~Ruby's POV~

When I put my newly-made red cape on this morning, I hadn't expected this. 'This' being the supreme bad*ss feeling and the sheer amount of weird looks I was getting. One part of me was yelling, Hell yeah, I'm wearing a red cape! I take risks! Try me! The other part was yelling, Okay, stop giving me weird looks! You have no right to judge me! Basically, I was all in a jumble as I made my way to my 5th period class on the 3rd floor.

Lost in thought, I felt a quick tug on my flowing cape. Turning around, I glared icily at the culprit, a tall blonde boy with a sheepish expression. "Hands to yourself, please." I snapped. Satisfied with his apologetic expression, I whisked back around and picked up my pace, leaving the blonde boy staring after me.

Breezing through the door of my 5th period class, I smiled at two of my best friends sitting in the corner, still riding high on the bad*ss-feeling. "Hey guys!" Dumping my bags on my chair, I glowed with pleasure at Jackie's compliment. "Niceeee cape, man." "Made it last night." I twirled briefly, then flipped up the hood to show it off. Ella looked up from her Walking Dead comic book to glance over my outfit. "Super snazzy. You're supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood, right?" I grinned and shrugged. "Pretty much."

I sat daintily in my chair, having learned the hard way already that I was likely to get choked by the bow at my neck holding the cape together if I flopped down. "Hey, do we have an assignment to finish? I wasn't here yesterday." I asked Ella. It was Jackie, however, who answered. "Yeah, but it's just a quiz. It's on iCEV." The yellow-haired girl looked over my shoulder at my screen, and pointed to an icon on the desktop.

"Thanks!" Cheeks aglow from running up the stairs and the good feelings my cape gave me, I logged on to take the quiz. It was surprisingly easy, and I was soon finished. I was itching to get out of the weird-smelling classroom at that point though, so I decided to ask the teacher if I could use the restroom. "I'll be right back." I told Jackie, and pushed my chair back and left the room, after checking with the teacher that I could leave. Slipping out the door, I headed toward the bathroom, enjoying being out of the room for a bit. After washing my face, I started down the hall, before realizing I didn't want to go back yet.

Turning around, I wandered down the next hallway, coming to the stairway I'd ran up not 20 minutes ago. I leaned against the rail, just taking a moment to breathe the normal, not sickly-sweet air. "Little Redddd?" An unfamiliar voice called. Whirling around, I came face to face with a boy wearing a headband with a pair fuzzy ears on it. He had shaggy black hair, and green eyes flecked with yellow, and was a good 2 inches taller than me. He looked down at me, a grin tugging his lips.

I had no clue who he was, but I was in the mood for some fun, so I played along. Raising an eyebrow, I stared back, waiting for him to make the first move. "Little Red?" I rolled my eyes a bit at the name, having heard it a million times already since I'd gotten to school that morning. "Mhm.. Did you need something?" I asked innocently. He stepped closer, leaving only a few inches between us. My skin prickled at the closeness, sending an electric feeling through me that I didn't altogether dislike.

"Wandering the halls alone? Aren't you afraid of a big bad wolf gobbling you up, Little Red?" He whispered, breath fanning across my face. He smelled like fresh mint. I fluttered my eyelashes, enjoying the game. "Not really." "And why's that?" I rose up on my tiptoes, until my nose almost touched his. "Because I'm the baddest wolf you'll ever meet." I flicked the fuzzy wolf ears, and smirked. "Run along, little cub, before Red teaches you some manners." Pivoting on my toes, I flicked the cape around so that it brushed his face. As I turned away, I felt a hand on my arm, and glanced back.

"What's your name, Little Red?" He stared at me intensely. "Actually, it's Ruby." I grinned and winked at him, then pulled out of his grip and sauntered away, making the cape flutter as my hips swung from side to side. When I turned the corner, I glanced back and saw that the boy was still leaning against the wall, watching me. A bit more teasing couldn't hurt.. Smirking, I gave a little howl and blew him a kiss before heading back to class.

~Eric's POV~

"What are those?" I asked my cousin, curious."These?" Jared was fiddling with a headband that had a pair of fuzzy ears on them as they waited outside for the doors to open. "It's just fake wolf ears." "But why?" I pulled at my shirt, playing with the frayed ends. "Why do you even have wolf ears, anyways?" He shrugged and grinned, twirling the headband. "'Cause they're fun." I sighed, but the opening of the doors interrupted my exasperation at him.

"Now all I have to do is find a Little Red Riding Hood, and we'll have a magical day!" He winked at me and swept through the doors. I rolled my eyes and pushed through the doors, tired already. Magical? More like boring. It always was.

~Time skip~

"Eric!" I whipped around at the sound of my cousin's voice. I saw Jared jogging up to me, holding the wolf ears. "What is it?" He was panting a bit. "You know how I said this morning that all we needed was a Little Red Riding Hood to make today magical? Well, I found her." I shook my head. "You found who?" "Little Red! There's a girl in the halls wearing a red hooded cape!" Jared exclaimed. "You're kidding."

"Dead serious." Jared glanced at his watch and yelped. "I'm gonna be late!" He took off running, accidentally dropping the ears in his haste. I bent down and scooped them up, wondering if Jared was kidding or not. What were the chances of there being a girl wearing a red cape the same day his cousin brought a pair of wolf ears? Pretty slim, I figured. Shrugging, I slipped the ears into my backpack and hurried to class.

Yep, boring like always. I was staring absentmindedly out the small window in the door, already having finished his assignment, when suddenly a flash of red jerked me out of my stupor. Red? I stood up quickly and almost knocked over my chair in my haste to look out the window. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a girl walking down the hall wearing a red cape. Glancing at my backpack, I suddenly remembered that I still had the fuzzy wolf ears.

I wrenched them out of my backpack pocket and asked the teacher if I could use the restroom. When he said yes, I fairly ran out of the room, jamming the ears on as I went. I had no clue what I was doing, only that this would likely never happen again, and I was sure as hell going to make this day as un-boring as I could. I couldn't see her, so I started calling, "Little Red? Little Redddd?" I was pretty sure that wasn't her real name, but, well, I didn't know what else to call her.

I had just reached the stairwell when suddenly, she whirled around, coming face to face with me. Though I was startled, I couldn't help the grin that tugged my lips. She was beautiful, with long chocolatey hair and red lips. Her hood had fallen back as she looked up at me, and her surprise was quickly covered by irritation. "Little Red?" I asked her, not sure what to do now that I'd found her. She rolled her eyes, and I couldn't help thinking how adorable she was.

"Mhm.. Did you need something?" She asked, with false innocence. I suddenly felt.. Dangerous, watching her red lips move. Like the Little Red in her was bringing out the Big Bad Wolf in me. I was sure I'd lost my mind, but I stepped closer, enjoying the little shiver her proximity gave me. "Wandering the halls alone? Aren't you afraid of a big bad wolf gobbling you up, Little Red?" I whispered. My heart started racing when she fluttered her lashes flirtatiously, so much that I almost missed what she said next. "Not really."

"And why's that?" She rose up on her tiptoes, so that she was looking straight into my eyes. My heart almost pounded right out of my chest, and I couldn't look away. "Because I'm the baddest wolf you'll ever meet." She breathed, then reached up and flicked the wolf ears, smirking. "Run along, little cub, before Red teaches you some manners." I was dizzy from how close she was, and she had already turned away before I could fully process her words.

When I could actually think again, I realized that I didn't even know who this Little Red Riding Hood was. I grabbed her arm to keep her from walking away, and asked, "What's your name, Little Red?" I desperately wanted to know, and was sure that it showed in my expression. She grinned and winked. "It's Ruby, actually." With that, she slipped out of my grasp and sauntered away.

I fell against the wall, knees unable to support me as I watched Ruby's cape flutter and hips swing as she walked away. I was still watching her when she reached the corner and saw me standing there. With another adorable smirk, she gave a little howl and blew me a kiss, then turned the corner. All I could think was:

What in the hell had just happened?

Finally, I regained my senses and headed back to class, barely remembering to slip the ears off before I went back to my seat. For the rest of the class period, I replayed my meeting with Little Red over and over in my head. It had turned out to be a pretty magical day, I admitted to myself. It would be even better if I saw Little Red again..