*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

A hand came down on the phone, slamming it angrily.

Ruby shifted in her bed and opened her eyes slowly, adjusting them to the morning light.

She grabbed her phone, unlocking it. Monday, 6:31 AM. The only notification that appeared was a message from Coco Adel, her manager. She was reminding her that she and her sister will be taking the morning shifts this week.

Of course. I just have to do the morning shift the day I couldn't get any sleep. Great. Just great.

She sighed, and got up. The last thing she needed was Coco lecturing her for being late.

She walked over to Yang's room, she was used to waking up her sister when they had morning shifts. She wasn't a light sleeper, by any means. Any attempt at using an alarm to wake her up was futile.

She stepped into her room, and turned on the lights.

"Yang" she said softly.

The only response she got was a grumble.

"Come oooon" she said, shaking her.

She sat up on her bed, and opened her eyes slowly.

"I hate morning shifts"

Ruby nodded, sharing the same thought.

She noticed she was still a bit sleepy. A hot shower should wake her up fully, she thought. And some coffee wouldn't hurt, either.

"I'm going to take a shower. Can you make me coffee today please?" She asked, while her sister was rubbing her eyes, adjusting them to the light.

"Restless night?"

She expected that reaction. She didn't dislike coffee, if it was mixed up with 4 or 5 spoons of sugar. But she only drank it when she needed a dose of caffeine.

"Yeah"

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not right now. We need to get ready."

She was right, they had to go work.

But both of them knew that even if that wasn't the case, she wouldn't have wanted to either. But Yang understood, and didn't pry further. She opted for a hug, instead. Ruby returned the embrace.

She appreciated it. Her sister always made things better.

She nodded. "Thanks, Yang"

"No problem" she shuffled her black hair, and went to the kitchen.

She stepped on the bathroom, and threw her pajamas to her room, aiming for the bed. They landed more or less were she meant. She turned the water on and relaxed as she stepped into the cascade of hot water.

As she brushed her hair with shampoo, the thoughts that prevented her from sleeping came back.

She and her sister were living in an small apartment: Two bedrooms, one bathroom and one living room, that connected directly with the corridor were the other rooms were, and to the kitchen, that wasn't separated by a wall, and lastly, the door.

It was what they could afford. The two of them worked at the same place, a cafe owned by Coco Adel. She enjoyed working there. Not specially because she liked the job itself, but because of the workplace atmosphere. Coco, even if she was a bit scary at first, was surprisingly kind, in her own way at least. She did took her on board, when they needed to get her a job.

Yang worked there for two years or so, after finishing high school, saving up money to go to university, as her father told her to do. Yang didn't disagree. The only problem was that she didn't knew what major to pick. The only hobby she had was boxing, but a sports major didn't seem like a good fit. She saved up, anyways. Ruby was glad that she did. Because neither of them could have predicted what would happen.

Her father was a cop. The best of his brigade. But then, that night happened. He… he….

Ruby shook her head. She wasn't going to follow that train of thought again.

It wasn't what was keeping her from sleeping anyways.

When they lost their father, they thought things couldn't get any worse. And yet they did.

The next morning, a letter came. From the bank. At least it was clear for her and Yang to understand. The payment of the mortgage was put on hold, but they only had fifteen business days to sort out everything. They had to decide whether they wanted to keep the house, and keep paying to the bank, like their father used to, or they could return the house to the bank, and get a small part of what their father had paid already.

That was the first time that Ruby saw Yang scared. She didn't remember the exact amount they would have to pay each month, but it was too much. The salary of a barista didn't match the one of a cop, by any means. They were not going to lose only their father, but the house they had grown up in. On top of that, the money they were getting back wasn't that much. Especially after they realised that the car they thought they were going to inherit, was technically owned by the police department, and was being lent to him.

Eventually, and with the help of Coco -which Yang hadn't asked for, but she had the ability to know when people were in trouble- they found a way through.

Coco was hiring, and Ruby, having just finished high school, could work. She took her on board. With the two salaries, they could afford to rent a small apartment. And, expending what little their father managed to saved up, and some of Yang's savings as well, they bought a second-hand motorcycle that Yang could use to drive them to work.

They managed to stabilize their situation, and began saving up, even if it was just a little each month. Yang told Ruby she was going to be the one to go to university. She was the one with better grades, after all. Her plan was to save up for a few semesters, and for Ruby to try her best to get a scholarship. She also mentioned that if she needed it she could ask Coco to do half of Ruby's shifts. Ruby refused, at first. It seemed to selfish, she couldn't bring herself to go to university while living Yang working. Yang told her that she didn't need to worry, that if she could make it up later, when she had a better paid job, and could easily return the favor.

She cried after Yang said that. She wanted to be an artist. She loved to draw, and write. She dreamt of writing and illustrating her own stories. She knew that she had to pick another major. Nobody could predict how much a certain job was going to pay you after university, those type of trends change all the time. But something that never seemed to change was that artists aren't paid much. It's a dream to live out of your works.

With the help of Yang, they came up with a compromise. She could be an user interface designer. She was good at math and programming at highschool, and she would still draw and design. From what they researched, it seemed like something Ruby could enjoy.

If only it didn't feel like she was giving up on her dreams and aspirations. If only she didn't have such a strong fear of failing to acquire a scholarship.

She had managed to push all of this out of her mind, all of it seemed far away, seeing how slowly they were approaching the quantity of money that she needed.

But the wait was coming to a close. And the Christmas decorations that were beginning to appear everywhere were not helping.

Lost in thought, she jumped a little when someone knocked at the door.

"Hey, sis, you okay?" Yang asked, at the other side of the door. "Breakfast is ready, and you still didn't get out of the shower".

"Don't worry, I'm okay. I was lost in thought."

"Well, I need to take a shower. So unless you don't want me to join you, hurry up."

"Yang!"

Ruby was at the counter, so she could take care of any early customer that might come in, while Yang and Coco were at the store room. They had told Ruby what they were supposed to be doing, but she didn't pay attention.

Ughhhhh, why I can't stop being nervous about this!? I'm going to be okay, everything is going to be okay. It's just university, it's no big deal. I just have to study non stop and get a scholarship. No big deal.

She tried to do a basic breathing exercise, closing her eyes, and did her best to clear her mind. It didn't work.

Ruby groaned.

I wouldn't be so obsessed with this if I had other things to occupy my mi-

The little bell rang, announcing the entrance of a customer. startling Ruby a bit.

"oh- Hi!, how may I help you?" she said automatically, did a quick once-over at whoever had opened the door.

Then, as she took a better look at who was in front of her, she stared for a little longer.

She was wearing a wearing white boots, black leggings, a light-blue skirt that run down to her knees, and a white coat, shielding her from the cold weather.

And when she looked at her, she found something unexpected. White hair -not light gray- pearl white hair, with light-blue eyes, to match.

She also had a scar along her left eye, but in Ruby's mind, that made her even more beautiful.

Holy cow. Wait, did she say something?

"Hey! Are you deaf or something!? I said I wanted some Chamomile Tea, please." The girl repeated, angrily.

"Ah-h! s-sorry! For take out I suppose?"

"Yes."

Ruby began making her tea, blushing a bit when she turned away from her.

Did she noticed? I didn't mean to stare damnit! How can someone be so, so-!

She blushed a bit more, embarrassment getting the better of her.

While the water was boiling, she grabbed a paper cup and the sharpie, and then she realised what she needed to do now.

Oh no. She sighed. Okay, she's just gorgeous, no big deal. I can do this"

"Y-your name?" She said, her voice wavering a little.

"Excuse me?" She snapped, showing her impatience.

I can't do this. Help.

"I need your name, for..." She turned around to face her, with the cup in one hand, and the sharpie in the other.

"Weiss" she interrupted.

"H-huh?"

"Weiss. W-E-I-S-S."

"-kay thanks"

She wrote the name, filled the cup with the tea, and put it in the counter.

"It's 2.85"

"Here" She handed exact change, took the cup, and began her walk to the door.

"Have a nice day!"

The door closed behind her, without a reply coming her way.

...What just happened?

Hi! I hope you enjoyed this first episode!

This is my first time writing any first time writing fiction. What drove me to begin writing is that after reading a few RWBY fanfics, something was telling me I should try to write my own.

This is going to be mainly White Rose, but maybe I'll sprinkle some other ships here and there, we'll see.

Lastly, reviews are welcome! Please, if you didn't like something, or have some advice, don't hesitate to post it!

Next episode, we will be seeing how Weiss has reacted to all of this, Sooo stay tuned for that.