Lie had never been one to open up to others so easily, the Arc's could attest as such. So when a new girl had joined their ranks, Nora's new bosom buddy as she called her, it had been an interesting experience. He had nothing against the girl, but it was odd, he was so used to it always being the three of them, always Jaune, Nora and Lie. But now? Now it was more than that, it was Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Lie.

He wasn't sure how he felt about it, things had changed so quickly and he felt like he'd been awashed full of new emotions he wasn't ready for. Though, with all of that said he was happy for the other two, Nora had finally found another person she could relate too. Her and Pyrrha were peas in a pod, except one of those peas was an eccentric and the other a girl who seemed to desire closeness.

He wasn't sure if it would work at first, he didn't know if Pyrrha could handle Nora's energy. But he'd been proven wrong, apparently she saw it as a challenge, one she met with gusto. And the strangest part was that she seemed to enjoy it. The two of them were practically tied at the hip.

Then there was Jaune, he saw how he looked at Pyrrha, his eyes full of an unknown longing. He knew that his brother had wanted 'companionship'. He was the type who was amorous with his feelings, he always liked to hold those he cared about close. And he ahd yearned to find someone to love, but well his last experience had greatly hurt him, had damaged the way he looked. But Pyrrha was kind, gentle, she wasn't out to use someone. Quite the opposite, she did her best to fit in, possibly tried too hard. But she was doing her best, and she really wanted them to be close.

Then there was him, he didn't know how to feel. The two of them had hardly interacted, they had barely even spoke. He supposed part of that was his fault, he wasn't really one to go out of his way to talk to a stranger. Then his siblings had an idea, he knew they did, there was no way this was on accident.

They had told him, told them really, that they had to do something they'd forgotten something at school. Pyrrha had offered to go back with them, told her not to worry about it, and that they'd catch up. Lie knew they were liars, he knew what this was about. So, as they left, thus began the awkward walk home, Pyrrha on his right.

He eyed her, watched as she began to fidget, unsure of how to speak to him, he was the same though he didn't show it. Instead he opted to be cold and uncaring, that proved to be the wrong move.

"I… I'm sorry."

He cocked his left eyebrow, turning his attention towards the girl to his right. "For?" He was genuinely confused, as far as he was aware she had done nothing to apologize for.

"I'm sorry… I know you mustn't like me much, I don't mean you harm I just never really had friends and I… I'm sorry that I'm taking their time and I don't mean to be in your way I just…" She didn't finish, instead she stared downwards.

His movement stopped, the crunching of snow beneath his feat coming to a halt as he turned his attention towards the crimson haired girl in front of him. "I…" He hadn't been the only one with these thoughts, or at least he hadn't really thought what she had thought… right?

Sometimes he didn't know his own emotions, had he been passively avoiding her, did he feel like she was stealing his time with his siblings? Taking a moment to ponder he realized… he had been, he hadn't done it on purpose nor had it even been an active thought. No it had been something that he just let happen. Biting his lip he stared downwards, that wasn't right of him. He thought he'd let go of these feelings, of the feeling that he was alone and needed to cling so tightly onto things.

Sucking in air he let the cold wind invade his lungs, "I'm sorry." She hadn't needed to apologize, he'd picked up on her small little ticks, he was good at that, but apparently he was bad at reading himself. "I… I admit… I was probably jealous?" Yes, yes he was.

"You! You don't need to be! I promise, I'm not trying to…" He silenced her placing a hand up.

"I know… it's not you… It's… I'm not comfortable with talking about it yet. But, I love Nora, I love Jaune. They mean the world to me… I'm… I'm not the best at showing my emotions, i've gotten better at it. But then… then you showed up. They grew attached to you so fast, and I felt that our little trio was broken."

"I didn't mean to!"

He simply nodded along, "I know, that's why I'm sorry. I'm being silly, really I am. It's just hard for me to accept new people. But… but you're right, I've seen the way you talk to them. I've noticed the little ticks you have, like how when you speak to Jaune, you always use a cordial tone, trying to be polite. As if you're holding yourself back from something, or how you try your best to keep up with Nora's energy. It's like you're trying hard."

Pyrrha bit her lip, she really was trying harder than she wanted to admit. These were her first friends, she felt like she had to, or she may lose them.

"You don't have to… they're… they're far more accepting than you think they may be. They have big hearts, Jaune especially is willing to accept anyone if they want to give the time and effort." Lie smiled, "Maybe that's what was bothering me, maybe I felt you were trying to hard, maybe I felt like you were trying to take my place." He shook his head as Pyrrha eyed him. "I'm sorry… I really am."

Pyrrha watched as he pulled his hand up, she smiled. "I promise I won't be that way anymore, or at least I'll try. But you should relax more yourself, be more you. They'll accept you, I promise."

He watched as Pyrrha nodded quickly, practically vibrating in place. Pyrrha took his hand and shook it, "I hope we can become friends as well."

Lie nodded a smile on his face, yeah he thought they probably could. "Yeah… yeah I think we can."

"HEEEEEY! We said you guys could go ahead!" The duo turned towards Nora running towards them Jaune being dragged along by his little sister.

The two couldn't help themselves, small giggles escaping their lips. Things would be fine after all.

I'll most likely also be starting a react fic, that uses the cast of the Arc House.