Among the Secrets

Chapter 21

Prom and On

Note: Starting off with some bad news. I plan on making only two more chapters. Good news… They'll be longer than normal. I knew the ending was close. I just didn't know how much I wanted to include or how many chapters I would use. For everyone, who has followed this story, I appreciate your support and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story to come. I apologize for the long wait in between updates. I'll try harder in the future to be more consistent.

Although the team ended up losing the championship game, the entire school was in good spirits. The very fact that their team made it to that point was a great accomplishment and the fact that school was coming to an end for the year was an even better point. Of course, the students were expecting to hear back from the university whether it be good news or bad news. Senior year was the final time to make it or break it and Jaune and his friends were planning on making it.

Ren and Nora both set their hearts on Atlas University. It was a bit of a travel, but they've always been wanting to go there. Jaune set his eyes on Vale University. His academics were good, but he was hoping for some kind of baseball scholarship. They were keeping good watch over him, but they tried not to show any signs of accepting or denying.

On the other hand, Pyrrha didn't put any thought into what she would do after high school. All of the problems with herself and her family prevented her from thinking about the future. With her near-perfect grades, she could easily get into wherever she wanted. She just realized that college wasn't something she wanted to do. Unfortunately, she didn't tell the three of them about this. All of the talk was about Atlas and Vale that she didn't want to ruin the fun with her unknown future plans.

…

As prom got closer, preparations were finally in order. Pyrrha and Nora went shopping together to figure out all sorts of girl things while Jaune and Ren simply waited to hear back from their dates.

It took a couple of days, but they eventually heard back from them. Nora decided to go with light pink. This sucked for Ren since he wasn't a huge fan of pink, but because Nora picked, he couldn't really go against it at this point. Pyrrha decided to pick a dark red color. Jaune couldn't help but pump his fist a little since it was a manlier color than pink. When Pyrrha showed him the exact color, he was even happier. The color was very rich and accented Pyrrha's hair. All that was left to make sure the guys' tuxes matched their dates' dresses.

The next weekend, Jaune and Pyrrha met up at the nearby tailor to get everything in check. The process was a long one, but Pyrrha stayed to make sure Pyrrha looked great.

"Hey Pyrrha, you remember the last time I was in a tux?"

"Do you mean the half-tux you used for your sister's wedding?"

"Wait… How did you know that?"

"Come on Jaune. It was so obvious that that wasn't an actual tux. You just had the slacks, dress shirt, and jacket. There's more to a tux than that."

"Oh yeah. Are you simply counting the vest?"

It just so happened that the tailor was working on his vest as he brought that up. He also brought a few bow ties with him to make sure they matched color. That's when Pyrrha stood up from her seat and helped out with the color choosing process. She picked the one that matched her dress and laid it out over his shoulder.

"Not necessarily. It's all about what you're were wearing it for and who you're with. The only people who really wear tuxes at a wedding are the groom and his groomsmen and then the fathers of the bride and groom. I thought you knew this stuff Jaune."

"I do. It's just that I forget sometimes."

"With a family of girls, I would think you'd know about all of the customs."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your sisters are all girls so I bet they all acted as if you were their date to something special when they had no one. Girls like to know more than just what they're supposed to do. To put it simply, they should have taught you how to chivalrous."

"Well yeah, but…"

"And that's all I needed to hear."

After their little conversation, the tailor managed to measure everything perfectly and asked Jaune to try out the full thing just to make sure that there weren't any malfunctions. He moved around for comfort sake and Pyrrha couldn't help but smile. He looked very handsome in his tux and the color was a good choice for him as well. That's when she asked if her and Jaune could have some time alone. This caught Jaune off guard so he couldn't help but ask what's up.

"What's up?"

"I needed to talk to you."

"Alright shoot."

Right as she opened her mouth, the words stopped dead in her mouth. She wanted to tell him about her plans for the future and how college wasn't an option. Unfortunately, something was stopping her. She was starting to think about everything up to this point. Everything Jaune and his friends have done and all the things they did together. She didn't want to ruin the mood with something as dark as not knowing what to do after high school. She simply grabbed the top of his tie, tightened it, and smiled at him.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm not worthy of you."

"What are you talking about? Before I knew you, you were the prettiest girl in school and I always thought that I would never be anyone close to you. Look at us now. I think we're about even, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess, but…"

"Are you okay? You've been kind of acting a little different lately."

"I just… I have a lot of stuff on my mind."

"Oh, speaking of stuff on my mind, I need to tell you something… Something I haven't even told my family yet."

"Um… Okay."

He grabbed her hands and looked her right in the eyes.

"You know that baseball is a big part of my life, right?" He waited for a nod which he ended up getting. "Well, I got into Vale University and they're giving me a full ride scholarship."

"No way," she said as her eyes got bigger.

"Yes way. They contacted me a few days that I've been accepted. All they want me to do is meet with them for a more formal thing and I want you to be with me."

"Me? Are you sure? Don't you want your mom or dad with you for that kind of thing?"

"Oh, don't worry about them. They've been with me my entire life and I want to share this moment with someone special. Besides, they love you a lot."

"Aw, thank you Jaune."

"Of course." He pulled her in a for hug. He was brimming with happiness.

On the other hand, Pyrrha was feeling even more uneasy. Jaune managed to tell her something important without backing down and the fact that he told her first instead of his family made her situation even harder. This guy was treating her like she was everything and yet, there was something holding Pyrrha back from doing the same. She knew she had to woman up sooner or later; she just didn't know how she'd do it. Jaune was a great guy and she didn't want to hide anything from him.

…

Finally, it was the end of the semester. All that was left was prom on Saturday and graduation the next night. For the Arc family, it was an early day for them. Jaune told them that him and his group planned to hang out all day so the family stuff had to start early. He got ready and took pictures with everyone. Even his oldest sister made it to the house in time to be with her younger brother. After their final family picture, they packed the car and headed to Pyrrha's house. Jaune and the rest of his family were super excited to see Pyrrha in her dress.

Once they made it to her house, they raced to the door and rang the doorbell. It only took a few seconds for her to open up and have them all gaze upon her beauty. She had a long, dark red dress with sparkles surrounding the bottom skirt area. All of the girls squealed in excitement and Pyrrha couldn't help but turn her head in embarrassment.

"Snap. That's one smoking babe. Too bad there's not a guy around to compliment her," Jaune's younger sister said as she nudged his shoulder.

"Shut up. I was getting there." He slowly walked up to Pyrrha, cowering in embarrassment. "Wow Pyrrha… You look amazing."

"Thank you. You look very handosme yourself."

"That's cheating. You were there when I was getting fitted."

"Haha, I know."

"Alright love birds. Let's get some pictures."

Against their will, they put Jaune and Pyrrha together and took a whole bunch of pictures. Of course, it was embarrassing for the both of them since Jaune's family was completely over the top about this whole thing. After some time, they pushed Jaune out of the way and only took pictures with Pyrrha. This made her feel better since it lightened the mood. After that, Ren and Nora arrived and it turned into a party. They were doing all sorts of crazy stuff with the pictures until they made a strange walking down the street to take a picture of the entire group. This was when Pyrrha was finally able to relax.

After that, the four of them pushed the Arc family back into their car and nearly pushed them down the street. It was difficult to get them to leave, but eventually, they gave Jaune one last hug and went back home. Once they were gone, the four of them took some selfies of themselves before heading into Pyrrha's house to hang out.

That was pretty much all they did up until dinner. They grabbed their things and headed out. Dinner was nice because they pretty much starved themselves during the day so that the food and the cost would be worth it. After that, they headed to the dance. Right as they got to school, they saw all of the beautiful decorations that the student body had put up for the people attending the final dance of the year. They walked through the school gates and into the gym where the party had already started. It was like a light show inside. All sorts of awesome devices were going off at once. That's when Nora jumped out in front of the group as if she was about to tackle them.

"This is our final night as high school students. Let's make this night to remember."

"Let's."

The DJ was one of the best in the area so they never had to worry about things being boring. They danced straight through some many songs that they made it seem like they were high on drugs. They laughed and cried when some of their favorite songs were played. They made them remember all of their memories from the past four years and even thought Pyrrha wasn't around for most of it, they included her and told her about all of the fun and stupid stuff they used to do.

All throughout the night, they never thought about what would be. They were only thinking about the now and how much fun it was to be in each other's company. This was their last night together so they wanted to leave everything on the floor. For Nora, it was literal. She was going crazy on some of her favorite songs and all the other three could do was laugh. She was always the life of the party and she was making sure that they remembered that.

After some time, the DJ turned things down for the couples to have their time on the dance floor. That's when Ren and Nora left Jaune and Pyrrha alone. At first, they were against this idea, but one of their favorites song, "Dream Come True," came on which forced them to dance together. A few more songs came on until a true slow dance song gave them the opportunity to be in each other's embrace.

"Hey Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I've ever thanked you for coming into my life. Without you, I don't know what I'd do."

"Pyrrha, I should be thanking you for allowing me to love someone like you."

That was it. They only needed to share those words with each other for them to spend the rest of the dance together.

Once the dance was over, the Ren and Nora went their separate ways and Jaune walked Pyrrha back home. For the entire walk, they held hands and stayed close with smiles on their faces. When they got to her house, Pyrrha guided Jaune into her house and up to her room. Jaune was starting to get a little flustered because she didn't say a single word to him, but refused to let go of his hand. When they made it into her room, she locked the door behind her and sat Jaune down on her bed and told him to wait. This was when Jaune could barely contain himself. He didn't want to think about what was going to happen next, but knew what was going to happen. His leg was shaking uncontrollably and he was silently telling himself to calm down, but how could he? His sisters know how girls act and this only lead to one thing.

Pyrrha went into the bathroom and slowly undressed. As she looked at herself in the mirror, there was only one thing running through her mind.

Tell him everything and give him everything.

Only wearing her bra and panties, she took a nice, deep breath.

"Everything is going to be okay Pyrrha."

She turned off the light and walked back into her room. The sound of the door opening immediately made Jaune turn his head and see Pyrrha at her most vulnerable.

"Pyrrha, if you're forcing yourself to do this, I…"

"No Jaune. I want to do this. All of this time, I've been still hiding things from you."

"What do you mean?"

She slowly walked towards him still hiding her body in embarrassment.

"All of these years in high school, I was confused. I never knew what to do or who I was. It wasn't until I met you when things started to clear up. You immediately changed my life for the better. Things got fun and I started to forget about my previous way of life. However, not everything is always forgotten."

"What do you mean?"

"You have your whole life planned out. You know what you want to do with your life and your family has your back the entire way. I'm the exact opposite of you." She suddenly sat down next to Jaune and shoved her face in her hands. That's when Jaune took off his jacket and threw it over Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, you don't need to think like that. Opposites attract… Haven't you heard that saying before?"

"But you've been so honest and so sincere to me and I haven't been the same to you."

"What are you talking about? Of course you have."

"I have nothing planned for after graduation."

Jaune was slow to answer.

"What do you mean?"

"College or work… I don't plan on doing anything. On the other hand, you've got everything planned out. How could you possibly be with someone who doesn't know what the future holds?"

"Pyrrha. No one knows what the future holds. It's our job to create a path and start something ourselves. I don't care if you don't know what you're going to do after high school. That's what makes it fun."

"Jaune, I…" She suddenly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as tight as she could. "What's going to happen to us after tomorrow?"

"I don't know. I just want to enjoy every moment with you until graduation."

Slowly after that, the two of them got completely undressed and made love for the rest of the night. They didn't care about anything else, but each other. This bond that they have created was completed at the end of the night. They stayed close and reminded each other that they loved one another. Even though graduation was so close, they were starting to wish that it would take an eternity to arrive.

End of Chapter 21