Wow, am I late or what? I can make as many excuses in the world, but the bottom line is work led to a writer's block of untold proportions and I barely got this done. I'm getting this up to you as I wait for class to begin. Thank god for laptops.

That being said, I'm sorry this is so late and I hope to get the next one in by weeks end. I've got some work and/or volunteer stuff to work out but free time shouldn't be too much of an issue. This arc is winding down and only has, at the most, four chapters left. Once it ends I'll be going into a short hiatus-mode to work out schedules and get a system going for myself, but I'll be back after two or three weeks. Again, sorry, but I've got poor timing.

So, without further delay here's chapter 12. Lord knows you've waited long enough.

Enjoy.

Yang sighed heavily as she read the sheet in front of her. She and Ruby had a Personal Finance class as their third class on Red Day's, while Pyrrha and Nora had Careers, which was like Personal Finance except it focused more on a student's interests in careers and how it will affect the potential daily life. Right now, Blake was in her Creative writing for the first time, and the boisterous blonde could only feel sorry. She could barely sit still for more than five minutes these days, that class would probably drive her insane.

As for herself and her young, silver-eyed friend, they had just suffered from an hour of lecture about how insurance will play into one's daily life. There was a lot of confusing math involved, which is why Yang was glad that she had Ruby beside her. The red-themed teen was really good at math which made this class go by really fast. She was a good tutor, too, pretty much holding Yang's hand all throughout the semester thus far. But today seemed… Off. Of course, Yang knew why, it's been the same silent attitude since Weiss dropped her little "Undesirable" bomb.

Ruby has been visibly upset since Gym class, very quiet during free block and hadn't even taken a single note since class had begun. Blake tried to get her going last block, telling Ruby that she still had some work she needed to do, but all of her drive and energy just seemed to die away. Yang watched the new girl's attempt to rouse Ruby into action, which almost worked. Almost. Now, they're here, and Yang is right back with the same struggle she's faced since she first met Ruby.

"Man," The blonde said, rubbing her forehead as the rest of the class around them began to work on the sheet that somehow had relevance to the lecture (not that Yang would know), "Got any idea of what we gotta do, Ru?" The silver-eyed teen seemed to disregard the inquiry, staring into space- or at least the desk in front of her- causing Yang to sigh, roll her eyes and nudge her sharply, in that order, physically breaking her from her stupor. "That tabletop is lookin' real nice, isn't it?"

"H-huh? Wha-?"

"Oh, nothing," Yang sarcastically remarked, "You've just been staring at desks for the last two hours or so, I'm starting to think that the table is more entertaining than I am. And that hurts, Ruby."

As Yang playfully dragged her index finger down her cheek from her eye to symbolize a tear, Ruby smirked slightly and chuckled before leaning into the desk. For some time now, she had been leaning back, slouching in her seat but now had readjusted, her hands at the end of the table closest to her as she looked at the papers strewn about. "O-oh… Oh! Yang, I'm-!"

"It's okay." The blonde admonished, "You've got something on your mind and that's keeping you distracted, I understand." The mention of her absentmindedness caused silver eyes to go wide for a moment before she once again looked dejectedly towards the table. This time Yang capitalized. "Anything you wanna talk about?"

"No, no… Yeah."

"Atta' girl." Yang instantly leaned back in her seat and folded her arms beneath her chest, awaiting her friend's response. "I'm here for you."

Ruby slowly gathered her thoughts, her head bouncing around between shrugging shoulders. Yang watched with interest, eager and fearful to hear her friends concern. "I guess I'm just having an issue with what Weiss said earlier."

Her meek tone was met by a raise of a brow and an inquiry. Yang knew what she was talking about, but didn't understand the problem. "How so? What do you mean?"

"It's just… Is it that obvious?"

"Hm?"

"I get it, I'm… Not the wealthiest person in the school, but… Is it seriously that obvious?"

Lilac eyes went wide with surprise as the blonde cursed the question. Of course, she would drop this question on her, she was the only one Ruby trusted outside of Velvet or Coco. And she would have to answer this honestly, but in the best way possible. Ruby's pride had already taken a big enough hit today. "Well, I mean…" Yang shrugged, bouncing her head around and mimicking the action from her younger friend as she tried to find the right phrasing, "Well, from where I sit and where our friends sit, we can tell, you know? We're not that dumb and we can see some of what's going on, only because… well, we know you. But from an outsider's perspective; for someone who may not know you, it's not really that apparent."

"Then why did Weiss-?

"Weiss Schnee isn't exactly known for her kind disposition, Ruby. She's about as harsh as one could be as a person. But her heart was in the right place for this, she just didn't word it properly. Or, she worded it like Cinder did."

"Oh… Hm…"

"I don't think Weiss' intentions were all bad. Her wording was, no doubt, but she probably doesn't think your poor, in fact she probably hasn't thought about that too much."

"But-"

"Ah-bup-up! No buts, just listen." Ruby blushed from the chiding blonde and turned away quickly as Yang continued, "nobody important thinks your undesirable, financially or otherwise." Red-tinted banged hung in front of silver eyes as their owner nodded slowly, graciously accepting the honest tone from her friend. Yang was known for being brutally honest but was skilled enough to give it a caring spin, making it sound as if she wasn't as mean as intended. Though by now Ruby knew better, but she still caught nothing but care. "Besides, none of that matters. It's just the Elite's going on their semi-annual tirade. They were probably targeting you as retribution for the Emerald debacle earlier this week."

"Don't forget what I did to Cinder on Tuesday."

"True. Be happy that Weiss decided to be the bigger person and tell you what was up, otherwise… I hate to think what they might do."

"Do you really think I'm that helpless, Yang? I can handle myself, you know."

Lilac eyes easily turned back, their owner's expression stoic with no emotion at all. "Listen, I trust you with a lot, considering how far you've come since last year. But Cinder… She's a-whole-nother level of cruel. I just don't want to see you get hurt is all." Ruby raised an eyebrow, causing Yang to give in, "But, I hear you. So, what I'll do is I'll back off and let you and Weiss figure this out. But if anything gets too out of control then I'm stepping in and putting a stop to things before somebody gets hurt. Deal?"

"Only if you promise to give Weiss a chance?"

"Deal retracted."

"Oh, come on, Yang!" Ruby cried in a silent tone, as not to alert the teacher, "That isn't fair to her!"

"And what she did wasn't fair to me!"

"And just what did she do?"

"Ah, when you're older, little rose." Yang sung, patting her friend on the head, "That's a story for later."

Ruby shook her head and scoffed annoyedly, "I've heard that one before…" Yang watched the sudden attitude out of her friend and smiled, happy to see her friend once again showing signs of life. Velvet was right: When Ruby's down, all she needs is an open ear, someone to talk to and she'll be fine. She can be an open book if you just let her do her own thing.

After thinking about the option's she threw out earlier, she decided one thing needed to happen: She had to give Ruby a chance. This was her opportunity to come out of her shell on her own. She needed to grow, and Yang couldn't hold her hand anymore. She held out a lone, right hand in front of Ruby's face, which the younger teen returned the gesture by accepting the handshake. "Good to have you back, Ru." Yang said, "I'll let you have a chance with Weiss. But no funny business, alright?"

"What's your definition of funny business? Yang?" The blonde smirked before retracting her hand and returning to her school work, sliding her chair closer to the desk. Her smile deepened as Ruby tried to get her to respond, to obviously, no avail. "Yang? Seriously, what did you mean? Yang!"

"With a cool breezeway understood now- in our final hour- that man cries not for themselves, but for the fallen.", Blake sat in an observing silence as the class around her waited in batted breath. This was her newest and currently most favorite class: Creative Writing. Even though she liked reading more than she did writing, it was still worth a shot. She was placed beside the teacher's desk, a nice, older woman who had taken the time to explain how the class will work while the other students read their poems. Every student would make a poem and by the end of that week they'd have to read it. The class had received their latest assignment last week and were permitted one extra day to work if need be. Usually there would be one or two days of work to be made that required peer reviewing and editing with classmates, but if you had it ready today you were more than welcome to read it. As it stood right now, the class was being indulged by a students "Fallen One" type poem. Dark, yet somewhat shallow. Not too much thought into it and pretty cliché actually, which was depressing for Blake. She had a certain expectation that thus far hadn't been met, though she knew that it wasn't fair to judge as it was technically her first class with the group.

Despite all of what was going on around her, including the critiquing taking place, Blake's mind seemed to wander elsewhere, specifically to her neighbor, as were the concerns of her group as a whole. Having been there for Weiss' revelation, and was also there for the aftershow during Free Block. Yang had explained, with fairness to the surprise of all present, what Weiss had said and at the same time tried to understand just why the heiress had done such a thing. To go against Cinder, let alone the group as a whole, was apparently looked down upon by the short-statured senior, which didn't bore well for anyone who went against the status quo.

And guess what Weiss Schnee just did?

While they pondered over the revelation, Pyrrha considered the possibility that the scarred heiress had a change of heart or possibly felt guilty. By the sounds of it she was put up to do a dastardly deed and just couldn't handle it. No, not that couldn't handle it, more like she wouldn't stand for it. In her four days at this academy Blake has learned a great many things, but now realizes that she still has a lot to learn, especially from and about the people around her.

Nora agreed to the point and Yang, for some reason, stayed silent on the matter. She was clearly at a loss for words, not knowing what to think and decided that keeping quiet was the better option. She and Ruby exchanged a few words, but nothing more than two word replies from the latter. Ruby clearly wasn't in a talking mood.

Which brings the raven-haired teen back to her neighbor. Ruby wasn't mad about all of this, nor was she sad by Weiss' harsh words. She seemed more... Disappointed if anything. Her demeanor had significantly dropped but she refused to say why, being visibly absent minded herself. This must have been what she was like beforehand, in the prior weeks to now. But why return to such an attitude for just one little discussion? Either way, it was worrying, and something that Blake had seen before, many years ago. She had witnessed this silent attitude out of Ruby and knew exactly what it was.

More importantly, she also knew how to help.

Back at the home, whenever Ruby had a bad night and didn't want to talk or even socialize with the other kids, Blake would watch as Velvet tried every which way to bring her back to life, so to speak. Dancing, singing, but for a seven-year-old… Or maybe she was eight, by this point? Either way, for a kid, Ruby Rose was damn stubborn. The memory of Velvet's antics brought a small smirk to Blake's face, which also allowed for a lightbulb to flash above her head. That memory allowed her to see the solution and see just how she's going to break Ruby out of a slump before she can get too far deep in the rut.

"Okay, class." The teacher called attention to herself after the poems and critique was finished. "Your next poem is going to be no more than eight stanzas, no more than six lines to a stanza, and will represent an emotion brought on by the first memory you can find in your mind. You have until Monday and then we'll start the review process. Go ahead."

This class seemed very basic… Not that it was an issue, a little piece and quiet every now and again could help everyone. Speaking of ruts… 'Feel like a hypocrite, don't you?' The voice of Blake's mother rang through her head. She could just picture the woman now, shaking her head with her hands on her hips, 'Scold Ruby for jumping back into ruts when you say something like that?'

'But… I didn't scold Ruby, yet.'

'You did mentally, and that's all that counts.'

'Dear Gods, brain… Mom, whoever is talking, just… Uhg, shut up, I have an idea.'

What was that her father used to say? There's no issue with the voices in your head unless they reply to you? Hm…

"Do you understand what you're doing, Miss Belladonna?" The instructor, whose name currently escaped Blake for the life of her, said as she stood over the bow-wearing teen.

"Oh, yes, I understand completely, ma'am. Thank you." The older woman smiled simply as Blake pulled out her scroll, opening it to her messages tab. She quickly found Velvet's number… Or perhaps it was Coco's? Either way, one of the wonder twins' number (seriously, Yang, nice name) and began to type out a quick message.

'Ruby's feeling a bit down and I know how to help. Think you can stop by right after school?' The message wrote. She didn't have to wait long, however, as the reply was nearly instant.

'What's wrong? Something that needs to be taken care of now?'

'No. It can wait, but she's clearly down in the dumps.'

'Ic.' "Seriously? Text speak? What is this, middle school, Velvet?" Blake whispered to herself, shaking her head as she did until her phone quickly vibrated again, alerting her to a new message. 'We'll be there right after school ends. Don't be late, or else Coco will get anxious.'

No detours, no breaks. Just straight home, huh? Well, the bow-wearing teen was driving, so no matter what there's not going to be an issue about it.

Weiss sat back in her seat as the vehicle accelerated out and away from the academy. The car was a leather-interior semi-limo, where there were two rows of seats. One facing the front of the car and another facing the back. Then there was the driver's and passenger's seats. It was a smaller, somewhat luxurious vehicle that allowed business ventures to be had in an appropriate manner, as sometimes a large limo was too much. The Schnee family used this car in Vale for business, but since their father wasn't in the city, Weiss commandeered it. It allowed her and Winter to talk, but also allowed for a cozy and spacious interior for when her friends came over.

Propping her right leg over her left and resting both hands atop her right knee, Winter simply stared at Weiss, awaiting the sibling to make the first move. The driver, Klein, Weiss' personal favorite of all of the company's workers who was on the shorter side- no taller than the heiress- and a tad pudgy, but he didn't care much. He was a jolly man who always treated both the Schnee girls right, and that's all that mattered to them. He had already greeted her and inquired about her day, but Weiss was very brief with the man. Whenever this occurred, both the worker and the military specialist knew that something was up. Winter couldn't take this anymore and spoke up, her eyes locking onto Weiss' absent gaze.

"So?" The eldest began, "How did it go?"

"Hm?"

Winter chuckled lightly at Weiss' seemingly dumbfounded remark, brushing her hair away from her right eye before it fell back into place. "You did remember the plan, right? You were going to confront Cinder? About that thing we've been talking ab-"

"Oh, oh! Yes, that!"

"I can see your manners haven't improved, still." Winter muttered, earning a harsh glare from the heiress across from her.

"As I was saying." Weiss cleared her throat, "I did confront Cinder and… Well, you were right, to an extent."

"How much of an extent?"

"Cinder's bet was only if I could transform Ruby into a member of higher society. When I confronted her, I asked why I was the only one who had to do this, instead of asking why was I doing this. Importantly, I forgot to ask why they wanted Ruby, specifically." Winter's muscles stiffened slightly, her posture tightening as she listened. "Instead of getting the answer I was looking for, Cinder instead dodged the question like a professional politician-"

"- Or like your father during a business inquiry?" Both Schnee's went wide eyes and giggled before erupting into all out laughter by the sudden shot on their father. Well, any shot would be welcomed, but this was out of the blue and so sudden and unwarranted and those were the best ones. "What? It's true, isn't it?"

"Klein," Winter sighed carefully after a short burst of laughter, now having composed herself. She turned back and faced the man through the gap and raised an eyebrow, "You know saying something like that is grounds for dismissal, right?"

"I understand, Winter," He said with a grin, his mustache arching with his lips as he glanced back at both of his passengers, "But, you see, I can't find a reason to care about what I say about him when he isn't around. Also, I just couldn't help it."

His eyes had changed color, back to their original form as he turned his full attention back to the road and turned the car down an empty street. Weiss instantly recognized where they were and quickly composed herself, knowing they were close to home. "A welcomed shot fired, Klein, and don't worry. We won't tell a soul."

"He's been with our company since before I was born, Weiss. If he got dismissed, he could just retire."

"Full pension locked in, thanks to a very loving contract." Icy blue eyes rolled as their young owner smiled, leaning back comfortably in her seat, satisfied with what just occurred. "I apologize, Weiss, I didn't mean to take away from your story. Please, continue."

"Quite alright, Klein. Anyway, Cinder dodged the question and instead of explaining why we were after Ruby, she instead decided to make a larger bet."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes, unfortunately. You see, now she and Emerald are picking targets to do the same thing to, and we'll figure out who is better prepared for higher society by the Halloween dance."

"Sound the red alert, Weiss." Winter instantly snapped, "Because we have an issue there."

"I know, I know. Huge red flag. I got the same idea that you're getting now and I don't want to know what Cinder has in store for these other victims, should they find one. Knowing Emerald, she's going to nitpick and fall short, just because nobody will fit her style. But that's beside the point."

"You're right, Weiss." Winter exhaled sharply, "Knowing Cinder, she has something planned for the dance. You need to get a move on with your would-be victim."

"Already done." Weiss smugly stated, though regret washed over her very quickly as she remembered the conversation. She remembered the look of disappointment and sadness on Ruby's face after she said that one damn word and it hurt to see someone who very well could become a friend hurt like that, especially by her own doing. "S-sort of."

Both Winter and Klein raised their eyebrows as the car stopped at a light, the former speaking first, rolling her hand around in a gesture to make her point known. "Sort of? How?"

"Well… Thing is…" Weiss awkwardly rubbed her right arm, then the back of her head and tried to find the right words that won't get her totally beaten down before they could even arrive to the comfort of her own home. "I did confront Ruby about it, and I didn't do it alone, either. I had Yang and a new girl around so they could hear."

"Witnesses are always a good thing."

"Exactly what I thought."

"So what was the problem, then?"

"Well… I didn't exactly use the right wording." Winter raised her eyebrow, her forehead scrunching beneath her hair. "See, I… I inadvertently called her 'undesirable'."

For a moment, the world smelled of ozone as the car seemingly came to another abrupt stop, though Weiss knew that this was the last stop sign before her home. Though, now the prospect of home was becoming a far more foreign concept, as she could feel the cold gaze of death from her dear oldest sister across the car. "You. Did. What?" Winter growled in a deep voice, her hands balling into fists after Weiss' confession. She shouldn't get upset about this; she had never met Ruby and understood that misspeaking happens. But Winter also knew that this was something that she had tried to lord out of her siblings since day one.

Their father may want them to be 'proud' of their rich privilege, but there's no reason to act all high and mighty to those around you, especially those less fortunate.

With a dejected sigh, Weiss slumped forward, fighting against the seatbelt that forced her back and shook her head in her hands, "I know, I messed up so bad and I feel awful about this whole thing." Winter glanced back into the front seat and reached for something, but Weiss didn't see it, "I knew, right after I said it I knew I messed up and I still did nothing about it! I just-"

THWAP

Before she could finish her sentence, a blunt object collided with her left temple. Again, with the damn temple… But whatever it was that hit her just now, it wasn't a hand. No, it was solid, but thicker. Once the pain died away, Weiss looked up to see her sister looking smug with a rolled-up newspaper that now hand a sharp crease in it. "What was that for!? I know I messed up!"

"Yeah, but I have to pound the point home every now and again." The eldest Schnee replied. "I thought I taught you better than that! I'd expect this from Whitley, but not from you, Weiss!"

"Honestly, I wasn't even thinking, Winter." The scarred heiress replied, running her hand across her head once more to survey the damage done. It wouldn't leave a mark but wow, did that hurt. "It just sort of… Came out. I didn't realize what I was saying until it was too late. I hope that they understood my intent, but at this point I can't be sure."

"Then you know what you do?"

"I think I've got an idea."

"You're going to go see her in the morning before school starts and your going to apologize for your lack of a filter."

"Winter." Klein chided from his front seat after placing the car in park at the front of the manor. He turned to face both of his passengers and held out an open hand, which the older daughter instantly knew he was silently asking for his daily paper back. She reluctantly handed back the rolled-up newsprint and prepared for a scolding that just never came. "Thank you." He glanced back towards Weiss and smiled lightly. "I can tell that you're regretting your words, dearie, but there's nothing you can do about it now. What's done is done and your sister does have a point, despite her method of getting the point home." Winter pouted slightly, causing a refreshing smile to appear on Weiss' face. "Tell you what: Tomorrow, I'll bring you in early so that you can apologize properly to the girl, okay? Does that please the court of Schnee?"

Winter instantly knew that it was her being addressed with that rhetorical comment and rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she did so as she tried to exit the vehicle before any of the workers could get to the car. Like either of the sisters would let them, anyway.

"Sounds like a plan, Klein." Weiss confirmed with a nod, "We'll leave about ten minutes early."

Blake walked down the hall and past meandering students who were fiddling with their lockers and quickly moved to her destination. Turning the corner, she was met by a group of freshman (she could tell based on how short these kids were), but paid them no mind as she cut through the group of five. Her bow twitched as she heard the murmurings of classmates around her, but the raven-haired teen quickly shook herself loose and composed herself, allowing her to make eye contact with a red-themed neighbor, who had just gotten her jacket on. "Hey, Blake." Ruby simply greeted through a dwindling crowd.

"Hey, almost ready?"

"Sure, let me just…" Ruby quickly tossed a math book onto the top shelf of her locker and slammed it shut before turning on a heel and throwing her Beacon Academy backpack around her shoulders. "Alright, I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Uh… Yeah?"

"You sure you're sure?"

"Blake, what are you talking about?" Ruby honestly inquired, gazing up into stoic amber eyes. "I've got everything I'll need for the night… I don't honestly need a math book, like, ever, if that's what you're talking about."

"No, no, it's just your choice of wording is all." Blake admonished, "Saying that you're good when just a few hours ago you weren't-"

"Uhg, not this again…" Ruby muttered to herself, shaking her head in annoyance and walking away in an attempt to end the conversation. "If this is how you're going to be all the way home, I'll just walk."

"Mm, not going to happen." Blake denied, quickly jogging down a semi-clear hall to catch up with her neighbor. Ruby was moving away from the Science Wing and towards the back parking lot where a staircase can take you right out to an exit. Blake could only assume that this was where the red-themed teen was going to, given her trajectory. "Seriously, though, the last few times I've seen you today you were quiet, absent-minded and rather downtrodden. I'm just trying to make sure you're okay and not hiding anything from me."

"And is it a big deal if I'm hiding stuff from you?"

Yes… And you can't hide crap from me, nor were you good at that back then, you brat… At least, that's what Blake wanted to say, but she kicked that thought aside and went with a nicer tone. "No, everyone's got secrets. I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

Ruby, once again, shook her head as she descended to the first floor, her ride home trailing close behind her as she threw both of her arms behind her head and sighed. "Between you, Yang, Velvet and apparently Pyrrha now, you're all sounding like broken records."

"We're worried. Is that a crime?"

Just before they exited, silver eyes quickly glanced back and locked onto amber orbs, the former's owner speaking up, "Look, Blake, I'm happy to know that you're there for me and it's nice to know that you care, but I worked it all out with Yang."

"What?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm still kinda bummed about everything that's happened for various reasons, but ultimately I'm fine. I'm over it, really."

"… What?" Uh-oh…

"Yeah. Still, though, your concern is appreciated. Now, no offense, but… Can we go home? I kinda feel like taking a nap before I have to work. With the Water-Main fixed I have some paperwork to go through with Neo and it's gonna take a while."

Ruby was the first to leave, not waiting for her neighbor and her driver to respond and instead leaving Blake in a stunned silence. When did she get over it? Why was she so quiet and why didn't Yang say anything about it? Why couldn't she tell!?

So now, since Ruby isn't feeling as down or sad as she was, she probably doesn't need to talk to anyone, which means she won't need Velvet or Coco… Which means that they're wasting their time… And they're probably halfway to the apartment complex now… Crap.

"R-Ruby! Wait up!" Blake said, hurriedly, as she rushed out the doors to catch up to her neighbor, who was patiently waited a few feet down.

"What's up?"

"O-oh! It's, uh… Nothing. It's nothing."

"Really? Are you sure? You look flustered…"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just… You may have a visitor… Or two, when we get back." With a heavy, dejected sigh and a slump of her shoulders, Blake began to walk farther from the academy and towards the parking lot, leaving a confused and worried neighbor behind her. "I'll explain on our way home…"

"O-okay." She caught up to her driver and ran across the parking lot and hopped into the newly unlocked car, throwing her bag on the floor in front of her passenger seat and buckling in as Blake began to set herself up to drive. Turning the car over to check her gauges, her passenger stayed quiet in deep thought and stayed this way for a while, even while Blake started driving.

The duo drove away from the academy grounds in silence, the only noise being the radio between them on a soft-rock station. Ruby tried to think through the music, and all the while watched the world pass by from her passenger seat window. What could Blake have meant by that? Why was she so flustered? Most of all what was this about? No matter what thought came to her mind, she found herself confused more and more. When she recognized the second to last light before reaching the apartment, she figured that this was the best time to ask, especially since she was growing more and more agitated by the silence.

"Seriously!" Ruby whined, "What is wrong? You seem so tense?"

Blake smiled softly and shook her head, waving off her passenger easily, "You'll find out, don't worry."

"But I don't know what you meant by 'a visitor or two'! It was so vague! Did you invite someone to my apartment or something?"

"Well…"

"Blaaaaake."

"You'll find out in a minute. I won't spoil the surprise." Blake assured, though the feeling of dread washed over her more and more, telling herself that she was in a world of trouble. She didn't just miscalculate, she completely whiffed the entire ordeal to massive degree, and now scolded herself into guilt. Probably should've consulted Ruby before making the call like that. What's done is done and she'll just have to take her lumps as she goes. It was the thought that counts, right?"

"You did invite someone over?" The young passenger inquired once more, trying to get an understanding of the riddle as Blake powered her old car through a changing yellow light. The driver nodded simply and stayed quiet, allowing Ruby the chance to ponder aloud. "Okay, two visitors… Well, you don't have Neo's number, so she's out… Also, she's only one person. Yang wouldn't do it, she has to work tonight, and Pyrrha has practice…"

"Think higher." Blake quipped as she turned into the apartment complex's parking lot.

"Think higher? Higher than Yang?"

"Yup."

"Neo?"

"Too high."

"Higher than Yang, lower than…" As the car slowly rolled past parking spots, Ruby spotted a familiar bronze classic Lincoln sitting in a 'Visitor' space. Quickly, Blake found a spot under a low ceiling and rolled into it as silver eyes slowly turned to the body in the next seat. The driver tensed up under the gaze of the young passenger, quickly turning her head to face out the window instead of meeting the eyes of her friend and neighbor. "You didn't…"

"Well…" Blake shrugged awkwardly, still unable to meet Ruby's gaze. "In my defense, Vel said she wanted to come over and check up on you anyway and this was a good excuse!"

"I don't need her to check up on me, I'm fine!"

"That's not the vibe I was getting a few hours ago!"

"What?!"

"Right after gym you just stopped. You didn't talk, you barely did your work, you were just on autopilot. Even during lunch, you stayed far away from the conversation as possible, it worried me, Ruby!"

"Okay, two things-" The teen pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance before unbuckling her seatbelt. "One, Pyrrha and Yang were talking about what Pyrrha should get Jaune for their one-year anniversary, and I stayed out of it because I had no idea what to say because I'm bad at gift-giving. Two, and let me know if I've this right-"

"Okay."

"Instead of talking to me, directly, you just assumed that I was still feeling as bad and just invited Velvet and Coco into my home."

"… Yeah, yeah that seems about right."

"Crap." Ruby grabbed her backpack, which had been on the floor in front of her seat and jumped out of the car, causing Blake to scramble to do the same. The driver quickly turned the car off, took her keys and opened her door, grabbing one string of her bag as her neighbor stomped away. "There's a reason why they don't come over a lot, Blake, and it's because I don't want those two to inconvenience themselves because of me. They have a social life outside of me and they don't need to concern themselves every day, Blake. If I wanted to talk to Vel I would've called her or found her during school."

Blake blushed madly at the scolding, stopping in her tracks just behind the car and rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Oh… Well… Sorry."

It's okay." Ruby called from the sidewalk closer to the building, "Just a reference for the future. Now come on, if I should deal with them all night, then I'm going to make you do it, too."

"That's fair."

Ruby entered the lobby first while her neighbor was close behind and discovered three familiar faces standing around the front desk. Velvet and Coco were both facing Neo, who was standing behind the desk with papers and binders in her arms, seemingly listening to the young adult duo speak, though Ruby herself wasn't quite able to make out just what they were talking about until she got much closer. By the time she could finally make out a few words from the soft-spoken rabbit faunus, silver-eyes had already connected with the familiar dichromatic eyes of her boss.

"Ah, speak of the devil." Neo easily said with a smirk, causing the young adults before her to glance behind them. "We were just talking about you."

"Oh, boy, you don't say?" Ruby sarcastically quipped, "What else is new with you three? I need to get you all hobbies one day." With a roll of her eyes, Neo dropped the baggage she was carrying and picked up the day's latest issue of the Vale Times Newspaper and began to roll it into a ball behind everyone's back, shaking her head as she did so. While she did, Velvet quickly wrapped up the young teen before her, allowing said teen's shoulders to drop begrudgingly.

"Geez, Ru, we can't take you anywhere, can we?" Coco taunted, only to be slugged in the arm by her sister. "Ow! Geez, back off."

"Okay, stop." Ruby harshly said, breaking the embrace and backing away. "Not that I'm not happy to see you both or anything, but if we can kinda, you know, take this conversation behind closed doors? Because I know why you're both here and I want to explain myself a little bit." She turned and harshly eyed the raven-haired teen behind her, "And somebody else has some explaining to do, as well."

"Blake?" Neo perked at the sound of her assistant's tone, "Not a week in and already causing trouble for your neighbors?" The bow-wearing teen shrugged, trying her best to hide her blush. "You heard the little lady, up, up! I'm coming with because I need entertainment today."

"Go grab some popcorn why don't ya?" Coco quipped before following the group, "Seriously, I think I'll enjoy this, too."

"Maybe later, hun."

"Aw, she called me 'hun'."

Ruby turned back with a small grin, "Feel special now, don't ya?"

"Yeah, I do." Velvet held the door for the group after Ruby put in the code. At the ground floor, just before the staircase there was a door with a keypad that blocked someone from going on towards the stairs or to the first floor apartments, and everyone in the complex knew the code but was barred from giving it away. Not even Coco or Velvet knew it, they needed Neo or Ruby to unlock it for them. Once the door was unlocked after Ruby inputted the five-digit combo, the rabbit faunus held the entrance, giving a quizzical glance to the last one in, a bow-wearing, amber eyed young woman who shook her head slowly and mouthed "It wasn't me." Though Velvet realized that whatever this would be about, it will be Blake's fault.

Once up three flights of stairs and into the hall of the third story, Coco peeked down left, then right, then turned back into the landing where Neo had just walked in and where Ruby was right behind her. However, Velvet and Coco were straggling behind, both whispering something to each other. "Hey, no offense, lovebirds, but we're on a timetable, here!"

"Am I keeping you two from something?" Ruby worriedly asked, "Because this is-"

"Nope. I just like messing with them. Velvet mostly, but I could get used to Blake, too."

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming." Velvet said in annoyance, finally making it out into the third-floor hallway. "Let's please just get to where we need to go so that we can get this over with? I'm anxious to know what this is about."

"I am, too." Neo chirped. "It's not every day that you two are called here. Usually you just come in unannounced and welcome yourselves to the complex. I want to know what this is about, too.

As Ruby led the group of five down the hall, Coco continued the conversation with her own question. "Which reminds me, what's the point of having a key to Ruby's apartment if we aren't even allowed to have the code for the complex?"

"It's a safety concern." Ruby chided softly, "If everyone knew the code then what would be the point of having it. It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that… Well, we don't trust other people."

"It's okay." Velvet assured. "I already know the code." Both Neo and Ruby turned sharply in shock and stared at the faunus, who rubbed the back of her head awkwardly and pointed towards her ears. "I can, you know, hear the key clicks and the chime it makes? Hearing? You know, the thing faunus are good at?"

"We get it, Vel." The youngest of the group sarcastically quipped as she pulled out her key to her apartment, "You're good at hearing." She threw the door opened and pointed inside, "Now get in there if you want to hear something funny." Three instantly went in, but a fourth, black-themed group member tried to sneak around the tenant, only to have a quick pinch attach to her ears. "I don't think so."

"Okay! Okay! Ow!" Blake cried before complying, entering the abode before her, followed by the tenant who closed the door and left it unlocked, flipping on the lights. Once there was illumination, Coco instantly jumped onto the couch in the middle of the room while Velvet leaned against the nearby counter. Across the room on the left side, Neo closed the bedroom door, despite the fact that almost all present had been within that room with no issue at all. She still felt that it was too messy to show off as a bedroom. Blake awkwardly walked in and took an open seat at the table, where her bow seemed to droop, oddly enough. Neo joined the new tenant while Ruby walked into the kitchen area.

"You gonna tell us why we're here, Bu?"

"When I'm ready, Coco." The teen sung, opening the fridge, then slamming it shut and walking out with a water bottle. The same one she had given to her from her elderly neighbor the other day. "So, welcome, ladies and… Wow, just ladies."

Coco raised an eyebrow and scrunched her face in a pout, "Almost a nightmare, huh?"

"Moving on. To preface this- and thanks to Velvet for teaching me what that means."

"You're welcome."

Ruby leaned against the same counter that Velvet was against and opened the bottle, continuing on before drinking from it. "I'll start by saying that you honestly don't need to be here."

"Wait, what?!"

"Yeah, maybe a couple of hours ago, I could have needed you, but… I honestly got it all worked out and I'm doing much better than before."

With angered… Or possibly just annoyed eyes, the usually beret wearing young woman leapt off of the couch and glared daggers into the raven-haired teen. "Blake! What the hell!"

"I misjudged the situation… I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it! We were worried sick about her after you texted us!"

Neo stepped in and waved the tirade off. "Now, now, I'm sure there's much more to this story and I'm sure Blake has a plausible defense. Ru?"

With a nod, the storyteller continued on about how the day progressed and what Weiss had told her. To what she could understand, she was now under the interested eye of Cinder Fall, who has designated Weiss Schnee to go 'slumming' (as Yang put it) and to find out which person in a graduating class is in a position to be 'better'. She used the same words that Weiss used, which angered Coco greatly, but luckily Velvet's calm demeanor kept another eruption from happening to Mount Coco. Ruby also admitted to how poorly she felt after that and also refused to leave out just why they were all here, and saying that Blake refused to consult her first before making the call that led to this meeting.

Neo was the first to rise out of her chair, putting her right hand around her back and rubbing her chin with her left hand in thought. "So, let me see if I understand this, if I may?"

"Go ahead." Ruby allowed, taking another drink from the now half-empty water bottle.

"So, this Weiss girl goes out of her way to inform you of a possibly sinister plot by the leader of her bitch-friend group, where she goes around and finds an 'undesirable' student in order to make them a 'proper member of society'. When she tells you this, you regress into a depressive state after having your feelings hurt and Blake here, who out of the goodness in her heart thought it best to invite over your closest friends to help you- even though you already had help from Yang- and Blake doesn't talk to you before-hand about all of this?"

With some thought to what she just heard, the silver-eyed assistant eventually nodded, "Yeah, you had that in the wrong order at the end but sure, that's about it."

"Okay, just making sure." With an affirming nod, the short woman waved over the girl with red-streaks in her hair as she stood beside a now tense Blake Belladonna, who could barely even glance over after being put on the hot seat quite a few times already in the last five minutes. Ruby, however, was as reluctant as Blake was, opting to stay where she was at for the time being. "Look, it's either you come to me, or I come to you."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this, though?"

"Because you should."

"Okay, now I'm really scared." The younger teen tried to hide behind the faunus beside her, but Velvet wasn't letting it happen, stiff-arming Ruby by grabbing her collar and eventually throwing her off of the counter and towards Neo. Ruby stumbled, but easily stood tall after a second and glared daggers into her friend, who was unfazed and nodded in a gesture to get Ruby to pay attention to the woman behind her, who had a sadistic smile to her face. "Be gentle." Was her only request as she slid her feet forward, inch by inch.

"Hm… Nah." As soon as Ruby was in range, Neo pulled the newspaper out of her back pocket with her right hand and swung, nailing her target with a downward swing and smacking Ruby upside the temple.

"Neo!" Velvet cried in horror, easily not expecting what just transpired. She thought it was going to be a hug or at worst a flick on the ear (which is more painful than it sounds, actually). Instead, her friends just got knocked into deep left field.

"Nice shot." Coco complimented easily as Ruby was knocked to the ground.

"What was that for!?" She cried defensively, staring up into sharp, dual-colored eyes.

Neo was quick to respond, placing one free left hand on her hips and gripping the paper hard enough to turn her knuckles white. "That was for being thin-skinned." She harshly chided. "We've been over this and I thought you were doing better, but clearly more work has to be done." She quickly turned back towards the seated teen beside her, who tensed up at the gaze of fury, "And then there's you." Before Blake could react, she was near instantly hit upside the back of her head by the same piece of newsprint that just impacted her neighbor. "That was for not checking with someone before making a choice like this and wasting everyone's time."

"Ow!"

"Hurt's, doesn't it?" The inquiry from the grounded rose was met by a familiar roll of paper in her face, causing silver eyes to go wide in fear.

"I'd watch that taunt, young lady. Now…" Neo examined her watch, "I do believe I have some work to do. Ruby, I'll be seeing you tonight-"

"I quit!"

"Nope. Coco, Velvet, always a pleasure." The woman left as quickly as she entered, and as quickly as she turned into a pinch-hitter for the local baseball team, leaving Velvet and Coco to tend to the wounded. Blake was just starting to sit up again, still gripping the back of her head while Ruby was still on the ground. At least until Coco finally got around to helping her up, at least.

"I feel like if I do this, you won't learn your lesson." She said, nearly tauntingly, but there was a hint of seriousness in her voice, causing Ruby to take offense.

"What lesson?" She asked, "I already said I was over it. It was Blake that miscommunicated."

"Not the point, but whatever." With her hand at full extension, the fashionista helped the apartment owner up to her feet, allowing her to regain her bearings as the others got back into the conversation. "She had a point, you know? About being thin skinned? We've talked about this."

"I know, I know." Ruby defensively claimed with a sigh, patting Blake on the shoulder, "You alright?"

"I deserved that…"

"That you did, Blake." Velvet quipped before taking a seat in the chair beside the bow-wearing teen at the table. "Now, Ru, if you don't mind me asking… You've never really seen eye-to-eye with Weiss or her friends, neither have you shown any signs of caring for what they think or have thought."

The young teen nodded before joining the duo at the table, Coco also sitting at the last free seat. "Right."

"So now, out of nearly nowhere, Weiss says something negative and you shut down completely? I'd understand if one of your friends were to genuinely mean it and say it in a manner where they'd mean it… Kinda like how Pyrrha is on a weekly basis; if it was like that, I'd understand… But I'm having an issue trying to figure out why you'd be so upset by Weiss?"

"Well, I mean… Weiss never really gave me a reason to dislike her, it was just guilt by association, you know?"

"Be that as it may, you still wouldn't be so upset if it was anyone else."

Ruby's shoulders slumped dejectedly as Blake watched on, feeling a sharp sense of déjà vu. This was going down just like it would have nearly a full decade ago, only possibly more painfully… Possibly. "It's just... I mean…"

"Is there something going on between you and Weiss?" Coco inquired honestly, not dissing the option. Out of all things, this was the least likely, but it was still a good idea to touch up on it.

"Not really? I mean… Look, a few days ago, Weiss and I were put up to be partners in a science experiment for first block and it went over really well. I mean, at first we both hated each other but we kinda grew on each other as the class went on."

"Really?" Velvet asked, nearly unable to believe what she was hearing. Still, Ruby didn't falter.

"Yeah, and at the end of it we both agreed that we worked well enough together that it might be smart to work again sometime, if the opportunity came up. I thought… Maybe, just maybe, I can make my first real friend at Beacon, you know?"

Both of the wonder twins glanced at each other, then both glanced to Blake, all three shrugging, then Velvet took over again. "What about Yang and the others? And Blake here?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love Yang and all the rest, but… I didn't really make friends with them. You introduced me, Vel. And Blake? It was Neo that threatened my life if I didn't make nice with her. Weiss would have been the first person that I would've been friends with without the help of anyone introducing me, or putting me up to it. I thought I had a chance, you know? Then she just basically curb-stomped that idea and told me that the only reason she was hanging out with me was because of a stupid bet."

With the revelation now revealed, the trio with the caring ears all glanced at each other again, only this time with a sense of understanding, rather than confusion. This explains Ruby's poor demeanor earlier and her reluctance to talk about it; how would Yang have reacted to this? Not well, probably would have been hurt. Pyrrha and Nora, too. Or, they would have understood, after all it apparently took her this long to warm up to the others, which means that for her to have the guts to expand her possibilities and horizons to new bounds and make a new friend on her own is a pretty big jump.

"Oddly enough," Blake began, breaking the silence of the room, "It makes sense… Just, why didn't you say something earlier?"

Ruby shrugged, leaning into the table, "I don't know. Maybe I was afraid of hurting everyone? Maybe I was just to hurt to think. I'm not sure. All I know is that very early on Yang got to me and I talked it out with her and that brightened my day a little bit."

"A little is all you need, sometimes."

"Right." Silver eyes glanced up and gazed into brown orbs, then over into the eyes of a familiar, beret wearing woman, then back to the first pair of eyes, "I'm sorry you guys got dragged out here for nothing."

Coco easily waved the girl off and rose from her seat, understanding that this was now her and her sister's cue to leave. "Bah, don't worry about it." She said, easily, "We'd have done this regardless."

"Probably true. I'll show you guys out." She turned to her neighbor and cutely smiled, "Sorry to kick you out, Blake, but…"

Amber eyes closed slowly as their owner happily sighed, holding a lone hand in understanding. "I've got work to do, anyway. No big deal."

With a nod, Ruby turned back to older friends and nodded, "Ready when you all are." Coco led the way, leaving first. Velvet was next out, then Blake, who left ahead of Ruby after gathering her book bag. She gave the rabbit faunus a quick hug out in the hall, which surprised Ruby. Why would they be hugging? They haven't known each other for that long… Have they? Well, Blake has been an oddly familiar face… Hm. Ruby quickly snapped herself out of her stupor and walked into the hall, checking to make sure she still had her key before locking the door behind her. Waving goodbye to Blake, she led the older duo down the hall and towards the stairs. Once out onto the landing, she broke an unusual silence between the trio.

"Hey, Vel?"

"Hm?"

"Does Blake seem… I dunno, familiar to you?"

Coco began walking down the stairs, leaving the 'Orphan-Twins' as she called them in private at the landing to the third floor to discuss. "what do you mean, Ru?"

"Well…" With an awkward rub of her arm, the young teen thought about how she should say this. Meh, what's the worst that could happen? "Well, Blake offered me a free dinner if I could figure out where I know her from and for the life of me I don't know. I'm not supposed to get help, but she'll never know."

"You hope."

"She'll never know." Was the harsh retort, "She just seems so familiar, but… You've obviously seen it, right?"

"Well, kinda, sure."

"Don't lie to me, Vel! I've got a free meal on the line, here!"

"Okay, okay… I won't tell, but I'll give a hint." Leaning in close, the faunus whispered, "Think Patch and a little girl who liked to read." These words left Ruby in thought as the young woman beside her departed, beginning to walk down after her sister and ultimately her ride out of here. "We'll show ourselves out. Good luck."

Patch? A girl who liked to read? Could it really? No, no that girl was a faunus, she had cat ears and… Cat ears that were in the shape of triangles… Just like Blake's…

No way…

Would you believe that there was much more to this story? I cut it down a little bit after this point as it just ran away and offered too much for one chapter. Oh well, right? I think I ended it at the right note.

So we saw quite the development out of Ruby, huh? Not upset at Weiss for any other reason than possibly losing a chance to make her "first" friend. Also, we see Winter and Neo using the same tactic of "discipline". Coincidence? We didn't see a whole lot of Yang or Pyrrha or Nora this chapter, but trust me, you'll be getting enough of them soon. In two chapters the party at Yang's will begin and that will be a jam-packed frenzy of dialogue and character building. I'm excited, are you?

So what did you think? Ruby is cheating her way to a free meal, is that fair? Will she even make it in time? What is Blake's overall goal and just what is Weiss looking to do? Tell me what you think and any theories you've got going. You never know, you may be spot on!

Well, I've gotta go. Class should be starting soon. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible.

Until Next Time.