Chapter 5: The Wrong Way

It was usually not so difficult a thing, to mask his feelings. You couldn't control how you felt, only how you reacted, as Jaune's father had told him countless times. Over the years, Jaune had navigated this confusing web of emotional control and social etiquette, and even now barely considered himself halfway decent at it. It hurt, that could not be denied, but in order to not make Neptune feel bad, Jaune responded with a calm, "Sorry to bother you. Maybe some other time, then."

"You're not bothering me, dude." said Neptune over the phone, sounding tired. "It's just there's a lot going on right now. Once I'm cleared up, I promise you'll be the first to know."

Jaune felt pathetic that such a promise made him feel a little better. "No, it's okay. Focus on what's in front of you. I know you've been busy. I can wait."

"I will. Later."

Jaune sighed as he hung up. Immediately felt stupid and embarrassed for having called Neptune out of nowhere to ask him for his time. It was so pathetic. Trying to appeal for another person's attention like some needy child that felt he had a right to them. And even then, Neptune still did not have time for him. Jaune thought back on the brief phone call and cringed, wanting to go back in time and stop it from ever happening. Instead, he just had to sit there and wallow in the undeniable truth.

He missed Neptune.

Jaune was on the train now, headed for the youth center. There were few people in the car with him—an older man reading the newspaper all the way at the far end, a woman in a suit talking on her phone at the other, and a girl his age sitting directly across from him, who did little else but stare at her phone. He was alone, effectively. But that was not quite the blessing he'd once thought it to be.

It wasn't as if he hadn't seen Neptune. They had a class together and lunch. But class was not the best time to talk and vent, and at lunch everyone else was around, so he didn't get to talk about important things. In a way, seeing Neptune every day made things worse. Always within arms reach, yet he could not have felt further away. Yes, he still had Ruby, and he could confide in her, but it wasn't the same thing. It was… well, guy time that he needed.

Jaune felt his phone vibrate and checked it.

"Your aunt says I'm improving really fast. I can't wait to show you. I can't come over tonight, my dad is making dinner. Be good at the center, okay? See you on Monday. I love you."

Jaune stared at the message. Read it twice over, most especially the last line. Three words. Just three measly words which held no real physical power. Yet somehow they took hold of his neck like a pair of murderous hands, as he stared at the message and fought himself on how to respond. Could that be a guillotine hanging above my head? Does the executioner stand eagerly at the lever, hoping I give him a reason? It certainly feels like it. And yet, the gallows would be mercy. My girlfriend knows no such thing.

"Yeah, see you on Monday. Can't wait to hear about your training." Jaune froze, swallowed, forced himself to type, "Love you, too" then sent it. He knew what was to follow. He felt the hypercritical side of his mind creeping to the fore of his thoughts. You wuss. Why didn't you say I love you? That kind of makes a big difference over text. Love you? That's what you say to your mother. Your sisters! Dear God, I hope that's not a hint at some other underlying issue of mine. Jaune stared at that message like he had done a deal with the devil and only now realized how bad the bargain had truly been.

I sure can count on Ruby to keep up the surprises. First she actually likes me, then she wants to have sex, now she loves me? Jaune wondered if he might be overreacting. It was normal, after all. For two people to say they love each other, especially romantic partners. Sure, they were only dating, and Jaune certainly had no idea what it really meant to love someone. And even less of a reason to say to anyone besides family. But what was the alternative? Ruby, I really, really like you? Jaune wanted to smack himself just considering it.

Jaune pocketed his phone and turned to look out the window. He watched the big buildings pass, a blend of distant gray blocks smeared across the glass like a new painting ruined by water, and Jaune managed to push his life issues down a little. He remembered what Adam had been teaching him lately, this adage. This too, shall pass.

Adam was teaching him about Stoic Philosophy. A way to harness his inner strength and conquer his demons. A true Stoic practiced logic and virtue, he showed empathy and patience even to those who did not return it, he did not allow the transgressions he felt to control him, and practiced an honorable and moral lifestyle by accepting the world for its cruelties and doing good despite it. At least, that's how Jaune understood it. He couldn't really say he understood it all.

Jaune pulled a coin from his pocket and stared at it. It read, This too, shall pass. And Adam had told him to read it whenever too many things were on his mind. The adage stated that all of life's struggles, as hard as they might be in the moment, so long as you persevered, would pass. Life would go on. You would never stop having problems, but they weren't permanent. And so you had to hold on, struggle and fight, and never change who you were even if the world tried to make you.

Jaune felt his mind start to clear. He felt some of that stress empty away.

Maybe things weren't ideal right now. But he did have Adam and the community center. That was his one sanctuary as of late. He could just forget everything else and focus on doing good for the sake of doing good. And Adam was always there to help him, or teach him, or praise him. Jaune was trying hard every day to appreciate what he had. Things would get better.

Things would get better.

Jaune made his way off the bus once it stopped, then made his way toward the building. Ready to have a simple, stress free evening where his life problems did not exist. Once he walked in, he saw Adam moving around some boxes and approached.

"Hey," Jaune said.

"Jaune," Adam gave him an acknowledging nod, then his eyes strangely moved somewhere else. "Is this your girlfriend?"

Jaune turned to his left. It was that girl from the bus, standing there beside him. Only now she'd removed her beanie. She had extremely long red hair, falling messily over her shoulder. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, and Jaune likened them to faded emeralds, deep and dark. That's when Jaune recognized her. The girl he'd met in that empty classroom on his second day. Who knew, or at least suspected, he had pulled the fire alarm.

"No, sir." She spoke before Jaune could, "We didn't come with each other. My name is Pyrrha."

Adam set down his boxes, regarding her with a curious look. "Right, I met your father a few days ago. He says you need something to occupy your time, to keep you out of trouble."

Jaune blinked at her. A troublemaker? Her? She didn't seem the type. She had that kind of disposition that seemed like she'd feel guilty for lying to a two year old about the existence of Santa Claus, let alone being a problem child.Pyrrha showed no reaction to this sudden reveal though and simply nodded, like she was at an interview and her potential employer was recounting her extensive criminal record. He asked a few more questions of her, some of the same Jaune had heard himself, while he stood there, feeling entirely out of place.

Finally, Adam looked at them both, then adopted the kind of smile that implied a massive shift in the progression of the day. "Well, you've lucked out. I have a few important things to take care of right now so I can't make time to give you the tour." He patted Jaune on the shoulder. "But that's where my young friend here comes in."

Jaune gasped. "What? But I wanted… I thought I was working with you today."

"And now you can do something more helpful by showing the new girl around. Take the donations today, that's a good place to start. You'll both be fine. I'll check on you two in an hour, alright?"

And before Jaune could voice further complaint, Adam picked up his stack of boxes and strode off, leaving them together.

Jaune sighed, then looked at his temporary charge, her green eyes looking toward him with an odd look that was both analyzing, yet expectant, as if having a guess at what he might do and now waited to see it come to fruition.

"I'm Jaune," he said.

"Hello, Jaune."

"Guess I have to show you around."

"Sorry for inconveniencing you."

"You're not, it's…" Jaune shook his head, trying his best to banish his feelings of disappointment. "Nevermind. Come on, follow me."

When Miss Berry approached him with that syrupy smile of hers, Jaune knew exactly what she was about to ask from him. "The back wall got tagged again."

Jaune resisted the urge to grunt. It was getting pretty irritating, taking the scrub to that brick wall again and again. At this rate, he might damn well scrub the surface smooth. And that still wouldn't deter the vandal, who by now had retagged that same wall, the exact same way, four times since Jaune had joined the center. I'd say you have to admire the guy for his commitment, but it is far easier to defile and destroy, than to clean and fix. Who could know better than me?

Jaune gave the woman something halfway alluding to the possibility of a smile. "Got it. Just let me finish up here."

Miss Berry left him and Pyrrha to their task and Jaune let his smile fade. After the tour, Pyrrha and he had taken to sorting the latest delivery of donations — canned goods, clothes, toys, even some jewelry. Jaune glanced at the girl as she worked. She had shed her coat and underneath wore a high collar, bright red sweater. Seemed she liked to bundle up. Pyrrha worked in stony silence, barely an utterance out of her, her face made of stone and giving away almost no emotion. The only sound to come from her being the soft jangling of her earrings, swaying with every movement.

"Am I doing something wrong?"

Jaune blinked, then realized Pyrrha was looking across at him. Had he been staring? Jaune fumbled for an apology, trying not to look embarrassed, failing, then resigning a shake of head in the negative. Either Pyrrha hadn't noticed or decided to ignore it, but she got right back to work, scraping through a dirty bin full of old toys.

He couldn't work her out. Not during the tour, and certainly not now. She took in his rather poor explanations and the task at hand like a computer downloading a file. No questions. No need for reminders. Then, she worked like a robot. Built specifically to do whatever it was assigned with one-hundred percent accuracy. Every movement was smooth and calculated, as if she'd done all of this before. Maybe she had.

Before he could stop himself, Jaune pitched her a question. "Have you done community activities before?"

Pyrrha did not look at him as she answered with a flat, "No."

"Could've fooled me. You're good at it."

"I don't think the ceiling of skill for an activity like this is very high."

Jaune paused. "Er, yeah but… I guess I'm saying good job. That's all."

Just for a moment, almost imperceptible in its brevity, she had paused. Then gone right back to work, giving no answer in return. Again Jaune resisted a grunt. Did she have to be so steely? The girl was stiff as a tree. The branch up her ass probably doubled as a spine. He doubted she had many friends with an attitude like that. Couldn't hurt her to smile a little. At the very least to prove wrong his budding theory that she was a secret android.

Even with other people about the room, and a haze of incoherent conversation floating over their heads, it still felt uncomfortably quiet. That was the atmosphere Pyrrha seemed content to work in, and so was Jaune. Normally. Strange how meeting another quiet person is not always the dream you think of it as. Two people with very little to say may have a thing in common, but there'd be very little chemistry to build upon if one of them didn't break the ice. And whichever person did would immediately put themselves at the disadvantage, which every quiet person strives to avoid. It's far easier to respond, rather than engage.

Jaune scoured for a question to ask, thought against it, then asked anyway. Nothing ventured, right? "So uh…" Jaune trailed off when Pyrrha turned to him, her attention nearly making him forget his question. "So what brings you here?"

Pyrrha answered without hesitation. "Disobedience."

Jaune hummed. He knew about that word all too well. "What did you do?"

Pyrrha held up a worn plastic doll, green eyes scanning over them with plain disinterest. That look an employee has when he knows a job must be done and she has to be the one to do it, regardless of how unfair it was. Resigned to fate. "You're very kind," She said, "But there's no need to try to make me feel welcome. I'm not here to make friends. I'm very sorry."

That took Jaune a moment to process. Kind? Making her feel welcome? Sorry? Friendship? It was like taking multiple slaps in the face, one after another, and each harsher than the last. The cold coals that was his current mood flared to life in an instant, hissing like his honor had been insulted. It had. "I don't care how you feel." Jaune forced out as calmly as possible. "Feel welcome or don't, that's your problem. I'm just doing what Adam asked me."

Again, a split second pause. She did not look at him, but he saw her eye twitch just a little, her lip curl ever so slightly downward. "Very well. It seems we are on the same page."

"Good."

"It is good, yes."

"Fantastic."

"Agreed."

Jaune went back to work, pursuing his lips, wet stinging his eyes for some reason. Allergies, probably. He glanced at Pyrrha and she was the same as before, just working and minding herself. Utterly uninterested in the world around her. It made his lip twist in disgust. Where did that kind of arrogance come from? To think yourself so above it all that you can just brush off people's good intentions? Sounding all hard and serious and mysterious, like her super complicated life was so much more important than anyone else's. Like she had a greater purpose beyond mingling with all these little people.

Screw her, then. Jaune told himself. He made quick work of his pile, then promptly excused himself to take care of the wall, leaving Pyrrha with Miss Berry.

Pyrrha did not even acknowledge his exit.

"I have to ask you to leave the property, sir." That was the first thing Jaune heard when he stepped into the back alley.

One of the group leaders — Marcus, if he remembered right — was talking to another man. And from what he could see, it wasn't a particularly happy topic, either.

Marcus looked to be trying to maintain a civil tone. Talking evenly and simply, wording it differently each time to the trespasser, but the request itself never changed.

The trespasser's mind was equally unchanging, voice raised in childish offense. "What'd I do? I ain't doing nothing!"

"I saw you spraying the walls." Marcus pointlessly gestured at said wall, marked with that same white symbol. "That's vandalization of property, and could get you in serious trouble. Please leave now, sir."

Apparently hard of hearing, the vandal said, "Like I said, I ain't do nothing!"

They went back and forth, neither progressing any closer to their desired outcome. Jaune didn't doubt that they'd be at it for at least another five minutes. More than enough time to go get someone to cool the situation before things escalated. He knew this. He knew had to get help.

But instead he stood there, watching from the door, and waited.

Marcus had finally lost a layer of patience and snapped. "I saw you! There are paint cans in your bag! Leave the property, sir, or I'll get the police involved!"

The vandal's mouth dropped open, as he'd been slapped in the face. "Are you kidding me? What the hell did I do?"

Marcus blubbered angrily for a moment, but thought better of a retort and simply pulled his phone. The vandal's face dropped.

"I'm leaving, alright? Im fucking leaving!"

The man knocked Marcus into the wall as he shoved past, cursing all the way. That would be considered assault, Jaune was quite certain. And when being assaulted, it was perfectly reasonable to defend yourself. Or to have someone else defend you.

Jaune's head had started thumping. Heat pooled in his stomach. His shitty day, his shitty week, his shitty life, was all at the fore of his mind. Needed to forget. Needed not feel hurt. Needed someone else to feel hurt.

Jaune had already stepped out of the door as the man stormed toward him, and they met eyes moments later. He adopted a sneer of almost titanic contempt, like he was seeing a pile of dog shit on his favorite rug. "Fuck you want, you little—"

Jaune felt his knuckles crack against the vandal's jaw as he punched him savagely across the face. Hard enough to earn a surprised girlish cry, to make him stumble away, to send him crashing against the wall.

The world was gone for an instant.

Trapped. Couldn't move. Too strong, he couldn't break free. Jaune opened his eyes. Or rather, the fog which had filled his mind had cleared away.

The vandal was struggling to get up. One hand clutched the wall like it was the raft needed to save him from drowning. Blood coated the bottom half of his face, and each desperate snort caused more to bubble out of his nose. When the hell had that happened? His legs shook as he climbed to his feet, tried to run, but was only able to stumble away, like his knees might give out at any moment. How had that happened? He looked like he'd been attacked by a gorilla. That's when Jaune realized more was going on.

"Jaune, stop! Enough!" Adam's voice. Usually it brought him instant relief and comfort. His tone was entirely different now.

Jaune found he was sitting on the ground, almost in Adam's lap. Adam was restraining him with surprising, damn near terrifying degrees of strength. Jaune felt his elbows pressing painfully into his side. He couldn't break free. Not even if he had twice the strength he did now. When did Adam show up? Why were they on the ground? What happened?

"I need you to calm down. Breathe, Jaune."

His face had felt like it was on fire, but the flames were settling now. His pounding heart slowed, his bunched fingers slowly uncurled, pain lancing through his knuckles, finger bones, palms. Jaune's voice came out weak, almost a shudder. "I'm calm."

Adam's arms pulled away, a bit cautiously, like he was waiting for Jaune to suddenly burst after the vandal. Maybe I would have, had I been let go a moment earlier. Jaune glanced over at Marcus, who looked almost out of place at that moment, looking at Jaune like he couldn't believe he was real. That was not a look he was unfamiliar with. He'd seen it on teachers, on his sisters. On his father, most especially.

And just like his father, Adam pulled Jaune up, gentle but with a strong hand. The "You are in serious trouble, young man" kind of gesture. Jaune found himself staring at the ground, rather than in the man's eyes. He fumbled for what to say. "I-I…"

Adam spoke over him, calm but authoritative. "Go wait in the lobby."

"But I didn't—"

"Now, Jaune."

Jaune stood there for a moment, then trudged back into the building. Or he almost did. Someone was standing at the door, and looking like they'd been watching the whole time. Had seen Jaune do what he'd done. Pyrrha.

He wasn't too surprised that it was her who'd seen him, but instead the look she wore. Or rather, the sight of her apparent ability to show any expression beyond arrogant disinterest. She blinked dumbly at him, mouth slightly parted. Less fear, more fascination. Quite as if she had just witnessed a tiger wrangle down and kill its prey.

Jaune wanted to yell at her. To dare her to say anything. But his anger was all gone now. It always flared up quick and cooled down quick. Now, he just felt crushed. How had he screwed up already? Bad enough he'd upset Adam, but when Aunt Peach found out? The idea was so utterly terrifying that Jaune stormed away as fast as he could toward the lobby, in case he started to cry. How could he have let her down this quickly? Was he just a bad kid?

The lobby was empty, which was a small mercy. Jaune found a chair, sat, put his face in his hands, and hated himself.

Nothing new there.

"Come on, Jaune. I'll take you home."

Jaune made no attempt to argue or explain himself. Years of experience had taught him that going down swinging did not feel any more rewarding than complete surrender. Why waste energy? When Aunt Peach found out, he'd need every ounce of energy in order to survive. Perhaps he was being dramatic, but then, it always felt like the end of the world when a kid disappoints their parents.

He followed Adam in silence, staring at the ground all the way, his shoulders heavy as cinder blocks. The weather was still nice outside, just barely approaching evening, and yet Jaune felt like his day was miserable. Proof indeed that the world did not care about your bad day.

I see the gallows, and they call to me. Jaune thought. As they boarded his car, Jaune could only resign himself to relish this brief period of peace, before the inevitable confrontation. If only he had gone for help when she should have. If only he wasn't a problem kid. Adam would never want him back at the center. Pyrrha would be his new apprentice.

Adam put the key into the ignition and looked about ready to go, but then stopped. He held it there for a moment, face pensive as he stared into the windshield. A long moment stretched by, then he let go and sat back in his seat, turning to give Jaune a look he could not read.

"Well?" he began, "Is there anything you want to say, Jaune?"

So it seemed he would get two talkings today. As if the one he dreaded would not be torture on its own. Jaune swallowed. "I was just… trying to help."

"From what I understand, you did everything but. Marcus said you attacked that man."

"After the guy pushed him against a wall."

"And then what did he do?"

Jaune paused. "I… what?"

"You said he shoved Marcus. Did he attack him again? Or was he walking away?

Jaune didn't have to think too hard about that. The memory had come back to him in an instant, quite as if he was living the whole event over again. As a result, he went back to hanging his head as Adam sighed. Another long moment stretched by.

Jaune tried not to whimper as he asked, "Are you gonna tell my aunt?"

"It seems like I'll have to. Jaune, I want you to tell me the truth, understand? Did you consider another way you could have handled that situation? Were you thinking at all?"

Jaune badly wanted to lie. It took a lot from him out himself as basically having sought trouble. "I did think to come get you. I guess, I just thought I could handle it."

"Did you think about what could have happened by doing what you did?"

Jaune shook his head. "It was just some guy."

Adam gave him a hard look. The kind that implied Jaune had said the worst thing possible, yet was exactly what Adam had figured. "Just some guy. And what if next time it isn't just some guy? What if you decide to fight the wrong person? Someone on their worst day? Someone who doesn't care who he hurts? What if next time he has a knife or a gun?"

It probably wasn't very long ago that Jaune might have answered that question with "They'd better not miss" but he imagined this time that might get him in more trouble than ever. The mention of guns, in particular, brought in a very recent, very unpleasant image. The comparison was dead-on, as insensitive as it sounded. He'd pissed off the wrong people, the consequences of which had been so extreme that he was still suffering its effects weeks later. He hadn't been the same since that night. Then again, who would be?

"I was just trying to protect someone."

"I don't think you were, Jaune. I think you were looking for a reason to hurt someone, and you jumped at the first chance." Adam rubbed his forehead like he was warding off an oncoming headache. The headache that was the teenage idiot in his car. "What's going on with you, Jaune? You'd been doing so well. I almost started to think your aunt's concerns were overstated. What brought this on?"

Jaune didn't know what to say. Mainly because he didn't know where to start. If he even wanted to start. Every attempt to pour out his heart resulted in him clamming up. Each topic more sensitive than the lost, each secret too dangerous to reveal. There was very little he could tell Adam about, even if he badly wanted him to understand.

In the end, Jaune decided to just speak and deal with the results later. "I just… I haven't seen my friend in a while and… it sucks."

Adam said nothing to that. He simply looked back at Jaune, waiting on him.

"And my aunt's super busy lately too, so I haven't gotten to see her. Let alone talk about anything. It sucks," Jaune huffed, feeling pathetic for admitting it. "And my girlfriend is in this anime club, and there's this guy that keeps flirting with her, and I don't think she realizes it."

He knew he could stop at any moment. There was no reason Adam should know every aspect of his life, but Jaune was all out of resistance now. "I hurt a longtime friend of mine. I broke a promise. Now she won't talk to me. I want to apologize and make it right. But she won't let me." Jaune shrugged his shoulders in defeat, head hanging. "I guess it's all of that stuff."

Adam nodded slowly. "That's a lot, Jaune. I understand. You feel alone."

Jaune nodded.

"You miss your friends? Your aunt?"

Jaune hesitated, then nodded.

"And you find it hard to trust your girlfriend?"

Jaune vehemently shook his head. "No, I trust her. It's just…"

"You don't trust her friend from the club?"

"Why would I? He keeps flirting with her, right in front of me."

"What does he do?"

Jaune was taken aback by that question, but it made him really think about it. "He…" They were never really all over one another. Sure they had fun talking, but they weren't physically affectionate. Nor did Roy even try such things from what he had seen. "He's just way too friendly, I guess."

"Hm. So those two like anime?"

"Yeah."

"And what about you? Do you like it?"

"Kinda. I only watched the ones my girlfriend told me to."

"Is it possible that you're envious that you can't relate to your girlfriend through anime? Maybe you feel less because she connects with another person more on that subject?"

Jaune blinked. Somehow, it felt like he could hear better. A feeling like having gone all day without cleaning one's glasses, then being awed by the crystal clear world once you finally did get the chance to. What Adam said sounded completely right, even if it did make him feel kind of pathetic. "I guess that could be it."

"It's alright. What you're feeling is normal. Anyone would want to connect with their partner any way they could, right? It makes sense to feel insecure if you can't bond with her on something she loves. I know that feeling."

"You do?"

"I do. At your age, and even at mine, you're going to have insecurities. The problem becomes when you project your insecurities onto others. When you inflate yourself in an attempt to hide them. Perhaps your girlfriend and this other guy are simply two people who share a common interest. Oftentimes, the simplest explanation is the correct one."

Jaune frowned. "So I should just be okay with her hanging out with anyone?"

Adam shook his head. "Definitely not. There should be boundaries, for both her and you. You should be curious about who she spends her time with. Go with her to the anime club, talk to her friend and try to get to know him. Be attentive, but give him a fair chance. Look, I know it's easier to not trust others. To just keep what's yours to yourself. Trust me, I get it. But you will hurt a lot of people that way, most especially your girl."

Jaune swallowed hard. Again, Adam was right. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Ruby. Again. "And, what about my aunt?"

Adam grinned a little. "I can't offer too much advice in that area."My parents died when I was very young. As for any other family, I've never had any to speak of. So, it was just me."

Jaune shifted uncomfortably. "Oh… er, sorry."

Adam gave an appreciative chuckle. "I didn't mean to bring you down, Jaune. We're all dealt rough hands. The important thing is that we learn we can grow and be happy despite them. I come from a place of understanding, Jaune. I get it. You're angry inside and you want to get it out." Adam took Jaune's hand and held it in Jaune's face. He could see the swelling on his fingers. "But this? It's not the way, Jaune."

"I really am sorry."

"I believe you. That's why I won't tell your aunt about this."

Jaune gasped. "You won't?"

"If, from now on, you can promise you won't pull anything like you did today. Yell and scream if you want, but no violence. Not ever. Understand?"

Jaune nodded emphatically, overwhelmed with relief. "Yes, sir."

Adam smiled at him, and it made Jaune feel like the day hadn't been so bad, all things considered. He was still on a path toward progress. He still could work to make things okay with Aunt Peach. He was still on the right track. This was just a small slip up. One he could not risk repeating.

"I… I can't thank you enough, Adam."

Adam set his palm on Jaune's shoulder, giving him a firm, gentle squeeze. "And you'll never need to. I'm always in your corner, Jaune."

And they rode off, slipping into conversation about this and that, just like days past. Were it not for his aching knuckles, Jaune might have thought nothing bad had happened all day.

Adam was right. He hadn't been fair to Ruby or Roy. Maybe he should join the anime club and see what Roy was really like. Maybe he was worried over nothing and he would see that and realize he'd been a fool all along, and he'd be happy to be.

As for everything else, well. Those troubles would also pass one day. He would see Neptune and Aunt Peach eventually and things would be normal.

And Mystery? Well, he wanted to do right by her. But if she didn't give him a chance, then how could he? Best to leave her alone and move on. Focus on what was right in front of him. He thought about Pyrrha, and how he probably hadn't been very fair to her, either. He had to correct that as well. There was a lot he needed to improve on.

But as Jaune took in a calming breath and felt his worries shake off, if temporarily, he felt that the task was not at all impossible.

Well this took forever. Gotta love how life finds ways to stunt your progress. The chapter is kind of rough, so sorry about that. I'll try to find the mistakes later. Take care, y'all.