Since I was having a tough time writing the next chapter to "A Beacon to a Candle's Flame," I went and decided to write this. Kind of like an in-between chapter for the two stories I've written. Since this was like a side project, don't expect the writing to be very good. I feel like I could have done better but oh well.

Weiss

Class was as loud as it ever was. As we worked on the assignment given to us by Professor Port the class had gotten very talkative. I guess he didn't count this assignment as very important as he barely did anything to stop the voices from rising. I sat in my customary silence and concentrated as hard as I could on my work. Yang and Blake were next to me but they were busy talking about whatever plans they had this weekend, not a single word was about the work in front of them.

I would be angry with them, but like a lot of things, I've grown used to it. After that night, Yang had spent a lot of her time with Blake, most likely to distract herself. I couldn't blame her. Everyone has their own way of dealing with grief and hers was Blake. One final mark on my work and I was done with my assignment. I stood and walked down to put it on the Professor's desk while he sat and watched over us. When I placed my papers on his desk, Port had looked at me and began to try to say something. He stopped himself though, quickly trying to cover his near mistake with a cough. He knew it was useless to try and speak with me.

Unlike Yang or Blake, who helped each other by talking or just being generally supportive of each other, I was left as a broken shell. Ever since Ruby had decided to leave, I refused to speak to anyone, not even my own teammates. They tried everything to get me to say something but I barely did anything besides stare straight into their eyes. After months of this, they finally gave up on my voice ever returning. It made sense to me though, hopes were annoying and they wasted precious time.

I knew if I spoke to any degree, my thoughts would flood out and destroy what was left of my mind. Instead, I swallowed my pride and threw myself into my academic life. My grades shot up higher than they have ever been. My father was pleased by it but he wasn't happy when I refused to talk to him. I didn't mean any ill will behind it but he would yell at me over my scroll for hours, trying to get me to say anything. He always gave up though, not wanting my "rebellion" to distract him too much from his responsibilities. My mother was nicer about it. She had known about what happened within my team and understood why I was like this. Even over the screen in my hand, I could feel the sadness she carried whenever I didn't speak to her, but I didn't dare betray what I was feeling inside and kept a straight face. It didn't take too long for them to slowly stop contacting me unless it was completely necessary.

Class ended and I immediately stood to leave the room. There was no reason for me to sit around in a class room with nothing to do, with no one to talk to. In the hallway, students rushed by me to go meet their friends for whatever after-school shenanigans they had planned. I would normally just get something quick to eat and stay in my dorm room, watching the time pass me by. I didn't get very far though, as Yang and Blake appeared in front of me.

Yang gave me a bright smile. "Hey Weiss, me and Blake were going to the cafe today. We were wondering if you wanted to come since you don't go out that much anymore."
I just gave her a blank look and subtly shook my head.
Blake's face darkened a little at this. "Okay, Weiss. Just remember that you're welcome to join us anytime."

I just walked past them and they turned to look at me. I didn't dare turn around and look at their hurt faces. It took everything I had not to break apart by this point and I didn't need anything to make it worse. Besides, they didn't need me to interrupt their time together. I was just the third wheel to them, the flat tire who always needed some attention to stay working. I didn't want people to constantly worry over me or make sure I'm fine. Whether I could handle myself or not, I wasn't going to drag down anyone else with me, especially not my teammates.

My room was a welcoming silence for my brain. Unfortunately, it also meant that it was free to wonder about whatever it wanted. I never liked when it did that, always trying to pick out the things that hurt me the most or got under my skin. The worst of it was when it would start me on the track about what I was supposed to do with my future. I wasn't set anymore on the idea of being a huntress after I leave Beacon, not after witnessing the worst the career has to offer someone. The only thing left for me was taking over my father's business and all the stress it gave. I doubt that I could handle it long but there was nothing for me past that.

I had spent an hour just thinking about what I should do but I got basically nowhere with it. It was still a couple of hours until Blake and Yang would show up. I didn't look forward to their return. It just meant that our curtain would sweep closed and they would be all over each other without regard for the only other person in the room. But who was I to tell two people how they should love each other? Certainly not me, my love was gone.

That thought alone set me off. I fell to the ground, waiting for the tears to eventually come. They always came when the pain in my mind finally started attacking me. I clutched at my head, trying to keep it from tearing in half. The realizations that I wanted to avoid popping into my head, over and over. She didn't leave. She wasn't away on a trip. She was dead. Completely gone from me. I'll never see her smile at me again. Never again will I hear her as she tried to get my attention. Gone, gone, gone...

I felt like a selfish child. She was gone and all I wanted was to feel the love she gave me for nothing in return. What was wrong with me? I'm sitting here crying on the cold floor, wishing for something that I know will never happen. My head pounded against my skull and tried to tear me apart. My hands pulled at my hair, trying to find something to make it all stop. Nothing I did would work to stop my thoughts and mind from destroying me. There was only one thing I could think of to stop all of this. I grabbed at the scarf that was given to me by Ruby so long ago as a reminder that she was always there for me. With both ends in my hands, I pulled and made it tighten around my throat.

The pain was too much for me to handle and I refused to let the scarf go. A familiar darkness began to creep over me, calming the voices and thoughts inside my head. I didn't dare give up though, because I knew as soon as I let go, it would all rush back into me. I closed my eyes and waited for the darkness to take me over. Everything finally went silent and I could feel my mouth twist into a smile.

The next day.

Blake

"You can't do anything? She basically tried to kill herself!" The man in front of me was way too calm for this situation.
Ozpin looked right into my eyes. "I know that this has happened before and all but past that she seems relatively fine. Her grades are the highest in the class and her combat skills are exceptional compared to the other top students."
I couldn't believe him. "This is the third time in two years I've found her on the ground like that! She won't talk to anyone and she won't do anything more than school work and just sitting in our room."
Ozpin stood slowly. "I understand your concerns Miss Belladonna but by most standards she is fine. I'm sorry that I can't do much to alleviate your concerns."

I wanted to throw something at the man but it wouldn't do any good. Weiss was still resting in the medical wing and I was still feeling useless to help her. I knew it was a bad idea to let her go off without us while we went to have fun in town. Ozpin was obviously done talking with me, opting to watch over his school through his window. I stood and walked through his door to where Yang was waiting for me. She didn't have the energy to deal with Ozpin so she stayed just outside. She saw me and walked over to me. I tried to to look into her eyes but she was hanging her head low with her eyes to the ground. Seeing her like this was tough to swallow. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to comfort the normally lively girl.

Yang wasn't there when I found the silent girl on the floor of our room. She had stayed downstairs to talk with someone about a class while I wanted to go ahead and see how Weiss was doing. The first thing I saw when I walked in the door was Weiss laying on the ground with a hand very lightly grabbing the ends to her scarf. It wasn't the first time this had happened and I knew exactly what had happened. With no hesitation, I rushed over and ripped the red cloth of her neck. I checked her breathing to make sure she was still alive and I could feel a very light breath breaking through her lips. The rest after that was a blur to me. I rushed her into the medical wing and called Yang over my scroll to tell her what happened. She was on her way to see Weiss but I decided that I had something to do.

Back in our room, I looked around for where I threw the scarf. Why I never took it from Weiss, I will never know. Destroying it was a bad idea though. It would just be spitting in the face of Ruby's memory. Instead, I hid it deep into my assigned drawer, hoping that Weiss wouldn't find it and use it again. She really loved it but it just wasn't a good thing for her to have at this point. With that chore done I decided to lay down on my bed and think about where we're going to go after all of this. It was a scary thing to think about but I was glad I had Yang to travel through life with.

Almost like she knew I was thinking about her, she opened the door slowly and poked her head in to see if I was there. She saw me laying on my bed and walked in to join me. Without saying a word, she joined me by laying down next to me. I lifted myself up a little so she could put an arm around me. It was silent for awhile, just trying to enjoy each other's company.

I eventually broke the silence. "Is Weiss okay?"
I felt Yang nod her head.
"Is she awake?"
Another nod.
"Did she say anything?"
Her head shook the side and a her grip on me tightened.
"Are you okay, Yang?"
She finally spoke. "No. How about you?"
I tried to get even closer to my partner. "I've been better."
"I think we all have." Yang stated plainly.
My previous thoughts came back to me. "Yang, where is all of this going to go?"
She kept looking up towards the roof. "I'm not sure, Blake. It's going somewhere though."

The silence rushed back in. I didn't want to disturb it with useless chatter. It wasn't the time for it. I worried about how Weiss was doing but I felt like asking Yang about her was a bad idea. Plus, Yang looked like something was eating away at her.

Without looking at me, Yang asked me a question I almost didn't hear. "Blake, will you marry me?"
It didn't take me long to think about it. "Yes, Yang. I will."
She just kept laying there. "That's good."
"You do know we actually can't get married yet, do you?" I asked.
She nodded a little. "I know. I just want to make sure before I eventually do a real proposal."
"When will that be?"
She have me a quick look. "It will definitely be awhile, but it will happen."

I just nodded my head and pulled her closer to me. There wasn't much else we could do besides wait for whatever the future would throw at us.

Well I hope you enjoyed reading this. If not, then please see my policy which can be found in the next sentence. As always, reviews are welcome, and please remember to have fun!