I'm amazed I stayed awake long enough to get this written. But here it is.
It was the day after the movie night, and found himself sitting in class and waiting for the girls to arrive. Blake arrived first, she smiled at him as she approached. "Morning Blake, I assume you got away with it." He greeted her. She nodded "Hey Giza. You're right, I got away with it." She took her seat. "That's great, I hope you had fun last night." he said. "Thanks, I had a great time." she responded.
He was about to say something, when he noticed her sleeve had bunched up slightly. He got a glimpse of her wrist and saw the scars running across it. She gasped when she realized what he was looking at. "Blake?" He said, feeling concerned for her. Blake sighed "Please don't tell anyone." she begged him. Giza wanted to help her in any way he could, if that meant keeping it a secret, then he would do it. "Alright, but you can talk to me about it if you want. You shouldn't be suffering in silence." he told her, with a reassuring smile. She nodded and gave him a slight smile.
Weiss walked in a moment later and Giza kept his mouth shut about Blake. She trusted him with her secret and he wasn't going to betray her trust. He just hoped that she would confide in him. "Good morning guys." Weiss greeted. "Hey Weiss. How are you?" Giza responded. "I'm wonderful, last night was the most fun I have had in a while." she said before looking at Blake "Did you get caught by your parents?"
Blake didn't speak, clearly still worried about her secret getting out. But she nodded. Weiss raised an eyebrow "Something wrong Blake?" she asked. Blake sighed "It's nothing to worry about, Giza's already helping me." Giza felt slightly better knowing that he was actually helping Blake, but he was still greatly concerned for her. It was clear to see that Blake had a lot going on, and he needed to get more information before he could provide any real help. Being supportive was good, but he wanted to take away the thing that was causing her suffering.
Weiss smiled at Giza before turning her attention back to Blake. "In that case, I won't pry any further. But you can come to me if you need more help. I may not be the best at giving advice, but I will certainly do my best." With that said, Weiss took her seat. "I can see why you have so many friends." Giza said to her. She turned to him "Same to you. You've been a wonderful friend since the day you arrived. As Yang said yesterday, I'm surprised you're still single." If he could help Blake properly, maybe that would change. "Thanks Weiss, and I'm working on that last part." he responded.
Pyrrha turned to face them "Hello everyone, how was your night?" she asked. "It was great" Weiss said. Blake nodded in agreement "It was." she added. Giza was happy that the night went so well "I hope you can come next time, the more the merrier. As they say." Pyrrha nodded "I shall certainly try." There conversation was interrupted, by Yang bursting through the door. She was breathing heavily "Ruby...is not...coming out...again...she...almost...made us…late."
Sure enough, Torchwick entered the room a moment later. "Not like you to almost be late." he quipped. "You can thank my sister, she slept in and I had to wait around for her. It's a good job she's fast." she responded once she got her breath back. Torchwick laughed "She sleeps? I thought she had a limitless supply of energy." he joked. Yang dropped into her seat "Most of the time she does."
Giza, Blake and Weiss all laughed. It was nice to see Blake laughing. But Giza couldn't help wondering if that was just a front. If things were bad enough for her to be cutting herself, it must have been hard for her to stay positive. He worried about her until lunch time.
Blake spent the morning panicking internally. Giza now knew about her self harm, and he wanted to help. It was nice to know that he cared so much about her, but it was also a problem. If she told him about the abuse, then he'd most go after her family and get himself hurt or in serious trouble. If she lied to him, it would tear her up inside and make her feel worse. If she said nothing, he would continue to worry about her or maybe get mad at her for not letting him in.
When it came to lunch time. She decided that she both needed and wanted his help and support. Maybe she wouldn't go into details about the abuse, but she would tell him that her home life and the bullying at school drove her to cutting herself. She thought of Giza as her guardian angel, and he would do what he could for her even if she didn't give him the whole truth. She could eventually tell him everything, but not yet.
They sat at their usual table with their friends, every time she looked at Giza. She could see the concern and care in his eyes. She couldn't talk to him with everyone around, so she prepared herself and said "Giza, can I talk to you in private for a moment. I need your help with something." Giza nodded and stood up. The others eyed them with curiosity and suspicion, but thankfully. They didn't pry. She got to her feet and walked out with Giza following close behind.
They went into an empty study room, that connected to the library. She would often study there while the others were in biology. "Is this about what I saw this morning?" Giza asked. She sighed heavily before pulling her sleeves up to her elbows. "Yes Giza, it's about that." She watched his eyes trace the lines on her arms. "Thank you for sharing this with me, it must be very hard for you to do this." he said as he looked her in the eye.
Her heart rate increased under his concerned gaze. "I didn't want anyone to see these, but I'm glad that it was you who did." she felt the hot tears running down her cheeks. "You know how my parents are very strict and overprotective?" she asked. He nodded, but stayed quiet. Listening contently to her explanation. "Well I hate my home life so much, that I started doing this. It started out as just an occasional cut when I felt really bad. Then the bullying started. I went to an all faunus school before I came here, so it hit me hard when I arrived and found that people hated me. I started cutting more and more, as I let the darkness engulf me. I honestly think a would have gone further, had it not been for my friends." she admitted. It hurt to relive the memories, but it also felt like a great weight had been lifted.
Giza didn't say anything right away. Instead, he took a step forward and wrapped her in a hug. Not being used to hugs, she froze up for a moment. But Giza's warmth and care overwhelmed her. She put her head against his body, soaking his clothes with her tears. Giza didn't seem to care about his damp clothing, actually he seemed happy that Blake had committed to the hug. "I'm so sorry Blake. But I'm here for you now. I'll do everything in my power to protect you and make you feel better." he said softly.
Blake didn't say anything, she just cried for several minutes. Giza truly was her guardian angel, and she felt so much better with him around. She wanted to tell him more, but she simply wasn't ready. There was no telling what he would do and she couldn't risk losing him. She liked him more as more than a friend, unfortunately there was no way he would feel the same. He must have been interested in someone already, after what he said to Weiss. Even if he didn't, she was still a faunus. As nice as Giza was, there was no way a human could love a faunus. They would always just be friends, that was how the world worked.
She was still thankful to him, even if they couldn't be more than friends. Her cries faded to sobs and she finally regained the ability to speak. "Thank you Giza, thank you so much. You have already helped me more than you could possibly understand. I've felt so much safer and happier since you arrived." Giza continued to hug her as he responded "You don't need to thank me, I'm happy to look after you. I want to take away the things that cause your suffering, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help you. I don't know how much help I can be, but I promise to protect you at all costs."
A new wave of sadness washed over her, he was so great but she could never be with him. She cursed her ears for causing her so much trouble. They got her bullied, discriminated against, and prevented Giza from being able to love her. The hug started to make her feel worse. Feeling Giza's warmth and knowing she couldn't hold onto it, that hurt just as much as any beating. She said "I'm sorry." before pulling away and running out of the room. She ran into the nearest bathroom, locking the stall door and crying to herself.
Giza stood alone in the study room. He didn't know whether to cry or punch a hole in the wall. He had been hugging Blake, he had promised to protect her, allowed her to cry on him. He was about to admit his feelings for, but she had run away. His hopes of being with her were crushed, clearly she didn't return his feelings. They were always going to be friends and nothing more.
"Why the fuck did I get my hopes up? I should have known that I didn't have a shot." he said to himself. He was happy that she trusted him so much, but that just made it hurt more. She was perfect, and she trusted him more than anyone else. But they couldn't be together. Maybe he could move on to someone else, but it wouldn't be the same. He didn't want anyone else, he wanted Blake.
He imagined her with Sun, or with Ilia and he could see himself watching from a distance. He would go crazy if he had to watch someone else take the one thing he truly wanted in life. Yes, he wanted Blake to be happy. Even if that was at his own expense, he would accept it. But that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt.
With his emotions overwhelming him, he couldn't stay at school any longer. He needed to get out of there, he needed to be alone in a place where he could cool off. With his clothing still wet with the tears of the girl he couldn't have, he walked out. He left the study room, left the library, left the school, and he just kept walking.
He must have walked miles before he finally stopped. He only stopped because he encountered a familiar face. It was Qrow Branwen, Yang's Uncle. For years Qrow had been the provider of alcohol to Giza, Yang and their old friends. He was also a friend. "Hey kiddo, haven't seen you in a while." the slightly intoxicated older man said. Giza forced a smiled "Hey Qrow, it's good to see you again old man." Qrow took a drink from his flask "Shouldn't you be at school?" he asked. Giza nodded "Yeah, should be. But I needed to get out of there."
Qrow being the responsible adult he was, said "Rough day huh? Well, that sounds like a good excuse for a drink. Come on, Junior doesn't give a shit about your age." He started walking in the direction of Yang's favorite bar. Giza shrugged "Fuck it, I need to forget about today." he said as he followed along. He didn't drink very often, but it would help take his mind off Blake.
Blake ignored the sound of the bathroom door opening, until she heard three familiar voices. "Blake, what's up?" Yang asked. "Are you okay?" asked Ruby, and Weiss said "We're here for you Blake." She would have refused to talk to anyone else in that moment, but these were three of her best friends.
Sighing heavily she said. "It's so unfair, life would be so much better if a didn't have these stupid ears." Yang responded "Your ears aren't stupid Blake. They make you, you and you are beautiful." It didn't matter how they looked, they still caused her so many problems. "I don't care about that, being a faunus is the worst. Everything would be better if I wasn't born like this." she snapped.
Ruby responded this time "We don't care what you are. You're just Blake to us. Anyone who treats you differently isn't worth your time." Ruby's words were sweet and showed how much she cared. But she was wrong. Ruby may not have accepted the truth, but it did matter what Blake was. A human could not love her, because she wasn't human. "You don't understand, I'm a faunus and that means we can only ever be friends. No human can like me more than that, even if I wanted them to." Blake told her.
Now Weiss' voice came through the stall door. "Don't be stupid Blake. Love doesn't care what you are. A human and a faunus can love each other just as much as two humans or two faunus. You may not have seen them, but I can assure you that there are many human-faunus couples." she said. She had to be lying to make Blake feel better, she had never seen that because it couldn't possibly be true. "Don't lie to make me feel better. I know the truth. I love Giza, but he's human. So he will never feel the same about me." she responded.
"If you love Giza, then tell him that. He doesn't care about what you are, you should know that by now. He has never cared whether anyone was human or faunus. He's even had a faunus girlfriend before." Yang tried to reason with her. Giza may have been with a faunus before, but there was no way he could have loved her. "He will never love me Yang, no human will ever love me."
Yang sounded frustrated but she wouldn't give up, she said. "You'll never no the truth if you don't give it a shot. If anyone can prove you wrong, It's Giza." Before Blake could come up with a response. It was time for the next lesson. No matter how bad she felt, Blake had to go to class. So she bottled everything back up and headed out with the other girls.