My first attempt at writing fanfiction
I do not own RWBY
Based on the events that took place just before the Beacon Dance. I'm not much a fan of ArKos, so maybe if Jaune took action things wouldn't have turned out that way...
Standing in front of a full length mirror, he squared his shoulders and sucked in his belly. After holding for a mere 12 seconds he gave up on his physique, which he decided wasn't in too bad a shape anyway, and turned his attention to the mess of blonde hair, running his fingers through and trying his best to make something out of the swirling golden chaos. He locked blue eyes with his reflection and laughed shakily; what was he trying to accomplish here?
Jaune was anxious. Thought he didn't like to show it, parading around a confident facade as his father had so wisely informed him to, the upcoming dance made him nervous to the point where if he thought about it his knees would vibrate and spasm violently. His previous plans to garner Weiss' attention had ended in cold rejection, and what with the singing, dancing, musical instrumentation, dressing in costume, public confessions and lame pickup lines he was running out of options.
He sighed deeply. There really was no one to help him out with his romance crusade.
Hearing the sound of the dormitory door swinging open he turned abruptly to spot his verdant clad teammate entering the room. The realization struck him that while he may be beyond saving, he did know a friend who was currently in a successful relationship.
"Hey Ren, how's it going with the dance prep?"
The sleep loving male turned to peer at Jaune through his overhanging black shag. He gave him a miniature smile, no more, and replied "I haven't really been thinking about it that much. And you?"
Jaune faux winced at the question, clutching his heart in mock agony. "Ask not such questions, it pains me so. I have returned from the battlefield of love empty handed, licking my wounds."
"No luck with Weiss?" Ren chuckled.
"Pretty much." Jaune stretched and groaned, observing his friend out of the corner of his eye. "You're so lucky to already be in a meaningful relationship. No worries about who to ask to parties and stuff." There was a hint of playful jealousy in his voice.
The soft spoken boy's hair seemed to stand on end for a second, but he took it in stride and smoothly returned the jab. "I have no clue what you're talking about... besides, why not ask Pyrrha to go with you? I'm sure she would be okay with it."
Perhaps more than just okay, Ren thought to himself.
But Jaune sheepishly brushed aside the offer, donning a diplomatic grin. "C'mon now, Ren, you know she's got better options than me. I can't just cramp her romantic style for my own pity party."
At this the soft spoken boy's fuchsia eyes widened. "Haven't you heard?" he remarked, "There is not a single student in Beacon who feels like asking Pyrrha out."
Jaune's jaw dropped. "What? No way. But she's so… Pyrrha!"
"Well, I think that's the problem: her fame makes her intimidating. I mean, would you ask her out?"
"Of course not! She deserves way better than a sorry guy like me!"
"Exactly, thats what everyone thinks. She's so high up on a pedestal it makes her unattainable, and because of that nobody wants to ask her to the dance. Besides, any boy who goes with her is guaranteed to be overshadowed by her fame. It's just one of the many problems she deals with, being so well known."
The blonde nodded pensively. Everything Ren said made sense, but it just didn't sit right with Jaune. How could an athletic, redheaded beauty like Pyrrha be dateless for the night of the dance?
Suddenly, Jaune got a mischievous glint in his eye. He knew what he could do to solve his teammate's internal struggle.
"Thanks for the info Ren," he called as he dashed out of the room, before turning and asking "Oh Ren? Where is Pyrrha right now?"
Ren suppressed his laughter as he pointed him towards the training arenas, watching Jaune make a mad dash down the hall. He must be really excited to have himself a date for the dance.
Being rather lithe, Jaune was a good runner. Without a semblance or weapon propulsion system, no one could match his endurance, and his drive on this day was particularly strong. How could he have been so blind to Pyrrha's feelings for so long? He turned and slid, making a sharp turn at the corner to the battlegrounds…
… And turned in the opposite direction.
If he was correct, there would still be many students in the lunchroom, straggling after breakfast. He would have to be quick with this plan if he wanted to finish before classes started and he was stuck next to Pyrrha for the whole day.
He searched around for a possible catalyst to ease his workload. Ren had Nora, Sun had Blake, and Neptune… well he didn't really like the guy. There really was no available bro to aid his schemes. Then he spotted a certain tall, well muscled hunter in armor, topped off with a flair of chestnut.
Cardin was pissed.
While his racist escapades had calmed down since the Forever Fall incident, the group was still very anti-faunus (just less vocal about it), choosing to ignore the furry humanoids rather than search for and antagonize them. The change in tone made team CRDL less of an active threat, but caused them to bolster their defences against outsiders and made them appear cagey and grumpy. Having a reputation for bullying earned them the cold shoulder from their classmates and while they had learned to stand on their own academically their barely average combat skills had left them in the shadows of their ridiculously overpowered peers.
The day had turned very suddenly from good to dangerous in the span of five minutes. Team CRDL had figured out just how quick Nora's trigger finger was after lazily mocking Jaune's training regimen and remarking on how he must be a masochist to put up with Pyrrha's training. A quick chase scene later, Dove and Russel were promptly beaten to a pulp and Lark's nose was broken in two places. Cardin's armor had taken most of the thrashing, but his legs had come within an arms length of being shattered like toothpicks (Magnihild had landed directly in between his thighs, dangerously close to abruptly ending the Winchester family line). It was at times like these that the boys were thankful for the near sorcerous powers of the school nurse.
When Jaune first called to him he didn't hear, too immersed in his pain and grumbling to give a damn. It was only when the nearby tables' whispering died down that he noticed the blonde walking over, smiling and waving, seemingly without a care in the world. No doubt the other students were expecting a heated confrontation, turning to see how the larger boy would handle this challenge.
Cardin slumped into his chair, too exhausted to stand and look Jaune in the eye.
The student body exploded into cacophony. 'Was that admitting defeat?' 'Jaune must have some dirt on Cardin, why else would he back down?' 'He's scared. The worst bully in Beacon is scared of Arc.'
"Mind if I sit here?" Jaune asked innocently.
"Sure, whatever." Cardin mumbled a reply.
The wheels of the rumor mill grinded away, filling the cafeteria with deafening gossip.
Ignoring the peanut gallery, Jaune began his assault. "How's it going, Cardin?"
"Its going pretty crap, actually. Could I ask you to control your bubbly teammate?" Through his straining politeness seethed pure unfiltered rage.
Jaune glossed over the former bully's anger and continued. "You know Nora, she's like a stray cannonball. Did she do that to your armor?"
"Yes, that she did."
Jaune forced a laugh. Cardin barked a sharp "HAH".
"..."
"..."
"Well, speaking of crazy women," Jaune transitioned smoothly, "who might you be taking to the Beacon Dance?"
Cardin chuckled genuinely. "Me? With a girl? On a romantic evening under the stars, dancing our youth away? You know me better than that. My reputation as a bully is known far and wide in this school."
"Who knows, some girls are into that kind of thing."
"And you know this how…"
"Well, there's this one anime I watched…"
"Exactly," Cardin sighed. "No girl in real life would ever willingly speak with me, much less go the dance with me."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Jaune teased. "What if I told you there was a PERFECT girl with no date to the dance and no chance of a guy asking her out and too much pride to ask a guy out and did I mention she's beautiful and pretty and… ?"
"For the love of Monty, stop playing with me. That kind of girl doesn't exist."
"Believe me, she does, and she is just waiting for you to swing by and ask her out."
"And why would you come to me with this information?" Cardin narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Because this poor girl is a good friend of mine, and I thought it absolutely preposterous that she go to the dance dateless. Out of all the well established characters I know, you are surprisingly the most desirable option, that is to say you're single and I can tolerate you. Besides, we're friends aren't we?" Jaune puffed out his chest and beamed in a Port-ish way, radiating good feelings.
"..."
One more push.
"Did I mention she is kind enough to accept anyone, no matter what they've done?" Jaune wiggled his eyebrows the way a matador flaps his cape, urging on the Winchester.
"Stop screwing with me!" Cardin shouted as he slammed his hands on the table, sending cutlery flying. "Dammit, just tell me straight what you want."
Jaune leaned in close, drawing himself up to the rage-fueled Cardin and narrowing his eyes. He could pull this off for Pyrrha.
"Go ask out Pyrrha," he whispered so that only Cardin could hear. The bulky teen fell back into his seat, eyes wide. Staring into the distance, thoughts of the gladiator girl going out with a wreck like him rushed through his head, thumping in time to his quickening heartbeat.
"Are… are you serious?"
"Why would I lie about something like this?"
"You could be looking for me to embarrass myself for all the shit I put you through."
"I'm not you. I can't lie so straight and I don't even think about revenge."
Cardin nodded slowly, rolling the spare pieces around in his brain. "Valid points."
"Why not just try?" Jaune reasoned through his huge grin. "I'm going to be spreading the word, so you should give it a shot before a more courteous gentleman accepts the offer and gets the honor of escorting a certain warrior to the dance."
"Gimme a bit… a bit to think on this…"
"Don't let such a great chance slip by, Cardin."
With that, Jaune stood up, hiding his somewhat weak knees and swaggering out of the cafeteria to solicit some more male side characters. The stunned team CRDL leader stared at his hands, wondering what it would be like to wrap them around the dress waist of a girl, any girl. Did he really have a chance?
The crowd naturally assumed that Jaune had confessed to Cardin. 'Who would've thought he swung that way?' 'Didn't they hate each other?' 'ALL OF MY SHIPS :D'
This news reached team JNPR in mere hours, spreading like wildfire across Beacon. An immediate team meeting was called, during which Jaune's sexuality stood trial.
Cardin walked the halls of Beacon, lost in thought. This was certainly a rare sight to see, as Cardin hadn't reflected on himself so hard since the Forever Fall incident. His thinking face was certainly frightening to bold, as if a pensive expression pulled muscles he didn't know he had.
"Surely he can't be serious. He must have been pulling my leg. Impossible. No way."
"..."
"Would she really say yes?"
"Hey Cardin."
He jumped in surprise, throwing his arms in the air and accidentally smacking Russel across the face. The green-haired boy fell to the floor and cradled his bruise.
"Whoa man, calm down!"
"Ah! Sorry! Uh... my bad!" Cardin stuttered, his heart going a mile a minute. Did he hear Cardin rambling? He tentatively reached for his mace, prepared to silence a rambling teammate.
"Jeez Cardin, that really smarts..." Russel lay his hand tenderly on his cheek, then winced and took a sharp breath. "What were you doing here anyway? We've been looking all over for you."
"Nothing much..." the larger boy muttered. "Just thinking something over, that's all..."
Russel slapped his hands to his face in mock surprise before realizing his mistake and falling over in pain once more.
"What's so weird about that?"
"Cardin, how often do you seriously think about anything? Be honest."
"All the time!" He began counting on his fingers to prove his point. "I've been thinking about the test I should be studying for and thinking about what I had for lunch and thinking about the dance and thinking about not getting my legs broken and thi-"
"Holditholditholdit baaaack up a bit. What was that about the dance?"
Cardin blushed like a schoolgirl, then went for his mace. Sorry Russel, but we have to part ways now. You know too much, he thought.
At that moment, Pyrrha turned the corner, on her way back to the classrooms after a quick practice session. Time slowed down for Cardin as his female-deprived mind saw her striding in slow motion through a field of blooming flowers, a single petal dancing through her hair as the wind-
"Cardin?"
He shook his head and snapped out of the rose tinted daydream. There was no Pyrrha in front of him, only his teeny teammate.
"Three times now. That's three times you interrupt my train of thought." Cardin shook with rage, a bit of his aura leaking from beneath his chestplate like steam from a kettle. He turned slowly, his face a furious mask. Now that Pyrrha was gone, no one would keep him from his revenge.
"Hey Russel!"
Jaune trotted down the hallway, picking up the pace now that classes were about to start. "Yoohoo~" he called as he waved for Russel's attention.
The green haired boy scowled. "What do you want, Arc?"
"Lemme just talk to you real quick for a second." Arc grabbed his spiny shoulder plate and dragged him off into a side corridor, leaving Cardin to continue fuming. So this is what he meant by spreading the word, huh?
He replaced his mace on his back and checked the time on his scroll. He should be getting to class soon if he wanted to turn his image around.
Hey, that seems like a good enough place to stop.
Maybe I'll continue this, just enough to ensure Jaune can help Pyrrha gain a little more confidence in herself without being her date. Or maybe he will. Who knows?
By the way, does anyone know how Ren talks? Someone commented that I made him too OOC, but he so rarely gets one on one dialogue in the show that I'm not entirely sure how he would confront this situation.
Leave a review to sway the story :D
Edit: Oh god looking back at my old(er) work is so depressing. Made some minor changes, and I promise that it gets better D: