Hi everyone! Just to clarify, Clicktalk is Snapchat and Quickpics is Instagram. I know it sucks but I am an unoriginal grain of rice. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've had to deal with family stuff, but now I can keep this going!
The sunny light from the outside campus glimmered through the window of the janitors closet Jaune had bunkered down in. The shadows that the light created perfectly exaggerated his less than calm expression. His eyes flickered from spot to spot on the door that kept him protected. Prying his hands off his sweaty face, he quietly whispered to himself.
"Ok… Ok, just calm down and take deep breaths… Alright. Now, what are my options?" He spoke softly to himself, laying out his schedule in his mind to dissect. 'I only have around 30 minutes before breakfast ends and classes start. I can't really go out to the dining hall cause of what happened, and I can't go back to my room to grab a snack… I can't really skip out of classes with how my grades are, so there's no avoiding the mob… Shit… What have I gotten in to now?" He moved around the room and quietly mumbled to himself, but by the time he had a semi-structured plan formed, the bell rang.
"Crap… That's the five minute bell. Well, goodbye decently structured plan. Improvisation skills, don't fail me now." Jaune muttered as quickly walked out of the closet and through the halls.
A shout was heard throughout the halls of the many dorms in Beacon Academy followed by what sounded like a wrestling match. Many who were in the halls looked in confusion at what appeared to sound like a warzone coming from the JNPR dorm room. What went on inside the dorms reflected the chaos of what it sounded like.
"That little scoundrel! That dirty rotten piece of human trash! Let go of me so I can burry that blond mop of his into a cemetary!" Weiss yelled at the top of lungs at the two weights that were holding her back from commiting a crusade. It had been approximately 7 minutes since Pyrrha had dropped the news and explained the whole situation on a optimistic team RWBY, and already Weiss had plans to arrange a firing squad for the poor bastard. The reactions that they had to the news wasn't great, but if Jaune knew what they thought, he would have only been afraid of Weiss.
Ruby was sad. Sad that she couldn't rub it in Weiss's face and help bond the two teams some more, but more importantly that Weiss had been correct. She was correct that Jaune had faked his way into the academy. She had been correct that Jaune had lied to them. But she didn't hate him. She was disappointed, sure, but unlike what most people think, she didn't see life as a fairytale. She knew he wasn't a bad person and that he genuinely wanted to become a huntsman. She knew that he wouldn't want people's lives to be in danger and that he did everything to become stronger so that he could help people. So… no. She wasn't mad. She was determined. Determined to find out his true reasons for doing this and help him in whatever way possible.
Weiss was about as opposite from Ruby as it could get. She didn't understand why they were stopping her, they being Ruby and Nora. He had lied! He had cheated! Cheated into one of the four most prestigious huntsman and huntress academies in the world! So what if he "wanted to do the right thing"? He still did the wrong things to achieve that goal! Someone like that was dangerous in her eyes. Someone who thinks that the end result justifies the means to getting it. Someone like her father. It was a dangerous mindset to have, and she wouldn't be putting civilian lives at stake just for him to play the hero.
Blake was more indifferent the more she thought about it. Sure he commited fraud and that was a crime, but it wasn't like she hadn't done the same thing when she was in the Fang. Hell, She had done much worse before realising that it was wrong and she left. Plus, she hardly even knew the guy. How was she supposed to judge someone she rarely talked to? So, in terms of Weiss or Ruby, she leaned more on Ruby's side.
Yang though… She was more on both sides rather than one or the other. Weiss was absolutely right, he had lied to them and to everyone at the school, and he should be punished. Along with the fact that now that she knew what he did, she didn't trust him with Ruby. Liars aren't called liars because they told one lie, they usually lie about many things, to the point where you can't decipher the truth from the mountain of garbage they spew. Someone like that couldn't be trusted around her innocent, very manipulatable sister. On the contrary, Ruby made a very good point. She knew who Jaune was and knows that he wears his heart on his sleeve. He's very honest about things most of the time, and when he isn't, it's usually something really personal. Like how Cardin has been bullying him. She agreed with both of them that they should go look for him though.
Once they had gotten Weiss calmed down for a second time that morning, they all explained what they thought of the situation and what they thought they should do next. "I say we tell Headmaster Ozpin what's going on and have him deal with the situation accordingly." Weiss huffed as Ruby gawked at her. "Are you crazy Weiss?! That would just get him in trouble faster! We need to settle all this drama and go find him!" Weiss and Ruby were in an intense glaring match for a couple seconds before Pyrrha broke them up. "Weiss, Ruby, please calm down! All this shouting won't solve anything. What we need to do is talk to him about this. All this guessing and fabricating will only make things worse. Now… Classes are about to begin. I would suggest you go to get ready for the day."
"Hmph… Fine. But if I see that liar, I'm only giving him one chance to explain himself before I contact the staff." Weiss spat as she and the rest of Team RWBY walked back to their dorm. Once they heard the door close, the rest of Team JNPR sighed and flopped back down. "What are we going to do now Pyrrha?" Nora asked with a low hum. "Our fearless leader is being badmouthed all over Beacon." Pyrrha sighed and looked up from Jaune's bed. "The only thing we can do. Come on, we need to get ready for class." Nora begrudgingly stood up while Ren moved towards the closet.
After Pyrrha had explained the situation to Ren and Nora last night, they had been in a funk ever since. She came back looking tired and depressed. Naturally, Nora and Ren asked what was up, and she told them everything. Pyrrha was sad, but for a different reason than Ruby. Pyrrha was sad that Jaune hadn't told them sooner. She was sad that she had run away from him when he needed her most. She wanted to help him, but he had a desire to do it on his own. To not be the damsel in distress, to be someone others could count on to be helpful, not a dead weight.
Nora had conflicted feelings that just made her want to yell. On one side, he was her fearless leader and she wanted to forgive him. On the other side, he did something wrong that made her want to hit him. So in the end she wanted to find him, give him a good bonk on the head, and make everything all nice and dandy again. But the logical part of her brain told her that even if everyone looked past his mistake, it would never be the same. All in all, the entire situation put a bad taste in her mouth.
Ren was a different story. Though Jaune was like a brother to him, he had still done something wrong in pursuit of a selfish goal. But he knew Jaune well enough to know that he hadn't meant any harm or ill will. He knew that Jaune had a desire to become stronger because of the restraints put on him. He just wanted to know why he didn't chose a different solution rather than illegally forging a transcript. There were many unconventional ways to become a huntsman rather than the academies. There were some who took an apprenticeship with a retired huntsman or huntress, there were others who have their own personal trainers, and some even rough it through the wilds outside the kingdoms in order to gain experience. If Jaune wanted to be a hero to look up to, why did he chose something so morally unjust?
By the time they had all finished getting ready and walked out of their dorm, Team RWBY had waited for them in the halls. "Alright… I know all of that arguing put a bad taste in our mouths, so why don't we head down to the cafeteria to get some breakf-" Ruby had started before the loud ringing of the bell interrupted her. "I guess we spent more time talking than we meant to, huh?" Pyrrha said with a sad smile on her face as the group split up to head to their own individual classes.
Jaune quickly walked down the hall and into his first class, Dust Studies. While he was getting plenty of stares, he moved forward and took his seat. He had been two minutes early to class, but he didn't know whether or not if that was a good thing. If he had been super early, he would have more time to formulate his plan, but he would have to see all the judgemental glares from everyone as they entered class. If he had been right on time, he wouldn't have to deal with seeing every individual come in and seethe at him, but he would have to deal with seeing a collective angry mob of people once he walked in. Either way, being in the middle of that schedule didn't help him at all. As soon as he finished that thought, two familiar pairs of eyes walked through the doorway. 'Crap! I forgot I share this class with Ren and Blake!' His eyes franticly stared at anything in the room but them. They took a quick glance at him, but simply moved on and sat in their respective seats. 'At least I don't sit directly next to them.'
Dust Studies was relatively normal, apart from the quick glares from his classmates that he had caught. The class finished up and he moved to his next class. While he was exiting the class though, he could practically feel the glares piercing through him. But as he made his exit, he passed Ren and Blake and briefly caught a glimpse of their expressions. What surprised him though was the lack of anger on their faces. He had expected them to share the same resentment as the rest of the school body, but their faces looked intrigued and kind of purposeful. Like they wanted to try and talk to him. That made him even more terrified.
By the time he had finished that thought, he had made it to his second class, Leaders Education. This put an immediate pit in his stomach. He would have to deal with Cardin and Ruby. He had gotten used to Cardin's usual insults, but now he had some serious ammunition. As for Ruby… He couldn't bear to see the sight of her actually mad at him. To see her convert from a happy go lucky, rather energetic, cute girl to a angry, volatile, pissed off glaring machine? He had seen Yang mad, he'd rather not see Ruby mad as well. He looked down at the polished wood floor of the classroom and quickly took his seat. What made the class even worse was the fact that him and Ruby sat directly next to each other, so it made it a whole new level of awkward.
The class began and he started to take notes of what the professor said. Learning his lesson from last class, he kept his eyes solely on his paper to avoid general eye contact with anyone else. Around halfway through class, he began feeling small bumps on the back of his head. Turning around but looking down, he saw small bundles of scrunched up paper lying on the ground. Knowing who sat behind him, he didn't even need to look back to know it was Cardin. Jaune sighed quietly and went back to his notes. He knew if he looked back at Cardin or read the notes on the pieces of paper, he'd be doing exactly what Cardin would want him to do. So he focused on his notes, trying to ignore the constant bumping on the back of his head.
Ruby was at a loss of what to do. Even though Jaune was sitting right next to her, she knew that she couldn't try and talk with him else she face Professor Port's wrath. She also noticed that when he turned around to see what was bumping his head, he avoided eye contact with her. Ruby steeled herself, once class was over, lunch would be next. Knowing that he would try to avoid the cafeteria as much as possible, she made a mental note to try and talk with him during lunch. She knew that if no one explained things to him, he would think that they all were angry with him, so he would avoid his team and Team RWBY as much as possible. She wanted to talk with him to get him less scared, so that he would be more comfortable to talk with everyone after school. For now, all she could do was watch him and hope he wouldn't run away as soon as she tried to initiate a conversation.
Leaders Education class had finally ended and Jaune had a massive pile of paper balls behind him. He quickly picked them up off the floor and threw them away, then he made a quick pace for the door. Ruby had been expecting this and once Jaune had walked through the doorframe, she grabbed him and ran outside to a quiet area thanks to her semblance. He was taken off guard and began to flail around in the wind of Ruby's speed. Once she had let him down, he quickly got up, ready to question the motives of the person who had just dragged him across campus, but quickly flinched once he saw who it was.
"O-Oh! Ruby! Wh-Whats up? Why'd you uh… Why'd you bring me here?" He knew he couldn't outrun her, so he instead tried to convince her to let him go. "Jaune… I know you're scared, but before anything else let me tell you this! I'm not angry." Ruby said with a reassuring tone. "Uh… wait… You're not?" Jaune asked, stumbling over his words as he did not expect her to say that. "No. I'm not. And neither is Blake, Yang, Nora, Ren, or Pyrrha. Sure, we're not happy with what you've done. But, we're not mad." Jaune noticed immediately that a certain dust using, ice queen was left out of that statement, but he didn't question it. "B… But… why?" Jaune looked down at the grass as it flowed in the soft breeze. "Why aren't you guys angry with me?" Ruby's gaze softened. "Because Jaune, we all know you. We all know that you wouldn't purposefully harm anyone. We know how much you want to be a hunter, and how hard you'll work just to get stronger. We know that you are a good person, and that you want to help the cause for peace in this world. It's what I admire about you. Even though we have only known each other for a couple of weeks, I can sense that you want nothing more than to make people happy. No amount of fortune and wealth could replace the feeling of helping someone with something they can't do, right?" Ruby said as Jaune stared at her, confused."Well yeah, but… I... " Jaune stopped short, he looked off into the vast view of hills and mountains in the distance. "How can you all be so forgiving? I did something wrong. I cheated my way into Beacon. Beacon! How can you forgive someone like me?! I could get you all killed!" Jaune shouted as tears began to form in his eyes. "What if I make a fatal mistake on a mission that could get you, my team, anyone killed! It would be my fault. All because I didn't have enough training, all because I wasn't good enough! What then?!" Cobalt eyes glared down at silver, then silver collided with cobalt. Ruby ran towards Jaune and hugged him. "Because I know you. I know you'll get better. With time and practice, I just know you can do great things, Jaune." Ruby cried into Jaunes uniform. "And we'll help you with that. Not because you're weak or pathetic, but because we want to. Because I…" Ruby's sentence slowly deteriorated into incoherent gibberish as she cried onto Jaunes shirt. Jaune, noticing that she was falling apart, put his arms around her and began to shed his own tears.
A couple minutes passed before either of them spoke a word. The soft breeze and quiet chirps of birds were the only sounds either of them could hear. Once he had stopped crying he spoke in a soft voice. "So… you guys really forgive me?" He said as Ruby pulled her face out of his chest. "Of course Jaune. I-... We all love you." Fortunately for Ruby, Jaune didn't notice her stutter and continued on. "Heh… man. What did I do to deserve such good friends?" Jaune said as he sat down onto the grass. "You were you. And that's all we can ask for." Ruby said as she sat down beside him. "Heh, you know, I distinctly remember you not adding Weiss in when you were listing the people that forgave me." Jaune said as he turned to Ruby with a sad smile. "Yeah, but you know her. Eventually, she'll come around though. I just know it." Ruby waved off. "Yeah, I guess I should expect that. She did seem pretty annoyed with me flirting with her, I'm guessing this didn't help her with that." Jaune joked as they both sat there, just staring as the clouds floated by, for another couple of minutes before Jaune got up. "Well, we probably aren't going to eat lunch today. Wanna head to class early?" Jaune said as he offered a hand to Ruby, which she gladly took. "I'd love to."
An extra long chapter for not uploading for a while. I wanted to make this story a bit different from the usual "Jaune's transcripts get found out and now everyone hates him!" fanfictions. I tried to emulate what the characters would say in that situation. Like how most people are angry at most fics because Blake does so much worse (probably) in the Fang but she hates Jaune just cause he faked some papers? Idk man. Also, if you didn't catch it, I'm a trash Lancaster shipper, but the story won't focus on it too much. Anyway… Thanks for reading!