I promised that I would be faster with this upload than last time, and I wasn't wrong! Not exactly right, either, but still.
Not really much to say here. Not a lot of people seemed interested in the last chapter, which worried me a bit. But I'm still not gonna stop. This will continue for as long as I can. I just hope that at least one person can enjoy the work.
Speaking of which, here's chapter 4. Enjoy.
Ruby very quickly found herself with nothing to do as she lounged around on her smooth-leather couch. The job Neo had instructed of her was finished (which Ruby was proud of herself for how she handled it, despite how it ended), she had no work from school and wasn't sure if Neo or Junior needed any help with. After all, technically she still had a job to do somewhere in the complex. She sighed as she twirled the pencil in her hands, staring at the ceiling blankly. "What can I do?" She asked herself.
It was currently one in the afternoon, already her day was shot. She was sure Blake was gone by now, and had no money and no car (not like she could drive anyway, being fifteen and all...). She was stumped, to say the least. Picking up her flip phone, she began to go through her old text messages, one which had an attachment. Yang took a picture the night before of the gang in their gear after a match. It was a nice photo and gave Ruby an idea to pass the time.
Picking up a pad of paper and pencil and began to sketch the picture on her tiny screen. As she did she tried to remember the fun she had on the previous night. Ruby had made a promise to sketch everyone in her friends group. She never thought that she was insanely good, but her friends still wanted them. Apparently the likeness from picture to sketch was, in Yang's words, "Near perfection", which was enough for Ruby. Her sketch book held multiple of her works: Nora in her chef's uniform, which she drew whilst the Nordic girl was working, only able to do so on shift thanks to Nora's parents. Pyrrha in her gymnast outfit and in her volleyball uniform. Finally, there was Yang in her usual attire, her street-wear, so to speak. The blonde worked as a volunteer at the local hospital with her father, but Ruby never had the privilege to see her friend in her scrubs, but wanted nothing more than to do just that. The one problem was that she didn't want to take the blonde away from her work, as Yang was working towards a career in the medical field and Ruby didn't want to be a distraction to that for even a day.
She began the outline, trying her best to copy the picture before her. To say that the red-themed girl had trouble right now would be an understatement, as her phone's screen offered little leeway in terms of size. It was an older flip phone that Junior and Neo bought for her two years ago when she began going to school, to be used in case of emergency but slowly transformed into a recreational use. She didn't dare risk asking for a new one, and frankly didn't care. She liked her phone as is. The only problem was that the messages she sent had the dreaded text limit and her plan left little in terms of what she could or could not do. Sending multiple messages or making too many calls would hurt her in the end. But that was the price she paid, one of the many costs that went into her deal with Junior and Neo.
As Ruby sketched, the thought of phone numbers made her realize something: She never got her neighbor's number. She dropped her pencil and stood up from the couch, pondering if her new friend was still home. Running into her room, the red-clad girl picked up her phone and ran out of her apartment. To the right outside of her door, she saw her target just beginning to walk out. "Blake!" She called, gaining her neighbors attention. The black haired girl turned and smiled, clearly glad to see Ruby again.
"What's up?"
"I think I forgot to get your phone number?" Ruby asked, more than stated. Blake nodded in understanding and the two quickly exchanged numbers. As Ruby finished entering the last digit, a ringtone began to loudly emanate. Instantly the younger teen knew it wasn't her phone; the ringtone was off, far too loud for her phone. Plus, Ruby's phone was almost always on vibrate.
Looking up, she saw an almost petrified look on Blake. The new tenant's eyes were wide as the 'Neon Cat' song played. "Are, uh... Are you gonna get that?" Ruby asked.
"R-right..." Blake answered at the last second. Ruby turned away, pretending not to listen in on the conversation. "I'll be there soon." Blake whispered before clicking her phone off. She turned around quickly, a slight blush on her face. "So, uh-"
Ruby interrupted, "Nice ringtone." Blake's blush deepened, her face almost as red as Ruby's jacket. "Why be ashamed? I gave you a compliment?"
"It's... Nothing." Blake admitted, "I just had an unhealthy obsession with that and won't delete it now is all." Ruby nodded, letting her neighbor know not to go further. "That's a... Different phone you have?"
Ruby flipped her device closed and rubbed the back of her head, "Yeah, I figured I don't need those new fancy ones when this one works just fine! What kind of phone do you have?"
"The 'previous gen' Scroll."
"Last year's model?" Blake nodded with a smirk, "No. That's not last gen. My phone is last generation, yours is pretty current." Blake nodded in agreement with a chuckle, but soon the two returned to awkward silence, neither moving or making a sound. Until the silver eyed teen piped up, at least. "I think you should get going..." The redhead whispered. Blake's eyes, once again, went wide with the realization that she was still late as she began to speed walk out.
The two waved goodbye as Blake disappeared in the stairwell, causing Ruby to sigh, knowing this meant she was alone again. 'All weekend and nothing to-'
"Ruby!" A gruff voice called. 'Well, so much for that...' Junior came up to the young girl, looking none to pleasant. "I need you downstairs, now." His rather calm demeanor despite his appearance made Ruby wonder what was going on. What would Junior need that Neo couldn't get? Was it her handwriting that he couldn't read? Did she make a mistake on some critical paperwork? Wouldn't be the first time and won't be the last. She nodded and followed the man back downstairs and into his and Neo's shared apartment. The lack of a certain female made Ruby more and more curious as to what this was about. If she was in trouble for any reason then the woman would be beside her...
What is this about?
"Alright, sit." He demanded, pointing to a lone wooden chair. Ruby took a seat at the table, the entire kitchen barely lit. "I'm not going to sugarcoat this, ok? You need to start paying rent." Ruby looked to him, confused and mildly worried. "You're not working hard enough here, so I need you to start paying rent. You will or in three months I'll-"
"Where is this coming from?" Ruby interrupted him sincerely. "And why should I? I thought my work for you and Neo paid off my rent?"
"You aren't working enough!" The man shouted, slamming his fist into the table, "The point is you need to pay up, do more work for us or get the hell out! I'm sick of enabling your lazy-"
"Junior!" A voice called, gaining his attention. Neo, practically stomping in, cut his tirade off. "Damnit, we talked about this!" She stepped in between Ruby and Junior, making sure he didn't do anything... Drastic. "Ruby, you need to leave. Clearly my husband and I need to have a little talk." Ruby noticed how harshly she pronounced the title of Junior, being startled by the tense standoff.
"Neo, what's go-?"
"-Leave!" The women commanded harshly. Ruby quickly got the message and ran off, closing the door to the couple's' apartment behind her. The moment the door clicked shut, she heard two voices, each one enraged and getting ever so loud. Ruby didn't know what to do as she could feel a sense of panic as well as déjà vu. She wanted to help but didn't know what to do, afraid that her being part of the problem as is would only make things worse to hang around.
So, instead of running back in to try (and fail) to calm her friends down, she decided it would be best to retreat to her apartment, live to fight another day, and call Velvet to see just what she could do, if anything. Ruby dejectedly sighed, afraid that she was just as useless now as... That day...
Sunday was uneventful, despite the attitude between Neo and Junior. Both seemed distant and uninterested, telling Ruby that they had nothing for her to do. Neo looked particularly bad, but wouldn't talk to the young girl about anything.
The day went by as Ruby prepared herself for school, which was in the next morning. She decided to do laundry, partially to get Neo off her back. All of her school uniforms were cleaned and ready for the week, her street clothes were clean, just remained unfolded. Packing her stuff, she found herself in her room. Normally she would leave everything in one spot, her shoes next to her bag, her bag next to her nightstand and her phone would be left charging on said nightstand. That way when she was done with her morning rituals, she would get her stuff and go, opting for breakfast at the school.
She normally would find faster ways to Beacon when the weather got colder, generally she would be one of the first ones there. After breakfast she would get a quick power nap before any of her friends showed up, but they left her be if she was asleep. There were areas around school for socializing, these areas had couches, or at least padded benches, that saw a lot of sleeper traffic in the morning. It wasn't unusual to see someone there, unconscious before or sometimes during classes.
Monday came as Ruby's alarm rang out. Neo would wake her on the weekends, the older woman finding solace in sleeping in. Dragging herself out of bed, Ruby instantly walked into the bathroom, stripped down and had a quick shower. It was almost ten minutes to six, and the sun was beginning to rise. The weather outside was getting colder, indicating fall was on the way.. The only issue was that Ruby had to wait on her new neighbor and classmate before leaving, not knowing what time she woke up.
Classes at Beacon ran from eight to three-thirty, though most students were permitted to leave whenever their instructor gave the ok. Driving to the school from Terrace View was barely ten minutes, provided you hit every red light in existence, which happened whenever Neo or Junior drove Ruby on cold winter days.
Ruby finished her shower and quickly dried off. She kept the bathroom door open, despite Neo's protests. Ruby's excuse was "If anyone tries to break in I'll know."Though in reality, it was freedom. She never really had that kind of freedom before, and she reveled in it. Living alone did have its perks.
She picked up her clean class uniform, which she had hung over the door, and began to get dressed. Another perk was her shorter hair. She didn't have to mess with it as much, which means that most of her morning routines were done fast. The only thing she was missing, aside for her school supplies, was her jacket, which she had also cleaned the day before.
Ruby walked into her room and looked at her alarm clock; six-twenty-seven. She grumbled, "Too early." to herself, as she was still clearly tired. Most of the time spent in the shower this morning was her falling asleep. "Whatever. I need to go get Blake soon. We need to get a good start if we want to make it in time for breakfast." She flipped her phone open after removing it from the charger, and scrolled to her new neighbors contact number. She knew Blake would probably be upset for being woken up this early, but she didn't really care.
She hit 'call' and put the device to her ear. It took two rings before someone answered. "Hello?" A familiar voice called, not nearly as tired as Ruby was expecting.
"Blake?" Ruby asked, "Y-you're up?" Blake gave an affirming grunt, "Alright then. Uh, when do you want to start going to school?"
Blake took a moment before saying anything, "Ruby, it's barely six-thirty..."
"Yeah, it's going to take us a bit to walk there-"
"Ruby, I have a car..." Blake interrupted. Ruby instantly started blushing, and was glad she was talking to Blake over the phone. "Didn't I tell you that, yesterday?"
"U-uh... Oh, uh... N-no, you forgot to mention that..." Ruby finally stuttered out. "If you're driving then we don't have to leave until, like, six-fifty... I only like getting there before seven, you know? Avoid the rush and all."
Blake chuckled a bit, "I'll come by and get you in a few minutes, alright?" Ruby made an approving sound before the two hung up. Ruby rubbed her face with her hands and sighed. 'Of course she has a car.' she thought annoyed. Now she had to figure out what to do for the next few minutes. Everything was packed and ready to go.
Luckily, she didn't wait too long. A knock on the door raised her attention. She quickly ran up and opened the door, revealing her black haired neighbor. "Hey, one sec!" Ruby ran back into her room, grabbed everything and ran out. "Alright, let's go!" Closing her door the two headed out.
Silver eyes blinked as they stayed locked to the phone screen, the time reading just past six-forty. "I didn't think you wanted to leave until later?"
"I figured we could stop someplace for breakfast." Blake stated as the two walked out to Blake's car. She drove a an older car, definitely ten years old, a little beat up Dodge Stratus and, of course, it was black. "Hop in." The new girl declared, unlocking her car. Ruby threw her bag in the back seat and jumped in the front, newly refurbished leather seats.
Once Blake was certain her passenger was buckled in (to avoid tickets, of course) she pulled away from the apartment and hit the road. "I think I can remember the way to the school." She said, driving through the pre-rush hour traffic, "I think I saw some restaurants on the way in, too."
Ruby confirmed, "Yeah, there's a few places outside of the school zone. They really rake in the money on early release days." Blake nodded as she drove through town. The sun hadn't come up all the way yet, but it was just beginning to creep above the horizon. As she watched the town go by, she made a realization. "Oh!" She called, "I told you what kind of day today was, right?" Blake turned to her with a quizzical expression, "Right. Um, today is a black day, so you have your second group of classes."
Blake made a small 'Oh' sound as she understood what her passenger was talking about. She sat back as she hit a red light, sighing aloud. Her target was right in front of her: Tim Horton's. Popularly known as a more morning place, it was even more popular among people who needed a fast coffee and meal. They sold everything from breakfast sandwiches to donuts, soda to iced tea. Perfect for the morning person who left without eating.
Blake pulled into the 'drive-thru', despite it's incredibly long line. Ruby looked puzzled, but Blake defended her action, "I'd rather wait out here than go inside." The younger teen nodded, but her mind wasn't really put to ease. On an upside, the school was right down the road about a quarter of a mile with a right turn into the back parking lot, which is where the two agreed to go to every day. The line of cars moved up by one.
"Well at least the line is moving." Ruby quipped. Blake chuckled lightly as the next car went, she slowly let off the break to move up easily. They were still sitting with ten minutes to seven o'clock, which meant they were still well within the timeframe Ruby wanted.
The queue kept moving, slowly but surely. The two occupants stayed mostly silent, save for when Blake asked Ruby what she wanted. When they finally got up to order, the driver rolled down the window and made her order. A coffee, cream and five sugars with a strawberry glazed donut for Ruby with two muffins and a black coffee for Blake. "I, uh... I hope you know, I can't actually-"
"Don't worry about paying, Ruby."
"O-oh, alright." The younger girl said, sheepishly. Blake pulled up to the window, payed, got the food and drinks and left, pulling away from the building and into the street before getting stopped at the final light before the school. She waited patiently as the radio faintly played in the background, though the silence in the car allowed it to be the dominate sound.
"Do you like this station?" The driver inquired, "I'll change it if you want?"
Ruby, who wasn't paying attention at all, snapped back into reality with a confused gaze. "Wha-?" She heard the commercials playing in place of once promised music and shook her head, "Oh, it's fine!" She assured, "I don't care what's on. If you like it then I'm fine."
Nodding silently, Blake turned her attention back to the road and drove to Beacon with two minutes before seven. "We made it." She said with a smile as she pulled into the parking lot, trying to figure out just where she wanted to park over the vast choices she had. Ruby also smirked slightly, but otherwise stayed in her seat, not even taking off the seatbelt. Blake looked to her quizzically, "You okay?"
"Y-yeah!" She said, picking up her things, "I'm fine! I just… thanks for the breakfast."
Blake nodded, albeit quizzically, and parked the car, "If you call that breakfast then your eyes are bigger than your stomach." She undid her seatbelt and exited her car as her passenger blushed from the prior comment, though she eventually followed suit. The two got their stuff from the back seat and walked into one of the school's back entrance. From the back, which was the 'General' classes, there was three stories and four wings, each wing for the core classes. Near the main hallway, which led to the other areas of the school, was one of the many aforementioned resting areas of the school. It was in this particular area was where Ruby and her friends generally met, so it was a good spot to sit and eat breakfast too.
The two walked in, Ruby leading the way and made a b-line for her target. She knew exactly where she was going and that was important right now. When they found their location, they noticed it was empty. School wasn't going to start for another hour and a half, but it was comforting to her to be there before the rush of students came at eight. Plus, Velvet usually came in just after seven, with her adoptive sister Coco.
Velvet was an old friend of Ruby's and when the younger girl finally made it to Beacon, the rabbit faunus was beyond ecstatic. She was the very reason Ruby had the friends that she had right now. Velvet and Coco, lovingly referred to as "The Wonder Twins" by Yang, would also be the ones to take Ruby home from school on colder days, alleviating a gracious Neo and Junior from that chore. The two apartment owners were very thankful for Ruby's friends, as they would always do their part to help around as much as possible. Though, to Ruby, these people were her family; these were the people whom she trusted and loved more than anything in the world.
The silver eyed teen took a seat at one of the many benches after arriving to her destination, inviting Blake to sit next to her. The black haired girl accepted and took a seat, seemingly keeping herself at attention on the bench while her friend sat back. Though Ruby wanted to inquire as to why Blake seemed so tense, she passed it off as nervousness towards the new school, unwrapped her mini-meal and began to eat in silence, something that wasn't very uncommon to the young girl. She was used to being one of, if not, the first in the school on a given day. It normally meant that she could get the school-served breakfast and eat until Velvet and Coco got in, but until then meant that she would be eating alone. Having a guest seemed a little better, though.
Ruby finished quickly, wolfing down the glazed donut at an unrivaled speed and crumpled up the wrapping that her donut came in. She turned to Blake and held out an open hand happily, "I'll take care of that." She said simply, referring to Blake's now empty paper bag. The black-haired teen nodded and handed her trash over to Ruby, who walked over to the nearby trash bin, tossing hers and her neighbors bags away.
Before she turned to sit down, Ruby turned to face the hall on the other side of the corner where the bin was as footsteps could be heard approaching. Blake watched and intently listened as a cheery voice seemed to call a name, causing the red-themed teen to smile. "Ruby!" The accented voice called, gaining the attention of both teens. Ruby turned into the hall and instantly smiled as a familiar looking rabbit faunus came rushing towards her, slowing down to reduce the impact of the hug she had in store for her friend.
Faunus were people who had animalistic traits to their DNA. One of many examples was their animal appendages- an extra set of ears or a tail. They were also noted to have had enhanced physical strengths, like greater vision in the dark and a few traits of their respected animal. The genetics behind faunus were still widely unknown to scientists and their physical appearance sometimes caused outrage and hate from a few people, though newer generations were more open to the idea of faunus friends and even lovers.
Ruby and her friends were one such group that widely accepted faunus, many grew up with faunus near or with them, so it was easy to see past any of those traits that 'divided' people.
"How was your weekend?" Velvet inquired, taking the full force of the hug.
"It wasn't too bad!" Ruby began, pulling away from the embrace for a moment, "I have someone I want you to meet!"
"Oh? Who's- Woah!" Velvet was cut off as Ruby began to drag her towards the unfamiliar girl on the bench, "Velvet, this is my new neighbor, Blake!"
"New neighbor and new student, eh?" Another voice called, this one with a slight attitude. The trio turned and discovered the new voices owner: Coco Adel. More commonly known as the 'Fashion designer's daughter with the faunus sister.' But people who mess with Velvet mess with Coco... And messing with Coco was usually the last thing anyone could do. "Welcome to Beacon, sorry you're here."
Velvet turned on a heel and smacked the other girl in the arm with the back of her right hand, completing the full circle spin and stopping on a dime, "Oh stop it!" She turned her attention back to Blake and offered a hand, "Well, Blake, my name's Velvet, this here is Coco-"
"Hello."
"-And any friend of Ruby's is a friend of ours." Coco went so far to prove the point by wrapping a single arm around the young girl and lifting her off of her feet in an awkward embrace. Really it was more of a fear method, her attempt to lord over her strength, prove her dominance. Velvet pretended not to see it happen whilst Ruby called to be let go.
Blake laughed at the display in the middle of the hall before her, but never said a word. From what she had seen of her shy neighbor, it was clear that these two young women were able to bring out a totally different side of Ruby, clearly showing just who the red-themed teen was comfortable with. While she observed, Coco wrapped her second arm around Ruby, forced to drop her bag in order to do so as the feisty teen wouldn't let up her squirming and meager attempts at escape. Velvet came in close, forcing Blake's attention towards the faunus as she examined her, squinting as she came in close. "Have you and I met before?"
"Right?" Ruby called, still trying to break free, but given the satisfaction of having her feet on the floor by Coco, "I'm not the only one who thinks that!"
Blake, again, went wide-eyed and shook her head. "Nope. I don't believe so."
Coco finally eased up her grip before rustling her captives already rustled hair, "I think you gained weight, kid." She joked, whispering into Ruby's ear so nobody else could hear. But Velvet could, her rabbit ears twitching slightly. "That's good, though. Show's someone aside for me is feeding your ass. Now!" Coco's hands smacked together, making an audible clap in the relatively empty hallway, "What classes does she have?"
"What's the sudden interest, Coco? I thought you didn't like new kids?" Ruby quipped with a playful attitude that mimicked the fashionable teen beside her.
Said young woman slugged the younger teen's arm with a grin, "Well if she's your new neighbor, I figured I might as well get to know her." Her grin grew far more sinister as she peered past her adopted sibling and towards Blake, cracking her knuckles all the while, "Plus I want to know if I have a chance to give her the Freshman Special today."
"Well then there's a problem," Ruby declared. "She's not a freshman."
"I can work around that."
Blake grinned slightly, not sure if she was in any danger or not. At this point she didn't want to take a risk, but Ruby and Velvet both came to her aide quickly. "She's with me and my friends most of the time." Ruby once again declared, this time rather sternly to ensure that her point was made. "Now I don't want to hear about you harassing her, got it?"
"Oh? What's this?" Coco chuckled, taking the hood of Ruby's red jacket and flipping it over the silver-eyed teens face. "You telling me what to do, acting all tough? Oh yeah. Real Cute." She put her victim into a headlock, though said captive was able to break free easily this time. Coco cited the hood as the issue. "And don't worry." She held up her right hand, keeping her left hand behind her back as if she were taking an oath. "I promise to not harass Blake before you do."
"Will you stop it!" Velvet nudged, "You're incredibly sassy today!"
"Oh yeah? So what?"
"Are we really going to have that argument again?"
"You wanna take this outside, sister?!"
"Let's!" Velvet led the way as the two walked down the hall. A round of laughter could be heard as they got closer to the door. 'They'll never go through with it.' Ruby thought with a smirk. She took her seat next to Blake again and relaxed while the dreaded awkward silence returned. While the duo waited in the desolate halls, the younger of the two began to contemplate her faunus friend.
Velvet and Ruby have known each other for years and when Ruby got accepted to Beacon, she knew nobody at the school. Tentative would be a good word to describe her, up until she heard that voice... The voice of an old, long lost friend.
That's when she saw Velvet.
The two were reunited and nearly inseparable from then on. Her and Coco were in on Ruby's secret, yes, but only because Ruby let them in on it. Ruby could trust Velvet, seeing as they've known each other for as long as they did. The faunus and her 'sister' tried to help Ruby as best as they could, but the secretive teen only accepted academic help.
Eventually, sound of someone walking down the hall brought Ruby back into the real world, where Blake had pulled out a book and started reading. 'How long have I been thinking?,' Ruby pondered, 'I'm such a bad friend! I could be sitting here talking to Blake but instead I'm just ignoring her! Oh please, someone come down and help me out!.' Turning her attention the left corner, silver eyes blinked in mild surprise to find Pyrrha without a Jaune or a Nora with her. Normally she would be accompanied by one or the other. "H-hey, Pyrrha!"
The red haired gymnast smiled lightly and met her younger friend's gaze, "Hey, Ruby." She turned to Blake and pointed, quizzically. Though Blake seemingly paid her no mind, raising an eyebrow as if she knew that someone was pointing towards her without looking up to see that person. Ruby gladly answered the silent question.
"She's the new girl. Didn't Yang tell you?"
"Oh." The gymnast shook her head with mild surprise, "Yang only told me one thing. Oh well! My name's Pyrrha, it's nice to meet you." She offered a handshake, which Blake accepted. A new girl in the middle of the school year was definitely not a normal event.
As Pyrrha got comfortable, setting her bag down at her feet while sitting in the next bench beside long-waiting duo, Ruby began to make a quick conversation based on one thing that had been bugging her since the emerald-eyed teen got in. "So Pyrrha, where's Jaune?" She inquired slyly, partially knowing the answer.
"I called him earlier and he said he was sick."
"Oh, really?" Ruby sarcastically said as she rolled her silver eyes. "After him talking about a new game coming out all last week, I'm not sure how much I believe that."
"He's not exactly the best liar in the world, you know."
The talk of this new, unknown young man caught Blake's attention, causing her to stop reading, though she kept her book up just in case so she could avoid intruding. "And didn't his sister say that she wanted to play, too?"
"I swear those two could conspire to take down Vale's government if you gave them the right motivation."
"Like a video game?"
"Ha!" Pyrrha smirked at the quick quip, though knew that it was probably true. "He changed his story a few times when i called him too. He said that it wasn't him, it was his sister that was sick, then he said that he made a deal with his parents to hold down the shop while they took care of her, then said that he was working after she felt better."
"Geez, he's gonna have to get that story straight, sooner or later." Ruby sighed, disappointed at Jaune's poor attempts to throw someone off of his tail. Note to self, to run to him if you're in trouble with the law. "Genius either way. We'll have to run by the store after school to see if he held up his end of the bargain."
"For sure." Pyrrha agreed quickly, knowing full well just how well the Arc kids could scheme. The Arc family ran a string of shops within Vale, just small Mom 'n Pop type stores that had expanded from two locations to seven throughout the big city, and one new on in Mountain Glenn just outside of the walls. Usually Jaune and a few of his sister's, all of whom were of age to work, would travel to some of the stores to work, where they would help manage the location or just work wherever they were needed, and the family of eight kids, one boy and seven girls and two adults lived above the original store location. Pyrrha kept thinking about how cute Jaune's younger sisters looked in their store uniforms, always five sizes too big, as well as how good Jaune looked in his but quickly shook away her smile at the thought, however, knowing it's nothing new, then turned to Blake, "Enough about that, though. So, where are you from?"
Blake was a tad surprised by the question, clearly not expecting it, "Oh, I'm from a small town out on the east coast of the country." She said, "I got my acceptance letter late and was only able to start looking for a new place in the city a few days ago."
Pyrrha nodded, "So where are you living."
"Next door to Ruby." Pyrrha flinched at the simple answer.
"Really?" Ruby nodded in confirmation as Pyrrha refused to let an opprotunity leave her, "I'm sorry to hear that."
The black haired girl raised an eyebrow, unsure if the tall teen beside her was serious or not. This must have been what Ruby was talking about, with the rather rude comments. Though, the aforementioned teen saw it coming and had a shot in return ready.
"Screw you, Pyrrha." Ruby easily sighed, "You and I both know that I'd be a better neighbor than you, miss 'Let's have as loud of a party as possible'."
"You know that wasn't my fault!"
"You were hosting it, it's all on you!"
Blake was unsure as to what was happening, but let it all happen anyway. Obviously Ruby had this under control… She hoped.
"I'm blaming Yang and that's that. She still owers my neighbors an apology."
"Not like she could help it, just remember how many she had that night."
"Zero." Pyrrha replied sternly, offended at the implication that anyone drank at her parties. "She knew exactly what she was doing with the stereo speakers."
"It was fun, though."
"But-"
"But it was fun… Right?"
The emerald eyed teen shook her head and sighed, folding her arms in front of her chest and sat back in her seat defeated. "Fine. Whatever. New topic."
"Fine." Ruby said, earning a wink from Blake as a job well done. With that, the red-themed teen decided to return the conversation back to its root. "Blake has most of her classes with us, so I figured that if she had any questions, at least one of us would be there to help." Pyrrha rubbed her chin, but nodded regardless. "So, on that note... When's Yang going to get here?"
"Aw, miss her, do we?" Pyrrha teased as Ruby blushed, waving her arms in preparation to defend herself. Pyrrha cut her off, though, "When I talked to her last night she said she'd be in at her normal time today. Why?"
"Just curious..." Pyrrha didn't buy the reaction one bit, but chose not push her friend, given what Yang had told her over the weekend. The blonde had convinced Pyrrha to stop teasing their younger friend, something that Pyrrha is now consciously trying to avoid doing. Ruby was an odd one to the gymnast, someone who she wanted to know, but wouldn't open up to anyone...
Almost anyone, that is.
Without further conversation, more voices were heard further down the hall. Pyrrha realized that there were indeed more people moving about the corridor. It was getting close to class time. At least, it was getting close to eight o'clock.
She didn't know what time exactly Ren and Nora were going to get in. By the sounds of it, the previous night was hell at the restaurant. Yang, on the other hand, said she didn't volunteer to work with her dad on Sunday at the hospital, so she would be in relatively early. Earlier than normal, at least.
The blonde was well known in the school as the 'Medical Master', or 'Medical Mistress', depending on preference. Her father, Taiyang, is a doctor who is turning heads in the medical world with his belief of 'Free Medicine for Children' campaign, which has gained global support with doctors, but not so much with hospital heads. It was with this belief that anyone under the age of eighteen would be, and should be, entitled to free medical care. He wasn't the one who started it, but he was a huge supporter of it, offering free exams, screenings and even surgeries (only in extreme cases) for children whose parents can't afford it. Yang was also a believer in this cause, and volunteered with her father at the hospital on weekends and was slowly working her way up from the front desk and now helping the nurses whenever she was needed.
Unfortunately, despite the belief of the Xiao Longs, the hospital which they work for doesn't believe in their cause, and would attempt to charge families for procedures. They went hard on poorer families, until a Xiao Long would step in.
Speaking of which, the blonde walked into the school calmly. She weaved through the small mass of groups that had accumulated in the halls and headed straight for her group after using the same entrance that Ruby and Blake had used earlier. She turned the corner and was met by a small amount of cheers. She smiled as she sarcastically cheered back, "Yay, Monday!" She said as she threw herself into the seat next to Pyrrha. "I never thought a weekend could be so fast."
"I didn't think you worked?"
"Not yesterday, but I did on Saturday, and it's because I didn't work yesterday that it went so fast." The athletic teen beside her nodded affirmatively, "Saturday couldn't have gone by any slower! So many stupid kids with stupid injuries."
"Like?" Ruby egged on, causing Yang consider which story to tell, which one was best.
"Well," The blonde began, readjusting her seat slightly, "There was one kid whose mother was a pain… He twisted his ankle, not even a sprain, and his mom kept saying 'You gotta fix him, he can't stop playing baseball, he has a scholarship! You gotta help him.'" The group began to chuckle as Yang's impersonation required a nasally voice with a funny face, "Well, good news! He just needs some ice and he'll be fine. Take it easy for a few days and the pain should go away. Easy, right? Nope. 'Well he can't stop playing baseball, he's gonna have a scholarship he's so good.'"
"And?" Pyrrha inquired.
"He was five." Yang deadpanned, causing the group to break out in laughter. "I swear! She was like 'He doesn't have one yet, but he will! He's a slugger!' Like, okay, lady, he hurt himself playing. Keep him off of his feet for a few hours and I swear he'll be fine. 'No! No! You have to help!' Bitch, I am helping! Get the hell out!"
It took a minute before the group could gain their composure, by the time they did Ruby was the first to speak. "I love helicopter parent stories. Was the dad there."
Yang happily nodded with a smile, "Yes, and he was shaking his head like 'I have no idea what she's talking about, he wasn't even hurt.'"
Blake was next to speaking, only allowing a small 'Wow' to escape her lips, which brought Yang's attention to her, thinking that this unfamiliar teen was the new student that Ruby spoke of on Friday.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Yang apologetically turned to Blake, "I should have introduced myself. I'm Yang."
"Blake." The black haired girl accepted the soft hand, which quickly turned into an iron-like grip from Yang.
"Can I assume this is your new neighbor?" Ruby nodded, knowing the question was aimed at her. "Nice. If Ruby hasn't told you yet, I work at the local hospital as a volunteer with my dad in the pediatric ward."
Blake nodded in amusement. Ruby didn't really mention it, though she could tell after that little story earlier.
Ruby picked her head up and began to spoke, "I've told Pyrrha this, Yang, and I'll tell you too; Blake has almost all of her classes with us... So, I figured-"
"If she needs anything, I got her back." Yang affirmed to her younger friends joy, who nodded happily and leaned back in her seat, awaiting a new conversation.
As the morning progressed more and more students came in, the small group sat around their area, waiting for class to start. They discussed the class work that Blake should expect, and went into greater detail with what the students were like. Something Ruby had a hard time explaining.
Eventually Ren and Nora staggered in, almost throwing their bodies onto the cushioned bench that Pyrrha and Yang were seated on without speaking anything less than a grunt. The duo moved over to let their visibly warn friends have a few more moments of downtime. They had gotten in with only a few minutes before class would begin, and judging by how they were acting right now, might not want to know how long they had.
Surely they would have a story to tell at lunch today.
The bell rang as the air seemed to shift. Students began moving a tad bit faster through the hallway, wanting to get to their first class early for good seats in the back of the class. "So, first block." Yang sighed.
"Sixth." Ruby corrected simply, "Black day."
"Whatever! I don't want to go!" Yang whined, "I want on more weekend, just one day! Please?"
Ruby shook her head and was the first who stood up and began walking to the group's first class; Physics class with Peach. Mrs. Peach was considered to be one of the nicest teachers is the school, who also took absolutely no crap from anyone. She was all for fun and class discussion, but the moment you overstep your bounds, you might as well be mulch.
One upside on a Black day was that the group never had to leave class to go to free block. Every free block was the same class every day, which meant they never had to go far.
Yang quickly caught up to the younger friend and began a race to class, which she barely won, being the first to enter, followed closely by a playfully bummed Ruby, then Pyrrha with Blake bringing up the rear, following the gymnast closely. Somewhere behind them was Nora and Ren, though the group didn't know where exactly. Yang sat down in the back of the class, facing forward. Each classroom's seating order was the same, in terms of design. Five or six rows of two desks, with an aisle in between. Each desk could hold two students. Along the side were desks that closed in the other inner desks.
The teen with wild blonde hair took the back row, claiming it for her whole group. She sat in the seat closest to the isle. Ruby took the seat to her left, Blake taking to the left of the younger. Pyrrha sat in the row ahead of the trio for Nora and Ren. Normally, a certain Blonde young man would be accompanying Pyrrha, but to Yang, those were jokes for another time.
More and more students poured into the class, yet Peach was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she was printing something off? Maybe she's talking with another teacher, or she could just be late. To Yang, all of these were viable and welcomed options. But when one of the student's, Mercury Black, entered the room, she quickly hoped that the instructor would get there soon, as only trouble followed him.
A young man with an average build usually decked out in all grey and black, including his hair. He was a champion kickboxer and a notorious bad-boy in the school, but his arrogance got in the way of his sly personality. Spiky hair was kept back, though few bangs dropped in front of the left side of his face. He peered to the back of the class and sighed at the sight before him. "Aw, crap." He said, mock dejection laced in his voice. "You're all here."
Ruby sighed with annoyance and shook her head, "Here we go..."
Blake watched patiently as the black haired boy walked slowly to the far side of the class towards the opposite corner from the group, front right. Based on Ruby's reaction to the boy's rather rude entrance, she could tell he wasn't very fond of the group. "Oh-hoh, don't even start with me, Mercury." Yang snapped with malice.
The few students in the classroom stopped what they were doing and watched the display, knowing full well that it would turn into something enjoyable. "I'm not starting anything. You are. By still being here." He said, shrugging, "And look at that, you've even got a new kid tangled in with you. Isn't that sweet?" Blake held her hands up, clearly opting to stay out of whatever this was. A smooth, calm voice called the attention of anyone in the room.
"Oh, Mercury, stop." A small woman soothed, walking ever closer to the taller boy. "Don't tease the new kid before we even have a chance to get to know her..."
"You don't even know us..." Ruby said under her breath, not really intending to be heard. Blake, however, easily caught the comment, but kept her gaze on these strange students before her.
"Okay, new girl. I'm going to give you a choice, here." The bow wearing teen cocked her head slightly at the new arrival's words, "Right now you're with the bottom rung, the unmentionable ones of the school. But, if you agree right now, you could be with us, the elite. The-"
"The rich, snoody, stuck up tightwads who only think they're so popular because they have daddy's precious wallet so close to their face while they kiss daddy's precious ass." Yang harshly interrupted, "You aren't the elite, you aren't the best of the best. In fact, you're nothing more than egotists who go around trying to pick on anyone whose family name isn't on a box in the grocery store." The woman gritted her teeth as Yang continued her malice-laced tirade, "Now, unless you want another verbal beat down of epic proportions, I suggest you take your mouth, shut it, and sit down in the corner where you belong."
Two other girls entered the room as Yang sat down. A round of applause came towards the blonde in the back as she composed herself. "Oh, Cinder..." The white haired girl spoke, "You had to instigate another fight."
"I didn't instigate anything, Weiss." The young woman, now known as Cinder, said, "They just showed why they are considered to be the bottom rung of the school" Regardless of her words, Weiss still pinched the bridge of her nose. She sat down in the front of the class, clearly not wanting anything to do with what just transpired. Her group joined her in the front of the class. "Oh, and new girl," Cinder said before having a seat, "My offer is always open."
As she sat, the bell rang again, indicating that class had begun. Peach walked in with a stack of papers. "Alright, class!" She called, bringing attention to herself, "I'm going to let the stragglers get in before starting." She sat the stack of papers down and started the computer on her desk, turning on the overhead projector, too. "Today is going to be mostly notes. But there might be an assignment at the end. Just depends on how well we do... In terms of speed at least."
The moment she stopped talking is when Yang finally sat back in her chair. "Blake," She called. The new girl peered over to the blonde, who held a stern look. Not because she was mad at Blake, but because she was mad at the kids in the front. "I'm not going to stop you from doing anything; you choose who you want to be friends with... But them-" She pointed to the front, "-If you don't like greedy, prissy little kids who get everything they want with a snap of a finger, then you might not like them."
Blake thought for a moment. As she did, Pyrrha and Ruby both looked at her. The former with a rather stoic expression, while the latter had... A more pleading one... One telling her not to join the other group, to stay with them... Blake had seen that look before, and couldn't betray it a second time. She happily made her decision, "Nah," She shook her head, "I think I'm good staying with you all."
So yeah, we have a situation here, don't we? Aside for my shitty storytelling, at least.
Yes, I will expound on Velvet's relationship later, as it will become far more relevant then. But now... Nah.
So how was this chapter? I kinda felt that it was a little long-winded, but that's the way these stories are going to go for a few chapters. Once we actually get into some story I promise it'll get more fun and less boring. Sorry, but still I hope you enjoy the info drop! Again, looking forward to hearing from you guys.
The next one is in the grinder to be reworked, may take a while. I promise I'll have something fun for you all soon. Until then, I'll see you next time.