Hello, and welcome to my second fanfic! With how well the reaction was to my first, I hope that this next story will go over just as well. I've gotten a ton of feedback and learned a lot from it, so I'm ready to hit the ground running here. If you haven't before, I recommend going and checking out my first story, A Neo Outlook on Life. Anyway, I'll let you start reading now. Please leave a review and let me know what you think, and follow if you want to be the first to know when there are updates! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Whenever I Think of You

The spring semester at Beacon was only a week away, and the students were slowly getting ready to return to their normal routine of classes. That is, except for team RWBY. After their recent encounter with Roman Torchwick at the docks, some of them were more interested in answers, Blake in particular. Still, today they were trying to relax, but a food fight with team JNPR today at lunch seemed to have put an end to that, at least for the time being. The team burst through the doors of their room, all four girls covered in bits of food and splashes of drinks. While three of them didn't seem too phased by the mess, the fourth looked on the verge of screaming.

"I'm telling you, this grape soda colour is not going to come out of my hair!" Weiss exclaimed, making a bee line for her dresser. She grabbed a new set of clothes, along with shampoo, soap, and towels, before trudging over to the bathroom.

Yang couldn't help but laugh, "I dunno, I think purple would suit you pretty well." The heiress shot her a dirty look before slamming the bathroom door behind her. "Sheesh, she needs to lighten up a little. She can be such a party pooper."

"Oh come on, she's not that bad," Ruby replied, although she couldn't entirely disagree.

"Meh, I suppose. Hey Blake, where'd you put my shampoo after you borrowed it?"

"Huh?" the Faunus girl asked as she snapped out of a daydream. "Oh, it's over on my dresser."

Ever since her fight at the docks, Blake's thoughts had been everywhere but where they needed to be. The White Fang's involvement with whatever Roman was up to worried her considerably, and it was really starting to show in her physical appearance. Of course, that wasn't the only thing on her mind, but she wanted the other to stay a secret for as long as possible.

Yang smiled, "Perfect, thanks! Hey, do you think Weiss would mind if I went in to join her? There are three shower heads after all."

"I don't think that's a good idea," her sister replied with an expression somewhere between amused and grossed out.

"Awww... alright," the blonde huffed. Blake and Ruby both gave her a quizzical look, making her roll her eyes. "What? I wanna get all this food off me before it dries, and I've got dust and shit in my hair from going through the ceiling."

"I wouldn't be opposed," Blake said under her breath, though mostly to herself. Luckily, none of her teammates heard. She wasn't about to say anything, not yet at least, but Roman wasn't the only person on her mind. She'd been having a lot of strange dreams lately. They all revolved her being in a relationship with a certain girl, whom she found herself falling for more and more with each passing day. Some of them were innocent enough, just the two of them together on a walk, or having dinner at a nice restaurant. On the other hand, some of them involved nothing but pure sex and fantasy. The fact that it was a girl wasn't what bothered her, she'd been bisexual for a few years now, rather it was the girl that she now couldn't seem to get out of her head that was causing the problem.

Weiss emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, and Blake rushed in to take her spot before either of the other girls had the chance to oppose. She undressed and threw her likely ruined outfit on the hamper after turning on the water to let it heat up before she got in. Since she wasn't the first one in here it didn't take long, and she let the hot water cascade over her shoulders as she took a moment to relax and clear her head.

'It still smells like Weiss in here,' she immediately thought, bringing a small smile to her face. 'No, damn it, I need to stop thinking about her. They're just dreams, not real... And even if I wanted them to be real... it would just never happen. She's so... cold, and mean, and proper, and beautiful... Fuck! I have to do something about this, but what? There's no way I can tell her, not after the way she reacted to me being a Faunus. Maybe I can talk to someone? Gah! Why is this even bothering me so much? She's not the first person I've had a crush on, but this is just so... different somehow.'

She shook her head before putting it under the water and letting it flow through her raven-coloured locks. To her dismay, the food in her hair had already dried, and it took her over fifteen minutes to scrub all of it out along with what was caked on the rest of her body. On the bright side, she didn't spend any of that time thinking about Weiss. After finishing her shower, she dried off and put on her new clothes before coming out and giving Yang the chance to clean herself up, followed afterward by Ruby.

"So what do you guys wanna do today?" Yang asked once everyone was showered and dressed.

"I'm probably just going to stay here and read," Blake replied as she took up her usual position on her bed, grabbing the book she'd been reading off the nightstand.

Yang rolled her eyes, "Laaaaame. C'mon, what about you, Ruby?"

"Sorry sis, I promised Pyrrha I'd help her and Jaune with some training today. Maybe Weiss will go somewhere with you though."

Weiss shook her head, "No thank you, I've got some studying I need to catch up on in the library."

"You guys are no fun, you know that?" Yang huffed. "Whatever, there's a party on the other side of campus tonight. I guess I can find something to entertain myself till then."

Ruby looked concerned at the statement, "Another party? You've been out almost every night this week, maybe you should slow down a little?"

"She's right," Blake added. "Or at least if you go, come back here afterwards instead of spending the night with another random guy, it's not safe."

"Relax, I'm fine. I know my limits and how to be safe and blah blah blah. And besides, do you really think there's a guy on campus whose ass I couldn't kick if he tried anything funny? Anyway, you guys are welcome to come with if you'd like. It'll be fun!"

"Pass" came simultaneously from the rest of her team.

"Alright, fine," the blonde groaned. "I guess it couldn't hurt to hang with Weiss for a while and study. Blake, you wanna join us?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "When did I say you could come study with me?"

"When did I say you had a choice in the matter? Anyway, Blake, you in?"

Blake shrunk down into her bed at the thought of spending the afternoon in close quarters with Weiss, "I, uh... N-No, that's alright, I think I'll actually go out, try to get some fresh air." Yang shrugged and left soon after with Weiss for the library. Blake ended up tagging along with Ruby for the afternoon to help out with Jaune's training session. She was pleasantly surprised by the progress the boy had made since arriving here, but he still had a long way to go before he could rival his classmates. The afternoon was fairly productive, with several sparring matches between the four of them to insure everyone had time to rest between fights. It suddenly dawned on Blake as she sat down after a match as to who she could talk with about her feelings, especially after picking up on some of the looks Pyrrha kept giving to Jaune throughout the session.

'Of course, Pyrrha! She's got to have someone helpful to say about your crush not liking you back. That sounded kinda mean... Whatever, it wasn't meant to be, and she can't hear this anyway.'

She waited until it was Ruby's turn to spar with Jaune, and scooted closer to Pyrrha on the bench so she could talk to her a little more quietly. Not that she thought Ruby or Jaune would go around telling people if they overheard, but she wanted as few people to know about her feelings as possible until she figured out exactly what she wanted to do about them.

"Hey, Pyrrha, can I talk to you about something?" she asked shyly. "Something kinda... personal."

Pyrrha gave her a slightly confused look, "Of course, what's wrong?"

'Okay, here we go. How do I even start? I don't wanna just come out and say it, but I don't wanna be too vague, that'll only make her more curious.'

Blake sighed, "Okay, well... I sorta have a... a crush on someone I can't have a crush on. I thought at first it'd pass, but they're all I can think about now, and I don't know what you do. I was hoping you might have something helpful to say. I'm starting to lose my mind, so really anything will help."

Pyrrha tried to suppress a laugh, but failed, "Really? Come on, Blake, we all know you like Sun. It's pretty obvious that he likes you too. Just go for it!"

"It um... It's not Sun..."

"Wait, what?" Pyrrha asked with more shock in her tone than she would've liked. "I don't understand... You two have been acting so-"

"I know, I know," Blake interrupted. "Don't get me wrong Sun's a great guy, but... it's not him. I wish it were. It'd make everything so much easier."

Blake's vagueness had done exactly what she'd hoped it wouldn't, and Pyrrha had to know more. "Alright, well may I ask who it is then? And why exactly can't you have a crush on them in the first place?"

"I'd really rather keep that to myself for now," the Faunus girl said quietly, turning her eyes down to her feet. "Not that I think you'd tell them, but... I don't know, I feel like if they find out it'll just make things so much more awkward, and I don't want to hurt my team like that." As soon as the words left her mouth Blake realised her mistake and froze. Her eyes widened, but she kept her gaze at the ground and desperately hoped Pyrrha hadn't picked up on it.

Pyrrha raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Hurt your team? Wait, so... it's one of your teammates?"

'Damn it, I had to keep going... There's not a way out of this now, is there?' There probably was a way she could've lied and gotten past the slip, but lying about this just seemed idiotic.

"I... Well... Y-Yeah, it is."

"Okay... Well, I'm guessing it's not Ruby because of how young she is, so... is it Yang?" Pyrrha hesitantly asked. Blake was still for a moment, contemplating whether or not to answer. Finally she shook her head no, and Pyrrha gasped. "Weiss?"

Blade nodded before turning to see the look of utter shock on Pyrrha's face. 'Yeah, that's about the reaction I expected.'

"Alright, yes, it's Weiss," Blake replied in a hushed and somewhat sad tone. She knew there was no way Ruby or Jaune could hear her, and that no one else was around, but it still felt like something she had to say in a whisper. "Now please promise me you won't tell anyone. I don't know what I want to do about this yet, and I'm afraid of what'll happen if she finds out."

Pyrrha gave a comforting smile, "I won't tell a soul. But... wow! Of all the people at Beacon, I never would've seen you falling for someone like her. What brought it on in the first place?"

"I'm really not sure," Blake replied, giving a hint of a smile back. It was a huge relief to not only have finally said it, but also to have such a positive response to it. "I've been having a lot of dreams about us being together. I don't remember exactly when they started, but she's all I've been able to think about since. I've never felt this strongly before, it's weird. If it were anyone else I know I wouldn't be having this problem, but the fact that it's her makes everything so much more complicated."

"Why do you say that?" Pyrrha asked, and Blake gave her a look as if she were crazy.

"You're joking, right? She's Weiss Schnee! Even if we set aside the fact that she's my teammate, someone with that kind of money, power, and refinement would never go for someone like me. Not to mention I'm a Faunus, we know how she and her family feel about that, and I'm also pretty sure she's straight."

Pyrrha put a comforting hand on Blake's shoulder, "You'll never know unless you try. As far as being from a wealthy family, there's not much you can do about that, but you're still an amazing person. The only way you're going to make any progress with this is if you tell her how you feel. Even if she says no, then at least you'll have closure."

"But what if she hates me for it?" Blake asked. "Weiss and I are going to be on a team together for a long time. I don't want to risk ruining things, especially since she only just started warming up to everyone."

"I think you're overthinking this a little. Even if she's as opposed to it as you think she will be, things will go back to normal eventually."

Blake sighed, "Eventually is a long time. What if-?"

"Blake," Pyrrha sternly interrupted. "Listen to me. As much as you don't want to admit it, you'll have to tell to her about how you feel sooner or later, and the sooner the better. I want you to go talk with her after we're done here, alright? You don't have to put everything on the table yet if you're not ready, but at least try to test the water, gauge her reaction. Then, if all goes well, tell her. Nothing bad will happen, I promise."

Blake gave a small but noticeable smile, the first any of her friends had seen from her in weeks, "Thanks, I will. Maybe-"

She was cut short by a loud thud, and turned her head to see Ruby standing over Jaune, who had clearly lost their match. Pyrrha smiled at him and stood up to go help him to his feet. "Not bad, not bad. You're definitely improving, that's for sure."

'I think she should really take her own advice,' Blake thought with a smile of her own. 'I think Jaune's the only one in the whole school who doesn't know you like him. Anyway, talking to Weiss... I don't even know how to have that conversation... Or even what to lead with for that matter. I guess I should start with whether or not she's straight... That should be fun to start a conversation with. Hey Weiss, how's it going? Ever slept with a girl before? Gah! Maybe I can have someone else ask for me... No, that's dumb. I have to do it myself. I'll see if I can get a few minutes alone with her tonight. Here's hoping all goes well...'

"Blake, are you even listening?" Ruby asked impatiently, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, um... No, sorry, what were you saying?"

Ruby sighed and crossed her arms, "I asked if you and Pyrrha wanted another quick match together before we head back inside."

"No, that's alright. I'm about ready to head back anyway," Blake replied. The gang returned to the dorms, and Blake immediately crawled into her bed after getting back to the room. She wasn't particularly tired, but she wanted some time to just lay there and think about what she planned on saying to Weiss, and how exactly to say it more than anything. She had her book open to make it look like she was reading, as well as to stop the flow of questions coming in from her teammates about how she could lay there doing nothing all afternoon. Yang had returned from the library already, saying she'd gotten bored, which gave Blake the idea of going and talking to Weiss now. The library would be a nice, quiet place they could talk in private, it seemed perfect.

"I'll be back. I'm going to check out a new book in the library," Blake said after long while, finally getting out of her bed.

Ruby looked over, confused, "Really? Didn't you just get that one last night?"

"Yeah, but um... it's not as good as I thought it would be."

"If you're sure," Ruby shrugged. "Hey, maybe while you're there your can ask Weiss for some study help. I saw you didn't do too well in some of your finals last semester."

"I suppose that couldn't hurt," Blake said as she started toward the door. "I'll see you guys later."

"Alright, have fun!" Yang called out as Blake closed the door behind her.

'I really hope I will,' Blake thought as she started the walk across campus. It was a beautiful day out, which gave her a bit of a boost as she rounded the corner and entered the library. 'Okay, if I were Weiss, where would I be?'

Her search didn't take long, and she found Weiss sitting alone at a rather secluded table near the back of the east wing. She took a deep breath and started to walk over. She hadn't had one on one time with Weiss after the team had found out about her being a Faunus, and while Weiss had seemed to be alright with it after the incident at the docks, Blake was still afraid there would be some awkwardness between them. With that in mind, she wanted to act as well behaved as possible to keep Weiss in a good mood. After all, the subject she was about to delve into could have some pretty nasty consequences if things didn't go according to plan, or weren't handled with the appropriate care.

"Hey, Weiss," Blake warmly greeted her before taking a seat at the table. "How's studying going?"

"Um... alright I guess?" Weiss replied with a quizzical expression. "You seem rather... happy. Not that that's a bad thing, but you've been acting very moody lately."

Blake shrugged, "Well, it's hard to stay that way when it's such a nice day out. But anyway, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind going over some stuff from last semester with me?"

Weiss' surprise only grew, "Really? You're coming to me for help?"

"Well... yeah," Blake said shyly. "You're the smartest person I know."

"Oh, well... thank you. I suppose I can lend a hand. What class are you reviewing for?"

"Professor Oobleck's."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Maybe if you didn't spend every class doodling in your notebook you'd know more about what's going on."

Blake ignored the comment and got straight into reviewing the material. In truth, she had struggled a lot with Oobleck's class, so getting a little extra help now was actually needed. After about fifteen minutes though she was starting to get a little restless, and decided to take Pyrrha's advice and test the waters. She let Weiss get back to her own study material for a few minutes to build up an awkward silence that she was more than happy to break when she felt that enough time had passed.

"So Weiss, any guys grabbing your attention lately?" she asked, taking Weiss by surprise.

"I beg your pardon?" the heiress asked. "What brought that up?"

Blake shrugged, "I dunno, just girl talk. We never really hang out, so I figured why not? So, any special guys? Or girls?"

"Excuse me? What do you mean girls?"

"I mean exactly that. I didn't want to assume anything, just in case."

"Oh," Weiss replied, giving her a somewhat sceptical look. "Well, if you must know, I don't have time to worry about things like relationships right now. School is simply too important to lose focus on, especially with classes starting up so soon."

'Well... I guess that's not a no on liking girls... Maybe she's not interested in relationships now, but that would mean I could have a shot once the semester gets underway and calms down.'

"Fair enough, I suppose," Blake replied. "Although you can't spend every waking moment studying, as much as I'm sure you'd like to. So... just out of curiosity, you never said no to being into girls."

Weiss shot her a glare, "Of course I'm not into girls! That's just... wrong!"

Blake's face instantly fell, and she felt a darkness rushing through her body at the heiress' outburst. It had been the response she'd expected from the start, and even though she'd tried to prepare herself for it, it still hurt more than she imagined it would. The sheer revulsion to the idea was also equally as painful.

"Oh, alright..." she said quietly, looking down at the table. "I didn't know you felt that way about it..."

"Wait, are you...?" Weiss asked, and Blake nodded. "Oh, I um... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Blake interrupted, quickly standing up. "I'll let you get back to studying. Sorry to disturb you."

Weiss frowned, already wishing she could take back what she'd said, "Wait, I didn't mean it like that!" Blake didn't stay to hear what Weiss said next. She took off running, and didn't stop until she reached reached the campus gardens. She sat down on a bench behind the cover of a few pine trees and started to cry. In the far back of her mind there was a small relief in the fact that Weiss' comment about her sexual preference is what looked to have triggered this episode, but that was of little comfort right now.

'I can't... I... Fuck! In two sentences she crushed any idea of us ever getting together. Shattered it like a fucking pane of glass... I guess that's why we call her the ice queen... Damn it, why did I listen to Pyrrha? I don't feel like I have closure, I feel... hopeless...'

"Blake?" a small voice said off to her right, making her jump. She turned with watery eyes to see Weiss walking over to her. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't know. Are you alright?"

Blake nodded and wiped her eyes as Weiss sat down beside her, "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, everyone's entitled to their opinion."

"Blake, I'm sorry," Weiss said sincerely, shifting awkwardly in her seat. "I have nothing against people who are homosexual, it's just... sometimes I say things I don't mean. My family is very conservative with their views on issues like this, it's just the way I was raised. It's the same reason I acted they way I did when we found out you were a Faunus. I'm sorry, I truly am. I didn't mean to offend you."

'Wow, it would take something like this to actually get any emotions out of her. I can't be mad at her though, it's not her fault. And this is probably the only apology I'll ever get from her, so I may as well take it.'

Blake smiled weakly, "No hard feelings." She opened her arms for a hug, and was surprised when Weiss willingly came in to give her one. She a sighed with content as she savoured the moment, then took a deep breath through her nose and smiled at the smell of the heiress' vanilla scented shampoo. "Sorry I ran out like that. You're a good friend, and I shouldn't have overreacted. Anyway, I think I should head back to the room now. I'm guessing you want to get back to studying?"

Weiss shrugged, "Actually, I think I'm alright for now. Do you mind if I walk back with you?"

"Not at all," Blake replied as the two stood up and began their walk back to the dorm.

'Okay, I guess it didn't turn out as badly as I thought it would. I think I might actually have that closure Pyrrha was talking about. Maybe I can actually start to get over her now. I wish I didn't have to... but... I guess some things just aren't meant to be.'

Boy, if Blake gave up that easily I'd make this would be a much shorter story. Be sure to leave a review if you've got something you'd like to share, and I'll see you all next chapter!