October 15. Late evening. Somewhere on the streets of city of Vale.

When she first met him, she knew just little more than his name.

"Hello!" She greeted him as she raised her hand. Her grin much too wide and friendly considering he was a total stranger to her. She a total stranger to him.

He stopped jogging and gave himself a moment to properly catch his breath. When he did, he gave her a puzzled look. "Uh...Hi?"

"Your name is Jaune, right? You and Ruby are good friends. She has told me some good things about you. I think it would be most wonderful if we would get to know each other better!" She said, and offered him her hand.

He blinked. And a moment later mustered an awkward smile. "Um...say again?"

"Your name is Jaune, right? You and Ruby are good friends. She has told me some good things about you. I think it would be most wonderful if we would get to know each other better!" She repeated word for word. And he could swear every sound was exactly the same way it was the first time she said it.

He blinked. And his awkward smile was now down right comical. "Um...you want us to get to know each other better. Is that it?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed and inched her still stretched out hand just a bit closer to him.

He almost started to laugh. He couldn't really put it into right words and he didn't bother much to do it. He accepted her hand, and they shared a much too enthusiastic handshake. "And what is your name?"

"Penny Polendina! I am most excited to have this opportunity to make another friend!"

...Yea, this girl was definitely weird.

…

October 16. Late evening. Somewhere on the streets of city of Vale.

When he met her again, he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"Hello, Jaune!"

He heard her elevated voice reaching out for him. He stopped jogging and turned around and was greeted by, admittedly, a gorgeous pair of emerald green eyes. Her eyes looked very much like Pyrrha's.

"Hey." He greeted her back once his breathing was somewhat even.

"You are exercising again." She started as she walked closer to him. "It seems that you are most determined in your pursuit to become a good huntsman."

He smiled although it was an empty smile. "That's giving me too much credit. I...never mind." He didn't finish his thought. He realized that opening up to her about his troubles in life this quickly would just be weird. In fact, he wasn't sure if he'd ever want to open up to her. Not that she seemed like a bad person but, well, she was different.

"Is something wrong? You did not finish your sentence," She said, and he was taken aback at how straight forward and blunt she was.

"No, it's nothing really." He tried to reassure her. "I'm exercising because...it makes me feel good." An honest answer. He just didn't tell her the rest there was to it.

"Hmm." She hummed. Her eyes observant and focused, her lips pursed and eyebrows ever so slightly furrowed.

He silently gulped. Did she honestly realize that he wasn't telling her the whole truth? How?

"…"

A couple more moments passed in tense silence. Before her features relaxed, and her lips curved into a friendly smile. "I see!" She exclaimed, and a moment later continued. "I think that makes sense. Doing something just because it makes you feel good. But…" She started, but then paused and it seemed like she was in a deep thought about something.

He sighed in relief. For a moment there, he truly believed she was aware that he wasn't totally honest with her.

"How exactly does it make you feel good?" She suddenly asked him, and he snapped his attention back to her. And scratched the back of his head as he did.

"Well, it…" He tried, but wasn't sure which words to pick. In actuality, he knew the answer very well. It wasn't really complicated to explain, but if he did, he'd have to open up to her.

"Is it difficult to explain? I am sorry. I did not want to bother you," She said with such child-like innocence to her tone, he almost started to feel bad for her.

"No, it's alright," He said, and then figured he'd just be vague enough as to not disclose anything he didn't want her to know. "It makes me feel good because it let's me to empty my mind. I feel refreshed after I'm done exercising. Being a student there's a lot to think about. All the assignments and homework and tests. It can be tiring to deal with it all and so I, well, exercise. Just moving my body around feels great because I don't have to think hard. I just have to move, and that's it. And I like that."

"So is thinking a difficult thing for you to do?"

"Are...are you asking me if I'm dumb?"

She blinked. And a moment later, her eyes widened and she grabbed him by his shoulders. "No! No, I am not, Jaune! I am so sorry, I did not mean it like that! I was just curious!" She said to him, and he could swear that her face spoke of genuine panic.

"H-hey, it's alright." He stuttered for a brief moment, but shortly thereafter managed to fully compose himself. "Seriously." He started, and he too placed his hands on her shoulders. "I believe you, Penny. You simply asked me because you were curious, right?"

"Yes," She said with a nod, and he nodded back.

"Okay," He said just that and fortunately, even if it took some, she managed to calm herself.

"Okay. I am very glad that you are not upset with me," She said, and then managed an honest smile.

He quietly sighed. "You're quite weird, Penny. Has anyone ever told you that?" He said, and then immediately after he started to wonder if maybe he shouldn't have.

"Yes." She answered. "And I am not exactly sure why. Is being weird a bad thing?" She asked, and a moment later he shook his head.

"Sometimes it can be, but…" He stopped for a moment, and then he remembered.

"Is it difficult to explain? I am sorry. I did not want to bother you," She said with such child-like innocence to her tone, he almost started to feel bad for her.

For the very first time he wondered; maybe she truly was a nice girl who was simply different from other people he knew.

"It's not a bad thing in your case. At least I don't think so," He said, and her smile grew warmer.

He smiled back.