Blake

"'Want me to go easy on you so you look good in front of Pyrrha?'" I snapped at Yang when we got back to our dorm at the end of the day. Weiss and Ruby had gone to the library to get some work done, so the blonde and I were alone. This was unfortunate for her, as it meant I could let out the full extent of my annoyance at her "joke" from just before our sparring match. "Really?"

"Hehe," she replied, grinning sheepishly. "I thought you might want to… you know…impress her?"

"I am not some lovesick puppy, thank you very much," I told her, glaring.

"I know," she answered, suddenly dead serious. "You're a lovesick kitten." My glare only intensified. "Too far?" she asked.

"That's one way of putting it."

"Sorry."

"Are you though?"

"Of course! I was just having some fun, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Okay. But please, no cat jokes, and be serious if you're gonna talk to me about Pyrrha," I implored.

"Sure. I'll just tease the other two!"

"Okay, but don't come crying to me if Weiss shuts you down."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll only do it when they're together. Weiss won't give me shit with Ruby around. Or at least, it'll be shit I can handle," Yang told me. "But anyway, are you gonna do anything about... You know... Pyrrha?"

"I don't know, Yang," I sighed. "This isn't my area, and there's so many variables in this situation."

"There's, like, two. Does Pyrrha like girls, and does Pyrrha like you. I can't help you on the first one, but frankly, for the second one, if she doesn't, she'd be missing out, not you. Under your whole 'no emotion can show' exterior thing you have going on, you're one of the best people I know. If Pyrrha can't see that, well, she's not worth it," she told me gently.

"Are you just saying this stuff to be encouraging and make me feel better about this?" I asked.

"Of course not. You're smart, witty, gorgeous, compassionate, loyal to your friends, an incredible fighter, need I go on?"

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, I do. Seriously, if and when you decide to make a move, you got this."

"Okay."

"Anyway, what Grimm did you and her decide on for Port's assignment?" Yang suddenly asked, back to her usual jovial tone.

"Deathstalker," I replied, causing the blonde to blink in surprise.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "A Deathstalker, with just twopeople?!"

"It was one of the options, he said part of the grade is based on what species we pick, Pyrrha suggested the Deathstalker because it'd be worth more points and we have experience fighting them," I explained. "What'd you and Nora go for?"

"Ursa Major. She's good at riding them."

"Yang, we're supposed to kill the Grimm we choose, not bring them to a rodeo," I told Yang, not understanding what she was getting at.

"See, that's part of the plan! Nora rides it, gets it to crash into trees and shit, then it's stunned and we take it out no problem!" she told me excitedly.

"You'll certainly get points for creativity."

"I know, right?" Suddenly she took on a more serious tone, as she explained, "the original plan was to just bash its brains out with Ember Celica and Magnhild, but Nora decided it'd be boring."

"Might have been more efficient," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but as you said, points for creativity. Anyway, what's your plan?"

"We haven't worked it out entirely yet, but basically I'm gonna distract it and keep it busy while Pyrrha takes care of its stinger. Then we blind it together using our firearms, exploiting chinks in its armour when it can't see us attacking," I explained.

"Makes sense."

"I just don't know that I'll be able to…you know…focus," I complained. "You know, when we actually have to take it down."

"I could dress up as her and we'll go find one together so you can practice," Yang suggested.

"I… don't think that'd help very much," I replied.

"Just an idea," she shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You'll be fine. Trust me."

"I hope so."

"You know what you need to do, Blake?" she asked, suddenly sounding inspired.

"What?" I replied, unsure of what to expect from the blonde's next words.

"Hang out with her. You know, just the two of you," she told me. "Platonically, just so you can get used to being around her and stuff."

"Yang, you know I don't do the whole 'hanging out with people platonically' thing," I pointed out.

"You should do, though. Trust me, it'll help."

"Okay," I replied. "I'll… give it a shot, I guess."

For the rest of the day, I thought about my dilemma. I had no idea what I was going to do about my feelings for Pyrrha. On the one hand, I could just confess. The problem was that I wouldn't know how to do that, not to mention the fact that I'd be worried about the redhead rejecting me. On the other hand, I could do nothing, and watch as she potentially ended up with someone else. Either way, there was a high probability of unfavourable outcomes.

Eventually, I managed to push the thoughts aside and curled up in bed with a novel. Admittedly, it was basically pure smut. I figured it'd keep me distracted. It worked, to an extent. I didn't think of anyone else until I decided to turn in, least of all Pyrrha. Unfortunately, I had what could be described as lewd dreams concerning the redhead along with myself… re-enacting certain scenes that I'd read before going to sleep. When I woke up, I was glad I didn't have to share my bed with anyone.

After going through my usual morning routine, I decided to head to the library to do some research on Deathstalkers and how to kill them. Anyone who'd taken a Grimm Studies class with Peter Port would know it was necessary. Listening to tales of bravado for the entire lesson wasn't the best way to learn how to defeat the monsters we were training to kill.

Once inside the compendium of information that was Beacon's library, I acquired a stack of encyclopaedias and other reference material. Staggering slightly under the weight of the books, I made my way over to a table and began reading. Some of the encyclopaedias turned out to be useless for my purposes; they only really talked about the biology of Deathstalkers. The only thing I found worthy of note was that venom from their stingers has been proven to be dangerous to the creatures themselves. In other words, Pyrrha and I could potentially weaken the scorpion if we could figure out a way to get its venom into its own bloodstream.

Speaking of the redhead, she'd apparently had the same idea as I had; I soon spotted her flaming hair among the bookshelves as she gathered some reading material of her own. I then remembered what Yang had said the day before and figured the blonde might have had a hand in Pyrrha's decision to come to the library today. I got a strange feeling in my chest as she approached my table with her books; part elation at seeing her, but part nervousness about being alone with her. I tried to act normally as she sat down.

"Good morning, Blake," she greeted.

"Hey," I replied. I managed to keep my voice perfectly level, didn't speak quietly and didn't blush, so I felt like I'd scored a victory.

"Research or studying?" she asked, gesturing at the encyclopaedia I was reading from.

"Research for killing the Deathstalker," I told her.

"Anything useful?"

"Not really. Just that their own venom is harmful to them. Maybe we could try to weaken it like that?"

"That could be challenging," Pyrrha pointed out. "But not impossible."

"So, how are you?" I asked, realising that we hadn't even exchanged pleasantries before discussing the project.

"I'm fine, I guess," she replied. I noticed that her eyes were tinged with red, suggesting that she'd been crying. "You?"

"I'm good." I decided not to ask about her eyes, figuring she'd bring it up if she wanted to. She didn't, and we just talked about meaningless things as we researched Deathstalkers. By the time I was ready for lunch, we had the beginning of our written paper done and I'd found myself perfectly comfortable with the redhead's presence. I was no longer nervous about being around her and actually felt like I was talking to a normal friend. The only difference was that I occasionally had to stop myself from staring at her.

"I'd say we've had a productive morning," Pyrrha observed at around noon. I only then realised that I'd been in the library with her for three hours. Yang had been right; alone time with the girl had made it easier for me to be around her. Say what you will about the brawler, but she certainly knew what she was talking about when it came to social matters.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Want to go get some food?"

"Sure." We put our books back where we'd found them and headed to the cafeteria, where we found our respective teammates sharing a table, as usual. Yang shot me a knowing look as she saw Pyrrha and I enter, but said nothing. Spending my morning with the redhead and not making an idiot of myself had left me in a great mood, and I was in soaring spirits as I sat down to eat.

A/N: I'm back to TAOAW! Sorry for the massive delay, I just didn't have inspiration. By that, I mean I did a while ago and wrote half the chapter, then I didn't have any more inspiration. Then I cranked out the rest today. Anyway, thanks for reading. I don't have anything to say, so leave a review and follow/favourite if you want.