Cobalt's pencil danced across the paper as he sketched absent-mindedly, his mind not really in any place at all. It was when he was drawing or painting that he was at his calmest, when he could empty himself of any thoughts and worries and just exist in one moment of peace.

"What are you drawing?"

It was always interrupted with that question, of course. He looked up from the page to see Lily sitting beside him on her bed; he hadn't even noticed her approach.

"Not really anything," he answered, "Just a random profile."

Lily squinted at the sketch. "Looks an awful lot like Storm Hunter for a 'random profile'."

Cobalt tried not to blush. "Well it's…not supposed to be."

A rare teasing glint entered Lily's crimson eyes. "They're on your mind, huh? Got something you want to share with your partner?"

This time, Cobalt couldn't hide the blush and closed his sketchbook. "I'm beginning to miss when you never talked to me." He huffed jokingly, tossing the book onto the bedside table.

Lily leaned back. "So, why not ask them out? Surely it can't go wrong, with all those 'cool' vibes you've got going on."

Cobalt rubbed his neck, his ears dropping slightly. "I don't know, I just don't know them very well. They're cute and all, but that's really all I know."

Lily shrugged. "All right, your choice. But I think you should consider it next time you're pining."

The door to the dorm opened and Astra walked in, rambling excitedly about fighting styles. Luna was at her side, her eyes fixed in her with full interest as she nodded every now and then.

Lily leaned over to Cobalt so that the two girls couldn't hear her. "Speaking of crushes…" She whispered.

Cobalt chuckled. He wondered if Luna thought she was hiding it at all, when she stared at Astra with adoration every time she spoke. Well, Astra, at least, never seemed to notice. For Luna's sake, Cobalt hoped she would soon.

Astra finished her rambling and sat on Lily's bed, pulling a remote out from between the mattress and bed frame. "You guys mind if I turn the TV on?" Without waiting for an answer, she switched it on anyway.

"-and in recent weeks, more reports of the criminal figure known as 'The Ghost' have been coming in from civilians."

"Ugh, news." Astra lifted the remote to change the channel.

"No, wait," Luna reached out a hand to stop her. "I want to hear about this."

Cobalt looked at the screen too, curious. The wasn't the first report on The Ghost that he'd seen, and he was definitely interested in knowing more.

"They came out of nowhere." The man on the screen told the reporter. "I couldn't even get a good look at them; all I could see was this dark figure. They knocked me to the ground and then they were gone."

The interviewer switched to a policeman and Cobalt saw Lily narrow her eyes.

"What can you say about this criminal? Are you working to apprehend them?" The interviewer asked.

"Right now, this case is at the top of our priorities," The policeman responded. "They've escalated from theft and small attacks; people are dying now. We're working around the clock to identify and take in whoever is responsible for these vile acts."

Luna bared her teeth, frustration plain on her face. "They're leaving stuff out," She expressed with annoyance.

Cobalt nodded. "From what I read yesterday they've only killed two people. One was a violent human who'd been threatening to kill a faunus and the other was a man who'd been stalking a teenage girl. Not to mention the medical reports that showed neither death were likely to have been intended by the attacker."

"Seriously?" Astra stared at him. "Ugh, leave it to the police to twist things to protect the people doing harm." She flopped back onto the bed. "I was hoping to avoid stuff like that by leaving Atlas."

"They're the same everywhere," Lily sighed, looking resigned. "They see someone doing good and decide they must be criminals just because they don't follow their rules."

"Well, that's as much of that as I can stomach," Luna passed the controller to Astra. "Go on, watch your cartoons."

"Watch with me!" Astra begged her, sitting up again and grabbing Luna's arm pleadingly. "I really think you'd like the one that's gonna be on soon; it's got big cool mechs and a nice, diverse cast."

Luna smiled softly. "Yeah, okay. But I'd better like it."

Lily leaned over to whisper to Cobalt again. "We should give them some space." She suggested cheekily.

Cobalt snickered. "Of course." He stood up and addressed Luna and Astra out loud. "We're heading to the cafeteria. You guys want anything?"

"I'm good." Astra replied, her eyes fixed on the TV. Luna shook her head.

"Well, have fun with your cartoons." Cobalt gave them a wave before he and Lily left the room, closing the door behind them.

"Do you think anything will actually happen while we're gone?" He asked Lily.

Lily scoffed lightheartedly. "Of course not. Luna wouldn't confess her feelings in a million years and Astra's not going to notice anything unless she does. The poor girls are utterly hopeless."

Cobalt chuckled. "True," He admitted. "I kind of feel sorry for them."

Lily shrugged. "Well hey, we'll be here for them if they need the help. And maybe they'll surprise us and get there without us."

"Maybe."

"Anyway," Lily continued. "I'm not actually hungry, so I'm gonna go find somewhere to talk to my mother about the meeting we're planning with team RWBY over the holidays."

Cobalt nodded. "I'll see you later then."

As Lily split off from him and headed her own way, Cobalt made his way outside to cross over to the cafeteria building. The sun was out in full force today and he wondered if he should just grab something to drink outside. No point in wasting the nice weather.

Caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice the figure approaching him until he was tapped on the shoulder. Startled, he whipped around and instinctively took up an attacking position, only to recognize the person as Storm and instantly jump back in embarrassment.

"Woah," Storm chuckled, looking slightly taken aback. "Kinda jumpy, huh?"

Cobalt really hoped that wasn't a reference to his ears. "Sorry!" He gasped, trying to compose himself. "Sneaking up on people in my family isn't exactly uh…wise."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us." Storm replied kindly.

Cobalt tried not to stare into their eyes. "Well it's a good thing I didn't actually hurt you, I guess." Gods, that would have been awful…

Storm chuckled again. "Sure. Anyway, I was actually hoping to run into you at some point."

Cobalt tried to keep his face from turning red. "You were?"

"I heard about what happened the other day," Storm explained. "Rowan and Birch were really grumpy about it, but I'm sorry they acted like that. I would've stopped them if I'd been there, but I was helping Yarrow study."

"Oh," Honestly, Cobalt had almost forgotten about it. "Well hey, it wasn't your fault. You don't have to apologize or anything."

"I still feel bad," Storm replied. "I want to make it up to you…could I maybe take you out to dinner this weekend?"

Cobalt froze on the spot, not knowing how to respond. "…Just me?"

Storm suddenly looked awkward. "Oh, well, you can bring your team if you want but I uh…" They gave Cobalt an adorable grin, their face red. "This is really just an excuse to hang out with you if I'm honest."

Cobalt was still having trouble getting his brain to work. "Like…a date?"

Storm smile sheepishly. "If you're good with that?"

At the confirmation, Cobalt finally snapped himself out of it. "I- yeah, of course!" He managed. "That'd be really cool!"

Delight crossed Storm's face. "Oh, great! Is Friday okay?"

Cobalt nodded, probably a little too enthusiastically. Way to stay cool… "Yeah, Friday sounds good!"

"Okay, well uh…I'll meet you by the school gates at five then." Storm responded, looking as thrilled as Cobalt felt.

Cobalt grinned. "Nice." Nice? "I'll see you then."

"Right, well uh," Storm looked around. "I guess I should let you go back to whatever you were doing then."

"Oh, yeah," Cobalt has completely forgotten about eating. "I'll see you later then!" With an awkward wave, he turned and headed to the cafeteria without looking back. That really just happened…

As he entered the building and picked out a drink, his mind was drifting, his thoughts filled with silver hair and pretty hazel eyes and excitement rose within him as the realization began to hit him. He was going on a date. With his crush.

And by some miracle, he hadn't screwed it up. Storm seemed to like him back.

He found himself grinning, not caring when he got confused looks from the other people in the cafeteria. This weekend was going to be amazing.