STRQ (A RWBY fanfiction) [Book 1]

Chapter 6

Qrow and I spent the rest of a day packing for the upcoming mission. Raven was busy helping Tai study for his classes. I noticed that she was starting to warn up to him a little. She was acting nicer from what I saw.

"Heh. Looks like Raven is starting to warm up to Tai a bit," I said to Qrow.

Qrow cracked a smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was starting to like him."

The two of us laughed for a few seconds before resuming packing.

"Should we pack any water or anything?" Qrow asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Some food too. I don't know how long we'll be out there. According to the mission, we'll be gone for a few weeks, but anything could happen."

"That's a good point," Qrow replied, putting some bottles of water in the bag.

I went to the pantry and grabbed several cans of various food and tossed them in the bag.

"Qrow, do you have the map? We'll need it to navigate through the area we'll be in," I said.

"I put it in the bag already. It's in the front pocket."

"Guys... you're going to be late for combat class," Tai said walking toward the door.

I quickly stood up to my feet and ran out the door past Tai. I heard Qrow call out to me, but I was already running toward class. Glynda, a friend of mine, was already sat in her seat. I quickly walked over to my assigned seat next to her and sat down.

"Hey Summer," she greeted me.

"Hi Glynda. How are you?"

"I'm alright. I heard your team was assigned a mission and that you were leaving in a few weeks. I thought you weren't leaving until a few months?" she asked.

"I thought so too. But I guess Ozpin sees my team as ready for a mission," I replied.

"Well... be careful. These missions aren't easy. I know by experience."

"I'll be cautious. Thanks for the heads up."

"Summer... where's your book? We have an open book test today."

I gasped. "I left it in my doorm! I have to go get it!"

As I stood to leave, Qrow walked in carrying two textbooks in his arms. He walked over to my desk and held out a book to me.

"You left in such a hurry that you forgot your stuff. Here you go," he said.

I hugged him tightly and took my textbook. "Thank you so much!"

"Anytime," he said smiling at me.

We made eye contact for a brief moment. My face started to feel warm. I quickly looked away and sat back down in my seat. As class drew on, Qrow would occasionally poke me and ask what page an answer was on. I tried not to get annoyed, after all, I owed him. After class was over, Qrow offered to buy me some food at the cafeteria, which I accepted.

"I am a bit hungry. Plus the food doesn't look that bad today," I said.

As I walked inside, I noticed that Raven and Tai were sitting across from one another. They were both smiling and laughing. Raven looked genuinely happy for once.

As Qrow and I walked by, Qrow leaned close to Raven.

"I thought you weren't focused on making friends?"

Raven jumped, clearly startled, and glared at him.

"We... we were just studying!" she snapped.

"Really? I don't see any books or anything," I replied.

"I... shut up," she said. "Go and enjoy your date with Qrow."

I felt my face get warm. "We aren't on a date!"

"I think you're blushing, Summer," Tai said.

"Come on, Summer. I thought you said you were hungry," Qrow said.

I shot a glare at Tai and turned to walk away.
Once we were a good distance away from Raven and Tai, Qrow looked at me.

"You seemed a bit uncomfortable there. Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine. Do you think Raven and Tai like each other?"

"Who knows. I'm just glad she's coming out of her shell. She's so reserved and quiet," he said. "I thought you were the reserved one."

After we got our food we sat at a table near the window.

"You know... you look kinda cute when you blush," Qrow said.

I looked at him and my face got warm. "R-really?"

"Yep. And your eyes are pretty too. I've never seen an eye color like that before."

"If this is an attempt to get on my good side... it's working," I admitted.

Qrow laughed. "I'm not trying to get on your good side. I'm just being honest."

Oh... thank you," I said quietly.

We talked a little more while we ate our food. Qrow talked about how it was like being raised in his tribe.

"Sounds like you had a rough childhood," I said.

"It wasn't all bad. I had Raven to look after me," he replied.

I was reluctant to open up about my own childhood.

"So... what was your childhood like?" Qrow asked.

"Well...it wasn't as good as most. I lost my parents when I was young. My father died shortly after I was born and my mother disappeared. She left to go on a mission and she never came back."

Qrow was quiet for a moment.
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have asked."

I smiled at him. "It's okay. Besides, I'm in a much better place than I was back then."

After we had finished eating, Qrow offered to take my tray to the bin for me. I politely declined and took it myself. Both of us were quiet as we walked back to the dorm. The sun was just beginning to set.

"Thanks for the food earlier," I said.

Qrow smiled. "Anytime. I feel like I know you a lot better since you opened up a bit."

"I feel the same way. Maybe we can do this again sometime." I relied.

"Yeah... I'd like that."

We stood outside our dorm for a moment before going inside. We made eye contact for what seemed like the hundredth time today. His eyes were a dark crimson color. They were quite mesmerizing in their own way.

"We should head inside now," he said.

"Right," I said, feeling myself blush again.

Raven and Tai were studying together when we walked through the door.

"So... how was your date?" Tai asked.

"It wasn't a date. We were just talking," I said.

"Sure you were," he replied, smiling.

"Tai. You need to focus," Raven said.

Tai turned his attention back to his notes while I climbed into my bed. I tried to study for my other other classes, but the thoughts of Qrow kept entering my mind. The way he smiled at me... the way his dark red eyes looked. I sighed in frustration and slammed my book shut.

"You okay, Summer?" Qrow asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah... just tired I guess. I'm going to turn in for the night. I'll see you guys tomorrow," I said, laying down in my bed and covering myself with the covers.