Hello everyone. I am typing to inform people that this and the following chapters will contain parts concerning the subject of suicide. I take this particular subject very seriously as it's never a laughing matter. However, to continue my story it will need to be put in. I deeply apologise to anyone who gets upset or angry and ask that people make a choice as to whether or not to keep reading

This was originally going to be much longer, but due to time constraints stopping me from working on this story much and the fact uploading a chapter of close to 30,000 words would have been odd compared to the rest of the story, I have chosen to upload part of it in the form of this new chapter.

I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 11

Nightmares and stupid choices

He was falling. No. He was flying threw the air, seeing the grass covered ground fast approaching. He could feel it. He was going to die. He was going to die, and it was all because of her.

It had been a long week for Jaune. A very long week.

Which was why, as Coco held his shoulders and screamed at him, tears streaming from her bloodshot eyes as Velvet watched, helpless to stop her. He thought back to just what lead him to this place. This exact moment where the girl with the ever-cool personality was letting all her emotions fly. His cheek still stung from her slap. So. What had happened to lead him here?

It had come to no surprise to Jaune as he had entered Professor Ozpin's office along with a certain girl who he couldn't help but glare at, and she him, as they were marched forward by Miss Goodwitch. He had known ever since she had thrown that damn vial that they were in trouble. How could they not? You didn't exactly destroy part of the school in a hail of fire and flame and not expect to get found out.

That made him think though, he hadn't destroyed the doors. He hadn't pulled the fire dust and then proceed to throw it at the door. So why was he being forced to go the head master's room where he was surely to get punished? Probably just his dumb luck.

The unearthly screech Miss Goodwitch had uttered, upon finding the destroyed doors to one of her arenas and an ash and debris covered Jaune around the corner, clutching his knees as he glared into open space while sitting upon the floor. It was a screech so terrifying, it would have frightened any Grimm in the area to flee.

When she had demanded to know what had happened he had simply uttered "Go ask Weiss Schnee"

Shockingly Miss Goodwitch hadn't appreciated his answer. Using her semblance to drag him to his feet, she ordered him to follow her. Naturally not exactly having a choice in the matter, Jaune followed, scowling at the floor the entire way. They had found her in one of the bathroom's, the noticeable sound of something breaking had given her away, he had expected to hear screaming and shouting.

Instead he'd caught a glimpse of her as Miss Goodwitch stormed in to get her. Standing in front of a mirror, eyes staring directly at the glaring face that stared back through the cracks and splinters of the broken surface. Eyes full of anger and fury despite the calm mask she wore. Her fist, that gripped the side of the sink so hard it may have cracked at even the slightest increase in pressure, was covered in a sharp blue glow as her aura worked to heal what he assumed was bruising.

She had not been spared of the combat teacher's wrath either. Even behind the now shut door, he could hear her. It was obvious Miss Goodwitch knew which one of them had caused the damage. What use did he have for dust? It wasn't like he could use it with his non-existent semblance or his weapon after all.

What had surprised him, however was that everyone else had seemed to magically disappear as he had been found. He knew Ruby had run off and Yang had charged after her, her pleas and apologies clearly falling on deaf ears as her voice disappeared into the distance. He hadn't cared what happened with Nora. Obviously, she hadn't been there when Miss Goodwitch had arrived, likely having run off after her little plan had failed. He knew he would have to face her later. He didn't want to and that was exactly why he didn't even dare to think where she was. Even with his head full of rage he knew that he needed to try and calm down and think clearly when he approached her. Because right now he didn't even want to think of what he would say to her in the state his mind was in. Ren had probably come to find him but had more than likely seen and heard the mass of murderous rage that was their combat teacher and had decided living was more important. Jaune wanted to be angry with him for that. He truly did. He wanted to hate him for abandoning him, for letting Nora do that to him… but he couldn't. Jaune was just too tired and mentally drained after everything that had happened in the recent days that he just couldn't bring himself to hate what was bound to be one of his few friends left. Despite it all, he was himself after all. It would take a lot to make him truly angry at someone.

Like telling me to kill myself he growled internally, the words hurt. So much more than he had expected them when she had uttered them. He'd felt the roaring thunder of the melody in his chest, stop oh so suddenly at her words. They'd seemed to slip out of her mouth so easily. Her cold eyes staring at him with utter disgust. The beat growing slow, to the point he'd only been able to hear it every now and again as the words rang through his head in a loop. The stinging in his face had disappeared all-together. How could such a small pain compare to the raging, torturous agony in his chest. With that she'd left. he'd barely registered the fact that she'd slapped Yang and stormed off. Why would he when he slumped down and simply felt the pain the burned through his chest.

"Are you quite alright Mr Arc?" came the ever-calm voice of Headmaster Ozpin. Jaune suddenly became aware that was now sat in a chair opposite the man himself, the enormous gears around them turning eternally. She was sat as far away as she could from him while still being sat in front of his desk. She wasn't even looking at him, her scowl schooled into what he could only describe as a calm grimace, staring directly ahead at the man before them as he calmly sipped from his coffee cup, his ancient powerful and knowing eyes, staring in mild interest at Jaune's chest.

"I'm… fine sir" he grumbled, not trying to be rude but frankly he couldn't muster up the will power to even try and say the words clearly.

"I see. So why exactly are you clutching at your chest in a matter that would suggest a great deal of pain?" he enquired, gently nodding his head towards his chest again, where the painful tightness was located.

Finally looking down he noticed for the first time that he was clutching at the left side of his upper torso incredibly tightly. Painfully so in fact. Retracting his hand in a quick motion, he shook his head gently and stared directly into the eyes of the man before him. trying his best to ignore the fact that Miss Goodwitch was glaring at him from behind here spectacles.

Weiss was having a terrible week. It was one of the worst in living memory for her. What made this week so bad for her though? She recoiled in mild fear as the enraged face of Coco charged towards her, after having delivered a rather viscous slap to Arc, seemingly ready to tear her head from her body. As she watched this spectacle with her tired eyes that were rimmed by dark bags, she thought back to where this had all started. In Ozpin's office.

"I'm fine Sir" he answered, putting on a pathetic attempt to look calm and collected as she watched his hand gingerly uncoil from his chest, Weiss noticing the fact his fingers had been gripping his shirt and skin so tightly that they had turned white. The blood slowly returning at the hand returned to his side.

Feeling guilty about calling me a monster? Hrmm? Telling me I don't deserve love? Ha! You're the person who doesn't deserve love! Stringing me along for so long making me feel sorry for you then you go and pull that!? I bet you pulled that alongside them! Something I bet you would do just to get with me! What other reason would you have for looking so pathetic! It's not like I said… anything… the memory of her words to Jaune came to the forefront of her mind. No. While I do deeply regret certain words, I said. I will not. I repeat, I will not apologise for those words. You crossed the line to. So why should I feel the need to apologise when you are just as guilty as me!?

Weiss was drawn from her angry thoughts as Professor Ozpin spoke.

"Well then, so long as you are in healthy condition then we shall happily continue with our task, though I daresay 'happily' is not the appropriate word" he said grimly, placing down his mug of coffee and stared at her and the boy beside her. "Are you aware that under normal circumstances I would simply allow Miss Goodwitch here to deal out your punishment, as it was one of her classrooms that was so grievously damaged, and I will be honest. If I had left it in her hands, then I imagine you would both be expelled and sent home by the morning" he spoke solemnly, a quick glance over towards Miss Goodwitch made it clear that this was true. "But. Despite her protests, it is not" he continued, having used her distraction to take another sip of his coffee. "So, I shall give you both the benefit of the doubt and ask as to what happened in that room. The cameras were down in that room for the purposes of maintenance. So, we have no way of knowing what happened in that room exactly. Please then, Mr Arc. We shall hear of your tale of events and then we shall hear Miss Schnee's own version. If I believe what either of you is the truth, then appropriate actions shall be taken. If you will, Mr Arc" he smiled gently, nodding towards the rather confused looking boy beside her.

This was the point Weiss became worried. She had every right to be. Frankly if their roles were reversed, she would have every right the place all the blame solely on him. She was the one to pull out the vial of dust. She was the one to throw it at the door and destroy it and the surrounding wall. Frankly she was at fault here. No matter how much she wished to blame the boy before her, she just couldn't. As much as he had pushed her. As much as he had riled her into rage. She should have done what a proper heiress should have done and remained calm and handled the situation befitting of her position. The way Winter would have handled it. She knew he would do that, he clearly hated her as much as she did him right now. Any sane person would have simply thrown her under the bus and walked away scot free.

"What h-happened?" he questioned, throwing a quick glance at her that was still filled with barely hidden anger. "What happened was that… we got into a fight. A bad one. We've not been getting on lately and it ended up exploding when we got stuck in the combat room together. We… tried to talk it out but we ended up just screaming at each other-"

He was interrupted by the raised hand of Ozpin. "I will ask, Mr Arc. How did you come to be locked in the room? I would be utterly shocked if the door managed to lock itself after all" he enquired, eyebrow raised as he stared at the nervous looking body next to her. She could see the questioning look in the headmasters' eyes. He was looking for any hole in Jaune's story. If he even tried to make her seem worse than the situation made her look, then the man before her would know. Weiss could see the intelligent and calculating look in his eyes.

"Oh… we were locked in by some students after we went to get our scrolls back, I… didn't see who they were though" he replied, hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head before he seemed to catch himself and brought it down to his lap.

Wait… is he?

"Are you quite certain you do not know the students involved? It could actually help your case if I was able to catch the one's who locked you in the room, as they would seemingly know that forcing you two together would apparently be a… volatile affair" Ozpin questioned, taking another sip from his coffee yet his eyes never leaving the blue of Jaune's.

"Yes. I am certain sir" he said with an unusual amount of sturdiness in his voice. "I don't know who was involved"

Oh, my Oum he is! Why on earth would he lie for those… villains!? No. I will not allow those… people to get away with what they have done.

"Actually, Professor Ozpin I-" Ozpin cut her off this time with his raised hand.

"I believe I said we shall hear your side after Mr Arcs, Miss Schnee" he said to her, though he didn't look at her. Eyes scanning the now glaring boy, his eyes fixed on her for the briefest of moments to show just how he felt about her trying to get those that had helped to cause that utter disaster, caught. She wanted to continue, she wanted to shout out the truth. But where would that get her? In even more hot water than she already was if she went on another outburst. So instead she closed her mouth and simply sat back properly in her chair, waiting for the chance to even try and defend herself. She was already resigned though. If she couldn't get a word in, then Arc would tell them what she had done. What would be the point in trying to defend herself when it would clearly be useless to try and lie to the wise man before her. Arc would definitely be caught out on his blatant lie after he finished his words, that was at least a small notion of comfort for her. To know that those two vile people would also get into trouble with the school for their parts in this whole twisted tale she had found herself in. "Now, if you would continue Mr Arc"

"Sure… well… like I said we got in a pretty intense argument and started to say things… things that anyone would consider some of the worst and most horrible things a person could say to someone. No matter what they'd done, no one deserves to be told a few select words that came out during that argument" he gritted his teeth as he took in a large, gulping breath. Clearly trying to get his poorly maintained emotions under check. She knew exactly what he meant by those words.

I… I can't exactly deny those words. Was all Weiss could think. No matter how much she hated the boy before her, no matter how much she couldn't stand to be in his presence right now… she knew he had every right to angry about those words. Even she knew they were wrong to say. But she would be damned before she ever went up to and apologised for them. Trying to apologise to him had landed her in this mess in the first place.

"And after that?" Ozpin pressured, leaning forward ever so slightly as Arc glanced at her. A thinking look in his eyes.

This was it. This was the moment she would be expelled. She would have to leave Beacon. Leave her only chance at freedom because of her stupid mistake. Father would renounce her status as an heiress, cut off any funds she had access to… he would disown her. She would have to try and turn to Winter… but would she even want to see her after she learned of how much she had dishonoured her family? Dishonoured her? Just what would she do?

"Weiss…" he began. Weiss allowed a small wince to cross her features as she prepared for all the horrors that wait for her as she would undoubtedly end up on the streets. "Weiss decided to end the argument and turned to try and force the door open again, when she… when she tripped. She tripped and a vial of fire dust she was carrying flew from its' holster and hit the door and blew it up as I'm guessing you know. I was still angry about what happened and made a run for it since we were obviously gonna get in trouble for what happened… but I didn't get very far. In the end I just went around the corner and slumped down against the wall… I guess after all that'd happened I was more than a little mentally drained. I'm guessing Weiss was angry and scared about how her tripping had caused such damage and ran for the bathroom to try and collect herself? It's what I would do anyway if I hadn't decided to do what I did instead" he finished.

Weiss was left more than a little dumbfounded at his words. Just what was he thinking?! He had the perfect opportunity to get me expelled! Oh, if he thought this was a good way to make him seem good in my eyes then he's got another thing coming! He may think he's just saved himself, and subsequently me, from being expelled but now he's just doomed us both! Well if I'm going down I'm going to make it clear as to everything you put me through! Causing mental distress to me may not be as bad as destroying the doors to a training room, but it will assure he is in just as much trouble as I!

"Hrmm… so you are quite certain this is how the events that lead you to here took place? Positive without a doubt, Mr Arc?" Ozpin asked, his eyes full of obvious knowledge of Arc's lie. Clearly the man simply wanted to know just how far Arc was willing to go.

"… Yes… that's exactly what happened"

"Do you swear it upon your word as an Arc?"

Jaune's eyes grew wide and his mouth clamped shut at the question. Just… how was he supposed to lie to such a question? How could he betray his families honour at such a question? He knew Ozpin would likely believe him if he said so, as was the power of the Arc word. He could just imagine the faces of his father… his mother… his sisters… they would all be disgusted with him. They would be right to be so to. An Arc's word was their bond and their chains. For an Arc to break their word or promise was the ultimate dishonour. It would bring shame upon any and all living Arc's to the point they would more than likely disown him and throw him to the curb to be rid of the failure that was their dishonourable family member. That would at least help them repair the gaping wound such a lie would leave upon his family.

Could he even begin to try and rationalize the idea that lying right now would be the better choice in any regard?

"I swear it upon the Arc name" he said firmly, taking note of the mildly shocked faces of both Miss Goodwitch and the girl beside him.

It was worth it. For one reason only. The people that would suffer if Weiss was expelled.

Ruby, the ever cheerful and excitable girl would be crushed if her self-proclaimed 'best-girl-friend' would be forced to leave her and the team. Team RWBY in general would be thrown into disarray. He knew that quite a few of their combo moves and strategies relied on her glyphs and her rapier. She was an integral part of the team and if he got her expelled, it would mean the effective end of their team as they knew it. He could guess from just how desperate to little reaper had been to get on the Schnee's good side and had readily accepted an offer of friendship from himself, that Ruby was desperate to just have one friend. Sure she had more than one is spades now, but to lose the girl that she seemed to be more than a little attached to… he couldn't bare the thought. He also knew that she would find out that he was the one that had gotten the girl expelled. That would then mean Ruby would only be sad but also feel betrayed that her 'best-boy-friend' had caused it. He could just imagine the girl would try to act like she was okay but would be utterly destroyed inside.

The thought was too horrible to even entertain.

Then there was the culprits that had locked them inside the fateful room.

By all rights he held the right to get them in trouble. They had forced him and Weiss to be near each other and had caused the inevitable screaming match between them. Meaning they were equally at fault for the partially destroyed room. So why didn't he throw them under the bus alongside the Heiress? It was as simple an answer to Jaune as it could possibly be.

Because, now that he had taken a moment to calm down a little and think, they had… in their own way… tried to help him and Weiss out. Obviously, their idea of 'help' was… there was no other way to put it other than it was the stupidest way of helping someone he had ever thought of. But… it was exactly what those two would think was the perfect idea. He was angry at them, there was no doubt about that. Furious would have been a better word actually… but he didn't hate them for what they'd done.

For all he knew, they would be expelled too if he spilled the beans and revealed just who had locked them inside the room to begin with.

That would then lead both teams down a spiral of depression and anger.

Ren would be grief stricken about his childhood friend, and clearly the girl he was in love with, being expelled. The boy was hard to even get the slightest hint of emotion from. But he knew it would destroy him inside if she left. He would worry every day about her. He wouldn't sleep at night because he would miss the sight of her ginger hair resting gently against her pillow. He would undoubtedly become a shell of the man he once was. He would likely leave the team to go and find her, he probably wouldn't even tell them. He would just disappear into the night, never to be seen by either him or Pyrrha again. Jaune knew that, if it came between staying with them or chasing after Nora, Ren would always choose Nora. Nora, despite the fact he would never admit it, was obviously a form of rock for Ren.

Blake would likely be upset as well. Despite the fact that everyone seemed adamant that Jaune was terrible at realising that someone was interested in him, he considered himself fairly good at telling when someone he knew was interested in someone else. He had been practically forced to, growing up with seven sisters meant he was made to watch as many a boy seemed to get it in their head they had a chance with the group of girls. He had effectively been made to be the one to point out to his sisters when a boy took notice of them. Blake, for instance, seemed to be interested in Yang. He had noticed in the lunch room that the girl would take the occasional glance towards her partner whenever she began to go on about one of her 'adventures'. He could have been mistaken but he could have sworn that whenever Yang talked about a past Girl/boyfriend, Blake would gain the minutest scowl. Whenever Yang would talk about a fond memory, she would grow the tiniest of smiles, her golden eyes flicking to her oh so briefly before flicking back to her book. But when Yang complimented her in any way? The raven haired girl grew, for a fraction of a second, a small blush.

So he knew, if he got Yang expelled then the girl would likely be in as much of state as Ren. Though she would likely hide it better so as not to arouse concern from her teammates. He wasn't sure why, but she seemed pretty closed off to the world. Even her own team. Yang seemed to be one of the few people that could get her to show a bit of emotion other than sarcasm and general indifference. To be a helping hand in getting rid of that? He felt sick even thinking about it. What it would do to Ruby though? That wasn't even worth thinking about.

If he decided to tell the truth… he would be the cause of all their pain. It would be all his fault.

All his fault that they were gone.

All his fault that they were shedding tears.

All his fault for all the pain they were feeling.

It would be all his fault…

He couldn't do it.

"Hrmm…" said a mildly pleased looking Ozpin, as he leaned back in his chair. "Well. If an Arc swears it, then it must be true. I don't believe I will be needing a statement from you, Miss Schnee. While I do imagine that some form of punishment is required for the damaging of the arena doors… I do believe it will be far less harsh than if you'd done it on purpose, so we shall decide it at a later date. You are free to leave, I just need to speak to Mr Arc here for but a moment. I should say that you should thankful for his honesty Miss Schnee, if Mr Arc were a less honest person… well I do believe that if you two truly feel anger towards each other then he could have easily lied and had you removed from this school" he spoke, seemingly unable to hide the small smile that crept upon his face as he took yet another sip of his coffee.

Jaune turned ever so slightly to see a wide-eyed Weiss, simply nod her head in reply and gently rise from her seat, she turned towards him and nodded her head to him while saying in barely a whisper "Thank you"

With that she turned towards the door and with a silent of almost ghostlike walk, she entered the waiting elevator. Though her eyes were looking in his general direction, she clearly wasn't looking at him as the doors closed.

Before Jaune could even contemplate what that look meant, he felt the attention of the headmaster on him again.

"Glynda? Would you give us the room please?" he questioned the still seething teacher beside him.

"Ozpin I do believe that as the teacher that found the-" she began but was cut off by the raising of the Headmasters hand for silence.

"I do appreciate that Glynda, but this is a rather important matter I must discuss. I do hope you understand"

Without a word, the woman beside him, sent the headmaster a mild glare before following his orders, waiting beside the doors for the called elevator to return from dropping off Weiss. Once she was gone, Jaune could feel the calculating look of the man before him again, turning around to find that he was right.

"Well… I must say that after what we heard and saw on the camera's Mr Arc, I expected you to give Miss Schnee up" he smiled, noting the look of pure shock on the boy's face.

He… he knew!? He knew he'd been lying the whole time!? He… he'd let him swear upon his family name knowing he was lying… Jaune could feel the anger swelling in him again. He had just disgraced his family… for nothing!?

"I would calm down, Mr Arc. I assure you that you have in no way shamed your family through your actions and that I had reason for my own" came the ever calm and collected voice of the man with the green turtle-neck. "It is clear that my suspicions are true considering the fact you have always been slow to anger and yet since you delivered a rather… viscous kick to Mr Winchester the other day, I have had reports of you losing your temper rather frequently. I would like to discuss certain matters with you, if you are willing to listen"

Forcing his rising emotions down, Jaune took a deep and calming breath. Forcing the thunderous song slow itself. He gingerly brought his head up to meet the steel grey eyes of the white-haired man.

"Heh… yeah… I guess I have no choice really do I?" he grimaced, knowing full well that he was now in the mans debt for not outing him for the clearly bad lie. A light chuckle from the man caught his attention.

"We all have a choice, Mr Arc "he said, a rather whimsical tone to his voice. "Like how, despite the rather… unsavoury words Miss Schnee chose to say to you after your argument, you chose not to turn her in. Would you care to tell me why?" he enquired, his interest in Jaune's situation clearly peaked.

"Heh… sure but it's not gonna be what you're thinking" Jaune replied, hanging his head low and gently clasping his hands together.

Weiss stared at the floor dejectedly, she had just been saved by the one person she hated most right now.

Why though? He clearly hated her as much as she did him right now. What had saved her from his wrath? She honestly had many theories and ideas but frankly… none made any sense in this current situation. Arc had many flaws, he was a terrible fighter, ignorant and frankly stupid beyond measure at times and he could barely even keep his emotions under control in tense situations.

That was part of what made his biggest flaw however. He always let his heart lead him. she had let herself be ruled by her emotions during the start of this shameful affair and look where that had gotten her; emotionally distraught for days, letting herself feel pity for someone clearly underserving of it and she even destroyed a part the school! Arc was no better however; his emotions were making him violent and angry towards anyone that even slightly annoyed him as she had seen when he'd practically broken Winchester's jaw the other day.

That was the thing that confused her if she were being honest with herself. She could tell for a fact that all his emotions and feelings towards her were negative one's right now.

Her words from the training room came flashing back into her mind as she thought, causing the girl to slightly scrunch her face up and growl in mild annoyance.

Thrusting the thoughts from her mind she continued her train of thought. If all his feelings towards her were… for lack of a better word, hatred filled then he would have simply followed their lead and had her expelled. So why hadn't he?

She had half expected Professor Ozpin to come through the elevator doors when she heard them open just over 10 minutes ago, here to tell her that Arc had given him his actual answer to the questions presented to him and that he was here to tell her to pack her things. But to her mild shock, Miss Goodwitch appeared. Not looking as angry before, instead she simply looked tired, offering a withering glance towards the mildly shocked Weiss.

She hadn't even spoken to her, opting to simply shake her head and walk away, muttering something about needing a coffee.

This left Weiss more confused than ever. Why was Arc alone with the headmaster? Was he… was he being expelled for lying to the professor and was being blamed for the incident, but he didn't want to embarrass Arc by doing it in front of her and Miss Goodwitch? That was probably the most likely answer right now. She needed an answer to something right now.

She felt a strange feeling in her stomach as she thought of Arc being expelled. Was it… was it guilt? That he was being expelled in her place? Angrily she shook her head again. She had no time for these thoughts. He didn't deserve her pity anymore. She didn't think he ever had, right now. She only had one thing she needed to do now that concerned the fool and then she could be rid of him forever. She would never have to deal with his ilk ever again. The only problem that would persist would be the damn fool that was Yang Xiao Long. But she would cross that Grimm infested river when she came to it. She did her best to ignore the fact that the tightness in her stomach increased ten fold as she thought this.

The pinging of the elevator doors revealed a rather dishevelled looking Arc, his mouth twinging down into a scowl when he saw her.

"What do you want now, Weiss? Come to make me feel even more like the worst person ever?" he asked, more like spat at her. His voice dripping with barely hidden anger. As he loomed over her, Weiss once again noting his size against her own. It would have made a more weak-willed girl feel slightly intimidated. But she was Weiss Schnee. This pathetic boy would never be able to scare her. That was a fact. Frankly though. She doubted the idiot was even trying to look intimidating, it was just a side effect of his size and the expression he was pulling.

Biting back her anger, she breathed heavily through her nose and sighed, putting herself into a proper pose. Arms behind her back, head slightly raised and her icy blue eyes looking into his murky blue one's.

"Actually. I came to thank y-" she was interrupted as he waved his hand in front of his face, turning around but keeping his eyes on her.

"I didn't do it for you, Schnee" he practically growled as he, looked her dead in the eyes. "I did it for all the people that would be effected if I got you expelled. For some reason a few people would be genuinely upset if you went and if I got you in trouble, you would make sure Yang and Nora went down with you. You and I both know who would be affected if they went. You may think I'm the worst person ever, but at least I think about the happiness of others before my own. I would even try to make you happy, but the only way I could make that happen is by jumping off the nearest building, right?" he said, voice hitching slightly and a noticeable wetness appearing in his eyes. He didn't turn back towards her to continue his words. Instead he simply left, disappearing around the corner. The tense air he left her in, the only thing that left evidence he had even been there.

She tried to ignore the horrific feeling in her chest and stomach as she stood there like statue. It hurt. To hear those words from him. She could ignore them when the words were appearing in her own head. That was her own mind reminding her of the poor choice of words. She had spent her entire life ignoring certain things her mind liked to pop into her head. But to hear them from the person she'd said it to? That made it more… real. The words truly sinking in. A thunderous melody began in her chest and seemed to seep through her entire body the longer she stood in the tension filled space around her. It hurt.

It hurt so much.

She just wanted it to stop.

She just wanted to stop the pain and get the damn face of that stupid fool looking so broken out of her head.

She hated him for what he was still clearly capable of doing to her!

With an angry growl, Weiss slammed her fist into the nearest wall and stormed off to her room, praying that Yang wasn't there. The last thing Ruby needed right now was to see was Weiss going ballistic at her sister. She was still thinking rationally enough to know that Ruby clearly hadn't done anything wrong if her actions when she had appeared were anything to off of. Neither had Blake for the matter, the girl was far too smart to think such a moronic plan would actually work. Her personal hatred of the blonde shouldn't cause problems for the rest of team. She was going to prove to that moron that she did care about others. She was simply also a person that, when betrayed or hurt, made her opinion of those that had rightly earned her ire known.

Yang hadn't been there when she had returned, in fact none of them had.

Releasing a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, Weiss attempted to cool her fury by sitting down upon her desk's chair and going over the questions she knew off by heart. It was simple, full of repetition and there would be no surprises or sudden twists to anger her even further. This was calm. This was what she needed right now.

Unknown to the troubled girl, the others wouldn't return until hours later.

She stood there in her nightgown. Staring out across the land before her with wide eyes and slightly agape mouth. The night sky billowed with black clouds that heralded winds which threatened to tear the very ground from beneath her. The eerie light that shone from the shattered moon, draped all around her in a ghostly glow that made her skin crawl. All around her, she could hear the thunderous screams as the wind whipped at her exposed skin and scratched at her cheeks. The gravel beneath her feet making the odd noise as her feet shuffled to balance her against the harsh weather.

Why was she here? How had she gotten here? She didn't know the answer. She might have if she could have thought straight. The horrific smell she knew all too well, however, put a stop to any hope of that happening.

The acrid stench of blood filled her nostrils as she looked about, trying to find the cause of the offending odour. Moving forward, she found her footing was unsteady to the point she had to grip the wall to keep her footing. She rounded a corner of the rooftop, taking care to stay away from the frighteningly high drop mere feet to her left.

She found the cause.

But by Oum she wished she hadn't.

He stared at her, smiling a rather dark and sad smile as his foot gently moved the stones beside his feet that littered the edge of the roof. She stared right back at him in horror. He was covered in the crimson liquid, from his soaked hair to his gore-soaked clothes and down towards his feet which were, for some reason, bare. His worn-out trainers neatly placed beside himself with a small note placed atop them.

As she stared at him, he raised a bloody hand to his head and scratched it in the way only he could. "Welp. I guess you decided to come and watch, huh? Not too surprised. You did say it would make you happy" he grinned, blood spilling out from between his teeth. "Least I managed to finally make you smile"

"Wh-what? Why would I be smiling you idiot! Get away from there! We need to get you medical attention!" she screamed, her voice sounding oh so far away and slightly muffled as she watched him in abject terror.

He looked at her in a confused manner, cocking his head to the side and raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Look for yourself if you don't believe me" he said simply, pulling out a small hand mirror from his pocket, seemingly untouched by the copious amount of the dark liquid around it.

He gently raised the mirror, though the reflective surface was small, she could see herself plane as day in it. The sight shook her to her very core. It was her, but it wasn't. Hair so black it seemed to drown out all light, eyes the shade of the very blood that covered the smiling boy before her. Her once pleasant and proper clothes were now replaced by a black leather jacket and torn jeans.

The crimson life force was spattered across her, from her hands to her stomach to her face. Her lips nearly made her wretch. They were twisted into a vicious grin that seemed ready to split her face apart and it was very clearly directed at Jaune who teetered on the edge of the building like it wasn't even there.

"T-that… that isn't me!" she screamed, trying her best to move towards the edge to grab him. To pull him away from the edge, but her body wouldn't move, like she was frozen in time. Only there to view the scene before her. Only thee to watch the boy jump.

"Of course, it is Weiss" he smiled, she suddenly found herself mere inches from him. Now she was so close, she could smell the stench of the gore in its' fullest and hear the audible noise of the blood as it trickled across his torn-up face. Attempting to wrap her arms around him, she found she still wasn't able to move an inch as she stared at him, tears streaming down her face as she watched the boy before her raise a hand to her cheek. Gently stroking it, leaving a trail of crimson in his wake, he pulled it away slowly and let it fall beside him. "I should have known loving you wouldn't make you happy. I am pretty worthless, aren't I? Why would someone like you ever fall for a pathetic waste of life like me? Heck I even nearly got you expelled, what kind of person who deserves your love would do that? Well… I hope this makes you even happier then you look now" he smiled one last time before stretching his arms wide and leaning backwards.

With ferocity and energy she never knew she could muster, Weiss pulled at the invisible force binding her, her muscles screaming for rest, her voice growing horse as she begged for him to stop. But he didn't. And she couldn't move to save him. She watched as the smiling boy gently stepped off the roof, falling to the ground far below.

As he left the ground, Weiss found herself flying forwards, the invisible chains no longer holding her back as she landed at the edge of the very building she had found herself upon.

There he was.

Even more blood leaking from his broken body as he looked back at her with empty eyes, his limbs broken and sticking out at grotesque angles.

Yet still he smiled. In death he still smiled at her. Broken in body and soul and yet he smiled at her.

Weiss stared at him, unable to tear her eyes from the scene before her. Her body shook, her eyes watered and her hands came up and grabbed at her hair, pulling at it with force enough that she could have torn it from her scalp.

Then she screamed.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Weiss' terrified voice ripped through the silence, tearing at the darkness that suddenly surrounded her as her frenzied eyes darted around the space she found herself in.

Where was she!?

Where was Jaune!?

What was going on!?

It hurt!

Why did her chest hurt so much!?

Why was it so dark!?

A sudden weight gripped her, trying to pin her down. In fear Weiss struggled with all her might to get away from the person grabbing at her, throwing punches and kicks that hit nothing as she tried with all her might to get away. She had to get help! She had to get him help! She-

"Weiss!" came the concerned voice of the being that had gripped her. It was a voice so familiar to her, a voice that seemed to calm her body slightly as she heard the voice. "Weiss… it's me. It's Ruby. Calm down, it's okay"

That name. Ruby? But how was she here? How was she on the rooftop?

The darkness was suddenly removed as the tired yet concerned faces of Blake and Ruby stared at her with worry. The room she found herself in, barely lit by a dim light she couldn't find the source of.

It was then Weiss took in her surroundings. She saw the bunk of her partner, gently swaying as the ropes that supported it creaked ever so slightly. She smelt the familiar odour of roses and cookies as she spotted the small flurry of petals wafting through the air. She took in the sounds of the what appeared to be the early dawn, the barely audible sound of crickets chirping in the distance, the flutter of the gentle wind as it caressed the wooden panes of their rooms' window and the slow and mildly panicked breathing of the two other occupants of the room.

Gently moving a shaking hand, down towards the covers she seemed to have trapped herself in, Weiss felt a sudden dampness in the sheet.

"Blood!" she screeched, throwing up her arms and scanning the wet sheets for the crimson horror only to find… a thin sheen of sweat covering her body.

"Weiss, there's no blood" Ruby attempted to sooth her, voice taking on a caring and nurturing tone. "It's alright, you just had a nightmare, you're okay I promise you" her tired eyes scanned her face for signs of more distress, thinking up a million different ways to try and calm her down.

Doing her best to get her breathing under control, Weiss slowly felt her mind start to allow information to process.

A nightmare? Was that all that was? But it felt so real… I… what? But that means he's…

Shaking her head, Weiss banished the painful thoughts. She needed to try and focus on the girls before her.

"Would you like me to get you a glass of water?" came the mildly tired voice of Blake, as her worried expression lessened every time Weiss's breathing grew more even.

Unable to respond properly, Weiss instead chose to simply nod her head.

The padding of her feet was all Weiss heard for a few seconds, reacting slightly when Ruby gently took her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. In any other situation Weiss would have torn her hand away and scolded her for being so clingy… but right now… she felt the unnatural urge for human contact.

When Blake returned, Weiss gratefully took the glass of liquid and brought it to her lips. Forcing her shaking body to hold as still as she could make it as she sipped. The Raven-haired girl taking a stance beside her bed, book in hand. Ruby moved further onto the bed, her eye mask lazily strapped atop her head, curling her legs beneath herself as she got comfortable.

They stayed like that for close to 10 minutes, Weiss doing her best to keep the beat steady and her limbs from twitching as she attempted to even appear calm.

"Weiss… do you wanna talk about it? I know what Yang did and frankly she's not in my good books right now either" Ruby attempted to smile at her, but even she couldn't muster much more than a half-hearted smile. "I… I didn't hear what you two talked about but… guessing it was pretty bad"

Before Weiss could respond to the question, the door to their room was quietly opened, the light of the hallway stabbing into the dim room and causing the trio to wince as the slightly silhouetted Yang appeared in the hallway, her body shiny with sweat and her eyes slightly red around the edges. She seemed to be attempting to be quiet, not realising that the people she was attempting to not awaken were watching her with a mix of understanding, mild annoyance and outright anger.

As she turned, Yang seemed to finally spot the fact she was not alone in her consciousness. Her body going rigid as she caught sight of the visibly shaken heiress who shot her an icy glare.

"Oh… hey…" she spoke in an unusually quiet tone. "Is… everything… okay?" she asked, receiving a mildly disappointed huff from her sister. Blake was the one to step up and talk to her.

"I'm going for a walk, care to join me Yang?" she said, her voice clearly indicating she didn't have much of choice in the matter.

Nodding her head slowly, Yang once again turned to her sister. "I'll talk to you later… Okay, Rubes?"

"… Sure" was the only reply she got. Her sister not even looking at her, instead keeping her attention on the angry girl beside her. Sighing in defeat, Yang followed Blake out of the door.

"I dunno what to do Blake. I mean, I know I screwed up, I… I couldn't even sleep I was that messed up about what happened. Ruby wouldn't even look at me and Weiss looked just about ready to kill me" Exclaimed a rather distressed sounding Yang. Blake who was beside the girl had been rather surprised when a rather angry looking Ruby had crashed through the library doors with a burst of her semblance. She was followed by the pleading words of Yang as she called after her sister, begging her to just listen to her. To let her explain her actions so she could understand. Ruby clearly hadn't wanted to listen however, using another burst of speed to rocket out of the opposite doors and ignoring the screech of protest from the angry librarian. A rather defeated looking had been left to let her shoulders slump as she stared at the doors which swung gently from the speed with which Ruby had exited the room. Blake had been about ready to go and ask her partner what she had done when Yang had slowly made her way over to her instead, slumping down into a chair beside her and slamming her head down onto the table, once again ignoring the cry of displeasure from the librarian. The only words Blake had managed to get out of her for a while were 'I'm so stupid' and 'never listen to my plans'. Eventually however, Yang had raised her head and had given Blake a breakdown of her version of events and what she had done. Shockingly Blake hadn't exactly agreed with Yang's plan but had opted to simply keep her mouth shut. Her original plan had been to speak to Yang in the morning once things had calmed down slightly and try and help her sort this out. Clearly that wasn't going to happen however. The rest of their time had been taken up with Yang gently hitting her head on the table, muttering about how much of an idiot she was and Blake reading her book. It had been obvious she wouldn't be getting any more information out of Yang at the time. Upon returning to their dorms in the evening, they found Weiss sleeping restlessly in her bed and muttering things in her sleep. Ruby had, the second she'd seen her sister, shot onto her own bed a proceeded to pretend to fall asleep. Yang had let out a rather defeated sigh and had muttered a barely audible 'goodnight' to Blake as she clambered up onto her bunk and attempted to fall asleep.

No more than a few hours later did Blake watch Yang as she got up and quietly left the room in her workout clothes. Frankly it had allowed Blake to relax as she had been unable to sleep due to worry as she kept hearing her partner toss and turn in her sleep. At least Yang had gone to do something to help get out some of the stress she had clearly been building up, that had made Blake slightly happier.

"I..." Yang trailed off as she tried to find the words, running her hands through her hair as she sat on the bench they'd found in one of Beacon's many gardens. If anyone had walked by, they would have been rather confused to see two students sitting on a bench this early, one in their pyjamas and the other in some form of sportswear. But lucky for the two girls, it was the very early morning and no one was around to question their state of dress. "I just don't get why the hell she's so angry with me! All I did was try to help!"

The sharp smack of a book atop her head grabbed her attention, the shocking pain causing her anger to flare as she stared in anger at the girl beside her.

Blake kept a stoic face as she returned the book to in front of her, ignoring the red eyed girl beside her.

"Mind explaining what the hell that was for!?" she growled, Blake sighed gently and looked her way casually, quirking an eyebrow.

"That pain you're feeling right now? Imagine that pain constantly, coursing through your heart, mind and soul. Imagine how you would feel if that pain skyrocketed every time you saw someone you'd hurt badly. That seeing their face would make you remember that one stupid mistake you made which caused their pain. You'd want to bottle it away. To not have to openly face those feelings, and even lying to your team about how you're doing because of your pride. Hiding away your anger, sadness and fear." she continued with a hint of actual annoyance in her tone. "Then imagine if say… Ruby decided to lock you in a room with the reason your feeling so much pain. All those emotions you'd been burying would be brought right to the surface and would explode forth in the only way they would do in such a situation. Screaming, yelling and probably violence would ensue because all Ruby did was 'try to help'. Would you be glad that Ruby did that, or would you resent her for doing it? I think you know the answer to that" she finished, looking intensely at the blonde who, for once, looked at a loss for words.

She had clearly taken her words to heart though, the realisation of just how big a blunder she'd made was clearly etched upon her face. With slow and purposeful movements, Yang pulled her head between her arms and rested her forehead upon her knees.

"I'm not angry at you Yang, you made a stupid mistake that caused a lot of pain for the people/person you care about, and now you have to live with the consequences… I should know… so I wont judge you. But this is something you need to face. I'm being a hypocrite right now telling you this but… I don't like seeing you like this-a-and Ruby and Weiss of course!" she added on quickly, garnering a quick blush that she immediately ridded herself of. But not before the peaking eye of Yang spotted it, causing her to smile slightly but it didn't last.

"Heh… what am I gonna do Blake?" she questioned, raising her head up and looking directly into the girls' golden eyes. "Weiss is going through hell and hates me now, Ruby won't even look at me, I got Nora in trouble with her team and hell… I don't even wanna think about what vom-what Jaune's going through with all the crap I helped to make worse, especially with all the stuff Weiss said to him…" she paused, turning around and taking hold of a mildly surprised Blake's hand. "You're the only good thing I have going for me right now, Blake… the only person that is willing to help me… to stick by my side and be there for me, you know I'm a screw up and yet you still stick by me. I really like you and I know now isn't the best time but… now or never right? I mean, I'm probably gonna get expelled tomorrow anyway so I'd rather be honest with you now instead of never getting the chance" she smiled, her grip gently increasing on the blushing girl who pushed herself back slightly as Yang moved forward, putting a hand on her cheek which Blake subconsciously leaned into. "There's so many things I like about you. Your no-nonsense, sarcastic attitude" she smiled at the fact Blake's blush deepened. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met, considering it's me saying that, that's a pretty damn big compliment" Blake uttered a small laugh, placing her hand atop Yang's. "The fact you actually like my puns, yeah I see you laughing to yourself missy" a grin spread across her face as she saw the annoyed twitch in Blake's face, which quickly vanished as her other hand took hold of her face, gently pulling her smiling face towards her. "The fact you're like me with the fact you've got your problems, but you don't ever let it stop you from trying to achieve your goal. I love that you're such a driven person" she spoke quietly, her face mere inches from hers. Blake's eyes fluttered closed as she felt Yang's lips brush against her own, she felt so safe and secure right now. Held in Yang's hands. Her scent of spice and peaches filling her nose and the beat of her heart crystal clear in her hidden ears. It would so easy to let go, to be with this girl who had exploded into her life and try and forget about Adam. To try and move on. She could do it with Yang, be truly happy again. She couldn't and wouldn't call it love but… there was definitely something there. Something that could become love…

"I love how we can always be honest with each other"

The serenity of the scene was shattered at the uttering of those words, Blake's eyes slamming open as she stared at Yang in mild shock. She hadn't noticed Blake's reaction, lost in the moment as she carried on with her words.

"I have my secrets… that I will gladly tell you when you want to hear them… I trust you enough. I know you have your own… I hope you trust me enough to tell me…" Yang moved in, a rare blush forming across her cheeks as she went in to kiss the girl before her. Only to stop when Blake pulled away, shifting away from her, head down and her hands playing with her yukata's rim.

What should she do? Tell Yang about her secret? That she was, in truth, a Faunus pretending to be a human…but would Yang accept her if she found out she'd been lying to her from the start about her species? Yang didn't seem to hold any prejudice against the Faunus, but would she want a relationship with one? Even if she did, she would then have to admit what she had been part of. All the people she had hurt… the information she had gathered on lives that had been taken… all the lives she'd ruined. Yang would never want to be with a monster like her.

So Blake did the only thing she could think of such a situation.

"I… I'm sorry. But I… I'm not ready for a relationship right now… and there's something about me I haven't told you yet" I'm scared you'll hate me for it "Could you give me some time?" Blake asked, a sullen expression on her face.

She lied. She would do what she always did when faced with something she couldn't deal with. With a situation that scared her. Blake was a coward who ran away when things got too hard… she hated herself for it… she could never be with Yang and she knew the brawler would be upset but she was an amazing girl, she'd find someone else. Someone better than her. Someone who would be able to make her happy.

To her credit, Yang only let the disappointment and upset cross her face for the briefest of moments before she once again took Blake's hand and smiled warmly at her.

"Sure thing Blakey, I don't mind waiting" she grinned, patting her legs in a little tune before standing up. "Welp… I'm gonna go… to the uh… I'm gonna go do some training" she announced, Blake taking notice of the way her hands were slightly shaking and the fact that Yang had clearly just come from what seemed to have been a rather intense workout.

"Okay… I'm going to go see how Weiss is…" Blake replied quietly, fearful her voice would betray her emotions if she said it any louder.

"Cool, cool… I will take what you said to heart" Yang mentioned, looking over her shoulder at Blake. "I'll be smart this time, I'll give them all time to cool off but I'll make it clear I'm there if they want to talk… okay?"

"Yes. That sounds good"

With that the two girls separated, not another word said to each other.

Blake left to find a quiet place she could simply hide away in. to get away from all the pain shooting through her chest.

Yang… Yang went to find something to punch.

Jaune hadn't gone back to his room for a long time after he left the office. Instead he had chosen to wander the grounds of Beacon, wary of how late it was getting but couldn't bring himself to face what he knew would happen as soon as he entered his room. In truth, his mind was also rather distracted, Ozpin's words were laying heavy upon him. Of course, he'd known. The guy seemed to know everything.

"I see… so to protect your friends you chose to lie knowing you would be expelled if I saw through your ruse… even at the expense of damaging your families' reputation?"

"Yes sir. I am angry at Yang, Nora and Weiss but… Yang and Nora were doing what they thought was right and I know just how hurt some people would be if they were expelled. All the pain it would bring… I couldn't do it" came Jaune's sullen reply, his head hung low as he told Ozpin the truth.

"Hrmmm…" came the headmaster's reply. "Truth be told, I was surprised it wasn't due to lingering feelings for Miss Schnee. Even a heart full of rage can still hold love for someone. I am not saying she doesn't deserve your ire but I did not expect your reasoning for not turning her in would not include her" Ozpin chose to carefully measure each and every word he spoke. He could see the dark expression forming on the boy and that his nails were beginning to painfully dig into his hand. It was clear Mr Arc's emotions were in a rather fragile state.

"Hah… not a chance. She gave up any right for me to care about her feelings when she said what she said" he near growled, doing his best to not explode in front of Ozpin. "But I'm also not the kind of person who goes about destroying other people's lives. So, I chose to lie… if I may ask though professor?" he enquired, lifting his head to look into the eyes of the headmaster.

"Of course, Mr Arc"

"Why am I not being punished? I lied to you, I helped to destroy part of your school! So… why?"

"It's quite simple, Mr Arc. Love can cause a person to do some rather foolish things, especially when that love causes such emotional torment. I have been around long enough to know that what you and Miss Schnee did pales in comparison to what some people have done. Why, I heard young Ruby's mother nearly destroyed half the city with her weapon; thorn bush, when she spotted another huntress attempting to drag away her beloved for some sordid deed" the headmaster grew a small smile at the fond memory, it seemed Miss Xiao Long wasn't the only one to possess a fiery temper. "So a small fire and a broken doorway is negligible by comparison. Besides. This isn't the first time you've lied to me Mr Arc, if I was going to expel you for lying to me, I would have done it when I read over your poorly forged transcripts"

For the second time since entering that office, Jaune was struck dumb as he stared at Ozpin. His mouth gaping open and closed like a fish. This man… he had known everything form the start… that was… that was insane. But then… why did he even-

"If you're confused as to why I allowed someone with next to no training, no tactical knowledge or even an aura into my school is simple. I consider myself a fairly good judge of character and when I saw you and your name I had the feeling that you were destined for something great, and up until recently you have given me no reason to doubt that you are a level headed, intelligent and somewhat strong young man" Ozpin answered without being question, seeing the widening of Mr Arc's eyes as confirmation that he'd hit the nail right on the head. "But I will say this, Mr Arc. My kindness only goes so far. So please refrain from helping to destroy any more walls or the property of teachers, myself included, alright?"

The information flowing though his head was almost too much to bear, he barely even registered nodding his head and standing up from his seat, thanking the professor before making his way to the elevator. His conscious mind only truly taking in more information when Ozpin call to him as the doors began to close.

"Do try and keep your wits about you and think clearly, Mr Arc. I imagine you will have a rather trying time ahead of you. Love as true as the one you feel for Miss Schnee is not something that goes away, no matter how much you will it to"

With that the door's closed, leaving Jaune unable to reply to the man's words, to deny that he had any feelings left for Weiss.

Unknown to the boy, a figure appeared beside the unsurprised Ozpin, who casually took a sip of his coffee before turning to a mildly annoyed looking, Qrow.

"Dunno what you were thinking letting him get off so easily. Guy is a loose cannon right now, if he explodes again at someone who decides to get angry right back at him and throws a punch… there's gonna be blood" the crackling voice of the tired sounding hunter remarked as he took a swig from his hip flask.

"You know better than anyone what could happen if I buried him beneath more sadness and regret, I'd rather he didn't end up spending his life angry at the world and himself all because he was a young man who was so deeply hurt by love, I hope that being spared even more pain will help him to recover from the incidents he has unfortunately been a key part of" Ozpin replied calmly, quirking an eyebrow at the slightly angry looking Qrow.

"Yeah, yeah… I get it. You don't want scraggly ending up like me" Qrow growled, shoving his flask back into its holster. "Heh… it really was funny watching Katherine* Winchester running away screaming as Summer chased after her. Thorn bush ready to set her, and anything within a twenty-metre radius of her, on fire. Kept telling her to stop trying to grab my ass but she just wouldn't listen… heh, I miss those days" Qrow smiled sadly, hand moving back to his flask before he stopped himself, choosing to instead to take out a picture aged by time, coffee stains… and tears.

Ozpin smiled at Qrow warmly "I do too, old friend… I do too"

Jaune couldn't understand why Ozpin thought he was still in love with Weiss, it just didn't make sense! Him revealing he had known about the forged transcripts made more sense that that! After all she'd said, after all she'd done… how could anyone love someone after all that!?

Closing his eyes briefly, Jaune pushed down those thoughts. He'd just have to face them at a later date… like so many other things.

Right now, he found himself in front of his door, the hallway empty of life and sound as he attempted to pump himself up for what he hoped was a quiet room, the last thing he needed was for Nora to wake up and think talking to him right now was a good idea.

He knew he needed to at some point but right now, all he wanted to do was sleep and be done with the day. This horrible day.

Gingerly unlocking the door, he entered. Thankfully there were no lights on, no screaming insanity or even a pacing Pyrrha, worried for where he was.

As quietly as he could, he moved forward and closed the door behind him, barely creating a whisper of a click as it closed.

Entering the bathroom, he stripped himself of his garments though he kept on his white shirt and blue boxers as he wasn't going to risk waking someone up just to get his onesie.

As he gently brushed his teeth, Jaune looked into the mirror before him. When had he looked so tired? Sure, it was late but… there was no way this was just from lack of sleep. His eyes looked sullen and hazy, struggling to focus on things unless he physically tried to. His skin looked paler than usual, almost clammy and worn out. Even his hair seemed even more wild and like a birds' nest than usual. It was probably all the stress that'd been thrust upon him.

"Seriously. You're effecting me even now?" he questioned his reflection, seeing the form of the angry brat instead of himself. Naturally it didn't answer, instead it simply copied his movements perfectly, as a reflection should.

Grumbling quietly, Jaune spat out his toothpaste, washed off the excess and cleaned his face before drying it as he padded towards the door.

The one thing Jaune had not expected to appear when he opened the door was a solemn looking Pyrrha, who stared at him with red raw eyes and a small quiver in her lips. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were rimmed with bags. Her clothes, which were usually so well cared for, were a mess. Like she had been tossing and turning in her bed, unable to get proper sleep.

Without a word between the two of them, she brought Jaune into a hug so full of the emotions she couldn't say for fear of waking the others. All her worry, anger, sadness, fear was felt as she hugged him tightly. There was also a hint of happiness. He was back, he was safe and now she was happy. Growing more and more as she continued to hold him and he gripped her, Jaune was safe and now she could hold him once again.

As she held him, Jaune felt a small trickle flow down his cheek, at first, he couldn't understand what it was. It stung his eyes and was hot and, as it travelled past his lips, salty. Until he felt more and more wetness begin to flow down his cheeks, his grip on Pyrrha tightened as he held her. Now he understood what it was. The hurt. The pain. The anger. It all came silently out, tearing from him as he shook and shivered in the girls grasp. Her shoulder growing wet as his tears pored into it. All the while she simply held him, gently stroking his back and holding him close. Letting him get out all the emotions she knew he would have been trying to hide if she hadn't interfered.

They stayed like that for a while, neither caring to check to time, before Pyrrha finally released him. The tears having stopped but his face stained with the trails they had left behind. Gently taking his hand and leading him to his bed, letting him drop silently onto it before taking a small wet wipe from her own desk and cleaned up his face.

Managing a smile, he silently thanked her as he gingerly put his body beneath the covers. Pyrrha smiled in return, leaning in to give him another hug which he gladly accepted. Wrapping his arm around her back as her head was pressed to his chest.

"I'll always be here if you need to talk, I wont pry for more information, just tell me what you feel you can, okay? I'm your partner and your friend, it's the least I can do" she whispered, her emerald eyes shining with new life as she smiled at him.

Not trusting his voice to remain quiet enough, Jaune simply smiled weakly and nodded his head. Fully letting go of Pyrrha, she silently moved back to her own bed and lay herself underneath it, throwing him a small smile before her eyes closed.

Sleep seemed to find her instantly, a sight which made Jaune glad, she had clearly been worried about him since the events of earlier today. Ren and Nora had likely told her what had happened and due to the fact that Nora was still in the room, Pyrrha had obviously tried to be open minded about the situation. Hopefully she'd try and be open with Yang as well. He may need her when he eventually spoke to the both of them. He'd clearly made it worse when he hadn't returned straight away from Ozpin's office. By all rights she deserved to be angry at him, furious even when he hadn't even called her. Yet she hadn't been. Instead she had comforted him when he unknowingly needed it most. Made sure he was okay and mothered him until he was able to stop crying. As his eyes drifted shut, Jaune knew he had to repay her somehow.

He would decide on it tomorrow. After he had dealt with whatever the morning would bring, be it lightning or hellfire.

Jaune wasn't too stupid to think he would be okay after a simple hug and a cry but… right now, after all the stuff he'd been through today… he just wanted to sleep.

Jaune had already had a long week and it was only Monday.

Like I said, this is about just under a third of what I've been writing but I realised it was getting too long and that it was kinda taking the piss with how long it was taking.

I will be releasing the next pink lemonade chapter (finally) next week but hopefully I will find the time to get the rest of this chapter finished as well.

*The name Katherine is the name of the Cardinal of Winchester's (the man who Cardin is based off) mother