Hello everybody. So this is a new story that I decided to write. It's been slightly more planned out compared to how I usually write and I hope this works in my favour with the timing of releasing new chapters and things like that. So this is a slightly darker story compared to most of the ones that I write and will continue to work on. I just wanted to see if I enjoyed writing in this style, and so far I really have.

I also have a blog now where you can find updates on my stories, as well as a lot of other RWBY posts. You can find that by visiting my profile page.

As always, thanks for reading and feel free to leave reviews and criticism.

It was a beautiful morning in the Vale. The rising sun cut through the twilight mist and brought with it a new day and the start of a week long holiday for the students of Beacon. In one of the dorm rooms the four members of Team JNPR slumbered. It was a state of peace among the usual chaos of the daily lives of the teens. What was once four beds had became two.

Ren and Nora were wrapped around eachother under the covers of their bed while dozing. It had been three months since Nora had finally opened up to him about her true feelings. Ren, through not wanting to crush his friend's feelings had lied to her. He told her that he loved her and always had done. In reality, Ren didn't love Nora, at least not in a romantic way. He loved her like a sister, and while it obviously felt wrong lying to her, he had to choose between that or breaking the bond that they had with one another and the team. It also meant having to deal with the stress that would come from the fallout. In his opinion, it was for the greater good.

On the other bed lay Jaune and Pyrrha. Their relationship came into being around the same time when the Spartan got tired of waiting for the blonde boy to notice the hints she was giving him. She took him out to see a movie, and then composed herself enough to plant a soft kiss onto his lips. They both seemed very happy with eachother and their personalities had even rubbed off on one another. Pyrrha helped Jaune to fight, train and study making him stronger, fitter and smarter. In return, he showed her that it was fine to relax and unwind. They seemed perfect to the outside world. Despite the obvious way they felt about her, Jaune always felt like there was something missing. Granted, this was his first relationship, but something felt off about it to him. Jaune made a point not to dwell on this growing thought for so long, and instead focused on how he felt towards his partner.

Pyrrha was the first member of the team to wake up. She carefully untangled herself from her boyfriend and quietly made her way out of bed. She never was one for staying in bed after she had woken up. She went into the bathroom to change and while she was doing so she heard stirring from the main room. Five minutes later, the redhead emerged into the room to find Nora and Jaune tired, but awake and active. They had put on a pot of coffee for the team. Ren on the other hand, was still fast asleep. He never was a morning person. As it was the first day in the holidays, there were no classes to attend to. This meant that there was no rush, so it was decided that they would make a cooked breakfast and that required them to go to the store. It wasn't far and since Jaune was still in his pyjamas, the girls offered to go to the store.

About five minutes after the duo left, Ren finally stirred. He sat up from his bed and looked around to find only the leader. He turned to the boy and said. "Good morning Jaune. Any idea of the time?"

"Uh, it's around ten." Jaune responded while searching through his drawers for something to wear. Since it was a holiday, there was no point in wearing their combat gear or uniforms, so he opted for some joggers and a hoodie. Meanwhile, Ren sighed as he got out of bed and poured himself a mug of coffee. Jaune couldn't help but notice the way in which he casually walked around in nothing but his boxer shorts. Jaune couldn't blame him. Ren had a slender but muscular figure and each one of his muscles looked perfectly toned. Jaune on the other hand was still in training. He had muscles, but they were nowhere near as defined as Ren's were and was the reason he always wore shirts.

"Ugh, it's too early. So where are the girls?" He asked before taking a drink.

"Oh, Pyrrha and Nora went to the store because we're cooking a breakfast later. Well, you anyway since you're the better cook."

Ren sighed, looking down at his drink. "Fine, in that case I'd better get dressed then." He took another sip before setting his cup down and started rummaging through his wardrobe. He found a tank top with his lotus symbol on the front and a pair of shorts and made his way into the bathroom.

He came out a couple of minutes later to find that the rest of his team were still not around. Jaune was sitting down with a slightly worried look on his face. Last night Pyrrha mentioned to him that Ren didn't seem like himself recently and that as the leader, it was his job to find out and offer advice. Even with Nora accompanying her, she would have returned by now which meant that she must have been making the time for the two of them to talk.

"Ren?"

"Hm?"

"You've been... acting differently. You look woried and this isn't like you. I'm your leader and you can tell me if there is something wrong."

"There's nothing to say. I'm fine." Ren responded. He tried to sound void of emotion, but he couldn't look Jaune in the eye as he said it.

"See, that's a lie. I may not be the smartest guy around but I know that you're lying. Just tell me what's wrong. Perhaps we can work through it."

"There's nothing to work out. I made a bad decision a while back, I've regretted it since and now I know that there is no way that I can reverse it."

"What do you mean?"

"..."

Ren slammed his fist on the drawer near him sending a creaking noise through it. "I can't tell you! It's not going to help the situation. If anything it will fuck the whole team up. I can't let that happen." He shouted as he went towards the door. He knew that he shouldn't be shouting at Jaune. Of course, the problem involved him but the young leader was blissfully unaware of it. He tried to compose himself as much as he could before moving towards the door. "Another time in another place, I'll tell you. Until then, trust me when I say that I will be alright, and please don't mention this to the rest of the team." He said in a much calmer way. He met the deep blue eyes with his own to search for a response and got one in the form of Jaune slowly nodding. That was enough for him, right now he couldn't bear to be in the room any longer with just the two of them. He walked out and shut the door behind him, leaving the blonde haired boy confused beyond words and Ren with a tear running down his right eye.