It is the night of the dance that many have been looking forward too. The students of Beacon are eagerly heading off to go dance with their friends or their boyfriends or girlfriends. While almost all of the students at the school are more than happy to go, there are a few that outright refuse to go. Among these few students that do not want to attend the dance, is Blake Belladonna. This, however, doesn't stop her partner, Yang Xiao Long, from trying to get Blake to go.

Yang is sitting on a chair, near Blake's bed. The faunus is on her bed, staring at her partner with tired, amber eyes. Yang had just asked her once again if she wanted to go to the dance. Once again, Blake gave Yang a stern 'no'.

"Come on Blake! You don't have to dance. Just come to it. You need to get away from all this stuff about Torchwick and the White Fang. It's not good for you." Yang says to her partner.

"I'm still not going Yang. I said it before, there are peoples lives at stake. How can I just sit here and do nothing?" Blake states.

"How can you help anyone when you are hurting yourself?"

"I don't see you or the others doing anything about it. All you guys are just worried about is a stupid dance." Blake stands up from her bed. She starts to head towards the door, but is stopped in her tracks when Yang grabs ahold of one of her wrist.

"Where are you going?" Yang asks. But she already knows the answer. It is where Blake has been mostly in her free time.

"Let me go Yang." Blake says, trying to pull free of the blonde's grip.

"You are not going to the library again."

"Well, I'm not going to that dance. There is nothing you can do or say to make me go to it."

"Blake, please."

The faunus pries her arm free of Yang's grip. "I'm not going Yang. I'm going to the library. Go have fun at the stupid dance of yours." She says before walking out the door.

Yang stands in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do. Ever since she and the others had fought Torchwick nights ago, Blake has not been the same. She has barely slept. When she does, it is only for a short period of time before she snaps back to life. She is also not eating. Yang has only seen Blake nibble on a piece of bread or bagel every once in awhile. She barely eats half of it.

Anger suddenly sweeps over Yang. She is angry that Blake is acting like this. She is angry that this whole investigation into the White Fang is screwing with Blake's mind. Most of all, she is angry at herself. Angry that she can't seem to do anything to help her partner. Slowly watching Blake become the mess she is, is killing Yang inside.

"SON OF A-" Yang lashes out in her anger, knocking over the chair. The back of the chair breaks before it even hits the ground. Yang screams into her hands, distraught over not being able to do anything. She needs to snap Blake out of the state she is in. Even if she can't make her partner go to the dance, she will be more than happy if Blake sleeps. Just something to help her partner.

Leaving the chair where it lays, Yang exits the room. She walks down the halls, heading to the library on the other side of the school. Yang passes many students who are all dressed up and ready to dance. She doesn't pay much attention to them, or the faint music coming from the ballroom. Her mind is focused on Blake.

Yang reaches the double doors of the large library. One of them creaks as Yang opens it. The library is dark, the only source of light coming from the broken moon outside. She doesn't see Blake at all.

"Blake?" Yang says, her voice echoing a bit in the empty room. No answer. "Blake. I know you are in here." Just not where. Yang thinks.

She stars to look around the library, looking into every aisle for the faunus. After wandering around for what seems like hours to Yang, but was only a few minutes, she finds Blake.

She is sitting at a table, looking at a book. Several more are scattered on and around the table. Blake is fighting to stay awake. Her head droops downward before it snaps back up, and then droops back before snapping up once more time. She seems to have not noticed Yang.

"Blake?" Yang says as she walks over to the table. Blake looks away from her book, giving Yang a far from pleasant look. "I just want to talk, okay?"

"You better not ask me again to come to that dance. I'm sticking to my answer." Blake tells Yang.

"I do still want you to go Blake. But I mostly want you to just take a break. You can't even keep your head up for longer than ten seconds."

"I'm not going to Yang."

"You are doing more harm than good Blake."

"Just leave me alone."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I thought you really wanted to go to that dance."

"Not if you aren't going!"

"Well you already know my answer! I'm not going!"

"Then neither am I!"

"Yang! Can you just please-"

Before Blake can finish her sentence, Yang slams the book in Blake's hands onto the table. She is sick of Blake pushing everyone away. She is sick of this type of Blake.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Blake snaps.

"I'm getting your mind off of this! You can't keep this up!"

Blake stands up, meeting her partner's lilac eyed gaze. "Let go of the book, so I can keep reading."

"Not until you at least take a damn nap!"

"There are more important things going on right now Yang! How can I take a nap when we have no clue what our enemies are planning, or where they are?!"

"Because if our enemies do come and attack us, you won't be able to defend yourself! You are a mess right now Blake!"

"I'm not going to sleep!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I just don't want to!"

"That is not an answer!"

"I just don't want to! Okay?!"

"Why?! Why don't you want to?!"

"BECAUSE I'M AFARID!"

Yang looks at her partner. The faunus is shaking and looking down at the ground. "W-What?" Yang says.

"I'm afraid Yang. There have been some faunus that have died, killed probably. All of them had left the White Fang, and had been trying to get away from them. Torchwick knows what I look like, what you guys look like. I'm afraid whoever is behind these deaths, is going to be coming after me. I'm afraid that I won't be able to not only protect myself but-" Blake voice stars to crack. "But you guys as well."

"Blake…"

"I need to know what they are planning. I can't just sit around here doing nothing. There are still people I know who are either still in the White Fang or left, and I don't want them to get hurt. I don't want you guys to get hurt."

She is shaking even more now. Yang sighs, but doesn't say anything. What can she say. That everything will be okay? That there is nothing to be afraid of? That she shouldn't worry that much?

Instead of saying anything to try and comfort her almost crying partner, Yang walks over to Blake, and just gives her a hug. The faunus is brought back slightly by it.

"Blake. I know there are people you want to protect, we all have people like that, but you can't right now. So long as you keep this act up of not sleeping or eating up, when it does come time to protect someone, you wouldn't be able too. You have already done so much finding out about the White Fang's motives, you need to rest." Yang softly says to Blake.

"I can't Yang."

"Yes you can Blake. You ju-"

"No! I'm mean I can't. Every time I close my eyes, every time I let myself sleep, I have nightmares. Nightmares of what the White Fang has done. What they will do. Nightmares of them trying to kill me. Nightmares of me not being able to do anything when my friends and family are in trouble. I can't sleep Yang, I just can't."

Yang runs her hand through Blake's jet black hair, listening to her partner trying to stifle her cries. She has always known that the faunus has suffered from nightmares, even if she doesn't say it. It didn't occur to Yang that Blake's nightmares could possibly get worse. No wonder why she can't sleep.

Yang gently pulls Blake away from her, so that she can look right at her. Some tears have fallen out of Blake's amber eyes. Yang wipes them away. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you okay?" Yang says with a smile. "There are plenty of people I care for, and would be worried for if they were in trouble. But, in order to protect them, I need to make sure that I am well enough. I can't protect anyone if I haven't slept or eaten in days, so how can you? You need to sleep. You need to eat. You don't need to go to the dance. You just need to relax a bit, that's all."

"I try to sleep Yang, but I told you. I can't." Blake says.

"I'll be right next to you when you sleep then. If you start having a nightmare, I'll be right there to comfort you and to keep you safe."

Still wiping away some tears from Blake's face, Yang places a small kiss on her partner's forehead. "I love you Blake, and I hate seeing you like this. Please, for your sake, for mine, for everyone you care about, please just sleep. Okay? I'll sleep right next to you if you want."

"I don't know Yang."

"Just try. I won't leave your side."

"Just for a little bit."

"That is all I ask for."

Blake closes the book on the table, marking her page, before she slowly follows Yang out door. Yang has to slow her pace to make sure Blake can keep up. She can barely walk in a straight line, and Yang is ready to catch her sleepy partner if she falls. Thankfully, the two are able to make it back to the dorm room without anything happening.

Yang opens the door for Blake. The chair is still in the middle of the room, broken.

"Should I even ask?" Blake says, looking at the chair.

"I'll tell you later. It's time to sleep." Yang answers.

The two lay down on Blake's bed, facing each other. Yang wraps her arms around Blake, keeping her close as the faunus slowly falls asleep. At first, Blake is able to sleep peaceful, only murmuring some words. But after a few minutes, Blake starts to tense up, and her murmurs become whimpers.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay Blake." Yang reassures the faunus in a whisper. She rubs Blake's back slowly. "It's just a nightmare. I'm right here and nothing is going to hurt you or anyone."

Rubbing Blake's back and telling her everything will be okay, seems to calm Blake down a bit. Her body loosens up, but she still whimpers. She is still asleep though, which is good.

"It's okay Blake." Yang gives Blake another kiss on the forehead. "I'm not going anywhere. You have nothing to worry about, but to sleep."

Blake's eyes remain close, finally being able to get some sort of sleep

i haven't written about bumbleby in so long. still no laptop...soon