Ruby slumped into the room later that evening, collapsing onto her bunk with a heavy sigh.
"Rough day?" Jackie peeked over the side of the top bunk, tilting her head. Ruby merely groaned in response. Jackie chuckled, climbing down and laying next to her. "It's not so bad, y' know. We still have each other, don't we?"
Ruby sighed and rolled over, a tired yet teasing smile on her face. "I know, I know... Even though you're boring and refuse to swear."
Jackie laughed, snatching up the pillow and smacking Ruby with it, who retaliated by grabbing a pillow off the neighboring bunk and swinging it at Jackie's head. They both burst into a fit of laughter, dropping the pillows. Ruby hastily tried to silence herself, rather embarrassed by the fact that she snorted when she laughed. Jackie settled down a bit, wiping her tears of laughter.
"Aw, c'mon, Ruby! That's adorable!" Jackie grinned.
"No, it's not!" Ruby flushed bright red, throwing an arm over her face. "It's not cute!"
"Oh, you!" Jackie giggled, pulling down Ruby's arm and holding her hand. "You're adorable and there's nothing you can do about it."
"Whatever," Ruby muttered, looking away from Jackie to hide her brightly flushed face.
"C'mon, stop being so stubborn and accept my love," giggled Jackie.
"Psh, it's not like we're dating or anything," Ruby snorted, her face still quite red as she smushed a pillow onto Jackie's face. "Don't make it weird..."
The thing was, it wasn't weird for Ruby. She'd had a crush on Jackie for so long; she just didn't want to endanger their friendship. Jackie was the only one she felt comfortable opening up with, and if things went bad between them, Ruby didn't know what she would do.
Jackie shrugged slightly, standing. "It's getting late, we should probably go to sleep before we get in trouble."
Ruby nodded silently, still facing away from Jackie.
Jackie climbed up to the top bunk and sighed. "Y'know, Ruby, I've been thinking. What if there's more to life outside the Horde? I mean, all we do is fight and take over villages that haven't done anything to us. What if outside the Fright Zone isn't so bad? What if ..." She trailed off, laying back and staring up at the ceiling, a troubled silence replacing her voice.
Ruby didn't respond. Not that she didn't want to, she just had no idea what to say. How was she supposed to explain that she felt the same way without somehow making it seem like she was condescending towards Jackie for wanting to leave? Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the other cadets filed in, talking and laughing, and Ruby shut her mouth again. There was no use in trying to talk to Jackie now. Keeping secrets was impossible when the entire squad shared the same room. The conversation would have to wait.
Sighing in annoyance, Ruby rolled over onto her side, wishing things weren't always so complicated.
A/N: Yes, Jackie is oblivious. Yes, Ruby has a crush on her. What did you guys think of this chapter? Please let us know!
~Red Renard
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Jackie & Ruby's Story
Fanfiction<<TITLE IS GOING TO BE CHANGED WHEN WE FINISH WRITING>> Jackie and Ruby have been cadets in the Horde as long as they can remember, but there's some underlying conflict. Jackie wants to know about life outside the Horde. Her best friend...
