Chapter 4: If Only You Were Lonely
"If only you were lonely, if only you was lonely too..."
To be fair, he expected a lecture. But he certainly never expected a stalker.
Said stalker glared at his hood, her pale blue eyes trying to burn the innocent piece of midnight-blue fabric.
"You should take that off," Weiss said. "You can't just flout the rules of Atlas Primary."
Nex shrugged, loping away from the lockers. "Get off my back, Weiss. Do whatever it is you do before Dust Practical."
Flats clacked over tiles. She was following him through the hallway. He sighed, weaving around the gossiping students. Trying to lose his unwanted disciplinarian. But still, Weiss the She-devil caught up with him, matching his fevered pace.
Fuck.
"I won't," Weiss said, fixing him a pointed stare. "You're my partner in Dust Practical. We have an image to maintain."
Buzz off. His semblance shrunk into a mewl. He sighed and relaxed his pace. No point in rushing when she moved fast enough to walk beside him. Evidently, being almost the same height as him gave the woman strides of similar length to his.
"Correction," Nex said. "You have an image to maintain. Or did you think I have an image with these ears on my head?"
They did not define him. But they marked him in the eyes of the other students.
Weiss flinched, red dusting her cheeks. "That's unfair, Nex. That's not what I meant to imply."
Nex raised an eyebrow, his brain spitting out so many words for that. And he was definitely having trouble choosing. "Then what did you mean to imply? That we have an image to maintain? There's no we in the equation, Weiss. It's only you and your image. I could drop out tomorrow and no one would care."
And that was the truth. He maintained no image, because ghosts did not have an image. Not even in the mirror of his bathroom, shrouded in darkness as their flat was. He flitted through the halls and classrooms of Atlas Primary, unnoticed by the bulk of its students. A blessing, perhaps. But the woman hounding him clearly missed the memo.
"I only meant to say that everyone should follow the rules!" Weiss said, huffing as she threw up her arms. "I didn't mean to imply whatever it is you think I'm implying."
Nex sighed, palming his forehead. This woman. "I'm sorry. Just leave my hood alone. It's not harming anyone, is it?"
Weiss glanced at the hood wrapped around his shoulders. "No. But the teachers may reprimand you. And by extension, us."
Curse whatever caused the storm yesterday. This woman. Stepping through the doors of his sanctuary. Bugging him about his hood for the first time since the start of the second semester. Despite the fact that he wore it almost everyday. It certainly made for an amazing blanket while he slept through his classes.
"You haven't really noticed, have you?" Nex said.
Weiss quirked an eyebrow. "Noticed what?"
"The teachers don't care about me," Nex said. "I've been using this hood since day one."
A half-lie. The teachers did reprimand him during his first year in Atlas Primary. But then they gave up when he persisted, their sermons entering one ear and exiting through another. They could not possibly do anything against him, with him having above-average grades and holding the first place in the rankings of combat class. He had his overloaded semblance to thank for that. It made cramming five minutes before an exam easy. Trouncing green trainees while dodging their attacks—practically guaranteed.
"No, I haven't noticed," Weiss said, her eyes narrowing. "But it's not right."
Nex chuckled, rolling his eyes at the opaque doors of the lab. "You know, that's the weakest argument you've made since the start of this conversation."
Right and wrong were relative. Even better: right and wrong did not exist, artificial constructs made by people as they were. A futile effort to paint the world in black and white. Shit just happened. It did not matter if it was right or wrong.
"And what is that supposed to mean, Shade?" Weiss said as they slipped into the lab, mingling with the other students. "I'm only making sure that you don't cross the rules and get expelled."
"Expelled?" Nex said, managing a smile. They could not expel a ghost. And they could not afford to expel anyone. Atlas Academy would lose out on its precious soldiers if they did. "Nope. Why do you care so much, anyway?"
Weiss scowled, settling into their shared desk. "I don't even know why I bother. Fine. Do what you want."
Finally.
Nex sank into his seat. The professor began his lecture, waffling about the interaction between gravity dust and ice dust. He already figured it out three days ago, when Weiss made the fancy snow globe. Thus, he closed his eyes and returned to the comforting darkness.
Or at least, in theory.
A hard shoe kicked the side of his calf. The she-devil glared at him from her seat.
This woman.
"What?" Nex said, glancing at the she-devil. "Can't a man get some sleep?"
Oh, dust no. Why him. Why did the school have to partner him with this she-devil. Why did she have to enter the Huntsman's Respite yesterday...
"You should pay attention," Weiss said, lowering her voice. "This discussion is of vital importance. Professor Rust may even give a pop-quiz."
Pop his head off, why don't she.
Where was Neo when he needed her? Burst through the glass doors and commit mass genocide or something. At least then, he could have scored some shut-eye if he ignored the screams of pain and the splashing of blood.
"Right," Nex said, rolling his eyes. "If I get a perfect score on this hypothetical pop-quiz, will you leave me alone?"
Weiss smirked. "If you don't, you'll do what I say. You better remove that hood, Shade. It won't last tomorrow."
This woman.
This she-devil.
How eloquent of her.
Nex rolled his eyes, dumping a metric fuckton of aura into his semblance. The man's lecture crystallized into pure stimulus, searing his brain as it made connections and gleaned everything on the topic. By the end of it all, he could have replaced the man behind the teacher's desk for the rest of the morning. He closed his eyes and pulled down his hood, drifting off without interruption. Until his ears picked up on what he wanted the professor to say.
"Alright! Time for a pop-quiz. Just to see if you've been paying attention."
Nex sighed, pulling out his scroll. The pop-quiz flashed on his screen.
He definitely anticipated all of them. The perfect score was his, along with blissful silence. His fingers danced over the scroll, typing at a speed only seasoned hackers on dwindling life support could achieve. He filled out the blanks, scrolling down to the end of the pop-quiz.
Nex paused, blinking at the last question. What the hell? And it was not even a bonus.
What is my surname?—Professor Rusty
His fingers stopped typing, frozen over the holographic keys.
Weiss smirked, shooting him a sideways glance. Hood, she mouthed.
Nex groaned even as her smirk eased into a smile.
The bell finally rang.
Nex leapt from his seat. The she-devil followed, latching on to his arm with both of hers. She pulled his arm close to her chest. This woman. He sighed, dragging her behind as he slipped out of the lab. The throng of students passed them by, snickering. Definitely at them.
"What are you doing?" Nex said, glancing at the woman. Her black flats slid over the white floor. "You don't like my arm that much, do you?"
Weiss released his arm, flushing as she moved to walk beside him. "I want to make sure that you don't renege on our terms. Your hood, Shade."
Weiss held out a hand, grinning as she did. She lifted her chin. She honestly looked like she just won the Atlas lottery. They paused in front of the lockers. The students on the entire block moved away. He stared at her. She seemed serious. She totally was. This could not be happening. Anyone but him.
"Fine," Nex said, rolling his eyes. He rolled his eyes a lot since the start of the second semester. At least, more than usual. "A promise is a promise."
Nex unpinned the hood from his collar, shrugging it off his shoulders. The midnight-blue fabric slid off his arm, even after he placed it on her waiting palm.
Weiss glanced at his hood. The she-devil folded the article of clothing and tucked it under her arm. She nodded, flashing him a smile.
"Now we'll go to the mess hall," Weiss said as if she was a princess. Not far off the mark, considering her background. "After we finish eating, we'll study World History and Dust Practical to make up for the lessons you've slept through."
Nex sighed, glancing at his scroll. Hours before his night shift at the Huntsman's Respite and no mercenary work lined up. But still. "Why? I gave you my hood. It's yours. I don't have to do anything else."
Oh gods, no. Unless—the exact words of their faustian bargain flashed. Do what she says. The scream died in his throat. A promise was a promise—and he would not be himself if he backed out of even one. It was a matter of principle.
"Oh? I seem to recall what you said," Weiss said, smirking. "A promise is a promise, Nex. Your words, not mine."
Nex shrugged. His memorial would display: dead due to persistent she-devils and their ridiculous rules. "Alright. Fine. Let's go."
Besides, he did not have anything to lose. He could afford to humor her for a while, until she inevitably grew tired of him.
People always did.
They entered the cafeteria—a mess hall filled with benches and tables and the sweet, sweet scent of bagels mingling with warm, bitter coffee. Heads spun when they settled at a lone table by the corner.
Weiss placed her tray on the cold metal. She chose croissants instead of bagels, but she had surprisingly ordinary taste. He certainly expected an Atlesian high-bred monstrosity on her plate, some sort of dish that his tongue could not pronounce. But he was immeasurably disappointed, and his day—ruined.
Weiss sat across him, nibbling on a croissant. "Tell me more about yourself."
"Is this an interrogation?" Nex said. He already told her everything he could yesterday. "I'm not sure what else to tell you."
Why was she even bothering to ask, anyway?
Nothing about him was remotely interesting. His was just another story on the floating city of Atlas. And he certainly never once claimed or thought he was special. Definitely not when the streets of Mantle were packed full with the refuse of Atlas. Or at least, those that did not turn to underhanded methods like him.
"No, it's not," Weiss replied, shaking her head. "I just want to get better acquainted with my lab partner."
Nex shrugged, biting into his bagels. "Nexus Shade. Faunus. Student at Atlas Primary. Lab partner and now apparently personal slave of Weiss Schnee."
Weiss flinched, dropping a croissant back to her plate. "You don't have to be so blunt, Shade. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"Then you shouldn't have asked," Nex said, rolling his eyes. "So I wouldn't have to answer."
Weiss scoffed, her eyes sharpening into daggers. "What have I done to warrant your passive-aggression? I would have you tell me, so we can clear the air between us."
And his brain had a lot of replies for that one. So much that he was even having trouble figuring out which one to use. Or how to even phrase them. In the end, she was Weiss Schnee and he was Nexus Shade. She was born into a world of rules and restrictions, while he plunged himself into a free and lawless world.
"I don't know," Nex said, cracking his neck. "Maybe it's because you insist on imposing the school's inane rules? Or on forcing me to study? It must be one of the two, right?"
Weiss sighed, her eyes fixed on the croissants in her plate. "I'm doing this for your own well-being, Nex."
His well-being?
Admittedly, he slept far less than the average person. Ate even less. But that did not mean that she could simply barge into his life and redecorate as she saw fit. Nexus Shade lived alone in the darkness of their flat. He swung his weapons and tinkered with his gadgets, ghosting through the dying hours of the night. Nothing else mattered to him. Him. The sixteen-year-old orphaned faunus. An anonymous thief. A criminal.
Nothing else.
Nex hung his head over a half-empty plate. "I'm sorry. I have to go."
He stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. He would definitely miss his hood. Hell, he was already missing it.
"Wait," Weiss said, her voice climbing. "You can't just leave. You promised. What happened to us spending Study Hall in the library?"
Nex shrugged, turning his back on the she-devil. "I can and I will leave. Keep the hood, Weiss. Maybe it can serve you while you study."
Nex strode away, heaving a sigh.
Weiss muttered something under her breath.
But it must have been the wind.
Fun trivia: The name Nex means 'blood of the slain' in Latin, alluding to the colour red. Nexus Shade's parents added the 'us' to make it sound cooler and official. Nexus Shade sounds more sophisticated than simply Nex Shade.