The first couple of weeks went well for Jaune and Weiss in the mansion, Jaune was a good guest and even though he wasn't always positive or in a good mood he made sure to fake it when he was around her. They ate dinner together and enjoyed each other's company, Jaune spent most of his time at the house in the library working his way through all the medical journals he could get his hands on learning as much as he could in hopes he would find a way to stop the constant pain in his body.

"How was your day?" Jaune asked in a happy sounding voice even though he was in a bad mood.

"Pretty good." Weiss responds before taking a drink of water. "I am in the process of finding new members for the board" she continues

"That sounds exciting." He says picking at his food, lately his appetite has started to leave him.

"It is in a way I suppose. I enjoy seeing all the candidates for the board." she says

"I could never run a company. Too much serious work to be done." he says leaning back a little.

"It's not as hard as you would think. But yes it is a lot of work." Weiss agreed.

"Well still I would never like to be cooped up in an office." he says trying a smile

"I can agree with you on that. I always try to get out into the mines as much as possible." she says

"What kinda stuff requires you to leave your big comfy office?" Jaune asked, genuinely curious.

"Well as of late I have started inspecting the work situations of the mines personally so I can hopefully put together a proper budget to make things better." she says "I would normally just send an inspector down there but I wanted to see what it was like personally. " she said

"I can tell your gonna be the best head of the S.D.C ever." Jaune said smiling.

"Thank you that means a lot." she says smiling back, "have you had any luck finding a cure yet?" she asks.

"Not yet, I have been looking through lots of stuff though. The library here has a lot of medical journals, not gonna lie I don't get any of it and typically read with an encyclopedia near me." he says sheepishly.

"That's fine, as long as you're learning what you need to." she responds.

"Yeah. I have really been going through the journals as fast as humanly possible. I think I know more about the human body than I ever did before." he says smiling while tapping his chin, his mind going through all he knows.

"Well keep trying I'm sure we will find something soon." she says, grabbing a hold of his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks."

That's how their conversations started… but that didn't last very long.

As time progressed his pain got worse, on a bad day he couldn't even get out of bed. The Fentanyl he got every day soon wasn't enough to calm him. He would spend hours into the night in the library, ice packs against his back to try and stop the burning pain. He desperately searched for any relief of pain. His relationship with Weiss slowly got worse as he started to lose his temper faster.

"Hello Juane." she says Cheerfully as she joins him at dinner.

"Hello." he said his nose in a journal

"Must you read that now?" she asks, a little annoyed.

"Yes, don't you want me to walk again?" he snaps

"My aren't you in a foul mood today?" she says taking a bite of her food.

"And why do you think that is?" he says, a glare on his face as he snaps the book closed.

"Will you calm down you don't have to be such a jerk." she snaps back.

"I am calm." he says in an almost dangerous voice.

"Jaune why are you being this way?" she asks, returning his glare.

"Because my back is killing me!" he yells

"That doesn't mean you get to act like a monster" she yells back

"Oh that's rich for you to say!" he says referring back to their first days in beacon "If anyone here knows how to act like a monster it's you!"

"I have gotten a lot better." she retorts

"Yet you still seem to be perfectly able to tell everyone when their wrong." he replies a glare on his face

"Cause some people like you need to be told when you're going too far." she warns

"No you just think you're better than everyone. Maybe you're not so different from your father after all."

"SHUT UP!" She yells standing up

"MAKE ME YOU ENTITLED LITTLE BRAT!" He yells back

"..." she just looks at him and they have a stare off.

"I'm going back to the library." he says, wheeling away from the table.

"Jaune…" She says quietly.

"What?" he says, turning back to her with a condescending tone in his voice.

"Please don't leave." she says, looking small. "I'm sorry"

"..." Jaune just looks at her for a moment before turning and wheeling out of the room. And Weiss sat down again and felt like trash… he was her last friend and now she was losing him too, and in a moment of weakness she began to cry.

After that they started to eat separately and would only see each other a little a day. She would sometimes check on him in the library just to see how he was, she found him drowning in piles of medical journals and more arrived weekly from him ordering them. As bad as it was he had still not hit rock bottom yet.

Jaune had done everything he could think of to quell the pain but nothing seemed to work. He did natural cures for pain in hopes it would be able to penetrate his Aura, but that didn't work. He tried heat and cold to make the pain die down but the cold only made him numb and the heat made it worse. At one point he even started breaking his own Aura then he took some medicine, but that didn't really work either. He had looked through everything he could get his hands on. He was going mad with this pain and yet no one could tell him how to make it stop. He would sit and cry, yell ,scream but that never did any good. He was always tired but couldn't sleep, he was rapidly losing his appetite and he felt his mind starting to leave him too. He hated it all, the doctors were no help, the medical journals were no help, Qrow was no help, and Weiss was no help and he hated it.

Finally while he was taking his Fentanyl he realized the solution to his pain was in his own hands. He just needed to keep it in them.

"Mr, Arc?" A maid named Leah asked looking at him "Are you alright?" she asked, he was paused in the middle of taking the medicine

"What? Yes of course." he says annoyed "I was just thinking." he then proceeds to slide in the needle puncturing his skin, he then presses down the syringe and feels the fluid rush into his system.

"Here sir." she says holding out her hand to retrieve the needle.

"No it's okay." he says coldly

"Sir?"

"It's fine, just leave I can take care of the clean up myself." he says, wheeling over to the medicine bag on the dresser. He starts to "clean up" the medication

"Sir I was told by Miss schnee to help regulate your prescription." she argues.

"I don't need help." he says sharply "I know how much to take." he says staring at her with a steely glare.

"But Si-"

"Enough! Just get out." he says angrily, scaring the small woman. She simply bows and hurrys out of the room to find a place to cry. After she leaves he took another dose… and for the first time in months he felt the pain disappearing but it wasn't quite gone so he took even more.

At first it seemed to help and he returned to his more happy self, he started to eat with Weiss again and became a better person… but that didn't last long. As the pain came back, he slowly started to lose his mind again.

"So Jaune? How was your day" Weiss asked sitting next to him at the table while they ate.

"Do you have to ask? We both know my day today was the same as my day yesterday and the day before that." he says bitterly.

"Please don't do this." Weiss said lowering her head

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" he says, throwing his fork down before turning and wheeling out of the dining room leaving behind a hurt Weiss.

After that Jaune started to get more reclusive. He was always in his room or in the library. He hardly ever attended his own meals anymore, and eating with Weiss was absolutely out of the question. Almost everyone in the manor feared him, and Even Kline couldn't talk sense into the angry young man. He sat in his room alone in the dark, as reading all day mixed with the pain started to give him headaches. If anyone were to disturb him it would always end badly. He had made a few Maids cry and had scared the other's away.

Even Weiss didn't talk to him anymore. She really missed the way he was and couldn't bring herself to see him at the moment. She missed the sweet boy she had met in Beacon, the one who would almost never get angry, one of the bravest boys she had ever met, a boy who had saved her life. he was the one who secretly made her laugh, the one who would do anything for his friends, the one she often liked to think of while she was trapped here by her father. And the one who she had slowly fallen in love with… but now it was as if Jaune Arc had truly died in the battlefield. And she missed him.

Jaune found in a medical journal that it is impossible for Hunters and Huntresses to take pain medication over long periods of time as the aura enhanced body starts to become immune to it. Enraged, Jaune throws the Journal across the room and cries bitterly, he continues to abuse Fentanyl anyways trying to make the pain go away. That was at least how it worked until Weiss was told by her maid of Jaune's actions with the drug.

Weiss was sitting alone in her home office working though so new deals she was getting. She heard the door open to her office and saw the small Leah girl come in with the coffee she asked for. She smiles sweetly as she likes Leah, she is sweet and kind if not shy.

"Hello miss Schnee." she says quietly carrying a silver tray with a cup of steaming coffee.

"Hello Leah, how are you today." she replies trying to rub the tiredness from her eyes.

Leah places the coffee on the desk and bows lightly

"I'm doing very well Miss Schnee, how are you this evening?" she asks.

"Just a little tired, thank you for asking." Weiss says sipping her wonderful coffee.

"Well if that is all you required I'll be going now." the girl said with another small bow.

"Wait," Weiss said, stopping the girl, Leah turns around waiting for her directions "I- I was wondering how Jaune is doing." she says "your one of the only maids who will still interact with him." she says disliking the words that came from her mouth.

"Oh," Leah said, sounding smaller. "Well, Mr Arc is still very angry, and still in pain. And… and um" she started stammering.

"Yes?" Weiss said softly.

"Please forgive me ma'am but I believe he is abusing his medication." she says looking down at her feet.

"What?" Weiss said, her eyes widening.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I should have told you sooner. But he was adamant on none of us telling you anything." Leah said looking like she was about to burst into tears.

"No, don't be sorry." Weiss said getting up to comfort the girl. "If I had not been too afraid to see him like this I would have noticed earlier. Thank you for telling me." she says softly.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, I hope I didn't cause you any trouble." she says

"No, it's okay, I can deal with it now." she says "Please take the rest of the day off. You have been a wonderful help lately." Weiss says hugging Leah. Leah nods and thanks Weiss before leaving the room.

Weiss sits alone in the office for a while thinking about Jaune, what has happened to him, he used to always be so happy and positive… but now. He was like a stranger and it scared Weiss. The drug he was abusing was incredibly powerful and if he wasn't careful it could even kill a hunter. She knew she couldn't just let him abuse it, but she was almost afraid to approach him and ask him about it. What if Leah was wrong, would it damage their already broken relationship even more? No, Weiss trusted her staff, she knew something was wrong and this logicly made sense. She had to confront him now… even if it resulted in the end of their friendship, at least it would save his life.

"Jaune?" she asks as she enters the Library finding him as usual nose deep in a medical journal

"What?" he says sharply not looking up

"Leah told me your taking to much Fentanyl,"

"She did? The idiot doesn't know what she's talking about, I'm obviously taking what I need." he says, eyes quickly crossing the pages before him.

"Jaune I'm worried." she says quietly.

"Don't be, I'm fine just leave me alone."

"Jaune is what you need, what you were prescribed?" she probes. Jaune sighs and places a bookmark in and closes the journal.

"I simply gave myself what I needed. The prescribed amount was too little." he says crossing his arms. Weiss looks at the man in front of her and sees a living mess. His hair is out of control, his clothes are disorderly, he has large black circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, he barely eats. He drinks only when necessary.

"Jaune this stuff is going to hurt you."

"It helps with my pain. Now if you don't have anything more to say please leave i'm busy."

"But Jaun-"

"GET OUT!" he yells in rage. Weiss just turns and leaves…

Weiss left the library and thought for a moment. She loved Jaune, she knew she did even if he was treating her this badly she still couldn't stop loving him, so she decided something even if he was different now she wouldn't let him kill himself like this. She turned around and walked towards his room, she opened the door slowly and entered looking around. She saw almost everything was in disorder except his bed, evidence he hadn't been sleeping.

She quickly found his medicine bag and looked at all the empty bottles inside. She can't help but feel guilt as she didn't stop this earlier. She exits the room and starts to walk down the hall being passed by Jaune who was on his way to his room for another dose. She manages to get by him without him noticing the small leather case.

She continues to walk until she hears him yell from his room

"WEISS! GIVE IT BACK!"

She starts to get away but he soon catches up, even if he is in a wheelchair his arms are strong and help him move fast.

"Give it back." he demands. She turns and holds the case to her chest

"No, you're hurting yourself. I will give you the proper dose at the proper time." she says defiantly

"GIVE IT BACK!" He yells angry "I NEED IT!" he says moving close trying to take it back. Weiss turns to leave up stairs where he can't follow. Blinded by his anger Jaune summons all the strength he can and launches himself from the chair grabbing Weiss' legs and dragging her back down to the floor with him. He climbs over her and attempts to pull the case away from her. But being the stubborn person she is, Weiss refuses to let go, making Jaune enraged as he attempts to pry the object from her hands. Finally having enough Jaune raises his hand

And he slaps her.

He then takes the medicine from the stunned girl and gets out a needle and vaile as the physical extension makes the pain flare up tenfold . he Positions it to his arm… but he stopped when he hears a sound. A sniff. He looks up and sees tears of anger falling down her face. He looks back down at the needle in his hand. He shakes his head and lowers the needle a little closer.

"All I wanted was to help you." he hears her whisper. He looks at what he is doing. He looks up again and sees the red mark on her face… his hand print.

'Oh God… what am I doing.' he thinks. He looks down at his medicine before he starts to shake. All sorts of emotions rush though his body, ranging from anger to need to regret. The voices in his head all agree on one thing though… he messed up, he had to break this thing in his hand.

With an angry yell he breaks the needle into pieces leaking clear fluid all over his hand and getting glass shards stuck in his flesh. He then grabs the case and begins to beat it on the ground shattering its contents… he continues to scream out in rage while he does so. After he finishes destroying the medicine he crawls over to Weiss and takes her hand in both of his still shaking and now bloody ones and sets his forehead against it while he starts to sob.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" He wails over and over "HELP ME!" he just lays there sobbing while Weiss slowly takes him in her arms and pets his head while whispering in his ear

"I forgive you."

Weiss holds the crying man for the next hour while he sobs.

He cries because he is tired,

he cries because he can't walk,

he cries because of the pain,

he cries because all his friends abandoned him,

he cries because he hates who he has become,

...he cries because he hit the woman he loves.

And then he finally falls asleep in her arms still apologizing as he does so. Weiss manages to get him to his room and tends to the cuts in his hand before trying to leave. Though Jaune in his sleep murmurs something and holds tightly onto her hand. She spends the night sitting on his bedside holding his hand while he sleeps. That was the day Jaune hit rock bottom.

The next morning Jaune's eyes open and he feels the pain… but for some reason it isn't as bad as usual. He looks up and sees Weiss looking down at him, like a guardian angel.

"Good morning." she says calmly looking at him. Then the memories from the previous day come back to him.

"Weiss! I'm so sorry!" he says frantically "I promise I can change. I'll move out as soon as I can just let me call my family." he says reaching for his scroll only to have his hand stopped by a small pale one.

"You don't have to leave." she says calmly. She slowly raises her hand and slaps him as hard as she can leaving a red handprint on his cheek. He looked up at her, his eyes full of regret, he knew he deserved that but he wished she never had a reason to hit him in the first place, if he could go back in time he would make sure he never once laid a finger on her.

"I'm sorry," he says again

"I'm sorry too. But now we are even." she says with a smile before gently rubbing his red cheek.

"I can help you now, if you let me." she says gently.

"If you would even want to be near me I would be happy." Jaune says

"Of course I still want to be near you." she says in an almost indigent voice "You're my best friend."

"I thought Ruby was your best friend."

"Well… she was, but friends don't just leave and never talk to you again." she says sadly.

"Weiss I promise I will become worthy of being called your friend. I promise I will never leave you." he says taking a hold of her hand

"Thank you Jaune." she says with a smile. For the next few minutes they just sat in comfortable silence having a conversation that needed no words, a conversation with their eyes. They both also enjoyed the feeling of the others hand in their own. And then Weiss spoke up again.

"While you slept, I set up a Psychiatrist for you. I probably should have gotten one from the start." Weiss says getting a little more comfortable in his bed.

"Thank you."

"Just promise me one thing."

"ANYTHING!" Jaune quickly says.

"Let's not get to the slapping point again okay."

"I promise as an Arc, I will never hit you again." he says looking ashamed. Weiss uses her hand to point his face at her again.

"I forgive you Jaune. Let's start over. Okay?" She says with a smile while taking his bandaged hand into hers.

"Okay." Jaune says looking her in the eye. He could feel his life was about to change again.