Beacon Academy's cafeteria buzzed with the usual lunchtime chatter—clinking trays, bursts of laughter, and the occasional crash of a tray accidentally overturned. The great hall was a symphony of teenage appetite and youthful chaos, sunlight streaming through tall arched windows and casting golden pools across the polished floor. It was, for all intents and purposes, an ordinary midday meal.
Team RWBY occupied their usual table near the center. Ruby Rose was, unsurprisingly, already halfway through her plate, inhaling her food with near supernatural speed.
"Ruby, please," Weiss Schnee sighed, poking delicately at her salad with a silver fork. "You're going to choke."
Ruby didn't respond. Her eyes were fixed on the mashed potatoes, and her mouth moved at a speed that would put a Dust-powered engine to shame.
Weiss shook her head in disbelief. "Honestly, how you're not twice your size by now is a mystery to science."
Yang chuckled, sipping on a bright blue energy drink. "Don't try to understand it, Weiss. Just accept that Ruby's metabolism is one of Remnant's great unsolved puzzles."
Blake, nose buried in a book even as she speared vegetables with practiced ease, muttered, "More like an anomaly."
The lunchroom was mid-bite when it happened.
Without warning, an electric hum filled the space. Conversations faltered. Forks froze mid-air. Heads turned.
At the far end of the room, just above the faculty table, a screen flickered into existence. It hovered silently, perfectly still, suspended in the air like a ghostly specter of technology. No wires. No projectors. Just… there.
Blank.
A perfect rectangle of nothingness. No color. No sound. No logo. No image.
Just… white.
The room fell into a hush, confusion rippling like a wave through the students and staff.
"What in the world—?" Professor Port rose from his seat, monocle gleaming with interest. Glynda Goodwitch narrowed her eyes and gestured with a silent command, her riding crop tapping lightly against her boot. Ozpin, calm as ever, sipped his coffee without a word.
At Team RWBY's table, eyes turned toward the floating screen.
All except Ruby's.
She was still eating.
Rapidly.
Unashamedly.
And now, with everyone's attention diverted toward the strange, hovering screen, Ruby took the opportunity to reach over and snatch a crescent roll from Weiss's plate.
The heiress didn't notice—at first.
Snatch.
Another piece of grilled chicken from Yang's tray.
Then Blake's half-finished cookie.
One after the other, Ruby's food collection grew like a hoarder's stash.
Then Weiss turned back around.
She blinked.
Her salad was still there. But her roll… gone.
She frowned.
"Ruby…" she warned.
No answer.
Ruby was chewing vigorously, cheeks puffed like a chipmunk, eyes darting upward toward the screen and then back down at her tray—as if to pretend she hadn't just violated the sacred trust of communal lunch.
Yang glanced down at her tray, then narrowed her eyes. "Wasn't there… more chicken?"
Blake's ears twitched. "My cookie's missing."
Weiss slowly turned her head, and her blue eyes narrowed like daggers. "Ruby."
Ruby paused mid-bite, her fork still in her mouth. "Mmph?"
"You're eating everyone's food."
Ruby made a show of looking shocked. "Whuh? No I'm not."
"You just stole from all of us," Blake said dryly, flipping a page in her book. "While we were all watching the floating screen."
Ruby shrugged, a mischievous grin forming around the remnants of mashed potatoes. "I mean… waste not, want not?"
Weiss reached over and smacked Ruby on the head with the flat of her palm.
"Ow!" Ruby cried, holding her head. "What was that for?!"
"You gluttonous little thief!" Weiss snapped. "That was my crescent roll!"
"Technically it wasn't labeled—"
"That doesn't make it communal!"
"Hey!" Yang said, pointing at her now nearly empty plate. "That was my protein intake for the week, Ruby!"
"I was just helping you with portion control?" Ruby offered weakly.
Weiss stood up. "I should turn you in for food theft."
"Oh come on! I only took a bit!"
"A bit?!" Yang said, checking her now desolate plate. "I think you mean all."
As the chaos unfolded at Team RWBY's table, the rest of the cafeteria remained transfixed by the screen. Whispers and murmurs had begun circulating.
"Is this some kind of announcement?"
"Maybe it's a test."
"Looks like a malfunction."
"Or a trap."
But no one approached it. No one touched it. And still, it remained—a pale void hovering silently, watching without watching.
Professor Goodwitch approached cautiously, her fingers twitching with latent energy. "It's not one of ours," she said to Ozpin, who stood now beside her, frowning thoughtfully.
"No signal," he muttered. "No Dust emissions. Not even a data stream."
"It's just… blank," Port added, stroking his mustache. "Very ominous."
Back at RWBY's table, the argument had escalated.
"You're a menace," Weiss accused, jabbing a finger at Ruby.
Ruby, clutching her bruised head, tried to look innocent. "I'm growing! I need calories!"
"You're seventeen! You don't grow anymore!"
"I might!"
Yang crossed her arms. "You're lucky I love you, sis. Or I'd make you run laps for every piece you stole."
"Yikes," Ruby mumbled, holding up her tray as a shield. "Can't a girl get a lunch in peace without getting assaulted?"
Weiss sighed and sank back into her seat. "Not when she behaves like a goblin at a banquet."
"I'm a strategic eater!"
Blake rolled her eyes.
The screen flickered.
For a second—just a second—everyone saw something. A shimmer. A ripple. As if the white void blinked.
The cafeteria collectively gasped.
"What was that?!"
"Did you see that?!"
"Something moved!"
Whispers became a low roar. Panic teetered at the edge of reason.
"Silence!" Professor Goodwitch's voice cracked through the air, and the room fell quiet again.
She stepped forward, scanning the screen, one hand raised in a defensive posture.
Then—
The screen vanished.
Just like that.
No flash. No sound. No dramatic conclusion.
Gone.
The cafeteria fell into a stunned silence. For a long moment, no one moved. No one spoke.
Ruby finally broke the silence.
"Well," she said brightly, still chewing, "guess that's over."
Weiss looked at her like she was the one who summoned the screen. "You are absolutely insufferable."
Yang shook her head. "Only Ruby could witness a possible supernatural tech event and still prioritize potatoes."
Blake closed her book slowly. "What worries me is that whatever it was… it didn't say anything. It didn't need to."
The rest of the cafeteria began to murmur again. Students speculated, theories swirled, and teachers conferred in hushed tones.
At RWBY's table, the stolen food situation was slowly forgiven—mostly because Ruby pulled a chocolate bar out of her pocket and offered it as peace.
"I'll trade for immunity," she said.
Weiss glared at her.
Yang smirked. "Tempting."
Blake finally smiled. "Only if you promise not to eat our dinner too."
"No promises," Ruby said, grinning. "But I'll try."
"Do… or do not. There is no try," Weiss muttered.
Ruby gasped. "Weiss! Did you just quote Star Wars?!"
"No!" she snapped, cheeks flushing. "Absolutely not! That's… beneath me."
"Caught in 4K," Yang laughed.
The tension broke a little, humor seeping back into their voices. But in the back of everyone's minds lingered the blank screen, its strange presence, and its silent departure.
Something was coming.
And it had started with lunch.
The cafeteria remained hushed, as if it collectively held its breath. The floating screen—the blank anomaly that had hovered and then vanished—had returned for only a flicker. Yet in that flicker, it revealed something.
Not a threat.
Not an enemy.
Not a message.
A memory.
Or something that looked like one.
The image had been quick—barely a second long—but it was unmistakable. A rooftop. A solitary figure. And a very familiar head of black and red.
Ruby.
Whispers surged again, louder now, tinged with curiosity and disbelief.
"Was that… Ruby?"
"Is that… recent?"
"Why was she making that face?"
Team RWBY stared at the spot where the screen had flickered, momentarily dumbfounded.
"Was that really you?" Yang asked, blinking.
Ruby looked pale. "Uhhhh…"
Weiss slowly turned her head, arms crossed. "Explain."
"I—I don't know!" Ruby stammered. "It was just for a second!"
Blake's golden eyes narrowed. "But that was you."
Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "I… I think so? But I don't remember being filmed…"
Then, almost like it was listening, the screen returned.
Without flash or sound, it shimmered back into existence. No longer blank. No longer mysterious.
This time, it displayed a crystal-clear video.
Of Ruby Rose.
Alone.
The footage began with a quiet shot of Beacon's rooftop. It was just after sunset—bathed in orange and violet skies. The wind tousled scattered leaves across the stone floor. Beacon's spires loomed like silent sentinels in the background.
Then came footsteps.
Light, bouncing.
Ruby entered the frame, walking toward the ledge. Her cloak flapped behind her like a banner, red and proud. She looked around suspiciously, glancing over her shoulder as if expecting to be followed.
The students in the cafeteria leaned in, captivated.
"Where… is this?" someone whispered.
"The east tower," another murmured. "I recognize the rooftop."
On-screen, Ruby seemed satisfied that she was alone.
Then, without warning, she puckered her lips comically, tilting her head side to side like a confused duck.
A laugh rippled through the room.
"She definitely thought no one was watching," Yang said, grinning.
"She was making faces at the air," Weiss said, scandalized. "Why?"
"Maybe she's got imaginary friends?" Blake offered dryly.
On-screen, Ruby suddenly grinned like a gremlin.
From behind her cloak, she pulled out a small ukulele.
"I knew it," Yang whispered, eyes wide.
"She has a secret rooftop ukulele," Blake said, almost admiringly.
Ruby, seated cross-legged on the rooftop, adjusted the strings and tapped the side gently.
Then, she began to sing.
"I like your eyes, you look away when you pretend not to care,"
Her voice was gentle, lilting, and surprisingly sweet—completely different from her usual excitable tone.
The cafeteria was stunned into silence.
"I like the dimples on the corners of the smile that you wear."
"I like you more, the world may know but don't be scared,"
"'Cause I'm falling deeper, baby be prepared."
A soft, collective breath moved through the crowd. The warmth of the sunset, the vulnerability of Ruby's expression—it was a side of her no one had seen.
Not even her team.
"I like your shirt, I like your fingers, love the way that you smell,"
"To be your favorite jacket, just so I could always be near."
"I loved you for so long, sometimes it's hard to bear,"
"But after all this time, I hope you wait and see…"
"Love you every minute, every second,"
"Love you everywhere and any moment,"
Her foot tapped against the stone in rhythm. Her cloak fluttered with the breeze as her voice rose gently with each line.
"Always and forever I know I can't quit you,"
"'Cause baby you're the one, I don't know how."
"I love you 'til the last of snow disappears,"
"Love you 'til a rainy day becomes clear."
"Never knew a love like this, now I can't let go,"
"I'm in love with you, and now you know."
Weiss's mouth was slightly open, frozen.
Yang blinked. "She's… serenading someone."
"Or practicing to serenade someone," Blake added, voice low.
On screen, Ruby smiled softly at her instrument, strumming gently.
"I like the way you try so hard when you play ball with your friends,"
"I like the way you hit the notes, in every song you're shining."
She paused to hum a few bars before resuming.
"I love the little things, like when you're unaware,"
"I catch you steal a glance and smile so perfectly."
Ruby's voice cracked slightly there—not from emotion, but from effort—and she laughed at herself, rubbing her face with a sheepish grin.
Then continued.
"Though sometimes when life brings me down,"
"You're the cure, my love."
"In a bad rainy day, you take all the worries away."
The room had gone completely still.
Even the teachers were transfixed. Even Ozpin had lowered his mug.
"Love you every minute, every second,"
"Love you everywhere and any moment."
"Always and forever I know I can't quit you,"
"'Cause baby you're the one, I don't know how."
"In a world devoid of life, you bring color,"
"In your eyes I see the light, my future."
"Always and forever with you, now I can't let go,"
"I'm in love with you, and now you know."
The final chord strummed gently.
Ruby closed her eyes, smiling softly.
The screen held on that moment—Ruby alone on the rooftop, bathed in fading sunlight, ukulele resting on her lap, a blush warming her cheeks.
Then the screen went black.
Gone again.
The cafeteria erupted.
In laughter, in awe, in disbelief.
"That was adorable!"
"Who's she singing about?!"
"Did you see the part where she puckered her lips?!"
Team RWBY turned slowly toward Ruby, who now resembled a tomato in a red hood.
"You. Are. So dead," Ruby muttered, glaring up at the ceiling like it personally betrayed her.
Weiss's expression fluctuated between scandalized and soft. "You… you're actually talented."
"I… yeah," Yang said, leaning forward. "That was really good."
"Your secret rooftop ballad sessions are public now," Blake said, her tone unreadable.
Ruby groaned and collapsed face-first onto the table. "Kill me now."
Weiss cleared her throat. "So… who was it for?"
Ruby flinched. "No one!"
"Oh come on," Yang teased. "You don't sing like that for no one."
Blake tilted her head. "It was romantic. Vulnerable. Honest."
"Like a love letter in song form," Weiss added.
"I plead the fifth!" Ruby mumbled into the wood.
"You have no idea how many people are going to ask you about this now," Yang said, grinning ear to ear.
Ruby sat up, eyes wide. "Wait, wait, wait—do you think they saw it?!"
"The mystery crush?" Blake asked.
"YES!"
Yang laughed. "Oh, they saw it. Trust me."
Ruby slammed her head back down.
Later that night, whispers still floated around Beacon.
About the screen. About Ruby. About the voice none of them expected.
And the rooftop.
Someone had seen something that wasn't meant to be shared. Not yet.
But whoever—or whatever—controlled the screen wasn't finished. That had only been one flicker.
A glimpse.
A test.
And somewhere, perhaps even beyond Beacon's walls, something watched.
And waited.
Because there were more secrets to be revealed.
And more songs still to be sung.
Beacon Academy had known many strange days—Grimm attacks, Dust explosions, surprise food fights.
But this?
This was weirder.
The cafeteria buzzed like a hive of startled bees after the last broadcast. Whispers bounced from table to table as students tried to process the fact that the hyperactive, snack-thieving Ruby Rose had just serenaded an unknown someone with a love song on the rooftop.
And it hadn't been a dream.
No, the mysterious screen hovering above the faculty table had made sure everyone saw it.
Now the screen was gone again, leaving in its absence the heat of curiosity and awkward glances—many of them aimed directly at a red-hooded girl trying to crawl under her table.
"Ruby," Weiss said, voice pinched with a mix of exasperation and something softer beneath. "You can't hide down there forever."
"You don't know that!" came Ruby's muffled voice. "I'm going to live under here now. With the crumbs and the shame."
Yang leaned down to peek beneath the table. "Come on, sis. It wasn't that bad."
"I sang a love song to the void, Yang!"
Blake, sipping her tea with perfect neutrality, added, "And the void responded by showing it to the entire academy."
Ruby groaned. "You guys really aren't helping."
Then it happened again.
The hum.
The flicker.
The return of the screen.
Instantly, the cafeteria fell silent. Every pair of eyes snapped upward, breath collectively held.
Ruby, mid-crawl, froze. "No. No-no-no-no-no—not again!"
Yang stood. "What now?"
The screen sparked with color this time.
Not white.
Not static.
A music video.
And Ruby's voice—her rooftop serenade—began to play again.
But this time, she wasn't alone.
The video opened with Weiss Schnee.
Not the Weiss they all knew—prim and icy—but a different Weiss.
The scene had her standing in a field of soft white petals, wind lifting her long hair, blue eyes reflecting the sky. Her usual uniform was replaced by a flowing white dress. It shimmered with pale Dust patterns as she turned to face the camera—serene, graceful.
Ruby's voice floated over the image:
"I like your eyes, you look away when you pretend not to care…"
Then, with perfect cinematic timing, the image cut—
To Ruby.
Clumsily running through the same field, dressed in her cloak, but wearing a flower crown tilted haphazardly on her head. She stumbled, then laughed, picking herself up. The screen showed her watching Weiss from a distance, dreamy-eyed.
Ruby, under the table, gasped in horror.
"No. Oh no. No-no-no—"
Yang was laughing already. "Oh my Gods, is that you in a flower crown?!"
"I'M GONNA DIE."
Weiss just stood still, stunned, watching the version of herself smile softly toward the camera.
"I like the dimples on the corners of the smile that you wear…"
The video cut again—now Weiss and Ruby sat side by side on a garden bench, fingers brushing as they reached for the same book. Both froze. The image slow-faded into a soft-focus glow as Ruby's voice sang:
"I like you more, the world may know, but don't be scared…"
The cafeteria lost its collective mind.
Gasps, laughter, and cheers erupted. Phones were discreetly lifted. Snapshots were taken. A few students dramatically fanned themselves.
The music kept going.
"'Cause I'm falling deeper, baby be prepared…"
Onscreen, Ruby was shown watching Weiss from behind a pillar, holding a bouquet of wildflowers, her face flustered as she ducked back and ran into a wall.
Weiss blinked. "Did you… record this?"
"I didn't!" Ruby wailed. "I swear! I never filmed anything! I never even imagined this existed!"
Yang wiped tears from her eyes. "This is better than any movie I've seen this year."
Blake tilted her head. "It's… surprisingly high production value."
Back on screen, Weiss reached out to help Ruby up from the grass. Their hands met. Weiss smiled.
"I loved you for so long, sometimes it's hard to bear…"
Ruby made a strangled noise. "WHY ARE THERE PETALS FLOATING?!"
"But after all this time, I hope you wait and see…"
The music swelled.
Now the video showed the pair walking side by side through Beacon's courtyard. Ruby bumped Weiss's shoulder shyly. Weiss nudged her back. The scene transitioned to them sitting under a tree—Weiss leaning against Ruby's shoulder as she read aloud.
"Where did this come from?!" Weiss demanded, half breathless, half bewildered.
Ruby peeked out from under the table, her face glowing red. "I don't know! I never made this! I couldn't make this! Look at the camera angles! That shot's like a drone—wait, IS IT A DRONE?!"
"Love you every minute, every second…"
Now they danced.
Slowly. Tentatively. In the same rooftop scene from before—now adorned with fairy lights and a soft glow of evening stars. Weiss rested her hand in Ruby's as the younger girl led with awkward steps and a huge grin.
"Love you everywhere and any moment…"
The screen panned in slow motion—Ruby laughing, Weiss biting her lip, cheeks pink.
"Always and forever I know I can't quit you…"
"'Cause baby you're the one, I don't know how…"
The cafeteria was rapt. Even the teachers had stopped pretending not to watch. Professor Port clutched his chest. Glynda Goodwitch blinked in disbelief.
And Ozpin? He just sipped his coffee, as if he'd seen this coming all along.
Ruby slumped face-first back onto the floor, voice muffled. "Why are the petals STILL falling?!"
"I love you 'til the last of snow disappears…"
"Love you 'til a rainy day becomes clear…"
The screen now showed a memory montage—Weiss wiping food from Ruby's cheek. Ruby handing her a steaming mug of cocoa. Both girls asleep in the same library booth, Weiss's head resting gently on Ruby's shoulder.
"Okay, who did this?" Weiss demanded, now both furious and flustered. "Who made this?!"
"I—I—I didn't authorize this ship!" Ruby wailed.
The music continued undeterred:
"Never knew a love like this, now I can't let go…"
"I'm in love with you, and now you know…"
The final scene was the same rooftop.
Weiss and Ruby stood at the edge, gazing out over the horizon. The setting sun painted them in gold and red. Ruby turned. Weiss looked into her eyes.
The music swelled.
And then, just as Ruby's voice hit the final line—
"I'm in love with you, and now you know…"
—their faces inched closer.
Almost touching.
And just as their lips met—
The screen cut to black.
The room exploded.
Cheers. Screams. Stomping. Whistling.
And somewhere in the chaos, Nora Valkyrie screamed, "CANON!"
Ruby stood up on shaky legs, face blazing. "WHAT THE DUSTING HECK WAS THAT?!"
Weiss's expression defied description—somewhere between "just-murdered-a-roomful-of-sentinels" and "saw-a-ghost-wearing-her-own-face."
"I did not kiss you!" she hissed, voice an octave too high.
"I KNOW!" Ruby squeaked. "I NEVER EVEN—THAT WAS—THAT NEVER HAPPENED!"
Yang had tears in her eyes. "Oh, this is the best day of my life."
Blake just folded her arms, nodding slowly. "Honestly? Beautifully edited. Great lighting. Believable chemistry."
Ruby collapsed back onto the bench. "I want to fight that screen."
Weiss sat down beside her, still processing. "So… you were singing about me?"
Ruby paused. Blinked. "I… maybe?"
Weiss turned to her slowly. "You don't remember?!"
"I didn't think it was a big deal!" Ruby cried. "I just… had feelings, okay? I wasn't going to broadcast them!"
"Well," Blake said, flipping a page in her book, "looks like the screen did that for you."
Weiss's face flushed. "And you dream about me in a white dress in a field of flowers?"
"I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE FIELD CAME FROM!"
The buzz around them intensified. Students were forming actual lines to compliment Ruby's "performance." Others were trying to analyze the video for clues.
And somewhere—where no one could see it—the screen flickered again.
Just once.
A soft pulse of red and white.
Then gone.
Like it was satisfied.
For now.
