The sisters were packed against the back wall of the elevator, which was bursting with professionally dressed people who were all screaming into their phones, trying to be the loudest in the room. Normally she'd listen to music to drown them out, but nothing was stopping the noise today, and her backpack was only making things worse. Winter was on her phone looking bored, not flinching when someone in the back of the elevator loudly cussed, complaining about an intern.
Floor by floor the doors opened and a trickle of people would leave, and it would be that much easier to get a breath. By the time the doors opened on the twelfth floor there was enough space for the sisters to take a half step in any direction, but they had to push and shove through the crowd.
Weiss pushed and elbowed people out of her way, hearing a grunt from somewhere behind her and whispering a quick apology, hoping she hadn't hit anyone too hard. The elevator was only a few feet long, but it felt like a football field as she forced her way through, eventually popping out from the crown next to Winter without even realizing.
She'd taken a single step out of the elevator when she heard the doors close behind her, the elevator getting whisked away to the next floor within seconds.
The room was painted a dull white, with modern chairs pushed against the were small tables around the room that were stained with every color Crayola had to offer, a bucket of crayons and a handful of coloring books on each one.
The reception desk was on the far side of the wall next to a door that led to the offices, and that's where Amy sat typing on her computer. She was as old as Winter with shining red hair that went most of the way down her back and crystal green eyes and a smile that never seemed to leave her face for long. Well, unless you got on her bad side, then there was no hope for you. Or that's what Winter said at least.
"Adrian, stop it," Weiss heard a giggling voice say, followed by a loud laugh. Weiss turned and saw a small group sitting to the right of the elevator.
The woman who'd talked looked to be in her late twenties with olive skin, black hair tied in a ponytail, and a pair of red glasses. She was poking the cheeks of a boy with well combed black hair who looked like he couldn't have been older than seven. He was laughing and swatting at the woman's dancing fingers with a smile.
On the other side of the boy was another woman with long golden hair and pure blue eyes who had a bigger grin than both of the others as she tickled the boys belly whenever he turned towards the black haired woman.
"Hey, Saphron," Weiss waved to the blonde woman, "Terra," nodding to the black haired woman, "And how're you doing today, Adrian?" Winter asked with a wide grin and shining eyes.
He gave her a thumbs up, distracting him long enough for Saphron to blow a raspberry on his cheek, getting a huge laugh from him. Weiss couldn't help but giggle watching him squirm and wiggle around in his seat.
"He was a little cranky earlier, but he seems to have calmed down," Terra explained, absentmindedly playing with his hair.
"He doesn't get a juice box once and he gets all grumpy," Saphron said teasingly.
"Sounds like me with my coffee," Winter said, getting a laugh from both of the women while Weiss stood there shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"Just give me one quick sec and I'll be ready," Winter said hurriedly, checking the time on her phone.
"Take your time," Said Saphron, reaching over and taking Terra's hand without looking.
"I'd rather not, I know how busy you both are," Winter smiled, standing up and waving goodbye to Adrian before briskly walking towards the reception desk.
"Aren't they just adorable?" Amy asked, looking up at Winter with stars in her eyes.
"Maybe just a little," Winter said, sounding deflated for some reason. "Anything new for me?"
"Aside from your 3:45 appointment sitting there playing with his parents? Nope. Aren't you two going to say hi?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Do we have to?" asked Winter, letting out a sigh but smiling nonetheless.
"You're smart enough to know the answer to that," Amy said teasingly.
"Then hi. Can we go now? Please?" Winter questioned, but the red heads eyes were glued to Weiss.
"Hi, Amy," she smiled, scratching the back of her head.
"Hey, Weiss, good to see you again! See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Amy said triumphantly.
"You aren't gonna say hi to me?" Winter asked with a huff.
"I say hi to you everyday, Weiss is special," Amy winked at Weiss who was blushing softly.
"Now, aren't you two late?" Amy joked, laughing at the glare Winter shot her with as the two of them walked past her and into the back.
The first thing you see when you walk into the back is a long hallway with doors sprinkled on either side. Some of those doors led to storage while others to long stretches of hallway. A handful of the doors had plaques to the side of them, each one with a different therapist's name. The hall ended at a door like every other, the only difference was the plaque that said Dr. James Ironwood.
"I have one more appointment after I'm done with Adrien, so I'm gonna be a while. Do you wanna wait for me to drive you home, or are you gonna walk?" Winter questioned as they rushed down the hall.
"Probably walk," Her voice quiet, with no idea who else might be having a meeting.
"Alright, just be careful ok?" She said quickly, her voice drenched in worry.
"You know I always have the pepper spray you gave me," Weiss said, patting her backpack and feeling the blue bottle. Winter looked relieved before a mischievous smile came onto her face.
"Ya know, you could try and convince me to let you take the bug for a spin after I get home," Winter smiled, reaching into her pocket and jingling the keys in front of Weiss's eyes.
"I already had to deal with school today, I don't need that kind of stress," Weiss chuckled as they reached the end of the hall.
"Come on, Weiss, you gotta learn how to drive sooner or later! You're getting older, and it's not exactly cool to have your sister driving around on dates, is it?"
"Win!"
"I'm sorry, but it's true!" Win laughed, walking away from Weiss and going to the last door on the right side of the hall, the one that had her name on the plaque. "Have fun with James, I'll see you at home, love you!"
"If he's nice to me," She joked, "Love you, Win," she said honestly before Winter slipped into her office, leaving Weiss all alone. She stood in the hall for a moment, letting the near silence settle in her ears for the first time all day.
She knocked on the door, wanting to get this out of the way so she could go home. "Come in," She heard a deep voice say.
James's office was classy, but at the same time sort of childish. It was a light beige with a large window on the far side of the room that gave an amazing view of the city. There was an expensive black leather couch with a matching chair, as well as a shelf that had countless textbooks and medical books on it. His desk was large and neatly organized, with not even a slip of paper out of place. His walls were also decorated with prestigious degrees that were framed. but degrees weren't the only things in frames.
Scattered all over the room were framed drawings that were all signed by different kids. There was a closed chest that was next to the shelf, but Weiss knew that it was packed full of toys and games. As embarrassing as it was, she couldn't resist playing with them every once in a while.
James was a tall man with well groomed black hair and dark blue eyes, he was dressed in a smart gray suit but still seemed comfortable. "How's your day been, Weiss?" James asked casually, leaning on his desk and looking out at the city.
"Long," Weiss sighed, dropping on the couch like a ragdoll.
"You too?" he laughed, and Weiss nodded silently.
"I had people changing plans all day, been on the phone talking with angry parents more than I've been talking to their kids" He explained, "Sorry about changing plans on you, but Winter said you wouldn't mind,"
A twinge of annoyance spiked in Weiss, "Did she really? First time I'm hearing about it," Weiss complained bitterly. James turned towards her and frowned.
"Did she not ask you first?"
"Does she ever?" Weiss complained, crossing her arms.
"And did you tell her how you feel when she does that?" he asked, nodding when she froze. "I'll take that as a no," He said as he stood up from his desk, walking over and sitting on the chair. He was about to say something, but stopped, looking at her closely.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" He wondered, concerned.
"I'm fine, I got plenty of sleep… In class," She admitted, unfolding her arms.
"I had a nightmare last night," She started pulling at her shirt.
"Was it the same one as usual?" He asked calmly.
Weiss nodded, rubbing her wrist where her father had grabbed her.
"Did you tell Winter about this one?"
"No," She mumbled after a moment of silence, looking at the ground. "She worries about me enough already,"
"From what I've seen, that worry is on both sides," he pointed out with a small smile, getting a glare from Weiss.
"I know," Weiss admitted quietly.
"Don't you think she wants to know how you feel?" He asked, and Weiss bit her lip.
"I know," She said again.
"It is he job after all-"
"I know!" Weiss snapped, furrowing her eyebrows and breathing heavily. James looked at her and tilted his head, waiting for her to relax.
"It's not that easy, ok? I know I should tell her, but sometimes things just feel different,"
She said, frustrated.
"Do you think she feels that way too?" She nodded.
"Sometimes she gets quiet, and I can tell she doesn't know what to say, but she's trying. She's trying so hard," She defended, her heart felt like it was getting squeezed.
"Do you think you're trying?" He questioned gently.
"Not nearly as hard as she is," She whispered so softly he hardly heard her. Weiss felt the guilt crawling inside of her and it made her feel sick.
"What do you think you're gonna do then?" and Weiss let out a laugh.
"That's not really easy to answer. It's not as if I like not having friends with only my music to keep me company. All she wants if for me to make friends and to have a normal life, but I'm not exactly a social butterfly,"
"Nobody's saying you have to be a social butterfly or anything like that. All anyone wants you to do is try and meet some people,"
"But what if I'm not sure how to make friends?" Weiss confessed fearfully, looking him with watery eyes.
"Can I offer some advice?"
"Is it actual advice or is just gonna be a lecture? Because I've already sat through enough of those today," She joked, sniffling her nose.
"Advice. Well, mostly advice. Sixty-forty," He laughed, "I know it's cliché, but that's because it works. Be yourself. If you have to pretend to be someone you're not just to be friends with someone, don't be their friend," He said casually, but there was weight to his words.
"I'd say that more fifty-fifty," Weiss teased.
"You think? That's better than I was hoping for" He laughed, getting a smile out of her.
Weiss couldn't help but have her mind wander to all of the people she'd met today, and how nice they'd all been. She thought of Winter, and how much she wanted everything to be ok. She nodded to herself, coming to a decision then and there.
She was done sitting back and doing nothing. Tomorrow, she was going to go out and find Jaune again, and she was… Well, she had no idea what she was going to do, but she was gonna try something. That much was certain.
-Authors Note-
P.S.A. So I'm not a therapist, so don't take anything in this as actual advice from one. If you're having any issues please go and see an actual mental health professional, they're qualified and want to help them, so let them! Hope you guys are enjoying though, I'm excited with what's gonna happen soon in the story! If you guys have any questions or comments, please leave them below, and see you guys next week!