Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY in any way. I claim no expertise in matters of mental breakdowns or under-powered motor scooters.
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Three knocks. No more, no less.
Weiss stood at the front door with baited breath. She wasn't even sure Ruby was home, but here she was, knocking like some kind of door-to-door salesman with a new makeup product… or maybe an overgrown Girl Scout…
She didn't have long to wait, however. Rapid footsteps made themselves known and the door was practically flung open – and Weiss suddenly found herself face-to-face with a tall, good-looking blonde girl whom she did not know. The blonde's face quickly dropped from relieved to dismayed. Or maybe annoyed.
"And what do you want, Ice Queen?" she growled. Weiss ignored the impromptu nickname and paid more attention to the girl's body language: she had quickly crossed her arms as she spoke. The taller teen was clearly irritated at something.
She tried a polite, conversational tone first, "My name is Weiss Schnee and I –"
"I know who you are… what I want to know is why you're here. At my door."
"I… I'm here to talk to Ruby. Is she in?" Weiss' tone had fallen considerably as she spoke… since she also didn't know exactly what to say in this situation.
Just getting this far had been enough of a nightmare. After her mini-breakdown the previous night, Weiss had spent most of this morning getting herself cleaned up… but not because she was getting ready for a date or anything. The next hour was spent picking out her clothes… but not for a date, goodness no. The rest of the time was spent in rehearsal – trying out multiple lines and apologies for when she would inevitably meet the redhead again… but they weren't dating… right?
And now she stood in front of the home Ruby lived in (it was a small duplex closer to the school than her own home was). She came dressed in a white halter top beneath a sky-blue button up shirt and a dark blue skirt with matching pumps. Nice enough for a day out and about.
"Ruby isn't here. In fact, I haven't seen her since last night. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that… would you?" The teen's voice carried a clear threat.
Weiss paled. This was one scenario she hadn't planned for.
The blonde teenager (who introduced herself as one Yang Xiao Long) wore a faded denim work shirt over a yellow tank top and black cargo shorts. Her long hair was positively glowing – Weiss made a mental note to ask what sort of shampoo the girl used. At least, when it made sense to broach the topic. Now was not that time.
Once inside, Yang only offered the young Schnee a glass of water. They were only silent for a few minutes before Weiss explained (tried to, anyway) what had happened the day before.
The kiss, in other words.
"Well that explains why she ran the whole freaking way home yesterday… and why she wouldn't talk to me at all… hell, she wouldn't even look at me…" The blonde ran a hand through her bangs in frustration. "But where the hell would she go? We don't have any hangout spots in town…"
"'Hangout spots?'"
"Yeah, just… places we go to chill for a while… stores, library, stuff like that. Truth is, we haven't been in this town for too long. Moved here less than two months ago."
Weiss nodded. That explained quite a bit, actually. The girl had noticed a few unpacked boxes in the far corner of the living room as soon as she walked in.
Yang stretched her arms over her head, then grunted, "Well, …if she's been on the move since last night, we'll have quite a time trying to find her. Dad doesn't get off work 'til 9, so we can't bum a ride from him. I don't suppose you have a car… or maybe a personal driver you can call up?"
"I have a scooter."
This time Yang paled. Neither teen spoke for a beat.
"A scooter."
"Yep."
"…Seriously?"
"Yep." Weiss fought back a grin at Yang's discomfort.
The blonde almost seemed to …deflate. If that was possible.
Out in the front yard, Yang was introduced to Weiss' motorized scooter – a midnight blue, 5-speed, two-seater with a spare helmet. Not the fastest thing on the road by any means, but good enough to get the young Schnee from point A to point B without breaking down.
The blonde could only stare at the sad excuse for a vehicle with an empty smile. She made one comment, a choice four-letter word that Weiss didn't care to hear ever again.
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Yang quickly dubbed it The Devil's Scooter.
Not only was it far slower than she wanted, but the extra seat was rather …small. And it was a rough ride. Weiss suspected Yang's bottom could only take so much before the blonde simply jumped off… and that wouldn't hurt too badly, considering the speed they were getting.
It was clear Yang was also ready to reach out and punch the next bicycle rider who dared to pass them.
Yang led them around the few shopping plaza's they'd visited or frequented in the time they'd been here, but to no avail. No Ruby. Checking the town library and movie theater fared no better. They had been reduced to wandering the streets like kids looking for their parents at a grocery store. They occasionally tried calling her name. Both teens knew their necks would be sore for some time after this was over.
The platinum blonde spent most of the drive lost in thought. Why would Ruby run away? Did she get scared and decided to simply ditch Weiss… and her own sister, for some reason? That didn't make much sense… In any case, she would get no more answers until they finally found–
A small beeping pulled her attention back to the real world. Yang's phone got a message. Less than a minute later, the blonde almost shouted, "The train station, east side of town, now! Hurry!"
"What? What are you – "
"Just trust me. I got a lead. A good one."
As they puttered away, heading down the road and the 5-6 miles before them, Yang read the message again. Whatever she'd seen was enough to lift her spirits considerably.
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The patrons at the corner coffee shop buzzed around, ignoring the teen sitting at the far table. She was the only customer who paid any mind to the two teenage girls riding down the road on their tiny little scooter …mainly due to the fact that she was now involved in their little runaround whether she liked it or not.
'If you're looking for Ruby, she's headed
for the eastern train station. Thought
you might want to know.
-L0ngcat:3'
The brunette flipped her phone closed (it was an older model – what Coco would call a 'dinosaur') and mumbled, "Sorry Ruby. I told."
Blake counted herself lucky to have gotten Yang's number from her sister, but wondered if it was worth it… after all, they still had a terrible amount of things to sort out, didn't they? And based on what Ruby had told her today, the redhead really had a lot of things to sort out.
As the little vehicle puttered out of sight, Blake muttered, "Good luck you guys…"
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Evening now. The sun had just dipped below the horizon line, painting the world in a red haze. Traffic on the roads was in a lull, somewhere between the rush of people going home from work and the late dinner crowd. It was rather quiet for a Saturday night.
Ruby Rose sat on a bench at the train depot, waiting for the number 19. The train that would take her away from the horrible mess she'd made. The train that would take her home.
No, not the house she currently lived in with Dad and Yang… but home. There was still one person there who loved her, after all… even if she was buried in the ground.
The redhead didn't even bother going back inside the house after burning the magazine last night. She just walked. And walked. Past store fronts she never looked at, past restaurants she never ate in, and past homes she never knew existed. She must have walked for hours before she stopped, coming to rest in front of a seemingly random coffee shop on the corner of Anywhere Ave. and Nowhere St.
And who did she meet first? Blake, of course. The girl who had been avoiding her like the plague.
Ruby kept her hands tucked into the pockets of her red hoodie, keeping her head low. She leaned forward on the bench and scratched the back of her head as she thought about her conversation earlier that day. And smiled.
Apparently Jaune had finally just come out and asked (begged?) Blake to talk to Ruby the next time they met. Just get it out in the open and repair their broken friendship. He couldn't bear to see them like this anymore.
Oddly enough, she agreed. Ruby didn't remember everything that was said today, but the crux of the situation was made quite clear. A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away… ha-ha) Yang screwed up big-time and Blake punched her in the face. They were both in third grade, by the way, which made it all the funnier to the redhead.
Not that it was supposed to be funny… Ruby wasn't really thinking straight right now.
And who could blame her? It had just been one screw-up after another and she'd only been in that god-forsaken school for, like, two weeks! What was she gonna do next, streak across the football field at halftime?
That might actually be less embarrassing than what she'd already done.
It took almost no time at all before Ruby learned a bit about Weiss Schnee (dubbed the 'Ice Queen' by many other students). She was quite popular with most of the boys due to her looks, but she was also a hit with the teachers – a little 'teacher's pet,' in other words. Good manners, very neat and tidy… for all intents and purposes, she was a princess.
Which made Ruby the freaking court jester. God dammit!
She knocked the side of her head in frustration, a move she'd been doing a lot these last few hours, and her head was starting to hurt because of it. Didn't matter. She was still pissed at herself.
How could she be so. Freaking. STUPID?!
Oddly enough… she never questioned why she did what she did. That much, at least, was never up for debate.
She was in love with Weiss. Like, in love. To the point where she was making herself sick.
A distant whistle pulled her back to reality as the number 19 finally rolled into the station and stopped just in front of her seat. Less than a dozen other people were also waiting for the train, and these all quickly got on board.
Ruby faltered. All of a sudden, when faced with the real possibility of running away from home… she began to get scared.
It was Yang she was thinking of. The blonde was the only family she really had for most of her life – Ruby's memories of her mother were few and far between. Still good, but nowhere near as fresh as the more recent ones. And there was Dad, too. The man would likely lapse into another drinking binge if she disappeared…
The conductor caught her eye, wordlessly asking You still getting on?
Ruby nodded, swallowed hard, then stepped forward… only to be stopped dead in her tracks. Her hood was …stuck on something?
As she turned to look, her gaze locked onto a familiar pair of ice-blue eyes. Weiss Schnee stood behind her, holding Ruby's hood in a death grip. Keeping her from getting on the train.
The redhead didn't even breath. Her eyes grew wide.
Weiss was panting a little, like she'd just been running. She was wearing a nice set of clothes, but nothing that looked like it was fit for jogging. She also had a thin layer of sweat, despite the chill in the air.
The two teens stood still for a several minutes… much longer than the conductor was willing to wait, it seemed. The horn blew moments before the doors shut. The train departed minutes later.
They didn't even seem to notice. Their eyes never left each other's gaze.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ruby turned back and faced the young Schnee, her head hanging low. Weiss let go of the hood, but seemed ready to grab it again if the girl made another break for it.
"Weiss, I… I…" Ruby barely managed a whisper. The taller girl simply stood silently. Waiting.
The redhead cleared her throat and tried again. "I'm so… sorry… I did something I can't take back… I probably scared you… embarrassed you… hell, I embarrassed myself… I just… I'm… I don't want you to hate me!" Now the tears began to leak out, her throat closing up tight. "I'm so… *sniff* sorry, …Weiss…" *sniff*
She might have said more, but she never got the chance. Before she could choke out another word, a soft hand reached under her chin and grabbed it with her fingers, lifting it ever-so-gently to face the platinum blonde.
Unlike their encounter the previous day, this kiss was slow, precise, and entirely on purpose. Nothing here was done on impulse. And the difference was clear – yesterday's kiss left a tingle of electricity, but this time Ruby felt like she had her finger in a light socket. There was power here.
And a bit of tongue. That was always a bonus.
Even though they didn't force the issue, Ruby was still out of breath by the time they separated. Her silver eyes had glazed over as she stared at the taller teen.
"I never said I hated you… Ruby Rose." Weiss practically purred her name. Ruby's skin broke out in goosebumps.
The redhead's brain once again acted on it's own accord, normal in the event of her conscious mind taking a leave of absence. "Weiss… will you go out with me?" she said dreamily.
The young Schnee blinked, a look of surprise splashed over her face, then she giggled. The redhead also blinked at the sound of the laughter, realized what she said, then turned red and began sputtering an apology.
Before she got more than a word out, Weiss said, "Yes."
This stopped Ruby mid-word. "…Pardon me?"
"Yes, Ruby. I will go out with you."
The redhead made a squeaking noise, then quickly covered her mouth with both hands. Both teens shared a good laugh. They needed it.
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Yang sat on The Devil's Scooter less than 50 feet away, watching the entire exchange. She had fully intended to be the one to stop Ruby from getting on that train, but was amazed when Weiss beat her to it. That girl was something else.
The blonde resigned herself to simply watching. At least this all had been settled.
"I see you guys made it," a voice from the past spoke up behind her, causing a wave of gooseflesh to break out on Yang's arms. Lilac eyes slowly turned to look at the speaker.
Blake Belladonna stood to one side of the parking lot, arms crossed, gazing at the two reunited teenagers. Not looking at Yang. Perfectly understandable.
A red-hot needle of pain stabbed Yang through the chest at the sight of the brunette. Damn… still hurts.
"Yep… thanks to you, I guess."
"Monday. The track. After school." Amber-colored eyes locked onto Yang at last, narrowed in a thinly veiled threat. "Be there."
Yang didn't reply, only nodded. Message received. With her business finished, Blake turned and walked away. The blonde turned back to the object of her earlier search… only to find a scene that left her blushing. Hard.
"Jeez, …get a room you two…"
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Story Note: I know it looks like the will-they-won't-they stuff is over, but this is only chapter 8… don't get too comfortable. I have plenty more expectations to subvert.
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