The dance was well-orchestrated. Yang was mingling with people, laughing and smiling. Ruby was standing awkwardly beside the punch bowl, doing her best to look non-shifty. Weiss was arranging flowers with eerie concentration, her eyes focused on the white roses. Blake was messing around with Sun and Neptune. However, as the night drew on and people got more and more romantic, Blake found herself wondering if it was smart for her to have come. Sun was flirting with her, doing his best to make her laugh, but she just wasn't interested. It wasn't that he wasn't a good guy. He was nice and all, but she didn't feel any romantic emotions towards boys. Blake was homosexual; she'd always known it. But she didn't know how to say it. She felt as if Weiss would judge her, as if Ruby would feel awkward, as if Yang wouldn't take her seriously. Sighing, she sat down on a chair at the side of the hall and played with a few strands of her midnight black hair.
"Not enjoying the party?" The voice that spoke was clear and smooth, with a hint of arrogance. Blake looked up and attempted a smile. She didn't know the girl well, but was pretty certain that her name was Cinder. She was good friends with Mercury and Emerald, and.. That was all that Blake knew.
"No, of course I am," she said. "I'm just a little tired of Sun's bad pick-up lines. Sit down." Cinder did so, and smiled at Blake, a slightly mischievous one.
"Sun is the monkey boy, huh?" she said, leaning back in the chair. "Well, he is quite good-looking, and judging by the tie, he tries his best for you, doesn't he?"
"Oh, he's sweet," Blake said, waving awkwardly over at the blonde boy, who was grinning broadly at her. "It's just... I don't know... I don't really feel as if he's 'the one' for me, I suppose." Cinder laughed and looked over at Blake, her eyes full of a slightly cheeky light. The intense fiery gold of them locked onto the catlike yellow of Blake's, and the younger girl felt herself slip sideways slightly. Her heartbeat sped up a little bit.
"I used to know someone who I thought was the one," Cinder whispered. "But he wasn't, and I knew it as soon as he first kissed me."
"So that's what told you?" Blake said, curious despite herself. "The kiss?"
"Yes," Cinder said calmly, watching her. "I think that's the only true way to tell whether someone is right for you."
Blake sighed and looked over at Sun again, who was trying to juggle some of the canapés. She smiled awkwardly, and then looked back to Cinder. Their eyes locked again, and Blake had to control her breathing as she watched her.
"So.. A kiss?" Blake said. "You think I should kiss Sun? And then I would know?"
"Well.." Cinder purred, crossing her legs in her glittering black dress. "...He might take it the wrong way. If you kiss him, and then you decide that he isn't right for you, he would be devastated, wouldn't he?" She sighed and shook her head. "Men are so fickle. That's why I've had so many girlfriends."
"You're..." Blake didn't quite say the word, but she was thinking it. Cinder laughed and nodded.
"Yes," she said gently. "Men aren't the same as girls - they're just so dependant on always being the best. Whereas woman... Like us... They're sweet and kind and dangerous all at once." Blake nodded slowly and ran a hand through her hair, looking down at her knees awkwardly.
"So.." Blake said, trying to move the conversation onto something different. "What are your opinions on the Faunus? And the White Fang?"
"The White Fang?" Cinder said, tilting her head to one side so that a strand of her hair fell into it. "I suppose... What they stand up for is right. But the way they go about it is wrong. Violence is never the answer, regardless of circumstance. And as for the Faunus, I firmly believe that they are good, kind and loving people."
"So you do think of them as people?" Blake pressed. "And not animals?" Cinder looked surprised at the question, but nodded.
"Of course they're people," she said, smiling. "As much people as you and I are." She huffed a strand of hair from her face. "It's so hot in here; can we go outside?"
"Sure," Blake said, standing up with Cinder. As they began to walk towards the door, she gestured to Sun that she wouldn't be too long.
When the two girls got into the cool night air, Cinder leant back against the wall and smiled over at Blake, laughing. Blake watched her with a slight smile.
"You have really beautiful eyes, by the way," Cinder said. "They're such a gorgeous shade of yellow... Just like a cat's, even. And your eyelashes are so thick... I'm jealous." Blake blushed, feeling awkward.
"Thank you," she said. "You have beautiful... Hair. It's so... Silky?" Cinder laughed and leant forwards so it fell into her face. She shrugged.
"You can touch it, if you want," she offered. Blake put out her hand and stroked the soft, inky black strands. They were soft, just as she'd anticipated, and sort of slippery. They slid through her fingers. Blake had never really had a 'girly' friend, and while Yang and Weiss and Ruby were good, it was nice to have someone to confide in.
"So tell me," Cinder said, laughing. "If Sun isn't your type, who do you like? Gentlemanly people? Or perhaps those bad boy types - I could always try to set you up with Mercury. He's a joker, but he can be sweet." Blake shook her head and sighed.
"Truth is..." she murmured. "I don't really know who I like. I just know that... Well... You've told me, so I doubt you'll freak out at all... I prefer girls, I think." Cinder didn't look at all surprised, and this reassured Blake, so she kept going. "I just haven't met anyone that I think I would love to be with forever."
"Well, if you prefer girls, then I think Emerald is single," Cinder offered. "I mean, she can be a little harsh, but she really is kind underneath." She smiled. "Or perhaps... Perhaps you should do the kissing test that I said you should."
"I've never kissed anyone," Blake admitted, looking embarrassed. "I wouldn't know how to do it."
"That's okay," Cinder said, putting a hand forwards and tilting Blake's chin up. "I can teach you. What are friends for?" Blake felt her skin heat up.
"You would do that?" she murmured. Cinder laughed and shrugged.
"Of course," she said. "I would be happy to help a friend. Okay, so to start, just relax. Don't panic, we'll take this really slowly."
Blake did as she asked, relaxing her body and gazing up at the girl. Cinder nodded approvingly and leant in slightly.
"Now, when my lips touch yours, just keep yours totally still," she said. "Okay?" Blake nodded and took a deep breath as she felt someone kiss her for the first time ever. "Now," Cinder murmured against her lips. "You can move them a tiny bit to fit around mine, okay?"
"Okay then," Blake whispered, slotting them against hers. "Now what?"
"Now, just pull back," Cinder said. Her eyes glimmered brightly, shining like fire in the darkness of the night. "That was easy, wasn't it?" Blake was slightly stunned, as she stared up at the older girl with her eyes huge.
"Why don't you take off the bow?" Cinder whispered. "And we can try it again." Blake swallowed. She didn't know the girl, but she had taught her how to kiss, and she owed her something. Putting her hand up, she gently pulled off the ribbon, exposing her small cat ears. "Now, you've told me a secret. Once we've practised one last time, I'll tell you one as well." Cinder leant forwards again and wrapped her arms around Blake's waist, gently touching her lips to the young girl's. There was a moment of hesitation from Blake's side, but it drifted away as quickly as a breeze. A few moments afterwards, Cinder pulled away, and put her mouth to Blake's ear.
"How was that?" she whispered.
"Scary," Blake admitted. "But I think I understand what you meant about kissing telling you if the person was right for you."
"And am I right for you?"
"Yes." Cinder laughed quietly.
"Incorrect. I said I would tell you a secret; so here it is. You, Blake Belladonna, are now going to die." Blake couldn't breath, couldn't speak, she just stared in horror as the knife Cinder had drawn slid into her chest. Her slender frame crumpled to the floor, and Cinder gazed down at her, her eyes full of sadness.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "But I can't be right all of the time." She slipped the knife out of Blake's chest, threw it into a nearby bush, and then returned to the party.