Notice Me, Ruby!
Chapter 2: Unwanted Change
It had been about two weeks since Ruby had decided to focus on her studies and to not try to be friends with her team. During that time, Yang had noticed a change in the younger girl that she wasn't certain if she liked. For some time now, the blonde had gotten used to being asked by the redhead to hang out together. Whether it was to play video games or something else, Ruby would almost on a daily basis be asking for her teammates to spend time with her, especially when it came to Yang. It was such a common thing for her that she was pretty much expecting it every day.
However, all of that had suddenly stopped completely. Neither Yang, Weiss or Blake were being asked to spend any time with their team leader at all. Ruby didn't even have games placed around the dorm in a silent way of asking her teammates to play with her. The scythe-wielder was making absolutely no effort in even getting the attention of her team anymore.
While some people would assume that Yang would like this type of change, the truth was actually very different. Even though at first the brawler had not considered a big deal, she had still been somewhat disturbed by it. It was like there was this small voice in the back of her head, telling her that this was wrong. That same feeling only got stronger as time went on and Yang noticed that Ruby's attempts at ignoring her teammates went much further than just not asking for their attention. It had gotten to the point where none of the older girls of the team even talked with their youngest member. Other than the typical ''good morning'' and ''goodnight'', Ruby didn't really talk with her team at all. She had become so silent that Yang sometimes didn't even notice that she was nearby. At this rate, even Blake would be left second in terms of stealth skills.
In the end, Yang didn't like this change in Ruby at all. The two of them had always been so close that it felt alien to her not having the younger girl acting the way she used to. The blonde thought about how they used to be, back when they were younger. Back then, the two girls were practically inseparable, as they were each other's best friend. While Yang did have plenty of friends, none of them were as precious to her as Ruby. The younger girl was someone the brawler could always count on to be there for her, and now it felt like that was gone.
Even though it hadn't been all that long since Ruby started acting the way she did, Yang already missed the old Ruby. The one she had known since they had been little kids. And right now, the blonde wanted that Ruby back.
Yang had been laying on her bed, trying to read a new comic book she had bought online, when these thoughts came to her. No matter how hard she tried, the blonde couldn't focus on the adventures of the superheroes on the pages, as her mind drifted to Ruby and the way she was acting. It was clear to her that she needed to do something about it and fast or she would lose her mind.
Weiss and Blake were also in the dorm with Yang. The heiress was sitting at her desk, looking over her notes of the day's lessons, while Blake was sitting on her bed, reading one of her numerous smut books. The brawler decided to ask her two teammates for their opinion on Ruby's recent actions, as she felt that they could possibly help her in getting their team leader back to normal.
''Hey, guys, do you think something's different with Ruby?'' Yang asked her two teammates, who turned to look at her. ''For some time now, I can't help but feel like she has changed. It's like she's a completely different person.''
''Now that you mention it, I've been feeling like that for some time now,'' Blake said in agreement with her partner. ''She used to be a lot more energetic, yet now I hardly even notice if she is around because she's so quiet. It's like she doesn't care about the world around her and has decided to simply ignore everything. It's honestly a bit sad.''
''I'm sure it's nothing serious,'' Weiss stated, not all too worried over her partner. ''I mean, don't get me wrong, it is a bit disheartening how she doesn't seem to care about us, but we have to remember that Ruby is still a child. She is probably growing up and finding new things in life. I'm sure if we leave her be, everything will be fine.''
''I don't think we can just expect things to turn out well all on their own this time, Weiss,'' Yang said with a frown and jumped down from her bed. ''This doesn't feel like it's just some phase that Rubes is going through. I honestly think that something has caused her to change, which in turn has caused her to start ignoring us, her team. I don't know what happened or why she's acting like this, but I do know one thing. I don't like this at all and something should be done. I want our old Ruby back.''
''I agree,'' Blake said with a nod. ''Ruby's behavior is definitely different from her usual self and I don't like it. If we leave things the way they are right now, I'm sure we will end up regretting it. There's a good chance things will only get worse with her. And much like Yang, I also want the old Ruby back.''
The brawler smiled at her partner, happy that the cat faunus was not only agreeing with her, but seemed to be willing to help her. Yang turned to look at her other teammate and waited for her response on the situation. Weiss sat still, until she let out a deep sigh.
''Alright, I'll agree with you two. I also want to have Ruby back to her old self,'' the heiress admitted. ''It is... weird not having her loud and energetic attitude around. It honestly feels like some of the life in this dorm has been lost.''
''Oh, Weiss! I knew you actually-!'' Yang exclaimed happily and attempted to go and hug her shorter teammate, only to receive an open palm strike to the face.
''Don't you even dare, Xiao Long,'' Weiss growled at her teammate. ''Besides, while I do want to have Ruby back to her usual self, I still think you two are overreacting. There's a big chance that we will only make things worse by getting too involved. If you want my help, I'll first need to have proof that we really need to do something, okay?''
''Meanie... You didn't need to do that,'' the blonde whined while rubbing her sore face. ''But I'm still happy to see that you guys agree with me on this. Any suggestions on what we should do first?''
''How about you simply wait for her to come back, so you can have a talk with her?'' Blake suggested. ''You two have always been close, so I would think that Ruby would be willing to listen to you.''
''Of course! Why didn't think of that before!?'' Yang exclaimed happily. ''As soon as Ruby gets here, I'm going to sit her down and talk with her! Can't be too hard, right?''
With her mind set, the brawler waited for her youngest teammate to return to their dorm. She was so anxious that she went to sit on her bed and simply stared at the door without blinking, hoping to see Ruby walk in at any second.
However, Yang couldn't have expected how long she would have to wait. After waiting for one hour, the smile from her face disappeared. After two hours, the blonde got off from her bed again and started to pace around the room nervously. And after three hours had passed, Yang began to tap her foot on the floor out of frustration and her face was twisted in an angry scowl.
''Yang, would you mind and stop that tapping?'' Weiss asked, angered by the brawler's behavior. ''Some of us would like to have some peace and quiet.''
''Well, what do you expect me to do in this situation!?'' Yang practically yelled at the heiress. ''Do you know how much I'm stressing out over here!? Ruby should have been here hours ago, but she isn't here! How do you expect me to remain calm in this situation!?''
''Can't you just call her?'' Blake asked, equally tired of her partner's antics as Weiss was. ''There has been technology developed for the purpose of communicating with people that are far away for a purpose, after all.''
Yang's eyes went wide with realization and she quickly pulled out her Scroll, hoping to be able to contact the missing redhead. She quickly selected Ruby's name and waited for the call to be answered. The blonde stood completely still, as she held her Scroll up to her ear and waited for Ruby to answer.
However, the call wasn't answered. Instead, all Yang got was a voice telling her to leave a message. The brawler's eyes started to switch between purple and red as her the stress started to get to her.
''SHE DIDN'T ANSWER!'' Yang roared in anger. ''Why wouldn't she answer!? Doesn't she have any idea how worried I am!? Who does she think she is to ignore ME!?''
''Yang, seriously, calm down!'' Weiss yelled, except this time she wasn't angry. Right now, she was actually scared from seeing her teammate act the way she did. ''I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation for this! You just need to calm down first!''
''Yeah! Besides, there are other ways to contact Ruby!'' Blake added, just as scared as the heiress was. ''You can send her a text and ask her to call you, once she is able to!''
The blonde's anger seemed to calm down at least a bit, as her eyes switched back to purple and her body relaxed. However, you could tell that she was obviously still agitated, since she still had a frown on her face and she was gritting her teeth. Despite that, Yang sent Ruby a text, where she asked the younger girl to call her as soon as possible.
With the message sent, the three older members of team RWBY decided to wait for their team leader to contact them. Unfortunately, when no call or text came from Ruby, Yang's anger began to rise again. The blonde started to send more texts and attempted to call the younger girl over and over again, but no response came. And with each failed attempt at contacting Ruby, Yang started to get angrier and angrier.
Weiss and Blake had been watching the whole time as their teammate's mood got worse and worse with each failed attempt at reaching Ruby. The two girls were actually hiding under Blake's bed at this point, since they were afraid of what Yang might end up doing. The blonde was famous for her very violent and destructive behavior upon being angered, so their fear was understandable.
''If Ruby doesn't call Yang soon, I fear what might happen to us,'' Blake whispered to her white-haired teammate. ''I have never seen her this angry before. And I saw her get VERY angry after a couple of Grimm cut her hair accidentally. This is obviously far worse.''
''I agree with you. This is terrifying,'' Weiss replied. ''I fear that Yang might tear down this whole room, unless Ruby contacts her.''
Suddenly, as if God had decided to answer the monochrome duo's prayers, Yang's Scroll began ringing. The brawler immediately answered the call, hoping that it was Ruby.
''RUBY, IS THAT YOU!?'' Yang yelled.
''Yang? Is something wrong?'' the redhead on the other end answered, a bit taken aback by the older girl's yelling. ''I just looked at my Scroll and saw that you had left over a dozen messages and tried to call me several times. What is going on over there? Is the dorm on fire or something?''
''Oh, you wish that was the case,'' the blonde growled, angry that the younger girl was so calm when she herself had been so worried. ''Do you have any idea what you've put me through over here!? I've been waiting for you for hours! What sort of an excuse do you have for coming back so late!?''
''To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised you've been in the dorm all this time. I was certain you would have gone to Vale with Weiss and Blake,'' Ruby said. ''Besides, why did you feel the need to wait for me at all? Or better yet, why was I supposed to be there at the dorm? I don't remember making any plans with you.''
The surface of Yang's Scroll began to crack as the brawler's grip tightened on it. Her anger was rising even more as the younger girl apparently didn't feel any shame for making her worry so much.'
''Don't you take that tone with me, young lady!'' Yang yelled. ''As a team, we are supposed to be working together, even when we aren't in class! Or at the very least, we should be able to contact each other! What were you thinking when you decided to cut off all communications with your team!?''
''...I was in the library, Yang,'' Ruby answered in a deadpan tone. ''What is the one thing people don't want in there? Noise. So it wouldn't have been a good idea to leave my Scroll on, right? Besides, what even could have happened during that time? You're acting like I've committed some sort of a horrible crime.''
''NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME, RUBY ROSE! WHEN YOU GET HERE, I WILL-''
''Yeah, yeah, save it for later. I'm on my way there, so you can say what you need to say to me in person. No need to waste the energy on our Scrolls.''
Before Yang could say anything more, Ruby cut off the call. The blonde couldn't believe what had just happened. The redhead had always been so kind and listened to every word she said. For Ruby to act like this was something she couldn't believe was happening.
''Ummm... Yang?'' Blake called out to her partner carefully, still afraid of what could happen. ''Is everything alright?''
Yang turned to look at her partner. The cat faunus was shocked to see the haunted look on the brawler's face, as her eyes were wide and her face was pale.
''Look at me,'' Yang said. ''Do I look like everything's alright?''
Just as Blake was about to answer, the dorm's door opened with Ruby walking in. There were a couple of rose petals floating down around her, which meant that she had used her Semblance to get there faster. This was most likely because she knew how bad Yang could get when she was agitated, so the redhead had decided to speed things up a bit.
As soon as Ruby walked in, Yang's face turned took an expression of anger and she stomped her way to the younger girl. She was going to grill Ruby for the way she had spoken to her earlier.
''Ruby, mind explaining what you've been up to!?'' Yang asked angrily and crossed her arms. ''I demand to know where you get the idea that you can just ignore your team and-''
''SHUT UP, YANG!'' Ruby screamed at the older girl, shutting her up. The redhead was tired and was not in the mood for the blonde's complains, especially when they were completely stupid. The older girls in the room could only stare at their leader in shock, as she unleashed some of her frustrations on them. ''I have already told you everything you need to know! You want to know where I've been the entire day? I was studying in the library! You want to know why I didn't answer your calls? Because the library is supposed to be silent and people shouldn't make noise, so I had my Scroll turned off! Now, could you tell me WHAT IS THE PROBLEM!?''
''I... I just...'' Yang struggled to speak up, as she was still in shock from the scythe-wielder's outburst. ''I just wanted to talk with you. There's something I need to discuss with you and I was waiting for you to come back. When you didn't come back when you usually do, I started to get worried. I didn't know what had happened, and my fears only got worse when you wouldn't answer me. And I... guess I didn't really believe you, when you said you had been in the library.''
''Well, I was. There was nothing for you to worry. End of story,'' Ruby stated, still very angry. ''While I'm willing to admit that you should be able to reach me if something happens, you can't expect me to be ready to answer whatever calls you make on a whim, okay?''
''Were you really in the library, Ruby?'' Weiss asked, her voice showing how little she believed her partner's words. ''Don't take this wrong, but that's not very believable. After all, you always try to slip out of our study sessions, so it's hard for me to believe that-''
The rest of the heiress' words died in her throat as Ruby turned her attention to her. The glare the redhead was giving her partner made Weiss feel like a small, helpless child. The white-haired girl began to tremble, as Ruby walked up to her and stared at her straight in the eyes with the angriest look Weiss had ever seen.
''Yes. I. Was. I was studying in the library. Got it?'' the young team leader said while gritting her teeth from anger. ''If you want proof, you can go ask team JNPR or Velvet. If they're not trustworthy enough for you, you can also talk to the librarian or Professor Goodwitch. All of those people have seen me studying in the library at different times, so I think I have enough proof for my case.''
''But... But why would you spend the entire day studying?'' Yang asked in disbelief. ''This isn't how you normally are. You usually would avoid studying and instead go have fun. Why would you change like this?''
''Because change is necessary,'' Ruby answered. ''I finally realized what I need to do in order to achieve my dreams and I decided to dedicate myself to my studies. The immature girl that I used to be is now gone, so get used to that.''
The redhead was about to head to the bathroom, but turned towards Blake before going. The cat faunus felt herself shrink under the glare her team leader was giving her.
''Do YOU have any complaints regarding my behavior?'' Ruby asked with a hint of anger behind her voice, which caused Blake to tremble a bit in fear. ''Since our other teammates felt the need to complain and doubt me, I wouldn't be surprised if you felt the need for that as well.''
''No! I have no complaints at all!'' the raven-haired girl quickly answered, afraid of what might happen otherwise.
''Good. Now, I'm going to have a quick shower, then I'm going to be bed. I've had a long day of studying and I want to rest,'' the young team leader explained as she made her way to the bathroom. Before she walked in, she turned to look at her team for one more time. ''Do NOT disturb me.''
The older girls of team RWBY stayed silent as their leader took a shower and afterwards went to her bed. It didn't take long until Ruby's soft snores could be heard, telling them that she was asleep. With their team leader now sleeping, the three older girls quietly sneaked outside the dorm to have a meeting among themselves.
''Any idea what that was about?'' Weiss asked her teammates. ''I never thought that Ruby was even capable of acting that way!''
''No. This is definitely new to me,'' Yang answered. ''All of this is so unlike her! Studying all day in the library, acting so coldly towards us and even getting angry like that. I have never seen anything like this from her.''
''There's also one thing that bothers me,'' Blake added. ''She said something about realizing what she needed to do in order to achieve her dreams. What does she mean by that?''
''Well, Ruby has always dreamed of becoming a Huntress, which is essentially the same as becoming a hero in her mind,'' Yang said. ''I guess she means that she is going to dedicate herself to her studies in order to become that. I'm not sure how I feel about that.''
''Wouldn't that be a good thing?'' Weiss asked. ''I mean, we did come to this school in order to become Huntresses, after all. If Ruby decides to put more work towards achieving that, isn't it for the best?''
''Working harder is one thing, but getting obsessed with your work is not all that good!'' Yang said. ''Ruby was already doing well enough in her studies, so I see no need for her to drop everything else in her life! Doing nothing but working is not healthy for anybody! You need to have fun as well!''
''I agree with Yang,'' Blake added. ''You know what they say about all work and no play, right? At this rate, we can only fear what might happen to Ruby. She might even become a new Weiss.''
''How is that a bad thing!?'' Weiss asked angrily, only to have her mouth covered by her teammates' hands, who shushed her.
''Idiot! Do you want Ruby to get more pissed at us!?'' Yang whispered angrily at the heiress, who was red from anger. ''And it is a bad thing for Ruby to continue down this road. If this goes on, her already horrible social skills will only get worse! Can you imagine what that will be like for her in the future?''
''Alright, I get it. You're right and we need to do something,'' Weiss said. ''While she may annoy me every now and then, she is still my partner and I need to help her when it's needed.''
''I'll help you out as well,'' Blake added. ''Ever since Ruby started acting like this, our team hasn't been the same. I want our team to be like it used to be.''
Yang was very glad to have the support of her two teammates. She knew that if she had their assistance, they would be able to find out what was up with Ruby.
''Thanks guys. I really appreciate this,'' the blonde said. ''We should probably start by first simply observing her and trying to get her to spend time with us. Maybe if we look close enough, we can find out what is up with her.''
With their plan set, the three girls decided to go to bed. As Yang was about to fall asleep, she made one last promise to get back the Ruby she knew.
Little did the three girls know that they were the ones behind their leader's change, and the fact that they would be facing the toughest challenge of their lives.
Author's notes: First of all, thank you all for the great support you've given this story! I was amazed by how many favorites this story had gotten in less than a day. For that, I am very grateful.
However, there were some things that some of you pointed out that I feel need to be addressed. One of them was how people were worried about this story being a mix of both comedy and drama. I understand this worry, as it's one of the reasons it took me this long to get this story started. In all honesty, this is kind of an experiment for me, as I try to mix these two things together. The best way I can describe this story would be saying it's like ''My Bedbuddy!'', except with a darker beginning. If you're familiar with that story, then you can probably expect what kind of tings will be happening in this one.
The second thing people pointed out was the way the WBY were acting. The reason they were acting the way they were in chapter one was to give Ruby something that would motivate her to distance herself from her team. Something that would stick with her and serve as a ''breaking point'' of sorts that would drive her to do the things she does. It's also there for the sake of a bigger plot point in the future, which I'm unfortunately not able to talk about more. Not to mention, people do say horrible things about others they care about, when they think those people can't hear them. They just need to be in a bad mood and think the people they're talking about are not nearby and they let out whatever problems they have hidden outside.
If you have any questions regarding this story, please contact me. I would be happy to answer them, as this is a story I have wanted to write for a long time.
Until next time.
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.