Signs of Spring: Male Reade x Summer Rose x Raven Branwen

Chapter II: Okay

It was the third day of March, the last evidence of winter melting into the ground. Beacon's second semester midterm exams were scheduled to begin in just over a week. The atmosphere within the school was tense to say the least. The looming pressure of the upcoming tests kept students' stress levels at an all time high and their heads bent low, backs hunched over desks as they scanned through eight weeks of notes. Every seat in the library was occupied as more bodies perused the many aisles, desperate students in search of answers which they hoped were contained in one of the countless books housed within the school's library. As the days approaching the start of the exams shortened, so too did the level of noise within the school. Walking through the halls, one might think the buildings were abandoned. The only sounds that could be heard were the scratching of pencils and the riffling of pages as students searched through their notes or referenced something in one of their textbooks. Even so much as a cough was enough to elicit a severe collective 'hush' from nearby students.

The cafeteria was the unspoken agreed upon 'safe zone' for noise. Meal times, most prominently lunch, were when the student body would take a break from their studying and engage in conversation. As a special treat to help relieve some of the tension surrounding this stressful time, the cafeteria staff had rolled out their famous cookies, their way of wishing the students good luck on their upcoming exams.

Walking through the cafeteria, two cookies resting neatly on a napkin, was (F/N) (L/N). As he had every other month, he was currently in search of one Summer Rose, ready with her gift of fluffy mounds of gooey chocolate and sugar. Today however, something unusual happened. Having managed to make his way through the crowd up to the recognizable white cloak, (F/N) tapped Summer on the shoulder with a shy smile on his face.

"Oh, hi (F/N)!" Summer exclaims, her greeting accompanied by her usual bright smile.

"Hi." (F/N) says breathlessly. "Oh, right, um, here are your cookies." He says, extending his hand and offering the treats to her.

"Oh, thanks." She beams. "But I actually managed to get here in time to grab my own." She indicates to her lunch tray, which, in addition to a salad and several slices of steak, carries two cookies.

"Oh. Right, yeah." (F/N) stumbles over his words. "I'll uh, I'll just... go then."

(F/N) turns to leave but is stopped by Summer grabbing his arm. "Hey, wait." She says, stumbling forwards a bit as his arm pulls her in his direction. "I was wondering, um, well..." a large blush encroaches on her face as she bites on her lower lip, "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me and grab a bite to eat?"

(F/N) turns his head in both directions, looking over his shoulder before responding. "Me?" He asks, pointing to himself.

"Yes, you." Summer nods, her face growing redder with each passing second. "Who else would I be talking to?"

"I don't know?" (F/N) says quietly. "Someone more... um, I mean, we're uh, we're already eating."

"I-I know." Summer says, flustered. "I meant, you know, maybe, maybe later?"

"Oh, right." (F/N) laughs nervously. "Later. Yeah, yeah, of course."

"So that's a yes?" Summer asks, her wolf ears perking up.

"No."

"No?" Summer's ears droop.

"I mean, n-not a no."

"So that's a yes?"

"I..."

"You do know how this works, don't you?"

"No, no, I know. It's just... why me?" (F/N) asks.

"Who else would I ask?"

"I don't know. Someone, you know, handsome o-or popular. Like uh, like what about Tai?"

"What about Tai?"

"Well, why not ask him? He's, you know, cool. And handsome. And popular. And..."

"And an idiot."

"I mean, not what I was going to say, but..."

"Look (F/N), Tai's my friend and all, but he's a complete idiot. His idea of fun is five hours in the gym. Not really what a girl looks for, you know?"

"Okay." (F/N) says slowly. "But my question still stands, why me? I mean, you're Summer Rose, one of the prettiest girls in school. Why would you want to go on a date with me? I'm nothing special, I'm just... I'm just me. Is this some sort of bet? Did someone put you up to this, because..."

"Oh my gosh!" Summer groans, rolling her eyes. "No one put me up to this. I'm asking you out on a date because I like you, so just shut up and say yes."

(F/N) releases a small sigh. "Okay."

"Okay?" Summer asks, somewhat surprised despite what she just said. "As in, okay okay?"

"Yeah, okay okay." (F/N) nods. "I'll um... I'll call you, okay?"

"O-Okay." Summer stammers, her heart rate rising.

"Just um, just, let's wait until after midterms." (F/N) says as they exchange numbers. "I uh, I don't have any free time until after then."

"Okay, yeah. Sounds good." Summer nods, face still red.

"Alright, I'll uh, I'll see you next week for our uh, our d-date. Yeah?"

"Okay." Summer replies breathlessly, a large smile spread across her face.

Bidding farewell for the time being, (F/N) makes his way back to the dormitories to continue his studies while Summer travels through the sea of people and sits down at a table next to her teammates. Placing her tray on the table, Summer looks down at her hands, folded on her lap, a big smile on her still red face. She can't help but feel giddy and light hearted at the events that just transpired; (F/N) had said yes. She knew she still had to deal with the exams before their date, but at the moment she couldn't help but be more nervous about the date than the tests.

"Summer? Summer? Earth to Summer?"

Summer looks up confused as a hand waves in front of her face.

"Hmm? What? What'd I miss?"

"Nothing." Tai says, placing his arm back on the table. "You just spaced out. Tell us, what's got you so excited? Hmm?" He nudges her with his elbow causing her grin to grow bigger.

"I really shouldn't say." She says, not wanting to encroach on (F/N)'s privacy.

"Oh, come on." Qrow nags. "We're all friends here. Come on Summer, tell us. Inquiring minds wanna know."

"It's nothing." She says with a wave of her hand. "It's just... (F/N) said yes to going out on a date with me."

Raven, who until this point had paid the conversation no mind, suddenly looks up from her tray. "(F/N)?" She asks. "As in (F/N) (L/N)?"

Summer smiles again and tries, unsuccessfully, to hide her blush. Tai and Qrow start teasing her, asking her a series of inappropriate questions. Raven's teammates are all too distracted to notice the dark look in her red eyes, a plan already formulating in her mind. She didn't have it all worked out, but she knew she had to stop this date from happening. Summer may be her friend, but she couldn't have (F/N). No, (F/N) was hers.