Author's Note: I'm trying to accelerate my plot a bit here, Chapter 4 will give you a taste of action that Chapter 3 is going to set up. Chapter 5 is going to be my "All Hell breaks loose" moment. So bear with me guys and gals, it's coming.

Ruby

I leapt out of my bed at the sound of my alarm clock, ready and excited to begin our second day at Beacon. Our first day had turned out to be a bit dramatic, but I was happy, ecstatic, that Weiss and I had made up last night. Her words still sent a warm feeling buzzing through my chest, "I think you have what it takes to be a good leader." I nearly bounced up and down with joy: Weiss was beginning to recognise me. But that didn't mean I could slack off. She said I had what it takes to be a good leader, not that I was one.

Professor Ozpin's words also rang in my head, "If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?" I knew that I needed to do my best now, at all times. Not just for Weiss, but for me. How could I think of myself as a proper leader until I could prove to my team that I was one?

As I made my way to my closet to pull out my uniform, I noticed that I was the only one awake. The rest of my team was still sleeping peacefully. Well it's probably a good thing for the leader to be the first one up anyway. I smiled at the thought as I changed my clothes. Starting today, I'm going to be the best team leader ever!

I walked over to the window of our dorm with a determined set to my shoulders before wrenching the curtain open, flooding the room with vibrant, early morning sunlight. The sudden brightening of the room started a series of groans as my teammates rolled away from the window, trying to stay asleep.

I smiled mischievously as I grabbed onto the whistle hanging around my neck.

"I'm going to give you to the count of three before I blow the whistle…" I said, putting the whistle to my lips.

"One…" I announced loudly. Yang groaned, waving a hand at me before flopping it back onto her bed. My grin widened further.

"Ruby, stop it," she moaned. "Let us sleep." I chuckled at her, shaking my head.

"Two…"

"Ruby, please…" Blake pleaded. I sucked in a deep breath.

"THR-"

"Get up you two!" Weiss shouted. I looked at her in surprise; she was sitting up on her bed, rubbing her eyes. "Do as our leader says!" She almost knocked the two of them out of bed with the force of her glare.

I was shocked, why was Weiss backing me up? Then I remembered what else she'd said last night: "I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have." I guess she'd really meant it… I felt a comforting warmth filling me up again; I guess Weiss really was my friend now. I smiled at her, nodding my thanks.

"Come on guys! We need to get to class!" I shouted. That made Yang and Blake leap out of bed, dashing to get dressed. I laughed to myself as they rushed about, not checking the actual time like Weiss had. She and I shared an amused smile as she calmly and slowly gathered her things for class.

Blake and Yang dashed to the door, looking at Weiss and I with two confused expressions.

"Wait…" Yang said. The two of them looked at each other.

"What time is it?" asked Blake. Weiss and I just laughed.

"That was horrible Ruby," Yang complained as we sat at the breakfast table. "You know I need my beauty sleep."

"Well we missed out on breakfast yesterday and I thought that would be a bad habit to get into." I replied, cutting up my pancakes.

"Plus you wanted an excuse to use that stupid whistle." Yang said. I tried and failed to hold back a smile.

"Well, maybe." I grinned up at her, causing her to grin back, shaking her head at me.

We tucked into our breakfast, talking and laughing. I was happy to see everyone getting along. As I was lifting a piece of pancake to my mouth, I noticed Weiss staring at me. She looked away quickly as I caught her eye, blushing furiously. I looked at her questioningly, feeling my own cheeks growing warm, but she shook her head and lifted her cup to drink, blocking her face from view.

Through the embarrassment of her watching me eat, I felt that warmth creeping back, growing stronger the longer I looked at Weiss. I forced myself to look away, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it. I focussed my attention on my breakfast, trying to plan out our day. I swallowed nervously as I remembered what class we had this morning…

"Welcome to Beacon Academy's specialized Physical Education class!" exclaimed the burly teacher before us whose name I had already forgotten. He was quite short, only slightly taller than me, but frighteningly muscular. I decided to name him Mr Boarbatusk: it seemed fit his physique. I giggled quietly to myself before mentally telling myself off. You're a leader now Ruby, no time to be giggling in class.

We were gathered on the open field just outside Beacon, dressed in our combat gear. I stood between Weiss and Jaune, listening to Mr Boarbatusk explain the timed obstacle course we were supposed to run. I felt a strange anxiety standing next to Weiss, standing this close to Weiss. What's wrong with you? I thought. It's only Weiss, you weren't this nervous around her the other day, even when she hated you! I made myself focus on the obstacle course, planning out my route through it.

My anxiety slowly disappeared as I imagined myself launching over barriers, sliding under walls and making my way through the obstructions along the path. I was still imagining all the ways I could move through it, completely ignoring the teacher's speech, when Blake took off through the course. I watched her doing her cool teleporting thing to more or less bypass a series of vertical poles before launching her Gambol Shroud at the top of the huge wall in front of her. Oh! We can use our weapons? I began planning out whole new paths, implementing Crescent Rose into my plans.

I stopped watching everyone running the course, busy planning my route. I wanted to show people that I could do my best. This was my chance to show people that I can give my team someone to follow.