October 15th 1998...

Jaune stood in the bathroom at home as he checked himself out in the mirror, the dance was in a couple hours, he had just finished shaving and was applying a light cologne onto himself. It wasn't something he did often, but he didn't go to school functions that often.

His mom did always encourage him to look the part for the occasion.

As Jaune kept slicking back his hair and gelling it in place, he tried to ignore the growing discomfort in the pit of his stomach, He buttoned up the dress shirt he wore and took one look at himself before shooting fingers guns at himself and thinking "Yeah your one sexy son of a bitch tonight". Jaune then started to crack up at how ridiculous he looked doing that and he heard a voice next to him.

"Your going to break some poor girls heart tonight Jaune" His mother came in a far more casual pair of slacks and a pullover shirt.

[Eh, I'm doing it for myself more than them you know] Jaune signed out to his mom.

"That's why I said what I did" Mina set as she walked over to fix his crooked tie "Your going in single, your going in to have a good time for yourself, and nothing pisses off a single girl worse than a handsome man who's not there to dance."

[Well, I'm not there to pick up girls, I'm just going to wing man Ruby.] Jaune signed on.

"Oh, that implies she's on a date." Mina said with a smirk.

Jaune thought about it for a second [Your reading to much into things.]

"I'm think I'm projecting because Alan has to be at the school tonight so I can't borrow him for myself" Mina said.

Jaune stopped and then made a mock shutter of disgust that caused Mina to playfully slap him in the shoulder. "Keep that up goofball, see what happens."

Jaune checked his watch and signed out. [Oh crud we better go!]

"The dance doesn't start for an hour and a half." Mina said with a smirk.

[Yeah true, but I don't want to be late] Jaune signed out.

Jaune wasn't a mind reader. If he was he'd know how amusing his antics were. at least when it came to the young miss Long. She didn't understand the inner struggle he had in regards to his feelings towards her, but she could tell when her son was trying to fight back a crush. It wasn't the first time he had to suppress a crush he had on some poor girl. "Oh Jaune she has you bad my dude..." Mina thought before she went to go to get her keys. At the last second she did turn to him "You just make sure you give her a dance or your ass is grounded!"


Jaune was a whole whopping forty five minutes early. That's forty five. A four followed by a five minutes early.

But as he walked up to the school there was Ruby standing facing away from him. He saw the dress she wore, a dark sleeveless full length dress that was showing off her arms but was otherwise tasteful. Not showing off any cleavage, but was clearly showing off curves. He also took in how her hair was done up slightly more than normal, it was clear she had managed to curl her normally straight hair out quite a bit. Jaune had to admit, she looked damn nice tonight.

Jaune walked over and loosened his tie up to how he liked it and tapped her on the shoulder. Ruby turned with a yelp not expecting to see him yet. Ruby turned and saw someone that looked vaguely like Jaune If Jaune cleaned up a whole hell of a lot more than he ever did that is. Ruby had to hide her blush behind a hand. As she did she pointed at him.

[You know your hell ass early Ruby] Jaune signed at her

[Oh and your not?] Ruby signed back at him.

[What my mom embarrassed me out of the house talking about making out with Ozpin.] Jaune signed with a silent chuckle.

Ruby laughed a bit to loudly at the idea of what Jaune said, but it made Jaune smile. [Oh Jaune you must be in hell.]

Jaune signed back [Yeah, no more than what's normal for me]

A cold chill blew through the area, it was after all the middle of October and ruby started to rub her arms. Jaune caught on to this instantly and took his coat off and draped it around her. Jaune figured he at least had a long sleeve and could ignore the cold.

Ruby felt large coat envelope her shoulders and felt the warm inner fabric from Jaune's body head and blushed a bit. she signed out a quick [Hey thanks, it's cold tonight]

Jaune shrugged [It's all good] Jaune looked off to the side not making contact [You clean up nice though]

Ruby smirked [Says you, it took me a second to recognize you]

Jaune heard a shout "Hey Nep wait a sec I'm going to say hi to my sis!" Before Jaune suddenly felt a strong arm around his shoulder and Yang, in an all too revealing dress pulled him and Ruby into a group hug "Hey you two, I'm going to be ignoring you both on purpose tonight, so don't get in any trouble okay?!"

Ruby Giggled cutely and Jaune just shot a two fingered salute before signing [Have fun with that Neptune guy]

"Oh he has not idea what he got himself into..." Yang said with a wink and left the pair in peace.

Jaune and Ruby just looked at each other and shook their heads, Jaune tapped ruby on the should and pointed when he saw that the doors were starting to open.

As they Walked Ruby handed Jaune back his coat and wrapped herself around one of his arms. Jaune's first thought was something along of lines of "Oh heaven help me what is she doing?"

He didn't have to many thoughts as they went into the school and was led to the Gymnasium.


It was about fifteen minutes into the actual start of the dance and Ruby and Jaune were sitting together joking around and generally pretending to look dapper in there nice ass clothes. Both trying to make the other laugh by striking the worst dapper poses they could imaging.

At one point Ruby tapped her "wing man" on the shoulder and pointed at off behind him. Jaune glanced over and saw Weiss sitting alone in her chair looking rather upset.

Ruby smacked his shoulder and signed [You need to do something]

[You do know half the school thinks I'm dating her right?] Jaune signed back to ruby.

[Well go fuel the fire then, she's looking lonely over there, go cheer her up?] Ruby signed back

Jaune thought about it for a second "I have an idea, but I'm going to feel it in the morning if I actually do this." Jaune gave ruby a two fingered salute and signed [Back in a bit okay?]

Ruby shot him a thumbs up before waving him off looking very interested in what he's going to do.

Jaune rotated his shoulder a bit and walked over to Weiss before kneeling next to her at eye level with his notepad and pen in hand.

Weiss looked up at Jaune "Oh hey, didn't expect to see you here."

Jaune tore off the note he wrote as he walked over 'You know you can come hang out with me and Ruby, were not here on a date you know.'

Weiss shook her head "This was stupid, I came to a dance and I can't even stand up."

Jaune wrote a note off and showed it to her 'Ruby's at a dance and she can't hear the music, it's okay to have a good time with your friends. It's not like this town has much else going for it.'

Weiss tried to force a smile "Your the only person that actually talks to me like a person now, I don't have friends..."

Jaune smiled and wrote a note 'How much do you weigh?'

Weiss shook her head "Uh, like a hundred and ten why?"

Jaune stood up and held a hand out to her and bowed, he could tell he was embarrassing himself a bit, but it was for a good cause.

"I just said I can't dance like this." Weiss said wiping a tear from her single visible eye. Jaune slapped his arm and pointed at her. Weiss picked up on it pretty quick "Wait, your going to hold me up to dance?" Weiss said with a raised eyebrow.

Jaune still holding his hand out shot her a thumbs up.

Weiss glanced over at ruby who was smiling while watching "She's going to be okay with this?"

Jaune nodded in the affirmative. Weiss reached out and took his hand after she unbuckled herself from the chair. Just in time as well as the song "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls had just started playing. As Jaune lifted Weiss and walked her out to the floor. Weiss wore and embarrassed look on her face. Jaune helped her stand on his feet and she wrapped an arm around his neck to hold her self up. Jaune took her other hand and tried to support her weight by wrapping an around around her back.

Weiss blushed at the attention they were getting. he legs were basically dangling free as her feet rested on his and she let Jaune lead the dance as his weaker right hand held her left hand. As the song started to get going and the lyrics started to play, she smiled a bit and said softly to Jaune "You still suck you know" Weiss felt a Jaune silently chuckle from his chest not saying anything in particular. Jaune did his best to help her with their shared dance as he looked at her eyes.

Jaune thought "Yeah I am definitely going to feel this later, but fuck it, she needs a good dancing with" as he smiled at the Pale girl he was dancing with. He glanced around and saw a few people starting at the pair which caused a shiver of embarrassment shoot up his back a bit.

Weiss whispered in his ear "Hey, show off a bit, your not going to break me." with a slight giggle.

Jaune smiled and unexpectedly twirled in place spinning them in place as her long dress fluttered around them. Jaune then moved around the dance floor a bit.

Jaune then glanced over as Yang and her partner were dancing near he two of them. Yang joked "dude people are going to talk you know."

Weiss giggled out "Let them, there all just jealous that he worked up the nerve to ask before they all could!" and stuck her tongue out as Yang.

Yang laughed as she and her partner maneuvered away from them. Weiss smiled at looked at her partner as they dance "Let me know when you get tired, just tap your fingers on my hand okay?"

Jaune nodded and looked over towards where Ruby was sitting and saw her leaning forward looking down right amused at what she was seeing.

Jaune was strong, but he had limits. The Goo Goo Dolls led to a Celine Dion song. That song led to a Whitney Houston song. By the half way point of that song, Weiss feeling Jaune slowing down a bit whispered to help him save face "Hey I'm getting a bit tired of dancing, walk me back to my chair?"

Jaune nodded and walked the pair back to her chair and gently sat her down into it with a slight "Oof" By Weiss. Weiss buckled her self back in and smiled and said "Hey... Uh thanks... You don't have to do so much for me."

Jaune smiled and wrote out 'Your a friend, That makes you worth it.'

Weiss chuckled and said "I wish I had more friends like you Jaune."

Jaune just pointed out at Ruby and wrote a quick note 'You do, you just haven't met them yet'

Weiss shrugged "No time like the present". Jaune grabbed the handle bars and pushed her over to meet Ruby, as he passed by he heard the voice of a tall football player loudly declare "Good god man you need to join a team with those arms dude!" as he slapped Jaune on his injured shoulder. Jaune winced it off and gave the guy a thumbs up.

Jaune parked Weiss and Ruby next to each other at the table and laid his Notepad on the table and point at his ear and shook his head no to remind Weiss that Ruby is mute. before sitting down at the table with them. He took excused himself for a moment to get a drink and went over to the water fountain.

Jaune felt a pat on his back as he drank. He looked up and saw the principal standing there. Jaune stood up and made a sort of writing gesture and pointed back at the table Ruby and Weiss were chatting at.

"No that's quite alright, I was just warning you up front I saw someone from the school news paper taking pictures, and I'm pretty sure you just ended up in a few of them."

Jaune just dead panned stared at the principal.

Ozpin chuckled "Hey I'm just saying for someone trying to lay low, your pretty bad at it." Ozpin snickered at his reaction "Oh I'll make sure your mom see's them as well"

Jaune just shook his head as he walked away thinking "My mom would date a smart ass like him" And returned to Ruby and Weiss.


Most of the evening had gone pretty well up to the point they were at now. The evening was almost over, maybe a few more songs remained before they called it a night. Jaune thought that seeing Weiss and Ruby hitting it off as friends as quick as they did put would put the biggest shit eating grin on his face, and it did. But he still had one thing to do if didn't want his mom to ground him. Seeing as he knew Ozpin was spying for her now that was an honest concern. Hearing the song that was about to play announced by the guy pretending to be a DJ he tapped Ruby on the shoulder and signed [Hey, you dragged me out here, were going to have at least once dance right?]

Ruby turned a shade of red and she quickly wrote down what was going on. Weiss just said "Bout time you asked her, you are a lousy friend!"

Jaune walked her out to the dance floor and pulled her close, Ruby put a arm on his shoulder and took his right arm into her hand. Jaune held the hand that she held his arm with and rested his other on her back just below her right shoulder blade. As the song started he started to tap the beats of the songs piano beat into the spot as he took the lead in their dance. Ruby caught on what he was doing pretty quick and realize he was tapping the dance tempo so she could dance along with him.

It was a slow swaying dance, Jaune knew the song was "Don't want to miss a thing" by Aerosmith. but Ruby didn't care, she was dancing with her friend, and that's all that mattered.

Ruby rested her forehead and his shoulder and a flash of memory so many years ago passed through Jaune's mind as for a brief moment he could have swore Ruby looked like his late love in his arms, He beat back the guilt by reminding himself "It's okay were just here as friends."

Jaune caught himself silently humming along with the sign as Ruby put her ear to his chest to let the vibrations he made while humming the resonate inside of her. The pair kept standing their, less dancing and and more rocking in place as Jaune tapped the tempo into the skin on her back and hummed the song into his chest. It's was less of a dance and more like a concert for one person who wouldn't "hear" the song if not through him.

Jaune was no mind reader. If he was, he'd realize that this was the exact moment that Ruby Long fell in love with Jaune Arc.

If either of them could see the future, they would realize this would also be the start of the largest struggle in their friendship.


Okay so this chapter is of course ending on some blunt force foreshadowing I am aware of that. But Besides getting Aerosmith stuck firmly in my head. This chapter is a lot shorter, because while it moves the Character arc's of Weiss, Jaune, and Ruby forward. It honestly didn't fit well in the last chapter.

That last chapter in my notes was planed and written to show how the guilt complex Jaune is riding is starting to wear at him. A Buddy of mine on the r/Rwby discord was able to confirm with me that stress can cause light hallucinations and physical illness like what Jaune has been demonstrating and that's good, because I want to show, how Jaune not moving past Pyrrha's death is impacting him. The other half of the last chapter was there so I can, Brute force in a flashback scene showing how Jaune and Pyrrha got together. I don't consider how I handed that flashback to be great but I needed to get it in so I can have a biit more in contrast for the "JauneXPyrrha" relationship and the "JauneXRuby" Friendship, and I still think the super awkward first kiss was the single most wholesome thing I've ever written.

But I don't of course plan on doing flash black scenes forever. Pyrrha and Jaune's story has an end that's already written and unfortunately has a sad end. But, an end of one story is the start of another and I don't plan on keeping characters unhappy forever. Blake is already on the road to recovery, and Weiss is finding new friends in the form of Jaune and Ruby. Two people who can on some level relate to her situation. Yang has her spotlight coming in the near future, and even Ruby is starting to show that her life is not perfect.

But you have to wait a bit for the next chapter, I've written about 3 chapters here since I posted chapter 39 of Dust Eater and it needs a bit of love right now. I'm going to move that story forward a chapter or two (depending on how it goes) than come back to this fic. So as always, see you all next chapter.