I am so sorry about the late upload! The editor had it done over the weekend as intended and then my vaccine started kicking my ass. But here it is now! Hope you all enjoy it!
"How are we already this far into the first quarter?" Cobalt asked as he stretched in his seat, speaking over Nora who was droning on and on as she normally did, drawing a few frustrated looks from other students who were nearby and trying to take notes. "Feels like it was just a few chapters ago that we took on that pack of Grimm near Vale when Qrow and Ruby showed up and saved our asses. You remember, right Tawney?" He glanced over his right shoulder at her, the girl turning red in the face and her eye twitching as she gripped her pencil too hard and it snapped in half, causing her to completely lose her cool.
"I'm trying to learn!" She shouted at him, drawing a round of laughter followed by Nora clearing her throat and glaring at them, shaking her head slowly. Tawney blushed in shame, waving apologetically before glancing about for another writing utensil, ignoring the one that Cobalt was offering. The bell rang and devastation filled her as everyone stood and began leaving, she looked after her fellow classmates in desperation, hoping that she could ask someone for their notes before they left, but failed to do so with Cobalt close behind her the entire time.
"I can give you the notes you missed," Cobalt offered up. She swung around, gripping him tightly by the collar and holding him in place.
"How the hell did you hear anything she was saying while you were babbling nonsense the entire time?!" Tawney demanded.
"She said earlier on in the class that it was all going to be a recap," he sheepishly mentioned. Tawney lightened up slightly and sighed, dropping him as she slumped out of the door. "Everything good?"
"Been on edge," she stated. "I'm close to passing Neela…"
"That's great! Isn't that what you want?" Cobalt inquired.
"Not like this," Tawney stated. Tawney watched Ilia and Titus pass by them in the hallway, with Eren a few steps behind, the former were discussing something in earnest, Ilia laughing loudly as Titus shook his head in disagreement, Eren shuffling along as to not draw any unwanted attention, doing his best to be part of the team without getting too close, which seemed typical for him. "I want to pass Neela at her apex. What good is it to beat someone while they're down?"
"Tawney! Cobalt!" Bái called out to them as she spotted them with Lykos in tow.
"What's going on?" Cobalt asked.
"You two are planning on going to the dance tonight, right?" Bái asked excitedly before Lykos could say anything. Tawney glanced at Cobalt and looked away. Was Cobalt planning on going? Was that already tonight? Her mind swam as Cobalt struck a pose, hands on his hips, chest puffed out as she chuckled.
"I wouldn't miss it!" Cobalt declared. "I talked to Yvonne and she's planning on meeting me there!" Tawney's heart sank, crashing to the bottom of her ribs. Cobalt said that they were finished… what happened?
"Are you going, Tawney?" Lykos questioned. She sighed.
"I don't know," she groaned. "I only really went because of the concert last year. I don't know if I really have a reason to go."
"It would still be more fun if you did come," Cobalt noted. She looked at him, trying to not get her hopes up.
"I'll think about it," Tawney offered as they spotted some of Neela's friends passing by.
"Can you imagine! Our first dance! What do you think it will be like!? All of the men looking dapper in their school uniforms and you'll be looking like the snacc that you are!" Honey exclaimed as she walked down the hall hand-in-hand with Lueur. Lueur tilted her head and smiled, closing her eyes, leaning in and kissing Honey on the cheek. "You're excited too, right?" Lueur nodded furiously and Honey kissed her back. "Good!"
"I for one, am not," Apophis noted.
"Why not? At least be excited for Lueur," Honey pled. Lueur pouted and he chuckled.
"Fine," Apophis agreed, smirking. "Just for Lueur." She smiled and made a puzzled look before holding her hand over her eyes, scanning the area, and holding up four fingers.
"Maybe we'll meet a fourth member for our team?" Honey spoke for her. "We might! From what I hear there are a lot of kids that come from different schools, maybe one of them would transfer, especially one of the solos from the smaller schools like Patch!" Honey accidentally ran into Ivory, bouncing off of the girl and sliding away a few feet. "I'm so sorry! Really! It was an accident."
"No sweat!" Ivory told them with a smile. She looked back at her wings. "I know they can get in the way a bit sometimes."
"They're beautiful, by the way," Honey replied blushing, Lueur shaking her head and dragging her girlfriend away.
"What an odd bunch," Rowan groaned.
"They seem alright," Ivory defended. "They're easy on the eyes. Are you coming to the dance tonight?"
"Yeah, Soya and I have something in the works," Rowan told her with a smirk. Ivory sighed and shook her head.
"Why do you associate with her?" Ivory pondered as they began walking down the hallway towards their next class.
"I'm trying to get some tail," He chuckled.
"She has a girlfriend," Ivory reminded him.
"So does Yvonne, but that doesn't keep her from sleeping around," Rowan offered.
"They're friends with benefits," Ivory corrected. "Honestly I don't know why that poor bastard sticks around. I had a round with her back before we came here, she was easy and hardly worth it."
"One woman's trash is another man's treasure," Rowan replied. Ivory looked at him for a long moment and shook her head.
"I… Ugh…" She sighed. She spotted Ilia heading back towards her locker and called out after her. "Save a dance for me tonight?"
"We'll see," Ilia teasingly replied. Ivory blushed and nudged Rowan.
"Now that's a woman," Ivory pointed out.
"She seems to be in a better mood," Rowan observed.
"Vin's been laying off of her. Guess he finally realized that suffocating her with texts was a bad idea," Ivory added, shaking her head as ONYX entered the hallway from the far end.
"And I assume that you and Titus are going together?" Orin pried. "Since the two of you have been engaging in sexual intercourse." Natalia blushed and hit him hard enough in the arm to leave a bruise.
"For someone so elegant, you sure know how to be crass..." She scolded.
"Would you have preferred dancing the horizontal mambo?" Yin questioned.
"Playing a game of hide the pickle maybe?" Xavier included.
"The next time we have a training day I'm going to kick all of your asses," Natalia seethed. "But yes, we're going together."
"It's all good," Yin stated. "We know X is just going to go so he can try and slide into Ilia's DMs."
"Or not!" Xavier defended.
"You're not going?" Yin asked.
"I'm going, but I'm not after Ilia!" Xavier yelled. Yin threw his hands up.
"Fine. Fine," Yin relaxed. "Orin, you going?"
"Of course," Orin informed them. "I'll be stag, but I enjoy a little rest and relaxation from time to time. Not to mention, girls need a night to be flattered every now and then."
"What a guy," Yin smirked. Orin seemed proud of himself.
"I try," Orin chuckled. At the intersection of the hallway he spotted Neela, the girl looked out of place as she sheepishly waved to someone she knew, her eyes focusing more on the floor than anything else as she exhaled in a shuddering fashion. The girl had been in an absolute downward spiral since her friend had left. Allegedly Eliana had gotten herself a girlfriend, which hadn't helped, not to mention the fact that two of her teammates were going steady. Plus the added stress of a teammate who wasn't cooperating as well as he could be. Orin tried to understand the pressure she must have been feeling. He separated himself from his team and walked out to meet Neela. "Hey."
"Oh!" Neela exclaimed startled. She looked at him and offered a weak smile. "Orin, I didn't see you."
"Is everything okay?" He asked her. Neela chuckled sheepishly, but his gaze wasn't letting up.
"No," Neela admitted. He placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"It's okay to be off," Orin informed her. "We're all here for you, though I'm sure that your family and teammates have told you that more times than you can count. There are a lot of fish in the sea… or even just this pond." Neela nodded her head and sighed.
"I know… it's just…" Neela stammered. "Tonight's the dance…"
It's not every dance that I can say I was the date of the most beautiful girl in school!
"Last year I went with Elli," Neela finished.
"And this year you can go alone!" Orin announced proudly for her. "You're an independent woman! Go! Have fun! Enjoy the company of the friends you've made! Be yourself! Let your mind wander for a bit, you know? And if you get really desperate, I guess I can spare a dance." He winked at her. She chuckled and waved him off, nodding as she thought about what he said.
"You know I'm not into guys, right?" She reminded him. He cocked his hip.
"I'm not either, but we're both still young," he informed her. She laughed.
"I'll try and show up for a bit," She told him.
"And I'll look forward to seeing you, madam," he bowed as he gracefully dismissed himself from the conversation.
"How are we already this far into the first quarter?" Cobalt asked as he straightened his bow tie, entering the dance hall and talking to no one in particular, or at least, that was to say, he was speaking to Lykos and Bái but neither of the two of them were actually listening to him. "It feels like just a few paragraphs ago I was waxing nostalgic about our first mission of the year. I was there. The two of you were there… speaking of which, where is Tawney? I know that she didn't want to get dressed up with us there, but I really didn't think putting on her beanie would take this long. Am I right?!"
"No one is listening," Lykos told him.
"Do you guys ever listen to me?" Cobalt inquired.
"When you say something worth listening to," Bái informed him. He nodded.
"Fair," Cobalt noted. "That is fair."
"Who the hell is that?" asked some Atlesian student near Cobalt.
"Does she go here?" answered a Vale student. Cobalt turned around to see Tawney wearing a black dress was plain and almost looked more like an oversized t-shirt that came down to her knees, with boots that rose up to meet it. Dark makeup accented her eyes and she looked pale, but it appeared as though it wasn't by choice and more of a reaction to all of the unexpected attention. Cobalt's jaw slacked as he moved to compliment his teammate before someone caught him by the arm and dragged him away.
"It's been a while," Yvonne told him, taking his attention off of Tawney entirely, Yvonne's outfit leaving far less to the imagination than anyone else's. Her plunging v-neck on the black sequence dress she wore revealed more cleavage than most standard bikinis would at the beach, and the slit up her leg came far enough up to her hip that it was well evident she had opted to go pantieless, leaving him to wonder which door she'd snuck in through to make sure that the teachers hadn't kicked her out right away. "What do you say we just leave straight away and get down to business? I abstained last night to make sure we'd have something really special to look forward to tonight."
"It sounds like a great idea, but I think we should at least stay and enjoy ourselves for a while, right? We had to get tickets to get in here," Cobalt pointed out. She rolled her eyes and walked away.
"Come get me when you're ready to go, I'll be by the punch," she groaned. Cobalt stammered, debating chasing her before shaking his head. If she couldn't wait, that wasn't his problem. He'd come to enjoy himself, and he would.
"Where's the woman?" Titus asked, passing by Cobalt. He looked regal in his military outfit, and with Natalia wearing hers as well, something akin to Winter's uniform, the two of them made a perfect match.
"She's uh… getting punch… You meant Yvonne, right?" Cobalt questioned.
"Who else would I mean?" Titus questioned, Natalia held onto his arm which he presented to her.
"Right," Cobalt sighed. He perked up slightly and jabbed Titus in the shoulder. "Hey, are the two of you going to salsa, or flamenco, or whatever the hell it was you did last year?" Natalia looked at Titus who cast her a side glance.
"You ballroom danced with another girl?" Natalia prodded.
"I may have," Titus offered.
"It couldn't have been one of the Vale kids," Natalia assumed. "No offense." Cobalt waved her off.
"Pfft. It's all good," he insisted.
"Do you remember Camellia?" Titus answered.
"What was Admon's sister doing here?" Natalia pried.
"Long story," Titus sighed. Natalia laughed.
"Oh, we totally need to do it then," Natalia insisted.
"Are you sure you haven't forgotten any of the steps?" Titus jested.
"I'm about to make you eat those words," Natalia ragged on him as they left the area.
"Cobalt, looking good!" Ivory called out as she approached him. She wore a silver sequined dress that gave Yvonne's a run for its money, showing even more of her chest and legs than her teammate's.
"You too…" he droned a bit as he stared. "You ever play Azur Lane?"
"No, why do you ask?" She questioned.
"No reason…" Cobalt slurred. He shook his head. "So, uh, Vin here with Ilia?"
"Yeah," Ivory answered, spreading her wings and letting them stretch. She wrapped herself in them. "Think she'll like my dress."
"I think anyone with a sex drive would," he muttered. "I'll let you know if I see them."
"Thanks," she smiled. "Where's Yvonne?"
"At the punch bowl," Cobalt relayed. She nodded in thanks and left him alone again. "Isn't there anybody else you could follow around for a bit?"
No, I think we're fine.
"Cobalt!" Ilia called out and ran into him. She wore the same thing as last year, Vin standing close by as if an animal waiting to pounce at anything that might try and take his prey from him. He also seemed on edge, almost as though he was just as desperate to leave as immediately as Yvonne was. "Where's Yvonne?"
"She's at the punch bowl," Cobalt groaned, growing tired of being asked the same thing. Ilia glanced over towards Ivory and Yvonne, offering a smile to Cobalt.
"You clean up nice by the way," Ilia told him. He smirked.
"Thanks," He replied. "I think I'll have a little more fun once I get out there and start dancing."
"Is Titus planning on putting on a show again?" Ilia pried. Cobalt nodded.
"Oh yeah," Cobalt confirmed. "When the man knows what he's doing, he likes to flaunt it." Ilia chuckled and looked at Vin.
"I'm going to go say hi to Titus, okay?" She informed him. Vin kissed her.
"I'll be there in a moment," Vin assured her. She nodded and left, leaving Vin with Cobalt.
"Don't tell me I get a kiss too," Cobalt jested.
"Have you seen Xavier here?" Vin blatantly asked. Cobalt looked Vin over.
"This isn't a good look on you," Cobalt stated.
"I want him to back off of her," Vin replied flatly.
"He asked to walk her home, bro!" Cobalt defended Xavier.
"His buddy said it was more than that," Vin growled.
"And his buddy seems like an idiot, and it takes one to know one," Cobalt added. "You need to let this drop and you need to give Ilia some slack. The girl who has trust issues isn't going to cheat, though it's starting to feel like you're the one with trust issues."
"I just…" Vin seethed before exhaling and relaxing. "She seems amazing. I don't want to lose her."
"Then give her a little space," Cobalt repeated. "I feel you man, but you've got to trust her." Vin nodded.
"I'm trying," Vin stated. "You sure there's nothing going on with Xavier?"
"One hundred percent," Cobalt insisted. Vin nodded.
"Okay," Vin replied. He patted Cobalt on the shoulder and left for Ilia. "Thanks."
"So no kiss then!?" Cobalt shouted after him. He looked around and shrugged. "Guess I go find Tawney now." He acknowledged Yin and Xavier entering the hall, neither of them real dressed up as they shared a fist bump and looked around.
"Didn't strobe lights die years ago at these things?" Yin asked. "I'd like to see the girl that I'm dancing with, especially if we go back to the room and bump uglies."
"Orin will kill you," Xavier reminded him. Yin laughed loudly.
"Not our room, I'm not suicidal," Yin cackled. "Lot of girls here from out of town. Some cute underclassmen girls too."
"Yin…" Xavier began.
"I'm not naming any names," Yin denied.
"You implied it," Xavier remarked. Yin waved him off and stared out across the floor at Ilia.
"You have to admit she's something to look at," Yin said. Xavier followed Yin's eyes to Ilia, her smile and eyes lighting up as she laughed at something Titus said. Sure, Xavier could say that he was sexually attracted to her, but that by itself was shallow. It was easy to say someone was visually appealing, but how well did he actually know her? He could flirt with the idea of them being together, but was that really any better than lusting after her? All of it was better left to his imagination, she had a boyfriend, for one, and Yin was right, there were a lot of girls there from out of town.
"Let's find us some women then," Xavier agreed. Yin looked at him and slugged him in the shoulder.
"Let's go, X!" Yin declared. More students flowed in, somewhere amidst the crowd was Apophis, Honey, and Lueur.
"This is amazing!" Honey declared as she twirled in her prom style, ballroom dress, throwing her hands out and forcing the people around her to move out of the way. "Look at all the people! There are way more students here than I imagined there would be! And I love this song! Are you excited, Lueur?!" Lueur was distracted in her mermaid dress, she had already made her way across the room, head tilted as her tail wagged happily, eyes wide as she stared at the desserts and punch they had sitting out.
"A new cutie?" Yvonne asked taking a step out from behind the table where she'd been scoping out a potential partner to leave with her right away.
"She's taken!" Honey laughed nervously as she sped over. "Sorry about that."
"Perhaps then I can be of interest to both of you?" Yvonne suggested. Honey didn't understand what she meant, looking at her in confusion as Apophis came by, shaking his head and pushing the two girls along.
"They're fine, thanks," Apophis stated.
"What did she mean?" Honey whispered to him.
"I'll explain later," Apophis promised as Lueur rolled her eyes, making a circle with her pointer and thumb before inserting the pointer on her opposite hand.
"Really?!" Honey shouted. Lueur nodded. "What the hell?! She's a dude?" Apophis and Lueur looked at each other before facepalming.
"No…" Apophis groaned. They joined everyone else who was spreading out through the building, catching a glimpse of Titus and Natalia who were sharing a dance on one of the balconies outside.
"You really do still remember every move," Natalia jested, impressed with him.
"You know I'm dedicated," he chuckled. "When I set my mind to something and I learn it, it's then a part of me."
"But that was kind of the problem with Admon, wasn't it?" Natalia asked. Titus looked away but she turned his gaze back upon her, gently gripping his chin. "That's in the past now."
"I said things that hurt you," Titus recalled. She kissed him on the lips with authority.
"I knew you'd come back around," Natalia remarked, smiling. "Someone must have really done a number on you for you to open up to me again this quickly."
"That was Eliana," Titus laughed.
"Do you think she'll come back?" Natalia questioned. "I saw Neela fight in the tournament last year, she's a completely different person without that girl."
"She will," Titus offered optimistically.
"How did you logically come to that conclusion," She inquired. Titus smirked.
"I didn't," he told her. "I feel it. She's just too happy go lucky, and what she did was far too insignificant to mar their relationship." She looked astonished as they finished their dance and drew applause. The two of them bowed.
"Are you sure you're the same boy I left a few years ago?" She questioned. He waved her off.
"Better than last year!" Ilia declared running up with Vin.
"Thanks to me!" Natalia announced.
"You have to show us how to dance like that at some point!" Ilia demanded. Titus smirked as he looked at Vin.
"Sure," Titus agreed.
"Doesn't that sound like fun?" Ilia asked. Vin smiled and nodded.
"Yeah," he concurred, giving her a quick kiss. Natalia and Titus looked at each other. He seemed to be lightening up since the incident with…
"X in the house!" Yin shouted as the two of them stepped out onto the balcony.
"You have to stop announcing me every time we enter a room," Xavier scolded him, waving to the four of them in the room. "Hey everybody." Vin wrapped his arm around Ilia.
"The two of you came alone?" Titus asked. Yin waved him off.
"Pfft, no. Natalia is standing right there and Orin is flirting with women… somewhere…" Yin corrected him. Titus nodded slowly.
"Totally what I meant," Titus agreed. Natalia laughed, hanging off of his arm. Ilia pointed across the room, noting Lykos and Bái slow dancing.
"They really just hit it off, didn't they?" Ilia asked with a smile. Titus looked at Ilia for a long moment. Despite the fact that she didn't talk about it much, on her worst days recently, Ilia was similar to Neela on her best. Wandering around, worrying about whoever was coming for her from her past, stressed by Vin breathing down her neck, upset that Neela and Eliana were having issues. He could tell she was trying hard to keep her mind occupied.
"They aren't without their own obstacles," Titus assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he led Natalia back into the building. Ilia nodded and let out a deep breath. She was sure she wasn't thinking about Eliana as much as Neela was, but with all of their friends in one place, it was hard not to miss her.
"The moon has to be lonely, right?" Vin asked as he ushered her to the edge of the balcony and Xavier crept out while Yin was distracted, his friend chasing after him a few seconds later. Ilia laughed and shook her head. Damn… she had met him a whole year ago, hadn't she? There was no man that she'd come to trust more in a long time than Vin, with the exception of Titus. She kissed him gently on the lips.
"You remember when we first met?" Ilia inquired. Vin rubbed his neck and shrugged, blushing slightly.
"I did use that line a lot," he chuckled. He looked out at the moon beside her. "I'm sorry. That I've been acting like an ass recently." She gave him a double-take.
"Oh really?" She asked. "What brought this on?"
"Actually, I talked with Cobalt," Vin admitted. Ilia rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Now I know you're messing with me," Ilia groaned.
"I'm serious," Vin replied, taking her hands. "I don't want to lose you. I know there's nothing going on with you and Xavier, I just overreacted."
"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" She asked, the fact that he was acting the way she felt he should made her nervous.
"I am," he chuckled. "I'm serious. I know you were hurt in the past. I don't want to be another guy that does that to you." She nodded, a weight lifting off of her that had been there since the night they came from taking down Quake.
"Thank you," she mouthed, kissing him.
"So, should we dance?" He asked. She laughed.
"That is what we came here to do," she noted.
They headed into the dance hall as Eren arrived just ahead of Neela, her mind unable to shake the last time she was here for a dance. Images of Eliana filled her head. Their dance. Everyone praising the two of them over how amazing they looked… and she'd chosen to wear the same dress… this wasn't working, it wasn't taking her mind off of Eliana at all.
"You made it!" Orin called to her as he approached and offered to escort her out onto the floor with his arm. She nodded and looked him over, he really didn't look any different than any other day that she saw him, but she guessed that was part of his charm, the man was always dressed to the nines. "Just stay for a short while. I need to discuss something with Xavier and Yin briefly, but I'll return." Neela nodded.
"I can try for you," Neela noted, folding her arms and looking generally uncomfortable. Orin frowned.
"I'm sorry. I'll be right back," He insisted. He left, Neela somehow felt every eye on her as the floor seemed to grow darker and larger, everything threatened her sense of security as she stood there awkwardly, hearing voices that weren't actually there, insisting that her confession was the reason that Eliana had left. Neela shook, closing her eyes and trying to ignore them, but the voice was coming from within her own head and she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand it. Someone reached out and gently touched her shoulder knowingly, her first instinct being Titus, but she knew he was off with Natalia, so she was sure it was Orin. She opened her eyes, shocked slightly to find Rowan standing in front of her with a glass of punch, his smile soft as he admired her eyes.
"You okay, Neela?" He asked. She looked at him for a long moment in confusion before nodding. "I just wanted to check on you. You looked a little stressed and us Faunus need to watch out for one another, you know? The punch is great, by the way. Try focusing on the taste rather than all of the extra information invading your senses, it works for me normally." She stared hard at the solo cup before looking back up at him and nodding.
"Thanks, Rowan," she graciously accepted it.
"I'd love a dance later if you're up to it," Rowan insisted with a wink before leaving back towards the food tables. She shook her head with a sigh and sipped the punch lightly. It did taste amazing, better than what they'd had the last year. She drank the rest back in a single swig, feeling her nerves ease a bit as she looked around the room. She could do this. She could pull it together. Eren bumped into her in a rush on accident as more people poured in, apologizing profusely to her.
"I'm sorry," Eren told her. "You okay?" Neela nodded and chuckled.
"I'm fine," Neela replied. "Surprised you talked to me." She laughed. Eren wondered for a brief moment if he actually was that antisocial before continuing through the crowd to Orin.
"We have a problem," Eren told him. Orin exited his current conversation before stepping aside with Eren.
"What do you mean?" Orin questioned.
"I overheard Rowan and Soya discussing something about Neela," Eren answered. Orin sighed.
"Alright, about what?" Orin groaned.
"Rowan drugged her punch," Eren stated. Orin stiffened and grabbed Eren by the shoulders.
"Are you certain that's what you heard?!" Orin demanded.
"Yeah, and some other bullshit about getting back at her for beating Soya last year at the tournament," Eren explained. Orin dropped him. "Don't mention I told you!" Orin ignored the last statement, crashing through the other students to reach Neela, gripping her by the wrist and escorting her off of the dance floor and out of the building towards the dorms.
"Orin, you came back," she stated, her speech slightly slurred. His pulse quickened, how potent was her drink?
"I know I asked you to come to the dance, but I think it's time for you to go back to the room," he informed her.
"Okay," she agreed. "That sounds good to me." She was silent for most of the rest of the trip, people giving them the occasional strange look as he dragged her along. "Hey, where are we going?"
"Back to the room. Everything's fine," Orin told her again. "Just a little further, okay?"
"Trying to get me alone?" She giggled.
"No, Neela," He asserted. "Everything's good, I just think it's better if you stay in your room. I'm sorry." Was this his fault for convincing her to go? No, he wasn't the one who drugged her, he wasn't the one at fault. After several attempts he managed to coax her onto the elevator, getting her into her room after trying to snatch the keys from her multiple times. He finally managed to coerce her into the room where she flopped down onto the bed and laughed.
"I think you were trying to get me alone," she insisted.
"It's not like that," Orin parroted, watching down the hall for Rowan or Soya.
"Come lay next to me," she pleaded.
"No, Neela," he denied her request.
"Okay," she replied in a moment that he thought indicated some level of sobriety. "You're not leaving, are you? I've been lonely a lot recently." Orin looked at her for a long moment before locking her door and stepping into the room. He pulled up one of the seats to her bed and sat next to her.
"I'll stay for a bit, until you fall asleep," he assured her. She cheered.
"Yay!" She celebrated. She rolled over, turning away from him as she sighed happily and snuggled against her covers. Orin shook his head, he'd sit here all night if he had to until that creep showed up. He was going to give Rowan a piece of his mind. After a few minutes, Orin began fiddling around with his scroll and quickly grew bored of it, but whenever he tried to move from the chair to find a laptop or something around the room Neela would panic, so he just sat there in silence. The boredom of his own thoughts overwhelmed him and at some point, he passed out, not sure how long he was asleep for but alarmingly aware of something when he awoke. Neela had mounted his lap and was trying to wake him.
"Neela!" He stammered.
"Come on," she whispered into his ear. "Don't act like this isn't what you wanted." Orin's mind raced and his body betrayed him. He was a heterosexual male, of course, in the back of his mind, this option had existed, but not like this, and not with her. That wasn't to say he wasn't attracted to her… but she was meant to be with Eliana. There was no denying it, the look in Neela's eyes when she spoke to her best friend back on the day they'd met at the tournament.
"We can't do this," he protested.
"Why not?" She pried, fumbling with the top button of his shirt.
"Neela," he stated.
"I've never done it before, you know? But why not. We're in academy, it's what we do, right?" She questioned.
"You're not in the right mind, Neela," he explained trying to remove her, but she straddled his lap with all the force that she might with someone in a headlock.
"You talk too much," she said. She moved in quickly to try and kiss him but he placed two fingers to her lips and did the only thing he could think of.
"I'm gay!" He shouted at her. She stared at him for a long moment.
"What?" She asked.
"I'm gay," he repeated. She shook her head slowly.
"That's…" She slurred. "That's not what you said to me earlier today."
"I lied for the sake of a joke, I'm sorry," he apologized. She sat there confused for a long moment before nodding her head and climbing off of him.
"No… I'm sorry… Something… I feel kind of foggy," Neela stated.
"Drink some water," he instructed. "I'll wait outside of your door in case you need anything." He gave her a nod as he straightened his slacks and tuxedo, stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind him, making sure that it was still locked. He heard a hearty chuckle come from down the corridor and spotted Rowan who was stumbling towards him.
"Well, what do we have here?" Rowan questioned as he came closer. "Taking advantage of my hard work, huh?"
"Had a few to drink?" Orin inquired.
"What's it to you?" Rowan argued trying to push past him. "Neela still owes me a dance."
"I can dance in her stead," Orin assured him. Rowan staggered back and tilted his head.
"What are you talking about?" Rowan asked. Orin planted his feet before flapping his wings with excess force, launching himself down the hall at Rowan, his fist crashing into the creep's jaw as they grappled each other and crashed through the wall and into the night. "You think you're better than me?"
"I know I am," Orin shouted, taking them both to the ground as fast as his wings could muster, planting Rowan hard and leaving an imprint as he bounced off, his aura taking a massive hit. He rolled out of the way, blocking his face as Orin came in with another swing, opting to nail him in the gut instead.
"Must have been really good if you're fighting this hard," Rowan jested. Orin was usually level-headed, if nothing else, the Atlas military had taught him how to keep his cool. However, he was now being blinded with rage and his mind was made up that as long as he didn't flat out murder Rowan, that Glynda would forgive him in the morning after the dust settled.
"You were willing to ruin this girl's life, just for a little bit of sex?" Orin questioned. Another blow to Rowan's stomach and his aura crackled again before he felt himself sobering, blocking the next blow as he spread his own wings and dragged Orin across the ground.
"Cut the chivalrous bullshit!" Rowan shouted. "You would do the same thing for an easy lay!" Their antics took them to the RWBY statue, splitting it in half, the explosion of stone enough to allow Orin to break free, the two of them clashing in the middle as water sprayed everywhere, both fists meeting the other's jaw at the same moment.
"And yet, Neela and I didn't do anything," Orin corrected. He ducked a second blow, removing his scroll momentarily before tossing it away.
"Let's see in the morning just how many people saw you leave quickly with Neela, practically dragging her out, right?" Rowan remarked. "I hope you enjoyed your time here at Beacon!"
"You disgust me," Orin grunted, catching his fist several times in a row before tossing him away.
"Do I seem like a guy who cares?" Rowan asked. Orin licked his finger and placed it in the air, as if noting the direction of the wind, frustrating Rowan who stumbled towards him, missing blow after blow. "Reading my mind? Can't face me like a man?"
"If you want to be treated like a man you should act like one," Orin informed him. His locker crashed down between the two of them, forcing Rowan to dive out of the way as he removed his weapon, slowly marching towards Rowan with a grin planted firmly across his lips, unnerving Rowan.
"This isn't going to help your case!" Rowan shouted at him, panicking.
"I'm not the one who drugged her," Orin stated calmly.
"So what if I drugged her?! You keep coming back to that! Yeah, I drugged her! Is that what you wanted to hear?! I was going to bone her until you came along you damn saint!" Rowan yelled at him. Orin stopped in his tracks and moved back to his locker.
"Good enough for me," Orin informed him. "I don't even need to hear an apology."
"You really are a nutcase!" Rowan declared charging him.
"You do know that my semblance is a telepathic link, right?" Orin inquired, ignoring him.
"And?!" Rowan roared inches from Orin as another fist slammed into his ribs and sent him sprawling. He tumbled away, regaining his wits and squinting back towards Orin. "There's two of you?!"
"No, dumbass," Ivory shouted at him charging him. "If we don't kill you, you better hope for a suspension."
"Where is he?" Asked Titus who was followed by more people who had followed him out from the dance.
"I'll take care of him," Ivory informed them. "I'm only going to break a few of his bones on the way back to Vale."
"Ivory, listen," he stuttered. She threw a haymaker that landed square on his jaw, breaking his aura and knocking him out.
"I'm sorry," she told them as she grappled him and flew off into the night.
"It's not her fault," Orin clarified.
"If you don't tell Glynda, I'm going to," Titus informed Orin. Orin nodded at him and Nat.
"I'll make sure she knows," Orin declared. Ilia and Vin raced by, Vin sprinting ahead of her fast enough that she couldn't keep up.
"I need to have some 'words' with Rowan," Vin told her. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Okay!" Ilia called out.
"I heard Soya had something to do with this too," Orin noted to Titus. Titus clenched his fist.
"She's always getting away with things like this," Titus murmured.
"How?" Natalia questioned.
"Since the Bái incident, she has others do her dirty work so that she can't be held responsible," Titus explained.
"She sounds like a piece of work," Natalia observed.
"She is," Orin added. Titus sighed.
"This seems like a new low, even for her," Titus offered.
"I'm sure when Coco hears what Rowan tried doing to Neela, they won't rest until the two of them receive some kind of punishment," Orin left them with as he sent his locker back from whence it came and headed back for the dorms.
"Orin! Have you seen Yvonne?" Cobalt asked out of breath. "Wait, how did I end up on this end of the conversation?"
"Can't say that I have," Orin irritatedly answered. Cobalt stepped back and sighed, nodding at him.
"Okay, thanks," Cobalt told him as he kept heading for the dorms. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he spun around to find himself face to face with Tawney. "Tawney!"
"Been ignoring me, asshole?" She questioned.
"I wasn't ignoring you! I've been trying to come find you and tell you how amazing you look, but every time I try and make my way to you someone shows up and is like 'Hey, where's Yvonne?' and I'm like 'Hey, I don't know!'" He shouted before catching his breath. "It's been a long night. You do look amazing though, honestly."
"I thought you were going to leave Yvonne?" Tawney reminded him. He nodded and frowned, ignoring eye contact.
"I'm just a nobody, right?" Cobalt offered.
"What are you saying?" Tawney asked.
"I'm not interesting. You all think I'm annoying. I just… the fact that a girl like her would even give me the time of day," Cobalt ranted. "It was too good to be true. I'm sure she probably ran off with some first year. Another one of her conquests, as her teammates like to say. It was just nice to feel wanted, but hey, it can't last forever, right? Doesn't matter, I'll just chin up, go back to breaking the fourth wall, and…" Tawney shut him up with a kiss on the lips that came completely out of left field and left him there speechless.
"Don't think about it too hard, heat of the moment," Tawney shouted at him. He nodded slowly, unable to see how red her face was in the dark. He's so damn hard on himself! Did I really just kiss him?! What was that?! Tawney was taking a moment herself to process it. "You want to bail like we did last year?" Cobalt stared at the ground and nodded, mind fried.
"Sure," he agreed as they left. This was just another one of his fantasies, right?
Next week, Eliana has a date?! Chapter 30: Epiphany!
A big thank you to AG_Nonsuch, Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. The artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!