And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the dance! I'll admit, this one gave me some trouble, but I think I did a good job of mixing filler with actually important plot stuff. Also, Most of you know about Reese Chloris (Team ABRN) from RTX, and the fact that her weapon is a skateboard. I would just like to point out that I CAME UP WITH IT FIRST! (Jack from the Magenta Trailer [Ch. 28])
That is all.
Ch. 32: I dance
Gray:
I was so relaxed in the jacuzzi that I nearly fell asleep. It was only when Darce banged on the bathroom door that I realized I only had ten minutes to get dressed and ready for the dance. I quickly got out and did so, donning gray pinstripe suit and pants with a white button up and a black bowtie. Because bowties are cool. I hurriedly slicked my hair back and Darce and I dashed to the dance. We burst through the door in as dramatic a fashion as we could.
"We're here!" Darce said.
We paused when we noticed that only Yang Weiss, and a few others were inside.
"Um, where is everyone?"
"Most people show up to these things a few minutes late." Yang answered.
"Oh. So, we just wait?" Darce asked.
"Why would we wait? There's music playing and partners available, just dance when you feel like it."
"Alright, I'm going to get some punch first." I said and did so.
I stood by the punch bowl for a while, a part of me was still trying to process all the events of today. Starting with Darce's PTSD, then Blake apparently finding that hot (not judging), going to the headmaster's office then suddenly finding myself in the cafeteria, time rewriting itself, living with RWBY, then finally the jacuzzi. All of it happening within the span of eight hours. Jesus, when did my life turn into this?
"You alright, there?" Darce asked next to me.
I focused back on reality and realized that Darce, Yang, Weiss, and I were standing in a semi-circle around the punch bowl.
"Yeah, it's just been a long day."
They all nodded in understanding.
"Same here. You would not believe the kind of stress that comes with planning a ball like this." Weiss spoke up.
"I imagine not. So, no date for the famous Weiss Schnee?"
She huffed a bit at that.
"I have no time for silly things like boys, and none approached me."
"Really?" I asked, giving a pointed look at Ruby.
She looked away, blushing. She really is too adorable for her own good, now I have to embarrass her more.
"What about girls?" I continued with a smirk.
Weiss paused at this.
"What about them?"
"None caught your eye or approached you?"
"N-no, of course not. Why would you ask?"
"No reason. You know, there are plenty of partners here that would probably give you a dance if you asked, myself included."
She sent me a hard glare.
"I wouldn't dance with you if you were the last living thing on Remnant."
"Ouch, love you to, Schnee." I said in mock hurt.
Suddenly Darce got a large grin and looked over to Yang, holding out his hand as if she was giving him something. She looked just as confused as the rest of us, even as he rubbed his fingers together.
"We had a bet." Darce clarified.
Now Yang seemed to understand. She looked between Gray and Weiss in horror.
"Wait, no, that doesn't count!" She cried.
"I never said anything about sarcasm, Yang! You owe me 300 lien!" Darce practically screamed in victory.
"What?" Weiss asked.
That's a shit ton of money!
"What bet was worth 300 bucks?!" I exclaimed
"I bet Yang here that you would tell Weiss you loved her by the end of the dance." Darce said in a smug tone.
I was about to question his sanity, but then I realized his logic.
"Oh, you manipulative son of a bitch!" I said proudly and we fist bumped.
"NOO! You're supposed to get angry at him!" Yang demanded.
"Why? He knew I would say it sarcastically to her eventually, but with the dance going on and Weiss having no partner, Darce figured I'd try and needle her about it and she'd snap back. It doesn't really take that much brain power if you know me."
"Yeah," Darce agreed, "You're a pretty predictable person."
I didn't know whether or not to be offended by that, so I decided to ignore it.
"Can I join in?" Asked a new voice to our side. We turned to see Blake, "Or is this party at full capacity?"
Darce:
I had to hide the nervousness that suddenly took me. The show had made her look alright, but in real life she looked stunning. I took a large gulp of punch to wet my suddenly dry throat. It was like I was meeting her for the first time all over again.
"Har-de-har, Blake." I said when I caught the reference she was making about the talk we'd had earlier today, "We've got plenty of room."
I side stepped a bit to let her take the spot next to me, which she did. I handed her some punch and we stood there for a moment, observing the steadily growing party. When the music picked up, I turned to Blake.
"Wanna dance?" I asked.
She gave me a small grin and walked out onto the dance floor, gesturing for me to follow.
It wasn't anything intimate, at first. It was mostly just us dancing next to each other. But as the music slowed, we followed everyone else's lead and took hold of each other. Then a horrible truth came to my mind.
'...I have no idea how to dance with a partner...'
With this realization came a whole butt-load of new anxieties. What if I step on her toes? What if I put my hand to low or it slips? I DON'T WANT TO END UP LIKE THE PROTAGONIST FROM A HAREM ANIME THAT ACCIDENTALLY DOES SOMETHING PERVY! I AM IN A ROOM FULL OF FEMALES THAT CAN AND WILL KICK MY-
"Darce? It's okay if you don't know how to foxtrot, we don't have to dance like everyone else." Blake apparently had seen my fears on my face and quickly tried to reassure me.
And that right there is why I'm so terrified of doing something wrong. Blake was perceptive, kind, and funny, everything I liked in a girl but so much more. You know it's bad when you're attracted to someone's mind and personality as much as their body (which the dress continued to remind me was pretty good, to).
I sent her a reassuring smile.
"No, I'm just a bit nervous."
"Nervous?"
"Yeah, this is my first time dancing with another person."
"It's easy, once you get the hang of it. Here,"
And then we spent the next few minutes going over the basics on how to waltz. After that it was mostly impromptu.
"You're getting pretty good." Blake complimented.
"Thanks, I'm a quick study."
We smiled at each other and just danced to the music. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gray and Yang sharing a joke, Puck seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with Penny, and Ruby sat next to Weiss on the chairs to the side. But then there was a commotion over by the doors, the sounds of laughter started to drift to the center of the room. We stopped to look and saw Jaune Arc in a dress walking proudly up to Pyrrha and ask her for a dance. To which she, of course, accepted with her own fit of laughter. I cheered when team JNPR went into their dance number and I could see Gray practically dying of asphyxiation with all the laughing he was doing.
'I just love this scene! I remember when I first watched…...Dance Dance Infiltration...'
A pang of fear broke through my euphoria. Cinder was going to break into the CCT Tower! I needed to warn someone! I-
No. I looked over at the door to see Ruby leave. Everything is going as it should. I just need to have faith that everything will work out.
Mab:
"Nothing is working out!" I shouted at no one.
I was practically tearing my hair out trying to figure out a plan to get the Forge brothers back. Our experiment with Darce had proven that the more darkness a person had, the easier Lily could influence them. We could take away his memories and just start that whole process over again, only more closely monitored this time. I'd grown fond of Puck, but he wasn't the real prize. No, the one I wanted was Oberon.
"Evil scheme not going as planned?" Lily asked from behind me.
She always seemed to appear just as I thought my day couldn't get any worse to try and prove me wrong. I would've thought it was her semblance if not for the fact she'd been doing it since we were kids. Needless to say, but we secretly hate each other. We both knew how the other felt, but neither of us ever came out and said it. I'd learned a long time ago that Lily was a certifiable sociopath, she felt absolutely no emotional connection to anyone or guilt for any of her actions. The only things she ever seemed to feel was varying levels of anger and sarcasm. Yes, sarcasm is an emotion.
"No, my evil scheme doesn't exist, that's what's frustrating me." I confided, "I keep trying to find a new angle, but the closest I can get is trying to abduct them when they go to their mission tomorrow. The only problem is, I have no idea which mission they're going on!"
"You said that team RWBY will come here, don't you think the Forges will try and weasel their way onto that?"
I bit my lip in thought.
"Maybe, but I don't want to base a plan around a guess."
"Maybe Cinder or one of the others could do some spying tonight?"
"Perhaps. I'll give her a call after midnight, when she's done with the job."
I got up and walked to the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To vent some frustration in the city."
Gray:
"Hey, Nora, do you realize that Ren is the only one on your team not wearing a dress?" I asked with a wide smile.
Nora seemed to think about that for a moment before mirroring my expression. She turned and grabbed Ren by the elbow.
"I have the perfect dress for you!" She squealed as she dragged the confused ninja away, the music drowning out his quiet protests.
"Oh, bro, that was evil." Darce chuckled.
I was honestly surprised to see how quickly Blake seemed to adjust to their new relationship status. He had one hand on the small of her back and she didn't look like she minded. It might've been the sheer amount of fun we'd been having tonight or something else, but I was expecting a much longer awkward phase. Oh well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow after we get shipped off to bumfuck nowhere on a mission for a few days. I just hoped they wouldn't try and share a sleeping bag. I internally shrugged and poured myself some more punch.
Mab:
I arrived in Vale on a Bullhead and began searching the alley ways of the city. The mask I had on looked like a steampunk skull. I skulked in the shadows until I found him, my perfect victim. He was young, maybe just two years younger than me. His eyes were wide and innocent, he looked clean and in the peak of health. My perfect victim. His type weren't usually out this late, and he looked like he was rushing home.
He wouldn't make it.
I shot out Red Death and it wrapped around him, pulling him into a dark alley. He screamed, of course, especially when he saw my grinning skull face. I took a moment to enjoy those screams, but I was eager to get to the main course. Now, the only remaining question was: Where to put the cut?
In the end I decided to put it over his cheek, like a kiss. His cries of terror turned into cries of pain, then agony as his blood began to boil, then a combination of all three as his boiling blood started to bleed out of every pore. I watched every second, saw every delicious expression and heard every sound. When he died a half hour later, I used Red Death to scoop out his eyes and put them in his mouth.
When it was all over, I gave a content sigh and walked back to the Bullhead. All the tension and frustration of the day had melted away with the boy's life, and it left me feeling much better.
And on that cheery note, I leave you. You would not believe how awkward it is to write a romantic scene when one character is based off of you and the other is fictional. For some reason it feels like...bragging? IDK, just pretend that Darce and Blake are doing cutesy couple stuff like feeding each other bits of food or making out when they're "off-camera".
Anyway, don't forget to follow, fav, and review. If you have any thoughts or suggestions feel free to send a PM my way. I hope y'all stick around for next chapter!