Chapter 22) Put On Your Dancing Shoes
A/N: I'm still alive! Sorry for the lack of updates these past five months, but I had a lot of stuff to deal with, so I wasn't left with much time to write. But I'm back in the rhythm now, ready to resume Volume 2!
"S-stupid lady-stilts," Ruby muttered, wobbling precariously with each step she took in the hideously uncomfortable high heels she was wearing. "W-why couldn't I just w-wear my boots? I f-feel like I'm gonna f-fall over."
Coco laughed good-naturedly. "You'll be fine, kid. Just don't overthink 'em. It's like riding a bike, just go with it and don't let your head get in the way."
Ruby took slow, careful steps as she walked alongside Coco towards the main hall, the sound of music and conversation growing noticeably louder as the pair approached the doorway. They had taken their time getting ready in CVFY's dorm, and so were running a bit behind everyone else. Most of the rest of the party-goers had already arrived ahead of them, including the rest of their own teams, so the hallway was devoid of any other people to witness Ruby's utter failure to walk properly.
Unfortunately, that couldn't last, as in short order the two girls arrived at the hall.
"Well, here we are," Coco announced, striding in through the entrance with all of her usual confidence. Ruby timidly crossed the threshold alongside her, feeling awkward and uncomfortable and remarkably out-of-place.
The hall was full of people in various styles of fancy outfits. Some were dancing to the upbeat music playing from the speakers, others were standing off to the sides conversing with each other, and a few were gathered around a refreshments table set up by the windows.
"Coco!"
Coco smiled and gave a small wave to the girl who had called her name who began to make her way quickly towards them, weaving through the other party-goers and beaming a wide smile of her own.
"Wow, Coco! You look amazing!" she gushed.
"Thanks, babe. You're looking pretty good tonight as well."
Ruby remained off to the side as the two older girls playfully flirted with each other. She didn't want to intrude on their moment, but she also didn't really know what she was supposed to do with herself now that she had arrived.
"So who's this with you tonight? Should I be jealous that you arrived late with another girl?"
Ruby felt as if her face had caught fire as she registered the other girl's remark. Mortified, she began frantically waving her arms in front of her and stammering incoherently as she tried to deny the implication.
Coco chuckled and shook her head, smirking in amusement. "You don't need to worry about that babe. I was just helping out a friend. Besides, I'm pretty sure she's already taken."
Ruby stared at Coco. "W-w-what are y-y-you…"
Coco offered Ruby a wave as she linked arms with her date. "Good luck out there, Ruby!" With a final wink, she turned and walked off, leaving Ruby all by herself, red-faced and flustered and very much beginning to regret her decision to come at all.
Now what am I supposed to do!?
Another couple entered the hall, brushing past Ruby on their way in and startling her slightly, sending her wobbling sideways. She thankfully managed to avoid falling over outright as she leaned against the wall, head down and fighting to get her racing heart and flushed face back under control before she made a scene.
Coco had managed to do a pretty good job of convincing her that this would be a fun time. Parties and big gatherings of any kind were not really something Ruby tended to find 'fun', but the older girl had talked so enthusiastically about how nice it would be to spend the night just hanging out with everyone else that Ruby had found herself getting caught up in her energy as she allowed Coco to pick out her outfit and style her hair for her.
When Coco had had Ruby look at herself in the mirror before they set out, Ruby had been stunned by her own reflection. The dress Coco had loaned her looked wonderful, a dark red sleeveless one that came down to just above her knees, with grey ruffles around the skirt and a black belt around the waist, paired with a pair of black high-heels that, despite being a pain to walk in, matched well with the rest of the ensemble. Coco had also done a fantastic job with her hair, fluffing it up and sweeping her bangs to the side, holding them in place with a hairclip that looked like a rose.
However, all of that initial confidence and energy she had felt earlier had wilted during their walk down to the main hall, and now it was all gone, replaced with a familiar but no-less-unwelcome feeling of anxiety that made her stomach twist and her chest clench.
I don't wanna be here right now.
Lifting her head, Ruby scanned the hall for any sign of her sister, but quickly stopped herself.
No. You said you wouldn't be a burden to her anymore. Don't ruin her night just because you can't handle it. Just… go back to the dorm.
Swallowing past the lump that was beginning to form in her throat, Ruby pushed herself away from the wall and turned to leave-
"Ruby!"
Ruby turned towards the familiar voice calling her name. The anxious feeling in her chest loosened slightly, and she smiled a little as she saw Penny make her way across the room towards her.
"I was not sure that you would be coming! I am so glad that you did though!"
Penny looked… well, a little odd, if Ruby was being honest. She had tied her hair back in a ponytail, and seemed to have attempted to add some green streaks to it, but they were all different shades of green and didn't really match each other. Her attire was also a mess of different greens. She wore an emerald-green jacket over a white shirt, paired with a tie that was more of a yellow-green. Her skirt was yet another different shade, bright chartreuse, and her leggings were seafoam. Her shoes broke the trend, a pair of pink flats replacing her usual boots.
"You look wonderful, Ruby!" Penny exclaimed. "I especially like what you have done with your hair."
Ruby felt her face heat up yet again. "Th-thanks. You look n-nice too."
"Thank-you!" Penny replied with her usual bright smile. "Can I get you a drink?"
Ruby nodded and followed Penny to the refreshments table, lagging slightly behind due to her heels.
Penny ladled out a cup of whatever was in the punch bowl and handed it to Ruby, who accepted with a nod of thanks before taking a sip.
"Are y-you here w-with Ciel?" Ruby asked.
Penny shook her head. "Ciel did not want to come. She likes to go to bed early so she can get up early, so it's just me here."
The music changed, switching to a new, slower track. The couples on the dancefloor switched gears and began to move to the new, calmer rhythm. A number of others also joined in from the sides, the middle of the hall now becoming quite crowded with people.
Penny held out her hand. "Would like to dance with me, Ruby?"
Ruby stared at Penny's offered hand. She imagined taking it, being led out onto the dancefloor and holding onto Penny as they moved in time with the music.
She then imagined herself tripping over, her and Penny falling down as everyone stared at them and laughed.
"Um… I don't… I m-mean… uh…"
Penny withdrew her hand. "You are not comfortable here, are you?"
Ruby looked up at Penny and saw concern all over her friend's face. Guilt washed over her as she realised that she was making Penny worry.
I'm ruining this already…
Ruby wanted to wave away Penny's concern, tell her she was fine, and take her up on her offer of a dance regardless of her own worries.
But Ruby knew that Penny would see right through all of that.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I guess I probably sh-sh-shouldn't have come. I th-think I'll just go back to the dorm."
Penny's expression softened. "Then let's go someplace else together."
Ruby waved her hands in front of her and shook her head. "Oh, n-no no! Penny, y-you don't h-have to l-leave with m-me! Y-y-you should s-stay and h-have f-fun!"
Why did I do this? I should've just turned Coco down and done something else tonight. I'm not someone who does things like this. I'm not a dancer, I don't do parties, I don't fit in with people like this…
"But I want to spend time with you, Ruby."
Ruby's thoughts ground to a halt. "Huh?"
Penny smiled that bright smile of hers. "Come on, let's go for a walk instead. It is a lovely night tonight, after all."
Ruby once again felt her cheeks warm up.
She really does have such a nice smile.
"OK."
Yang watched her sister and her new friend leave together out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but smile at the sight.
I saw that blush, little sis.
"What are you smirking about?"
Yang returned her attention to Blake. "Nothing."
Blake just raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? Because from where I'm standing it looked like you were spying on your sister."
Yang pointedly averted her gaze. "I was just making sure she was alright."
"Of course you were," Blake remarked with a hint of sarcasm.
Yang rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I'm not gonna tease her about it, if that's what you're getting at."
Blake's smirk softened into a small smile. "I know you wouldn't. You're a good sister."
Yang chuckled and smiled back at her partner, while simultaneously willing her heart to not beat faster.
Don't blush red, don't blush red, don't blush red.
Asking to dance with Blake had perhaps not been Yang's smartest decision ever. It certainly didn't help that her friend/partner/crush(?) looked absolutely stunning that night.
Yang herself had made the most of the occasion to dress a bit differently from her norm. Rather than letting her hair fall where it may, she had tied it back into a high ponytail, with a few strands hanging loose around either side of her face, and her dress was white rather than yellow. A more 'classy' look than she was used to, fitting for a night of dancing and music.
Yet Yang felt that her look paled in comparison to Blake's, who's light-blue dress she had opted to wear suited her amazingly well despite it not being her usual colour-of-choice.
"Thank-you."
Yang quirked an eyebrow at that. "For what?"
"For convincing me to come," Blake explained. "You were right, I needed this. This is… nice."
Yang knew she was fighting a losing battle against her rising blush at that point. She just hoped that Blake wouldn't notice, or if she did, that she wouldn't think too much about it.
"Well… glad I could help."
Nothing else was said for long moment. The pair just continued to move in time to the slow melody, turning and weaving in the small portion of the dancefloor that they had claimed for themselves amid the crowd.
Blake was the one to break the silence. "Can I ask you something?"
Yang nodded. "Sure, go ahead."
Blake paused for a moment before speaking. "How do you… how do you not let things bother you so much?"
Yang blinked in confusion. "Uh… what do you mean by that?"
Blake looked down at her feet. "Well, you worry about your sister a lot, right? And you have a lot of… bad stuff in your past, right?"
"Yeah?" said Yang slowly, still not entirely sure what Blake was getting at.
"But you're always so upbeat. Even after everything, you're always still OK. You bounce back so fast. How?"
Yang pondered Blake's words for a second.
I'm always OK, huh?
"I wouldn't say I'm always OK," Yang replied. "I have bad days just like everyone else. I get mad, I get sad, I get stressed and tired and all that stuff."
"But you never let that stop you for long," Blake continued. "How do you manage to come back from it so easily?"
Yang's brain connected the dots, and she felt a rush of sorrow as she realised what Blake was trying to ask her.
"I don't think I'm the best person to ask for advice on this front, Blake."
Blake lifted her head to look Yang in the eye, and Yang felt her heart ache as she saw the expression on her face. She was doing a pretty good job of concealing it, but Yang could still see the sheer exhaustion and worry Blake was carrying inside.
Well, it's not like one conversation and a dance was gonna magically make all of Blake's troubles disappear.
"I'm sorry," Blake murmured. "I shouldn't be asking you about this, I know. Just… forget I said anything."
"Hold on, Blake, I didn't mean it like that."
Yang mentally berated herself for her prior slip-up, but quickly quashed that thought and trained her full attention on her partner. Blake needed her help, her advice, so she needed to focus on her.
"What I meant was, what works for me might not work for you. So any 'tips' I could give you about how I cope with stuff might not be all that helpful."
Blake smiled slightly, but it was a smile that lacked humour. "Whatever tips you have are more than I have. I dunno if you've noticed, but I'm not that great at dealing with emotions."
Yang decided not to make a joke about that. This was a serious discussion, after all.
"Well, I tend to just distract myself most of the time," Yang began. "Find something else to do, something else to think about, and just kinda wait out the worst of it until it becomes easier to handle."
"And that helps?"
Yang shrugged. "For me, yeah. At least, most of the time. There are some things that can't be ignored like that, after all."
Blake and Yang had stopped dancing some time ago. Neither one of them had even noticed that the song had changed and people were switching about around them.
"So what do you do if you can't ignore it?" Blake asked quietly.
"I do something about it," Yang replied. "If I can't ignore it, then that means it's too important to be brushed off, so I need to face it head on and do something to fix the problem."
Blake frowned. "That sounds like the exact opposite of what you told me before, Yang."
Yang furrowed her brow. She knew what Blake was implying. "No it's not. Remember, I didn't tell you to stop, I told you to slow down."
Blake let out a frustrated huff. "I know what you said, Yang. But I still don't get it. How can you say you can slow down but also be able to still focus on fixing anything? That doesn't make any sense."
"Because slowing down is part of fixing it," Yang stressed. "I told you already Blake, you can't help anyone if you run yourself into the ground. You need to…" Yang racked her brain for the best way to explain what she was getting at. "You need to pace yourself. Think of it like climbing a mountain, or running a really long race. If you run out of energy right at the start, you won't have enough left in you to make it to the last stretch."
Blake pondered Yang's words for a moment. "I… I guess that does make some sense."
After another pause, Blake spoke again.
"I distract myself as well. I read when I need to stop thinking about things. But lately it hasn't helped at all. My mind just keeps going back there…"
"Back to that night?" Yang asked gently.
Blake nodded.
Yang sighed. "Same here."
Blood… pain… screams… hate…
"I wanna make him pay," Yang growled. "I want him to pay for what he did."
Blake's grip on Yang's arm tightened slightly. "You sound like I did a few days ago."
Yang's anger receded, and she returned her gaze to Blake. "I told you already. We're slowing down, but we're not stopping. Not now."
"But what do we do right now? How do we keep ourselves sane until then?"
Yang wasn't sure how to answer that right away, but then she heard the music change again, hearing a familiar opening riff play out of the speakers that made her smile.
Turning to look up at the stage, she saw a set of immediately identifiable figures take up their positions, instruments at the ready as they began to play their first song of the night after over an hour of soft piano and strings playing in the background.
Ren, you are a miracle worker, and I will never be able to thank you enough for managing to convince them to do this.
As the band members of OK Goodnight began their set, Yang turned back to Blake and smirked at her playfully.
"Well, if our old distractions aren't working any more, maybe we just need some new ones."
Cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders, Yang prepared to begin dancing again, but with much more life and energy this time around.
"Think you can keep up with me?"
Blake answered Yang's smirk with one of her own, the sight of which sent Yang's pulse fluttering.
"Do you think that you can keep up with me?"
As she felt the heat spread across her face, Yang realised that she had indeed failed to stop herself from blushing.
But at that moment, she decided that she didn't really care.
It was taking all of Weiss' willpower and restraint to stop herself from pulling away and walking off.
"This is nice, is it not? I'm certainly having a grand evening tonight."
Unlike her unwelcome dance partner, Weiss was not having fun at all. But he was an important guest and the son of an important business associate, all things Father had made her acutely aware of when he gave her his instructions earlier that night, so Weiss was doing everything she could to play nice and keep up appearances.
She just needed to get through a few more hours of this, and then she could go to bed and forget all about it.
"Have I mentioned how lovely you look tonight?"
"Yes, you have. But thank you for saying so."
The older boy chuckled. "Apologies, I suppose I'm not very good at small talk, am I?"
"It's alright," Weiss replied with as much fake interest as she could muster. "I'm quite happy just dancing with you for now."
An utter lie, but a necessary one. One she had told many times before to other sons of Father's colleagues as she played the role of the friendly peer that they could spend time with while their parents talked about more important things.
Had Winter been required to do this as well, before she left? Would Whitley have been made to entertain the wealthy daughters of the executives if he were here with her?
Not that she would have wished that upon her brother, but if her were here, at least she would have had someone friendly to-
A hand brushed through her bangs, and Weiss felt her entire body tense up at the unwanted touch.
"You know, some people would probably say your scar is something to be ashamed of." If the boy holding her had noticed her freeze, he made no mention of it. "But I think that it's brave of you to not hide it. It shows your strength."
Weiss knew she was supposed to respond to his words with more false gratitude, even if the compliment had been a barbed one. But his unwelcome hand running through her hair had made her thoughts lock up and fail her.
"You're like a beautiful sculpture. Even your imperfections only serve to emphasise how dazzling you look."
He leaned forwards, and Weiss felt his breath on her face as he moved in to kiss her.
Her mind and body finally started working again, just in time to allow her to stop his advance by slamming her palm upwards into his jaw and knocking him backwards away from her.
The older boy reeled from the strike, cursing as he staggered away clutching his chin.
"How dare you!?" he spat. "I thought we were-!"
"Stay the hell away from me!" Weiss snapped back. "I am not some-!"
"WEISS!"
Weiss wilted, her indignation melting away, replaced with dread as she turned to see Father staring at her furiously from across the ballroom.
"Excuse yourself from this room and wait for me upstairs."
Swallowing thickly, Weiss turned and did as instructed, keeping her head down to avoid the many accusing stares being sent her way.
…
Father paced up and down the length of Weiss' bedroom as she sat upon her bed with her gaze turned downwards.
"Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable! Do you have any idea what your little temper tantrum could cost us?"
"I-" Weiss began, only for Father to cut her off.
"And don't think that I'm just talking about Lien here! Our reputation, our image! This behaviour of yours is incredibly disappointing. You couldn't possibly understand the lengths I've gone to in order to keep this family where it is."
"He tried to kiss me."
Father just scoffed. "Of course he did. You are a Schnee, and an eligible young lady. Any boy would be lucky to have you."
"I didn't want him to kiss me!" Weiss yelled, her emotions getting the better of her for a moment.
Father rarely slapped her, which only served to make the times he did sting all the more. It meant that he was well and truly furious with her.
"Young lady, I do not give a damn about what you want!" he spat. Then he collected himself and folded his hands back together.
"This is not about you. This is about the Schnee family name, and it's future. You are the future of this family, Weiss. Your sister abandoned us, your brother is unable to shoulder such burdens anymore, and your mother is past her prime. You and I are all that remains of this family's proud legacy, and you will need to one day ensure that that legacy continues."
Weiss had heard this same speech before, many times. And each time she had just nodded and agreed with it to get Father to leave her alone.
But she couldn't do that this time.
"I can't do that."
Father just scoffed again. "Preposterous. Of course you can, and you will."
Father turned and sat upon the bed beside Weiss, and his tone of voice changed to one that was softer, kinder… fake.
"Weiss my girl, you are getting older now. In time, you'll be married, raising children of your own. Perhaps not with that boy, if he truly was so abhorrent to you. But sooner or later you will be proposed to, so you must make sure that you are desirable, so as to attract someone whom you can love and care for."
Weiss took a steadying breath and lifted her head to look Father in the eye. "I don't feel that way about anyone."
"Oh my dear, don't be so down. You will in time, I promise. We just need to have you get to know more people-"
"No, Father, you don't understand." Interrupting Father was dangerous, Weiss was well aware, but she needed to explain herself to him now. "I don't think I'll ever feel that way towards someone else. The thought of being with someone like that… it's not who I am."
Father said nothing for a long time. He just stared at Weiss, his face unreadable.
"We'll see about that."
Father stood and made his way towards the door. "A week will suffice on this occasion, I think. Plenty of time for you to contemplate your future."
The door closed, the key turned, and Weiss was locked away once again.
This time, she couldn't stop herself from breaking down in tears.
…
…
The distant sound of music filtered up through the hallways of Beacon as Weiss relaxed in the dorm, her own attention taken up by Ruby and Yang's game console as she attempted to make sense of how to control the character on the screen and navigate her way towards the spot on the map where she was supposed to be going.
Weiss had never played videogames back at in Atlas, but she was finding herself enjoying the one she was currently playing quite a bit. Even if she didn't really know what she was supposed to be doing or where she was supposed to be going, just wandering around this fantastical world was oddly enjoyable in a manner she couldn't quite put her finger on.
At the very least, it was vastly more enjoyable to her than the dance would have been.
If I never have to go to another party, dance or formal function again in my life, I will die happy and fulfilled.
BUZZ! BUZZ!
Sighing, Weiss paused her game and picked up her Scroll.
WINTER
Seeing her sister's name on screen, Weiss wasn't sure if it could be a good thing or a bad thing. So, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, she hit answer and raised her Scroll to her ear.
"Hello Winter. How are you?"
"Weiss, are you able to speak right now? This is important."
Weiss felt her stomach drop. Winter's voice sounded strained, worried. Whatever this was, it wasn't good.
"What's wrong? Has something happened?"
"Did you ask Wh-… … -load fil-… …"
Weiss scowled as Winter's voice cut in and out so much that she couldn't make out what her sister was asking her.
"Winter, you're breaking up. Can you hear me on your end?"
"… … -ther is f-… … under-… …"
It was no good. Weiss had no idea what Winter was trying to say.
"Winter, if you can hear me, I'm going to go down to the CCT and call you from there."
Whatever Winter said in response was utterly indecipherable, but judging by the fact that Winter was the one to hang up, she must have at least understood the gist of what Weiss had said.
Slipping her shoes back on and grabbing one of the jackets the team now kept hung up by the door, Weiss stepped out from the room and began to make her way towards the tower, hoping dearly that whatever her sister had to tell her wasn't life-threatening.
Pyrrha stood in the doorway, levelling the training room's sole occupant with a supremely disappointed stare.
"I thought we talked about this."
The object of her ire at least had the decency to look somewhat contrite.
"In my defence," Jaune began. "I genuinely just lost track of time. I really was gonna come down to the dance, I swear."
Pyrrha folded her arms and continued to level her gaze at Jaune. "That doesn't explain why you are in here in the first place. What happened to taking the day off?"
Jaune opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again and turned away.
Letting out a sigh, Pyrrha entered the room and walked over to her partner's side. She had spent the past half an hour searching high and low for him, hoping dearly that she wouldn't find him here of all places. She supposed she had been unduly optimistic in that regard.
"Jaune, remember what we said to each other. You don't have anything to prove to us, and you don't have to torture yourself like this. You're allowed to take time to unwind and have fun."
Jaune exhaled loudly and massaged his brow with his free hand.
"I know, Pyrrha. I know that. I just…" he trailed off, hand dropping back down to his side.
Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder, and took some comfort in the fact that he no longer pulled away whenever she did that.
"Talk to me, Jaune. What is it that's bothering you?"
Jaune took a few breaths, and Pyrrha did not fail to notice how shaky they were.
"I know I said all that stuff before, and made all those promises. And I know you all said you were OK with me being here and stuff, but…"
Jaune broke off, his voice catching momentarily.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know I shouldn't be feeling like this, but I can't help it. Sometimes I… I just have days where it all comes back. All the… thoughts that I had."
Pyrrha suddenly felt very guilty for getting annoyed with him a moment ago. Jaune was still hurting, and everything they had said already hadn't helped as much as she had hoped it would.
So this time, Pyrrha reached out and pulled Jaune into a hug.
"It's OK," she said softly. "It's OK to not be OK, Jaune. It's OK to have bad days."
Jaune lifted his arms and returned Pyrrha's embrace.
"I didn't wanna worry you guys all over again," he said thickly.
Pyrrha tightened her hold on her partner and friend. "We told you already: you can come to us when you need to, because we're a team. We all look out for each other."
The pair stood there for a long time, arms around each other and silent.
Pyrrha wondered if Jaune might need to talk to someone else about what he was going through. She had meant what she said when she told him he could come to her whenever he needed to, but Pyrrha was not really qualified to help someone who was clearly suffering from more than just a touch of doubt.
I'll have to talk with him about that some other time. But not tonight. Tonight, I think he needs a distraction instead.
Eventually, Jaune broke the hug and pulled back. He wiped at his eyes with one sleeve and gave Pyrrha a small smile. "Thanks, Pyrrha. For everything."
Pyrrha nodded her head and smiled warmly back. "Are you feeling up to coming to the dance still? I won't force you if you don't."
Jaune waved his hands. "No, I'm up for it. I think I need something else to do, anyway."
Pyrrha's smile grew into a grin. "Then I guess you need to go and get changed."
Ren leaned against the wall, cup in hand as they listened to the music the band were playing and nodding their head in time with the beat.
"Where are they?" asked Nora. "They're so late!"
Ren shrugged. "I'm sure they'll be here soon. Perhaps they got held up."
"Held up with what?" Nora whined. "Seriously, what is taking them so long?"
Ren had a feeling they knew what was up, but they kept that thought to themselves, hoping that they were mistaken and Jaune and Pyrrha were indeed just taking far too long to get changed.
"I'm gonna call Pyrrha and ask her where she is."
Without looking, Ren reached across and swiped Nora's Scroll from her grasp.
"Wha-..? Ren!" Nora cried in indignation. "Give that back!"
"Only if you promise to not interfere with them. I told you already, we should just let them progress at their own pace."
"Ugh, fine!" Nora groaned. "Now can I have my Scroll back?"
Ren returned their friend's property, just as their attention was drawn to the doorway.
"There they are," they said simply, gesturing to the pair of new arrivals.
Nora lit up and waved excitedly at the two of them as they made their way across the hall.
"About time you two showed up! What took you so long?"
Jaune rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and avoided looking directly at either Nora or Ren.
Pyrrha looked a bit awkward herself, fidgeting with her hands. "Sorry. We were… talking."
Ren saw Nora's face turn mischievous, and they felt confident that they knew exactly what conclusion Nora had come to upon hearing that excuse.
The conclusion Ren came to was less upbeat, considering the slight redness they noticed around Jaune's eyes, but they decided against mentioning anything about that for the time being. They would ask Pyrrha about it later.
"Well," Ren said, speaking before Nora could say anything to make the situation even more awkward. "We're all here now, so how about we just enjoy the night?"
Jaune perked up at that. "Sounds great!"
"I agree," added Pyrrha.
Nora deflated slightly, Ren having apparently succeeded in taking the wind out of her sails and derailing whatever idea she had been forming.
Ren loved Nora's energy, despite how often they complained about some of her antics, but there were times where they needed to stop her before she could get too enthusiastic about something.
The current song ended, and the band began to play a new one, the opening riff of which had Nora lighting up even brighter than before as she heard it.
"Oh, I love this one!" she exclaimed, grabbing Ren's arm and pulling them along. "Come on Ren, this is happening!"
Ren smiled as they allowed Nora to pull them out onto the dancefloor.
Their smile only grew as they saw Jaune and Pyrrha come and join them, the four teammates all standing together.
Ren supposed that the four of them made for quite the odd sight. They, for instance, were wearing a green waistcoat over a pink shirt and leggings, their hair loose and adorned with a lotus blossom. Beside them, Nora was wearing a pink waistcoat over a green shirt and skirt, her hair 'styled' in a manner reminiscent of bed-head.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha was wearing a scarlet qipao and a bronze shoulder drape, hair styled in a bun. And rounding out the group was Jaune in a grey suit with a yellow tie, his hair tied back in a rather pitiful attempt at a warrior's wolf tail, despite his hair being nowhere near long enough for that yet.
They were a mismatched group of oddballs, to be sure.
But all four of them were smiling and dancing together, all other worries left by the wayside for this night.
They're oddballs, but they're my oddballs.
Ruby sighed with relief as she finished removing her heels and resumed walking beside Penny barefoot on the grass, no longer staggering and wobbling with every step she took.
"I'm n-never wearing heels again," she muttered. "S-seriously, h-how does Weiss fight in th-these?"
"I could lend you my shoes for the time being if you wish," Penny offered.
Ruby shook her head. "N-no, that's fine. I'm OK n-now."
Penny nodded once in response. "Well, if you change your mind, you only have to ask."
Ruby hummed in response, looking off into the distance at something else.
"H-how have you been, anyway?" Ruby asked after a pause. "W-we haven't r-really been able to talk after…"
"After you and your friends got hurt?" Penny finished.
Ruby nodded.
Penny clenched and unclenched her hand a few times, a nervous habit of hers that she had developed recently.
"How are your injuries?" she asked. "You have recovered, right?"
Ruby nodded… then seemed to reconsider herself and shrugged instead. "M-my back s-still aches a little s-sometimes, but it's n-not as bad as it w-was. And ev-everyone else is f-feeling better as well… I think?"
Penny did not fail to notice the uncertainty in Ruby's voice at the end. "Have you and your team not talked about it with each other since?"
Ruby stared down at the ground and fiddled with the frill of her dress. "W-we're n-not very good at… talking to each other, I guess."
Penny reached out and placed her hand upon Ruby's shoulder. "Well, would you like to talk with me about it instead?"
Ruby didn't respond right away, and for a moment Penny was hopeful that she would agree to tell her how she was feeling.
But instead, Ruby shook her head.
"Actually, Penny… I th-think I'd rather… talk about s-something else tonight. Is that OK?"
Penny supressed the urge to press Ruby to speak with her about what had happened. She wanted to help her, but if Ruby wasn't ready to talk, then forcing her to do so would only serve to upset her more, and that was the last thing Penny wanted to do.
"Well then," Penny began. "What would you like to talk about instead?"
Ruby lifted her head once more, and Penny was slightly relieved to see that she was smiling, at least a little bit.
"Wh-what have you and C-Ciel been doing lately?"
Penny and Ruby resumed their slow, casual walk across the courtyard of Beacon as Penny recounted to Ruby what she had spent the past week getting up to. She told her how she and Ciel had spent time training for the tournament together. She told her about the new book she had started reading that she had found in the library. She told her how she had been finding some of the classes she had attended while at Beacon…
Small things, really. Mundane, everyday things that weren't really all that interesting or engaging to hear about.
Nonetheless, Ruby listened to all of it, interjecting with an occasional question of her own, but mostly remaining silent, seemingly content to just allow Penny to talk to her about anything and everything that crossed her mind.
Penny had worried a little when they first met that she wasn't letting Ruby be involved in their conversations much, what with her own tendency to talk quite a lot without pause. But Penny had quickly realised that Ruby just wasn't much of a talker, even around people she knew well. Which was fine, since Penny was quite happy to talk enough for the both of them given the chance.
Ruby shivered, rubbing her hands up and down her bare arms.
"Are you cold?" Penny asked, realising a second later that such a question was obviously redundant. Of course Ruby was cold, or else why would she be shivering like that?
"I'm OK," Ruby replied. "It's n-not that cold."
Penny was about to offer Ruby her jacket to keep warm with, but she stopped herself. Knowing Ruby, she would just turn her offer down and insist that she was fine without it, just like she had done when Penny offered her shoes.
So instead of asking first, Penny just shed her jacket and threw it over Ruby's shoulders without a word.
"Wha… Penny, I don't-"
"I do not feel the cold," Penny explained quickly. "So I have no need for it, but you do. So please, do not worry about it."
Ruby stared at Penny for a moment, then proceeded to don the jacket properly. The arms were a little long for her, but it otherwise fit her well enough.
"Thanks," she said softly.
Penny smiled. "It is no trouble at all."
Ruby looked back at Penny with a puzzled expression on her face. "You really don't get cold?"
Penny shook her head. "I can tell when it is hot or cold, but I do not really feel the temperature, if that makes sense."
Yet another way I am not like you…
Penny forced that thought out if her head as quickly as it reared up. She was not going to dwell on that tonight.
The two girls were quiet for a long while after that. Penny had more or less run out of things to talk about, and Ruby didn't seem to know what to say next either.
Perhaps we should head back now, in that case. I imagine Ciel will be annoyed with me if I get back too late-
Penny's attention was grabbed by a small, green light that drifted by in the corner of her vision.
Turning to follow it, she realised with a surge of joy that it was not the only one.
"Ruby, look! Fireflies!"
A number of glowing green bugs had taken to air around them, floating about and shining together under the night sky.
Ruby followed Penny's gaze and noticed the bugs as well. "Do y-you n-not have fireflies in Atlas?"
"No, it's too cold there for them." Penny held out her hand towards the drifting little lights and waited, holding as still as she could. To her delight, one of the fireflies landed on the back of her hand, its green glow lighting up her glove where it rested.
Beside her, Penny noticed Ruby copy her, extending her own hand to match.
Rather than land on her hand however, one of the fireflies instead chose to inspect the flower Ruby had in her hair.
Penny giggled at the sight.
"It seems they are interested in your rose, Ruby."
At that moment, another firefly chose to land on Penny's nose.
"Oh!" Startled, Penny shook her head slightly, causing the bug to take off and float around her face for a few seconds before moving off elsewhere.
"He was a friendly one," Penny mused, following it as it drifted away.
Beside her, Penny could hear the sound of laughter.
Ruby was holding her stomach with one hand, laughing with her eyes closed and a bright, sunny smile upon her face.
She still had a firefly resting upon her hairclip, and a few more were hovering about her head, framing her face with their soft, emerald lights.
The combined effect was something that Penny found herself enraptured by as she stared at her friend, watching her as she smiled and laughed and shined all by herself.
"I'm sorry miss, but the CCT is off-limits for tonight, you'll have to wait until morning."
Weiss fumed internally, but did her best to not let her irritation show. "Please, this is important. Can't you just let me in for a few minutes? You can watch me make the call if you want to make sure I'm not doing anything else!"
The Atlas soldier simply shook his head. "Sorry kid, rules are rules. I can't make exceptions for anything. Now you'd best be moving along. We've got a job to do."
Weiss took a moment to compose herself, lest she loose her temper entirely. "Why is the CCT off-limits anyway?"
The second soldier answered that question. "Just a precaution. Nothing to worry about. Now go on home, kid. It's getting pretty late."
Weiss wasn't quite able to keep herself from huffing at that. "I'm a student here."
The soldier shrugged. "Go on back to your dorm, then. Either way, you need to leave."
"If it's really an urgent call," added the first soldier. "Then I suggest you come on down here first thing tomorrow morning to beat the rush. I can leave a message with the next guard shift to let them know to expect you if you want?"
Realising that this was probably going to be the best she would get, Weiss sighed and agreed to the soldier's offer, giving them her name and student ID number to pass on to their colleagues.
Sorry, Winter. Just wait a little longer. I just hope whatever it is isn't really bad-
"Hold on." The first soldier pressed a hand to their ear. "Repeat, what's your situation?"
Whatever the person on the other side of the radio said clearly wasn't good, because the soldier immediately drew their gun and turned towards the entrance.
"Intruder," he barked at his partner. "Come on, let's go."
"What about the kid?" the second soldier asked.
"Leave 'em."
With that, the two soldiers quickly entered the tower, leaving a confused Weiss stood outside wondering what was going on.
Someone playing a prank, perhaps? Well, none of my business I suppose. I guess I'll just have to wait until-
The sound of a gun firing inside broke Weiss' train of thought.
A second gunshot followed soon after, confirming that Weiss had not been imagining the first one, and causing her to begin panicking somewhat.
Should I call for help? No, I can't, my Scroll isn't working right now. If I ran to find someone, I might not make it back in time to help either. But I don't have my weapon right now, so what can I even-
A third gunshot rang out.
I don't have time to think!
Ignoring the many, many alarm bells that were ringing inside her head, Weiss entered the CCT.
As soon as she made her way into the main lobby, she was greeted with the sight of both soldiers laying on the ground, motionless. One was bleeding from a wound across their chest.
Standing above him was a short girl with tri-colour hair, holding a parasol that had a long, thin blade extending out from its tip.
Neo turned to face Weiss, who stood frozen to the spot as she registered the situation she was now in.
The parasol-wielding girl smiled a lopsided smile at Weiss and began to walk slowly towards her, dragging the end of her blade across the ground as she did so.
With no weapon, no plan, and no means of reliably outrunning the girl approaching her, Weiss did the only thing she could.
She ran towards the nearest downed soldier and reached for his dropped gun.
She never made it.
Neo was on her in an instant, her blade slashing across Weiss' arm. Her Aura took the blow, but she was still knocked down by the attack and sent sprawling across the floor.
Rolling over, Weiss stared up at her enemy, who just continued smiling that casual, terrifying smile at her as she loomed large above Weiss.
All reason and composure fled her mind as she screamed.
"SOMEONE HELP-!"
Neo's foot came down hard on Weiss' head, and her world went dark.
Hello again and welcome back all you long-time readers! And a hello to any new readers who've checked in during my hiatus! I'm Not Scot.
Apologies again for the lack of updates for so long. I've had a lot of stuff to deal with on my end. I won't bore you all with the details, but I'm doing a lot better now, and I have the energy to write again, so there'll be more chapters coming soon.
So yeah, some romance and some angst in this one. Recent events have left their mark on the cast in more ways than one. And spoiler alert: things aren't going to get easier for them in the near future.
Next chapter, 'Important Announcements', is in the works, and I should have it ready to upload in a week or so. In between that though, I may or may not be also working on some other stuff…
Before I go, I'd like to say thanks to all of you. Checking back in after all this time and seeing just how many people have given likes/kudos and commented/reviewed on this fic really did brighten my day. I really needed the pick-me-up after the last few months I've had, so truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all.
See you all again soon! But for now, I shall take my leave.
Until next time,
Not Scot.
P.S: By the way, YIKES! Volume 9! And I thought I was putting these characters through the wringer…