A/N: Nora is me. Proof below- one line from the outline of last chapter, which is eerily similar to a text I sent a friend last week when she was ghosted by some boy.

-texts nora and nora's like lemme know if you need to hunt a man down cuz I fuckin will dawg

Let me know what you think of the chapter!

Thrown to the Wind

Tolerate

Jaune laughed, but the hurt in his voice was clear. "Saph told me that she met you. And, guess what? A few days later, she ends up talking to me about Cardin." His eyes shone, misted over in pain. "Why would you say anything?"

She just blinked at him. "But- but I didn't-"

"And just because I'm friends with Ruby doesn't mean you need to be friends with me, too," he barrelled over her attempt to protest. "Is it funny, watching the poor kid working so many jobs? Not all of us have a full ride, you know." His shoulders were trembling, voice growing more heated with every word. "You don't know what it's like."

"But I didn't say anything to her," Pyrrha mumbled weakly. She had wanted to, yes- but Saph's confrontation with him had absolutely nothing to do with Pyrrha.

Jaune wasn't listening. "And then that guy tells me that you're interested in someone else. It's pretty clear that he meant him, so-"

"What are you even talking about?" she cried. "This is so- Jaune, I didn't-" but all of her words were failing her. How could she explain it to him? There were so many confusing topics flying around, so many assumptions, and she couldn't keep track of them all. But I like you, Jaune. I admire you. I've never thought anything bad of you- so how is Saph involved in this? How is Mercury involved in this?

The boy held his hands up, walking away, leaving behind the little bag of goodies for Pyrrha. "Just… I'll… I'm gonna go." He shoved his hands into his pockets angrily. "I heard about that party this weekend. Go have fun." Before she could say anything else, he added, "And don't drop by the store. There're plenty of other convenience stores near here."

"But… you won't be there." But he was gone, and Pyrrha was left alone and in a daze.

That was how Pyrrha found herself back at the track, dropping her bag off to the side. The curious eyes of her teammates followed her, a few of the girls asking kindly if she was alright. Her state must've been clear on her face, however- Glynda pulled her aside in a heartbeat, clasping her shoulders and squeezing reassuringly. "Pyrrha, you can't leave practice like that randomly."

"I'm sorry. I won't do that again," she mumbled automatically, but her heart was so utterly lost that her usual earnestness was nowhere to be found.

Glynda understood immediately. "I'm not going to ask, Pyrrha. This isn't like you. Something's happening- head home for the day."

Instantly, her eyes snapped back to her coach. "But-"

"You won't be able to focus here until you figure out what's going on," the woman explained kindly. "Take care. We're almost at the last big meet- you need to do well then, okay? So take today to rest and recalibrate." There was no chance for the redhead to try and argue with Glynda's stern gaze, so Pyrrha simply sighed, nodded, and miserably picked up her belongings.

Thank the heavens that Nora was home. By the time Pyrrha had reached their building, it had begun to rain, and the distance between the tram and their front door was more than enough to ensure that Pyrrha was utterly soaked by the time she trudged into her room. Nora immediately tossed her a towel and her toiletries, forcing the girl into the shower. Numbly, Pyrrha responded, and soon, she was seated on her bed, hair in a towel, pyjamas on, cocoa in hand, staring blankly into space while Nora leaned upon her shoulder. "What happened?" Nora asked gingerly.

Pyrrha shrugged. "Honestly… I don't know."

"Did you do something?"

"I don't think so."

"Did he do something?"

"No."

"Does he think you did something?"

She winced. "Apparently."

Nora clicked her tongue. "'Kay." She sent a quick text. "I'm getting Ruby to investigate." The girl jumped to her feet. "I've gotta get to class, so I'll let you know if I find anything, okay?"

"Sure thing." But her heart wasn't into it, still so confused by the morning's events.

It was late afternoon when Pyrrha realized that she had been listlessly lurking in her room all day. Her friends in her classes had gladly sent her the notes she had missed, as by the time she realized what she had done, it was already too late to make running to class worthwhile. So, she pulled on a sweater, washed her face, and wandered out to the central hall to hit up the cafeteria.

Normally, there were booths for events and clubs in the central advising hall that housed the main office for all of the dormitories. RAs would use the side rooms for events, and groups on campus usually lurked by the doors of the cafeteria to advertise their causes to unsuspecting students as they came for mealtimes. Today, Sun was standing on the side, waving excitedly to Pyrrha when he saw her. The girl sighed, but gave the boy a wan smile anyways, approaching his table.

To her surprise, however, there was another familiar face standing by Sun's side. "Pyrrha, we meet again!" Saphron cried happily.

Pyrrha blinked at the older girl. "…Saph? What are you doing here?" Her heart stung a little, looking at the open girl.

"Oh, you know each other? Perfect!" Sun cheered. He quickly handed her a little personal invitation and an informational pamphlet. "Ruby connected me 'n Saph here, since I wanted to run an outreach event! Y'know, give back to the community and all that? So, since she's the new outreach coordinator for the local shelter, I thought I could get people to come volunteer for a few days with her help!"

Pyrrha frowned, gears in her brain slowly turning. "Wait… is that a new position?"

"Yup!" Saph grinned. Then, her eyes narrowed, expression melting into one of kind understanding. "Pyrrha, wanna talk?"

And before she could say anything, the girl wrapped an arm around Pyrrha's shoulder, waved to Sun, and guided Pyrrha away.