A/N: So this one is shorter than the last few, but it's still important, friends. Keep it in mind. Also, my own break from classes is over, and I already miss my vacation. Send help plz. I am more than a little sick of doing research proposals and writing exams.
Laws of Attraction
When Pyrrha made her way back into her dorm room, Nora bounded up to her worriedly before she even got a foot through the door. "Where the heck have you been?" she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "Jaune came back and went straight to sleep like, an hour ago. What happened-" and then she froze mid-leap, standing stock-still on one foot, expression quickly morphing from confusion to concern.
Pyrrha blinked blearily at her, trying to hold back the urge to sniffle. Her eyes felt red and raw and puffy, and she knew that the other girl could see how red her eyes were. Even without looking at a mirror, the redhead understood that she must've looked like a mess.
Smoothing out her skirt, Pyrrha croaked, "I had some things to do."
"Was it… y'know… the mother-slash-parental-unit-figure-person?" she asked, eyes wide and terrified. Pyrrha didn't respond, pushing past the girl without making eye contact.
Nora frantically cast a look back at Ren, but the boy simply stared back, completely shell-shocked at Pyrrha's disheveled state. "Um… well," she stammered, following Pyrrha as she walked to her closet, "I was just worried, that's all! You never came back, and Jaune just waltzed in and went straight to bed- I don't think he even brushed his teeth, haha-"
The redhead cast a tired look at Jaune's bed. There was a definite lump on the mattress under the covers, indicating the boy's presence. She snorted softly at it. "It's his choice," she said impassively.
The normally bubbly girl froze as Pyrrha took off her jacket, hanging it up in her closet. "Wait- what?" she breathed, cocking her head to one side. "No, no Pyrrha, that's all wrong. Shouldn't you be like, 'No, Jaune, go clean yourself up' and go wake him up?"
Pyrrha shrugged blankly- even the energy needed to perform such a simple action spent a lot of her last reserves. "He's our leader, isn't he? He can decide that for himself."
She heard the bundled up figure in the blankets shuffle under the covers, and she sighed. So he's awake.
And yet, Pyrrha didn't care. She didn't care whether he was awake or sleeping, whether he had brushed his teeth or not, whether he studied and passed or not- whether he deserved to be at Beacon or not. It clearly wasn't her job to care, right? That's what Jaune kept saying, right?
He's not even a real student here, the dark, bitter side of her heart grumbled. He lied. About everything.
Not about everything! She couldn't help but protest internally to herself, trying to reason out the situation. There's no way he lied about everything. He really wants to become a Huntsman- the fact that he's here, living a lie, is testament to that.
"It doesn't change the fact that he lied," she murmured aloud as she slipped on her pyjamas and stepped out of the small closet. Impassively, she grabbed her toiletries kit, a small towel, and headed to the door.
Nora blocked her way, hands on her hips, brow furrowed and uncharacteristically serious. "Lied about what, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha paused, looking back at the lump on Jaune's bed. "Nothing." Because it wasn't her story to tell, nor did she have the energy to relay it. All she wanted to do was brush her teeth, wash her face, crawl into her bed, and warm up the skin that had gotten far too chilled as she shed her tears outside the dining hall earlier.
When she got to the communal bathroom, she thanked all the stars that the facilities were empty. Her eyes were so swollen and red, cheeks splotchy and nose almost purple. Even now, her breaths still hitched and hiccupped occasionally. Her mask had crumbled.
It was humiliating.
The lid of the box opened up, but she squashed it shut again mentally. I'm too tired for you right now, she thought, deadpan. Make me hate myself later.
Hate herself, she did. That night, she dreamed of Jaune on the statue. And this time, when she awoke, there were no feelings of warmth- only shame.
The boy in question crept out of the room before anyone else could wake up. By the time they found themselves in the dining hall, he had already eaten breakfast, too. It was only when they arrived at their first class that the trio finally found their leader, already seated in one of the long rows in the lecture hall.
And seated beside him, arm wrapped around his shoulders as if they were old friends, was Cardin.
Yang peered around Pyrrha's back, as the redhead had stopped in the middle of the doorway in shock. "Wait, what?" she spluttered for the silent girl. "Why the heck is Jaune sitting with that creep?"
"What creep?" Pyrrha heard Ruby's voice call from the hallway.
Instinctively, every fiber of Pyrrha's being flared up in rage. She took two steps towards the pair who were already comfortably waiting for the lecture to begin, taking stock of the situation. In front of Jaune were his notes, already neatly arranged on his own. Normally, it was Pyrrha who had to gingerly remind him to even bring his notebooks to class. Alright, what next- he was looking decidedly less terrible than she was, a fact that made her blood boil to a whole new level, because why was she the one tormented over his lies? Whatever- Cardin was sitting next to him, decidedly unprepared, calling out to his team over his shoulder, still completely unaware that Pyrrha was in the room. Okay, moving on-
No. That's all I needed to see.
Jaune was sitting next to Cardin.
Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. Before she could raise her voice or shrug the hand off, Ren's quiet voice explained in her ear, "Go with Nora. I'll go ask what's going on." She made a move to protest, but he sighed, and suddenly, her feelings of anger and frustration mysteriously died down until they were nothing more than gently burning embers in the pit of her stomach. "No, Pyrrha. I'll go ask. Save me a seat." And with that, he stepped around her.
Pyrrha's eyes followed the reserved boy all the way to where the blond sat, allowing Nora to pull her to their usual row on the other side of the room. She squinted, trying to make out the words just by reading their lips, but to no avail. Thankfully, before she could jump up and storm over there herself, Ren peeled away and sat down on her other side.
"What's going on?" Nora asked, gently squeezing Pyrrha's hand to keep the girl in check.
Ren sighed, running a hand through his hair, ruffling his one magenta streak. "He just… CRDL said that Jaune's hanging with them, now."
Ruby, who had been leaning over the large desk in the row behind them in order to listen in, nearly fell out of her seat at this information. "Excuse me?!" she exclaimed, horrified. "You can't be serious! Jaune would never want to hang out with Cardin!"
Pyrrha raised her eyes to look at the younger girl. Although sleep had aided her quite a bit, her eyelids were still slightly swollen, nose still a little too red. She took in the mixed expressions of disdain and disgust from the girls of Team RWBY as they all took in this new information.
"That's our leader," she said bitterly when Ruby's questioning eyes turned to her. And, before the girl could interrogate her further, she turned to face the front of the lecture hall, wearily taking out her notebook.
The spot in their row was empty that day. It was scary.
It remained empty at lunch that day, too. And the next day. And the next. For the rest of the week, Jaune never showed up to any of their meals, barely spoke to any of them when they approached him, and refused to even stand on the same side of the room as them during moving combat lectures.
Pyrrha, who had always been the one by his side, was effectively cast away.
Nora and Ren took her with them everywhere with open arms. The two continued their usual routines, where Nora babbled on about something and Ren intervened intermittently to show he was still listening; but once in a while, they would both pause, look at Pyrrha's listless eyes, and deflate just a little.
You're doing this to your friends, y'know, she told herself. You shouldn't. They're worried about you.
And yet, that one remaining thought would linger, no matter how many times she banished it away. What even were friends, if they were so easily abandoned?
The one good thing that came out of the situation was that Pyrrha's mask had healed, tougher than ever. After constantly being worried about Jaune every day, little nicks had appeared in her mental armour, making it easier to crack. However, now that she was able to focus her mind wholly on the material being presented to her, her performance improved drastically in both academic and combat fields. She was able to maintain a cool head, a steady heart.
After all, if she couldn't trust anyone, then why would she care if they put her on that pedestal? At least up there, she could retain her pride.
The professors noticed her change in demeanor. They all complimented her newfound drive, praising her endlessly as she mastered the numerous techniques and ideas she was given in record time. Pyrrha took it all in stride, smiling politely and nodding in thanks, but her heart wasn't in it. It wasn't ever in it.
Without Jaune lighting up Team JNPR's dorm room, it felt… empty. Cold.
By Friday, the atmosphere of the entire group- not just JNPR, but Team RWBY, too- had shifted. Without Jaune there, the main bridge linking the two teams, their leaders, was broken. Everything became more than a little awkward whenever they were at lunch. The seat beside Pyrrha was perpetually empty.
After dinner that day, Pyrrha found herself being stopped outside of the dining hall by none other than Professor Ozpin. "I hope I'm not interrupting your evening, Miss Nikos," he murmured, trademark coffee cup still in his hand. He took a slow, thoughtful sip, although his eyes remained fixated on her from behind his round, thin-framed glasses.
She smiled slightly at the others, showing that nothing was going on- not as far as she knew, at least. Uneasy, Nora and Ren nodded and backed away, although they walked far slower than Nora's usual bounding gait.
They're waiting for me, Pyrrha realized as the two of the paused at the end of the corridor, Ren leaning against the wall and Nora regaling him with some exciting story as they waited. Her heart warmed a little at that- her two teammates had been so worried about her over the last few days. She was lucky to have them by her side, at least.
Looking back to the headmaster, she asked, "Is there something wrong, Professor?"
"No, no, Miss Nikos- nothing's wrong," he shook his head, raising a brow wryly. "That is, unless you have something you'd like to report to me."
Instantly, she felt the words bubble up in her throat. Yeah- maybe you should consider the fact that some of your students are discriminating, terrible people, she thought angrily.
However, just as quickly, her mother's words echoed in her mind. "Stay in his sights. Prove that you are a force to be reckoned with, Pyrrha- I will not have another failure like the last time we spoke."
A failure. Aren't I already a failure as a friend?
She smiled, swallowing her words and putting on her kindest mask. "No, sir. I'm doing well. Thank you for your concern, though!"
"Doing well is an understatement," he commented, pulling out his Scroll. "From what I hear, you did exceedingly well during the midterm examinations, especially in your practical combat skills. And Professor Goodwitch tells me you've only improved since then." He leaned forward, a small twinkle in his eye. "You've impressed her. Let me tell you, that is not an easy feat. Congratulations, Miss Nikos."
She nodded stiffly, unsure of how to take the praise. "Thank you sir."
"In fact," the man continued, walking away to look at a nearby tree, skeletal in the late autumn months, "we have some reporters who would like to speak to you one of these days, should you be interested."
Pyrrha froze, confusion knitting her brow. "Reporters?"
Professor Ozpin sighed, as if too bothered by the whole affair to even explain. "We run columns about students every year," he said primly, watching the rest of the students leaving the dining hall. "It's for a few purposes- it inspires new youth to apply to Beacon Academy, as well as shows off our finer talents, and it eases the concerns of any students hailing from other continents, such as yourself." He smiled bemusedly her way. "As I recall, you're more than familiar in representing Mistral in such communications."
She felt a faint blush cover her cheeks. Yes, she had done interviews in the past- interviews and photoshoots and just about everything else under the sun. Unfortunately, she never enjoyed them.
"I'd love to, sir, if that would help Beacon," she lied through her teeth, already feeling her discomfort levels rising from the idea of having to doll herself up for another awkward interview.
"I'll pass that along," he said amiably. The headmaster then spun around and walked close to her, staring her down, just as challenging as he had the first time they had met during the Beacon initiation. "Miss Nikos- one last question."
"Yes sir?" she asked, raising her chin and straightening her stance confidently, mask firmly in place.
"What do you want to become, while you are here?"
And then, the mask slipped, and she paused as she mulled over the question. "What do you mean, sir?"
He smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes- instead, he continued to watch her carefully as if taking stock of her every movement. "I mean, what is your purpose, while you are attending this Academy?"
"I want to become a Huntress," she stated confidently, mask back in place. It was the truth, after all- becoming a Huntress what was she had always dreamed of. To be able to save people, to protect others just like in her dreams- to be able to take down the Grimm and help her world become a better place- it was all she had ever wanted.
And then, Professor Ozpin did a curious thing. Instead of nodding along with her conviction, he murmured, "That's what I was afraid of," and his face crumpled momentarily into sorrow.
She blinked at him, confused. "I'm not sure if I understand," she murmured.
He nodded briskly, and suddenly there was no longer any trace of that sorrow. "Well, Miss Nikos, your conviction is strong." He gave her a quick grin, although once again, it didn't reach his eyes, didn't truly resonate in her heart. "Hold that conviction dear to you. There's a chance that you'll be protecting more than you know." With that, the man walked away, sipping his coffee as he disappeared into the night.
Pyrrha began heading towards the dormitory, more than a little unsettled by those cryptic words. What in the world could they mean? Why would Professor Ozpin seek her out just to ask why she was at Beacon in the first place? Wasn't becoming true Huntsmen what everyone was there to do?
If that was the case, then why had he looked so upset by her answer?
"Hey, Pyrrha, what happened?" Nora chirped as she reached the waiting pair.
She bit her tongue. It was better to keep the stranger parts of the conversation to herself. "Apparently, they want to interview some students," she chuckled awkwardly. "Professor Goodwitch recommended me to do it, I guess."
Nora's eyes nearly popped out of her head, a wide smile overtaking her face. "Ooh, that's so cool!" she squealed, hugging Pyrrha's arm tight. "Look at you, being our lil' celebrity!"
"You'll do well, Pyrrha," Ren agreed, looking pleased himself. "Do you know when it'll be taking place?"
"No," she replied easily, walking with the two on either side of her through the open corridor. "He simply wanted to make sure I was alright with the idea."
Nora gasped. "Oh my gosh, Pyrrha, you're going to be famous!"
Pyrrha chuckled weakly. "Yup. Great."
Because that's exactly what I need, she thought to herself, exhausted. That's all that I need right now. At least with this, her mother would be appeased. That would take care of one stress.