Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and other inconsequential things you don't need to know.

Edited on 6/7/15

'Forgiving isn't something you do for someone else. It's something you do for yourself. It's saying, 'You're not important enough to have a stranglehold on me.' It's saying, 'You don't get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future.'

–Jodi Picoult

"We're going over to team JNPR's room! Catch you later sis!" Yang called out to Ruby. The room was empty, their other team members having already gone to join their other friends. Only Yang had volunteered to stay behind to inform her little sister that she was going to have to spend yet another night by herself. She did feel slightly bad for abandoning Ruby, but Yang decided that the party was simply too good to pass up.

"H-Huh? But Yang, you guys promised that we'd have some team bonding tonight!" The voice responded from the bathroom, slightly muffled by the door in its way. Ruby stood at the sink, stunned from the sudden turn of events. "I-I mean, I even prepared the board games and everything!" She said, her chest hurting a little when she realized that her teammates were ditching her.

Again.

The girl was dressed in a black tank top with a cute little design printed on the front. Long comfy pants hung from her hips, the drawings of small pink roses standing out against the black silky material.

Ruby fidgeted as she waited for her sister to reply, the small hope that her sister would not leave her alone tonight growing stronger with each second of silence. Maybe Yang would not leave her after all. The saying that blood ran thicker than water flashed in her mind. They were half-sisters, but still. Maybe the saying still applied?

Just as that thought crossed her mind, Ruby's hopes were cruelly dashed at the sound of Yang's scoff.

"I know that rubes, but Nora got her hands on some alcohol. Alcohol! We won't know when something so awesome will come our way again." Yang whined, ignorant of her casual brush-off towards Ruby's plea. "And the only reason you can't come along is because you're underage!"

"You guys are underage too!"

"Yeah, by one year! Come on lil' sis. We can do team bonding and all that other jazz some other night." Yang said impatiently, her gaze leaving the bathroom gravitating towards the exit. Her usually calm eyes burned with excitement at the thought of guzzling down the forbidden liquid stowed somewhere in JNPR's dorm.

Unable to suppress her eagerness any longer, Yang began to bounce on the balls of her feet. The action was useless however, as she began to grow bored. Mind bubbling with irritation at the thought of her friends starting the party without her, the boxer finally made the decision to bang her fist on the bathroom door. Silence reigned. She frowned at the lack of a response but didn't let up with the sudden barrage of knocks. And finally, at her fifth knock, the girl inside finally deigned the waiting party a reply.

"Fine! Do what you want!" Ruby shouted back, feeling the faint sting of tears in her eyes when she heard Yang whoop with unbridled glee. The young girl gripped the edge of the porcelain sink, her heart slowly shattering when she heard footsteps slowly growing further and further away. Feeling her throat unclench itself, she resisted the urge to rub her eyes with the edge of her top.

No longer having any motivation to hurry, Ruby sluggishly finished brushing her teeth and got ready for the night. The sight of an empty dorm room made her heart hurt, especially when she could hear the sound of laughter seeping through the paper thin walls. The laughter was eventually covered by the preppy tune of one of the latest pop songs, making Ruby bite her lip.

She knew that she wasn't the most sociable person to walk into Beacon, but the way she was being pushed aside was getting ridiculous. Yang did make an effort to include her in whatever activities they were doing, but Weiss and probably even Blake still thought of her as a little girl.

It didn't help that she was aware of being 'different'. Different in the sense that she was no ordinary girl of fifteen. Had she not been as humble as she was, Ruby probably would've even described herself as a prodigy. She was capable and deadly. She knew it. Her team knew it. But unfortunately, knowing did not mean accepting. Blake was more than a little put off by her naiveté, and Weiss only saw her as a childish, fairytale loving, weapon nut.

'Maybe it's better like this.' She thought to herself and flopped onto the floor with a sigh. She grabbed her toolbox and her sweet heart, Crescent rose, changing it into its scythe form. Grabbing a whetstones, Ruby sat in the dimly lit room; sinking in the repetitive but comfortable sound of metal being sharpened. It was calming, and soon, the young girl was lulled into a Zen like mode as her arm dragged the whetstone up and down the pointed edge of the blade with practiced ease.

After ensuring that the edges were sharp enough, she set down the small blunt remains of the whetstone and grabbed a brown rag. If one looked carefully enough, they would've spotted a number of oil stains splattered on the cloth. She made sure to wipe and clean every nook and cranny of crescent rose. After wiping down all the way from the tip to the hilt, Ruby set down the cloth in grim satisfaction.

A glance at the clock showed that it was only 9pm.

The feeling of loneliness came rushing back like a tidal wave, slamming into her like how waves slammed against the rough surfaces of Cliffside rocks, slowly sanding off their grainy surfaces.

Desperate to keep her mind occupied, she hunted around for Ember Celica. After some time, she concluded that Yang had left it in her locker. Ruby was at a loss, Weiss would definitely murder her in her sleep if she ever so much as breathed on Myrtenaster. The only other weapon left to perform maintenance on was Gambol shroud, and it was never ever away from Blake for more than a few moments. Not to mention that her brooding team mate would snap at whomever tried to touch it. She was as protective of it as Yang was of her hair. All in all, Ruby found herself with nothing to do, except drown in her own misery.

'This sucks.' Her mind griped. 'Is it really so difficult to include me in anything?'

Forgetting that Crescent rose was still in her scythe form, Ruby fidgeted in agitation and slid the flat surface of her palms over the blade…and promptly squealed when her palm suddenly felt like it was on fire. Thick viscous liquid flowed from the wound, zigzagging across her pale skin. Quickly folding her weapon into its compact form, a panicked Ruby darted into the bathroom to wash and clean the cut. Having an infection was the last thing she needed right now.

The cooling sensation of water felt nice, and she was temporarily distracted the shimmering liquid. After a minute, she caught herself wandering off to dreamland and quickly shut off the tap when the water sputtered from the head. "Crap." She said with a wince, berating herself internally for wasting so much water. And then, she tilted her head up…and gasped.

Ruby stared at her reflection.

Under the bright fluorescent lights, the girl could see dark rings surrounding her silver eyes. Faint flashes of memory skipped through her head, and she saw her past self-staying up late for countless nights; worried sick about her team mates when they didn't turn up for dinner.

But that wasn't the only thing she noticed.

Her eyes held nary an emotion. They looked dead. Exhausted, even. They no longer held the usual child-like sparkle; which would usually light up any room she walked in to. Her breathing ceased, momentarily shocked by her discovery. Silver irises suddenly flashed with bitterness and resentment, and Ruby found herself rearing her head back. She couldn't recognize the person in the mirror. That was not…could not be Ruby Rose. Not this sad, shell of person who peered into the reflective glass. But who else could it be, if not her?

Her crimson tipped red hair flopped limply at the jerk of her head, and she reached up to curl a few of its strands around her finger. She pulled. It winded and she let go, only for the strands to slap her forehead, eerily akin to dead branches striking against frost tinted windows during the dead of winter.

She blanched.

She couldn't avoid the harsh truth. No matter how much her mind tried to justify itself, Ruby knew.

This was her. This was what she had become, what she had been reduced to. She looked as if death had come knocking on her door and swooped in to claim her, only that it hadn't and she was still living and breathing. Just what had made her into…this? This pathetic shell of her former self. She could faintly recognize the disgust curling in her gut as she looked at herself, really looked. The current her was nothing more than a mere puppet, a puppet who was controlled by the whims and opinions of other people.

But what struck Ruby as cruel, was that fact that her own 'friends' and 'family' had shaped her into this. She didn't know who to blame, who to pin the crime on; the crime of destroying her.

Maybe Yang? Or should it be Weiss? Or even Blake?

Her mind halted, and she took in a deep shuddering breath that rattled her bones. Ruby knew that pointing the fingers at someone else was useless. She could say that they lead her down this path, yes, but ultimately, she was her own person. And it stood to reason, that Ruby Rose had indeed, dug her own grave. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

Her heart thundered. With shaky breaths, Ruby forced herself to stare at her reflection, willingly burning the image into the back of her eyelids so that she would remember it for as long as she lived. Raising her arms, she slammed her palms onto the sink and screamed. The shrillness of it made her body shudder and her ears ache, but it served to clear her mind.

'Enough is enough.'

Ruby thought feverishly, glaring at the rough, calloused skin of her hands.

'I won't let this go on for any longer. This stupid sham of a life.'

Her back straightened, and she stood up taller than she'd ever done before.

"I promise," She said with not a tremble with her voice, "that I am going to improve myself and fly, fly higher than anyone else. Even if things get tough, I will stand my ground and refuse to be dragged down by anyone ever again. Not by my enemies…and definitely not by my friends."

The words felt entirely foreign on her tongue and she winced she felt the undisguised hurt and anger pulsing within her words. Shame flitted across her face at such a declaration but she refused to back down. If Ruby could not admit this to herself, she would never grow. She would be forced to endure this charade of a life and be forced to give up things she didn't want to just for the sake of her team.

A team who couldn't even be bothered with her, let alone give up something for her. The irony was not lost on her, and she forced down the emotions threatening to take over and took a firmer stance, planting her feet side by side.

"I, Ruby Rose…" She said, "Am going to soar."