A/N:

Hi friends and welcome back to RWBY: The Selection!

With the conclusion of this week's Capital Report, the time has come for another Rose Ceremony. If you're confused about going home, don't worry: you're not the only one. Jaune has had a hectic week: between the adorable date with Penny, the Sea Feilong attack, almost losing Oscar, his fight with Pyrrha, and bittersweet moments with Nora.

Who will be going home? Who will stay and continue working towards their goals (be it love, becoming a Huntress, saving the world, or breaking it)? Will ANYONE find love? Find out in the latest chapter of RWBY: The Selection!

Thank you so much to everyone who favorited and followed and a special, special shoutout to geraldwhusted for the kind review!

Once again, please read and review with any comments, questions, concerns, suggestions, or anything else that strikes your fancy! This is one of two chapters that will go up tonight, so, without further ado, enjoy!

Chapter 69: THE ROSE CEREMONY WEEK 2: Jaune

The rose ceremony was at 2pm, and at 1:55pm, Jaune had no idea what he was going to do.

Just like before the last rose ceremony, he had had another restless night, plagued with nightmares of sending home the wrong girl. He had woken up early and thought of many ways to make this decision: discernment, pros and cons charts, listening to his heart, but he had spent so long trying to determine a method that all he had time left to do now was to wing it.

But it was so hard. He couldn't send Ruby home. Ruby was his friend. Hands down. Off limits. Weiss was perfect. Weiss would probably make it to the end. She would stay. Yang could always make him laugh. Coco was a crowd favorite. Emerald was his mom's favorite. He really felt chemistry on his dates with Penny and Velvet. He couldn't send any of them home.

When he thought about the people he could eliminate, however, the choice became somehow more difficult. He didn't feel a connection with Blake, Ciel, Ilia, or Reese, but he'd hardly had any time with them. Was it fair to send one of them home without getting to know them? Nora was a blast, but she'd seemed so sad the other day. Was she okay? Would she be happier being sent back? He really thought he'd had a connection with Pyrrha, but she thought he needed help. He liked her. He liked her a lot, but would someone like her ever like him back?

By now, Jaune's head was spinning and he was sick to his stomach. When the knock came at his door, he panicked. "I'm not ready!" he shouted, expecting his mother or sister to be on the other side of the door, but it was Oscar who opened it.

Jaune broke into a smile. He hadn't seen Oscar since the Sea Feilong attack. He'd tried to follow Pyrrha's advice and visit him last night, but Oscar hadn't answered his door. Jaune had assumed he was resting. He looked okay now, though, aside from some tousled hair and sleepy eyes, and Jaune felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Oscar! Are you okay?"

Oscar nodded. "Yeah. It's been a weird twenty-four hours, but yeah."

"Good," Jaune ran a hand through his hair. "I was really worried."

Oscar nodded again. He seemed to be lost in thought. "You said you weren't ready?"

"For the rose ceremony," Jaune clarified.

"The one that starts in three minutes?"

He smiled weakly. "That's the one."

Oscar raised an eyebrow. "Well, who are you thinking of eliminating?"

Jaune thought for a second. "I don't know," he admitted. "Weiss, definitely not. Penny, no. Velvet, no. Ruby-"

"No!" Oscar said quickly. Jaune looked at him, startled. "No," Oscar repeated, quieter this time, "Ruby's… nice. At least to me, she is."

Jaune nodded slowly in agreement. "Is anyone not nice to you?"

Oscar hesitated.

The Queen was waiting when Jaune arrived at the Great Hall, and, when they entered the Great Hall, a hush fell over the contestants. Jaune felt sick to his stomach. He did not like this part. He liked meeting all the girls. He liked the fun and exciting dates. He even liked the Capital Report updates, something he had not been able to say before the Selection. But Jaune Arc did not like the rose ceremonies.

He stared at the podium of roses as he walked in, careful not to trip on his own two feet and make himself look any more nervous than he already was. When Jaune got to the podium of roses, he inhaled sharply.

"Hi," he announced. "I just want to say, again, that it's been an amazing week. I've really enjoyed getting to know all of you further, and this has been difficult. Once again, whether you leave here a Princess of a Huntress, I'm sure you will go on to do amazing things."

Jaune cleared his throat, and, glancing at Oscar behind him, picked up the first rose. "Lady Ruby,"

Ruby broke into a wide grin, skipping up to collect her rose before returning to the stands.

"Lady Weiss,"

Weiss gave him a dazzling smile, and curtsied at the Queen when she collected her rose.

"Lady Penny,"

Penny beamed as she collected her rose, her eyes lighting up with joy.

Jaune scanned the stands. Pyrrha, being one of the tallest contestants, was at the back. They locked eyes. "Lady Pyrrha."

Lady Nora was next, then Lady Velvet, Lady Yang, and Lady Blake. Then came Lady Emerald for his mother, and Lady Coco for the crowds, until finally just two girls remained, Lady Ciel and Lady Reese. Jaune raised the final rose of the ceremony. "Lady Ciel."

Ciel seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as she walked to the podium. "Thank you," she whispered to Jaune when she accepted the rose, and the look in her eyes was intense.

Jaune turned to Reese, chewing on his lip. She looked dumbfounded, looking from one girl to another as if waiting for someone to go back in time and call her name. "Reese, I'm sorry. Can I walk you out?" Jaune asked, as gently as he could manage.

She turned to the rest of the girls, shared a grin, a dab, and some final goodbyes before following Jaune out of the throne room.

Once they were out of earshot, Reese turned to Jaune. "It's because I almost got Oscar killed, isn't it?"

Jaune bit his lip. If Reese went on talk shows when she returned home, he didn't want her stirring up a caste debate about how he sent home a Four because of what she did to a Seven. "No," he lied. "It's nothing like that, it's just—"

"I get it. Honest." Reese smiled. "Well, I'm going to get my bag and head out to Atlas. Neon and I have plans to meet up for a skating convention."

Jaune laughed nervously. The thought of his only two ex-girlfriends being best friends scared him a little, but he supposed it was a feeling he would have to get used to over the next several months.

"Oh, and Jaune?" Reese called from the end of the hallway. "I hope you find love,"

Jaune inhaled slowly, the chaos of the Selection already making his head spin. "Me too."