Hey all... heh, first chapter of 2018! But yea, I was working on this one for a while, and not working on it a while [Duh], But the finished result is of finally something Im satisfied with, and I hope you'll be with too, with a whopping 4,375 words! Not including intro message for you guys. Most definitely one of the bigger accomplishments for me lol. Anyways, hope you all enjoy! [Not gonna lie... kinda rushed at the end, but I DID, get it set up for my next chapter, and god knows, how long it'll be for that to come out]
The two walked side by side, well...not really, Ruby was bit more ahead than Weiss, so they were walking together. Sound of shoes hitting the concrete sidewalk followed them and passed them as they walked throughout the city. They ended up at the intersection before the mall waiting for the cross light, "so….what were you planning on doing at a place as such?", Weiss asked.
"well, you know..probably look around at the shops, maybe eat a bit and uh.., yeah that's pretty much it, why?", she turned to look at Weiss. "oh, you know, I just thought that I would ask, that all.".
"ahhh ok", Ruby felt the weight of the arcade tokens in her pocket as they crossed the crosswalk and remembered the actual reason why she remembered one of the actual reasons she wanted to go here, "Oh! Did I forget to mention the arcade they have here?".
The two stopped after the crosswalk as Weiss turned to Ruby, "Hmm..I didn't think you mentioned that back over there", she looked at the opposite side of the crosswalk from where they are at now. Ruby started to speak up a bit frantically, "Well the arcade is great! It's really one of my favorite places to go when ever I have free time, it has basketball games, a table hockey machine, and almost everything that you would expect! Like they even have game stands where you toss balls at Bowling Pins and into baskets without it bouncing back out!"
Weiss took her time as she listened to the very excited girl in front of her, "Well, with the way you sound and describe it, It surely must be fun". She didn't really bother to go to the mall, so this was basically an adventure for her going somewhere new.
"Mhmm!", she nodded her head. "Let's start walking again, the faster we get there the better!", Ruby smiled as she started walking off towards the direction of the mall and Weiss followed shortly, Weiss had a slight smile.
It was about 2 more minutes before they reached one of the entrances of the mall, the second they walked towards the automatic doors, a small gust of a slightly warmer air than the outside air rushed passed them giving them a nice sensation that differed from the cold. The noises of various people conversing and walking echos through the mall as the two started to walk around.
Weiss in particular kept looking around her a bit astonished by how bright and vibrant the mall was with all of its light, and stores with different color schemes, not to mention the atmosphere of just, relaxation.
"It feels", Weiss paused, "nice here", she slowed down her pace. Ruby slowed down hers as well walking side to side with her.
"Yeahh, usually the feeling I get from the place too whenever i'm here, don't really know why", Ruby stated as they walked down the main hall nearing a room with a lot of different noises emitting from it, music, ringing and dinging, people shouting and yelling, it was the Arcade.
There was 2 ways they could start this day off, 'option 1… or 2… ', Ruby thought to herself. 'Maybe it would be more thoughtful to go option 2'. As they passed by the arcade Ruby up. "Have you eaten anything yet? The food court is just up ahead."
"Now that you mention it…. I really only did go to the Java House for my coffee, so yes, I have not had anything to eat yet.", Weiss grabbed out her wallet and took a peek inside it. '... Only enough for myself…' , she turned to Ruby. "Let's get going, shall we?", the two started walking to the food court, and in a matter of time, they were there.
"Let's see….", Ruby said to herself as she looked around at the different food places, which ranged from stuff like Asian Take-out, to burgers and fries, all the way to Tacos. "Whatever you decide to get, Ill get my food from the same place as well", Ruby proposed this so she wouldn't really have to decide on what to get, so basically Weiss got to decide.
"Ehh? Well..", Weiss closed her eyes, took a whiff of the air and basically let her nose guide her. She caught onto a scent and opened her eyes then started to walk towards it.
"This smell… it...it smells good", Weiss found herself in front of a place called, Terry-yaki [a/n: heh]. Ruby followed up behind her, "Ahh this place huh?, It's pretty good".
"Well… i'm just going to have to test that out and see", Weiss said in response to Rubys comment. She made her way up to the cashier and she was greeted by him, "Welcome to Terry-yaki!, What may I get you?", he put a bit of a emphasis on the Terry part.
Weiss looked at his name badge before talking, "Hey uhh…", it felt a bit a odd considering where she was ordering, but she continued,"...Terry, I would like to get a", she paused as she looked up at the menu. 'Oh no… I went up to order without being prepared'. "A…..umm…".
Ruby noticed she was having a bit of trouble trying to order so she stepped into their conversation to help, "Hmm…. If you haven't been here before Weiss, you can try the beef bowl, which really has more of a flavor than the chicken, but the chicken bowl is a lighter take if your not trying to get full.", Weiss was still silent, until a second later.
"Well… what about the combo bowl?, that should have both right?", she turned to Ruby.
But her voice wasn't the one she would hear, the cashier spoke up,"Correct! If you can't decide on either just beef, or just chicken, the combo is the way to go!". Good customer service Weiss thought to herself, 'assurance to the customer'.
"I will gladly take that then, along with a medium drink". The cashier entered in her order on the register.
"That will be, a $7.29 ma'am", upon hearing that, Weiss reached into her bag, took out her wallet, and paid the balance with a $5 bill, two $1's, and a quarter plus, 4 pennies. "Here you go".
"Thank you", he took the payment gently out of her hand, placed it in to the register, and gave her the receipt. "Your order number is, 113, have a good day!".
"Thank you, and have a good day as well", she returned the politeness and stepped to the side so Ruby could order.
"Yeahhh, I'll have the same thing as her please!", she was already going into her pocket for her wallet.
"Sure can do! Total will be $7-", he was cut off by the red headed girl holding out the exact amount of payment. "Way to be quick~", he said, Ruby just smiled in response. He handed out the receipt "Order will be number 114, you have a good day!". "You as well!", she took the receipt and turned to Weiss.
"Ready to go sit down?", Weiss nodded a yes, and the two went to a nearby table meant for 2, and took their seats right across from each other.
Weiss sat down, with a straight posture, both hands on her lap, as opposed to Ruby who sat with both elbows on the table holding the bottom of her chin on the palms of both her hands. It was now time to conversate, Ruby started it off.
"Soooo, whatcha been doing? Haven't seen you since I returned you your book" she started it with a question. Then she would end up with a answer.
"Ah, you know… a lot of work for college, don't think I left the campus until today, so yeah" she paused a bit, but spoke more before Ruby could talk.
"Just a lot of stuff really, kind of stressed, it's just a lot of stuff ", she let go of the polite posture. "Much better than what it used to be at home." She laid her right arm on the table, and rested her left elbow on the table to lean her head onto her hand and looked into Ruby's eyes. But, when Ruby looked closely at Weiss's face, she could tell the white haired women in front of her, was indeed stressed out. But none of her actions revealed it, only her dulled out expression. And of course, her tone of voice, just now.
"I used to be taught by a Governess, I would never leave home. It was great and all, but as I grew up, I started to realize how distant I am from the world around me. The only downside really living in a rich family".
She had a complete change in character, or Ruby didn't really know her as well. Weiss's gaze into Ruby's was getting even more intense. It was almost as if she froze Ruby in place just by doing so. Ruby was intent on listening more.
"Just like...all of the possibilities out there..to happen you know? Like no one wants to stay in a Mansion all their life, even with as great as they are right? I told my father I was going to leave home to try and live a new life… an-", she was cut off by a shout of someone calling out for orders number 113 and 114. She quickly changed back to her other personality, that for now, Ruby knew mostly.
"...sorry Ruby, I really... shouldn't of had said any of that..., I'll go get our food..", Weiss got up taking her arms off the table and walked to Terry-yakis.
She left a weird vibe when she left. Ruby just realized something about Weiss's current situation, and a bit of her past. Who would've known she used to live life in a mansion. Was she part of really famous family? 'Why..would she seemed so stressed out about it?...I probably should leave that conversation for next time…"
Weiss came back with both combination bowls in a tray, and set it between them two on the table before they she sat back down. "Sorry, again, for the sudden change in mood, I just..needed to vent out a bit.", Weiss, grabbed the plastic utensils that they were provided with.
Ruby honestly, didn't have even the slightest idea of how to respond. But instead, of thinking through of what she should say, within that small frame of time. She spoke up her mind instead, "Weiss", just saying her name, she immediately caught her attention. Soon after, her eyes were all she was looking at.
"Look, um, I may not get exactly what's going on in your life right now, and honestly, I'm not the best at helping out with these things, but if it does help". She paused a bit as she saw her light blue, crystal clear eyes.
They were distracting, in a good way. "I'm always free if you need someone to talk to", she said this in hopes of it making up for her lack of skills to comfort someone.
Weiss's expression turned much lighter after hearing those words, and she was just like how she was before her change in mood.
A smile appeared, "thank you Ruby, im glad to have a good friend like you". 'And there I go assuming' , Weiss thought to herself, 'forgot to think before i speak'.
But instead of seeing Ruby a weirded out by such a sudden assumption, she instead saw a friendly smile, that returned the gesture of her smile. Followed along by a return of words.
"It's no problem at all Weiss, that's what good friends do for eachother", with the conversation coming to a close the two caught the smell of their food lingering in the air between them.
"We should eat now, before our food cools down, its best to eat these when they're fresh!", Ruby exclaimed, it changed the entire mood between the two.
"And eat, we will", Weiss said in a polite tone, as she gently stabbed the end of the fork into a piece of beef and scooped up a bit of rice. Ruby did the same thing as well.
Weiss examined the food before her, it was a simple meal. A bowl of rice topped with beef and chicken and teriyaki sauce poured over on top. From the spot where she scooped the rice, she could see that the teriyaki sauce seeped through the meats into the rest of the white rice in the bowl. Now every bite would be full of flavor, whether if its the rice or chicken.
She brought the spoon up to her mouth and started eating. The sensation of the sweet, yet sour, and tangy teriyaki sauce spreaded throughout her tongue. So much flavor, she shivered just a little bit, but it wasn't noticeable.
The rice brought about a nice soft texture, which really brought out the tenderness in the beef and chicken. Who would've known fast asian food would be this good? Maybe someone who hasn't tried it before.
The two ate on, enjoying every bite of their meal. The two hadn't eaten all day, so every bite was cherished. Ruby looked around as she put down her fork for a bit to take a sip from her drink. It was such a lively environment around them, the mass of people sitting down talking and eating. Others could be seen walking around towards different stores. She put the drink down and upon looking back forward. The environment stopped, like time had frozen.
For a brief moment, just so little, but to her it felt like a… a very long time. Blue, white, a nice contrast. A light blush, beautiful eye lashes, skin so smooth you could tell just by looking. Weiss.
Time moved again, though she kept her gaze on her a bit more, until returning back to eating.
15….no, 20 minutes have passed, and the two girls have finished eating. Ruby had offered to dump out their trash, so she was off to doing that. Meanwhile, Weiss got up, pushed the seats back in, and stood off to the side of the table waiting for Ruby.
She came back. "Alrightt, with our hunger dealt, do you want to head to the arcade? It's a really fun place!".
"If that is what you wish~", Weiss smiled at her, Ruby smiled back. The two walked towards the arcade, and in a matter of time, they were there.
** Ring Ring Ring, Ding Ding Ding, Bbzztttt, You Win, Continue? **
It was quite loud in the arcade, and not to mention, crowded. But it welcomed the feeling of fun, more than anywhere else. Ruby pulled over to the side a bit out of the walking path along with Weiss.
"Luckily", Ruby reached into her pocket to pull out 4 tokens out of the rest, "I have our token problem solved, so no need to worry about spending money!", she smiled. Her cheerful personality, and charisma made Weiss smile as well.
"then let going hmm?", Ruby nodded in reply to this, and the two made way towards their first game. A basketball machine.
Right before Ruby went up to put in her tokens, Weiss went to play her hand on Rubys shoulder,"If you don't mind.., I would like to watch you first, I never really been to a arcade for these games, and I'd like to see how its done".
Ruby looked at her for a bit, "U-uhh, yeah sure", she turned back to the machine and put in 2 tokens and stood in front of it. Weiss stood back a bit, and watched. The basketballs rolled down the sloped surface, straight into Rubys hand.
She had her knees bent, with the ball held comfortably. Rising up, using the momentum from her knees unbending. Applying a good amount of force from her right arm she pushed outwards and upwards, using her left hand to guide the ball. She flicked her wrist forward making the ball arch into the net.
Swish.
Doing the same actions as before, with a rinse and repeat cycle, she kept shooting, making a majority of them.
But then it changed up a bit, the backboard holding the net started to move side to side, Ruby started making less shots. But nonetheless, still made a lot.
Weiss watched her red haired friend shooting away, until the sound of a buzzer clock alarmed, signaling the end of the game
"Whew…, 44 points", Ruby turned to look at Weiss," do you think you got the idea of how it's done?".
Completely ignoring the question Weiss spoke up, "Where did you learn to shoot like that?".
"Erm… well I usually play a bit of basketball during spring, and I always play this basketball game right here when ever I come here, so, I'm self taught".
"You shoot well, better than most others for sure, have you tried to join a team?", Weiss questioned Ruby.
"We'll keep that conversation for another time!, go ahead and try out this game!", Ruby stepped back from the machine, allowing space for Weiss to go ahead and play.
She stepped up to the machine, looking at Ruby nervously before putting the coins into the machine. The balls rolled down from the sloped surface, and Weiss took a ball into her hand. She never shot a basketball before, but she still tried.
She got her hands in the same spot as Ruby did on the ball. She hesitated a lot before she shot the ball up trying to mimic the steps.
The end result, was indeed the ball going up into the air….but with too much power. The ball went and hit the backboard and bounced out right back out of the cage, over her head.
Luckily with some good observation of where the ball was going, Ruby was able to catch the ball in time before it bounced and went any further. Weiss turned around with a somewhat worried and flustered expression.
"I take it that it's your first time shooting a basketball eh?, don't worry, here, try again." Ruby held the ball out towards Weiss. She blushed very slightly as she nodded and took the ball, turning back around.
"Try shooting again, but a bit more lighter, and don't forget, it's just a game, so have fun!".
Taking the consideration, and help to heart, Weiss tried again. The ball went up, but fell short of the rim. Okay not short, maybe halfway through the cage. The ball rolled down, but she grabbed another one and tried again, with more power. The ball was up, again, it bounced off the front of the rim, and went back down onto the slope. Weiss smiled.
She continued to get another ball, and shooting it. Progressively, it got closer and closer to the hoop. Whether it'd be by backboard or just net.
Then the moment came, swish, she made one of her shots. Backing away from the machine, she returned back to the side of her partner.
"You'll get better at shooting the ball eventually", Ruby gave her reassurance before she could even say anything about her skills.
"Hopefully, but I had fun nonetheless, what will we play next?".
Ruby looked around among the blinking and flashing lights, there was a specific spot, one with music. "Follow mee, this game over here is pretty fun~".
The two started walking past the games, towards the music. They ended up at a game called "Step it up". It was a machine with two pads side by side with for arrows, one facing up, down, left, and right. There were handlebars behind the pad, and in front of it all was a high definition screen.
"Alright, if you like rhythm based games, you should enjoy this one", Ruby started to explain,"You step on the arrows according to the screen, while going along with the tempo and beat of the song that's playing, it's hard to explain, but easier to play."
"Seems pretty straightforward.", Weiss went up to the dance pad, and Ruby followed up on the other side. She inserted 4 tokens, 2 each for them, and with the press of a button, the song selection was brought up. She picked a EDM song that had a nice beat, and set her difficulty to Advanced before turning to Weiss.
"You don't mind starting on easy right?". Ruby hovered her finger over the green button to select options.
"Not at all, what are these red bars behind us?", her head was turned around a bit look down at it.
Ruby looked at the screen as she held both sides of the red bar,"just a handlebar really, so it keeps you from falling when going to fast"
Weiss turned back to the screen as the song started to begin.
She looked at her side, a blue arrow facing right was going up the screen towards a grey see through right arrow. She looked down to see the right arrow under her, and looked back up. With good timing she stepped on the right arrow right when the blue arrow hit the middle of the grey one. Perfect popped up on the screen.
The next arrow was a left one. The music had a nice beat, with a snare hitting on each of her notes. But then a twist came up, 2 arrows on the left and right at the same time. Took a bit to realize she had to hop and hit both arrows. She took the time before the next note to look at Rubys side.
There was a lot of blue and red arrows. Right, down, up, left. All of those in rapid succession. Up and Down, up and right. Her notes were not only following the snares, but the upbeat tempo, it was like hitting almost every possible sound. Weiss was pretty awed that Ruby could go so fast while hitting all the notes getting perfects.
She turned back to her side of the screen to see she fell just under half of her health and went back to stepping on the arrows. This went on until the song ended. The screen transitioned from the play screen to a grading one. Rubys rating on her performance was represented with a A. Weiss's was represented as a C.
Weiss turned to Ruby panting just a bit, "well, I can always improve", she smiled as she leaned against the balance bar a bit.
"Heh, don't worry, it's all in the fun that matters, i'm only good because I been playing this game for a long time", she got up from the dance pad and went to Weiss side. Weiss got off too and the two went off to go play more games. From a racing game, to Skee ball , to Table hockey and even more. The two finished off their adventure, Rubys pockets empty of tokens, and 2 girls with their need for fun satisfied. They started walking out of the arcade, the ringing, dinging and buzzing leaving their ears.
From there on ,they walked even more around the mall. In and out of shops they went shopping justtt a bit.
With it being winter and all, the sun was setting much earlier then it would in the summer or spring. It was about 7'o clock when the sun was setting.
Continuing on their way back from where they came , Weiss checked her phone, right as the two stopped outside the doors of the mall. She kept fixating her stare onto her phone and Ruby.
"Say, Ruby", she spoke out to get her attention first. As expected, Ruby turned to Weiss. "Would you like to hang out at my place for the night? I got some friends coming over, and I thought it'd be nice if you could be there too."
"Oh um..". Ruby thought a bit, trying to find the answer to a sudden question like that. She rarely gets invited to others houses. But it didn't take her long at all to find the solution.
"Sure!, seems like a great idea!, I just gotta let me sis know", Ruby brought out her phone and texted Yang she was going to a friends house for the night, then she slipped it back into her pocket.
Weiss smiled as she started to lead the way back to where she was living. The too walked down street from the mall, making turns and waiting at stoplights.
"So, you have a sister huh? How is she and what is she up to?", Weiss sparked up a conversation as they walked, a few blocks left until their arrival from where supposed to be.
"Shes doing gooodd, shes out of state working right now though heh, so its pretty lame around the house, that basically sums it up for ya, how about you? Do you have a sister?".
"Ah yes, but I haven't seen her in a long time". Weiss was reaching into her bag to grab her keys.
The sun was now set, and the sky was a very dark blue. The lights of the student campus she was staying at was well lit, as it could be seen from a few blocks down. "How long?", Ruby asked.
"Hmm…. I wonder..", Weiss got her keys out and got her bag back out over her shoulder. "About 9 or 10 years maybe?".
Ruby didn't know what to say, "Ohh..". They kept walking on a bit. "Well, maybe you'll see her one day". Weiss smiled.
They stepped foot onto the campus, much chattering was heard on the school grounds. People sitting on the grass, standing against trees, and sitting at tables. A lot of them seemed more like Weiss age as compared to Ruby. Ruby looked around, she was brought to the side of the path with Weiss.
"First time here, correct?", Weiss questioned. Ruby nodded.
They sat down on a bench a bit, "My friends won't be here for about another hour or so, want to check the place out?".
"I would love toooo", Ruby drew out the response as a way to show excitement. The two got up out of their seat and walked down the path.