"Popcorn's done!"
The smell of butter in the air had never felt more satisfying to Pyrrha. Sitting in the front row of the home theater, she could barely contain her giddiness as Jaune brought her a big bowl of popcorn. If there was one good thing that came from staying in this penthouse it was that it had brought her and Jaune closer than they had ever been at Beacon. First they had shared a bed, and now they were on a movie date!
Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly a date per say; Pyrrha was pretty sure Jaune just wanted someone to watch Galactic Conquest with him. But it was a good enough reason for her. As long as they were together like this, she was happy. Hopefully there would be a romantic scene in this movie and maybe spark something inside of the boy to make a move on her. Pyrrha planned on making some sort of move herself, but the fear of scaring him away lingered. It was a risk she knew she had to eventually take, and tonight seemed like a good opportunity to try.
"Thank you," Pyrrha said, setting the popcorn on the armrest as Jaune ran back up the aisle way to start the DVD, "So, is there anything I should know about this movie before we start?"
"Only that it's the greatest movie ever!" Jaune replied, jumping into the seat beside her excitedly, "The effects are a little dated, but that's nothing to worry about. It was made in the 80's after all."
"And you said there are seven films in this series?"
"Soon to be eight, not counting the cartoons and comic books. We'll get to those once we watch all of the films."
Pyrrha giggled at his eagerness. "Let's just get through this one for now. If I enjoy it, then we can talk about those."
"It's starting!" Jaune hushed her, "These opening credits never get old!"
Just as the room's lights dimmed down, a booming orchestra erupted from the surround sound speakers. Though she kept her eyes on the screen as a huge spaceship filled the picture, she noticed Jaune bouncing excitedly beside her. "Are you always this excited when you watch this?"
"Hm?" Arc looked at her as he shoveled a handful of popcorn into his mouth, "Nah, not really. Just never watched the original on a big screen before. Been a while since I've watched this too."
"Why is that?" Pyrrha reached into the popcorn bucket, flinching as her hand brushed up against his.
"Well, living with seven sisters and being the only guy doesn't exactly get you TV privileges often. My dad introduced me to these films when I was little, and instead of getting presents on my birthday we watched them all together until I got older. I didn't even care that my sisters got things and I didn't. All I needed was these movies and time with my dad."
"That's so sweet," Pyrrha smiled, scooting over closer to him until they were nearly touching shoulders. Knowing now how much Galactic Conquest meant to Jaune, it made her even happier that he had asked her over everyone else to spend time and watch it with him. "I feel obliged to watch the rest with you now," she joked.
"Oh, you're so funny."
As the opening battle waged on, Pyrrha took the first step and touched shoulders with Jaune. At first, Jaune thought she had fallen asleep when he felt her weight on him and was ready to just give up on introducing girls to the movie (at least his sisters hadn't dozed off!), but was pleasantly surprised when he saw Pyrrha focused on the futuristic stand-off aboard the Grand King's flagship. There was hope for her yet!
But why was she resting on him? These seats were probably more comfortable than him. Maybe she wasn't a fan of leather.
"Oh! There he is!" Jaune shouted, scaring Pyrrha as he pointed at the screen, "Colonel Banesaw! He's my favorite!"
"Colonel Banesaw?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow as she looked at the menacing character on screen, "He doesn't exactly look very heroic…"
"That's because he's the villain. But in the prequel films, it shows that he's serving the Grand Kingdom to prevent his family from being sold into slavery. He only does bad things for a good cause."
Nikos cringed as the Colonel brutally decapitated a helpless prisoner with a laser chainsaw. "He seems quite happy murdering people though."
"The Grand King rebuilt him into a cyborg to keep him alive. Just shows how power can corrupt someone. I won't spoil it, but the sixth film really redeems his character."
"So is his name actually Banesaw?"
"Nah, its-
"HELLOOO!"
The Team JNPR members yelped at the sudden voice from behind them, Pyrrha scrambling to catch the popcorn bucket before it hit the floor. Yang Xiao Long was laughing uncontrollably as she sat down right behind them, an annoyed Blake close behind.
"Was that really necessary, Yang?!" Jaune raged, nearly choking on the popcorn still in his throat.
"Nope," the blonde grinned, "it was funny though. Just thought I'd let you know we were here."
"Yang heard the opening music from upstairs and dragged me down here with her," Blake explained further, "Said it was one of her favorite movies and that I had to watch it."
"I still don't get how you don't like watching movies," Yang said, reaching over Pyrrha for a handful of popcorn.
"I had a bad experience at a theater before… Rather not talk much about it."
"Adam-related, I'm guessing?"
"Let's just say we were never allowed back."
"Ouch. Guessing someone died?"
"Close enough."
"Not that I'm not glad you're joining us," Jaune interrupted, clearly annoyed, "But the whole point of a movie is to not talk during it!"
"But weren't you just talking to Pyrrha?" Yang said, pulling the boy's strings.
"Yeah, but that was about the plot-
"Still talking though."
"Gah! Pyrrha, back me up here!" Jaune turned to the girl, who was no longer leaning on him. The presence of Yang and Blake had killed the mood she was trying to build between her and Arc, and it had really put down her happy demeanor.
"Let's just watch the movie, okay?" Pyrrha forced a smile, quickly looking back to the screen, "The more the merrier, they say…"
Yang sighed a breath of relief. "Ah, thank God then. I was hoping you wouldn't mind more company than just us."
"Huh?" Before Pyrrha could question any further, voices erupted from the staircase leading down to the theater. Seats around them began filling up with housemates who were drowning out the film's dialogue with their own. Sun was the first newcomer to take a seat, joining Blake and Yang and starting conversation. Mercury was soon to follow, finally back on his well-oiled feet after yesterday's dilemma. Adam had pulled him out of the pool, though only to ask for the donation he had promised to give him for the White Fang.
"I knew I smelled popcorn!" Black shouted, sticking his unwashed hand into the popcorn maker and grabbing as much as he could. Ren winced at his lack of etiquette as Nora dragged him down to the front row, where they sat beside Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Oh, you guys are here too!" Nora smiled, "That's great! All of us here, enjoying the movie together! But not together-together, that would be soooo weird you know? What are we watching? It looks like a sci-fi movie. Oh, I think it's a sci-fi movie!"
"It's Galactic Conquest-" Jaune answered, only for Nora to continue immediately afterward.
"I've never seen this one before! Look at that, Ren! Is that a laser chainsaw?!"
"I believe it is-
"I NEED ONE OF THOSE!"
Pyrrha hated to admit it, but the arrival of her teammates had ruined this entire evening for her. As petty as she thought it sounded, this was supposed to be her and Jaune's time together. Nora and Ren were quite supportive of her feelings for their leader, but it would be too awkward to even lean against him with them around.
Lean her head on his shoulder, grasp his hand, and possibly confess once the film ended… Everything she had planned to do went down the drain.
As much as she wanted to stay and finish the movie with Jaune, this was just too much for her to deal with at the moment. She stood up, handing the popcorn to Jaune.
"Is something wrong?" Jaune asked, concerned.
"I'm sorry, but I just remembered I have something to do," she lied, not looking directly at him.
"But I thought we were going to watch-
"Please! Just, excuse me…"
"Wait, Pyrrha!" Jaune reached out, but she had already ascended the staircase by the time he was on his feet. Sighing, he dropped heavily into his seat and looked down from the screen. He couldn't be mad at his friends, but they had unintentionally just made Pyrrha leave. Jaune had told her this would be just for them, and he couldn't keep his promise.
He wasn't the only one feeling terrible right now. Nora felt almost worse than him. With as much support she had given Pyrrha to pursue Jaune since she knew about her crush, this was the equivalent slap in the face Nora could give her. The best thing she could do now was to try and make things better.
"Well, don't just sit there!" Nora said, lightly slapping the back of Jaune's head, "Go after her!"
"I don't think she wants bothered right now-
"Jaune," Ren spoke up, "I think it would be wise to do what Nora says. And tell Pyrrha we're sorry."
"For what?"
"You'll figure it out. I think she'll be out on the balcony. It's the best place to clear your head."
"What makes you think that?"
A knowing look to Nora was Ren's response.
"Ah. Should've figured that."
"Go get her, tiger!" Nora shouted, shooing Jaune away, "Make mama proud!" As Arc disappeared up the steps, Nora plopped down in his seat and began munching on his popcorn. "You think he'll get the hint tonight Ren?"
"…I doubt it."
The broken moon shone through the cloudy night sky, illuminating the penthouse's balcony. It overlooked the pool, its waves dotted with the reflections of beady white stars and Pyrrha's red locks. She leaned on the railing looking at her distorted copy below, blinking to clear her watery eyes. Wiping them with her hands now, she turned to go back inside and to her room.
She was surprised to see a certain someone standing in her way.
"J-Jaune!" Pyrrha gasped, "I'm, uh… Why aren't you watching the movie?"
"Just came to say that Ren and Nora are sorry about interrupting," Arc walked past Pyrrha and leaned on the same railing she had been using, "Also, I'm pretty sure it's the same reason you're not down there either."
"…What do you mean?"
"I said we'd watch it together, right? Everyone else down there made it not just the two of us. That was kind of the whole point of tonight, wasn't it?"
Slowly, Pyrrha made her way beside Jaune. "You… you'd really skip watching your favorite film to spend time with just me instead?"
"Of course! I like to watch Galactic Conquest with someone I'm close to, someone who won't mind me fanboying over it. It'd be alright with just you and Ren and Nora, but everyone down there? Not the same as spending it with only your best friend."
Those last words.
Best friend.
She was Jaune's best friend.
Pyrrha wasn't sure whether to be sad about the potential friend-zoning, or overjoyed that Jaune considered her his closest companion. "Your... best friend?"
"Well, yeah!" Jaune replied, smiling at her, "I mean, you're the one who helped pick me off my feet after the whole Cardin situation, and our whole training session thing we got going on. And I'm pretty sure two people don't share a bed unless they're pretty close friends, you know? Nora, Ren, and Ruby are good friends, but you'd still be the first person I'd turn to if I ever need help. You're like family to me."
"Jaune…"
Pyrrha's sudden embrace made him stiff as a board. Speechless, he did the only thing his head was telling him to do, and that was to hug her back. He really wished she wasn't pushing him into the railing though; falling from this height would hurt.
"So," Jaune said as Pyrrha stepped back to look at him, "What should we do now?"
The red head gazed up at the stars and smiled. "The sky is quite lovely tonight…"
"Huh. I guess it is… Wait a minute!" Letting go of her, Jaune pulled over two recliner chairs and aligned them with the railing. He allowed Pyrrha to select her seat, and scooted his chair over to touch hers. He laid back on it and patted his shoulder. "Most comfortable shoulder in all of Vale right here."
Laughing, Pyrrha lied down and took up his offer. She snuggled up close, placing her one hand on his arm. Jaune looked up and away from her to hide the red in his cheeks. If his spine was five times stronger, he would've ditched the whole best friend charade and just tell Pyrrha the truth.
Movie or not, Pyrrha considered this night a success. The girl was disappointed he hadn't confessed any outright feelings for her just now, but at least she knew he didn't care about anyone in this house more than her. Putting her worries behind her for the moment, she tightened her grip on Jaune's arm and watched the stars above.
"Oh, look at those stars up there! Looks sort of like a warthog, don't you think?"
"I don't know, Pyrrha… Looks more like a puma to me."