Ch. 55 Dance Prep!

Alabast is sitting next to Ruby. Both are resting their head on their hand and looking off into the distance. Ruby has her other hand on Alabast's tail that is on her lap.

They both are staring off into space.

Around them are decorations for the dance. It's Saturday and things are getting tense around Beacon. The atmosphere could be cut with a knife in some areas.

Alabast still hasn't been able to help Blake. Sure he can get her to sleep for like 4-5 hours, but that's it and she's back to the library or having her nose in a book. He's needed to feed her more than once just to get her to eat.

*Slam*

Ruby and Alabast are taken out of their thoughts as Weiss slams their table.

Weiss smiles as she slides two squares over in front of Ruby. Both squares seem to be similar shades of white. "I need you~ to pick a tablecloth"

Both Alabast and Ruby take their heads off their hands and look at Weiss and then down at the two supposedly different shades of white.

Ruby sits up and confusedly looks between them. She takes her time in trying to decipher the difference but comes to a conclusion. "Aren't they both the same?"

"Gah!" Weiss sighs in frustration. "I don't even know why I asked you" She moves the squares to Alabast. "Which one?" Her smile reappearing after her frustration with Ruby.

Alabast crosses his arms over his chest and taps his left index finger on his bicep. "Hmmm" He leans down and inspects the colors more carefully. He sits up and looks at Weiss with his usual, neutral, expression. "I'd say go with the lighter one"

Weiss keeps her smile but narrows her eyes. "And which one would that be exactly?"

Ruby watches this scene carefully. She doesn't know if Alabast can tell the difference or not. All she knows is that Alabast is defusing a bomb and it's not a dud.

Alabast smirks. "This one" Alabast points at the one on his left.

"Hmmm~" Weiss leaves the one Alabast pointed on the table and takes the other one off. She narrows her eyes for a few seconds before walking around the small table. She wraps Alabast in a hug. "Thank you, I knew I should have asked you first!"

Weiss lets him go and moves away towards some decorations. Now that she knows what color tablecloth she needs she can put that order in later.

Ruby lays her arms out on the table and rests her head on her left arm as she looks to her right at Alabast. "How did you tell the difference? Was there even one?"

Alabast also puts his arms out on the table and mirrors Ruby. He looks at the small girl, his bangs making it only slightly harder to see her. "I've got better eyesight than most. Part of my Faunus traits, it's like my advanced sense of smell. So yes, there was a difference, just a very, very, very slight difference"

Ruby narrows her eyes and slightly moves away from Ablabast in her seat. "Your advanced sense of smell…. does it always pick up on the slightest scents?"

Alabast shuts his eyes. "Wolves sense of smell is about 100 times that of a human. I don't think my nose is exactly that good, but it's relatively close to that number. It was a bi-…. it was a pain in the butt to get it under control when I was growing up. I'm able to almost shut it off and turn it on. But even when it's off I still have around…. maybe 5 times that of a human"

Ruby's eyes widen. "Does that mean that you can smell me from across the room?"

"Technically?" Alabast considers telling her the truth, but this is a petty thing to lie about. "Yes. Like how I can smell Yang getting closer to us right now. But I tend to not only keep information to myself but also I don't go around sniffing for people. And no, you don't smell weird and you haven't in the past. None of my girls have. But I can smell that you've changed your shampoo two days ago. I just kept it to myself, I like the strawberry scent. It's not nauseating or obnoxious, but I also like the sort of rose scent as well"

Ruby blushes and covers her face with her arms. "So you did notice….."

*THUD!!!*

Yang drops a giant speaker next to, but behind Ruby. The impact causes not only Ruby and the table to bounce, but also Alabast to bounce. Alabast and Ruby end up hitting the table lightly.

Yang brushes her hands off, clearly satisfied with carrying the giant speaker that is bigger than herself. She has a big smile on her face as she looks at her sister and boyfriend.

"Did you two get your dress and suit for the dance? Dress for Ruby and suit for you Bast, although I think I'd enjoy seeing the reverse…." Yang imagines Alabast in a dress. But she can't decide what type. Would it be a long dress that covers his shoulders? Or would it be a short dress that shows off his legs and thighs as well as being strapless? She kinda wants the second option.

Alabast points his right index finger at Yang. "Suit" He then points at his head. "And I got it fit earlier today" He says monotonously.

"Great job Bast!" Yang leans across the table and tousles his hair.

"Ehhhhhh~" Alabast doesn't move in protest but releases a long and low toned groan.

Yang leaves her hand on Alabast's head and scratches behind his left ear, his tail flicks slightly in Ruby's lap. She looks down at Ruby. "So, have you picked out a dress yet?"

Ruby drops her arms onto the table again and rolls her eyes. "What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?"

Yang smirks. "Oh, don't worry; she's going" She pauses before continuing. "Beyond just going for Alabast, meaning that she will be staying for the entire thing and energized until 'at least' the fifth or sixth dance"

Alabast leans his head to the left. "I hope you've got a plan, because I'm all out of good ones"

"Don't worry, I've got-" Yang takes her hand away, much to Alabast's misfortune, and looks at Weiss near the tables and boxes along the wall of the room. "Weiss! I thought we agreed: No doilies!"

"Doilies?" Alabast repeats, but in a question.

Ruby watches Weiss walk over to Yang. "Yeah. Doilies are small ornamental mats that go under a cake or sweets"

"How do you know that?" Alabast figured Ruby wouldn't know, seemed a bit too fancy for her.

"Weiss sleeps under me and Yang sleeps across the room above Blake. They don't really talk quietly so I've picked up a few 'fancy pants' words" Ruby mockingly says.

"If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!" Weiss gets up in Yang's face and points her finger at Yang's face. The height difference really showing. Yang being 5'8" and Weiss being barely 5'3" with her heels on.

*Kreak~*

The two girls are interrupted by the doors opening.

"Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asks as he walks in next to Sun with Nyx and Dazz behind them. Nyx looks around with tired eyes that have small sparkles in them as he gazes at the various decorations that have and haven't been set up yet.

Weiss turns around and stands next to Yang as the guys walk up to them and the table where Alabast and Ruby are sitting at.

"We were thinking about it…." Weiss says, still unsure about if they really are or not.

Neptune nods and looks around. "That's pretty cool"

Sun suavely walks up. "You ladies all excited for dress-up?" He specifically looks at Alabast when he says this.

"Pffft!…." Ruby laughs at hearing if she's ready to get in a dress and heels. "Yeah, right"

"Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night! But specifically one" Yang glances at Alabast.

"Says the monkey that barely has his shirt on" Alabast jabs back.

Weiss ignores the boys verbal attacks at each other. "What are you four wearing tomorrow?"

"Uuhhh... this?" Sun motions at his current clothes.

Neptune and Dazz push Sun back.

Neptune specifically pushes Sun's face. "Ignore him for he knows not what he says"

Dazz gives a friendly smile. "We will be getting him in something formal looking"

Sun gets free of his oppressors and restrainers. "Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place"

Everyone has a look that says they already knew that.

"Yeah, we noticed" Yang says while she looks at Sun in his very open white shirt and jeans.

Sun rubs his neck and builds up to ask. "Soooo... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, y'know... Blake-y?"

"Obviously" Weiss huffs and crosses her arms in disapproval and annoyance at her teammates actions.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind" Ruby says and drops her head back down to the table.

"Same" Alabast lifts his hand but leaves his head on the table.

"Guys" Yang looks at everyone. "Trust me; Blake 'will' be at the dance tomorrow and back to some form of her normal 'Blake-y-ness'"

Yang then walks out of the room. "I'll be back in a bit, gotta go pick a few things up"

"Be safe" Alabast waves her away.

Dazz, Sun, and Neptune grab Alabast and his chair.

"We're going to borrow Alabast for a little bit…. over there" Dazz says and nods towards the corner of the giant room.

Ruby moves away from the table a little to let Alabast's tail free. "Don't have too much fun and don't go anywhere I can't see you boys"

"Yes ma'am" Dazz jokes.

"No promises" Nyx ever so quietly says.

The boys drags Alabast away from the table and to the corner. Nyx just follows behind them with his hands in his pockets while he watches the decently muscular guys ahead of him and just enjoys the sight.

Alabast is pushed to sit in the corner and faces the 4 guys facing the corner. "What's the big idea"

Neptune shrugs. "Oh, I don't know…"

Dazz cuts in. "Maybe it's the fact that you are taking not 3, not 4, but 5 girls to this dance! Fuckin 5 my guy-"

Sun covers Dazz's potty mouth. "And we were just talking about the dance when we though. 'Hey, how the heck is Alabast gonna pull that off?'. Then we decided that we would just come and ask the mad man himself" Sun quickly takes his hand away from Dazz. "Dude! Did you just kick me?" He wipes his hand on his jeans.

Dazz folds his arms over his chest. "I was trying to bite"

"If I could get any of you alone I'd do both and much more" Nyx mumbles while he takes out a strawberry milk and begins sipping it.

Neptune raises both his hands to Dazz and Sun's face and flicks them both. "No biting or licking eachother. Now back to the matter at hand…"

Nyx narrows his eyes. "You will have to make me. And nobody can stop me in my own mind…. Unless we're doing THAT kind of play…. then you can stop me all you want~"

"Right" Sun stop wiping his hands on his jeans and points at Alabast. "What is your game plan for tomorrow? Who are you dancing with first? Who are you arriving with? We want the play-by-play game plan for tomorrow"

Alabast sits with his back straight and his arms across his chest. "Gameplan?"

"Dude, not cool" Neptune facepalms.

Sun is about to facepalm but remembers it was just licked and shakes his head.

"You don't have one?" Nyx speaks up and asks rhetorically, it's obvious Alabast doesn't have one. "It's a good thing we're here then"

"I have an idea" Alabast states. "Weiss and Yang are going to be a bit busy until the dance starts so they will already be here. Yang will be greeting and marking the attendees down. Weiss will be doing last minute touch ups and making sure things go smoothly. I'll help them a bit before and then go back to the dorms before the dance starts. Then it depends on if Blake actually wants to go or not. I hate forcing her to do things she doesn't want to do but she needs this night to decompress. So IF she wants to go I plan on walking here with Blake and Pyrrha-"

Dazz cuts him off. "What about Ruby?"

"If I can finish" Alabast harshly says. He waits a few seconds and then picks up where he left off. "I will walk her with Blake and Pyrrha. Ruby doesn't like heels so I'll probably end up carrying her. But she won't want to be Princess carried across campus so it's likely she will be on my back until we get in here" He motions towards the doors. "After that?" He shrugs, not having a clue. "It's a free for all…..?"

"You showed so much promise only to fumble right at the important part. And you weren't even at the endzone" Neptune puts his hands on Neptune and Sun's shoulder. They do the same and they all sigh together.

Except for Nyx. He's a bit short and just continues drinking his strawberry milk. He does go close to the center of the 'huddle'.

"It's not exactly easy or like I can plan this out!" Alabast stresses his point. "I want to dance with each of them more than once. The night will be long"

"You have no idea" Nyx has a sly smile on his face.

"I don't want them to be alone" Alabast then counts on his fingers. "I'm thinking I will first dance with Pyrrha, or maybe Blake, we will see. Then I'll dance with Weiss, then Ruby, and then whenever Yang is free since again. Yang is going to be greeting guests and not enjoying the dance she is working so hard on. It'll just depend. And I would like to have the first dance with each of them. And that brings me to a thought I had in the past few days" Alabast looks intently at the guys in front of him.

"I might need to ask you guys to dance with the girls a little" Alabast somewhat asks.

""""What!?"""" The 4 boys all take a step back and look weirdly at Alabast. Neptune specifically sweats a little bit.

"Obviously I wouldn't be asking this if I didn't think it necessary. And NONE of you have dates to this dance" Alabast rubs salt in their open and bloody wound on accident.

"I'm just window shopping this time around. But I might be convinced to sample a few of the chance arises" Nyx speaks to himself, the others aren't able to hear him, even Alabast. Maybe it's because they're all distracted?

Alabast rubs the tiredness from his eyes. "You don't have to dance, just…." He looks at his friends. "… If you see any of them alone, I ask that you keep them company…."

Sun, Dazz, Nyx, and Neptune glance at eachother before looking back to Alabast.

"You don't need to ask us this man" Sun gives a thumbs up. "We are there for our friends. We're also the girls' friends too y'know. We wouldn't let them sit on the side for the whole night and wait on you"

Dazz slaps the back of Sun's head. "Don't phrase it like that you dolt". Dazz then puts his arm around Sun's neck. "We don't mind hanging with the girls. Was wondering when everyone would hang out again, it's been what? Like 2 weeks since everyone got together?"

"The more testosterone the better" Nyx softly whispers.

Alabast nods. "Something like that. And thanks guys"

"No problem" Sun smirks. "And has anyone got anything about Jaune?"

"Last thing I heard from him is that he wants to talk with Ren" Alabast says offhandedly.

"Why Ren?" Dazz taps his left foot on the ground while he thinks. "Ren doesn't even talk that much"

Everyone nods in unison.

"They have been getting pretty close, even with Ren being relatively silent. Actually?" Neptune taps his foot like Dazz. "Isn't Jaune getting pretty close to everyone on your team Alabast?"

Sun taps his foot now. "Now that you mention it…. well, Alabast's team is actually pretty sociable if you exclude Alabast himself…. and Ren…. So maybe it's just the girls that are sociable?"

"You're just reading into it too much" Alabast lazily waves their suspicions away.

They all stop tapping their foot on the ground at the same time.

"Alright" Neptune shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I've got to get Sun something to wear to the dance tomorrow"

"Bro! I thought I already said that I'm wearing this!" Sun gestures towards his open shirt and jeans.

Neptune shakes his head. "That's why we are starting this today. See you later Alabast"

Sun gets dragged away by Dazz and Neptune while Nyx follows behind just sipping his strawberry milk.

Alabast stands up and takes his chair back over to Ruby at the table.

"Little Red, I'll be gone for a little bit" He tousles her hair.

Ruby looks up at him with a pleading expression and grabs his hand. "Take me with you!"

"Stay here and suffer with your two teammates. I think Weiss might need help with the doilies" Alabast smirks.

Ruby let's his hand go and slowly looks over towards Weiss. "But if I don't set them perfectly she will get mad at me again~"

"Good thing you're a fast learner" Alabast says before disappearing into his shadow.

Ruby sadly watches him go. "I wish I could just disappear into my own shadow as well….."

"Ruby! Get off your butt and help me!" Weiss shouts. "Please" She gently adds.

Ruby whispers as she gets up and goes to help her teammate that is acting more like a drill sergeant with the precise instruction on how to set up the room.

Alabast wants to go and find out how Yang is going to convince Blake. But he also wants to go grab some drinks for everyone as well.

He has their shadows marked and can tell where they are on Beacon's campus. And the range has grown a bit, but not to the extent of Vale yet. He also doesn't just want to appear behind Blake or Yang so he goes and gets the drinks first. Then he goes towards….. A lecture room?