Ch 3: Living in the Threshold

What exactly does threshold mean? Well the Meriam-Webster dictionary states that it has two definitions. First: A piece of wood, metal, or stone that forms the bottom of a door and that you walk over as you enter a room or building. The second being the point or level at which something begins or changes.

All of my life, I have tried to live in that small space between rooms. However, it wasn't two rooms, in all actuality, it was two worlds.

Understandably that space is rather cramped. I never try to touch one world, I push them away, trying to keep my sanity. However one misstep can overthrow everything. Worlds can collide. You find yourself being pulled into the worlds, trying remain separate from both of them, yet outside forces have an unconquerable pull to them, almost like gravity.

Two weeks had gone by. Classes were going well, home was to be honest…. Meh at the best. Marching Band was amazing. Fridays were always amazing. However, this friday was a special day. It was West Pine's first home football game.

Jaune sat down at his desk, pulling out his binder and taking out his essay on Spanish Colonial Policy. Usually Jaune was the first one in class, but today he was extremely early. He always preferred to be driven to school. He preferred to be there thirty minutes early, it was almost like a mini break for him. A time to just to relax. He put his head down on his desk. He didn't get a lot of sleep due to another incident, now might be a good time to catch some rest.

*Click* *Clack* *Click* *Clack* echoed through the halls.

"Good morning." The teacher said. Jaune instantly snapped up. "You feeling alright?" Slight concern in her voice.

"Morning Mrs. Branwen, ya I'm just tired." He yawned wiping the sleep from his eyes. Exhausted is a better word… She looked at him with the briefest of looks. "Excited for the game tonight?"

He nodded. "Yeah… just a little nervous." He scratched the back of his head as he watched the teacher drop her bag off at her desk. She pulled out a binder and placed it on her desk, pulling out a rather large stack of papers, a staple in her class.

"Ahhh don't be, it's just a game, which we're going to lose anyway. You'll all do fine." I hope so. "Besides, you memorized your music right?" Jaune nodded. "Then you'll be fine. Don't get yourself worked up."

"Yeah, thanks." She just hummed back as she got her class setup as people started to file in. Cardin accompanied by Russell walked in.

"Sup Jaune." Cardin dropped his books, sitting at his desk turning to face him. "You look like garbage bud."

"Yeahhh…. Didn't get enough sleep."

Russell walked up to him, rubbing his hair. "Ohhhh my poooorr babyyyyy." Jaune swatted his hand away with a grin. "Get out of here. You guys finish your papers?"

"Yeah... probs goin to get a C." Russell muttered depressively which Cardin nodded in agreement. "I feel ya man, I do."

*BING BING BING BING* Jaune looked towards the front of the class. No Weiss. Strange. Is she sick? We have a football game today…...

"Alright class. Take your papers out. Jaune go collect them." Jaune rolled his head and got up, collecting each paper as he went by each student, taking their paper. Mrs. Branwen took out a remote and turned on the projector.

Jaune turned to look at the screen. On it was powerpoint slide that said 'DEFINITELY not a word bank….' Underneath the title were certain keywords that may or may not have been on a test. He handed the stack of papers to the teacher. "Thanks Jaune. Go sit. Now." Jaune smiled nodding.

"Alright. Listen up." she moved to the front of the classroom, passing out the tests. "I'm only going to say this once. If you talk, if you whisper, if you look anywhere besides your own test, I'll consider it cheating. If you cheat, I'll take your test, rip it up, throw the confetti at you, give you a zero, and kick you out of the room. So please, please make my day. I love to fail people for being stupid." Jaune couldn't help but to chuckle. I would love to see that…. Although not at his expense.

He filled his name out on the test. Multiple choice, fill in the blank, and two long essays. "For the long essays. I expect something substantial. Don't just give me a paragraph. The more you put in, the better your grade will be, but if you put in fluff, I'll mark it wrong." She called out from her desk which caused him to look over. She was reading a new book. Guns, Germs, and Steel. Jaune nodded as he went back to his test.

He quickly filled the first two answers asking for important dates and people, the identifications were easier, he didn't even need to look up the unofficial official word bank. He moved onto the essay questions.

What were some of the factors that caused the defeat of the Aztec Empire? And How were the Natives treated in Spanish Colonial society? Be specific.

Easy.

*Cafeteria*

Jaune sat at his usual spot, choosing not to eat. He felt a little uneasy with the whole game coming up. He just simply didn't have an appetite. Cardin and Russell sat down beside him, digging into their own meals.

"Not hungry man?" Russell asked with a mouthful of spaghetti.

Jaune shook his head. "Upset stomach." Russell nodded, accepting the answer.

"Weiss isn't here…." Cardin scowled as he took an angry bite out of his apple. "She's going to throw us off tonight…" He said bitterly.

Maybe there's a legitimate reason….. "Maybe she's sick." Jaune tried to reason. Cardin shifted his attention to the blonde.

"So what? You grind through. You don't let people who depend on you, down." Didn't Raven say not to rely on each other? Obviously, Memo not received.

"I guess so." Jaune just shrugged them off. He took a sip from his Gatorade bottle. "We'll be fine though."

"Bitch." Cardin muttered bitterly as he continued to munch on his apple.

*After Band*

"Alright I see ya guys down at the field in thirty minutes." Mr. Branwen looked at Percussion. "You guys can stay here." He looked at his watch, "until 4:30. Tell Mrs. Branwen." Jaune nodded. Cardin and Russell were busy getting the drums out while Jaune set up the stands.

After about ten minutes of setting up, The room was empty except for the three. Russell and Cardin were up on their stands while Jaune enjoying the brief respite. "Hey guys." Raven walked in with her bag. As tradition she wore her band shirt with jeans, she dropped her bag and pulled out her sticks and pad. Jaune went to his drum which Russell set it up for him. "Thanks." he said to the green mohawk boy.

"So Weiss should be here in about thirty minutes." Raven looked up at the three. "She's sick, but she has a doctor's note. So we'll have a full line tonight." He noted how Cardin and Russell seemed pretty irritated overall. "Slacker." Cardin muttered. The instructor didn't seem to catch on.

"So we'll do some accent taps and triplet rolls. Then we'll teach you some cadence."

Jaune raised his hand. She nodded at him. "So… what exactly are cadence?"

"A drumline beat that helps keep the band marching in time. Lucky for you, I've decided to scrap our old one and I created a new one. Now. Set." Everyone snapped to attention. She started to tap a steady beat on her sticks. "Jaune lead." Shit. Usually it was Russell who tapped it out. Jaune nodded, tapping his sticks with the tempo of her own.

*Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap… TAP… TAP… Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. They started.

Jaune set into a comfortable routine. Everything around ceased to exist. All he could hear was the temp in his mind, his heart, his legs, and hand. He was alone, in perfect solitude, finding harmony with the sticks in his hands. Something calmed all of his senses. All of the worries. All of the problems, all of the pain poured out of him. He felt content. He felt at peace. He lost track of time.

He saw a fist in the air.

*TAP.* He quickly snapped to attention, bringing his sticks together. "Hey Weiss." Raven greeted, still tapping away on her pad. The white theme girl walked over, paper in her hand. "I don't need that. Mr. Branwen also knows, don't worry about it." She nodded as she headed to her vibraphone. "Relax." The instructor called out. She looked at the clock. "Take a ten minute break, I need to make some copies." She said as she grabbed her binder, leaving the room.

Jaune put down his sticks as he watched Cardin wandering over to Weiss. "Enjoy sitting on your ass all day?" Weiss took a step back, shocked by the comment.

"Uhh excuse me, but I was sick." She defended herself with a scratchy voice. She coughed for extra emphasis.

"Cardin." Jaune looked over. "She isn't worth your time. Besides, she'll get you sick. We need you more than her." That came out harsher than I thought…. At that, the tall muscular boy took a step back and walked off with Russell, the two walked over to the foyer twirling their sticks in their hands.

He could feel two blue eyes on him looking him over. He looked back, unable to say anything. Why the hell did I say that? The looks in her eyes was something that Jaune could never forget. A look of hurt, a look of betrayal in her sorrowful eyes. She looked as Jaune looked away. FUCK. It was to get Cardin off of her. I didn't mean that.

Why don't you just tell her then?

I can't, she won't believe me.

Say something!

If I do, Cardin and Russell WILL find out. NO, shut up and deal with it. You did it to help her, get over it, she will too.

Raven returned with her binder. She sat on her stool looking over Weiss. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing well ma'am."

"Raven please…" She corrected with a smile. "Listen don't push yourself. If you need to take a break, go ahead, we don't want you to get worse. I appreciate you coming even if you're sick."

Weiss looked over to Jaune. "I wouldn't want to let down the band."

"Like I said don't push yourself. Jaune would you mind go getting the others?" Jaune nodded. "Thanks."

Jaune went into the foyer where the water fountain and two bathrooms were. Oddly enough, the foyer used to be the school office before the new renovations, now it was basically a private band room with bathrooms. He opened the doors to find Cardin and Russell joking around.

"God I didn't know it was possible for her to get uglier." Cardin chuckled.

"Ohhh yeah…. I feel sorry for the poor sap that could fall for her. She's got absolutely nothing to go with her." Russell shot back with toothy grin

Jaune stepped through the door, the door closing behind him. "Hey guys, we're getting ready to start.

"What do you think Jaune?" Cardin asked.

"Listen, we need to get back, come on." Not smart, he thought as he heard the other two boy grumble behind him. "And yes, I agree with you. I feel sorry for the sap that falls for her." I shouldn't have added the last bit, he berated himself.

He felt a massive hand on his shoulder. "That's my boy!" Cardin shook him. They headed out of the foyer.

Raven clicked her sticks together repeatedly "Welcome back lazy bums. Come on, we've got thirty minutes to go over cadence. Chop Chop." Everyone rushed over to their drums. Jaune noted the glaring that Cardin gave to Weiss who wasn't doing a thing "Alright, we'll give a run through. Jaune tap us off." Jaune nodded as he pulled out his sticks, tapping a steady beat.

She held a fist up. After going over for Jaune lost count of how many times, he felt pretty certain they got it. He hit the last beat with a confident *TAP*

"Alright, who here can drive a tractor?" Russell raised his hand confidently. "Great you'll be driving the tractor down. Let me go get the keys. Can someone help Weiss with her vibraphone?" Jaune raised his hand, earning strange looks from his two male peers. Hopefully it'll be enough to make up for it. With that Raven left as Cardin and Russell made their own way out.

He looked at Weiss neutrally. "Come on, I'll get the big end." He moved around the end of the vibraphone. "I thought you didn't want to get sick, besides you don't need me." She crossed her arms, the scorn in her voice evident.

"Obviously I was lying. We need everyone." He lifted up the big end, easing it down the tier step. Weiss reluctantly went to the small end. "I have some sheets from history, and you can borrow my notes if you want." He moved down another tier with her small ending on the second tier. "The only thing you missed was the test, which you'll do fine on." Last tier. Weiss moved her own down. Jaune pushed instrument through the front door as Weiss held open the door.

"Thanks." She said in her scratchy voice.

Jaune offered a small smile. It felt good to be somewhat helpful at least. They round the corner, seeing Russell sitting on the tractor as Cardin was pushing the tractor backward. They reached right in front of the cart that was hitched to the back. Jaune stepped on the cart and lifted up the large end as Weiss did the same for the small end. Jaune shifted the Vibraphone into its braces to prevent it from moving. He grabbed two cables and fastened them around the heels, connecting them to a hook in between the two wheels on both sides. Giving a brief push, they didn't budge. "Good to go." He said flicking one of the cables.

"Thanks." She said again. Jaune nodded, making sure not to say anything, not with other two around him. He made his way to them, as the four of them waited, Raven showed up with the keys, she tossed them to Russell. "If you break anything Russell, you buy it. Got it?" Her tone taking on the serious professional again. He nodded hesitantly. "Good, let's get going." She moved to the other side of the cart. "Weiss hop on and hold it steady, I got it from this end." Weiss nodded as she boarded.

"Free loading again…." Cardin muttered.

"She's sick and has the only instrument she can't actually carry." Jaune reminded him.

"I guess. She better not fuck up tonight though." Jaune didn't respond. I hope so too. The walk down was done in silence as they reached the football field. The tractor parked itself right on the 50 yard line. Raven grabbed her bag and sat on the bench right in front of the four. "A word of advice. When it comes to practice be on your best behavior. Qrow gets angry when people don't take practice seriously."

"COME ON GUYS! GET YOUR HEADS IN THE GAME!" Qrow's voice boomed from the speaker setup. The drum major, also a freshman, but has been doing marching band since 7th grade, Velvet Scarlatina flinched. Jaune noticed how she waved at Weiss who returned it back.

The wrap up of the practice was a performance. Jaune thought it went alright, sure he messed up a few spots, heck he even got lost, but he was able to drop out and get right back in. "Good job guys." Qrow said from his mic. "You guys are dismissed. Make sure you're ready to go in a half an hour." He turned off his mic and gave a huge thumbs up to everyone before he walked down the stands, Raven joining him. However, Qrow walked more towards the school as Raven walked up towards the four percussionists.

"Great job everyone. Jaune I saw you lose your place few times, but you got right back in. Well done. Cardin, you listening to Weiss another time. When she was off, you were off. You have to stop that. Russell, solid performance overall, however, don't get carried away with temp. Weiss good job, make sure you're aware of inflection though. Now go on, get some food, take a break, you've all earned it."

Russell and Cardin walked over together as Weiss walked over to Velvet. He was fine with that. He went over to the concession stand bought a bottle of water and made his way back up to the school, making sure to grab his quads. He wasn't too hungry, still being haunted by the pre-game butterflies. He needed some him time, where he wasn't being constantly conflicted.

Making it up the school was getting a little tired from carrying fifty pounds worth of drums while avoiding the potholes in the poorly paved road that led back up to the high school. He made it into the band room, seeing Raven sitting in a chair, legs propped up on the desk, taking a bite out of a burger, while Qrow was on his own stool, trying to cool off his pizza.

"Hey Jaune." Raven greeted, looking him over with a raised eyebrow. "No food?" Qrow looked over at him, clearly not pleased.

"Sorry. I'm just not hungry."

Qrow shook his head. He extended his plate. "Here take it." Jaune was about to protest when he continued. "You're not going anywhere until you eat something. Now eat." Qrow urged with the plate. Jaune reluctantly accepted. "Thanks."

"I know first games can be a little nerve wracking, but you need to keep your strength. It's going to be a long night." Jaune took the pizza slice and went towards the back of room. He put his drum down, and went back to the storage room to grab his uniform and shaco. After putting it down, he put his ear buds, turning his ipod on choosing some Muse. However, he kept the volume down a little bit, being able to keep tabs on things on around him.

"So was Yang, she is starting to get rambunctious. She's going through that whole teenager rebellion age." Raven chuckled. "She so insistent on growing her hair out now…"

"Gee…. I wonder where she got that from…"

"I wasn't that baaad…." She crossed her arms.

"Rae, look at your own hair."

"It's beautiful." She hmpfed. "Well anyway, she's been getting more sassier as of recently. Doesn't help that Tai just lets it happen."

"It's a good thing me and Summer don't have to deal with that."

"Psht. You just wait, and when it starts happening don't come crawling back to me." The two carried on back and forth laughing about people who Jaune didn't know, he assumed their family.

Jaune watched as several people started to file in, retrieving their own uniforms. Jaune stood up and proceeded to put on his uniform. Jaune unzipped the carrier sleeve and pulled out his overcoat and suspender pants.

"Hey Jaune where were you? We were lookin for ya." Cardin came up and slapping his back in a friendly manner.

"Ehhh wasn't feeling too good, I just wanted to come up here."

"You probs got it from her." Russell laughed as he took out his own coat. Jaune slipped on the pants over his shorts, as he reached for his jacket. The jacket consisted of two black sleeves coming up to green coat with a white diagonal stripe. On the right upper corner was embroidered in two white letters "WP" Cardin zipped him up as Jaune put on the gauntlets.

"Alright, everyone line up!" Qrow called out as everyone finished putting on their green shakos with black plumes. Jaune put on his harness and lined up; Cardin to his left, him in the middle, and Russell to his right, Weiss directly behind him.

Velvet clapped her hands. "Band. Attention." Jaune snapped together with the rest of the band simultaneously. Jaune could see from the corner of his eye Raven looking them over having the smallest of smiles. "Mark. Time. Mark."

Russell tapped off. The percussions hit the starting note simultaneously.

They reached the hill and had about ten minutes to warm ups. The show was divided into three parts. A strong opening, with gentle soft ballet, and climatic and powerful finishing.

The ballet went off without a hitch, Cardin and Russell were able to keep with the intensity and tempo. Jaune was able to grind through, occasionally slowing down, trying to remember his part but he was able to catch up.

Then there was the ballet. Weiss was the solo percussionist that kept the beat for the band with her vibraphone. However, she was completely off the beat, leading the band to collapse in on itself.

That being said, the finisher crashed in burned. Cardin and Russell were completely off from Weiss who managed to catch the regular beat. Jaune kept beat, trying to accent the beat for the two, but they couldn't get caught up. The band was just all over the place . Formations were sloppy, parts didn't line up, pitch didn't match.

*TAP* Jaune hit the last beat. Cardin missed it. Russell was embarrassingly late.

Cardin glared at Weiss. God that was rough. However, something else nagged him. He couldn't see his parents. The stands were empty, football games weren't a big deal for West Pine due to the team being garbage. It would be easy for him to see his parents.

The tractor pulled the cart with Weiss' instrument. Carried it off.

Raven caught up with everyone, not looking happy. "Yeah. We've got a lot of work to do still." An edge in her voice. However it lightened up quite a bit. "Don't worry about it now, just try to enjoy the night now."

Jaune marched up the hill. He could feel everyone's anger and resentment. They lost the football game 12 to 52, but worse yet, the band put on a half assed performance. Raven remained optimistic, but Qrow was not a happy camper. "Band. Attention!" Velvet called out. "Mark, Time Mark." She clapped the tempo. Russell tapped off. *Dat.* *Dat.* * . .*

Playing going down to the field was one thing. There was still sunlight, a slower tempo, and going down hill with fifty pounds of drums on you was easy. Velvet was not wasting anytime though. Jaune had to think extra hard on his part. A combination of tiredness, anger, and lack of enthusiasm made it much harder, let alone double timing up a road that was not lit and filled with potholes.

Jaune was angry. Beyond pissed. He asked his parents to be there. What a shocker, they weren't so now he had to walk home. He tried calling during half time. No pickup. He tried right before the last kickoff. Nothing. So yeah, getting to walk in the dark for an hour would be the best way of spending his Friday evening. This is so fucking ridiculous.

"Jaune." He continued to pound away, taking his frustration out on his drum.

"Jaune!" Not giving a damn how loud he was, Russell and Cardin were feeding into it, pounding into their own drum.

He felt a sharp pain in his ankle. FUCK. He fell to the ground, drum crashing into him. He felt a sharp pain in his elbow and hand. SHIT. He gritted his teeth as bolts of pain shot from ankle and coursed throughout his body.

"Jaune you alright?" Raven dropped down beside.

"KEEP MARCHING!" Qrow shouted as he ran behind the band. "Watch your step!"

Shit a pothole. "Jaune you alright, can you stand up?" Qrow knelt down beside him as Raven pulled out her phone and used the screen as a flashlight.

"Sorry guys." Jaune muttered through the pain.

"No Jaune, we need to get off the road. I'm taking your quads off." There was no negotiating. Mr. Branwen eased the harness off of him as Raven draped his arm around her shoulder. "Be ready." She warned as she lifted him up. FUCK. More bolts of pain shot up. She helped him over to a small hill off the road.

"Damn this school. Too cheap to light its own road." Qrow cursed.

"Sorr-"

"Nope don't, it isn't your fault." He turned to his sister. "How bad is it?"

"Hopefully it isn't broken. You think you can make it up to the school?"

"Yeah." Jaune grunted as he lifted himself up with the help of his instructor. He hobbled up the hill with the help of Raven. Qrow following shortly behind. Qrow passed the two and addressed the rest of the band.

"Listen, guys, when we go up to the school, we have to be extra careful. Our school is too lazy and cheap to fix the potholes or light the street." He cleared his throat. "I know tonight wasn't the best performance. I'm not going to yell, that won't do anything. Learn from it. Promise yourself you'll do better next time, and you will. You're dismissed."

"Cardin come over here." Raven called out. The big boy walked over, "Help Jaune out of uniform, I'll take your drum." Cardin nodded, putting his drum down as Raven carried it in with ease.

"Clown." Cardin chuckled as he helped Jaune up the stairs.

"Shut it." Jaune joked. "Not my fault."

"You're absolutely right. We didn't fuck up tonight because of you." Oh my god. I don't need this right now. The two were in the band room, Russell putting everyone's drums away. Cardin unzipped Jaune's coat, as Jaune got out of his own pants.

He sat there as Qrow came up to him with an ice pack and offered it to him. Raven then wrapped the ice pack and his ankle in some bandages. "You're going to want to get that looked at." Qrow looked at his bloody hand. He shook his head, taking a bottle of peroxide and pouring into the hand, causing Jaune to wince in pain.

"...Yeah." Jaune mumbled. The two Branwens looked at each other. Everyone else was packing up their stuff as Jaune sat there. The pain was lessening up. "Hey Raven, can I borrow your phone?"

"Sure thing." She handed it to him. He dialed the number. Still no pick up. For fuck's sake. He mentally screamed. Anger flashing in his eyes. He turned it off, handing it to Raven.

"What's wrong?" She asked slightly concerned.

"Nothing." Raven wasn't too happy with that.

"You need a ride?" Raven guessed, growing slightly more concerned.

"No. I'll just walk." Jaune grumbled bitterly.

Raven looked at him, crossing her arms staring down at him. "Considering how it's pitch black out, no. Now you have a pretty messed up foot. Hell no." He looked at her. Something told him she wasn't going to let this go. "Where's your bag, we're leaving."

"Better not fight her on this." Qrow chuckled. In the storage room. By now the room was empty. Everyone had left to go and enjoy their weekend. She went into the back, carrying her own bag and Jaune's bag. "Come on, let's go." Jaune hobbled after her.

"Did your parents know about the football game?" She asked eyeing him over.

"Uhhh… ye- nono… I forgot to tell them." Nice one Jaune. She eyed him over.

They made it outside where Raven led him over to a black Sedan, she placed the bags in the back. He got in the passenger seat as she started the car. "You're going to have to tell me where you live."

"Warm Creek Drive." Jaune said, silently down. "Raven, thank you. You really didn't have to do this."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Of course I did." Jaune flinched. "But honestly, I don't mind. It's not a big deal." The rest of the drive was spent in relative silence. She made a right turn down a small gravelly drive way, coming up to a small cottage two-story house beside a creek.

"Here we are." Jaune mumbled. "Thanks again." He felt a strong hand on his shoulder which caused him to freeze.

"Listen Jaune. I know I'm a teacher, and I can be a hardass, but I want you to know that I do care about my students. All of them. If you ever need to talk to someone, don't hesitate to come to Qrow or myself, we won't betray your confidence. Alright? Before you ask, no I won't say anything about this." Jaune let out a sigh of relief, he was touched, truly, he was. He gave a reassuring smile. "I will. Thank you for everything."

Jaune got his bag from the back of the car. Raven parked the car, making sure he got inside. She reached for her phone and dialed a number, watching him hobble inside.

"What's up?"

"Qrow, something is up with Jaune." She looked out the window, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. No lights, the house was totally pitch black besides the solar power garden lamps which didn't do much for lighting. Why the hell would the lights be off if his parents were aware of their son's activities in school. Jaune also seemed to be the responsible one, never forgetting details, no matter how small. Something just doesn't add up.

Qrow sighed from the other side of the phone. "We can't do anything about it,though."

"I know, I just feel helpless." She sounded a little down, looking at the house.

"All you can do is just be there for him. If he opens up, that's up to him." He said flatly, as if not concerned.

"Yeah, Thanks." She noted sharply. She looked away from the house, slumping her shoulders. She knew her brother cared, but he tended to keep his feelings inward when it came to heavy things. A brief moment of silence on the phone.

Qrow cleared his throat "We still good for this weekend? Ruby wants to see Yang." He noted in a more upbeat attitude.

Raven chuckled, touched by her niece's enthusiasm. "Yeah. We are, Ill see ya tomorrow."

"Mhhm bye." He hung up the call. Raven put her phone down, however something nagged at her. However, Qrow was right, she can't force him. She tapped her driver's wheel in thought. She shook her head, not liking any of this. She turned her key, restarting her car. There was no point on dwelling it now.

There is always going to be a slip up. Humans are imperfect. To say that you are perfect is flat out lie and sign of being an egotistical maniac. I thought I could keep two worlds separate. I thought I could will worlds to bend my will. Essentially, I thought I was a god, able to decide my fate by keeping two worlds separate.

How I was wrong. One slip up caused a crack, caused me to be pulled in multiple directions, cause me to lose what little control I had in my life. At that moment, I was scared. Terrified. However, looking back at it now, it was most likely one of the most defining moments in my life.

A/N

Heyyyyyy guys I got a new chapter out! A lot sooner than expected as well.

First big announcement I want to make are a few shout outs for people to help me with project.

Archereye for all of suggestions on how to improve my writing

Secretevil for helping flesh out ideas.

And well he doesn't have fanfic account, but he is going to be huge asset to the Forlorn team: Brando, one of my closest friends. So claps all around.

*Cricket Sounds*

I think he's shy….

So let's dig into this chapter shall we? I know this chapter was covering a lot of things in this chapter so hopefully it was easy to follow. I also realize Marching Band was pretty heavy, and I won't lie, it will be a heavy subplot in the story that shapes a lot of characters.

Also, we got to see a little bit of Qrow and Raven (yeah people are going to hate me for things that were implied, but it had to happen! I wanted to functional families lol) but who oh well…. Whats going on with Jaune he's wishy-washy….. Frustrating huh?

Also Raven and Qrow are going to be playing a huge role throughout the story. As you figured they aren't canon so much. However, if we'll note they do have a serious streak at times. Also when it comes to people, they don't joke around. We can definitely see that when Jaune gets hurt. Raven though has a more overprotective nature, and doesn't like to take no for an answer lol.

Hopefully, you like the portrayals of the characters I'm going for. Don't worry Weiss, Cardin, Russell, and Velvet will be hashed out as well as the story goes on, but we have some idea right now.

If you liked the chapter, had thoughts, or didn't like please let me know. I want to know what you think. I'll take ideas, suggestions, theories, questions, overall comments. It's all welcome here! If you thought something meh or liked or dislike a particular scene let me know. Anything helps.

Alright review time now!

AlNation: You already got my response! Lol just know no comment, *shrugs innocently* Thanks for the review as always.

Convix: Just so you know mate, it's a long haul (hope you don't mind) If it helps look at the forwards and afterwards, it'll help. There is a plot, but also think big picture ideas and themes, that'll help ya. Thanks for the review, hope I don't disappoint.

Wes: Hey mate good to see ya back! You have ideas do ya? Well alrighty then, pm me what you think or leave a review… and yes there is some depression but there also be some happiness. You know home I am, I love my ups and downs.

Thanks as always for reading!

-Lordxsauron