Keyboards (ch3)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!!

I'm glad for everyone who read and is continuing to read! I understand it's rather stiff writing (again, this was done years ago and myself and my partner weren't the best writers at the time haha). And this is a tricky story, since they aren't even physically together.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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														Chapter 3.

She fell asleep almost instantly and didn't wake at all throughout the night until morning. When she pushed herself up out of bed, the images of blood on her hands came back to Weiss, and she felt her stomach lurch.

But almost immediately after that were the thoughts of Cat, the kind words she'd typed to Weiss to help her last night.

Weiss got out of bed and started up her laptop. As soon as she could, she went to Cat's blog and sent her a message.

Good morning, Cat. Thanks to you, I made it through the night. I've got school now so I'll talk to you more in ten hours or so. I hope you have a good day.

It would've been embarrassing to send it to anyone else, but Cat deserved Weiss' honest feelings after all she'd done for her.

Heading to the door, Weiss steeled herself before going to the kitchen, glad to find it empty, and she started to prepare breakfast for herself.

. . .

Blake was woken up the next morning when her cat jumped on her bed and started butting his head against her face. Getting up with a groan, she thought about her new friend and wondered how she was doing.

She checked her messages and saw that Princess had sent one to her a little while ago. She smiled as she read it before replying.

I'm glad to hear you're doing well. I'm looking forward to talking to you later, so you have a good day too!

Blake sent the message before the meowing of her cat reminded her that she needed to get ready for school. With one last glance at her laptop screen, she went to go get some breakfast.

. . .

Weiss managed to get out of the house before her father even woke up. It was getting cold outside, and her breath was billowing slightly white. She boarded her bus, and for once the ride to school didn't feel as long as it normally did.

In fact, the entire school day seemed to speed by, and Weiss wasn't complaining at all. She was eager to get home simply so she could check her messages.

For the sake of doing that, she even managed to get most of her homework done on the bus ride home. She scurried to the front door and unlocked it before hurrying directly up to her room. She turned on her laptop and shifted impatiently as the website loaded.

When she saw the little notification button, her heart leapt with excitement, and she hurriedly read through it before replying.

Today was very nice, actually. It's a little cool outside but still very clear. And… without you last night, I never would've gotten to experience such a nice day. So thank you again.

How was your day? Was school all right? Did you sleep well last night?

. . .

The entire day, Blake was eager to get home. This time it wasn't just to check her favorite blog, but mainly to talk to Princess.

The minute school was over she rushed to her bus, more eager to get home than she could recall being for a while. She might have run home if she wasn't wearing a homework-heavy backpack.

As soon as she was home and back in her room, she saw the notification on her blog and clicked.

You don't need to keep thanking me, talking to you is enough. I'm glad you had a good day today. I slept well and my day was all right. School was a bit boring and I just wanted to get home all day.

The weather is also a little chillier here than I would prefer, but it's not terrible.

. . .

Weiss didn't know how long it would be before Cat got online, so she busied herself with her chores and homework for a while. When she glanced at the laptop screen and noticed she had a message, she couldn't have read it faster.

Yeah, it's going to be winter here soon, too. I can't wait for winter break - three weeks off from school! I tell my father I have a lot of projects to work on so he doesn't bother me.

Do you not like the cold? I've always been bad with heat in the summertime. I usually stay inside whenever I can because I tend to overheat sometimes.

She hardly realized she was rambling now, but what she did realize was that she was opening up to Cat. With every message, she shared more of herself that she'd never told to anyone else, and she also got a bit of knowledge about the other girl as well.

And yet, she wasn't hesitating to type more.

. . .

Blake was surprised at how fast Princess responded to her. Judging by the promptness, she might have been in a similar, or even the same time zone.

It's not that I don't like the cold, it's just that I prefer the warm weather. If we can ever meet each other some day, it'll have to be somewhere cool so you're more comfortable.

I have three weeks off from school as well for winter break. And if you don't mind my asking, why do you tell your dad that? I know you said he puts a lot of pressure on you, but why don't you want him bothering you?

. . .

At the mention of potentially "meeting" Cat, Weiss' eyes widened a bit. She'd heard of many other people who'd met online and gotten close enough over time to arrange a meet-up, but she'd never considered it before for herself. Probably because she'd never spoken to someone online before. Not this extensively, at least.

She was touched that after having only talked for two days, Cat was already suggesting such a thing. But Weiss realized there was definitely no one else she would rather meet up with, if at all possible.

It'd be nice if we could meet up somehow, though I doubt my father would ever allow it.

Well… I tell him I always have projects to do so he won't pester me. If he thinks I'm not busy, he'll get mad at me. My sister is highly successful, and he needs me to be at least as good as she is, if not better. If I can't reach her level, then I'm a failure to him, totally useless.

…I'm actually rather scared of my father, so I try to avoid him as much as possible. What almost happened last night was because of him. Or maybe it was just because I'm so weak…

. . .

It was upsetting to read the new message. She took a few minutes to start writing though; this was a sensitive subject and she wanted to be mindful.

That's not fair to you. You may not be your sister, but you're amazing in your own way. Your father should see that and you shouldn't have to be afraid of him...

And what happened last night is absolutely not your fault. Trust me. You aren't weak and you aren't useless. You're an amazing person, Princess.

She only kept repeating herself because she believed it was the truth.

. . .

When she opened Cat's new message, Weiss pressed a palm to her mouth, holding back a small sob. She blinked hard, trying to keep the tears back; she'd never read or heard such words before in all her life, perhaps in books or in movies, but never when they were meant for her.

She needed to wipe her eyes and pause a few minutes before she could type her response:

Thank you, Cat. I really don't know what more I can say. You're even more amazing, because your words do so much - more than you could ever know. I'll never let you forget that you saved my life, and I owe it to you now.

. . .

Blake smiled at the words from her friend, a girl she had only talked to for a day but felt as if she had known her for much longer.

You're welcome, but you don't need to keep thanking me. I'm more than happy that I could help you when you needed it. And please don't think you need to repay me. But just know I'm always here if you'd ever like to talk more.

She found herself wanting to talk out loud to this girl. Typing in chat without tone or facial expressions or being able to see her was a little strange. Maybe one day, if all went well, she'd be able to hear Princess' voice.

. . .

They continued exchanging messages for almost two hours. When they hit a message limit, they selected another form of messaging, and even went so far as to exchange emails, though Weiss didn't think they were on such good terms to exchange phone numbers yet. Maybe one day.

When she realized the time and that she still needed to prepare herself dinner, Weiss regrettably sent her final message for the night.

I've got to eat and head to bed. Thank you so much for chatting with me again tonight, Cat. I'll message you in the morning, too. Goodnight.

She'd learned a lot about Cat in just those few hours, and Weiss herself had shared some information she'd never told anyone else. She just felt comfortable with Cat, and she couldn't explain why. She felt it was more than just the fact that Cat had been there for her in her darkest time. She just seemed like such a pure, kind-hearted person, the kind of person Weiss had always wanted to be.

After preparing herself some leftovers, Weiss changed into her sleepwear, brushed her teeth, and crawled into bed, feeling infinitely better than she could ever remember feeling before.

. . .

Blake smiled when Princess signed off for the night. It was the first time she'd ever chatted online for so long with someone, especially on such a deep emotional and personal level. Checking the time, she realized just how late it was and just how long she had been talking to Princess.

Good night Princess. Enjoy your dinner, and I look forward to talking to you tomorrow!

She stood up and changed clothes before going downstairs to eat.

She still had trouble believing all of this had happened in such a short amount of time; she had followed Princess' blog for a long time, and it was almost surreal finally getting to talk to her. She had learned so much about her new friend and had shared a lot about herself as well.

All Blake could determine at this point was that she liked Princess a lot. Of course she was worried about her too, and she wanted to keep learning more about her so she could help her if it was ever necessary again.

She was confident in her ability to be there for her friend online, even if she might not be able to in real life.

Over the next few days, the two girls fell into a schedule of sorts; in the mornings, they would exchange a few encouraging messages before school, and Weiss used the thoughts of getting to talk to Cat again as motivation to get through all the lessons.

Once home, she'd chat with Cat as she did her assignments and homework. On school nights, they would talk about their classes that day, or any random events; things that seemed insignificant in their minds were made meaningful in speaking to one another. On weekend nights, the two girls would often stay up for hours exchanging words.

Weiss never got sick of talking to Cat. In fact, every night, it only got more and more addicting, and she felt the need to speak to the other girl constantly grow stronger.

The only downside was that she'd often get anxious if Cat didn't reply within a few minutes and hadn't said she was going somewhere. Weiss was always relieved to finally receive a reply, and she'd always voice how worried she'd been.

Such was the situation one night about a week after their meeting.

Oh, thank goodness. You hadn't replied for a little while so I thought something might've happened. Sorry, I worry really easily. I guess I should loosen up...

. . .

Blake enjoyed the routine that she fell into with Princess.

They would wish each other good morning before school; it was something she'd never done with a friend before, only her parents.

She would spend the entire day waiting to get home, and the second she did she would message Princess. She would wait anxiously for her friend to message her back, and then they would start chatting for hours.

Presently, Blake got up when she heard her parents call. They just had a question about school and once it was answered Blake trotted back upstairs to her room to find a message waiting for her.

Sorry for worrying you. My parents called for me. And don't be sorry. It's all right to worry about your friends. It shows you care. How are you doing otherwise, Princess?

. . .

She sighed in relief when Cat gave her a response.

I'm doing well. Winter break started today after classes. I'm very excited to get three weeks off from school.

She wasn't sure if it would be okay to add the next part of her message, but in the end, she decided she felt comfortable enough to do so if it was with Cat.

…Cat? It's fine if you don't want to, but… would you ever consider video chatting with me? I mean, maybe we could just start off with us speaking. We don't have to show our faces. But then maybe when we get more comfortable. I just… I want to hear your voice and maybe one day even see what you look like.

Sorry if it sounds weird. Just be honest and tell me if you'd rather not.

. . .

Blake scanned the message a few times, trying to decide how she felt about Princess' request. While she liked talking to Princess, she wasn't sure if she felt comfortable with the idea just yet. By nature, Blake was a very nervous and socially-awkward person, after all.

Sorry, but I don't know about video chatting right now. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that... But I would be happy to start with just our voices. Maybe once I'm more comfortable we can move to video chatting.

Blake hoped Princess would understand. Princess was the kind of person who was confident in posting pictures and showing herself online, but Blake had never been the type for that sort of thing. She shuffled her feet on her carpet nervously, twiddling her hands in her lap as she waited.

. . .

Weiss was a bit relieved to get the response Cat gave her.

Okay, that's fine. To be honest, I don't think I'm ready for video chatting just yet either. Starting with our voices is fine, and then if we want to, we can go to video as time goes on.

Would you want to try chatting tonight? My username is the same as it is here, so you can search for me if you'd like to add me.

A coil of excitement bubbled up in her stomach as she sent the message. She'd never chatted with someone online before, not in text like this and especially not with her actual voice. She was a little nervous, but overall couldn't shake the feeling of anticipation.

. . .

Blake felt a trill of excitement.

Sounds good, and yes we can make a call tonight! I'll add you ASAP. I'm looking forward to talking to you, Princess!

Blake sent the message and sat back in her chair, feeling her heart flutter. She'd never talked to someone so much or so long online, and she had never actually talked to anyone either.

But she felt that Princess was different. She felt she could trust her.

Upon opening her connection app, Blake looked Princess up and found her, sending her a request to add her as a contact.

. . .

The request to add a contact came within minutes, and Weiss accepted it instantly.

For the first minute or so, she simply stared at the screen of the empty chat, fingers trembling with anticipation over the keys. They weren't on a call yet, only typing in real-time rather than just sending messages on their blogs.

Weiss sent the first message of the chat:

Hi, Cat. I'm glad you found me.

If it's okay, I'll call you now. Just our voices. Is it okay to do that now or should I wait a bit? I'll be fine over here for a few more hours before I'll need to go to bed, but my father's and sister's rooms aren't near mine, so we don't have to worry about anyone hearing us talk.

. . .

Blake's contact request was accepted within a few minutes of her sending it. Soon after that she saw the moving pencil that indicated that Princess was typing. It was strange knowing that this was real time and that Princess would answer her right away.

Blake replied quickly, nervous and excited.

Sure, you can call now. I don't have any homework tonight so I have free time before I need to go to bed.

. . .

At the confirmation, Weiss inhaled with a small squeak. Even though she wouldn't be seen on video, she could't help but fix her hair and clothes a bit.

At long last, she hit the call button, selecting the "voice" option but leaving the "video" option untouched.

As soon as the little ringing sounds stopped, she knew Cat had answered. Weiss' heart was thumping hard as she cleared her throat and stared at the other girl's icon.

"Hello…" Weiss said shyly. "C-Can you hear me?"

God, she hoped her voice didn't sound too weird.

. . .

Blake sat staring at her computer after sending her message. Her answer arrived a moment later when a notification came up, telling her that her friend was calling. Making sure her headphones were on properly she clicked "answer".

She felt the nervousness equivalent to being in an interview, except it was pleasant somehow.

For a moment she was silent and so was Princess until she heard another voice in her headphones. A shy and quiet voice asking if she could be heard.

Blake's heart was pounding. She swallowed heavily before answering.

"Yeah… I can hear you. Can you hear me?"

. . .

It was a few seconds before Weiss heard a response, but when she did, she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her lips.

Cat's voice was soft, shy, very subdued. But Weiss could easily detect the bit of excitement in her tone, and Weiss assumed her own voice probably sounded similar past the static of the speaker.

She swallowed and fumbled for what to say next.

"Yes… I can hear you."

A pause.

Weiss felt the need to keep going, lest she bore Cat or make her uncomfortable and cause her to hang up, so she quickly went on.

"This is pretty neat. It's certainly a lot more convenient than typing and… waiting several minutes for answers and things like that. H-How was your day at school?"

. . .

There was a pause between them, with both girls trying to figure out what to say.

Blake was excited to talk to Princess but she didn't know what to say - this was a lot more personal than just sending text messages.

After Princess started talking again Blake breathed a small sigh of relief, glad that her friend was keeping the conversation alive. Because she knew she sure couldn't.

"Yeah, it sure is easier this way. I like your voice. My day at school was all right... nothing special really happened today. I was mostly bored. What about you?"

. . .

A small smile formed on Weiss' face as she listened to Cat's voice. She quickly got used to her tone; she had an accent very similar to Weiss' own, putting her under the impression that she might not live terribly far away. They also were in the same timezone. Even if Cat wasn't next door to her, she wasn't on the other side of the world, and Weiss took a grain of solace in that.

"My day was pretty normal as well. But it was the last day before winter break, so I'm looking forward to that now. For almost a month, I'll get to relax and keep to myself without having to worry about studying. My father will hopefully be going easy on me, too…" Her voice wavered at that - she actually wasn't too sure about it, but she hoped she sounded convincing. "Do you have… any plans for the break? Yours is soon too, right?"

She wanted to hear Cat talk more.

. . .

Blake smiled as she listened.

Just hearing Princess' voice was nice. Except when she mentioned one particular thing.

When Princess mentioned her father, Blake had to bite her tongue. Whenever he was mentioned she had to stop herself from saying anything too rash; she didn't like the way he treated Princess, but that was a delicate issue, and she felt it wasn't her place to speak on it.

"Yeah, I have my break right now as well. Today was my last day of school before the winter break. I'm looking forward to not studying and just relaxing. I don't have many plans except…" She stopped. She was about to say she planned on talking to Princess more, but it felt different saying it out loud and not in a message.

. . .

Weiss slowly engraved the other girl's voice into her heart; it was the first time she'd ever spoken to anyone she'd met online, and she'd certainly never gotten this close to anyone before. She wondered if Cat was feeling just as happy about getting to talk to her.

Weiss wanted to ask what her friend had been meaning to say, but she didn't want to pry and come off as intrusive.

The ensuing moment of silence reminded Weiss there was something she wanted to say to Cat, not just type. When she spoke again, her voice was timid and small.

"H-Hey, um…"

She already felt the emotions swelling up within her, causing her to choke a bit. She put a hand to her mouth and swallowed, wiping her eyes in turn before she tried to go on.

"I-I just… I wanted to say thank you… Thank you for… stopping me the other night… I just…"

She trailed off, blinking away tears and burying her face into her elbow for a moment.

. . .

There was a moment of silence between them, but unlike the previous silence this was not uncomfortable. Then Princess started to speak, but this time her voice was much quieter than it had been before. And understandably so.

Blake listened intently, respectfully as the other girl spoke. She took several pauses, but after a few tries she finished what she was saying and Blake knew why it had been so hard. She gathered her own courage as Princess had and spoke back with equal conviction.

"You've already thanked me, and I've already told you that I'm always here to help. And I mean it."

. . .

Weiss nodded, remembered Cat couldn't se it, and continued to clean off her face on her sleeve.

"Yes, I… I know that's what you said. It's just… hard to believe sometimes, but… I want to believe you… And I wanted to say thank you with my own voice."

She felt a bit better now that she had.

For a moment, Weiss was silent save from a few little hiccups here and there as she tried to recompose herself.

"Sorry about that," she said a bit more clearly. "I just wanted to tell you. I don't have much to talk about, but what about you? Anything. Do you have any siblings or pets or hobbies you like to do? What's your favorite kind of weather or game or book?"

Weiss heard herself rambling and stopped herself there.

. . .

"It's all right. You don't need to apologize. To answer your questions in no particular order, I like fantasy books, I have no siblings, I don't really have any hobbies aside from track and going online, there's no particular weather I like, and I have a cat."

Blake finished answering all of the questions with a little bit of a smile on her face.

"What about you? I know you have things to talk about. You seem like an interesting girl."

A hint of eagerness made its way into her voice. She wanted to learn more about Princess.

. . .

Weiss committed everything Cat said to memory, ensuring she'd remember everything about her that she possibly could. She found herself smiling a bit more as she continued to listen.

But when asked about herself, that smile faded again.

"No, I… I really don't have much to talk about. I focus most of my time on schoolwork and studying for exams, writing papers and doing projects for class. If I don't get all A's on my report card every marking period, my father will get… sort of angry." It was an understatement to say the least, but she didn't need to tell Cat those things.

Weiss shook her head quickly as she felt tears coming. She changed the subject immediately.

"I don't go out much other than the walk to and from the bus stop. I don't have any pets, but I have an older sister, and a younger brother. I think I've told you. I like to read. And I um… I get cold really easily," she mentioned. "When I was younger, a doctor said I had a strange kind of condition where I get affected by the cold more easily than most people. I think that's probably the most interesting thing about me…"

She didn't really like talking about herself.

. . .

Blake listened with a patient smile as Princess scrambled to find something to say about herself. Though when she could hear how the other girl was getting upset, she wanted to cheer her up.

"Hey come on, I'm sure you have something else beside your school studies. And yeah you mentioned your sister, but you didn't say anything about this condition... I've never heard of that. Did the doctor tell you anything about it?"

. . .

Weiss tried to think for a moment, tried to remember exactly what her condition entailed.

"It's a form of extreme sensitivity. My body's just particularly prone to the cold. I need to have the heating on at all times during the winter and I can't stay outside in the cold as long as a normal person could. I don't think I've ever played out in the snow…"

She trailed off a little sadly, but quickly bounced back.

"But as I've grown older, I've gotten better at being out in the cold for longer periods of time. My dream in life is to find someone I love and go for a long walk with them in the snow," she confessed. "Silly, isn't it? I don't think it can ever happen; at least not anytime soon. But I'm willing to wait."

She looked back up at the monitor that displayed Cat's icon - a black kitten with amber eyes.

"What about you?" she asked. "Do you… have a dream?"

. . .

Princess' condition interested her, but Blake didn't let her mind linger on it. She smiled upon hearing her dream.

"It's not silly. That's actually a really cute dream. I like it."

She had to take a moment to consider her own dream. She had never really thought about it that much, actually.

"Mine isn't as clear-cut as your dream. I just want to make sure my life has an impact. I have no illusions that I will be famous, but I just want to make sure that I have a positive influence on the people I know."

Blake was subdued after revealing that information; she had never told anyone that before.

"Hey, Princess…do you think that…sometime we could tell each other out real names?"

. . .

Weiss perked up a bit, and her heart fluttered again.

"That's a really good dream. I never even considered anything like that. Your dream is for others; mine's just for myself. It proves you're a really good person, Cat."

She sat back in her chair and leaned over to her bed, pulling a small blanket off of it to wrap around her shoulders; it was getting later, and therefore colder now, and Weiss was starting to shiver.

Cat's next words had her gasping softly.

"Of… Of course we could. I mean I… I'd love to tell you some day. We have all of winter break now so… maybe we could go as far as names tomorrow? And… maybe - if you want - we could even go onto video chat sometime. Only when you feel comfortable with it, though. I think it'd be nice to have someone to talk to, over the break and… and even after that, too."

She didn't want to get too far ahead of herself. But she felt that maybe in this case it was okay to hope.

. . .

Blake heard the small gasp on the other side of the call and worried she had asked that question too soon.

Good job Blake, you screwed things up already…

She deflated as she waited for Princess' answer, and was more than pleasantly surprised by the one she received.

"Y-Yeah! I would like that. Whenever you're comfortable with telling me your name, and someday we can video call. I'd like to keep talking to you over break… and even after that, too."

It was both nerve-wracking and thrilling, especially for a shy girl like Blake, to even consider such a significant event. But she was certain there was no one else she'd rather do this with than Princess.

. . .

Weiss felt her eyes swelling with tears all over again, but this time out of happiness. It was much nicer than when she cried for other reasons.

"Okay…" she said softly. "All right then. Let's call again tomorrow, okay? Since there's no more school for either of us, maybe we can call earlier, in the morning or noontime instead of just the evening. So long as I speak softly, no one in my household will find out. I'll tell them I'm working on my projects so they won't bother me."

She pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders as her eyes flicked to the clock in the corner of her computer.

"Ah, it's getting late. If we sleep early, we can wake up earlier too and talk longer!" She might've been getting carried away, but she was just so excited to talk to Cat more tomorrow.

"And I'll give you my cell phone number tomorrow, too." She reached to a small pile of papers on her desk and scribbled down a note for herself. When she was finished, she sighed and addressed Cat one last time tonight.

"You rest well tonight, okay Cat?"

. . .

"That sounds like a good plan. I'll give you my cell phone number tomorrow too." Blake agreed excitedly, making a mental note to do sp.

"I will, and Princess…it was good finally talking to you tonight. You rest up too, and we'll talk tomorrow."

It would be rude to sign off before getting the final response, so Blake waited. Her insides were filled with butterflies, and she couldn't stop the smile on her face. She had made a new friend, and Princess had been nothing but sweet and kind to her. Blake looked forward to talking to her more, everyday if it was possible.

. . .

"Right," Weiss said softly. "Goodnight then. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Weiss didn't want to close the video call, but she knew she needed to do it now, or else she never would.

She clicked the Hang Up button, and Cat's icon disappeared.

Weiss sat there for a moment in silence, still jittery and disbelieving that she'd really just had a conversation with the other girl. She couldn't believe that she'd met Cat like she had, and now she was close enough with her already to be speaking to her one-on-one.

Weiss made one last post on her blog indicating she was going to bed, though she didn't mention how she'd just spoken with Cat; she didn't want other users to get jealous and harass her new friend.

Then, Weiss shut down her laptop and got up from her chair. She turned off the lights in her room and set her alarm clock for the morning before crawling into bed, wrapping the blankets tightly around herself.

She couldn't stop thinking about Cat, remembering the things she'd told her, recalling her voice, imagining what she might look like…

Hopefully, Weiss would find out before long.

She closed her eyes, and the smile never left her lips all the while, even after she'd fallen asleep.

. . .

"Goodnight, I'll talk to you tomorrow," Blake said quietly her mouse hovering over the Hang Up button. She was silently grateful that Princess clicked first, because Blake wasn't sure if she could have done it first.

She just sat there for a while staring at her computer screen, thinking about the night she had just had. She'd actually talked to her friend, the person she had followed for so long and become close with.

She had talked to her.

Absentmindedly, she browsed online, too awake to go to sleep right now. Blake knew she should sleep, but she was still in disbelief that she had just talked to Princess.

After another few minutes of winding down, Blake closed her laptop. She stood and changed before turning off her light and going to bed. All she thought about was Princess.

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A/N: Eh, I'm really regretting turning this rp into a fic... it really doesn't flow well, and I see that myself now, but it's too late to go back now. Though the next few weeks I will be posting/updating new stories instead, and will come back to updating this one later.