Ruby's body shook with trepidation as Yang, who scolded her every other minute for blinking, artfully applied glittering eyeshadow.
"Sorry for being such a buzzkill earlier," Yang muttered. "I just couldn't get it off my mind."
"No, you were right," Ruby said.
Yang inhaled a sharp breath, her voice changing to an inviting tone. "Are you excited?"
"Oh, God," Ruby sputtered. "I'm so freaking nervous right now. You have no idea." Ruby tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and started to fidget with her thumbs in her lap.
Yang laughed. "I know. It's your first date and all." Yang set her brush down and reached for the mirror on the vanity, holding it up in front of Ruby's face.
Ruby gasped. Her eyes sparkled, enhancing the silver tones in her eyes. "Wow," she said. "How did you do that?"
"It's not done yet, dummy." Yang twirled a mascara wand in the air, closing the eyeshadow palette with her other hand. She held it up to her eyes and spun her wrist, creating strokes across Ruby's lashes.
Ruby flinched. "That tickles," she winced.
Yang yelped, jumping back before Ruby even spoke. After a brief pause, she exhaled in relief. "Thank the heavens—it just got on your lower lash line."
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, I can fix it." Yang stood and crossed to the other side of their dorm.
Ruby was about to retreat into her own thoughts when the door opened, Weiss stepping through the threshold. "I am never going to get another cup of coffee from that insufferable—" Weiss cast her eyes on Ruby. "Whoa, what are you all dressed up for?"
Yang snickered. "Ruby's got a date tonight."
"Yang," Ruby whined. She internally began to pray that Weiss would ignore it.
All of a sudden, Weiss bounced up and down on her heels. "Oh my goodness, Ruby's all grown up!"
Nope. Of course not. Yang kneeled in front of Ruby, swabbing her lower lid as she laughed.
"Can we please not talk about it?" Ruby groaned.
"Who is he? Where is he taking you? Are you gonna go dancing? Or are you going to get a nice dinner?" Weiss almost sprinted over. "When is he picking you up?"
"Six," Yang responded.
"Six?" Weiss exclaimed. "But it's already five thirty!"
Yang stood, examining her work. "Don't worry, Ruby's semblance is speed, remember?"
Weiss crossed her arms. "Wait, you mean he isn't actually picking her up? What a gentleman."
Ruby squirmed in her seat, hoping the both of them would drop it. But no, no they wouldn't. That was very disturbingly evident when Weiss pulled something out of her drawer and handed it out to Ruby. Without thinking, Ruby took it from her hands.
Ruby screamed. "What is that?"
"Protection," Weiss responded matter-of-factly.
Yang struggled to hold back laughter, turning away and clamping her hand over her mouth.
"I'm just saying, you might need it," Weiss remarked.
"Don't worry—she—she won't need it," Yang's mouth exploded with laughter.
Ruby face flushed. "What's that supposed to mean?" She crossed her arms.
"You know what, Yang? I think you're right." Weiss smirked.
Ruby huffed and turned back to the mirror. "Well, I think I look great."
Weiss and Yang burst out in another bout of laughter, spraying incoherent phrases back and forth as they turned red in the face. Yang doubled over, holding onto the edge of her dresser for balance. Wiping a finger under her eye, Weiss turned back to her dresser and pulled out loungewear.
"What?" Ruby said. "What did I say?"
Yang shook her head, still reeling. "Jesus, I'm gonna need a minute."
The room went quiet again as Ruby turned back to the mirror. She looked into her own eyes as if they would have the answers that she did not. There were so many things that could go wrong while they were out. Roman could get caught, the authorities could break into his apartment while they were away…the possibilities were endless, and Ruby hardly wanted to think about them. On the other hand, they could be followed.
Ruby took a deep breath and let the fear wash out. She smiled, genuinely happy that she would, at the very least, get to spend some time with Roman before everything went up in flames.
Cinder spun a pen in her idle fingers, flipping through another page of Ruby's report. With each page, she became more and more frustrated, knitting her brows together. She skimmed over the details, knowing they wouldn't be any bit more fruitful than the previous pages. Age, previous addresses, identifying details—none of them were useful. With a start, Cinder realized that there had been no mention of her semblance throughout the entire file. She tore the pages apart, scanning each line for the word "speed" anywhere on the pages.
She threw her fist down on the table. "Emerald," she growled.
The door to her office opened, and Emerald walked through, wary of the energy in the room. "Yes?"
"Give me a scroll."
Emerald reached into her back pocket and held it out, Cinder tearing it from her fingers in a rage.
She fervently dialed, seething. She held the scroll up to her face. "Hello, is this the Vale Police Department?"
Short, I know. But hey, sometimes you expect something long and you get disappointed. I would know-my work has me scheduled for four-hour shifts all week, and they ALL start at 8 AM. God fucking damn it. Wait did you think I was talking about something else? Y'all nasty. But on another, less disappointing note, you guys CONTINUE to support this story and it warms the place my heart should have been. I am very happy. Bless your beautiful souls. And shush, Mima, I was gonna get the reviews you nut
JustAnotherShadow: Oh my gosh bless thank you I was so worried that everyone was just like done with it
Rosewick267: Density is a GREAT way to compensate for short length, I've heard
AmethystLover02: Aww, thank you! Even just the follows mean a lot to me so tyvm :)
LakasFictionFTW: Well, I can tell you one thing: it's definitely not the longest, but if I have learned anything today, that's not what matters. I'm totally kidding, but thank you so much! It makes me so happy that you think so b
Guest: Roman with a fish on his head? I could make SOOOOO many dirty jokes out of that... (someone just write some weird innuendo on my tombstone when god finally smites me because I am absolutely nothing else if not that) Thank you for the posi vibes, they are always welcome /heart emoji/
-Sera
BLESS you all I love you thank you for the support. I have only been a part of this story for a little while, but it feels like I am already part of this community. Thank you :)
Rosewick267: Oh boy, uh, you shouldn't...look forward to it...if you know what's good for you... Just kidding haha don't worry lol everything will be fine haha...I totally didn't make Sera cry or anything lmao...no but seriously I'm happy you're excited for it :)
