Date POV

I just couldn't sleep. I tossed, I turned, I counted sheep, but still nothing. I sat up and looked around the room, but it seemed that I was the only one with this problem. The rest of the team was sleeping soundly, and I was more than a little envious.

I sighed and got up, getting dressed and slipping silently out the door after navigating the deadly mine field that is the floor of team FATE's dorm, which was still messy from our half-assed attempt at unpacking.

I wandered the halls, looking out windows and just generally being bored. I stopped at a window and stared out at the massive, sprawling campus of Beacon Academy. I did it. I thought, with no real emotion. One step closer to justice. I allowed myself a grim smile, then I moved on.

I'd have missed it completely if I was human, but being a Faunus, I heard the faint voice coming from above, reverberating down the stairwell to my right, somewhat muffled by the door. I glanced at the small sign on the door.

Roof Access

I opened the door and a pleasantly warm breeze washed over me, stroking my face with a gentle caress. I stepped in and closed the door quietly behind me. I began my trek up the stairs, straining to make out words in the voice.

I reached the top and stared at the door in front of me, trying to associate the vaguely familiar voice I heard to a face and a name of a person I'd met only recently with little success.

I thought for a good two minutes, but still came up with nothing, so I gently pushed open the door, which was already open a crack, and stepped out onto the roof.

"Cutting away, sever the honesty and all the ties that bind.

Cutting away, suffer the consequence of all the times I've lied.

Do you follow the hollow, when you feel like you're all alone.

You're so disconnected, so follow the hollow."

I stared dumbly at Dante's back as she sang to the night, sitting on the roof's railing with one leg crossed over the other and strumming the guitar in her lap. Her fingers were swift and sure, never missing a chord, and her voice was warm, rich, and smooth, like melted chocolate. Chocolate with a bittersweet tinge.

"I'm so addicted now, to the world within.

Now you see the wicked side of me.

I've had enough, but it pulls me in.

Now you see the wicked side of me."

My breath caught in my throat, and my heart almost stopped, such was the depth of emotion in her voice. I couldn't tell what exactly it was, but it was palpable in the hunched curve of her back, the tone of her voice, and the force with which she strummed the strings of her guitar.

"Some kind of rage, has taken ahold of me and I cannot be safe.

Some kind of rage, and I don't think I can change my self destructive ways.

Do you follow the hollow, when you feel like you're all alone.

You're so disconnected, so follow the hollow."

She stopped playing her guitar for a moment and cleared her throat before beginning again.

"In the end it's all the same.

We're all alone anyways.

In the end it's all the same.

We're all alone anyways."

She sang the chorus again, then trailed off and sighed sadly to herself. My tongue betrayed me before I could compose myself.

"You have a beautiful voice." She flinched and almost dropped her guitar, then twisted around to look at me with wide, bloodshot eyes.

"Geez, you scared me." She said with a forced laugh, turning back around to rub her eyes. "And thanks, by the way. I've been practicing since I was about three." I moved to stand next to her, but she didn't turn to look at me.

"You're quite the night owl I assume?" Now she turned to me and a slight smirk curved her lips.

"Close, but no. Not a night hawk either." I cocked my head.

"What?" She tilted her face up toward the cold, clean light of the moon and sighed again, contentedly this time.

"You already know I'm a Faunus, right?" I nodded slowly, recalling her über-dramatic entrance the other day.

"Uh-huh." She rolled her eyes.

"Givin' ya some subtle clues there, buddy." I paused and thought back. Night owl. Night hawk. I felt like face palming myself.

"Oh. . .Sparrow?" I offered. She grinned, but shook her head.

"Nope. Think bigger." I considered that for a moment.

"Uh, dragon?" She groaned.

"Eagle, dude." I shrugged.

"That's cool." She plucked the strings of her guitar absently and I slipped my hands into my pockets. "Uh, do you come up here often?" She lifted one shoulder in a sort of shrug.

"Depends. I was up here early yesterday morning." I nodded.

"Before you came to help with the Orchid?" She nodded, but her fingers paused briefly on the strings.

"Yeah. I usually come up here if I can't sleep. Which seems to be every Wednesday." I laughed.

"So Thursday mornings are pretty hellish for you, I assume?" She laughed.

"You could say that." She shot me a little smile. "Hey, did you know that Thursday is actually named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder?" She chuckled. "Thor's day. Makes sense, right?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Really? That's cool." She one-shoulder-shrugged again.

"It's whatever." She seemed distracted, and kept staring off into the night.

"You okay?" I asked. She looked at me and shook her head.

"What does it mean when someone you can't stop dreaming about someone you just met?" I smirked at her.

"Hypothetically?" She rolled her eyes, but smiled back.

"Of course." I paused to organize my thoughts.

"Well," I said slowly. "It might mean you're in love." Dante blanched and the string beneath her finger snapped, whipping up against her hand and drawing a thin red line of blood across her palm.

She stared at me, her breathing suddenly heavy.

"I-I don't think that's it." She said, her voice shaking. "I mean, I really hope that's not it." I squinted at her.

"What? Why? Are you having dreams about Spencer?" Her eyes widened.

"What?! No!" I shrugged.

"Skye?" She shuddered with mock horror, and I was relieved to see that some of the pink color had come back to her cheeks.

"She obviously doesn't like me." I snorted.

"No. She doesn't trust you, and that doesn't answer my question." She sighed and winced, shaking out her cut hand and leaning her guitar against the railing with her other hand.

"Damn, that hurts. And no, it's not Skye. Honestly," She scooted closer to me and gave me a suggestive smirk, lowering her voice to a husky whisper. "It's not about Amber either. It's not about any of them." She bit her lip and leaned down to my ear. "Date. . .You know you have a huge boner right now, don't you?" I jerked away from her.

"I do not!" Okay, so I lied. . .Don't you dare judge me.

She gave a knowing smirk and hopped down off the railing, reaching for her guitar case. After rummaging around a bit, she tossed something at me over her shoulder. I caught it with a great deal of fumbling and held it up. It was a can of soda.

A can of Pepschnee to be precise. . .Fucking Pepschnee.

"Um, isn't this stuff supposed to be, like, really bad for your health?" Dante popped the tab on her own can and tipped her head back, chugging half the can all at once. She slammed the can down on the railing and made a satisfied 'ahhh' sound.

"Yup, but honestly, I don't give a shit." She shot me a sly look. "I can drink that, if you're scared." Though I knew she was teasing me, I bristled anyway.

"I'm not scared, I'm just concerned that it might cause you further brain damage." She rolled her eyes.

"Mm-hm. Suuure you are." I scoffed and pulled the tab up until the can opened with a cracking sound. I took a small sip, ignoring Dante's smug look.

My eyes widened and I spluttered, sending a spray of sticky brown liquid all over the railing. I coughed for a while, and Dante rubbed my back sympathetically. It didn't make me feel any better, mostly because she was laughing her ass off.

"Maybe next time, kid." She snorted, chugging the rest of her can and taking mine. I straightened and shook my head, my senses going into overdrive.

"That stuff should be illegal." Dante giggled and finished mine off, pausing to sigh contentedly before belching loudly. I grimaced. "How. . .ladylike." She shrugged.

"Whine all you want, but it's not that bad when you get used to it." I had to agree that while it was initially shocking, it was not entirely awful. The soda that is. The belching was weird.

At first, there was nothing but the feeling of cool liquid on my tongue, then as I swallowed, it felt like fireworks began to go off in my mouth and it kind of burned. But there was an underlying hint of mint and an extremely sweet aftertaste.

"Well, I'm gonna call it a night," Dante stretched and yawned loudly before putting her guitar away and slinging the case over her shoulder. "Let's do this again sometime." She winked and smiled at me before leaving me standing there, watching her walk away.

"Wait," I called just as she opened the door. She glanced over her shoulder at me. "When?" She smiled again and shrugged.

"You'll know." Then she slipped through the door and I listened to her footsteps retreating down the stairs. I leaned back against the railing and sighed.

"Well. . .That was fascinating." I yawned and shook my head, suddenly tired. "Looks like I should get some sleep too."

Well, more character development. Yay! Anyway, I finally finished this chapter thanks to some beautiful person on reddit who came up with the orgasmic idea to put the Schnee emblem on a blue background, make it red, white, and blue, then label it Pepschnee. Can't imagine it? Just look at my avatar. No more to say now. Hope to update soon. Bye.