A/N: So this is the last chapter I have in my backlog. As I'm heading into exam season soon, I may be slower with updates throughout April. Please give me your reviews/PMs- they're really good motivation to prep a ton of chapters in advance so I can keep up my update schedule ;)

Also, we're only a few chapters away from the end of Volume 2. If you'd like to see any extras/behind-the-scenes nonsense again afterwards, let me know!

Laws of Attraction

Pyrrha's peaceful dreams, full of visions of her usual run through the Emerald Forest, were shattered in an instant when a rough shake of her arm brought her back to consciousness. Blearily, she bolted upright in her bed, trying to blink the sleep away while taking in what was going on.

"Shh, Pyrrha, it's just me," Jaune hissed.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha grumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly. As she slowly took in his expression, finding his features in the shadows, she realized there was no imminent danger. His body was tense, his expression one of concern; however, the emergency sirens around campus weren't blaring, and he was still wearing his pyjamas. Knowing that, she felt the tension slip from her bones, and she melted back into her sheets. "Go to bed," she mumbled.

The boy kept insistently shaking her shoulders. "I need to talk to you. It's about Ruby- it's important."

The mention of the younger girl's name brought the alertness back to Pyrrha's mind. "Is everything okay?" Pyrrha asked, sitting upright once more.

Jaune held a finger up to his lips. "Talk in the hallway?"

Slowly, she nodded and followed the boy outside into the hallway as silently as she could. Nora and Ren were still sleeping, and there was no reason to wake them up unless it was necessary.

When the two of them had seated themselves in the hall beside the door, Jaune pulled out his Scroll and opened up a call log. Pyrrha glanced over it, her worry rising as she saw what had alarmed Jaune so. "Ruby called? At this time of night?" she asked, incredulous.

The blond nodded tiredly. "I heard a lot of noise on the other end. I think they're in trouble," he explained quietly. "Why else would she call me?"

"Maybe it was accidental? Who knows," Pyrrha murmured, leaning her head back against the wall. Possibilities raced through her mind. Even though Team RWBY was with Professor Oobleck, there was no telling what the girls had found. They had a knack for stumbling into the worst possible locations, after all.

Jaune clearly had the same concerns in mind. "What if something happens, and by the time we actually find out, we're too far out of the kingdom?" he whispered, clenching his fists upon his knees. "I don't know how I'd cope if I knew something happened to them, and that Ruby tried reaching out to me."

Instantly, the girl's heart broke a little, seeing the strain pulling Jaune's jaw tight, furrowing his brow, the unshed tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. As subtly as she could, she moved closer to him until their shoulders were pressed together. "We can't do anything but trust Professor Oobleck," she murmured. "However, if we do find out that they're in trouble… let's go save them."

Jaune gaped at her incredulously. "You- Pyrrha Nikos- would skip out on a mission?"

Pyrrha grinned. "If it's to save our friends, I'd do anything. Ren and Nora will understand." She bumped into him playfully. "You'd all be lost without me," she teased.

He scratched the back of his head embarrassed. "That's true, Pyrrha," he whispered, worry easing off of his face. "What would we do without you."

Although it had been a joke, a burst of pride swelled up within her chest. It was one thing to be called a hero, a future Huntress, or the top of her class by her teachers or peers- it was something completely different to be called that by Jaune, by the people she cared most about. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She brought a hand up to quell the feeling, pressing against her heartbeat. It had been doing that a lot lately around the blond.

She didn't mind.

Looking away so he wouldn't see her pink cheeks, she jokingly asked, "So. What else has you down?"

Jaune realized that the topic of Ruby's call was closed, as there was nothing they could do as of yet. Grinning sheepishly, he muttered, "Nothing. I mean, life's been pretty good, all things considered."

She bit her tongue. She wanted to ask the question lingering in her mind so badly, but she just didn't know how. At last, she put on a brave face to brightly ask, "And Weiss? Did you get to talk to her yesterday at the dance?"

The blond shook his head, embarrassment growing in his eyes. He laughed nervously. "No- well, sort of- yes? Like, I didn't get to talk to her yesterday, or today, for that matter."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes inquisitively, plastering a wry smile over the sad one which wanted to emerge. "But you look like something has happened."

Jaune shrugged, leaning his head against the wall as well. "I mean, I guess? I suppose I just realized that I have bigger things to worry about than Weiss." Quickly, he backpedaled, "Not like she isn't important- I mean, she's a friend, first of all- but it's just..."

"It's just?" she pried, more gently this time.

Jaune closed his eyes, reflecting on what happened the prior evening. "I spoke to Neptune," he began slowly. "Neptune… Weiss asked him out, and he turned her down. Turns out, he had his own issues he was dealing with that whole time. So I was just thinking… even if Weiss turns me down, I know I shouldn't focus on that or feel bummed out. She's just a kid, like you and me, Pyrrha. And we've all got our own things we feel bad about." He flashed her a brilliant grin, one that melted her from the inside out. "I figure, there's no harm to trying to win her over. But, there's also no point in forgetting to focus on the people who are by our side right now."

"Oh yeah?" she breathed, the pride in her heart overflowing- this time, for Jaune.

"Yeah," Jaune nodded confidently. "Like Ruby. Like Nora, and Ren, and you."

Pyrrha drew her knees up to her chest, biting her lip to keep to ridiculously wide smile off her face. "You've grown a lot, Jaune," she murmured. "I'm proud of you."

They sat in silence for a moment, until Jaune quietly whispered, "It's weird, not hearing RWBY complaining about stuff."

The redhead giggled, staring at the closed, distinctly quiet door across the hall from them. Usually, Team RWBY was talking late into the night about anything and everything- their loud voices and exuberant cries could usually be heard in Team JNPR's bedroom until the early hours of the morning, although no one in their team minded at all. She had to agree with Jaune. It was weird to hear dead silence from their room.

"They'll be alright, Jaune," she murmured. "And besides, don't you have your own things, aside from everyone's missions to worry about?"

Jaune groaned. "Don't remind me of midterms, Pyrrha. I'm worried enough as it is."

She chuckled, checking the time on his Scroll. It was still far too early to get ready for their morning voyage. "C'mon. Let's go to bed." With that, she tried to get up-

Only to fall right back down onto the floor.

Her head was yanked backwards. Twisting around, she groaned. The end of her ponytail, which she had been leaning on haphazardly in her sleepy state, had gotten caught on a nail in the baseboard. "Really?" she hissed quietly, gently tugging her hair away from it.

Immediately, large hands were pulling hers away, detangling the issue themselves. "Here. I gotcha." Jaune quickly undid the knot that had formed at the bottom of her loose curl, running practiced fingers through the red strands to make sure nothing broke.

She blushed bright red, turning away from him as much as possible. This sort of contact couldn't be good for her heart. Clearing her throat, she joked, "Wow. You took care of that fast. I guess I really do need to thank your sisters."

Jaune giggled helplessly at that, pumping his fist in the air. "I never thought I'd see the day that the stuff they made me do was useful! Yes!"

Pyrrha stood quickly, keeping her face turned away. "Yup. Now, let's go back to sleep."

Jaune grabbed her arm, eyes wide, astonished. "Wait, Pyrrha- are you embarrassed-"

"Go to sleep, Jaune," she nearly squeaked, her playful punch to his shoulder a little harder than necessary.

Instead of falling over, like he had once upon a time when they had first met, Jaune stood his ground, a wide grin on his face. His eyes sparkled as if they had seen treasure. "I saw Pyrrha Nikos blushing," he mumbled, awed. "That's wild."

She rolled her eyes, shuffling into their room as quietly as possible. She could practically feel the chuckles swallowed up by his throat as he finally followed her back inside. As she settled back into her bed, shivering in the painful chill her absence had left under the covers, she couldn't help but bury her face in her hands and roll away from Jaune's side of the room.

There had been something thoughtful, contemplative, in Jaune's eyes as he looked at her that night. Maybe he had realized how she felt- maybe he was just becoming aware of her being female for the first time. If this was the first time that he had actually seen her blush, then maybe it really was the first time he'd ever really paid attention to her, considering how flustered the blond always made her. The dance had certainly taken him by surprise. Still, there was no way to really know, and as she shut her eyes tight and tried to will herself back to sleep, she knew there was no point in thinking about it.

The image of his gentle hands running through her ponytail, pale skin surrounded by bright red strands, haunted her all night.

Waking up and avoiding Jaune's eye contact would've been the ideal scenario, but Jaune seemed insistent to wink at her and goad her with threats to tell the others. By the time she was ready in her combat gear, Pyrrha didn't know whether she wanted him to keep giving her that much attention, or whether to honestly throttle him.

Their departure time was bright and early the next day. In order to win Nora's forgiveness for skimping out the day before, Ren cooked them up a light, cozy breakfast as they gathered their things. Just as the sun was establishing its arc over the sky, the entire horizon lit up in a warm, orange-red glow, the group was already heading towards a Bullhead airship at the edge of the dock, ready for their mission.

However, Jaune's expression had lost its joking air over the course of their early morning thanks to more and more frequent checks of his messages on his Scroll.

"I'm sure they're fine," Pyrrha soothed after Jaune finally explained to Nora and Ren about the call the night before.

"You think?" Jaune asked, worry dominating his face now.

Nora skipped along, unfazed by the situation. "Probably a butt dial," she announced cheerily.

Ren, who had been wandering behind, said thoughtfully, "Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field. We should be focusing on our own mission."

Nora held her arms high in the air, excitement oozing from every pore. "We're gonna be deputies!" she giggled.

Jaune continued onwards, staring glumly at the cobblestone path. "I just got this feeling... I don't know."

"Jaune…" Pyrrha murmured.

Before she could say anything, however, a piercing alarm echoed through the valley from downtown Vale. A distant crash startled flocks of birds into the air in the distance, and giant plumes of menacing smoke curled their tendrils high, contrasting horribly with the previously-calm morning hue.

They were barely able to take it all in when the same shattering alarm began ringing out from Beacon's CCTS Tower behind them. Nora flinched, covering her ears against the wailing sound. Pyrrha glanced at Jaune's face; the boy was pensive, deep in thought as he debated their next move.

That alarm was only rung when there was a Grimm attack upon civilian zones.

Finally, he straightened up and cleared his throat. "We're changing our mission. Everyone on board!" Jaune commanded, waving them over to the airship. Without a second word, Pyrrha led the way, heading into the cockpit to tell the pilot to drop them off near the source of the smoke. They were supposed to be meeting their Huntsman chaperone at their destination, so for now, they were on their own. The pilot obliged her request, all tight-lipped understanding.

Her heart was racing, pounding through her chest, but there was no fear here. Just like she had felt during all of their real-time combat experiences, Pyrrha wasn't afraid of fighting the Grimm. Instead of trying to please others or maintain formalities and politics, fighting the shadowy creatures which plagued Remnant was about protection. It was about survival.

And Pyrrha was ready to make sure there were no victims here today. It was what she was born to do.

As the pilot lifted off, closing the boarding hatch behind them, Pyrrha caught sight of three figures walking down Main Avenue towards the dock. Normally, it wouldn't have concerned her- but the bright orange sky and rising sun glinted off of a pair of bright yellow eyes, and Pyrrha's stomach churned.

Before she could say anything, the ship lifted off, and she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. They ran to a porthole near the exit hatch to keep watch below, ready to jump out when need be. As they neared downtown Vale, the truth of the situation became clear to them all.

The Grimm were everywhere.

From a giant tear in the side of the mountain, an incredible amount of monsters were spilling out in every direction. The townsfolk, who had all been getting ready to start another workday, were running for their lives. Screams of the innocent filled the air alongside the snarls from the Grimm, echoing so loudly that Pyrrha could hear everything over the roar of the engine, the thick metal framework encasing them, and the alarm which continued to sound.

Through the porthole, they all gulped in unison as they saw four familiar pinpricks of colour fighting desperately below them- red, white, black, and gold.

The four of them stood silently in the window, the realization of what they were about to jump into settling into their bones. She breathed in, out- 1, 2- and prepared herself for the battle ahead. Her combat mask was ready, heart still, muscles tensed, Miló and Akoúo just a hairsbreadth away.

As the exit hatch opened with all of them ready to jump off (except for Jaune, who still had no idea what a landing strategy was- Pyrrha knew she'd help him get down somehow) Pyrrha couldn't help but voice the errant thought which wandered in her brain.

"Well. You were worried about midterms, Jaune."

"Okay Pyrrha, I really don't think we need to talk about midterms right now-" he immediately rambled on, but she interjected, cutting him off.

"Time to see how you'll do next week!"

Swallowing down the dark chuckle spilling past her lips as she heard him shriek indignantly, she leapt out of the hatch, ponytail trailing behind her valiantly, a flag of the victory to come.