The New Rose

Chapter 24 - Calm Before the Storm

It was evening at Beacon Academy and Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos of team JNPR were on the rooftop engaging in some sparring. Seeing as though Jaune had a long way to go, Pyrrha saw this as a way to help Jaune improve and to spend some time with him. It was no secret, Pyrrha liked Jaune Arc from the first day that they met. He was the first one who didn't acknowledge her fame and treated her like a normal person, and he was so kind and gentle.

Pyrrha wanted to be with him but for some reason Jaune went after Weiss Schnee even though the heiress made it clear she wasn't interested. That didn't seem to matter to Jaune though, he just kept trying and trying no matter how much he failed. That's why it surprised Pyrrha that Jaune didn't seem to ask Weiss to the dance, and she was even more shocked to see him in a dress. He was laughed at to be sure, but he didn't seem to care, in fact he seemed down in the dumps.

Though he seemed to switch moods when he invited Pyrrha to the dance floor and her team danced along with them, they were the stars of the night. That is before Atlas soldiers busted through the doors along with Ruby and who Pyrrha assumed was her boyfriend, taking away the group from Haven in handcuffs. Like the WBY, Pyrrha wanted answers about that, but she doubted that Ruby could provide them even if it annoyed her.

Speaking of Ruby, Pyrrha couldn't deny that she was a little jealous of the girl having a boyfriend in what seemed like a pretty short time period. Here she was trying to get Jaune to notice her and yet all Ruby had to do was change her appearance, go to Atlas and boom she was in a relationship. Pyrrha wanted to ask her for some tips on what to do with Jaune but considering the girl's new attitude Pyrrha decided not to.

Then we have today when something really interesting happened. After the girls were arguing with the boys about what to do about the newfound discoveries that pertained to Ruby, the girl in question came up to them. Weiss tried to get answers from her but to no avail as Jaune protected Ruby from the interrogation saying that she couldn't give answers anyway. Ruby then smiled and thanked Jaune but she then told him that she loved the dress he wore last night and knew it would go great with his skin…

That had been in Pyrrha's head all day, what exactly did she mean by that? When she asked Jaune earlier he looked embarrassed and just said that he made a bet with Ruby. Pyrrha tried to press him more, but he got more embarrassed and just shrugged it off saying they had to get ready for their mission tomorrow. Pyrrha still had questions though, what exactly did Ruby bet with Jaune? And how did she know about the dress? Pyrrha needed to know and was going to ask now since Jaune yielded in sword practice.

"Man I almost had you, you really are a tournament champion Pyrrha!" Jaune praised with a smile and she smiled back.

"Don't set yourself short Jaune, you are getting better and better each day!" Pyrrha said happily.

"Thank you Pyrrha, well we might wanna head back and get some rest for our mission tomorrow. We will need all of our energy for it." Jaune said as he sheathed his sword and began walking back.

"Before that, can I ask you something?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly and Jaune turned back around.

"Of course, what's on your mind?" Jaune asked curiously and Pyrrha took a breath before continuing.

"Jaune, what was the bet that you made with Ruby?" Pyrrha asked curiously and Jaune looked embarrassed.

"I told you it's nothing Pyrrha, don't worry about it." Jaune said trying to dismiss the situation, but Pyrrha was having none of it.

"That's a lie Jaune and you know it, we have seen you down in the dumps for the past week. Not only that but you wore a dress last night because I didn't have a date, how did that even come about? From what Ruby said earlier about the dress going with your skin I must assume it was a crazy bet you two made, I just want to know the context." Pyrrha said calmly and Jaune sighed before he addressed the red-haired beauty in front of him.