A/N: Sorry this one's a little late... I hope y'all enjoy :)

Cain:That manipulative little b*** but I guess I can't complain I mean this is Cinder your writing about. But I do hope Jaune says no to Emerald and goes with Blake.

Beta: Prince of Austria

"So… the dance is coming up."

Jaune turned to Pyrrha, who was looking inquisitively at him. Nodding, Jaune closed the Compendium and set it aside.

"Yeah?" Jaune asked, wondering where Pyrrha was going with this. The redhead fidgeted a little, almost looking like a schoolgirl instead of one of the best fighters of their year.

"Well, I mean, I was just wondering if you had anyone you were bringing to the dance. To go with you."

Jaune frowned, thinking. "I didn't realize it would be such a sure thing for me to be going to the dance." Jaune said thoughtfully, with a trace of amusement. Pyrrha's face reddened a little at being put on the spot and she hurriedly apologized for assuming that he would be.

"Oh it's fine," Jaune said, laughing it off. "I was just messing with you."

Pyrrha's shoulders slid down a fraction in relief, happy to see that Jaune was talking and smiling. It seemed that a few days of Blake forcing him to interact with humans did well on his psyche. After the catastrophe that was the robot assault of last week, Jaune had seemed a little lifeless. Then again, Pyrrha thought to herself, everyone else had too. All of them, from Blake to Sun was a little shocked at the careless amounts of life that they threw away when facing Roman.

Luckily, with the help of a resilient fifteen year-old and her older sister, the two teams were gathered together and were reassured one thing over and over again until it got through to them.

It wasn't their fault.

Well, it was their fault, but everyone was forced to remember that it wasn't just one person's fault. With that in mind though, everyone was able to come together, and support each other. Someone always had someone else to talk to, and someone else to share the blame.

Even the punishments that Headmaster Ozpin gave them seemed only to bring the two teams together, Ozpin oftentimes pairing up two members of each team for one assignment.

"So you are going to the dance then?" Pyrrha asked, her voice tinged with a little hope. Jaune shrugged.

"I guess I am. I don't think there's anything else I'd do if I wasn't." Besides translating and deciphering those books that he needed to decipher. Apparently, although Jaune hadn't forgotten about what he needed to do, he was also starting to learn how to balance his life along with it. After all, if it was going to take him all semester to crack the tomes, what's the harm in a week or two of breaks as well?

"That's wonderful!" Pyrrha clapped her hands in excitement, before turning demure and glancing shyly at Jaune.

"Would you… happen to have someone to go with in mind?"

Jaune blinked at the sudden question. "Uh, no. Do you?" he asked back awkwardly. Pyrrha blushed and started to play with her hair a little.

"Actually I was hoping that I could go with someone… as friends."

"Oh?" At this point, Jaune was actually very interested, this being the first time he's seen Pyrrha acting so nervous. Pyrrha took a deep breath before blurting out her question.

"What do you think of Ruby?" She asked. Again, Jaune blinked, completely lost as to how the subject changed so suddenly.

"Ruby?" Jaune asked uncertainly. Pyrrha nodded, her face still bright red.

"She's… pretty cool, I guess. It's hard to remember that she's only fifteen though, 'cause she's pretty good at acting our age… or we're pretty good at acting hers." Jaune muttered the last part to himself quietly.

"Yes, she is pretty cool isn't she?" Pyrrha said happily. "She is quite the accomplished Huntress, and so smart for her age—"

"And doesn't really judge a person because of fancy titles or whatnot, right?" Jaune interjected slyly. The redheaded Amazon froze.

"Well?" Jaune asked, twirling his pencil in between his fingers while looking at Pyrrha in amusement. "Am I wrong?" Pyrrha sputtered something nonsensical, as if the neon red face and the way she was acting wasn't already a dead giveaway. Finally Pyrrha had enough grace to concede the point and hunched over a little.

"You're not wrong." Pyrrha admitted. Jaune gave a happy grin and leaned over to pat her on the back.

"Well, you should go for it. I think she would really appreciate the gesture." Jaune said, for once imparting wisdom onto someone instead of it being the other way around.

"Thanks Jaune." Pyrrha said warmly, smiling up at her partner. Standing up, she looked closely at Jaune, eyes briefly attracted to the constantly moving pencil in his fingers.

"You know Jaune, we didn't really get off on the… best foot possible in the beginning." Pyrrha started out. The blonde alchemist nodded, knowing full well that he hadn't been all that welcoming. "But I think that it would be grand if we could become better partners… and a better team."

Jaune kept his eyes on Pyrrha before giving a soft smile. "Yeah. I'd like that." He gave a little laugh. "After all, it kind of sucks that we're one of the only teams that don't even have any strategies. Dust, even Team RWBY's been making up some moves."

Pyrrha giggled into her hand. "I know. I've heard them practicing."

Snorting, Jaune said, "I've seen them practicing. It's one thing to hear Ruby yell out 'Ice Flower'! and another to see her accidentally freezing Yang into the arena for half an hour."

The two of them imagined the scenario and burst out laughing, leaning on each other for support. The silence in the room, for the first time, actually felt more than just bearable. It felt comfortable. Even though neither of them said a word, it seemed as if there wasn't a pressure to do so, and the two of them simply sat there in companionable silence. Finally, Pyrrha decided to speak up.

"So, you know, Blake still doesn't have someone to go with to the dance."

Jaune raised an incredulous eyebrow, quite frankly surprised at how blatant Pyrrha approached the topic.

"Uh. Okay?" Jaune said, a little confused. Pyrrha's brow creased in frustration.

"So. Why don't you go with her?"

"Oh."

Another brief silence as Jaune thought about it. He and Blake were pretty close. Maybe she wouldn't say no? Why would she say yes?

When Jaune turned the question around, it was hard for him to find an answer. There wasn't much that he could really offer. A bit of a nerd. Awkward. Secretive… Jaune fell onto the bed sheets and laid his hands behind his head, frowning.

"I don't know. I think I'll just go alone. Actually, I think I'll just let the chips fall where they may."

Pyrrha frowned at the lackadaisical attitude that Jaune was displaying, and tried to find another way that would push him.

"That does sound reasonable… but you know, I also saw that Sun was asking Blake to the dance as well." Pyrrha added in, hoping that it would propel him into action. Instead, it made him deflate a little further.

"Okay… then why should I even ask?" Jaune retorted. "I mean, she doesn't really have a good reason to accept, does she?"

Pyrrha opened and closed her mouth, furiously trying to think of a reason to tell Jaune.

"Well, yes, but maybe she doesn't want to go with Sun?"

Now things were getting really confusing for the simple minded alchemist.

"But if she doesn't want to go with Sun… why would she want to go with me?"

"Because you two are good friends!" Pyrrha was getting to the end of her own patience, which she found to be particularly short when it came to Jaune. He just seemed so… so thickheaded.

A pity for any girl trying to capture his attention.

As oblivious as Jaune is, he simply rose up from the bed and gave a casual shrug. "Well, it's fine. We'll still see each other at the dance. I think I'm going to go for a walk." Jaune said unexpectedly, throwing Pyrrha off completely.

"Wait, what-?"

Jaune ignored her protests and left with a casual wave.

The moment he was clear from the hallway, Jaune leaned against the nearest wall, releasing a sigh.

He didn't get it. He just didn't get it. Why would it matter that Blake was going with Sun? Or that she was going with Sun? Dust, why was it that the simply possibility was making him want to go up to the monkey faunus and sink him neck deep into the ground? Jaune opened up the palm of his automail arm, looking at the glove that was enclosed on it briefly before using his other hand to take it off.

Maybe… maybe it was because he was different, Jaune thought to himself as he looked at the interlocking plates that made up his hand. Sure, there were a few people with cybernetic attachments like… okay, so there wasn't anyone that he could think of. But when you're in a world where people have things that act like magic and shape shifting scythe/sniper rifles, a robotic hand wasn't all that crazy.

Right?

Ah who was he kidding. Sure most people didn't care how Jaune looked or if he was missing a limb or not. Sure all of his friends accepted the fact that he lost his arm years ago.

But that didn't change the fact that the first time they saw it, they flinched.

Everyone did.

And even if outwardly they didn't care, everyone judged him for that. Everyone saw him as imperfect, and in a world where Aura could make you look fantastic until you were ripped apart by Grimm, it made him less.

Heh.

It wasn't like he was wearing his gloves to make a fashion statement after all.

Jaune closed his eyes once more and heaved out another breath, releasing all of his teenage angst out in one go. Putting the subject aside (or shoving it as deep into his brain as he could possibly manage), Jaune went to shimmy back into his glove before he heard a little gasp. Turning, Jaune saw a head of green hair and a pair of wide red eyes.

Trying to play it off, Jaune gave a nonchalant smile and even waved with his automail arm.

"Hey there Emerald."

Quickly, as if she just changed masks, her face was wiped clean of any shock and a smile was put in place as she waved back.

"Hey there Jaune! I, uh, sorry for… you know." Emerald said awkwardly, gesturing to his still exposed hand. With a tight smile, Jaune slid his hand back into the glove.

"Don't worry about it. I should've thought of that before I, uh, decided to pull off my glove in the hallway." Emerald offered a weak smile.

"Right." She said simply. "So, where're you going?" She asked, walking beside Jaune.

"Uh. Around?" Jaune offered, not sure where he was going either. Emerald nodded genially.

"Sounds good to me."

As the two of them wandered around in the hallways, Jaune couldn't help but compare the silence that the two of them had with the one Pyrrha and Jaune had earlier. There was the same elements behind it. Silence, accompanied by occasional snippets of conversation. A pretty girl, an average boy. But there was something different with the Jaune and Emerald.

The awkwardness was a little stifling.

Jaune felt a little hot around the edges of his clothing, and he opened his mouth constantly, as if trying to find anything to say to the silent Emerald.

When the two of them started to hang out a week ago, Jaune could tell that Emerald was interested in him, and that quite frankly scared him. Aside from the fact that Jaune had a unique perspective and knowledge of alchemy, there wasn't much else for others to be interested in.

So when Emerald appeared during his lunch break a few days after when they first met, Jaune was already on his toes. She talked about… well, about books, which was something Jaune could actually relate to. A few fairy tales and fictional stories slipped through his understanding, but they could keep up a decent conversation. It didn't hurt that Emerald was also an attractive girl who seemingly was willing to give him attention.

Something just… feels a little off to Jaune.

Call him paranoid, but with his experience with girls, the last thing he expects is for someone as gorgeous as Emerald to just walk up and coincidentally be interested in him.

"Jaune? Jaune?"

"Huh?" Turning, the blonde alchemist saw that Emerald was a few paces behind him, arms crossed and an eyebrow turned in amusement.

"I said that I needed to get off here." Emerald gestured to the door beside her. "This is my dorm." Jaune nodded.

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Emerald laughed, waving it aside. "It's alright Jaune. I don't like you 'cause of your social skills that's for sure." Jaune flushed a little, not sure what kind of like Emerald was implying with that sentence. The door slid open and the emerald haired girl put one foot through the threshold, before turning to face Jaune again.

"Hey." She started off, a little awkwardly. "You have anyone going with you to the dance?"

"Uh." Jaune said smartly. "You mean the one next week?" Emerald rolled her eyes.

"No, the one three years from now, when we graduate." She snarked back. "Yes the one next week."

"Oh." Again Jaune's face grew a little warm, not used to having his usual sarcasm delivered back at him. "No. I don't. Have anyone, that is. To go to the dance with me."

Couldn't have been smoother Jaune.

And for his next trick, Jaune was going to trip on his shoelaces.

"Well, maybe you wouldn't mind going with me?"

Huh?

Wait, what?

"Huh?" Jaune repeated. Emerald gave a little smirk.

"You. Me. Dance. Together?" Emerald said, pretending to grunt barbarically. Jaune flushes deep red this time.

"Oh. Uh."

"You don't have to answer now." Emerald said, holding up her hands to stop him from answering. "Just know that I'm offering. I'll see you around Jaune." And with that, she popped the rest of her body into the room, the door sliding shut.

The blonde haired alchemist stood there for another second, still confounded.

"I have no idea what just happened." Jaune said to the empty hallway. Shaking his thoughts clear, he headed back to his room.

Emerald.

There was just something about her that Jaune couldn't put a finger to, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Maybe she was a spy of some sort. Maybe she's buttering up people so that she could find their weaknesses and use it against them during the Vytal Festival. Maybe…

Maybe Jaune was just being paranoid.

"You know, you shouldn't be making that kind of face for so long. It might stay that way."

Blake was leaning against a wall, arms crossed and a small smile sported across her face. Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"No, I don't think that face will be any more attractive than the other one." Blake teased, making Jaune roll his eyes.

"Hey there Blake. What brings you here?" The cat faunus shrugged, leaning off of the wall.

"Just taking a stroll before I spotted you." She answered easily. "What about you?"

Jaune scratched the back of his neck, smiling a little. "Same." He answered.

With that, the two of them turned to the direction of their dorms and strolled along, neither really wanting to say a word. When they approached their hallway however, it was Blake, surprisingly, who decided to speak up.

"So, are you going to the dance next week?" Blake asked, causing Jaune to turn his attention towards her. Jaune's mind worked furiously without him noticing, remembering the earlier conversation that he had with Pyrrha.

I also saw that Sun was asking Blake to the dance as well.

"Actually, yeah. Emerald just asked me to go with her." Jaune said carelessly. Blake's bow twitched a little, and the small smile that she wore a few seconds ago seemed to fade into its regular stoic line.

"Oh?"

Jaune nodded, a little too enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it was a real shock, 'cause I wasn't expecting anyone to really ask me to the dance, but she did so… yeah."

"What did you say?" Blake's voice seemed a little quieter than usual. Again, Jaune scratched the back of his neck, giving out a small chuckle.

"Well I didn't really say anything. She told me that I didn't have to answer her until I thought it through." Another pause as the two of them grasped for something to say.

"That's… very nice." Blake commented. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I think it'd be pretty cute for you two to go together." Jaune flicked his eyes over to look at Blake, who had a grin on her face for a second, before she turned away. Jaune frowned when she wasn't looking, a deep pit forming in his stomach.

"Yeah. And it'll be pretty cool seeing you and Sun together too." Jaune said. He didn't know where this was coming from, or why he even said that. All he knew was that in his mind, somehow, he thought that saying something along those lines would make the feeling in his stomach go away.

Blake rubbed her arm, still not meeting Jaune in the eyes.

"Yeah."

With that, the two of them stopped in front of their respective rooms and stood on opposite sides, looking everywhere but at each other's faces.

"Well. Goodnight." Jaune said somberly, not sure why he was being so formal. Blake nodded.

"And to you." Blake said, mirroring Jaune's formal tone and turned around, going into her dorm.

As the door slid shut, Jaune was left facing the impassive walls, not sure what just happened, but knowing that he should've done something different.

"Damn."