Well, well, well, what do we have here? A bunch of readers and a piss poor author who won't deliver? Well, put away the pitchforks because I am (reluctantly) back!

If you're curious as to a few things, such as "Is this the story you've been promoting all year?" or even "What the hell have you been doing?" I can answer all of those, but won't here. Those answers, and more, can be found within my profile. But, I will give you the run down. 1: No, this isn't Cataclysmic. As a matter of fact, that one has been completely scrapped. I just can't make it work in any way. 2: I've been working my ass off. Seriously. Now I'm in full time work and school, so time is very much on a valuable resource.

HOWEVER! If some of you recall (those who have been reading my stories for a while now will know. If you stumbled across this... Hi.) I had talked about a story that I wasn't sure if it was ready to be released. This is that story, and mind you, I'm still unsure if I want to release it. But... What the hell, I've made you wait long enough.

This is the first chapter of my newest story, potentially my biggest project ever in terms of... Really, anything. I'm willing to take this one as far as it will go. It will feature RWBY in an alternate universe, a real life universe (cliche level: FUCKING 10). I couldn't resist, and this is the one that I've been working, mending, twisting and turning, dismantling, rebuilding... Destroying again, for about almost a year now. I've had the first couple chapters written out but my plot had been reworked so many times that those chapters had to be rewritten.

I'd tell you more about this story and what it's about, but that would take away the point of the first chapter, now wouldn't it? So, instead of listening to my stupid ass ramble, I'll leave you with story below and I'll see you at the bottom of the page.

Enjoy!

The bell rang, bringing the red-clad girl back from her stupor. She had lost all track of time, and actually let her mind wander a bit for the last half hour or so, leading to a nice surprise when the end of class came.

"Remember, students!" Her teacher declared amidst the noise of papers being shoved into backpacks and chairs scooting against the floor, "We may have a pop quiz next class! So be ready. Dismissed!" Professor Port had boomed his dismal of the class, leading to an exodus from the room and out into the halls. Ruby and her friends decided to stay back for a minute and wait for the crowd at the door to die down a bit.

"Finally!" One of the friends, a blonde young woman named Yang Xiao Long, cheered with a light clap, calling attention to herself, "Friday, right?" Her lilac eyes seemed to beam with renewed energy as the drawn out day began to come to a long awaited end.

"With only one class left." Pyrrha Nikos' shoulders sagged a bit in relief, "It's been a long week." Everyone nodded in agreement. Every third week of every month at Beacon was a testing week, and this very Friday marked the end of that third week. Pyrrha was equal to Yang in height, though the former had pure, straight red hair to her use, whilst Yang had her blonde mane that was almost always down, rather than kept into a ponytail. Pyrrha glanced at the door after a moment and was the first to rise from her seat, causing the other three, Yang, Ruby Rose- A shorter, younger teen with silver eyes brunette hair with red streaks in it- and Nora Valkyrie- A young woman who was about Ruby's height with short, bright orange hair- to follow suit. The class had emptied out which now meant it was time for them to leave.

The four girls had almost every class with each other. The class scheduling was a bit different, considering Beacon was more of a 'college prep' academy and not a high school. Every student took ten classes; the first five would be taken one day (Red day), the last five the next (Black day) and the cycle would repeat. The days were represented with the color scheme of Beacon's uniform. Students would have two days to do any work with their classes. The second class of every day was considered "Free Period" where students could go to teachers for help or to other classes for group work. The fourth class was two hours long, dedicating a half an hour so students could eat. Lunches went in four waves.

The girls were currently on Red day, their fourth class having third lunch. Each class was an hour and a half long (again, save for the fourth class, which was two hours so everyone could eat). It wasn't difficult to assume some students had two backpacks, one for each day.

"So, who's going to our weekly lazer tag outing?" Yang declared more than asked. Every week on Friday, Vales local Lazer Tag would stay open later into the night than usual, and once every month there would be an all-night lock in. Unfortunately, the lock in wasn't for another week, but that still left a late Friday night.

"Oh! Oh!" Nora bounced energetically, per her usual self, "I can! I get paid today and don't work again until Sunday, so I can come!" Nora worked at her father's restaurant, which was also in co-ownership with the Ren family.

Pyrrha thought for a moment as they walked to their next class; History with Professor Oobleck. "I'll work something out. How about you, Ruby? You missed the last two weeks. Going to make it three?"

Ruby sank a little bit after hearing Pyrrha's tease. Luckily, Yang was in for the save. "Oh, cut it out Pyrrha. If she can't come then she can't come."

"No, no. It's ok." Ruby defended, "I'll be there this time." Her declaration was bold, and she realized that she might have just made a promise she can't keep. Still, though, it wouldn't stop her from trying.

The group approached the class and Yang opened the door, letting the other three walk in. There was no seating order, so it was first come first serve. Luckily, they were one of the first people in the class, so they chose to sit in the back. Yang took a seat next to Ruby as the redhead sat on the corner seat. Pyrrha and Nora took the opposite side, creating an L shape.

Ruby dug her history folder out, the notebook of the same class within. She wanted to get a few more minutes of studying in before class started, as History was notoriously not one of her strong points.

"Ya know," Yang whispered, leaning in slightly as more students flowed in, "If you want I'll let you copy off some of my answers."

Ruby sighed in pure annoyance, "Yang, you'd go way too fast for me. I'll just do the test the old fashioned way."

"I'm offering some help for you, but if you don't want to take it-"

"You're help is commonly called cheating."

"Ah, but it's an easy A, right?" Yang's persistence was legendary amongst the group. She was exceptional in History classes and tried her hardest to help her friend, but the red themed girl wouldn't accept any. And not any cheating help, either. Legitimate study sessions.

Ruby was as stubborn as Yang was.

Time went by as the four waited for class to start. Try as she might, Ruby was having a hard time studying. She took more than adequate notes, but it just wasn't enough. She just couldn't focus herself on the task at hand. Leaning back in her seat, she dropped her pencil on the desk and folded her arms across her abdomen and sighed; one of her many nervous habits that her friends had picked up on when they first met the younger girl.

"Now do you-"

"Yes." Ruby interrupted with an annoyed tone, giving in to the blondes offer. Yang pumped her fist, elated her friend could finally get a good grade.

The bell rang as the students took their seats. Oobleck stood up, and moved to the front of the class, coffee in his hand. "Alright class this test is going to be very easy for those of you who have paid attention. It will be forty two questions with an essay, that of which you will respond on a separate piece of paper. Any questions?" He said quickly and energetically. Sometimes Ruby wondered if he had more energy than her? Still, No one responded to his question, "Alright then! You may turn in the tests whenever you complete them. Considering this is the last class of the day, you can be dismissed as well once you have done so." He swiftly passed out the tests to each student then returned to his desk, "Begin!"

It was a scantron sheet, which meant everything was multiple choice. Before Ruby knew it Yang was done with the first row of questions. The blonde stopped and peered over, letting Ruby know she was good to go. Ruby started on the test, stopping only to get a clue as to what question she was on. She finished the row and turned the page. This let Yang know that she was good to continue.

This didn't happen often, Ruby copying. She never was bad with classes, let alone tests, but every now and again her entire friends group would do this for each other in case someone needed help. Generally, Ruby was there whenever there was an issue with math, considering she was in the schools CTE (Career Technical Education) classes. Yang had History and English down, whilst Pyrrha and Nora had most sciences. It was a collaborative effort with them all.

Yang finished the next row which let Ruby begin her process. The two kept looking around the room from time to time, trying to see if anyone saw them. Ninety nine percent of students wouldn't care about something like that, but that one percent was the one to fear. Also, they were looking at Oobleck to make sure he didn't see their little stunt, either. If he had... Well, at least they don't have to worry about what grade they got. Luckily, he hadn't caught on.

The two went like this for the duration of the test, which took about twenty minutes to do. Up until they had the essay. They knew Ruby would be on her own, and she accepted it. Yang went up to get separate sheets of paper whilst Ruby read the question.

'Out of the war in Menagerie came a group; The White Fang, bent on peace between Humans and Faunus. Unfortunately, peace negotiations went into a standstill and no progress was made, leading to a splinter terrorist organization being made in an attempt to gain Faunus rights their way. How do the two White Fangs differ and how are they similar?'

Ruby thought that question out. 'Well, the Peaceful White Fang and the Terrorist White Fang are the same in terms of what they're after. The ideal is there, it's the method that's wrong. And yet, neither side is wrong because they're just trying to gain freedom for all, which Humans keep denying.' She sat back in her chair, putting her hand under her chin. 'The only way they differ is in what they do and how they do it, really. Good job, Rubes, you paid attention in class and figured out the question. Now put that down to paper.'

While she had thought, Yang had brought her the lined paper and started working on her own. By the time Ruby started, her blonde friend was finished and turned her paper in. Oobleck gave her the OK and she was gone, Pyrrha and Nora a few minutes behind her.

Ruby went to work, writing down exactly what she had thought. The ideals were the same, it was the method that was different. This question seemed more opinion than anything else, which made Ruby wonder why it was here? She knew that the teachers and instructors of Beacon were interested in their students opinions, but this wasn't a very good topic to get on.

Race never really is a topic of discussion, regardless of how mature the discussion can be held.

Ruby finally finished, dotting the end of essay. She stood up and walked to Oobleck, who gave her the nod. Finally, testing week had come to an early end. She picked up her backpack and left. Outside the classroom the red themed girl found her friends waiting. "Finally we can get out of here!" Nora said, jokingly.

"Aw, you all didn't have to wait for me."

"Yeah, we wanted to. Plus, I think Pyrrha's still waiting on Jaune." Yang said slyly, causing the taller girl to blush. "Ah, I think I got her!"

"N-no! That's not it at all!" Pyrrha defended, though her voice failed her mind.

"Aha! You messed it up! Got you!" Yang teased. She knew Ruby and Nora found good fun in it too, given their reactions. "Alright, let's get out of here. Unless you want to wait, Pyrrha?"

"No, no. Anyone else will cramp our style." Pyrrha said, holding up a single hand. Nora breathed a sigh of relief as they began to walk down the stairs to the outside.

Beacon was a two story facility with multiple wings and an outdoor quad on campus, giving it a college feel to the private school. In the General Ed. wing was your basic mandatory classes. Then there was the CTE classes for Woodshop, Welding, Engineering and so on. Then the Arts wing for Music, painting, photo and any other artist related class. Finally there was the P.E. wing, which also had your health classes too. Beacon was more of a "We'll get you ready for college" rather than a "We'll teach you this, then you're on your own." type school.

"So, what time will we meet and where?" Nora curiously inquired, "For Lazer Tag, I mean."

"We'll just meet each other there like we always do, be there at about eight-ish. Anyone need a ride?" Everyone present shook their head. "Ruby? You sure?"

"Yang, I live right across the street from the place, I'll be fine." Ruby easily assured, waving her friends off with a small smile.

"Alright, alright." Yang replied defensively. "Let's all go home and rest. If we're lucky, we're gonna be a late night." Everyone agreed, Nora cheered, and they all went their separate ways. Nora and Pyrrha lived relatively close to each other, so they drove together. When they weren't driving with Ren or Jaune (respectively). Yang mounted up on her motorcycle, offering Ruby a ride, who declined respectively. The younger girl had rode with the blonde before- tons of times- but passed more often than not on good weather days. The apartment complex she lived at wasn't very far from the school, less than two miles and she figured she could use the extra activity today.

She enjoyed walking through the city, seeing new people and what not. The uniform she wore told people of where she had just come from. Beacon's school uniform was highly respected amongst Vale, as the academy was one of the top in the kingdom. Most students were humble, yet others were... To put lightly, dicks. It was tough to tell who was going to fall under which category, but some people still liked to find out by conversing with passing students.

The city streets weren't necessarily full with people, but it was still enough to be an interesting place. Business men and women, street performers or even shop owners who were taking a break outside their stores all made up Vale's streets, no matter where you go. Luckily for Ruby, Beacon was on the edge of town and her apartment was relatively close, which meant she didn't have to traverse through the busy downtown. No matter what you did, if you wanted to go through there you had to make sure you had extra time. There was always some sort of traffic jam, construction or accident there for some reason or another. Walking didn't mean much, but it could always be a pain.

She passed by shops and stores, most having their front doors open invitingly. If she peered within, most workers made eye contact with her and would smile, which she would reciprocate. The weather today was pristine, not too hot, not too cold and not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for late September. The few stores that didn't have their doors open were usually deli's or drug stores, but she didn't mind that. Luckily, anybody she passed by on the street didn't talk to her, which cut down on her travel time.

She quickly found her way to the main street and turned right at the corner. Now she was in the shade of the tall buildings. The sounds of cars driving past her filled her ears, though she wasn't really paying too much attention to that. The fact that she was able to get out of class so early was a blessing, too. It allowed her to skip the rush of students trying to get home for the weekend. However, right now it was a quick mile down the street and towards the highway and she'd be home. Of course, she could stop along any of the stores and get a drink for her troubles... 'But that would require money.' She giggled to herself. Normally she had a few extra Lien on hand, but she got really hungry at lunch.

The shaded block had mostly taller buildings, this was the business district. Not many stores like near campus, these were, as her friends called them, the 'Cubical Jockey' businesses. She chuckled at the thought, but refused to say it out loud. Some people were entering these buildings, some were exiting. Most were on their phones in some way, paying no mind to Ruby's existence. Good, she thought. She had an odd phobia of people in suits and just wanted to get out of that area.

In what felt like no time at all (but was really about an hour) the red-themed teen found herself at her apartment complex, Terrace View. She walked around to the back door of the building, something she had grown accustomed to doing over the few years that she had lived there, and walked in through the unlocked door marked "Do Not Enter- Employees Only". She personally knew the couple that ran the complex, and they knew she liked to use the back rather than the front of the complex, so they left it unlocked around this time for her.

Walking into the reception area from the back, Ruby examined the front desk, noting that was empty, save for a few papers. On her immediate left was an open door which led to a massive room, what looked to be a kitchen to outsiders. This was actually the apartment where the owner and his wife lived, where Ruby usually met them after school. There was only one light on from the actual kitchen rather than the dining area, offering a bit of illumination, though admittedly not a lot. In the room was a table with a note on it. Ruby walked up and examined said note.

'Ruby.

I went out to run some errands. Thought you might like a few things, too. Will see you whenever I get back. We'll start working around then, too.

-Neo.'

Ruby put the paper down and turned around, only to find the owner, Hei 'Junior' Xiong walking in, lighting up a cigarette. "Shouldn't you be at school for another twenty minutes?" Her muscles stiffened slightly as he looked at his watch, "Oh, no you should be getting out now. Did your friends give you a ride or something, or did you just ditch school altogether?"

"No, no. This was the end of testing week for this month, I got out early." Ruby defended nervously. Junior nodded easily.

"Right, forgot about that. How did you do?" His tone of voice seemed to be uncaring or uninterested, which seemed to be the theme of their discussions since school began.

"We'll find out next week."

"And I'd assume no homework?"

"Right."

"Alright, you can do whatever. I don't have any plans until later tonight anyway. We have a new tenant moving in right down the hall from you and the wife is gonna need your help."

"Oh?" Ruby raised her eyebrows curiously, "Who is it?"

"Ah, some exchange kid or something. Her parents are renting out a place so she can get an education here. I think she's going to Beacon, too."

Ruby was surprised. A new student in the middle of a semester? A transfer at that, too? That's uncommon. Still, she decided not to push for anymore information, nodded and left, trying to get to her apartment on the third floor. Terrace View was a seven story building with a number of rooms throughout. Ruby had been living there for the past three years and had gotten to know Junior and Neo, his wife, very well. She lives alone and the couple allow her to live there so long as she helps with a few chores. Neo handles that part, Junior handles the rent for all of the tenants.

She walked up the stairs and to her floor where three doors down from the staircase was her apartment. She easily pulled out the key from her uniform shirt pocket and turned the knob quickly, opening the door to her humble abode. A small cooking area on the right (after you've entered) with a bathroom on the left. In front of her, after a step down, was her dining area, just a coffee table with a lone couch and two pillows along the side, in case she didn't want to eat on the couch. The couch doubled as a futon, which was a bonus to her. Sometimes she just wanted to sleep somewhere else, and said couch was positioned right in front of the counter that separated the kitchen and the living room/dining room.

Ruby walked to the far side of the room to the window covered by curtains and let the light of the sun shine through. The room illuminated from the natural lighting, letting the redhead breathe a sigh of relief. She liked sunlight more than light bulbs, but could never explain why.

She walked into her room, a small nook in the apartment with a queen sized bed and a closet near the end of the same wall where the door was. It truly was a humble abode, but she didn't mind. Once she entered the room, she flipped open those curtains and turned to her bed where she laid out a change of clothes for herself before leaving for school.

The teen enjoyed her street clothes far better than she did her school uniform. She liked the design of Beacons uniform, but not for everyday use. To her, they felt too strict and felt too much like suits. She stripped down and changed into her usual attire; loose black sweats and a red cotton shirt. She also had a red zip-up jacket, but didn't use that as much until it got colder outside. This was her spring/fall attire, whilst her winter attire was heavier sweats or jeans with that same red jacket. Her summer attire was a red and black corset with a skirt going no farther than her knees.

She always picked up flak from Pyrrha for wearing the same few things, but Ruby didn't care. She liked her clothing and nothing would sway her otherwise.

As she threw her shirt on she heard a knock on the door. 'Probably Neo.' She thought, 'Nice of her to knock this time.' The shorter woman had a habit of just barging in sometimes... Most of the time.

"I'm coming." Ruby called as she exited her room. Peering through the hole in her door, her thoughts were confirmed. A familiar, short woman with pink and brown hair was standing at her door, hands in her pockets. Ruby opened the door and looked into the woman's eyes, "Don't you have a key?"

"Nice to see you too." Neo said with false attitude, walking into the apartment with two grocery bags. "I got you some things for the week."

"Oh?" Ruby said, feigning surprise, "What I get? What I get? What I get?"

"Slow down a moment!" Neo chuckled, setting the bags down on the counter next to the refrigerator. "Just a gallon of milk and two boxes of waffles for breakfast and a few boxes of instant-dinners to get you through the week."

"Neo, two boxes and a gallon of milk with two boxes of those dinners are going to get me through a month!" Ruby joked, though it wasn't well received. "Sorry."

"I need to work on your humor." Neo pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance as she stocked the empty fridge. "Alright, so... About work today-" Ruby instantly snapped to attention at the mention of working as the shorter woman pulled out a blue folder and set it upon the table, "-I'm not exactly sure on what I need to do myself, so I don't know what you need to do." She calmly spoke as she set down a large packet, one that Ruby instantly recognized, "So, Junior said that he told you of the new tenant next door?" The red-clad teen nodded easily, "Okay. Um, he and I pretty much set up her place, except for the bathroom. I just need to do some plumbing and make sure it all works." Neo packed up her papers into a folder and stood straight up from the counter before turning for the door, "I want you with me in case I need help."

"Paperwork for the bathroom?" The teen quipped, only to be knocked upside the head. "Ow, what was that for?!"

"For not respecting my job!" Neo cracked, pointing her index finger near the teens face, "And because that's two poor jokes and at three you die."

"You won't hurt me."

"Really?" The shorter woman raised an eyebrow as she peered back towards her taller assistant. "Wanna say that again?"

"No, no." Ruby shook her head quickly, "I won't challenge it, or you, again today."

"Good girl." Neo headed for the door, wagging her left index finger to the teen behind her, indicating for her to follow the leader. "Now let's go make a living."

Ruby nodded and picked up a book from the table. It was just a short notebook that she used to make additional notes if needed. Ruby was hired on early as Neo's personal assistant, giving her something to do in her spare time, while also helping her gain much needed experience. Of course there was the main reason: the more Ruby worked with Neo, the longer she could stay in her apartment.

The duo walked out of Ruby's apartment together and down the hall towards her soon-to-be new neighbor's home, which was similar to hers only newer furniture. "Alright, park it right here and I'll do what I have to do." Neo's finger pointed towards the wall next to the threshold of the bathroom while she herself flipped on the lights and went to work.

Ruby sat outside the bathroom and opened her book with a pencil in hand, waiting to hear anything from her boss while turning to a blank page and sketching whatever came to her mind, "So you two did some work today, eh?"

"Not us two entirely, we had help." The response was easy, but strained. Ruby could tell that her friend was trying to work a pipe. "We used some of the maintenance guys. No way in hell am I carrying all of this stuff alone."

"Oh." Ruby nodded began sketching, though even herself wasn't sure what she was drawing just yet. "Do you, uh… Need my help?" She asked curiously as well as timidly, "you sound like you're having a hard time in there?"

"No, no, I'm fine. Just keep doing whatever you're doing."

"But I feel useless right now?"

"Welcome to the working world, hun," the woman quipped easily, "where the work doesn't matter until you get paid."

"You don't pay me though." Neo reached around the corner of the threshold and harshly flicked the girl seated on the other side, nailing Ruby behind the ear. "Ow!"

"You are cruisin' for a bruisin' today, aren't ya?"

"Abuse! Abuse! Workmen's abuse!" Neo chuckled playfully as Ruby continued to sound the alarm. "Call OSHA! Call… Oh, who else would I call?"

"Vale's office of safety would take that call and investigate where OSHA would just ensure that you get compensated." The shorter woman grunted as she popped the tightened pipe loose, allowing the water to flow. "Damn, took it long enough!"

"I thought it was the other way around?"

"Maybe somewhere else, but that's how it works in Vale, honey." Neo assured. "It's just how the departments work with one another. Synergy."

"Oh, I see."Ruby wrote down the notes of that conversation, including the part about OSHA,just for kicks. "Anything else going on in there?"

"Nope, just that Junior needs to lighten up on the pipes a bit. Write that down."

Ruby giggled as she did so, even though she knew that she and Neo would actually have to talk to the big man himself about this. If anything, he should be loosening what he tightened. However, as she did she saw a golden opportunity; "Hey, uh... I have a question?" Neo hummed an affirmative answer, causing the teen to continue. "I don't have any schoolwork..."

"Uh huh..." Neo said, knowing the question was delayed, but coming.

"And it doesn't look like you need my help at all..."

"Get on with it." The women chided in a sing-song manner.

"My friends are doing Lazer Tag across the street, and I-"

"Yes, you can go." Neo said with a small smile, moving her bangs out of her face with her wrist. She knew where the younger girl was going with the conversation before she even heard the full question. "Besides, the last two or three times they've done that you've opted to stay here, knowing full well you were done with whatever you needed to do... Why is that?"

"Uh... No reason, just didn't feel like going." Ruby lied. Her real reasons was not one to be revealed so easily. Actually, Ruby was known for keeping her secrets just that, even from Junior and Neo.

"You're an awful liar, you know that?" Neo flicked the young girl's head again, causing her to look back in feigned pain, "You have a tell where you stutter and touch your index fingers together. I'd love to gamble against you." Ruby slumped a little, but Neo didn't take back her comment. That was something that the young girl was used to: Neo calling out her liar tells. "So what time are you gonna go?"

"We're meeting each other at about eight, so about then. What time is this new tenant coming in?"

"She said after seven, but we don't exactly know if that's true."

"Why's that?"

"I dunno. Something about her seemed like she wasn't exactly looking to be on time." Neo scrunched her face a bit after getting the sink faucet to work, the running water staying on for a moment before dying away. "I dunno. Maybe I'm just paranoid."

"She signed everything, right?"

"She said she would after seeing the room."

"Oh…" Ruby knew exactly what that meant. Not signing right away meant that they probably would be a no-show. It happens more often than not, especially recently. "Well at least she sounds interested." Ruby sighed as she noted a mistake, nearly breaking the eraser on the paper. "Junior said she's going to Beacon?"

"I have no idea." Neo sung with a shrug of her shoulders as she finally getting the toilet working, an audible flush resonating through the apartment. "Holy crap the plumbing in this place actually works!" The teen smiled easily at the quip, but chose not to add on. She felt that you could only disrespect a building for so long before it gets back to your insolence. " You know, if you want you can head back to your room and take a nap or something. I know you'll be out late so I'll just come down and wake you up at like, seven-thirty."

"You mean it?"

"Would I lie to you?" The shorter woman asked with a chuckle and a raised brow.

"Uh… I mean…"

"Cheeky little-!" Neo rolled up her packet and started swinging as Ruby rolled away and to her feet, her stance indicating that she was ready to run from the fury of the shorter, multi-colored hair woman, "Go get some sleep before I get my hands on you!" Ruby made her way for the door, being weary as she passed her friend whose large packet was still rolled up. Silver eyes peered down at the woman, asking not an unspoken question. "No, I don't need you right now. Everything else was done well before you got here."

"Oh, I see." Ruby said, mildly disappointed. Part of her wanted to go out with her friends tonight, yet part of her wanted to stay in like she had the last few weeks in her cozy apartment with Neo. 'Well, it's this or I never hear the end of it from Pyrrha...' She thought.

Neo watched closely, contemplating a swipe at the passing teen, but decided against it. Ruby was just joking and punishing her for it wouldn't be right. "I think everything's all good here, and the rest of the building is set. I hope this little lady is actually serious about this."

"Yeah, I hope so, too." Ruby agreed with a nod as she exited the newer apartment. Neo wasn't far behind, but also wasn't going to follow her worker into her apartment. The two locked eyes as the latter walked by, nodding as Ruby closed the door. She easily threw off her shirt off and threw it over a chair to keep it wrinkle free before jumping into bed, kicking and eventually wrapping the covers around her. It didn't take her long before she finally made it to sleep, smiling as she anxiously wondered about just how much fun as possible tonight. The outings with her friends, be it at Lazer Tag or at someone's house, were always a blast, and she knew that it didn't happen nearly enough. 'Here's to a long night...'

Back again, are we?

So in case you're confused, here's the rub. Beacon is a level in-between high school and college, standing as a high-level prep school for big time careers, such as medicine, trades, broadcasting and more. Ruby attends, being granted admission two years early thanks to her hard work and the support of Neo and Junior, a married couple who hired her and rent an apartment to her in exchange for her work. She is Neo's assistant.

Ruby and Yang are not related here.

Ships will be around, there will be a semblance of them, but in most cases they won't be confirmed unless explicitly said. And literally 98% of this is fluff, the farthest I'm willing to go is locking lips. Maybe having characters sharing a bed together, but that'll be way later if anything.

The next few chapters will introduce more to the story, including characters and plot. I had to explain that little bit, however, to avoid any confusion and perhaps avoid an angry review saying "OMGOD WTF IS DIS U BUTCHERED IT ALL U SUK" Or however people write hate messages these days.

That being said, how was it? Obviously there's stuff to work on, but most of it is just expanding on plot points, I feel. But that's not up to me, it's up to you! Will you read it? Are you interested? Or is this a swing and a miss, one strike and I'm out sort of deal? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you all!

If you have any questions or just want to talk, feel free to PM me! I always respond at some point. I'll be working diligently to perfect the next few chapters and get them out to you, even if it means working through classes (right, like I haven't done that before?). This is one that I want to stay committed to, and I hope you all stay for the ride, as well!

Hope you enjoyed, and as always,

Until Next Time.