Chapter 7: Too Close for Comfort

Weiss was in heaven. Planning the upcoming school dance had been even more delightful than she'd imagined it would be. Her love of schedules and her obsessive attention to detail had both found a wondrous new outlet for expression. It was almost a shame that she wanted to become a huntress and had a duty to command the Schnee Dust Company someday. A career as a professional event planner would suit her well. Perhaps it could be a hobby of hers in the future. High society, if nothing else, provided innumerable opportunities to hold formal parties.

Weiss was standing in the center of the very room that would host the dance. She had a binder open in her hands. She'd started it the day Professor Goodwitch had given Team RWBY the responsibility of planning the dance, and it had quickly grown in size to rival her Vytal Festival binder.

The binder was open to a master checklist that Weiss had created. Weiss traced a finger down the page. The next major decision on the list was what kind of decorations to use. Weiss knew she'd have to show some restraint in that regard. She was already dangerously close to exceeding the dance's meager budget.

When Weiss had first submitted her proposed budget for the dance to Professor Goodwitch, the response had been an instant rejection. It'd seemed that Weiss had severely overestimated what the school was willing to spend on a social event. She'd considered supplementing the budget with her own money, but she'd decided not to. Team CFVY had never had the option to spend extra money, and judging by their reputation, they'd always managed to throw great parties. Weiss wanted to prove that she could do the same without cheating.

It had been painful working within such limited means at first. Weiss had been forced to substitute the caterer for one that was less expensive, and she'd had to downgrade the live band to a DJ. But in the end, it had been satisfying to work within the constraints given to her and still find a way to get most of what she wanted.

Weiss slowly spun around the room. A decorating scheme was taking shape in her head. She envisioned soft lighting, pastel colors, and floral accents. It would set the mood just right. Now all Weiss had to do was get Yang to agree.

Working with Yang had been fun, but it had also been challenging at times. She and Weiss clearly had different ideas about what the dance was going to be like, and it was difficult to get Yang to stay focused for more than an hour at a time. In fact, at the moment Yang was sitting at a table with her nose buried in her scroll.

Weiss closed her binder and walked over to where Yang was sitting. "What are you doing?" she asked. "You said you wanted to help me with the decorations."

"I'm just trying to see if we can rent a fog machine," Yang said without looking away from her scroll.

"A fog machine?" Weiss asked. "We can't have a fog machine."

"Why not?" Yang asked, looking up this time.

"It'd be so…garish," Weiss said.

Yang chuckled. "Yeah? So? This is just a school dance."

"It's not just a school dance!" Weiss said. "Beacon is the most prestigious combat school in all of Remnant! The dance should reflect that! Let's not forget all the exchange students that are already here for the Vytal Festival. Most of them will be attending the dance as well. I'm not going to let it be anything less than perfect."

"How can a dance be perfect without a fog machine?" Yang asked.

"No one wants a fog machine at a dance!" Weiss insisted.

"I do," Yang said. "Coco would too."

Weiss's mouth screwed up into a frown. She knew Yang well enough to recognize when she'd made up her mind about something. If she kept pushing Yang, they were going to end up in an argument. Weiss didn't want that, but she didn't see any way around it either.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Weiss's head, and a scheming smile crossed her face. She saw the perfect way to get what she wanted. It would require a little deviousness on her part, but she had no problem with that. She said, "I propose we negotiate."

"You want to negotiate?" Yang asked.

"Yes," Weiss said. "You decide what you want. I'll decide what I want. And we'll compromise like sensible adults."

"Seems a little silly," Yang said.

Weiss knew that Yang was going to say that; just like she knew that Yang wasn't going to be able to resist what she said next. "Are you afraid I'll out-negotiate you? I guess I can't blame you. It can be intimidating when someone's better than you."

"Oooh. I love it when you're feisty," Yang said, grinning. "Alright, Weissy. You're on."

"Let's spend a few minutes thinking about what we want, and then compare notes," Weiss suggested.

"Alright," Yang said.

Weiss walked over to another table, sat down, and opened her binder to a fresh page. She took out a pen and started writing down a list of things that the dance would have. Yang had no idea what she'd gotten herself into. Weiss respected Yang, but Yang hadn't been groomed from a very young age to inherit the largest company in the world like Weiss had. Yang hadn't had to negotiate with Jacques Schnee himself to be allowed to enroll at Beacon. Simply put, Weiss was going to wipe the floor with her.

A few minutes later, Weiss set her pen down. She opened her binder's rings and pulled out the page she'd written on. Then she stood and walked over to Yang.

"Shall we begin?" Weiss asked as she sat opposite Yang.

Yang leaned forward. "Bring it on!" she said.

"Item one. Doilies," Weiss said.

"Doilies? Really?" Yang asked.

"Absolutely," Weiss said. "No social event of any worth has ever been held without doilies."

Yang looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she said, "If you want doilies…I want strippers."

"You…what?!" Weiss exclaimed. "But! We can't have…exotic dancers at a school event."

"We don't have to tell Goodwitch," Yang said.

"She'll be at the dance!" Weiss said. "Why would you even want to have unclothed women prancing about in front of everyone?!"

"I never said they had to be women," Yang said slyly. "But if that's what you were thinking…"

"Absolutely not!" Weiss said, slamming her fist on the table. Then a light came on in her head. "You're just trying to rile me up. Aren't you?"

"Took you long enough to figure it out," Yang said.

Weiss sighed. "I wish you'd take this more seriously."

"It's a dance. It's supposed to be fun," Yang said. "But alright. If you want doilies, I want a fog machine."

Negotiations were not proceeding as Weiss had anticipated. She opened her mouth to reply when another voice said, "Your dances can have fog machines? That's pretty cool."

Weiss and Yang turned their heads and saw Neptune and Sun walking up.

"You bet we can!" Yang said. "Right Weiss?"

"We were…considering having one," Weiss said reluctantly.

Yang asked, "What are you guys doing here anyway?"

Sun shrugged and said, "We're lost."

"Hup-up-up!" Neptune said. "We're exploring our surroundings."

Sun asked, "The dance is going to be pretty soon, isn't it? You ladies all excited for dress up?"

"You know it!" Yang said. She crossed her arms and puffed out her chest. "I'm going to be turning heads this weekend."

Weiss was eager to get rid of Sun and Neptune. She still had several items to go over with Yang. She was just about to politely ask them to leave when a thought came to her. "Neptune," she said. "Would you like to make any suggestions about what we should do for the dance?"

"Sure," Neptune said. "I can think of a few ideas."


An hour later, Neptune's few ideas had turned into dozens, and he wasn't showing any sign of stopping. He continued, "And that's why you can't have a good dance without at least a few balloons."

"Balloons. Right," Weiss said. She wrote that down at the bottom of the copious notes she'd taken. She was very glad she'd asked Neptune for his input. He seemed to be astute in the ways of school dances. It turned out that she'd been slightly off base. Her plans would have to be adjusted.

"Now another thing—" Neptune said.

"Ugh!" Sun interrupted. He sprung out of the chair he'd been sitting backward in. "I can't take it anymore!"

"I just have one or two more things to say," Neptune explained.

"Yeah right!" Sun said. He grabbed Neptune by the arm and started pulling him away. "Come on! We're going to get un-lost."

Yang pointed to a door. "Dorms are that way! Just take the path on the left."

"Thanks!" Sun said.

"Ladies," Neptune said, looking as charming as was possible while being physically dragged away. Just before Sun pulled him out the door, he called out, "Don't forget! Balloons!"

Yang mumbled, "Finally. I thought they'd never leave."

Weiss didn't say anything. She was looking intently at her notes. New ideas were already coming to her. She started pacing around in circles, lost in thought.

"Weiss?" Yang asked after a minute.

Weiss was still too busy thinking to hear Yang.

"Weiiissy," Yang tried again.

Weiss snapped out of her trance. "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

Yang chuckled. "I think it's time to call it a night."

"It's not…" Weiss glanced out the windows. She was surprised to see that it was dark outside. "Oh. It is night," she said.

"Come on, let's head back to the dorm," Yang said.

"You go ahead," Weiss said. "There are still some things I'd like to figure out."

"There's still plenty of time for that," Yang said. "You've been working at this non-stop for days. You need to learn how to relax once in a while."

"I know perfectly well how to relax," Weiss said.

"Suuure you do," Yang said. "You're so tense I can see it from here."

"I am not!" Weiss insisted.

Yang cocked her head at Weiss and gave her an amused grin. She grabbed a nearby chair and set it down in front of her. Without a word, she beckoned Weiss over.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"Come here," Yang said with the voice of a Siren. "I'm going to show you how to relax."

Weiss suddenly felt uncomfortably warm. In the space of a heartbeat, something about Yang had changed. The look on Yang's face excited and terrified Weiss simultaneously. A tiny voice in the back of Weiss's head was telling her to run, but surely that was ridiculous. Yang was her friend after all.

Weiss closed her binder and set it down on a table. Slowly, she walked to Yang and sat in the chair. She had no idea what was about to happen.

Yang walked around so that she was standing behind Weiss. She gently took hold of Weiss's jacket and started to slide it off.

Weiss's hand shot up and grabbed her jacket, holding it firmly in place. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Weiss turned in her seat to face Yang. She saw something in Yang's eyes, something she'd never seen before. She had no name for it, but it was beautiful.

Yang said, "I'm just trying to help you out. Trust me."

"I do," Weiss said, mostly to reassure herself. She turned back and let go of her jacket.

Yang slid Weiss's jacket off her shoulders and set it aside. Weiss's blouse was only meant to be worn with her jacket. It had no sleeves, hardly any back, and there were just two thin straps holding it onto her shoulders. Weiss shivered. She wasn't used to being so exposed.

Weiss felt Yang's fingers fumbling with her necklace's clasp. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as the light contact filled her with anticipation. She was hungry for Yang's touch, even though she didn't want to be. And this little appetizer was only serving to whet her appetite.

Yang finally got the clasp open. She carefully removed Weiss's necklace and set it aside as well. Then she placed her hands on Weiss's shoulders and began to massage them.

Weiss resisted at first, but Yang's firm kneading slowly coaxed her into surrender. When she finally let go, tension started melting out of her shoulders. She let out a long sigh of relief, suddenly feeling foolish for being so reluctant to let this happen. Yang's hands were absolutely exquisite.

Just when Weiss thought it couldn't get any better, Yang started working her way up her neck. Weiss practically cooed with joy, not even caring how undignified she sounded.

"I really was tense," Weiss muttered.

"Told you," Yang said.

Weiss's eyes drifted closed. "Please. Don't stop."

Yang chuckled. "Anything you say, Miss Weiss."

Minutes languidly flew by as Yang elicited more soft sighs out of Weiss. She slowly worked her way back down to Weiss's shoulders. Casually, she asked, "Have you decided who you want to go to the dance with yet?"

Weiss's eyes opened. A few of the usual suspects had already asked her to go with them and had all been summarily rejected, but Weiss had been so caught up in planning the dance that she hadn't thought about who she actually did want to go with. That was far too embarrassing to admit, however, so she said, "I have a date in mind."

"Oh yeah?" Yang asked, sounding oddly excited. "Who might the lucky person be?"

"You'll…just have to wait and see," Weiss said.

"I'll try to act surprised," Yang mumbled under her breath. She gave Weiss's shoulders one last squeeze, making Weiss groan, and then let go. "There. All relaxed," she said.

Weiss wished Yang would keep going, but she was far too proud to ask for more. She couldn't believe how relaxed she felt. She almost wanted to go take a nap, but she never wasted her time napping. It was far too close to bedtime for that anyway.

Weiss stood and said, "Thank you so much." She picked up her necklace and put it back on. She reached for her jacket next, but Yang beat her to it.

"Allow me," Yang said. She held Weiss's jacket open for her.

"Thank you again," Weiss said as she slipped her arms into her jacket's sleeves.

"Ready to head back to the dorm?" Yang asked.

"Actually, I think I'll take a quick walk," Weiss said.

"Alright," Yang said. "I'll see you back there."

Weiss left the dance hall, completely oblivious to the fact that she'd left her planning binder behind.

It was a crystal clear night outside. Weiss glanced up at the fragments of the moon that were shining brightly against the backdrop of stars. She started aimlessly wandering about campus. She was relaxed enough that it was actually hard to focus, but Yang had raised a point that needed to be addressed. She had to consider who her date to the dance was going to be. It wouldn't do for her to show up alone to an event that she herself had planned, but at the same time, she didn't want to go with just anybody. It should be someone she wanted to be seen with, someone she respected, someone who wasn't interested in her as a prize or as a means to an end. It should be someone, well, someone like Yang.

Weiss's mind conjured up the image of her and Yang meeting on the dance floor in elegant dresses and spending an evening lost in each other's arms. A dulcet smile crossed Weiss's lips at the lovely idea.

Suddenly, Weiss's train of thought came screeching to a halt when she realized what she was doing. Her shoulders tighten, and all the tension that Yang had chased away came flooding back. She'd known in the back of her mind that her feelings toward Yang had been steadily growing since this semester had begun, but not in a way that was inappropriate for good friends. Why on Remnant was she fantasizing about going to the dance with Yang?!

Panic rose up in Weiss. What was happening to her?! This was not who she was, she told herself. She was not some sort of deviant! She did not want to go to the dance with Yang! She was certainly not attracted to Yang! And she was going to fix this right now! It was simple. She'd just find some sensible person to ask out to the dance, they'd have a lovely time together, and that would be that.

Weiss's mind raced trying to figure out who she could ask out. She eventually settled on Neptune. He was attractive; at least Yang had seemed to think so. He and Weiss got along well, as Yang herself had pointed out. And most importantly, he was male.

Weiss took off in a jog toward the dormitory building that the exchange students were being housed in. If she hurried, she could ask Neptune out tonight and get all her silly thoughts about going to the dance with Yang out of her head. Yang would never agree to such a thing anyway. Her chronic intrusions into Weiss's personal space aside, Yang's blatant ogling of Sun and Neptune back when they'd all first met made it perfectly clear that she didn't suffer from any deviancy.

Weiss rounded a corner. She was in sight of the dormitories now, and that wasn't all she saw. Off in the distance she spotted Neptune standing by himself. He appeared to be gazing up at the stars, admiring the beauty of the night sky.

Weiss slowed to a halt. She silently blessed Neptune for showing up at Beacon. He was exactly what she needed: handsome, wealthy, sophisticated, and socially adept. Weiss could be proud to be seen with him. Even Father would approve of her going to the dance with him. Best of all, he was an exchange student. Should things not work out, he'd be gone in a few weeks and Weiss would never have to see him again. He was, in a word, perfect. The only problem was that Weiss didn't feel any attraction toward him, but surely that was a temporary issue. Feelings of attraction would come in time, Weiss told herself. She would force herself to be attracted to him if she had to.

Weiss took a moment to calm herself down. She adjusted her jacket to make sure it was situated properly and checked to make sure that her hair was presentable. Then she started walking confidently toward Neptune like nothing was wrong.

"Hello, Neptune," Weiss said when she'd gotten close.

"Oh! Hi again, Weiss," Neptune said with a charming smile.

"I know this is unorthodox," Weiss said. "But would you like to accompany me to the dance this weekend?"


Author's Note: Things got a little serious in this chapter, slightly more serious than I was intending if I'm perfectly honest. Sadly, Weiss's reaction here is an all too realistic one.

Things aren't all doom and gloom, however. There is a path forward for Weiss from here. The story's not done yet, not by half!

As always, I welcome constructive criticism. Please feel free to leave a review. And if you like what you've read, taking the time to favorite and/or follow really helps me out. You can also find me on tumblr (electronicyarn) if you want to send me a message or be notified of updates.