Weiss kept pacing on the cold-stoned floor.
What if this turns out to be a disaster? What if father hates them? No, he shouldn't if they behave. Good thing I haven't seen him all day. He must be in his office doing work as usual.
The sound of a doorbell snapped her out of her thoughts.
It was finally the weekend. Everyone agreed it would be the best option to work on the project over at Weiss' house.
House… it was more of a castle, really. It was five stories tall and stood on a single hill with pride. The castle was old and had been inherited through the generations, and as a result, had been modified to a more modern style. In the living room hung a large glass chandelier. If touched, anyone would fear it would fall since it looked so delicate. The walls were pure white and the cold stones glistened with each step.
Weiss never liked being inside the castle. To her, it was always cold and lonely, even if she could see the occasional servant scamper in random rooms to get their jobs done.
Weiss didn't want the servants to answer the door. She wanted them to feel like this was another normal home for as long as possible… even though they could already tell it wasn't just by appearance.
She composed herself and opened the timber white double doors to reveal Jaune, Ruby, Yang, and Blake.
"Hey, Weiss!" Ruby beamed. "Cool place ya got here!"
Weiss rolled her eyes and held the large door open for her guests. "Are you coming in or not?"
Jaune's eyes widened when he saw what she was wearing, which was a white and light blue sundress.
Now he finally knew what she wore on the weekends!
He understood her choice since it was getting sweltering hot outside recently. Meanwhile, he wore jeans with a simple white v-neck. He smiled, thinking that the girl's affinity for white was rubbing off on him.
The four strode into the castle and suddenly felt insignificant.
Yang leaned into Blake's ear. "It is that big."
Blake kept looking straight ahead when she noticed Yang's voice echoed. "Shh."
Jaune broke the silence. "Where are we studying?"
"My room," Weiss answered. "Follow me."
She led her friends through the wide, glimmering hallways. After several different turns, there was a pair of white modern stairs.
Jaune gulped. If she wasn't leading them he would get lost for sure.
"It's up here." Weiss led the way and trudged up the stairs.
They followed and Ruby said. "You must really like white."
"Yeah!" Yang chimed. "Everywhere I turn there's a different kind of white."
They finally made to the upper floor and began snaking their way through the well-kept hallways.
"It's more of my father's tastes, but I have an affinity for the color as well," Weiss mentioned.
"I bet you even like little white lies," the blonde beamed a smile from her joke.
The group collectively groaned.
"Oh, come on!" Yang yelped. "You have to admit that was clever!"
Blake just sympathetically pat her on the back, not saying a word.
Yang bit her lip in frustration. "Whatever, you guys are no fun."
The group finally arrived at another set of pure white double doors.
Weiss turned the knob. "This is it."
The room's walls were a light blue while the carpet was a snow-white. The room itself was bigger than the four of her friend's rooms combined. In one of the corners stood a table and five chairs.
Now it all made sense to Jaune. It was one thing hearing that she was an heiress, it was a completely different thing actually seeing where she came from.
No wonder the transfer was so well-mannered when she introduced herself to the class.
The two were truly from separate worlds, but he refused to let that crush his spirits.
The four walked over to the chairs and Yang exclaimed. "Holy shit! You could fit a football field in here!"
Weiss' eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't go that far."
When Jaune took his seat, it finally registered in his brain that he was in a girl's room.
Not just any girl's, his crush's room.
He had never been in a girl's room before… besides his sister's, but that didn't count.
Jaune pulled out the textbook that was stowed in his backpack. "Let's get started."
They grabbed their papers with ideas written on them and set them on the table.
"I think we should do something funny," Ruby proclaimed. "That class is sad. It needs some cheering up!"
They all laughed. "Aren't all classes sad though?" Weiss asked. "Let's be honest."
Jaune thought this is how it should be as he gazed at the transfer. She seemed more happy and he wanted it to stay that way.
Hell, he'd fight for it to stay that way.
"So true," Blake agreed. "What did you have in mind?"
"Anything..." Ruby leaned in, "That involves cookies."
Yang groaned. "Rubes, you can't involve cookies with everything."
"But Yaaaaaang," Ruby whined. "Don'tcha think Ms. Goodwitch will find it funny?"
"No offense to bitch-sensei," the blonde said. "But she constantly has a stick up her ass."
"And that's why you didn't know about my cult," Blake chimed.
"What?" Yang asked. "It's true! She's so uptight that if you stuck a rock up her ass she'd poop out a diamond!"
"Am I the only one wondering if Blake's in a legitimate cult?" Weiss asked.
Blake stifled a laugh. "It's nothing like you think it is."
"Oh," Yang said, "it's exactly what you think."
"Shut up," Blake replied teasingly and lightly punched the blonde in the shoulder.
After going to the Butler Café the other day, Blake and Yang had grown even more close. They weren't afraid to openly tease one another and use a little physical contact. Yang had told Blake she accepted her for who she is, and even admitted that she was bisexual.
Ever since then, they had been more open with flirting.
Weiss accepted that it was a joke between the two and turned to Jaune. "Do you have any ideas?"
Jaune had been gazing at Weiss' snow-white flowing hair when he heard the question. "O-oh uhh, maybe we can set some sort of food out in public and film who eats it?"
"That's actually a really good idea for a Psychology experiment," Weiss admitted. "Did you think of that before?"
"I did a little research before I came over here," he revealed. "I figured it could put us ahead of schedule."
Arc really is dependable. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him, Weiss thought.
Jaune didn't really take his academics too seriously, but he knew Weiss did, which is why he put forth a little more effort.
"Wow, Jaune," Ruby chimed. "I've never seen you be so prepared in your life!"
Jaune playfully rolled his eyes. "Is this what you people think of me? Feminine, useless, and never prepared?"
Yang smiled. "Pretty much~" she couldn't help but tease the groaning boy.
For the next hour or so, they actually got a lot of things done. To Weiss' surprise, all she and Jaune had to do was to list the variables required for the assignment guidelines. She smiled to herself, it was great progress. She had to admit, she thought they'd end up waiting until the day before to finish.
As for Yang, Ruby, and Blake, they took a different approach and decided to film a portion of their project, which they would work on later. For now, they opted to do more research about it.
After a while of staring blankly at the pages, Yang forced her eyes away from the textbook. "You guys get everything done?"
"A vast majority," the white-haired girl answered. "I'm glad Arc actually took this seriously."
Jaune knew it was hard for her to praise people, so he accepted what he got and blushed.
"T-thanks, Weiss," he stammered. "I'm glad we could get it mostly done."
"Aw, the princess just praised Jaune?" Yang asked teasingly. "I think Hell must have frozen over."
"Quiet you!"
Yang giggled and started talking to Blake and Ruby before things escalated.
Jaune made sure they were distracted when he asked. "Is Cardin bothering you anymore?"
"No," Weiss answered. "He stopped the harassing texts and threatening calls."
"He threatened you?!" Jaune was shocked. "That bastard!"
Weiss had never heard him curse before, and it was for her sake, no less. To say she was touched would be an understatement.
"It's okay," she assured and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "He stopped completely. I haven't heard from since… since you helped me."
Jaune was still fuming in his seat, but was squealing inwardly when Weiss touched him. The last time she touched him, her hand had been so cold.
It was still cold as ice that pierced through his shirt.
Not that he minded.
"If he ever does that again, I'll beat him up myself."
Why's he so protective over me? It's kind of sweet.
Weiss stifled a laugh. "I'm sure you could pull that off."
Jaune was about to reply, but the door opened and interrupted him.
"Ms. Schnee?"
Weiss' eyes darted to the door and she received confused looks from her friends.
"I'll be right back," she said curtly to them and walked to the door.
She made sure to keep her voice low as she kept the door slightly cracked open. "Do you need something?"
The servant looked panicked. "I'm sorry to bother you, but your father needs to have a word."
The heiress looked back to her friends that watched her with curiosity.
Weiss faced the servant and whispered. "Is it important?"
"Yes."
What could he possibly want now?
Sure, her father interrupted their project time, but she considered herself lucky that he didn't seem interested in meeting her new friends. In order to keep it that way, she knew she had to go see what he needed.
Weiss sighed. "Very well. I'll meet with him in a moment."
The servant nodded and closed the door.
Weiss turned around and said. "I'll be right back. There's something that requires my attention."
"Okay," Jaune replied.
"We'll be waiting for you," Blake smiled.
"Don't take too long!" Ruby beamed. "Who else will pick on Jaune?"
"What do you mean 'who else'?!" the boy shouted. "All of you make fun of me!"
Weiss rolled her eyes and left the room.
As soon as the door shut, Jaune tugged on his hair with joy. "Oh my god, you guys! I'm in her room! Can you believe it!?"
"Aw," Yang's face fell from seeing how happy he was. "Someone's in looooove."
"That's so cute~" Ruby sang. "You're like a little school girl!"
"You've made it pretty far," Blake smirked. "Don't screw up."
Jaune beamed a smile. "No way is Not-so Scrawny Arc screwing this up!" he pointed proudly to himself. "For he has Cult Leader, Little Red, and BlawnD as allies!"
Ruby snorted. "You're such a dork."
"And soon…" he wringed his hands in a sinister manner. "He'll capture the Snow Angel's heart!"
"Wait, woah, woah," Blake held her hand up. "Your code name is Scrawny Arc. It's not Not-so Scrawny Arc."
"Shut it," he yelped.
"And don't call me Cult Leader! It's supposed to be Shadow Kat!" Blake fumed.
Everyone giggled but stopped when they heard a man's voice yelling in the distance. They were surprised they could hear it in such a large castle, it seemed that everything echoed.
They all looked at each other for comfort and Ruby spoke up. "Was that Weiss' dad?"
"Seems like it," Blake replied. "He doesn't seem happy."
"Do you… think he's yelling at her?" Yang asked.
"We should find out," Jaune proposed. "I certainly won't stand for her being mistreated."
"You little knight in shining armor," the blonde cooed. "It's so cute how protective you are over her. It almost makes up for how feminine you are!"
"Shut up!" Jaune was flustered. He had been teased enough today already.
He got up and the other three followed him to the door. Just as he was about to turn the knob, the door creaked open.
Azure eyes met bright blue orbs.
Weiss narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing?"
Jaune figured it was no use lying. "Who was yelling?"
"You must have been hearing things," the heiress brushed off. "Are you all done here?"
I guess Yang's pun about white lies came in handy, Weiss thought.
Ruby stared at Weiss, baffled by her answer. "Y-yeah."
The four of them definitely heard someone yell. They weren't sure why Weiss would lie, but didn't want to press.
"Then I need you to leave," Weiss replied. "Sorry it's so soon, but something came up."
Jaune found it suspicious that Weiss wanted them gone as soon as possible, but he knew he couldn't do anything about it. He searched her eyes for any signs of lying, but he couldn't find any hints for the life of him. She had her poker face nailed down to the last detail.
"We'll go then," Blake smiled, hoping to break the uncomfortable atmosphere. "But before we do, is everything okay?"
"Yes," Weiss feigned a smile, something she was an expert at by this point. "I have some matters to attend. I'm sorry if that's an inconvenience."
"Ah, it's fine, princess!" Yang grabbed Blake's hand, eliciting a blush from Blake.
"We got a lot done," Blake added. "Be proud of that."
"You're right," Weiss acknowledged. "Now come on, I'll show you out."
"Haha thanks," Jaune chirped. "It'd be easy to get lost in this place."
Weiss didn't respond and led the four to the front of the castle. After snaking their way through her home, they finally reached the doors. She unlocked the the door and her four friends filed outside.
"Seeya later, Weiss!" Ruby beamed. "Thanks for having us!"
"We really do appreciate it," Blake added. "Thank you."
"It's no problem," Weiss waved them off. "See you in school."
"Goodbye, Weiss," Jaune said as he watched her shut the door.
Before the door shut, Jaune noticed a hint of sadness escape her eyes and that her face was a bit flushed.
He couldn't help but feel bad for leaving her in such a large castle.
He left Weiss' residence knowing that they'd finished the project, but felt uneasy not knowing what was bothering her.
Rom-com rules of anime this chapter: situation behind the curtains that you won't know about until it's revealed, and an impressive background from a MC.
