I Think I Like You

Chapter 13: Our Little Secret

Have you ever felt like you're walking on air, that you're so happy to the extent where you feel like nothing a single person could say or do would stop you from feeling the high you're on?

Seriously, someone could walk by me right now and tell me the school was burning down, or for some reason I'm suddenly failing all my classes, or even that the world is ending and we all have two days to live before we're hurled into a wormhole, and I would still be grinning ear to ear.

It's that feeling when you finally get to sit down and watch a show you've been waiting all week to catch up on, that moment when you hear the last school bell ring and you can't wait to either get home and play video games the rest of the night, or hang out with friends and eat ice cream at overpriced ice cream shops.

If you've ever seen a puppy that still doesn't know exactly how to walk yet, running in uneven strides that makes them look all unbalanced and dopey, well, that's probably me right now.

Inherently, I'm fast-walking down the school halls, on my way to meet Weiss.

I've been waiting to meet up with her all weekend. I've been sending her texts, but that's not the same to me as talking in person. Weiss is so formal with her texts it feels like I'm typing to one of those automated answering machines.

Another downside is we rarely get to see each other during the school day; we have classes together, but even then it's only for the brief five or so minutes until the bell rings. I tried passing her a note at one point during history, but Professor Peach wasn't having it and made me stay after class so she could lecture me.

However, none of those hindrances could stop the butterflies from piling in my stomach, feeling like they could burst at any second. I feel my grin grow impossibly wider and my clumsy pacing pick up speed at the mere thought of seeing Weiss.

Even if we're only meeting up because of student council work, I could virtually feel the excitement rolling off of me in waves.

As I round the last corner, I stumble a bit before spotting the classroom I was told to meet at. My pulse beats faster as I near the door and grab the offending handle that held it shut.

"Weiss!" I shout as I slam the door open.

I'm met with an angry pair of blue eyes across the room.

"Dolt, keep your voice down! We're still in school and you're still one of our top representatives."

The grin doesn't leave my face, but I mutter an apology as I make my way over to her.

Weiss is sitting at a desk in the back of the empty classroom. She's wearing her normal uniform attire and that signature off-center ponytail that makes her hair cascade down her back, in turn giving her that eloquent atmosphere she usually emits. One of her legs is crossed over the other as she clicks her heel on the cheaply tiled floor like some sort of impatient business woman.

God, she looks so hot.

As I near her I notice there are papers stacked on a few surrounding desks and she has a pile of scantrons, those little fill in bubble sheets that are normally graded by a computer, accumulated on the side of the desk she's using.

I also look out towards the window and notice there's a large group of students running on the track. I try to see if I can spot Pyrrha, since she was one of the track team captains, but the kids are far enough away that they all kind of blur together, so I give up pretty quickly.

When I plop my backpack down beside Weiss, she motions for me to sit in the desk in front of the one she's using. I walk around her to take my seat, but once I sit down I realize I'm facing forward and I twist myself around, so I'm sitting the opposite direction in my chair.

I rest my arms on the back of the seat and wait for Weiss to look up from some paper she's marking, so she can tell me what I'm supposed to even be doing.

I'm fine with just watching her though…

After a minute, Weiss finally finishes scribbling something on the bottom of the paper and looks up to meet my eyes. There's a slight pink hue to her cheeks and as soon as she sees the smile that's been plastered on my face since I got here. She gives a shy smile back.

"Hey." I say in a low voice that I hope expresses just how much I've missed her over the weekend.

Weiss looks away from me briefly, the hue in her cheeks flaring, before returning her attention downwards, towards the paper she had been writing on.

"Hey…"

There's a moment of silence that passes between us that I can only describe as pure bliss. Unfortunately, the sound of a whistle blowing outside, followed by what sounds like a group of students marching, breaks us out of our trance.

Weiss clears her throat and pats the stack of scantrons next to her.

"Anyways, Mrs. Peach asked if we could help her grade these history tests. The machine that normally grades them is broken and it can't be fixed until next week."

"Ugh, that's so boring." I complain.

It's not that I didn't expect something like this, I just don't want to spend the precious amount of time I have with Weiss grading papers.

"Quit your whining." She says, passing me a scantron off the top of the stack and handing me a piece of paper with holes cut in it.

Since I'm turned around in my seat, I set the papers on the desk Weiss is using, so that we're sharing the workspace. I eye the sheet with holes in it and pick it up confusedly. Weiss notices my scrunched up face and plucks the paper out of my hands. She places it on the scantron she gave me so the holes line up with the bubbled in answers.

"It's a key that marks the right answers on the test. If you don't see any pencil marks in the cut-out hole, then they got the question wrong." She points to one of the first unfilled bubbles and puts a red mark next to it. "Like that."

"Ohh, I get it now, thanks!"

She humbly nods and starts marking her own paper again. I start marking the one in front of me, which I feel like I could be doing more proficiently when the prettiest girl in school isn't sitting all of two feet away from me. Seriously, if I moved forward any closer our heads would bump and I would be lying if I said doing it on purpose wasn't tempting, but I know Weiss would probably be annoyed, so I stay still.

"I know it's not the most exciting work we could be doing today." Weiss says, tucking some loose hair back behind her ear. "The rest of the council is working on preparations for the music festival, so if we finish this early we can join them."

"Really? How far away is the festival anyways?" I ask, absentmindedly continuing to make marks down my form.

"If we're being honest, it's quite far away. But, this is one of the biggest school events all year, so we start preparing way in advance."

I nod and make a longing glance out at the track field as I pick up my next scantron. I wish Weiss and I could be out of school and running around to who knows where.

"It sounds really fun." I say, starting to mark my next test. "But, honestly, anything other than paperwork sounds fun right about now."

Without even looking up, I know Weiss is probably giving me an irked expression. She hates it when I complain about my work. I just can't help it sometimes, though! It's boring as all hell and I would literally rather be doing anything else other than boring filler work.

"Yes, I know you're not very fond of paperwork, however, I do have some good news to deliver."

I stop grading the paper and look up to Weiss excitedly.

"What is it? Are we finally getting a new table in the resource room? One that doesn't make me have to lean over to write on it? Oh man, that'd be awesome."

Weiss shakes her head.

"No, no new table, but because of the amount of money we raised at the game, the school is letting us use some of it to have a celebratory party for the council."

"That's even better than a table!" I exclaim giddily. "Do the other members know already?"

Weiss continues grading the paper in front of her but gives me an approving hum.

"Yes, they do, but it won't just be for council members."

"Ehh?" My voice comes out as a whine, earning a disapproving glance from Weiss.

"It wasn't only the council that helped, Ruby. There were plenty of other students and faculty, not to mention the players themselves, that helped put it together."

I scuff a shoe on the ground in disappointment, accidently kicking Weiss's shin in the process. I'd forgotten I was facing her and try to offer a quick apology before the inevitable happened. Alas, my efforts were in vain as I got a reprimanding thump to the forehead.

"Anyways, that reminds me," Weiss continues as I rub my forehead. "Have you decided if you wanted to go on the Science trip that Mr. Oobleck is supervising in the next coming week?"

I had completely forgotten about that. There's been so much going on the past few weeks, I'd let the tiny yellow pamphlet completely slip my mind.

From what I remember him telling me, the trip is for a select group of students to visit a science and engineering festival that showcases cool little exhibits and different jobs in the field. I still wasn't sure what field I wanted to go into, or if I even wanted to go on the trip at all, but I do remember Weiss had encouraged the idea, which made me feel a little better about it.

"I'm not sure, I haven't really thought about it…" I shrug.

Weiss tilts her head and snorts to herself.

"Of course you haven't. Well, I really think you should go. It's a great opportunity that offers some realistic insight on what going into any science field would be like."

I don't know why she's so keen on me going. She basically has her entire career handed to her on a silver platter. To be honest, the differences in our ideas for what we'll end up doing in the future, kind of scare me.

"Yeah I don't know…" I mumble.

"Really? Mr. Oobleck has even asked me to come and help-"

"You're coming!?" I jerk my head up, surprised.

"Well, yes I-"

"I'll go too!"

The thought of getting to spend an entire two days with Weiss was all that I could think of. Getting to share an hour long bus ride together and walk around a festival for hours seemed heavenly. Science be damned, if Weiss was going, I was going.

Weiss gives another small chortle and uses one of her hands to roll her shoulder back and forth, it was probably stiff from leaning over the desk for so long.

"That sounds like something you'd say."

The phrase made an unwelcomed heat rush to my cheeks and I try my best to stay on task.

We sit and grade for what feels like an hour, when in reality it was probably half that. Our pile of scantrons gets smaller, while the separate pile of graded test grew on the opposite side of the desk. I try to enjoy our closeness as much as I can, but it's kind of hard when the object of your affection won't even look up from her work.

Eventually, I give a tired sigh and rest my hands on the back of my seat, letting my head rest on top of them. I switch between watching Weiss work and looking out toward the track field to watch the students practice.

I feel myself start to nod off and try to make more conversation to keep myself awake.

"I wish I could be more like you, Weiss."

Weiss raises an eyebrow, not bothering to look up from a test she was grading.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" She inquires.

I shrug dumbly, not sure where to take the conversation.

"I dunno. You can do stuff like this for hours and somehow never complain about it."

Weiss just scoffs and holds her red pen up to her lips. She looks like she's deep in thought about something on the paper, but I just jealously watch as the pen is pressed snugly at her lip, which is now turned into a frown.

"Well," she begins. "most people are generally capable of doing mindless work for an hour or so, especially when they're not trying to take a nap every five minutes."

She scowls at me and the pen continues to tap against her lip, as if it were taunting me.

"Aw, c'mon Weiss, this is tiring!" I pout and prop my chin up on my hand. "Can't we just have a little fun? We're young, we should be spending our youth playing hooky, doing illegal drugs, going to parties!"

I giggle at myself for the irony of it. Neither one of us was much for social events, or breaking the law for that matter. Weiss just brushes some loose strands of hair behind her ear and at this point, I couldn't tell if she was playing dumb, or just trying to ignore me.

"Yes, because we all know what happens at said parties."

I feel my face flush red at the memory of my confession to Weiss. I grumble to myself and look out towards the track field once again.

"But you're still glad you went, right?"

I give her a sly grin, but if it affects her in any way she doesn't let it show. She only offers me a briefly annoyed look from her scantron, shaking her head slightly before looking back down. I let out a huff of annoyance, knowing Weiss wasn't going to be playing along with my teasing. That's when I get an idea.

I casually swipe my shoe under the table again, lightly enough that it grazes Weiss just below her shin. She glares at me through the top of her eyelids, daring me to do it again, as she continues grading her paper.

I swipe my foot again so it hits her a little harder. Not enough to hurt, but enough for her to know it wasn't an accident. I wait with anticipation, trying not to let my face twist into a smile.

Weiss lets out an agitated growl.

"Ruby, stop that."

I would normally feel bad about this, but seeing Weiss so miffed sometimes was honestly kind of cute. Cute in a way where she sounds like she wants to kill me, but I know it's just a bluff.

So, I swipe again.

This time a peeved Weiss looks up at me, Seeming like she was about to chew my head off, but I don't give her a chance.

As soon as her head was directly in front of mine, I take the chance and swiftly lean over the desk, planting a quick kiss on her lips.

Our noses bump awkwardly and Weiss lets out a squeak of surprise. I land on her mouth with my lips perked outwards and, since her mouth was halfway open, probably about to lecture me, I capture some moisture from her bottom lip. It's a brief, painful kiss, but it's also the most exhilarated I've felt since that roller coaster ride.

When our lips touched the chemistry felt almost instantaneous. My body felt tingly and my chest rose unevenly with the skipped beat of a breath. There's this uniquely overwhelming and… nerve-racking feeling that I just can't describe.

I had closed my eyes right before the moment, yet, I could still feel Weiss's grow wide in shock. I'm pretty sure I was visibly shaking when I leaned over the table, putting my hands on either side to steady myself, and I hope Weiss didn't notice.

Even though it only lasts a second, I could feel my mind churning into complete butter, and any sense of time is cut out of the equation entirely. In the crisp moment of bliss, I feel all my troubles fly away and all my doubts get buried under miles and miles of euphoria.

This makes me happy. Weiss makes me happy.

I slowly open my eyes, pulling away from the kiss, and lowering myself back down into my chair. A smug grin stays plastered on my face the entire time, but Weiss looks exactly like a statue, well, if it wasn't for her face getting redder by the second.

Needless to say, that stunt earned me multiple thumps to the forehead.

"Weisss, I said I was sorry! Please slow down."

"I absolutely will not."

I whine to myself as I shift my backpack straps more comfortably on my back, trying to speed up so I can close the growing gap between me and Weiss. It wouldn't be as hard if I didn't have to lug my dead-weight bike behind me the whole time, causing me to curse myself for bringing it today.

By the time we had finished grading papers, the rest of the council was already done with planning for the festival. So, I opted to walk Weiss home instead. Although, considering Weiss is about five paces in front of me and not seeming to be slowing down any time soon, I wouldn't exactly call this 'walking her home'.

"I don't get what the big deal is. We're dating, right? Why are you so upset?"

Weiss stops in place and turns around angrily, causing me to fumble and almost trip over the bike as I freeze. She walks back towards me, heels clicking on the sidewalk the entire way, and sets a hand on one of the handles of my bike. She uses her other hand to point at me accusingly.

"You dolt, we agreed to keep this a secret!" She hisses at me.

I want to argue, but… she wasn't wrong. On the night when Weiss returned my feelings we had mutually acknowledged that this was something we weren't going to tell people. Neither of us have come out yet, and with Weiss's family status, well, you can forget about the idea of having any sort of lover entirely.

Her family was devoted to work; any sort of acceptable relationship to them is only one that grows their status or gives them monetary gain. I certainly can't offer Weiss either of those things, but I want to be affectionate with her, nonetheless. Being with her is practically a dream as it is; I just wish she would reciprocate my feelings in a more physical way, no matter how small the gesture.

"I don't see the problem, though. No one was around to see us, Weiss."

Weiss pinches the bridge of her nose and lets go of my bike handle in an exasperated gesture. She starts walking again, but this time letting me fall into step beside her as we pass by some overgrown trees and shrubbery.

"You don't know that, Ruby. Anyone could've walked in."

Reasonably, I know she's right. It still doesn't change the fact that I wanted to do it though.

"It was just a peck, calm down. I promise I won't do it again."

"You better not…"

Weiss crosses her arms and continues her long strides. I still don't know how she wears those heels all day, let alone walk in them like some runway model. If I were in those shoes, I know for a fact that I would have tripped a dozen times by now on this short walk alone.

It's pretty obvious that Weiss wasn't going to take any chances with our relationship, and that I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I still wish I could somehow be closer to her. Our relationship feels exactly the same as it has been for the past few months, other than the kiss I'd given her.

I know we're getting close to Weiss's house, too. I've already memorized the familiar sidewalks and fancy homes lining the streets, along with the intricate, tall black lamp posts that line the way. It's practically the exact opposite of all the cramped and similar looking houses in my neighborhood, which makes this walk a lot easier to remember.

I look over at Weiss and notice her hand swaying gently by her side. I gulp, wanting so desperately to reach out and hold that hand, but I think better of it. Unfortunately, Weiss catches me staring and squints at me.

"What?" she asks.

I practically jump, almost dropping my bike in the process, and look up from her side and towards her eyes. She's giving me a distasteful look and I feel my face heat up.

"I- I wasn't thinking anything bad, I promise! I just, uhh, I was just wondering if, uhm, y-your hand." I stumble through my words.

Weiss raises an eyebrow.

"Mhmm, my hand?"

I slap my forehead and cover my eyes with my free hand, the one that wasn't holding my bike. I feel so laughably inexperienced with this that I just know my incompetence is showing, and if there was anyone I didn't want to show that to, it was Weiss.

"Nothing… Just forget it. It was stupid." I slide my hand off my face and run it through my hair.

Weiss nods and we round a corner with a larger familiar brick fence that goes on for quite a while. She looks a bit restless and uncomfortable, which makes me feel even worse. I hate seeing Weiss upset and I hate feeling like I'm partially the reason.

I feel a tug on my uniform's sleeve and glance towards a pale hand that grabbed it. My eyes grow wide, and I don't look away from the delicate grip as I hear Weiss clear her throat.

"Ruby, it's not that I don't want to, it's just..." Weiss lets go and makes a motion with her hand, like she's trying to find the right words, but she ends up trailing off.

Despite my dampening mood, the action made me grin and I look up at Weiss knowingly.

"It's okay, Weiss." Feeling a bit daring, I lean over and tuck some loose hair behind her ear. "I get it. Really, it's not a big deal."

Weiss nods solemnly, but still takes the chance to look around us, making sure no one was watching. The gesture is cute and I want to cherish it, but as I remember she's only doing it because no one can find out about us, I feel myself wistfully hoping we won't have to pretend forever.

"Ruby, have you ever... been with anyone else before?" She asks nervously.

The way she phrases it makes me chuckle and I shake my head good-naturedly. This is the Weiss I like best. Not the one that's all serious and uptight, but the one that's unsure of herself and honest.

"Not really. I've had, like, crushes and stuff… but none of them were very realistic anyways."

Then again, neither was this one…

Knowing that this cute girl beside me was bound to me in a more intimate way, almost makes me break out into another uncontrollable grin.

Weiss, however, doesn't look very pleased with my answer.

"Were they all girls, or…?"

I shrug, trying to remember the last time I legitimately had a crush on anyone, and... there really weren't any I could think of at the moment.

"I honestly don't remember. Most of them, maybe? I never really had a real crush on anyone until-" I stop myself on instinct, until I realize I was already- technically- in a relationship with the girl I was about to admit this to. "u-until, well, until you I guess."

I feel embarrassed enough to want to claw my eyes out, but Weiss's thoughtful hum is what ultimately keeps me from committing the deed.

"I see…"

We reach the familiar and grand white gate with a huge S on the front of it. Weiss walks over to its edge and types in a code on a padlock that gives way to a loud buzzing sound, followed by a click. I lean my bike up against the other end of the gate and pause as Weiss walks over to pull it open.

I follow behind her and wait until we walk around the large fountain, decorated by hedges and small flowerbeds, to speed up my pace.

I stealthily reach in front of me and grasp onto one of Weiss's hands with both of my own. I twirl her around before grabbing her other hand to pull her closer to me, earning a squeak of surprise. I laugh at the look on her face, but I leave a respectable half-foot gap between us.

Intimacy was new to both of us and no matter how much I want to tackle Weiss right here and now, I know it's not what she would want. We have to take it slow if we want this to work, and god did I want this to work.

"Ruby!? What on earth are you-"

Weiss's talking ceases as I lean over and gently rest my forehead against hers.

She lets out a few confused noises and small sounds of protest, but she doesn't pull away. I let out a low, content hum as I listen to the trickling fountain, the only thing that hides us from the rest of the world, making this place belong solely to us.

"I wish we didn't have to keep this a secret…" My voice is at a half-whisper, even though we're just inches apart.

Our faces were so close that I could feel Weiss's breath hitch at my voice, confirming to me that she's just as aware of my presence as I was of hers. I keep my hold on her hands and tenderly rub my thumbs in circles on the backs of the dainty and pale palms.

I feel Weiss shrug.

"That's just the way society works, Ruby."

I pout and give her forehead a small nuzzle. The action musses up the bangs that fall over her forehead and makes the strands mingle more closely with my own hair.

"Well, society is dumb."

I feel Weiss's body shake slightly as she lets out a small giggle.

"That sounds like something you'd say."

I squint at her playfully.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

She shakes her head against mine and I push my forehead harder against hers, not willing to give up.

"Nothing, nothing! I swear." She chuckles, making her fall back slightly.

I close the distance again and keep a firm hold of her hands in mine. I don't plan on kissing her again, she obviously wasn't okay with it last time, but I want to show her I care somehow. The best I can think of is to keep running circles over the back of her palms and continue resting my forehead against hers.

"You know, Ruby," Weiss says after a while. I give her a hum in response that makes us both smile. "How about we look at this in a... different way. Instead of us thinking we have to hide this, how about we think of it as our secret?"

I feel my grin get pulled impossibly wider. I've probably smiled today more than I have any other day in my life, and I feel like that's completely justified.

"Our secret, hmm?" I murmur in that same half-whisper I've been using. "I like the sound of that."

I use my grip to gingerly bump both our hands together a few times and I feel Weiss softly nod against my forehead.

"Yeah, our secret."

When I reach my house I slam open the door and kick off my shoes at the entryway. Despite Yang's loud protests from the kitchen, I start running up the stairs and into my room at the end of the hall.

Once I enter my room and close the door behind me, I throw my stuffy uniform jacket onto my bed and drop my backpack onto the floor.

I practically leap into my computer chair, which makes it roll across the room until it hits the foot of my bed. I cover my eyes with both my hands, trying not to squeal as I recount my time with Weiss. Honestly though... it's really hard not to.

This doesn't feel real.

Never in a million years would I have believed it if someone told me that when Weiss and I first met, we would end up dating. She's just so smart and so god damn cute I can't even begin to fathom why she reciprocated my feelings.

Jesus, just thinking about her gets me all riled up. I can't stop the butterflies from fluttering around my stomach, making my heart feel like it would jump out of my chest at any given minute.

Oh god, I've got it even worse than when I was just crushing on her.

I know I won't be able to think about anything other than Weiss the rest of the night. So instead of doing something sensible like homework or playing my video games, I just slide down in my chair, groaning to myself.