Blake was sitting on the edge of the dorm rooftop. The sun was just setting over the city, it almost looked exactly like the one she watched with Adam long ago. Sighing, she shook her head and got up to leave but something told her to stay and watch awhile. She thought about Adam and some of the memories they had made together.
It was a warm and sunny day, a nice day to go out and play with some friends. But Blake wasn't into interacting with the other children. She would rather spend her time reading a book under her favorite tree. It was a day like any other for Blake, but what she did not know is the boy with red hair walking up to bug her, would change her life forever.
"What book are you reading?" Hearing a mysterious voice Blake huffed and looked up from her book.
"It's called My Own Hero." She said bluntly and continued to read.
"What's it about?" Huffing again, she explained the book to him.
"It's about this girl who saves the 'damsel in distress' which happens to be a prince who was kidnapped."
"That's silly. The boy is supposed to save the girl." Blake glared at the boy.
"Says who? I can take care of myself. I don't need a BOY to save me."
"Can I see the book?" She reluctantly handed him the book. While he was flipping through the pages, she took the opportunity to observe him. He had red hair, horns, he was also wearing mask with some strange designs on them and just like Blake dark clothes. The boy looked up from the book and she quickly turned her gaze somewhere else. "I don't like the ending."
"You skipped to the ending?!" She was shocked.
"So…?"
"You're not supposed to do that! It's against the rules!"
"There are rules to reading a book?" He smirked
"The unspoken, general rules of reading!" She nearly screamed. This boy was annoying her, which was unusual because she did not get annoyed easily. "What is your name anyways…?" she huffed and he chuckled. "WHAT?!"
"You sure huff a lot. Am I making you angry princess?"
"Don't call me princess. Are you going to answer my question or not?" Giving another chuckle, he answered her.
"Adam. Adam Taurus, and yours?"
"Blake Belladonna."
"How old are you Blake?"
"I'm twelve. How old are you?"
"Ahh, I am thirteen, I get to go to my first protest in a couple of days…" He trailed off, they sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Suddenly he got up wiping the dirt and grass from his pants. "Well, Belle you'll have to let me know how you like the ending." He smiled down at her and walked away before she could even get mad at him for calling her Belle.
Blake didn't see Adam till the next week, she guessed he was busy helping out with the protest. Which was fine, it gave her time to read through her book without any interruptions. She was on the last few pages when Adam appeared.
"Did you fini…."
"Shh!" Blake cut him off before he could finish his sentence. She wanted to finish the book and form her own opinion of the ending before he could ruin it for her. After reading the sentence, she closed the book giving a huge sigh. "I didn't like the ending."
"I didn't like it either." Giving Blake a small smile.
"Why? He ends up saving the girl from living a terrible life. I thought you were into the boys saving the girls?" She huffed.
"I missed hearing those huffs. I thought about what you said about the girl being able to take care of herself without having to be saved all the time, and I agree. She didn't need the prince to come save her in the end, I don't agree with the author about that. She was more than capable of getting work and making her own living."
"That's…..that's what I think." She blushed a bit. Form that day on Blake and Adam sat under their tree as often as they could. It was the start of a friendship.
One Year Later….
"Come on Belle!" Blake saw that Adam was waiting under their tree already. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't shake off that stupid nickname! "Blake let's go!" Adam only ever called her Blake when they were surrounded by people, telling her something important or was impatient with her.
"I'm coming. I'm coming." She was only a few feet from the tree and he was already growing more impatient. She held her head up high, trying not to show Adam that she was a bit scared. When she stood in front of him, her nerves seemed calm down a little.
"Are you okay? Nervous?" He smiled.
"A little bit…" He pulled her into an unexpected hug.
"It'll be alright Belle, stick by my side. There will be a lot of people there, so it will be easy to get separated." He intertwined her hand in his and a faint blush appeared on his face. "Don't get me wrong, I am only holding your hand so we don't get separated…We are going to be late if we don't hurry." Dragging her along they walked together into the city where the Faunus protest was being held. When they arrived, Blake was handed a sign and Adam led them to the front of the protest. Everything went smoothly during the protest, there were no fights and it did not turn into a riot. Adam and Blake were walking back when she noticed Adam still held her hand.
"You do know the protest is over right?" This time it was her turn to give Adam a smirk.
"Yeah? What about it?" With her free hand she pointed to their intertwined hands. "Oh, right…I want to make sure you get back to our tree safely…"
"Adam…" She frowned. "I can ta…"
"I know, I know, 'You're a big girl and can handle yourself.' I understand that Belle. Doesn't mean I don't worry or care about you. Let me do something nice for once." His tone of voice was a bit harsh, but in all reality he was just frustrated. They continued to walk back to the tree in silence, by the time they reached their spot it was already dark.
"Thanks." Blake spoke softly unlocking her hands from his and turning to leave.
"Blake, wait…" He sighed running his hands through his hair, making it stick up even more than it already did. "I…I wanted to tell you earlier…" She looked at him, curious as to what he had to say. "I'm joining in on the front lines for the White Fang…You know going on missions and such"
"What? Why?" She pretended to be shocked. Blake was also prepared to join the front lines with or without Adam. The training for the front lines took years, after that it was rare to see any of your friends again. So she had hoped Adam was going to join with his own free will or she would have to convince him too. As payback for giving her the nickname of Belle, she decided to make Adam beg her to join.
"Before you completely have a melt-down. I want you to join with me." The words came slowly out of his mouth.
"Me?..." she feigned disbelief.
"I've seen how fast you are Blake. You're not too shabby with a sword either."
"Those were wooden play swords Adam." She frowned while he sighed. "I am just not too sure about this Adam."
"Please Belle. I want you and only you as a partner."
" I don't know…"
"Belle." He looked her straight in the eyes. "You know I hate to beg, but you're the only partner I want." She could hear the sincerity in his voice and she finally gave him her answer.
"Alright. We will do it together! But just so you know…I was already planning to join. I just wanted to see you beg." She smirked.
Those memories seemed so long ago to Blake. They had trained years and years to be on the front lines together. Adam turned out to be right, they had made a great team but things in the White Fang had begun to change and Blake had conflicting feelings about it. The decision to leave Adam on the train with the dust had not been an easy one. While it may not have been easy, it had been the right one. She couldn't turn her back on helping the innocent. Blake turned her head to look up at the night sky, and she remembered the last happy moment she made with Adam.
The night before the train heist…
Blake and Adam were laying under their tree watching the stars together. It was a tradition, they did before every mission. For once they were both quiet, instead of chatting like normally.
"Belle…I have a bad feeling about this mission." Adam spoke quietly almost as if he was afraid to speak the words.
"Yeah…me too Adam." She has been having these feelings for weeks now but couldn't bring herself to tell Adam. "Can you believe that we met in this exact spot eight years ago?" she said changing the subject.
"Has it really been that long?"
"Just about." She gave a chuckle turning her head to look at Adam. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Adam didn't say a word, he just leaned in closer till their noses almost touched. Blake's breathe shortened and she could feel her heart racing.
"Tag! You're it!" He poked her side with his hand, laughing as he ran away. Blake was beyond stunned and maybe even a bit mad.
"You're so childish!" Shaking off her feelings, she got up and chased after him. Not knowing that would be the last happy memory they would share together.