Amplify (A RWBY Story)

As the dance goes on, Ryder remains off to the side with Kairos. They were mostly talking about strategies and training methods. It was the only thing that gets Kairos's full attention it seems. Ryder doesn't mind at all though. At least he's socializing with his teammate. Everyone else was enjoying their time at the dance. Some were dancing, some were talking amongst themselves and a small few were alone. Kairos's training is going quite well according to him. Kairos has created a few techniques to use with his Semblance and has gotten a much better grasp on it. Better than the grasp he had before. He's basically getting faster with it. Ryder himself was getting a slightly better grasp on his Semblance, without help it's gonna take some time. He really needs to look for a training partner. As they got done talking about that topic Ryder spots something, or well someone, out of the corner of his eye. It was Weiss. 

She seemed visibly upset about something as she tried desperately to coax life out of a wilting white rose. Something was bothering her, and Ryder could tell. Kairos noticed Ryder's newfound interest and looked at Weiss. 

"Something on your mind?" Kairos asks. 

"Something's bothering her. Never seen her this upset before." Ryder said. 

"Matters not to me." Kairos said, not harshly despite how bad it sounded. 

Ryder knew Kairos wasn't mean. Sure, he comes off as a mean individual at first, but Kairos is just... well. Ryder doesn't know yet. He still gets slight Vegeta vibes from Kairos due to his focus on training and slight competitive nature. 

"I'll go see what's up." Ryder said. 

Kairos didn't bother to stop him and just remained where he was. Ryder walks towards Weiss who just stands by the vase of white roses. After she tries and fails to bring life back into the rose, she sighs. Weiss is too distracted to notice Ryder approaching her. Once Ryder reaches her, he makes his presence known. 

"Everything okay?" Ryder asks. 

Weiss was a little startled but composed herself before turning to Ryder with a faked smile. 

"Everything is fine." Weiss lied. 

Ryder gave her a doubtful look. Weiss saw it and her fake smile faded away. 

"Sure, it is." Ryder said. 

Weiss sighs and crosses her arms while looking away from Ryder. 

"Something's bothering you. What is it?" Ryder asks. 

"Why would you care?" Weiss asks, not harshly, just curiously. 

"Because we're friends, and I'm always going to look out for my friends." Ryder said. "Weiss, what's wrong?" 

Weiss stays quiet for a moment before sighing lightly. She turns her head to look at Ryder and unfolds her arms. 

"I asked Neptune to the dance, and he rejected me." Weiss said. 

"Neptune?" Ryder asks. "Friend of Sun, that Neptune?" 

"Yes, that Neptune." Weiss said. 

"And he rejected you, for what reason?" Ryder asks. 

"He didn't give one." Weiss said. "He just rejected me." 

Ryder took a moment of silence to think of what to say next. He wanted to be careful with what he said, he wanted to cheer her up not hurt her even more. 

"Well, look at it this way." Ryder starts. "Stuff like this sometimes doesn't work out. Best you can do is learn from it and keep going. Because sometimes it doesn't work out because maybe that person isn't the one for you." 

"Speaking from experience or?" Weiss asks. 

"Not experience. Never really gave romance a try, never had a need. I've just matured faster than most and with maturity comes some wisdom." Ryder said. 

Weiss just absorbed his words. She looked out at the dance before asking a question. 

"Did you come to the dance with anyone?" Weiss asks. 

"No. I came alone." Ryder said. 

"Well, that's rather unfortunate." Weiss said. "For other people." 

Ryder raised an eyebrow at that little comment with a very slight smile. 

"Why do you say that?" Ryder asks. 

Weiss hesitated but looked at him. 

"You wouldn't mind if you and I shared a dance?" Weiss asks. 

"No. I won't mind. Sounds like fun." Ryder said before he heard a commotion. 

He looked at it as did Weiss. 

"After that." Ryder said as he couldn't help but laugh a little. 

It was Jaune in a white dress. Yes, a dress. Team JNPR then joins together and performs a short but elaborate choreographed dance which culminates in Jaune spinning Pyrrha. Ryder was honestly surprised. He didn't know they could dance that well. Weiss was even slightly surprised. But after this, everyone else started dancing to join in on the fun. Ryder chuckled lightly at the sight of Jaune in a dress. It's possibly the funniest thing he's seen in a while. Weiss turns to Ryder. 

"Shall we?" Weiss asks. 

Ryder just nods before the two head onto the dance floor. From a distance, Yang and Ruby take notice of Weiss and Ryder. They were surprised when the two started dancing together. However, it was just a dance between friends. Kairos even was watching but looked away. He then spots General Ironwood and gazes at him for a moment before looking back at the ground while leaning on the wall. Kairos didn't want to be here, but he wasn't about to ruin it for everyone else. Besides, the music's somewhat catchy.