Cover art done by ram-jam on dA ^^

(I would add a link, but fanfic won't let me...)

Blake was starting to question her life choices. Sort of in general.

At the very least, this was the last time she was going to any party, concert, or anything involving alcohol, with these particular friends, ever. She didn't even know where they'd gone, and after being literally forced to go with them, she didn't really care anymore. She sat in the back corner, in the shadows, already feeling drained by the presence of hundreds, maybe thousands of people she didn't know. She ran her hand through her dark, wavy hair, being careful not to move the black bow securely tied like a headband on the top of her head, closing her eyes, trying to put her headache out of her mind, pretending she was anywhere else, wishing desperately that she had a book.

"Hey."

Blake's amber eyes snapped open when she heard the voice. She looked up, to see a relatively tall teenager, perhaps the same age as herself, her brilliant yellow hair almost glowing in the dim light of the concert venue. She blinked. "Hi."

"I'm Yang. Are...you okay?"

Blake narrowed her eyes. "Fine."

"You don't look like you're enjoying yourself."

"I'm not," she said bluntly. What exactly did this girl want?

"Oh."

They continued to hold each other's gaze, trying to discern who the other person was. Yang seemed to fit right into everything that was going on, in terms of what she was wearing, and most of the people here were wearing crop tops, obscenely short skirts or shorts and heeled shoes.

"So...what's your name?"

"Blake."

"I'm Yang."

"You already said."

"Oh," she repeated. She extended her hand - Blake wasn't sure if it was to help her up or so that she could shake it. "Do you want a drink?"

Blake wasn't quite sure how the words, 'No, thank you' came out as, "Sure, why not."

Yang's strange violet eyes lit up, and Blake took her hand, getting to her feet. Blake wasn't terribly sure if this was the best idea, but Yang seemed nice enough. Yang beckoned for her to follow her. She couldn't help but notice that Yang was avoiding walking right in front of the speakers. She was grateful for that. It was probably for her sake rather than Yang's - the other girl appeared to be unfazed by the noise and the crowd.

They finally reached the bar, at the far right of the room. Yang pulled up a stool for Blake, then for herself, then turned to the bartender. "Strawberry Sunrise, no ice."

Blake sat down and swallowed hard, not quite sure how to act. "Um...Apple Cider."

"Hard or soft?"

"Er..."

Blake had no idea. All she knew was she'd had some sort of Apple Cider at a wedding once. Yang leant over and murmured, "Hard has alcohol in it."

Why the hell not. "Hard, please."

A couple of minutes of silence later, (to Blake's surprise, the comfortable kind rather than the awkward kind,) the bartender returned. Yang took a pair of paper umbrellas from a tray, tossing one to Blake, which she only just managed to catch without crushing it. "So..." she said slowly, before sipping her drink.

"So."

"What are you doing here?" Yang asked, appearing to be genuinely curious.

"Escorting some friends."

Yang frowned. "Where'd they go?"

"I have no idea." Blake put the umbrella and drank a bit of the cider. It was really nice. Sweet, but not too sweet. "To be honest, I couldn't care less right now."

"I'm guessing you didn't want to come?"

"Nope." She paused. "This is nice though." Besides the throbbing headache and the loud music and the people and the fact that I hardly know you.

Yang's eyes lit up, and she grinned. "I'm glad."

"Why?"

The blonde looked like she'd been caught off guard by that. She placed her drink heavily down on the table and swallowed hard. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you care?"

Yang's expression changed again for a moment, before she narrowed her eyes playfully. "You don't have many actual friends, do you?"

"Wha- of course I do!"

Yang smirked a little. "Who?"

Blake narrowed her eyes, glaring at her. She was too taken aback to notice how Yang had avoided her question. The blonde smiled knowingly and shrugged. "Then you've never really had anyone look out for you. Never had anyone care."

"I don't make friends. Don't trust people."

Yang's gaze softened. "Why?"

"It's hard to trust people when the people you've trusted most were the ones who betrayed you," she replied stiffly.

"And I'm guessing that's a sensitive topic...?"

"Yes." Blake said it a little too sharply.

Yang paused. "Could you trust me?"

Blake was about to give her a flat 'No', but somehow she felt like that would be lying to herself. After all, Yang hadn't done anything to make her feel anything but comfortable around her. The conversation, the situation, felt strangely natural. Maybe it was the cider. "Don't know."

"Yeah? And what would I have to do to get you to trust me?"

"Why are you so eager to gain my trust?" She snapped, suddenly suspicious. "Why did you invite me to have a drink?"

Yang paused, glancing at the ceiling. "It was kinda depressing seeing you just sitting there. Concerts are meant to be fun."

Bloody extravert. "Yeah, well, they're not fun for everyone."

"Ha. You sound like my sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah, Ruby. She's super sweet, but I swear, she's the most antisocial..." She paused, then flicked her gaze over Blake. "Second most antisocial person that I know."

Blake shrugged, pretty sure whatever Yang had just implied about her was true. "How old is she?"

"Thirteen. She loves books. Fantasy, and fairytales and things."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Yeah, the same."

Yang nodded and drained her glass. "By the way, I like your bow."

Blake stiffened. She can't know. She can't know. She can't know I'm a... "Oh. Thanks."

Her eyebrows shot up as the band finally played a song she recognised. Yang grinned widely, picking up on this, leapt off her stool, curtseyed, then held out one hand, her eyes gleaming. She winked. "May I have this dance?"

Blake was surprised to feel a sudden rush of heat when Yang did that. Why am I so affected by... She gazed evenly at Yang for a couple of seconds, a smile slowly spreading across her face. The gesture was so inappropriate - this wasn't a slow dance; it was a pop song with a heavy beat and less than decent lyrics. She took her outstretched hand nonetheless. "Sure."

Yang laughed and led her out onto the dance floor. "Do you know anything about swing dancing?"

"Not a clue."

"Great!" Yang slapped her on the back, grinning so hard Blake wouldn't be surprised if her cheeks were aching. "So put your hand here - lower - the other one on my arm - great. Then rock back onto your right foot - no, your right foot, don't copy me. I'm doing the opposite because I'm leading. Yep, rock step, triple step-OW! No, sorry, it's not your fault, you weren't ready..."

Blake had never been this confused or amused in her life. "Yang, when you asked me to dance I didn't think..."

"Oh, please?" Yang pleaded. "Ruby doesn't let me do any swing dancing with her anymore. It's not hard, honestly. You're a natural."

Blake rolled her eyes - she was anything but a natural, but she conceded anyway. "Fine, fine..."

"Okay! So, rock step - good - then take three quick steps forward - perfect! Now rock forward onto your left foot, and three triple steps back. Yeah, that's right! Okay, follow my lead - rock step, triple step, rock step, triple step..."

Before long Blake felt like she was starting to get the hang of it. "Okay, now we can turn, and go in a different direction - stay close to me, keep track of your feet - rock step, triple step..."

Soon, Yang was leading her around the floor in a roughly circular pattern. A small group of people gathered to watch. "Okay, I'm going to swing you out now - don't stop moving your feet!"

"Wait, wha-"

And then Yang let go of Blake's waist, extended her arm, and spun Blake away from her. Blake rocked back, then Yang pulled her back in, drawing her close, and lifting her off the ground, spinning in a tight circle, then set her back down in time for the next "rock step". And Blake couldn't help it - she laughed. Yang's grin widened, and she pulled Blake even closer to her, rock step-triple step, then swung her out again, then pulled her back in, then oh God, she couldn't take it anymore - Blake met Yang's eye and grinned harder than she'd grinned in a long time. Happiness flooded her veins, her chest full to overflowing with laughter. She was starting to lose track of her feet - everything was spinning - she stumbled - Yang pulled her closer and her heart started to beat wildly and suddenly she felt hot and God was this the dancing or the cider, or could it be Yang? She didn't know if she could pull away from Yang, nor did she know if she wanted to. As her mind skimmed over this last possibility she felt a strange twisting feeling in her stomach and her eyes widened as she realised it was true. She really liked this Yang person.

She didn't know what she was doing - Yang knew that - but the blonde persisted, twirling her under her arm. Blake couldn't stop laughing - Yang pulled her back towards her, rock step-triple step, and then turned the raven-haired girl around and dipped her low to the ground. Blake gasped, and-

Oh God the bow's coming loose.

Blake's expression quickly turned to panic as she reached up and fumbled for the ribbon to tighten it, but Yang didn't notice, pulling her back up. The room started spinning, and Blake's grip on Yang tightened, and she was suddenly afraid she was going to fall, but Yang held her up easily, her grip firm, their bodies close, and Blake wanted to throw herself against her, to hide, because if that bow came off, God, if that bow came off...

She swallowed down her anxiety and reached for the ribbon, trying to adjust it, but everything was going too fast, and Yang was holding her, and now more people were watching them. She finally got a grip on it, but then Yang swung her out again, and she couldn't hold her hand still, and the bow was pulled away.

Yang froze, and the gathered spectators went quiet. Blake trembled, the tangled ribbon hanging from her hand. A small, neat pair of cat ears protruded from Blake's hair. Blake couldn't look at Yang - she wouldn't be able to stand the look of horror that must be there. She took a couple of quick steps back, suddenly feeling trapped.

"You're a..." Yang said softly, breaking off the sentence part way through.

Blake searched for an excuse to leave. "I have to go."

But Yang grabbed her wrist, and it felt like an electrical charge. "You're a faunus. You're a cat faunus."

Blake swallowed. She wasn't ashamed of her Faunus heritage, but it was obvious that humans perceived Faunus as the lesser race. And if Yang was just another person who couldn't see past her species, then so be it. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

"Why did you hide it?"

The Faunus paused. "I want to be seen for who I am, not what I am."

Yang nodded. "Fair enough."

Silence fell between them. People started to lose interest, returning to their small groups. They were still standing so close to each other. Blake's heart was thudding, and a deep red blush dusted Yang's cheeks. But Yang stepped away, much to Blake's disappointment, glancing at a clock up on the wall. "I have to go. Ruby might be worried."

Blake swallowed. "Yeah. Right. Er..." she trailed off, not sure how to put this. "Thanks for not judging me for being a Faunus. I enjoyed your company."

"Blake," Yang laughed. "This isn't goodbye. I don't do goodbyes. I swear I'll find you again."

"Oh yeah?" Blake teased. "How will you manage that?"

Yang winked. "Magic."