The Wrong Audience

A RWBY Fic by AndrewJTalon

DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and WB Animation. Please support the official release.


A short one-shot for Dragonslayer Week 2024!


Jaune Arc stood outside the RWBY dormroom, his acoustic guitar in his hands. He'd been standing like this for about five minutes. He'd counted.

It had seemed so simple when he'd planned this out in the dormroom. Now, standing here in the hallway, it seemed insurmountable.

Come on... Sing! He urged himself. Just sing! She'll love it!

Like she loved the last couple of attempts? His brain asked sarcastically.

As much as he might have tried to hide it... Jaune's confidence when it came to Weiss was shot. Much like with Cardin, he'd been knocked down and hit rock bottom. The only direction he could go was up, but Weiss's cruel rejections hadn't helped. Sometimes he asked himself why he was still shooting for her.

Was he just intentionally sabotaging himself? Was it out of pride? Refusing to give up because she was a prize? Was that fair to her?

He sighed... But narrowed his eyes.

I will not give up, he decided, I will not let this end! I know... I know I can win her heart. I can prove I'm not some creep, I-I just... I just want to show her a good time. I want her to be happy.

His father had always told him to lead with confidence. To be confident. His mother, on the other hand, had told him to always be true to himself and sincere.

With that in mind... He tossed aside the hastily written song he'd written for Weiss. Maybe it wasn't enough to just craft lyrics for her.

Maybe he should just try to sing something he knew and loved and... And let that speak for him.

He was so clumsy when it came to words... But music? Music he knew. Danny Kay was one of their neighbors, and he was mad for the musical style known as jazz. He'd started a jazz band when he was young, and had wanted to become world famous.

Well... That hadn't worked out for Danny Kay. His parents had died and he'd had to take over their farm. He'd gotten married, had a lot of kids... But every summer, he gave concerts of jazz, bluegrass, and old rock. Everyone in Radian came, even from the nearby villages. The concerts turned into festivals, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

One of those songs was one Jaune loved very, very much. He knew it by heart, every chord and beat.

So it was that song that Jaune decided to play. He tapped the side of his guitar slowly, to get it started, before he began to strum... And then sing.

"Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars~... Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars~..."

The song just came so easily to him. His mind was filled with warm summer nights, picnic blankets, playing with his sisters and the neighbor's kids, fireflies flitting around and so much more... He sang his heart out, putting every bit of happiness and joy he had felt on those nights into his voice.

When he finished, he clutched at the guitar nervously. The silence was almost deafening... Which was a weird contradictory phrase but hey, he hadn't created it.

The door slowly opened... And a blonde girl stepped out.

Just not the blonde he was expecting.

Yang Xiao-Long stared at him, her cheeks dusted with red.

"Uh... H-Hey, Vom-Er, Jaune," she said.

Crap crap crap crap craaaaaaaaap! Jaune thought to himself, even as his dopey smile remained firmly fixed on his face.

"H-Hey Yang," he managed.

"So um..." She brushed her hair back behind her ear. That was a sign his dad had told him about. A sign that a girl was into you.

"Was... Was that for me?" She asked quietly.

She looked... Hopeful? She was hopeful?!

OH CRAP! WHAT DO I DO?! Jaune thought. SHE WAS INTO ME?! WAS SHE INTO ME?! HOW DID I-OR IS SHE JUST FLATTERED-?

"Uh..." Jaune tried.

Yang's face fell a little, and a smile came up. A smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Sorry, stupid question," she muttered, "That was for Weisscream, right?"

Yeah, Jaune was familiar with that look. The look of a girl hiding their disappointment and pain. He didn't think Yang was gonna cry over him but-

"No!" He blurted out. Yang started and stared at him.

"Huh?"

"N-No, it was for you, really!" He lied quickly. "I... I-I mean..."

Jaune knew that the best policy was honesty. He should just nip this in the bud, right now, and take his lumps. He was more than used to it by now.

But he had never seen a hint of vulnerability on Yang's face before. He couldn't bear to think of her feeling hurt.

"I... I'm a little tired of getting shot down," Jaune admitted quietly, "I thought... We both care about Ruby. We both like fighting up close. We both like dancing and music... I-I mean... Going to the dance might be fun. The two of us. What do you say?"

Yang stared at him. Jaune braced himself.

Okay... She'll just say no. She'll say she's flattered. We can just laugh this off and I didn't hurt her feelings-

"You know what? Sure."

Jaune blinked.

"What?"

Yang smirked.

"You. Me. The Dance. I have to do a lot of organizing, so I can't spend all my time with you... But what time I have, we'll be together. Does... Does that sound good?"

Jaune slowly nodded. Yang beamed.

"Great! Uh... It's a little early for... A kiss but a handshake would be... Weird, right?"

"Totally," Jaune said. He waved. "That work?"

"I guess you're pretty handy, huh?" Yang laughed. He laughed too. It was a terrible joke but hell, at this point he was frazzled enough to laugh at anything.

"Y-Yeah... We should coordinate our outfits before, so... So text me a pic," Yang said. "Tomorrow, so we have time for shopping."

Jaune blinked.

"Something wrong with the way I dress?"

"Yep," Yang grinned, "But I can fix that! So uh... See you then?"

"S-Sure!" Jaune said with a bright smile and nod. Yang smiled like the sun, and shut the door.

Jaune again stood in the hallway in utter silence. He then turned, went into his empty dormroom, set down his guitar, and collapsed face first onto his bed.

"... The hell did I just do?!"

Got a date with one of the hottest girls in school? His brain replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, but… How?!"

I dunno, I didn't get us into this mess!