The next day, Julius was sitting next to Sun in the stands at the sparring arena. Pyrrha had singlehandedly taken on the entirety of Team CRDL and destroyed them all, which was one of the most entertaining things he had seen that day. However, when Mercury decided to try and fight, he stepped down for some reason after a few seconds of fighting. Julius narrowed his eyes; Mercury was definitely up to something. Then, he looked over to Blake; she had looked exhausted, and he wasn't surprised; she had spent a lot of time searching for the White Fang. He had been planning on inviting her to the dance, but if there was one thing that frightened him more than even the Grimm, it was asking a girl out. Luckily, he was sitting next to someone who might be able to help him.

"Sun," he said as the students began to leave the arena, "I need your help with something."

"Sure, pal," Sun said, "What's up?"

"So, you remember how the dance is in a few days, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well…I've been wanting to ask Blake to go with me to the dance, but…"

"Let me guess, you're too scared to do it?"

Julius nodded: "It's freakin weird; I can handle a whole pack of Grimm, no problem, but asking a girl out? It's like my heart locks up in fear."

Sun laughed: "I know exactly what you're talking about. You want my advice: just don't think about it. Just go and do it, that's all there is to it."

"But what if she says no? I mean, I know that might be a bit doubtful, but it's still a possibility."

"But what if she says yes? Judging by the way you two hang out, I'd say that's a bigger possibility."

"Eh, good point."

"Hey, there she is now." Sun said, pointing to Blake as she was walking behind the rest of her team, "Now's your chance."

"Wait, but…!" Julius started to say.

"I said don't think about it!" Sun said, "Now go on!"

With that, Sun pushed Julius in Blake's direction. Julius took a deep breath and walked up to Blake.

"Hey, uh, Blake," he said, getting her attention, "How's it going?"

"It's fine,"

"Soo, anyways, there's a dance happening this weekend, and I was wondering if…you…would go…with me?" Julius was really starting to blush now.

"I appreciate the offer, Julius, but I don't have time for a stupid dance right now; you should know by now." Blake said, walking away. Crushed, Julius looked down, kicking the ground in frustration. Sun walked up behind him and softly patted his back.

"Well, at least you tried." He said.

"Yeah, at least that," Julius quietly responded, walking away. Yang, Ruby, and Weiss watched as both Blake and Julius walked away from each other.

"This is getting out of hand," Ruby said, "We've got to talk to Blake."

"I'll go talk to Julius real quick. You guys go on ahead without me." Yang said, running after Julius.

"Julius!" she called, getting his attention.

"Oh, hey sis." He said.

"Hey, we saw you try and ask Blake out. We're worried for her too."

"Yeah, I mean, I know she's been sorta distant before, but nothing like this. Not since that fight with the mech."

"That's exactly it. She's been too caught up in the investigation, and it's been affecting her and everyone close to her. We're gonna talk to her. Trust me, she'll go to the dance. I'll be sure to remind her that you asked her out."

"Thanks, sis." Julius said, his voice lightening up a little bit.

Yang pulled Julius in and hugged him: "Don't worry, bro. It's gonna be okay."

Julius hugged back, and after a few seconds, Yang pulled back: "I got an idea. Team CFVY's mission is going longer than usual, so Weiss and I agreed to plan the dance out. You should join us. That should get your mind off things."

Julius thought for a moment: "Well, someone has to keep you from going too far overboard with the decorations."

Yang laughed: "I'd like to see you try. Well, see I gotta head back to the others, so I'll see you later!"

"Later!" Julius said as Yang ran off. Once she was gone, Julius teleported back to the dorm building and headed for his own room to study. As he walked down the hallway, he heard someone speak behind him.

"Rough day?" the voice said. Julius turned around to see Cinder and Mercury standing behind him.

"Were you following me?" he asked.

"We saw you pass by, actually. We just want to talk, that's all."

"About?"

"When we first met, you looked at us a bit strange."

"That was nothing. It's just that you looked a bit familiar to me."

"I see," Cinder said, "That's interesting, because you do too. Have we met?"

"We might have. I don't remember a specific moment though."

"Shame. Neither do I."

"Is there anything else you would like to talk about?"

"No, that was all I had in mind. Sorry for the trouble."

Julius slowly nodded: "Ooookay then…" he said before teleporting straight into his room.

"Well?" Mercury asked.

"He's better at hiding things than I expected. Keep him on the list; we'll need to keep a closer eye on him." Cinder said.

Later that day, Julius was in the ballroom with Yang and Weiss as they planned and set out the decorations. Ruby sat dejectedly at one of the tables. Weiss came up and put two different sheets of paper in front of her.

"I need you to pick a tablecloth." She said.

Ruby looked at the two, then said: "Aren't they both the same?"

Weiss sighed in frustration: "I don't even know why I asked!"

Just then, Julius walked up behind Weiss, carrying a speaker over his shoulder, and looked over Weiss's shoulder at the two choices.

"I say the left one," he said, "it's a bit shinier. More likely to shine better in the dance lights."

"Well, at least you gave an opinon." Weiss said.

"Happy to help!" Julius said.

"Hey," Yang called to Julius, "Put your speaker next to this one," she said, putting a speaker she herself had been carrying down.

"No, not next to," Weiss said, "A little ways to the right of it. We need to make sure the sound can be heard through the entire ballroom."

"She's got a point, Yang." Julius said, teleporting to a spot a couple feet from Yang's speaker and putting his speaker down. Putting her speaker down, Yang walked over to Ruby.

"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" she asked.

Ruby sighed: "What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?"

"I certainly wouldn't, to be honest." Julius said.

"Oh, don't worry. She's going." Yang said, "You still have a chance at a date, Julius. Speaking of, you still need to pick out a tuxedo right?"

Julius shuddered: "I hate fancy outfits."

"What?!" Weiss said.

"I've never worn one in my life. Besides, they're a bit stiff. Not enough flexibility."

"That's fair enough, I guess." Yang said.

"OH, we're finding you a suit, Julius, once we're done planning." Weiss said.

Then, looking to her left, Yang said in exasperation: "Weiss, I thought we agreed, no doilies!"

"If I don't get doilies, YOU don't get fog machines." Weiss said.

Just then, the door opened as Sun and Neptune entered.

"Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked.

"We're planning on it." Weiss said walking up to Neptune. Julius rolled his eyes; it was amazing the things that could change Weiss's mind.

"That's pretty cool." Neptune said

"You ladies all excited for dress up?" Sun asked.

"Pfft, yeah right." Ruby said.

"Laugh all you want. I'LL be turning heads tomorrow." Yang said.

"Ask, Julius. Apparently, he's never dressed up in his life." Weiss said.

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Ice Queen." Julius said.

Sun laughed: "Relax, pal. I got some outfits I think you can borrow."

"Well, it would certainly be better than whatever Weiss comes up with."

Weiss glared at Julius, but then smiled as she turned back to Sun and Neptune: "So, what are you guys wearing?"

"Uhhh, this." Sun said, pointing to his outfit.

Neptune stepped in front of him: "Ignore him, for he knows not what he says."

"I may have moved to Mistral, but I came from Vaccuo. It's not exactly a shirt and tie kind of place."

"Now you tell me." Julius said.

"Yeah, we've noticed." Yang said.

"So, uh, what does Blake think of all this? Is she still being all, you know, Blake-y?"

"Obviously." Weiss said.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind." Ruby said.

"Guys," Yang said, "Trust me. Blake WILL be at the dance tomorrow."

"I hope you're right." Julius said.

"Relax, pal," Sun said, "If there's one person who deserves a date with Blake, it's you. Besides, Yang's got a plan, and something tells me it'll go alright."

"You do realize 90% of her plans involve blowing stuff up, right?" Julius asked.

Sun shrugged: "Maybe this is in that 10%. Just take it easy, we'll see what happens at the dance."

Julius nodded, then turned to see what Weiss was doing.

"Weiss!" he said, "I thought we said no doilies!"