{You're supposed to stay long enough to be felt; But you're not there for the noise}
It was a rather quiet afternoon in the student council office, the scritches of pen on paper and the light taps of computer keys the only disturbances. Even Ruby, their bouncing ball of a secretary, was still and silent, doodling on some scraps of paper. Weiss would probably scold her for slacking on her work later on, but at the present time the ivory-haired girl was rather lax herself, taking long pauses between filling out forms and reading over requests from the student body. Her icy eyes found their way out the window, gazing into the clouds lazily suspended in the sky, or even over to her redhead girlfriend, curiously watching her draw.
Between the three of them, Blake was probably doing the most amount of work, and even she couldn't muster up the energy to stay entirely focused.
Fridays had a tendency to bring out the lazy in even the hardest of workers.
Blue eyes changed their course from gazing out the window to the clock posted at the forefront of the room, lighting up when their owner realized the time.
"It's about time to head down to the pep rally," Weiss announced, gathering her bag and light jacket. Ruby stopped her doodling post haste, pushing all of her papers into one stack before negligently stuffing them into her backpack. The two girls stood up together and walked from their desks to the door of the room, only pausing when they noticed that Blake had not moved an inch.
"Blake?"
"I'm not going."
Weiss frowned.
"Why not?" Ruby exclaimed. "It's the last one of the year. You have to come!"
Pep rallies had never interested her, something that Ruby and Weiss knew. The loud cacophony grated on her ears, normally causing her to suffer from migraines later on after she had gotten home. She normally only attended out of necessity, when the student council's presence was mandatory.
But she had double-checked beforehand and she knew for a fact that she was not needed at this one. The fact that Ruby and Weiss seemed so appalled suddenly by her lack of desire had her a bit curious, but she brushed it off, amounting it to the fact that this was, as Ruby said, the last pep rally of the year.
The last one of all her years.
Weiss walked over to her desk and placed a gentle hand on Blake's shoulder. Curious yellow eyes glanced up at the student council president, eyebrows raised in inquiry.
"Yang really wants you to be there," she said.
Now that was a low blow.
She didn't normally attend pep rallies, unless she was required as student council Vice President….or whenever Yang asked for her to.
Her blonde girlfriend knew how she wasn't a big fan of large crowds and excessive noise and understood her less than enthusiastic attitude towards the massive school gatherings. Even though Yang went to every single one (she had to because she was in every single one - cheerleading captain's duties), she never expected Blake to always be there, but always made her promise to do something special afterwards.
Just the two of them.
It was a nice little arrangement. She'd hear all about it from her eccentric girlfriend later as they sipped on milkshakes and stuff their faces with pizza or burgers or some greasy food from the diner just down the street that they frequented. And the few times she did go they'd go over Yang's house to watch a movie, away from everyone for a little while while Blake settled down again from all the excitement. Yang was caring like that.
So to be requested to come down by her girlfriend, who understood all of these things, must've meant that there was something special going on. And given it was the last pep rally of the year and before they both graduated, she figured that maybe Yang wanted her to see her cheer one last time.
(Not that she was complaining.)
With a sigh she saved the spreadsheet she was working on and put the computer to sleep and gathered up her bag. Ruby squealed off to the side and Weiss barely hid her small smile, triumphant in getting their normally reclusive friend to come along.
It was a little unfair how she had to use Yang to do her bidding, but Blake would worry about that later.
"I guess we should hurry so we aren't late."
The gym was buzzing with activity, students clustered in the bleachers as they waited for the pep rally to begin, talking and laughing with their friends. The four classes were separated into sections, but as always there was one or two stragglers who decided to sit with an upper or lower class, depending on where their friends were. Off to the side the school band was playing some song they normally played at football games (someone told her it was to set the mood but what mood they were trying to convey she couldn't guess). All around teachers were lining the walls, supposedly watching over them all. But they all were talking amongst themselves, hardly casting a glance to the student body gathered in the gym to see what they might be up to.
And right in front of one set of bleachers were the cheerleaders, doing a basic routine to the music playing, their swaying hips and million watt smiles greeting the students as they trickled in and took their seats. Blake found Yang in the middle, right up front, the birthright position of the varsity captain.
It seemed that Yang had seen her too and broke her character briefly to give her a special smile and wave, yet her body still followed the motions of the practiced routine. Blake waved back before being led away by Weiss and Ruby, right to a spot at the bottom of the bleachers, normally reserved for students who had some part in the rally.
Or in their case, simply because they were the student council.
It still took a few more minutes for the event to start. Weiss and Ruby started a small conversation, scheduling last minute prep sessions for upcoming exams which Weiss was determined to have Ruby pass with flying colors. The redhead didn't seem particularly enthused by the idea of studying, but Blake was able to catch the glimmer in her eyes with the knowledge that she would be spending alone time with Weiss, making it all worth it.
Blake smiled to herself. Those two were cute. And luckily for them (or maybe not so lucky) Yang thought so too. Immensely.
The times Yang had dragged her along to spy on their dates so she could gush were far too many to count.
As they waited Blake offered her input once or twice in the conversation to avoid being rude, but truthfully her attention was focused elsewhere. Specifically her cheerleading girlfriend.
"Blake dear, I don't think it's possible to shorten a skirt with your eyes," Weiss butted in, smirking when the brunette flushed and started spluttering. "Not that you would need to anyway. How did those bypass the set dress code? They barely cover anything. They're like strips of paper just hanging around their waists like a belt!"
Next to her Ruby shrugged and took Weiss' hand in hers to calm her down from her tirade, switching the topic to something else that Weiss could put her energy towards. Meanwhile Blake took another glance at the skirts, Weiss' words in her head.
The music suddenly stopped and in turn the cheerleaders stopped their dance, regrouping as they all went to sit down on their reserved section of the bleachers. The principal of the school, Prof. Ozpin, moved from his spot against the wall, microphone and signature coffee mug in hand (which no one ever saw him without). He greeted the students calmly, asking them to settle down which some did and others ignored. The rest only shut up when they caught the sharp glare from the more stern vice principal, Ms. Goodwitch.
Ozpin cleared his throat. "Well then, let's begin the final pep rally of the year, shall we?"
The students proffered a cheer, whoops and hollers coming from some of the rowdier students (Blake was certain she heard Sun somewhere behind her). Slowly, they settled down again so that Ozpin could continue and after a small speech about their hard work throughout the year and such, the pep rally was officially underway.
The drama club did a skit.
The track team did a relay race around the gym.
Random students were hand-selected for a competitive little game.
Ruby left them to help out with the robotics team to demonstrate what they had been working on that year.
Weiss was asked to give a quick speech as the graduating student council president (who was also incidentally valedictorian).
All these small events passed Blake by in a whirl, her interest not especially piqued with any of them except the two her friends were involved with, smiling and clapping to show her support. But soon enough the noise began to get to her and she felt a headache edging at the back of her brain and hoped that it would all be over soon enough. She had just been digging through her bag for her bottle of pain medicine when Weiss placed a light hand on her thigh. She glanced up curiously only for the president to motion to the gym floor. Following her direction Blake looked over to see the cheerleaders filing out in formation. She placed her bag off to the side as she focused her full attention on them, eyes magnetically snapping to the blonde up front.
The gym hushed as they all stood there, unmoving and emotionless. The cheerleading segment of the rallies were always big among the student body for many reasons ranging from their attractiveness that held the male gaze captive or simply their impressive moves that had won them many competitions nationwide.
Yang's room certainly had all the trophies to prove it.
The speakers system crackled on and a second later the beginning beats of some song that Blake had heard on the radio a couple times blared out over their heads. The cheerleaders sprung into action, the smiles instantly lighting up their faces as their feet carried them to a new formation where they began their routine, hips and arms moving to the music. A few people in the crowd cheered and Blake was admittedly among them.
The routine wasn't very long but in the time they were up everyone was mesmerized by their performance, the kicks and flips driving everyone crazy as they marveled at the insanity of it. Girls were thrown into the air and caught in a safe net of arms, others did backflips and handsprings across the court before landing perfectly on their feet with a little bounce. It was an amazing feat to watch as these girls seemingly defied gravity so easily, their flexible bodies moving in ways that would surely result in injury if anyone else were to repeat them.
Then it was over, the music fading out and the cheerleaders holding their current poses as everyone around them cheered, some even going as far as to give them a standing ovation. They all waved at the student body before running off to the side where they were sitting before, most running but some hanging behind the group to get a few last flips or cartwheels in.
All except one.
One of the cheerleaders, an orange-haired girl named Nora who she had talked to a few times, stood in the middle of the court with a mic now in hand. She stood patiently with her hand on her hip, grinning widely at all the students as they began to calm down. Curiosity quieted all but a few rabid talkers, but it seemed the bubbly girl deemed that enough and began talking. She addressed the entire student body with a high-pitched greeting to which they all returned in a roar.
Blake hummed to herself. This was probably why Yang wanted her here. The cheerleading team was doing something special for the end of the year. Probably sending off their precious team captain.
"Allllllright!" Nora exclaimed into the microphone, capturing Blake's attention once more. She winced at the loud noise grinding on her headache.
"Someone needs to tell that girl that she doesn't need to yell into the microphone."
"Weiss, hush!"
"The cheerleaders of Signal have something very special planned for you all today!" she shouted, resulting in another eruption of cheers. She spun around to look at all the bleachers as she cheered, eventually stopping to face theirs.
Her mischievous blue eyes locked right on her.
"And especially for Miss Blake Belladonna!"
Her stomach dropped. What?!
Frantically she spun around to question Weiss and Ruby, expecting to see the same confusion she was feeling to be reflected on their faces. However when she faced them she only saw their knowing smiles, the same mischievous glint in their eyes that was in Nora's. Realization dawned on her too little too late.
She was set up. That's why they were so adamant on getting her to attend.
Before she could confront them, however, a pair of strong arms was lifting her out of her seat and dragging her onto the court, despite her reluctance to do so. As she was pulled away Weiss gave her a small wave while Ruby giggled behind her hand.
"Traitors," she mouthed with narrowed eyes.
"Give it up for your student council vice president everyone!" Nora shouted. The crowd erupted into cheers and she hunched her shoulders, offering a shy wave to everyone with an uneasy smile.
"What's going on?" she whispered to Nora. The girl didn't answer her though, only offering a wink before she was pushed down into a fold-up chair that another cheerleader brought out onto the court. She left as quickly and silently as she came, leaving just her and Nora once again. Now thoroughly puzzled she glanced around her, trying to figure out what was going on.
Was this Yang's doing? If it was she was going to have words.
The group of cheerleaders came back out in a cluster, a few of them holding square signs. Golden eyes raked through them for a speck of bright yellow hair, but there was no sign of her girlfriend. They all moved into place, four groups total in a line, the girls holding the square signs in front of each one. Their signs were held below their waist, blank side facing her.
"Alright! Now, our esteemed captain, Yang, wants to ask little miss VP here a question!" she clarified for their audience. "But, of course that dope can't get anything done by herself! So we need everyone's help if this is going to work, okay?" The students all offered their agreement in unison and Blake looked around cautiously. Oh god, oh god what was going on?! She swiveled in her seat to look at Weiss and Ruby again, but found no solace in their maniacal little grins and the red horns poking out from their hair (okay maybe she imagined that part but still, it wasn't helpful).
"Ready? Give me a 'P'!"
As the students recited the letter back to her, the first group off to her left lifted their girl in the air, holding her steady as she lifted her sign high above her head, a large black 'P' printed on it.
"Give me an 'R'!"
The second group lifted their girl in the air, her actions mirroring the other girl's as she lifted her sign in the air proudly above her head.
Now Blake was no idiot - she had already begun to guess what was happening the second the first letter came up. And when they had brought up the second letter, her suspicions began to gain solid grounding and she felt her heart beat faster in her chest and her face grew warm as she watched the third group expectedly, already predicting the next letter.
"Give me an 'O'!"
Her breath stopped short in her throat as she watched the third letter go up, a bold 'O' printed on the sign.
P-R-O-?
Even though Blake was no idiot, she still felt like one. She should've seen this coming a mile away.
Yang was always flashy when it came to her. Not because she wanted to show off, but because for her she was willing to go all out. Even if it meant embarrassing herself.
Although right now the only one flushing was her.
"Give me an 'M'!"
Tears pricked her eyes as the resounding echo of the students chanting the last letter vibrated in her chest, the last letter going up with the final girl. Watery gold eyes read the word before her, hands flying to her mouth as the black, bold print screamed at her.
"And what does that spell?"
Before they could answer she heard another voice boom in the microphone behind her.
"It spells 'prom', Nora."
Nearly giving herself whiplash, Blake quickly spun in her seat to now see Yang standing behind her, a shy grin beaming down on her. The mic was gripped in one of her hands, a bouquet of flowers in the other. White lilies to be specific.
Her favorite.
Then she moved around the chair until she was kneeling in front of Blake who was still too awestruck to move from her spot. And those lilac eyes gazed up at her so sweetly and filled with cautious hope. If Blake looked closely enough she could see that Yang was shaking.
How cute. She was nervous.
"So….will you? Go with me, I mean," she hastily added. The students around them waited with bated breath for her answer, a few of the boys scattered about trying to look disinterested but silent nonetheless. She wasn't sure whether it was from jealousy or to maintain their manly image, but it was still amusing either way.
Then Blake turned back to Yang, still looking up at her hopefully, her demeanor growing more shaky the longer they both sat there. Deciding to put her out of her misery she dropped her hands from her face to reveal a wide grin, vigorously nodding her head and lunging forward, arms outstretched, to wrap around Yang's neck in a hug.
Everyone around them erupted into a roaring cheer as Yang stood up with Blake still wrapped around her, wrapping her own arms around Blake's waist. They stood there in their embrace, hearts beating wildly in their chests, the euphoria of everything engulfing them in a little happy cloud.
Blake pulled away and leaned up to place a sweet kiss on Yang's lips, her gesture being returned with an energy one could only expect from the eccentric blonde. The cheering in the background continued but they had long since tuned it out, celebrating their happiness in their own world, in their own space.
Once they had pulled away and most of the excitement died down Blake took the bouquet - her bouquet - of lilies. A grin was permanently etched onto her face and her cheeks began to strain with the continuous stretching but she found it was just too difficult to stop. She didn't even want to stop.
Nora interrupted their little moment to take back the microphone, announcing that they would now be handing out the spirit stick and Yang groaned. It was time for her to leave and fulfill her cheerleader duties. Blake urged her forward with a soft smile and a kiss to the cheek.
"Are we still going to the diner after this?"
Blake nodded. "Of course. And maybe this time I'll let you get an ice cream sundae and a milkshake."
Yang laughed and kissed her forehead. "If that's what I get when I ask you to prom I can't wait to see what happens when I ask you to marry me."
A furious blush broke out on her face and her breath caught in her throat. "I...uh…"
Before Yang could elaborate any further she was off with the rest of the cheerleaders, guiding the separate classes in their competition over the bedazzled spirit stick. Blake headed back to her own seat, watching her girlfriend with a smile. And if she wasn't wrong there seemed to be an extra bounce to her step and her smile stretched wider than her typical cookie cutter smile she used for these types of things.
Sitting back down she ignored the smirks her two friends wore, now completely ignoring the pep rally altogether as they leaned closer to her, eyes begging her to say something. She obliged, but not with what they were probably expecting.
"Ruby...I think your sister just...proposed to me."
The redhead frowned in confusion before her eyes lit up considerably, her mouth a perfect 'o'. She was on the edge of her seat, ready to begin grilling her with questions when Weiss butted in, a crooked smile on her lips.
Oh no.
"Don't you mean promposed?"
Blake groaned and shook her head, while on the other end Ruby snickered at Weiss' poor excuse for a joke, always finding amusement in whatever Weiss said, even if no one else found it funny.
"You are officially uninvited to the wedding."
"Wha- Hey!"
A/N: Uploading this tonight because my prom is tomorrow! I'm not actually going though. In fact, I have work. xD I was actually asked by a friend even though it was nothing as elaborate as this.
But I figured I might as well do something prom-related sooooo...here we go!
I firmly believe Yang would be one of those people to go all out when it comes to stuff like this. That girl has no chill.
Also, I borrowed (*coughstolecough*) a page from mikotyzini's book and made white lilies Blake's favorite flower. Because why not?