A/N: Aaaand we're back! Quick turnaround on this chapter, but I felt bad about the delay on eleven, and I actually wanted to keep going on that one. I try and limit my word count however, and last chapter was the longest I've produced. So, I instead opted for the oldest tradition in storytelling.

Split off the back half, and add a cliffhanger.

But we're back early, so you guys aren't mad, right? Right? Right, moving on; thank you for reading, and please enjoy chapter twelve!

She wasn't sure if her current predicament was the result of being overconfident after talking to Noire, or just her usual difficulties with refusing someone, but Pyrrha supposed the point was moot. Rouge and Marron had whisked her off into town without a moment's pause, talking about this teacher and that classmate the entire time. Pyrrha was content to let the younger girls lead the conversation, still not sure what to make of the invitation. One store did catch her eye, however.

"I'm sorry, but do you two mind if I check on something in there?" The girls looked over their shoulders' to the building she indicated, and Rouge gave her a questioning look. "It'll only be a few minutes, I promise."

Marron waved her on: "Sure, no worries Pyrrha. Pick something good!" Pyrrha rushed inside. A few minutes of detailing and haggling with the owner, and Pyrrha's order was set. She collected her receipt, and rejoined the Arc girls.

She didn't explain her errand, but neither girl asked, and they eventually led her a few more blocks to The Muse, a decent sized café.

"You'll love this place, Pyrrha, it's a big hit with most of the locals." Marron assured her. "Jaune and Mom like Green's Diner more, but the rest of us prefer here." She vaguely remembered mention of Green's in her tour as JNPR entered Bar, but that had been very early in the morning.

The brick and hardwood café was spacious; indistinguishable music played from above them, the patio overlooking the quiet streets Pyrrha had always imagined filling Bar. Her friends knew the host, apparently, as he lit up seeing them. "Rouge, Marron! How ya guys doin?"

"Alright, Garnet, can we get a table on the patio?"

"Not a problem, just a minute." The black-haired boy led them out, laid down some menus, and collected drink orders. The girls returned to their scholastic diatribe almost immediately.

"Ugh, I don't want to go back to school; we have exams at the end of the month!" Apparently, academic fears were a family trait.

"I'm sure you'll do well, Marron. Jaune always fretted over tests, and he always came out fine." They both smiled at that.

"Yeah, if Jaune can make it through Bar High, then I can." Marron snickered.

Rouge piped up, next. "How'd big brother do, by the way? You guys always go on about combat scores and stuff, but it's still a school, right?"

Pyrrha was a tad nervous, but there was nothing to be really embarrassed about. "Jaune was fairly average in academics. Well, maybe a little behind average, but he's shown improvement! Given he wasn't at a combat school, both his Combat and Academic scores are impressive. But yes, Combat scores are prioritized. The nature of the line of work, really." Both girls agreed with the assessment.

"Are you Jaune's study partner, too? Ren seems pretty smart, maybe he helps there." Pyrrha burst out laughing. "What?"

She got herself back under control. "I'm so sorry, it's just, it's just Ren has a worse academic score than Jaune. Nora and I have to help them." The girls gaped openly at her. "I know. They don't always look it, but Nora has an exceptional memory, while Ren despises studying. He enjoys reading, but can't stand it as work.

"I do help Jaune study, though. He can get off track, I'm sure you know, so it helps him to have someone study with him. Studying is a dull thing for me, but he keeps it entertaining, thankfully."

Garnet returned with their drinks, though he watched her a little closer than she'd like. "I hope he doesn't recognize me. The last thing I need is paparazzi in Bar."

"So, how did Jaune do in school here?"

"He did alright, middle of the pack." Rouge supplied. "Jaune's more heart than brain though, so math was his hang-up."

"The same at Beacon, and dust chemistry." Rouge nearly did a spit-take.

"You guys let Jaune handle dust? Jaune can't hold a sealed bag of flour without spilling it!" Marron looked positively aghast at the notion.

"He let us know beforehand, so no mishaps. But struggling with calculations means either half of the assignment was difficult." He'd taken quite well to Grimm Studies, and apparently leadership classes, but Dust was where she had to cover him.

"Good! You should have seen what the chemistry class looked like after- JAUNE!" Marron had stood up and began waving. Pyrrha turned in her chair to see Jaune and their youngest sisters moving to them; he was carrying several bags along with an oversized stuffed dog, but he tried to wave to her nonetheless.

Verte leaned over the rail towards them, snatching up Marron's drink. "Morning! Oh, can we join you guys? I haven't eaten all day, and watching Jaune carry stuff is exhausting!" Her partner let out a series of grunts she imagined were a comeback.

Rouge opened the gate to usher the three siblings in, while Marron waved inside, presumably to Garnet. Verte and Rose dragged another table over, while Rouge helped Jaune divest himself of the baggage. His little sisters sat in the seats next to her, while Jaune sat across, next to Rouge.

Garnet joined them just as the three were settling, and he let out a great laugh seeing them. "Jaune?! How ya doin?"

"Garnet?" Jaune was surprised, but rose to his feet to meet the boy. "Since when do you work at Muse?"

"About five months ago. Whatever, how ya been? We heard you were at Beacon?" The boy eyed Jaune's new Beacon hoodie as he looked him up and down.

"It's true, but my team and I came back after… you know." Garnet nodded solemnly at that. "Oh yeah! this is my teammate Pyrrha - I guess you just met?" Pyrrha herself stood, and offered a hand to the boy.

"Hello, a pleasure to meet you!" He took her hand, watching her curiously.

"Garnet Smith, I'm a friend of Jaune's from school. You go to Beacon with him?" She nodded. "Neat! Well, I'll give you guys a bit longer for orders." He headed back inside, while she and Jaune took their seats again.

"Garnet was in music class with me for two years, and a few others." Jaune explained. "What are you guys doing though?" Marron spoke up first.

"Rouge and I are getting a last hurrah before school. One more good lunch!" She and Rouge clinked their sodas together dramatically. 'How'd your shopping trip go?" All four girls smiled devilishly.

"We got some groceries, but we stopped by the arcade and we kicked butt!" Verte shook the teddy to emphasize the point. "I got Jaune to get me a cool Beacon jacket, too!" She went fishing for it, while the other girls barely suppressed laughter. The girls chatted amiably, while Jaune and Pyrrha just enjoyed being on the sidelines for a moment.

Their waiter returned, but before they could give orders, Garnet held up a hand. "Sorry, but you don't happen to be Pyrrha Nikos, do you?" Pyrrha felt her smile slide from genuine to forced.

"Yes, I am." "Drat!"

"Awesome! Do you mind if I got a picture with you, or maybe a-" the young man had been fishing for his scroll, but Jaune had gotten up and started to bustle him off.

"Hey Garnet, I need to talk to you about something." His voice was steel sharper than Crocea Mors. The door closed none too gently behind them.

The five girls sat in awkward quiet, before Rose shattered it.

"Sooooo, that's a thing."

"Uh-huh." Marron eloquently responded.

"Oh! The groceries, we gotta get them back!" Rose hopped up, and began to swipe up bags. "Come on, Verte!"

"Huh? But we just sat dow- oh yeah! You're right, we need to get this stuff back! Marron, can you help?" The third sister was up and grabbing the teddy before Verte had finished speaking, and the three dashed off before Pyrrha could really process what was happening.

Rouge finished her soda, then reached over and did the same to Marron's. "Sorry, Pyrrha, I just remembered I have to go see a friend about tomorrow." The girl hopped up, downed some ice from her own cup, and headed for the exit her fading sisters had used. "Tell Jaune I'll cover our drinks, have a good one!" The girl practically sprinted around the corner.

…

"What just happened?"

She heard a door swing open, and twisted to see Jaune coming back out. His face was a little red, but he smiled when he saw her. Then frowned when he saw the empty table. "Where is everyone?"

Pyrrha scratched her cheek, still lost. "Rose, Verte, and Marron took the bags home, and Rouge said she had to see someone about school? It was all very sudden." Jaune sat back down across from her, looking over the street, as if he thought the girls would be poking from around corners.

"Huh. Well, they'll owe me for this stuff. Sorry about Garnet, Pyr. I talked to him, we should be fine."

She frowned at him. "Jaune, I do appreciate the concern, but I've been dealing with fans for years now. One photo wouldn't have been any trouble." He held up a hand in defense.

"I know, I know. But you don't like that stuff when you're just out, and Garnet's the kinda guy to let everyone know about this. Half my old class would be here in a couple hours if he had his way."

She pouted at him a moment longer, to make sure he got the point, but smiled and took the menu back up. "I'll trust you on this Jaune, but you don't need to bodyguard me all the time."

"You're my partner, Pyr, your happiness matters.

"And the pasta is really good here."

She hummed an affirmative, trying to not think too hard on his other statement: "I was thinking one of these gyros, honestly. But, you said you were in music classes?" Jaune laughed a bit behind his menu.

"Yeah, three years. I learned the guitar from Blanche, but I tried to pick some more stuff up in school: violin, saxophone, singing. They didn't work out, but I still got my sweet guitar skills!" He was good: the incident with Weiss aside, Jaune often practiced in the dorm.

"I tried to learn trombone." She felt his stare, and she hid behind the menu. "I thought I could use my semblance to improve my playing! It didn't work out…"

Jaune burst out laughing, and she was quick to follow. When her laughter had descended into mere giggling, she started to recount the fateful day her lessons ended. Garnet returned shortly for their orders, and he was very pointedly not looking towards her. She was, however, far too busy having a wonderful time to bother worrying.

"We were keeping the water balloons in the bathroom, but we carried them to the balcony when we decided to throw. Blanche and Noire are just spraying us with a hose from out back, but Vi was gone. Next thing we know, Rouge and I are locked on that little balcony, and Vi is throwing our water balloons at us! We forgot to lock the door, so she just waited for us to run out of the room with the next handful!"

Pyrrha was red from laughter, and he was barely able to breath. He soldiered on, though.

"We had a hundred balloons, but now Vi and Blanche are throwing them at us, plus the hose with Noire. We looked like drowned rats when they were done!"

Pyrrha started to snort, which she was always embarrassed by, so she turned a darker red. Personally, he thought it was hilarious, and also really cute, and laughed harder. Pyr took a deep breath, trying to force the laughter down. Jaune bit down on his tongue, trying to stop himself. Stopping the resulting giggles was a harder task.

Their cleared plates were in the middle of the table, his sister's empty drinks stacked next to them. Pyr had gone with the gyros and loved them, but Jaune had stuck to the spaghetti, his fallback here. Jaune's scroll buzzed, he fumbled it from his pocket, then his eyes bulged.

"We've been here for almost three hours?!" Pyr choked on her drink.

"Well," she coughed, clearing her throat, "time flies?"

"I guess." Jaune waved inside, hoping to get someone's attention. "So, want to do anything else? My sisters kinda ditched us." Pyr tapped her mouth for a moment before shaking her head.

"We should probably check back in at home. If we stay out any longer, it'd get in the way of dinner plans." He nodded, while Garnet stepped through the door.

"So, uh, is the bill…?"

Jaune went for his wallet, and he suddenly became very aware of something.

"This…. feels a lot like a date." That may have been the most nerve-wracking thought he'd had in a while.

"If this is a date, then I should cover the bill. But if Pyrrha doesn't think it is, then she'd be weirded out by me trying to cover her. But if she thinks it's a date, she'd be mad if I tried to split it. But Pyrrha's also my guest, so I should still try and cover her. But Pyrrha hates it when we try and cover her at Beacon. Why does this have to be so complicated?!"

Jaune realized he'd frozen up, and both Garnet and Pyrrha were staring at him: Garnet confused, Pyr worried.

"I got it." He squeaked. Garnet handed him the cover, Pyrrha had an odd look on her face, he was too busy trying not to panic.

Panic was not a common emotion for Pyrrha. Worry, anxiety, even fear: those were feelings Pyrrha had dealt with before, to varying levels. But pure, unadulterated panic was a new feeling in her life. The Attack on Beacon was the flagship of that emotion in her life, she was certain.

The walk home with Jaune was rating a solid number two.

"Oh God, was that a date? Were Jaune and I just on a date?! Boys pay for dates, and I always cover JNPR back at Beacon. But I'm staying with Jaune's family, would he pay for the meal for that? Did I talk too much about me? Oh no, what if I was boring! No, Jaune was laughing, and we talked about him too, right?"

The two had been walking, in that awkward silence they loved pulling out this month, for a while. Unconsciously, she crossed an arm across her body, then uncrossed it when she noticed.

"Am I walking too close to him?" She wasn't sure if elbow range was too close or not close enough after a maybe-sorta-possibly date. "How far apart do we normally walk? Are we always so slow, am I going slow and he's just keeping my pace? Oh, how did this get so far out of hand?! I was just trying to have lunch with his sisters-

"His sisters." She felt her eyes widen in shock before immediately narrowing in suspicion.

"Rogue and Marron invited me out for lunch, but leave without eating? Their only reason because Verte and Rose conveniently stop with groceries that can't possibly wait for Jaune to come back? Those… those… I don't know whats! They set us up!

"…they set me up? They set me up with Jaune?" Pyrrha had no idea if that was terrifying or comforting. Byzantine schemes to get her alone with Jaune weren't exactly regular occurrences in her life.

Jaune held a hand up to cover a small yawn, then stretched his arms. Pyrrha watched through her hair as one arm craned out behind her. Her breath caught. His arm hung behind her for a moment. Two.

Then settled back down by his side.

"Sorry, food's starting to get to me." He offered sheepishly.

"It's fine." She piped. "Was he trying to…? Did I scare him off? Am I standing too far away?" She shuffled a bit on her feet, deliberating proper positioning as if she were in a match.

"Pull yourself together, Nikos!" The Invincible Girl seemed to cry from her corner of Pyrrha's mind. "Pull your act together and get in there!". As the two of them turned onto the drive to the Arc home, Pyrrha took her courage in both hands, and to the best of her ability, pulled a Jaune.

Throw caution to the wind and say the first thing that came to mind.

"You and I should go out again."

"Not the undying confession of love I was thinking of." The still-not-helpful 'Pyr' noted, "but good progress!"

"You and I should go out again." Pyr said casually. Jaune's internal screaming went up a few notches.

"Does she mean like a date? Is Pyrrha asking me out? What if she just means hanging out, she didn't actually say 'date'. But Pyr is nervous about this stuff, would she actually say date?"

"That sounds like a wonderful time, Pyr." He managed to say in a totally calm voice. "So, we're still training tonight?" She nodded. "Cool. I think we should test… the thing tonight, too. Maybe see if we can get another response?"

Pyrrha focused on her shoes for a moment, thinking, before nodding in agreement. "You're right; we should try to figure this out."

Jaune hopped up the steps in front of her, holding the door open. Pyr smiled as she swept by into the house.

"Do I normally get the door for her? Does it matter?" Jaune closed the door behind himself and headed up the stairs behind her. He couldn't help but notice four spots of blonde duck back into the living room as they went up.

"They're up to something, I know it.

"I don't know what, but my brother senses are tingling! I've got my eyes on you." From the corner of his eye, Jaune noticed Pyrrha heading up the stairs.

He felt a little bad, but he couldn't help it! Hormones were a powerful, cruel mistress.

"OK, one eye on them..."

Post: You know, i've considered adding other PoVs on multiple occasions, but a limited 3rd can be just so fun. I reached deep into myself for this chapter, drawing out all the awkward teenager I have left, and I like to think i did a good job.

BTW, Lloyd RPGFan, good foresight there! Second time a viewer has called a scene just before it arrived! Apparently, I need to mix my game up a tad. BRB, switching this to Martial Arcs.