Onto another chapter of this... kinda fun to plan, and got some art provided by doomzoom. There were three other versions, but I preferred that one.

Chapter 2:

"Did the light bulb blow? Or are you just sitting on the floor in the dark for whatever reason?" Yang asked as she knocked on the open door of the bathroom her sister was sitting in. Flush up against the wall, head resting in her hand.

Ruby didn't even bother to move to look at her sister. "Yang... I'm not going to lie, I will gut you. I feel like shit." Ruby spoke just wanting to sit in the darkness. Maybe she could get some sleep, and then hopefully do something. Anything really with what remained of her Sunday.

"Yeah, I'd assume chemicals and what have you pumping through your body does that." Yang joked as she took a seat next to Ruby. She just knew that if Ruby would look at her, she would glare at Yang for the terrible joke. Yang pulled her sister into a more prone position with her head on her lap. She began to run her fingers through Ruby's hair smiling.

"Well you still have a full head of hair, and it doesn't seem to be thinning any." Yang continued as Ruby finally looked at her sister. "Great. I also still have a sizeable tumour in my right lung, coughing what appears to be non stop, shit coming out both ends not to mention the whole I seem to get sick like every week with some other cold, or my favourite constantly sensitive skin, and I've dropped another freaking size of clothes!" Ruby spoke, not hiding her anger any.

"But thank fucking Christ I have hair!" Ruby yelled, berating her sister's comment. She had really just wanted to stay in the bathroom and try and tire herself out enough so she would sleep some. Maybe actually develop an appetite. She didn't want to hurt Yang's feelings. She knew Yang had meant the best, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with it.

She just wanted to sit in the dark. Was that so wrong?

Yang could see the tears in her eyes wanting to flow, but she also knew that Ruby wouldn't cry. Ruby wanted to appear strong for whatever reason. Something she figured she couldn't do if she cried.

Yang couldn't even defend her point as Ruby quickly shot up and crawled to hug the toilet as she began to heave and throw up what Yang had figured was the last of the acid in her stomach. Ruby began to spit a little into the toilet as Yang rubbed her back. "Want me to tell Mom to only cook for herself?" Yang asked trying to make Ruby's time hugging the toilet at least a little bit more bearable.

After what felt like a lifetime to Ruby she was positive that she had stopped, she took her head out of the toilet. Wiping the side of her face. "Where are you going to be?" Ruby asked quickly coughing into her elbow.

She quickly laid down onto the floor and closed her eyes. Yang smirked as she flushed the toilet for Ruby. "Weiss' family are throwing a party and she invited me. I'm positive they are going to use it as an excuse to kill me." Yang spoke stepping back over Ruby to reclaim her original seat.

"The only person you need to worry about really is her dad. If Winter is there, she'll just mock a little. And her mom cares about her a bit too much." Ruby answered covering her eyes with her forearm. Slightly happy that Yang had put Ruby's previous comment behind them. "Just don't be a smart ass to her dad or mom and you'll be okay." Ruby continued as she lowered her arm she was using to block out light and coughed again.

The sisters were interrupted, by a soft knocking on the door. "You alright little rose?" Summer asked trying to see if Ruby would be leaving the bathroom any time soon.

"Great pain and suffering mom. Great pain and suffering. Bright side... don't think I have anything left to throw up." Ruby spoke as her arm found it's place over her eyes again. She could feel her mom's concerned gaze on her. She wasn't sure if it would be classified as an annoyance just yet, or a bother. "Relax mom. I'm joking... kinda. I just wanted to hug the toilet a little and sleep. Yang just came in to see if I was alright."

"She isn't wrong mom. Why did you come up?" Yang asked as Summer turned the light on. "Making sure you both were alright. You both got really quiet and that just caused me to worry little. Not to mention that you've been up here nearly an hour." Summer spoke looking at Yang making sure she was alright.

She walked over and placed the back of her hand onto Yang's forehead. Yang quickly moved the hand off her forehead as she smiled, "Mom, I was just keeping Rubes company. Besides even if I was sick, I still have a date. One I can't blow off really. Weiss hates the parties, and prefers to at least have me there so her dad won't try and set her up with anyone."

Summer frowned at her eldest daughter's claim. "Why didn't you tell me?" Summer asked, rather hurt that Yang would make a plan like that and not inform her of it. "I did... didn't I?" Yang asked, hoping that the answer would be yes. She didn't want to hurt Summer's feelings.

"No. If you did I wouldn't be this hurt Yang." Summer spoke, her pain seeping through as Ruby groaned loudly from her place on the floor.

"Can't a girl get some sleep on the bathroom flo-" Ruby was cut off by a bout of coughing. She didn't get the chance to cover her mouth and some blood began to jump from her mouth. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand. After it subsided she wiped the blood she could get off from around her mouth.

"Ruby come on. You should be in your bed and warm." Summer spoke as Yang quickly attempted to pick up Ruby who flailed around a little."I can get up myself! I'm not dead or cripple. Just tired, and sore, and my lungs feel like they are on fire right now." Ruby spoke as Yang rolled her eyes.

Instead of saying anything Yang quickly shifted to help Ruby up who gladly took the help up. "Jeez, Ruby, you weren't kidding. You did lose some weight. Kinda jealous."

"Want to swap? You can have the cancer, coughing up blood, dropping weight due to being unable to keep almost anything down amongst other painful things. I'll in turn go out with my best friend. Sounds like a fair trade to me." Ruby snarked back as Yang rolled her eyes again.

"I was trying to give you a compliment." Yang spoke as she turned to Summer. "Are mood swings a side effect of whatever it is she is doing at the hospital? Because her mood has changed in a split second a few times since I came up here." She joked but the look on Summer's face said something different.

"No. Anger and irritation, yes. But not a mood change like that." Summer began walking closer to Ruby who had rolled her eyes herself. "I know that look! I'm not going back to-" Ruby began to cough into her elbow as Yang rubbed her back again.

After the coughing began to die down Ruby looked back up, "I'm not going back today mom. I just got too little sleep last night, and being up here getting sick for the last three hours just makes me a bit snippy. Nothing more."

Ruby and Yang both could see Summer was desperately warring with herself. She wanted Ruby to go, but she didn't want to force Ruby. Eventually Ruby being determined won out and she stepped to the side as the sisters walked out of the room she was quick to follow Ruby who crawled into her bed.

"Relax mom. I'm going to try and get some sleep. Just wake me up when dinner is done. I'll let you know if I feel like I could keep anything down then." Ruby spoke shooing her mother away she just knew Summer was going to continue to worry but this way she could at least say she tried.

Ruby pulled her blanket up and fished her phone out of her pocket. She smiled at the message from Weiss. 'Why does Yang keep saying I feel under the weather. She is going to start to think something is up if I keep feeling under the weather every other week. Seriously why don't you just tell her I get pregnant every other week. That one may be a little more believable.'

R~ I just told Yang that because I binged watched things till six in the morning. So I've just been trying to catch up on sleep.

W~ Why am I not surprised by that? Was it anything good?

R~ Well I started off on Mafia movies, and ended with that one where Chuck Norris got his ass handed to him. Just continue up with Yang's lie. If you don't then she'll know I lied, and then she'll become a monumental bitch for a few days.

W~ Fine but you owe me big time. Now get some sleep. You'll make your parents worry.

Ruby smiled at the genuine concern Weiss had, albeit for a lie Ruby told. She was just glad her concern was actually about her well being. Not concern for what she could be feeling from some clusters of cells that didn't know how to stop dividing.

Ruby closed her eyes as she placed her phone onto her nightstand. As she pulled her arm back she began to cough. She was too tired to even cover her mouth with her elbow. Instead she just decided to cough and hope if she did cough up blood that it wouldn't be much.

She had no idea how or why her mother had convinced her to keep her white bedding, but she had. She just let the darkness take over instead of questioning it further.

Ruby was next awoken not by her mother but by her phone alarm going off. She quickly sat up and reached over to turn her alarm off. She looked at the time and frowned. She heard her stomach rumble as she began to get up.

'Why didn't mom wake me up? She almost always does after chemo if she is off. I probably wouldn't have been hungry... but it is at least nice to be asked.' Ruby thought as she quickly made her bed and noticed a few red areas. Causing Ruby to grow slightly angry.

'This is why I wanted to change bedding colours... something that wouldn't show blood. Is that so wrong? You know not needing to clean my freaking bed every day it seems!' Ruby yelled internally as she began the process of removing everything that had her blood on it. By the end of it she had her pillow and the blanket on her bare bed.

She quickly walked down the stairs and into the small offshoot room off the kitchen. She shoved her bedding into the washing machine and began to go about the process of getting her bedding at least washed so that way she'd have clean sheets.

She was just about to turn the machine on when she heard a soft knocking on the frame of the door. She turned around to see Tai standing there. "Sorry dad. Just need to wash some things. You home long?" Ruby asked pressing the power button and walked out of the room into the kitchen.

"Only half an hour. Hour tops. Where is Yang?" He asked as Ruby pulled out a bowl and began to rummage through the cupboards for her favourite cereal. She was trying her hardest to try and suppress the cough that she could feel brewing. A fight she knew all too well, and like all the times before, she lost.

She quickly covered her mouth with her elbow and coughed. After a few minutes Ruby pulled her arm back and shrugged her shoulders. "Weiss' if she isn't in her room. Is mom at work?"

She pulled out the box of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes, and was about to turn around to pour a bowl, when the box was taken from her and another box was held out in front of her. She frowned as she stared at her dad. "But those are bland and tasteless... also probably have a shit ton of iron in them" Ruby complained crossing her arms and began to pout.

"Yes, your mom is at work, but you need to still eat healthy. More so after chemo. Not to mention I heard from your mom that you slept through dinner. You wouldn't even wake up." Tai spoke as he gestured the box again.

"Nice to see you and mom can talk normally..." Ruby muttered grabbing the box and walking over to her bowl as her dad spoke up again, "What did you say young lady?"

"I said I'm still going to put a lot of sugar on it!" Ruby yelled as she quickly grabbed the sugar jar. She could feel her father's glare and she knew why he had one. It wasn't from her comment, it was from her going to put sugar on her cereal.

"Do you need a lift to school?" Tai asked as Ruby poured some milk into the bowl with her bran and sugar combination. "I would need to check my phone to see if Weiss texted me, if not I don't mind walking dad. I do it for at least one week a month. Just go and sleep. And if you are up before I'm home, can you please move my sheets and what have you into the dryer."

"I just know you are going to want to be on time, or I hope with how much you want to attend. And judging by your desire to do some laundry... you've been coughing up blood more and more frequently." Tai spoke as Ruby carried the bowl over to the table and sat down. She wasn't sure where to mock first.

"Dad, relax. You, mom, Elie, and what's his face the oncologist, all have said that is just natural. If I suddenly take a turn for the worse on the way to school and develop some deadly incurable disease, I promise to call home straight away." Ruby responded in a half mocking tone, not that she was trying to offend him, but at the same time she knew he was going to be paranoid about it, he always was.

"Dad, I swear I will grab a knife and chase you up those stairs." Ruby spoke as Tai shrugged his shoulders and exited the room. Once Ruby could no longer hear the footsteps on the stairs or on the floor above her she turned back to her cereal.

"Damn it. It is closer to mush now..." Ruby muttered tossing her spoon into the bowl. "Worst way to start the day off. No tasty cereal, sheets coated in blood and germs, and dad wants to prolong sleep to drive me to school. Hard to believe this beats out six in the morning chemotherapy."

Ruby picked up her bowl and began to walk towards the sink as she began to cough, she quickly covered her mouth as she placed the bowl into the sink. She pulled her arm away and frowned more. "Now I need a shower... why is it so hard for my blood to stay inside?" Ruby asked herself as she began to walk back up the stairs.

'At least it is a school day... so I'll have some normality... but I just hope I still have a red shirt clean... there is far too much sun to wear black right now.' Ruby thought as she checked her phone to see a message from Yang.

R~ Yeah a ride to school would be nice. Now I need to get into the shower.

She didn't even wait for Yang to respond as she dropped her phone onto her bed and began to get an outfit. 'Damn it that's right I haven't washed my hoodies... I just guess I'll just have to wear a long sleeve shirt... when did I get black and red flannel? Kinda reminds me of what Cinder was wearing last week. Just you know darker... but that'll do I suppose.'

"You guys are gross. Also so straight it hurts." Ruby spoke as she got out of Weiss' car not even bothering to wait for Yang or Weiss to follow her. She knew they would be making out for a while longer if they could.

As Ruby entered the building she began to cough into her elbow as she walked towards her locker. As she turned the final corner she saw Cinder sitting on the ground reading a different book. Ruby could see the fiery golden orbs glancing over the top of the book.

Ruby continued over to her locker once the door was opened she decided to speak up, "Hey Cinder. To what do I owe your company this early in the day? Normally I have to hunt you down, don't get me wrong it is a nice change of pace."

Ruby spun her bag around and began to pull the needed books for the first chunk of the day out and placed them into her bag. She closed the door and quickly began to sit down next to Cinder. The brunette closed the book.

"I figured your insistence last week did kind of annoy me, but I realised you are probably one of a few people here that don't make me want to slaughter everyone. Believe me that is a restrictive list. Thus far it is you, two others, and some of the teachers." Cinder spoke causing Ruby to giggle.

"What is so funny?"

"You still think that tough girl act is fooling me. Seriously you don't need to drop it, but just admit the only reason you're here is because you realised you can't push me away easily." Ruby spoke as Cinder turned to glare at her.

Ruby got to know a fair bit about Cinder in the week of school that had just passed. Mainly that the hunch Ruby had on the first day was right. Cinder wasn't that bad of a person. Her first assumption that the worst Cinder would do was keep a library book late was an over reaction.

"I swear I try to be nice and cut out you tracking me down, and you might as well slap me in the fac-"

Cinder was cut off by Ruby coughing hard into her elbow. The look of concern on Cinder's face had not gone unnoticed by Ruby. Cinder didn't move though. She sat, with that same concerned look on her face as Ruby pulled her arm away.

"Wipe that look off your face, it is just the end of a chest infection. I see that damned concerned look enough at home. Seriously, just stop it." Ruby demanded as Cinder followed what Ruby had wanted. She wasn't sure how this single girl had caused her to do something.

"Fine, but that still sounds bad." Cinder muttered. Ruby noticed the volume and tone dropping. It had hurt Ruby more than it would if she had told anyone else the same thing. Before she could apologise She could see Yang and Weiss walking up, their fingers weaved together making Ruby a little sick to the stomach.

"Yang, so help me if you've come to make out in front of me I will beat you with your own bag. It will be so brutal mom and dad wouldn't be able to identify you." Ruby spoke causing Cinder to look towards the white and blonde haired women walking towards them.

"Then I'll haunt your ass, plain and simple Rubbles." The blonde, Cinder hoped was Yang answered. As Cinder snickered at the name. "Cinder so help me I will kill you too." Ruby spoke holding up an accusatory finger at her.

"I swear I'd say nothing. This is why you don't make me want to kill everyone. Just that threat that you'll never make good on. Not many people would threaten me like that." Cinder answered as she opened her book once more. "No if you don't mind, I do plan to finish this book by the end of the week."

"Not happening any time soon. Yang's locker is next to mine, and I'm waiting on her and Weiss to stop playing tonsil tennis so we can get going to biology."

"I swear you people are becoming more and more irritating. Mind you, it seems like I'm stuck with you in a number of my classes." Cinder muttered, turning the page.

"Rubes, why is the new chick racist?" Yang asked, this being the longest conversation she has heard from Cinder. She only knew her name because every other time, Ruby had corrected her.

"Yang, we both know the race thing doesn't work with you. It is as subtle as a brick through a window with the message on it saying I'm subtle." Ruby ranted off as Yang stared at her, closing her locker door.

"Hey, my name is actually Chinese. Not a gem." Yang countered as she glared a little at Ruby. "Yeah, your right, way to strengthen my point. While you're at it, why don't you go take a brick, a black marker and go toss that." Ruby joked causing the rest of the people to laugh as Yang rolled her eyes.

"Smart ass." Yang muttered as she began to lead Weiss away. "That is why I'm in the same grade as you!" Ruby yelled back as she sat back with Cinder.

"So is she your older sister, younger sister or your twin?" Cinder asked turning the page, knowing Ruby was probably pouting because of the speed at which she read.

"Older by two years. She embodied the whole 'Full Metal Jacket' aspect of our culture, I embody the intelligence." Ruby joked as she pulled her phone out to quickly switch the volume off.

"You are Vietnamese? I only ask because you just say Asian. Asia is a big place." Cinder spoke quickly slipping the bookmark into the book as she closed it.

"What? No. Our dad is from Hong Kong. I meant she embodied the whole, she'll do anything to get what she wants." Ruby answered quickly pocketing her phone, as she and Cinder stood up.

"Do you mean China?" Cinder asked as Ruby glared at the woman. Cinder picked up on it and was unsure of what to make of it. "That is by far the easiest way to piss off people from Hong Kong. The only reason I'm not as offended as say my father would be, is I'm also British... so yeah."

"Didn't the British give Hong Kong back to China? How do those family meetings go?" Cinder asked as they turned down another hall. "Well, a lot of tension. But not nearly as much as you would think. Just you know, few bad comments in Cantonese the first few hours. Regardless of where we meet them."

Cinder had a few questions on her mind, but unsure of what to ask first. "Yes, I'm trilingual. I know Mandarin, Cantonese and English. Same with Yang. Our mom well she can't speak Cantonese... which is weird..."

"Not really, but in saying that I only know two languages... how the hell can you remember three, as well as whatever language you selected when you got accepted here?" Cinder asked as they walked into the lab.

"German, and easily... I was taught them growing up. Hell my first words were in Mandarin. And the rest came rather easily because it was what was spoken around the house."

Cinder couldn't respond, as the teacher walked in causing Ruby to shrug and walked over to her own seat. Cinder was left with one thought, 'Is it just me, or does every conversation with her become more and more interesting? It has to have a limit.'

Author's Note:

Second Chapter down. Hope you guys liked it. I'm going to go get something to eat and then finish the chapter of A Rose By Any Other Name. See you guys next time.