And we're back!
Some of you seemed to enjoy it, and that's all I needed for motivation. Now, after a bit of tweaking I can happily give you the second chapter. Don't be fooled by the word count on this one, it's about 70% dialogue at this point. Sometimes I can't stop myself.
Also, despite this being a "Part 1", the second part isn't next chapter. There will be multiple "Late Night Out" chapters, so it's easier to just keep the same name, just in multiple parts. You'll see this happen a few times over the course of the story.
I'll address a few other things at the end, but that's for later. For now, though, enjoy!
A small nudge on her shoulder forced her from the realm of sleep. Her face scrunched in annoyance as she threw the covers over her head to hide away from the world. "Oh, no-no-no-no, you are not doing this!" Neo said, using both hands now to push and pull the teen out of bed.
"No!" Ruby whined as the comforter was yanked away from her face. "Not like this!"
"You said you wanted me to come and get you!"
"No, you volunteered!" Neo pouted as her own argument was turned against her by the once slumbering teen, who tried to sit up in her bed while rubbing her eyes. "I take it it's time to go?"
"Only if you want."
Ruby stretched her arms out before nodding, peering up at the woman she called both a landlord, and a friend. "Thanks for coming to get me, Neo."
The shorter women nodded and stood up. "Well, just so you know, the new tenant is here checking out the room next door if you want to meet her. If not, it's alright. I'm sure you'll get to know her at some point." Neo rubbed the back of her head and sighed, "I uh... I'm gonna go, then... If I don't see you off then have fun tonight, alright?" Ruby nodded and smiled slightly, but the moment Neo left she dropped her head into her hands, sitting along the side of her bed. She groaned in annoyance.
In reality, she couldn't have thanked Neo enough for waking her up when she did. Not five minutes ago she was trapped in a dream that kept getting worse and worse but for some reason, no matter how bad it got, she couldn't wake up. The screams, the heat, those eyes…
She's seen it before… Too many times… Those soulless, blank, silver eyes staring back at her, unmoving, unblinking…
She huffed before shaking her head free of her thoughts. Despite how often she's had that nightmare and despite how used to it she's become, it always jarred her. But recently, she's been getting better at it. Normally she'll sleep right through the night and can sometimes go hours without realizing that she had a dream the night before. Even if she had one, she could sleep right through it.
'I wonder if I'm a lucid dreamer?' Ruby thought as she walked out of her bedroom and into the bathroom, splashing a handful of cold water in her face to help wake her up. One glance in a mirror and she knew that she wasn't too upset, and could even flash a smile towards her reflection. 'Maybe someday, Ruby. Maybe someday…' She turned and walked back into her room, looking at the time on the alarm clock. It read seven-forty-two. "Eh, I got time." She said to nobody in particular, pulling out a small, leather bound book. She picked up a nearby pencil and began to write. This was her dream, and in some cases nightmare, journal, which she hasn't parted with in almost three years. Thankfully, there were enough pages, though she would have to make additions soon.
When she peered at the clock again, it was seven-fifty. She thought that was a good time and put her journal away. Slipping her shoes on and throwing a familiar red nylon jacket over herself, she pocketed her keys and walked out. When she opened the door, she found Neo and Junior with the new tenant; a younger woman with long, black hair, topped with a black bow on her head. Ruby and Neo met each other's gazes, as did Junior. He sighed, uninterested in the red-themed girl. The new tenant looked back as well once she noticed the other two had turned their attention.
"Oh! There she is!" Neo said with a smile, "This is your neighbor, Ruby. Ruby, this is Blake."
"Nice to meet you." Ruby said as she walked over towards the trio, extending a hand once finally making it to her destination. The older girl stoically met her handshake.
"Likewise." Her voice was smooth, but clearly not entirely mature just yet.
"Blake, you said you were going to Beacon, right?" Neo inquired, a small smile stuck to her face. Blake easily nodded, "Well, Ruby goes there as well! On Monday you can show her the ropes, right Rubes?"
"Y-yeah, sure." Ruby slapped herself internally for stuttering, "I'd be happy to."
"Don't you have somewhere to be, Rose?" Junior asked, annoyance riddled his voice.
"Oh, give her a break, will you!" Neo backhanded the larger mans chest, though his recoil showed he either didn't feel it or didn't care.
"No, he's right, I gotta go." Ruby defended the man, though Neo wasn't entirely sure why. Still, she nodded and let the teen go. "Nice meeting you, Blake."
The bow-wearing girl nodded in silence and turned back to the couple. Junior opened the door and the trio entered as Ruby entered the stairwell.
She quickly walked down the stairs and out the back door to the alley. She knew the Lazer Tag place, Lazer Team, was out in front of the apartment complex, but didn't care. She used the back way too much and now it was just force of habit. She walked around the side of the building and out to the sidewalk under the dim light of the setting sun. Between her and Lazer Team was a small highway with a median separating the two directions. Last year the city decided to put up a metal walkway over the highway, which connected the Terrace View and the strip mall where Lazer Team was located. There were multiple other general stores in that strip, which really made it easier for the tenants to traverse on foot, rather than risk the annoyance of highway traffic.
Ruby walked over the highway and sighed. The sun was just barely over the horizon still and the night air was starting to cool. Vale's weather in late September could go either way, really. Luckily, it was still warm... Over Sixty Degrees, at least. The red clad girl walked off the walkway up the sidewalk towards her target.
She saw Yang in the distance walk into the store, but was helpless to get her attention. 'At least she won't be waiting long.' Ruby thought happily. The last thing she wanted to do was keep everyone waiting.
It was a short walk up to the building, but she finally made it. Walking in she was greeted by the crisp, cool air conditioning. The front area had various arcade games to play to pass the time. Past that and to the far left side of the building was the front desk, and to the right of that was a lounge for people to rest up from the last game or for the next game.
"Ruby!" A familiar voice called. Ruby turned to face the owner, who had already made it to her. Yang wrapped the girl up in a massive and crushing bear hug, lifting her off the ground. "You made it!"
"I told you I'd try, didn't I?" The red clad girl choked out, gasping for air beneath the might of the blonde's hug. "Can you please-?!"
She didn't have to finish her sentence before Yang complied, setting her friend down lightly and allowing her to catch her breath. "Sorry, it's just you haven't been here the last two times. I'm just glad to see you here." Once Ruby indicated that she was fine, the blonde wrapped her arm around the younger teen's shoulder and led her in, "Pyrrha and Nora are already here. Pyrrha's in the bathroom though. Also, she brought Jaune." Ruby sighed in mild annoyance, "I know, I know. But hey, she really wants a chance at him, so..."
"Right. I'll try not to blow this for her."
"Good girl." They didn't have an issue with Jaune, it's just that he was like Ren... And those two cramped the style of the four girls.
The duo walked to the front counter and were greeted by the owner, an older man with a balding whom they have come to know over the last year. Constantly coming back to the place has left them with a great reputation. They were even Prime Members, which meant they got three games for free every week. Luckily, the man allowed those games to stack for Prime's, so if you missed a week, you can use them on top of the three next week. Prime Membership was expensive, mind you, but lasted a full year and was completely worth it.
"You get nine free games, Rubes." Yang nudged playfully, "Try not to use them all in one place, huh?"
"Oh, don't worry about me. Heck, I'd share them with all of you if I can." Yang rustled Ruby's hair, messing up the already messy hair.
"Wow, you know, despite how it looks, your hair is really soft."
"I know how to take care of it... What little I have, at least." Ruby admitted.
"Yeah, but you choose to keep it short, right?"
"Ease of use."
"Ah." Nodding, the blonde turned to the old man at the counter, "Uh, she has a bunch of free games and I'm just going to use my three for now." The old man took their membership cards and scanned them as a number of receipts printed out, those were their tickets. They were good for as many games, now.
"Have fun ladies." The old man said, handing back their cards and tickets to enter the games. Yang led Ruby back to the lounge area where Nora was (im)patiently sitting.
"Finally you came back! And you brought me a flower!" She jumped to her feet and wrapped Ruby up in a hug, spinning the girl around before she could even have time to react, laughing the whole way.
"Who says affection isn't prevalent?" Ruby barely choked out, once again feeling her ribs become dust under the force of Nora's hug, topped with the damage from Yang's. Tried as she might, she could not wiggle herself free of this one. Nora and Yang could be very affectionate at times.
"Good job using that word properly, Ruby." Yang gave an approving thumbs up and a smile, not bothering to help at all. "Well, you seem to have everything under control. I think the next game starts in a few minutes, if anyone really cares. We can just go whenever."
Nora finally put her younger friend down, patted her head to straighten out Ruby's disheveled brunnette hair, then sat next to the blonde. Ruby followed suit after regaining her bearings. They all sat in relative silence, waiting for Jaune and Pyrrha to arrive... Or at least come out of hiding. "Alright..." Yang began, her voice low so no one else around the table can hear, "Who here thinks they're getting laid?"
"Ew, Yang!"
"Me! Me!" Nora declared, raising her hands excitedly.
Yang looked at the red-themed girl, who stuck to her guns. "I'm staying out of this one." She said, keeping a hand up whilst shaking her head.
"Aw, come on! You can get back at her for all the nasty comments she's been saying! It'll be fun!" Yang insisted.
"Nope. I'm out."
"It might even shut her up, you know?"
"I'm rubber, she's glue." The red-themed teen argued. "Besides, I know she's not being malicious." Despite what she just said, even Ruby's mind disagreed. She wanted Pyrrha to be joking, but at times couldn't be too sure."
"Ruby." Nora admonished, "It's not fun to be taking the brunt of the attacks. Sometimes you have to dish 'em out as you take 'em!"
"It's not my place and I don't want in. Personal space, guys."
Yang rolled her eyes and shook her head, rather disappointed in Ruby's lack of a lust for revenge. "Ah fine. More fun for the rest of us, right Nora?"
"Right!" The orange haired girl cheered. Ruby sat back in her chair as the trio waited. Either for their AWOL friends to arrive or for the game to start, whichever came first.
Yang sat forward into the table, using her hands to support her head. She was eying the red-clad girl next to her with curious interest. The group had only known Ruby for a year, maybe a year and a half now, and yet they knew little about her. Yang and Nora came on to good terms with the younger girl very quickly, knowing full well that a fifteen-year-old as a third year at Beacon would mean trouble. It was always nice to have a group to back you up.
Pyrrha, on the other hands, was different. She wasn't flat out mean, but she did take advantage of the younger girls kind personality at times. It was very apparent that Ruby didn't like to cause trouble and fighting back was almost a foreign concept to her, it seemed. Pyrrha would take any shot she could; even though this was the same to everyone, it seemed as though she went after Ruby the most. Yang didn't like it one bit, but also knew that the only argument she had to stopping Pyrrha was 'she's our friend.' to which Pyrrha would respond with 'friends mess with each other.'
'That may be true', The blonde thought, 'But I'm not sure if Ruby gets that Pyrrha's joking...' Lilac eyes peered around the room as she thought a bit more. For as long as the group had known the younger girl, she had always been a mystery. Very quiet, under spoken. It was worrying, but then again, they couldn't help but think that it was only because she so young in an advanced education facility like Beacon. 'We could do more to help her...'
"Hey! Finally you're back!" Nora called in her usual, energetic tone, bringing Yang back out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Pyrrha, putting her hair back in a ponytail. "Where'd you go?"
"Well, I'm not going to run around all night with make-up on." The taller girl said. "Oh, hey Ruby. You made it."
Pyrrha's voice a more... Unenthusiastic, but Ruby still returned her greet with a simple wave without saying anything. Pyrrha chuckled as Yang began her questions. "So where's Jaune?" The blonde inquired slyly.
Pyrrha's eyes went wide, catching the undertone of the question, "Uh, I don't know? He was out here when I went in."
"Oh?" The blonde asked slyly, "You sure you don't know where he is"
"Where who is?" A voice called from behind the blonde. Turning around, Yang saw Jaune, an average sized teen with a medium build, standing right behind her, rubbing the back of his head. "What's up?"
"And just where did you go?"
"Well, Pyrrha, while you freshened up... Or whatever you were doing in there, I realized I had no money on me. So I ran back to the car, went to the ATM down the block and picked some up, thank you very much." Jaune answered matter-of-factly, holding both of his hands to his hips as Pyrrha would often do to him.
Yang deflated a bit, but it wasn't enough for the others, save for Ruby, to notice. She was really looking forward to ripping into Pyrrha a bit. If Pyrrha's motto was friends mess with each other, then Yang's just became 'If you can dish it you can take it'.
"Saturn game is about to begin. Saturn game is about to begin." A voice over the buildings PA called, once again lunging Yang back into the realm of reality. She shook herself free and joined the other four of her group as they stood up and walked to the arena entrance. A card scanner was at the front for members to sign in.
Inside there were two rooms, a red-light illuminated the room where the team building/preparing, and the next room which held all of the suits. Twelve people walked inside. Members entered last so they could scan their cards, which was common courtesy.
Yang scanned first, then Ruby. Nora was third, then Pyrrha and finally Jaune. Ruby followed Yang to the back corner of the room, the younger opting to sit and wait rather than stand lean against the wall like the others. She had taken her jacket off out in the lounge, but kept her more personal possessions with her, as one normally should.
The old man walked in and closed the door and began to count. "Alright, we have twelve people. One group of all members and one group of non-members... Let's do a vote, shall we? How many people want to do members versus non?" Only Pyrrha and one other women from the second group raised their hands, much to the amusement of the others. "Alright then. I'll make the teams. When I point to you, go in and pick up a flashing red vest."
The old man pointed at three people from the other group, and they entered. Then he peered over to the members. He paused to think, but not for too long. "You," He pointed at Ruby. "You." He pointed at Yang. "And you." He pointed at Pyrrha.
Ruby slumped a little as she walked in. She liked Pyrrha, but felt as though the feeling wasn't reciprocated at times. 'I guess I have to deal with this then...' She picked up a vest, not caring much for the name, as members had to scan their cards on the vest in order to gain credit for their games.
The vests were upper body vests, with a bit of heft to them. There were electronic wiring encased in durable plastic cases, formed to fit said vests. Lights on the chest, back and shoulders indicated what you needed to hit to gain a kill. When the lights went off, you were out and had only five seconds until you came back online and able to start shooting again.
The weapon attached to the vest with a thick wire, also known as a phazer, was made of the same material as its counterpart. A light on the inside indicated that you could also hit the weapon to gain a kill. On the underside was a black heat-pad; the only way to fire was if you had one hand on the heat-pad, and one hand on the trigger. This was to prevent cheesy, around the corner kills that were way more prevalent in the early days of Lazer Team.
The next team walked in and picked up blue vests. Pyrrha and Jaune had eyed each other, out of fun. Nora was busy taunting the entire Red team, leading to Yang taunting her right back. Pyrrha leaned in close to Ruby, "Red team for the red girl, eh?"
"Mhm." Was all the reply she got. Though, Pyrrha wasn't really sure what to expect. A poor excuse at small talk was all she could say.
The old man walked up the front of the room and put his hand on a button. "Alright, everyone! You all know the rules. Fifteen minutes, Team Annihilation, go!" With that, the doors opened, and the games began.
Ruby walked through the first section slowly. The arena was massive; a two-story unlit maze, only illuminated by lights flashing to the beat of techno funk. There were four bases to gain points (save for your own base, there was three), with two neutral bases.
Somewhere along the lines she had been separated with the others, but knew she'd find them soon. This place wasn't that big.
As she walked up to a ramp, she could hear footsteps moving along the second story. They were frantic, speed-walking even. Someone was chasing someone, and there was only one way to find out if they needed help, or needed to die.
Ruby began her ascent up the ramp, keeping her phazer forward. If anyone came down the ramp in front of her, she would be ready. Turning a corner, she saw a red flash kneeling by the wall, green rays in front of her, indicating that she was in danger. Ruby walked back a bit to a window staged ever so tactically and found her targets; two blues, who she could easily tell where Jaune and Nora (mostly due to Nora's laughter).
She opened fire on the two, their blue-lit plates turning off. They both instantly locked eyes with her and fell back behind the nearest wall. Whomever they were hitting had backup now, making it an even fight. Ruby turned and continued up the ramp, only to discover the one she saved was indeed Pyrrha. "What's up?" Ruby asked with a playful grin.
"Oh you know," Pyrrha shrugged, "Getting zapped all day, getting saved by you."
"You make it sound like a bad thing."
"I had them, you know." The taller athlete stood up, towering over the younger girl.
"Oh? When was that, when you were hiding behind the wall with a ray of phazer fire?" Emerald eyes quickly blinked, being completely taken by surprise. It wasn't often that Ruby talked back, but when she did she would be sassy. "Uh huh, that's what I thought. Now come on, we got them on the-" She was cut off by two figures doing an evident walk of shame down the ramp. It was indeed Jaune and Nora, with Yang right behind them, constantly shooting them so they wouldn't light up again.
"Woohoo! Take that, Blue scum!" The blonde cheered. Pyrrha and Ruby sat, wide-eyed, but not surprised. "Whoa, was it you two who drove them to me? Nice!"
"Well, Ruby did the work, I just got shot at, I guess." Pyrrha sighed. She walked past Yang as a voice called 'Sixty-seconds remaining' from overhead. "If you'll excuse me."
"What's up with her?"
"I... I don't know." Ruby admitted, worriedly. She now was concerned that she may have made Pyrrha upset in any way.
"Ah, we'll work it out later, come on! We got less than a minute to nail Jaune and Nora again!" Yang took Ruby by the collar and practically dragged her down the ramp. However, their would-be targets were waiting around the corner, sinister smirks on their faces. "Uh..."
"Run away?"
"Yeah..."
Two hours later...
Yang sat on the old couch in the lounge and sighed, taking in long, labored breaths. It was just past ten-thirty, and they had been playing almost nonstop. Ruby dropped herself next to the blonde with a cold bottle of water in hand. "I can't… Believe... We lost... That last one..." She said in-between heavy breaths. Sure, she had great cardio, but the last string of games left her physically worn.
"It was so close, too! We were on such a good winning streak, too." Yang sighed dejectedly. "Oh well. I say, we skip the next round."
"I can get behind that."
"Aw, you're skipping the next one?" Nora asked, almost sounding like a whine.
"Nora, we've played five games in a row." Yang pleaded, "Ruby only has three left because she let me use a free one. We're tired..."
"Eh, I say we let them rest." Pyrrha acknowledged, "Besides, after a thorough whooping we gave them last game, I'd need to rest too!"
"Coming from the girl who's been at the bottom of the board all day." Ruby happily chirped, smiled laced across her face. Yang grinned happily as Nora and Jaune both gasped, the former a little more theatrically than the other. "Hey, your score and Jaune's score combined still doesn't beat Yang's!"
"Yeah, and I barely made third place!"
"Wow," Nora said, her eyes wide and her tone of voice showed that she was rather impressed. "Notice how they wouldn't trash talk when they were winning?"
"Yeah," Jaune agreed with a smirk, quick to his girlfriend's aid, "I wonder… A shine of poor sportsmanship?"
Pyrrha feigned a flabbergasted tone "From Ruby? No. But from Yang…"
"Are you calling me a bad influence?" Yang gasped, covering her mouth in horror.
Pyrrha sarcastically waved her off, "Oh no, I would never say that."
"But I would!"
"Nobody asked you, Nora!"
Ruby jumped in after gaining her composure, having a giggling fit from the display before her. "If I may intervene…"
"Why would you?" Pyrrha quipped quickly, only to have a swift rebuttal fired back.
"Well if we're talking about bad influences…" The red themed teen bounced her head around as if she was considering options before shrugging, "I'd say all of you are bad influences on me!"
Jaune covered his chest in feigned pain as a loud roar erupted from the blonde beside the younger teen. "Oh that hurts, Ruby."
"I feel sick." Nora gasped, "Where did we go wrong?!" She grabbed a hold of Jaune's shoulders and shook him back and forth wildly, only to have a familiar athletic teen poke her shoulders. "Yes, Pyrrha?"
"There's no reason to make a scene, guys." The emerald eyed teen admonished with a small smile, "I'd be proud if I were all of you. After all, she wouldn't have such a comeback if it wasn't for us!"
"Yeah!" Nora cheered, giving both of the teens beside her a high-five after releasing the poor boy from her grasp. The trio split away, preparing for the next game and left their two friends back to rest.
The last game that they played it was Ruby and Yang with a bunch of new players against the trio before them with other new players. Needless to say, they got destroyed. The duo's first loss of the night.
"So what's up tonight?" Yang curiously inquired. "Beacon's little gem's got some sass, huh?"
"Is that what everyone calls me?" Ruby fired back with advent interest, raising her right eyebrow as her head tilted.
"N-no! No, that's not it…" Ruby chuckled as her blonde friend stuttered, "It's just… Something that, uh…"
"Yaaaaaaaaang…"
"Nobody else calls you that." Yang finally admonished, a deep sigh following her words. "It's just me and Nora that call you that in private. Kinda code for anyone outside of the group, you know?"
"And why would you need a code word for me?"
'Damnit!' "Well… You know…" Yang awkwardly rubbed the back of her head as she shifted in her seat, trying to find any way to change the topic. "Just in case someone wants to listen in to the conversation, you know? Lead off the eavesdroppers a bit…" She bobbed her head around, contemplating the strength of her excuse. Ruby undid the cap of her water bottle and took a drink, slimming her eyelids to slim narrows towards the blonde, who blushed in response.
"Uh huh, sure. I believe that." Her sarcastic tone of voice was met by a slow shake of her head. "Now I have to make a code word with Pyrrha for you."
"You don't have the guts!"
"Don't I? Miss 'Little Sun Dragon'?"
"How dare you use my translated name!" Yang gasped in mock pain and surprise, "This means war!"
"Oh let's see how that works. After all, who's been topping the leader board all day?"
"How's your back doing, miss 'I'll do more work than Pyrrha tonight'?"
"Are we just calling each other 'Miss' now?" Ruby asked honestly, "I mean, we can do so much better."
Yang sat back and sighed heavily as everyone around them headed for the prep-room door, leaving them and a handful of others behind. "Yeah, we could do better, could we?"
Ruby brushed her bangs away from her eyes and nodded in agreement as the room began to silence. About a dozen other people had shown up and about a dozen more were set to show up before the night was out, and the bigger the games, the more chaotic it was, and usually the more chaotic games were… Not fun. At least to her and Nora. Pyrrha and Yang, on the other hand, enjoyed the challenge of having more competitors, or as they put it: Prey.
"So…" Yang trailed off, relaxing her body in an attempt to rest. "How are you doing?"
"Are we reduced to small talk, now?" Ruby quipped with a smile, causing Yang to reciprocate the action.
"No, no, you've got it all wrong." The blonde admonished, scratching the back of her head, "Just that it's been a while since we've been able to sit down and talk it out like this. Just wanted to see how everything's going at home."
Silver eyes blinked as their owner bounced her head in an approving nod. "Ah, fine." Was the simple response. "Life goes on, you know? Same stuff, different day."
"Hah, yup." Yang agreed, popping the 'p' at the end as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"So how about you?"
"Hm?"
"How are things at home for you? How's your dad, how's working with your dad?"
"Oh, oh!" Yang's lilac eyes blinked as she focused herself on the conversation at hand. "Things have been great, for the most part. I mean, work is work, you know?"
"I mean, what do you do at the hospital?"
Yang was quick to respond, "Mostly reception stuff." She worked at the hospital with her father, working towards a nursing career. Luckily, this counted as an internship, which meant that she wouldn't have to worry about it when she's actually in college. "Recently, though, they've had me do some shadowing of the other nurses. I might be moved up to some bedside manner work soon, or I might stay where I am now."
"What does your dad do, anyway?" Ruby inquired curiously. She knew he worked there, but never actually knew just what his job was. She almost never saw him, either, even though they've met a few times.
"He's general physician with a side skill in some surgery, mostly pediatrics."
The two peered over at the screen, watching the moderately sized game progress. It looked as though it was two-teamed brawl, and Jaune and Pyrrha were on a different team from Nora, who was dominating overall. "Is that what you want to do?"
The blonde shrugged, "Eh. I mean, there's a lot of money in pediatrics, but at the same time, I've kinda had my eye on Anesthesiologist."
"Anna-whosawhat-now?"
"Anesthesiologist." She raised an eyebrow as Ruby made a curious face, shaking her head with a shrug. "You know, one of those people who gives people the laughing gas before surgery."
"Oh, oh! One of those? Really?"
"Yup. Big bucks to be made in drugging people asleep for a few hours." Yang smirked.
Curiosity peaked for Ruby, however. "Is that really all there is to it?"
"No, there's so much more. But that's for another time." She ruffled Ruby's hair once again, much to the annoyance of the younger teen. "I don't want to bore you."
"Oh, it's gonna take a lot of nothing happening to bore me, Yang. You know that."
"True." She chuckled. "What about you? How's work been for you, and how have your parents been?"
Silver eyes went wide as Ruby shifted her head away from her friend for just a moment. "Uh, yeah, works been fine." She stuttered. "I mean, I do paperwork and help with money transactions. There's not really much to do, over there."
Yes, Yang and the others knew of her job. She never kept that a secret from them. Plus, her work with Neo was a viable excuse sometimes if she didn't want to do something. But she could never make the shorter woman seem like the villain, not after all of this time.
"I was lucky enough to get away today, though!"
"I noticed. Got all of the work done, huh?"
To be honest, she wasn't sure. But, that wouldn't stop her from making a joke, now would it? "I'm sure there's more to do. But, it's like you're always telling me…"
"Why do the day when you can put it off 'till tomorrow?"
"Bingo!"
Yang smirked, once again peering over to see the game reach it's quarter mark. "So everything's fine with you and work, how's the folks?"
And that's where the lies commence. Ruby never had the heart to tell her friends that she lived alone. When she first met them, they seemed so interested in her, so friendly and she hadn't met that kind of emotion from someone her age in a long time. She was also afraid that they would be worried about her day in and day out, and that would be just too many people worrying over her. So, she told one little fib, and that turned into the biggest lie she'd ever told, continuing to this day.
"Y-yeah! They're good." She tried to think a little more, tried to figure a way out of this, but was unsuccessful. "It's, uh… You know how it works out there… We're trying."
'Yeah, someone's trying, isn't she?' She thought to herself, knowing this couldn't go on much longer. Something would break someday.
Luckily, that day was not today, as Yang seemed to buy the familiar response. "Yeah, it's tough out there, especially with the economy still… I get it." She turned her attention from the screen back to the teen before her. "Still, it just seems like no matter how highly you talk of them, I never see them."
"What do you mean?"
"Well…" Yang closed her eyes, trying to think of a way to justify her curiosity. However, she just couldn't. All she wanted to do was see what kind of home her friend had, just to make sure she was safe within that apartment. "Sorry, I trailed off... So, I mean... Yeah... I'm kinda curious, you know? I wanna meet the parents of the best little sister I never had."
Ruby panicked a little. She was touched by Yang's words, knowing full well that the blonde and her have had a relatively close relationship over the past year, despite not really knowing much about the other. Still, the blonde was totally justified in her curiosity… The problem was that, even if Ruby hadn't lied in the first place, she still wouldn't be able to answer the question as to where her parents are. After a confusing string of events in her childhood, she just doesn't know what happened to them. "I, uh... Well, I actually live in the apartments across the street... B-but, my parents work very hard, you see... And, uh, it's tough for them to be home a lot... They gotta pay the bills somehow, you know?"
The blonde teen nodded in understanding, though caught the stutter clear as day, "Yeah, getting into Beacon must've cost a lot..."
"Uh, yeah!" Ruby agreed. She didn't have the heart to tell Yang she got in on an academic scholarship opportunity that Beacon had.
"Well, that's too bad."Yang pulled Ruby in tiredly for a one armed hug. "I mean, I'm sure I'll meet them eventually, right?" Ruby nodded, barely able to reciprocate the hug, given just how she was positioned between the chair and Yang's underarm. "Uh... also, what are the chances of you being available next weekend?"
"You mean for the lock in?" The young teen mumbled.
"Nope. I was actually planning on skipping that in order to have you, Pyrrha and Nora over my house from Saturday to Sunday. A little games, fun, anything else we can think of. You know."
"Yeah, sure. I'll see if I can make myself open..." Ruby realized something as her mind drifted, "Hey, umm... Can I ask you something now?"
"Sure, go for it!"
"What do you know about a new student coming in?" Silver eyes gazed quizzically into lilac orbs. The blonde was a gossip queen at Beacon... Well, sort of. She didn't spread any, she just knew a lot that went on...
"New student..." Yang thought hard for a moment, but couldn't remember hearing any news, "I've got nothing. Why?"
"Someone moved in next door to me and said she's attending Beacon. I thought, maybe, since she's next door to me, we could-"
"Initiate her into our friends group?" Ruby looked at Yang with a raised brow, to which the blonde replied, "Uh... Never mind. Dirty mind."
The red themed teen smacked her friends arm, much like Neo had done to her in the past, with a teasing tone, "Get out of the gutter!" The two shared a laugh whilst the game went on. They were both glad they got a moment to rest. Not only was this a good time for the two to talk and catch up, it also allowed them to see what would happen when you put the person carrying the team against the weights.
Needless to say, it wasn't pretty. Usually, Pyrrha is on top, being the athletic teen that she is gave her an upper hand, but tonight she seemed… Off. But, that was an issue to press later. The aforementioned trio may want one more round when they get out, or they may take a break. If Ruby and Yang joined them for that rest, it would give them about an hour of relaxation. An hour break for the red and yellow themed duo would leave them better rested for one last game or two.
As the silence grew more palpable between the two, the only noise within the building was that of the music through the loudspeakers and the voices of the rather loud guests nearby who hadn't made it into the last game. Nearby a monitor was propped on the wall which had the names of each member of each team. Right now it was a free for all frenzy. Nora was on top of the leader board, Pyrrha and Jaune were getting completely smoked. A clock below the board gave how much time was left in the match. Only two minutes...
Yang had an idea, "Hey," She looked at Ruby, "You think any of the pizza places around here would be open?"
Ruby thought for a moment, closing her eyes, "I don't think they'd deliver anymore tonight, but we can call and ask... What are you thinking?"
"Call and make an order for dinner for us all, of course!" She whipped out her phone and hit a few numbers, then began to speak into it. While Yang did this, Ruby realized that she hadn't eaten since she was at school. Her stomach grumbled, voicing its annoyance over the younger girl.
'Oh, stop it, gut! You've been through worse than that...' She thought. Peering up to the board she noticed that the clock had reached zero. The teams were beginning to walk back out of the arena. When Ruby turned back to the blonde, she was grabbing her keys out of her pocket, "I just got us a quick round, that ok?"
'Anything is ok, really...' "Yeah, that sounds good." Ruby replied with a thumbs up. "How much do I owe you?"
"I'll rip your arm off if your try to pay me back." Ruby blinked off the comment, that particular threat being used more than once by the nurse in training, "If they ask, tell them where I went. I'll be back in ten." And with that, she pulled out her car keys and departed, leaving Ruby all alone. For the moment at least.
The door out of the prep area opened and people walked out. Nora was first, smile on her face over her decisive victory. Pyrrha and Jaune were somewhere mixed in with the small crowd. They all made a b-line towards the younger girl, who tried her best not to panic from the sudden attention.
"Yeah!" Nora cheered, making 'pew pew' sounds towards the couple behind her. They both groaned as they sat at a table near Ruby's couch. "That was great!"
"Speak for yourself," Pyrrha replied, out of breath. "Now I know why you two wanted to take a break... Speaking of which-" She peered around, untying her ponytail to let her hair down for the first time in a few hours. "- Where is Yang?"
"She uh, went down to get a pizza for everyone. She said she'll be back in ten minutes..."
Pyrrha nodded as she ran her fingers through her long, pure red hair, accepting her young friends answer. The four sat in silence, mostly resting. Ruby looked at the clock on the screen; Ten-fifty-three... 'I think I have enough time for one or two more tonight...'
After a few minutes of resting, Yang finally came back with a box in her hands. "Hello!" She sung as she walked over to her friends, "Alright, I got us a large round with pepperoni. Eat up!" Everyone made a grab for a slice, except for Ruby. She held back and waited for her friends to move away from the table. Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune were all blocking her way, but Yang had a straight shot at it. She grabbed a slice, picked up a napkin and handed it to her friend. Ruby gladly accepted and began to eat. There were ten pieces for five people, so everyone got two.
"Yang..." Ruby piped meekly after finishing her first slice, "Thank you."
Everyone began to thank her as well. Yang's only reply was a lone hand up, a smirk and a shake of her head.
Silver eyes cautiously peered out of the window. She had picked up a sniper's perch just over a 'courtyard' as they called it. It was just an open area with little cover by an enclosed, curvy ramp. The perch overlooked said ramp was well as the courtyard, the only way to that spot is to go all the way around and sneak behind whomever was there.
The game was free for all, as there weren't that many people there at this point. It was a slower night for the store, which was odd for a Saturday. Free for all may have been the name of the game, but Ruby knew that alliances could be made easily. She expected to see Pyrrha and Jaune for sure, also Yang and Nora. To her, however, being the lone wolf in a game like this was the best option. Sneak around without having to worry about anyone.
She heard footsteps on the ramp. Taking a peek, she saw the backs of two figures as they moved away from her. She readied her weapon, but was too late. They had turned the corner and were long gone by the time she had prepared herself. The two chose to walk out into the courtyard, but stopped. They were talking to someone. She couldn't tell what they were saying, though; the music was far too loud and the strobe and lazer lights stopped her from reading their lips. That someone appeared from around the opposite wall. Ruby could tell that it was Nora who appeared- the bright orange hair of the energetic teen was too good of an indicator. And judging by the voices of whom she was talking to, Ruby could tell that she had found Jaune and Pyrrha as well.
'But where's Yang?' The younger teen pondered, but didn't worry about it for too long. She had prime opportunity right here; if she was fast enough, she could snipe all three of them without being seen. They would have five seconds before coming back online, but that didn't matter.
Ruby began to raise her phazer, poised to take out the trio below. "Don't even think about it." She felt a nudge on her shoulder and cursed under her breath. Turning around, she saw a familiar blonde looming over her, lilac eyes piercing through her soul with a phazer at point blank range. "I'm gonna need you to not do that, alright?"
"Why's that?" Ruby inquired.
"You'll see..." Yang grabbed Ruby's shoulder and brought her to her feet, her full chest plate exposed in the window. Ruby looked out the window and saw Pyrrha and Jaune take aim, sinister smiles on their faces. "Hey, Pyr! She's all yours." Yang called.
"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this..." Pyrrha chuckled. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, the light on her vest turned off. She looked at Jaune who had also shut down. The two looked back to see Nora, keeping her gun trained the two before her. "Ah, crap, they tricked us!"
"Don't let them get away, Nora!" Yang cackled, "Destroy them all!" During Nora's surprise attack, Yang had dropped a still shocked Ruby, who propped herself up against the far corner of the sniper's perch. "You ok?" Yang asked, concerned.
"I, yeah... I think so." Ruby managed to stutter out, "You... Used me as bait?"
"Yeah, sorry." The blonde rubbed the back of her head, then offered Ruby a hand up, "It's kinda mine and Nora's way of telling Pyrrha to back off of you. She's been on your back for too long and we're both sick of it. She needs new material, and if she still doesn't get the memo here then we'll find another way to pound the point home." Ruby nodded slowly, comprehending what Yang had just told her. "I just don't like how you're the only target for her. It's not fair to you, especially since you don't fight back!"
"Would you like it if I fired a couple shots back at her?" The counter-inquiry was honest, which made the older teen rub the back of her head.
"I... Eh, well... It's kind of a double edged sword, you know? If you don't do anything then she'll keep it up, but if you do something then she'll know that you have a backbone and will want to keep it up..."
"Oh... I see." Ruby nodded with a dejected tone, "She... Pyrrha, she doesn't like me very much, does she?"
"Oh no! She likes you, she just... She doesn't get you is all. You're just this quiet little thing that she just met, and I think she expected a bit more out of you."
"So I didn't meet her expectations?"
Yang backtracked and stuttered, trying to find the right words, "No, I mean yes... Eh, uh, in a way, you're just different than what she's used to. I mean, I've known her since we were kids and she moved to the city. Nora, Ren and myself helped her get to know the town better and then we were friends. I think she kinda expected the same out of you, but you're just more distant than what she hoped. You know what I'm saying?"
Ruby nodded, "So, what should I do?"
"Absolutely nothing." Yang sighed, placing both of her hands upon the younger teen's shoulders, "You be you. Besides, I'll break you out of your shell soon enough." She winked before turning and walking away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of lovebirds to hara-" Before she could finish, her chest plate turned off. She quickly turned around to see a small smile on the red girls' face, her phazer pointed right at Yang.
"Sorry..." Ruby said quietly.
"You red little... Mhph." Yang walked off in a feigned huff, opting not to finish her sentence. That or she did and Ruby couldn't hear it. The red-themed teen chose to believe the former, though. She stayed in her perch for the rest of the game, knowing full well that everyone knew where she was. When the game ended, she started walking down to the exit, finding no sign of her friends. 'They must've decided to avoid that spot... Good.' She would be bottom of the board, but didn't care. She still had fun that night.
She hung up her vest, walked into the lobby and stretched. More people had shown up, a lot more, making it kind of uncomfortable for her. She found her friends near the edge of the lounge. "Hey Rubes!" Yang waved.
"Hey, all." The younger girl stretched her arms a bit, "I think it got crowded."
"Yeah, more fun for us!" Nora cheered. "One more time!" The others agreed, save for Ruby. It was just past midnight and though Neo and Junior didn't tell her she had to be back, she did want to get home. She could just feel an early morning coming to reign down it's harsh punishment upon those who chose to sleep in. There was quite a bit more people than she had anticipated and she wasn't very sure what to feel, either.
"I dunno, I'm kinda tired." Ruby finally passed after a moment of thought. "I'm out of free games anyway and don't have that much on me."
"You're gonna go home then?" Pyrrha asked curiously. Ruby nodded, "Oh, Let Yang and I walk you across." Yang did a double take, as well as Ruby. "If it's only one of us walking her home then it's only one of us walking back. This way they have to deal with two badass babes if someone decides to mess with us."
"Oh. sure, ok!" The blonde agreed, her lilac eyes blinking in surprise, "Only if you promise never to use the nickname I gave us over the summer."
"What?" The taller redhead inquired with an offended tone, "Did I do something wrong?"
"No," Yang shrugged honestly, "It just sounds weird when you do it." Pyrrha grumbled, though nobody could make out her words. Yang shrugged it off and winked at Ruby, silently telling the younger teen that that shot was for her. "Alright, we'll go with you and play one last game when we get back, sound good?" Jaune and Nora agreed, said their goodbyes to the younger and the trio left. Ruby picked up her red jacket from the coat rack and led the way out of the store.
She walked ahead of the group, keeping up a much faster pace. It was her normal walking speed, but not to the others. "Jeez, Ruby, slow down!" Yang called. The red-clad girl stopped, looked back and went ahead at the same pace as her friends did.
"It's kinda chilly tonight." Pyrrha commented... More complained, "Ruby, how do you walk out here with only a jacket and not feel it?"
"Oh I feel it, I just learned to ignore it." She shrugged, her response causing the older girl to grit her teeth. What kind of answer was that? Then again, Pyrrha did decide that leaving her coat at Lazer Team was a good idea. She had nobody to blame but herself and decided to leave the subject alone, which surprised Yang again.
'Maybe she gets it?' The blonde thought with hope. This kind of restraint was unseen by Pyrrha before, and Yang was happy about it. 'Maybe this'll help Ruby's self-esteem.'
"Did you have fun, Rubes?" Yang asked as they began to walk up the steel walkway. Ruby turned with a smile and nodded.
"Even though I'm completely exhausted, I had an absolute blast tonight."
"Think you're gonna sleep well?"
"For sure."
Satisfied, Yang nodded and brought an end to the quick conversation. After a few minutes of walking the trio made their way off of the walkway and to the apartment complex that Ruby called home. The younger girl said her goodbye and thanked her friends before entering said complex. She walked to and up the stairs to the third story, moved down the hall and found her room. Pulling out her keys she unlocked and opened the door, entered, closed said door and proceeded to crash on her bed. She peered at the alarm clock; Twelve-fourty-nine. She grumbled incoherently to herself, kicked off her shoes and curled up in her bed; prepared for what she hoped would be a long night.
Pyrrha and Yang proceeded to walk back after watching Ruby enter Terrace View. The two knew where she had lived but the young girl never invited them over. Her defense was that there either wasn't much to see, or her parents didn't want anyone else over. This didn't bother either of them, really.
"Pyr..." Yang called as they walked up the steel walkway, "We need to talk."
"Let me guess: You and Nora want me to stop razzing on her, don't you?"
"Yup, pretty much." Yang looked over, lilac eyes meeting emerald, "Look, Pyrrha, we don't know much about Ruby still. I gotta be honest, I'm not sure if she knows you're joking and she's afraid to say anything. We're obviously her first friends in a while and she's nervous. Nora and I want to help her break out a bit and learn to let loose but then you come in with your little comments and like that she's gone again." The blonde clearly reached the taller girl before her, "Please, Pyrrha. You're my friend as well as Ruby, but we need to help her and you're just sending us two steps back for every one step of progress."
"I get it Yang," Pyrrha cut off anything else her blonde friend was about to say, "That's just how I am with my friends. You know, we've been friends for years. I kinda expected her to be the same way, but obviously..." She took in a deep breath and exhaled, "I'll be honest, though, despite how much crap I give her… She amazes me sometimes."
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"It's just…" Emerald orbs stared up at the sky as the duo stopped at the top of the walkway. Lilac eyes blinked a few times as Pyrrha gathered her thoughts. "She has amazing bursts of athleticism, and yet she's so shy! She holds back so much, during gym and during school! I know she's smarter, better and faster than she is, and to be honest, I think she's a better athlete than me! But damnit if she's so quiet!" Desperately, she blinked towards Yang, trying to see if the blonde was understanding just what she was saying. "The only reason I give her so much crap is because I know she can do better. And i know that you know it, too!"
Yang looked down towards the metal ground, a chill breeze being the only source of sound as few cars traversed on the highway below. "Yeah, I hear ya, Pyr… It's just that I think there's a better way to go than bullying her."
"You really think I'm bullying her?" Slowly, the blonde nodded, confirming Pyrrha's fear. "I… I would never! Not to anyone, not even my worst enemies! Not even to the four stooges!"
"I know, Pyr." Yang confirmed with a firm, but calming hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's a conjoined effort to help Ruby out, and I want all of us to be on the same page. It's like you said, she has so much potential, and with the right kind of support, we can unleash her onto the world, a storm like they've never seen before, no matter where she goes in her future!" Pyrrha smiled lightly as Yang's theatrics were personified through her grip. It wasn't heavy, but it wasn't overly caring, as she usually did.
"I think I understand, now… I think I know what I've been doing wrong…" The red-haired teen lowered her head in shame, closing her eyes as a large truck blew beneath the duo, causing another chill wind to blow upwards. "I think I owe everyone an apology…"
"The only one you need to apologize to is Ruby." The blonde confirmed, "That's it, and it can wait until Monday. For now, though, let's get the hell out of here and back to the store for some warmth!"
"Oh, dear god, yes!" The duo charged down the metal structure as fast as they could, having enough of the unusually chilly night.
Ah, what friends will do for each other...
Alright, so first things first: Yes, I will go into detail of Pyrrha's treatment of Ruby later on. It's not that bad, but it's not exactly what you would expect from her... I kinda made her a tad OOC, but I'l get better at that.
We saw Jaune in this one, we'll see Ren later on.
And yes, we'll go more into Yang and Taiyang later, within the next 3 or 4 chapters.
Weiss will make her grand appearance later, don't worry.
Next chapter we'll finally get to sit down with Ruby and Blake and learn about Beacon an their confusing ass scheduling that I ripped right out of my high school. But that's next time. For now, how was this? Did you enjoy this chapter, or was it a tad long winded? This was a long one and I'm trying to gauge if you all enjoy longer chapters (6k-9k words) or shorter ones (3k-6k), or a little of both? I can totally work with anything.
Shame to say this isn't even the longest chapter, either. But I will say that my limit is 11k words, past that it becomes a 2-parter.
Anyway, let me know what you think of this one and what kind of chapter length you want to deal with.
I'll get to work on the next chapter and hopefully I'll have it up as soon as I can. Also, this chapter marks the end of my little "you can expect [blank] soon", because the plot will be taking over soon and I don't want to spoil too much.
Until Next Time.