"That doesn't mean I'll ever give up or stop looking for my mother….."

Blake sighed. Thinking about lost parents was hard. It was bad enough when you knew that your parents were dead. Missing, presumed dead? What exactly did that mean? What did the symbol mean that Yang drew on the chalkboard? And whose symbol was that? I need to ask Yang about that. Blake yawned and rolled over to get in a more comfortable position in her bed. I will ask her about it after the dance, she thought. It made Yang sad and she is so excited about the dance and her date for it….With that last thought, Blake dropped into an exhausted sleep.

"SSShhh, Weiss, stop yelling! Blake is asleep. Let me grab Crescent and we can go for a walk and you can tell me what you're so upset about," Ruby whispered as she opened the door to their darkened room.

Weiss' only answer was to choke off a sob as she nodded. She wiped her eyes quickly when she saw Ren coming toward them down the hallway. Ruby darted back out with her weapon neatly stowed on her back. "Hey, Ren. We're going for a walk. Want to come?"

"Yes," was the quiet answer, "that's a great idea. Weiss? Are you okay?"

"I have no idea," Weiss answered as they all walked quickly and quietly down the hall, "I asked Neptune to go to the dance with me, but he already had a date. I don't want to ask Jaune because I know Pyrrha loves him, and I like him as a friend, but that's it, I want Sun to go with Blake, so I don't have anyone to go with…."

"May I join you?" Cardin Winchester stepped out from his dorm room, looking very red in the face. He shut the door to his room quietly and stood next to them.

Ever since apologizing to Velvet Scarletina and trying to be kinder to RWBY and JNPR for the last 3 months, Cardin had been studying with Ruby, Yang, and Ren on Friday nights when they all didn't go to the movies. Then he had sparred often with Nora and Yang too….

"Sure, Card," Ren and Ruby said at the same time. Weiss just nodded. She always got very quiet around Cardin lately. Ruby thought that it was because after the huge food fight between RWBY and JNPR, Weiss had felt faint and Cardin had carried her to the Healer's office to get checked out. Weiss had been embarrassed around him ever since, even though she had thanked him. He had hung around and insisted on carrying her back to the dorm, even though she had told him it wasn't necessary. Yang and Blake had teased Weiss for weeks after that…

Now he seemed to notice how upset Weiss was. "Do you have a date for the dance, Weiss?" he asked.

"Uh," she stuttered,"No Cardin, I don't."

"Would you go with me?" he asked her very politely.

"Uh, okay….." The two walked on by themselves, not even noticing that Ruby and Ren had stopped and were staring speechlessly at the entire exchange.

"Well, I'll be…. ", said Ren, "Ruby, do you have a date for the dance?"

"Me?" Ruby stopped and stared at him, "uhhhh…"

Ren stopped next to her and smiled down at her. She was petite, but very cute. He watched her turn almost as red as her cloak. Then he reached over and took her small hand in his.

"Will you go with me to the dance?" he asked her.

"Geez, wow, ummm, well,…,yes, Ren, I would really love to," she whispered," Oh my God, I sound like a total idiot….!" I can't believe that he is asking ME!

"No, you do not," he answered her, "Ruby, how about we finish our walk?"

As she walked with him, holding his hand, she couldn't help thinking that it was really nice to walk hand in hand with someone, who liked to listen to her, even when she was quiet. Ruby already knew that Nora and Ren were good friends from childhood and that Nora was going to the dance with Cardin's teammate Russell. She had liked Ren a lot since they had started to study together, and she really liked it when they both laughed at the same things in the movies in Vale.

"Ren?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, Ruby?"

"I don't really walk too well in high heels."

"Don't worry about it."

"My dancing might be kinda not so good. Yang is really the dancer in the family….."Ruby confessed.

"Well, you know, that the guy is supposed to lead, right?" Ren said, smiling.

"Yup."

"Worse comes to worse, I'll just carry you around the dance floor."

Then they both laughed at that idea together. With that, Ren decided to demonstrate that technique and picked her up to spin her around.

"A-HEM."

"Hi, Yang." Squeaked Ruby, as they both came face to face with a rather indignant older sister and her handsome blue-haired date.

"Did you ask her, Ren?" asked Yang, looking very serious.

"I did, Yang," came the answer.

"Good." Yang took Ruby out of Ren's arms at that point and said, "Say good night, sister."

"Good night, Ren. Thank you for asking me to the dance," Ruby said happily. She stuck her hand out to shake Ren's. Yang leaned over to hug Neptune quickly, and he kissed her very heartily good night. Ruby tried to wiggle out of Yang's arms without luck.

"Ugh," said Ruby," I so did not need to see that."

"Good night, Sun-Dragon," Neptune smiled at Yang," See ya at breakfast?"

"Yup, you bet, my man," she answered.

"Night, Neptune. See you at breakfast, Ren?" Ruby said, smiling shyly.

"I'll come get you, okay?"

"Yes," Ruby grinned as she and Yang walked away.

"Yang, you can put me down now!"

"Not on your life, little sis."