It's Not Like I Like You or Anything

Chapter Three: Hmm?

Ruby was confused.

Again.

And it had to do with Weiss.

Again.

"Yanggggg!" Ruby whined as she slammed the door open to their shared room.

Yang predictably swiveled around in her chair to face her sister. "What's up Ruby?"

Today the door slam had been confounded, which meant it had only made noise halfway, unsure if it should make any or not.

"It's Weiss. She's being all huffy and puffy again!"

"So she's mad?"

Weiss, who was passing by the room at the time, poked her head in to say: "I'm not mad!"

Ruby and Yang exchanged knowing looks. Weiss was mad.

"Looks like there's another Ice Age upon us, Rubes. Better get your winter jackets and gloves."

Blake, who was sitting silently in the room and reading, diligently already had her jacket and gloves on. She'd known this would happen sooner or later.

"So what ticked her off this time? It can't be the leadership thing since she forcibly got over it." The force being Yang's death threats of course.

"I don't know. Everything was fine until now! Me and Weiss had been getting along great. We talked, we went to events. And she actually was kind of nice! But then I stopped spending as much time with her and well, she got mad."

"Why'd you stop spending time with her?" Yang inquired, in her best deductive mode. She was gonna get to the bottom of this.

"I made a new friend, Penny!" Ruby beamed at this, remembering how she and the girl had bumped into each other in front of class. Ruby had fallen on her butt, an odd metal noise issuing from Penny at the impact. The girl hadn't even moved back an inch! It had felt like running right into a metal wall, which was an odd comparison since Penny was human.

"I'm sorry," Penny had said, reaching out a hand to help Ruby up, displaying perfect manners. She'd even helped Ruby collect her knocked down books and papers. And in this way, they had struck up a conversation and from there on things had just gone smoothly. Penny had confined in Ruby that she had a hard time making friends and Ruby had admitted that she faced a familiar problem. So together they had decided to help each other make friends. So far they had only gotten around to leaving little friendly notes in their classmates lockers anonymously. Penny had read somewhere that people loved cute motivational quotes that inspired them to do well.

Ren had stared at the note that had fluttered out of his locker in confusion. "If you don't train hard, you'll become some Ursa's dinner!" There was a cute little heart drawn on at the end. "What is this?" he muttered out loud.

"Oooo! I got one too!" Nora cried out excitably off to his left. "If you don't die today you could die tomorrow so live like it's your last day, everyday!" Her happy pitch did not match with the morbid statements.

"That is extremely grim." Her's sounded even worse than his. Not that she was bothered by it. Little did faze her.

"I think it's cute. Look, I even have a tombstone drawn on mine!" She pointed it out proudly to him, getting real close to his face. He had to take a step back.

"I also got one," Jaune murmured. "Listen to your heart. When you hear it stop, seek medical attention." He shrugged. That sounded like sound advice.

Pyrrha had received a note as well. But she didn't bother to read it. "This is bad. Someone sent us all these. It's harassment to send such grim statings."

"I don't know. I think it's fine. I mean, it's just realistic advice," Jaune said, eyeing the weird squiggle on his card. It was meant to be a cursive heart but to him it looked like an elaborate W. Immediately his face blushed and he got into a dreamy state. Weiss had sent him this! She cared! She was looking out for his health! He had to write her something back as well. With a skip in his step and hearts floating around his head, he went off to go find a pen and paper.

"Where is he off to?" Pyrrha questioned, hand on her hip. Ren shook his head at his lack of information. "No idea. But let's do something about these notes."

And the team had gone to report the notes to Ozpin who made a school wide announcement saying he would relentlessly hunt down whoever was sending such dark notes as it 'decreased the moral' of students. They hadn't been found out, but Ruby and Penny had learned through that mishap, that just because you googled motivational quotes, didn't mean they were actual good ones. So the combined effort on making friends was put on the back burner for now.

Weiss still did get that letter from Jaune however, and she was confused by it. It was roughly three pages long and started off thanking her for the concern and giving condolences that her nice notes hadn't been appreciated by everyone and that he would keep it a secret. At that end he had signed his name. "Who is Jaune?" she muttered in confusion before not bothering to read the rest of it and throwing it out.

Yang's statement drew Ruby out of her long flashback. "Oh, right! I remember her. That odd girl with the bow in her hair. Whose socially inept."

Blake's ears twitched. That sure sounded a lot like her.

"Yang, she's not that weird. She just has trouble understanding some things in our modern day culture. And she says and does really funny things sometimes." Ruby had given the girl a banana as a snack and Penny had looked at it like it was a foreign object to her before she had mushed it against her eye and casually sat there, carrying on conversation. Ruby had burst out laughing, almost peeing herself in amusement. "That's not how you eat a banana!"

"Oh, I was supposed to eat it?" Penny had tilted her head in confusion. "I was not programmed to eat food. I can only consume oil."

Ruby laughed even harder at this. Her friend really was weird. "You're such an odd human, pretending you're a robot."

"Yes, odd human," Penny laughed mechanically. "And not a robot at all."

Ruby stifled a giggle at that memory and returned to the present. "But anyways, I've been spending a lot of time with Penny and I think Weiss is mad at me for that."

"I think you're right."

"I am?" This only confused Ruby more. "But why would she be mad at me about it? Does she not like Penny?"

Yang let a mischievous smile grace her lips. She had an inkling of a clue as to why Weiss was so upset Ruby was spending time with Penny. But she wasn't going to spoil it. She wanted Weiss to tell Ruby it directly. "Go talk to Weiss about it Ruby. Ask her why she's mad."

"But if I ask her that she'll get mad at me for asking. Like the whole fiasco last time!" Ruby was getting flashbacks to those awkward months. She shivered.

"Then ask her in a none obvious way."

"I guess..." Ruby didn't seem so happy at that suggestion.

"Remember Ruby, you are the team leader. I can't do all the work for you. Otherwise you'll never grow to be all wise and powerful like Ozpin."

This turned Ruby's frown upside down. She was team leader after all! It was her job to figure out her teammates moods! "Thanks Yang! You're right. As always!" Then with a quick wave she out looking for Weiss.

Blake looked at Ruby go before commenting. "I think Weiss is a bit jealous of Ruby spending time with someone else because-"

"Weiss is upset that Ruby is spending time with someone named Penny which is a poor sounding name, and that Ruby's not spending it with someone rich like her. It offends her snobby tastes," Yang explained confidentially.

"-Weiss likes Ruby," Blake finished, her voice trailing off as she absorbed what Yang had just said. She gave Yang an odd stare for a while, the blonde proudly lacing her hands behind her head.

"What?" she asked, when Blake's stare kept going on for a while.

"Do you really think that's the case?"

"Duh! Unless Weiss is mad that Ruby isn't spending time doing her work but just fooling around with Penny. It obviously can't be anything else, no other options make sense." The blonde rolled her eyes like this should be apparent.

Blake scrutinized Yang's face once more. This was the girl who was her partner? Who got into Beacon? Sighing she turned back to her book. Maybe she was the one over thinking things because she'd simply read one too many fanfictions.

Ruby zoomed into the library at top speeds, only screeching to a halt when she stopped by Weiss' usual spot. Loose papers fluttered in her wake. "Hey Weiss, are you the opposite of happy at me?"

Weiss was startled by Ruby's abrupt arrival and nearly banged her knee against the desk. "Sheesh, Ruby. Don't scare my like that," she warned, grabbing at her now floating loose papers from her seat.

"Sorry," Ruby apologized, zipping around and helping Weiss collect her papers. She handed the neat stack over to the heiress who tidied them up some more. "But are you?"

Weiss frowned. "Sad?"

"No, uh,- wait what's the opposite of mad- calm, are you calm at me?"

"Ruby, I could hear you thinking out loud. And no, I am not angry at you. It's not like I'm upset you're spending time with Penny. And I'm absolutely, a hundred percent not jealous that you choose her over me for your free time and seem to be getting along better with her than you do with me. It's not like I eavesdropped on your conversations enough times to know that." As Weiss said this she adjusted the gauze wrapped around her hurt wrist that had slipped out from hiding under her clothes. In fact all of her body had been burnt and wrapped in gauze.

The mention of eavesdropping brought up another flashback in Ruby. One in which over the past week, Penny had said some weird things while they were hanging out at the library or cafe while talking.

"Intruder detected," she would intone in a robotic voice as her eyes flashed green and her body stiffened up.

"Intruder? Is someone spying on us?"

Then Penny's head span around 180 degrees as she looked for something. "Intruder behind the bushes!" And then she'd open her eyes wide and green laser bolts came out of them, zapping something in the bushes.

A scream came from them followed by the sound of running footsteps.

"Wow!" Ruby had clapped her hands in excitement. "What a cool trick. Teach me how to spin my head like that! And are those eye lasers like your semblance? I didn't know humans could do all this!"

"Yes, humans," Penny intoned as her glowing eyes returned to normal and her head clicked back into a normal position. "But I'm afraid I cannot teach you this 'trick' because it only runs in my family."

"Aww, fine." Ruby pouted, already forging onto another topic. "But why was that person spying on us?"

Penny shook her head. "I do not know."

"Maybe it was a bad guy?"

Penny's eyes seemed to grow darker at this, her voice lower. "Then I shall protect our friendship with my life from that bad guy!"

"Cool!" Ruby missed the violent aura surrounding her new friend.

And it wasn't the last time either that they had been spied on. The only difference now that Penny would fire more intense beams from her eyes. "Lasers activated, entering lethal mode."

That quickly taught their spy a lesson given their agonized screaming. They hadn't come back since.

Ruby exited out of that flashback- man she was having so many of those. What was up with her thoughts today? She refocused on the conversation so she could give Weiss a blank look.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, so we're good?" she concluded, still confused. Weiss had said she wasn't any of those things she'd just listed but she said it in a way like she was those things she'd just listed.

Weiss gave an angry huff. Ruby didn't get it all! But she had made it explicitly clear. "You're such a dunce."

"Then what am I not getting?" This was said with mild exasperation.

"I'm not going to tell you that, figure it out yourself!"

"That's not fair! I'm the team leader and I order you to tell me what's wrong!"

"You can't boss me around!"

"Well, I can, if you're being stubborn!"

"I am not stubborn!"

"You are too!"

"Then if you have a problem with me, I quit!"

This stopped Ruby cold. "You...quit?" Her bottom lip quivered.

"Yes." Weiss nodded her head coldly. "I'm quitting this team. I'm going to get Ozpin to place me on another one, where my team leader doesn't attack me personally!" She meant it in this moment. She'd pack her bags and move away...to three rooms down the hall.

Ruby didn't say anything as her big eyes filled up with tears. She hadn't wanted this. But it had all gone wrong. Then before Weiss could see her burst into tears, she ran away. It was time for plan B yet again: Cry to Yang.

Weiss sat down in her seat, letting out a shaky breath.

Anger still thrummed in her veins but it was rapidly cooling down, replaced with guilt. She'd won the argument but at what cost?

She heard the telltale sound of cracking knuckles behind her and immediately felt a shiver crawl up her back.

"Weiss," growled out the low voice, a threatening aura filling the air. The heiress didn't have to turn around to know who it was. "What did I tell you about making my sister cry?" Yang had said she didn't want to get involved but no one made her sister cry and got away with it.

"To um, not do it?" Weiss stammered as she sat frozen in her chair.

"And what did you do?"

"Make her cry?" Weiss said in a small voice.

"And what happens when you make Ruby cry?"

"I cry?" Now Weiss was sweating profusely. Would there still be time for her to write a quick goodbye letter to her family? Maybe she could write it using her blood?

"That's right." Now Yang's voice was right at her ear and Weiss let out a shrill scream as the blonde grabbed her thin shoulders.

"Please, anything but the butt! It's still sore from lasers!"

Yang of course didn't listen.

That day the students in the library had a hard time completing any of their work over the screams of one rich girl and the maniacal ramblings of a blonde.

By the end of it all, Yang had herded Weiss back to their room like a prisoner, pushing the girl's head roughly down as the heiress made her formal apology to Ruby.

The brunette had been sitting on her bed, stress eating cookies.

"I'm sorry for my earlier statements Ruby. I rescind my choice in switching teams."

"So...then you really won't leave?" Ruby asked, sniffling over her chocolate chip.

Weiss straightened up from her bow, aware of Yang looking at her pointedly. "No, I won't."

"Yay!" Ruby zoomed over and gave Weiss a big hug. Weiss let out a strangled cry of pain as all her recent injuries flared up. But she didn't mind as much as she thought because Ruby wasn't sad anymore and that was more important to her.