How to Make Friends (Patreon)

Most importantly, be yourself.  Changing you who are to become friends with another person probably means you weren't meant to be friends to begin with.

“Well, that solves that mystery,” Weiss muttered to herself, flipping the page and reading on anyway.

The issue was that she didn't think her personality meshed with any of her teammates.  Well, besides Ruby, who would befriend anyone willing to listen to a ten minute rant on the curvature of weapon blades.  But Yang and Blake were more difficult for Weiss to figure out.  Was it because they were her age and, therefore, closer to being her peers?

“You'd think they'd match us based on temperament…” she grumbled while skimming the section on 'finding common interests.'  They had one common interest - becoming huntresses.  Outside of that, Yang liked fashion and entertainment, Blake liked reading and discussing social injustice, Ruby liked weapons and anything shiny, and Weiss...Weiss studied so she'd always be at the top of the class.  Unfortunately, none of her teammates really wanted to discuss schoolwork more than necessary.

She and Ruby seemed to get along well - which was fortunate, considering they were partners.  Weiss might even go as far as to say that she liked Ruby, despite their early difficulties.  Ruby was very sweet, kind, maybe too energetic, but in a lovable way.  Plus, with each passing week she seemed to grow - not only as a leader and huntress, but literally grow as a person.  At this rate, she’d be taller than Weiss before they reached break.

As she grew and matured, Ruby became more beautiful in that cute, innocent way she had.  It was really unfair.  Not only was Weiss going to be the shortest on their team, but it would also become a toss-up as to which of them was most beautiful.

Remarkably enough, Weiss’ jealousy was far less biting than she would have imagined it to be.  If anything, she was happy to be partnered with someone like Ruby...but she was also jealous that Ruby could flounce out of the room in nothing but a t-shirt and sweats and still look adorable.

Weiss' heart seemed to agree with how unfair that was, as it did a small double jump in her chest.  Pushing her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose, she sighed and tried to return her attention to the task at hand.  It was surprisingly easy to be distracted by her thoughts of Ruby, but that was because Ruby was such an enigma - this strange, shining star in the midst of Beacon's more average students.   Weiss was still trying to figure Ruby out, which was way her thoughts strayed to and stuck on Ruby for such long periods of time.

While Ruby was an enjoyable puzzle that Weiss loved trying to solve - it was the other two she was having more difficulty connecting with.  Sure, they were friendly, and might already be ‘friends’ in a way, but it’d be nice to be a little more than that.  They’d already proven themselves to be good teammates, but could they be good friends as well?

In the absence of meaningful experience making friends on her own, Weiss sought out the next best thing - knowledge from experts.  In this case, the authors of the aptly-titled book - “How to Make Friends 101.”

The next section discussed how to be a good friend.  Be trustworthy, reliable, a good listener - this entire book seemed almost too elementary for her to read.  Of course those were traits of a good friend.  Who wanted a dishonest, unreliable friend who only spoke about themselves?  

Weiss read the entire chapter regardless, because it was good to have a refresher every once in a while.

When the door to the room suddenly burst open, she jumped in surprise and dropped the book in her lap.  

Unaware that her very entrance was borderline obnoxious, Yang strolled inside and tossed her bag onto her bed.  Blake followed, closing the door with the softest click before quietly setting her own bag at the foot of her bed.  She was the antithesis of her partner, yet somehow the two of them were already close friends.

“Hey Weiss!” Yang said, sitting down on Blake's bed without a second thought.  “Whatcha reading?”

“None of your business.”

The reply slipped out before Weiss thought it through (which went against one of the book's instructions to 'think before speaking') and she immediately winced at the sharp tone.  Unfortunately, when she perceived potential embarrassment she reacted by lashing out - which was probably the worst way to endear herself to others.

“Oook…” Yang shared a look with Blake before shrugging.  “Forget I asked!”

Under ordinary circumstances, Weiss wouldn't mind sharing.  But under the present circumstances, she couldn’t share without humiliating herself. 

“It's just...a book about an extra skill I want to learn,” she offered, but the explanation was too late, too vague, or Yang didn't care after her initial attempt at conversation was rebuked.

“What are you reading?” Yang asked Blake instead, watching intently while Blake sorted through her bag before pulling out a book of her own.

“It's a story about a princess who falls madly in love, only to find out that the man she's in love with was actually sent to assassinate her father.”

“Oooh sounds dramatic!”

“It is dramatic.”

When Blake scooted back onto her bed, Yang followed - the two of them sticking close regardless of what they were doing.  Their closeness only made it more difficult for Weiss to think of anything to say to join the conversation, because she wasn't speaking to just one or the other - everything she said would be heard and potentially responded to by two very different personalities.

Clearing her throat, she decided to make an attempt anyway.

“How far have you gotten?” she asked, gesturing towards the book in Blake’s hands.  Blake looked down at it in confusion before giving an answer.

“Oh.  I'm about ten chapters in.”

“How many chapters are there?” 

Weiss' follow-up question was too analytical, or too something, because Blake's brow raised in surprise before she opened the book and flipped towards the back.

“Forty-eight,” she answered after finding the last chapter.

“So you're about twenty-one percent done,” Weiss replied with a nod and smile.  “Good job.”

Giving honest praise was another suggestion the book offered.  However, Blake seemed almost disbelieving in Weiss' words, while Yang looked flat out confused.

“Thanks...l guess,” Blake replied anyway.  Meanwhile, Yang grinned and stretched towards the nightstand to grab one of her magazines.

“Wanna guess how many pages I've read of this?” she asked, shooting Weiss a wink that immediately ruffled her emotions.

“No, thank you,” she replied, dropping her eyes to the book in her lap and wishing it would give her actual sentences to use when speaking with someone like Yang.  How was she supposed to talk to someone who turned everything into a joke?

The moment of conversation passed though, with Blake and Yang settling into their routine of reading until it was time for dinner.  Weiss tried not to sigh too loudly at what she was going to deem another failure on her part.  Instead, she breathed out and lowered her gaze to her book - mentally analyzing what had just happened rather than reading.

It was hard not to compare her relationship to Yang or Blake with what they had with each other.  She knew that she shouldn’t - they were partners and destined to have the strongest bond only with one another - but she hoped for some greater feeling of closeness with them.

Maybe she was just reading into it too much.  They were together all the time, but sometimes it felt like…

She just wished she could call them her friends and know definitively that it was true.  Until then, they were her teammates only.  Ironically, when she came to Beacon that’s all she would have ever wanted them to be.  That feeling had changed.

A soft wind prickled at her skin then, announcing their leader’s impending presence seconds before the door burst open and Ruby flew inside.  

“Hey guys!” she called out, buzzing over to Weiss’ side and immediately sitting down.  “Hey Weiss!”

“Hi Ruby,” Weiss replied, smiling now that Ruby was back in the room.  It was easy to have a conversation with Ruby - although sometimes exceedingly difficult when she was showing her more immature side...but mostly very easy.

“I finished!” Ruby proclaimed, holding up several pieces of paper that were slightly crumpled from the race across campus to return to the room.  “Can you check my answers?”

Weiss used to say ‘no’ to that question, because it wasn’t her responsibility to ensure Ruby did her work correctly.  They attended the same classes, they took notes (or some of them took notes), so they should be able to complete their own work.  

Eventually she realized...why wouldn’t she say ‘yes’?

“Sure,” she said, taking the papers from Ruby’s hands and flattening them across the pages of her book.  Ruby hardly sat still on the bed beside her, but Weiss had learned long ago how to block out the ceaseless movement and focus on the task at hand.

Placing a finger on the first question, she read through Ruby’s equations before nodding at the correct answer.  Moving through the next four questions, she was pleasantly surprised to find that everything was correct, so far.  Not only that, but Ruby’s thought process had straightened itself out immeasurably since the beginning of school.

“These are good,” Weiss remarked after finishing the first page and flipping it over to the back.  She smiled when Ruby made a happy noise from beside her, and continued her quick check of the homework questions.

At the beginning of the year, Weiss had given Ruby a hard time about being...well, stupid.  Her math was always wrong, anything she wrote was a disordered mess, and she was a disorganized catastrophe, in general.  The critique was overly harsh, which Weiss learned over time.  

Ruby had been skipped forward two years.  She was abruptly cast into classes with students who had far more school experience.  She’d missed important foundation courses that would’ve helped ease the transition to Beacon.  She wasn’t stupid, she was...behind.

It made Weiss the perfect partner for Ruby, much to her initial chagrin.  But who was always ahead of the class?  Who studied obsessively and knew the ins and outs of every subject?  Who would make sure Ruby stayed on top of her schoolwork and kept her grades from slipping?

As much as it once felt like a burden, it was now a responsibility Weiss took pride in - especially as Ruby’s grades climbed and she caught up with the rest of the class.

“Why did you do this?” Weiss asked, pointing to one of the answers on the page.  Leaning closer, Ruby looked over Weiss’ shoulder and failed to notice the way it made Weiss’ heart jump in surprise.

“Because...I thought you said...when the formula does this -”  Reaching over, Ruby pointed to a small set of numbers.  “That we should do that -”  She pointed to her answer before sending Weiss a questioning gaze.

“You’re right.”  Weiss smiled when she saw the relief in Ruby’s eyes.  “I was just checking.”

Ruby broke into a huge grin at the response.  “I totally thought I was wrong!” she said, bouncing on Weiss’ bed and moving a smidge closer in the process.  “But then I remembered your words - it was like you were in my head telling me just what to do!”

“And you actually listened?”

“Of course I did!  I know better than to question you about school stuff!”

Ruby’s answer and accompanying grin lit a warm fire in Weiss’ heart - like it always seemed to do.  The new part was that the fire extended to her cheeks as well, forming a soft blush that she hid by turning her attention back to Ruby’s homework assignment.

“Well, this looks right to me,” she said, putting the pages back in order and straightening the edges before handing them to Ruby.  

“If they look right to you, then they’re right!” Ruby replied, taking her assignment with a grin.

“Not necessarily…”

“Yes necessarily!” Ruby interrupted.  “I’d believe you over Professor Port any day!”

The compliment made Weiss’ cheeks grow warmer, and she ducked away from Ruby’s sometimes too powerful gaze.

“Thank you, Ruby…” she muttered towards the book in her lap - it being a symbol of her own personal failings.  Fortunately, when it came to Ruby, Weiss was certain that they were friends - Ruby said it incessantly, almost as if she was also happy to apply the label to someone.

As an honest assessment, Weiss would call herself an average friend to Ruby, at best - but she was determined to be better.  She’d already learned one or two things that were guaranteed to make Ruby smile (both of them food-related), and used them when she could.  Whenever one of them worked and Ruby broke into that beaming grin, Weiss felt so successful - like she was truly capable of being a good friend.  Her heart would do this double-beat in her chest, and she inevitably flushed at the same time - because it was just so nice to see Ruby happy.

If only Weiss could figure out her other two teammates so easily...

Feeling the bed move, Weiss watched her partner pop up and put the homework assignment away in her bag, ready to be turned in tomorrow.

“You learned that really fast,” Weiss commented, her eyes never leaving Ruby.

“That’s because I have the best teacher in Remnant!” Ruby replied, sending a grin over her shoulder that Weiss greedily accepted.  

Realistically, Weiss wasn’t the best teacher in Remnant, but she had found several effective methods of teaching Ruby new subjects.  Those techniques might only qualify Weiss to be the best teacher for Ruby.  The only thing she couldn’t figure out was why that thought made her so happy.  Figuring out a way to get a hyperactive girl to study wasn’t exactly the same as solving advanced Dust equations... 

“I appreciate that you think so,” was how Weiss decided to reply, smiling when Ruby sat down on the edge of the bed again.  She’d noticed recently that Ruby was sitting a lot closer, not that that was an issue.  It just meant...that they were often closer than they used to be.  

“I do!  Not just the best teacher either - the best partner!  And best everything else!”  Reaching over, Ruby patted Weiss’ knee.  “I just think you’re the best.”

There it was again - the inescapable warmth that started in Weiss’ heart and spread through her like wildfire.  From their close proximity, she could read the sincerity in Ruby’s silver eyes, and practically feel it radiating from her like those rose petals that went everywhere and got into everything.

“I think...you’re pretty great yourself…” Weiss managed to reply, and smiled when Ruby beamed.

It was curious because, overall, Weiss found Ruby to be incredibly easy to talk to...except for these moments when words dried up and her tongue tied itself in knots.  Unfortunately, these moments were happening more frequently as of late - another reason why she felt the book was so necessary.  She wanted to progress her relationships with Blake and Yang, but she also didn’t want her relationship with Ruby to suffer due to something she was unwittingly doing wrong.  

“God, why don’t you two just kiss already?”

“Yang!” Ruby yelped at the same moment Weiss blinked away from Ruby’s eyes and asked, “Excuse me?” 

‘Why would you ever say such a thing?’ Weiss wanted to ask, but her mind was still frozen by the abruptness of the comment.  She and Ruby had been sharing a nice moment - of course Yang felt the need to butt in and ruin it.  Yang knew she’d done as much too, which was why she was smirking.

“A magazine was too much for you to read?” Weiss snapped, grasping at the first pseudo-insult she could find and throwing it across the room.  It did nothing to dent Yang’s grin, and she was about to respond when a hand lightly touched her arm.

“Yang?” Blake asked, the soft question garnering Yang's complete attention and then some.  “What do you think about going to the cafeteria early - just you and me?”

Everyone in this room knew there was no way Yang would turn down that offer - not when she dedicated a majority of her day to bending over backwards looking for excuses to spend time with Blake.  

“I’d love to!” Yang answered, her blinding grin again causing the normally stoic Blake to smile.  “You wanna go now?”

“If you’re ready -”

Tossing the magazine towards the table (and missing), Yang scooted off the bed and extended a hand to help Blake up.  

“I was born ready!”  Turning towards Ruby and Weiss, Yang seemed to have forgotten all about the tease she’d thrown into the world.  “You guys cool if we head out first?”

“Sure!” Ruby replied while Weiss nodded, personally relieved that Yang wouldn’t be around to make matters even more embarrassing.  Not that Weiss was embarrassed at the thought of kissing Ruby, but...she - well, it - 

It was flustering.

“Cool - catch up with you later then,” Yang said, waving one arm towards the door and following Blake out of the room with a happy, puppy-dog grin.

The more Weiss saw that puppy-dog grin, and the more it was saved only for Blake, the more she was convinced it was actually the beginning of puppy-love.  Which meant she should probably prepare herself for more and more comments about her and Ruby kissing - with Yang projecting her own feelings onto Weiss and Ruby, of course.

When the door closed behind the pair, Weiss rolled her eyes.

“Yang's one to talk...” she muttered under her breath.  The comeback was too late now, with Yang already gone and the embarrassment already done.  When Ruby cleared her throat, Weiss looked over and feigned an exasperated sigh. 

“Your sister sometimes,” she remarked.  Ruby's smile instantly returned, although at a slightly lower wattage than before.

“Y-yeah!  Can you believe she’d say something like that??”  With a nervous chuckle that caught Weiss’ attention, Ruby stood up and grabbed a textbook from her bag.  “I’m gonna get started on that chapter for next week!” she said before pulling herself up onto her bed and disappearing from view.

Confused and a little disheartened by Ruby’s sudden departure, Weiss chose not to say anything about it.  If Ruby wanted to read on her bed, she was certainly entitled to it.  It was just that...normally she’d read with Weiss instead.

Looking down at the book in her lap, Weiss sighed and went back to reading herself.  Even as she did so, she couldn’t escape the feeling that she’d failed the most recent interaction, somehow.  Not only was Ruby doing homework on her own bed, but Blake and Yang voluntarily left early for dinner.

Realistically, they couldn't become best friends overnight, but how was Weiss supposed to measure her progress?  What metrics could she use to determine how close they were?  Amount of time spent together?  Words spoken to one another? 

Somewhere in this book, the advice was given to ‘not overthink the process.’  Unfortunately, Weiss was prone to overthinking any and every process.  How else was she supposed to determine the best and most efficient course of action?

After a few seconds of silence, Weiss lowered her book and looked towards the bottom of bed overtop of hers.

“Ruby?” she asked.  Ruby's head appeared over the side of the bed an instant later, her short hair hanging towards the ground as her silver eyes found Weiss.

“Yeah?”

Almost immediately, Weiss wanted to back away from the question lingering in her mind.  It was an embarrassing one to ask, especially for someone like herself, but...she felt comfortable asking for Ruby's opinion.

“Do you think that Yang and Blake like me?” she asked, looking up and watching Ruby's upside-down expression flicker from confusion to concern, then back to confusion.

“What do you mean?  Of course they like you!”

“But do you think we're...friends?” Studying the book in her lap, Weiss thought about the question herself.  She knew she could count on her teammates in battle.  She knew she could count on them to help her when she really needed it.  But outside of this team, outside of being forced to work together, would any of them want to be her friends?

Hearing a soft thump hit the floor, Weiss looked up and found that Ruby was now standing right in front of her.  And when Ruby smiled in that hopelessly reassuring way she had, Weiss’ heart started warming once again.  

“l think you guys are great friends!” Ruby answered with a nod.  “They like you a lot!”

“Maybe...but sometimes I feel like -”

Realizing what she was about to admit, Weiss stopped and shook her head.  She couldn't possibly say that out loud.

“Sometimes what?”

Sighing when Ruby asked the question, Weiss looked into comforting silver eyes and said it anyway.

“Sometimes I feel like I don't fit in here.”

That might be her biggest fear - that even though intellectually she was top of the class, and her fighting capabilities were amongst the most refined, it would be her personality that left her alone upon graduation.  She worried that as soon as they were done with their training, her team would leave her - happy to be rid of her and her more difficult qualities.

Ironically, it wasn’t very long ago when Weiss was the one planning to bolt as soon as she was able to.  But then...she learned what it was like to have a team to rely upon.  And she...she rather liked being a part of something bigger than herself.

“Weiss!  You totally fit in!”

Weiss huffed in disbelief, but Ruby stomped one foot to regain her full attention.

“You do!  Plus you're super smart, and funny, and generous, and we like having you on our team!”

“But -”

“No buts!”  Shaking her head, Ruby crossed her arms over her chest.  “You belong here, with us.  Maybe you and Yang or Blake aren't best friends yet, but that's what the next few years are for!  Plus, you're my best friend - doesn't that count for something?”

While Ruby waited for an answer, Weiss stared - and stared, and stared, while her mind slowly wrapped around and digested everything Ruby just said.

“You...think of me as your best friend?” Weiss asked in nothing more than a whisper, her heart beating so loud in her ears that she could hardly hear her own voice.

“Not just that,” Ruby replied.  “I think you're the best, most beautiful, and most amazing person I've ever met!  I love spending time with you and being your partner.  And if you want to be better friends with Yang and Blake, then that's what I'm going to help you do!”

Once upon a time, Weiss believed she would always be the one helping Ruby - helping her study, finish homework, get up for class on time - but...their partnership was far more equal than expected.  Weiss needed Ruby in ways she’d never imagined.

Before Weiss could respond, the door flew open and Yang raced back inside.

“Totally forgot my ID,” she explained, pulling her bag down from her bed and searching inside for her wallet.

“Hey Yang!” Ruby said, hopping over to her sister’s side with an easy grin.  Recognizing what Ruby was about to do, Weiss tried to catch her attention and get her to stop, but it was already too late.  “What do you think about switching up partners for breakfast the next two weeks?  I’ll cook with Blake and you cook with Weiss?”

Pulling out her wallet, Yang looked initially surprised by the suggestion.  It was the response Weiss expected - until Yang smiled her way.

“That sounds like fun!  Whatdya say, Weiss?  Wanna work with me for a week?  We can make some of those...whatever those special Atlas things were you were talking about!”

Taken aback by the fact that Yang had actually paid attention to that conversation, Weiss quickly collected herself enough to smile.

“I’d love to,” she said, her smile growing when Yang beamed and sent her a thumbs up.

“Can’t wait!  We’ll show them a thing or two about cooking.”  Heading to the door, Yang gave them a quick wave before heading out.  “See you guys in a bit!”

It was quiet when the door closed, until Ruby turned towards Weiss and smiled.

“See?  She just agreed to make breakfast with you instead of Blake!  She totally likes you.”

Unsure of how to respond to that statement, which made her eyes sting with what couldn’t possibly be tears, Weiss chose not to acknowledge the fact that Ruby just went out of her way to help with what was certainly Weiss’ personal quest.  Instead, Weiss raised the book in front of her face and pretended like she might read again, using the book to block Ruby from view while her emotions grew.

When a hand gently pressed the book downward, Weiss allowed it to lower towards her lap and found herself instantly caught in Ruby’s gaze.  Ruby was standing closer now, leaning down so their gazes were even.  The look in Ruby’s eyes made Weiss' skin tingle in anticipation, yet she had no idea what she was anticipating.

“l think you're incredible, Weiss,” Ruby said, the words tumbling out of her mouth one overtop of the other, as if she couldn’t get them out fast enough.  “And I like you - more than anyone else, ever.”

The next second Ruby set one hand on Weiss' shoulder, the other on Weiss' thigh, and in one smooth motion leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Weiss’ lips.  Weiss’ eyes widened in shock, her brain sparking in surprise as she tried to process that Ruby was kissing her! 

But the moment ended before Weiss could figure out how to return the gesture.

Giggling in embarrassment, Ruby backed away and pointed towards the hall.

“So...uh...I’m gonna go get dinner!” she said, smiling through her beet-red blush before bouncing out the door without another word.

Meanwhile, Weiss sat as still as a statue on the edge of her bed - the book on making friends still clutched in her hands while her cheeks steamed with a furious blush and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest.  

That just happened.  That really just happened.  It was completely...could she even say it was completely unexpected?  From the way her heart was beating, and the way every part of her body felt warm and tingled with happiness, she wasn’t sure she could say unexpected.  She certainly couldn’t say unenjoyable.

Looking at the door Ruby had just disappeared through, Weiss tried to prevent a smile from appearing...but it was no use.  She smiled, and her heart partook in some strange and new acrobatics in her chest.

She’d been so focused on becoming better friends with Blake and Yang that she hadn't noticed what was happening between her and Ruby.  The two of them had been circling and circling around those feelings for quite some time, with Weiss blatantly ignoring them and...and Ruby decided to stop ignoring them any longer.

Glancing at the book in her hands, Weiss flipped to the back - looking for and quickly finding the glossary.  Her eyes scanned the pages, looking for the section starting with the letter ‘K.’  Once she found it, she slid the tip of her finger down the page reading each and every word in the section.  Not finding what she was searching for, she flipped the book closed and set it on the bed beside her.

Taking off her glasses, she calmly folded them up and set them to the side as well.  Next, she lifted two fingers and pressed them to her lips.  She could still feel Ruby’s lips on her own - the light, soft touch that was warm and...exciting.  

A part of her wanted to squeal, but Schnees didn’t squeal.  Another part of her wanted to bury her face in her pillow and...squeal.

Squealing or not, one thing was certain - she was going to need a different book.