Hello everyone! I've lurked on this site for a decade and am finally deciding to post to it. Please give me feedback on anything – I've always been a self-taught writer and want to improve. All reviews are appreciated!

Professor Oobleck's class had a reputation.

The quirky man was always a lightning bolt around the room, words spewing from his mouth sometimes faster than students could understand them, let alone write them down. And yet many things in his lectures often found their way into tests, putting many students in difficult situations.

In short, his words were extremely difficult to follow.

To her credit, Ruby was actually trying that day. Her right hand was cramped and painful after managing to get down most of Oobleck's main points in a barely legible scrawl, filling six pages of her notebook in under an hour.

Ruby sighed quietly, pushing out her lower lip to blow upwards into her lopsided hair, making it wave from side to side. Her eyes darted to the clock above the professor's bulletin board, and saw only a few minutes left of class.

Placing down her pen, Ruby glanced to her left. Weiss was listening with rapt attention, her posture perfectly straight and her pen flowing elegantly over her own notebook, filling it with orderly notes.

Beyond her, Yang leaned back comfortably in her chair, arms crossed and appearing bored out of her mind, her eyes flitting around the room with an uninterested frown on her face.

Sitting next to the blonde was Blake, who was writing slowly but methodically, appearing completely focused on her work.

Ruby returned her attention to the front, and found herself completely lost in the lecture, the topic having shifted far away from the Tural mountains in the moments her attention was elsewhere. With a frown she brought her hands down to her lap and fiddled with them. She could always ask Weiss about what she missed later.

The bell chimed twice, signaling the end of the class period and making Ruby jolt in surprise. She looked around at everyone who was packing up and moved to do the same.

"Before you go, students!" Professor Oobleck called over the busy class, moving back to his desk. "I have last week's reports graded, please pick them up on your way out!"

The flow of students redirected from the exit towards his desk, and Ruby moved to join them, her team falling in step beside her.

"He couldn't have done this earlier?" Yang wondered, covering her mouth in a tired yawn.

Blake nudged her partner with her elbow, wearing a small smirk. "I think he wants to make every moment of his class count."

"I wish he didn't," Ruby whined, wringing her hands in front of her. The line was going so slow! It looked like Professor Oobleck was saying something to go along with every report.

"I'm glad he does!" Weiss exclaimed, looking scandalized. "This isn't some primary school – it's their duty to teach us as much as they can. Especially considering the amount they ask for tuition."

Yang scoffed. "Not all of us throw money to be here, princess."

Weiss glared at the blonde, crossing her arms across her chest. "I'll have you know I got here with more than just money, Yang."

The taller girl just laughed, lightly punching the heiress's arm. "I'm kidding Weiss, take it easy. I know you worked to get here, we all did." Her words seemed to deflate Ruby's partner, who gave a small smile in return.

A grin stretched across Ruby's face at their interaction. The seven months in Beacon so far had been extremely interesting for their team, putting so many differing personalities together. Weiss and Yang had been at each other's throats countless times, but had slowly progressed to actual friendship. And she couldn't be happier for them.

Her team had gone from simply cooperating in and out of school to being true friends.

The line moved forwards, placing team RWBY in front of the Professor's wide desk. The green-haired Professor glanced up and nodded, before quickly digging through a dwindling stack of papers, before pulling out a neatly-written essay.

"Great work, Miss Belladonna," he praised, taking a sip of coffee. "While you did well in practical evaluations of the Grimm, there was a lack of personal opinion. Try writing in more of your own thoughts next time; after all, the intuition of a huntress is surprisingly perceptive."

Blake simply nodded in acceptance as she took the paper, thanking the professor before stepping aside. Yang took her place, a hopeful smile filling her face. "How'd I do, Doctor?"

Professor Oobleck's lips quirked at the title, a bit of camaraderie still present between them from mountain Glenn. He slid Yang's paper from the pile and held it out.

Yang eagerly grabbed it and looked at the grade, face falling slightly.

"You reported the hunt with the minimum information, Miss Xiao Long," the Professor stated, pulling two more papers from the stack and placing them face down. "You passed the requirements for the paper, but there is more to a report than that."

Ruby glanced at her sister's paper, seeing an eighty percent marked at the top. She winced. It was a passing grade, but with the difficulty of Oobleck's class, it could damage her down the line. Judging by Weiss tensing up next to her, she wasn't the only one worried.

"Remember," The Professor stated, "A single scrap of information can cause great change. Understand, Miss Xiao Long?"

"Got it," Yang muttered and moved to join Blake at the side of the desk.

Weiss stepped up to the desk with hands folded in front of her, confidence seeming to radiate from her aura. Professor Oobleck handed her one of the papers with a smile. "Fine work as usual, Miss Schnee. I have little to offer in terms of improvement."

"Thank you, Professor," the heiress replied, a self-satisfied smirk stretching her lips as she moved to allow Ruby to approach the desk.

Ruby stepped up with uncertainty. The report she had turned in last week was rushed and not her best work, and she had been slightly worried for days. If she got a bad grade, not only would she have to work harder in class to make up for it, but her partner would be on her case for weeks, something she didn't prefer to relive. Swallowing nervously, Ruby reached out, taking the last paper from the Professor's outstretched hand and daring to turn it over.

A perfect grade was marked at the top.

Ruby's eyes widened, and she looked up in surprise, not believing what she was seeing. Beside her, a shark intake of breath indicated Weiss was also shocked. Yang and Blake curiously looked over her shoulder, and all Ruby heard was a low whistle.

Professor Oobleck smiled warmly down at her, his eyes twinkling with admiration. "Your paper was a delight to read, Miss Rose. The detail you placed into not only the flow of combat but the particular styles and movements of your team was exemplary. I once feared your skill on the battlefield would not match your ability in the classroom, but I am happy to be proved wrong."

Face slowly lighting up with happiness, Ruby felt ready to explode. Letting out a quiet thank you, she lowered the paper with trembling hands and stepped away from the desk.

Yang led the way out of the lecture room into the hallway, and it was there that Ruby couldn't contain her excitement any longer. She let out a squeal of pure delight and nearly tackled her sister in a hug.

Stumbling in surprise, Yang laughed along with her, returning the hug and spinning her around, rose petals sailing off her active semblance and coating the floor, while Blake and Weiss looked on with wide smiles.

Yang set her down and put her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "Is that the first perfect score you've gotten at Beacon?"

Ruby nodded excitedly, glee swirling around in her gut and making her feel lighter on her feet than ever before.

"Then you know what that means…" Yang trailed off, the stress in her face from her own report grade replaced with anticipation.

"Cookies?" Ruby asked, eyes shining.

"Nope," Yang answered. "Celebration and cookies. Right now."

Ruby's legs shook with thrill, and after another second of eye contact, she blurred off down the hallway towards their room, petals trailing in her wake.

Weiss looked between her and Yang, annoyed. "Yang we have to go to lunch, we ca-" Her words turned to a squeak of surprise as Yang casually threw her over her shoulder and strode towards their dormitory, uncaring. "What are you doing? Put me down this instant!" The flailing girl in white called out, her face red with embarrassment.

Blake followed with a shake of her head, a happy smile adorning her face.

Standing in the doorway to the classroom behind them, Cardin Winchester glowered at the retreating team. Their grades had all surpassed his own, and he was slightly grateful that his team had collected their papers after RWBY had left.

They were a bunch of misfits that were quickly becoming the most popular first-year team. They were high-strung, arrogant, and led by an excitable child, yet still had the respect of staff and students alike. And he would love to change that.

He watched the older three leave down the hallway, eyes roaming over the thin Schnee heiress, then the curvy blonde, and at last over the lean shape of the book nerd. A twitch in the black bow atop her head caused him to pause. In fact, it almost looked like…

His frown slowly split into a grin of pure inspiration. Maybe there was a way to bring them down a few pegs after all. This might be just what he needed.

A week later, Ruby found herself alone in Beacon's grand library, working hard to finish a detailed essay for her Grimm Studies class. She had taken a table near the tall windows that looked out on the campus, providing an amazing view and lots of evening sunlight. The warm rays coated several textbooks in front of her, scattered haphazardly around the entire table. Her work on the multi-page essay had taken her hours of research through textbooks offered by the library, and she was finally able to put the final touches on a paper that would make even Weiss impressed.

Taking a moment of reprieve, Ruby pushed her work aside and rested her head on the smooth wooden table, letting out a groan of relief.

"Why do schools need essays?" she muttered quietly, kicking her legs back and forth underneath her chair.

After a few quiet minutes, she pulled herself up, silver eyes drooping in exhaustion. Trying and failing to hold back a yawn, Ruby went back to work, pushing herself through the conclusion paragraph. She placed the final period at the end of the sentence harder than necessary, and then shoved the paper aside, picking up the textbooks and placing them on a library cart nearby. She picked up her other materials, a notebook and her finished essay, and slowly walked out of the library, heading back towards the dorm room, where she could put everything away, do her weekly bore cleaning on Crescent Rose, and maybe even go to bed early.

Exiting the building, Ruby crossed one of Beacon's many outdoor courtyards, well-maintained trees and plants mixing with sculptured stonework. She wore a smile of achievement as she nearly skipped through it, red cloak bouncing on her shoulders.

Another person stepped in front of her, blocking her way. Ruby slowed down and offered a polite apology as she tried to maneuver around them, only to be grabbed by the back of her cloak and pulled in front of the other.

Ruby's eyes raised in surprise and discomfort, expecting to recognize someone who would touch her so freely, only to frown in distaste as she locked gazes with Cardin Winchester.

The burly huntsman in training was well known as a crude and unfriendly person to be around, and both her team and JNPR did their best to avoid him and his cronies. And now he was staring down at her through their significant height difference, a confident smirk on his face.

"Hold up, kid," he said, smirk only growing wider with almost sinister intent.

Ruby took a step backwards, trying to put space between them. Scuffles of movement around her quickly revealed the other members of his team, moving to surround her in a confrontational way. Dove was calmly picking his teeth, while Russel and Sky just stared at her with interest. She grew nervous and tapped one foot in worry, knowing that none of them would have good intentions.

Cardin stepped forward to match her distance, infuriating smirk still in place. "Don't look so worried," he laughed, seeming to relax his shoulders and stand at ease. "I just want to talk to you, is that so bad?"

Letting out a breath of relief for the moment, Ruby clutched her belongings closer and set her face firmly. Normally she would be bright and nice to others, but team CRDL had done a lot to lose her respect. "What do you want?" she asked quickly.

"Not much," he returned, beginning to pace in front of her. "I was just curious about something, and wanted to ask your opinion."

Ruby listened silently and watched him move, wishing Yang was present. Her cocky sister never had trouble taking control of a situation, and would make her feel a lot safer right now. His words did little to reassure her. She couldn't think of anything that she or her teammates had done recently to warrant an actual conversation.

Cardin stopped moving, then crossed his arms across his chest. Darkness seemed to swirl in his blue eyes, making him all the more foreboding.

"Does Schnee know she sleeps next to a faunus?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

Ice seemed to shoot through Ruby's veins at the question, and her eyes widened in alarm. Blake's nature was a tightly kept secret between RWBY and her sister team, out of respect for her wishes. She wanted to form her own legacy without her race coming into question, and had managed to keep her heritage under wraps.

Until now.

Ruby took another hesitant step backwards, glancing at the four teenage boys around her with increasing worry and fear on her pale face. They weren't the kind of people who would respect a secret. "How did you find out?" she asked desperately, trying to buy time for her mind to figure out what to do.

Cardin's eyebrows rose in surprise, and a moment of silence passed through the courtyard before he burst out into a sharp laugh. The other boys joined him, Sky shaking his head in disbelief. Ruby watched the group around her worriedly, trying to understand what had just happened.

"We didn't!" Russel exclaimed, running a hand through his mohawk. "You just told us!"

As the realization of what she had done slowly set in, Ruby wanted to cry. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she tightened a fist in frustration and helplessness. They hadn't found out at all. They had played her, and now because of her own stupidity the most important secret of their team was known to the biggest loudmouths and bullies Beacon had to offer.

She pictured Blake staring at her in disbelief, face twisted in betrayal, before shaking her head in disappointment and running away… leaving her sister and partner glaring at her.

As the boys continued laughing, all Ruby felt like doing was melting into a puddle. She tried so hard to be like everyone else at Beacon, but her age sometimes held her back. And now her lack of social skills was about to damage what she cared about most: her friends. Knees shaking in self-hate, Ruby closed her eyes and shut everyone out.

A tap on the shoulder made her open them, revealing Cardin still in front of her.

"Hey now, don't look so down," he soothed in a fake tone of sympathy.

Ruby looked away, wanting to be anywhere but there.

"No one has to know," he finished.

She looked back up in surprise. Why would he say that? He had prime material to use against both Blake and the rest of the team in many ways. What could he possibly gain from-

"In fact, let's make a deal," he stated, a friendly smile replacing the fake sympathy. "We won't tell anyone about this if you do something for us."

Ruby narrowed her eyes and wiped a tear from them, staring back with growing anger. They were going to use her for their own gain, just like they had with Jaune. But unlike that earlier situation, Blake was respected and liked by many inside the academy. If her secret were to come out it would drag her down in countless ways and maybe affect her right to be there. And if the news reached Weiss's father, the faunus-hating head of the Schnee Dust Company, the fallout could very well destroy everything that Blake worked for. She was being blackmailed, and she couldn't do anything about it.

"What… do you want?" she questioned in a small voice.

"We're not bad people," Cardin replied, gesturing to his team. "We don't want to hold this over your head forever, that's just cruel. So, if you help us with one thing, and only that, we'll keep your secret too."

Ruby listened intently. From the sound of it, they were actually serious. Maybe she could manage to find a way out of this situation after all. Not daring to let her hopes get up, she squared her shoulders and raised an eyebrow, an expression she had learned from her partner. "What is the thing?"

Cardin grinned wickedly. "We're going to steal Ozpin's cane."

Panic replaced the uncertainty in her limbs. Professor Ozpin was the very reason she was there in the first place. His kindness and belief in her had managed to get her ahead two years and join her sister in her dream school, and then he made her a leader of her own team! And now they wanted her to betray that trust and steal from him, taking his clearly important walking device and hidden weapon? If she was caught, who knows how he would react. And then there was his second in command.

Professor Goodwitch was firm and relentless to any rulebreaker at Beacon; but if she caught someone stealing something so serious, her prodigal status wouldn't be able to save her. She would face suspension, and maybe even expulsion if discovered.

"Are you in?"

Ruby's tears returned full-force. She was well and truly trapped. She could risk hurting her team, or risk hurting herself.

The choice was an easy one.

"Yes," she answered in a whisper, her free hand clutching her cloak.

"Great!" Cardin replied, uncrossing his arms and brightening. "We'll talk to you later this week after we figure out our plan. In the meantime…"

His sentence cut off as he strode forward and yanked Ruby's belongings out from under her arm. She stumbled from the sudden action, then gritted her teeth in anger and tried to reach forward, only to be held back by Dove, pressing her small frame against his armor. "Give those back!" she yelled in a high-pitched tone.

"Hey, this is tomorrow's essay!" Cardin laughed, looking through the pages. "You know, I'm a bit behind on mine. I'll take yours though, I can change the name and be all finished!"

He separated the papers and handed the notebook back to Ruby, who took it with shaking hands. "I'm sure you don't mind. Anyway, I'll talk to you soon. Have a nice night!" he said, nodding to his teammates before turning and walking towards the dorms. The others slid around her and followed him, loud conversation slowly growing quieter as they left the courtyard.

Ruby was left standing alone, the last rays of the falling sun leaving her and shrouding the area in darkness. Hot tears slowly made their way down her cheeks, dripping onto the stone walkway beneath her.

What had she done?

Please review, and thanks for reading!

-ThunderApple