Chapter 27: Rubesday Preppers

Okay, now that I scrubbed off the top layer of skin after the last chapter, The Draigg is coming back at ya with another update! By now, you should know that I don't own RWBY or anything else I mention in this story. Now that I've gotten the bad taste of the last chapter out of my mouth, let's start this new chapter!

Skipping past the days that not much related to the music show got accomplished, it was now Saturday. Yesterday, Weiss managed to call in a few favors to some local companies (i.e. 'If you don't give me stuff then my company will break yours') to get the necessary pieces of the stage to start setting up in the large field.

Currently, Team RWY was watching the stage getting set up. It was a good thing that student labor was cheap. All they did was walk into the main hall this morning and announce that they'll give free food in exchange for five hours of work. Free food never failed. Most of the time, it worked every time. It was a rule of nature. Unfortunately, that took a large chunk out of Weiss' school budget. But, it was a necessary sacrifice.

"Wow! This stage is huge! And professional!", gushed Ruby. The glint in her eyes was shining brightly.

Weiss gave a smug grin to Ruby. "With a Schnee, you should only expect the best.", Weiss boasted. Sure, most of the time she hated what her family for what it was, but she did have to admit it gave her some awesome business skills.

Yang was concerned with something on her scroll. Looking up at the others, she said, "Guys, it's been nearly five hours. Think we should bring the food in now?".

Weiss nodded and Yang typed a message to Velvet. Ever since Yang had her license suspended for organizing illegal drag races in the parking lot, Jaune was the next available person able to drive. Unfortunately, he had only gotten his license about three months ago. So, he was understandably still a little shaky at driving.

Still, they had faith in Jaune's driving skills. They couldn't do it, so who else could they trust?

"YOU'RE GOING TOO FAST!", Velvet yelled, pulling down her rabbit ears in anxiety. Velvet liked to walk rather than ride in cars, so any speed was too fast for her. Because of her panicking, they kept on getting passed on the way out of the parking lot. Currently, the truck was only moving at fifteen miles per hour, due to Velvet's pleas.

"Oh, geez!", exclaimed Jaune as he slammed on the brakes for the tenth time in the last twenty minutes. Everyone violently jerked forward as the truck bucked to a halt. That was about the twentieth time Velvet raised a false alarm.

"It's fine Jaune. Just give it a little gas and keep going.", advised Pyrrha. Sure, she didn't have a license yet, but she had a better idea of how to drive than the other two.

As soon as the truck took off again, Velvet started to shriek in terror, even though there weren't any other cars on the road they were on.

"IT'S NOT FINE! IT'S NOT FINE AT ALL! GET ME OUT OF THIS DEATH MACHINE!", Velvet continued to shout as she flailed around the interior, trying to grab the handles above the doors. Jaune slammed on the brakes as soon as Velvet screamed.

Pyrrha grabbed Velvet's wild arms and tried to shove them in her lap. It was at this point that Velvet started to hyperventilate. Sighing, Pyrrha pulled a paper bag out of the glove compartment and held it to Velvet's mouth. Velvet snatched it out of her hand, and breathed deeply into it repeatedly. Pyrrha was now heavily reconsidering the idea of a road trip with her friends.

Jaune decided to drive at a lower speed this time around. He kept the truck at a consistent four miles an hour. This seemed to calm Velvet a little. Turing around a corner, everyone spotted an empty cardboard box in the road. Velvet dropped the bag as her panic started to flare up again.

"WE'RE GONNA CRASH!", she announced as the truck slowly moved towards the box. Even Jaune thought her fears were unfounded at the trash in the road.

"Slow down! For the love of God, SLOW DOWWWWNNNNN!", Velvet continued to scream. She clutched one of Jaune's arms. Now thoroughly annoyed of Velvet's screaming, Jaune shot Pyrrha a look. Understanding what his eyes were saying, Pyrrha opened the door and got out.

Jogging over to the box, Pyrrha kicked it out of the way. She didn't understand why Velvet was so upset. That box possessed absolutely no threat to anybody. She then jogged over to the still moving truck and got back in.

Velvet's eyes were closed as she started to crush Jaune's arm in her grip. Apparently, she had started to confess everything she wanted off her chest before she died.

"—Secret pictures in the girl's and boy's locker rooms! Of ALL you guys! I'm so sorry for that!", she confessed as Pyrrha bucked up in her seat. Jaune's face was scrunched in a frown at what he had heard. First she was a prude, and now she was repressed? Just what the hell was up with her?

"I moved the box out of the way.", Pyrrha announced as soon as she settled in.

"Thanks.", Jaune said as he tried to shake of Velvet's arms. Once her grip loosened on Jaune's arm, Velvet hugged herself tightly.

"And… *sniff* a-and I love you guys! I really do! You mean s-so *sniff* much to me! I love ya so much!", Velvet admitted as she started to tear up. She honestly thought this was the end of her life.

"Sssshhh, ssshhh, it's okay Velvet.", came Pyrrha's soothing voice. "Look, I moved the box. You're safe now.".

Opening her eyes, she saw the truck pass by the box that was moved to the side of the road. Absolutely elated that she wasn't going to die, Velvet glomped Pyrrha into a hug.

"I'M GONNA LIVE!", she declared as she tightened her hug.

As Velvet declared her undying thanks, Pyrrha locked eyes with Jaune. He simply rolled his eyes and kept on driving. Pyrrha was really trying not to roll her eyes too. There was only so much patience she had for this amount of stupidity.

"Hey, there's the stage!", Jaune pointed out. He pushed the gas pedal a little harder, taking the truck up to twenty five miles per hour. Letting go of Pyrrha, Velvet snapped forward in her seat in horror. Her eyes widened in shock. This was too fast!

TOO FAST!

Velvet started to scream again.

"OHHH FUUUUUUUUUUU—".

Team RWY was standing around, wondering what was taking Jaune so long. He should have been here about twenty minutes ago. Then, they spotted the truck coming up the road. Rolling up to them, the truck braked to a quick halt. Jane and Pyrrha hopped out and headed towards the back.

"Sorry for being late.", Pyrrha apologized as she pulled out a box of chips.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We had some… issues.", Jaune said, motioning his eyes to the cab of the truck.

The others shifted their gaze to the figure still in the truck. For some reason, Velvet was frozen in place, making inarticulate noises as snot and tears poured down her face. The group unanimously decided this had something to do with one of Velvet's many phobias. Not wanting to deal with that right now, Team RWY decided to help carry the food out of the truck.

Velvet unfroze from her shock. Shaking, she tried to climb out on the driver's side. But now her terror caught up to her. She fainted as soon as she was near the wheel. Slumping down, Velvet's head landed on the horn. The car horn blared loudly. When it sounded, the others turned their attention to the cab. They saw that Velvet had fainted on the wheel.

Sighing, Yang grabbed the unconscious Velvet and hefted her over her shoulder. It was like carrying a sack of potatoes, except it was nothing like that at all. She was carrying a person. It wasn't nice to dehumanize people like that.

Team RWY plus Pyrrha and Jaune carried their cargo to the stage.

"Well, it's about damn time! What did ya bring us?", Cardin demanded. Sure, he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of any of the people he was working for today, but you can't argue with free stuff. Especially if it was food. Food was nice.

"Just this stuff.", Jane replied as he dumped a pack of juice boxes on the stage. The others placed the other edibles on the stage as well. They had gotten juice boxes, chips, some extra-long sub sandwiches, and most importantly, cookies. Weiss had to hold back Ruby form devouring them on the way over.

"Groovy.", muttered Cardin as he grabbed a piece of a sandwich and a juice box. The other workers gathered around the food. Munching on his sandwich and gulping down fruit punch, Cardin started to ask some questions.

"Sho, waths tha deal wiff dis sthage anyway?', he asked, his mouth full.

"We're putting on a music show!", Ruby declared enthusiastically, tearing into a packet of shortbread cookies.

Swallowing, Cardin said, "A show, eh? Well Reddie, I'm sure that once you're done with it, everyone will know how much this field was improved.". He thought that was clever insult. The best ones were ones that sounded like compliments.

"Wow! Thanks, Cardin!", Ruby said, feeling proud of her work. She didn't notice the insult. However, Weiss did. She punched Cardin on the shoulder.

"Why don't you go back to practicing your future career, you ruffian!", she growled at him.

"Geez, what's the deal? Defending your little girlfriend?", Cardin mocked.

"I- That's none of your business!", Weiss sputtered as she shoved Cardin away from the group.

This only served to fuel Cardin. "Ohh, did I strike a nerve?", he sneered.

"Shut UP!", Weiss yelled as she shoved him harder.

Cardin started to laugh. This was too rich. It really figured that the Ice Princess wasn't into princes. This was seriously out of left field.

"Just go away!", Weiss commanded. This seemed to work, as Cardin strutted away, feeling satisfied with his teasing.

Huffing in anger, Weiss stomped over to where Ruby was pouring cookies down her gullet. Grabbing her by the wrist, she pulled a confused Ruby over to the truck.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Weiss!", Ruby exclaimed once Weiss stopped. Her confusion was washed over by a kiss. Melting on Weiss' lips, Ruby immediately didn't care what the reason was. Weiss' mouth tasted good enough to wash away everything else.

Pulling away, Weiss paced around in frustration. Man, Cardin really got on her nerves! Ohhh, that… that… JERK!

"I… I… URGH! Screw Cardin! That dolt!", Weiss ranted, still pacing around.

It clicked in Ruby's head. Of course Weiss must have gotten teased. Given how emotionally stunted she was, it made sense that she would be sensitive whenever someone mocked what she felt.

Grabbing Weiss' hands, she interlocked their fingers. Giving a warm smile, Ruby said, "Weiss, how could you forget? I'M your dolt, not him.".

Weiss couldn't help but smile at the little nickname that she had given Ruby. It started out as an insult, but it changed into a pet name in her mind. To her, calling Ruby her dolt was the same as calling Ruby her snugglebear. Of course, she couldn't actually call Ruby that, she still had a reputation to uphold.

"You always know the right thing to say…", Weiss purred. Planting a quick peck on Ruby's cheek, Weiss moved to lean against the truck. She stared at the stage being assembled. Ruby joined her, sitting on the edge of the trunk.

"It's amazing, isn't it?", Weiss asked.

"Hmm?", sounded Ruby.

"Your dream is finally coming true. Like I said, it's incredible, right?", Weiss clarified. Ruby smiled as her words sunk in.

"Yeah. But, not as incredible as you.", Ruby honestly admitted.

"Oh, don't be cheesy now.", Weiss teased.

"No, I mean it!", Ruby said, waving her arms. "You're smart, you're interesting… you're pretty…", she said with a small blush.

To be honest, Weiss never looked bad. Even now, dressed in her spare set of clothes, Weiss radiated grace. The light of the midday sun danced over her silver hair. But, she looked even better when she was flustered. As a blush crossed Weiss' nose at Ruby's compliment, Ruby thought she looked absolutely adorable.

"D-dolt… you don't mean it…", Weiss said, rubbing the front of her shoe into the ground.

'Why wouldn't I?", Ruby asked.

A smile danced on Weiss' lips. Raising her hand, she ruffled Ruby's hair. As Ruby squirmed under Weiss' hand, Weiss giggled.

"Oh man, you take things too seriously…", Weiss said, gazing at the stage.

Getting off the side of the truck, Weiss held out her hand to Ruby. Taking it, Ruby hopped off the truck, landing next to Weiss.

"Come on, let's go. The others might wonder where we are.", offered Weiss. Nodding, Ruby went with Weiss.

Ruby and Weiss' hands remained intertwined, their bond never to be broken.

Velvet woke up with a groan. Looking around, she noticed that she was resting on the stage. More specifically, the part of the stage where people had tossed their trash. Climbing out of the pile of wrappers and empty juice boxes, Velvet rubbed her head. What did she ever do to deserve this? First she was scared half to death, and now she was covered in garbage.

Maybe it was karmic balance for taking all of those secret photos in the locker rooms. But, it was just too tempting not to! She just couldn't keep on taking mental snapshots, she wanted actual pictures! And it wasn't exactly HER fault she kept a lot of photos of Pyrrha and Jaune. They just happened to be around, that's all!

Stumbling over to the work group, she couldn't help but feel a little amazed that the stage was put together this quickly. She guessed that the promise of food really worked wonders. But, she shook the thought out of her head. She had a mission to accomplish: regain her dignity.

"Hey, Jaune!", she called.

Turning to her, Jaune's gaze immediately shifted to in-between Velvet's rabbit ears. Feeling up there, Velvet noticed that there was a wrapper stuck up there. Yanking it off, Velvet started to talk to Jaune.

"So…", Velvet started, her heel digging into the dirt. "Sorry for what I did earlier…", she apologized. This was beyond embarrassing for her. Especially after admitting her voyeurism fetish when she thought she was going to die.

"Umm... you certainly said a lot in there…", Jaune said, scratching his head. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense that Velvet would be into that type of thing. She was naturally shy, so it made sense that she would put a barrier between herself and her desires.

Velvet's face turned red with embarrassment. "So… a-are we c-cool?", she asked, trying not to run away from the sheer indignity of her situation.

"Yeah… just… delete those pictures, okay? It's kinda weird.", relented Jaune.

Velvet nodded, half-agreeing with Jaune. She would just delete the pictures of him and Pyrrha. That should be good enough. She hoped that the universe would stop pissing on her if she did that. Unfortunately, that was roughly half of her collection. Oh well. She could still do with the other photos.

It was at this point that Yang walked over to join them.

"Heya, Velvs! Good thing you woke up!", Yang exclaimed. Then, she proceeded to shove a bunch of fliers into Velvet's hands.

"You should start handing these out. You know, spread the word and stuff?", Yang ordered.

With that, Yang shoved Velvet in the direction of the Main Hall. She lightly slapped Velvet on the rear to send her off. With a small hitch in her throat, Velvet wandered off, ready to hand out fliers.

Jaune and Yang stood there, watching Velvet leave the area at a rapid pace. An awkward silence surrounded them. Finally, Jaune decided to break the silence.

"You know she has pictures of you, right?".

Yang's face contorted in confusion. "Huh?", she asked.

"Yeah. She admitted it in the truck. She took pictures of all of us.", explained Jaune.

"That's… odd. I hope they aren't of anything TOO bad.", Yang said, her eyebrow hitched up high.

"They were taken in the locker rooms.", Jaune clarified.

Almost immediately after the words left his mouth, Jaune could feel the heat coming off of Yang's aura. That wasn't a good sign for anybody in her sights.

Velvet was going to get it.

There, I feel that this chapter makes up for the last one. To be fair, you probably could have skipped that one. I guess that warning should have come earlier. Oh well. Anyway, I hope you liked this one! Tell me how much you liked it in the reviews! This is The Draigg, signing off, not horrified at this chapter.