I almost don't recognise Weiss when she walks up to my table, pain and exhaustion flashing across her eyes. Whatever painkiller's she was prescribed—if she was prescribed any—clearly hasn't been used. The jeans are gone, replaced with an off-white skirt and long sleeved shirt.
And, of course, there's her face. I can't help the sympathetic ache my heart gives at the metal taped to her nose and cheeks, at the bruises hidden under worn makeup. Nor the wince when she breathes in, and asks, "May I sit?"
I wanna say yes. I really, really do, because right now, Weiss doesn't look like the person that strolled out of my bedroom and upended my sister's entire life. She looks like the girl I surprised in the bathroom, the girl who admitted she never had friends before.
That girl makes me nod. The other one makes it a silent, cold movement.
Weiss sits. She shifts a few times, resting her hands on the table before moving them to her lap.
"I talked with Blake earlier," she says, quietly, refusing to look me in the eye. "And I've… I thought, considerably, about what I did, last night."
I shrug. "What's there to think about? I said the wrong stuff, you pieced together the wrong idea, and things went terribly."
Weiss finally meets my eyes. "That's not… exactly how I'd describe last night."
"How would you describe it?" I ask, leaning forward. "Because that's exactly what I remember. I… I pushed when I shouldn't have, and you just… you immediately went and told the first person that showed up. You coulda destroyed my family, and…"
My heart hammers against my chest, to the point I'm surprised no one else can hear it. "And you did kill whatever friendship we had."
Weiss's eyes widen, her breathe catching like an aborted hiccup. "That's—no! We're not—I wasn't trying to hurt you, I just—"
"You did," I say, surprising myself with just how calm my voice sounds. I don't feel calm. I feel like sewer water, all the guilt and anger and loss and betrayal swirling together until I can't even pick out which one is which.
Weiss pauses, and for I moment I think I see tears in her eyes before she reins herself in.
"I did not try to do any of that, Ruby, I swear." She shoots a glance towards the nearest table, before scooting closer. "I… I knew someone, like your sister. Not really like your sister, you understand, but… like her."
I nod, because I do understand. Mostly.
I'll figure it out.
Weiss stares down at the table, moving a hand to grip the edge. "She thought she fell in love with someone. Not real love, or even really all that close of a relationship, but she was young. She and someone else—another girl—dated for a while, before things fell apart."
She shudders, drawing in a deep breathe before speaking again. "I still remember those days very, very well. It took the girl a… rather long time before she recovered from what happened."
Weiss eyes dart up. "The people around the girl suffered too. Maybe more than she did. The life this girl led created a vortex of pain and suffering for everyone around her and I don't want to see you get sucked into something like that."
"Weiss, I… I don't need you to protect me from my sister," I say, glancing at where I know she's sitting, still engrossed in whatever her and Blake are talking about. "I'm sorry for what happened with that girl, but she's not Yang. They're not some black hole; they're just… in love. You know?"
Weiss scowls. "You have no idea what you're talking about." Her grip on the table tightens enough to make the wood almost groan. "Just because their relationship hasn't self-destructed yet doesn't mean it isn't going to."
"It doesn't mean it will, either." Before I can think, I grab her hands. Weiss stiffens, and I fully expect her to pull away, but she doesn't.
"Maybe… Maybe I don't know much about dating and all that, but I do know my sister, and Blake," I say, brushing my finger across her palm. "They're not going to fall apart or anything—I mean, they were friends long before they started dating!"
Weiss sighs. "I'm… I'm not going to convince you of this, am I?"
I shake my head.
Her lips curl into a frown as her hands tighten around my own. "I just… I don't want to see you hurt by this."
"I know," I say, looking away. "But… I mean, you… you've done more to hurt me than they have. A lot more."
"I… yes, I'm aware," Weiss admits. "But it was never about that. I never wanted to hurt you, or your sister, or Blake… I just…"
"Just what?" Yang asks, stepping towards the table like a wolf stepping through the woods. "Just what, exactly, were you trying to do?"
