A/N: The finale of Act one. Enjoy.

X

-Jaune-

Jaune Arc liked to think that he was decent at reading people. Getting a feel for their personalities, likes, and dislikes seemed to come natural to him, and it always helped him figure the best way to have meaningful friendships or avoid bad eggs. As Pyrrha not-so-gently pulled on his arm and led him to the second floor of the ballroom, however, he began to realize that he might've been missing a page or two of information. "Pyrrha, where are you taking me?"

"I think I'd like some fresh air," came the drawled reply. "Won't you keep me companies?" It wasn't like her to mess up her grammar tenses, but he remained silent as she continued to dragg him along.

The night had started simply enough, with everyone having a good time at the dance and Pyrrha going along with whatever moves he felt like pulling off. Being six foot and one inch tall and thus taller than most of the other students, he'd been able to visually keep track of most of his friend's actions; Weiss remained sitting at the table, Yang bounced from section to section on the dance floor with style, Sun chat Blake up as they grooved along, and Ren was more or less acting as Nora's bowling ball.

Once Pyrrha decided to take a break from dancing, Yang made her way over to him and he proceeded to put his foot in his mouth as he said the first words that came to his mind and told her that she looked amazing. He had meant them honestly, of course, but that did nothing to mitigate the awkwardness that stifled the rest of their dance, and he could only sigh as Yang took the end of the song as a chance to book it. He only hoped that his fellow blonde didn't begin to avoid him for his unfiltered sentence.

Weiss had been the follow-up act and, thankfully, Jaune managed to not ruin the pleasant atmosphere they had going. He wasn't sure how long he would be dancing with his former crush, but there was a pang of disappointment present when Pyrrha returned and claimed her spot as his dance partner before the first song even ended. Still, he had come as an escort-slash-date, so it only made sense for Weiss to bow out when she was asked to.

That was when his night went from simple and fun to strange, because Pyrrha had gone from dancing with him to leaning on him for support; or, at least that's what he told himself, because if he didn't rationalize as such he wouldn't be able to explain her behavior. Several times he felt her lean in a little too close for his sanity, and each time she did her buxom would press heartily into his chest. The latest instance was a clear stumble from a lack of balance, so he asked her if she needed another break since she was clearly tired.

Those words mysteriously caused her gaze to sharpen, thus instigating their mysterious voyage through the crowd of people and upstairs. After a moment of silence between them, they reached a balcony that gave a good view of the broken moon above their heads; still, Pyrrha refused to let his arm go, so they wound up leaning on the railing and staring into the night sky. Her head quickly found a home on his shoulder as she pulled him close, so he ignored the plentiful presence that was threatening to engulf his arm. "Are you sure that this is all you need, Pyrrha?"

Her emerald eyes tilted upwards to meet his cerulean, a rather dreamy expression on her face. "This is wha' I wanted. I can stay here, righ'?"

'Is she slurring? She must be absolutely exhausted, then.' He brought his free hand up and held it to her forehead. 'I don't think she has a fever, but it's kinda hard to tell like this.'

Before he could conduct any further tests, Pyrrha asked another question. This one was spoken a little slower and softer, but with a clearer attempt at getting her words out properly. "Jaune, do you... like spending time with me?"

"Of course I do, Pyrrha. Why wouldn't I?" That made her positively beam.

"Good." She shifted her head so that the hand he was holding to it came down her lips and, without any further warning, gave his palm a firm and deliberate kiss. The sudden act sent a shock running up his spine, and it was only through sheer force of will that he didn't jump from his spot and accidentally send her sprawling onto the floor. "P-Pyrrha!? What are you doing!?"

She didn't answer directly, instead choosing to let his affected hand fall to the side as she turned his body to face her and delicately place her left hand on his cheek. When Pyrrha finally spoke, the only thing to escape her lips was his name. "Jaune~"

It was spoken so slowly, so sensually, that Jaune was surprised that he didn't melt into a puddle on the spot. His mind couldn't comprehend the rapid development, and was thus paralyzed as her hands reached to clasp together behind his head.

"Jeez, I finally found you two!" Yang's voice snapped him out of his stupor, and he turned to see his blonde rescuer crossing the threshold into the outside air. "Do you know what it was like looking for you in a crowd of teenagers that have been drinking?"

Pyrrha's hands dropped to his arms and her smile disappeared, but Jaune paid her little attention as he listened to Yang. "Drinking? People were dumb enough to bring alcohol to Beacon?"

Yang shook her head once. "One person did, and they managed to spike the punch bowl that everybody's been drinking from. Pyrrha here had almost two full cups, and when I smelled what was left I could tell that it was crazy strong."

An alarm went off in his mind, and he snapped to look at the athlete that was still latched onto him. "Pyrrha, please let me smell your breath."

"Okay~" Her smile returned a little as she opened her mouth wide and let out a prolonged breath of air near his face. The scent of the alcohol was immediately overwhelming, and he would've reeled backwards had Pyrrha relaxed her grip at all. "Do I smell good?"

It was Jaune's turn to not answer, as he was too preoccupied with stemming his building anger. How could somebody spike the drink with something this powerful and not feel bad about themselves!? People were going to get hurt if they tried to drive after drinking it! That raised another point of concern to him, and he spoke to Yang once more. "How are the others?"

"Weiss and I are clear, Blake and Sun weren't acting weird when I saw them, and Nora threw her cup away after I told her what was up. Before I came out here I saw Port hiding the punch and Oobleck going around the room, probably checking all of the cups."

"Good... good." At least his friends would be okay, and they'd be alert for any additional foul play for the rest of the night. "Listen, I've got to take Pyrrha home and get her to rest."

Pyrrha herself perked up at this. "Home. Yesh, home is- Good idea."

Yang looked at their drunk friend with what could only have been regret. "I feel like I could've prevented this, or at least stopped it from getting this bad."

Jaune shook his head. "This isn't your fault, the person who did this is to blame. If I don't come back to the dance tonight, can you have Ren drive Weiss home?"

A nod. "We'll either drive her to your house, or she'll crash at my place. You focus on Pyrrha for tonight."

"Will do. Come on, Pyrrha. Let's go grab your handbag and get you home."

"Okay!" She leaned on him for support once more, so he shifted her weight to allow for easier movement. As Yang detailed, there were a fair number of students that didn't seem to be "all there". Fortunately, there was a clear route along the wall that led to their table, and within a couple of minutes Pyrrha was situated in the truck and Jaune had begun driving to her home.

Pyrrha seemed plenty happy to be riding with him, as she began humming some off-key tunes to herself and sneaking glances at him while he focused entirely on driving. He was thankful that he wasn't impaired, as it helped him stay attentive all the way to their destination. Before too long, he parked the truck along the road and went to the passenger side to help her down. "Hey, Pyrrha?"

With his help, her heels landed gently on the pavement. There was now a slight redness to her face, which led him to believe that the alcohol was in full swing. "Hmmm?"

"I don't see any other cars. Weren't your parents supposed to be home by now?"

Slowly, but surely, they began making their way to the front door. "Ooh, right. They told me that they were staying at the office for the night; so, it's only youuuu and me here!"

"Oh." He didn't really have a response to that, though in his head he wondered why sober Pyrrha told him that they'd be back that night. Upon reaching the front door, he fiddled with her keyring until he found what seemed to be a house key and was rewarded with the door unlocking. Pushing it open with his foot, he brought her weight back onto himself and walked her inside, fumbling a little in the darkness until he found a light switch.

He was both surprised and not surprised that the first thing to catch his eye was a massive display case with all manner of trophies and plaques inside of it. Years worth of athletic achievement combined into one showing of how amazing his friend was. Quickly remembering why he was there, he looked at Pyrrha and asked, "Where do you want to lie down?"

"...Bedroom." Her voice was quiet, but clear enough to be heard. She pointed in the general direction of her room, so together they walked further inside. As they made their way, Pyrrha began to ramble. "Hey, Jaune? Do you know what I like soo much about you?"

"What's that, Pyrrha?"

"You never expe- esps- wanted anything from me besides being my friend. My mom, dad, teachers... They all want me to be some big name someday. A star." She looked up at him, her eyes a little bleary. He couldn't quite figure out why. "But not you. You were the only boy that stayed, and even when I moved away you sent letters. My friend... Jaune~"

Jaune smiled a little. He hated her current condition, of course, but there wasn't a person in the world that would be upset at such genuine appreciation. "You're my friend, too, and probably the coolest girl I know."

"Cool? What about... pretty?"

Mental warning bells began sounding at full blast. 'It's the alcohol, Jaune. Just stay calm.' "You're very pretty, Pyrrha."

"Yaay!" Just as he managed to find her room, she latched onto him harder in sheer happiness. Struggling against the added pressure, he somehow managed to get her to sit on her bed. Once she finally released his arm, he went to the kitchen in order to get her some water.

Finding the cups took him longer than he'd like to admit, but before too long he handed a tall glass with ice in it to Pyrrha. She gulped half of it down before setting the cup on her nightstand. "Thank you~"

She was still buzzed, obviously, but at least she was safe and a little more hydrated. "How do you feel, Pyrrha?"

"Good." She pat the bed close to her. "Sit down, Jaune. Relax."

"If you say so." He obeyed, making sure to keep a little distance from her. Pyrrha wasn't having any of that, though, and as soon as his rear touched the fabric she latched onto him once more. "P-Pyrrha, you're a little close."

"Uh-huh!" She began to nuzzle against his shoulder, just like on the balcony. "Hey, Jaune?"

"Yes, Pyrrha?"

Nuzzle, nuzzle. "You mean so much to me."

"Thank you. You mean a lot to me, too."

"Jaune?"

"Yes?"

Nuzzle, Nuzzle. "I love you."

He began breathing hard, and he forced himself to keep them slow and deep. "You should lie down, Pyrrha. You're still feeling the alcohol."

The nuzzling stopped, and Pyrrha's emerald eyes slowly rose to look at him. They were bleary again. "Jaune? How do you feel about me?"

"Pyrrha, please go to sleep. We can talk in the morning, okay?"

That was the wrong answer it seemed, because she began to tighten her grip on his hand and arm. He couldn't tell if she was about to cry, rage, or both. "Jaune, th-this isn't the drink talking. I...I like you as a girl to a boy, okay? So, please, tell me how you feel about me."

Should he start to pull away more firmly? Would he accidentally injure her if he did? "I think that you're a great girl, Pyrrha, and that any guy would feel blessed being your boyfriend or husband."

"...Any guy but you?" It was right then that Jaune could see how serious Pyrrha was about this. For whatever reason, she saw him in a romantic light and was asking for him to reciprocate in kind. Silence reigned for a minute, and he spent that time searching his heart for some kind of glimmer. A spark. Anything that he could grab onto so that he could happily take her hands and return her feelings tenfold.

He found no such thing, and he felt shame pool in his stomach as he looked away from her. His inability to meet her gaze spoke volumes, leading her to finally loosen her grip on him; and a few seconds later, he heard a distinct sniffle. "Pyr-"

Bzzt Bzzt! His phone buzzed in his pocket, indicating a new text message. Sensing no effort from Pyrrha to move, he extracted the device in order to read it.

Yang: How is she holding up? Is everything okay?

"...Out." Pyrrha's single word stopped the blood in his veins. It wasn't loud or angry, just... empty. "Please leave, Jaune..."

"Pyrrha..." She gave him a push off of the bed, and he knew beyond a doubt that he was no longer welcome. Nodding despite the fact that she wasn't even looking at him, he departed from the Nikos home, trying to ignore the sounds of her crying as he closed the door.

Jaune felt like an asshole. He was one, as far as he was concerned, but that didn't change how he saw her in his heart of hearts. She was... just a friend. A very caring friend, but that's as far as it went for him. As he sat in the driver's seat of the truck, all he could do was hold his face in his hands and lament the friendship that he had just lit aflame.

Bzzt Bzzt!

Yang: Weiss staying with me for tonight. What's your status?

Despite his shaking fingers, he somehow managed to reply to her.

Jaune: Pyrrha is safe in her house. I'm about to head home.

He sent the text, but quickly realized that there was one thing he'd neglected to say.

Jaune: She confessed to me, but I couldn't accept her feelings. Things have gone all wrong.

He started the truck and put on his seatbelt, but right before he pulled out of his parking spot another text arrived.

Yang: I'm sorry. See you tomorrow when I drop Weiss off.

-The next day-

Jaune sat on his front porch, guitar absent completely as he awaited the arrival of both girls. His sisters naturally detected his negative mood when they awoke that morning, so he gave them the shorthand version of turning Pyrrha down, omitting the info about the alcohol as unnecessary. To their credit, they all understood that they were ill-prepared to help him in any meaningful way; so they all waited for Vermilion inside, as the oldest Arc child would be giving Olive a job interview that morning.

It was nearing ten A.M. when he heard the roaring of a motorcycle engine, and when he looked up he saw two girlish figures arrive on a bright, yellow bike and park on the street. Weiss immediately removed the helmet from her head, and while Jaune couldn't hear everything she said, he could make out the words "crazy" and "yield" as the Schnee berated Yang for her apparent lack of caution. While the driver was wearing a brown jacket with jeans, the smaller girl was only wearing sweat pants and a black t-shirt with a red wolf on it. As the duo approached the front steps, Jaune greeted them by waving once and saying, "Hey there, you two. Aren't you cold in that outfit, Weiss?"

She rubbed her arms a little in an attempt to keep warm. "This was my first time riding a motorcycle, so I wasn't aware of how harsh the wind would be on my skin. If you don't mind, I'm going to get changed in the guest bedroom and warm up a little."

He answered with a nod, leaving him alone with Yang as the blonde took a seat next to him on the steps. "Thanks again for being her ride, Yang."

"No problem, just don't trust anything she says about me speeding." She rubbed her hands together awkwardly as her speech paused. "Can I... ask what happened after you left?"

Jaune sighed as he began to narrate the previous night's order of events. "Her parents weren't home when we got there, so I took her inside and set her down in the bedroom. Pyrrha started rambling a little about why she likes me, but I just took it as 'alcohol speech' and ignored what she actually meant until she straight up asked me how I felt about her."

"Well... what did you tell her?"

"Nothing." Yang tilted her head in confusion, so he elaborated. "I couldn't tell her anything, because before last night I hadn't even thought about her like that. I... I had no clue that she liked me, and suddenly being confronted on it made me freeze even more."

Yang sighed next. It sounded a little like frustration, but maybe he was reading it wrong. "Is there something wrong with Pyrrha? A particular reason you aren't attracted to her? I mean, I get not wanting to take advantage of a drunk girl, but her feelings for you aren't a sudden thing."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Wait, you knew about this?"

"To be blunt, Jaune, almost all of Beacon knew about it."

"Great, now I feel even worse for not realizing it." He brought his hand to his face in agitation. Why was he the last person to know about this? "There's nothing wrong with Pyrrha. She's stunningly beautiful, caring, dedicated to everything she puts her mind to... I just never felt attracted in a romantic sense. It's as complicated and as simple as that."

"I see." Yang didn't say anything more, even when Weiss returned and stood next to her. The former heiress was now wearing the business outfit that Jaune originally found her in, minus the replaced shoes. He wasn't sure if they were staying quiet by choice or for a lack of anything to say, but Jaune found that he appreciated the supporting silence from them. Maybe it was because he could tell from their faces that they weren't judging him for what happened.

As the fifth minute of silence passed, his phone buzzed out a notification.

Pyrrha: Can we talk in person?

A part of him was surprised that she would contact him so soon, but he wasn't about to shut her out twice in as many days.

Jaune: Yes, where would you like to meet?

Pyrrha: Where we first met.

'We first met...' The destination was clear, of course. Putting his phone away, Jaune stood up and stepped down from the porch. "If you two don't mind, I think I'm gonna go for a walk."

They both nodded their heads, but Weiss was the first to speak up. "We'll likely be gone upon your return. I've asked Yang to help me with a few errands today."

"Thanks for the heads up. See you later tonight, then?"

"Of course." Despite her smile, there was a sad sparkle in her crystalline eyes. "Be safe on your walk, Jaune."

"I will. You two keep it slow on that bike, okay?"

"Hey!" Yang's indignant huff had no real heat to it, and Jaune chuckled as he zipped his jacket all the way up and began to walk. It was but a brief moment of levity, however it still served to settle his nerves just the slightest amount. Truly, he was glad to have these two in his life.

The park was beyond the far end of his neighborhood, a good ten minutes away at a walking pace. As a kid, his parents would demand that either Vermilion or Apricot be there for his safety, and it was the latter that had been present when he first met Pyrrha. It had been the start of a wonderful friendship...

He just prayed that the friendship wouldn't end there, as well.

It wasn't a windy day, but he still felt the nip of the coming winter as he crossed the threshold of the park. There weren't any children there, but he did see a somebody wearing a grey hoodie sitting on one of the swings. His eyes scanned the nearby parking lot and found Pyrrha's mustang. How long had she been here?

Pyrrha had her hair tucked into her hoodie, her eyes gazing mournfully at the rest of the park. It was easy to see that she hadn't slept well. She didn't respond to his approach, so he chose to sit in the swing beside hers and wait for her to speak first. Looking out on the grounds, Jaune could almost see miniature versions of themselves playing on the numerous available fixtures as he ran through mental records of a time long past.

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Amongst all of the words he expected to hear from her, those were among the last. "For what?"

"For taking care of me." Her tone was a forced neutral. "With the punch being spiked, I could've found myself in a bad situation; so, thank you for being responsible."

"Ah. Well, what are friends for?" He blinked at his own word choice. "I mean-"

She cut him off by shaking her head. "I know what you mean... Jaune, do you remember when we met?"

"How could I forget? Here came a girl with bright, red hair, jumping further off of the swing than anybody I'd ever met. That kind of first impression sticks out to a person."

Pyrrha cracked a small, mysterious smile. "I've always aimed to be the best in everything I do; not so that I could be better than others, but to prove to myself that I could. Sadly, having that kind of drive tends to scare people away. Do you know what my first thoughts of you were, Jaune?"

"What were they?"

"That you were warm. No matter what I did, or how well I did it, you were always happy for my sake. You didn't shun me like the other kids our age, and you didn't tell me to 'do even better next time' like the adults." She took a deep breath. "When my parents moved us to Mistral, I was so scared that you would be different by the next time I saw you. You'd have expectations, and keep me at arm's length because of my accolades."

"I'd never do that, Pyrrha." The thought was foreign to him, really. "You were an inspiration for me, a flag that encouraged me to do my best, so why wouldn't I try to be your friend again?"

She chuckled. "I know that now. It made me so happy, seeing you pick up your half of our friendship as if I'd never left. That warmth you gave me grew so much that I... I couldn't help but to fall in love with you."

There it was; her heart, laid bare for him to witness. Her feelings were honest and simple, so it was only right that he return the gesture. "Pyrrha, you are one of the most wonderful people I know. From how hard you work at improving, to how motherly you act to all of your friends. When we come to you with a problem, you listen as if we're the only thing that matters and that- it just means the world to me, you being my friend."

But-

"I've never... looked at you like you look at me. You're absolutely beautiful, of course, I just... never felt a connection. I hadn't even thought about it until last night, and I think you saw that a little when I couldn't answer you." Was he going in circles and repeating himself? "What I'm trying to say is... Thank you. Thank you for loving me, but I can't return your feelings; lying about that would only hurt both of us even more in the end."

He could hear the door being shut, and it was him doing the closing. Or would it be more appropriate to say that he just burned the bridge? It was hard to say.

Pyrrha simply nodded, and it was clear to him that she had shed her tears the night before. "Thank you for being honest, but... I must confess that I'm not sure where that leaves us. I'm still so unused to how romance works beyond the movies."

If the bridge had been burned down, then he would at least reach a hand across the river. "I'm not an expert, either, but... I think we can start by saying hello whenever we see each other, because I still want to be your friend, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha looked at him for the first time that entire conversation, her expression revealing some surprise before it shifted into her familiar, warm smile, albeit a tiny one. "That would be nice."

That was the last thing spoken between them that day. At some point Pyrrha wordlessly vacated her swing, and a minute later he did the same. The walk home was just as cold as the walk there had been; yet, somehow, it didn't bother him as much.

Jaune Arc wasn't stupid. The sense of "normal" that they had come to know had been destroyed, both by his hand and hers. But even if they became strangers in the future, that was okay; because, as his mother always told him, strangers were just friends you hadn't met yet.

X

Thus ends "Act One: One Missed Call." This story is far from over, and I hope that you look forward to the next chapter/Arc of this story.

Coming up: More characters! More quips! More sexual tension! More drama!

Please leave a review or send me a PM, because I would love to hear what you think of the story so far; and no matter what, I hope you have a nice day!