probably for the best, anyway. Not just for Nora, but for the other students and possibly the teaching staff.

"Just get your stuff, I'll switch out my books for next class also."

Jaune approached his locker where Ruby was standing before unzipping his bag and flashing her a smile.

"Mind if I get in there?" Jaune asked.

"Oops." Ruby chuckled to herself as she stepped to the side. "Sorry about that."

"No problem." Jaune replied moving towards his locker and opening the door. "What were you doing here, anyway? Isn't your locker down the other end of the hallway?"

Crap.

"Oh, I was just, you know, taking a walk!" She blurted out, playing with the seam of her combat skirt. "Sometimes you just need to stretch your legs, especially when it's Professor Port."

"So, you were skipping?" Jaune grinned playfully.

"Haha, very funny." Ruby mockingly laughed as she smiled back. "How about you worry about your Nora problem before you make comments like that?"

The two shared a small chuckle as Jaune retrieved the last of his school books. As expected, both had become close over the last few years; bonding over things such as team leader meetings and classwork. Ruby accredited those times as what led to her acknowledging her subtle feelings for Jaune. From her first day at Beacon when he pulled her out of her crater, they had become friends and only grew from there, but these emotions were so much grander than that now of companionship. She thought of him often, more than she even admitted.

At first, these thoughts were indistinct and seemingly harmless. That was, until she found herself thinking about him in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. For what many people would have realized earlier on that these were feelings of affection towards another, it took Ruby the upwards of months. Comes with the territory of never having had interest in dating anyone before she supposed. Whatever the case, she was committed to the job of telling him now and with any hope she could have the proper wording to tell him once the time was-

"Hey, what's that, Jaune?"

Ruby was stirred from her thoughts at the announcement of the forgotten third party who was so kind to pick up something Jaune had dropped while she and Jaune conversed in the hallway. That's when she saw what it was. While they were mindlessly flirting—or at least in her mind they were flirting, Nora had retrieved the letter from the ground. Ruby remained quiet as Nora examined the small white envelope; inspecting it on both sides.

Nora spent several seconds glancing over it from all different angles, as if she knew exactly how to put Ruby into a state of disarray. Those painful seconds felt like hours as Ruby tried to play off her worries with a weak smile, attempting to keep Jaune's attention on her and their conversation, but as fate would have it, her efforts would be in vain.

Jaune zipped up his bag with the books he had switched out from the locker as he finally focused his attention on the shorter of the two girls as she carried on with the seemingly never-ending supply of energy. "I don't know; why don't you tell me?" He posed. He had to admit, he was slightly curious as to what it could be, completely overlooking it to the point where it fell to the floor. He would need to pay more attention to his surroundings.

Ruby gulped loudly as Nora nodded her head excitedly. This wasn't how she had planned for this to go at all. It was supposed to be her, staring from afar as Jaune read the note alone in the hallway at some point today so that she could gauge his reaction. From there, she would be able to pick up on how excited he would or would not be. Leave it to Nora to mess up her plans; not that it was anything new to most of their group.

She watched on as Nora peeled back the seam of the envelope agonizingly slow in front of her and Jaune; the sound seemingly louder in the currently otherwise empty hallway. Ruby couldn't help but feel even more annoyed as Nora had decided to obliterate the envelope and crumple it as she retrieved the note from inside. She wasn't one for craftsmanship, but she did put some lov—uhh, effort into making sure it was completely presentable for when the true recipient opened it. These thoughts left her head as Nora tossed the now-crinkled paper into the trash can behind her—missing of course before opening the creased up paper that was inside.

"Wait." Jaune called, catching both girls' attention. "Maybe I should read it since it was, you know, meant for me?" He finished almost uncertain himself.

Ruby could squeeze the tall, awkward boy right now. She had been saved from a certain Nora-type fate. All she needed was for this girl to start spazzing out, for lack of a better term, and causing her to get all frazzled before she could follow through with her plan later. That was probably the worst possible outcome.

Nora pouted audibly, showing her discontent with the blonde's request, something he took notice of and responded with an annoyed look of his own before reaching his hand out in a soliciting manner. Nora huffed once more before dropping it in his hand, as if he were her father requesting the toy she was playing with and ending her fun. He really wasn't old enough or paid enough to deal with this.

Ruby remained silent as Jaune began reviewing the typed note she had made him. She figured acting disinterested would be the better move in attempt to not draw the attention onto herself. After all, it was bad enough they had both spotted her at his locker. What kind of rotten luck was this? She thought. The reason she had chosen to type up the letter was so he wouldn't recognize her writing as well. She didn't really think he would notice, but it was just an extra precaution she opted to take. She had a plan after all—keyword had.

"Aren't you heading back to class, Ruby?" Nora asked. Ruby was stumped for a moment as she stood there. She really had no reason to be there now and it was probably even more suspicious that she was still standing there, or at least her paranoia told her. Regardless of how all this turns out, I am going to make sure every drop of pancake batter goes missing and this girl goes without them. Ruby told herself as she cleared her throat to reply.

"Well, I figured we could all walk together at this point." She stammered slightly. "Y-You know, since we're all here." Nice save.

"Class cutter." Jaune mumbled as he continued reading.

Ruby was going to make a comment in reply, but she found herself at a loss for words as she stared at the blonde boy who was skimming through her brief note. She didn't know what she found more concerning: the fact that her letter was short and he was seemingly re-reading it over and over, or the face he currently had. She couldn't really describe it. His brow was furrowed and it was almost as if he was stuck concentrating on the short message.

D-Did I say something weird? Ruby thought as she began to fidget slightly. Or maybe… he doesn't like it? Ruby could feel her stomach sinking as her self-esteem tanked. The idea of not being reciprocated hurt, but the idea of Jaune not even humoring what was written or not taking those words seriously, hurt that much more. Does he know it was me that wrote it? Ruby could feel her energy draining as she stood there longer and longer and-

"WILL YOU COME OUT WITH IT ALREADY?!" Nora exclaimed, bringing Ruby back to Remnant while causing Jaune to jump back in surprise as well.

"W-What's your problem?" Jaune questioned.

"You!" Nora returned. "I want to know what it says!"

"That's none of your business!"

"I wanna! I wanna! I wanna!"

Jaune face-palmed at his teammate's child-like behavior as she waved her arms around in a frantic manner. He could only count down the minutes until Nora duty was no longer his and despite Ren's pleas for a break, when it becomes his turn, he would not be getting one; even to use the bathroom.

While Jaune stood there trying to think of a way to deal with the Nora problem, Nora herself found this to be the perfect opportunity to 'yoink' the paper from his hand before he could scramble to fight back.

"Hey!" He attested as Nora scampered down the hall.

Ruby outstretched her hand in an attempt to stop Nora as well, but recoiled quickly before she could expose herself as the sender. She clinched her fist tightly as she watched as Nora looked at Jaune with a devious smile and began reading the letter aloud. She would have to stand there and bare it for now, but Ruby would have her revenge on this girl after today.

"Ahem," Nora announced as she imitated clearing her throat.

Hey Jaune,

I wanted to say that you are really cool. I think that you are a great leader and that you might

be the most-improved fighter here at the academy since you started. I like that with everything

that you've dealt with you haven't gotten discouraged and keep going. Yeah, you're like, totally

cool, really!

P.S. I'd like to tell you in person some other things. Maybe you can try and meet me behind the

gymnasium after classes are done for the day? I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

Everyone was silent as Nora finished reading the brief letter. Ruby's bottom lip quivered as she saw Nora's eyes remained plastered the paper, but now she was devoid of any energy unlike a few moments earlier. What was the problem with her letter? First Jaune and now Nora? It took her most of the night to write all that!

"D-Did a first grader write this?" Nora mumbled.

"W-What?" Ruby questioned from the girl's side.

"You're so cool! Totally cool!" Nora mimicked as he fought back the urge to bust out laughing. "I see why you were looking over this for so long, Jaune."

I'm going to kill her. I'm going to kill her. I'm going to kill her.

"Actually," Jaune commented before Nora could go on and Ruby could contemplate homicide further. "I was thinking did this person give this letter to the right Jaune."

Both girls stopped what they were doing and looked over at the blonde knight as he scratched his head. "I mean, I've never been cool." The girls stared at each other as he continued onward. "And I screw up a lot." He continued as he seemingly began to slump in position as both girls felt the change in mood shifting. Ruby's awkward meter was rising as Nora was more or less regretting having dived down this rabbit hole. "A-and I get discouraged quite often, actually. I really ju-"

"Hey, buddy!" Nora yelled as she began giving her team leader a few back slaps. "W-we both think you are plenty great, right Ruby?"

"Y-Yeah," Ruby replied instantly. "You've got a lot of really great qualities, Jaune!"

The redhead watched as the corners of Jaune's mouth tugged and brought a slight smile to the boy's face as he avoided their gaze. It was no secret that through all of the trials and tribulations Jaune had gone through since submitting forged transcripts to Beacon and despite proving himself more than most thought he could, he still suffered from low self-esteem and anxiety. It was one reason Ruby decided a well-crafted letter of support would be the best way to try and get her feelings out. It might even score her some brownie points if Jaune was uneasy about accepting a love letter too.

"Thanks, you guys." Jaune finally spoke.

"Anytime! Besides," Nora spoke once more with a smirk now adorning her face. "it seems someone is very interested in you Jauney-boy." Nora commented in a playful tone as she dangled the letter in front of Jaune once more.

"W-What do you mean?"

Nora scoffed at his reply before rolling her eyes and responding. "It's a love note, dummy. Someone's trying to confess their love to you!"

Jaune snatched the paper back from Nora with the chance she provided, causing her to give a playful pout, one that Ruby giggled at quietly. He glanced it over once more before sticking it in his back pocket for safe-keeping, also something Ruby took note of.

"I'm sure it was just someone trying to be nice." Jaune replied while trying to hide the shade of red on his cheeks, something Ruby found adorable to watch. "Or Yang ready to play another prank on me."

"You think she would go through all this trouble to tease you?" Ruby inquired.

"She's your sister, you tell me."

"…Good point."

Ruby knew better than anyone what her sister was capable of, and honestly, it wouldn't have been the first time Jaune would be on the receiving end of one of her pranks. Last time involved her telling him that combat training had been moved from the usual indoor stadium beacon had to the middle of the woods. To be fair, Jaune probably should have questioned it, but he took her words at face value. Something he'd regret hours and a search party later.

"That being said, I'll at least hear what this person wants to tell me; assuming they are real." He finished.

"I think that is the right decision." Ruby quipped with a smile.

"Oh?" Nora asked with a hand on her chin and an eyebrow raised. "is there something you know that he doesn't?"

Ruby froze again at the girl's question. She was almost in the clear until she had to go and be Nora again. A nervous smile crept onto Ruby's face as she shook her head in reply while at the same time making the same motion with her raised hands. The action didn't defend much of an argument, but it was all her brain could muster on the spot.

Nora smiled devilishly at the redhead as Jaune stood there confused at what the two were doing. That's when Ruby was saved… by the school bell.

The noise rang loudly in the hallway as all three were interrupted by the conversation at hand. Not one to waste the opportunity for a retreat, Ruby dashed off before anything else could be said, moving at semblance-like speed down the hallway towards her next class. Jaune watched on in the direction she had disappeared off to as he scratched his head.

"What's up with her?" He inquired.

"Who knows~" Nora cooed with a smirk still present on her face as both made their way in the same direction towards the next class.

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Ruby sat at her desk with the rest of her teammates as Oobleck rambled on in front of them as usual. To say she was disinterested in his normal lectures would be an understatement, but today she was even less focused than usual. She found herself stuck between her thoughts and the clock on the wall on the far side of the room. It was getting later into the day and with time drawing ever closer to the scheduled "talk" Jaune was to have with her behind the gymnasium, she needed to think of what to say.

What was the problem then? Any time she tried to think up a scenario in her head—instant fluster. Her face would turn red and she would repeatedly die of embarrassment before she could even think of any words to offer him. This whole thing was becoming more and more stressful to the point where she could feel her stomach churning. Then again, the idea of her wasting the opportunity she had made for herself was just as stressful.

Ruby audibly sighed as she began rubbing the sides of her head before dropping her head to the desk in front of her, chin now implanted on the tabletop. Weiss casted her a look of concern after hearing the noise, but quickly returned her attention to the lecture at hand. Ruby didn't notice her friends glance as she had now shifted her own attention to the blonde who sat with his own teammates just a few rows lower than her own. He had a look of disconcert all his own that could rival hers. She could only sit there and wonder if his thoughts were matching hers as well.

She smiled weakly at the boy in front of her as she used her hand to prop up her head. The mere fact that he could take away and bring about her anxiety just by looking at him had her absolutely baffled. Maybe one day she would understand what exactly true love was, and if things went her way, he would be the one to help her with that. She could feel her heart beat faster again as she walked down the "what if" path again.

For the most part, Ruby found a lot about love to be foreign for her. Sure, she had the love of her friends and family, but romance love was still new. This was all the more reason she was embarrassed by these ideas that would float in and out of her head. Luckily, those thoughts were going to be interrupted by the waving hand of one Weiss Schnee, who reminded her of her surroundings once more.

"W-Weiss, what's up?" Ruby stammered.

"Well, seeing how class is over, I figured you would want to… I don't know, leave?" Weiss commented with an adult-like tone.

"Oops." Ruby replied with an awkward face. "Sorry, I guess I was elsewhere."

"You can say that again. Anyway, Blake and Yang went on ahead to the cafeteria. Did you want to join them with me?"

Ruby looked towards the doorway, catching Jaune out of the corner of her eye as he exited the classroom with his teammates lagging behind. She frowned as she realized she never did come up with anything to say to him directly for their planned meeting. Looks like she was going to have to wing it this time.

Ruby stood up suddenly, earning a look of concern from Weiss. "Sorry, I have something I have to take care of first." Ruby stated with a serious face on.

"O-Okay." Weiss answered with a perplexed stare. 'Everything okay?"

Ruby moved passed her friend towards the steps leading downward towards the doorway. "Yeah, everything's great! Just need to take care of some business."

Ruby descended the staircase quickly, attempting to catch up to Jaune as quickly as possible. She didn't want him waiting too long, lest he might think Yang is pranking him again and ruining her plans. She found herself reaching for the doorway before a voice from behind called out to her.

"Ms. Rose!" The voice announced, shifting her attention to the source. "A word, if you don't mind?"

Ruby recognized the voice mid-turn as her teacher. Professor Oobleck stood behind his desk a few feet away, sipping his signature coffee as she looked over at him.

"I-is something wrong, professor?" She questioned awkwardly.

Siiiiip.

"Not really." He responded vaguely at first. "I just wanted to know your thoughts on today's lecture."

Aw, crud.

Looks like she might be a few minutes late.

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Ruby raced through the hallways passed all the other students before exiting the building and making a break for the gymnasium. She wasn't planning to lag behind too long, but even the fast-speaking professor of archaeology can drag out lecture when he wanted to get his point across. So with some feigned words of apology and a flash of silver eyes, she was only stuck there for an additional twenty minutes, much to her chagrin. That being said, she still received a punishment all her own.

Apparently, Oobleck had noticed her complete detachment from the lecture and took it personally as he spent hours prepping for this particularly exciting lesson about "the reason a Grimm's bones are so white". He even cut out the boring stuff and made the one-sided discussion a brief 90 minutes, something she took for granted. But he was a fair man, and he would allow her to prove her sincerity with a three-page report on the topic. Nothing too in-depth, and she had until the next day to complete it.

Fair… right…

Ruby irritably sighed again, thinking about having to go to the library later to try and research this subject later and how one even goes about it. However, this was a problem for later. Currently, she needed to get to the meeting spot as quickly as possible. She prayed mentally that Jaune had decided to stick around and give (unbeknownst to him) her the opportunity to show him that the note was sincere.

It was bad enough she still hadn't mentally prepared herself for this encounter, but she didn't have any more time to waste. Right now, she needed to commit to her objective.

Ruby gave one last burst before turning the corner to behind the gymnasium building. That's when she was greeted by… nothing. No one. Not a soul. Ruby stood there in a petrified state as she processed the situation. Hour worth of planning was now flushed down the proverbial toilet thanks to her inability to find bone coloring interesting and her professor taking offense to it.

Ruby's shoulders slumped as she began to walk slowly behind the building towards the direction of the dorms. Looks like it's back to the drawing board. Ruby could feel a wave of pressure hit her as she would have to come up with something else if she was going to make this work. She didn't even need to know where to start with that. This simple idea alone mustered up all the courage she had and now she was drained by this failure. She needed to sit down and revisit this whole thing.

As Ruby continued her snails-pace of a walk, she found an empty bench behind the building. It was as good a place as any to gather one's thoughts and opted to use it. She 'plopped' down with a thud as she dangled her arms behind headrest portion and kicked her legs that were too short to reach the ground in her current position. Once more, for seemingly the hundredth time, she let out a long, audible sigh. It was times like this she needed a nice tall glass of milk, not shaken or stirred.

She shut her eyes momentarily, embracing the silence that was offered as the sun shone down on her through the trees. Today was a warm day, not too warm, but comfortable. A day that would have been nice to confess her feelings and possibly go on a date for bakery treats. She opened her eyes once more after the thought came to mind.

"I guess a trip by myself isn't too bad…"

"Finally!" A voice exclaimed from close by, drawing her attention. "I thought I was going to be stuck dragging Nora here with me as well."

Jaune? Ruby realized with panic. Apparently the boy had decided to show up and was somehow even later than she was. That's when it clicked in her head once more… Nora duty. Someone didn't want to fill their shift most likely. Her guess was Ren.

Ruby ducked behind the bench into the bushes as a reaction, attempting to hide, poking her head out under the seat. He had caught her off guard and now she was definitely not in the right state of mind to speak to him. She was more frazzled now with this rollercoaster of emotions than she had been before this whole idea of hers.

"Huh," She heard him speak as footsteps grew closer to her location. "I guess I got here first."

She begged any god that was watching down on her that he didn't decide to check behind or under the bench where she was located. She wouldn't even know how to begin explaining this if she was found out. It might weird him out more than anything.

That's when she heard a 'plop' onto the bench next to her, causing her eyes to widen in anxious realization…

"I guess I will hang out for a little."

She was basically hiding right underneath the boy and this situation was awkward to say the least. She couldn't even try and sneak away without making noise, her combat skirt seemingly caught on the shrubbery behind her. The noise from her movement would undoubtedly draw his attention from this distance and then what? She's a creeper? A stalker? A bush fiend of sorts?

Her mind raced in a million directions as she sat there perplexed at this seemingly disastrous situation. She tried to formulate some sort of plan of action to get out of there, but miracles were far and few between. What was her best option she could come up with? Wait there until he decided it truly was a prank by Yang. It broke her up inside to put him through that, but she needed to protect her pride right now. Her dirty, grass-stained pride that probably had more than a few bugs crawling on it at this time.

"Hey, Arc!" Another voice called.

Ruby felt Jaune shift on the bench above her as he looked in the direction of the voice. Ruby recognized the voice, but was unable to get a proper view based on the position she was currently in. She listened as the approach of footsteps continued. They were heavy and she could hear the 'clinking' of what she suspected was armor as it grew louder with each step.

"Cardin?" Jaune questioned. "What's up?"

The footsteps stopped as Cardin remained a few feet away from Jaune, and unaware to both parties, Ruby. He cleared his throat loudly as he brought his hand to his mouth.

"Well," He began. "I kind of saw you heading this way and I had something I wanted to say to you."

Jaune offered an uncertain stare at the taller of the two boys as he made his announcement. That's when things… started falling into place. A shiver crawled up the blonde knight's spine as he gulped.

"I-It's nothing too much, but… but I wanted to tell you!" Cardin remarked loudly.

Jaune was growing more and more uncomfortable by the second as he could feel the sweat begin to pour down the sides of his head. Cardin 'saw him head behind the gym' and 'needed to speak to him'. Jaune could only predict two scenarios from this: The first, Cardin wanted to fight him after the past they've had, which was a serious doubt. While they weren't the best of friends, they had learned to become respectful of one another. So, that left the other option. One Jaune was not ready for.

"I have to make my feelings known before we graduate, so if you don't mind I-"

Jaune jumped to his feet in a defensive manner as Cardin tried to continue on. "H-hey, buddy." He began while waving his hands and backing away. "You don't have to say anything, really."

"You don't understand." Cardin interrupted, making a pleaful face at Jaune as he approached him further, causing the boy to take a few more steps backwards. "I've had these feelings buried deep inside and they need to come out."

Jaune was in full panic mode now as he listened to his former-enemy turned attempted love, or at least it seemed. "P-please, Cardin… I don't think I can handle what you want-"

"I need to do this!"

Before Jaune could hear another word or before Cardin acted on anything, the blonde pulled an old classic from his wide array of fighting tactics. It was one he was taught by his father, and his father before him. It was something he had brought with him to Beacon and he had grown to be known for, and that was retreat.

In a flash that might even give Ruby's semblance a run for her money, Jaune darted in the opposite direction, flailing both arms and disappearing into the far distance. Ruby remained silent from under the bench, mouth left agape at what had just transpired before her. She didn't know if she could ever forget something like this happening as she shook from the awkward scene. That's when she felt someone sitting on the bench above her once more and let out a sigh of their own. She had hoped this would be her chance to possibly sneak off or even intercept Jaune elsewhere, but apparently Cardin had other plans.

"Man," He spoke as he reached into his suit of armor and pulled out a small book before opening it and reading from one of its pages. He looked it over several times before closing it loudly and staring down at the front cover and title.

"Looking for Forgiveness – A Guide to Expressing One's Emotions"

"I was hoping we could have a breakthrough…"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ruby stretched in her chair back at her dorm room as she finished writing in her diary. It was something she had begun doing earlier this year as a way to vent different emotions she was feeling at the time and had become a daily routine for her anymore. She let out a groan as she stretched her aching muscles.

Cardin had been anything but in a hurry to leave that bench, keeping her inadvertently trapped for almost another thirty minutes in a position that was very uncomfortable to put it lightly. Today had definitely not gone as she had hoped. In fact, it was possibly the furthest thing from what she had initially planned out. It went from her confessing, to pulling thorns out of her legs for the better half of the night. Speaking of which…

"Ow!" She yelped as she pulled yet another prickly plant from her side. She flicked it to the side, missing the trashcan completely, earning another groan from the girl. "This is so not my day!"

Ruby closed her diary cover over and stood from her chair and picked up the thorn she had tossed to the wayside before placing it in the proper receptacle. All she needed was one of her teammates stepping on it to start an entire conflict if they wanted to be in a mood. She strolled over to her bunkbed before taking a seat on the lower bunk and staring out the window. Today, she took a big L, but she needed to recover. She needed a second wind, but from where was she going to get something like th—

"There you are." A voice called from the entry of the room. "Everyone's been looking for you."

Ruby looked over to see Weiss walking inside from the dormitory hallway. She closed the door behind her before giving the redhead and inquisitive look as Ruby's demeanor didn't change from that of overcast.

"Oh, hey Weiss." She returned. "None of you thought to check our room?"

Weiss blinked at her usually perky teammate's response as she watched her plop onto her mattress from a sitting position. Weiss opted to walk towards her and take a seat beside her. It wasn't often she had seen Ruby in a state such as this, so she figured a friendly shoulder to lean on would be best, rather than her usual tsu—uh, open way of handling things.

"Hey, everything okay?" Weiss offered as she sat next to her.

Ruby huffed as she laid sprawled out on the bed. "Yeah, I guess so. I just have to do something and I'm clueless."

The room was silent for a few moments as Ruby shut her eyes in attempt to collect her thoughts. She knew she had to work towards another attempt at getting Jaune to understand her feelings, but she had nothing. The letter was the best attempt. She needed a suggestion.

"Well," Weiss commented. "I-I'm here to help if you need me."

Yeah, Ruby thought. I'll just get you to help me wi-

That's when Ruby's eyes opened in realization. She looked over at Weiss who was looking away currently, her pale face wearing a slight complexion of pink after announcing something she deemed "embarrassing." Was the answer right beside her this whole time? A fresh set of eyes and another head to put together with hers to plan to capture the knight's heart and mind might be the answer she so craved. She might not be entirely comfortable telling Jaune her feelings directly, but she might be able to tell Weiss. At least, it couldn't hurt… right?

"That's it!" Ruby yelled as she sat up quickly.

"W-What?!" Weiss shrieked at the girl's sudden loud announcement.

"Maybe you can help me!" Ruby replied with a smile.

"O-Oh? I mean, yeah, I can try."

Ruby placed a hand on the White-haired girl's shoulder as she continued her smile. "Awesome! But first things first…"

"And what's that?" Weiss inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby coughed into her other hand before looking back at Weiss with a deadpan expression, her silver eyes now serious.

"Did you pay attention to Oobleck's lecture?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Well, that's all for chapter one. I have to say, I am excited to be working with longer projects again. Anyway, hope to see you all back here for chapter two. Thanks for reading and please leave a comment about what you thought!

GodRealm