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Disclaimer I do not own RWBY.


Chapter 2. The Safest Place

It had been two days since Weiss Schnee had moved into the girl's dormitory at Vale University, and Blake still couldn't get her off her mind.

She just kept making up excuses, attributing her infatuation only to Weiss' physical appearance, and then telling herself she was just being foolish.

Again, it's not a crime to think someone is pretty. It doesn't mean I like her.

Perhaps if she told herself that enough times, she might actually start to believe it.

She spent the rest of her weekend thinking about the new girl, though she made absolutely certain to keep her thoughts to herself, lest her nosy best friends make this even more difficult for her.

Thankfully, Yang hadn't said anything more by means of teasing or implying Blake had a crush, so at least that was a small blessing. Ruby seemed none the wiser, and in Blake's opinion, the fewer people who knew about this fleeting crush, the better.

It was now early Monday morning, after a night of movies where Ruby and Yang had yet again decided to sleep in Blake's bed. Therefore, as soon as the alarm started going off, Blake was up in an instant, accidentally elbowing Yang in the process.

"Ow... yeesh," the blonde mumbled. "All right, all right I'm up, you don't have to hit me..."

"Sorry. I actually didn't mean it that time."

As the sisters rolled out of her bed, Blake made her way to her dresser to grab some clothes for the day. She changed and got ready in her bathroom, while Ruby and Yang left to prepare themselves in their own room.

By the time Blake had freshened herself up and pulled on her clothes, she noticed that she'd subconsciously decided to wear one of her nicest outfits.

Because I might see Weiss again today... But she quickly shook her head. No. It's just a coincidence. That's all.

She started to brush her hair, again, realizing a little too late just how much time she was spending on brushing it and trying to make it neat, whereas normally she could care less. Blake quickly put her brush down and hurried back into her room to grab her bag, packing up all the necessary books for the day.

She had two morning classes and one in the afternoon today after the common lunch hour. Ruby and Yang happened to share most of Blake's afternoon classes with her, while only Yang shared a few of the morning classes.

Blake pulled out a bowl and a spoon from her small cupboards and poured herself some cereal and milk from her mini fridge. By the time she'd finished eating and knocked on the joint door between her room and Yang's, the sisters had just finished getting ready as well.

Together, the three of them headed down the halls out of the dorm room building. They passed by dozens of other girls as they went, but Blake's eyes were searching for one in particular.

Yang smirked to herself in knowing just who her friend was seeking out, but she said nothing this time.

The trio parted ways for morning classes, and Blake proceeded to her lecture hall alone. It was a large room with space for at least fifty students. She tended to sit in the back, in a place where she could still see the board and hear well enough, but where she didn't have to feel so self-conscious in knowing that rows and rows of people were staring at her back.

She sat down and began arranging her things as the rest of her classmates began filing in.

And then the last person she expected to see walked in through the doors.

A splash of white in a sea of grays and blacks and browns, Weiss entered the room with her head held high, her eyes forward and shoulders straight. She walked with a sense of purpose down the aisle of steps and strutted right up to the front row in the center of the room, where there were plenty of vacant seats.

Blake watched her silently, admiring her confidence. In spite of the fact that she'd only just arrived a few days ago, Weiss could still walk into a classroom like she owned the place – and perhaps she really could afford to.

The class they were now sharing was a core course, so it made sense that Weiss was here, no matter what her major might've been.

Professor Port walked in just a few minutes later and welcomed the class.

"Good morning! It's such a pleasure to see all of your bright and shining faces early this Monday morning! We're all eager to learn now, aren't we?"

The response from the class was half silence, and half groaning, Blake being among the former half.

But there was still one person who was interested and attentive.

The professor paused in front of Weiss and had a brief conversation with her, then got to taking attendance. Blake's name was right near the beginning, and when he called for her, she only raised her hand, fearing that if she spoke her voice might be raspy and sound weird.

But then... what do I care? So what if my voice sounds weird?

She definitely wasn't trying to prevent sounding strange when Weiss could hear her.

While everyone else in the room mumbled "here" or "yeah" at the professor's call, Weiss' voice rang out clearly once her name was spoken.

"Present, sir."

Automatically, the mood in the room shifted. Blake's ears twitched as people started mumbling.

"Chill out, princess. We're not in a military academy."

"Making the rest of us look bad..."

Blake couldn't help but get defensive. She's not making you look bad. You're doing that yourselves!

The class soon commenced, and Professor Port pulled down a projection screen to begin his powerpoint and lecture on an ancient civilization. The sound of fifty notebooks lazily flopping open filled the room, pens clicking, more groaning and yawning.

Blake jotted down whatever notes she thought were more pertinent, copying the words on the powerpoint rather than the professor's voice.

Most of the students had learned by this point in the semester that they could drown him out and leave his questions unanswered without penalty. Whenever he asked them a question, Blake usually knew the answer, but the fact that no one else raised their hands made her feel awkward if she did, so she tended to refrain.

But things were different today. As soon as Professor Port asked his first question, a hand shot up from the front row of seats. Blake's ears flicked as she peered down the rows in front of her to the girl clad in white.

"Ah, yes!" the professor bellowed. "Finally, a response from this class! And it's from someone who's only just gotten here! Go right ahead, Miss Schnee."

Weiss lowered her hand to fold it neatly into her lap and replied in a clear, intelligent voice.

"The Great War occurred approximately one-hundred years ago, and involved the four major kingdoms at the time: Mistral, Vacuo, Vale, and Menagerie. At the conclusion of the war, once the peace treaty was signed, each kingdom contributed one major advancement in modern technology to share with the rest of the world..."

She went on in detail for a moment, and by the time she was finished speaking, Blake knew she wasn't the only one in the room who'd been floored by Weiss' textbook-perfect response. Professor Port actually applauded her.

"Bravo, bra-vo, Miss Schnee! What an excellent response! I'm impressed! The rest of you would do well to study as hard as your new classmate here. She's only been here for ten minutes and she's already participated more than most of you have in two months! Now then..."

As he turned his back on the class and continued his lecture, Blake couldn't help but look down at Weiss once again. Her posture was straight and engaged, her attention clearly still focused on the powerpoint as her pen began jotting down everything word for word.

Blake had certainly been impressed by Weiss' extensive knowledge, and she could hear admirable whispers from a few other people as well.

But the majority of the response was less kind. There were mumbles like "Teacher's pet," and "Know-it-all," and "Show-off." Blake even heard a few harsher comments as well.

"Smart-ass," one boy grunted. "I bet Daddy paid for all her homeschooling, so of course she's a damn genius."

"Now we all look like shit cuz of her..."

Blake snorted from her observant spot in the back of the room. No. Again, I'm pretty sure you guys do that all on your own.

But to her dismay, the remainder of the class was hardly any different from the start of it.

Whenever the professor asked a question, Weiss' hand was always the first, and often the only, one up. He would try to call on other people, who were either incorrect or didn't elaborate as he'd been looking for, and ultimately would resort to calling on Weiss.

By the time class was over, Blake was certain that every other student in the room hated Weiss.

As they began packing up and filing out, she heard more muttered comments of "What a brat," and comments of a harsher nature as well.

Blake tried to pack her things up a bit slowly so that she might linger and catch Weiss on her way out.

But to Blake's surprise, Weiss was one of the first people out of the room. After she'd politely said goodbye to the professor, Weiss packed her things and hurried toward the doors, mingling with a crowd that seemed to part in her wake, as though her display of intelligence had repulsed them somehow.

There were cruel words about Weiss on almost everyone's lips at the time, and Blake knew it was impossible that the girl didn't hear at least a few of them.

But Weiss seemed to pay no heed to those around her. She didn't spare anyone so much as a second glance as she hurried out of the room and disappeared.

Blake was disgusted by the lack of manners from her fellow classmates. She grabbed her things and rushed out of the room, hoping to catch Weiss and perhaps say a few kinder words to her. But by the time she'd exited the room, Weiss was gone.

Heaving a sigh, Blake headed down the hall toward her next class.

It's a shame she's being judged so soon on her first day. I'll bet people were judging her when it was still just a rumor she'd be coming here. I feel bad for her...

In her next class with Yang, Blake confessed her worries to her friend.

"She answered every question, so she's obviously really smart. But everyone just kept bad-mouthing her for it. It was kinda harsh, you know?"

Yang leaned back in her chair and frowned.

"Yeah, I hear ya. For whatever reason, people seem to look down on people who have all the answers and actually try to be successful in their classes. It's like, um hello, that's what we're supposed to be doing here? It's college, for god's sake. We're paying billions of dollars so we can pass these damn classes, not sit and say nothing all semester."

Blake felt a little more relieved now that she knew there was at least one other person on Weiss' side.

"You're absolutely right. Thanks for hearing me out, Yang. I feel better."

"No sweat." Yang waved her hand dismissively, then leaned over towards Blake, keeping her voice low. "I just think it's cute how you're getting so defensive over her~"

Blake pouted, her good mood now ruined by the embarrassment.

"Oh, quit it. It's not because I li-... I mean, it'd be this way if it were anyone being mistreated for no reason. It's not just because it's Weiss, okay?"

"Yeah, I get it. I know you'd do this for anyone who was being treated unfairly." Yang patted her friend's shoulder reassuringly. "Sorry, Blake. Didn't mean to tease. But I really do think it's super sweet of you to be worrying about this girl. She'd probably be really flattered to know that a total stranger was lookin' out for her."

"Or she'd be really creeped out..."

"Nah, no way!"

The two best friends enjoyed their shared class together as they always did, by writing notes to each other, whispering jokes every now and again, and just in general trying to make the material more interesting to themselves.

At long last, they were dismissed, and the lunch hour was upon them. They met up with Ruby outside of her classroom, then continued on their way out of the building and to a large cafe on campus for lunch.

This was the spot where most students tended to enjoy their free time, as there were several different places in the same building to get different types of food, ranging anywhere from pizza to sandwiches to salads. There were vending machines with snacks and sodas, and little stands that offered plastic utensils and condiments free of charge. There were dozens of tables both inside and outside, and it was just a nice place to spend time in general.

Yang, Blake, and Ruby waited their turn on line, and then ordered their respective meals. Since Thursdays were their last day of classes for the week, they often shared a pizza then, but as for Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, the trio tended to order their favorite things for lunch.

Yang asked for a large sub sandwich, Blake requested a tuna melt, and Ruby asked for two smaller sandwiches and some snacks.

Once they had all their food, they brought everything over to the table where they typically sat, in the corner by the windows, their casual conversations about classes and current events already in full-swing.

Lunch time hadn't changed since middle school in the sense that it was still everyone's favorite time of the school day. It was a chance to de-stress a little bit in between classes, to satiate their growling stomachs, and to socialize like they weren't allowed to do during lectures.

Ruby and Yang always knew how to make Blake laugh, no matter how awful of a morning she'd had, and the same was true for her if one of the sisters was ever feeling down. But today, there were smiles all around as they took bites of one another's food and enjoyed themselves, just as everyone else around them was doing.

Or so it seemed.

It was Ruby who paused mid-chew of her sandwich and made a little "oh!" with her mouth full, which resulted in her scrambling for a napkin.

"Easy, sis," Yang chuckled. "Swallow first, speak second."

"Look who's talking," Blake mumbled good-naturedly.

Ruby quickly gulped down her food before leaning over the table, her voice hushed.

"Guys! Isn't that the new girl? What's her name... Weiss?" She nodded in the direction behind Blake and Yang, and both of the older girls peered that way.

Sure enough, Blake recognized that light-colored dress and snow-white hair. Weiss was sitting in the centermost table, the one that was typically left vacant since no one wanted to be in the line of sight of every other person in the building.

But the most heartbreaking part of it all was that she was entirely alone. No one was sitting with her, no one was even pausing as they walked by to say hello to her, or even so much as smile at her.

Her posture was still straight and professional as she picked miserably at her salad, but Blake could guess that the girl was downtrodden and nervous, and just very skilled at concealing it.

Weiss left her salad unfinished, then pulled out a book to read.

That was what made Blake flinch.

She knew that tactic all too well.

Before she'd met Ruby and Yang, Blake had been the same way. She'd always sat alone at lunch and in classes, and pulling out a book was just an excuse to focus on something else other than the fact that she was utterly alone in a place full of people.

Even though she didn't want to pity Weiss, Blake's heart went out to her. Evidently, the sisters' did as well.

"That sucks," Yang sighed. "All alone on her first day..."

"And you know no one is going to go talk to her," Blake mumbled. "Not when the whole campus knows who her father is, and how smart she is. They think she's a stuck-up show-off."

"That's mean!" Ruby whined. "Everyone should have someone to sit with at lunch time!"

"Well then," Yang nudged her little sister's shin beneath the table. "Why don't you go ask her to join us?"

"H-Huh? Me? I can't do it! What if she yells at me? I'm younger than everyone else here, after all. She'll just think I'm a kid and ignore me. You do it, Yang!"

"Oh, please. You really think a fancy gal like her would even look twice at me if I were to go over there?"

Her refusal left only one person left. Ruby and Yang both looked to Blake encouragingly.

"Me?" She shook her head right away. "No way. I'm a Faunus, and from what I've heard, her family doesn't really like us..."

"But those are just rumors!" Ruby pointed out. "You don't know if it's the truth!"

"The same goes for you then," Blake countered. "You don't know if she'll be mean to you or write you off as a kid. And Yang, you don't know that she'll ignore you. We're all just... doing what everyone else is doing. We're just... making baseless assumptions about her..."

Blake's shoulders slumped as the realization hit her, and a wave of guilt washed over herself and her friends. Yang was the one who voiced what was on all of their minds.

"Crap..."

By that time, the majority of people were beginning to exit the cafe in preparation to get back to classes. Ruby checked the clock and sighed.

"Well... maybe we can talk to her tomorrow. Lunch is already over..."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Guess so."

Blake could only nod as well. She still felt bad about making assumptions about Weiss when she didn't even know her yet. But she was determined to make up for it as soon as possible.

Blake gathered up the garbage from their table and took it to the nearest trash can, which just so happened to be near Weiss' table. As she walked, she stole a glance, not at Weiss in particular, but rather at the book she was absorbed in, trying to glimpse a title.

Distracted thusly, Blake ended up hitting her shoe on a chair, causing the remnants of Yang's sub to bump into her chest and smear all over her shirt.

Wonderful.

Blake deposited everything into the trash and hurried back to the table to tell the sisters she'd have to run to the bathroom to clean herself up.

"If I miss the first few minutes of class, just let me copy your notes later tonight, okay?"

"Sure thing," Yang said. "Now hurry up and go wash off! Ruby and I'll head out."

"See you in class, Blake!"

The Faunus girl nodded, grabbed her bag, and hurried off into the restroom.

She toiled several minutes away there, dabbing wet, soapy paper towels onto the stains on her shirt, grumbling under her breath about her own clumsiness.

By the time she'd gotten the stains out, there was still a large damp spot on her shirt, but she didn't have the time to dry it off.

Blake hurried out of the restroom and back into the now-vacant cafe.

Or at least, mostly-vacant.

With a gasp, she skidded to a sudden halt when she crashed right into Weiss, who had just stood from her chair and started packing up her things. Blake's cry of surprise mixed with Weiss' yelp as she was pushed backward, her weight shifting dangerously as her book dropped from her hands. Instinctively, Blake lashed out and grabbed her wrist, giving a tug to both prevent Weiss from falling backward and herself from falling forward.

"I'm so sorry!" She reached out to grab Weiss' shoulder in an effort to steady her. "Are you okay?"

The other girl shook her head, wincing slightly from the impact, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been if she'd fallen and hit the floor or table. She cracked one eye open, then the other, to discover that a Faunus girl was holding her hand, looking up at her with panicked eyes.

Weiss recognized those golden eyes...

"You again?"

The words came out harsher than she'd anticipated, but it wasn't because she was trying to scare her off - that was just how her voice sounded when she was surprised. Weiss righted herself, shaking her head to clear it.

"Aren't you... the girl who tripped and dropped her laundry the other day?"

Blake was taken aback by Weiss' observation, but she was more surprised than offended by her tone.

"Y-Yeah... That was me. You, um... you noticed?"

"Of course I noticed!" Weiss snapped. "How could I not notice someone tripping all over themselves right next to me? I tried to help, but-" She cut herself off promptly and looked away. "Never mind... You're... awfully clumsy, aren't you?"

That was perhaps her biggest problem. She always made her observations right away and spoke without thinking it through first, which often resulted in her unintentionally offending people. Weiss feared she'd done it again, and she was about to tug her hand away when the Faunus girl replied.

"Yeah. Again, I'm really sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I? Oh, let me get your book." She released Weiss' hand and crouched down to pick up the fallen tome. Blake managed to catch a glimpse of the cover page and title, discovering she recognized it. "Oh, I've read this one. Do you like it so far?" She handed the book back to Weiss, who accepted it only to put it away.

"I suppose..."

Blake was a little surprised at her unresponsiveness. The girl who'd been giving paragraphs for answers in class just an hour ago was now down to two-word replies.

Blake could sense she was about to leave, but she wanted to at least say something first, now that she'd gotten this far.

"Um... welcome to Vale University, Weiss," she said, offering a smile. "My name's Blake. If you... need any help or anything, you can always ask me. I'm in your history class."

She bit her lip a little as she waited for a response. Weiss had turned away from her, showing Blake her back so she couldn't see her expression.

A moment of silence dragged on between them, and Blake felt her heart begin to thump harder.

Little did she know Weiss' was doing the same.

The first person her own age to talk to her at her new school was a clumsy Faunus girl.

And her name is Blake...

There were only two words she needed to say in response. Two simple words of gratitude.

But Weiss couldn't help but give her default kind of response, one that clearly showed how competent and self-efficient she was as a Schnee.

"I don't need any help. And I'm late for my next class."

Without so much as turning back to look at Blake, Weiss headed for the doors and slipped outside.

Blake watched her go, feeling her shoulders slumping.

Anyone else would have been angry or miffed by Weiss' response.

But not Blake.

Because Blake had once been in those shoes, and she knew all too well what was happening.

Weiss was lying.

She was acting tough, not wanting other people to know she was actually lonely and wanted someone to talk to. She needed to put up a front, a false pretense that told everyone she was fine on her own and didn't need anyone, burying her nose into a book as an excuse not to converse with people for fear they might hurt her.

Blake understood that internal conflict better than anyone.

And she also knew how wonderful it felt to be released from it, to meet someone who truly wanted to be her friend.

In that moment, she made it her mission to be that person for Weiss, no matter what it took.

As Weiss hurried off out of the cafe, every step she took resonated and sent a small shockwave up directly into her chest. Her feet pounded in time with her pulse as she raced to the building where her next class would be held, not wanting to be late.

The only reason she'd lingered in the cafe long after she'd assumed it to be vacant was because she'd wanted to slip into the restroom and let out the tears that had been building up within these past several, highly stressful days.

She wasn't an idiot. She knew no one here liked her, especially not the Faunus students, due to the controversy about how her family treated customers.

She'd been waiting for that Faunus girl to leave the restroom so Weiss could hurry in and wash her face to clear the tears away before they could fall.

But she hadn't expected to be approached by that girl, and she certainly hadn't anticipated being knocked into, and then spoken to so... so nicely.

It was all an act, she told herself. She doesn't actually care. No one here does. Who would bother to care about someone like me? I've got it all, don't I? Since I'm so rich, that must mean I've got a perfect life and a perfect family, right? No one here would waste their time on me...

She knew from experience that it was best not to waste her time trying to start friendships that wouldn't last.

She'd survived middle school and high school. She knew how this worked. People would befriend her so they could copy her notes and homework, then when the school year was over, they'd forget about her entirely. Once she'd outlived her usefulness to them, she was tossed aside like trash.

So now she knew it was better to keep them away from the start so they couldn't take advantage of her. It was self-preservation, but everyone else seemed to think it was just her being a "cold-hearted bitch."

Whatever. I don't care what they think of me. I'll do whatever it takes to pass my classes and get out of here as quickly as possible...

She didn't know what would come after that, and she didn't want to think about it, either.

She simply continued on her way to her next classroom, making sure to wipe her eyes before she entered.


Blake had gone to her next class right after Weiss had departed, only to discover that they'd been heading to the same classroom.

Blake was both delighted and nervous to find that Weiss shared another class with her, and it also just so happened to be the class that Ruby and Yang had together with her as well.

She greeted her friends and took her seat just as Professor Oobleck walked in, and couldn't help but let her eyes wander across the room to follow Weiss. There was an empty seat in the front row right in the middle, and that was where Weiss chose to sit.

Ruby and Yang followed Blake's gaze and murmured to one another as they saw who was in their class with them now. Their motivated smiles told Blake they felt the same was a she did; they all wanted to befriend Weiss and make her feel comfortable here.

This class went almost exactly as Blake's morning class had gone. Weiss answered almost every single question, and she answered them in perfect detail, which made Professor Oobleck go off ranting about her excellent responses.

Yang and Ruby could see and hear for themselves how the rest of the class was muttering about Weiss now, calling her names and ridiculing her for her participation. Ruby was seething in her seat before long, arms crossed and pouting heavily.

"They're all so mean!" she hissed. "Just stop it!"

Yang could tell her little sister was about to cry. Ruby had always been a very conscientious girl at heart, and seeing someone being treated so unjustly for no good reason really upset her. Yang turned to her sister and patted her head gently.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, Ruby."

Ruby rubbed her eyes and said nothing more.

But she and Yang both couldn't help but notice every time Blake's ears flicked and twitched, because it always happened whenever Weiss in particular spoke.

Blake even answered a question once, and Weiss actually turned around in her seat for the first time to make eye contact with the speaker. Blake met her eyes as well, and both girls instantly looked away, shuffling their feet.

Ruby and Yang saw everything.

Since Weiss was seated in front of them, it was much easier for Blake to stare at her back and steal glances at her. But Weiss did occasionally turn her head and pretend she was looking at the clock on the wall as an excuse to catch a glimpse at Blake.

Ruby's sour mood was soon made better as she realized what she was witnessing. She even hissed a whisper to her sister, just to confirm.

"Yang... do you think that Blake..."

"Oh, without a doubt, sis," she chuckled. "Without a doubt."

When class ended, Weiss was the first person out of the room, and the sisters could tell Blake was very mush dejected by the fact that she'd failed to catch her. Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her friend in close.

"Don't worry, Blake. You'll get her tomorrow."

"Get her? Don't make it sound so weird, Yang..."

"Catch her!" Ruby tried to help. "She meant you'll be able to catch her tomorrow, and then you can talk to her!"

"I don't need to talk to her..." Blake mumbled.

To the sisters, it was far too obvious that she liked Weiss, and Weiss had even seemed to have taken a noticeable interest in Blake as well.

The trio of friends had dinner together that evening as always, but after that, Ruby and Yang elected to actually sleep in their own room that night.

They wished Blake goodnight and closed the door joining their rooms before crawling into their bunk beds. Ruby was on top, and she stared up at the ceiling, feeling a little too excited to sleep right away. Instead, she gave a little knock on the side of her bunk bed to alert her sister.

"Hey, Yang? Do you think Weiss likes Blake, too?"

Yang considered the question for a moment before replying.

"I'm not sure. Could be. Even if she doesn't like her, she's definitely interested in her, at least just as a friend. That's what it seems like to me, anyway."

"Is there anything we can do?" Ruby wondered. "I don't want Weiss to keep being lonely at school. It makes Blake sad, too..."

"Well, sis, Pyrrha once told me that we should let the chips just fall where they may in these kinda situations."

"Oh... yeah, I guess so..."

"Buuut~" Yang went on in that mischievous tone of hers. "It can't hurt to give 'em a push in the right direction, don't you think?"

"Yeah!" Ruby chirped. "I wanna help them! How can we do that, Yang?"

"Well sis, you just listen for now. Then you can be the hero tomorrow."


Even though Blake had gotten to sleep alone that night without Yang snoring and Ruby crushing her with sleepy hugs, the Faunus girl woke to find she was more exhausted than usual.

She'd tossed and turned a lot last night, her thoughts having been too focused on Weiss to allow herself to sleep well. She'd just kept thinking about the painful loneliness she herself had once felt before Ruby and Yang had come along. To know that Weiss was experiencing that same pain right now only fueled Blake to try and help her out sooner. She just didn't know how...

But luckily for her, her best friends had stayed up late last night in the room next door, discussing just the perfect plan.

Ruby coached herself all morning on what Yang had suggested. She was nervous about it, and her sister had offered to do it herself, but Ruby refused.

"No! I can do it!" she assured her. "I'm the one who judged Weiss and decided she was mean before I even spoke to her! I've gotta make things right, so I'll do it!"

Their class schedules on Tuesdays and Thursdays were different from those on Mondays and Wednesdays, so Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Weiss saw each other a little less or a little more depending on their classes and time of day. But at lunch hour, they all ended up in the same place as yesterday, with the three former girls sitting together, and the latter alone.

Blake had been glancing at Weiss more and more, and both sisters had noticed that Weiss was coyly trying to do the same whenever she could.

But since neither girl was confident enough to take the first step, it was up to Yang and Ruby to give that little push.

Near the end of lunch, Yang gave her sister a nod, indication to enact their little plan. Yang herself stood and got Blake's attention.

"Welp, we should probably head to class now."

"I guess so..." Blake shot one last glance at Weiss before turning toward the doors.

Ruby grabbed everyone's garbage and piped up.

"I'll throw this stuff away! And I gotta pee, so I'll catch you guys later!"

"All right," Blake said.

"Sounds good, sis!" Yang gave her a wink before slipping her arm around Blake's shoulders and walking with her to the exit door. It would be her job to boost Blake's confidence a bit and talk to her privately about Weiss now.

And Ruby had a different job.

She darted across the room like a gust of wind to throw away the trash, then paused a few feet shy of where Weiss was still sitting. At first glance, she appeared to be reading, but Ruby could tell she wasn't really focusing at all.

Okay, deep breaths! You can do this, Ruby! Just like Yang told you! Yang's doing her part right now with Blake, so you gotta do yours!

The thought that her actions might prove to have good outcomes for both Blake and Weiss empowered Ruby to push through that final bit of her social awkwardness barrier and clear her throat.

"Um, excuse me?"

At first, Weiss didn't even look at her, so Ruby tried again.

"Um... your name is Weiss... isn't it?"

Once it was made clear whom Ruby was addressing, the white-haired girl looked up at her.

"Can I help you?" she snapped.

Ruby visibly flinched, but stood her ground. A spark of recognition flashed through Weiss' eyes then, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Aren't you Blake's fr-... I mean, you've got a few classes with me, don't you? What do you want?"

Ruby's mind almost went completely blank, and she nearly forgot everything she'd come over here to say. But the fact that Weiss had just said Blake's name served to remind her, and the brunette went on determinedly.

"Um... I know it's probably not my business, but..." She trailed off, nervously flicking her eyes up into Weiss' intense blue ones.

"Well?" Weiss growled. "If it's none of your business, then why are you even talking about it?"

"B-Because!" she squeaked. "Because, I... I don't want you to be all alone, Weiss! None of us do! A-And you keep looking at Blake and everything-"

"What?" Weiss pushed herself up from her seat, half-humiliated, half-outraged. "What makes you think you've got the right to be saying things like that?"

"Because we just wanna help!" she whimpered. "You... you'll never get to know Blake better if all you do is look at her. Maybe you can try to... talk to her... if you want... A-And you're always welcome to sit with us at lunch, too. We just wanted to let you know that..."

By some miracle, she'd said all she'd needed to say, and so she waited for a moment to see if she'd get a response.

But Weiss only stared at her, lips slightly parted and eyes wide. She didn't say anything, and Ruby was feeling too uncomfortable to linger.

"S-Sorry for all of this," she mumbled. "But we really mean it. Honest."

And with that, she hurried out of the cafe without looking back.

. . .

Blake didn't know why Yang was suddenly talking to her about Weiss so much. It was making her suspicious somehow.

"You should chat her up sometime," Yang was saying. "I think it could pay off for the both of you!"

"It's not that simple, Yang," she sighed. "I mean, she's always so busy. Either she's on her way to class or she's doing homework or she's reading, and I know better than anyone how annoying it is to be disturbed when you're reading."

"Maybe so," Yang agreed. "But that's only when you're actually reading. When you're just staring blankly at the words and not even turning the page, that's when you're wishing someone would come over and talk to you."

Her comment caused Blake to clam up and think for a good long while.

For the remainder of the day, Blake continued glancing over at Weiss in the front of the classroom whenever she could, and she noticed that Weiss was catching her eye more often than usual now.

Blake resolved herself that afternoon. She didn't even complain that night when Ruby and Yang squished into bed with her – Blake was too focused on her goal, her mind set on tomorrow's lunch hour.


The morning classes came and went yet again.

Blake looked at Weiss.

Weiss tried not to look at Blake.

Ruby and Yang watched the whole thing.

Weiss had taken up a good chunk of the class that morning answering questions, which resulted in an influx of the usual harsh comments once class was dismissed.

Blake growled under her breath as Yang tried to calm her down, rude comments filling the room. Weiss was still packing up her things, so Blake knew she'd heard them this time.

"Schnee steals the show again. What else is new?"

"God, she's so annoying."

"I just wish she'd shut the hell up for once."

"The more she talks, the longer he keeps us in class."

Blake was fuming now, feeling Yang's hand braced on her shoulder.

"Hey, take it easy," she murmured.

Blake flashed her a furious look.

"How can they say those things?" she hissed. "She can hear them!"

And that fact was soon made all too clear to Blake when she witnessed Weiss hurrying out of the room, wiping her eyes. Blake's ears caught sound of a small sob as she passed, and then disappeared.

Instantly, Blake's fury melted into dismay, her voice cracking.

"Yang... she heard..."

Blake felt her own tears welling up now.

Yang quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, hey! Easy, Blake. We'll find her, okay? We'll make it right."

Blake sniffed once, then nodded, her determination rising up full-force.

They collected Ruby on their way out, then hurried to the cafe.

Blake prayed Weiss would be there. She'd never forgive herself if she'd waited just one day too long to say what she'd wanted to say to her.

But when they ran inside the cafe, Blake found Weiss' usual table empty.

"Oh no..." Ruby whimpered. "She didn't come here today?"

"Shit..." Yang clenched her fists, wishing she could sink her knuckles into every person who'd ever said something rude about the girl.

But Blake's initial panic didn't last. A sense of calm and understanding soon washed over her.

"No... it's okay. You guys go sit down. I'll get her."

She didn't say that she would find her, because she already knew where Weiss was.

So Blake went to go get her.

She hurried off toward the restrooms, pushing in slowly but with a sense of urgency.

Weiss was there, holding a wet paper towel over her face, sobbing softly into it. Blake's chest ached horribly for her, but she was just glad that she'd found her.

Slowly, she approached the crying girl, seeing her old self in Weiss – bullied, vulnerable, and alone.

But not anymore.

Blake reached out and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Weiss jolted, gasped, and whirled around, unintentionally revealing her tearstained face in the process.

"Y-You-! Wh-What are you d-doing-?"

"It's all right..." Blake cupped her free hand over Weiss' and carefully guided the paper towel back up to her face. "You probably hate it when people see you crying, right?"

Weiss' only response was to dip her head back down into the paper towel and sob again.

Blake kept one hand on the girl's shuddering shoulder and the other over her trembling hands. She made sure her grip was light, so Weiss could push her away if she wanted to.

But instead, Weiss came closer and all but crumpled into her arms.

Because for Weiss, that felt like the safest place to cry.

She wasn't afraid to take that chance.

And neither was Blake.

Blake closed her eyes and happily hugged her close, shedding a few tears of her own.

She was so glad she could be here for Weiss. She was so glad she could be the person Ruby and Yang had been for her.

Weiss cried for several long minutes, hiccups causing her body to jolt over and over again. Blake waited as long as Weiss needed her to, and was glad to do so.

At last, Weiss stepped away and tossed out her paper towel. Without a word, Blake helped her to the sink, holding onto her shoulders as Weiss splashed some water onto her face. She dried herself off again, sniffling a few more times as she struggled to find her voice.

"I... I'm sorry..." she whispered. "I'm such a mess-"

"Weiss?"

Blake's tone was so soft, so gentle, so caring. Weiss couldn't help but lift her gaze to seek out gold, naturally drawn to that kindness.

"Would you like to come sit with me? My friends would really love to meet you."

Weiss swallowed thickly, refusing to let so much as another tear fall in front of this girl.

But maybe... just this once... it wouldn't be so bad to open up to someone else.

She wiped her palm over her eyes and dipped her head.

"I think... I'd like that..." She did her very best to give the Faunus girl a smile. "Thank you... Blake."

Blake beamed back at her and softly took her hand.

She led Weiss out of the bathroom, past the lonely, vacant table in the middle of the cafe, and toward the one where two eager sisters were waiting for them. Both of them squealed and gasped and clapped excitedly when they caught sight of Blake now.

Blake coaxed Weiss forward and pulled up a seat for her, having her sit down right next to her.

"Ruby, Yang..." Blake began with a smile. "This is Weiss."


A/N: So much happened in this chapter! I made sure to comply with the patron's requests and added in little details they wanted to see. Next chapter will be the last for this fic!

If you like my work, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!

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