Jaune ducks under a stab aimed towards his head. Lunging forward he thrusts his sword up into Neo's chest knocking her up into the air and towards the edge of their ring. Recovering quickly Neo bounds back towards Jaune staying low to the ground. Jaune gets behind his shield, letting the parasol slam against it, before attempting to push Neo back.
She spins off to the side, and jams the blade in the space between his ribs. Aura flashes, and the knight grunts. Swinging his sword he feels the weapon divert and slide off of Hush, leaving him open. Thinking quickly he jumps back, and abandons attacking to defend himself from Neo. Each hit bouncing off his shield, or sliding off of his sword. When Neo sees she cant get though his defense going at the current speed. She decides to make Jaune a bit more uncomfortable, and force him into trying to fight back.
The attacks speed up, and start coming from more angles, some of them squeaking through now. Lowering his shield, Jaune starts attacking Neo, a horizontal slash making the wind whistle by Neo's head as she steps back. Jaune steps into Neo's guard, and throws a right hook. She ducks under the knights fist, and uses the hand not on Hush to drive her own fist into his diaphragm.
Doubling over the knight coughs, the thief distancing herself from him. Neo allows Jaune to catch his breath for a moment before rushing in again. He's impressing her with how quickly he's been improving at fighting back in these more recent sparring sessions. This one is their final bout of the night. Neo wanted Jaune to fight in more prolonged situations, since he said that was one of his bigger issues when it came to his fights in class, and whenever he would spar with his friends.
Neo figured out that the longer a fight went on he got sloppier, and in each session for the past two and half weeks, a portion of the time has been meant for Jaune to keep his composure for longer. It wasn't that he got tired too quickly, or that he couldn't handle being hit over and over again. It was that he got in his own head as the fight went on.
Their spar right now was trying to help him with this problem, and he was getting much better. He was catching up with his peers, but he was still arguably the worst fighter in the school. A few matches would even end in a win or draw for Jaune. But most of his other fights whether in class or when he decided to indulge in the rare spar with his peers after the day was done ended with him either drained of his aura, knocked out of the ring, or rendered unconscious in usually humiliating fashion.
Part of the reason his fights would end up so badly was due in part to the fact that Jaune was getting much less sleep than he should've been. He had been spending his nights up late trying to get papers done, studying, or training. He had little free time, and the free time he did have he spent sleeping or trying to connect with his team.
He wished could spend more time with them, but he was still behind. His grades had shot up over the month, but he was still so new to the basics that he was having to test himself with homemade flash cards to make sure he knew what second years in Signal would. Some mornings his team or a member of team RWBY would find him passed out in the library, or have to stop him from dozing off during lunch.
Every Tuesday and Friday for the past three and a half weeks Jaune got onto the bullhead down to Vale, and met up with Neo like usual. He always made sure to prepare his schedule for his meetings with Neo. All work that needed to be done for Wednesday would be handled on Monday, and whatever needed to be done on Friday would be handled wednesday night. If he could postpone it without getting knocked too much then work given on Thursday night for Friday would mostly be put off until Saturday or Sunday.
He always wanted to be his best when training with Neo knowing she was taking time out of her day to help him, and he wanted to show her that he was improving. If he wasn't at his best then how could he do that? She was one of his few friends who didn't judge him or care how much of a fraud he was. He would hang out with her, and talk with her about life, and she would sort of do the same with him.
The shield of Crocea Mors slams into her chest and pushes her back into a corner. The girl allowing him to move her. Jaune uses his shield to pin Neo, and starts hitting Neo with the pommel of his sword driving it into her face and top of her head. The repetitive hitting getting to the girl even if she was a good fighter and had aura, Jaune still hit like a battering ram.
Neo opens Hush knocking Jaune's arms away, giving her a brief respite. Jaune bats it to the side with Crocea Mors and swipes at Neo's neck. The sword misses by a mile, and Neo sees a massive mistake.
His arm was over extended. This is a teachable moment.
Neo drops Hush and punches Jaune in the armpit as hard as she can rendering the arm useless for the moment. He better start using his shield smart if he wants this fight to last any longer. With his right arm hanging by his side Jaune uses his shield arm to throw wild punches at Neo. None land, but they do get her to lay off for long enough for his arm to stop tingling, and regain enough feeling that he can start swinging.
This was enjoyable for Neo. The two of them moving swiftly across the floor in a violent dance. Each stab, slash, and punch excited her. Jaune was improving, and it made for good entertainment, and even better stress relief when she could see him figuring out small ways to avoid her attacks. It let her get creative with how she would beat on him. It also gave Jaune a healthy dose of fear whenever she would introduce something new.
When she finally decided it was time to finish the fight, the Arc had immediately start panicking. Whatever she was about to do was going to hurt…
The fight was over the cement floor under Jaune's head spiderwebbed with cracks, and the knight dazed. Stomping on his head felt a little to far for Neo, but it worked, and seeing who she had to meet with tonight it was still pretty satisfying even if it was Jaune.
"Ow." Jaune groans rolling over and picking himself off the ground "Did you really have to stomp on my face five times?"
Neo shrugs, and grabs Jaune's free hand to help him up. "You want to get something to eat? I'm starving." The knight asks dusting himself off.
Neo shakes her head, and pulls out her scroll. 'Cant, I've got a meeting with my boss.'
"That's fair." A look of disappointment crosses his face momentarily, a smile taking its place in a blink. "I hope your meeting goes well."
A wobbly smile is thrown back at him. This wasn't good. Jaune hadn't seen Neo nervous like this. Her composure never wavered, and yet tonight she looked like she was on her way to the gallows. "Neo are you okay?"
She nods. Jaune didn't believe her in the slightest. "Neo seriously, what's wrong? I've never seen you like this."
'I just really don't want to deal with her.' Neo texts honestly
"I know we've talked about it before, but you really don't like her do you?" Nodding once again Neo looks down at her scroll. "I'm not all that useful, but I can come with you if you want. I can be your emotional support Jaune."
Neo giggles silently, and the knight smiles. It was small, but it was more genuine than the one before it. She had done so much for him, and she hadn't asked for anything back so far. The most he had done for her was pay for a few meals, and be a punching bag.
"If you want I can hang around in Vale until your meeting is over then we can eat after." When Neo shakes her head no Jaune frowns. "Seriously Neo I owe you more than a few favors, and outside of asking Junior for a bottle of expensive booze to give you, I really don't have much to offer outside of a meal, and the wonderful company of Jaune Arc."
'I will ask you to pay me back in time. Trust me.'
"I know, but still I want to help, and if this is all I can do for now then I'm going to do it until I'm strong enough to pay you back." Jaune says a fire in his eyes that Neo had rarely seen outside of a fight.
Looking at Jaune, Neo stays still for a moment looking into his eyes, before shrugging and mouthing the word 'maybe'
"Awesome, I'll see you later." Jaune smiles as his friend disappears.
This was bad. Neo had walked into the room to see Cinder, and both her cronies talking about Beacon. She needed to figure out what they were saying, but Cinder had shut her mouth and pushed the pair away.
"Miss Neopolitan, you're on time. I like that. Sit down." Cinder gestures to two plush chair sitting in the middle of the room.
Neo shook her head. She'd prefer to stay standing when dealing with someone like this.
"If you insist." Cinder sits crossing one long leg over the other, and resting her hands in her lap. "I hope you can find it in yourself to be comfortable around me, as I am sure we will be working together for a long time."
Apprehensively Neo slowly walks closer to the woman, not unlike a scared child. "I heard that you have issues with verbal communication. I brought a notepad and pen for this meeting. As well for when i need to contact you again you may put your number into my scroll." Cinder reaches into a pocket of the black jeans she was wearing and pulled out a very expensive looking scroll. Neo took the device from Cinder's hand tentatively. She must be extremely confident to be handing her scroll out whether that be business, or personal. Neo quickly typed in her number and name, and handed it back to its owner.
Putting the scroll away Cinder starts speaking. "Thank you. Now I did call this meeting for more than just to get your number. I wanted to tell you that you will be working more closely with me in the near future."
Neo cocks her head to the side. Why would they be working together after this? wasn't the deal just for her and Roman to steal dust?
"I can see you're confused. I was going to allow Torchwick to go back to whatever business he usually does, but he decided to hide things from me. Very useful things." Cinders eyes light up softly as she looks into Neo's eyes. "The plans have also changed seeing how nicely surprising you have been, and how well you fit in with it all. Of course that means keeping Roman too, but he still has his uses."
Neopolitan's fingernails bite into her palm. What the hell was she planning, and why did she have to keep involving her and Roman in these plans. They were doing their part, and just because he tried keeping someone important to him safe they were both being punished?
'I need to know what you have me involved in if you're going to tamper with mine and Roman's side of the deal.' Neo types into her scroll and sends it to the woman across from her. It was easier to communicate this way. Cinder pulls out the scroll as it vibrates, and places it on her lap so she can look down and read while keeping both hands free.
"You do not need to know that for now. I admire the confidence of you to demand such things." Cinder's eyes take on a sinister glint to them. The edge to her smile still playful. "You are a valuable piece, and having someone like you directly under me could prove to be useful."
'Screw you. I'm not working for you any longer than I have to'
"Resorting to insults? How juvenile. I do not care what you think of me. You will be working for me even if it means I need to get rid of Roman." Neo tries her hardest to not react to the provocation. "I hope you understand this is just business."
She needs to die
The thought runs through Neo's mind quickly 'Of course I understand. I just want to know what I'm getting into so I can be well prepared for whatever comes.' Her parents were well connected, and dealt with important people. As much as she hated them while they were alive she managed to pick up enough from them, and the people she dealt with to more than hold her own against the big players of the underworld.
Despite having a reputation for being both wildly unpredictable, and mercilessly sadistic she was also well educated, and brought up to know how to deal with others semi-fromally. Maybe for the first time in a long while she could use it to her advantage. The woman across from her held all the power. The best thing to do in this situation was get her to reveal enough. It didn't matter if it was seen as unimportant to Cinder.
"Understandable. You're going to need a disguise, but that shouldn't be too hard for you. That is the best I can do as of now. Maintaining, and building relationships with those you believe can help in some way or another would also be valuable for both of us"
'You want more strong players to control'
"That would be nice, but they don't have to be strong. Even the weak can be useful, but I'm sure you already know that." Leaning forwards Cinder's voice drops. "Having weak friends in high places is much more valuable than strong ones with nothing. It would do you well to take what I am saying to heart."
A chill runs down Neo's spine. How did she know? Did she need him? How could she even warn him if Cinder did? The questions race through her mind a mile a minute. Cinder seeing her point has gotten across leans back, and allows a relaxed smile to set itself upon her lips.
"I do not require you to steal as much dust as of now. Enjoy some time to rest and relax a bit more." When Neo goes to write Cinder interrupts, "Roman will be able to rest a bit more now too. Do not worry. This does leave us to the end of our discussion. It was pleasant talking to you Miss Neopolitan."
With a small nod Neo vanishes, happy to be away from Cinder. Heading straight over to the sandwich shop hoping Jaune is there Neo thinks about what just happened with Cinder. Less work is good, but what would it be swapped out with once they got all the dust she needed?
Why was she going to be working with Cinder, and why would she need disguise? Would she get to work wit Roman or would she be split from him in their next job? Why would Cinder mention having weak friends in high place?
Neo runs from roof to roof lost in thought. She was going to meet with Jaune it would be a good time to tell him. But does he need to know? He only knew her work through vague descriptions, and telling him about this would do nothing but cause problems. She already has enough of those as is. Wouldn't it be better for him to know who his friend was?
Jaune was inside sitting at the small table by the window working on what she could only assume was homework. He was so engrossed he didn't notice when she entered the shop. She sat down across from him, and texted him that she was here. Jaune jumped when he saw she was already sitting across from him.
She could see his face better in the brighter light of the shop compared to the dimmer lights of the warehouse. What the thief immediately noticed was the dark rings under his eyes, and the whites of his eyes. 'You look exhausted.'
Jaune chuckles, "That's cause I am. I've got more than just fighting to catch up on. Between schoolwork, having an extra class for leaders twice a week, and training. I don't have too much time to rest especially if I want to make time for my teammates and friends." Jaune closes his eyes, and breathes out slowly "I don't want to talk about that. I spend enough time worrying. Hows everything with you Neo?"
Looking into Jaune's eyes she debates on telling him about how who she works for knows who he is, and is expecting her to use one of her favors for who knows what. She can't do it though. He's too exhausted, and stressing him out now would be bad. Possibly bad enough that she would lose her connections that he supplied. 'Tiring, and frustrating :( I will be getting more time off though in the next few weeks though. Maybe I can spend some of it with my partner.'
Of course that's what she wanted, it's all she ever wanted. But even with the extra time off she knew both of them wouldn't be thinking about anything besides the next hit. Maybe they'd have time for an regular robbery, but who knows. Her only escape from work was sparring, and eating with Jaune. She wished she could just do something this casual with Roman, but he had an image to uphold.
So here she was sitting at a table with an overworked, and beat up looking teenager.
"Extra time off should help with how tired you are. Maybe some rest will give you some new ideas on how to get through to him too." Jaune shrugs, and bites into his sandwich "I'm surprised he hasn't noticed you're interested in him. You're with him all the time, you've gone out of your way to make him food, and you've even taken on some of his workload. Have you considered he's blind?"
'It's not all his fault.' Neo feels a bit defensive over the knights observation. 'He's got a lot on his plate, and maybe I'm not being forward enough.'
"Could be. I think 99.9% of guys would've noticed by now. Especially if you two are living together."
Neo shrugs, and digs into her own meal. 'How did you convince the owner to stay open this late?'
"It's not open. The owner made a couple sandwiches, and told me as long as I turned off the lights, and locked the doors behind me I could stay, and eat. He's taken a real liking to us. Said we remind him of a couple of people he saw when he first opened up this shop."
Looking around Neo notices the blonde is right. The shop owner was nowhere to be seen, the backroom was dark, and everything except the lights lighting up the dining space was off. She must've been pretty distracted to not notice those things.
'That's Nice :)' The thief says taking a bite of her own sandwich.
"Neo… I have a question. You're the only one I'd feel would give me a straight answer."
'Hit me with it.'
"Do you think it's worth it?"
'Is what worth it?'
"All of this. The training, the studying, the long nights, the constant worrying over if I'm going to finally get exposed, and thrown in prison. All for a dream I had."
Neo looks into the eyes of the weary knight. Almost all energy drained from them. The blue oceans looking almost grey, like the waves on a cloudy day. He was beyond tired. He would end up being useful she was sure of it. He was also too dedicated to getting better for her to feel comfortable and tell him it wasn't. 'I don't know'
"Yeah… That's how I feel too."
Bite after bite their sandwiches slowly disappear, and soon enough it is time for them to say goodbye. Jaune, and Neo head their separate ways. Jaune walks towards his appartement. It was still early enough for the bullheads to pick him up, but he needed a full nights rest without the worry of getting woken up by his crazy teammate or team RWBY. Tonight was movie night after all.
He texted Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren, and told them he would be staying down in Vale. When Jaune laid down to rest his thoughts drifted off to Neo. She seemed distracted, and fidgety which wasn't normal for her. Whatever was going on at her job must've been stressing her out pretty badly if she was acting like that.
Back at Beacon the rest of team JNPR, and RWBY were hanging out in the latters room. They had thought about spying on Jaune when he went down to Vale today, but seven people would be a bit too noticeable. Maybe next time
He hadn't hung out with them much at all these past few weeks, and most of the time he did he was only half there. He came over to RWBY's dorm with his team to have a monster movie marathon, and fell asleep not even ten minutes into the first one last friday.
That wasn't even the worst part. It was the fact that they didn't even see him outside of lunch it felt like. At least once a week he would fall asleep in the library. They were all worried about him especially when he'd come back twice a week bruised, and beaten. They never said anything about it though because he got really defensive about it the first time. The only two people willing to prod at all were Ruby and Nora.
Pyrrha had seen him hobbling into their room on Tuesday night, and it had taken a lot to even stop herself from asking what happened and letting him know that she was awake. He was their leader, and he was supposed to be here for them, and they were supposed to be there for him. How could they do that when he wasn't around?
Her partner, leader, and best friend was hurting himself trying so hard to be better. She couldn't stand to see it. She had to do something about it. The only problem was when would she get time alone with him?
Only one person had met her, and not seen the Pyrrha the champion immediately. He was constantly pushing her to be more open with team RWBY because they didn't care either. He just wanted her to have friends, and be happy. It's why she couldn't accept him distancing himself from her, and the rest of his friends.
She may have also be a little curious about who this mystery woman training with her partner was. Coming back beaten, and even more exhausted than usual. The smile on his face when he came back despite whatever she put him through. The steady increase of his performance in Goodwitches class (when he wasn't so tired he was almost halucinating).
The group laid scattered around watching the new Frankenstein movie. The missing presence of the knight noticed, but kept unspoken among the group. If he had better things to do there was nothing they could do to stop him. That didn't mean they were above spying on him around Beacon or pestering him with questions.
Ruby had tried following Jaune on his trip down last week, but he must've not been training that night because she didn't see him go anywhere odd. He went to a sandwich shop, went to a book store, and finally a gun store. He looked around in the shop for a solid ten minutes before leaving, and texted Ruby what she wanted for her birthday since it was coming up, and he had no idea what to get her.
Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to talk with him, and talk weapons she blasted into the shop with her semblance, and texted him back saying she was in a store down in vale if he wanted to look with her. Which is how she ended up getting two early birthday presents, lunch, and a promise from Jaune to bake cookies for her birthday.
Jaune was always there for her whenever she needed or wanted. Whenever she had a problem he would drop his work to help her out if he could. It made it so much harder on her when he barely talked to her this week.
Her worry for him had peaked when he went into the locker room before a match in Goodwitch's class, and didn't come back out for 10 minutes.
When the teacher had found him in there slumped over with his head resting against his locker fast asleep she hadn't even punished him. Despite what everyone thought when both of them walked over to her desk and the headmistress called the headmaster. After getting off the call she gave him a note incase a teacher stopped him in the hallway, and told him to go back to his dorm and sleep. It was the most worried anyone had seen the teacher look.
Jaune had gotten everything he needed finished for Monday in the few hours extra he had. His team found him asleep, and hadn't woken him up until 20 minutes before class started today. Even though he looked more refreshed he still had bags under his eyes, and immediately left as soon as classes ended for the day. He had texted them that he was going to be staying the night in Vale sure. Which led to them wondering why he still had an apartment in the city, since he had been living at Beacon for close to two months.
Ruby had gotten close to his apartment, and could probably find the building again if necessary, but out of respect for Jaune she hadn't told the rest of the group. Yang, and Weiss were the least worried for Jaune. Yang was probably the most nosy of the bunch besides his partner, but she wasn't going to go out of her way to follow him unless it really interested her. When it came to Weiss she already had a low opinion on the knight especially due to him flirting whenever he was awake, and in the same room with her. It made her happy that he was gone or asleep most of the time they two teams hung out.
Sometimes Weiss or Blake would end up finding him asleep in the library. Sometimes they would call his teammates to come pick him up, but after the first week of finding him there they decided to take it upon themselves to bring him back, or allow him to sleep in there. The librarian didn't mind if he was sleeping in there since he was using the library for its intended purpose of studying and reading, and he did look like he needed the rest after all.
Weiss would take it to her grave, but sometimes when she found Jaune sleeping she would watch for a while. He was much more preferable this way, and occasionally she would catch a mention of her name when talked in his sleep. She would also catch other names as well, several of their yearmates names came up, and so did Neapolitan ice-cream, which the heiress found amusing.
She would also never admit that she liked when he would smile in his sleep. It didn't have the awkwardness or fakeness of his flirting with weiss smile, or the I just messed up look that his rubbing the back of his head smile did. It was natural, and it was real. It was the same smile he saw when hanging out with Ruby, or the rest of his team. It was the smile she would sometimes catch a glimpse of whenever he was looking at her, and thought she couldn't see him.
It was odd really.
It had felt like forever since he had a free day in Vale even though it still hadn't even been two months since he was living in the city. Walking out of his apartment Jaune looked at the city with light in his eyes. Sure it was already past noon, but damn if he didn't feel better than he had in a while. He should go and finally visit Junior. Maybe he could stop by and see Tukson too. He had seen the bookstore owner last friday, but it was always good to drop by and converse with the man.
Walking into the near empty club Jaune spotted the man behind the bar as usual. A rare smile crosses his face.
"Finally came back for a visit, and here I was thinking you had forgot about me." Junior smiles seeing Jaune.
"I wanted to stop by and catch up since I havn't seen you since I started going to Beacon."
"It's good to see you Jaune. Why'd you come to visit today? Decided you had enough of the Beacon life, and want to come back and work for me again?"
Jaune laughs. "Not yet."
"Shame."
"How have things been been going since I left?"
Junior's smile drops momentarily. "Stressful, and extremely busy."
"Isn't business good though?"
"Not the type of business I'm getting."
"Oh. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No. Just try and stay out of trouble."
"You've done so much for me though."
"No."
"Alright. I'll stay out of trouble."
"Are you still training with Neo?"
"Yeah."
"Be careful around her alright."
"She's really not that bad.
"Is that why two of my men saw you walking down the street looking like you got hit by a truck?"
"She's not usually that bad"
"She's only manageable because you owe her something, and essentially has you by the balls. She is not someone you want to owe anything to."
"Neo is my friend, and I owe her just as much as I owe you. Why are you making a big deal about it now?"
"Because she's not someone you want to get involved with. Just be careful. 'Friendships' like the one between you and her, more often leave you burnt, and the other person unscathed."
"She's done nothing but help me, and maybe you're right, and she'll end up hurting me. But for now she's my friend, and I care about her."
"The people you care about are always the ones who end up being close enough to hurt you the worst. If you truly think you understand who you're really dealing with then it's not my call, but the twins aren't happy about it, and they don't let things go as easily" Junior says.
"Thank you. Where are Melanie, and Miltiades?"
"Upstairs. You can go see them if you want."
"Sure. Thanks Junior."
"Yeah. Now go bother the twins."
"Will do." Jaune smiles.
Jaune had only been upstairs a few times working in the club, and most of those were to clean up after some particularly rowdy nights. The other couple times he had been in was when Junior, and him discussed the details of his employment, and when he was given the keys to his apartment.
"So you finally stopped by." Melanie speaks first
"Took you long enough"
"I've been fairly busy." Jaune responds
Miltiades scoffs "Yeah yeah you're in the big fancy school for huntsmen. Tell us everything."
Sitting down on a plush sofa Jaune regales the girls with his time at Beacon so far. From getting launched off a cliff into the Emerald Forest to all of his classes, and friends that he had made. He told them about how he hadn't had much time to do anything besides study, and train. To which the girls made fun of him, and asked if he thought he thought he was just going to coast by in all the classes despite having little to no information before hand.
Sure he had tried his best to prepare. All the books from Tukson's in his apartment had given him enough to seem a little less out of place than he was. At the end of the day though there was nothing he could do about the years he had skipped when it came to the curriculum except spend nearly every free moment cramming his brain with information.
He talked about his teammates, and team RWBY. The girls teasing him about his friends, and teasing him extra when he had mentioned Weiss a little too many times. Their attitude shifted when they heard he was now training with Neo twice a week, and spending time with her outside of training.
"We know we don't have any say in you training with her, but hanging out too much with her is going to get you into bad situations." Miltiades says
"Why do you keep trying to warn me. She's my friend. I've told you two that I know she's not the nicest person-"
"That's to say the least. I bet she's never even told you what she actually does." Melanie interrupts
"Or who her partner really is."
"I don't care what she does. Same with you two, and Junior. The less I know the better right?"
"When it comes to working with us and for Junior, sure. Having good hard working people like you who aren't involved in the shady stuff is part of what makes it easier for us to stay out of sight of the authorities."
"Or easier for the ones that know to overlook it."
"But when it comes to people like Neo knowing who you're associated with, and what they're capable of, and willing to do is important."
"I know you care about her, and she may seem to care about you, but if she really did wouldn't she have told you a bit more about herself so you could decide if it was the right decision to be acquainted with her?"
"I owe her favors, and if she's as bad as you two say why on earth would I try and ditch her?"
"Because she's hiding important things from you, and we didn't spend all of our time helping you for you to waste it and get yourself involved in shit because you owed the mute bitch favors."
Jaune clenches his fists in his lap "What kind of things are you two hiding from me or is it just Neo who has to reveal everything? What do you mean by helping? I have done more for you two than you have for me."
"You don't need to know that."
"Exactly my point! If I don't need to know your secrets then why do I need to know hers?!"
"Just ask her next time you see her. If you want to leave it be, and get yourself sucked into what she's involved in after that then its on you."
Anger fades, and anxiety takes its place. The twins had calmed down slowly, as he had gotten more and more out of control. They were asking him to do it genuinely. What kind of things did she have to hide where the malachite sisters were concerned about his safety? Who was her partner? and what did she really do? Questions that he kept in the back of his mind now coming to the forefront with a vengeance.
"Jaune we're trying to help you realize what you're getting into."
"I know. She already deals with enough without me asking questions. I don't want to ruin one of the few friendships I have because I'm curious."
Melanie reaches out, and places a hand on Jaune's arm "If you're really friends then she'll answer your question. All we want you to do is ask who her partner is. For your own sake."
"Don't give her a choice. Tell her that if she doesn't tell you we will."
Authors notes:
I'm back, and apologize again for the wait. This chapter had to wait for me to finish Cyberpunk, process how angry I was, and still am at the Ravens loss, and Josh Allen winning MVP, and also my rebuild of ECU.
We're now ten chapters into Favors, and I would love to know how you all feel about the story, and any theories, ideas, or how I can improve. Or just tell me how much you dislike the writing of the story. I read all the reviews, and get notifications on my phone whenever someone favorites, or follows me, and my stories. It makes my day a bit brighter every time I see it so I thank you all.
This chapter as most of the others was supposed to be longer, and wasn't even going to involve Jaune talking to the twins at all, but I wanted to do something, and maybe introduce a little bit of conflict between Jaune, and Neo.
I also couldn't come up with a good title for this chapter. It took me two days to come up with an acceptable title, and I still don't know if I even like it at all.
As always though I hope you enjoyed the chapter and enjoy the story. Feel free to leave a review, and tell me what you do and don't like as well as any theories or ideas you have. I love reading all of the reviews and I hope you all have a great day, night, morning or whatever time it is.