Hi everyone! Just a quick announcement here - I'm moving next weekend, so there won't be a new chapter next week. I'll do my best to start up again the week after, but it's just been really stressful trying to coordinate everything plus proofreading (and writing in general).
There was one fundamental truth about weekends - they flew by in the blink of an eye. Just when Yang started to enjoy them - poof - Monday arrived. That was always how weekends worked, since the beginning of time.
Except for the past weekend. Somehow, it defied the laws of weekends by dragging its feet, kicking and screaming, into eternity. It broke the rules of life and lasted an entire lifetime, and then lasted longer still.
Maybe Yang was exaggerating, but the weekend was that slow! Sure, she had fun spending time with her family without being tired from school or practice. They watched a super corny romantic comedy that Dad picked out (he was such a sucker for those). She and Ruby got into an impromptu wrestling match in the backyard - that she won handily until Dad showed up to ruin the day and beat them both.
But those events were nothing more than a blip on the weekend radar. The rest of her time was spent pacing the house waiting for the weekend to end. Normally, she had no problem distracting herself with hours of TV or reading through a good magazine (or ten), but this weekend she was restless - and she was pretty sure she knew why.
The reason for her restlessness? It started with a capital 'C' and ended in 'rush.'
She wanted to see Blake, and that meant she needed to go to school, which meant she needed the weekend to end. So, of course, the two days off passed impossibly slowly. Irony was her biggest fan, apparently...
The days dragged on for so long that she voluntarily did her homework just to have something to do. The idea had been to find something to keep her mind off of Blake, but it only half worked since Blake and anything related to school were linked together. Reading for history class? Yang wondered if Blake had a history class this semester. A short set of problems for math? She bet Blake was awesome at math - probably taking calculus too. Trying to find a pencil? Well, Blake needed writing utensils too. The entire weekend went like this.
Monday morning eventually arrived, but Yang wasn't celebrating just yet.
"Come on, Ruby!" she shouted upstairs, shifting from one foot to the other while waiting by the front door. A few seconds later, Ruby hurried down the stairs while dragging her backpack behind her.
"Jeez, Yang, we don't need to get there way early!" Ruby whined as she grabbed a pair of shoes. Before she put them on, however, she stopped everything and covered her mouth while a yawn slipped out.
"We won't be early - we're hardly gonna make it on time!" Rushing into the kitchen, Yang gave her dad a quick kiss on the cheek while he poured his morning cup of coffee. "Bye Dad!"
"Have a good day!" he called after her, but she was already out the door and setting off down the sidewalk at a fast walk. She only made it to the house next door when she heard a door slam followed by footsteps running to catch up to her.
"What's got you in such a hurry?" Ruby huffed, falling into step by Yang's side. "We used to be late all the time!"
"I want to talk to a classmate about a project," Yang fudged. It wasn't a super big lie because she could talk to Blake about a project. Just...not one they were working on together.
Sighing out loud, Ruby shifted her backpack and took long strides to match Yang as they sped towards school. Although...now that Yang thought about it, Ruby's strides were a lot less strained than they usually were when she speed-walked.
When Yang abruptly stopped, Ruby flew several more steps before realizing that she was walking alone.
"What's up?" she asked.
With Ruby standing in front of her, Yang stuck out one hand and placed it on the top of Ruby's head to measure her height.
"You got taller!" Yang immediately gasped. Her hand used to be level with her eyes; now she was angling up. "You're gonna be as tall as me soon!"
Ruby gave a cute, sheepish grin at the comment.
"Yeah…" she mumbled while dragging one toe across the ground. "I thought things looked different from way up here..."
Laughing at the response, Yang patted Ruby's shoulder before turning her around to resume their walk to school.
"What happened to the little shrimp I had to lift onto the counter so we could get the cookie jar?" Yang lamented as they went, smiling when Ruby giggled at the memory.
"Remember the time we accidentally broke the lid and put it back together with tape?"
Their horrible attempt at covering up their tracks was about as successful as one might expect - meaning, not at all.
"Yes, 'we' broke that lid," she teased, nudging Ruby's shoulder. "It had nothing to do with your butterfingers."
"You should've told me not to play with the butter!" Ruby wailed while Yang laughed.
When the school building came into view, Yang found that the parking lot was nearly full and only a few students rushed towards the front door. The sight was disappointing because it was familiar - because this was when they used to get to school. And, being an expert at treading the line between 'on time' and 'tardy,' she knew the bell would ring any minute now.
"This is more like it," Ruby said while they hurried up the front steps. "Much more normal."
"Didn't realize you liked being late!"
Ruby's response was a light-hearted laugh as they rushed through the doors and found a mostly-empty entryway in front of them.
"I like morning runs!" she quipped before picking up her pace. "I'll see you later!"
With a wave, Ruby hurried towards her locked and left Yang to fend for herself in the halls of emptiness. While this was 'normal' for her, she still felt slightly defeated by how empty the hallways were.
She wasn't late - at least, not yet - but by the time she hurried into homeroom, the classroom was filled with students. Her eyes immediately went to Blake's desk...only to find it empty.
Fortunately, the wave of disappointment was only temporary. Blake was there - she just wasn't at her desk. Instead, she stood on the other side of the room helping Penny with what looked like schoolwork. Noticing Yang's gaze almost immediately, Blake smiled and waved before returning her attention to Penny's excited chatters.
Maybe the two of them wouldn't get to talk this morning, but Yang was happy to see someone else spend time with Penny - she could be a little weird but was sweet as could be. Plus, she adored Ruby. It was physically impossible for Yang to dislike someone who liked her little sister so much. Except for Weiss. For some reason, Weiss didn't fall into that category.
Regardless of her happiness that Penny might have a new friend, Yang was bummed that she missed a chance to talk to Blake this morning. Dammit Ruby! Why had she picked today, of all days, to oversleep?
Sighing at her crappy start to the week, Yang sank into her seat and dropped her bag on the floor in defeat.
"What's bothering you?" Pyrrha asked right when Mr. Oobleck rushed into the room and everyone began finding their seats. Waving distractedly towards their teacher, Yang didn't reply as the bell rang through the room, signaling the start of class.
"Good morning, students! We have some announcements to go through today, but first - Miss Belladonna, would you please pass one of these out to everyone?" After dropping a stack of papers on Blake's desk, Mr. Oobleck whizzed back to the center of the room. "Please listen up - this is important -"
As soon as he said the magic words, Yang tuned him out and watched Blake go about her assigned task. Like everything Blake did, each step looked deliberate and purposeful. Paper, desk, next. Paper, desk, next. The task seemed simple, but she added a rhythm to it that was transfixing to watch.
When Blake reached the desk in front of Yang, however, their eyes finally met. Like clockwork, Yang felt a grin appear - a grin that Blake returned with a hint of a smile.
And then the rhythm suddenly broke. The next paper Blake dropped onto a desk without bothering to look down, opting instead to hold Yang's gaze while walking up to her desk. Instead of handing Yang the form and moving on, however, Blake came to a complete stop and - instead of setting it on top of the desk like she'd done for everyone else - held it up in the air so Yang had to reach out and take it.
"Good morning," Blake whispered, holding onto the other side of the page for a split second before finally letting go.
"Good morning!" Yang replied with an ecstatic smile - a smile that Blake returned with a more muted one of her own before moving on to the next person.
Yang's day was just made. Especially when Blake didn't utter a single word to anyone else on her way around the class. Nobody got a single word, but Yang got a 'good morning.'
Absentmindedly spinning the paper in circles on her desk, Yang watched Blake head back to her seat and turn her attention to Mr. Oobleck for the rest of homeroom. Even though class continued, the grin of special treatment lingered on Yang's lips, and she was perfectly content to shoot countless glances Blake's way for the rest of the period.
Was there a reason why Blake said 'good morning' to Yang and no one else? Was it because Yang was the one going out of her way to welcome Blake to the school? Hopefully, there were other reasons too...
As soon as the bell rang, Yang shot out of her seat and shoved everything into her bag as quickly as possible.
"Apparently, I don't exist to you anymore."
Her eyes had already followed Blake to the door, but the comment made Yang turned to Pyrrha in surprise.
"Well go on - you don't want to miss her, do you?" Pyrrha teased, waving Yang away with a smile that she gladly returned before racing out of the classroom. Spotting Blake in the hall up ahead, Yang dodged around several people before falling in step by her side.
"Good morning!" Yang said, smiling out of pure happiness now that they could spend a few minutes together.
Not at all surprised by Yang's sudden appearance, Blake continued her unhurried pace without pause.
"Good morning, Yang. How was your weekend?"
"Slowwww. So slow. Happy to be back. How about you?"
"My weekend was rather slow too," Blake answered easily. "I was looking forward to coming back."
"I bet you love school, huh?" Yang teased, walking sideways for several steps so she could watch Blake's reaction. "Getting all those A's is probably pretty awesome."
Chuckling softly, Blake shook her head.
"Classes are fine, but I like coming to school - there are some great people here."
With those words out in the open, Yang could only hope that the category of 'great people' included her. It did, right? Unless Blake already made a bunch of other friends that Yang didn't know about?
"Oh, I need to stop at my locker -" Blake began to say, gesturing towards a metal locker door identical to the others surrounding it. Only it was Blake's locker and therefore better than the other.
"Sure thing."
Even though Blake hadn't expressly asked Yang to wait, she willingly leaned against the wall while Blake spun through the combination and opened the door. After pulling out two books that looked far too big to be given to high school students, Blake shut the door and smiled.
"Thanks for waiting."
"No problem."
Pushing away from the wall and briefly wondering if the gratitude was meant in a teasing way, Yang caught a familiar face in the crowd of students. Meeting Violet's eyes, Yang smiled and waved. Grinning back, Violet returned the wave before resuming her spirited discussion with another student on the way into the calculus classroom.
The sight was both relieving and uplifting - one less person Yang needed to worry about.
"Friend of yours?" Blake asked, her eyes flitting back to Yang after Violet disappeared from view.
"Acquaintance, I guess you could say," Yang answered while the two of them resumed their slow walk to Blake's first class.
"You seem to know everyone here."
"I try to get to know everyone," Yang admitted. "That way I have a good idea what's going on, you know? I can feel out the bad eggs."
As if on cue, Cardin appeared in the hallway ahead of them. After spotting Yang, however, he moved to the opposite side of the hall so he wouldn't be too close when he passed - and he refused to meet Yang's eyes as he did so.
"You haven't had any more issues with Cardin, have you?" she asked when he disappeared behind them.
"No, he gives me a wide berth - as you just saw."
"And no one else has said anything to you?"
"No one's had anything bad to say, although I wouldn't be bothered if they did."
Tilting her head at the reply, Yang gave Blake a curious look, trying to figure out what made her tick.
"You don't care what other people think about you?"
That was something Yang suspected the more time they spent together, and Blake confirmed it with a shake of her head.
"I used to care what people thought about me...but that changed when the most popular girl in school said she thought I was cool for reading." After pausing for a second, Blake shrugged and smiled. "So I guess I'm doing just fine."
"Reading is cool!" Yang replied with a grin. "And you read a lot, don't you?"
"You could say that," Blake answered with a soft laugh. "People used to call me 'book girl' because I always had a book in my hand."
Chuckling at the nickname, Yang turned to the side and found Blake carefully observing her reaction.
"Book girl, huh? Saving students one homework problem at a time with her superior intellect and problem-solving skills!"
"Are you calling me a hero?" Blake teased.
"Heck yeah! You can be mine any day."
Stopping outside the door to her classroom, Blake turned towards Yang with an earnest expression.
"Then you're mine."
It felt like Blake knocked the air from Yang's lungs with that one. And, while Yang stared, Blake smiled, reached out, and gently squeezed her elbow.
"The Blonde Beauty of Vale High…" Blake whispered, taking a half-step closer. "Standing up for those who need her…"
Yang wasn't sure if she was breathing - it was hard to tell with Blake lightly grasping her elbow and her heart pounding in her ears. When Blake's grip loosened and featherlight fingers trailed slowly down Yang's wrist towards her hand, she felt a heavy blush rushing to her cheeks, hoping beyond hope that Blake meant to hold her hand.
The spell broke when Blake suddenly dropped her arm and stepped back, leaving Yang's personal space and turning her gaze towards the lockers on the opposite side of the hall. A second later, Weiss walked past Yang and gave the two of them a quizzical look - but Yang could hardly peel her eyes away from Blake.
"What're you doing here?" Weiss asked, breaking the spell entirely. "Isn't your class about...two grades below us?"
"Ha ha, very clever," Yang replied, rolling her eyes in the face of Weiss' pleased smirk. "Shouldn't you be saving that witty energy for class? Wouldn't want you to lose your seat in front, after all."
Huffing at the implication, Weiss shook her head before straightening her posture and dropping the annoyed expression completely. "Will you tell Ruby I won't be at lunch today? I have a meeting with a teacher."
The abrupt attitude change was enough to make Yang shake her head.
"I will," she agreed regardless. "I'm sure you'll be missed."
Grateful enough to spare a smile, Weiss nodded to Yang and Blake before walking in class.
"She's so...unique…" Blake said as soon as Weiss was out of earshot.
"We have a love/hate relationship, that's for sure," Yang replied. "Only I never really hate her. I guess she's kinda like the annoying little sister I never had."
Chuckling at the irony that she already had a little sister, Yang looked at Blake and felt her cheeks heat up when she remembered the moment Weiss just interrupted. Blake, however, had already moved past whatever just happened - or almost happened - between them.
"She seems to be very fond of Ruby," Blake said thoughtfully, her brow furrowed while still staring after Weiss. The comment made Yang laugh lightly.
"You can say that again. But Ruby's the only one who'll put up with her."
When the bell suddenly rang, Blake's thoughtful expression disappeared - replaced by a small smile directed Yang's way.
"Anyway, I should go," Yang said while backing away, soaking in that smile for as long as possible. "My class is at the other end of the hall."
When Yang gestured over her shoulder, Blake nodded.
"I'll see you at lunch then."
Grinning at that response, Yang waved and took off at a run to make it to class on time. She couldn't, however, get Blake out of her head even after leaving the girl behind.
'Then you're mine.'
The words ran through Yang's mind over and over again as she rushed down the hall and slipped into her classroom just in time. Dropping into her seat while another boring class began, she found it even more difficult than usual to focus on what the teacher was saying - maybe because her mind was far, far away from the lesson written on the board.
If she had one wish right now, she'd use it to relive that moment on repeat for the rest of her life - with Blake's intent gaze locked onto her, and Blake's hand lightly wrapped around her arm...
Yang didn't want to be one of those girls who wrote their crush's name in their notebooks with hearts and squiggly lines all over, but if anyone saw her brain right now...that's exactly what it looked like.
'Then you're mine.'
If only. Blake was just about the last person who needed a hero.
On the plus side, having a crush made classes easier to sit through - although not easier to understand. Not that Yang planned on understanding much anyway, so she readily ignored the teacher while thinking about Blake instead.
What type of person would Blake consider to be a hero? Was it someone strong? Someone smart? Kind? Generous?
In a lot of ways, Blake could be considered a hero. Super intelligent. Self-assured. Independent. Calm, collected, poised, unphasable. She had a lot of qualities that people would love to have themselves. Plus, she was super gorgeous.
If anyone was fitted for a cape and pair of spandex one day, it would be Blake, not Yang. Although maybe she could get a cape too and be Blake's sidekick! They'd probably make a great team.
Several classes later, Yang was back in the hall rushing towards the lunchroom, her excitement building with every step she took. Her favorite times of the day so far this year were homeroom, lunch, and boxing after school. It didn't take a genius to figure out what all of those times had in common - a severe lack of schoolwork!
And maybe one other thing…
Blake was enthralling, and not just because she was new to the school. They had several new students over the past few years, and none of them were anywhere near as captivating as Blake. Yang would know; she'd met them all.
Good thing Pyrrha couldn't read minds; otherwise, Yang would never hear the end of the light-hearted teasing (the only type of teasing Pyrrha was capable of). 'Is there space for anyone else in there?' she'd probably say while gently tapping Yang on the forehead.
But there didn't seem to be room for anyone else. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Blake, Blake, and more Blake.
Speaking of Blake…
Yang's rapid pace faltered when she spotted the object of her affections duck into the library up ahead.
What was Blake doing in the library instead of heading to lunch?
Students were always welcome in the library, so it wasn't completely unheard of for people to spend their lunch breaks there - especially towards exam season when they were studying practically around the clock. Yang actually heard that if she wanted to skip the crowds, lunch was the best time to go. Unfortunately for her class ranking, she normally opted to skip the library altogether.
But today was the exception.
Not much thought went into her next few actions, as she altered her course and hurried into the library instead of continuing to the cafeteria. The first thing she noticed after walking through the doorway was how the noise from the hall disappeared as soon as the door closed behind her. The quiet was nearly deafening - one of those quiets that left a hum in the absence of sound.
The next thing she noticed was how unfamiliar the room was, which made sense seeing as how she hadn't been in here in...a very long time. They'd probably rearranged everything since her last visit, which hopefully explained why she remembered the checkout counters being on the opposite side of the room.
Fortunately, she wasn't the only person here. She'd stick out like a sore thumb if she was, but other students milled about - some browsing the shelves, some working at small study tables, and others standing in line to check out various materials.
Even though she recognized many of the faces - the more studious students in the school - she couldn't find the one she was searching for. Picking a direction and walking toward a towering shelf of books, she pretended like she was scanning the titles while keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Blake.
Where had she disappeared to?
...and why was Yang following her like a stalker?
Suddenly realizing how creepy she was being, Yang turned away from the shelf and hurried towards the exit before anyone noticed her. It made no sense to come in here when Blake would be in the lunchroom in a few minutes anyway. Was Yang really in such a hurry that she couldn't wait three more minutes?
"What if she didn't come to lunch?" she argued with herself while exiting the row of shelves and entering the lobby area of the library.
"Yang?"
Freezing at the sound of her name, she silently cursed herself before slowly turning around and finding Blake standing at the end of an aisle not five feet away.
"Oh, hey Blake!" Yang said in a soft voice while throwing in a dumb little wave. "I was just looking for…a book for a history paper. Yeah. History of Vale, ya know?"
When Yang waved as casually as possible towards the nearest shelf, Blake's eyes followed before returning to her.
"In the cookbook section?"
Turning towards the bookshelf in surprise, Yang read some of the spines and fought the urge to smack herself. She didn't even know they had cookbooks in the library!
"Uhh...well you see…"
Searching for a reasonable explanation for the mistake, her tongue instead tied in knots and her mind completely blanked. Unfortunately, the expression on Blake's face said that she already had her own suspicions about what was going on.
Not bothering to finish that thought, Yang clapped her hands together and instantly cringed at how loud the sound was in the quiet library. "So what're you up to?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.
"You look really uncomfortable," Blake replied with a growing smile.
"Uh, naw, it's just…" Attempting to lean coolly against the shelf, Yang immediately straightened up instead.
Apparently, she'd suddenly forgotten what to do with her limbs when she wasn't using them.
"Yeah, I guess," she finally admitted, knowing that the jig was up. "I don't spend much time here. Obviously."
Gesturing again towards the cookbooks, she gave Blake an embarrassed smile that she really, truly felt. This was her punishment for being a stalker, and it was a lesson she wouldn't forget anytime soon.
Fortunately, Blake didn't call Yang out on the utter creepiness. Instead, she motioned with her head for Yang to follow her.
"Come with me," she whispered, leading Yang down one of the far aisles before stopping at the section conveniently labeled 'history.'
Yang had gone to school here for three years and would've needed help finding this section. Blake had gone to school here for three days and already knew the layout of the library like the back of her hand. Which somehow made Yang like her even more. Who's first thought was to memorize the floorplan of the library at their new school? That was such a cute thing to do...
"I had a similar report last year, so I might be able to help," Blake explained while scanning the shelves. "This one is great as a general history book," she said, pulling a thick, dusty book a couple of inches forward so it stuck out on the shelf. "It goes through just about everything in a small amount of detail. But if you're going with pre-Industrial, you'll probably want to use...this one."
Another book nudged forward.
"Post-Industrial - I'd use any of these. Or were you thinking of going a more modern route?"
Pulling out a section of three books that were side-by-side, Blake finally turned towards Yang with an expectant expression. But Yang was too busy staring in awe to respond.
How had Blake remembered all of these books from a report she did last year? Yang couldn't even remember what classes she took last year.
"Um…" she stalled, scrambling to make up a topic for her fake report while thoughtfully glancing at the books Blake had selected.
"Of course, if you don't actually have a report, I'd recommend leaving them all here."
"What do you mean?" Yang immediately asked. "I totally…" Catching the way Blake was already grinning at her, Yang gave up her horrible attempt at coming up with impromptu schoolwork. "Ok, maybe I don't have a report. Was it that obvious?"
"Yes," Blake answered, her grin growing impossibly happier. "You're not a very good liar."
"Really? But I've always thought I was!"
Much to Yang's surprise, Blake shook her head.
"It's your eyes. They give you away."
"So I should lie with my eyes closed?"
The halfway-joking question made Blake laugh - a wonderful sound that made Yang's heart flutter in her chest.
"Yes, that'd be one solution," Blake agreed, nodding once before locking onto Yang's eyes and holding them intently. As the quiet of the library settled over them, they just kept looking at each other with their lingering smiles - that is, until Blake finally turned away.
"Here, I want to show you something."
Willing to follow Blake just about anywhere, Yang trailed behind her through the maze of aisles. To Yang, it looked like books, books, and more books. But to Blake, there must be landmarks marking their path, pointing them in the right direction.
Once Yang was thoroughly turned around and lost, Blake stopped at a stack of shelves and raised one hand while scanning the titles. While Blake searched, Yang took the opportunity to stare - admiring the way Blake's hair fell over her shoulders...and how her shoulder curved down into her lower back...and how her shirt fit to her -
Blake suddenly glanced over - totally catching Yang in the midst of staring - before smiling and turning back to her quest. Meanwhile, Yang blushed furiously and tried to quell the many, many butterflies fluttering in her chest.
It was one thing to be caught staring - it was another to be caught staring so obviously. Yang might as well have a post-it on her forehead that said 'I'm going to stare at you the second you turn away.'
...which she did as soon as Blake turned back to the shelf and pulled out a book sandwiched between two larger ones. Thankfully, Yang was able to train her eyes on the small paperback when Blake handed it over.
"One of my favorites," she explained while Yang flipped it over in her hands.
"I read this for lit class last year - it was good! Although a little, ya know...book-y."
Blake nodded at the honest response, her eyes observing Yang keenly.
"It can be difficult to understand, but that's one of the things I love about it. Most people read it and just barely scratch the surface, but the ones who really dive in will have a completely different experience. And the words are the same for everyone - isn't that amazing? This is the same," Blake tapped one finger on the book before raising her hand and tapping her temple. "But this is always different."
When Blake's eyes sought Yang's for validation, she numbly nodded in reply.
She'd never wished that she was a good reader, but now she sorely regretted not spending more time in the library. She wanted to read these books the way Blake did - if only so they'd have a similar experience to share.
"What makes this one of your favorites?" she asked instead, curious to know more.
Reaching out, Blake gently took the book from Yang's hands and ran her fingertips across the title before flipping purposefully through the pages. While she did so, Yang couldn't help but notice how tenderly she handled the book. Each touch was filled with care, as if she was acutely aware of how delicate the thin sheets of paper could be. Compared to that, it must've looked like Yang was manhandling the poor thing with her bear claws.
"Books are often attached to memories," Blake explained while searching. "And I have a particularly fond one attached to this…"
While Blake flipped one page at a time - close to the page she was looking for - Yang resisted the urge to ask what memory was attached to this particular book. That question seemed too personal to ask when they hadn't known each other for very long...
"One of my favorite quotes is in here," Blake added when finding the page. Returning the book to Yang's hands, she pointed to a paragraph on the bottom of the left-hand side. Staring at the sentence underneath Blake's finger, Yang read aloud when Blake nodded for her to do so.
"'The sky is boundless,' Liliana sighed while gesturing towards the rolling clouds on the horizon. 'Infinite stars, infinite space...yet still we find means to prosper.'"
After a few seconds passed, Yang lowered the book and laughed softly.
"Alright, we're not all geniuses - can you explain what it means?"
Smiling at what just happened, Blake took the book from Yang's hands and looked at the quote herself.
"This is the chapter where Roland is grappling with his personal failures," she explained, excitement filling her expression as she did so. "Liliana is trying to make him see that...we're all human. We all feel insignificant because we're only capable of small actions in this vast world, but those small actions can add up to big differences. Small changes, one tiny step at a time, help us thrive and flourish into incredible human beings. The main idea being that anyone is capable of changing the world. Anyone can make a difference."
When Blake smiled down at the book, Yang's heart thrummed loudly in her chest. Every minute they spent together, she learned something that only made her like Blake more than before. It was almost intoxicating - the feeling of wanting to know everything possible about this person who'd just randomly walked into her life.
What was it about Blake that drew so much of Yang's attention? Was it the way she walked - her head held high, her eyes always looking forward? Or the way she made no attempt to conceal her brilliance? Or was it the compassion Yang felt radiating from her?
Because Yang loved compassion; it was something she always wanted to see more of...which meant she wanted to see more of Blake.
In the past, there'd been one or two people she liked in a 'they're pretty cool' type of way. In comparison to Blake...there wasn't even a comparison. If this was what it felt like to like someone, then she'd never really liked anyone before.
When amber eyes returned to her, she smiled.
"At least, that's my interpretation of it," Blake concluded with a small shrug. "Someone else could read it completely differently."
"I think you're right," Yang replied, her vote of confidence earning an amused smile.
"Do you?"
"Yes. And not just because you're the smartest one here. Well, but mostly because of that."
When Blake chuckled, Yang grinned and ducked her head to catch just a bit more of that happy smile before Blake turned back to the shelf and returned the book to its proper place.
"At least one person agrees with me," Blake said, catching Yang's glance and looking slightly curious as to why Yang was looking at her in such a way. "Should we head to lunch now? Or do you have more fake reports you'd like help on?"
Laughing at the joke, Yang shook her head.
"You've helped me with all my fake reports for today - maybe tomorrow though?" When Blake didn't look entirely put off by the idea, Yang cleared her throat and added, "But yeah, we can go now. I will need your help getting out of here though."
With a slight smirk at the admission, Blake put her hand on Yang's elbow and directed them through the maze of aisles. While Blake did that, Yang tried to remember to breathe while focusing on the softest of pressure guiding her back to the library doors and into the empty hall.
It was only when they reached the hall that Blake dropped her hand and walked by Yang's side - the two of them heading towards the sound of a mass of voices drifting from the cafeteria.
So...what had almost been an ill-advised detour into the library had turned into maybe one of the best moments so far this year. Maybe Yang should stalk Blake more often.
Only she probably shouldn't do that...
"Thank you...for showing me," she said while they walked, appreciating the small glimpse into Blake's thoughts.
"Thank you for not thinking I'm weird."
"We're all a little weird, I think," Yang answered, turning to Blake with a grin. "That's what makes us special, right?"
Blake's response was a smile as they reached the cafeteria, where lunch was already in full swing. After breezing through the lunch line, they hurried to their table to eat as fast as possible.
"Where were you?" Pyrrha asked when the two of them sat down across from each other.
"Library," Yang answered, turning to Ruby and ignoring Pyrrha's laugh of disbelief. "Hey kiddo, Weiss had a meeting with her teacher so won't be here today."
"Awww," Ruby whined, sticking out her lower lip in a cute pout. "But that means I'll only get two cookies!"
Shaking her head at Ruby's endless sweet tooth, Yang tossed her cookie onto Ruby's tray while Blake picked up hers and offered it across the table. With a sudden abundance of stars in her eyes, Ruby accepted Blake's offer with a soft squeal of joy.
"Thank guys!"
While Ruby hummed and chowed down on her extra desserts, Yang set in on her own lunch - but not without first sneaking a glance across the table. Catching Blake's eyes, she felt more butterflies flutter around her chest. When had those started showing up so often?
"So the library, huh?" Pyrrha asked, unwilling to let it drop. "I didn't realize you even knew where the library was."
"Ha ha," Yang replied while Blake shot a pleased look her way. "I know where everything is in this school, thank you very much!"
"Uh huh…"
"Like I know where all the best make-out spots are for you and your friend."
Coughing loudly, Pyrrha instantly blushed like a tomato at the implication.
"I-I don't know who you're referring to."
"'Uh huh,'" Yang mimicked with a satisfied smile before turning back to her food.
"Where are they?" Ruby asked, the unexpected question making Yang's eyes widen in surprise.
"Uh...around…"
She didn't actually know of where any of these 'official' spots were. She could guess...but why did Ruby care about this? She was way too young, and there was no way Yang was giving her this type of information yet!
"How'd you find them?" Ruby pressed, unaware that she was royally embarrassing Yang in front of Blake.
"I, uh, ya know. Heard about them from other people."
When Ruby's eyes narrowed, Yang hastily took a bite to eat and stared at her tray to avoid eye contact.
"You don't actually know any, do you…" Ruby finally guessed.
"The library is probably one of them," Blake commented nonchalantly, coming to Yang's aid. "There aren't many people around and lots of empty corners. Especially before school starts."
Yang knew that she shouldn't look at Blake, but she did anyway - only to furiously blush when she found Blake looking right back at her.
"Oh, and maybe that abandoned hallway by the home ec room!" Ruby added, thankfully forgetting that she'd had Yang pinned in a corner.
"Or the far side of the bleachers by the track," Pyrrha joined in, blushing when Yang shot her a suspicious glance at the suggestion.
"What about you, Yang?" Blake asked, her playful eyes meeting Yang's across the table. "Any suggestions?"
When everyone's attention turned her way, Yang felt her mouth instantly dry out. Clearing her throat did little to help as she tried to find an adequate response.
"I, uh…"
Honestly, she'd never thought about this subject before making it up a few minutes ago. Why would she? She hadn't been interested in pursuing this with anyone before, but now the girl she was interested in was asking her directly.
Gee Yang, do you want to make out with Blake?
Yes.
Ok, but where exactly? Why don't you just let her know right now?
When the bell rang, Yang grabbed her tray and shot to her feet.
"Guess you'll never know!" she quipped, her cheeks burning as she turned away from the table and Pyrrha's joyful laughter. Of course, she didn't walk away - she still waited for Blake to join her on their walk out of the cafeteria.
"See you later, Ruby!" she called out before her sister raced towards her next class - or more likely to try to find Weiss before class.
"Saved by the bell," Blake commented as they dropped off their trays and headed towards the hall where they would go their separate ways.
"Yeah, ya know, I'm real lucky like that!"
Stopping outside the corridor while students streamed around them, Blake held onto her bag with one hand while turning towards Yang.
"Well, I told you where I'd sneak away to. I think it'd be fair for you to tell me yours in return."
Blake's disclosure made Yang's draw drop - and then she started sputtering.
"So like, you mean -" was all she got out while Blake smiled at the flustered response. Shaking her head, Yang tried to clear her mind but it didn't work. She was still hyper-focused on the idea of Blake sneaking away to a quiet corner of the library - kind of like where they just were.
Clearing her throat, she decided that honesty was probably the best policy. She was already suffering from the world's most serious blush - how much worse could it get?
"I've actually...never thought about it," she said, shrugging as if it wasn't that big of a deal. Blake's hardly-concealed smile said otherwise though.
"Well...why don't you think about it and let me know?"
Stunned into paralysis while her cheeks reached new levels of atomically hot, Yang could only watch in shock while Blake calmly walked away with a quick wave. Even when Yang should have turned away, she kept staring - until Blake glanced over her shoulder and caught Yang in the act.
But when Blake smiled, Yang felt her heart melt completely.
Shaking herself out of her stupor, she hurried off to class while her thoughts remained on the conversation she'd just left behind.
The equipment room near the gym.
The abandoned classroom on the third floor.
The theater room after school.
Really, anytime and anywhere, but not anyone. Definitely not anyone.