ruby ruby ruby

Seeing Ruby’s reaction when Candy approached her made her chuckle, shaking her head as she looked over at her friend – Ruby was one of the few people that she would actually miss once all of this was over, so she would take any moment to hang out with her that she could; even if she was mostly busy with her boyfriend now, but it didn’t matter. “I will take that as an insult! Do you think I look like Remington?” Candy teased the other with a chuckle, as she shook her head, before looking at everyone else in the hall, as she listened to what Ruby was saying – she could agree to what she was saying, mostly the part where she mentioned that she was ready for everything to end so they could move on with their lives, but even if graduation was only two months away, she knew that those two months would take forever to pass by. “People here are either morons or they’re like us… There’s no in between.” She said with a small nod, before letting out a laugh when they started talking about what they would wear at graduation. Shrugging her shoulders at Ruby’s suggestion, she looked at Ruby with a smile. “I totally think you should do that… Think about it, all eyes would be set on you, who wouldn’t want that?” She giggled, before raising her eyebrows at the other’s question. “Nope, I didn’t apply anywhere. Like I’ve said many times before, college is for idiots. No offense, I’m sure you’ll be great at… wherever you’re going, but it’s not for me.” She said with a shrug. “I’m going to LA to be famous and that’s my plan. I’ll get there, sing to some people, they’ll see how talented I am and I’ll get a record label. It’s that easy.” She said with a nod.

🍒

“You’re making points,” Ruby agreed, her gaze shifting between Candy and all of the students passing by in the hallway, “this place is full of duds.” Ruby had to laugh when Candy agreed that she should show up to graduation in a full dominatrix outfit. “Honestly, I so would,” she joked, sighing as she leaned back against the lockers, “but I think my dad would have a heart attack. My mom would probably be like, 'that’s how you spell woman! z-i-z-e-s.’ but dad? No chance in hell.” When Candy revealed that she hadn’t applied to any colleges, Ruby furrowed her brows. She knew a higher education wasn’t the only option...but Candy’s plan was...interesting. “College is for idiots? Really?” Ruby challenged, suddenly feeling defensive of the Ivy League degree she had yet to earn. As far as Ruby knew, going to LA and getting a record label was the exact opposite of easy. “Candy, no offense,” Ruby began, turning her body to face her friend as she crossed her arms, “but do you have a plan b? I’m not saying you won’t make it...but you’re a skinny white girl who sings pop songs in a glee club in Ohio. You might be a big deal here,” and even that was up for debate, despite the fact that Ruby did like Candy and considered her a friend, “but there’s like...a million more girls just like you in LA. And most of them probably have bigger boobs.” Boobs weren’t everything, but they also weren’t nothing. “Aren’t you the tiniest bit nervous that that plan like...won’t pan out?” 

𝐖𝐇𝐎: Candy Motta & @crhqstarters​​​

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: Monday, March 1st

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: WMHS

Graduation was only two months away – and Candy couldn’t wait to get out of high school once and for all. There was nothing left for her in Lima besides for her mom, so she wanted to go to LA where she knew that she was going to be famous and live her best life there. But first, she needed to survive the next two months – as she was walking down the halls of McKinley High and after seeing some loser crash into another one in their skateboard, Candy leaned against the lockers next to a familiar face. Looking over at the person that was standing by their locker, Candy let out a small sigh. “Do you ever get tired of this school? Because I know I can’t wait for graduation, so I can just leave this place. Don’t you feel that way?” Candy asked to the person, raising an eyebrow at them – it wasn’t usual for Candy to just start talking to someone like that, but there she was, watching the people walk past the halls and talking to each other. “Do you think that I’ll be able to wear a pink gown for graduation? Because I’ve seen that red gown and I know it’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Pink is just my color and Remington should just know that.” She said with a small smile, before reaching for her phone that was on her bag as she started mindlessly scrolling on Instagram.

🍒

Ruby was doing that thing where she was not so discreetly scrolling through her phone while pretending to look for something in her locker. The school year was almost over and with college acceptances on the horizon, Ruby was being a little more careless than usual about following the rules. She had a bad case of senioritis and she knew it was only going to get worse as the weeks dwindled on. She was in the middle of sending a text message to Benji when she heard the locker next to her rattle, causing her to jump. “Fucking A, Candy,” she breathed out, dropping her phone in her locker and bringing a hand to her chest, “you scared me, I thought you were Figgins.” Once the realized the coast was clear, Ru quickly sent her text and then shoved her phone into her backpack before closing her locker. “But to answer you question,” she said as she sighed and leaned against the lockers next to her friend, “I think I’m ready for all of this to end. It’s like...it’ll be kinda sad, you know? But...most of the people at this school are so wack.” Ruby smiled sympathetically in the direction of her boyfriend’s younger brother, who had clearly just collided with some random on a skateboard. “I just know I’m going to glow the fuck up in college,” a dreamy smile, “it’s gonna be so iconic.” At Candy’s mention of the pink gown, Ruby let out a loud laugh. “Yeah, you wear a pink gown,” she suggested as she pondered what would suit her, “and I’ll wear a leather dominatrix outfit just to give some of the karens a heart attack.” It was then that Ruby turned to really look at Candy. “Where do you want to go after graduation?” Ruby asked with a shrug, “is college in the cards?” 

There was a certain peace that washed over Benji whenever he was in the company of Ruby. It was weird how their relationship had upgraded as much as it had in such a short amount of time. Ruby Zizes was someone that always existed in Benji’s world, but as more of a outlier than anything. She was always there, just in the background, and overshadowed by the people that Benji had always held dear to his heart. It was wild to think that Benji trying to better himself and his grades had led him to obtaining tutoring services from Ruby herself, but maybe that was positive karma coming into his life - he was bettering himself and was able to find a girl that was absolutely worlds out of his league. It felt good. “I know, I know! But I couldn’t just… start our Valentine’s off with no gift,” Benji explained as he leaned closer to her after the playful hit. Things were so much more fun with his girlfriend, and anyone would be able to tell that from the dopey smile that was on his lips. Whenever Ruby started the chain of reactions to his gift, he could feel the butterflies disappearing from his stomach. He had gotten some intense reactions from his mom from his past gifts to her, so it was refreshing when Ruby seemed to genuinely like it. “Yeah, yeah,” he whispered with a smile before he was aiding her in snapping the necklace into place, marveling at the way it looked on her. He thought it was cute. There was always something cute about girls wearing his clothes, but seeing his literal initial on her? Perfect. However, it didn’t matter how many feelings Benji was feeling inside nor how distracting they were, he caught her pause after the word ‘love’. He wasn’t sure if it was his hormones raging into overdrive because of the romance in the air, but he definitely caught that. “And I love… it on you,” he said with a smile before he was wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for another kiss. Things felt too right to question Ruby or what she might have been wanting to say. “Thank you too. Valentine’s Day sucks but you’re makin’ it pretty damn enjoyable.” It wasn’t long before Benji’s brain was practically short circuiting at the suggestiveness of Ruby’s words, his eyebrows raising before he was nodding in agreement with her statement. “If we’re on the same page right now, I think I’m really gonna like the gift,” he said with a laugh before he was pulling closer once more, resting his head against the side of hers. It wasn’t long before the song was changing into something more fast paced and Benji’s eyes trailed off to the side to see his mom schmoozing with whoever was bored enough to listen to her. It was weird, really, being here with his parents lingering around every corner. They barely knew about his relationship - or well, his mom barely knew about it. “Wanna stay for another dance before we make our rounds to leave?” He whispered before he was giving her a kiss to the cheek. He had fun at all these parties, but he couldn’t deny how fun the after party between the two of them sounded instead.

🍒

Ruby hadn’t known it before, but now that she had Benji, she felt like she’d been waiting for him her whole life. There was a slew of guys that came before him that never amounted to much of anything. Ruby had never taken those failed conquests to heart—always trusting that the universe had better plans for her than any old sucker she could find in the middle of Ohio...

But then came Benji. He defied every single one of Ruby’s expectations when it came to romance. She never imagined she’d wind up with someone like him, but she had zero doubt that she was the absolute luckiest girl in Breadstix on Valentine’s Day. Hands down. “You’re so sweet,” Ruby said as she held the B pendant in her hand and glanced down at it, shaking her head as she smiled to herself and then looked back up at him, “you’re the best, Ben. I mean it.” 

Just like that, her arms were wrapped around his neck again as they continued to sway for the remainder of the song. Their proximity sent a wave of warmth straight from Ruby’s heart all the way to the top of her head and the tips of her toes. Being with Benji felt so nice and so right. It was unlike any other romantic experience she’d ever had. Ruby couldn’t help but laugh as Benji commented on her ‘gift’ and shortly after, their slow song came to a close and Ruby knew one of them would have to make a decision. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Ruby said definitely, quickly eyeing the crowd and deciding that the night was winding down and they wouldn’t be missing anything if they left. “I’m sick of dancing,” she added with a shrug, “I think I’m ready to just be with you.” With a slightly raised brow, Ruby gave Benji a quick kiss on the lips before grabbing his hand and tugging him out of the restaurant and towards his car. In no time they were off, to have a little Valentine’s Day celebration of their own, and Ruby couldn’t be happier. 

B AS IN BENJI

tagging: benji + @rubyzizes​ when: sunday, february 14th where: candyland

Even though Benji Lynn was a very sociable person, on the night of Candyland, all he found himself wanting to do was spend time at the side of his girlfriend. It had been just over a month since their relationship had fully blossomed into something beautiful, and he was having the time of his life. Currently, he was posted up in one of the booths, eyes trained on Ruby as she worked the party. God, she was practically a work of art at this point to him. There was nothing that Benji could fault her for, and while he was certain that was the workings of them still being very much in the comfortable and fun ‘honeymoon phase’ of their relationship, something about them still just felt so right. “Sorry, be right back,” Benji said off handedly to whatever sophomore JV Cheerio that had just slid their way into the booth for some sort of conversation. However, he didn’t have any intention on returning for some half hearted talk with a random wannabe master cheerleader - it was time he stole Ruby away. “Wanna dance?” Benji asked as he approached Ruby from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist before he was walking them backwards towards the dance floor. A slower song had changed over the sound system, which was better for Benji and his… dangerously out of rhythm dance moves. Once they were nestled underneath the lights and the atmosphere was taking over both of them, Benji pulled back from slow dancing with her before he was smiling. “I know we said no gifts, but I couldn’t help myself,” he began, reaching into his pocket before he was bringing out a small velvet box. Benji was famously known for being quite possibly the worst gift giver, but he had an inkling that the silver plated necklace with a ‘B’ pendant was going to be quite the hit. “You know,” a pause. “It’s like a ‘B’ for Benji.”

🍒

Ruby had attended Candyland, formerly known as Sugar Shack, every year since she was a freshman...always with a different guy who wasn’t her boyfriend. As she stood by the hostess stand, dicking around with LJ and a few of her other friends, she occasionally shot a glance in Benji’s direction and felt her heart melt. On most days, he felt too good to be true. That feeling was only amplified by Valentine’s Day. She really was lucky. Distracted by a story LJ was telling, Ruby didn’t even see when he left the spot where he was standing and only got brought back down to life when she felt his arms around her. “Hey,” she said through a surprised chuckle, immediately crossing her arms over his and holding him as she glanced over her shoulder to catch his eye. She nodded and uttered a quick ‘gotta go’ to her friends before being whisked away. Once they were settled under the colorful lights of the dance floor, Ruby snaked her arms around Benji’s neck and laced her fingers together as they swayed to the rhythm of a slow song. Just as she was getting comfortable with her head on her boyfriend’s chest, he was pulling away from her. “What?” she asked with a wide, curious grin. At his revelation, her eyes widened as she gentle smacked his arm. “Ben,” she whined playfully, “but we said!” She stopped swaying when he pulled out the tiny velvet box and stared down at in awe. Ruby marveled at the box as he opened to reveal a necklace with a ‘B’ pendant inside. It was confusing at first, but once he clarified, she felt a warm feeling pooling in the pit of her stomach. “B for Benji?” she repeated, reaching into the box to pull out the silver necklace and stare at it lovingly, “can you help me put it on?” Ruby then turned around and placed the necklace around her neck and held the ends until Ben took them and latched them together. Once it was on, she turned to face him and stared down at it with a growing smile. “This is so sweet,” she cooed, looking up at Benji and quickly wrapping her arms around him and bringing him down for a kiss, “I love...” she briefly froze as she stared up at him, “I love it. I love it. Now everyone knows I’m accounted for.” She gave him another quick kiss before she wrapped her arms around his neck again to resume dancing. “Thank you for making tonight so...”  she shrugged, pulling back a bit to look at him, “perfect? I know it sounds cheesy, but I mean it. Thank you.” A pause. “And I got you a gift too, by the way,” she smirked and quirked a brow, “I just can’t give it to you here. Can’t risk another scandal.” 

Lemon fully sympathized with Sage in that situation. The girl was always so sweet, but just totally and utterly clueless when it came to Rocky and while Lemon also cared about Sterling dearly and she’d never be on one side of the other for either of them, she thought it wasn’t cool of her to do that. Just for morality sake, but not everyone had a golden compass of morals. At the mention of Ruby asking for more about Dom, Lemon shrugged and tried to put the words together. “I don’t know, he’s just,” a pause. “Unlike anyone else at McKinley. Especially compared to the jocks. He’s so sweet and charming and I think I do actually like him,” that was enough to admit. She didn’t know where her path with Dom would take her, but she’d enjoy it for however long it would last. “And he said if I went out with him that he’d like actually join New Directions,” she mentioned. When Ruby brought up Nessa next, Lemon shook her head. “Honestly? I haven’t talked to her about it yet,” she said with a worrisome look on her face. That had been the line she didn’t want to cross. Anyone who knew Lemon knew she cared about her friends first and foremost. Guys always came second, unless they were Jett or Joey. “I’m terrible, aren’t I?” She rhetorically asked. “I just don’t want to make her mad,” she honestly said, pulling her knees up to her chest. Nessa was probably the one person out of her entire friend group that she hoped she’d never upset. The day was inevitable and Lemon hoped that the root of it wouldn’t be because of a boy. “Hey!” A laugh exited Lemon’s mouth when she felt the pillow against her body. Nessa wasn’t even a fully formed thought as Lemon thought back to her brief moment with Kaden. “Are you telling me you haven’t had sex with him yet?” She asked half-shocked. Ruby was known for that kind of thing, but maybe she’d never make her round to him. “If you weren’t taken, I’d totally tell you to text him,” she revealed with a cheesy grin on her face, her cheeks flushed. “It was like, really good,” she moved an inch closer. “We did it… in Dylan’s bathroom,” she confessed as she tucked her lips into her mouth to try and hide her fostering smile. “I don’t think I like him, but it was fun and I don’t think it’ll happen again. I think he’s hanging with Heidi again and I,” she gave an all-knowing look to Ruby with a tilted smile, “don’t think I’m gonna get involved with that.”

🍒

Hearing Lemon talk about Dom was actually kind of sweet. She hadn’t seen her friend this seemingly smitten with a guy since Trace Hummel-Anderson and quite frankly? It was about time she got back on the wagon. As she shared her feelings on the matter, Ruby locked her phone and set it down on the bed to give Lemon her undivided attention. “Okay, this is like a win-win,” she noted, eyes brightening as everything clicked in to place, “you win because you potentially get a guy that checks all your boxes, and we win because he joins ND.” A beat as she considered it and then decided, “I’m all for it.” When Lemon revealed that she hadn’t talked to Nessa yet, Ruby grimaced. “Stop, stop,” she cut her off, holding up a hand to stop her, “you’re not horrible. But I would tell her like...sooner rather than later. You know, cause of girl code. I’m sure she’ll be cool with it since she’s fucking Rocky or Renzo or whatever.” Nessa wasn’t the type of person anyone wanted to cross, but Ruby genuinely didn’t think she’d be upset by this. Ruby had hooked up with Dom once and she didn’t seem to care when that happened. All serious friend talk went out the window the second Lemon started dishing about Kaden. “Oh my God, you would tell me to text him?!” Ruby almost couldn’t believe this. Could it be that Kaden Fabray was actually that good of a lay? Damn it...she hated missing out. “Okay I’m not totally sure I believe it was that amazing considering your only other experience was Trace,” a playful scoff, “but I’m glad you had fun.” At the reveal that it happened in Dylan’s bathroom, Ruby’s jaw dropped. “Dirty!” she exclaimed, shaking her head, “I am so impressed. You’re going from like...zero to sixty.” Exes were tricky business, so the second Heidi got brought up, she knew her advice would be: steer clear. “Yeah, I wouldn’t either if I—” the sound of Ruby’s phone buzzing cut her off. It was her mom. “Shit, it’s already 7:30,” she noted, quickly gathering her things, “I’m late for dinner, bitch. I gotta go. But,” she paused as she packed up her things, “keep me posted on all things Dom. I want the tea.” After putting on her cheerios jacket and slinging her bad over her shoulder, Ruby bent down and gave Lemon a dramatic french good-bye. “Mwah,” she said as she gave her cheek an air kiss, “text me. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” With that, Ruby was out the door, but not before shouting a ‘thank you for having me Mrs. and Mrs. Lopez!’

NOAH: i can imagine

NOAH: vegas? that's actually fucking sick. have you guys thought of doing any kind of fundraising? or idk donations, even? i know my mom wouldn't mind to help out with a bake sale or anything like that

NOAH: alright, noted. i'll be there next tuesday then.

RUBY: right?!? it's ltrly iconic but no one gives a fuck

RUBY: their loss 💅

As if it were routine, Ruby and Lemon were back in Lemon’s room, laying on her bed post-doing homework, and catching up on their latest gossip. Laying flat on her bed Lemon listened as Ruby dished out the tea that she had regarding Rocky, Sterling, and Sage. “God, he is such a fucking fuck,” maybe that was aggressive and harsh, especially coming from her of all people, but Rocky was a shitty person. End of story. “Yeah, I didn’t think they were either. Davis was super up front about that at the pageant, but they just seem like really weird evil villains right now,” she shuddered at the thought of them plotting something. They probably had some secret lair. “I think I’m gonna go with Dom. Can’t confirm or deny, but we’re supposed to be going out on a date and I don’t think that’ll be entirely plausible this week,” with regionals coming up, everyone had to be on their A-game, even her. “Do you think we’ll win?” She asked out of curiosity because she thought they would, but she wanted to know where everyone else stood. “Wait! I have more tea before you answer that,” she said with a blatant smile on her face. It was safe to say Lemon Lopez-Pierce had a freak sheet and she simply had fun at Dylan’s party last week. She leaned forward to whisper in Ruby’s ear, just in the case her brothers or moms were lurking, and said “I had sex with Kaden,” she moved away from Ruby and scrunched her nose. “Like, really.”

🍒

“Tea,” was all Ruby said to agree with Lemon’s statement. Rocky was a fucking fuck. Literally every girl deserved better...even ‘horrible’ ones like Winnie Clarington-Smythe. Talking about Ivy and Davis felt back now that Ruby knew what she knew. It wasn’t like Ivy didn’t deserve people talking shit about her every now and then, same with Davis, but it just felt...icky. The youngest St. James would be spared for the time being. Ru perked up at the mention of Dom. Interesting choice. “The way you need to say more,” she insisted, smiling deviantly as her friend talked about a date, “are you like...into him into him? Does Nessa care?” Everyone knew that Nessa had dated Dom, but as far as she could tell, the two remained friendly even if they weren’t together anymore. Lemon’s question about regionals stumped Ruby. She’d never been to a show choir competition before, she had no idea what the competition looked like or how high the stakes were. She was really just along for the ride. Before she could say that though, Lemon was cutting in with more information. “Spill then, bitch,” she insisted, sitting up as she waited eagerly for the tea like a dog for its bone. Ruby leaned in to meet Lemon halfway for the whisper and her jaw instantly dropped at the revelation. “Lem,” she gasped, grabbing a pillow and gently smacking her with it, “I knew it, I knew you had it in you.” She clasped her hands together at her chest. “I’m so proud of you? What the hell!” With another squeal, she inched closer to Lemon and waited for more. “Was he good? Are you gonna do it again?” and more importantly, “do you like him?”

NOAH: have you really been the only girl this entire time? traumatizing.

NOAH: but what's the move for me? when do you all normally meet? just trying to get the vibe of it all i guess

NOAH: and yk to tell my mom

RUBY: yes!!! love those boys, i do, but it gets exhausting

RUBY: we have our decathlon moment in april which is in vegas so that'll be fun!!!

RUBY: well, assuming we get the cash to make it happen

RUBY: but we meet on tuesdays!!! sometimes we have extra meetings but we figure out schedules together.

Sammy was belting a ballad at the top of his lungs when Ruby found him. The acoustics in the choir room was amazing and he maneuvered his voice to sound like it was more than just one person singing. This week had been a mess for him - to the point that he didn’t eve care about the theme of the week or regionals. And that was A LOT for him to not care about any of that. Right now he just wanted to feel happy. He couldn’t get the guy he wanted, the slushie was definitely a pride breaker, and he just was feeling left out lately - so he was always in the choir room when it was empty, eating lunch in his car, or sitting in the back of classes. He might have been feeling a little depression, because he hadn’t felt this way since he transitioned.  He quickly stopped belting when he heard Ruby calling out to him. “Ruby! Hey.” He called with a soft expression on his face and looked at her happily. “You were looking for me?” He asked her softly and then sighed when all that came up. “I just… kind of want to be away from everything.” He answered honestly. “I want to go beat Austin’s ass. But what would that solve? He’d just plead the guilty victim and I’d be expelled.” He sighed moving over so she could sit by him. “I want to be important to someone, but they’d rather throw parties than go on a date with me. And I get it - he’s the infamous bad guy or fuck boy and not the relationship type… so why say ‘yes’ to a date with me? I just don’t understand it at all. And then during the party I didn’t hear from him… so does that mean he had a party to just hook up with someone and avoid me?” He sighed and shook his head, moving to let his hair down. “But then I am the bad guy for thinking all of these thoughts and should just shut up and be happy.” 

🍒

Ruby stayed put with her arms crossed over the piano as she listened to Sam talk. She’d gotten to know him decently well over the course of her stint in glee club and she thought he was sweet. She liked him enough to feel bad when she heard he’d gotten a slushie facial. “I hear that,” she sighed, knowing well what it felt like to want to disappear for a little while, “and Austin is an asshole. Plain and simple. But you can go to sleep at night knowing he’s like...the worst lay ever. Trust me.” It was true, Ruby had slept with Austin in her early high school days, and if she was being honest? She couldn’t be paid enough to do it again. Romance was a ball game Ruby was less familiar with. For so long, she’d just been a girl to send pictures to and fool around with. She had a boyfriend for the first time ever and she was still learning the ropes. “Look, in my experience?” she started, shrugging as she offered Sammy the tiniest of smiles, “love finds you in like...the most bizarre moments. I was literally in the middle of a tutoring session with Benji when JBI leaked my—” nudes, “pictures and like...Ben just swooped in and made sure I was okay. It was so random and perfect and unexpected.” She let out another tiny sigh as she reached over and squeezed Sam’s hand, “you’re not the bad guy for wanting love. You just have to be patient. One day a boy is going to come along and see how beautiful and iconic you are. You just gotta remember that it’s slim pickings in Lima...do you really think the man of your dreams is going to be in this tiny little town?” 

“I do not have a freak flag!” Lemon scoffed, knocking Ruby’s foot with her own in response. That was easier said. Lemon just lived in a bubble and she preferred that bubble. She had only ever had sex with Trace and that was fine. Maybe she’d meet some cute football player at OSU or some cute Poly-Sci major. That could be fun! Or was that still too safe? Lemon couldn’t play safe anymore. College guys liked a girl who could be in control, someone who knew what they were doing and a body count that was a total of one? It didn’t really scream experience. “I don’t know, I guess I’m just waiting for the right person,” who was the right person, though? Lemon was so picky, even if she did date Trace, she was still super specific in her qualifications and at one point, he was Warbler captain. It made sense at some point. “I mean, it wasn’t like I wanted to,” she started, rolling her eyes at the memory. “He offered me water and it was literally a fucking bottle filled with vodka and lemonade,” Rocky always did pull stupid shit like that, but she was already stuck with him. She had to drink it at that point. “We just like hooked up without the actual hooking up, you know? I’m not gonna say it!” Her and Kaden had done more than making out but they didn’t cross the sex threshold. “But what about you? You’re the queen of tea, so anything going on in your world or are you strictly prudent now that you’re locked down?”

🍒

“Say what you want,” Ruby teased back, shaking her head as she reached into her backpack and fished out her phone, “but everyone has a freak flag. Even you. Even Max Fabray.” This she was sure of. Hearing Lemon say she was ‘waiting for the right person’ made Ruby smile almost sympathetically. She understood the sentiment...but she wasn’t sure she found it realistic. “You’re probably not going to find Mr. Right until you’re in your like...thirties. Are you really just going to wait around and do nothing until then?” Ruby asked, shrugging as she made her point. 

As Lemon detailed what had happened on the ski trip, Ruby nodded and committed all of it to memory. None of it was really tea, but she still stored it in her brain just in case. “Disgusting,” Ruby said in response to Rocky’s antics, shaking her head as she mindlessly looked through instagram and double tapped some cheerio selfies. As Lemon’s admission that her and Kaden had hooked up, Ruby wiggeld her eye brows. “Well, finally,” she teased, doing a little shimmy at the reveal, “you guys should totally hook up. You’d be cute together.” Lemon’s question had Ruby tapping her lips in thought. Did she have any tea? “Things have been kind of dry, to be honest...” being in a relationship had kept her busy and genuinely less interested in everyone else’s business, “I totally saw Rocky and Sterling sneak into a room together at one of these parties. That was kind of a moment, but mostly I just like...felt bad for Sage. Also, I’m pretty sure Ivy and Davis aren’t fucking. Feels like old news, but....I really thought they were.” A sigh. Ruby could admit when she was wrong, which was often given that she never double checked her sources. Looking up from her phone, she asked, “What are you doing for Valentine’s Day? Do you have a date to Candy’s?” 

NOAH: hey i have a question

NOAH: any way that brainiacs offer still stands?

RUBY: yo girlie!!! ask away

RUBY: omg yes hunny always?!? this is iconic news

ALL THE GIRLS STEPPING OUT FOR A PUBLIC AFFAIR

WHO: @ottomeeks​, @rubyzizes​ and the wmhs glee club girls (ft. @candymotta​, @lemonlopez​, @jazziejazxo​, @mollypearce​, @samuelchangx, @nicoabrams​, @milespearce​, @ophiemeeks​, @samuelchangx​) WHERE: rinky dinks WHEN:  wednesday, 1/27, around 7pmish

Ruby didn’t have that thing that half the kids in glee club had: that burning desire to be a star. Sure, she liked attention just as much as the next person, but she by no means needed to be in the spotlight in order to feel worthy and validated. It was still cool though, getting a moment to shine. Rinky Dinks was no regionals stage, but as she laced up her skates and smiled at Otto from across the table, it might as well have been.  

if she were being honest, sage howell felt a lot like she was stuck in an undertow that she couldn’t escape. her relationship with rocky had always been a vicious cycle of repeated offenses and just when sage had thought she had cleared all of that room and hurt out of her heart, she got dragged right back in again. seeing rocky and sterling herself had been enough hurt to swallow, but the added aspect of ruby zizes seeing them also? it was safe to say sage was more than embarrassed. no one liked a sad girl at a party, and ruby had unknowingly stumbled upon exactly that. 

in hindsight, however, if there was anyone to witness the exchange, sage was kind of glad it was ruby. ruby was everything that sage aspired to be. beautiful, confident, and the smartest person at mckinley. everyone knew ruby was a shoe-in for valedictorian. as ruby approached her table, sage watched with a certain level of awe in her eyes. ruby was the kind of person that people stopped and stared at. she had a presence. “thanks,” she replied after sliding her food to the side. “i’m fine,” it was obvious by the look in ruby’s eyes that she knew sage was lying. “i’ll be fine. kind of stupid of me to think he changed, huh?” obviously. “how are you? i heard some girls talking about benji fighting that new york kid?”

🍒

Despite being mostly known for her reputation with guys at school, Ruby was a complete girl’s girl. She believed in the power of female friendships and she knew that every girl, especially in high school, needed an army of other girls behind her—empowering her. It was important. The lack of that female energy was what led smart, beautiful and good girls like Sage into the clutches of emotionally stunted and damaged boys like Rocky. She deserved better, and even if it was too little too late, Ruby decided that she was going to make a point of reminding Sage what she was worth. 

“Of course you’ll be fine,” Ruby said with a sympathetic smile, letting out a sigh as she crossed her arms over the table, “but you deserve to be amazing. You deserve to be like...happy. Not just fine.” She clicked her tongue and tilted her head slightly as Sage got down on herself for falling for her ex’s antics again. “Sage,” she said sternly, shaking her head, “you’re not stupid, babe. There’s nothing stupid about being hopeful. What’s stupid is people who take advantage of that beautiful part of you. Don’t let them.” She knew that advice was easier given than taken, but still. It needed to be said. “Look, I’m never gonna be the one to judge you for being sad about it because I get it. But if you ever need a fun little angel on your shoulder telling you what to do?” a smile as she pointed to herself to wordlessly say, I’m your girl. She hadn’t come to Sage’s table to preach from her soap box though. She’d come to just...be a friend. So she was happy to shift gears. “Ugh,” she groaned, unable to contain her eye roll, “yeah, fucking Miles. That guy is an asshole and I’m pretty sure his teeth aren’t real.” This was a rumor she had started, but would continue to spread like it was gospel. “He said a lot of really like...messed up things to Benji and he kind of lost it. Usually I would be mad about that kind of like...aggressively male behavior but? Miles deserved it.” 

Lemon had always appreciated her friendship with Ruby. It hadn’t come because of their moms being friends like her friendship with Zoe and it wasn’t like her friendship with most of the Cheerios which was solely because she had to be friends with them. Everything about her and Ruby’s friendship was organic and made sense. Once the pair had gotten to Lemon’s house after school, they were both posted up in her bed. Ruby against the wall and Lemon hunched over her laptop, editing her paper that was due for AP Lit. But after a while of staring at her analysis on Wuthering Heights, she was ready to get to chatting and it seemed like Ruby was in the same boat as she heard the other’s laptop shut.

“Say less,” she said, saving the piece of her essay she had worked on. Closing her laptop, she set it on her nightstand and focused her eyes right on Ruby, folding her legs in a criss cross style. “That’s such a dumb question to ask,” she teased. Lemon was a boring person and was completely content being a boring person while she listened to any shenanigans her other friends got up to. “Let’s see, I got really drunk on the ski trip. Even got drunk with Rocky on the ski lift,” a shrug, “and then Kaden and I almost hooked up at Renzo’s,” key word, almost. 

🍒

With both of their laptops closed and tossed to the side, Ruby readjusted herself on Lemon’s bed and gave the blonde her undivided attention. “You have got to stop saying you’re boring, bitch,” Ruby teased, gently nudging her friend’s knee with her foot, “I know you have a freak flag. Everybody does. When the fuck are you going to like...let yours fly?” It was a question Ruby felt like a broken record asking. Despite her best efforts (and Zoe’s and Nessa’s and every other cheerio’s with a varsity letter), Lemon never budged. She never just gave into her desires like the rest of them. 

"Wait—” Ruby said, lifting her hands up to pause Lemon, “you got ‘really’ drunk multiple times on the ski trip, including on the ski lift with Rocky Remington?” She scoffed and looked around in shock, as if she was sharing that shock with an audience, “okay, that’s not nothing. You got drunk with Rocky in like broad daylight? First of all, ew...but second of all, why? Was it fun?” Hearing about Lemon and Kaden made her beam with pride. “You’re kidding!” Ruby shouted, a little laugh escaping her, “what does almost mean? Did you guys kiss or do more or what? Spill.”