Promised longer chapters! I am at PAX South but still diligently uploading my chapter (aren't you guys lucky?).
More bees for everyone! Tomorrow I'm actually going to post a little flashback scene that is introduced briefly in this chapter and I wrote the scene out :)
She ended up forcing Pyrrha to go shopping with her after they had finished their lunch. They had had a great time, which was no surprise since they always did, and Yang managed to piece together the perfect outfit for the evening – or at least, one that she felt somewhat confident in wearing.
She had paired a collared, light grey half-sleeve blouse with a tan blazer - a cute, thin brown belt wrapped around her midriff - black pants were accompanied with tan flats. She had rolled up the sleeves on the blazer to give off more of a casual vibe.
It was dressy, yet casual.
Being somewhat apprehensive, she had ended up getting to the restaurant more than a little early, even though she had decided to walk there from her apartment instead of drive.
She hated driving in downtown Vale. The traffic was bad no matter what time of day it was, and there was never any place to park. Sure, she could valet her car…but she could make it all the way home in the time it took them to fetch it for her after the meal.
The staff at Octavio's all knew her; she went there often for dates or meals with friends. There was even a special table where they always seated her. In the back of the restaurant, it was shielded from too many prying eyes by some cleverly placed foliage. Quiet and secluded, it was the perfect place to have a first date.
She had ordered a glass of water while she waited for Blake to arrive, but had already drained the entire first glass. It wasn't like her to be so nervous, but she really didn't know what to expect once Blake did show up. If she did.
Oh god, what if she got stood up?
Her fears were instantly alleviated when the host came around the corner with Blake in tow. Yang's heart started pounding as soon as the author's eyes met hers once again, a smile tugging at the girl's lips. Yang couldn't help beaming in response, drinking in Blake's appearance as if she had spent a year in the desert and the raven haired girl was a tall glass of water.
Blake was wearing a gorgeous navy blue, low cut, long sleeve shirt with a pair of form-fitting black jeans and wedges. Her long black tresses hung loosely down her back, ever so slightly waving as she walked. She looked casual, comfortable, and…perfect.
Yang stood up as the host led Blake over to their table and set menus down for both of them. Bidding them a happy meal, he left the two of them alone together.
"Uh…hi!" she said, extending a hand towards her date. "It's great to see you again!"
Blake looked at her hand quizzically, but gently shook it regardless before she sat down at their table.
"It's great to see you again too."
Yang mentally kicked herself for making such an amateur move. A handshake? Really, Yang? The proper way to great such a fine lady was with a hug, or a kiss on the cheek. But a handshake? What better way to say 'let's just be friends' than a handshake…
"So…uh...how did the rest of your book signing go?" Yang asked in an attempt to recover, watching Blake casually pick up the menu in front of her.
"It went well…everyone seemed to ask a whole lot of questions about you though."
"Oh…"
Well great, now she felt terrible for stealing the girl's thunder at her own book signing.
"Oh, don't worry!" Blake replied hastily, probably noticing how distressed Yang seemed to be. "It was actually quite interesting. I made a small game out of it even."
That comment piqued Yang's attention - she liked games.
"Game? What kind of game?"
"Well," Blake began as she laid the menu down in front of her, looking pensive. "Whenever someone asked about you, I would ask them what character in any of my books they thought you should play in a movie. I kept track of all the answers - would you like to see them?"
Yang nodded her head vigorously. Hell yeah she wanted to see them!
Blake giggled at her enthusiastic response as she pulled a folded piece of paper out of her wallet and slid it across the table to her. Yang quickly took it and unfolded it, pressing it flat against the table and seeing character names with tallies marked beside them. The author had already counted the final tally up and written ranks next to each of the names, so Yang started with the most popular choice.
"Saranna?" The name was the most popular, by far, and had been circled on the page, but Yang didn't even know who the character was.
Suddenly seeming rather embarrassed, Blake picked up her menu once more with a slight cough.
"Yes…Saranna was the most common answer," she remarked, clearly dodging the obvious question Yang wanted to ask.
Yang allowed a few seconds of silence to pass before deciding that she would have to actually ask her question out loud.
"So…what book is she in? What's her story?"
"Well...she's the main character in Sunflower. It's just a simple love story…but did you see who the second most common answer was?"
Directing her eyes back down towards the paper, Yang saw the number two circled beside a familiar name.
"Jade! Wow that's pretty awesome, since I could actually get to play her!" Yang remarked happily. "Although…you know…I don't know how I really feel about the green hair…"
She ran a hand through her own golden locks as she said this. She really loved her hair…she knew that it would only be a wig, but she didn't think that she would even look good with green hair!
A laugh drew her out of her thoughts and back to the table, smiling when she saw Blake giggling at her. The sight was so adorable.
"You would look great with no hair, Yang," the girl replied casually, but the words had an unintended effect of making Yang blush like a tomato.
Blake thought that she looked great? Why was that so much more of a compliment than the thousands of times she heard it from strangers every day?
She coughed, not sure what to say in response. She would like to say how Blake was the most beautiful person she had ever seen and made Yang look like a piece of tree bark in comparison..but was positive that she would die of embarrassment before she managed to get all of the words out of her mouth.
"Um…so third is…Fiona. Oh I know this one too! She's that kickass martial artist," Yang nodded her head in approval. She would definitely love to play that role.
"And the last one…suggested all of one time…is Alex. What book is she from?"
Blake tried to keep a straight face as she answered, failing miserably when she broke into laughter.
"He is in Dog Days," she managed to get out between her laughs while Yang felt her jaw go slack in shock.
"HE? Who thought that I should play a man?"
She was aghast. She prided herself on being a very feminine person, so why would someone want to cast her as a male? It was hard to imagine her pulling off a masculine appearance with all of her...curves. And again, her hair!
"They didn't mean it as an insult," Blake responded reassuringly. "They thought that your personality would match up closely to his."
"Oh…"
Well maybe that made her feel a little bit better.
"Why is that though? Is he as devilishly charming as I am?" she asked, shooting Blake a wink which the girl easily deflected with a small smile.
No blush? Seriously? Yang had apparently lost all of her superpowers today...
"He's arrogant, competitive, egocentric, a tad chauvinistic…"
"Oh gee, he sounds like a wonderful person to be compared to," Yang cut in.
"He's also loyal, brave, witty, and handsome, among other things," Blake finished.
"Handsome?" Yang caught onto that one word. "I can live with handsome."
Blake shook her head, but still smiled.
Just then, their waiter appeared to take their orders.
"Good evening. Would you both like your usual tonight, or would you like to order something else?" he asked politely while looking down at the both of them.
"The usual is fine, Antonio. Thank you," Blake responded nonchalantly while handing her menu to him.
"Yeah…same here. Thank you, Antonio…" Yang said, staring across the table in surprise as she too handed her menu over.
"Uh…so you come here often?"
"I do…I usually sit at the counter and work on a story. I didn't even know this table was back here though, so you must come here much more often than I."
"Oh yeah, I come here all the time with my friends and on da…"
Her eyes opened wide in horror when she realized what had almost just slipped out of her mouth. And from the way Blake was now laughing, Yang was guessing that she had caught on to what Yang had been about to say.
"So I'm not the first person you've brought here?" the raven haired girl replied, holding one hand over her heart in fake hurt. "How could you, Yang?"
"Well…I mean…uh…" Yang sputtered, at an utter loss for words, before putting her head down on the table in defeat.
"Do you know any good doctors, Blake? Because I'm going to need a great one to have my foot removed from my mouth."
More giggles came from across the table, causing Yang to look up just in time to see a happy smile picking up the corners of Blake's mouth. Yes, the embarrassment was totally worth it.
"I actually do know a great doctor," Blake finally replied through her laughter. "But I don't think even she would be able to help you."
Yang shrugged her shoulders and gave a little laugh herself.
"That's ok. I have an abnormally large mouth, so it's used to having large things shoved in it by now."
She couldn't help making the obvious innuendo and threw a wink towards Blake to make sure the girl knew she was joking. But what she hadn't expected was the reaction.
Was that a flush on her date's face? And Blake was now avoiding eye contact, directing her eyes towards the bar while she chuckled nervously. Yang felt like jumping out of her seat in triumph.
She had finally found one of Blake's weaknesses! Thank god. She had been beginning to think that the author had an impenetrably cool aura that was completely unshakable. But there was something that embarrassed even her!
Yang was going to remember to make use of that little tidbit of information in the future, but for right now she needed to save her date from anymore embarrassment.
"Ok, ok, I'll be the hero and bail you out…" she stated jokingly.
Blake's eyes flashed back to her with a smirk reappearing - halting the rest of Yang's words instantaneously.
"Oh now you'll be the hero? What happened to the girl cowering in the bathroom this afternoon?"
Yang couldn't help herself from bursting into laughter. Wow, that flipped fast, she thought as she felt her own cheeks heat up from having embarrassment swung back at her so quickly.
"Touché, touché."
Raising her hands to admit defeat, Blake's eyes softened, with playfulness being replaced by curiosity.
"Who were you running from, anyway?"
"Uh…" Yang stalled while she tried to decide if she should try to dodge the question or answer honestly. "Would you believe…Big Foot?"
The girl shook her head, adding, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…"
Dodge unsuccessful.
Yang sighed. She didn't want it to seem like she was trying to hide anything - that wouldn't exactly be the best way to start things off. Although…telling the truth certainly wouldn't help her either…
"I was running from…you probably know of her, actually…but it was Cinder. Cinder Fall?"
Blake was already nodding her head in acknowledgment.
"So basically, you were running from your ex?"
A shovel would probably be needed to scrape her jaw off the table as she stared at the girl in shock. How had she known?
"How disconnected from society do you think I am?" Blake asked incredulously at her expression. "I'm an author, not a hermit."
Yang shook her head in an attempt to throw off some of her surprise.
"I…uh, I don't know! I mean…I just always figured that writer's spent all their time inside. You know…writing?"
"I do spent a lot of time inside writing, but that doesn't mean I don't go on the internet occasionally. Besides, if I shut myself off from the world, how would I come up with ideas for new stories?"
"Well I thought you read other books for that!"
"Oh, so you mean you thought I just plagiarized my stories?" Blake asked calmly, causing Yang's eyes to widen in horror.
Oh great, now you've insulted her. Way to go, Yang. Way to go…
"N-no! Of course not! I just thought that you…that maybe you…uh…" Yang stumbled around her brain, trying desperately to think of a good way to recover.
Blake only chuckled at her increasingly failing explanation, eyes sparkling with unconcealed pleasure.
"It's ok, I know what you meant," she finally said, ending Yang's futile struggle. "I am curious why you would run from your exes though. Couldn't you just…be civil?"
"You would think!" Yang exclaimed, happy to be on any topic but the one where she accused Blake of plagiarism. Although, Cinder wasn't a much better topic…
"But she's completely insane. Like…off the walls, strap her in a strait jacket and throw away the key, psycho."
Blake laughed at her description.
"I'm sure most people would describe their exes that way."
"No! I'm being so serious!" Yang stressed, trying to remove the look of disbelief from Blake's face. "Ok, ok, here's one example of pure crazy."
In the back of her mind, she thought that there must be some sort of rule about talking about her ex on the first date - but she had already broken so many rules…what was one more?
"This one time, she tried to light me on fire."
Blake's eyes widened in surprise for a few seconds, before she broke into a nearly uncontrollable fit of laughter.
"I'm not lying!" Yang said dejectedly while watching the girl continue to laugh.
"Oh no," Blake raised one hand while trying to calm down. "I believe you. I've always thought she seemed a bit off. But I was just imagining her…trying to…l-light you with a t-tiny little m-match!"
The girl dissolved into giggles again, this time with Yang joining her. Yeah, it did sound a little funny when you pictured it like that.
"S-so," Blake continued when her laughter began to subside. "Didn't you get the feeling that she was crazy before you started dating? Or was it a sudden onset thing?"
Yang sighed.
"I'd always thought she was a little...erratic. But it was one of those things where we spent so much time together on set, and then even the media thought we should get together…so, we just kinda did. BIG mistake."
"And now you have to run from her when you bump into each other on the street," Blake commented forlornly, shaking her head in what appeared to be mock pity.
"Yeah…well it's not something I'm proud of, but it certainly paid dividends this time!" Yang said with a bright smile. What she would have liked to say was, 'I'm glad I did, because I ran right into you,' but that might be a little too heavy for this evening.
But Blake smiled back at her and when their eyes met, Yang could swear that her date might have been thinking the same thing.
At that moment, Antonio returned with their plates heaped with steaming food in his hands, setting down Blake's and then placing another one in front of Yang.
"The seafood linguine," he commented as he placed Blake's plate down.
"And…the eggplant lasagna. Enjoy ladies."
Yang licked her lips as she looked at the steaming slice of lasagna staring up at her. A thing of absolute beauty…
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen someone look at something so eagerly before."
Yang tore her eyes away from her food, looking up to find Blake smirking as she gracefully unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap.
"You don't need to be jealous; I can look at you the same way if you'd like me to," she replied flippantly as she unfolded her own silverware, thoroughly enjoying the blush that lit up Blake's face.
"So…how did you get into acting?" Blake asked, pointedly changing the subject. Yang happily made a mental note that the girl didn't turn down her offer before answering her question.
"Oh I just stumbled into it, really. I was looking for jobs after college and went on an interview in a huge office building. The interview didn't go that great, but on the way out I saw a sign for an audition looking for a 'young blonde girl.' Since I was already there, I decided to do the reading anyway and surprise! I got the part. I've been acting ever since."
"And you became a pretty good actress, at that," Blake added with a smile.
Yang felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. It wasn't often that someone actually praised her acting ability. They mostly just made comments about how attractive she was.
"How about you? How did you get into writing?" she asked quickly, trying to direct attention away from herself.
"Well…I've known that I wanted to be a writer ever since I was a little girl. I read a lot…and started to write my own stories when I was still a teenager. I went to college for writing, and sent my first completed book to a publisher right after graduation."
Yang couldn't help smiling when she thought about little Blake with her nose always stuck in a book. It was certainly a fitting image.
"Where did you go to school?" Yang asked curiously as she began cutting her food into smaller pieces, trying to let it cool down. If she tried to eat it now, she would surely make a fool out of herself.
"Beacon University."
Yang's mouth dropped open at the answer.
"No way! Me too!" she exclaimed, causing Blake's eyes to widen in disbelief.
"Really?"
"Yes, really! What, you thought that I was too dumb to get into a school like Beacon?"
"Well…no…I didn't…I'm just surprised I never saw you around campus, is all," Blake fumbled through her answer, clearly afraid of having accidentally called Yang stupid.
But she had learned by now not to be insulted when people were surprised that she actually had a brain. When you worked in the industry she was in, appearances were much more highly rewarded than intelligence. She had worked with enough dingbats to know that they gave a bad reputation to them all.
"I'm guessing that you were in the Marks Residences then," Yang squinted her eyes thoughtfully while she made her guess. That had been where all of the…more studious...students had lived. It was also on the opposite side of campus, so Yang hadn't made it over there too often.
Nodding her head, Blake said, "And you must have been in…Webb Hall?"
Yang grinned, nodding her head in confirmation.
"Yup! Biggest party dorm on campus!" she remarked proudly, causing Blake to roll her eyes with a smile.
"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you never came over for a party," Yang prodded the girl jokingly.
"I did a couple of times…I remember a foam party one year in particular…"
"The foam party! Which year did you go? It doesn't matter, they were all great!" Yang remarked ecstatically, before a thought suddenly brought her to a screeching halt.
"Wait…I know for a fact that I went to all of the foam parties…I made sure not to miss any of them."
"So…we were actually at the same party one year?" Blake asked while Yang nodded her head slowly.
"And never bumped into each other? Well…it would have been hard to see anyway with all that foam…but still! That's a little depressing actually…" Yang replied honestly as she thought about what might have happened if she had actually struck up a conversation with college Blake.
Would they have gotten along? Would they have immediately hated each other? Yang knew that she had been much more…carefree…in college. She could only imagine that she would have come off as wild and uncontrollable to Blake.
"Well…we've met now, so that's good, right?" Blake suggested tentatively, which immediately perked her up.
Blake was right. Missed opportunities didn't matter now.
While they ate their meal, they continued talking about many different topics. College, friends, work, hobbies…hardly any stone was left unturned. The more Yang learned about Blake, the more she found herself liking the girl. She was sharp, quick witted, kind, with a deep rooted sense of humor that came out every so often, especially to poke fun at Yang.
Thankfully, the more time they spent together, the less nervous Yang felt being around her. She was still nervous, definitely, but she felt slightly more capable of forming complete and coherent sentences every once in a while.
After some time, Antonio came back to their table, capturing Yang's attention.
"Excuse me, ladies," he began politely. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but the restaurant is actually going to be closing in just a few moments. Would you like anything else before then?"
Yang looked at Blake in shock before turning back to their waiter.
"I'm really sorry, Antonio! I think we're done, thank you."
Antonio nodded once before he turned and walked back towards the kitchen.
"Wow, it is late," Blake commented after looking at her phone for the time.
"Yeah, I didn't even realize that they would be closing!" Yang replied as she stood up from the table, stretching slightly as her body protested having been seated for such a long time.
Blake followed her as they walked out of the nearly deserted restaurant.
"Uh…shouldn't we get the check?" Blake asked quietly as Yang continued towards the front door.
"I already paid!"
She smiled at the girl's confusion. She had given her credit card to the host when she had gotten to the restaurant, wanting to avoid any argument over who would pay for the meal.
"Oh, well thank you for the lovely dinner," Blake answered as she stepped through the door Yang was holding for her and into the cool night air.
"You're very welcome," Yang replied. "Thank you for agreeing to come to dinner, in the first place!"
A couple of seconds passed while they looked at each other, each unsure about what to do next.
"Uh…can I walk you home?" Yang finally asked nervously. She didn't want their night to end just yet - to her, it still felt as if it had only just begun.
And from what Blake had told her, she didn't live that far away from Octavio's. In fact, they had both been surprised to find that they had been living only a twenty minute walk away from each other for the past year or so.
"Sure." Blake smiled as she turned in the direction of her apartment and began walking. Yang moved to follow, but froze when she saw the girl walk slightly away from her.
Under the street lights, Blake looked even more elegant and mysterious than she had earlier that day. It was as if the darkness embraced the girl, their two essences merged as one entity underneath the stars above.
Blake suddenly turned her head to look over her shoulder, amber eyes glowing in the darkness.
"Are you coming?" she asked, a whimsical smile playing at her lips when she caught Yang staring at her.
Yang blinked as she was pulled from her temporary trance. Blushing, she jogged the several steps until she was standing shoulder to shoulder with Blake. Once there, the two of them continued walking, quickly falling into a comfortable rhythm beside each other. They picked up where they had left off their conversation back at the restaurant - as if there had never been a break in their words.
It was so easy to talk to Blake; something about it put Yang's mind at ease in a way she had never felt before. It was as if the two of them had been destined to meet each other...fated, even.
Regrettably, the ten minute walk was over with in no time and Yang found herself looking at the tall apartment building Blake had just pointed out to her.
It was funny that she had driven by this building hundreds of times before, yet couldn't remember ever thinking anything about it other than 'that place looks nice.' It was large, typical for this area of Vale, nearing twenty or so stories tall and set back from the road enough to accommodate a semi-circular drive pulling up to the front lobby. It was modern, well-kept, and almost looked like a remodeled hotel rather than an apartment building.
Maybe it was just Yang's wishful thinking, but she thought she could feel their pace slowing as they followed the sidewalk towards the front doors.
Unfortunately, they eventually reached the doors and their inevitable place to say their goodbyes.
Even more unfortunately, Yang could not think of the appropriate words to say in this situation, leading to an awkward silence as the two of them stood facing each other. She scuffed her right foot against the concrete instead.
She didn't want this night to end. She would be ok if they just kept talking for hours and hours more.
"Uh…so…I had a really great time tonight," she finally managed to say.
"I did too," Blake responded. The words brought a smile back to Yang's face. She knew that she had had a good time, but hadn't wanted to presume that Blake felt the same way. Hearing the admission gave Yang a small boost of confidence as a question began formulating in her mind.
Maybe she shouldn't be asking it right now. She should probably at least wait a day or two so that she didn't look so needy. That's what the rules would suggest, anyway.
"When can I see you again?"
Butttt…of course Yang had already broken every rule imaginable so far today, so she might as well just toss out the entire rule book at this point, because she really couldn't seem to help herself. She felt as if she were caught in the gravitational pull of the sun, unable to escape, only being dragged closer and closer. Her body felt like it was on fire, but not in a painful way at all - in a comforting way, as if Blake's mere presence were stirring something deep within her.
And when Blake smiled in response to her question, Yang decided that it wasn't a bad thing at all. She wouldn't struggle against this attraction, she wouldn't fight it.
She would burn up in those eyes, if that's what this was leading her towards.
"I'm free for most of the days this week before I have to head out of town," Blake replied, oblivious to the effect she was having on Yang.
Yang felt her heart lift at the girl's words.
"So…tomorrow?" she immediately asked, mentally hoping that it came out fractionally less desperate than it sounded in her head.
But Blake nodded, completely unfazed at being asked out again on such short notice.
"I have to have dinner with my publisher, but I'm free in the afternoon."
"Perfect! I'll come pick you up at 2!" Yang said, earning herself a quirked eyebrow from the dark haired girl.
"Am I allowed to ask where we will be going?" Blake asked curiously.
"Uh…"
She hadn't actually thought of a place to go or something to do. She had just wanted to see the girl again as soon as possible, but now she realized that she would actually have to come up with an idea as to where to go.
"It will be a surprise! Just dress for being outside," she finished lamely. Blake grinned at her, probably knowing that Yang was bluffing at having any sort of plan formulated.
"Ok, 2 o'clock. I'll see you then," Blake replied, smiling one last time before she turned to open the lobby door.
"Have a great night," the author finished as she turned back to Yang one last time, amber eyes freezing Yang in place once again.
"Y-you too!" Yang sputtered as Blake disappeared into the building and the door swung shut behind her.
After spending several seconds feeling elated that she had managed to secure herself another date, she realized that she needed to get home and figure out what they were actually going to be doing. And she had restricted them to doing something outdoors. She didn't even know what the weather was supposed to be like tomorrow!
She turned away from the building and hurried down the sidewalk on her way home. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly dialed Pyrrha, whose number she had memorized long ago.
Ring.
"How'd it go?" Pyrrha's voice came out of the phone after the first ring, foregoing the customary 'hello.' The unusual answer made Yang smirk. Pyrrha had probably been waiting by the phone all night for her call.
"Really, really great," she answered honestly as her thoughts drifted back to the evening she had just experienced. She sighed in satisfaction.
"I think I'm in big trouble, Pyrrha."