Chapter Nine: Running into People
(Ryker pov)
"Ryker you are not leaving this table till you eat something!"
"I told you I'm not hungry!"
"Yes you are, I heard your stomach growling on the way here!" Weiss hissed across the table from me, looking ready to beat me senseless as I shoved my tray of food away from me before she shoved it right back towards me.
Things had been going… well they were going. I couldn't and wouldn't say that things were going well, ever since the rest of Team RSBR had learned of my eating habits or lack thereof we got into a lot of arguments about how much I was eating. It had only been about a week, and in that time we had been arguing about food at least once every other day.
Eating three times a day was starting to grate on me, constantly feeling like I was only a bite away from violently ejecting the entire contents of my stomach was getting tiring. However, my teammates didn't seem to care, or I guess this would be them caring too much. Ruby and Blake tried to be the good cops, but Weiss was always the bad cop.
"Weiss please, I'm not hungry. I already know it's going to taste awful, and I don't want to spend the bit of time before our next classes puking in the nearest bathroom."
"Ryker you need to eat. You have been doing so good, I'm not going to let you lapse back into skipping meals." Weiss huffed. "Now eat!"
I grimaced as my tray of food was pushed back in front of me. "You suck," I grumble, picking up the burger from my tray of food and taking a bite out of it.
"You know, it's impressive how much you two fight. It's like watching an old married couple." Yang laughed patting a now blushing Weiss on the back.
"Ugh, Ryker wishes."
"In your twisted dreams Ice Queen." I snip behind a mouthful of bland burger.
"If you think they fight a lot in public, you should see them in the dorm. It's like they look for opportunities to bicker with one another." Blake said from my left not looking up from her book, a small smile gracing her lips. "It's pretty cute watching them try to find something to argue about so they have an excuse to talk to each other."
"It's not like I like fighting with her, she just tends to say stupid stuff."
"How dare you, you are such a jerk!"
"Only to you, Heiress." I tease, the nickname getting a small blush out of my pale teammate.
Weiss rolls her eyes, before reaching across the table and spearing her fork into an apple on Ruby's plate getting a noise of protest out of the young huntress and placing it on my tray. "Oops, looks like you have even more food to eat."
I grumble, looking down at my picked at burger, fries, and now an apple. I brought a few fries to my mouth, ignoring the revolting taste as I tried to force as much food down my throat as possible. Ruby still grumbling to the right of me about her lost apple.
While it had only been a week, I was feeling marginally better. I had more energy, and I didn't feel like sleeping as much. I also noticed my nightmares had been less frequent, which the rest of the team was just as appreciative about it as I was. Ozpin had given me a month, Ruby had explained to me that I would need to show some signs of improvement, one of the key things being weight gain. Beacon wanted some sign from me that I was getting better, and they had tasked my team with helping me do so.
So I ate, slowly, but surely I ate. I had made it halfway through my fries when Ren and Nora showed up, the latter looking upset. Nora practically slammed herself into her seat as Ren went and got them both food.
"You ok Nora?" Ruby asked.
"Was it that bad?" Pyrrha asked, seemingly clued into why Nora was so down.
"It was awful!" Nora exclaimed. "The doctor freaked out about that thing I talked to you about and wanted to take me off of my meds entirely."
"Wait, is he forcing you off of your meds?" Pyrrha gasped.
"No, Ren was with me when they brought that up. I broke down crying but he was able to convince the doc to let me stay on my current dosage as long as I do some medical tests and get cleared before my next appointment."
I was completely lost by the conversation, and it looked like Weiss, Ruby, and Blake were also just as lost as me. "Umm," I interrupt gaining the rest of the table's attention. "Are we allowed to know what's going on?"
Pyrrha and Yang tensed at the question, both looking to Nora as to what to say. Nora however seemed to be starring me and the rest of Team RSBR down before coming to some sort of conclusion in her head.
"Yeah, it's fine for you to know. I trust all of you." Nora answered as we all leaned in slightly, Team PNLY's Chaos Queen having us on the edge of our seats. "My doctor threatened to take away my HRT because I started to have a side effect from one of my new meds that freaked them out. So now they want me to go off of my HRT entirely."
Ruby and Blake gasped and Weiss and I looked on in confusion. "HRT?" I ask.
"Hormones, Nora is on hormone replacement therapy, or HRT for short," Ren spoke setting a tray of food down in front of Nora, the girl squealing with excitement as she picked up one of three burgers that Ren had piled onto the tray.
"Isn't HRT only something that transgender people are on?" Weiss asked before her eyes widened. "You're trans!"
Yang smacked a hand over her mouth as Weiss made noises of protest, trying to shake off the much larger girl. "Not so loud Ice Queen. It's not nice to yell something like that out loud for other people to hear."
Nora groaned into her burger, though instead of it seeming like she was enjoying it, she instead seemed like she was hiding behind it, her eyes looking at everything but us. Yang let out a small yelp as Weiss bit one of her fingers, the yellow-haired bombshell yanking her hand away from the pissed-off Heiress.
Weiss glared at Yang for a moment longer before taking a breath. "I apologize, I did not mean to get so excited. I simply had no clue that you were that way." Weiss sighed.
"It's not like I advertise it. I'm just a normal girl." Nora murmured from behind her burger.
"Of course, I didn't mean to imply you were anything but." Weiss nodded.
"Whats trans?" I ask softly, the entire table freezing as they all turn and look at me at the same time. Creepy.
"You're kidding right Ryker?" Yang asked, astonished.
"You don't know what being trans is?" Ruby chimed equally astonished.
"No, should I? You mentioned meds are you sick or something?"
"I am not sick!" I flinched from the sudden rise in volume, Nora looking at me with one part disbelief, one part anger.
"I'm sorry, I just don't understand. I didn't mean to upset you." I ramble, anxiety rising as more and more of me was wishing I just kept my mouth shut.
"Ryker, do you really not know what being transgender is?" Blake asked softly as she set her book aside, the conversation finally needing her full attention.
I shake my head, having no clue what 'transgender' was, I had never heard the term, let alone talked to someone who had it. "I didn't have any friends growing up, and my mom never told me about it, so I'm completely lost here."
"You didn't have any friends? What a surprise." Weiss scoffed.
"I didn't have the money to pay for them like you did Heiress." I shot back getting an indignant squeak out of the pale girl.
"Transgender is a term for someone who is a different gender than what they were assigned at birth. This can be expressed in various ways, as there are trans men, trans women, and people who are non-binary and don't feel like they are either gender. Nora is a trans woman, and she takes hormones to help her live her life as a woman." Blake spoke, the rest of the table nodding at what she was saying.
"So Nora is a girl, but she didn't use to be a girl?" I ask slowly.
"I was always a girl, but my body doesn't match," Nora spoke softly.
Nora was a girl, but her body didn't match? Wait, if her body doesn't match being a girl then that meant. "Oh." The sound escaped my mouth as it finally clicked. I stared at Nora in wonder, thousands of thoughts racing to me all at once, the key thought being. "You can do that?"
"What do you mean?" Ren asked calmly.
"You can just choose to be a girl? You don't have to be a boy if you don't want?"
"It's not a choice Ryker. Nora doesn't choose to be a girl, she just is." Ren answered.
"I don't understand," I mutter softly. It didn't make sense to me, If Nora was born a boy, then shouldn't she be a boy? Or wait… He? Ugh, this was confusing. Nora was obviously a girl, she was nothing like Ren, Cardin, or any of the other guys in our classes. Yet, it felt impossible to get past the part that she wasn't a girl, or at least wasn't a girl in the same way as everyone else. Except she was a girl, everything about her screamed girl.
"What don't you understand," Yang spoke defensively, her tone starting to switch to the same one she had when she found out I had accidentally hit Ruby.
"Every guy wants to be a girl, it would be so much easier if I was a girl but it doesn't mean I get to be."
The table went silent everyone staring at me with disbelieving looks. Yang leaned back in her chair as she looked at me like I had said that I loved the Grimm. Nora also looked as bewildered as everyone else, but something sparked in her eye before replacing her look of bewilderment with a small smirk.
"Ryker, not all guys wish they were gir-" Pyrrha started before a loud yelp behind our table grabbed our attention.
"Ow! Please stop, that hurts." A rabbit faunus whimpered as Cardin harshly pulled on her ear.
"See guys, told you they were real." He laughed as he yanked harder ripping a louder yelp out of the girl.
The temperature at the table had dropped, the conversation easily forgotten as we all watched as Cardin humiliated and hurt a faunus student. My eyes scanned across the cafeteria to see if anyone was going to do something about this, if there was any staff that saw what was happening and was going to intervene, but there was nobody. No staff in sight, and every student who had heard the commotion was trying their best not to get involved. A harsh look, a few words muttered under their breath, a few faunus students putting their heads down so as not to draw attention, but not a single person standing up to stop the racist bully.
"Disgusting," Pyrrha spoke. "I can't stand people like him."
"He's not the only one." Blake hissed under her breath.
"It must be hard to be a faunus." Yang sighed.
Screw it.
My fists clenched, my body going on autopilot as I began to start shoveling my food onto Ruby's tray, the apple that Weiss had taken from her being returned untouched. "Ryker, what are you doing?"
"Be right back Ruby." I smiled, flicking my finger against the hard plastic food tray to test how thick the plastic was. It would do. I got up, the table protesting as I headed right for Cardin who still was holding onto the rabbit faunus's ear. "Cardin!" I shout.
Cardin flinched, letting go of the girl's ear as he turned around to see who had called his name. "Wha-"
"Round two asshole," I growl as I swing the tray like a baseball bat into his face, the plastic snapping in half as it slams him into the side of the table he was sitting at.
Shouts of surprise filled the air as Cardin's teammates jumped up, Dove and Russel starting to walk towards me. At the same time I heard shuffling behind me as Ruby, Blake, and the entirety of Team PNLY all stood up. It was seven on four if they wanted to fight. The rabbit faunus slowly backed away from the entire situation before turning and running out of the cafeteria.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Cardin growled as he stood up and began to advance on me.
"I'd back off Cardin, unless you want to fight all of us," Yang growled from behind me, taking her own steps forward till she was shoulder to shoulder with me.
"Stay out of this Xiao-Long." The bully ground out, the vein in his forehead bulging. "Was the beating I gave you last time not good enough? Need another trip to the hospital animal fucker?"
"Screw you, Winchester."
We stared each other down, each of us silently daring the other to make a move. The entire cafeteria watched with bated breath as it looked like there was about to be a multi-team brawl. Just as I was about to take a step towards Cardin the halls to the cafeteria burst open, the tell-tale clicking of heels echoing across the tile floor. Professor Goodwitch walked towards us with the rabbit faunus lagging a few steps behind her.
"What is the meaning of this?" Goodwitch bellowed, the disapproval on her face casting her entire frame in a negative light. She was pissed. "Well?"
Cardin stared me down refusing to break eye contact. "Nothing Teach, just a misunderstanding. Little Ryker misinterpreted a situation. We are all fine though, right Ryker?" He asked his voice sickly sweet.
"Is this true Mr. Thorne?"
I growled, the sound guttural and low. I could easily out Cardin, I didn't exactly know what would be done though. If putting me in the hospital and his casual racism wasn't enough to get him suspended or expelled, then I doubted that him getting in a physical confrontation with another student would give any better results. The letter of the law aided him, sure he would get more detentions most likely, but I was in a worse position. He might have been tugging on a faunus's ears but I had broken a tray across his face, his low-level passive aura being the only reason he wasn't bleeding from the shattered and jagged tray that was tossed carelessly onto the table Team CRDL had been sitting at.
Not to mention what kind of target I would be placing on the rabbit faunus who had brought a teacher to break up a fight between me and the very person who had been bullying her. Cardin could want revenge for simply daring to bring a faculty member into the situation.
"Yeah, it's true. It was just a misunderstanding, nothing more." I grit out, turning and breaking eye contact with Cardin. The noise of satisfaction that left his mouth had me seeing red. He got his way, I had lost whatever you could call this little spat and he knew it.
"That's not-"
"Ruby, stay out of it." I snap.
Ruby flinched as if I had hit her. "I just don't understand."
"Of course you don't." I bite. What was I doing?
"Hey, don't talk to her like that she was trying to help you." Yang snapped her eyes flashing crimson.
"Then don't, just stay out of it. I didn't ask for any of your help, I was handling things on my own." Just stop talking, why am I doing this?
Cardin snorted, his whole team snickering as they saw us argue. Why was I arguing? Why was I attacking my friends? Please just let me stop before I ruin everything. I was just angry for letting Cardin get away with his harassment, I didn't want my friends to hate me because I was being an emotional wreck. I could fix it, I just needed another chance at getting this right.
I hesitate, for a moment before I bring my semblance to life, the look of hurt in Ruby's eyes haunting me as the electricity sparks around me. The world snapped to my will.
"Disgusting," Pyrrha spoke. "I can't stand people like him."
"He's not the only one." Blake hissed under her breath.
"It must be hard to be a faunus." Yang sighed.
I sucked in a breath, as electricity crackled around me, getting a yelp out of Ruby as a stray current zapped her. "Ryker!"
"Sorry Ruby, I lost my cool for a second, I didn't mean to hurt you," I spoke softly, apologizing to her for two reasons, one of which only a past version of her would know the reason as to why.
Another yelp spurred me into action as I picked up the apple from my tray and stood up. "Let's hope I don't miss," I mutter under my breath as I chuck the piece of fruit as hard as I can at Cardin's head, the thing exploding across his face as he lets out a yelp of surprise, his hand losing purchase of the faunus girl's ear. I quickly sat down and ducked my head as I heard the rabbit faunus run out of the cafeteria, a small smile gracing my lips as I picked up my burger. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cardin looking around for whoever had thrown the apple at him.
"Suck it you racist waste of space," I mutter taking a bite out of my burger. I grimace, the taste of victory sucked, but it was ultimately worth it.
"That was awesome!" Ruby squealed, the rest of the table shushing her as Team CRDL got up from their table. Cardin muttered under his breath as he and his team looked to be running to the nearest bathroom to clean up their leader.
"You didn't have to do that. I'm sure a staff member would have put a stop to it eventually." Weiss spoke.
"I hate bullies, more than that I hate racists. I'm not going to sit around and do nothing when someone needs help."
"She is a huntress in training at the most prestigious academy in Sanus, she should have stood up for herself." Weiss countered.
"It's not that simple."
"It is."
"No Weiss, it is not that simple." Blake interrupted. "If a human student stands up for themselves then they are labeled as courageous. If a faunus student stands up for themselves then they are labeled as an out-of-control animal. Faunus have their hands tied, sit back and take the abuse hoping the racist gets bored and leaves them alone, or being labeled as the bad guy for simply defending themselves."
Weiss looked like she wanted to argue for a moment before her entire form seemed to sag. "I didn't think about it that way." She said softly.
I groaned, how could she look like such a kicked puppy? "Don't worry about it, just remember this conversation next time."
Weiss nodded before going back to eating. I finished what I could of my food, scarfing down some more fries and most of the burger. I had managed to eat over half the food on my plate. Once Weiss had deemed me done with eating I muttered a quick goodbye, after that whole ordeal, I needed some space. The run-in with Cardin is still plaguing my mind.
I burst into the courtyard and just kept walking. I had no destination in mind, but I knew that I needed to get as far away from everyone as possible. Before I knew it I was sitting on the edge of the cliff that Beacon was situated on, the view of Vale was breathtaking.
"I wish you were here to see this Mom. One day you will, I promise."
As the seconds turned into minutes, I felt all of the weight start to crash down on me. This was getting harder and harder. I wanted my journey to be over. I wanted to go back and save her, yet I was nowhere near strong enough to go back and save my mom. My progress had come to a screeching halt due to the decline in my health. My body wasn't regenerating my aura as quickly as it did my first few days at Beacon, and my gains were near non-existent. I had managed to rewind about sixteen hours. I was leagues better than I was before Beacon, but it still was nowhere near enough.
I pulled out my mom's scroll, the old tech booting to life after a few seconds. I always kept it on me and would only drop it off in the dorm before heading to combat class. It brought me comfort, much in the same way Mom's crystal brought me comfort. I scrolled through the video titles, still blown away at how many different things Mom had thought to record in case I needed her advice.
My thumb tapped on a random video, the title catching my interest. The screen went black, as the video loaded up, the file name shown across the bottom of the screen, "It's ok to be sad." slowly fading as the video finally loaded. Mom popped up on the screen, her face looked like she had just been crying and instantly my heart ached. When had she recorded this? When had she cried? Who had made her cry?
"Hey baby, Mom here. I hadn't planned on making a video today, nor had I planned to really talk about this, but I felt like it was important for you to hear." She sniffed, wiping away a tear from her eye. "I know it might seem obvious, but I want you to know that it's okay to be sad. Sometimes life will hit you as hard as it can, and that can really suck, but I want you to know that it's going to be ok. Tough times pass, and when they do, you can look back and say that you made it."
My heart broke as a small sob poured from my mother's throat. "It's ok to be sad, and it's ok to feel these feelings. Life can suck, it can be unfair. So I want you to promise me something. When you are sad, don't bottle it up. Feel those feelings, cry, scream, shout, break stuff, do whatever you need to do to get that sadness out, and when you do, when all those emotions are spent. I want you to hug whoever means something to you. It could be me, a friend, a partner, your wife, or your husband. I don't care, just hug them, and let them know that you aren't going anywhere. I know that it can feel like a lot, and maybe you feel like you have to carry all that weight yourself, that you have to take on the entire world by yourself but Ryker, Sweetie, it's okay to ask for help. I love you, Ryker, be good."
The video clicked off, and the screen of the old scroll went blank. I put the scroll away, guilt gnawing at my heart. I was sad, but even if I let it all out I couldn't do the last part. I couldn't lie and tell any of my friends that I wasn't going anywhere. I was. I was going to leave them if I had the opportunity. I couldn't give up my mom, sure If I could convince Mom to come to Vale with me, then I would see them again, but that was such a hard thing to promise. I had to be realistic with myself and understand that the moment I was strong enough to go back, was the moment I had to say goodbye.
"Hey, are you the guy that helped out Velvet?" A voice called from behind me, I turned to look at who had called out to me. Behind me stood a tall woman with a beret and shades, the rabbit faunus from earlier standing behind her.
"Nah, I didn't do anything." I wave off.
The rabbit faunus shook her head. "Yes you did, you threw the apple at Cardin."
"That could have been anyone, besides how would you know, weren't you busy getting your poor ears pulled on?"
The rabbit faunus smiled and pointed at her ears. "They aren't just for decoration, I heard you say 'Let's hope I don't miss.'"
"Guess you caught me, yeah I threw the apple. It's not a big deal, don't worry about it. I would have done it for anyone."
The girl in the beret shook her head. "Except most people wouldn't have done anything, you did. I want to thank you on behalf of Team CFVY. The rest of the team couldn't be at lunch with Velvet today, and because of that, she got harassed. If you weren't there, who knows what could have happened."
The girl offered her hand for me to shake as I slowly got up off of the floor, wiping the dirt and dust off of my pants before shaking her hand. "Names Ryker Thorne."
"Coco Adel, this is Velvet Scarlatina," Coco spoke, her grip damn near painful.
I pulled my hand away and shook out the pain getting a small giggle out of Velvet. "Nice to meet you."
"We have to get to class but if you ever need our help for something let us know and Team CFVY has your back," Coco spoke before turning on her heel and walked away, Velvet gave me a small smile before she too turned and raced after her team leader.
I checked my scroll, I had a solid thirty minutes before my next class, I must have been on a different schedule than Team CFVY. I make my way back to the dorm, now would be as good a time as any to store my scroll before combat class. I was only a few turns away from making it to the dorm when a body slammed into me, shoving me into the wall of the empty hallway.
"Agh!" I choke out as a forearm pressed into my throat, Cardin Winchester snarling at me with his team behind him.
"You think I'm so stupid that I wouldn't notice your little stunt in the cafeteria?"
I struggled weakly, trying to pry his arm off of my throat, my legs kicking uselessly as Cardin pressed himself fully against me, allowing me no leverage. "I don't know what you're talking about?"
"I want you to listen, and listen good animal fucker. Every chance I get, I will beat you down. Every combat class, I'm going to ask to fight you, every time I catch you alone in the hall I'm going to slam you into the wall, and at every single opportunity, I'm going to remind you that you made a mistake when you decided to mess with me. You don't belong here, and I'm going to be a constant reminder of that fact."
Cardin pressed into me harder, my aura straining against the pressure as I started to choke slowly. "Cardin, c'mon let's go before someone shows up," Sky murmured, the rest of his team nodding as they kept a lookout for anyone who could catch them. Cardin growled one more time, pressing as hard as he could before pushing himself off of me, my hands immediately covering my throat as I slid down the wall coughing and wheezing.
"Later Ryker, remember what I said." Cardin chuckled as he turned and walked away with the rest of his team, Russel staring at me for a moment longer than the rest of them before he too turned and walked away. I take a deep breath trying to slow my rapid heartbeat down, my hands finally dropping from my throat as I sat against the wall of the hallway.
Cardin was becoming a problem, something I needed to solve. I tried fighting straight up and I lost, twice. I tried being sneaky but I wasn't sneaky enough. I had no clue what to do. He was my problem, and I didn't want to put that burden on my team.
"Ryker?"
I look up to see Yang and Pyrrha looking down at me. "Uhh, hey."
"What are you doing sitting in the hallway?" Yang questions.
I hesitate, the answer on the tip of my tongue. I should tell them, it wasn't a big deal to tell them, but I didn't want to be a burden.
"Ryker?" Pyrrha asked concern lacing her voice.
"S-Sorry, I ran into Cardin and his team, he let me know that he knew I threw the apple at him," I mumble, my hand lifting to rub at my neck.
Yang's eyes flashed red for a moment, the blonde standing a little taller than before. "I'm going to kill him."
"Please don't, if I get anyone else involved then the whole thing just gets worse for me. He's targeting me, and I need to be the one to stop him. I just don't know how to do that."
"It sounds like you just got to kick his ass and show him you won't be pushed around," Yang muttered offering me a hand up off the floor.
I nod taking the hand and she helps lift me back into my feet. "Great plan, except the last time I fought him I got put in the hospital. I can't beat him, even with my semblance."
"I think you lost because of your semblance," Pyrrha spoke up.
I looked at her with confusion, I lost because of my semblance? I was winning because of my semblance, if I hadn't used rewind he would have wiped the floor with me.
Pyrrha seemed to have been reading my mind, that or my confusion at her statement was just that visible. "Let me explain," she spoke. "Your semblance helped you dominate the fight for the majority of the match, but the aura cost was so high that even if you were visually winning, you were actually losing. If you relied on your semblance less and just focused on fighting Cardin straight up you would have a better chance at beating him."
"Pyrrha is right, I get that your semblance like boosts you but you used it way too much. If you used it only when necessary you would have won a lot easier." Yang chimed in.
"That's great and all but one problem, I'm kind of really bad at fighting without my semblance."
Yang and Pyrrha both looked at each other for a moment, having a silent conversation before turning their heads back to me both with smiles on their faces. "Let us train you!" Both chimed.
"What?" I ask in disbelief. "You want to train me? Like train me, train me?"
"Yeah, it will be a total blast. I can teach you hand-to-hand." Yang grinned.
"And I can teach you how to use your sword," Pyrrha added.
Could I take their help? Wouldn't this get in the way of their training? What if I'm like an awful fighter, even with help? What if I'm a bad student and I don't learn the right way? A million questions and doubts sank into my mind as my two friends stared at me waiting for an answer that they probably thought was a no-brainer.
My mind flicked back to the video of my mom from earlier. 'I know that it can feel like a lot, and maybe you feel like you have to carry all that weight yourself, that you have to take on the entire world by yourself but Ryker, Sweetie, it's ok to ask for help.'
I take a shaky breath, Mom was right. It's ok to ask for help. "Ok," I say softly my answer getting both girls to give me huge grins in response.
"That's the spirit. We can start tonight after classes. I will message you what training arena to show up at." Yang exclaimed.
"Yes, me and Yang will discuss a schedule for you, and we can get started right away. Thank you for trusting us, Ryker. It means a lot." Pyrrha spoke before checking the time on her scroll. "We have to go and meet with Nora and Ren, we will see you in class."
I nod, as the two break off into a jog down the hallway, obviously late for whatever they had planned with their teams before the next set of classes. I sigh, quickly heading to the team's dorm. I open the door and step in. I toss my mom's scroll onto my bed and head to the bathroom. I needed to take a leak.
I open the door only to freeze at the sight before me. Weiss was in front of the mirror staring back at me with a horrified expression, her towel pooled on the floor, panties in her hand. She was completely naked. We both stared at each other in silence, neither of us daring to even breathe, before the spell we were under broke and Weiss let out a shriek as she covered herself up.
"Ryker, get out!"
"I'm so sorry!" I turn around, slamming the door behind me.
"Why would you just waltz into the bathroom while I was getting changed!" Weiss shouted through the door.
"I didn't know you were in the dorm! Why would you take a shower and not lock the bathroom door?"
"Don't you dare claim this is my fault you pervert!"
"Don't call me a pervert for walking through an unlocked door! Why were you showering in the middle of the day?" I bite back.
"I always shower after lunch. I don't want to walk around school like a slob with food stains and crumbs all over me."
I bark out a laugh at the omission. "You are insane, nobody does that."
"Plenty of people take mid-day showers, just because you are an unwashed heathen doesn't mean the rest of the world is Ryker."
"No Heiress, nobody does that." I laugh as Weiss finally opens the door, now fully clothed. She stomped up to me, pushing a finger into my chest.
"You saw nothing, you will tell nobody about this." She hissed her entire face crimson with embarrassment.
"There wasn't much to see Ice Queen." I tease getting a gasp out of her.
"I have no clue what you are referring to."
"You are flat as a board Ms. A-Cup" I grin getting a strangled noise of frustration out of Weiss.
"I'll have you know that I am perfectly sized for a woman of my stature." Weiss bit back.
"Ruby is shorter and younger than you and has a bigger chest, don't bullshit."
"Just because Ruby is genetically gifted does not make my chest worse. Besides you're one to talk Mr. Anorexic, I bet you don't have much to brag about yourself." My eyes widen at the comment. What a bitch!
"Watch it, Heiress." I grit through my teeth.
"No, you watch it Ryker. You are not body-shaming me right after walking in on me naked. You are an abhorrent ruffian." Weiss turned away from me, her entire body rigid as she seemed to hug herself. She looked so vulnerable, like the moment she turned away from me she couldn't manage to keep up the walls she had built up. Watching the strong and brazen Weiss Schnee suddenly curl in on herself, as if she was ashamed of her body racked me with guilt.
Way to go, Ryker, you're a dick. How do I even fix this? Do I rewind and call it a wash? No, I already did that once today. I needed to stop treating my semblance as a get-out-of-jail-free card when I messed up with my friends. Shit, was I considering Weiss my friend now?
I step forward and wrap my arms around her in a hug. Weiss stiffens even further the moment I do. I lay my chin on her shoulder and take a deep breath. "Sorry."
"R-Ryker?"
"You are beautiful Weiss. Sorry if I made you feel like you weren't, and I'm sorry for walking in on you. I will knock from now on if I see the door closed, I promise." I speak softly, my mouth right next to Weiss' ear.
It took a moment before Weiss relaxed into the hug. "See that you do, and don't make it a habit of hugging me out of nowhere… Even if it does feel nice." She muttered, the last part so quiet I wouldn't have caught it if we weren't pressed against each other the slightly taller girl wrapped in my arms.
"No promises turns out Weiss Schnee is pretty fun to hug. Very soft, surprisingly warm for an Ice Queen."
Weiss snorts at my comment. "We should probably stop picking at each other so often. It might be getting out of hand."
I nod in agreement. "Yeah, maybe we could be a tad nicer to each other. Take fewer shots at each other at the expense of the other."
Weiss slowly pulled away from me, putting a few steps between us as she turned around to face me. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before putting her hand out for me to shake. "Truce?"
I take her hand and shake it, a small smile on my lips. "Truce."
"Want to walk to class together?"
I nodded, giving the Heiress a genuine smile. "Sounds good, do you know if Ruby got Oobleck's homework done or is she going to be rushing through it during class?"
Weiss laughed at the question. "I think she managed to finish it late last night, but I'm not sure. We will have to see."
I grin as we step out of the dorm, the awkward situation easily forgotten as we banter back and forth with each other. It was these little moments where I felt like I could learn to like Weiss Schnee. She was funny, smart, and quick-witted, and she also wasn't too bad to look at. She was nice to be around when she was more Weiss and less Schnee.