Pyrrha watched as, a few rows down from her in Goodwitches' classroom, Jaune talked to the black-haired girl across from him. Her leg shook under the table. She bit at her fingernail, having long given up on trying to appear unbothered.

Cinder stood leaned over this desk, looking down at him. Pyrrha searched for some sign that he felt nervous or uncomfortable, but he seemed happy enough. Both of them did, for that matter. In fact, Cinder's smile appeared to somehow get bigger every time Jaune spoke to her. The girl put one hand on his shoulder and used the other to tuck a lock of his hair behind his ear.

A lump grew in her throat and Pyrrha looked away. She wasn't sure whether to cry or go down there and try to fight the girl. Either way, she couldn't very well do either right before class.

Although she would've loved to continue burying her jealousy, that had become difficult as of late. It was hard seeing him with another woman, and the way that woman had spoken to her only served to make it worse. Maybe it was a selfish thought, but how come someone so cruel got to be with him while Pyrrha had to settle for friendship? She wasn't going to act like Cinder had murdered her or anything, but that didn't seem right.

All she could do was hope that his date showed more kindness to him than she had to her.

Pyrrha bit down hard enough on her thumb to damage her aura. What if she didn't? It might've sounded ridiculous, the idea that Jaune would choose to date somebody who didn't treat him well, but sometimes that kind of thing could be complicated. She'd heard that a lot of people in toxic relationships didn't realize it until much later. Plus, Jaune was the type to see the best in people before he saw any of their flaws, so if she did mistreat him, he'd make excuses for her. Both to himself and to others.

Okay, so there were definitely some mental gymnastics going on there, but still, there wasn't anything wrong with being concerned!

Her classmates began filing into their seats as Professor Goodwitch called for everyone's attention. Cinder, too, moved away from Jaune towards the other side of the room, but not before blowing him a kiss.

"Hurry to your seats! We haven't got all day!"

Jaune paid seemingly no mind to their teacher and instead stared at Cinder's back as the girl made her way over to her own spot in the classroom. He only turned back to Goodwitch a good half-minute into her lecture.

Pyrrha's heart sank into her chest, although she, too, mostly tuned out the lesson. She tried taking notes at first, but the more she attempted to ignore it, the more she found herself preoccupied over Jaune and that girl. It certainly didn't help much that her partner was sitting just a few rows down from her, right in her line of sight. That wasn't even to mention Cinder almost directly across to the other side of the room. Everytime she glanced up, she saw one of the two.

Her eyes wandered over to the girl without realizing it. She had her chin resting on her palm with her legs crossed, and seemed to be paying as little attention to the lecture as Pyrrha. Instead, her gaze was directed to a spot just below her. She hardly needed to check but to confirm what, or rather who, she was so fixated on.

Somehow, that bothered her. It would be ridiculous to insist that it was wrong to simply look at the person you're dating, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

When she looked back at Cinder, her gaze lingered just a moment too long. The girl noticed and met her eyes with a scowl. Pyrrha froze. The two of them sat there for a short moment, staring at each other, one with apprehension and the other with what looked like disgust or anger or both.

Pyrrha broke eye contact first and soon felt Cinder's stare leave her.

Her hand shook subtly out of anger, for Cinder but also for herself. She hated how that girl thought she could push her around and speak to her like garbage, but she hated just as much how, for whatever reason, she did nothing to push back against it.

Why couldn't she muster the courage? And how in Oum's name did she get a date with Jaune treating people like that?

Shards of what was once a pencil flew apart on her desk. The noise startled her as much as it did anyone around, nearly making her jump out her seat. A student to the left gave her an unsettled look as Pyrrha sank further into her seat and suddenly, anger made way for embarrassment. Any hope she had of paying attention to the lecture was gone now.

/-/

The rest of the class broke into a clamor as students got up out of their seats at the sound of the bell. Pyrrha took her time in gathering her notes together, having no desire to beat everyone else out of the room anyways.

As she looked around the room, Cinder, having hurried back to Jaune as soon as the bell rang, again caught her eye. She stood facing him with her body between his and the way to the exit and said something that made his face go bright red. Pyrrha couldn't hear whatever that was over the noise the other students made.

Once everyone else left, though, maybe she would be able to listen…

She shook her head as if to physically force thought out of her mind. Whatever they said to each other in private was their business, not hers.

Although if she really wanted to make sure that she was treating him well, surely it wouldn't be that bad… right?

That's right, she was just concerned! She was just trying to be a good friend, that was all. What was so wrong about that? Besides, if they were saying it to each other with all these other students around, it couldn't have been any kind of secret!

Jaune and Cinder stayed put even as the other stragglers and even Professor Goodwitch began filing out of the classroom. As the last few remaining finally took off, Cinder looked up at Pyrrha, narrowed her eyes, and lowered her voice, leaning in to talk to Jaune with a hushed tone. Pyrrha deflated. She knew now, or was at least suspicious. The look in her eyes made that abundantly clear.

It was a stupid idea anyways.

Another moment went by and the pair began walking up the staircase towards the exit, Cinder's arm wrapped around his. She stood on his side, between him and Pyrrha, and gave her a mistrustful glare as they passed.

Pyrrha gripped the table in front of her. What was this girl's problem? It seemed like everytime she acknowledged her it was only to let her know that she didn't like her.

Taking a calming breath, Pyrrha gathered her textbooks and got up, heading for the door.

She planned to make a beeline for her dorm, but her legs froze completely at the sound of Jaune's voice from just around the corner. She knew she should've kept going, that there was probably nothing worth hearing in their conversation anyway, and told herself as such. Even so, some strange gut feeling of urgency kept her glued to that spot.

I'm just concerned! There's nothing wrong with that!

"I don't know, Cinder, I've got classes early tomorrow. Can't we do that over the weekend?"

Pyrrha put her back up against the wall, straining to hear a conversation that probably would have been completely disinteresting to literally anybody else.

Cinder said something too quiet for Pyrrha to pick up on, and in seemingly an instant the two of them ran off somewhere. She couldn't see them from where she was, but could hear their footsteps and Jaune's calls to slow down as they fled.

Something compelled her down the corridor. Maybe it was concern or jealousy or simple curiosity, but Pyrrha felt a strong need to follow them, and there was no time to think it through. She looked around to make sure no one saw before darting towards where they'd disappeared.

It didn't take long to find them again. The two hadn't gone far, having cut into a corner a bit aways down the hall. Pyrrha stopped on a dime and stood barely out of sight.

Still just concerned! Just want to make sure he's being treated right!

"I just can't help myself," she heard Cinder say through heavy breathing. "Not when you look at me like that." The sound of lips against lips made her cringe.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, taking a deep breath as if hearing the interaction caused her physical pain that she was trying to subdue.

"C-can we not do this right here? Out in the open, I mean," Jaune said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't want somebody to see us and get uncomfortable."

"Ugh, you're so cute when you're nervous. Don't worry," Cinder snickered at his concern, "Nobody'll find us here, not when everybody's going back to their dorms. There's nothing to worry about."

The two started kissing. Again.

Alarm bells went off in Pyrrha's head.

See!? Her concerns weren't invalid! The girl had totally brushed off Jaune's wishes, just like that! How could their relationship possibly be equal if Cinder didn't have any concern about how he felt? What else would she do to him if his needs meant that little to her? A knot tightened in her stomach.

She had to talk to him about this. Sure, it might not have seemed like a big deal, but what if it led to something worse? Jaune didn't deserve that, he deserved to be respected.

But… how would she?

Her stomach dropped as the reality of what she'd done set in. She'd deliberately followed them over here to eavesdrop. She'd broken his trust whether he was currently aware of that or not, and she'd have to explain that to him if she really wanted to have that conversation.

This was stupid anyway. I'm being stupid.

Pyrrha felt tears streaming down her face as it got harder and harder to stay silent. This was all so idiotic, going after them like this. Listening to them like this. Getting into their business like this. Before she could process it, her legs carried her back towards where she'd come from.

It was stupid anyways.

/-/

Cinder pressed her body against Jaune and wrapped her arms around his neck. He spoke softly, but not too quietly, into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. "C-can we not do this right here? Out in the open, I mean. I don't want somebody to see us and get uncomfortable."

She pulled him tighter, running her hand through his hair with a smirk. Perhaps in another situation, she would've taken him somewhere else to continue this in private, but they had to put on a show. They couldn't disappoint their audience, afterall.

Nikos seemed to think that she was being subtle, but Cinder begged to differ. That bitch had practically shaken the building running after them. It was quite frankly a miracle that Jaune hadn't noticed it as well.

God, that girl was so pathetic.

"Ugh, you're so cute when you're nervous. Don't worry," she continued, "Nobody'll find us here, not when everybody's going back to their dorms. There's nothing to worry about."

Cinder pulled him back in, forcing his lips against hers. She kept it like that and enjoyed him until the subsiding sound of footsteps came from around the corner, at which point she separated herself ever so slightly and quickly put a finger up to his lips, telling him to stay quiet. He looked back at her, confused.

She wanted badly to vent her frustrations, reveal to him how she really felt about Nikos and lambast her for getting in their business. It certainly would have been a weight off her shoulders. Unfortunately, though, nothing seemed to suggest that Jaune had realized how bad his partner really was for him, so those thoughts would have to stay hidden for a little longer. Until then, she could continue to find the patience to play concerned.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Those footsteps." Cinder smirked. "Looks like your little friend got curious."

Jaune frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your partner. She was following us since we left the classroom."

Her love, bless his heart, didn't seem to process it. He stared at her with a blank expression. "What? Why would she do that?"

"Perhaps you should ask her about that."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "That's not something she would do."

Cinder sighed. The look on his face suggested disbelief, but she found no accusation in his eyes. It was as if he didn't believe her one bit but at the same time didn't think she was misleading him. "You know I wouldn't lie to you, Jaune. You trust me, right?"

"Well, yeah… of course I do."

"Then why don't you believe me?" She grabbed his hand in hers and gave it a soft squeeze. "I'm only trying to help you. And I understand how to do that because I understand you. Better than anyone. So please trust me when I say that I'm telling you the truth."

Jaune hesitated. "I don't think you're lying to me, Cinder, but I just can't imagine Pyrrha doing something like that."

"Sometimes people do things to you that you don't expect," she said, shrugging. "But you trusted her, and she betrayed you. You can't simply ignore something like that."

"I wouldn't take it that far…"

"Why not? You put trust in her to respect you, and she took advantage of that. She expected to get away with it because you had faith in her to let your business be yours. She betrayed you." Jaune gave her no response. "Besides, how do you know this is the first time she's done something like this? You only know now because I was here for you. For all we know, she follows you every other time you leave your dorm."

Cinder wasn't so delusional that she couldn't see some irony in her words, seeing as there was, in fact, somebody following him every other time he left his dorm, only it wasn't his partner. But there was a clear difference. Cinder followed him to protect him, and she had a right to know about his activities. His business was her business, because they had a uniquely significant bond. Nikos had no such thing with him and never would.

Jaune looked down at his feet. "You know what? I'll talk to her tonight about it. She'll tell me the truth if I ask her."

"Will she?" she responded, raising her eyebrows. "Are you really that confident in her?"

"I am."

They sat in silence. Cinder took the moment to look into his eyes. Even though some time had passed since she first saw them, their beauty still shocked her. They seemed to open into a sapphire ocean, beckoning her into their waters. He suddenly fixated back onto her and she saw her reflection in his pupil.

"Are you alright?"

Cinder didn't register his words at first. When her mind caught up, the question took her aback for a second before she noticed her own breathlessness.

"O-oh, yes, of course," she said, gasping for air. "Apologies. Now, back to our conversation," Cinder cleared her throat, "I'm only concerned about you, Jaune. Don't you remember how you were when we first started talking?"

Jaune blinked. "Sure I do, but what's that got to do with this?"

"You looked down on yourself. You thought you weren't good enough. Did your friends do nothing to help that? If I recall correctly, that only went away when I came into the picture."

"I… what…?"

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm concerned because of your friends. They stood by and let you suffer by yourself, and now they follow you around when you want to spend time with someone else? And you see nothing wrong with that?"

Jaune sighed.. "I appreciate that you're concerned about me," he said with a shake of the head, "but those are my friends for a reason. They treat me as good as I could ask them to."

Damn it. This would be harder than she thought it would.

He was still too close, far too close, with those "friends" of his. Somehow, she needed to show him that he didn't need them. No, that wouldn't cut it. She needed to show him how harmful they really were to him. Then he would finally realize that only she could give him the treatment he deserved and only she could make him happy.

Cinder pondered telling him that outright but decided against it. Words wouldn't get her very far, no, what she needed was action. Something that would provide irrefutable proof of her loyalty and at the same time make him question that of his friends. Or anything to keep him away from them, really. She wasn't going to be particularly picky about it.

"Alright, I'll leave it alone for now, but know that I'm here for you if you need anything at all. Your friends can't give you everything that I can," she said with a wink.

Jaune laughed softly and hung his head. "Thanks, Cinder."

"Of course," she responded, caressing his cheek. "Now, on another note, there is something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"My teammate will be arriving tomorrow, and I'd like to introduce you to her. Mint is her name."

Jaune smiled. "Sure. When should I meet the two of you?"

"I'll text you when she arrives. You should come down to the landing spot so you two can have a brief meeting before I show her to our dorm. There's no need for anything formal or lengthy."

Jaune probably assumed that she wanted him to know her own "friends," but really she was making sure Neo knew exactly who he was and what would happen if she messed with him. The best and easiest way to do that would be to introduce him and then pull her aside and have a very strongly worded conversation. She might've worried that Roman's little pet would try and exploit her relationship with him regardless of whatever threat went her way, but wildcard or not, the girl acted on behalf of Roman. That coward wouldn't dare do anything to upset her.

"Works for me," he said, shrugging.

"Great. Her bullhead will likely land sometime in the early afternoon, but I'll keep you in the loop if anything changes. So, now that that's out of the way…"

Cinder leaned in with a smirk and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, but Jaune pushed back. He didn't put up enough resistance to actually stop her but it did let her know that he didn't want to get back to it just yet.

"Alright, that's enough for now," he said humorously. "I need to get back to my dorm soon and catch up on some school work."

Cinder sighed. "Can't you put that on hold for an hour or two? I promise you I'll make it worth it."

"Look, why don't you let me go now, and I'm all yours for as long as you want tomorrow, okay?"

"You never told me I'd have to bargain for your time," she said with a laugh, "But I suppose I can make that work. If that's how it's going to be, meet me outside your dorm early tomorrow. Don't keep me waiting."

"I can do that. See you early tomorrow, then."

"I'll be waiting on it."

Cinder leaned her shoulder against the wall as she watched him walk back down the hallway, entranced by the motion, and brought a hand to her chest to still her beating heart. It hurt to see him leave. His promise that he'd be hers the next day was really the only reason she let him in the first place. Oh yes, she loved the sound of that. The only question was how far he'd let her go, but she didn't mind pushing that boundary. Her face grew a light shade of red.

I wonder if he'll let me put a collar on him.

Once he was out of view, she turned around and headed back to her own dorm, her expression unchanging.

Maybe I should pick one up, just in case. Oh, and a leash, too, to make sure he really knows who he belongs too.

By the time she got back to her dorm, she had to wait a few moments to let her body calm itself down. Once she saw her face return to its normal color in her scroll's reflection, she opened the door and walked inside to see Mercury and Emerald sitting in their usual spots, probably waiting to debrief after the end of the school week.

"If you two have anything to report, you may save it for another time. I have matters of my own to think over, and they do not involve either of you, at least not as of yet."

Emerald looked like she wanted to say something but canned it. Mercury shrugged, looking perfectly satisfied with that. Good. No disagreements.

She had told no lie to either of them. Right now, her mind was not on their plans for Beacon; they instead lay on her own plans for Jaune and his companions. One way or another, they'd be separated. Whether that could happen through simple remarks or if she'd have to use brute force was yet to be seen, but one way or another, they'd be separated.

Cinder saw three ways to start.

One, she could simply monopolize him, keeping him as close to her as possible as often as possible so none of his friends could talk to him without going through her. Eventually, when he found himself happier than ever without any interaction with them, he'd realize who really mattered and stop paying mind to anyone else all on his own. But that would be difficult, especially considering he slept in the same room as some of them. Unless she could somehow arrange for them to stay in the same dorm, that was already a big problem. Besides, she herself unfortunately had to spend a little time away from him when it came to the maiden powers and her duties to Salem.

It was a simple solution, but not necessarily an easy one.

The second would be to keep it subtle. Frame herself as a concerned partner and exaggerate his friends flaws and issues like she had earlier. A few comments here and there to make him doubt whether they really had his best interests at heart. The issue, though, was that he'd met it with some considerable resistance when she'd tried doing so a few minutes ago. If she kept at it for long enough, it may work, but the Vytal Festival gave her a deadline. Still, it could prove a viable strategy if carried out correctly.

Or, lastly, she could do something drastic. Something that would force him to see things for what they were. Perhaps outright demand that he stop spending time with his friends, or threaten them into breaking it off with him, or stage some sort of situation to "save" him from… The possibilities didn't end there.

It could work. It could also push him away. But it could work. It certainly held the most risk of all the options, but that risk came with a high ceiling for reward.

She shook her head. It'd be too big a chance to take this early in their relationship. Perhaps another time. Cinder decided to keep the idea in the back of her mind, just in case it was needed at some point.

After some thought, she came to the conclusion that the best course of action probably involved pieces from all three. Whatever form that ended up taking, caution and care were of the utmost importance. She hardly wanted to share him – that was what this was all about, afterall – but without question she'd take that over losing him any day of the week.

Cinder crossed her arms. This would take more planning than she'd originally thought.

/-/

Jaune put his pencil down with a sign before stretching out with a yawn, extending his arms above his head. Nora and Ren were engaged in a one-sided conversation about some dream the former had the night before, but their last member was nowhere to be seen. Hadn't been since class, in fact. The three of them had initially worried, but ultimately decided that Pyrrha probably needed some space, could handle herself and would be back sooner or later. Of course, that hadn't stopped Nora from going to look for her, but she'd come back after a few minutes claiming to have looked everywhere.

Dinner was going to be served in just a second, anyway, and he could count on seeing her there. They always ate at the same time with Team RWBY and Pyrrha hated missing things, even if they happened literally every day. I'd be fine.

"We should go down to dinner about now," he said to his teammates, glancing at the clock mounted on the wall. "I'd rather not get there too late."

Both of them got up, but neither changed the conversation. Nora kept rambling on while Ren kept listening to… whatever she was talking about now. Jaune admired his patience, truly he did.

Pyrrha finally showed up on their way out, holding a plate of food as she made her way back to the dorm. She froze at the sight of them and almost immediately turned her eyes to the floor, even as Nora ran up to her to ask where she'd been.

"I just wanted to be alone for a bit." Pyrrha looked down at the plate in shame, her eyes red and puffy. "I'm sorry."

Jaune stood a few feet in front of her. Suddenly, he didn't really feel like confronting her about eavesdropping, or whatever it was she'd supposedly done. "It's alright, Pyr. Are you sure you don't want to come eat with us in the cafeteria?"

His partner met his eyes and hesitated. "I'd rather be alone right now." She rushed to explain herself. "I appreciate the concern, but-"

He interrupted her before she could get going. "It's fine, Pyrrha. Seriously," he said, smiling at her, "Eat wherever you want." Pyrrha whispered a quiet "Thank you" before rushing off down the hall.

"Wait!" Nora yelled. "I'm coming with you!"

"Let her be, Nora." Ren's words silenced her. "She needs some time alone."

The girl stared after her fellow redhead with an open mouth. Eventually, she turned her head slowly back towards him and Ren, and the three of them continued on.