Author's Note:

Sorry for the lack of an update, I've just been working through several issues in my life right now, primarily homework.

In other news, I've got a Twitter which I intend to use to communicate updates and such. ( Lorion97)

As usual, enjoy and please leave a review.

- Lor

Chapter 7: A New Friend

The following few days had passed and Weiss made an immense recovery, by the end of the second day she was already on her feet and back to her usual self. That is, the high and mighty stature again, though lately she's been treating me as a friend. I didn't mind it, actually it was quite refreshing to hear a solid tone for at least a minute rather than a tone filled and obstructed with a cold.

I'd just finished a lesson with Weiss and had received a call from my main publisher, he told me that I needed to put out a song and demo out by the end of the month, which gave me about three weeks, it wasn't really a challenge but at the time I had no idea what to compose or think about. Usually my inspiration came from my everyday life; I even once wrote a jazz tune based on coffee. It actually turned out to be a hit.

Now I have no idea what to compose about, I decided to lie on my bed thinking about what I could possibly draw inspiration on. My thoughts drifted off somewhere as I began to remember about something that Weiss was musing about. She seemed to be quite interested in a poem the first time that I met her. Recalling the few words she spoke they seemed to touch me, I wondered if I could draw inspiration from that.

After thinking for hours I began to fall a nap, thankfully the girls were doing their practicing by themselves and didn't constantly need me there. We planned on having a full group practice as our first performance was in just a few weeks. With that finished I began to snooze for several hours.

Weiss had just finished school and was on her way home, while arriving at the door a servant opened it for her and welcomed her home. "Ms. Schnee, your father would like to speak to you."

"I will see him immediately," She bowed.

"He will be in the living room," The servant bowed in return.

Weiss then went off to talk to her father; she assumed that it was another suitor, oh how she hated those. Why can't father understand that I do not want a suitor? What a stubborn old man. She went to the living room and expected her father to be in the living room; instead she found his seat to be empty with a newspaper lying on the arm rest. Weiss' eyes wandered around the home she called a house, how it was empty and such.

She hardly called this place a home, it seemed to be more of a house and place that she slept than a home in most of the sense. The walls were empty and void of life, sure her father attempted to find entertainers for her, she knew that these people were paid off for. This only added to the cold feeling that the mansion gave her, the cold empty walls and the constant obedience of the servants, she hated it. Why can't anyone see me for a person? She wondered before she met her current music teacher, Joseph. The man didn't seem to care at all about the money or any of it; he was the only genuine person that saw her for a person with actual feelings. And he thanked him for it.

When Hector came in he sat on his chair, a servant came in with a set of tea and poured out cups for the both of them. The servant then handed a cup to both of them, to which Weiss took it patiently.

"So Weiss, you are nearly eighteen," Hector stated.

"Yes, yes I am," Weiss confirmed.

"Then you realize why I am so anxious for you to be suited," Hector mused on.

"Yes, I do father," Weiss confirmed yet again, taking a sip of her tea.

"Then why do you turn down all of the suitors?" Hector questioned.

"They are imbeciles, all of them," Weiss retorted.

"This is not just about you," Hector's voice began to grow louder.

"Father!" Weiss' cold voice bellowed. "Think for once what your daughter wants. I don't want my life decided for me. It is my life, not yours. And it is high time you understood that." With that Weiss walked off to go out.

"Weiss, you get back here!" Hector bellowed.

Weiss stomped off to go into the city; it was the weekend so the city would be bustling with people. After a long bus ride Weiss went off to clear her mind, walking through the city she found a bookstore that she went to quite frequently. Ruddy stubborn father, he can't even see that his own daughter is a person, and not a possession.

The bookstore was a rather empty book store, but it seemed to have a nice and cozy feeling as couches were lying near the front and cushions were near the back. She decided to go about the shelves and scan them for anything interesting; in all honesty she was infuriated. She was so hurriedly walking through the shelves that she forgot to look around for people; she ended up bumping into a person as she fell down.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, falling to the floor.

Two people fell down to the floor, when Weiss came to after the initial shock she looked to her side to find another girl. She had black flowing hair which rested slightly below her shoulders. She was wearing a black sweater with what seemed to be a cat as a button on her right chest. She was also wearing a pair of black pants with a white belt. This was paired with a pair of black and white vans.

"You should watch where you're going," the female told Weiss calmly.

Weiss heard the voice and immediately dusted herself, "Me?" She questioned in disbelief. "You should watch where you're going; don't you know that I'm Weiss Schnee?"

"Yes, I know perfectly who you are," She agreed. "But that still doesn't excuse you for not watching where you're going." The new girl stood her ground.

The two of them stood up and looked directly into each other's eyes; Weiss was a tiny bit shorter than the new girl so she was looking slightly up. The two stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Weiss let go of the stare, she sighed. She then thought about the situation, then about what Joseph would tell her if she did this. He would probably say something along the lines of, you know, everybody is the same, we're all people. Thus, we should all be treated the same, right?

"Sorry, you're right, I should've watched where I was going," Weiss admitted.

The girl was a bit taken back, but at the same time she wasn't, after all, she was being taught by the famous Joseph Eve. "I accept your apology," She replied. "I'm Blake."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Blake," Weiss answered.

"So, what brings the esteemed heiress into this book store?" Blake asked.

Blake hit the question dead on, Weiss definitely had a problem, "Why would you want to know?" Weiss questioned.

"Well, you did just stomp in one direction and down an aisle," Blake pointed out, sitting back down on the ground with her book. "It's fine if you don't want to answer."

Weiss sighed, deciding to sit next to the girl, "It's about my father. He wants to control my life; he's even tried to arrange suitors for me."

"Well, I can't truly understand how you feel but it must feel really terrible," Blake didn't look up at all from the book, but from the tone of her voice you could tell that she was listening intently. "He has to realize that you're a human being."

"That's what I keep telling him," Weiss replied. "But he won't listen, it's frustrating!"

"Well, there is one thing you could do," Blake stated.

"And what's that?" Weiss asked, curious of what Blake was suggesting.

"If words don't work maybe actions would," Blake continued, closing her book and directing her full attention to Weiss. "You could hit him into his senses."

"Excuse me?" Weiss exclaimed. "Hit him? Do you know how much trouble that would cause?"

"Or it could be the solution to your problems," Blake stated, getting up. "Sorry, but I have to leave, if you want to talk again here's my number," Blake continued, taking out a small slip of paper from her pocket and scribbling on it. "It was nice chatting with you Weiss."

Blake then turned to leave, as she stopped at the end of the aisle she turned around. "Tell Joseph that I said hi." She told Weiss before turning and leaving.

Weiss began to wonder exactly what she was implying, wait, what does that mean? Weiss then began to go after Blake in a fury, wondering exactly what her relationship was to Joseph. She arrived at the door of the bookstore and looked around for Blake. Where did she go? And what is she to Joseph? Weiss then paused and looked around, wait, why do I care so much? He's just a friend.

I woke up later that day and looked around my room; it seemed to be rather messy with clothes. I decided to pick them up and place them into the laundry hamper in my bathroom. As I finished tucking the rest of the clothes into the hamper I realized how dirty I felt.

I decided to take a shower and clean myself up before the lesson tonight. I got out and changed into a collared short sleeved shirt with a pair of jeans. I also recalled that I needed to also create some structures for theory lessons.

I went over to the classroom and brought out my phone, deciding to pass the time before the lesson by playing music. I decided to go for one of my usual playlist, featuring big band and Latin styled music.

The first up was Salsa Caribena by Victor Lopez, being a light piece I began to bounce to it as I was writing on pieces of paper. My body got up on its own as I picked up the paper and went over behind the desk to the chalkboard, writing notes and such on the board.

Time seemed to pass as I began to develop a lesson plan, bouncing around playfully as I scribbled on the chalkboard. The sun began to set as evening began to arrive; I was well into a piece by Frank Sinatra when Weiss came in for her usual lesson.

I didn't pay any attention to her as the music carried my body and soul along with it. Dancing as I continued to write on the chalkboard and sing the melody, I heard somebody drop things on the floor and looked over.

Weiss stood at the door with a rather huffy expression, she seemed to pierce daggers at me but at the same time she seemed to be a bit embarrassed too. I was a bit taken back as well as I tried to keep up my usual appearance, I slipped today so I became rather heated.

"Joseph!" She stammered. "What are you doing?"

"Well, well," I stuttered. "Hello Weiss," I attempted to regain my confidence.

Weiss simply crossed her arms, "Well?" She asked, with a mixture of authority and shock.

"Sit down, and we'll begin our lesson," I said, leaning a bit to my side as I wiped a trail of sweat from my face.

I then began to lecture her on theory and the like, the lesson was your standard lesson but it didn't help to lift the mood that began with it. Well, that was embarrassing, I thought to myself as I let Weiss work on some questions about quarter way through.

It was now halfway through and Weiss still seemed a bit shaken up, I looked over and studied her expression, her face was a white, cold, and unreadable face, the usual face that she usually put on. However, her eyes were a bit weird, they seemed to be slightly more narrow than usual, which I found odd. Not only that, they seemed to be giving me a concerned look when I looked at them.

"Weiss?" I asked.

"Yes?" She answered.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, I hoped this was the golden question. Please just say it out right. I pleaded in my mind.

"Nothing, nothing at all," She told me. "Continue on, I just finished the examples, you were explaining about ninths?"

"Thirteenths, actually," I corrected. I then switched my tone to a more comforting one, "Weiss, what's wrong."

"Well," She began, unsure of whether to spill it out or not. I assumed that she would normally hold it in in most circumstances. I decided to pull out a chair and sit next to her, she sighed before telling me her problems. "Well, first it was my father."

"The usual problem?" I asked.

"The usual," She replied.

"Then I made my way into the city in a fuss, and went into one of my favourite bookstores," She continued.

"Wait, you go into bookstores?" I asked.

Weiss then made a face of disbelief, which seemed to say, really? "What? Can't I enjoy going to read by myself?"

"Well, I never pictured you being one to go into a bookstore," I admitted.

"Well I do, and don't question me for it!" Weiss growled.

"Alright, fine," I replied. "So what happened?"

"I met this girl, and we chatted about things," Weiss continued.

"Sounds like you just made a friend," I mused.

"What are you talking about?" Weiss huffed, "She is not my friend."

"What makes you so sure?" I asked, with a sly smirk on my face.

"Well, well," Weiss attempted to create an explanation. She couldn't find one, "Fine! But we're not friends, just acquaintences."

"Right," I rolled my eyes. "You know, it's a good idea to make friends Weiss."

"I don't need friends," She denied.

"Oh really," I asked. "Name one person that you trust besides me."

"Well, well," Weiss stammered. "Fine, I don't have anyone."

"Exactly," I confirmed before switching to a more soothing tone. "Weiss, you need people that you can trust in your life. I can't be the only one that you trust. Friends are what make people sane, they're other people that they can relate to. Otherwise we're alone."

"Okay," Weiss agreed.

"Alright, now that you understand, continue." I answered.

Weiss drew a deep breath before continuing, "We talked about my father. She suggested that I hit him, to slap some common sense into him."

"Well, that's one idea," I agreed to the other girl's idea. "That would show him how serious you are about living your own life so much that you'd defend it with your actions."

"Then she left, she told me to say hello to you," Weiss continued.

This raised an interest in me, who would possibly know me enough to want to say hello to me? Who could that possibly be? I mean, I'm not close to any adults so it's got to be an admirer of music. "What was the girl's name?" I asked.

"Her name was Blake," Weiss replied.

That name stung my mind, at the time I was at a loss of what to do. I felt a heat build in my system as I tried my best to find an explanation. "So, do you know this person?" Weiss pressed, this time raising her eyebrow.

"Must be one of my fans, you know how popular my jazz tracks are," I explained.

"You know this person don't you?" Weiss pressed on, moving herself closer to my face.

I then began to sweat, "Of course not!" I denied, looking straight into her eyes. I had no idea what expression she was getting from my face but it seemed to ease her. She took a step back and took a deep breath, "Whew, jeez Weiss, I know that I have fans but it's not like you have to be a cop about it. I mean, we're only friends right?"

At this I seemed to hit a nerve as Weiss' cheeks went slightly rosy, "Of course, but, it would be a good idea to learn more about my teacher than what is on documents."

"Okay, well, that about wraps up the lesson," I began. Weiss then collected her things hastily and began to make a beeline for the door. "Have a good night." I wished.

Weiss turned around and quickly bowed, her cheeks were still the same slight red; I wondered exactly what she was thinking. It didn't bother me though, it was probably the fact that she thought that I had a girlfriend. Especially if Blake answered to her, the news and press knew that I didn't have many adult friends that were close. Therefore, by that she must've assumed that me and Blake had some kind of connection, though where she got her idea of me being in a relationship was preposterous.

I decided to get ready for the trip into town for practice, I was eager to get back on my feet, practice with the girls and talk with them again. This time I packed up early and prepared for the immediately leave, thankfully Weiss and Hector still didn't know anything about my nightly departure still.

Weiss hurriedly left for her room after the incident and attempted to calm herself down. She took several deep breaths before thinking about what she was going to do next; she saw her school work that she had neatly piled on her desk. Well, better get started. She thought to herself.

She sat down and began to work through several pieces of homework, while she was working on it she heard sounds coming from Joseph's room. She then remembered what he was doing a few days ago. Determined to catch him she went out.

She looked outside of her room and heard the front door shut, curses! Where is he going? Weiss thought, before going back into her room. Just where could he possibly go? She went over to her bed and lied down before thinking an idea. What if he's going to see Blake? Weiss pondered for a moment what this meant for her, wait, it's his own personal life, why should I care?

That single question stumped Weiss, she didn't know why she cared so much for him yet she did. Even a few days ago when she was feeding him she felt some kind of affection. Though why, she didn't know. Why do I care?

This question bothered Weiss for the majority of the night, she attempted to do school work to get back on track but it didn't seem to help. Her mind only drifted back to that single question, after a while of pacing between her desk and her bed Weiss decided to take a bath. She hoped that it would relax her.

Her bathroom was much larger than Joseph's; though it did share some similarities, like the white and pristine marble texturing. The washroom was huge, with a large bathtub in the corner that could easily fit three people, as well as a walk in shower to the right. There were also towels hanging neatly on shelves next to the toilet. The sink was a large basin sitting on top of an Altair designed table. Weiss turned on the water to fill the tub; she began to undress herself as the tub was filling up.

Sliding herself in she attempted to ease herself and forget the question that has been bothering her for the last hour. She felt the warm water ease herself but the question would not leave, what am I thinking? She wondered, she sat in the bathtub and contemplated her thoughts. Just why do I care so much about him? He's just a friend … right? That last statement jolted her mind; of course he's just a friend!

But why do my thoughts tell me otherwise!