Yay! More writing. Hope you all enjoy. And for those of you that aren't in the loop, I do a lot of OOC for all the characters. Now time to address the guest reviews.
Guest from Chp 1: No idea if you are still reading, but yeah. She left her there, but that was Yang's plan all along.
Chapter 3:
As Neo woke up she began to rub her eyes as she sat up. Now that there was actual light seeping in through the window, she could get a better look at her surroundings. The walls had a drab white paint job, but the only thing the room had that she didn't notice last night was the mirror hanging up on the back of the door.
'Well, at least I have a place to sleep... and Emerald trusts her.' she thought as she sat at the edge of the bed. She looked at her phone resting on the nightstand, seeing the light on it flash. As she looked at it to see who sent her a message last night, she let a frown take over her features.
'And they can suck a railroad spike.' She thought as she quickly deleted the message.
'Time to start my day. No point wasting the entirety of my day in bed' She let a long stretch take over as she walked up to the mirror to look at herself. She may have only been away from home for a week, and working for one shift but she was already liking the difference.
With each step closer to the door she took she could hear more and more clearly someone trying to be silent as they walked. She opened the door to see Emerald looking dishevelled, and like she was trying to leave as fast as she could.
"Em...? What's the matter and why do you look like you got no sleep?"
Neo cursed her timid voice. She missed being able to just speak normally. But if something was going on with her friend she would like to help.
"Nothing. I just need to get back to my place. You know... have some things I need to do." She spoke slightly rushed. To Neo, it seemed like she just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar for some reason.
"Come on Em. I haven't talked to you in a long time, and yesterday doesn't really count. You were to busy going googly eyes at your girlfriend."
Emerald was confused partially at the comment about her having a girlfriend, until she connected the dots. Neo thought she and Ruby were a couple. Not only that she could detect a distinct level of hurt from the ice cream themed.
"I can assure you, I am not dating Ruby. Not for a lack of trying mind you. That was just a booty call. Which happens for nearly everyone at the club. But look, I legitimately have things that need to get done. I'll talk to you later at the club." She just got out as she ran out the front door, leaving Neo rather confused. Could someone really not value something like their body that much.
Neo was no innocent girl, she was aware prostitution was rampant but that was normally drug addiction caused such a thing. So clearly somewhere in their mind at some point they truly don't value themselves. But to her the redhead seemed like she cared enough about her body. Did she drink a bit yes, but still cared about her body enough.
'I'm sure she has her reasons. It just hurts to see something like that happen.' She thought as she walked into the bathroom.
Ruby walked out of her room. Simply glad that she woke up not hungover. But if she was being honest with herself she also didn't drink nearly the same amount as she had a penchant for.
As she walked into her kitchen she saw Neo sitting on the couch holding one of the books Blake had bought her, but acted more of a decoration. Not that she cared. What startled her more was the fact how strange it was to wake up and a person besides her was still there, and not only that she didn't sleep with her.
'How long has it been since this has happened? A pretty girl to stay the night and is still here when I got up?' She thought as she turned to see a pot of coffee already made. 'And she made coffee. If this keeps up I may think about just letting her stay in the room rent free.' she quickly poured a cup taking a sip from the drink.
'And she knows how to make some decent coffee with the crap I have. I wonder what would happen if I actually bought some good coffee.' she quickly walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch, remote falling onto her lap.
"Thanks for making the coffee. You didn't need to. But it is nice." Ruby turned on the TV to a random channel. Only wanting it on as some form of background noise. That was what she often thought the whole reason she bought the thirty two inch flat screen for. Just to make the apartment seem less empty.
"It is the least I could do for you letting me take the room last night. I promise I'll find a place as soon as possible." Neo's voice was so frail. Still the near silent tone she had from the previous day. Ruby had no idea why, but to her it felt so familiar.
"No rush, I don't mind it really. I actually enjoy the company. My place doesn't seem as empty." Ruby took a gulp and smiled as Neo seemed to relax. She had been hunched over slightly. As if to make herself seem as small as possible.
'I swear, it is almost like she is expecting something bad to happen. Worst I'll do is water down a glass of water she asked for.' shrugging it off Ruby just finished the last gulp of coffee she had. Lamenting at the fact she would need to get up to get more.
"So we don't need to be in till five. Want me to show you the neighbour hood?" Ruby asked. She was looking for an excuse to not stay inside for the nearly seven hours of being stuck inside her apartment. She had nothing that would need to warrant her to leave her apartment otherwise.
"Umm... I don't see why not..."
"Right, I'll get changed. Pour another cup of coffee. Drink it. And we can go." Ruby joyfully spoke as she placed her mug on the counter in the kitchen as she walked past.
'I wonder if she actually grabbed some clothes before she got into whatever fight it was with her parents. Because if not she will definitely need some more.' Ruby thought as she stepped into her room. The room that everyone who had been in it thought of it as slightly sparse. But it had everything that she needed.
She never wanted nor needed anything else. She rarely slept in her room anyways, so why spend money in adding more luxuries that she wouldn't use. She walked over to the lone picture she had in the entire house, the last thing from her life long ago.
'Good morning Yang.'
She quickly shook any tear inducing thought. She couldn't cry, not with Neo waiting on her, just in the other room.
"Sup Ice Cream. You ready for another night on the job?" Jaune asked Neo walked out of the changing room, she was already loathing the name the twins had given her had already stuck. Not to mention that the blonde security guard had already started to make it stick with the rest of the staff.
"Yes, and do you all really need to call me that? It makes me feel like I'm five." She was trying her hardest to speak up. While Ruby was showing her the area, she had brought up the fact most people would need to strain to hear her most of the time. 'If only they knew.' that was all that filled her thoughts as her and Ruby talked.
She actually enjoyed her time with Ruby. It made her feel normal.
"Well Neo, you look five. Like a tall five year old yes, but still a five year old." Emerald stated as she began to walk behind the bar. She was glad Neo didn't seem angry for how fast she left Ruby's apartment. She had been somewhat worried that she would be angry.
Just as Neo opened her mouth to try and respond Ruby spoke up. "Come on guys. If she doesn't like it, don't call her it. It is the exact same thing as when we called Jaune, Vomit Boy. Give the girl a break."
Neo could see the blush creeping up the blonde boy's face. "I feel like there is a story behind that name... and probably more than just hair colour." Neo stated with the lingering question just slightly playing behind the sentence. She was actually interested in the name. She knew where Ice Cream came from.
"Point taken." Jaune mumbled as he began to make it seem like he was doing something important to avoid Ruby's wrath. The all had experienced it at least once, and they all had since come to fear it.
"So, what did you end up doing once you woke up?" Emerald asked as Ruby smirked at how the red eyed girl tried to shift the conversation.
"Neo made some kick ass coffee, and I showed her around. It was an enjoyable day. But aren't you on floor as soon as we open?"
Emerald shot the girl a glare, as A raven haired girl Neo recognised from the previous night as the one that was dancing with Ruby the previous night. "No that is me. She is on the stage with you tonight. And I think it is just the twins on the bar tonight."
Neo didn't like the girl. She couldn't place why, but she looked familiar. She just did. 'Maybe she just has one of those faces.' Neo shrugged it off as she Emerald began to direct her over a bit so they could have the conversation she promised her that earlier in the morning. That way she could also quickly explain what the deal was with Ruby.
"So Neo, how was your day just walking around with Ruby?" The grin on her face was ever present, and slightly irking the ice cream themed girl, but Neo would never let it show. She had learned in the past what it caused.
"It was fun. She showed me some neat stores. But any time I wanted to look at something even resembling my own apartment she just shot it down. Saying that there was no rush." That summed up most of her day. She just didn't feel comfortable with staying in Ruby's home.
"There isn't. Just calm down Neo. She won't have a problem with it, as long as you are your normal self to her. And if you have a problem with all the people coming in and out, just ask her to move it to someone else's house. She won't mind. Which leads me to my next point... but seeing as we open in like half an hour, so it gives me just enough time to get a quick practise in. So why don't you watch a bit?" Emerald just punctuated her statement with a wink.
Neo had caught herself a few times looking at the various dancers that had come up onto the stage. Some came up for one to two songs, but Ruby went up for a solid two hours. Each way they moved, it was enlightening in it's own way.
Maybe that is why she found herself standing on the stage, looking around at the empty room. It wasn't that she waited back so she could look at what was essentially the view she would be seeing in a few months if what everyone told her was true.
No, she was waiting on Ruby, but had decided to at least mimic what she had been watching all throughout the night.
As she span around the pole she just imagined the song that had been playing last. She had really enjoyed it. She made a mental note to ask the DJ for what the title of the song was. As she was spinning around the pole, she decided to do something that could only be considered foolish because she had no training,
She wrapped her right leg around the pole, letting it rest just behind her knee cap and tried to lightly slide down. Success being the last word Neo would use because she found out how sturdy and hard the stage floor was when her face connected with it.
She could hear some giggling coming from in front of her. As she opened her eyes she could see Ruby just standing there tossing a twenty dollar note onto the stage.
"If you are trying to become the next big thing, you'll need some major practise. But at least you are doing better than Pyrrha ever could." Ruby spoke as Neo fought the blush that crept up her face at being caught.
"You see where you went wrong was your leg was too lax. Plus the speed was a bit too low. I'd be more than happy to show you, but I need a drink like twenty minutes ago. So you coming?" Ruby asked as Neo climbed off the stage. She went to hand Ruby her money back but Ruby had decided to speak up.
"Neo, you need to relax. While I'm not swimming in money, but I did just make two hundred in tips. Minus the cut junior takes to pay the tax on them, and that, I'm still walking out with a hundred and a quarter. Relax."
Some reason Ruby's smirk seemed to make Neo feel better, even though she would end up drinking, which she never enjoyed. But if Ruby could make her feel better from embarrassing herself, she was sure that drinking with her was going to be interesting.
Author's Note:
Welp, I'm not happy with the start or even the middle. But I am happy with how that ended. But let me know with how you guys think about it.