A/N: Decided to post twice this week - here's my favourite chapter so far! Let me know what you think :)
"Beep, beep, beep…"
Yang grumbled and turned towards her bedside table, switching off her phone alarm and going back to sleep.
45 minutes later...
"Beep, beep, beep…"
"Ugh! Stupid alarm", thought Yang. She peeked an eye open and glanced at her phone.
"8PM?!" Yang exclaimed and jumped out of bed. She had agreed to help set up for Coco's party! Hurriedly dashing to the cupboard and pulling out an outfit, Yang mentally cursed her bad habit of snoozing. Grabbing her leather jacket, she slipped into her black heels and dashed out.
"Shit, shit, shit," she thought to herself as the lift was taking ages to come.
Yang couldn't believe she was running late. Again. Wait, scratch that, she totally could. To be fair though, she was late this time as she had been so engrossed with her sales project (having to interview actual real estate agents on the strategies they used to close a sale) that she had worked through the night and needed to take a short afternoon nap that turned out to be not so short after all.
She arrived at Coco's house when the party was already in full swing. Unlike most students, Coco was able to afford to rent a bedroom off-campus in the nicer part of the neighbourhood where she lived with her flatmates. The entire house was vibrating with the loud thumping music, and Yang spotted her friend Velvet near the entrance. Being at a loud party was one of the only times you got to surprise a faunus, especially a rabbit faunus like Velvet. Yang couldn't resist the rare opportunity.
"HEY VELVET!" Yang yelled, clapping the long-eared faunus somewhat forcefully on her shoulder, "Great to see you!"
Velvet was startled by the sudden movement and jerked her head up, only relaxing when she saw that the person in question was Yang, "Yang! You scared me! How have you been?" Velvet asked while holding her trustworthy Leica camera. The pair had first met when Velvet was capturing moments at school parties for Beacon's newsletter, and the popular blonde was the only one who had bothered to converse with her, while the other students simply jostled around, trying to ensure that their best angles were captured. Having met at several different parties, Yang and Velvet were now well-acquainted with each other.
"I'm good, just that I'm getting pretty stressed with finals coming up. Thank goodness we have this party to destress. What about you?" Yang asked.
"Well, I've been doing a new project for the Beacon newsletter. The project is called 'Strangers', where I'm supposed to photograph two people who have never met before and interview them on their first impressions of the other person!" Velvet explained, "It sounded strange to me at first, but after photographing a few pairs just now, I'm starting to like the idea of introducing two people to each other," Smiling, she continued, "It's pretty cool because in a small way, I'm able to indirectly influence the social circles here at Beacon. I've noticed that we tend to hang out with our coursemates or people we already know, but we don't have many opportunities to meet someone outside of our usual circles. I'm essentially forging new bonds and new experiences! Maybe some of these might eventually blossom into a lifelong friendship or even more, who knows?" Velvet's excitement and passion shone through as she explained.
"Yeah, that sounds cool!" Yang chimed in agreement, "Hey, I wouldn't mind meeting a new face today! If you would have me, of course, don't want to take up too much space in the newsletter!" Yang winked.
Velvet chuckled, "Actually Yang, my camera happens to be running out of memory, but I'm good for a few more photos before I call it a night! Hmmm… I'm pretty sure you would have met most of the people here already though…" Velvet pondered, before perking up, "Wait! I think there's someone. Hold on one second, let me go grab my friend, I don't think either of you would have met before." Yang gave Velvet a thumbs up and went to mingle around with a group of sophomores.
Velvet went over to the corner of the living room where her raven-haired friend was currently lounging at. "Blake! Can you do me a favour?"
"Hey Velvet, sure, what's up? By the way, the tuna sandwiches here are amazing. Coco is a great host," Blake commented, always happy to see a familiar face amidst the throngs of rowdy partygoers. The pair had grown up in the same faunus neighbourhood, and their families had always been close. Despite not seeing each other as often after Velvet moved away for high school, the pair reconnected when they found out they were both attending Beacon University.
"I know, right? Coco is awesome! About the favour… Would you mind being a part of the project I was telling you about earlier? Don't worry, the person I'm introducing to you is really nice! I've known her for a while and she's not one of those airhead bimbos you often get at these parties," Velvet tried to reassure Blake, knowing full well that she was averse to interacting with strangers, especially in a social, crowded environment such as the one they were currently in. As a matter of fact, Velvet was surprised to learn that Blake had decided to come for Coco's party in the first place.
Blake sighed, "Alright. I'm already here, might as well do something productive and help you out," Blake herself had been wondering what had come over her when she decided to attend the party. She'd much rather stay in her room curled up with a book and a cup of hot tea, but Coco had been inviting Blake to her parties for the past two years and Blake had always turned her down, so she decided to finally agree when Coco invited her again.
Velvet was slightly surprised by how quickly Blake agreed to her photo request, since she was usually camera shy. Seizing the opportunity before Blake changed her mind, Velvet motioned for the cat faunus to follow her as the pair headed towards Yang, who was laughing with another group of freshmen.
When Yang looked over and their eyes locked, Blake felt the air leave her lungs. She had seen Yang's lavender eyes many times before on her Instagram posts, but they were breathtaking in real life.
"Yang! This is Blake, she'll be your partner for the photos!" Velvet introduced enthusiastically, "And Blake, this is Yang." Blake's eyes widened momentarily before she took a deep breath to regain her composure. Blake couldn't believe her eyes and ears. This was too much of a coincidence! First the universe had her run into Yang twice in the bathroom, then had them find out they shared a love for Evanescence and RWBY, and now fate once again brought them together through one Velvet Scarlatina? It felt too much like a movie.
"Hey, Blake! Don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Yang, majoring in Real Estate." Yang extended her hand towards the black-haired faunus.
"Hi Yang, nice to meet you. I major in psychology." The pair shook hands. Blake's heart rate was through the roof, paranoid that Yang would recognise her based on her voice, so she tried to speak with a lower pitch. Deep breaths Blake, you're not that significant that Yang can remember your voice.
Yang had a puzzled look on her face for a while. When she had seen Velvet return with a cute raven-haired girl in tow, she thought that this would be just like the multiple social interactions she had had before, both with acquaintances and as part of her job as a part-time real estate agent. However, when Blake shyly looked up and she was met with intelligent amber eyes, she nearly froze.
Furthermore, something about Blake's voice was very familiar but Yang was not able to place where she had heard the voice before. Shaking it off, Yang smiled, "Shall we get started then?"
Velvet chimed in, "Alright, now that both of you are acquainted, let's take your picture! Smile!" Yang casually slung her arm around Blake for the picture. Click. "Wonderful! Both of you look so good together!" Velvet commented off-hand as she inspected the photo in her camera screen, not noticing that Blake's cheeks had turned red based on her remark.
"Now that the photo part is done, could you both please share your first impressions about each other? Feel free to say anything that comes to mind," Velvet proceeded.
Blake was panicking. First impressions?! She had forgotten about that aspect of the project; she thought she was merely required to take a photo with Yang! How am I supposed to comment on Yang without exposing myself that I've stalked her instagram for hours or that we had previously met? Think, Blake, think!
"I think Blake may seem unassuming and quiet at first glance but I have this inkling that she's very passionate about the things she cares about," Yang piped up, saving Blake from the panic of having to speak first. Blake silently let out a sigh of relief as Yang continued, "And honestly, Blake, you're pretty easy on the eyes too," Yang winked flirtatiously and laughed.
Upon hearing Yang's compliment, Blake blushed and felt her ears heat up.
Velvet smirked and made eye contact with a flustered Blake, "Blakey, it's your turn!"
"Um… Firstly, thanks, Yang. That was sweet of you," Blake paused, recollecting her thoughts, "I think that you are friendly, outgoing, and project a happy-go-lucky image, but deep down I get the sense that you are afraid of being alone," Blake stopped abruptly, mortified that she had let herself get so personal with a stranger, and might have just unintentionally offended Yang.
"Interesting…" Yang pondered Blake's words, "Would you mind elaborating more?"
Blake was surprised that Yang did not seem insulted and was even interested in hearing the rest of Blake's analysis, "Um. I think you yearn for a close companion, one with whom you can be completely yourself, instead of having to always behave in a way that society expects you to," Blake looked at Yang and continued, "and that's totally okay. We all have our insecurities."
A moment of silence passed as Yang frowned slightly, deep in thought.
"Sorry," Blake blurted out, "I didn't mean to give such a personal first impression… Also, I wouldn't dare to assume that's true at all because I don't know you. That was just the first thought I had," Blake said sheepishly and looked away.
"No, it's okay. I actually appreciated your analysis, I have not viewed myself from that perspective before, but it does make some sense," Yang found herself looking at Blake differently. Sure, she did have friends who majored in psychology, but the way Blake carried herself with perceptiveness and quiet confidence was miles apart from anyone else their age. She was surprised that she was not at all offended by Blake's directness either. Instead, Yang found it refreshing that Blake had not minced her words. Too many people had only wanted to hang out with Yang to boost their popularity and social standing, only telling Yang the things she wanted to hear.
"Thanks Blake and Yang!" Velvet announced, breaking the pair's reverie, "That was one of the most interesting 'Strangers' encounters I've experienced during this project. Yang, are you comfortable with me publishing your description though?"
"I'm not sure, Velvet… Could you give me some time to think it over?" Yang asked, afraid that Blake's quote would affect Yang's image.
"Hey guys, don't worry about it," Blake interjected, "I could say something else more appropriate for the publication. For example, I also think that Yang is really intelligent and sensitive to the needs of others, despite what people think about typical popular girls. She has a big heart," Blake mumbled, embarrassed.
"Thanks Blake, that actually means a lot," Yang and Blake locked eyes for a moment and a look of understanding passed between them. Turning to Velvet, Yang gave her the thumbs up to go ahead with the new description. Velvet thanked the both of them before heading off, mentioning that she had to edit the photos and submit the draft publication to Professor Oobleck, who was the faculty in charge of Beacon's newsletter. Apparently the coffee-obsessed professor was known for his tight deadlines.
"Hey Blake, it was really good meeting you, do you want to maybe hang out sometime?" Yang asked, uncharacteristically shy. However, as she turned around, she realised that Blake was no longer standing there. Looking around the room, Yang spotted the black-haired faunus hurriedly exiting through the back. Sigh, maybe she didn't actually want to speak to me, she was just helping Velvet out… Shrugging off her dejection, Yang decided to join a group of juniors near the sofas, where she spotted her friends Jaune and Pyrrha deep in discussion. It was probably about medieval weapons, an uncommon interest the pair shared.
Blake decided to leave as the boisterous crowd was too much for her especially without Velvet there. More importantly, she couldn't believe that she had allowed herself to openly analyse Yang's character on their first face-to-face meeting! You big mouth! Now she's going to think that you go around psychoanalyzing strangers like an insufferable know-it-all… ugh. Mentally kicking herself for her lack of self-control, Blake slipped out the back door as she headed back to her dorm, ready to sleep off this socially draining day.