Security
It had been a good couple of days since the incident, and Blake’s fears were finally starting to fade. Not only did she have friends surrounding and keeping an eye on her, but she also had a way to remain hidden from the public eye while things cooled down, all thanks to Neptune's friend Scarlet.They had also warned the rest of the university security to be on the lookout for Adam and to make sure Blake remained with a buddy at all times. Right now, however, she was feeling quite content with a good view of her “emotional support blonde” sitting across from her as they studied and wrapped up their homework.
“Hey.. um- Yang?” Blake asked.
“Yeah?” Yang’s eyes casually piped up from her essay.
“...Thank you for everything” she mustered with a smile she felt was genuine enough.
“No problem! I’ll always be here for you.” Yang replied back with a wide smile of her own. “So.. Do you want to head out of here?”
“Yeah, I just need to finish this discussion post real quick and we can go.” A couple minutes later they packed up their things and headed out. They ended up taking a bit of a detour back, a walk on a path that led to a small little greenhouse maintained by her acquaintance Ren. Blake had met him while getting lost on lower campus, and although he didn’t say much, Blake had appreciated that he provided some balance to Yang’s group of friends. They gestured a passing hello to each other before Blake and Yang found a shaded area to lay down nearby, and relax a little in silence. It’s just what she wanted right now. Something she’d been denied for the longest time. Peace.
“You know, I never thought I’d be able to feel free until I met you.”
Yang looked back at her a bit puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Blake continued, “Ever since I was involved with Adam and his… “friends'' I never felt in control. I never felt understood or heard or even acknowledged as a real independent person. I thought that’s maybe how people would always be. But when I met you, it was different! You never pressure me into doing things or talking about topics I’m uncomfortable with.”
“O-of course! I never want to make anyone uncomfortable.”
“And that’s what I appreciate about you the most.”
“Uh, I know this might sound weird but… I really wish I was there for you when you were with Adam. If I ever see him, I’d ‘accidentally’ punch a hole through him for putting you through his games. I just don’t understand how someone could hurt you like that and not feel any remorse about it.”
“There’s most likely an explanation for it. But I don’t think any amount of therapy would have changed the things that happened.’
‘Yeah… I hope he gets what’s coming to him.”
‘He will… Especially when he realizes that he needs people who can put up with that toxic way he‘s always been.”
“You're damn right! I’d say it’s his loss for driving away someone as great as you.”
Something about that part of the conversation specifically hit Blake’s brain in a certain way. It genuinely surprised her. “Well...uhh I wouldn’t say I’m *that* great. I mean, look at you!”
She couldn’t tell if Yang caught her flustered nature or not. Regardless, she laughed it off. “Let’s just say we're both great, ey?”
Agreed,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Well, we should probably head out soon. My book club starts soon and we both know Weiss won’t be happy if I'm late.”
“Yeah and I don’t think either of us want to feel the wrath of the ice queen.” They both had a pretty good laugh at that before sitting up and heading on their way. Yang dropped her off with the promise of another escort when she was ready.
Book club was pleasant yet uneventful as they only covered introductions and an overview of what books they were going to read this semester along with their further meeting dates. And with that, everyone else in the meeting promptly left. Blake stayed behind to help Weiss clean up a little.
“Thank you, Blake, for helping me out today.”
“No worries… it’s the least I could do.”
“Before you leave, can I ask you something? Unless you have somewhere to be, but I rather ask you here in private.
“Okay, um, what’s up?”
“So, Ruby’s birthday is coming up. And she’s not so subtly ‘hinted’ that she wants a surprise party. I was wondering if you’d like to help. I know we both could use that kind of busy distraction right now.”
“Well, I could help out on the days I’m not in class. So uh, consider me in.” As she said this Blake had turned to go. But at the last second, she resolved to speak her mind before she left.
“Weiss? ...thank you for.. being here for me and sticking around.”
Weiss looked back at her with genuine confusion. “That’s an odd thing to say. I don’t think there’s anything that would discourage me from doing so. I mean, we might not know each other well yet. But I do know that you're a good person. And you don’t deserve what you're going through right now.”
“I know”
“And I’ll be here for you as much as I can. And if you ever need to get away I can have my sister set something up.”
“I really appreciate the offer but I don’t want to put pressure on anyone else. And I’m sure everything will be okay.”
“I’m sure it will be. I just don’t want you to get hurt or anything. But I will remain positive, let’s head out.”
They headed out where they met up with Yang and walked back to the dorms before Weiss parted ways to go to her dorm as Blake and Yang went to theirs. They decided to relax a little bit as Blake told Yang about how the first meeting went and how she was excited to see how things were going to go as well as how Blake was given a role in making sure people showed up for the meetings. And after an hour or so of chatting and eating a quick meal for dinner, they finally headed to bed. Blake had tried to fall asleep but was immediately hit with the fears she pushed away.
“Hey..um Yang..” she whispered as she waited for a response
“Hmm”
“I’m worried that I won’t be able to stop Adam if he does plan on coming after me. And I’m scared of him coming after any of you guys...I don’t want you guys to get hurt...I..”
“Blake, I promise that he won’t come between any of us..”
“But what if he does... And what if I’m not able to be there to stop him..”
“Blake, I know you're worried but I know that we will do anything we can to make sure no one gets hurt in this situation. And I promise that none of us will leave your side if things do happen. We’re here for you and will do anything we can to prevent any harm that may be on the way.”
“I’m sorry I’m putting you guys through so much danger..”
“This has nothing to do with you, Blake, he is the one who's choosing to continue to try to control you after all this time. You made your choice to leave and that’s something he can’t handle so he’s making his choice and now we’re making ours. We can’t let him win not when you’ve finally started to live your life the way you want to. You're so much stronger than you think”
“Thank you...I really don’t know how I got so lucky to meet friends like you” Blake replied as the room went silent before it started to be filled with the light snores of Yang. Blake, although fearful, knew that she was much stronger than she put herself out to be. She didn’t want to continue to let Adam take over her thoughts, but no matter how hard she tried to hide it his words always ended up taking control and making her feel just like she had when she was with him. She felt defeated that they would just let him out early after he put her through all that. But she knew that she couldn’t continue to let his words control her anymore, because she was so much more than what he’d tell her or others. Blake was ready to be in control of her situation and was not going to run because of his threat. She was ready for whatever he planned to throw at her and would make sure no one else got hurt.