Among all of the chaos that had seemed to bloom from nowhere, the fundraiser came up much quicker than Weiss had been anticipating. Even with preparation, it felt like it was too fast.
Weiss had spent the better part of her day at the SchneeCorp Headquarters. She knew that her brother was in a similar place, and most of what she ended up doing was walking around the building and making sure that everything was in order that she would need to do.
Of course, there were some things which she couldn't attend to personally. For that she had Klein to get information from the inside, and Weiss treasured that. She could always trust that he would be there for her.
But, Weiss reminded herself, she had to be ready to put on a show and present herself as the heiress that she was expected to be.
An hour before guests were going to start being let in, Weiss changed into a long, flowing blue gown. She didn't personally like it all that much, but since it was ultimately a formal setting it was going to have to do. She stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself in it, unable to help the feeling that she didn't really feel like herself all that much.
For a moment too long, Weiss fiddled with her hair so that it was slightly off center instead of sitting on the center of her head. It meant that she would be able to feel like herself at least a little bit once it all started. She needed to hold onto some part of herself.
Because, Weiss knew, she was simply dressing up for the sake of her family. This was her putting on another personality for the sake of good appearances and family reputation.
The knock at the door made Weiss stand up taller, shocked out of her own thoughts. "Who is it?"
"Your brother." Whitley replied. "I would like to have a word with you before we start."
Weiss took a deep breath. "Come in." She said quietly, blinking and looking down at herself. She took a moment to fix her gown once more. The fine fabric slipped between her fingers as she tugged it down into place.
Whitley pushed the door open and stepped inside. He was already dressed in his own formal wear, perfectly groomed and holding his head up high. There was going to be more for them to do later. "You're looking good."
"Thank you." Weiss said, holding her head up high similarly and bringing her hands together behind her back. "Is there something wrong?"
"No." Whitley answered, but the way that his eyes flickered away from Weiss was telling. "But there were some things that I wanted to ask you about before we got started."
"What were they?" Weiss asked, trying to get a good idea of what Whitley wanted. "Because I figure it's nothing that we can't handle."
"I wanted to know whether or not I should be expecting Neptune Vasilias to be joining us tonight." Whitley said, his eyes still away from Weiss because they were both obviously trying to avoid something. "Because I imagine that him making an appearance would be good for both of us."
Weiss blinked, feeling a wash of dread that was running over her. This was one of those things that she had seriously been hoping that they would be able to avoid. It ran a little too close to the problems that she was feeling like she was drowned in. "I don't think that he'll be here." She said quietly. "He needed to fly back to Vale to attend to some business there. I'm sure you understand."
Weiss wasn't exactly lying. Neptune had indeed gone back to Vale, but it didn't have anything to do business. Regardless, there was no way that Neptune was going to be there tonight.
"I see." Whitley responded. His face screwed up like he'd seen something that was wrong. Or like he had just tasted something terrible and didn't have any good way to get it out of his mouth. "Weiss-"
And there it was. He was about to see through her. She tried not to flinch and she tried not to react too much to what she was feeling. "What is it?"
Whitley swallowed. "I can tell that you're lying to me." He said, his voice even and not wavering for a second, all in a show of schooled calm that Whitley had learned over the course of his life. "And I would like to know why you feel that you need to do so."
Weiss swallowed, her mind going back to Blake all too quickly. It was too hard for Weiss to be keep it as a secret already, with only Klein knowing what was going on. She couldn't risk letting her and Blake's secret out, especially to someone that had an important voice in how things went to her.
She just didn't know whether or not Whitley was someone that she could actually talk to about these things.
In truth, the reality was that he probably wasn't. And likely never would be.
"I don't see how it's your business." Weiss said, glaring across at her brother now. Whitley didn't react to it or try to move away, but the way that his own eyes narrowed was obvious.
"I would think that it is-" Whitley said, taking a breath. "Seeing as your actions tonight will likely reflect more upon me than they will on you."
"You're father's favorite." Weiss bit back at her brother. "It won't matter what you do. He'll see my wrongs, and I'll be the one punished for it. Like what happened with Winter."
"Weiss."
"What, Whitley?" She snapped at her brother.
"I don't like that you feel like you need to lie to me or keep yourself away from me." He said, his voice harsh. "You and I used to get along well. I miss the way that things had been before."
"I miss it too." Weiss sighed. "But I can't tell you. I know that isn't what you want to hear, but I can't tell you."
Whitley couldn't have made himself look more displeased by what Weiss had said. He just closed his eyes and shook his head. "You know that you should tell me, sister."
"It's truly none of your business, Whitley." Weiss responded. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and when she felt that she was ready she locked her eyes with her brother's. "Now if you don't mind, I believe that we both have somewhere to be."
The corner of Whitley's lips tugged downwards into a frown. His eyes closed for just a moment before opening again and his attention was drawn to the door. "I suppose that you are correct." Whitley said, lingering by the door for just a moment. "Don't embarrass our family, Weiss."
"I could say the same to you." Weiss whispered as she watched her brother leave, and felt almost crushed by the quiet and the weight of her own loneliness.
Well, there was no more need for her to stay distracted with the ways that her brother was feeling. She needed to get her head together, and go out into the world for a show.
While she did her part, she could trust that Blake would be there doing her own.
At least, that was what Weiss hoped.
Blake arrived at the Schnee Fundraiser alone, feeling much less at home there than she could have possibly imagined. She was dressed in clothes that were unlike anything that she had really needed to wear for work purposes before. It left her feeling wrong, but the time that she had spent at her apartment with Yang before the benefit had helped. Yang had put great pains into making sure that she could fit into a black-tie audience.
At the very least, she had her hair up off of the back of her neck and tied high in a clean bun, only a few wisps of baby hair curling at the back of her neck.
She stood outside of the building for a moment, giving a quick glance around as people in similar formal dress to hers began to go in, many arm in arm and oblivious to the fact that there would be something going on that night which wasn't simply a dinner and free hors d'oeuvres, followed by a charity auction.
Blake clutched the little purse that she'd decided to bring with her, reminding herself of everything that was going to be inside. Her notebook and a pen, her phone, and a little bottle of pepper spray. She didn't think that she was going to need that last little bit, but when she couldn't be sure since her night was going to at least partially involve Adam.
At the door, Klein was waiting, dressed nicer than she had ever seen him and standing with his head high. Every time that someone would approach the door, he would smile and greet them before checking that their name was on a list. Once that was done, they would be allowed in.
Blake hesitated to go to the door, mostly because she couldn't be sure that she and Adam weren't listed as coming together. That was probably the case, really, and while Blake really hated that, it would at least look proper for them. She took a few steps back away from the front doors of the building and looked back over her shoulder to see that Adam had arrived, in a black suit and a blood red tie around his neck.
He saw her and smiled, approaching like the two of them actually wanted to be there together. Blake held her head up high. "Hello, Adam."
"Blake." Adam replied, smiling. "You're looking wonderful tonight."
"I'm not wearing it for you." Blake responded, gritting her teeth a little bit. "We should go in."
"Right." Adam said, keeping his voice down as the two of them began their walk to the door. He offered Blake his arm, and she rolled her eyes before stepping in close to him and wrapping her arm around his. It was too close, so close that she felt like the scent of his cologne was going to suffocate her. She needed to put on appearances and fit in, even if being so close to Adam made her want to scream. "I look forward to such an interesting night with you, Blake."
She rolled her eyes and tugged him along. "We should worry about getting in first." Blake hissed to Adam as she pulled him into the line behind an older couple. Adam came easily enough, then they were on their way forward and towards Klein.
Together, the two of them stepped up in front of the man. Klein looked between them with a clear look of feigned disinterest on his face. Blake was glad that she could at least take some comfort in that, at least.
"Names?" He asked, playing along with a script that he had clearly been given for every guest.
Adam was about to answer, but Blake cut him off before he got the chance. "Melanie and Raleigh Daniels." She said, clearly so that Klein would be able to play along. He raised an eyebrow and nodded before looking down at the list of names that he had. Klein flipped the page and looked for something before nodded and scratching their names off of the list.
"Enjoy your evening." Klein said, holding his head back up high and putting on a very slight smile for the time being.
Blake and Adam both nodded and began on the way in.
"Fake names?" Adam hissed in her ear. "I would have appreciated it if you let me know about that."
"Sorry," Blake muttered. "I only got them last night."
"Right." Adam said, his frustration obvious enough in his voice. Blake rolled her eyes and just continued on the way inside.
What the two of them found inside of the hall that had been selected for the party was groups of people. Some were faces that Blake recognized from her work, people that she had only ever met in passing. Some of them were more familiar, and one of them that she was having trouble to find was Weiss herself.
Blake didn't realistically think that either of them were going to be able to talk that night, especially when she was there under a fake name and Weiss was likely to be surrounded by people for the entire night anyways.
"When the speeches start, that's when we're doing this." Adam said into her ear, his voice so quiet that Blake almost didn't hear it. "Until then, we enjoy the party."
Blake shot Adam a look, because she didn't really know how that she felt about it. She was willing to bet that he was going to be enjoying the free food and drinks that were there, and if he ended up endangering the whole thing-
Well, if he got thrown out by security for being drunk, then that was a solution. Not a good one though.
Blake herself got a glass of champagne, though she took her time at sipping it and fully intended to have water to make sure that she could have a clear head. She tucked herself into a corner and tried to get a good look at the people there. On the far side of the room, she was able to see Jacques Schnee, standing tall and in conversation with one of the members of his board. He looked frailer than Blake had ever seen him in the past, whether it was in press releases or television interviews.
Whitley Schnee was playing along and making nice with guests, with Weiss at his side and Weiss-
Weiss looked amazing. She was talking with someone and looked like she was more than disinterested with the discussion that she was having. She glanced over at Blake out of the corner of her eye, and Blake saw the slight smile that graced her features. Weiss' eyes flicked back down and Blake could have sworn she'd seen the tint of a light blush.
Unfortunately, it was attention that wasn't going to be allowed to last and Blake knew it. Weiss' gaze only was able to linger for a few moments more before it was back on the person that she'd been talking to. Blake felt something terrible settle in her chest over that, something that she wasn't going to be able to ignore all that easily.
Blake decided to sink into the background to see what was going to happen. She took a deep breath and made herself feel a little bit better about where she was. They were there for a reason, and they were both fully aware of the consequences of what could happen Weiss might have had her own things to do that night, but Blake absolutely refused to get Weiss in trouble for any reason.
For what felt like close to forever, Blake kept herself to the background. Once in a while she would find herself in a conversation with someone, almost always struggling to remember who she was supposed to be playing the part of. She wasn't a reporter, she was simply a rich woman that was there to aid in raising funds for the city's hospital. Rubbing elbows was only part of the night.
At one point in the evening Weiss approached her, with a glass in hand and holding her head up high. "I don't think that I've gotten a chance to greet you yet," Weiss started, her eyes flicking back to the crowd for a moment. "I do hope that you're enjoying the evening so far Miss-"
"Melanie Daniels." Blake finished for Weiss, since it was apparent that she hadn't known the name that she was using for the night. "It's nice to... meet you."
"It is." Weiss said, smiling softly once she was sure that she wasn't going to need to hide things anymore. "How have things been going for you? I hope the event isn't too much."
"So far?" Blake asked, her eyes drifting over towards Adam, who was talking to someone that was there. It seemed like he was interested in talking to a member of the SchneeCorp board- no doubt fishing for some sort of story in a way that nobody would expect much from him. "It's been a lot of hanging around and waiting so far."
"That isn't so bad." Weiss sighed. "My night has mostly been playing nice so that I don't embarrass the family. As though they need it." She brought her glass up to her lips, drinking sweetly from the champagne inside. "So you could say that my night hasn't exactly been interesting so far."
"I figured." Blake replied. She was a little bit curious as to what Weiss was talking about. "Do you know if there is anything that we need to keep in mind?"
"The security around the building has been amped up a bit." Weiss said, her voice dropping in volume dangerously, and the tilt of her head allowing her to hide what she was saying. "I would recommend trying to slip out just before my father or brother speak. If you do that, you might be able to find a way out of the way so that you can make it to where you need to go."
Blake nodded. "I was thinking that we could try and get this stopped before it got started." She blinked, and felt the dread thrumming through her veins when Adam looked over in her and Weiss' direction. "Perhaps we could arrange something."
"We may be able to."
Weiss was quiet, still holding that glass of hers by her face while looking out into the crowd. Blake could practically hear the gears turning in Weiss' head as she tried to think out a solution for the two of them. It was mostly obvious that Weiss was taking her time with figuring this out.
Instead of pushing Weiss for an immediate answer, Blake got a glass of champagne for herself and decided to play along in the same way. She half-hugged herself as she watched the crowds and waited.
When the noise and the chaos had begun to spike back up again, Weiss spoke up again. "Try to give me a signal when you slip out for what you are going to do. I can try to do the same, all that I'll need to do is say that I needed some air and everyone will be willing to play along." She shrugged and her eyes met Blake's for a second. "At the very least, I probably won't be questioned too much for it."
"And if they do?"
The silence that she got as Weiss' answer did manage to speak for itself in a way. It left Blake with a lot of questions as to what was going through Weiss' head, and while she wanted to be able to go ahead and ask what exactly Weiss was thinking about-
It wasn't something that she could do. Not with Adam in the room and able to listen in, and definitely not with Weiss' family there as well. This was far from a safe place, and-
And Blake was glad that she could at least know that she had a place to go home to when this was all over and done with. No matter what, she wasn't expecting to keep her job for much longer than a day once this was all over and done with. That was something that Blake had already come to peace with.
Weiss smiled softly and pushed herself off from the wall, having apparently seen someone that she needed to go ahead and greet or talk to. She didn't say anything to Blake, but at the same time she didn't have to. Blake was actually glad that there wasn't anything extra said between the two of them that could have made things get any worse.
With Weiss gone, Blake had to refocus herself on the job. Adam had found his quiet, and was making his way back over to her. Blake steeled herself and drank some of the champagne, since she had the feeling that she was going to need it anyways. All that she had to do was make sure that she didn't risk compromising what was to come later.
Too much alcohol in her system would only serve to make things worse for them both. That was a sure thing.
Adam watched Weiss, something in his eyes that Blake struggled to identify that went much deeper than just simple contempt. It made her stomach churn and her nervousness grew stronger and stronger This was not good, and Adam-
Blake had a feeling that he was going to go ahead and jeopardize everything now that he had seen Weiss and Blake face to face.
"Friend of yours?" Adam growled.
Blake hesitated, and while there was some urge for her to snap back at Adam, she didn't allow herself to do that. To do that would have been nothing short of suicidal on her part. She let her eyes linger on Weiss' back, which was exposed by the dress that she had decided to wear that night.
"No." Blake answered, when she felt like she was really ready to. "I think she was just doing her official job for the night."
"Right." Adam responded, snappish. "I'm sure that's all it is."
"You should be focusing on what we're here to do." Blake's eyebrows furrowed as she took a half-step away from Adam and faced him. She was gripping her glass a little too tightly- uncomfortably even. "For your own sake."
Adam responded by giving Blake an incredibly harsh look that she didn't want to have levelled on her by any means. "I should say the same to you." He growled back at her, his eyes drifting across the room as though he were seeking someone out. His gaze landed on Weiss like a heat-seeking missile. "Distractions are only going to be a problem. You know that."
"I know." Blake replied, feeling her stomach flip again even though it was far from a literal thing that was happening. Suddenly the thing that she had agreed to do was feeling much, much more dangerous than it had originally.
It left her worrying about whether or not Weiss was feeling the same thing herself.
Slowly but surely, the hours ticked by until it was about the time that she and Adam needed to slip out. People were shuffling into place near a small stage, and Blake caught Weiss' eyes before slipping out of the back of the room and to the bathroom where she was going to wait for things to start.
Blake wished that she knew what Adam was doing, because if she did then her life would have been a little bit easier. She would have been able to plan everything that was going to happen down to the second, more or less.
But as things were, it wasn't that simple. So Blake stood back in the bathroom, and she waited.
When she heard the voice of Whitley Schnee over the speakers, Blake knew. She slipped out the door and matched eyes with Adam..
With that, the two of them were off to work.
