Hey, guys! Before you read this story, please note that this story is going to be a slow read. Look at this story from my pilot story "Let The Astrid Dance!" The premise of the story is a coming-of-age story as Jaune balances life with self-identify and love. He is conflicted as he shares an encounter with his best friend, Blake, and laters shares an encounter with her mother, Kali. He tells himself that what happened with her mother was a one-time thing but it doesn't seems to be the case from Kali's position. Read as Jaune has to cross this triangle while still finding himself in the matter and of course, the opposition that comes with it. Enjoy!

Jaune believed that his mother was one of the last people on the planet to ever have a home phone. That came to mind as soon as his younger sister, Junko, rushed into his room. She sped quickly like a bat out of hell, ready to pursue whatever come what may. Or in this instance, to be a part of the now of a noisy pre-teen.

"It's Blake." Jaune saw the grin as she hid behind her pigtails. Knowing for his kindred, yet noisy sister, she probably waited at the table as his mother was cooking their usual meal of beans and cornbread. It wasn't much but their stomachs were fed and much warm. It was a handful of reminders of being part of a fixed income in a family of ten.

She handed the phone to Jaune as he pondered why would Blake call at this hour. It wasn't an ungodly hour or a witching hour. Daylight was among them and plenty to spare before nightfall. Around this time, Blake Belladonna would be attending her tea ceremony classes in town. The kind of classes that were exclusive to the elite and the only way people like Jaune were to touch their stainless china if he was the one to serve it - uniform, apron, white glove and all.

"Are you are going to go to your kissy-kissy goo-goo spot?" Junko asked Jaune teasingly. The fact that the ten-year-old lasted longer in his domain longer than ten seconds was beyond him. Normally, the usual shout of "get lost," or "beat it," were becoming null like the bill collectors who pester them daily on when they would pay their debts, loans, whichever they were to use on the telephone. Jaune nodded with a smile, using his heavy hand to flick the little blonde's nose. "Out of here!"

The little blonde obeyed, giggling as she hopped and skipped out of his bedroom. He waited a few additional seconds. He was quite grateful that the ever-so-patient Belladonna was used to his nosy family. The youth was still adjusting to his family himself as he tried combating his not-so-easy adolescence. He lowered the volume to a Sonic Youth track as he felt it was safe enough to go to the phone.

"Yo! Blake! Surprise to hear you at this time," said Jaune surprisingly. "What's the matter? The teacher continued placing books on your head."

She giggled, covering her mouth. He knew that Blake wasn't completely out of the woods yet. Judging by the echoing on her phone, she was still in the restroom of the tea society. She was pondering, planting for a breakout. Or she could be killing time. Hard to tell. That silent beauty of a friend contained more whit than the average girl in this town. Yet again, there wasn't anything average about Blake and compared to the girls in his town, it was like comparing Kirsten Dunst and Helena Bonham Carter at a pageant. No disrespect to the latter but Blake outshines many of the girls there. And to think that Blake attends public school with him.

"I need a reason to bust out of here, Jaune," she said as she pressed her lips to the phone. A normal habit to the Faunus. "Madam Malachite is really being a pain in the ass today. And honestly, I need a reason to bail."

Jaune was picking his teeth, rubbing whatever contents on his shirt before swaying on his computer chair. "Just leave, Blake. Walk out. It isn't like you will get in trouble with your Mom. At least her." He clicked his tongue. "However, your Pops might be a different story."

"Nah. Pops is out of the country for the rest of the year," said Blake. By the tone of her voice, he wasn't certain if that was relief or statement of fact. "Still, my Mom wants the best. She bestows it. Thinks that every Belladonna needs to attend these classes so we can be the pompous, dull dishwater asswipes that will be subservient to our husbands, politicians, and the like."

Jaune burst in robust laughter. "Easy with the vocabulary, Blake. I get it. Stuck up, prissy, and pampered is what I am seeing with that place." Jaune saw the clock being a quarter to three in the afternoon. His father wouldn't be home from work until eight. His oldest sisters Jan and Jeanette were working double shifts with their job until late in the evening. His twin sister, Joan, was home so he wasn't worried as she can watch the younger siblings as their mother prepares to head to work. "Well, if you want, we can meet at our spot."

"You mean that kissy-kissy goo-goo place," she interjected unashamedly to Jaune. "Yeah, I heard your sister poking fun on the phone. She doesn't do well with covering the phone. To think your mother still leaves in the stone age." She paused, probably to save face and to compensate without giving Jaune the impression that she was making fun of his mother. "Which does well in saving funds."

"AKA, we are broke," said Jaune adamantly.

"Now, you are putting words in my mouth," replied Blake.

"Actually, I would prefer donuts," said Jaune. "Thirty minutes?"

"Excellent. Glazed or cream-filled," asked Blake.

"Depends. Let me know if Cardin or Sky is there. That way, you know what to pick," said Jaune.

"No problem," said Blake. "Hit you up in a bit."

Jaune hung up the phone. He lowered the antenna as he pondered on what to wear. The forecast depicted it to be in the lower seventies but living in his town, things can be unpredictable. He decided not to take any chances as he took off his plain t-shirt and in search for a long sleeve. He checked himself in the mirror, noticing that his abs weren't as defined as usual. He told himself to make time to workout, which has been sporadic as he didn't know rather or not that he had to babysit.

As he put on his black long-sleeved sweatshirt with the image of Sid Vicious, he also grabbed a few dollars and placed it into his wallet. His mother's birthday was approaching and he had thought of going to the craft store and handmaking a gift. He hoped that his mother was interested in another coffee cup this year.

Moments like that, he pondered on getting a job. He was still eight months and six weeks shy of being sixteen.

He stepped out of his bedroom and into the hallway. The smell of cornbread became prominent as he entered the kitchen. There, he saw his mother sitting at the chair as she stirred the big round pot to prepare the meal for ten. Their oven was broken so he and his father configured a plan to makeshift the stove as a charcoal-burning stove for the time being.

The blonde mother sang a heavenly tune as she blew into the pot. She reached for the spice to add a bit more. With her other hand, she used that to rub her swollen belly. So, a correction should be made for the family of eleven.

"You have it smelling good, Mom," said the doting son as he kissed her on the cheek. His mother cradled her son's face as she pecked him on his forehead. "Nothing out of the ordinary, sweetness. Just beans and cornbread." She raised her finger. "Our next door neighbor was nice enough to give us sausages to add into the pot." She clapped in rejoice. "Can't wait until the chickens are ready to be hatch for the next season. By then, we will be out of the red."

Jaune didn't pay it any mind of their disenfranchised farm. That was trouble he wasn't really ready to discuss for the time being. He looked at his cell phone knowing that he didn't want to be late.

"Off somewhere, dear," asked his mother.

"Just for a bit," said Jaune. "Going to see Blake."

"Oh, I love that dear Faunus girl! She is such a good girl," replied his mother.

"I would take it easy on that term, Faunus, Mom. She is just Blake to me."

"I know that, Dear. I know that," replied his mother for reassurance. "Just be back before dark. Okay, dear?"

"No problem, Mom," said Jaune. He reached into the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. He nodded to his mother goodbye before stepping off into the world.

The air was as crisp and sweet as one of the apples in the orchard he passes on the way to school. Of course, he shouldn't know how good they were, but he did. There were a few trees in reach of the wooden post and rail fence and all he has to do was reach in nice and quick. The ground was wet underfoot and he knew when he got in the front entrance his shoes are going to squeak right down over waxed corridor. The clouds weren't too threatening today, just a little grey, and the wind was starting to feel more like the last one get from opening the refrigerator door than the summer breeze he had been used to these past few months.

It was quiet on his block. Actually, his house was one of the few houses on his dead-end street. Where Jaune lived would be considered the city limits. To think that a town with a population of 2,000 would be labeled a city. Most of the people that resided in his block were older or no longer with the living. Kids, if there were any, didn't stay long once crossing the stage to get that high school diploma. Matter-of-factly, many speculate on if Jaune would be able to cross the stage.

His eldest sister, Jan, dropped out at the age of fifteen after getting pregnant. The baby was put into adoption but she never returned. The aching embarrassing feeling of being ostracized for being a teenage parent took the best of the teen. Jeanette didn't finish school either. Honestly, Jeanette, although sweet and sincere, but never had the dedication of school. Unsure if it was a learning disability or just plain fear, she, too, dropped out of high school as well.

He was careful as he crossed the heavily weathered log as he crossed the babbling brook on his way to the spot that he and Blake politely called the fort. The fort was nothing more than a makeshift, corrugated, abandoned shack. The duo discovered it a few years ago and have frequented since. They have been the only ones to have to use it and it was their home base, for anything.

As he dwindled through the crackled weeds, he was cautious so he wouldn't attract snakes or attention. Despite that they haven't been caught, this part of the woods have been frequented by hunters lately. They knew that they wouldn't be harmed but the chance being discovered and told about their spot was threatening.

But for now, he tried not to pester further. One of his flaws as a teenager for his overthinking. The sounds of the Grateful Dead trailed the area of his destination. He released a smile. Blake was always there to meet him first.

And he could smell the fresh glazed donuts. It was Sky who was working today.

Thank Oum!