A Second Chance

Chapter 10

Neo shot up in bed with a gasp. She rapidly looked around her unfamiliar surroundings before she remembered what had happened the day before. Trying to slow her breathing down, she felt the remnants of a nightmare slowly leave her tired brain. Laying back down, she closed her eyes to try and get back to sleep, it was still dark out so she assumed it was too early to get up just yet. Her nerves went down as she reminded herself that she was safe, nobody could hurt her here.

Neo was gently awoken by somebody shaking her. She opened her eyes to see it was still quite dark, and she didn't hear the ruckus she was expecting from the teams morning routine. Turing her head slowly, she saw Yang stood next to the bed, already dressed in her uniform.
"Mornin', I thought you'd like to have a shower before everyone else gets up, I got you a uniform and other spare clothes." Yang whispered to her.
"What time is it?" Neo questioned as she sat up.
"It's still early, the others won't be up for a while longer. I thought you'd like to get ready in relative quietness. And afterwards I was thinking we could go for a walk, maybe to the infirmary, I forgot last night." Yang explained.
"No infirmaries." Neo whisper shouted at Yang. "I'll go for a walk but don't you dare take me to one."
"But you're injured." Yang seemed genuinely concerned, making Neo feel bad.
"The injury will heal by itself, trust me. I don't like anything to do with hospitals."
"Okay, but if I think you're in too much pain I will take you, fear or not."
"Fine."

Neo didn't stay in the shower long, not wanting to make Yang wait, but she felt much more relaxed. Her side still sent shooting pains through her body whenever she moved, but they were a bit more dulled than they were yesterday. The bruise covering her side was certainly a piece of artwork, black, blues and purples mottled together in the middle, with yellow peppered around the border. It was hard to restrain herself from poking it. The uniform Yang had gotten for her was a little too big, she would her to see if she could make any amendments to it. After looking in the mirror one more time, she declared herself ready for the outside world.

Yang was sat at a desk when Neo came out, scribbling on a piece of paper, listening to music through her earphones. Neo slowly walked up to her, not wanting to startle her room mate. She waved a hand in front of Yang's face, causing her to turn around on her chair, pulling her earphones out as she did so.
"Already done, I guess being short means showers don't take as long." Yang teases Neo.
"Yep, and I guess the taller you are, the more impatient you are." Neo fires back.
"You know it." Yang grinned, happy her attempt at humour had worked. "Let's be on our way then."

A gentle breeze rustled the trees on the campus as nocturnal animals made their ways home and other animals began to awaken. Neo almost squealed in excitement when she saw a rabbit, something she wasn't proud of but rabbits were just so adorable. Their walk had led them a little away from the campus, where they were awaiting the sunrise. Neo has seen sunrises multiple times during her work as a criminal, however this was the first time she had felt tranquility watching one, normally it was crippling fear. She was b taking it all in when Yang abruptly started talking.
"You had a nightmare last night." She stated.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." Neo felt anxiety well up in her abdomen.
"Don't be sorry, it's to be expected after everything you've seen. Do you remember what it was about?" Yang turned to face Neo.
"No, as soon as I woke up it had left my mind." Neo was happy she didn't remember it.
"Well, me and Blake are both here if you need anything, I'm sure Ruby would be too. Weiss might take some convincing though."
"Yeah, most definitely. Can I ask you a question?" Neo felt curiosity overflow her.
"You just did." Yang quipped.
"Wow, such a comedian. Why didn't you just leave me where I was, or hand me into the police?"
"I don't know." Yang seemed conflicted. "I mean, when I agreed to go with Blake, my plan was definitely not to help you, in fact I wanted to get back at you. But when we went into that alley and you were just there on the floor, I didn't feel angry anymore. It's strange too, cause my anger doesn't ever dissolve like that."
"I'm happy it did." Neo replies softly to Yang's admission. " I don't know what I'd be doing now if I was still in that alley, I could be dead."
"Well aren't you an optimist." Yang swiftly lifted the mood of the conversation. "God look at us having a heart to heart so early, I haven't even had coffee yet. I am going to have the best lie in tomorrow."

On the walk back to the room, Yang continued to lift Neo's spirits with stories about her time in Beacon. Neo laughed despite the pain it caused, too happy at finally feeling free. She looked forward to spending the day with team RWBY, minus Weiss who she was still uncertain about. She found herself hoping that this feeling would last forever, that the fear that crippled her usually would finally leave.