𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 40

Pyrrha had taken to using Ren and Nora as human shields against him. They didn't know what was going on, of course, but they weren't unaware that something was. It was hard not to notice the way he kept looking at Pyrrha and the way she kept avoiding him. Nora and Ren looked like they didn't know what to do, and Nora cornered him later in the day, yanking him into a girl's restroom to question him. Coco Adel, who had been washing her hands, took one look at him, shrugged, and walked back out. It wasn't like there was much risk of him seeing anything he wasn't meant to when the restroom was all cubicles.

"Okay. Spill. What's happened?"

Jaune glanced around all the same, more to make sure no one would hear him saying things he shouldn't. Even then, he kept his voice low. "Pyrrha may have found out that I knew about her feelings for me."

Nora winced. "Ahhhhhh."

"Yeah." There was no need to tell her about his Semblance. Pyrrha hadn't. Besides, his Semblance wasn't the problem here. Ironically, Pyrrha probably cared less about that than she did the fact he knew her feelings and remembered the kiss in her dream. "I'm trying to corner her and, you know, talk. But Pyrrha is using you and Ren as human shields. I don't want to make this a whole team affair."

"Yeah. Of course."

"Though I will if I have to."

"Yeah." Nora grimaced at that thought. "Of course..."

"I know that's not fair on you or Ren, Nora. I'll do my best not to. I just don't want to let this rip our team apart. I'm meant to be team leader and this... this is the first real test our team has had. This is our Weiss and Ruby moment."

"Except Weiss isn't into Ruby." Nora paused. "Or is she...? Hmmm."

"I think Weiss prefers people a little more legally of age," he quipped, joining in on trying to lighten the mood at Weiss' expense. Or Ruby's. "But, yeah, I know this is more complicated which is why I'm trying to get started on it right away. I don't suppose you have any ideas."

"As a woman who has been getting her own feelings blanked by her best-friend-slash-crush, no." It was the first time in his memory Nora had admitted her feelings for Ren, and she sounded just as happily bitter as he imagined she would. "But I think you're on the right track with trying to address them rather than pretend they don't exist. Stupid Ren," she grumbled. "I'd rather have a no than be strung along like this..."

"Please don't you and Ren start until I've finished calming Pyrrha down."

Nora's smile was lopsided. "No worries there. I could get down on one knee and propose and Ren would pretend he thought I was doing something else. And I'm not that eager to have my heart broken. Man, life would be easier if I could have just fallen in love with you or something." She punched his chest jokingly. "Be more handsome!"

"Do you prefer your men handsome or effeminate?"

"Both. And you're neither. Boooo." They shared a quiet laugh in the girl's bathroom. "But, um. Do you want me to try and talk to Pyrrha? Or do you want me to try and pull Ren away so we isolate her?"

"Neither for now. It's not even been a full day so I think it's fine to let her cool off a little. And I don't want to pressure her. If she's still refusing to talk to me after tomorrow, maybe we can pull out the big guns then. But if she talks to you then by all means!"

"Hm. Yeah. But if she comes to me then you know I can't tell you what she says. Right? Girl's code."

"That's fine. I wouldn't tell you anything Ren said." Her eyes narrowed. "Not that Ren has said anything!"