Rest Period II: The More, The Merrier
"Focus on your footwork! Don't let your eyes up from your opponent, no matter what! Use your advantages whenever you can!"
Steel flickered against steel as Jaune traded blows with Weiss, the former doing his best to keep up with the heiress' speed and grace. The girl had no trouble fighting against him, though it was clear that she was holding back, if only because to give him the opportunity to find holes in her stances and try and make use of them. Pyrrha stood a little off to the sidelines, watching him carefully and adding her own input wherever necessary.
"Remember, never keep your shield in front of your face! It blocks your vision and lets your opponent get away with some kind of hidden attack! Don't overextend your sword arm either; it'll just make it all that easier for them to get a hit on you!"
The boy roared back an affirmative, falling onto a defensive position to block Weiss' rapier thrusts, this time being sure not to completely hunker down behind his shield. Slow as he might have been, the same couldn't have been said for his shield arm, which he was able to manoeuvre fast enough to react to and block each of Weiss' hits. The girl scoffed, attempting to lash out for his legs, though he then backpedalled to get away from that.
"A fight isn't just about defense," that Weiss was trying to tutor him as well must have come off as surprising—which it totally did. "You still need to try and go on the offensive. Don't just stand there and let your enemy hit you until you run out of Aura!"
"R-Right!"
As Ruby and Nora cheered for their respective teammates, Yang egging them just as loudly, she and Ren simply watched from the sidelines, content with not having to shout. She passed him a can of tea, which he accepted with a quiet 'thank you', which she responded with a nod.
As Jaune had predicted, they'd ended up being fairly busy the entire week. Today was Saturday, though it seemed that the boy wanted to get some training done, and Ruby had the idea to make it a joint venture between their teams.
What was even more surprising was the fact that he'd asked Weiss for help—and without any of the infamous flirtation he'd been known to have. The girl had obviously been reluctant at first, though eventually sought to do so either way, if only because Pyrrha had asked nicely and she didn't want to say 'no' to the redhead.
Good on Jaune for being devoted to his training. He'd taken Pyrrha's and Weiss' advice firmly to heart, throwing aside any and all pride every time he got downed to review his moves and figure out ways to improve.
If there was one thing she knew about him, it was the fact that he was determined. Being the weakest here, he was putting in his all to push himself and get better, never once complaining about difficult it would be and simply content to just learn as much as he could. Man, that's rare to find nowadays.
The faunus perked up when she noticed him overextend his sword for a moment—and judging by his panicked expression in that short moment, he did too. Weiss obviously ran with it, going in for the lunge, poking him right in the midriff twice before backing away when he tried to cut her down. His shield was raised to block the next strike, but she took that opportunity to unleash a particularly strong blow of fire Dust that knocked him off his feet with a yelp and sliding across the arena.
Right as he was about to get up, the tip of her blade sat against his throat, her focused gaze settled upon him. So fast had she moved that Blake almost lost sight of her.
"I…" He breathed out, patting the sword on the side. "I yield…"
"Hm. Very well," she holstered her weapon once more and offered him a hand (huh. That's new), though he didn't accept it and pushed himself up to his feet.
"Sorry… Hand's dirty…" He murmured, wiping it on his pants.
"Like mine isn't," she scoffed back, apparently not offended by the gesture. If anything, she seemed a little touched by his consideration. "Either way, you've made relatively good progress on your offense, though there's much lacking. You'll need to work on those if you seek to hold your own in a fight against one person, let alone against a whole group."
"Right, got it."
"Still… While you didn't get very far, you did hold yourself quite well, for a first time," and man, did she look like she regretted complimenting him. She must have regretted it even further when he beamed at her. "Well… keep it up and I suppose you won't be a hindrance to your team."
"He isn't," Pyrrha was quick to come to his defense as ever, though Jaune had stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. They made eye contact, and a silent exchange was made between two partners who, in so little time, had come to trust one another in a way no other could.
"I won't. I'll work hard to be useful," he said instead, nodding with a smile. "Thank you, Weiss."
"Hmm. Of course," she nodded back. "Now, do excuse me while I go clean myself up."
With her teammate walking off to grab a towel and a bottle of water, Jaune was immediately rewatching the fight through Pyrrha's scroll, all as the redhead pointed out several mistakes and what he'd done well in. She looked happy to do so, if only because she had the opportunity to help her crush. Well, to each their own.
Sipping on her own can of peach tea, Blake returned her focus to the book in her hands. Recently purchased from a bookstore that opened in a distal part of Vale (fortunately, the shop owner catered to faunus, and had been just as pleasant with her as any other person), it was a collection of twenty or so horror stories that generally took place in the older days. Cultists, witch hunts, disappearance of children—you know, the usual.
Her eyes flickered between each page, a quiet breath released as she read through her current story. A girl claimed as a witch, experiencing distrust and fear from her surroundings in a town plagued with paranoia and hate. That sort of thing isn't really doing well to make her feel all that comfortable, not gonna' lie.
Remembering her discussion with Jaune that one time in detention, this book is doing really well at touching base in terms of creepiness factor and paranoia. This is the kind of thing that leaves you feeling exposed, toying with your feelings and expectations that will undoubtedly stick with you for a long time.
'Actually,' she thought to herself. 'What is the approach to writing a horror story?'
Having read all kinds of genres thus far, she liked to think that horror was the hardest thing to write. Where most things involved interactions between one another like romance and friendship, or describing the setting like sci-fi and fantasy, or even the concept of a journey through adventure and action—horror was strange in the fact that it could either use it all or none of it, and still come out managing to unsettle the reader.
If anything, the story seemed intent on targeting the reader, rather than simply focus on the characters within. Sure, most first-person romance stories can be really saucy if they want to be, and she wouldn't deny that they can be satisfying at times, but horror worked at involving both the in-story characters and the reader. It's incredible, now that she thought about it.
As she flipped to the next page, a shadow was cast upon her being. Blake glanced up, meeting the lavender eyes of her partner. "Really, Blake? Even while we're out training?"
"I fought already. Twenty minutes ago, against Pyrrha, of all people," and that said a lot, considering how the redhead is a champion and practically uncontested in a fight. Going against her was a guarantee of failure, but she could at least hold her head high in the knowledge that she went out fighting.
"Sure, sure. But is there at least a single hour in the day when you don't have your nose buried in a book? I'm pretty sure you're obsessed with that."
Okay, that was a little unfair. She'd never criticized Yang when she spends thirty minutes in the shower every single day and takes up the hot water. How is one thing okay when the other isn't?
Deciding to be the petty one, Blake juts her jaw out and stubbornly keeps her gaze focused on her page, opting to ignore the other girl.
"Uh, helloooo? Did you just ignore me?" No answer. "Oh, c'mon, don't be like that! We're out here now! It'd be a waste of precious time if you just spend the entire day reading your book, so let's go for a little session!"
"I'm still a little sore from my fight earlier. If you'd like, you could ask Pyrrha to spar with you. I'm certain she would be happy to go for a round with you."
The girl groaned. "Sheesh, Blake. I get that you love your smut, but even this is—"
"This isn't smut—and don't call it that!" She hissed. Yang, predictably, looked unimpressed.
"Uh-huh. I'm just calling it as it is."
"Ugh. Look, I'm having a splendid time to myself, and I never judge you for yours, whatever your hobby would be. So would you not mind doing the same for me?"
"Uuuuuuurgh… Fiiine," she drawled. "I'll let you be a sourpuss while I can have the time of my life kicking ass. Join us when you feel like it, yeah?"
"I will, I promise. Just let me finish this bit and I'll bookmark it. In fact, I'll fight after yours."
"Good enough, then," with that, the shadow lifted. "Oi, Pyrrha! Come at me with everything you've got! You're not leaving until one of us can't get up no more!"
With her leave, Blake let out a sigh of relief, admittedly glad to not have to deal with her partner's eccentricities. Not like she didn't like her, don't get her wrong, but man she could be tiring to deal with at times.
Someone else settled beside her, the sound of water being glugged followed by an exhale drawing her gaze to the person. Sweat stuck to his blond strands, expression showcasing minor signs of exhaustion while he massaged his right shoulder with his other hand. The metal of his chestplate was dented from his fight earlier, though it didn't look worse for wear.
"You weren't bad," she began, getting him to perk up. "If this was the start of the year, Weiss would have run circles around you. At least, this time, you managed to react whenever necessary."
"Hah… Yeah. That's mostly thanks to Ren. I've been doing some 'reaction training' with him," he nodded his head towards the man in question, who was currently ducking and weaving between Nora's rambunctious swings. Her cackles filled the air and sent a chill down her spine. "Basically just me blocking his attacks whenever he comes at me. He's the fastest of our team, after all, so he's been a lot of help."
Yeah, she knew that. They'd sparred a couple of times, what with them having fighting styles almost similar to one another. Where she had a preference for running circles around the enemy and keeping her distance, Ren knew how to get in close and deal a conclusive hit at times. "He's a good fighter."
"Anyone's a good fighter when compared to me," laughed Jaune. "But yeah, he's great. Been a lot of help. And meditation too. Helps to 'heighten the focus' as he put it. Ruby calls it unnecessary, but I think it's—"
Jaune was cut off by the sound of his scroll's ping, prompting him to pull it out of his pocket to check his notifications. Blake took that opportunity to slip her bookmark—one she'd made a long time ago, laminated but showing signs of aging from the slight browning in the corners—into the page she'd last read.
"Wait, what?" Her friend's sound of surprise drew her attention. "Us is on cinemas again?!"
"Us?" She questioned.
"Yeah! It's one of the best psychological horror movies I've ever watched! It premiered five years ago, and I got to watch it with my older sisters back in my hometown," the excitement was clear on his face if it already wasn't from his voice, his smile stretched incredibly wide.
"Oh? Well, it must be good, considering how you said that one time that horror movies aren't good."
"I never said that. Just that a majority of movies tend to prioritize jumpscares over the actual scare factor. There are still plenty of others that are actually really good, like the one I talked to you about back in detention."
"True enough… But wait. You said it was five years ago when it came out. Why would it be premiering again?" Her question gave him pause, his excitement turning into confusion. "Do movies actually get cycled through?"
"I'm… actually not sure. Usually, it's just whatever's latest. If you'd want to watch it again, you'd be better off buying a recording of it or subscribe to a streaming site. Why would—Oh, here's why," he cleared his throat. "With his upcoming movie Nope releasing in a week," really? Nope? Good title there. "And his first horror movie reaching its fifth anniversary, Director Jordan Steele's Us will be premiering in cinemas for a limited time. Tickets will be made available tomorrow, so be sure to grab them if you're looking for a surreal experience. So it's basically some kind of marketing effort?"
"Probably. Might as well give people exposure to your previous movie to give them a sense of expectation as to how it could go. Although it must be really good if they're willing to premiere the movie again."
"It really was. That movie was the living definition of creepy, and I think it explored a very interesting political propaganda," her ears perked up at that. "It's all a fictional setting, of course, but… actually, you know what? I don't think I should be spoiling it," his expression turned into a joyful one. "We should watch it."
Urk… She isn't surprised that he wants to, considering his love for the damned thing. And if he calls it his favourite, she would have to mentally prepare herself for the kind of scares that would stick with her for life. Practically selling her soul or something.
Still, she didn't have the heart to reject him. She did promise to watch a horror movie with him, and if this would make him happy?
"Alright, alright…" She sighed. "I'll watch it with you," his excited cheer did make her smile a little—just a little. "Can you buy the tickets for us?"
"Sure thing! Do you want to invite anyone?"
"What?" Her head snapped towards him. "I thought you want to keep it a secret."
"I meant keeping my writing hobby a secret. I don't mind people knowing the fact that I like horror," he shrugged back. "My teammates know. In fact, Ren and I often stay up at night during the weekends to read together over a cup of tea. Not always scary stories, but anything we can get our hands on. It's nice."
Huh. That does sound nice. And she can only imagine how much more meaningful it is to the both of them, considering how they're literally the only guys on the team. Getting some time to themselves and away from all the girls—and she has to remember that even her team is nothing but girls—must be nice.
And if both he and Ren literally read horror stories at night, she has to give them credit for somehow managing to be mentally stable come the morning, though she really shouldn't be that surprised. Jaune, she can understand since he practically thrives on the stuff, and Ren to an extent, as he comes off as the kind of guy who's never fazed by anything.
Well, anything but Nora, much to his perpetual exhaustion but happiness.
"In any case, having everyone with us would be fun. Plus, you might be uncomfortable going to a cinema and watching it with just me."
Considerate to a fault, though she wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Ruby was a scaredy cat, and so was Yang, no matter how much she tried to play it off. Weiss might be the same. She's unsure if the heiress had ever watched a scary movie before, but she wasn't going to risk it. Not if it meant sitting with three teammates who would scream her poor ears off.
Still, she wouldn't be opposed to having all eight of them going to the cinemas together. When was the last time they'd done an outing with both of their teams? Like, an actual outing that didn't involve training? It would be pretty fun, all things considered.
"I'll try asking them," she settled for instead.
"Cool. I'll ask mine too, then. When should we watch it? We have until next Tuesday."
"Make it the weekends. Wouldn't want to bother our study time," he nodded back, setting a reminder for himself on his scroll. She should probably do that too later. "In any case," she said, setting her book down and standing up, stretching her arms above her head with a groan. "Ahh… I better get in there before Yang starts making a fuss about me being lazy. I promised her I'll go for a spar."
"Good luck."
She rolled her eyes. "Jaune, I wouldn't need luck. It's just going to be a spar—"
"Blakeeeey!" Both of them instinctively flinched at the overly exuberant voice coming from one end. Their heads snapped towards the source of the voice, which came from a girl with bright orange hair, an equally bright smile, and a hammer two times her size. "Heard you wanted someone to fight with! Come on, it'll be fun!"
Off to the side, a dirt-covered Ren meets her gaze. A myriad of emotions flash through his typically-concrete expression in that single moment, only for him to then close his eyes as he muttered what must have been a silent prayer for her.
She turned to look at Jaune, whose earlier confidence seemed to have taken a real big dive. Like, tower levels of big. He looked away.
"Good luck..?"
Crap.
Training in the weekends. Most students would have opted to use that day to laze, but Ruby had been insistent that their team and Jaune's get together for a spar. Some good things came out of it; like how she and Yang were slowly developing a kind of tag-team move, Jaune was getting a better hang of offense, Weiss finding a better use of Dust with her glyphs…
And Blake walked away from all that with a sore body, trauma (physical and mental), and a greater fear towards Nora.
'That girl… hits like a truck… all while laughing like some kind of schoolgirl.'
How Ren manages to survive with her by his side for years eludes her to this day. He must have the patience of a saint, which she certainly felt was truth before. But now? Having learnt first-hand the sheer destructiveness of that boy's partner?
May whatever god there is out there bless him. Bless him so much for somehow managing to keep her on a leash.
"Whoo! That was fun!" Yang cheered as she leapt onto her bed and fell upon it, the bed shaking somewhat from the impact. The faunus eyed the pillars that played Atlas to her partner's bed, silently grateful that they've managed to keep her bed from toppling onto hers this far. Her books are doing the godly work here.
"You literally lost against Pyrrha twice. Your brand of fun is an odd one, Xiao Long."
"Hey, at least I got to burn off some energy. Feels good, man…"
"Urgh. I'll never understand you," Weiss rolled her eyes. "In any case, just for the sake of making sure you don't leave it for the morning, be sure to finish up your History assignment. Doctor Oobleck may be forgiving, but I won't have you tarnishing our team's reputation."
"Pish-posh, Weiss-cream. I'll do it later."
"Your definition of 'later' is typically when we're about to leave our room and head for class, at which point it becomes a race to finish it as quickly and messily as possible. Don't think I'll be lending you my work!"
"Aw, come on!"
Tuning out their banter, Blake settles onto her bed with a pleased sigh. It's only five in the evening, so there was still plenty of time to get things done. She'd already been done with her assignment before training today, so now, she was left with all the free time in the world.
And what better use of said free time than to indulge in fantasies?
'And by fantasies, I mean switching from romantic fantasies,' and she would never hear it from another person to call them erotic, no matter how true they were. 'To nightmare fuel. Guess I've truly fallen.'
In all honesty, Blake couldn't exactly remember when she had gotten into love stories to begin with. The only thing that she could be certain of was the fact that she'd been reading it since she was a child, though even then, the memories are blurry.
And yes, they were the innocent kind of romance. Not what she reads now. She didn't need people making assumptions of her being indecent since her childhood.
If she were to guess on the why aspect, it probably had to do with her adoration of her parents. Though different in nature, both her mother and father loved each other dearly, and that love had brought her to life. It's something that she would never stop being grateful for, and that which she hoped would live for a very long time.
'And I haven't talked to my parents for a long time…'
That memory brought about a pang of shame and sorrow, though she was quick to ride it out until that she was left with was bitterness. Her parents… She'd left them behind when she'd chosen to take on a role in the White Fang, even after they'd tried to dissuade her from it. She'd been too stubborn at the time, but now…
She shook her head. Maybe she'd burnt her bridges. Maybe she'd speak with them again someday. Either way, there was no use dwelling on the past. Only on the present.
"Hey Blake," she blinked at the round face and silver eyes that were close to her, the genuine smile doing much to soothe her inner war. "What'cha reading?"
"Huh? Oh, it's just a book," she flipped the book so that the cover faced Ruby. "It's… a story about a witch and stuff."
"Really?" There was doubt in her tone, eyes narrowed at the cover. "Let me guess. It has a lot of whips and torture and—"
"R-Ruby!" She half-whispered, half-screamed, face burning bright. "No, i-it's not that! And where do you even know that sort of thing?!"
"Ugh. Blake, I'm fifteen, not five," she rolled her eyes with a tone that suggested she'd had to say that countless of times, both to her sister, father and friends. "Plus, it's not my fault you leave your books around and they're wide open at times. A person gets curious from time to time."
Oh god, Ruby had seen her stash. Worse, she'd read them. She never exactly made an effort to try and hide her books from her teammates all that much (and how much she regrets it now, for how much teasing she gets from Yang and the disappointment Weiss shoots her way about her choice of reading), but she never thought it could be that bad.
But if Ruby reads them? For some reason, that felt like a severe violation of the rules of nature. As if the consequences of such actions would result in something cataclysmic—and it might just end up that way if Yang ever found out.
She will never. Blake will make full certain of it.
"So, if you're not reading your filth—" Blake whimpered at the hurtful term. "Then what are you reading about?"
"It's… just horror. The actually scary kind. I've started giving them a shot, and this one is… pretty good. Haven't finished the whole thing yet, but I'm getting there."
"Huh. Horror? Never thought you'd be the kind of person who'd enjoy that, Blake."
Neither did she. It had certainly never been her cup of tea, considering all her previous selections, though Blake wouldn't regret having given it a shot. Interest piqued since she'd began reading Jaune's little stories, actual books on the genre could be rather sophisticated, and dealt with all kinds of personal struggles and themes that no other genre could truly encapsulate all that well.
Although, for the time being, she'd rather stick to just the normal stuff, and not whatever horrors await her online. Those sorts of things, once peered into, could never go forgotten ever again.
"Ooh, ooh! You should totally talk with Jaune, then! He likes scary stuff too!"
Oh, right. Neither of them had ever told their teammates that they often meet up with one another to discuss horror stories together. The only one who actually knew what Miss Goodwitch.
Her first instinct was to feign ignorance, but she remembered that Jaune had only ever been against her revealing his hobby. That he liked the genre was completely fine to tell others, and apparently open knowledge to some people already, his teammates counted.
"Actually, I know," she said. "He and I talked a bit about them once or twice. The only reason why I've started reading horror stories at all was because he talked me into giving it a try."
"Really? Huh. I never knew."
"I met him one time in the library. He was doing his schoolwork at the time, and we somehow came upon that topic when I saw him reading a book. It was nice. Ever since then, we talk from time to time about the stuff."
The background noise seemed to halt, replaced with a snort. "Wow. Kitty Kat actually made friends with Noodle Boy without our supervision?" Yang slid a finger across her eye, sniffing. "They grow up so fast…" Both Blake and Ruby rolled their eyes at that.
"Really? You're meeting him?" Weiss, on the other hand, seemed a little perturbed. "He doesn't bother you, does he?"
"No, no. He's been good so far. We only meet up to talk about horror," and to read whatever new story he cooked up. "He's a total fanatic about them."
"Is that so..?" For some reason, she still sounded doubtful. "I suppose this is a little tactless to ask, but… Has he ever talked about me with you?"
Oh yeah. Well, she could understand her slight apprehension towards the boy, considering his attempts to woo her and all. Really, Jaune should know when to take a 'no'.
Still, she felt that she a duty to stand up for him as well, if only because it wouldn't have been right to just completely side with Weiss. "No, we never do. Like I said, we just come together to talk about a horror novel. We even talked about philosophy one time."
"Philosophy? Him?"
"You'd be surprised by how well-read he is," she shrugged back. "Remember? He brought up that poem in Doctor Oobleck's class. Even I didn't know the reference until the doctor explained it. He obviously knows more than we think he does."
"That's… true," poor Weiss, having to deal with the conflictions of her interactions with him and the suggestion that he might actually be a smart guy. Maybe she'll get over it someday. "Well, so long as he doesn't try anything against you—"
"He wouldn't," not with his infatuation towards Weiss.
"Yeah, he wouldn't!" Ruby huffed, more upfront about protecting her best guy friend, since Weiss counted as her best girl friend. "Jaune's a nice person, and I won't have you suggesting otherwise, Weiss!"
"What? That's not what I—"
"Hey, you said Weiss twice! Nice one, sis."
"What?! No she didn't! She said otherwise—"
Before the two sisters could go all-out on ganging up on Weiss, Blake was quick to remember something and interject. "Hey guys, do you all want to watch a scary movie?"
"Eh?" Yang was the first to react, blinking at her in confusion. "Where'd that come from?"
"Jaune mentioned an old movie that will be playing in cinemas soon. He was excited, and wanted me to ask you guys if you wanted to come along. He says he'll be asking his teammates too."
"Ehh… Not my thing. And not Ruby's either. She wouldn't be able to sleep at night."
"N-Not true! Blake, don't listen to her!" The girl in question wheeled her arms in the air. "And, and! Yang is terrified of them too! She always ends up crying whenever she gets too scared!"
"What?!" The blonde's face was a mix of mortification and denial.
"Yeah! You try to make it sound like I'm terrible with scary movies, but you're just the same! You're scared of ghosts just as I am! That one time we watched at your friend's house, you wouldn't sleep in your room for days!"
"Pfft! What's there to be afraid of if it doesn't even exist?" She scoffed back. Despite her bravado, Blake knew her mannerisms well enough to recognize the averted gaze, the hunched shoulder and nervous laughter. "Like, sheesh, sis. I get that you're afraid, but no need to project or anything."
"…I'm just going to assume Yang and Ruby are out," she ignored the way both sisters visibly relaxed at her words. She then turned her gaze to the heiress. "Weiss?"
"I… would not be opposed to it," she huffed. "You will be going, yes?"
"As much as I don't want to, considering how scary it'll likely be, I am interested. So yeah, I'll be going. And I did promise Jaune," remembering his excitement had her laughing a little. "Honestly, he was really stoked about it. Couldn't find it in myself to reject him."
"Fine. Then I'll come with you. A change of pace would be nice every once in a while. Although, on the possibility that he tries to flirt with me again, know that I won't be blamed for whatever happens afterwards," yeah, that would just a recipe for disaster…
A movie outing with their entire teams would have been nice, though for the fact that neither Ruby nor Yang wanted to come, and so did Nora and Pyrrha (because it was boring, to the former, and because she wasn't comfortable with horror either, to the latter), it meant that they were down to four people, since Ren would be coming along.
"A shame that not everyone could join us, but I suppose we'll just have to find a different movie next time. Hopefully none of that action flick that the public seem to adore."
"Same," she hummed back, fixing her scarf around her neck. "I find myself easily falling asleep when I watch them. I wonder why…"
"Probably because we're all too used to fighting ourselves, so anything dramatized in movies just come off as silly for us," Weiss scoffed back. She found herself agreeing with her on that.
The both of them had already finished getting ready for the day. Ruby and Yang opted to spend today with Pyrrha and Nora, likely off for a walk downtown. Where they'd be going, she wasn't sure, but she just wished them well and hoped they'd be having fun.
Now, the two of them were stood outside of Team JNPR's room, waiting for the remaining two members of their little party. It hadn't been long, only five minutes. She couldn't hear anything from inside, save for the shuffling of cloth and soft taps of padded feet against the floor. Had they woken up late? She doubted Ren would, in all honesty. Probably just getting some stuff ready.
Blake checked her scroll. Still enough time. Jaune had booked the tickets a few nights ago, so all they'd need to do now was head on over to the cinema, get some food and drinks, then head in.
Eventually, the door opened with a creeaak, gaining her attention. A leg in black trousers stepped out, followed by the rest of the body. Blake found herself mildly surprised.
"Oh, hey girls! Sorry we took too long. Just needed to clean some stuff up."
Jaune often switched out between three things. His uniform, which was the standard fare for the male students; his combat attire, being his hoodie beneath a chestplate with some pieces of armour; and a onesie she'd caught him wearing back during the first night before Initiation. He was a dork in every situation, and she didn't think anything could change that perception of him.
As it turns out, he managed to do just that. Instead of his hoodie, he'd gone for a black tee over a blue sweater, black trousers riding from his sneaker-clad feet all the way to his waist, hidden by the hem of his shirts. He had one arm in the arm of his yellow duffel jacket, the other loose. Black shades hung on the neck of his tee, which was likely unnecessary but complimented the bright colour.
Overall, a very, very different look. Casual, but also stylish in one go. One that made her stop to question if the person standing in front of her is Jaune Arc, or some kind of imposter.
"Whoa!" His gasp made both her and Weiss jump in surprise. "You two look amazing! Especially you, Blake!"
"E-Eh?" The sudden attention and honest compliment had her taking a step back, amber eyes going wide. "What? What are you talking about?"
"I mean… You're making that dress look good on you. Not to say you aren't pretty! But this is a good look on you."
"It's just what I have on me," she hissed back, mentally cursing at the fact that she could feel her face heating up, rubbing her arm. "Don't need to make a big deal out of it…"
"Well, sure, but you picked the right combinations and everything. You're wearing a high-low dress that's dark indigo in colour. The grey scarf compliments that. And those sand-coloured sandals… Yeah, everything just somehow works. I would have thought a brighter colour would work better, considering your hair, but you just manage to make the whole set look good."
The whole time he'd been speaking, his eyes were moving from top to bottom. Never in a way that suggested he was being remotely lecherous, if the purely analytical manner he'd spoken was any indication. He's practically talking as if they were discussing a horror book.
But still! The fact that it was her he was talking about was not helping the situation!
"Although, still keeping the bow on, huh?" He seemed to chuckle, rubbing his chin. "Feels right on you, though. As if going without it wouldn't make you complete. Must mean a lot to you or something."
"Or something…" She agreed weakly.
"Well, it's a unique look. Accidental or no, you look great."
"Jaune, I really think you should stop," Ren's words cut through the air, the boy wearing a relatively simple dress shirt and dark grey jeans. He also had a smile on his face as he spoke, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Before you send all the blood to Blake's face and she passes out from embarrassment."
"What? But I'm just pointing out the obvious—"
"Just stop," she forced out, forcing herself not to give in to her desire to just pummel him on the spot. And can she stop blushing already?
"O-Okay," he rubbed the back of his neck. He then smiled at Weiss. "And you too, Weiss. You look great."
"Uh?" Contrary to her expectation, Weiss hadn't gotten angry at Jaune. Instead, she looked confused, if a little taken aback.
"Yeah! It's a little difficult to work with baby blue, but the two-piece dress you're wearing looks good on you. I never saw you wear a long skirt before. It looks really good."
"I-I see," she didn't seem as flustered as Blake was. Just surprised. Like, speechless kinds of surprise.
"In any case, what say we actually get a move on?" Ren tilted his head down the corridor. "We need to leave now if we want to take a bullhead into town. Then we can get to the movie. How much time do we have until it starts?"
"We've got a whole hour and fifteen minutes."
"The earlier, the better," nodded the ravenette. "Also, Jaune, would it be okay if we take a popcorn-and-drink combo, but you take the coke? I'd much prefer an iced lemon tea."
"I'm pretty sure you can ask to have your drink changed. It can either be a soft drink, orange juice or iced lemon tea. And do you eat a lot of popcorn? If we need to, we could take the smaller…"
As their voices drifted off into the distance, the monochromatic pair took a moment to ponder over what just happened. Eventually, though, as they looked into each other's eyes, a silent question was shared between the two.
Why the hell does Jaune know so much about girls' clothes?
Author's Notes:
Lol. That last bit literally came out of nowhere, huh? Also, heyaz! Ren and Weiss will be joining for the fun.
The story that Blake was reading is called Lois the Witch by Elizabeth Gaskell. I never read it, personally, but I do recognize that the gothic and Victorian eras are relatively popular settings for horror stories, such as Count Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. And with the approach with psychology in that story, it would have been a perfect beginner's novel.
And yes, Us by Jordan Peele. It still surprises me that a guy who was a comedian somehow wrote horror movies that are known to be some of the best thus far. That's a little nuts, and admittedly impressive.
And finally, I've got exams in two weeks. Election is happening soon, too, so things will be shaking up to be rather busy. I'll be taking a short break in the meantime, just to let y'all know. I'll be back with more fun chapters afterwards.