Costumes And Confessions (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Time for Ruby to think over exactly what it is she wants to do. But of course she'll need a bit of help.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 2. The Planning

The remaining days of their summer vacation slipped by, and before they knew it, school was back in session.

But since all nine of them went to the same school, it wasn't all that bad.

Of their groups of friends, everyone always had at least one person they were close with in each of their classes, and most of the time, they even had three or four of their friends together.

This year, they lucked out, and all nine of them ended up in the same gym class. Nine was the perfect number for composing a team for certain games and sports, and for others, they could split up and compete against their friends. And since their gym period was the block right before lunch, it meant they all had their cafeteria time together as well.

It ensured they'd all have a very fun year together.

Everyone was ecstatic about going back to school if it meant they could be with their best friends, and in some of their cases, with their significant others.

Ruby had one class together with Weiss and Blake, who would often be separated simply because they had to sit in alphabetical order by last name. That always ensured Ruby was near Weiss and could enjoy her company whenever the teacher wasn't talking.

But Blake looked so lonely all the way on the other side of the classroom. As soon as time was up, she'd make her way over to them and wrap her arms around Weiss with such relief it made Ruby's chest feel warm.

And it wasn't just their relationship she loved to see.

Her sister had her own ways of showing affection to her girlfriend during school. Since Neo could only speak with her hands, the school administration had needed to consider hiring an interpreter.

But even before they could start making calls, Yang was in the principal's office, explaining her relationship to Neo, and offering to act as her interpreter. She already knew sign language, and she'd need to be taking all the same classes and Neo anyway, so not only would it make sense to keep them together, but it would also allow them to be happier staying by each other's sides.

So the administration had readily agreed, and now Yang was in every one of Neo's classes, sitting right beside her wherever she went.

And she might've abused that power, just a little bit.

Ruby would often see them holding hands or writing little messages back and forth to one another. And she had a feeling that when they left class to head to the restroom together, there were definitely other things they were doing.

But again, Ruby loved to see her sister and her friends happy with the people they loved and cared about most.

And every time she saw Weiss and Blake hug, or Neo and Yang kiss, Ruby wanted that for herself.

With Pyrrha.

There was one class Ruby had alone with her, and that was their history class. Within the first month of school, they received several assignments, and Ruby would always timidly turn to Pyrrha for help or partnership in group activities. To which Pyrrha always smiled and replied "of course! I'd love to work with you, Ruby!"

And it was both a good and bad decision on Ruby's part.

It was good because she got to be with Pyrrha a lot in that class; she got to work with her, listen to her talk, be alone together with her to work on projects, and things of that nature.

But it was a bad decision because... she got to be alone.

With Pyrrha.

Her crush.

Ruby often found herself spacing out, getting lost in Pyrrha's profile, admiring the long sway of her hair, the little light in her eyes, the curve of her smile.

She got distracted a lot in that class, and whenever Pyrrha noticed as much, she'd give her a concerned look and gently tap her hand or shoulder to ask if she was alright. Ruby would always jump and reply.

"Y-Yes! Fine! I'm fine! Sorry!"

And Pyrrha would always smile and shake her head.

"It's all right! Just checking!"

And so, the first month of school passed by.

Midway through October, everyone had gotten into the swing of things and was comfortable with their schedules and how things were working out.

But with each passing day, Ruby only grew more and more anxious about her crush.

She saw the way some of their more interested classmates looked at Pyrrha. A few boys had even approached her a few times, be it at lunch or in the hallways, and struck up casual conversations with her.

Pyrrha always politely engaged with them until things started turning suggestive or flirtatious, at which point she would outright decline their advances, change the subject, or excuse herself.

It always relieved Ruby to see Pyrrha refuse the offers. But every day presented another possibility that someone might ask Pyrrha out and she might say yes, and an opportunity that she herself might miss.

Ruby didn't want to miss the chance to confess to her. Even if Pyrrha said no and began dating someone else, Ruby at least wanted to let her feelings be known beforehand.

While she was doing just fine in school, her feelings for Pyrrha were taking their toll on her little by little. Sometimes she would just sigh and put her face in her hands in the middle of class, at lunch, or at dinnertime at home.

And Yang knew that was the telltale sign her sister was thinking about her crush.

She tried to talk it out with Ruby sometimes, wanting her to try and figure something out that would work best for her.

But her little sister was too shy and uncertain, and brand new in the craft of confession and dating.

Therefore, as her older sister, Yang did all she could to help her out without being totally obvious about it.

Two weeks before the end of the month, Yang arranged a sleepover one Friday night. She made sure it was a night when Pyrrha would be busy so she wouldn't be able to attend, though when Pyrrha told her as much, Yang acted surprised and regretful. Jaune, Nora, and Ren opted out for reasons of their own, leaving only five of them left.

It was perfect for Yang's plan.

She talked to Weiss in advanced about having the sleepover at her place, since Weiss' mansion had several large guest rooms that could accommodate dozens of people at a time.

But Weiss was confused as to why they needed to have this sleepover in the middle of the month rather than on a holiday weekend or a snow day.

With a little private explanation to Weiss, Blake, and Neo, Yang got them all to understand her sister's predicament. When they heard about Ruby's crush on Pyrrha, the other three got a little excited.

"Oh!" Weiss put a hand to her mouth and lowered her voice. "I mean it's about time she did something about it. It's gone on long enough, and I think Pyrrha's the only one who doesn't know at this point."

"Which is why this is perfect," Yang said. "She'll know soon enough if we can motivate Ruby to spill the beans."

"We'd known about it for a while," Blake said, nodding to Weiss. "We just weren't sure if we were... supposed to know."

//I'd had my suspicions for a long time as well,// Neo added. //Most of us have.//

"Oh, it's fine," Yang shrugged. "I called Ruby out on it a few weeks ago. She knows at least I know. But maybe if she brings it up on our sleepover, you guys could act surprised? As if it wasn't as clear as the sky is blue?"

The others all nodded.

"Of course."

"Sure."

//Can do.//

So after school the designated day of the sleepover, Yang and Ruby excitedly hurried home. They packed one bag each of clothes and toiletries into Yang's car, and after kissing their dad and dog goodbye, were off to Weiss' house for a night of fun.

And hopefully for Ruby, inspiration.

They swung by to pick Neo up from her home, and after that arrived at Weiss' house. She and Blake were already in the doorway, welcoming them in as they entered.

Ruby, Yang, and Neo greeted Weiss' father and thanked him for letting them stay over tonight.

After that, they went through the events of a normal sleepover.

They enjoyed dinner together, played a few games, watched some movies, and then changed into their sleepwear just before bed. The five of them were going to stay in the same guest room on two separate beds, but until they were all ready to go to bed, they lounged on a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor in their pajamas.

At that point, it was time for Yang to enact her plan.

They'd just finished playing several verbal games, and Yang suggested the next one be truth or dare. She could see her little sister visibly turn red at the recommendation.

"Uh, I'm actually getting a little tired, you guys."

But the others knew she was trying to weasel out of this, and they wouldn't let her.

"Oh, come now," Weiss huffed. "I'm not even tired yet, Ruby. How could it be that you are?"

"Yeah," Blake added. "I think you can make it through one more game."

//It'll be quick and painless,// Neo signed, trying to assure her.

Ruby could only plaster on a tight smile and pretend she didn't already know what their intentions were.

Yang started off the game by asking Blake the question. She chose "dare" and was told not to read a single word of her current book all day tomorrow. Blake glowered at her friend through the darkness, but made no promises.

They went around a few times, and Ruby was beginning to relax and have fun with the game.

Until the final round when Neo was her partner.

Truth or dare, Ruby?

Ruby had been so caught up in doing harmless dares that she wanted a change of pace. She didn't even realize what it might mean to select the other answer.

"Truth!"

Too little, too late, she saw the Cheshire grin spread across Neo's lips and realized her mistake. But there was no taking it back now.

//Ruby. Do you like anyone?//

The others were all leaning forward now, intrigued by Neo's inquiry, as if they all hadn't already known what it would be. The four of them turned their eyes to Ruby, who squished herself back against the side of the bed and pulled a blanket up to her chin.

"O-Of course! I like all of you guys!"

The others sighed.

"Ruby-"

"You know that isn't what she meant."

"Spill the beans, sis."

Ruby turned on her sister.

"Yang! You already know!"

"Oh? Do I?" Her sister smirked. "I mean, sure I said a lot of things to you the other night about a certain person, but you never confirmed nor denied any of it that I can recall. Should I take this as confirmation now?"

Ruby whined and buried her face into her knees.

"I did deny it but... Fine..." she mumbled. "I... I think I like... Pyrrha..."

Her voice was so small and thin the others barely heard. If they hadn't already known the answer in advance, they might've asked her to repeat herself. But they could all breathe a sigh of relief in knowing the thing they'd always suspected had been the truth.

But they never meant to embarrass Ruby, so now they all tried to be supportive.

"That's wonderful, Ruby," Weiss murmured.

"What a great person to like," Blake added.

Ruby lifted her face up just in time to catch Neo's response.

//The only question now is-//

"When are you going to tell her?" Yang finished.

Ruby squeaked and huddled up again, peeking up over her knees like a frightened chipmunk.

"I... I don't really know... um..." She fumbled for a moment, twiddling her fingers beneath the sheet as her eyes flashed around to all of their gazes in turn. "I, uh... maybe you guys could... help me? I-I just don't know what to do! And like Yang said the other day, I don't wanna miss out and wait too long until someone else confesses to her and then I'll just regret it all!" she babbled.

"Whoa, whoa," Yang sidled closer, slipping her arm around her sister's shoulders. "Easy there, sis. Don't freak out just yet. You asked for our advice, so we'll give it to you."

Ruby blinked.

"Really...?"

"Of course! The four of us've got the experience, don't we?"

Ruby nodded slowly.

"Yeah... I guess it would make sense to ask you guys about it." She straightened up a little, letting the blanket fall away. "S-So then... what do you guys think I should do...?"

They'd been waiting for her to ask that question for hours, and in Yang's case, weeks. They sat in their pairs and faced her now as they pondered their responses.

Blake and Weiss went first.

"Well," Weiss began. "There are a number of ways you could do this. First, you should decide on a time and location where you'd like to tell her."

"Right," Blake said. "Do you think you'd feel more comfortable telling her at school? Or would you rather be at your house or somewhere else? Do you think you'd want there to be other people around or not?"

"And you wouldn't want to do it before an exam, or anything like that," Weiss continued. "A confession would be far too stressful for the both of you to have to consider before something major like that."

"But like you said," Blake recounted. "You might not want to wait too long before talking to her about it."

They seemed satisfied with their replies and leaned back against the opposite bed together to demonstrate they'd finished.

Ruby was still hanging on their every word, trying to take mental notes, hoping she'd remember in the morning.

Next, it was time for Neo and Yang to give their two cents. The former began, leaning back against Yang's chest as she did so.

//You'll want to think of what you want to do as you confess. Do you want to take her out to dinner or something? Maybe you could have a private study session with her? Do you want to tell her face-to-face, or would you rather send her flowers and write a love letter?//

When she'd finished, no one else spoke for a moment. Ruby suddenly realized all of their questions hadn't been rhetorical, and she scrambled to think of answers.

"U-Um, um! I-I don't know! I mean, I think a love letter would be kinda cute, b-but my handwriting stinks and I don't think I'd do a very good job of writing it all out. But I also don't know if I'd do very good telling her face-to-face. I'd probably start st-stammering and mumbling my words and talking way too super fast and she wouldn't even be able to understand what I was saying and-"

"You mean kinda like right now?" Yang sighed.

"Y-Yes!" Ruby piped. "A-And I don't know if I should do it at school or at home or while you guys are around or when the two of us are alone together or-"

"Okay, okay!" Yang put up both hands to stop her. "Chill out, Ruby. You don't have to decide everything right now."

"Right," Weiss agreed. "Instead of making a finalized decision right now at-" she glanced at the clock, "one forty-seven in the morning, why don't you just consider a few potential ideas?"

"That sounds good," Blake said. "We can just bounce ideas around, and if something sounds doable for you, just keep it in mind."

//We're not trying to overwhelm you,// Neo assured her. //We're trying to help.//

Ruby took another deep breath, held it in for a second, then let it out loudly.

"Okay. So ideas, ideas... Well, I don't think I could take her out to dinner alone. I'd be waaaay too nervous and freeze up and it'd just be a total disaster."

"Right," Yang agreed. "And besides, dinner alone together is usually something you do after you're already dating, not when you're trying to confess."

//We could arrange something for the whole group and then have the rest of us back out last-minute, so only Ruby and Pyrrha are left,// Neo proposed.

"Hm..." Yang pondered the suggestion briefly. "Normally, I'd say that's a pretty good tactic, but probably if your group was only like four people, not nine. If seven of us conveniently bailed at the last second, it'd probably too suspicious."

"Let's see," Blake picked up. "If you wanted to try doing it at school, you could let the rest of us know in advance and we could stick around the area in case something happens and you need our help. Like, if you decide you're not ready yet, you could give us a signal of some kind and we can step in."

"While that is a very clever idea," Weiss praised her girlfriend. "I'm not so certain school would be the best place for her to do this. I think Ruby would be more comfortable doing it someplace she knows well, where there isn't such a professional environment."

"Alright, lay it on us, princess," Yang yawned. "What do you suggest?"

Weiss smiled.

"I'm glad you asked. If you ask me, Ruby should confess to Pyrrha right here."

The others all stared at her in utter confusion, even her own girlfriend.

"Um, Weiss? What do you mean?" Blake wondered.

"Right here?" Yang parroted. "As in right now? What, you want her to call Pyrrha up at 2 in the morning and tell her?"

//What's funny is that you suggested she not do it in a professional environment, and then recommend the Schnee mansion.//

"Hold on a moment!" Weiss snapped. "None of you let me finish! What I meant was, yes, she should do it here, in my house. But not right now, you bunch of oafs! At the party!"

The others all had their moment of clarity in unison.

"Oh."

I see.

"Y'know, Weiss, that's not half bad."

Weiss took slight offense to Yang's comment.

"What? You didn't think I could offer proper confession advice for your sister?"

"Well, if I'm being honest-"

But she was cut off when Neo jabbed her in the gut and Blake sent her a glare.

Meanwhile, Ruby was processing Weiss' suggestion, wondering if it would really work out best. She considered it seriously.

In just one week's time, Weiss would be throwing a Halloween party at her home. The Schnee mansion was definitely a place that Ruby knew well, and confessing to Pyrrha in a party atmosphere would certainly be appropriate.

If she agreed and said yes, then they could party have fun and dance together for the rest of the night.

And if things didn't work out, Ruby could always just ask Yang to drive her home.

It would be nice to be surrounded by all of her friends when she confessed, but there would be music and chatter so that no one else but Pyrrha would hear her. So no one would be able to eavesdrop, but her friends would all still be around her, making her comfortable.

All things considered, Ruby thought this just might be the solution she needed to solve her confession problem. She hardly realized it when the words tumbled out of her mouth.

"Yeah..."

The others all looked up, and she lifted her gaze to meet theirs.

"Yeah. I'll do it at the Halloween party next week. I can do that. Totally!" She was getting excited and nervous just thinking about it now.

Her enthusiasm must've spread, because her friends and sister smiled at her.

"There," Weiss said. "Now that's decided."

"I'm glad we could help you with this, Ruby," Blake added. "If you need more help with thinking it through, just ask us."

//You have a week to think things over now,// Neo reminded her.

"Alright?" Yang grinned. "See, doesn't it feel good to get it all off your chest?"

Ruby nodded.

"Yeah. But I think it'll feel even better to tell Pyrrha."

"Of course it will," Weiss soothed. "But for now, I think we should all get some rest."

"What?" Yang cried. "Weiss, it's a sleepover! You don't sleep at sleepovers! We've been through this before!"

"Then why is it part of the word?"

As the two of them started bickering, Blake and Neo tried to pacify their girlfriends.

Ruby watched them all fondly, imagining how nice it would be to have Pyrrha next to her now, laughing and snuggling up with her.

It made her all the more determined to confess to her the night of the party. And it made her realize there was one last thing she wanted to ask the others.

"Hey, guys?"

The four of them fell silent and turned to her.

"What is it, Ruby?"

She bit her lip.

"I'm sorry. I know you guys just helped me out with like, everything. But I have one more question."

"Shoot."

A pause, and finally Ruby mustered up her courage.

"How... exactly should I confess to her?"

It was a fairly open-ended question. But the other girls all smiled and answered right away, as if the solution was the most obvious one in the world:

"Just be yourself."

For the remainder of the night, Ruby felt that might've been easier said than done.

But she was still determined to go through with it.

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A/N: Planning and preparations are now complete! All that's left is to do it! But that really is easier said than done, isn't it? Especially when we're talking about confessing to your crush.