Ruby discovered something else about Jaune today.

He was really good at bowling.

While Ruby—having not bowled in a few years and never being particularly good at it in the first place—struggled to even pick up spares, Jaune was rolling strikes every other frame. By the time they'd completed their first game, Jaune had bowled six strikes—with only two missed spares. Ruby, meanwhile, had managed to get four spares and a single strike.

Ruby sat dumbfounded as the game ended, eyes slowly trailing to Jaune. "I…how? How are you this good?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "To be fair, I was on the bowling team in junior high. I've had a lot of practice."

Ruby's brow furrowed as she lay her chin in her hands, staring at Jaune as he sat across from her. "You were on the bowling team?"

Jaune nodded, giving a rare, prideful smile. "Yep! My big sister insisted I try out and—to my surprise—I actually made it! When my little sisters got in, the bowling team was 50% Arc! We bowled together until I graduated last year…" his smile dropped, eyes taking on a faraway look as he stared at the table.

Ruby frowned, reaching over and grabbing his hand. "Jaune?"

Jaune's eyes flicked back to her as she shook his head, brushing off her hand. "Sorry, I just…it's been a while since I've seen them, you know? I just…"

"You miss them?"

Jaune sighed, laying his head in his hand as his fingers drummed on the table. "Yeah. I mean, they call me on my scroll every once in a while, but…it's not the same. Used to be we did almost everything together, but…well, I'm the only one who decided to come to Beacon."

Ruby tilted her head slightly, leaning closer without even realizing. "Really? I thought you said you came from a family of huntsmen?"

Jaune nodded, sitting up a bit straighter. "I do. Thing is, only three of my sisters plan on being huntresses—and I'm the only one in our family that came to Beacon. Most people in my family just go to Haven and be done with it."

"Why didn't you?"

Jaune sighed, running a hand through his slightly damp hair. "Beacon was the best and…well, you know how bad I was at the start. I figured if anywhere was gonna make me a good huntsman, it would be the best school in Remnant." his eyes flicked to the left. "That and I didn't get a scholarship to Haven and the tuition prices are insane."

Ruby giggled, causing Jaune to break out into a smile as well.

Jaune stood, checking the time on his scroll and looking back to see Yang and Weiss still bowling in another lane. "Wanna watch them or bowl another game?"

Ruby tapped her chin, squinting at her sister and seeing that their game was also wrapping up. "Let's just wait for them. Maybe we can actually bowl a game together this time…oh—!"

Ruby slapped her fist into her hand with a devious look on her face. "I have an idea."

"I…don't like the sound of that."

Ruby leaned up, whispering in Jaune's ear. "Okay, Yang and Weiss don't know that you're a good bowler, right? This is the perfect opportunity to mess with them! They're both super competitive, so you make a bet with them, and boom!"

Jaune's brow furrowed, whispering right back. "Uh…what would I even bet them for?"

"Money, blackmail—anything!"

Jaune's eyes widened, only for a mischievous smile to form on his face as well. "Here I thought Yang was the troublemaker. Alright, let's do it!"

The two fought down their smirks as they approached, seeing that Yang had a small—but noticeable—lead between the two. Though, in the final frame, Weiss turned it around with two strikes, smirking at Yang as the taller girl grumbled.

Jaune cleared his throat, getting the two to turn to him.

Yang walked over, her face tinted red as she grabbed Jaune's shoulder. "I'll get you for this Weiss."

Before Jaune could say anything, Yang slammed her lips into his.

Ruby jumped back as Yang held for a solid three seconds before letting Jaune go—the taller boy promptly falling to the ground and holding a hand to his lips. "I—what—huh?"

Predictably, Jaune was speechless.

Yang sighed, crossing her arms and gesturing to Weiss. "I bet Weiss that she'd lose and have to kiss you—and she bet the same thing. And, unlike her, I won't wimp out and settle for a kiss on the cheek."

Ruby looked between the two, her face equally as red as she held up a hand. "Uh, shouldn't you have—I don't know—asked Jaune if he was okay with this?"

Yang looked at her fellow blond, crossing her arms. "Alright: Jaune, how was getting kissed by one of the hottest girls at Beacon?"

"Painful."

Yang blinked twice. "What?"

Jaune moved his hand, revealing his lip was split and bleeding. "You jerked me into you, and my bottom lip hit your teeth. Felt like getting punched in the mouth and the fist just stayed there a few seconds."

Yang's eyes widened. "Oh…uh, my bad."

Ruby dashed to Jaune, grabbing some napkins and holding them to his lip before flitting around him at super-speed. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay—well, you're obviously not okay you're bleeding—do you need first aid? I'll go find a doctor!"

Jaune grabbed her by the shoulder before she could dash away. "Ruby, relax. I'm fine—just need to let my aura heal it for a bit."

Ruby, naturally, still stayed close and placed a comforting hand on his back while glaring at her sister (who at least had the decency to look guilty). Her eyes flicked over his face several times as he sat down—the other three taking the cue and following suit.

After a solid thirty seconds, Jaune's lip looked brand new—well, besides a new tiny line in the center. His eyes flicked to Yang, frowning at her as he placed an arm on the table. "You could've warned me, at least."

Yang's face was a tomato as she looked away, rubbing the back of her head and giving a nervous chuckle. "Yeah…not my finest hour, I admit. Guessing, uh—" she started petting her hair. "You want a do-over on that?"

Jaune, though he still blushed, didn't look away in embarrassment this time. Instead, he looked to Ruby. His eyebrows shot up, asking a silent question—to which Ruby replied by shrugging and gesturing to him.

Jaune leaned back, shaking his head. "No, you did what you bet you'd do. A bad kiss is still a kiss, right?"

Yang stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "Wait…I'm offering a kiss and you're not jumping at the chance?"

Jaune shook his head, eyes momentarily flitting to Weiss before he gave Yang a small smile. "Well, it wouldn't be fair, would it? You lost a bowling game and had to kiss me—so it only makes sense you should have to lose to do it again, right?"

Yang blinked twice, tilting her head (Jaune swore a hair above her head formed a question-mark shape). "Are you making a bet?"

"Depends—are you interested?"

Yang gave a faint smirk, holding out a hand. "Okay, you and me. I lose, I'll kiss you properly. I win…um…"

Yang scratched her chin, holding up a finger. "Hold on, let me think about this."

Jaune's eyes flicked to the other two at the table, gesturing to them. "How about you two? Up for a game with me and Yang?"

Weiss gave Jaune a faint glare. "I'm not planning to kiss you."

Jaune shook his head, holding up his hand as he did so. "Nah, I figured you wouldn't. How about instead you put your lien where your mouth is?"

Weiss stared him down. "I'm listening."

"50 lien to the winner."

Weiss smirked. "Make it 100."

"Make it 500!"

"Let's make it 1000!"

Jaune's eyes flicked to Ruby. "Let's…go back to 50."

Weiss held out a hand. "Deal."

Yang's eyes flicked to Jaune and Ruby, a faint smirk forming as she came up with a plan. "Hey, Rubes? What happens if you lose to Jaune?"

Ruby's eyes widened a bit as they flicked to Jaune, seeing him leaning back a bit. A possibility Ruby hadn't really considered—though in hindsight should have been obvious. After all, she'd already agreed to play, and she was the one person not making a bet. If she refused, Weiss and Yang might withdraw their own bets as well—and there goes the entire point of approaching them for a game.

Jaune turned to Ruby, staring her down for a moment before giving a faint smile. "Okay…if I win, you have to sit next to me on the plane to Amora. If you win…let me guess, cookies?"

Ruby looked down for a second, wondering what his game was. Sitting next to him on the flight wasn't really that much of a penalty—other than his motion sickness. Then again, she'd dealt with it pretty well on the way down, and motion sickness pills existed for a reason.

As for what she wanted…well, she could make that interesting.

"Hmm…nope!"

"No? Then what do you want?"

Ruby tapped her chin. "Hmm…I want your hoodie!"

Jaune tilted his head a bit, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You want one of my hoodies…why?"

Ruby shook her head, leaning back a bit in her chair. "Not one of your hoodies, the hoodie! The one you wear beneath your combat gear all the time!"

Jaune shrugged. "Okay, then. Deal."

All eyes turned back to Yang, who was still staring at the ground debating what she wanted if she won against Jaune. "Hmm…oh!" she slapped a fist into her open palm. "If I win, you owe the three of us lunch tomorrow!"

Jaune nodded. "Fair enough."

At that he stood, hands pressing into his lower back as he gave Ruby a knowing smile. "I'll go pay for the next game—go ahead and put your names in."

As he walked away, Yang gave Ruby a look the younger girl knew all too well. The cheshire smile, the slightly squinted eyes, even resting her chin on her hands—it all said one thing:

Yang had found something she knew she could tease Ruby about.

"His hoodie?"

Ruby nodded as she typed in her name (and seven heart emoticons after it). "What? His hoodies all look so comfy! Plus they're really big so I can pull my knees up into it when it's cold."

Yang chuckled, shifting to where her chin was on only one hand, the other typing 'WINNER' as her name. "Not to mention it smells like him, will probably be covered in his sweat, and it'll feel like you're being hugged by him every time you wear it?"

Ruby blinked twice. "Huh?"

Weiss rolled her eyes as she typed in 'ACTUAL WINNER' as her name. "She's implying you have a crush on Jaune, you dolt."

"HUH!?"

"Not really—I'm pretty much just saying it."

"WHAAA?!"

Yang gave Ruby a faint smirk. "Oh come on Ruby, it's so obvious:" she started counting on her fingers, "You want his hoodie, you cling to him more than you did to dad when you went to the dentist for the first time, and you're blushing like crazy right now."

"I ALWAYS BLUSH WHEN YOU SAY STUFF LIKE THIS!"

Yang looked up and to the left. "Okay, you got me there."

Ruby shook her head, grabbing another ball from the nearby rack as she glared at her sister. "This is exactly what happened with Miltia! You saw me being nice to them and assumed it was because I was 'madly in love' or something! I just like oversized hoodies!"

Weiss's brow furrowed. "Then why don't you own any?"

"I do—but I left them at home when we came back from Christmas Break."

Yang nodded, turning to look at Weiss. "Yeah, no, half of Rubes' closet is oversized hoodies and big, puffy sweaters."

"What about sweaters?"

The three turned to see Jaune coming back, chuckling at the names he saw. He sat down, eyes flicking to Yang and Weiss. "A little optimistic, don't you think?"

Weiss smirked. "I like to think of it as 'prophetic'."

Yang leaned over to Ruby. "If she's a prophet, she's not a very good one."

The two giggled as Jaune put in his name—notably the only one that was his actual name with nothing added to it. He grabbed a ball and shocked Weiss and Yang with a strike in his first frame.

He looked over his shoulder, smirking at them. "Game on."