Chapter 7: Practice Isn't Always Perfect
I think it's time we blow this scene, everybody get the stuff together. Okay, three, two, one, let's jam! It's The Draigg here with another chapter of this story for all of you readers out there! Now, before my lawyers let me start here, they advise me to tell you that Monty Oum owns RWBY, not me. Now, let's get this chapter started before those attorneys realize I can't pay them. Let's go!
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After Ruby managed to coax Weiss out of the bathroom, the whole team was now assembled on the living room couch. Ms. Han stood proudly before them, and was feeling excited to get to practice. Mr. Brass, however, could care less right now. He didn't even look away from the television as Ms. Han began her 'inspirational' introduction.
"Alright, friends! Are you guys excited, or what?!" she asked enthusiastically. Naturally, this got her blank stares from Team RWBY. Undaunted, she continued onward.
"Cool! Anyway, here are the scripts I made for all of you! Now, if you could leaf through it and get ready to practice what it says, I would be soooooo happy!", Jade said while handing out the packets of paper to Team RWBY.
The color-coded team began to read the script. If there was one positive to say about it, the script was certainly well formatted and typed. However, there wasn't much else going for it at all. Weiss was having a hard time even understanding what was being said, especially her own lines. Blake, on the other hand, was flat out offended now. Her friends from the slums and ghettos never talked like this! This was supposed to be a serious message here, not something even a professional rapper would spit at!
"Now, I want you to feel, the characters you're playing here. I want you to just ooze that fly style the kids love! So, that's why—" Ms. Han further explained, before being interrupted by Blake.
"I'm not reading these lines," she flatly said. Her glare was so strong that it looked like it could burn a hole through Ms. Han's head.
"I agree," added Weiss.
Mr. Brass chimed in from his armchair. "If you don't do this, then the Schnee Dust Company won't be very happy with any of us. And I don't need to mention what they do to people they don't like, right?" he said. As the Schnee Dust Company had considerable influence all around Vytal, any bad word against you would virtually ruin your career prospects and overall quality of living. Nobody would hire you, and their lawyers would sue the clothes off of your back. In fact, Mr. Brass' previous superior, Mr. Silva, had more or less financially killed for embezzling money for a mistress of his. He was probably living on the street right now.
Team RWBY collectively sighed as the weight of Mr. Brass' words sank in. They really didn't have much of a choice at all here. So, gritting her teeth, Ruby asked, "So, where do you want us to start?".
Ms. Han simply grinned.
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"Yo yo yo, what up, my skrillaz? We be hangin' in this hood, to lay down some mad truths about them mad dustz and uses, ya hear? Yang recited, looking at her script. Blake was up next. However, she was hesitating on saying her lines.
"Come on, just say them," Yang whispered to Blake. Blake shot her an annoyed glare, than began to read her parts.
"That's right, my home-slice. Dust is in all y'alls lives, and it's something y'all know well," Blake said in a dry, toneless voice. Ms. Han looked a little unpleased with her performance, but let it slide. Now it was Weiss' turn to speak.
"It can be mad dangerous, yo. You need to be careful and—" she said before being cut off by an early speaking Ruby.
"Like a leash or rope, too!" she piped up.
"Stop, stop," Jade said, waving her hands. "Ruby, you're too early," she pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ruby said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. That incident with Weiss early this morning really threw her off her game. Even getting past that, this was different than the practice she had for the musical. She had to be educational, which felt harder than being entertaining. See, what Weiss was supposed to say next was to remember that dust can be incredibly harmful, like a knife, chemicals, or wires. Then, Ruby was supposed to chime in with the leash remark. It was supposed to at least get her noticed until her much lengthier lines later.
Ms. Han noted the odd look on Ruby's face. "Are you alright? Oh, are you sick?! If you are, I'll call an ambulance RIGHT NOW," she said, felling concerned for her current ward. Then, she quickly walked up to Ruby and placed her hand on the girl's forehead. Ruby lightly batted the hand away.
"I'm good. Should we try that again?" asked Ruby. Ms. Han stepped back and nodded in response.
"You're up, Blake," Ms. Han said, before dramatically waving her hand to signal the re-try.
"That's right, my home-slice. Dust is in all y'alls lives, and it's something y'all know well," Blake said again. From her tone of voice, it was clear she was completely out of shits to give anymore. Well, at least she had enough energy in her to say her lines. It had to do for now.
"It can be mad dangerous, yo. You need to be careful and remember that dustz can be jus' like knivez, chemicalz, and wir—" Weiss recited, before being cut off by Ruby again.
"Like a leash or a rope, too!" she said, early again.
Weiss sighed, then complained, "Ruby, you're early again,". Ruby slumped her shoulders in response.
"Can I just have a break?" Ruby weakly asked.
"Yeah, we can take five," cooed Ms. Han. Ruby immediately walked off down the hallway, towards her room.
Now, Weiss was beginning to feel concerned about her girlfriend. Why was she being so moody all of the sudden? Did that bathroom incident that morning mess her up that badly inside? As soon as she heard the door to the room click, Weiss decided to follow Ruby. It was her time to be the consoling one.
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Weiss found Ruby lying on her cot, starring at the ceiling. "Mind if I join you?" the heiress asked. Ruby gave a non-committal grunt in response. Taking that as a yes, Weiss sat next to Ruby.
A heavy silence filled the room briefly. Weiss felt that the silence was too oppressing. So, to break the quiet, she tried to make some small-talk. "So, what do you think of the play?" she asked.
Ruby sighed, and replied, "I don't know if we can even say that stuff on stage,". Weiss gave a curt nod. Then, she gave a small chuckle.
"Hey, remember the time we first practiced for the musical?" reminisced Weiss. In hindsight, it was easily one of the best and most stressful parts of her life. But, at east something beautiful came out of it. Ruby had opened her heart to let her in.
"Yeah… you were so good up there… and I wasn't," replied ruby, who sounded tired.
Weiss put on a fake pout and said over-dramatically, "Now, Ruby Rose, I never knew you to be such a quitter!". She hoped that her acting would cheer Ruby up a little. Instead, Ruby grew more melancholic.
"I know… and that's where my problem is," she said deep in contemplation.
Weiss couldn't help but feel a little confused at Ruby's statement. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.
Ruby sat up and looked directly into Weiss' eyes. Ruby's silver eyes were missing their usual shine and energy. Instead, they looked tired and dull. The sight almost made Weiss' heart break with concern.
"I try so hard to make everything work… and not just the play stuff. Your coffee addiction, our romance, all of that stuff. And it's really, really hard for me to keep up. Stuff just keeps happening around us, and I just don't know if I can handle all of it," Ruby explained. Her tone just sounded completely defeated.
Weiss could feel her heart freeze over in a panic. "Ruby, please! If this is about this morning, I swear, I'll never do it again! If there's anything I can do to make it up, I'll do it! I swear!" she blurted out quickly. It was her fault after all!
"I know that. But, that was only one example of all the stuff I've tried to deal with. I'm just so, so tired. And it's not you, it's just the world we live in. I… can't win. At all," said a defeated Ruby.
The panic in Weiss' chest burned even more. Was Ruby saying she wanted to cool things down with her? No, this can't be happening! It can't! It just can't! She pulled Ruby into a tight hug and cried, "Don't leave me! Please, don't leave me! I don't know what to do!".
Ruby near-lifelessly replied, "I mean, I'm not breaking up with you. I would never do that. But, what I'm saying is… maybe we should keep our love notched down until this whole thing blows over?".
Pulling back from Ruby, Weiss' mouth moved wordlessly. She just didn't know what to say to her idea. So, she wanted to put their relationship on hold until this damn charity run was over? Their love… was on hold?
How could this be happening?!
Why?!
WHY?!
"I… understand," Weiss managed to choke out before standing up and fleeing the room. No, this wasn't happening! This had to be some sort of nightmare! It just had to be!
But, the reality of her situation became more and more apparent as evil, nasty thoughts began to pop into her head. How greedy she was. How selfish she was being with her love to Ruby. How all this suffering on Ruby had to do with Weiss herself.
Weiss ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She angrily tore the beanie off of her head and flung it across the room, into the empty tub. Now, she didn't hate it because it was ugly. She hated it because of what it meant. It meant that she couldn't be with Ruby right now.
The fact was driven harder and harder into Weiss' mind as she slumped into a sitting position against the door.
"You did this. You did this. It's all your fault," a voice kept on whispering in the back of her head.
"No, it's the others fault! It isn't mine! It can't be! I… I don't want it to be!" Weiss' consciousness pleaded back.
"Oh, so it was Blake's fault that you put Ruby on the ropes through your idiotic bet? Or, was it Yang's fault that you hid your love behind a mask of irritability? Or, is it Ruby's fault that she loves you for no real reason at all?" the spiteful voice said back.
Weiss began to rock back and forth, desperately trying to calm herself down. It wasn't working, because she couldn't think of a good response to what that voice said. "I… I…" was all her consciousness was able to say.
"Admit it. You're all take and no give. Hell, the first time your shared your body with Ruby, you didn't return the favor at all. You took her touch, and never paid it back. Or, how about the time when Ruby had to tie you down because of your obsession with coffee? You're just abusing her trust and love in you. You don't deserve her. You don't deserve anybody. The world would be better if you just crawled away like the monster that you are, and died alone and forgotten. You BITCH," the malevolent voice said.
Weiss believed every word that voice said. It was true. It was all true. It all her fault. It was her fault.
It was her fault.
It was her fault.
It was her fault.
It was her fault.
It was her fault.
IT WAS ALL HER FAULT!
"It's all my fault… it's all my fault…" whimpered Weiss as sobs made her way up her throat. Soon, she was unable to resist her crying any more. So, she cried. She cried as hard as she could. And why not? It was the only thing she could do when she wasn't hurting the people she loved and respected. That's all she was good at.
Weiss would not come out of that bathroom for a while. And, when she did, she didn't say much for the rest of the day.
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Well that's a… depressing note to end on. But hey, just think of where this story might possibly go! After all, not all relationships are perfect. Anyway, feel free to add a review or a dozen down below. I want to hear all of your guy's reactions. Also, send your regards to the awesome editor that is JimboYokimbo. This is The Draigg, signing off on this end note.