With Saturday came the rush as students scrambled to finalize their outfits for the dance the next day. For the teams that spent the better part of the week putting the event together they saw this respite as the start to some much needed rest and relaxation. None more so than Sun, who was very much a happy boy that afternoon as he walked through the academy grounds with an armful of bananas to snack on.

'Neptune is such a fool, going to get fit for a tuxedo!' Sun thought with a chuckle, 'the dress code is so lax I could go in my normal clothes and nobody would bat an eye! Gotta love this school man!' Sun pulled out a banana and grinned widely as he looked it over. Suddenly a figure dropped out of the tree in front of him in a crouch, though when the shock went away he saw that it was just Blake. "Oh, hey Blake. I was wondering where you ran off to last night."

"I've been around," Blake answered quickly and stood up. Sun flinched a little when he saw the bags under her eyes, which themselves were darting around a little more than was probably healthy.

"Yikes! Are you ok? You didn't sleep again, did you?"

"No, I stayed up all night thinking. That's not important right now, I need to talk to you about something."

"Are you sure? It is me we're talking about. Can't you talk to Ruby or Weiss or Yang about this?"

"NO!" Blake stiffened and looked around when she realized she may have shouted that a little louder than intended. Once she saw no one was looking at her she shook her head, "I mean, no. I can't talk to them about this, and you're the only one I can think of that will give me a non-biased opinion."

"That's sad."

"Just shut up and come on!" Blake grabbed Sun's arm and started pulling him along at top speed, surprising the boy into dropping his snacks which he lamented with a cry of 'My bananas!'. Blake dragged him along past several students, who definitely gave her some weird stares, until she reached the main building which she ran into. After a minute of searching through the halls she finally found a classroom with nobody in it and practically tossed Sun inside when they entered and she shut the doors behind her.

"Ok, that was a run I guess," Sun said once his head finally stopped spinning and he walked over to the teacher's desk and sat on it. The orange light of dusk was starting to filter in through the windows as Blake started pacing in front of the desk while Sun patiently waited for her to start speaking. After a moment of her not doing that, Sun blew out a raspberry and crossed his legs. "So… you wanted to talk about something?"

"Right, I did." Blake stopped to scratch her cheek, "Um… sorry for literally dragging you here. I'm kind of panicking at the moment."

"You don't say?" Sun asked sarcastically and looked down at the banana still in his hand. He shrugged and quickly peeled it before gesturing at Blake with it. "Is this about what you were screaming about the other night?"

"Oh no, you actually remember that."

"Well, yeah, it was awesome! It was really cool seeing you so passionate about something like that." The encouragement did not help Blake keep her face out of her hands out of embarrassment while Sun started eating his banana, "But I didn't go around spreading it just so you know. I don't think anyone who saw it has. Since, you know, it seemed kind of personal."

Blake dragged her hands down her face with a groan. "You're not helping right now."

"Yeah, I guess not. It sounded a lot better in my head." Sun shrugged and took another bite of his banana to give himself something to do while Blake collected her thoughts. She paced for a few moments in front of the desk with her arms crossed until she stopped and took a deep breath before facing Sun.

"But yes, it is about that," Blake said, causing Sun to perk up a little with his tail standing straight behind him. She put her hands together as she said, "I want to ask someone out to the dance, but I don't know how to do it. I was hoping you could help me with that."

"Question: is it me you're asking?" Sun asked with a large grin, "If so, the answer is yes!"

"No, it's not you," Blake said flatly.

"Course not," Sun said, dropping his grin slightly and rolling his eyes, "It's never that easy. Well, have you tried asking them?"

"Um… no, I haven't gotten that far yet."

"Well, maybe you should do that then? 'Hey, do you want to go to the dance with me?' and then go from there. It's not the end of the world if they say no."

"I… don't think that's a good idea," Blake said, shaking her head, and grabbed her upper arms to squeeze tightly.

"Well that is a problem," Sun said as he took off two sides of the banana, set them to the side on the desk, and started eating it sideways, "because that tends to be it for that particular conversation."

"I know, I know," Blake said and buried her face in her hands. She sighed heavily and dropped her hands to show a defeated expression. "This is why I need help with this. I'm really bad at this 'romance' thing." She started pacing as she continued, "I overthink everything and even if I didn't, it probably wouldn't work out anyway. Nothing ever does for me."

"Uh… that sounds like a very personal thing," Sun said slowly and started looking around awkwardly, "You know, just in case you start saying something you don't want me to hear."

"I appreciate the concern Sun, but that's in the past, hopefully far in the past." Blake stopped pacing and held a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. "I promised myself I wouldn't be held back by the past anymore and look to building a better future. It… just happens to start with me asking someone to a dance." Blake clenched her hands behind her and looked away with a blush as she asked, "That's not weird, is it?"

"Nah, weirder things have happened. Remind me to tell you about some of Neptune's misadventures in flirting later." Sun dropped the remains of the banana peel onto the desk and hopped off it. He crossed his arms and leaned against the desk, "So what's the deal? You had a bad boyfriend or something in the past?"

"I wouldn't call him a 'boyfriend'," Blake said shivering at the thought of Adam, "more like someone I looked up to. Or something like that… it's complicated. Even though it's been a while since I got away from him, he still manages to sneak his way back into my thoughts."

"Sounds like a real prick. He was that bad huh?"

"That's an understatement. Without going into details, which you don't need in any case, it was so bad I had to fake my death just to get away from him." That was answered with a silent, wide-eyed shock from Sun for several uncomfortable moments.

"…Seriously?"

"Seriously. And don't ask."

"…Fuuuuuuuuuuuu," Sun droned out for a moment before suddenly opening his arms wide and smiled widely, "but hey, let's look on the bright side of this!" He took a step toward Blake and almost threw his arm around Blake's shoulders when he froze, glanced at his arm, and pulled it back in favor of giving double finger guns at Blake. "Based on that little snippet, what are the chances this guy-"

"Girl," Blake corrected and Sun nodded.

"What are the chances this girl will be anywhere close to that level of awful? Unless she has something against Faunus."

"No she isn't, I wouldn't be having this little crisis if she was. And while I appreciate the boundary respects, you don't have to treat me like that."

"Better safe than sorry," Sun said with a shrug and crossed his arms, "So is it the Faunus thing then?"

"No, I told her myself." Thinking back on that talk on the rooftop got her heart fluttering again and caused her to blush a little. "It wasn't the main point of the conversation, but I think telling her brought us closer than before."

"So… the problem is you just don't know how to approach her?" Blake nodded and Sun rubbed his chin in thought until he nodded and faced Blake. "So… why not try this? Just walk up to her…"

"Yeah?"

"Look deep into her eyes…" Sun leaned a little closer to Blake to demonstrate. She quirked an eyebrow, but waited for Sun to finish.

"And say, 'Hey sweetcheeks! Wanna go to the dance with me?' Then boom, profit!" Sun gave Blake two thumbs up and received a slap on the shoulder from her. "Ow!"

"TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! I can't walk up to Weiss and say that! I'd burst into flame on the spot!" Blake shouted and pulled on bits of her hair with both hands.

"The Ice Queen huh?" Sun asked and closed his eyes in thought just in time to miss Blake freezing in horror at realizing what she said. He leaned against the desk again and thought for a moment. "That does make things a little harder. I mean, does she even like girls like that?"

"…I don't know," Blake replied and lowered her arms and gently grabbed her left arm while looking down at the floor. "She never said anything one way or the other about that. I don't think she's ever given it much thought."

"So there is a chance then? That's good."

'You got to love his glass half-full worldview,' Blake thought and looked up at Sun as he started pacing a little in front of her. He did this for a minute until she stopped suddenly, snapped his fingers, and grinned widely at Blake.

"I have an idea! Forget about asking her to the dance for a minute. She'll probably end up going right?"

"Yes… she was saying something along those lines."

"Well, if your ultimate end goal is to tell Weiss how you feel about her, why not just tell her at the dance?"

"Sun…"

"BUT! Do it in a way where you can do it gradually and back off in case she doesn't feel that way. Make sense?"

'I… guess it makes sense,' Blake thought glancing away from Sun, 'and he is right that I do want to tell Weiss all of this. But to do it in a way that wouldn't make our partnership against our Demons awkward?' Blake shook her head and said out loud, "I don't know how to do that." She looked back up at Sun and balked a little at his mischievous grin. "Oh no."

"Don't worry, this is all your plan," Sun said holding his hand up placatingly, "and if you don't want to do what I got in mind, we won't do it. Trust me?"

"…About as much as I can trust a nosy guy I've only known for about a month, yeah."

"Perfect! So to start, you need to get some sleep. Seriously, you don't look great at all. Then do whatever girls do to get ready for this kind of thing: make-up, get dresses, whatever. And you also have to be willing to dance with me once."

"What?" Blake asked and quirked an eyebrow at Sun as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Now hold on, let me finish. Dancing with me won't last long. So from that dance…"

At the Dining Hall, Jaune was sitting on a bench outside airing his woes. "I just wish there was a way I could talk to her about this," Jaune said with a sad sigh, "but every time I try to be… I don't know, romantic I guess, it just makes her mad. I thought girls liked confident guys, it shouldn't be this hard, should it?" Jaune blinked a moment and scratched the side of his head, "Well now I'm just going in circles. Has that ever really happened with you?" He turned to look at the person who 'volunteered' to hear his woes and saw her burying her face into her hands while groaning in annoyance.

"Why are you talking to me about this?" Weiss asked as she lowered her hands and wrung her hands lightly at Jaune, "I barely even know you!"

"That's the thing, she's acting like that too!" Jaune said and missed Weiss' growl of annoyance, "Like everything we've been through for most of the year didn't mean anything! I thought we were closer than that."

"Maybe you misread the signs?" Weiss suggested with as much snark as she could muster.

"Could I? I don't know, she seemed like she really liked me. Summer doesn't seem the type to lead people on either, so it must be something else."

"Oh, you're talking about Summer?" Weiss asked, mildly surprised, and Jaune nodded. "Yeah, you have no chance at all. And even if you did, with what you've said you did to try and win her over, you were going to fail no matter what." Weiss closed her eyes and flicked her ponytail, "I've dealt with plenty of ill-suited suitors to know there's a fine line between showing your interest and being desperate."

"Do I come off that way?"

"Oh yes, you're very desperate. If you had tried any of that on me, you would have been thrown into the street at the first second. Not that I would have advocated that mind, that's just how it would have worked out."

"Really? I guess I really am that bad at this." Jaune sighed and rubbed his face for a moment before dropping his hands and sadly asking, "How would you do it? If you liked someone, and I mean really liked them, how would you tell them that?"

"M-me?" Weiss asked and got a nod from Jaune as he looked at her. Feeling her face heat up, Weiss looked down at her lap and grasped her skirt as she searched for the right words. "I never really thought about something like that. It would depend on the person I guess: how they act, what they like." Weiss paused and tightened her grip, "If they can see the real me and not just my name."

"Um… I'm sorry. I guess it was selfish of me to assume you would have the same problems as me," Jaune said as he rubbed the back of his head before sighing sadly and dropping it back into his lap. "But I also see where you're coming from. I'm such a screw up, I can't even tell a girl I like why I like her. Summer's just… so cool and collected and always knows what to do. She's everything I imagined when I thought about Huntsmen and Huntresses. But that's not why I like her."

Weiss glanced at Jaune and her eyes widened a little at the soft smile on his face. "I like her because she's strong. No matter what life threw at her, how hard she was beaten down, she always seemed to get back up and make the world better despite what happened. The small bit that she told me, if that had happened to me… I would never have gotten back up. I'd probably be broken for life and not want to do anything."

"…Maybe she is broken," Weiss whispered and held a hand to her chest, "but can't afford to show it." She remembered Blake's face the night when she revealed her Faunus heritage to her and her struggles against her own monster.

"I don't know about that, but if she is then I can't help but love her even more." Jaune smiled a little more and leaned back into the bench, "I can't help but admire people who can see the bright side of a bad situation. If they can have the worst life possible and still want to make things better, not just for them, but for the world as a whole. Those are the strongest kind of people there are, not those muscle-bound action heroes in movies. I admire them, and if I can make their lives just that much brighter just by being with them, then all the better right?"

"Yeah…" Weiss said, her chest feeling just a little tighter, "I agree."

"I just wish there was a way to tell her all of that without screwing it up."

"Just tell her." Both Jaune and Weiss jumped at the new voice and watched as Pyrrha slowly walked around the pillar she was hiding behind.

"Pyrrha!? W-where did you come from?" Jaune asked and stood up from the bench.

"Well, it was getting late and we were worried about you. But you're fine, so it's alright." Pyrrha took a deep breath as she walked over to Jaune, clasped her hands in front of her, and looked him dead in the eye. "And I meant what I said."

"Just… tell her? Just like that?"

"Yes. No stupid date suggestions, no songs, no runarounds. Just tell her what you said just now." Pyrrha unclasped her hands as she continued, "She'll understand if you just do that. Straightforward honesty is never a bad idea in most cases." Jaune looked down at his feet contemplatively before nodding.

"Yeah, you're right." Jaune looked up and smiled at Pyrrha, who smiled back at him. "And hey, if it doesn't work out, then I'll just endure it. Not like it'll kill me, right?" Pyrrha answered by softly putting her hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"Everything will work out for the best, I firmly believe that. You just have to try and not let the fear of failure stop you. Just like with training, right?"

"Yeah. Just like training." Pyrrha let go of his shoulder and gasped when he grabbed her and drew her into a tight hug. "Thanks Pyrrha. For everything," he said not realizing Pyrrha was frozen stiff for all of a second before returning the hug. After a moment they let each other go and Jaune started walking away, sparing a moment to wave at Weiss and say, "Thanks for listening, Weiss."

"H-huh? Of course, it's no trouble," Weiss replied and watched as Jaune walked away toward the front of the building. Once he was far enough away Weiss rolled her eyes and said, "He drags me halfway across the academy, talks my ear off about his crush, and then thanks me for doing next to nothing. What a weird boy."

"Mhmm," Pyrrha agreed with a nod while trying her best not to let her heartache show as she watched Jaune walk away. "But as long as he's happy, everything will be okay. It has to be…"

"I suppose," Weiss said and giggled a little. When she was done she looked at Pyrrha giving her a confused look and waved it off. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about what Blake said the other night. Even when she's talking about herself it's like she's speaking on my behalf too." Weiss then pushed herself off the bench, brushed off the back of her skirt, and smiled at the orange sky. "And she's right too. We only get one chance to live in this world, so we have to take every chance we can to live the happiest we can and be as honest as we need to be."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Pyrrha said and smiled widely at the heiress. Weiss returned it before looking forward with a dead serious expression, took a few steps to the pathway's edge, and took a deep breath.

"I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING DOLL!" she shouted, causing Pyrrha to jump back in surprise, "DO YOU HEAR ME!? THIS IS MY LIFE TO LIVE AND I'LL BE AS HAPPY AS I WANT! SO FUCK YOU, AND FUCK YOU TOO FATHER! YOU CAN EAT ALL THE DICKS YOU CONTROLLING PIECE OF SHIT! YOU DESERVED TO HAVE YOUR ARM BROKEN!" When Weiss was done she was breathing heavily and then started laughing happily not even a few seconds later. "Oh, that felt amazing!" she said as she clasped her hands together and held them up to her face, "If only he were actually here to hear that."

"…Ok," Pyrrha said quietly before forcing a wide smile and giving Weiss a thumbs up, "as long as it makes you happy Weiss."

"Oh, I am happy," Weiss said as she sighed contentedly. She then dropped her hands to rest on her hips and said more to herself, "Well, I still need to pick out a dress for the dance. I get the feeling that will take a while, so I better get to that."

"Ok then, I'll talk to you later Weiss," Pyrrha said, waving the heiress off as she started walking away, only for her to stop and lightly slam her fist into an open palm and turn to Pyrrha.

"One last thing. You said that you and Jaune train, right?"

"…Yes?"

"When does that happen?"

"Um… usually at night on the roof of our dorm building."

"Would that happen to be the first South dorm building?"

"Yes, that's the one. Why are you asking?"

Weiss held a hand over her mouth as she whispered, "So that was just training I heard that night." She then moved it to her chest to sigh in relief, "That's a huge weight off my chest. I'm glad I didn't jump to the wrong conclusion."

"What else would it be other than training?"

"Well, you know, shouts and grunts coming from a building full of teenagers late at night. I've read literature, I know what happens in that kind of situation." Weiss shrugged and shook her head with a small smile, "but the real world isn't like that I suppose. Oh well, have a good day Pyrrha."

Weiss left Pyrrha at the building for real, leaving the red head tilting her head in confusion at the retreating girl. Then the pin finally dropped at what Weiss meant, which left Pyrrha with a face hotter than hell, redder than a tomato, and only able to crouch down and bury her head into her knees while praying for a swift end.

"And you're sure you got the plan down?" Yang asked Cinder as she was busy working on sewing Dust crystals into a patch of fabric. Cinder resisted the urge to sigh and looked up Yang, who was leaning against the door with her arms crossed and stared at her with mild irritation. This latest group meeting between Cinder's group and the two Generals wasn't going well.

"Yes, I do. You don't have to worry about me, I have everything under control," Cinder replied and went back to her work.

"I kind of have to considering you have the worst track record against this place," Yang said while playing with some strands of her hair, silently getting some satisfaction at the anger coming off Cinder as she held the needle just off the fabric and glared at her. "What, even I'm aware you can't underestimate Ozpin."

"Funny coming from you," Mercury said and turned the page of his latest comic book.

"You want to start something again you punk?" Yang asked pushing off the door, her voice barely above a shout as her eyes shifted to its normal coloration.

"Mercury!" Cinder growled angrily, which caused said boy to lower his book and look at her.

"Let it go Yang, they're not worth it." Yang blinked and looked down at Ruby, who was lying on the floor at Yang's feet staring blankly at the ceiling. Yang blinked again, her eyes going back to their glamour color, and she leaned back against the door with grumble about 'not being in the mood to maim.'

"And what's up with you?" Mercury asked pointing at Ruby with his comic, "I'd have figured you'd be hanging out with your new girlfriend. Honeymoon over already?"

"I don't know," Ruby replied and moved her head just slightly to the side. "Emerald, read Summer's bio again."

"What?" Emerald asked and jumped slightly at her name being called before she rolled her eyes and started going through her scroll. "The information isn't going to change just because a few minutes have passed."

"I don't care. Read it." She decided to ignore Emerald's sigh at her order. It wasn't worth the effort to punish her for it.

"Hold on." Emerald crossed her legs as the information they had on Summer came up. "Summer Rose, a second year at Beacon and leader of Team STRQ. She was orphaned at a young age and interred at Signal, so she spent most of her life in Huntsman curriculum." Ruby nodded lightly and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Information like student backgrounds was relatively easy to get, especially when the student in question told it themselves. "She's self-trained in several weapon styles, but prefers a sword and dagger. Her Semblance is a form of short range teleportation called 'Blinking'. As of now, that's all we have."

"I don't understand," Ruby said and scrunched her face in confusion, "there's nothing about that that's any different from any other Huntress with a bad past. So why am I so drawn to her?"

"Her team has been a real pain for us for the last year or so," Mercury said and opened his comic, "maybe that's it?"

"No, it's deeper than that," Ruby said and moved a hand over her chest, clutching just over her heart, "much deeper. Like… we're soul mates or something."

"Too bad we don't have souls for that to work," Yang joked and laughed quietly until she saw Ruby hadn't reacted at all. Yang cleared her throat and said, "Well, maybe you're just hung up on what happened in the Emerald Forest?"

"No, it's not that either…" Ruby clutched her chest harder until she let go and pushed herself up to her feet. She shook her head dismissively as she started pacing, "It's fine. By the time we're done here Summer will be dead and these feelings won't matter." Ruby turned to Cinder and nodded at the woman. "We'll try to give you as much time as we can, but don't take too long. We don't need any more complications."

"I'm very much aware," Cinder replied and refocused on sewing the Dust crystals. Yang looked between Cinder and Ruby and pushed off the door to lightly poke the side of her sister's head.

"Hey, I have an idea to take your mind off all this. Let's play a game! You like those right?" Yang smiled at Ruby, which widened when Ruby smiled as well. That lasted until Yang saw Ruby turn to her, rear her hand back, and slap her across the face.

"Tag, you're it!" Ruby shouted and rushed out of the dorm in a storm of petals. Yang growled while holding her cheek and ran after Ruby, leaving the room in a dead silence.

"God they're exhausting," Mercury said tossing his comic away and lying on his back, "We won't have to deal with them for much longer right?"

"Patience Mercury, just focus on how much fun you're going to have this weekend," Cinder said while looking intently at her needle, "It is a party, after all."

It took a while for Jaune to find the right way to say what he wanted to, and even longer to go to the city and find a flower that perfectly sums up what he hoped to get across. He thought that would be the simplest part of the whole deal, but when he got there he remembered that flowers were a lot more complicated than he remembered.

Thankfully, with some minor guidance from an employee and some old memories of one of his aunts, he soon found the right flower. By the time he got back to Beacon night had covered the academy and he had the daunting task of looking for Summer before it got too late in the night.

Naturally, he found her in five minutes in front of the dorms talking to Qrow. Jaune hid around a corner with his flower pressed to his chest as he listened in on them while carefully peeking around the corner to watch them.

"So your answer is still the same, huh?" Summer asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Qrow said and rubbed his neck, "but you already knew that, right?" Jaune did his best to bite down the feeling of happiness as Summer sighed.

"Yeah, but I figured I'd try it out there anyway. Taiyang and Raven are going together."

"That's the first I heard of that." Qrow rubbed his face and sighed, "I get the feeling it's so they don't get awkward invitations themselves."

"As if there's someone in the school besides Tai brave enough to ask out Raven," Summer said with a chuckle and shook her head, "but it's none of my business really. They're grown up and can do whatever they want, right?"

"Right. Well, I gotta get ready and all that. We'll probably end up running into each other at the dance, so I'll look forward to that."

"Ok, that sounds good," Summer said and returned Qrow's wave before her eyes widened slightly and she called, "Oh, be careful if you're going back to the dorm! Raven is watching yakuza movies again."

"Ah crap. I'll grab a towel from the laundry room before I get there." Qrow waved again while Summer turned and started walking toward Jaune. He hid behind the wall again and took a few calming breaths and, figuring it would only make him look bad if he was caught hiding, hid his flower behind his back as he stepped out into view.

"Uh, hey Summer! Nice night, huh?" he said waving his free hand and got the somewhat expected reaction as Summer slowed and rubbed her eyes with a groan.

"Oh god no, not now."

"Look, I know this isn't the best time," Jaune said holding his hand up placatingly, "but I swear this won't take long! Just give me two minutes, I'll say my piece and I'll leave. Nothing crazy, I just want to talk." Jaune waited a moment as Summer continued to rub her eyes until she sighed it and slowly dropped her hand to look at Jaune with minor annoyance.

"You have one minute. Go."

"Right, ok. Well, first of all, here." Jaune held the flower out and tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible as Summer looked at it in surprise. She carefully took the flower and looked it over curiously while Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "I, uh… wanted to get you a rose at first, but I figured that would be a little too much."

"You figured right," Summer replied, annoyance still in her voice but still better than before. Jaune couldn't help but smile before shaking his head rapidly.

"Whatever, the flower isn't important!" Jaune put his hands together and took a breath to collect his thoughts. "Look, I know I've been… a bit much lately."

"Understatement."

"Whatever! Look, I'm sorry about all of that. The guitar, the date ideas, the… pick-up lines," Jaune cleared his throat at that and glanced away when Summer looked at him and dropped her hands to her side, "I just thought that was how this worked. Guess I was wrong, huh?" Summer crossed her arms, but said nothing, which Jaune took as a que to continue.

"I don't know the best way to go about this, so I'll just say it. I… really like you Summer, and not just as friends. Kind of obvious I guess, but I didn't know the right way to say it before. You're just an amazing person, probably the most amazing I've ever met. You're kind, you always seem to know exactly what to say and do, and you're just so cool when you set your mind on something. I still get goosebumps thinking about that Giant Nevermore."

Summer blushed lightly and scratched her cheek. "It was nothing," she whispered, "I was just doing my job."

"And humble too, I almost forgot that." Summer nearly glared at Jaune, but stopped at the smile he had. "But even without that, it really is your kindness that I like the most. You saw someone like me, a hopeless screw-up who didn't even have his Aura unlocked when I enrolled into Huntsman academy, and saw someone worthwhile and worthy of trust. Honestly, how could I not fall for someone like that?"

"…It would be difficult, I'll grant you." Summer sighed and shook her head, "But Jaune-"

"I know I'm annoying you, but I just needed to get it off my chest and ask if you wanted to go to the dance. It doesn't have to be anything more than that, but…" Jaune trailed off and was quiet for a moment before he sighed and grabbed his arm, "you know what, I'll stop before I screw this up." Summer blinked at Jaune's (at least recently) surprising show of tact and lifted the flower up to get a look at it again. She spun it around between her fingers and smiled a little.

"A white Camellia," she finally said and glanced up at Jaune as he looked at her in surprise before looking back down at the flower. "While not as famous as roses, camellias also represent love in the language of flowers, with white in particular meaning adoration." She held the flower up between her and Jaune and smiled a little more at him while tilting her head a little. "It wouldn't be my first choice, but this is still really sweet." Jaune brightened up at this for all of a moment before it dropped and he looked down sadly and moved his hands to his sweatshirt pockets.

"But the answer is still 'no', isn't it?"

"You at least deserve to know why it's no. I haven't bothered to explain myself there with everything going on."

"It's me, isn't it?"

"No, I'd say the same thing to anyone who would ask me out, and I actually have." Summer walked past Jaune as he blinked a couple of times before his eyes widened and he did a wild take as he turned to look at Summer as she stopped to look up at the moon.

"Wait, you mean…?"

"That others have asked me? A couple here and there, but I told them all the same thing. I just… can't be in a relationship right now."

"You… can't?" Jaune asked and walked next to Summer as she looked down at the camellia, "What do you mean by that?"

"You know the term 'married to your job'? That's pretty much me right now and I don't see it changing anytime soon." Summer started spinning the flower again, the petals of the flower mildly hypnotic as she stared. "I have too many things going on in my life, juggling between criminal organizations, the Grimm, and…" Summer paused as visions of tentacles, white skin, and red eyes flash through her mind, "…other things, I just can't add a relationship on top of all of that too. It wouldn't be fair."

"Not fair? But… it's just a dance right? It's not that big of a deal."

"Maybe, but I can't take the chance it won't lead to something… more, I guess. In a relationship like that, the other person needs to be just as important as anything else, if not more so. I could never guarantee that," Summer looked at Jaune and shook her head sadly, "and that's not fair. It wouldn't be fair to you or anyone else I could date. Would you enjoy being in that kind of relationship?"

"Yeah, I'd probably feel bad being in something like that," Jaune said and slowly rubbed his arm, "I… I guess that makes sense."

"It doesn't make it any better Jaune, but I do have my reasons for it." Summer sighed and looked down at the flower with a small smile. "And if it'll help soften the blow a little, if all of those complications weren't around, I probably would give you a chance. It just isn't a good time."

"Yeah… I can get that." Jaune nodded sadly before straightening up a little and giving her a small smile. "Well, I figured this would be how this would go, so this isn't so bad. I just hope that this doesn't do anything to hurt our friend-" Jaune was interrupted by a swift punch to the arm, which caused him to flinch a little and rub the sore spot.

"Don't say stupid stuff like that Jaune," Summer scolded and rolled her eyes, "You've been here long enough to know I have a high tolerance for things that annoy me." She gestured an arm toward the dorms, "I mean, have you seen my team?"

Taiyang walked through the hallways of the dorm building, stretching his arms over his head and sighing happily as his joints popped, and turned the corner to where STRQ's dorm was. "This was a good wind down day. Time to grab my PJs, pop on a movie, and just chill." He stopped in front of his room and opened it only a fraction of an inch before it was stopped by a hand and half of Qrow's face showed itself through the crack, scared and wide eyed.

"Don't come in Tai! Raven's going crazy again!"

"FUCK YEAH YONDAIME, KILL HIM!" Raven shouted behind Qrow.

"Oh no! Raven no, don't throw that!" Qrow quickly retreated back into the room as something shattered inside followed by liquid splashing onto the floor. Taiyang grabbed the doorknob and shut it quietly without looking inside the room, put his hands on his hips, and sighed.

"Well, guess I'm sleeping in CFVY's room tonight."

"Compared to that, it's going to take a whole hell of a lot more than you being an idiot to ruin our friendship."

"Yeah…" Jaune said and briefly thought back to his own team before shaking his head and giving a small smile, "I can kind of relate to that. Still, sorry about all of that, and thanks for putting up with it."

"No problem." Summer held up a fist and Jaune held up his after a second to bump them together. Jaune sighed and crossed his arms as he looked up at the moon while Summer spun the flower some more. "I guess you'll just have to find someone else to go with huh?"

"Nah, I think I'll just go alone. It's a little too late now and, perfectly honest, what are the odds I'll happen to know a girl who'd want to go out with me?" The dead silence that followed unsettled Jaune, and when he turned back to look at Summer he found her staring at him flatly. "Um… did I say something weird?"

"Seriously?" Summer asked in disbelief, "You can't think of one girl who'd love for you to ask her out?"

"Well… yeah. Nora claimed Ren the second we found out about the Dance, Raven scares me, and I don't know nearly enough other girls to even try. So yeah, out of luck."

"What about Pyrrha?"

"I don't see that happening. She probably has a line of guys going for her." 'Then there's that bet I made with her. I'm sure she'll be fine.' The explanation did nothing to satisfy Summer, who was left rubbing her eyes at Jaune's ignorance. "What?"

"You're just… so fucking dense."

"Huh, about what?"

"Everything. She's not even being all that subtle about it." Despite Summer whispering the last part Jaune still heard it and his eyes widened just a little.

"Wait, you know someone who actually likes me like that? Who-"

"If I told you, it'd defeat the purpose." Summer dragged her fingers down her face and saw a flash of red disappear around the corner of the building. She looked at the flower in her hand and got a bolt of inspiration. She slowly walked in front of Jaune and smiled at him. "But you know what Jaune? Since I'm making it a habit to help you out of your idiocy lately, I'll do it some more."

"Uh, what do you-?"

"Just go to the dance Jaune," Summer interrupted and held a finger up, "and I'll have a quick chat with the mystery girl to convince her to go too. Keep an eye out for her, talk to her when you see her, make your own decision afterwards. Sound like a plan?"

"Well, I suppose so, but how will I know it's her?" Jaune was answered by the flower being held up to his face.

"She'll have this in her hair, I'll make sure of it."

"Are you sure that'll work?" Jaune asked carefully and scratched his cheek as Summer moved her hands behind her back, "I mean, I appreciate you wanting to help after everything, but I don't want to put anyone on the spot you know?"

"It'll work out Jaune. Just leave everything to me, since you have no idea how girls work. Don't worry so much, ok?"

"Well, sure, but…" Jaune paused before shaking his head with a smile, "Nah, forget it. I know better than to try and stop you when you're really set on something."

"Good, you are learning," Summer said with a smirk.

"I always am." Jaune rubbed the back of his head before shrugging, "Well, I guess I shouldn't hold you up anymore. I'm going to get ready for tomorrow, maybe get some jogging in first." Summer nodded and turned to leave when Jaune said, "And Summer, thanks again. You know, for everything."

"I don't need thanks for being a good friend, but you're welcome Jaune," Summer replied without turning around and waved at Jaune, "Look forward to running into you at the dance."

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan." Jaune waved at Summer and turned around to start his jog, feeling a lot better than when he first came out. Summer meanwhile turned the corner of the building to follow that red she had seen earlier. While there were still a few students wandering around, Summer didn't see the girl she was looking for. After thinking for a moment, Summer ran toward a tree and Blinked up to a branch and used that to springboard herself up onto the roof of a dorm building.

Once she was settled she started walking along the edge of the roof while keeping an eye on the walkways for a certain gladiator. Some of the pedestrians glanced up at her as she walked and Summer saw Ruby being chased by Yang for whatever reason, the blonde managing to keep a nice pace with her sister despite her Semblance enhanced run. Summer shook her head at that with a smile and continued on her walk, turning the corner on the roof as she did so. Then she stopped when she saw a redhead sitting on a bench lit up by a single lamplight.

'There you are Pyrrha. Didn't want to get too far huh?' After carefully cradling the flower in her hand, Summer jumped off the roof with a tumble and Blinked downward a little so she landed in a crouch in front of Pyrrha, causing the girl to give a brief startled scream at Summer's sudden appearance. Summer stood up, brushed off her cloak, and gave Pyrrha a soft smile. "There you are Pyrrha, I've been looking for you."

"Summer!? Where did you-" Pyrrha started to ask before she caught herself, cleared her throat, and calmed her nerves enough to sit calmly with her hands folded on her lap, "I mean, it's nice to see you. Out for a stroll?"

'I just fell from the sky and she asks that?' Summer thought with a good natured shake of her head. "Something like that. Do you mind if I sit with you?" Pyrrha shook her head and scooted over to make room for Summer, who sat down after smoothing her cloak out under her. Summer looked Pyrrha over carefully for signs of anything wrong and found nothing aside from some slightly red eyes. "Are you ok Pyrrha?"

"Of course. Why would you think otherwise?" Pyrrha's voice was as calm as ever, which ultimately didn't do anything to alleviate Summer's worries.

"I just like to think I have a good handle on my friend's feelings, but if you're alright then that's good." Summer shrugged and held up the camellia to look at it again. Pyrrha looked at the flower, her face blank expression as Summer spun it in her fingers.

"That's a nice flower. Did you get it from someone special?"

"Something like that. It was nice of him, but… well, I guess it's kind of obvious I'm more of a rose girl." Summer stopped spinning the flower and looked at Pyrrha and motioned to her to come closer. After a moment of hesitation Pyrrha did so and Summer carefully slid the flower into her hair, just above her headpiece on the left side of her head. "There you go. It definitely suits you better."

"Um, thank you," Pyrrha said as she straightened up and felt the flower in her hair with a hand. She couldn't help but smile as the minutes stretched on in a comfortable silence. Pyrrha felt the flower more than a couple of times in between silently tugging on her fingers while Summer watched out of the corner of her eye while occasionally kicking her feet. Soon she grew bored of the silence and sighed.

"You really should tell him," Summer said and started wrapping her one bit of dyed hair around her finger

"Huh?" Pyrrha asked looking at Summer in surprise.

"Not that it's really any of my business, your love life is your own, but it is for the best that you just tell him."

Pyrrha laughed awkwardly, which earned her an annoyed look from Summer, and said, "I have no idea what you mean." Summer sighed again and let go of her hair.

"Fine Pyrrha, if that's the game you want to play," she said as she stood up and clasped her hands behind her back. "Good things may come to those who wait, but if what you're waiting for is for a stubborn idiot to make the first move then you're going to be waiting a long time." Summer looked back at Pyrrha and gave her a sympathetic shrug. "That's all I'm saying."

"Please stop bullying me about this," Pyrrha said with a frustrated sigh and rubbed her face, "I really don't want to hear it." Her rubbing was brought to a sudden halt when Summer grabbed her wrists and brought her hands away. Pyrrha looked up into Summer's eyes as the older girl gently clasped her hands around Pyrrha's.

"I'm not, I just don't want you to beat yourself up over something like this." Summer then dropped her eyelids a little as she added, "And just for the record, we bully you out of love, not malice." A moment of silence passed before Summer looked to the side and added, "And because the faces you make are really funny." That got a snort out of Pyrrha and she lowered her head as she laughed quietly to herself even as Summer gently patted her on the cheek. "There you go, it's good to laugh at yourself once in a while."

"Ok, knock it off!" Pyrrha said while playfully slapping Summer's hands away. After taking a second to get her laughter under control Pyrrha stood up and smiled at Summer as she held her hands up playfully while backing up a little. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Really, you don't have to worry about me."

"You're my junior Pyrrha, it's my duty to worry. And if you're feeling better, then I did my job right." The girls shared another quick laugh before Summer looked Pyrrha over seriously and rubbed her chin. "You know, if you're still planning on going to the dance, you should wear that in your hair. Who knows, it might even bring you some good luck." Pyrrha blinked, brushed her hand against the flower again, and smiled a little wider.

"I am, and I think I will. Speaking of, I should probably go get some rest. It's a big day tomorrow, for a lot of people."

"Tell me about it. Just don't let anyone see that before the dance yeah? You wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, right?" Pyrrha nodded and started walking away before she stopped and looked back at Summer.

"Thank you for the talk Summer, it did help. I'll see you at the dance."

"No problem Pyrrha. I'll see you there." Summer and Pyrrha exchanged waves and Pyrrha continued on her way. Summer watched her with a smile that slowly turned into a smirk. 'With any luck, that should get the ball rolling on that. I probably shouldn't tell Qrow, just to be safe.' At the thought of her teammate her eyes widened and her face fell as she remembered something she had completely forgotten about.

"Crap, I still don't know what to wear."