Weiss Schnee woke up in a cold sweat.

The first thing she saw was the clock on her nightstand: 5:59 AM. She bolts upright, startled by its blinding blue glow.

Ugh, why does it have to be so bright?

Lifting her hand to block the light, she realizes her alarm hadn't gone off—actually she can't even remember setting one for today. She's doesn't even remember how she got here. Classes only start in an hour though, so she counts herself lucky to be waking up on time. Still, something persistent was nagging at her mind, but she just couldn't cut the fog to pinpoint what it was.

A sudden pounding at the door sends a wave of adrenaline coursing through her, jolting her up and jump-starting her brain. An angry stab of pain splits her mind as the recollection pours in. Beacon, She was in Beacon. But last night...

Kicking off the tangle of sheets on her bed, she scoops a sweater from the floor and struggles with it. That doesn't stop the knocking, however. Cursing sorely under her breath, she unhitches the lock, swinging the door open to find the rest of her team standing impatiently on the other side. A mixture of shock and relief was plastered across their faces, the dim light from the hallway casting harsh shadows across their features. Yet despite their previous haste, none of them seemed to be in a rush to be the first to speak.

"What do you want?" Weiss asked after several seconds of silence, taking the initiative for herself.

"Don't you know people are trying to sleep?" They were looking at her like she was some sort of ghost haunting her own room, she thought as an annoyed scowl tugged at the corners of her mouth. No matter how fierce she tried to look though, their expressions easily put hers to shame. It looked as if none of them had slept, and their uniforms were in disarray. Actually, they were probably in the same uniforms from yesterday if the wrinkles were of any clue.

"I think we deserve some answers," Blake finally spoke, sounding deadly serious. She stepped forward, placing both hands firmly against Weiss' chest to force her back through the open door.

"Ow, hey!" Weiss cried out as Blake pushed hard. She lost her balance and tripped over something, tumbling onto the floor with a loud 'Oof'. Her head hit the carpet so hard she could hear the dull thud of her own pulse echoing inside her skull.

What the hell is up with you? She wanted to scream, but didn't get the chance.

"Where on Remnant have you been?!" Blake snarled viciously, flecks of saliva flying from her mouth.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Weiss protested weakly. It hurt to think and every movement seemed incredibly painful. How was she supposed to defend herself when she knew she was in the wrong?

"Don't play coy with us." Yang raised her voice to speak over her. "We've been looking for you all night. You don't come back to the dorm, you weren't here in your little 'office', you don't answer your scroll, nobody has seen you—"

"I had to work late, alright?" Weiss finally got a word in edgewise between her friends. The sudden interruption of her statement paired with its incongruity left all of them speechless for a moment, except for Blake who was already back on the attack.

"What kind of job could possibly keep you out that late? Don't bullshit us, we're not stupid!" she growled bitterly.

"I said, I had to work late." Weiss insisted while slowly rising to her feet. Her face was flushed with embarrassment and anger. This wasn't the way things should go, she thought. Taking a few steps back to put distance between herself and the others, she sized up her surroundings. They weren't going to let her go without getting some answers—that much was clear. But why should she have to spill her guts just because they couldn't take 'no' for an answer? Why should they get to dictate which secrets she keeps?

"Then why didn't you call or something? We tried calling you after dinner, but you didn't pick up your scroll." Ruby asked timidly.

"I forgot." Weiss' reply was immediate.

"Really? That's your excuse? Weiss, you look like shit and... ugh! You reek!" Yang snapped. Weiss felt the blood rush to her face. She knew she was only digging herself deeper by refusing to give them a straight answer. She decided to try a new approach and turned away so she wouldn't have to face them like this. "Look, I know I did something last night that I shouldn't have. But I promise it's not what you think, okay? I had too much to do, so if you'll just give me some time to get ready and—"

"What's wrong, hangover got your tongue?" Blake hissed and moved in to corner her.

"Excuse me?! Who are you to judge me?" She shot back, frantically searching for a way out. Looking at her team's expressions in kind, she could see they were growing increasingly hostile—and very familiar—while their voices became louder with each passing comment. This kind of attitude was exactly why she avoided the team dorm. She hated being judged like this! They had treated her like a monster and blamed her when Blake ran away to hunt down the White Fang, yet when she disappears for a single night they expect her to profess her crimes and apologize?

"Weiss..." Ruby started, but was rudely interrupted by her sister, "...Cut the shit and just tell us already."

"Okay, okay." Weiss muttered quietly, shrugging her shoulders in clear resignation.

"I'm sorry. There. This isn't really important and I don't want to waste anyone's time so..." Her voice cracked and she started to sound nervous for the first time. Blatant lies, they could all sense it. But the last thing she needed right now was for her supposed 'friends' to torture the information out of her.

"You're not a waste of time, Weiss. We just want to know where you went." Yang's tone softened, goading her to give up the truth.

"N-nowhere!" Weiss answered shakily. She backed away again, finally running out of space and finding herself pressed against the bathroom door. She leant heavily against it, taking several deep breaths in a desperate attempt to keep her composure. After which, she shook her head and brushed a hand across her face. "Look... I'll be honest, and I'll tell you all what you want to know, I promise. But can you... can I at least take a shower first? There isn't much that I can do about it at this point anyway. Everything's taken care of, it's handled, really."

"Weiss, will you please just tell us what's going on? We're worried about you!" Ruby pleaded as Weiss tried to slip through the bathroom door, just for Blake to block it with her foot.

She felt like crying. Maybe they were right and there was something seriously wrong with her...but friends are supposed to support each other no matter what, so why were they treating her this way? If only she could have stayed in bed just a little bit longer, maybe she could have come up with some way to get out of this without having to tell them the truth. It was always better when she didn't have to explain herself, when there was no one to hold her accountable.

Weiss sank against the door, cradling her head in her hands. She could feel hot tears streaming down the sides of her face, and a dull ache catching in her throat. One single night was all it took to turn her world upside down, and her stomach felt like it was about to go with it. She thought things would be different here—that she would have normal friends, go to a normal school, and maybe have some semblance of a normal life. All she was asking for was one night, just one night where she could go out and be free, to finally feel like a normal girl. What a joke that all was now! Her friends blamed her for everything, as if they were doing just fine before she showed up; and ever since her father started coercing her into 'important' Schnee Dust Corporation projects, they wouldn't stop bitching about how busy she was, or how she never spent time with them anymore, how she was going to work herself to death if she didn't take a break! As if she asked for any of this! Did they think it was easy balancing her family with Beacon?

"It's not fair, it's just not fair..." She squeaked out in barely a whisper.

She wiped at her face with her sleeve until it was dry again. It helped a little, but she still couldn't seem to shake that terrible ache out of her chest. She tried to figure out how this could possibly be her life now; waking up early every day, spending hours working before and after class, only to find out that after she crossed the finish line and the race was done, she had to deal with these dolts at the end of the day. Always quick to state the obvious and tell her how she should solve her problems, but never actually lifting a finger to help her. It didn't help to look back on Atlas with such fond memories either. That place was a frozen hell with precious few comforts. Now her father—and these three—were determined to make sure Beacon was no better. She just didn't know where else to turn...

An expectant cough turned her attention back to the three in question.

"I had a really rough night." she answered hesitantly, cringing at the way Yang threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Oh, for the love of—" Blake said, cutting between them. "Always playing the victim. So you drank too much and had a bad time. Maybe you passed out on a bench somewhere. Big deal. We called you for hours and you didn't answer! We couldn't get a hold of you all night and when you do finally pick up, all we hear is your drunk rambling! Do you know how long we spent looking for you?!"

Weiss looked down and bit her lip nervously. To have her friends berate her so harshly for something she didn't do... She could tell them the truth. She remembered enough to put the pieces together, but...

"It wasn't my fault!" She shouted suddenly, surprising even herself. Last night's makeup was running down her face in dark streaks. "I...I think...No. Someone tried to..." She clenched her jaw and forced herself to finish through gritted teeth.

"Someone put something in my drink." Trailing off, she hung her head again in shame, dull blue eyes burning holes in the brilliant white carpet. She thought she would be relieved having finally said it, but instead she felt like the biggest idiot in the room. She was a huntress at Beacon, they all were. And this was what got her? Pathetic.

The other three looked like they were unsure what to make of her. It wasn't exactly what any of them expected, but at least they seemed a little more reluctant than before. If only they'd believe her this easily the first time instead of demanding the hard-to-give answers.

Ruby's concern was immediate, the younger girl being the fastest to recover from the shock of the news. Springing forward to kneel beside her, she looked Weiss up and down, fighting to turn her chin up. Weiss struggled and lost, silver eyes locking onto hers.

"Weiss are you..?"

"I'm fine, Ruby."

When she didn't let go, Weiss squirmed with pouting cheeks. "You're. Hurting. Me."

Ruby's grip slacked, Weiss pulling aside and standing up before the girl could lunge for her again.

"I got away before anything could happen, so you don't need to look at me like that." She added matter-of-factly.

A collective sigh breathed through the room, the relief in the air being almost palpable.

"Well that explains why you left my texts unread...Ha.." Yang said sardonically, rubbing anxiously at her wrist.

"Yeah..." Blake agreed half heartedly. "But who would go out of their way to..." She stopped herself short, sensing that the answer was both obvious and uncalled for, especially after her victim-blaming earlier. Even so, her words stung Weiss deeper than usual—more so because it sounded like Blake almost meant them. She's joking, right?! There were archives in her company's database cataloguing hundreds if not thousands of groups and individuals who wanted nothing more than to hurt her family. And after all this time and effort spent helping Blake expose the White Fang, was she really going to pretend there was no one in all of Vale with a motive to target her?

"It wasn't... them, was it?" Ruby asked tentatively. It would make the most sense given their obvious animosity towards the Schnees, but if that was true however...

"I-I don't know." Weiss answered distractedly. She knew they all suspected the Fang anyway. "It happened too fast."

"So where were you anyway? And how'd you get away?" Yang interjected suddenly. "Was there anyone who recognized you? Or did anyone stand out to you?"

Weiss held a hand up to hold back the onslaught of questions.

"No, no, I..." She half-answered while she considered them. "It was a normal night. I was wearing something plain, and it's not like I was doing anything to stand out. I had only just gotten there, so..." She stared off absent mindedly. "Everything's really fuzzy after that."

"Alright," Ruby said trustingly. "So, uh...I'm sorry if this comes off as wrong, Weiss, but...we understand if you need a few minutes alone right now. It looks like you need some more time to think, so if you want to collect your thoughts, we won't pry."

Ruby looked between the others for confirmation, taking their silence for approval.

"Wait, before you go-" Weiss blurted out as they turned to leave. "I meant what I said, I really don't remember the whole thing. It's hazy, and it hurts to think, so please don't feel like I'm holding out on you."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but Weiss interrupted her with another shake of her head, "Nevermind, just forget it. That was a stupid thing to say, I know. You must all think me such a fool, and...Gods my head, Ugh look at the time. You should all get out of here, I don't want any of us to be late."

"Oh Weiss," Ruby tsked. "You know we're always here for you."

"Yeah...I know." Weiss replied with a feeble attempt at bravado.

"We'll be there for you no matter what happens." Ruby said, the three of them seeming to see her on the same level for the first time since they came in. Yang echoed Ruby's statement, while Blake nodded silently in agreement.

"Thank you. All of you. I'll... I'll see you soon." Weiss flashed a wan smile and steadied herself against the wall. As soon as she saw them leave, she rushed through the door behind her and threw herself to the floor. It had taken every ounce of willpower to keep it together this long. Crawling the last few steps, she wretched into the toilet, noxious blue liquid filling the bowl. Blue? Why is it...ohhh.

Groaning, she shrugged off the thought as easily as the loose sweater around her shoulders. Stepping haphazardly into the shower, all thoughts—logical and not—fled her mind as she embraced the scalding water.