Disclaimer I: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.

Disclaimer II: This story contains mature content. Read at your own risk.

Cover Image: [star-the-raccoon]

Among all the clamor and commotion of Beacon High School's cafeteria, there remained a single, lone refuge of quiet and peace. Weiss Schnee sat alone at the table, her table, an intangible sphere of calm solitude surrounding her as she prepared to bite into the masterfully hand-crafted bologna sandwich that her mother had packed for her that morning. Despite being fabulously rich and having a live-in chef, her mother always made sure to make her her lunch. As her teeth made contact with the lightly toasted rye bread, a loud thunk and the shaking of her table made her pause, icy blue eyes opening to glare at whomever was unlucky enough to interrupt her meal.

Her chilling scowl met the sunny smile of Yang Xiao Long, the blonde girl slapping her lunch tray on the table and propping her head up on her hands. "What do you want, Long?" Weiss growled around the sandwich in her mouth, finishing her bite and slowly chewing on the mash of bread, meat, cheese, and mayonnaise.

"How ya' doin', Ice Queen?" Yang bubbled, wiggling in her seat and widening her grin. "And I've told you a million times, just call me 'Yang'!"

Weiss swallowed the mouthful of sandwich, lowering the rest back to the paper napkin she was using as a plate. "Of course. Yang." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "Now, what do you want?" The bright, smiley blonde had refused to leave her alone since Weiss had transferred to Beacon in January. It was now April, and her tactics of cold, quick responses and closed body language had done nothing to dissuade the other girl from approaching her every time they saw one another. Up until recently, lunch had been Weiss' last haven, Yang being forced to work on a giant midterm project during her meal periods. Now, without fail, the blonde would crash down at Weiss' table and insist on engaging in conversation. Weiss wanted nothing more than to scream 'Leave me alone!', but her mother had raised her to not be rude.

Yang plucked a french fry from among its twins, chomping into the soft, salty junk food. She also had a grease-covered hamburger that Weiss learned was called a 'Sloppy Joe', and a small carton of chocolate milk. "Just droppin' in to say 'Hi'!" Her eyes glanced over Weiss' shoulder, widening in recognition. She threw her hands up, waving to someone behind the white-haired girl. "Nora! Pyrrha! Over here guys!" she called. Weiss twisted with glacial slowness in her chair, her angry frown resting on a short, ginger-haired girl and a tall redhead walking towards them. This was another thing that Yang had started doing; inviting her friends over to sit with Weiss. She despised them all.

"Howdy guys!" the short one, Nora, shouted, plopping herself on the chair beside Weiss. Weiss scooted away from the loud girl, trying to preserve her generous bubble of personal space.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Pyrrha, the redhead, said with a polite smile, dusting crumbs off her seat before sitting opposite Nora. "What's going on?"

Yang wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, picking up another french fry. "Just catching up with the Ice Queen!" She tossed the unfortunate fry into her mouth, crushing it with her molars as she spoke. "So guys, what do you think about inviting Weiss here on our camping trip?" Weiss' eyebrows shot up and she readjusted her attention way from Nora, who was wolfing down a repulsive combination of pizza and french fries, to Yang, her glare transforming into surprise.

"That sounds wonderful!" Pyrrha smiled, clapping her hands together.

"Shornds grrt! Ltts der it!" agreed Nora, pumping her fists in the air.

Weiss shook herself free of the shock, rubbing her temples in small circles. "Why..? What reason in the world makes you think that I'd want to spend my weekend with you?" she grumbled at the blonde, glowering over her still-unfinished sandwich.

Another french fry was plucked from its fellows, beginning its short, doomed journey to the blonde's stomach. "Well," Yang started, popping the fry into her mouth, "You said last week that bowling wasn't your thing, so I thought I'd try camping!"

"What? How does that even-" Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. This girl was giving her a migraine. "Just... No."

"Aww, come on! It'll be fun! Just us four!" Yang licked her fingers clean of salt. "We can roast hotdogs, make s'mores... talk about boys..." she winked at Weiss, grinning as she picked up her burger.

"Never, in a thousand years, would I want to be stuck in the woods with you, Long."

"This is why I call her Ice Queen." Yang murmured aside to Pyrrha, who smiled faintly, nodding her head. "Why? Are you scared?"

Weiss straightened, frowning in surprise and blinking several times at the blonde's suggestion. "E-Excuse me? Scared? Of what?"

"Tell her, Nora."

The orange-haired girl sucked hamburger juice off her thumb and licked her lips before speaking. "There's a rumor," she said in a conspiratorial hush, flicking her eyes back and forth. "That there's a monster in the woods..." She leaned close to Weiss. "Who KILLS campers! OooooOOooh!" Nora wiggled her fingers spookily in Weiss' face, the frosty glare ineffective against the air-headed ginger.

Weiss turned back to Yang, sitting very still and very straight. "Bullshit."

The blonde spread her hands in a 'what-can-you-do?' shrug, pulling a pair of fries into her mouth with her tongue. "Well if you don't come, I guess I'll have no choice but to tell the whole school that Weiss Schnee is scared of the monster in the woods..." She kept her face tilted away from the white-haired girl, but peeked one teasing eye to see Weiss' reaction.

A vein throbbed on Weiss' forehead, a visual indication of the girl's annoyance. "You would besmirch my name and reputation, simply because I refuse to go camping with you?" She ground her teeth over every word. Her fingers were poking holes in her sandwich, her grip tightening the angrier she became.

"I wouldn't have to if you came with us..." Yang replied, rolling her eyes with fake innocence. "So how about it?" she smiled, the edges of her grin bathed in smugness. She waggled her eyebrows, confident of her victory.

Weiss turned to Pyrrha. "And you're both okay with this?"

"Of course! It would be a delight to have you!" The redhead smiled, placing another fork of salad into her mouth.

"And you?" Weiss' last hope remained in the energetic, no-boundaries, ginger girl sitting next to her.

"The more the merrier!" Nora laughed, reaching her arms to the ceiling.

Weiss buried her face in her hands, dragging down the skin on her cheeks in exasperation. Releasing a long, despairing sigh, she glared at the smirking blonde. "Fine. You win." she conceded. This did not set a good precedent for their future interactions.

"Fantastic! Give me your phone, I'll text you when we're going to pick you up!" Yang cheered, her eyes sparkling with triumph. Weiss reluctantly reached into her backpack and removed her cell phone, placing it into Yang's waiting hand as though she was sealing her unconditional surrender.

As Yang was typing her number into Weiss' phone, and the white-haired girl was shaking her head in dismay, Pyrrha tapped the blonde on the shoulder, pointing to the cafeteria's entrance. "Hey Yang, isn't that your sister?"

Both Yang and Weiss looked up and followed Pyrrha's finger to a girl with short reddish hair, a red hoodie, black skirt, and tall black boots over gray leggings. "It sure is! Hey, Ruby! Come on over!" Weiss' mood darkened again. Now there were more people crowding her table; more strange, irritating peers to interrupt her lunch. "Weiss, have you met Ruby?"

Weiss glanced up from glaring at the table, trying to put on a disguise of friendliness by smiling thinly and waving. "Hello. It's nice to meet you. I'm Weiss." she stated in a practiced chant, devoid of emotion. She struggled to keep herself from snarling; the blonde had put her in a bad mood, but that was no reason to take it out on someone else. Especially when that someone else was a younger student, if her quick visual examination was correct. She'd seen the girl around the school, always wearing that red hoodie, but had never taken any closer interest.

"Hello." Ruby said, returning Weiss' wave with her own weak one. She looked absolutely exhausted; her silver eyes were half-lidded and lightless while her shoulders sagged, not just from the weight of her overlarge backpack. "It's nice to meet you too." The smile she gave was pitiful, like she didn't have the energy to move her mouth.

"Come and sit down!" Yang pushed a seat open for her sister, pulling on the younger girl's hand and practically forcing her to sit.

"What grade are you in, Ruby?" Weiss asked, leaning forward in curiosity. Surely she was a sophomore or a freshman, she looked so young.

"I'm a junior." Ruby answered, covering her mouth with a hand as she yawned.

Weiss' eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? But you're so young!"

Yang smiled wide and pulled her sister into a side-hug. "Yup! She's so smart she tested two years ahead! I'm so proud of her!" The blonde ruffled Ruby's hair, eliciting a groan of displeasure and a meek attempt to throw her off. "Where have you been, sis? Lunch is almost over!"

"Ms. Fall gave me detention..." Ruby mumbled, laying her head on the table. The hood of her sweater flopped over her head, making her look like a giant gnome.

"Again?! Wow, she really hates you." Yang said, sucking her chocolate milk through a straw with a loud slurping noise. "That's like, the third time this week."

"Tell me about it..." the younger sister groaned, covering her eyes with her arm. "I just wanna go home..." Immediately after she finished the sentence, several booming chimes rang out from the loudspeakers, announcing the end of the period. "Ugh..." Ruby curled tighter into a little ball of clothing, hunkering into the table to try and hide from the rest of the school.

"Come on, Ruby..." Yang hummed, gripping her sister under her arms and pulling the younger girl to her feet. "Time to go to class!" The blonde shouldered her backpack and followed her friends out the door. "And I'll see you, Weiss, on Saturday!" She winked before turning the corner and disappearing out of sight.

Weiss scowled after her, depositing her phone back into its proper pocket. "Splendid!" she rolled her eyes and grumbled, but relaxed her scowl a bit as she turned to Ruby. "Where are you headed next?"

"History with Oobleck. Then Physics with Port, and finally Calculus with Ms. Fall." Ruby sighed, hefting the backpack onto her shoulders and trudging toward the exit.

"Didn't you already have a class with Fall? Where she gave you detention?"

"No, that was from yesterday. I still have to sit through class with her."

"That sounds awful. I've only heard bad things about Ms. Fall." Weiss frowned as they left the cafeteria, she heading right and Ruby going left. "Well, it was nice to meet you Ruby. I'm sure I'll see you around!" Since the blonde insisted on being around Weiss, it was probable that she'd see the younger sister as well. She gave another small, purely-out-of-politeness wave before turning and walking down the hallway to her next class.

Ruby returned the wave, but it went unseen as Weiss left. Ruby replaced her hand in her sweatshirt pocket, dragging her feet along the floor tiles as she walked to class.

As the final bell rang and students began to cram into the hallways, chattering and laughing about who-said-what during class and who's-doing-what for the weekend, Weiss zipped up her backpack with a quiet fury, her eyes glaring daggers at her desk. As she stomped out the door and into the cacophonous halls, she bared her teeth in an angry snarl, her fists clenched by her sides. Curse that Xiao Long!

Her last three classes had each dumped an essay assignment on her, all due on Monday, and she'd be stuck in the woods with that insufferable blonde for the whole weekend! She'd just have to decline. And suffer the punishment of being the laughing stock of the whole school? Curse that Xiao Long! Surely that smiling idiot would understand? And then immediately spread gossip the second she was out of sight. No, she'd just have to write... all... three... essays... either tonight or when she got back from... camping. A shiver ran up her spine; just thinking about the word made her want to scream.

She was thankful that the other students had the wisdom to stay out of her way, most jumping to the side as soon as they spotted her bobbing, pure-white ponytail piercing through the ocean of students like a shark's fin. Yang may be the only one to call her 'Ice Queen' to her face, but the moniker was accurate of her reputation, and the other students knew it. If you didn't want to freeze, you got the hell out of Weiss Schnee's way.

Emerging from the worst of the crowd, Weiss' perpetual glare caught sight of a familiar red hoodie, its wearer slouching just outside of a classroom. Next to Ruby was a a tall woman with long, wavy, dark hair and bright yellow eyes, dressed in a deep crimson shirt and black office skirt. Most likely Ms. Fall, Ruby's Calculus teacher, Weiss thought, storming past the two. "...ou'll just need to stay after again, young lady." she heard as she walked by. "Your grades have been getting very disappointing."

"Yes, Ms. Fall." Ruby sounded depressed, her words slow and quiet. "Oh! Weiss!" Damn.

Weiss forced a thin smile onto her face, hoping it looked somewhat warm, and turned on her heel. "Oh, hello Ruby! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you!" she lied, walking closer to the younger girl. "How is it going?"

Ruby's eyes glittered as Weiss approached, stepping towards her. "It's pretty goo-"

"Excuse me," Ms. Fall cut in, placing a restraining hand on Ruby's shoulder. The redhead seemed to deflate, her eyes losing their sparkle. "We were having a discussion." Her spiteful tone made Weiss pause, her blue eyes going wide. Looking up from Ruby's abject expression into the teacher's eyes, she balked, taking a step backwards. Ms. Fall's eyes were harsh and fierce, as though Weiss' presence offended her on a personal level.

"Oh- I... umm, I'm-" Weiss stammered, taken aback by the woman's hostile attitude.

"I think you should leave." Ms. Fall half-growled, laying her other hand on Ruby's open shoulder. "Ruby needs to stay after for some extra tutoring; there will be plenty of time for you two to talk after she finishes her work."

Weiss' eyes switched back to Ruby, who gave her the tiniest of nods. "I need to go Weiss, sorry. Bye." the younger girl said, her voice morose and empty.

"Uh... o-okay. Bye." Weiss turned around and resumed her walk, a little upset by the interaction with the two women. She looked over her shoulder before turning the corner to the staircase, watching as Ms. Fall guided a dejected-looking Ruby into her classroom and closed the door behind them. Weiss thought she saw a small smile on the teacher's lips, but couldn't be sure.

She arrived home just after 4:30, and instantly made straight for her room. "Wait right there, young lady!" a smooth, kind voice called from the kitchen. Weiss groaned. "You don't get to go upstairs without at least saying 'Hi' to me." Weiss retreated back down the several steps she'd climbed, rolling her eyes as she opened her arms for her mother's hug. "How was your day, honey?"

Weiss scoffed. "Miserable. Yang Xiao Long insisted on bothering me at lunch. And I have three essays that I need to finish by Monday."

Her mother held her at arm's length by the shoulders. "That Yang girl isn't bullying you is she? You know you can tell me anything..." She looked at Weiss with concern, her lips pinching into a slight pout.

"What? No, nothing like that... she just... UGH! She's so annoying! I just want her to leave me alone! And now she's forcing me to go camping with her." Weiss glowered at the wall, tapping her foot in frustration.

"Weiss..." her mother chided, tilting her head forward. "You've got to try and make friends, you know. You've been there for four months and you haven't brought anyone over yet! I think you should go..."

Weiss rolled her eyes and readjusted her backpack, the heavy bag slipping down her arm. "Mo~om! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I am! I just think it would be good for you to go camping with this Yang girl... maybe she can get you out of your shell?"

Weiss stamped her foot. "I don't have a 'shell'!" It's a wall. A very carefully constructed wall made of unbreakable steel and frozen over so the gates will never open. "And Yang Xiao Long is the last person I want to be around."

Her mother stepped back and held her hands up placatingly. "Alright, alright. But you're going, right?"

Weiss sighed, crossing her arms and gnawing on her lip. "Yeah... or else she'll tell the whole school that I'm a scaredy-cat."

"So she is bullying you!"

"What? No! It's... ugh, nevermind! I'm going upstairs!" Weiss threw her hands up and started stomping up the stairs, the conversation with her mother serving only to raise her blood pressure.

"Okay! Dinner's at six! Good luck with your essays!"

After working on her essays for the next three hours and being late for dinner, which earned her a short, stern lecture from her father and a mildly annoyed look from her mother, Weiss had managed to come close to finishing one and was about halfway through another when her phone buzzed. Without needing to look, she knew it was Yang, the talkative blonde probably wanting to remind Weiss that they were going camping tomorrow. Briefly considering ignoring the call, Weiss decided that she had better answer, assuming that if she didn't pick up Yang would just spam her number and she would never be able to concentrate on her essays.

Releasing a long sigh, Weiss passed the point of no return and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Heya Ice Queen! What're you up to?" Yang's too-bright voice boomed through the speakers, making Weiss reevaluate her decision. God, this girl was annoying.

"Writing some essays. They're very important. Goodbye." She poured as much cold and ice into her voice as she could, hoping Yang would get the hint 'Shut up and leave me alone'.

"Bummer! Hey, remember that we're gonna pick you up tomorrow! Probably sometime around noon, 'kay?" Obviously, hint-taking was not her strongest suit.

"Looking forward to it. Can't wait, honest. Goodbye." Weiss was already pulling the phone away from her ear. Surely the blonde couldn't miss the message if Weiss hung up on her prematurely.

"Really? Great! It's going to be so much fun, Weiss! Okay, see you tomorrow!" Yang's spirited, vivacious voice was finally silenced, the blonde hanging up before Weiss could push the 'End Call' button. Weiss was incensed. She was supposed to hang up on Yang, not the other way around! Infuriating, oblivious, unbearable, idiotic... Curse you, Yang Xiao Long!

She tried for another half hour to work on her homework, but the burning energy of her barely contained rage after her short conversation with Yang would not let her focus, her mind constantly wandering to all the horrible consequences of camping with the detestable blonde. She gave up on the work, deciding to pack for her 'trip' to calm herself down. Pulling her sleeping bag, which had only been used once previously, on a camping trip with her family that she had actually enjoyed, from the attic, she set about choosing the necessities.

White sweatshirt. No, it would get dirty, the blue one is better. Check. Rain coat, check. Three shirts, check. A fourth, just to be safe. It was only for the weekend... remove the fourth. Check. Re-add the fourth, can't be too cautious. Check. Hat, check. Or this one? That one. Check. Sunglasses, both pairs, check. Three pairs of pants, check. Five pairs of underwear, check. Four pairs of socks, check.

She had now filled her only duffel bag, and switched to her school backpack for the remainder of her items.

Emergency makeup, check. Toothbrush and toothpaste, check. Extra pair of shoes, check. Just one? Can't fit another. Hat, check. Wait, too many hats. Un-check. Laptop and charger, check. She'd finish those essays if it killed her. Cellphone and charger, check. Noise-canceling earbuds so she wouldn't have to listen to either Yang or Nora, check. Flashlight, check.

"Alright, Xiao Long..." Weiss said, standing over her overstuffed duffel and backpack with her hands on her hips in triumph. "Bring. Your. Worst."

Author's Notes: Some of you have already probably figured out the two secrets of this story. I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter and/or the premise in general. It's going to be about 3-5 chapters long hopefully.

Thank you for reading!

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