Chapter 10- Unexpected Dates

It was the weekend at Beacon Academy and this was going to be a weekend to be remembered more an any other because…

"I've been asked out on a date!" Sky yelled from reading a letter she had received this morning while sat on her bed, it was morning, Ray being the only one in the room, combing her hair and doing her make up before being startled at Sky's yelling and rushing over to the engineer's side with the surprised look that she doesn't show normally, looking over the letter with only one eye of eyeliner done while the other eye looked like she had been punched in the face.

"W-wait? You got asked out?!" Ray snatched the letter and began reading it thoroughly, her eyes scanning through the words with intense concentration.

"Hey, give it back, don't read it!" Sky reached up to try take it back, she thought it was rude to read other people's letters, plus it was embarrassing but Ray kept dodging her attempts to grab the letter until she was done reading it and threw it back to her.

"Hmph, he sounds like quite the loser, what's with those drawings? And not to mention "I've been interested in you since we met but I never had the courage to talk to you" What the hell is tha-"Before Ray could finish her sentence she had received quite a strong slap from Sky who was visibly upset with what the Idol was saying.

Whoops, did it again… Ray knew she hit a trigger point, not the first time she did this.

"Don't make fun of him! Don't you know how much courage it takes to send a love letter to someone you don't you?!"

"Why are you so angry? Sure, it takes courage, but won't it be easier to try get to know someone first?"

"That's where you don't understand! Not everyone can be confident like you and I'm angry because I hate seeing other people's confidence being trampled on…" Sky took a step back, holding the letter close to her, looking down in another direction, Ray felt like she went too far at this point and thought to apologise, mainly so she won't get another hit that could be more than a slap, glancing at a wrench on Sky's worktop.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking… so aren't you going to get ready?" Ray said, putting one of her hands on her hips, sticking her hips out a slightly.

"You can make it up to me by changing your attitude about people and maybe being more considerate but for now… help me choose an outfit please, you're the expert."

Ray felt offended by the words Sky spat out, plus the fact that it had nothing to do with getting changed for a date, as much as she wanted to say something back, it's likely that Sky will come back with something to pierce into her head, mentally and physically knowing what Sky can be like when angered, so she held off.

"Why don't you wear the clothes I gave you the day we came back? Add some sunglasses on your head and you'll be the swan in a group of geese." Ray pointed towards Sky's open wardrobe where the clothes she mentioned are hanging, glaring at the body suit Sky still wore frequently, she seems to have a personal connection since she's so used to working in it.

"You really think so? I thought of going out in my usual outfit since it shows me as I usually am."

Ray questioned that thought, putting her finger by her brow for a moment before putting it back down and looked at Sky, noticing the suit has a tight fit but is also flexible, understanding it's good for work but also knows it's not a good idea for a date as it makes her assets stand out quite a lot… well to tell the truth Ray is just jealous of Sky in that regard, She then pointing at the other clothes in the wardrobe with a huff.

"Well you said you was going to try different bits of clothing for a good time, right? It's a good idea to go through your options, plus what you're wearing now isn't that suitable for this sort of thing, you really don't go out in public don't you?"

"I don't… that's why I asked you" Sky scoffed and dragged the clothes out and went into an improvised changing curtain she made.

"Do you remember when you have to meet him?" Ray asked, returning to do her make up once again.

"It's 1pm at the statue outside Beacon!"

"And it's 11am right now so I'd be quick and get a light meal before going, it will be likely he has eaten at that time."

"Okay!" Sky responded, her mood lightening again as she went to go get changed, humming cheerfully.

Ray knows that Sky get's ready very quickly so only having two hours to get ready is like next to nothing for her, though for some trivia on Ray her record on getting ready is just about two hours and 10 minutes.

It was ticking towards 12:55pm on Sky's slightly rusted silver pocket watch as she leaned against the statue waiting for her date to come, she wore what Ray recommended to her on the day after coming back from Bozu, with the addition to borrowing some sunglasses with pink frames and blue tinted shades that she wore on her head and one of Ray's many handbags, a sparkling light pink bag with gems only lining the flap of the bag as it hangs from Sky's shoulder, reaching down to her shorts, while it would be fun to question how she could afford so many handbags but thinking about it now would give her a headache.

She was wearing the light pink T-shirt with a wrench print on it, the bottom was tied up in a knot, revealing a part of her midriff along with some blue short, shorts kept in place by a white belt with a gold coloured buckle and white trainers (Sky had to buy her own), she had the cog clip in her hair and tried on a little foundation after much pestering from the persistent Idol which hid any kind of strain Sky's face may had been showing from the past few nights.

While she hasn't told anyone she had been having nightmares about Maven with all the events that happened in the circus tent, she could hear his laugh and at the end she saw herself tied up in his wires before eventually being torn apart which then she would awaken from that dream, that same dream had been recurring a few times but she didn't want to make everyone else worry, especially with what happened to Claus since he took the wires with full force.

Time ticked slowly to 1pm with doubt starting filling Sky's mind as she grew more and more anxious the more, she thought about what this person could be.

Could this person act shy at first but turn out to be violent as she got to know them? Could they be a potential stalker? What if they don't look nice? What if she's been lured into a trap? Could it be someone she met before?

She didn't know but she told herself that she needs to follow through this so that the letter the person sent wasn't for nothing, knowing the Vale mailing system is not great anyway.

"Umm… Sky?" Someone called out to her in a shy, mumbled voice.

Sky shot her look over to see a girl wearing some blue trainers along with some blue denim jeans that were frayed at the bottom along with a white shirt that has an eagle silhouette embedded on it with short orange sleeves with, she had medium length light yellow hair with white streaks reaching to her upper back and wore a snapback backwards, she had freckles and her hair covered one eye.

"Sam…Daisy?" Sky looked at the letter she had received and looked back at her, she wasn't expecting it to be a girl to go on a date, Sam was in her class all last semester, the two never really talked but Sky recognised her as she always took notice of those that had a unique feature, in Sam's case it was always the snapback she always wore.

"Hehe… not what you're expecting right? She curled her hair shyly; her voice was a little raspy but easy to understand.

Sky drew a complete blank on the inside, she had been expecting to be meeting a man and thought of many scenarios but never expected this outcome till she realised.

Sam is a reversable name!

Though now was not the time panic, she had to see this day through and be as normal as possible… she hopes anyway.

"Well… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." Sky was honest but worried that Sam would take that offensively.

"So… umm… How are you feeling?" The snapback girl said, Sky realising that she's socially awkward and is not good at leading the conversation, so she decided to try start one, if she can.

"I'm fine thanks, so from reading this you were always scared to talk to me?"

Sky you idiot! Go die in a hole! She screamed to herself, now anxiously awaiting Sam's reply.

"Oh! Umm… you see… uh, I was never good at talking to people, I never thought highly of myself, so I wanted to come to this academy to change that… the fact I feel this way towards girls makes things harder, so I find it hard to open up." Sam was caught off guard and mumbled the rest of her lines like she's reciting the great novel of mumbles, showing a confused expression under her bright red blushing.

"Hmm… that's understandable, don't worry about it, like I am super easy to talk to, so you could always try get my attention if you ever needed help or anything." Sky smiled brightly towards Sam to try help her feel better, albeit a little forced.

"it's not that easy when you're like me thinking "What if" Plus when I see you with the other girl, I get so scared… "then Sam's voice got lower and sounding a little more threatening with her last couple of words

"even jealous"

"Ray… well nevermind her, shall we get going? We can talk along the way." Sky said, even though she's not interested in dating other girls thought to hang out with Sam to get to know her a bit more, also telling her she's not interested now would only destroy her confidence more, so she needs to be sensitive around her though she can't help be worried about that blood thirsty sounding comment at the end.

The two took a ride into Vale and walked around the shopping streets and markets, Sky was mainly taking the lead, going into dessert stores to sample the sweets that caught her eye, squealing in the sweet flavours and any stores where she could get equipment and tools from although she never bought anything, then talked about Professor Mint and how annoying she can be when it comes to homework and being sent to her office.

Sam eventually warmed up and started engaging in conversations more, the two girls sharing jokes and gossip about each other teams, turns out she's part of a team called MOOD, using Sam's last name to fill the D in the name, the other team members was Martha, Oceania and Orick and they seemed like a very supportive team since they would know about Sam's preference, hell Martha gave Sam the confidence to even write the letter.

Leaving another clothing shop, Sky had bought a neck scarf that had a blue and yellow striped design.

Sam trailed behind but finally got the courage to decide where to go next.

She grabbed Sky by the wrist and told her to follow her, to Sky's surprise, she didn't mind it since she was literally dragging Sam around the whole place before.

The two went into a book store and Sam picked out a book from the shelves in teen fiction isle, the book had an illustration of a farm in the middle of a wheat field with the title "Beyond the farm" and pushing it onto Sky in which she took hold and looked at the cover in curiosity.

"It's my favourite book… it's about a boy wanting to live bigger than being a farmhand to his mother and father but they don't want him to leave, they want him to inherit the farm and along the way the boy meets a girl that will help him achieve his dreams and maybe be the love he was secretly hoping for and maybe she can help him achieve what he wants to reach… it's a really good read." Sam blurted out, looking away shyly but glancing at Sky occasionally to see her reaction.

Sky looked at the book and read the blurb, it was exactly like how Sam described it, she could relate with the boy from what she read since she mainly worked in the workshop with Jet mainly just helping out really and then remembered her days in Atlas though they were vague but she specifically always remembered being told she could never leave the house, well that's all she could remember anyway before she moved, remembering it was quite limiting there so she gracefully accepted the book.

"I'll give it a read, thanks." She showed a smile that made Sam delighted and squeal slightly.

"Really? That will be really good, I'll have someone to talk about the book with now, yay!" She said in delight, doing a slight hop in excitement, her smile being one thing Sky thought she could not forget for a long time.

Having bought the book now and the two were on the way to this café Sam said she wanted to go stop at and so the two had a little conversation about how awkward sharing a room with guys can be along the way, Sam seeming more expressive and more willing to talk now much to Sky's delight.

As it turns out she was mainly scared to approach Sky because her teammates looked violent and quite scary even though that wasn't true but at the same time no one could blame her if she saw a guy over 7ft always around Sky, one bitchy teammate and one that looks mysterious although Sky now had the opportunity to clarify what her team was really like.

The two visited one more clothing store and then they went to the café to sit down on a table for two by the window, Sam ordered a latte that came in the standard white coffee cup while Sky got a strawberry cheesecake and a milkshake and happily indulged in eating the cake, her cheeks puffing up as she happily ate the cake.

"Sooo… the blond girl… Ray isn't that horrible then?" Sam asked shyly, looking down at her latte, debating when it was the right time to drink out of it without seeming rude.

"Like she has her flaws don't get me wrong and she's quick to get frustrated but she's honest and really if you manage to step up to her a little she soon backs down not to mention she has fantastic fashion sense, she helped me pick out these clothes for today as you can see…" Sky felt embarrassed for admitting, looking up at Sam, seeing that she looks a bit relived and continued eating the rest of the cake although realising since Ray wanted to be an Idol she would need a good reputation, she's clearly failing at that.

"Ah yeah… I've only seen you in the beacon uniform and your work suit." Sam took a sip out of her cup, her eyes widening to how good the latte tasted and took another sip, revealing a glowing smile.

"Work suit… so that's what everyone calls it…" On the inside since the incident with Wulf, Sky was wondering what everyone thought of her body suit but it being called a work suit, fitted her and felt pleased with that, though the thought that Sam may have been stalking her came to light but then remembered everyone always has at least two outfits they change into for combat practice.

"And so… if you don't mind me asking…" Sam shyly looked at Sky in the eye, shuffling her arms under the table and her cheeks growing red, the engineer knew what was coming, her intuition was telling her.

"You… you're not into other girls, are you?"

Sky stiffened up, even her hair strands straightened up, not expecting Sam to bring up this so early on even though she felt it coming, she thought for a moment for the best way to turn her down and just thought to go for it.

"I was afraid you might ask this… I'm sorry but I'm not But-"

"I see… I guess me assuming was-"

"Don't be ridiculous" Sky slammed her hands on the table and yelled, catching the attention of the customers and the staff in the café for a moment and startling Sam, noticing this, she retreated slightly to try not draw any more attention, but she didn't want Sam to put herself down and then went to quickly forget about the attention she brought to herself.

"Huh?!"

"It takes so much courage to send someone a letter and to express yourself, especially if it's someone of the same gender and really because of that, I respect you." Sky said, bringing out the letter.

"Y-you respect me?" Sam was confused, she believed she had done nothing to deserve that.

"Yeah silly, I really wanted to know more about you and today I had fun you know? Talking with you and gossiping about our teammates and about classes, you really are a fun person you know?" Sky shot a bright smile and then went over to her milkshake once she finished with the cheesecake.

Sam looked down and clenched her chest, the amount of emotions going through her was more than she could handle, she was surprised, sad and happy along with many other emotions she can't express, while her team is supportive, nobody ever got mad at her for her sake, nor had anyone said they respected her and then eventually tears starting streaming down her face and she broke down on the table, Sky thinking she said something bad and ran over to comfort her.

"Are you okay?! Did I say something bad? I'm sorry!" Sky looked up at the customers looking over at her again and felt the urgent need to calm Sam down and was panicking on the inside, she honestly didn't know what to do, her head went dizzy and embarrassment rose up through her like a volcano about to erupt.

"No… I'm just so happy! Nobody said they respected me like that… no one reached out to my, even after rejecting my feelings!" Sam blurted out and continued crying, a waitress with long black hair and bright orange eyes came over to with a tissue and looked genuinely worried.

"Sam… you're causing a scene… what happened?" The waitress whispered, handing a tissue over to Sam, seeming like the two knew each other and shot a glare at Sky, felt worried that this was going to go downhill very fast.

"Don't look at me, I didn't mean any harm!"

"Martha… She did nothing wrong… I'm just so happy right now." Turns out the waitress was one of Sam's team members that was a genuine shock to Sky that kept panicking on the inside.

Martha, the waitress has moved Sam behind the counter to talk to her in a more private space than by the table

"Even though she rejected you?!" Martha pressed on.

"Even if she did, she still accepted me for who I am and even wanted to know me more despite who I am." Sam slowly calmed down and took the tissue, wiping her eyes dry.

Martha continued to glare at Sky from behind the counter and just sighed, she seemed to somewhat understood the situation.

"Alright, we'll speak later but it's probably best to leave, the customers are looking a bit unnerved." The waitress then waved Sky over whispered at the two.

"Kay, time to go you two"

"Okay." Sky whispered.

Sky paid for the bill and escorted Sam out the café and took her to a bench in the nearby park, the two sat in an awkward silence for a moment until Sam began giggling and started laughing out loud, crossing her arms around her stomach before calming down enough to look at Sky.

"Oh my, Martha was not happy, did you see her face?" She laughed, wiping her eyes.

"She scared me! I honestly thought I was gonna die, well I would've if that went on any longer…" Sky said, letting out a huge sigh, having got away.

"Well she's just looking out for me ya know? She can be a little too overprotective like a mother of sorts." Sam let out a sigh, looking up at the clear sky, smiling to herself.

"I can relate…" The engineer referring to Wave.

"Oh, are you alright now? You know after all I-"

"Yeah, I was kind of expecting to get turned down so don't worry about it, I had fun today and I gained myself a new friend, if I think of it like that then today has been a success." Sam said, while true, she sounded a little sad with a little tear forming around the one eye Sky could see.

"Are you sure about that?" Sky asking out of concern, she felt bad that she turned Sam down, but she had to, she wasn't ready for this sort of thing as well as not being into other girls, but she still felt bad nonetheless.

"I don't know right now but I guess in time I'll get around it." Sam showed a shallow yet forced smile, she was clearly having a hard time accepting this, she stood up and looked over to notice a small store a short distance away from the two.

"I'm gonna get us a drink, want anything?" She asked, Sky knew the real intention of going to the store, she needed to be alone for a moment.

"Just… water, I'll wait here."

"Okay, give me a few minutes" Sam ran off to the store with a smile, slowly disappearing, hiding her soon tear stricken face as she runs to the store.

While Sky sat on the bench, she felt awful for hurting Sam's feelings, thinking about how she could apologise but she quickly exhausted her options.

Suddenly a little girl leaped onto Sky's arm out of nowhere, she had long blond hair and looked about 10 wearing a simple blue dress, she clung onto Sky's arm with a little giggle, freaking out the engineer but she didn't move, just yelped and looked down in surprise.

"Big sister!"

"S-Sister?" Sky blinked a few times and her eyes widened at the surprise nickname.

"Mhm, we went to the circus together, there was so many people there and it was so fun even though there was one naughty man who interrupted it though..." She smiled, leaning her head on Sky's arm.

Sky didn't think much of what she said first until she recalled the word "Circus" and remembered everything that happened in Bozu concerning the circus and Maven, her heart sinking and felt her body go cold for a moment though at the same time she could be mistaking it.

"Could it be?" She thought to herself, looking down at the child, noticing her eyes were of a dark purple that was slightly illuminating, like Maven's eyes.

"W-what do you mean? We never sent to a circus, I don't think we've even met…" She said, recalling that there has been no recent circus in Vale for the past few months.

"Have you forgotten already, we are sisters we should always remember the things we do together…riiiiight?" The child grinned widely, her eyes wide enough to freak out any sane person, her voice turning cold and almost sad.

"We were in a town, very recently, it was big and yet… you stole something from me, you stole my favourite person you know? I know she's here so when I grow up, I'll come find her and we'll be friends, yes?" The girl, crawled up to Sky's frozen face with the same creepy smile, looking directly into her eyes.

Sky didn't know what to do, it was Maven for sure, but he… or she was now a child and has somehow come back, Sky always hated hurting children, she had a natural big sister vibe when it comes to taking care of kids and could never bring herself to harming them, right now is the worst possible situation she could be in right now, no weapon, her throat became stuck so she couldn't call for help, not knowing how long Sam's going to be, she needed to get away somehow.

"Enough of the child's play big sister, you know why I've come to you, just to let you know I will stalk you to the ends of the earth, waiting to kill you so I can get my Mary's body back because you stand in the way, oh so much, while I'm useless right now, her whispers give me the will to struggle and oh… I'll struggle, big sister." Maven said, looking to be reaching for something, a knife? No, she wouldn't be able to get away with it, either way Sky couldn't move, she was too scared, she needed help, anything just anything to get this little girl away from her.

"Letica! What are you doing?!" A woman in a purple office work dress and long blond hair came and dragged the child away from Sky, her expression foul but looked at the mortified Sky with an apologetic face.

"I'm sorry about that, are you okay?" She asked, clearly the mother, Sky wanted to tell her that her child is no longer her own but there was no way she could say it.

The engineer just nodded and stayed still, her arm shaking.

"That's good, come on, we are going home." The mother dragged little Maven away, s(he) looked back one last time to smirk at Sky almost telling her "Watch your back"

Sam had returned with two bottles of water and looked down at the terrified engineer worried.

"Sky! Are you okay?! What did that kid do to you?"

Sky snapped back into reality, startled, budging away from Sam before coming to her senses.

"I-it's nothing, j-just one of those pranks children play you know?" She lied, her hands still shaking and a cold sweat dripping from her face.

"Is that the truth?"

Sky nodded.

"Is that so? Well anyway it was really nice meeting you." Sam smiled, she seemed to have noticed Sky was still shaking but thought it was best not to push her.

Sky definitely thought it's probably a good time to go home, she noticed her scroll buzzing in her handbag and took a look at it, seems Ray was calling her, the engineer just declined it and messaged her.

"yeah…I think I'll be heading back now, I'll talk then."

"I think I should head back now too, Martha finishes her shift soon, so I'll be walking back with her." Sam leaped up from the bench and smiled at Sky.

Sky stood up, giving a smile back, feeling satisfied with today despite the earlier incident.

"Well it's time I head back too so why don't I come with you, we both live at Beacon afterall." Sky also didn't want to be walking home alone after that confrontation with the possible Maven, she was too scared mainly.

"Oh yeah I didn't think of that, let's go."

The two girls returned to the café where they made their great escape from to see Martha standing outside, wearing a large sunhat and a black dress with a jewel belt and some black short heels, looking rather angry, directing it at Sky until Sam ran up and explained the situation and the outcome, causing Martha eyes to well up as she tightly hugged Sam, shooting a glare at Sky.

Sky felt threatened and just forced a smile it at least kept her mind off the event that happened in the park, they walked back to Beacon, sharing the things they did that day and talking about various things about what they've done while at Beacon and such before splitting off when they get to the dorms, Sam getting Sky's contact details before going their own ways.

When Sky walked into her dorm room, she was greeted by the rest of her team that seemed to have been waiting for her with grins pretty much piercing into her.

"So, tell me, how did it go?" Ray was the first to speak out, being the most interested.

"Well I turned her down, but we are staying friends." As Sky replied there was a moment of silence, everyone's eyes wide open, especially Ray's.

"Her?!"

"yes, her"

"Your date was a girl?!"

"Yes, it was a girl!"

"But she has a boy's name!"

"Sam is universal!"

"I didn't know that!"

The two screaming over their little exchange, Ray fell onto her bed in surprise, it was more she didn't expect it to be a girl.

"got a problem with that?" Sky put her hands on her hips and asked, glaring at the Idol.

"N-no… It was just unexpected really…" She truly has nothing against same sex couples, she was just surprised.

"is that so, anyway guys listen to me and don't freak out." Sky took a large sigh, taking a look at her teammates faces to see them look at her, curious to what she has to say.

"M-Maven's in Vale…" Was all she could say but it was enough to see everyone's jaws drop.

"Are you serious?!" Ray stepped forward and yelled, she didn't believe Sky and wanted confirmation.

"But he died, there's no way he is in Vale." Wave stated, quickly gaining his composure.

"But I'm honest, Maven came back as a little girl and found me in the park! Would I lie to you guys?"

"No but… We can't just believe that, we know for a fact that he died, we heard it." Claus said, thinking about going to see Gort regarding this.

"Sky… maybe the date made you hallucinate or something, come on, you've even been struggling to sleep." Ray said, she was clearly having a hard time believing any of this and wanted to dismiss the fact, her arm was shaking but she hid it from the others.

"Guys… you really don't believe me?" A little tear welled up in her eyes, she thought that if she told her team, they'd be able to suggest something but turns out not everyone will believe everything she says.

"I say go talk to Gort about it, he might know something." Claus suggested, taking a look outside the window.

"I… I guess…" Feeling defeated, the engineer went to grab a towel and a wash bag, feeling like a shower will be better for her to clear her head.

"Just so you know it's not that we don't believe, it's the fact we can't, someone transferring souls into another is just a myth, only mentioned in the book about the man with two souls, even if Maven was to have something like that, we still wouldn't be able to believe it." Wave said, trying to say something helpful.

"It's okay… I think I'll have a shower and head to bed early… I'll feel better in the morning." Sky said, while knowing that the date she had today was fun and something she'd never forget, now knowing that Maven can possibly transfer to other bodies and is roaming around Vale as a little girl that will soon target her scares her but she can't let it get to her, even though she is haunted by the experience in Bozu.

Though in truth, she's still terrified.

Say Hello to this surprise chapter after so long, reason is this website didn't allow me to upload for awhile due to a technical issue but it's here now, I'm actually focusing on writing on another RWBY team with Shun, leader of team STAR and son on Professor Gort, though for now hope you enjoyed the chapter!