New chapter! Sorry this one took much longer to write and post than all the others. I just had a brain block writing this. Anyway, we get to see the first weekend at Beacon, and how everyone takes it in stride.
Thanks to Hakumein and masterofbones for helping me look through this. Without them, this literally wouldn't have been finished for another week. Writing is hard.
As always, I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
"Weiss, when I said we should hang out as friends, this was not what I had imagined." Jaune looks at the textbooks and worksheets in front of him, illuminated by the afternoon sunlight. Not the way I imagined the weekend starting. Just looking at numbers make me want to puke.
"Nonsense. The book I read explicitly stated 'friends often study and play games together.' Considering how fun and productive studying is, I decided this would be the first on our list of activities." Weiss pulls out a ruler from her bag. "Also, with how much catching up you have to do, this is hitting two birds with one stone."
"In what universe is studying fun? Besides, I'm a hundred percent sure you got that from How to Make Friends 101." I can see the book sticking out from her bag. "And from reading the other books in that series, I can say from experience it's completely useless." I've followed every instruction in How to Be Suave 101, and the first person that approached me was Cardin!
"What! No, there is no way I took advice from a book like that. I'm a Schnee, a born n-natural at making friends." She pushes her backpack behind her chair to hide it from view, but the way her voice cracks betrays her.
"Are you really?" Jaune raises an eyebrow, clearly doubtful at her declaration.
She sighs in defeat, drooping her shoulders as her confident facade crumbles. "I may have... difficulties. Due to my status, the people that interact with me often times only do so to further their agendas. Having to scrutinize them and put up a facade, I never had the chance to let down my guard and just 'hang out.'"
Jaune pushes his fists up to his cheeks, leaning forward with elbows on the table with a grin on his face. "Aww, you want to make friends but don't know how." Wasn't that what she was singing about? "That's right, you claimed to be 'the loneliest of them all.'" Jaune's voice goes out of key as he tries to sing the high note. "Being surrounded by four people, you're not that lonely anymore, Weiss-Cream." He imitates the way Yang pronounced the nickname, copying even the same playful smile.
She picks up a book nearby and throws it at his head. Jaune barely dodges it before it slams into the bookcase behind him with a thud, shaking the structure. The librarian sends a glare at their way. Jaune puts his hands up in an apologetic gesture before the person in charge scoffs and looks away.
"Shut up, you dolt! I told you to call me by name! Why am I even telling you this, anyway?" A pout can be seen on her face. Oh man, I see why Yang teases me now. Her reactions are great.
"Weiss, aren't I your friend?" He emphasizes the word. "Besides, I'm sure it says in your book that opening up to people is the easiest way to make friends."
Weiss grabs the book from her backpack, losing her intent to hide it. Flipping through the pages, she stops at the section he mentioned. "It is as you said. Then, Jaune, in fair exchange, reveal something about yourself!" She points a finger at him in front of his face. "Explain why you were at Father's party."
Jaune gives a shrug. "Sure. It's not all that interesting. Ozpin's my guardian, and he sent me as a representative as a... punishment." He hesitates in revealing the reason.
"Punishment." Weiss puts her hand over her mouth, struggling to keep from laughing. "I understand Father's parties could be tedious, but that's the first time I've heard of attending one as a punishment." With that, she lets out a stifled laughter. Others in the library send a scowl toward their direction.
"Hey, you said you won't laugh! And now the librarian's glaring at us again. Great."
The librarian puts a finger up to her lips with a frown on her face. He gives her a nod in acknowledgement.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I'll stop." She attempts to put on a straight face, but a smile can still be seen. "What did you do to warrant such a punishment?"
"Uhhh… Actually, I only met Ozpin recently. The first thing he told me was 'to not get in trouble.' Next couple of hours, proceeded to get into a nightclub fight and then combat against a dangerous criminal. Crazy night." Recalling that night, Jaune ruffles his hair in frustration. My luck that day was just terrible.
Seeing the boy's frustration, Weiss's smile only grows. "You know, Jaune, I don't mean to be rude-"
"Don't say it…"
"But you seem to be quite good at making a scene." He groans when she continues anyway. "You caused quite a commotion at the party as well. I remember how frustrated Father was by your attitude. I believe his exact words for you were 'uncultured swine.'"
"Yeah, I'm not surprised by that." I don't even know how many social faux pas I committed that night. "Alright, your turn. How about... how did you learn to sing like that? Your singing was wonderful." Jaune says, without hiding the amazement in the compliment.
Weiss gives a slight blush, the question reminding her of their conversation on the roof. She turns her head to avoid his gaze before answering. "As a Schnee, we must have certain skills and talents. For me, one of them just happens to be song."
"So, do you enjoy singing then?"
"What do you mean?" Weiss tilts her head in confusion.
"I mean, do you find singing fun? For me, I wouldn't be able to do something I didn't find enjoyable. Like right now, studying is a pain, but studying and talking to you like this makes it a lot more bearable."
"For me, it wasn't a choice." She whispers as she looks down, the smile from before gone.
The clock ticks by as Jaune considers what to say. Weiss probably never had anyone just be honest with her, considering what she revealed before. As her friend... "I can't say I can empathize. But I'm glad you took up singing. That performance was something I will never forget."
She throws another book at him, but this time he sees it coming and catches it. "Ha! You can't hide your embarrassment with-" Another hardcover book flies through the air and smacks him straight on his nose. "Ow."
"Hmf!" Despite her violent behavior, the smile returns to her face. "Fine, it's your turn. How can you be so straightforward, saying lines so embarrassing without being ashamed?"
This is embarrassing? My speech pattern got influenced by the games I played, so I guess those lines were embarrassing? But I don't think she's asking about that. "Master's Rule #6: The world doesn't need two Xenith Versailles. Had that one drilled in my head when I tried to imitate her. Basically, admire qualities of people you like, but the most I can ever be is me. So to answer your question... this is just how I'm like."
"So you always act like this?"
"Yup." Jaune answers without pause.
Weiss crosses her arms and heaves out another sigh. "You have completely destroyed the image of you I had of you when we first met."
"Master's Rule #3: No plan survives first contact with the enemy. In this case, I guess it's first impressions. Better get used to changing your perspective while you're here."
"Yes, I suppose I should get used to how whimsical you are." Her tone and facial expression conflicts, her tone in clear disapproval but a small smile can be seen. "Your master, did she teach you how to fight?"
Master… Jaune leans back on his chair, staying balanced on the two back legs. With a smile, he tilts his head toward the ceiling before closing his eyes to reminisce. "She taught me more than that. She taught me how to live and how to face the world." That's right. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for her. No, more like I couldn't find the courage to live.
His tranquil expression and vague answer fuels Weiss's curiosity, prompting her to continue her questioning. "Ozpin is your guardian now, right? What happened to her?"
Jaune's smile fades as he is once again forced to face the truth. "She died, living by her own set of rules. Whimsical and heroic till the end. Woman made it damn hard not to want to imitate her." If I could go out like her, it wouldn't be all that bad.
Following his solemn answer, a glum silence dominates as Weiss examines the boy's expression. She waves her hand in front of him, but he does not respond. A minute passes before she reaches out to him, trying to pull him back. However, she overreaches and pushes him instead, unbalancing him and causing Jaune to fall down and crash onto the cold ceramic tile.
"Weiss, I actually liked the mood we had going there. Please don't add violence to our list of friendship activities." Jaune rubs the back of his head where the impact occurred. "Ow."
With the loud crash, the librarian walks over, no longer able to ignore them. "You two, if you are not here to study, please leave. This is your final warning."
"I apologize." Weiss stands up and curtsies as she apologizes. "We will focus now." The librarian walks away, the sour expression still on her face.
Jaune fixes his chair and returns to sitting opposite of her. "I meant what I said though. Though we're both not good at this whole friendship thing, I think learning as we do is fine. What do you think?"
"Agreed. However, do not expect me to give you any leeway just because we are friends."
"Didn't expect it."
The next few hours pass as Jaune struggles with the worksheets, Weiss slapping the ruler on the problems she spots as incorrect. After going through half of them, she stops him. "We'll stop here. Attempting to learn anything more will only cause you to forget it all anyway."
"Praise all that is holy!" Jaune collapses on the table in exhaustion. "Thanks for helping me study, but this has to be said. With how strict you were, I could see you turning into Glynda 2.0."
Weiss puffs out her chest in pride. "I'm flattered. To be a Huntress as renowned and remarkable as her would be quite an achievement."
I was referring to how uptight Glynda is, but if she takes it as a compliment I'll let it go. Jaune starts putting all his papers and books into his backpack. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I plan to read up on next week's material, before finishing up Oobleck's paper." She picks up the books littered on the table, sorting them in alphabetic order.
"The paper due two weeks from now?" Weiss gives a nod. This girl is going to overwork herself. She said she didn't have a choice before, but now she has the chance to do something other than work. Time to be a bad influence. "Oh, that reminds me. I have this game that I need a friend to play with, but I don't have anyone to ask. Oh, woe is me!" Jaune brings up his hand on his forehead like a soap opera actor pretending to be in distress. He opens one eye and glances at Weiss's reaction.
"That act is wholly unconvincing." Weiss sighs as she gives in. "I'll keep you company, but only for a short while. Okay?"
"Yay! If studying is your expertise, then games are mine. I'll make sure it's interesting!"
Yang leaves the library, not finding Weiss inside the building. I know she and Jaune were studying today, but we were suppose to get dinner together after they finished. As she walks back to the dorm, she wonders why Weiss gives the blonde special attention. I also notice Blake taking glances at him, and Ruby is all smiles whenever I ask about him. He's fun to mess around with, but is that enough for our entire team to associate with him?
Maybe he really does have some lady-killer charm. But if he had that, wouldn't it have influenced me already? I still see him as a doofy boy. Though, I probably am just that awesome and immune to it.
Her thoughts circle around without a conclusion as she arrives in front of her room. Yang takes out her scroll, checking but not seeing any response from either of the two she's looking for. Looking at Team Juniper's room, she can see the door open ajar. Maybe they came back already?
She slowly slides the door open, darkness filling her vision. "Hello? Anyone here?" Straining her ears for a response, she can hear two soft sobbing noises. When the door finally opens completely and collides the wall, she sees two faces illuminated by the scroll.
Jaune and Weiss look up, tears running down their faces. The two grabs tissues from the box next to them to wipe their faces, ruining the girl's makeup. Yang sees the trash can overflowing with used tissues.
Weiss throws the pillow at Yang, running out of the room and covering her face as she shouts. "Don't look at me!"
The tissues not enough, Jaune sniffles and wipes his face with his shirt's sleeve. "Weiss, you can't keep throwing stuff at people." He says, tears still cascading from his face.
"What... what the hell happened here?!" Yang screams, completely lost at the scene in front of her. "Jaune... what did you do?" Venom bleeds through her voice. If he took advantage of her...
"We were just playing a game." Before he can explain any further, she jumps on top of him, pinning him on the bed.
"What kind of sick game involves making my teammate cry?" Yang holds her fist up, threatening to smash the boy's face. "Don't you dare feed me any lies or I'll feed you my fist!"
"If you haven't noticed, I'm crying too." Lacking patience, her fists inches closer. "Okay, okay! We're playing a visual novel called Clannad. It's like reading a story with pictures and music. This one in particular is about family and close friends and is sad, and I guess Weiss just got really into it."
Yang's grip on the boy softens. "Really? That doesn't explain why you're crying though."
"Yes, really." He points toward the scroll, with an animated character and a textbox display The only times I can cry are when I'm in the bathroom...or when I'm in Daddy's arms... "As for the crying... I'm just a sucker for this stuff."
Yang grabs the scroll to confirm it for herself, not fully trusting what he is saying. Before she can get off him, they hear a soft knock at the door.
"Hey, I saw Weiss run out crying out of your room, and I just wanted to make sure everything's okay." Blake takes a look at the two, blinking in disbelief at the scene.
"Damn it, Blake! Wait until you get permission to enter!" Jaune struggles to break from Yang's grasp, but her strength overpowers him.
"I believe I was justified in this case. I did see my teammate run out crying from here. And to think, I thought you were some special agent of Ozpin's, but now... Nora and Yang both falling prey... and, looking at Weiss, I'm guessing what you made her do was just too much." He can see the gears spinning in her head in all the wrong directions. "Though, I always knew you would be on bottom."
"Damn it, Yang, get off of me before Blake makes even worse conclusions!" He grabs her arms, pushing her without avail.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." Yang finally gets off, her face still looking at the scroll. He takes the scroll from her. "Hey! I was still reading that!"
"I'll lend it to you after you fix your partner's misconception!"
However, it is already too late. Blake runs out, muttering something about countermeasures for her and Ruby.
"Great." Jaune sighs with the feeling of deja vu.
"Aww, cheer up." Yang slaps him on the back. "I'm sure your reputation can't get any worse than it already is!"
Jaune groans, slumping back on the bed at the realization. "Yang, I want to learn how to improve my relations with girls. Can you help me?"
Actually... that's a great idea! Yang wraps her arm around his neck. "I have a plan. No saying no. You and I are going to paint the town red!"
Unable to resist, the girl drags him off to the Bullhead's dock.
"Are you sure she's okay? She seems a little... not okay." Jaune looks at the drunk blonde next to him, waving her drink around. The alcohol spills and almost splashes on to the other patrons, causing them to leave their seats and relocate.
Next to Jaune, Junior sits there with an amused grin. "Probably. That stuff is seventy percent alcohol, but her Aura will probably heal through it." He answers deadpan, taking a sip of his own drink.
Jaune nearly chokes on his chocolate milk, some of it even going up to his nose. "It's what?!"
"Don't worry, Hunters and Huntresses order the Crevice Spike all the time. Aura makes them process alcohol much faster, so they need stronger stuff to get drunk. Think of it as payback for breaking my stuff." Junior gives a wry smile. "Though, you gotta admit, this is pretty funny."
"YOU WANT SOME OF THIS?!" Yang stands up and brings her fists up, provoking a fight.
"Yang, that's a chair. Please don't pick a fight with a chair." He puts his hands on her shoulder, making her sit down again.
"Is that right? -hic-" Yang chugs down her drink. "I'll have you know, I would have won. -hic-"
"Yes, yes, you would have." He pats her back trying to comfort her. I really hope she doesn't puke. "So how long does this last? And is there a cure?"
"Time's the cure. Depends on how strong her Aura is, but probably a few hours. Doubt she'll even have a hangover." Junior looks over at Melanie and Miltia in the corner sulking, taking glances at their direction. "You should probably apologize to the twins when you get the chance."
Jaune stares at him blankly. "Apologize for what?"
Junior rubs his temples, feeling an impending headache incoming. "Your first week of Beacon and you brought a girl over here." Jaune's expression holds unchanging. "You... you are going to have a lot of problems with women."
Jaune snorts at how on the money the statement was. "You have no idea."
"No, Jaune. You have no idea." Junior shakes his head as he walks away.
Oh crap, Yang! He looks around trying to find his companion to the party, seeing her talking to two other guys. Walking over, he prays she does not do anything rash.
"And so, I told him, I like to start my fight's off with a Yang!" She throws out a punch at an imaginary enemy. "Bam!"
The two step back from her fists while laughing dryly at her story. One of them speak up. "Actually, we were planning to head to another party around here. Do you want to join us?"
Stranger danger! Before Yang answers, Jaune steps in between them and interrupts the conversation. "Sorry boys, but she's with me. But I'm sure there are some other nice girls who would love to go to that party with you." He gives them the biggest smile physically possible, hoping to avoid trouble. Let's not make causing trouble a trend.
"Really? She's with you, scraggly?" The other one answers, walking closer and looking down at him.
Why does everyone call me that?! "Even if I'm not, I'm well acquainted with the owner of this place. We wouldn't want to cause any trouble for him, now would we?"
The two look at each other, nodding and acknowledging the hidden threat in his remark. Clicking their tongues, they walk away. "Fine, whatever. Dumb blondes should stick together anyway."
"Who are you calling a dumb blonde?" Yang puts her fist together, ready to charge them. Jaune holds her back as they walk away. "Yeah, that's right! Run away!"
"Yang, when I told you not to pick a fight with a chair, that doesn't mean pick a fight with people." He stabilizes her as she wobbles drunkenly. "Come on, let's sit down and wait for the alcohol to pass through your system."
Letting her sit on the bar stool, he swipes the drink from her hand. Yang tries to take back her drink, but completely misjudges the distance, slapping him in the cheek instead. "Hmm. I might just be a bit drunk."
He takes her hand off his face and places it on the table, cheek slightly red. "Right. So explain to me why we're out here again?"
"Duh? It's Friday night! Better to come out here and party than staying in the dorms all night. Besides, I can use a break after this hectic week." Ignoring the fact that she can barely sit up straight, she orders another drink from the bartender.
The bartender looks at Jaune for confirmation. He shakes his head in response to deny the additional drink. "It has been a hectic week. That's why I intended to sit in my room and relax. Besides, tomorrow-"
Yang cuts him off. "Nope, sorry, all I hear are excuses. Just look at this!" She extends her hand out in a sweeping motion towards the dancefloor. "Look at all the opportunities you're missing out on!"
Jaune scans the dancefloor with its obnoxiously loud music and flashing colors, seeing one guy puke in the corner. On the opposite end, a large brusque man pushes another man down trying to start a fight before being escorted off by the bouncers. "Chances to fight and get horribly intoxicated? No thanks. You're free to do so… actually, you've already done both. Can we leave now?" He pulls out the scroll to check for the timetable for the airship, but Yang takes it away before he can. "Hey!"
"Sorry, but you're not getting out of this one. Besides, didn't you say you have trouble with girls? Well, look at all the girls you can practice talking to! There, there, and there!" She points to all the girls sitting alone around the room.
Despite the fact that she's drunk and I'm sure one of those is a guy, her argument does have some logic. Maybe I just need more practice… "Okay, what should I do?"
Yang flashes him a smile before pulling on his arm, walking towards the nearest girl. She taps the stranger on the shoulder. "Hi, have you met Jaune?" The girl turns around as Yang walks away, leaving the boy to fend for himself.
Okay, no need to panic. Let's start using that book. Start off with a nice, easy introduction. He gives an awkward smile. "Uhh, hi, I'm Jaune." The small girl turns around, revealing her half pink and brown hair. The multicolor eyes of pink and brown stares at his face, examining his features. "How are you doing tonight?"
The girl continues staring at his face without a response. After a few blinks, she opens her eyes wide in shock. Clutching her umbrella tightly, she swings at him, causing him to duck to avoid the attack.
What the hell? Seeing the girl ready to take another swing at him, he slowly steps back, trying to diffuse the situation. "Sorry, did I do something to upset-" Before he can even finish, she launches another surprise attack at him, elbowing him in the abdomen. As he keels over in pain, she stampedes off, eyebrows furrowed and glaring at him the entire way.
Yang walks over, hand over her mouth in an attempt to hide her smile and laugh. "Puhahaha, you weren't kidding! You barely got a word in before she started taking swings!" She extends a hand to help him up, the unsympathetic grin stuck on her face.
"I'm glad you're enjoying my suffering." My luck with girls is the worst. "I might cry at this point." Taking the hand and standing back up, he brushes off the dust on his pants. "I think I'm just going to go home."
"Don't be like that, lady-killer." Yang gives him a light punch to the arm as he groans at the new nickname. "Alright, let's just enjoy this without bringing up your lady troubles. Do you know how to dance?"
"Uhh, sort of?" He scratches his head, looking at the floor sheepishly. "I have never danced in front of others, so I don't know if it's good or bad."
Yang shoves him onto the dance floor, knocking him into several others. As he apologizes, Yang eggs him on. "Let's go, show me what you got!"
"The dance I learned isn't exactly-"
"Less talking! More dancing!"
Why is she so pushy? Sighing at the unreasonable request, he glances around him to see others shaking their hips and tapping their feet to the music. Imitating them, he also includes swinging his arms and nodding his head at the rhythm. He looks over to see Yang covering her face, looking away and avoiding eye contact. "What?"
Yang walks over and pushes his arms on to his side to stop him from moving. "I thought you said you know how to dance! That looked like an angry chicken jumping around after getting its head cut off!"
Jaune looks around to see people snickering, as well as a few others who overheard nodding at her comment. "I didn't exactly learn how to dance at a club. You can't expect me to just get it on my first try!"
"Fine. What kind of dance do you know?"
Jaune's face flushes red as he remembers his dance lessons. "It's embarrassing to admit…"
"Then just show me."
She's so bossy! "Okay, fine!" Jaune grabs Yang's right hand with his left, pulling their hands slightly above their shoulders and in center between them. He puts his right hand over her shoulder blade in preparation for the dance. "Place your other hand over my shoulder, and follow my lead!"
Yang's eyes open wide after realizing what they were about to do. "Wait, you're not going to-"
"Sorry, but if you're going to be this pushy about it, then I will too!" The two twirl around as he leads her in a waltz, dancing and maneuvering around the others. With the speakers blaring techno music, they garner more and more attention with how out of place their dance is. As they complete more of the waltz, people stop dancing around them just to point and laugh at their ridiculous behavior.
"Okay, I get it. I may have been a bit too forceful about making you stay. We can stop now." Yang starts to let go of her hands, but Jaune's grasp on her tightens.
Actually, this is fun. "Sorry Yang, but you did say to enjoy myself. So I'm going to enjoy this fully." He brings his left hand over her, twirling her in place. "Besides, don't you like this attention you're getting?"
Yang rolls her eyes. "I have enough of that at school. Between the youngest to ever attend Beacon, the heiress, and, well, me, our team isn't exactly low profile. How long are we going to do this for?"
"Another minute? If I remember correctly, the song playing in my head lasts for that long."
"This is going to be the longest minute of my life." They continue to waltz around, stopping just as the club's music stops as well. "That was well timed." Before she could let go, a song contrasting the club atmosphere plays, replacing the loud and rhythmic bass with guitars and violins. "What?"
The two look up at the DJ, where Junior stands staring at the two. He mouths "keep going," with a smirk on his face.
"Well, you heard the man." Jaune steps closer, their faces now centimeters away from each other. "I hope you know how to tango."
"I do, but are we really doing this?" With the proximity of their faces, Jaune could see a tinge of red on her face.
"Too late to back out now." An expression of pure elation appears on his face. "He was even considerate enough to play one of my favorite songs."
Sway, by Dean Martin, plays in the background.
As the two tango, they dominate the space around them, the others walking back to give them room. They step in perfect sync, their legs twirling in mirrored movements, their feet landing in precise harmony. Feeling the warmth of the other with each stride, the bodies come closer and closer until their clothes graze with each shift. Each movement is natural, like a pulse flowing through their connected arms. Their movement tango intensifies, with each adept motion contributing to the whirlwind that is their dance. No words exchange between them. Their locked eyes and bodies communicate everything. Their eyes reflect each other, gazes unbreaking even when Jaune's hand grabs on to her waist, lifting her up and leaning her towards him. Without hesitation, Yang kicks her feet out, extending them outward as he spins in place, landing as delicately as a rose petal in a breeze. Her hand returns on top of his like a puzzle piece returning to place, bonding the two together. Each gesture continues in likeness, Jaune leading her movements, her hands and legs moving exactly as he dictates. Contrasting his usual demeanor, he confidently guides her in each part of the tango. The dance finally ends as she leans on to him, arching her back in his hold, presenting her like a delicate glass sculpture towards the crowd.
Silence monopolizes the room, everyone in perfect stillness at the performance they observed. One clap emerges after a few seconds, changing into a roar of applause with some whistles in between. Well, at least now I know what my dancing is like.
The two separate from their link, walking back with flushed faces to the bar as the previous techno music comes back. Some spectators approach them before Junior comes, shooing them off. "Nice dance, kids. I thought you were going to humiliate yourself, but instead you just made everyone here jealous at the fact that they can't dance."
Whew, I don't have to face Yang quite yet. "Thanks for putting on that song." Jaune scratches his head, not knowing what else to say. "It is one of my favorites."
Junior scoffs in amusement. "Of course it is. It was Xenith's too. Considering how you act and talk like her, it only makes sense you end up liking the same things." He gives a slight nod to the bartender, who brings over two plates of pancake. "This is thanks for performance. Livened up the night. I'm going to deal with the aftermath."
As Jaune looks at the plates, the connection clicks in his head. "You were the one Beacon gave the red sap!"
As Junior walks away, he flashes a smile that reveals all of his teeth. "Yup. Considering you both had a part in that too, wouldn't sit right with me without offering you some."
Jaune turns back to face Yang, hearing her mutter under her breath. "I see. It's the contrast. The gap in demeanor makes all the difference…"
"Hey, Yang." She continues to murmur without noticing the boy. "Hello, Remnant to Yang!" He waves his hand in front of her to get her attention.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Great dance, Jaune. Where you'd learn to dance like that?" Yang answers, but her eyes still avoids his.
She seems out of it. "Master taught me. She saw it in one of those old spy action movies, how the partners danced as cover. She wanted to learn how to and ended up roping me into it. Thought I wouldn't like it, but it ended up being one of my favorite activities. How about you?"
"It was one of the things Dad made me do. Said it helped me be more feminine. Well, I got that other ways." She leans forward and waggles her eyebrows at him.
Uhhhhhhhhh. "hhhhhhhhh." He senses his face scorching red and feeling as if steam is escaping from his ears. To distract himself, Jaune looks down at his plate and starts eating the pancakes.
"Yup, still the same Jaune." Yang begins devouring her pancakes as well. "You know, if you talked as confidently as you danced, you wouldn't have so many problems."
"But they're so different! I have experience in dancing, but I could count how many people I talked to before coming to Vale on one hand." His hand stops cutting into his food as he lets out a sigh. "Maybe I'll always be like this."
Yang gives him a hearty slap on the back. "You'll be fine, Jaune. Some girls like guys like you. Besides, wouldn't you rather just be yourself than having others like a fake version of you?"
"I guess. It still hurts though." He lets out another sigh. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up. I really did have fun with the dance. If your goal coming here was to destress, it definitely helped. What about you?"
Yang shakes her head. "Ugh. Don't remind me."
Jaune quickly begins apologizing. "Oh, sorry! I thought the point of coming to a bar was to exchange complaints. Was I wrong?"
"You're not wrong. But it does feel wrong to dump my troubles on you. I'm the big sister of the team, you know. I take care of everyone else, not the other way around."
Now that I think about it, she does exhibit a lot of the older sister character tropes. He gives a shrug. "I don't mind. Everyone has grievances. Now what's bothering Onee-chan?"
"Onee-chan?" Yang raises her eyebrow, looking at him as if he came from another planet.
"Slip of the tongue. Anyway, lay it on me." The corners of her mouth curl up as the words escape his lips. "I know what I said."
"Alright, alright, you've convinced me. Our team is kind of a mess, you know?"
He shakes his head. Best let her explain first. "Nope."
"Right… Your team is actually balanced. Ren and Pyrrha seem pretty level headed." Jaune yells out in protest at the thinly veiled insult as she continues. "Well, between Weiss being so anal and being the SDC's heiress, Rubes being younger than everyone else and socially awkward, and Blake keeping to herself and being hands off, our team is all over the place. I'm trying to help everyone get along, but that was already hard with the fiasco at the start of the week. I don't know how much worse it's going to get." She lets out a sigh.
She definitely put a lot of thought into this. "Have you talked to anyone else about this?" She shakes her head. "How about starting with that? It's as much as the team's trouble as is yours."
"Not sure how much they could help. But it can't hurt to try. Did you do that as well?"
"Yup. It definitely helped." Yeah, the conversation with Pyrrha really helped. Reminding him of the plans tomorrow, he gives another suggestion. "Why don't you start with bonding as a team? Pyrrha suggested something similar, and that's what we're doing tomorrow. They might get along more by not being in a stressful school setting." Despite what Weiss says, she does enjoy something other than schoolwork.
Yang puts her hand on her chin in consideration of his suggestion. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like fun. It might make Blake drop her guard…" She gives a playful smile at that statement, her eyes shining as she formulates a plan.
Oh no. That's the same look Master gets when she has an awful idea, the same look Ozpin got at the interrogation room. But it's not for me this time. Eh, what's the worst that can happen?
"So now that we gushed about our troubles, what's next?"
Yang's smile expands. "Isn't it obvious?" She tilts his head back as she forces a drink down his throat. He flails his arm in resistance, but Yang overpowers him as the alcohol flows down his esophagus.
When did she get the chance to order another drink? Oh God, is this the Crevice Spike?! I can feel my brain cells dying by the second. Finishing the drink, he inhales deeply, hoping the air will help the burning in his throat. "Yang, I can't handle alcohol." He grabs his neck, coughing in an attempt to regurgitate the alcohol. "Oh no. No. No!"
"Aww, you big baby. You're at a bar! You can't just order chocolate milk!" She holds another drink, ready to force him to drink again.
"No, you don't understand! Alcohol makes me-" Without even finishing the sentence, that was the last thing he remembered saying.
That's the start of the weekend, with fire and ice! Oh man, I really hope Jaune isn't an angry drunk, or the club is going to have to go through repairs again.
Thanks for reading the chapter! I wanted to give Weiss and Yang more interactions with Jaune. And we can see how natural Jaune/Weiss is when he isn't trying to hit on her the entire time. I hoped you enjoy that!
There will be another slice of life chapter before we get into Jaune's reason for coming to Beacon, where things get darker. Look forward to it!