Ben and Velvet's dinner plans to celebrate their good grade were...slightly shifted, thanks to the whole mess Charmcaster made. Ben felt bad for lying to her about what had happened, but on the bright side, the week of delay had opened up a spot in the restaurant they were aiming for in the first place- an Italian place in Legedore, a small town over from Beacon. The restaurant was small and a bit out of the way, but the food was fantastic from what the satisfied customers had said.
Ben could tell they were right just from the smell hanging in the air. Ruby was drooling by the time she stepped up to the lady at the counter.
"Uh," Ruby said, quickly (and discreetly) wiping her mouth, "hi. Has the party for Adel arrived yet?"
"Yes, they arrived not too long ago," the hostess answered, motioning to the back.
"Thank you!" Ben smiled as he and Ruby walked around the tables. The place was pretty packed, but at this point Ben expected nothing less. Ben and Ruby visually sampled all the fantastic Italian cuisine on the other tables, and that just made them hungrier.
"Ben! Ruby! Over here!"
They directed their attention over to a table on the veranda. Velvet was waving them over; she sat with her teammates, all three of them looking like VERY interesting people.
No, seriously, just from a single glance, you could tell there was a story behind each and every one of them.
First was their leader- Coco Adel, a fashionista by every definition. She had fair skin, short dark-brown hair with her matching eyes hidden behind a cool pair of shades. She had wavy locks on one side of her face, dyed with a gradient that started as a dark brown and transitioned to caramel.
She wore a long brown shirt with an upturned layered frill collar paired with a black single strapped waist cincher. She complimented her shirt with black trousers that had gold lining around the pocket and ribbons attached to the back of a golden zipper seam around her knees. A black and gold studded belt was hidden by a large chocolate-colored belt with gun cartridges on the left side and a large golden crosshair buckle. A large piece of black fabric was attached to her belt, hanging down on her right side. She wore a pair of black leather high-heeled calf-high boots with golden buckles. To finish the outfit, Coco added a bracelet with black roses as decoration, and a black beret with a cocoa brown trim.
Ben wasn't sure if it was fashionable, but she made it work.
Second was Fox. He had dark skin and messy copper hair that had a long fringe and a cowlick. He wore a sleeveless, muted orange zipper vest with black lining and a high collar, black jeans, and brown, laced shoes. His eyes were pure white, something that unnerved Ben a little. His arms were also littered with scars, and he had one vertical scar on his lips. He looked intimidating, but with the way Fox was smiling at Velvet, Ben figured he was a softie underneath.
And finally, there was Yatshashi- Ben knew of him at least, since he was on the debate team with Yang and Blake. He was a tall and athletic-looking young man with shaved-short black hair and tanned skin. He had a long, short-sleeved robe, which he wore on one shoulder over a black muscle shirt. The robe was fastened at the waist by a leather armored belt with two pouches attached. He also wore brown pants and black-and-green boots. His left arm bore a 5-layer sode which extended up past his shoulder.
So, putting the relatively normal (and slightly sadistic, Ben noted) Velvet in the middle of this group, they would've looked like a...a collective of SOMETHING.
Velvet beamed. "I hope getting here wasn't too much of a hassle."
"The bus wasn't that bad," Ruby shrugged. "Though there was a dude manspreading an entire row, but it didn't really affect us, so...it was okay. How'd you guys get here?"
Coco laughed. "Limo."
Ben blinked. "Come again?"
"Limo. Personal service of the Adel family," Coco explained. "We've driven around a lot of famous people, myself included."
"So how come we don't get the limo treatment?" Ruby pouted.
"I mean..." Fox drawled. "You never asked."
"...fair." Ben perked up as a waitress came by with the menus and handed them to him. He began passing them around, starting with Fox, who was on his left.
Fox gave Ben a weird look. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked.
He blinked. "Uh...read it?"
Fox blinked back. "I'm fucking blind, Ben."
Ben nearly died from embarrassment while the table erupted in laughter. "Don't worry," Yatsu reassured him. "He does that joke all the time."
"Always works." Fox grinned, relaxing in his seat. "Oh by the way, Ruby, like the get up."
Ruby lit up. "Oh my gosh, thanks! I got this shirt at a Hex Girls concert and-" She paused as Fox gave her a smug grin. She slowly turned to Coco and asked, "So, how old does this bit get?"
"Very." Coco said as she opened her menu.
"So, where were you all of this week?" Velvet asked. "You kinda vanished without a trace. Kids thought you died and stuff..."
Ben and Ruby shared a quick glance and took a deep breath. It was time for them to rehearse the lie Ben had come up with so they didn't have to explain 'Brianna' and the concept of magic being real.
"Oh, you know, family stuff." He shrugged cooly.
"Yeah, they've been going through a rough patch," Ruby explained. "Personal business."
Velvet turned red. "Oh! I had no idea it was that serious. Cause I saw you walking around with some orange haired lady and what looked like her girlfriend-"
Ruby had to hold back laughter.
"And, uh, I kinda thought that was related."
"It's fine, don't worry. That was just my cousin coming to pick me up." Ben smiled, trying not to laugh at Velvet's misunderstanding. "Everything's sorted out."
"We shouldn't bother them anymore on this thing," Yatsu added. "So, how about we change subjects?"
"Of course! You missed a lot of hot goss." Coco smiled mischievously.
Ben scooted closer to the table. "Oh shit, spill the tea."
Coco's smile turned into a smirk as she set down her menu. "Didja hear about Cardin?"
"I didn't. Why? Did something happen to him?" Ruby asked curiously.
She turned to Fox. "You tell them."
"I overheard this one between a bunch of noisy girls in the hallways. Apparently they somehow confused deaf and blind...probably why they're failing in classes...anyway, I heard Mr. Winchester got a date with some hot girl," Fox explained.
Ben laughed-
Before he remembered.
HE was that hot girl.
While Ben was Brianna, Cardin had approached her in hopes of a date. And Brianna agreed, knowing full well she'd ghost him.
Hey, Cardin had never bothered to learn her name, he deserved it. (But there was also the fact that Brianna had some of Charmcaster's bastard energies deep inside her.)
...and Ben realized something even funnier, just as Coco added on-
"And apparently, they're meeting in THIS restaurant." She grinned sharply. "We wanna see how hard he crashes."
"He's been an annoyance to Velvet," Yatsu went on. "So this should be enjoyable."
"You can swear, Yatsu," Fox chided. "No need to be so formal."
"I know. But I choose not to," Yatsu replied stoically. "For power."
"...well, shit, I respect that," Ruby admitted.
Velvet shushed them. "Here comes the man of the hour."
Ben turned behind him to see Cardin, who was dressed for the occasion- khaki pants, a collared shirt, and his hair matted down.
"What's he wearing?" Fox asked the group.
"Something a Catholic boy on the brink of atheism would wear to an important mass," Coco joked.
"...that's so cold and biting I'm almost offended on behalf of the Catholics," Ruby said in awe.
"Wait, are you not Catholic?" Coco asked, furrowing her brow.
She raised an eyebrow. "What gave you that idea?"
"Well, the crosses on your outfit, mostly." Coco shrugged. "Very cute touch, I might add."
Ruby scoffed. "Oh, those? Purely aesthetic. Also Hex Girl inspired."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Only you, Ruby."
Cardin settled into his table and waited patiently. That cute girl who'd graciously accepted his offer was sure to be here soon! He had good faith that pretty girls never told lies, especially to hunks like him.
He'd put on his Sunday best (which was ironic, because his Sunday best was whatever he wore to bed on Saturday), gotten hyped up by his 'bros' and had watched a bunch of cool romance scenes on Youtube. You know, the type from old 80s movies where the boy flirts and the girl laughs a little, forming a romance rather than a friendship first- those were the BEST movies.
So, he was in for a horrible time, he just didn't know it.
But the table sitting outside knew.
Ben and Ruby ESPECIALLY knew how this was gonna go.
"So, what's to know about his date?" Yatsu asked. "I assume she has low standards."
"I saw her a few days ago," Velvet said. "She had curly light brown hair, a pale complexion, bright green eyes...she was also pretty curvy, so Cardin hit the jackpot."
"Maybe," Fox mused, tapping his fingers on the table. "His personality is sewer shit mixed with the rats eating it. I'm ninety percent sure she'll go to the bathroom to 'powder her nose' if Cardin so much as says something nasty to the Faunus waiter they might get."
"God, how are all of you so damn biting?" Ben asked, shocked.
"We're the cool kids. We tear into our prey like wolves." Coco grinned. "And we use our status quo to bring to light all the shitty things people do."
"Weaponizing popularity? Damn," Ruby said, impressed. "That's some psychological warfare."
"Not so much," Yatsu told her. "It's less 'weaponizing' and more 'calling people out on their hypocrisy'. Though being popular definitely helps in getting people to listen to you- if you have charisma and a solid fanbase, anyone will give you a platform to speak on, even if what you're saying is ultimately harmful."
Everybody stared blankly at Yatsu for that depressing statement.
"...Oh no, I brought down the mood," Yatsu gasped. "Uh, look! Cardin's talking to a waitress."
Everyone directed their attention over to the scene- Cardin looked especially enthusiastic about ordering. Velvet's eyes narrowed.
"Oooh, he's ordering the expensive stuff." She grinned. "He's gonna spoil her."
"You know lip reading?" Ruby asked curiously.
Velvet blushed, her ears drooping slightly. "I got bored easily as a kid. Learned it for fun."
"It's not the weirdest thing for a kid to learn," Ben chuckled.
The group had a nice meal, sharing stories about their battle experiences and whatever else came to mind. But forget that detail, the food was AMAZING- Ben had never had Saltimbocca before, but he was glad he tried it. It tasted like heaven.
(He had to google to see if he could get the recipe. His parents were always on his case about cooking for himself.)
"So, let's turn the focus to you, Mr. Tennyson," Coco declared, swirling her iced tea. "You've got quite the reputation from what I've heard."
"Kinda," Ben answered, putting away his phone.
"Ben and I have known each other since we were kids," Ruby said happily. "We were inseparable little shits with a penchant for adventure."
"Awww, how cute," Fox snickered, before turning serious. "So what's with the transformation thing?"
"Wow, you're straight to the point, aren't you?" Coco reproved him.
"Hey, it's just my Semblance." Ben laughed it off. "Nothing special."
"Quite the unique one, I might add," Yatsu commented. "I've heard of some strange Semblances, but I think yours takes the cake. How does it work?"
Ben struggled to remember what he told Velvet, so Ruby stepped in.
"Oh, simple!" she piped. "Ben scans an animal, and it creates an intimidating and warped projection of it so he can use it to...intimidate others and stuff! Yeah!"
Ben silently thanked the powers that be that Ruby existed.
"Interesting," Coco drawled. "No wonder Cardin was so afraid of that crystal guy."
"Speaking of Cardin..." Velvet motioned back over to his table. He was looking around, lost and confused. His date should've been here by now, right? So, where was she?
It'd been a full hour, and the room was clearing out- some groups had left, making him feel even more alone. Had he been duped?
No. She must've been held up by traffic. That was it.
(Cardin was still waiting when the group left.)
"Do you guys need a lift back in the limo?" Velvet asked.
"Nah," Ruby said, shrugging. "We got bus tickets already."
"This was fun, though!" Ben smiled. "We should do it again sometime. Maybe with the whole team."
"Yes, please." Coco grinned. "I want to know your leader's skin care routine, because her skin is so goddamn clear I would KILL to have it."
"I'll, uh, ask her that," Ben said, a little put off by Coco's enthusiasm.
"Anyways, I'll see you in class on Monday?" Velvet said, smiling cutely.
"Definitely! Have a good night!" And with a wave of his hand, Ben and Ruby broke off from the group.
Team CFVY started walking in the opposite direction, their limo already in sight.
"...I was kinda hoping Ben would explain why his Semblance forms had a passing resemblance to the aliens in the news," Yatsu sighed.
"Eh, could just be a weird coincidence." Fox suddenly perked up. "...or he IS the aliens."
The group paused.
"...yeah, we might wanna look into that," Coco said, taking out her phone and setting a reminder.
