Don't Believe In What Others Think Of You

It was a dark night, there weren't many clouds in the night sky, but the moon wasn't quite full. It was a peaceful darkness, only a bit of light shining through. I like the calm quiet of the dark, it relaxes me, and so sometimes I find myself out here on the roof like I am now. I hear footsteps out of the quiet surroundings. I look back to see…

"Oh hello Jaune. I didn't expect to see you out here at this hour."

"What? Oh hi Blake. I didn't know you'd be out here. I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I'll be on my way."

As he began to walk away I wondered what he was looking to do out here.

"Hey Jaune come sit down, I was just admiring the night. You didn't disturb me."

"Oh alright then."

Jaune walks back over and talks a seat near me. We stare off into the night.

"I didn't realize you liked the night so much Blake."

"Yeah, I find it relaxing. Sometimes if I have a stressful day, or if I got a lot of stuff on my mind, I come here to think and cool off from the day."

"That makes sense."

Jaune looks as if he wants to say more. There had to be some reason he came out here at night. Possibly for the same reasons I do?

"Is there any particular reason you wanted to come out here Jaune?"

As I asked the question he slowly looked over towards me.

"It's Cardin… He's just so mean to me… But not even just me, pretty much everybody is bullied by him."

"I see… I've seen him bullying Velvet before. It's just not right."

There was anger in my voice and Jaune could feel it. I know because he immediately asked…

"Woah, you seem a bit angry Blake."

"It's just… I'm highly against all kinds of discrimination… Especially against the faunus."

Jaune doesn't know my origins yet… I told The rest of my team it would probably be best for everybody if we hide that detail about me for now. I know the whole of JNPR are my friends as well but… Either way I continue.

"I mean what did the faunus really do to earn this hatred? I just don't think it's fair. Being called names based off of assumptions."

"Like how Cardin says I'm just a weakling… How I'll never get anywhere here…"

I accidently rose the point of pain Jaune was suffering from most. So that's the particular reason Jaune came here, and expected to be alone.

"But that's just it Jaune you're not a weakling. The faunus may be called liars, degenerates, killers, psychopaths, criminals, but that doesn't mean they all are. They're treated like worthless animals, like stupid mutts, and nothing but pure evil. But does that little bunny Velvet look worthless? No. Does she look like a criminal? No. She's an adorable faunus who's sweet and because of stereotyping and assumptions, she's bullied and treated like trash."

"I agree… I don't think it's right to do something like that to someone just because you're different than them… But it's not like we can do anything about it…"

"But Jaune, we CAN do something about it."

"What do you mean?"

"All you have to do is this: don't believe in what others think of you, and prove to them that they're wrong. Cardin might see you as a weakling, but if you prove to him otherwise, it shows that assumptions and stereotyping are bad. Just like we don't assume Velvet is criminal. If we did and we saw she wasn't, we would feel like huge jerks in the end. All because we judged someone on their appearance, and not their personality."

"Wow Blake… You know… You're right! If I can believe in myself and prove Cardin wrong, hopefully it'll teach him a lesson, without having to use violence."

"Now that's the attitude you need! By the way it's really late, we should probably get to bed. Plus I'm sure Pyrrha's worrying about you."

I muffled that last part a bit.

"What was that Blake?"

I giggled.

"Nothing Jaune."

"Okay then… Oh and I'm sure Ruby's worried about you too."

He mumbled that last part, but I made it out just fine. I blushed slightly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

He giggled after that.

"See you in class tomorrow."

"Same here, and thank you for the talk."

"Of course Jaune, that's what friends are for."

He smiles and heads back to his team's room, as do I to mine. In having that talk with Jaune I realized that not only us faunus are discriminated against. Everyone can be, and for any reason. Hopefully some time soon we can all be treated like equal beings, with people who love us for who we are, not what we are. Like Pyrrha cares for Jaune. But what exactly did Jaune mean by Ruby worrying for me? I mean I know she cares for us all, but something about the way he said it… Oh whatever! It's time to get some sleep… If I keep trying to figure this out I'll be up all night...