Hello. This short one-shot is something that I wanted to do for a while, and with the volume at a close, this is something I felt I needed to do. Please read and enjoy, and if you feel so inclined, leave a review at the end. Thanks!

- GodRealm

Italicized – Inner thoughts

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Green Tie

"Ugh, I knew I should have had dad show me one more time." Jaune huffed as he sat there struggling.

Jaune tossed the article of clothing on the floor in frustration as he grew further upset. He rolled his shoulders back and leaned against the firm cushion of the vehicle in an attempt to relax. Today wasn't meant to be a day where he fights with a tie. Today was a day that every young boy in high school should be looking forward to; after all, prom was a big deal!

That was… it was a big deal until he broke up with his girlfriend.

Jaune audibly sighed as he mulled over the last few weeks leading up to this point. While he was normally Mr. Cool-Calm-Collected, the break-up had been a lot on him, especially after he bought the tickets far in advance, confident that he would be "leaving it all on the dance floor" as his mother had said on this night. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the cards for him.

Yes, he would be the first Arc boy to be going to prom and the first amongst his sisters to go to prom without that special someone. That being said, he did have a date. It was a blind date, courtesy of one of his close friends, and while beggars certainly could not be choosers, he was not too thrilled about it. The girl was a close friend of his girlfriend, but she came from another school. She was nice, but he wasn't ready for getting close to another girl at this time and she was more into the "prom scene" with her friends that were going, rather than actually going with him.

He tried to express to Ren that he didn't think Neo would be a good fit for him, but Nora promised up and down that she was a nice girl once you got her to talk. That was just another part of the problem; she didn't do much of that, even with her close friends! Jaune could recall their first conversation, or rather attempt at it, but she was either shy or very much reserved. The girl could text a novel on her phone though, that was for sure.

In the end, Jaune was more or less pressured into going by his group and the fact that he had already paid for two tickets; someone might as well have a good time tonight if he didn't.

After reflecting on all this, Jaune lurched forward slowly inside the limousine and scanned the floor for his tie. He grabbed it again in an attempt to go a second round with the silk menace. Normally, he'd ask for Ren's help but he, along with the others that he was sharing the vehicle with were busy getting pictures done in the park near the school while he sat there after stating he needed a few minutes. He might have been able to ask Neo, but she as well was nowhere to be found… much like their conversations.

Jaune sighed again to himself as he threw the tie over his shoulder, once again ready for failure. That's when he heard one of the passenger-side doors opening on the far end of the vehicle. He paid little attention to it, assuming it to be one of his friends, returning back to the car after finishing up their photographs. A shame he wouldn't be taking any this time.

The door closed shortly after and there was a silence as he continued to fiddle with the insubordinate cloth. That's when he heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Uhh… Hi!"

Jaune sopped what he was doing and turned to face the one speaking. He blinked once and then again before things started to add up. He didn't know this person.

"Um... Hello." He spoke.

On the other end of the stretch limousine sat a short girl with an awkward smile. She had gorgeous red hair and what he could only describe as a "fluffy" black dress. She had sparkling earrings and a necklace that only seemed to draw attention to her pale, albeit, cute face. But the most striking thing about her? Her shimmering silver eyes that put all the ornaments to shame.

"Is this… your limousine?" She asked in an uncertain tone.

"I'm sitting in it, right?" He responded, not one to miss a chance at sarcasm.

"Yeah, but maybe after your pictures you went back to the wrong one?"

"It's kind of hard to get into the wrong limousine when you never got out of your own."

"Oh," She perked up. "Well… this is definitely awkward."

"I… have to agree with you there." He responded with a laugh, attempting to cut the tension.

The pair sat there for a few moments in awkward silence, not really sure where to take this conversation. Jaune figured that the girl would be on her way after his failed attempt to alleviate the girl's embarrassment, but much to his surprise, she continued to sit there. He needed something to distract himself for the time, so he opted to continue messing with the tie once more.

"Sooooo," She began again. "you didn't take any pictures with your date?"

Jaune was taken aback by the girl's continued dialogue, figuring their talk to be over. "Um… Well… I… sort of don't know where she went." He replied with an uncomfortable laugh. At least the boy was honest more than anything.

"Oh." She stated, twiddling her phone in her hands. "Well, I lost my date too. Guess that kind of explains how I got in your limousine."

"You lost your boyfriend?" Jaune asked with a playful smirk.

"He's NOT my boyfriend." The girl replied emphatically. 'And don't act so smug when you lost your girlfriend."

"Oh trust me," Jaune continued to smile. "She is NOT my girlfriend."

"Oh yeah?" The girl asked, now slightly more intrigued at the conversation, adorning a smirk of her own. "Guess we're both loveless on prom night!"

"Yeah, certainly seems th- Damn it!"

The girl jumped back in surprise at the boy's outburst, not nearly ready for that as he gazed over at her. His face was red with both embarrassment and anger as he once again screwed up dressing the garment on himself. Why did men need ties anyway? What purpose did they serve?

"S-Sorry." He spoke once more, this time in a much lower tone.

"I-It's okay." She replied with a stammer all her own. Something wrong?"

Jaune sighed once more as he undid the chaos he created and slung the tie over his shoulder once more. "Yeah, it's this damn tie. My dad showed me at least ten times and I just can't seem to—"

The boy was silenced as the girl, unbeknownst to him, and moved to his front. Without any warning, she grabbed the tie while he was sitting there and began to fiddle with it herself.

"What are you—"

"Stay still." She commanded firmly as she gazed her silver eyes into cerulean blue. "I'll have this done in a sec."

The boy nodded slightly, his mouth slightly agape as she began to work on fixing him up. To say Jaune felt awkward was an understatement. He sat there powerless to this girl he had just met as she concentrated on his attire. The only thing he continued to take in was her stunning eyes, unable to remove his gaze as she focused on him. He took in the smell of her sweet perfume as well.

Jaune gulped to himself he was beginning to grow more and more nervous at their continued proximity. The girl was tantalizing to all his senses. That was to say, all but touch that is, which he was not nearly brave or discourteous enough to attempt, even if he needed to. No, the boy found himself in an unmovable trance, watching the girl begin to now tighten the evil cloth to his neck.

"Anddd done!" The girl stated as she released her grip.

Jaune shook his head to bring himself back to Remnant as he looked down at himself. Much to his happiness, the tie was not only on him, but it was dressed perfectly! He wasted no time grabbing it tighten it slightly more so that he now looked the part of prom-goer until satisfied. With one final tug, he released and watched it flop in to place, straight and centered.

"This is great!" He exclaimed. "Finally, I don't look like a complete moron! Thank you!"

The girl chuckled at his response and praise as she sat before him on the opposite side of the limousine now. "No problem. My dad wears them all the time and struggled, so I learned to help him out."

"It's kind of embarrassing that a girl was able to do in 30 seconds what I couldn't for the better half of thirty minutes now."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I am a professional tie… tier." She stated almost uncertain.

"Oh yeah? Well, thanks tie-tier; you're a life-saver as well." He responded with a smile. "Maybe now I'll look half decent in some of the photos I take with friends tonight."

"N-No problem!" She quipped cutely, rubbing the back of her head. "Glad I could help."

The girl relaxed herself more, looking at Jaune's face as he offered a smile. She could see that the one act had brought out true happiness from the boy for the first time; unlike the smug smiles, he had offered her earlier. It was now that she herself was noticing his big, blue eyes gazing at her as he continued his thankful grin.

"Well," She coughed, finding herself red in the face slightly. " I should probably get back to my group before my sister comes looking for me."

"Yeah, you might get into the wrong limo and be stuck with some weirdo." Jaune replied.

Ruby rolled her eyes with a smile at the comment as she moved towards the door. She reached for the handle as Jaune spoke once more to her.

"Wait!" He instructed, forcing her to look back at him. "What's your name?"

The girl blinked for a moment, now noticing that neither one of them had relayed their name to the other as she pulled on the grip of the door, still looking back at the blonde-haired boy.

"It's Ruby." She answered as she stepped out of the vehicle. "Ruby Rose, and you?"

"J-Jaune." He replied, trying to sit up straight and look less awkward. "Jaune Arc."

"Well… Jaune Arc," Ruby commented with another smirk. "It was nice meeting you. If you need help with your tie again, you can find me at the prom." And with that, she closed the door.

Jaune sat there for a moment, collecting his thoughts from the encounter, unsure how to feel. That's when he heard the same door open again as Ruby popped her head in once more.

"Also… green is definitely your color." She spoke once more before slamming the door and leaving.

Jaune felt his cheeks begin to burn as he gulped to himself. What a weird girl. What a weird interaction they had. But man, was she pretty… Maybe prom wasn't going to be so bad after all?

He slapped himself mentally as he now recalled missing the boat on getting her phone number, a classic Jaune Arc move. No wonder he was going to this event dateless with how slick he wasn't when it came to women.

He looked down at the limousine floor as he hung his head in disappointment. That might have been the good opportunity he had at making a move on a cute girl and now he had nothing to show for it. His eyes moved to the dangling green tie that was no fixed to his collar thanks to the girl. He smiled again as he recalled the whole interaction, as short as it was.

That's when an idea popped into his head. Without much more thought, he gripped the tie in his hand pulled at the garment until it became loose, and fell to the floor once more, as he had done earlier.

"Oops." He grinned wildly. "I guess I'll need to find her for help again."

THE END.

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Sometimes, fate has a plan for all of us. You just need to sit there and wait. Dedicated to my soon-to-be wife and how we met.

- GodRealm