Okay, I'm going to drop a spoiler here… I'm sure most people got it but I've had reviews asking for a bit. After last chapter… well, I assumed things had been made clear, but to some it appears not.

Crimson… is Jaune in disguise.

Shocker, I know. I'm just going to flat-out state it because a) I had hoped it was abundantly obvious, but b) apparently it wasn't to some. So there you go. Crimson is not an OC. The only OC's here are Nina and Brian, who serve important purposes which allow Jaune's charade to exist in the first place.

And also, because goodness me, no – Jaune `White` isn't an OC that I'm planning to `trick` you all into thinking is Jaune, as one or two have accused.

Beta: College Fool

Chapter 7

Yang didn't bat an eye as Jaune White sat down beside her. Her attention was only half-focused on the stage, where some guy she didn't recognise was facing off against another girl Yang had seen around class once or twice. It wasn't that either of them were unskilled… they just weren't people she knew and so her interest waned.

"You're looking a bit better today," Jaune said, sparing only a glance for her before he looked back to the fight.

"That your chat-up line?" she quipped, grinning to show she didn't really mean it. "It needs work vomit-boy."

"Hey now, can't I be upgraded to vomit-man at least?"

"You hiding a man under that hoodie?" Yang leered suggestively at him, tracing her eyes up and down his form. Any other guy his age would have stammered and looked away, but he rolled his eyes at her obvious sarcasm, chuckling to himself. She grinned too. In a way she supposed that proved he was a man, or at least more of a man than most guys she hung around with. He didn't take everything she said seriously, he didn't blush, flounder and fall to pieces when she looked at him. She appreciated that. "I got more sleep last night," she said, feeling he deserved an answer. "So that's why I've probably gone from drop dead gorgeous to utterly radiant in your eyes."

"That must be it. And here I wondered why those bags under your eyes turned me on so much." The utterly deadpan tone of voice he used had her snorting loudly. She slapped a hand over her mouth, glaring at him for making her utter such a nasty sound. He grinned at it, the bastard. "Did you end up going to the Oyster last night?"

Crap… did she-? No, of course she didn't tell him. He was a pretty cool guy, but that didn't mean she wanted him to know she'd spent the previous evening watching a strip show. Or that she'd been personally served by the man who haunted her dreams.

"Were you at the club last night?" she asked instead, trying to keep her face casual.

He shook his head. "No, I had to run some errands for Reg out in Vale. It was just arranging some shipping of spirits, meeting with the suppliers and such." He grimaced, "Boring stuff."

"Sounds it," Yang grinned, flicking his arm. "I went out for a walk around Vale but wasn't in the mood for drink," she lied. "What's the point of dropping by when my favourite bartender isn't there?"

He seemed to relax, laughing slightly. "You mean no one makes Strawberry Sunrises like I do. Sometimes I think my mixing is the only reason you talk to me."

"Maybe~"

Jaune shook his head good naturedly, looking back to the fight.

"You did better this time," she offered, "Russell's not as easy an opponent as Pyrrha makes him look. You almost had him once or twice too."

"Thanks… I'm still pretty much the weakest guy here but I guess I'm getting better."

True, and it spoke well of him that he didn't let his relative strength drag him down. There was always going to be someone who was the weakest in class, just as there would be someone who was the strongest. That was just what happened when you started making people compete against one another. His ability to bounce back was welcome, though. It showed he was willing to do something about a problem rather than simply whine.

"If you ever need any help…"

"Don't worry about it," he flashed a little smile, "Same thing I said to Pyrrha and Ruby. I'll be fine."

Yang didn't push. He was getting better, so there was some truth to his argument. It wasn't fast progress but it was definitely noticeable. Are you sure you're not letting him get away with it because training him would interfere with seeing more of Crimson?

No, that was silly… she wouldn't let someone she knew flounder just because of hormones or how she felt about some guy - especially when that guy was a stripper of all things. She wasn't that stupid… he did what he did because it was his job. Any affection he showed her had to be faked. She wasn't going to develop feelings for someone like that. It would be a lie to say he didn't excite her, but she was a teenager attending a school that constantly left you filled with adrenaline. There was nothing wrong with wanting to relax, right?

"Well, let me know if you ever need a sparring partner," Yang shrugged limply, wishing she could sound more certain. If Ruby had ever been in trouble like he, then she would have leapt to her defence as soon as she could. Did it make her a bad person that she didn't do the same for him?

"Thanks Yang," he said, "You're a good friend."

Was she really? Yang wasn't so sure. Good friends didn't lie to one another.

"Did you end up taking my advice?" he asked, distracting her for a moment. "You said something was bothering you before. Something that you felt was embarrassing or silly, but that you wanted nonetheless. Did you go for it?"

"I went for it," Yang admitted, hiding a rueful smile. "Your advice was good. Thanks."

"So it's all sorted then?" She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in question. "This… problem you had. It's not going to keep bothering you, is it? It's sorted, right?"

"Yeah…" Yang laughed, "It's sorted."

It wasn't… but he didn't need to worry about that. This was her problem. Jaune seemed to let out a quick sigh, looking honestly relieved on her behalf. Aw, that was so cute. Ruby's lucky to have a friend like him… to think I nearly ruined that. He would do her sister well if he showed even half the concern he did here, and she knew he did. Ruby and Jaune were inseparable in class, with Pyrrha often hanging around them too. Yang wasn't sure if he didn't notice the redhead's attraction, but she had the suspicion he did.

That was something she didn't want to get involved in. She knew what it felt like to have someone confess their feelings to you… she also knew what it felt like to not return them, to say no and watch their faces fall – only to twist in anger and resentment a moment later. She wouldn't blame him if he'd decided to pretend he didn't notice, to pretend it wasn't an issue. Sure, it was running away from the problem. But it just wasn't a winnable battle. Feelings never were.

"I'm working tonight," Jaune said, as the battle on stage started to come to a close. "Are you visiting the club again?"

"Not tonight." The drinks were free but even she didn't want to drink every single night. Plus, the team might start to ask questions if she kept vanishing like that. Heh… she could lie to him, but not to herself. Her team wasn't the real reason she was giving the place a miss.

She was afraid to face that man again. How ridiculous.

"We should go together next time," Yang said, the impulsive words slipping from her lips before she could stop herself. Jaune blinked at her, cocking his head to the side. "As friends," she added, though she doubted he'd thought otherwise, "When you've got time off. It might be a good way to pass an evening."

It would also prevent her from feeling the urge to visit that show again, to try and see him. Maybe this was all just happening because she was bored, because she was going out alone and didn't have any friends to hang out or chat with.

"Alright," Jaune said after a short pause, "That sounds like a plan. Do you want me to let you know when I'm free? Do you want to invite Blake along?"

"Already tried," Yang rolled her eyes, "Trust me, she isn't the type. And Ruby is Ruby and Weiss is Weiss, so no luck there either. You can bring some of your team if you want. The more the merrier."

"That's okay," he waved the idea off, "Nora is… well, Nora," Yang had to giggle at the similarities in their team, "and while I think Ren would be cool, he obviously comes with Nora attached. Pyrrha's…" he tried to find the right word.

"Complicated?" Yang offered him an out, smiling understandably.

"Complicated," he agreed with a sigh, looking more than a little despondent. Yang nudged her shoulder against his, showing that she understood. Maybe that was something they could talk about; share some past experiences and lament about what it felt like to have someone into you when you just couldn't bring yourself to return those feelings. "Thanks," Jaune whispered, no doubt referring to her not questioning him.

Yang grinned and slugged his arm.

"What are friends for?"

/-/

Jaune pushed his way through the crowd as everyone filtered towards the changing rooms. His quarry was ahead of him, slipping between people as she often did. With a sigh and a lunge he reached out, grabbing the back of her hood.

"Erk!"

"Sorry!" Jaune cringed when Ruby fixed a little glare on him, though she seemed to relax when she realised who it was.

"Hey Jaune," she grinned, "Your fight was so much better!"

"Ah thanks Ruby," he rubbed the back of his head. First Yang, now Ruby – and no doubt Pyrrha afterwards. Still, as vain as it sounded, it felt good to be praised like that. At least with Ruby he knew it was honest. "Guess I'm slowly getting better."

"Hmhm," she nodded, "So what's up? Did you need me for something?"

"Ah, right," Jaune shoved a hand into his jeans pocket, rummaging about before bringing out some lien. Ruby eyed it curiously, looking up to him. "Yang dropped this," he explained, holding it out. "It was left on the seat once she got up to get changed. Could you give it back to her?"

Fifty lien… the same amount of money she'd paid him the night before. He'd agonised over it through the night, unable to come to terms with the fact that he'd been paid by a friend… to do nothing more than be friendly. All he'd done was talk and try to protect her from someone with less morals than he. You didn't pay a friend for that. It made him feel so mercenary… like his friendship was a commodity to be purchased.

"Ah!" Ruby jumped and reached out for the lien, counting it. He'd made sure to switch up the numbers. She'd paid with five, tens. He'd given it to Ruby as two twenties and a ten. Yang would never be able to tell. "Thanks Jaune," Ruby rushed forward to hug him, "And thanks for helping Yang too."

"H-Helping her?" Did she know? Had she found out!?

"Like I asked you to yesterday," Ruby grinned up at him, chin against his chest. "You talked to her and then she came back happy and slept well. She looks so much better today. Even Weiss and Blake said so!"

Jaune laughed, relaxing a little. What backhanded praise, even if Ruby would never realise it. He hadn't helped Yang in the slightest; in fact, he'd go so far as to say he'd hurt her – whether the blonde realised it or not. His ill-thought out advice had led her to meet with his less savoury line of work, one he wanted to escape from. He was tarnished by it, Jaune knew that. But that didn't mean he wanted it to affect anyone else.

What was the point in getting out of it if he ended up leading one of his friends in?

"Jaune?" Ruby asked, voice suddenly small and worried. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," he laughed, rubbing a hand roughly into her hair. Ruby balked and kicked at his shins, growling as she pushed free and glowered cutely at him. "Anyway, got to get changed or we'll be late. I'll catch you in history, kay?"

"Kay," she nodded, waving as she sped into the girl's changing rooms.

Jaune shook his head and entered the male side, not even paying attention as he moved past other men in various states of undress. Some cowered and tried to hide themselves behind towels, others undertook awkward dances where they tried to get dressed without exposing themselves for even an instance. Part of him wanted to scoff at their anxiety. It's normal though, isn't it? In fact, I'm the one that would probably be considered abnormal. They were just seventeen. He was seventeen as well… he should have been as awkward as them.

It just didn't seem important compared to the other things, however. Yang had met Crimson… the first time could be ignored, he'd danced for her and she'd been embarrassed and run away. It had been the best result at the time, but even then he hadn't really worried about it. Why should he? She was just one random person attending Beacon… there was no reason for them to ever know one another.

Yet now there was. Ruby was his best friend and he wasn't willing to give that up, which meant Yang was a person he needed to be around fairly often. She was a friend too, albeit he wasn't as close to her as he was her sister. Beacon was the life he wanted… becoming a huntsman was his dream, his escape. To achieve that dream he would need to graduate, which meant for years at the school.

How terrible would those years be if the truth was found out?

It shouldn't have been a big thing… it was just a job and people should be able to see that. It should have been something easy to ignore.

He knew it wouldn't be.

Life had shown time and time again that it wasn't fair. There were hundreds of little social stigmas which could affect how people saw you. Everyone spoke of equality yet faunus features could be enough to leave you without work. Those who were disabled invited pity and sympathy, but there was no denying some looked at them with revulsion too. So it would be with him… no one would want to be friends with someone like him, not with what he did. How could they trust that his friendship was honest, that he wasn't playing with their feelings just as he did with the customers he seduced?

It would be an absolute disaster…

And now I'm slap-bang in the middle of it all… Yang knows both me and Crimson, which means the more time she spends around us, the worse this gets. The best choice would be to avoid contact entirely, but that wasn't going to be possible. If she came to the Oyster she could ask for Crimson by name. If he wanted to continue his friendship with Ruby then he couldn't avoid her at school either.

Could he leave her to the wolves at the Golden Oyster?

No, he couldn't. His heart wouldn't allow it. She was his friend – Ruby's sister, but also his friend nonetheless. He wouldn't be able to face either of them if Yang had her first time stolen by someone looking to mark another notch on their belt. As independent as she was, as smart and fierce as Yang could be, she was still just a teenager. Some of the guys he worked with had years of practice picking up girls like her… and they practiced that trade many times a week, every week of the month, for years and years. It was their nine til five, except that it was nine at night, sometimes until five in the morning…

Either way, it shouldn't matter now. Yang had lied when she told him she hadn't visited the Golden Oyster, but he didn't blame her. He'd lied too. But she had said her problem was pretty much sorted, which meant she shouldn't feel the need to come back. So long as Crimson remained Crimson, and Jaune remained Jaune, there wouldn't be any trouble. Keep the real me separated from the fake me, then nothing can go wrong.

In fact… maybe going out drinking with her could help. If he kept her distracted at the Oyster then she wouldn't feel the desire to go off and watch a show. It was about the only thing he could actually think to do. If it was entertainment she was looking for then surely he could provide, solely in a platonic way?

Keep her engaged with Jaune White. That's who I want to be anyway. Crimson will fade away in time. Crimson was always supposed to do that. On the flip side, if hanging out with Yang ended up making him a good friend out of the deal then that would only be a bonus. If she did come back to see Crimson… he wasn't sure what he would do. He'd tried to push her away, he'd tried to bore her, push her into submission and then embarrass her into leaving. None of that had worked. Hopefully her curiosity had been fulfilled…

No lie could last forever, not when it was being pushed so far. Brian had as good as warned him of that… warned him to let her get whatever came to her. He couldn't even ask the man to look after Yang on his behalf. They needed the money… why else would they have a job such as that? The only way to get better tips was with more service, which meant doing whatever they could to make Yang want that.

Gah, what a mess… he pulled the uniform shirt over his head, stuffing his combat gear into a locker as he quickly fixed the tie around his neck and shrugged on the blazer. The locker door slammed shut, him turning about – only to bump into a wide chest.

"Well look what we have here," Cardin laughed, shoving Jaune. His back hit the locker, bouncing off it loudly but not really hurting. The grin on the bigger teen's face said he could soon change that if he wanted to. "You're doing better Jauney-boy, almost made Russ sweat a little."

"Almost," the Mohawk teen laughed, leaning against a locker. "I was jus' going easy on him anyway. Got to give a man a chance, you know? Makes it more interesting."

"Then thank you for the chance you gave me," Jaune said. He didn't want to cause a fight here, not when it would mean him getting his ass handed to him. "It was very kind of you. You fought well and beat me… good fight."

"What's with that formal attitude?" Cardin laughed, "Come on Jauney-boy, we're all friends here."

They weren't, though that didn't need to be said. Blue eyes flicked left and right as he tried to find an escape. CRDL had him cornered. He'd spent so long talking to Ruby and then agonising over Yang that the changing room was completely empty. He was stuck with the four of them.

"Friends," Jaune said, wincing at how unconvinced he sounded. Surely they had to leave to get to class soon? They couldn't keep him stuck in the changing rooms indefinitely. "So, what's up guys? Did you need to ask me something?"

"There is something," Cardin smiled and wrapped an arm around Jaune's suddenly stiff shoulders. "See, I've seen you hanging around with your team, with that Team RWBY too."

"That's a lot of girls for one guy," Russell commented.

"Ambitious," Dove agreed, sharing a laugh with Sky.

"Exactly," Cardin nodded. "So we were just wondering… which one are you interested in Jauney?"

Jaune spared them cautious looks, wondering why they were asking. Was this just for gossip? "I'm not looking for a relationship right now," he said carefully, watching Cardin's eyes for a response. The burly teen grinned but didn't say anything. "I'm not actively pursuing any of them. Why?"

"Well that's fine," Cardin nodded. "I'd hate to make a move on a friend's girl, that's all. That would be totally against the bro code. So if you're not after any of them, that means we can make a move, right?"

Jaune nodded, trying to hide his distaste at the thought. He didn't have to stop them. It wasn't his fight. He was fairly sure none of the girls would be interested in any of Team CRDL. Blake hated their guts from what he could see, while Weiss was far too prickly. Ruby was young and uninterested in guys while Yang… she could look after herself. Besides, she had much higher standards. Nora and Pyrrha would be safe bets too, since Pyrrha hated Cardin for the bullying he'd done so far and Nora had something with Ren.

"We just need a little favour from you." Cardin tightened his grip around Jaune as he tried to escape. Of course they wanted something from him… how could he think otherwise? "See, we don't really know or talk to them much. But since you're a good friend to them – as well as us – why don't you put in a few good words on our behalf, eh?"

"That Blake girl is totally my type," Russell laughed, rubbing his hands together. "You seen how tight her ass looks in that outfit?"

"True," Sky shot back, "The Schnee though, damn man. I would, if you know what I mean."

"I'm more of a breasts man myself," Dove laughed, making a squeezing gesture towards his chest. "The rack on Xiao-Long… you could get lost in there."

Deep breaths… he had to take deep breaths. These idiots, these children didn't know the slightest thing about Team RWBY. Guys talked all the time, often about girls, this was nothing new. Girls talked about guys too, he knew that from experience. It was all just normal banter. He had to let it go… just ignore it and not get involved.

"Hey now," Cardin warned, "Xiao-Long's mine, Dove. She'll be screaming my name once I show her a little bit of the Winchester charm."

His hands were shaking now, clenched into fists. Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it…

"You should settle for the little sister," Cardin went on, "She'll be a looker in a year or two. Tell you what; I'll share some pics of Xiao-Long when I'm ram-"

Cardin's words were cut off by a fist rocketing into his jaw, the blow sending him staggering.

Jaune felt a lance of white-hot anger flow through him. It was followed by the stinging in his knuckles as he breathed heavily, glaring at the bigger teen. "Fuck off," he hissed, eyes narrowed in pure rage. "Don't you dare say those things about my friends. Not about Yang, not about Blake or Weiss – and definitely not about Ruby!"

Cardin straightened with a wince, touching his jaw as he worked his mouth from left to right. He spat on the floor, but no blood came out. The hit hadn't been strong enough for that.

"Bad move," the burly teen whispered, cracking his knuckles together.

Jaune ducked the strike that came in towards his face, wincing as it slammed against the locker with a loud clang. He was left unprepared for the second that came lower, driving the air from his lungs as it buried into his stomach. A hand fisted in his hair, dragging his face back up to face Cardin's.

"We tried to be friendly Jauney-boy," the man gritted out, "But I guess a filthy stray like you wouldn't understand that."

The locker imprinted into his cheek as he was slammed into it, an arm cruelly wrenched behind his back. Jaune fought to break free, but the Cardin was bigger and stronger than him, pressing a knee into his back.

"We're gonna be late for the next lesson," one of the others whispered. Cardin tutted and let up for just a moment. There was a loud clang as Jaune's face was sent smashing into the metal, bouncing off as he fell to the floor, holding his nose and mouth.

"I'm done," Cardin said, stepping over his body and out the door. His team followed with quick laughter, one pausing to spit on him as he passed by. As the door closed behind them, Jaune warily brought his hands away from his face, dabbing at his skin.

Blood, mostly from his nose and a little from a split lip. If it wasn't for his aura, he'd have probably broken his nose… Cardin must have known that. Bullies didn't like to leave evidence. So much for keeping my damn mouth shut… If only he'd stuck to his guns and avoided confrontation. There was little chance of fixing this now.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha's voice came through the door, thick with concern. "Are you okay in there?"

"I'm fine," he called back, wincing at the nasal quality of his voice. "I think," he added to himself, probing the damage a little further. No loose teeth, thank god for that. It would all be gone in a matter of hours, leaving him free to perform that night if he had to. And he had to, since by giving Yang her money back he'd put himself – and the club – out of pocket.

If he'd hoped Pyrrha wouldn't notice anything when he came out, or that she'd not bring it up at least, then he was left disappointed. Her eyes zeroed in on his jaw in an instant, mouth opening wide as she stepped forward to touch his lip. He winced at the contact, confirming her fear much more than the blood staining her fingers did.

"Jaune," she said in an exasperated tone, "I saw CRDL leaving before you… we have to do something about this bullying."

"It's fine," he pushed her hand away, though not unkindly. His lip still hurt when he talked or touched it. "Seriously, Pyrrha, they'll only get worse if someone tries to step in. Give them a week or two and they'll get bored of me."

"A week or two!? Jaune, they just attacked you!"

"I threw the first punch."

Pyrrha looked surprised at the frank admission, as well she might. He wasn't normally one for lashing out or getting angry… but hearing them talk about his friends that way. "Then they must have goaded you into it," she said. She wasn't wrong, but still…

"It's not worth it."

"It is to me!" Pyrrha whispered. "It's worth it to me."

Jaune sighed, "Then will you do me one favour, as a friend?"

"Anything."

"Leave it alone." Pyrrha's face twisted in anguish, no more than his own gut did. Taking advantage of her friendship like that, forcing her into such a thing. It was beyond cruel… but it was for the best. He knew about bullies… perhaps better than Pyrrha ever had.

"If that is your wish," his partner, his friend, whispered. "I won't get involved…"

"Thank you. It'll all work out Pyrrha," he patted her arm. "I know for now it sucks, but it'll come out well in the end. Trust me."

Pyrrha tried to smile.

Jaune tried to believe it.

/-/

Yang leaned back in her bed, staring up towards the ceiling as she heard Blake reading below and Ruby chattering to Weiss on the other side of the room. The patterns the plaster made on the ceiling weren't the focus of her attention, however, but rather the sights she'd seen the other night – and what they meant. Did she have feelings for a stripper?

She didn't think so.

There was no denying that she'd enjoyed his attention. He'd made her feel things she hadn't really felt before, but that didn't mean anything. Was she curious?

A little treacherous part of her mind thought so.

Curiosity killed the cat, Yang thought to herself, sighing gently. I'm not getting involved with someone like that, no matter how interesting they are. The mask, the mysterious persona, the way he spoke… it was all an act designed to lure her in. To lure anyone in! People liked a good mystery so he'd probably just cashed in on that.

And she'd fallen for it hook, line and sinker. The plan to watch his dance and get over him didn't work, but maybe it wasn't a bad plan. He just beat me by going a step further, catching me off-guard again. Yang let out a long breath as she recalled that, his touch and the way she'd been on the back foot, always trying to regain ground. If that had been a fight, then she'd failed to throw a single punch. An uncharacteristic move for her…

She could try again… perhaps she should try again. Familiarity breeds contempt, or so they always said. The next time she wouldn't be so surprised if he came to serve her. Then she could talk to him, find out just how normal he was and forget all about him.

Do I want to forget all about him?

She bit her lip, thinking of the way he moved. There was no man in her life she was currently interested in, so it wasn't like this was hurting anyone. Was it really so bad to indulge in him? He was an entertainer, after all. It wasn't like she was marrying the guy… he knew it was fake, she knew it was fake. No one had to get hurt.

No, bad! Yang shook her head, pulling a pillow over her face and growling into it. She wasn't going to start thinking like that, no matter how much the thought of him made her skin tingle. It didn't matter that she'd never felt that way about a guy before, or how the occasional kiss she'd experienced had left her feeling nothing vaguely disappointed. I wonder how good he can kiss? Ack –no! Bad brain!

"Yang?" Ruby's head peeked above her mattress, the younger girl standing on the edge of Blake's bed.

"What's up?" Yang asked, putting the pillow down and trying to look like she hadn't just been trying to cut off the oxygen to her misbehaving brain.

"I was talking about Jaune," Ruby said quietly, "What do you think about him?"

About Jaune? "He's a nice guy," Yang answered honestly, "I like him."

"That's quite the change from last week," Weiss snorted.

"Well I made a mistake. I've apologised to him, Rubes too. I'm not perfect, though I guess I should be flattered you seem to think I am." Weiss didn't respond to that with words, but Yang could hear the girl scoff to herself.

Jaune was friendly, funny and all around a nice guy, at least as far as she could see. He talked to Ruby well, he laughed with Pyrrha, Ren and Nora, plus he never made any attempts to hit on her. It was nice to have a guy she could chat to whom she knew wouldn't develop any feelings for her in return. Maybe Jaune could be the guy friend she'd always wanted.

Better than the ones she'd had before, who had slowly turned from close friends to love struck teens. Who had turned on her when she told them she wasn't interested, accusing her of having played with their feelings. She hadn't done that… she'd tried to be as blatant as she could in order to spare their feelings.

It never worked.

"Pyrrha thinks he's being bullied," Ruby said, bringing Yang back to the real world. "She said he came out of the changing rooms with blood under his nose and a split lip."

"Winchester?" Blake said, less of a question and more a statement.

"She said she saw Team CRDL leaving before Jaune did," Ruby confirmed. "Jaune said he didn't want her to help though… that he wanted her to ignore it until it blew over."

Yang frowned, feeling an ugly sensation settle in her stomach. Bullies… how she hated them. There'd been more than a few in Signal too, especially with how popular she had been. When they'd realised they couldn't get to her, a few had decided to see if her younger sister was easier game.

They didn't make that mistake twice.

"He's not wrong," Blake said, turning a page loudly. "As distasteful as it sounds Cardin is likely to move on if Jaune doesn't show any reaction. It would just mean him looking for a new victim, however."

Cardin Winchester… Yang frowned as she thought of him. He was a real piece of work no matter which way she looked at it. First there'd been the racism, then just him shouting out or insulting people in class, now he was hurting one of her friends too? Did she need to have `words` with him?

"Pyrrha says she promised not to interfere," Ruby whispered, voice cracking. Jaune was her first friend in Beacon, and it seemed she wasn't taking the news well. "She asked if we could help though… I said you might be able to."

"Me?" Yang asked, sitting up and pointing to herself.

"You do talk to him often," Weiss pointed out.

"Aren't you going out with him later in the week?" Blake chimed in.

"Just to chat," Yang protested. Best not to let Ruby get the wrong idea. "I invited you anyway. Why don't you come along?"

"Pass."

Sheesh, talk about zero fun.

"But you could talk to him there," the black-haired girl added. "Maybe his lips would loosen with a little drink."

Blake wanted her to try and outdrink a bartender? That sounded like a bad idea. But with Ruby looking at her with those wide, watery eyes, it wasn't like she could refuse either.

"Argh, fine," Yang scowled, falling back as Ruby cheered. "I'll ask him about it but don't expect him to spill his life story just because I do."

If Ruby heard her warning she gave no sign, gushing about how things would be okay now her sister was on the case. Great, more pressure for her shoulders… no problem. She just needed to talk with him and try to figure out what he was putting up with all of this, or her sister would be crushed.

Simple…

Damn it Ruby.

She supposed it wouldn't be that bad. The two of them were going out drinking anyway and maybe this would be good distraction to keep her mind off of other, much more dangerous, things. Jaune was a friend and one she wouldn't mind getting to know a little more. He could also be a buddy on night's out, plus he made great cocktails and wasn't going to start drooling over her. He ticked all the best boxes, honestly.

And maybe in time he would be a good fit for Ruby, if he ever decided he felt that way. He was loyal, friendly and charming enough. The age difference was a thing, but that would change in time.

Yang might have even considered him for herself, if she felt anything like that for the guy. She didn't, however. Jaune White was nice but he was just a little too nice in her mind. The kind of guy you loved to have as your friend, who you could trust to watch your back and keep your secrets, but whom would perhaps be a little… vanilla in a relationship. Yang preferred those guys who had a little more edge to them, a hint of danger or mystery… something to capture the attention and keep her wondering.

Someone like Crimson? Yang's mind taunted.

Crap…

Situations are explained and the issues develop. Someone asked if Jaune would be expelled if he was found out, and clearly the answer is no. It's more that the stigma that comes with such things would be too much for him to bear. Sometimes when I write things like this, people come back saying "Oh, it's unrealistic, no one would really care if someone was a stripper, etc…"

Or, with my older fics, "No one would feel antagonism towards Hunters, why would someone when it's saving lives? This doesn't make sense. It's forced conflict!"

Well I'd just like to say that things like this do happen in real life. I'm all for equality, don't get me wrong, but pretending inequality doesn't exist isn't going to fix anything. People do regularly look towards military forces or police with disgust. People do stigmatise people who have worked in the sex industry. Hell, you only need to look at google news to see that teenagers commit suicide because their `friends` share sex tapes of them and such, leading to taunting, cruelty and allegations of them being sluts and such. This happens in real life, so I'm not really buying into the "It's forced and not at all realistic" responses that people bring forwards.

I'm sure we'd all love it if life wasn't like that, but sadly it kind of is.

Next Chapter: 19th December

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur