The Bet 9

Everything was perfect.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Weiss Schnee actually had a nice hot shower after Yang. 

She brushed her hair back, tucking a loose strand behind her ear as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Pretty, neat, and perfect…..except for the scar that is.

Weiss Schnee resisted the frown that threatened to crawl up her face. She didn’t usually think about her scar that much. She was actually prouder of it than anything, and often was comfortable with thinking of it as a badge of honor.

Today, however, was different. Today, everything really really had to be perfect, because this was the day that-

“Why won’t you just relax, Blake?”

“I already told you, Yang. I’ll relax once the White Fang is stopped.”

Weiss sighed, already tired at the first sign that, truly, this day was not going to be perfect.

“Hey, Weiss! Which dress do you think suits me?!” Ruby zoomed towards her, jolting her out of her thoughts and causing her to reel back in shock.

She looked at Ruby incredulously, tilting her head as her team leader presented her with two dresses.

When did she even get the time to get a dress? Let alone two? As far as Weiss could remember, they were far too busy sussing out the White Fang, sneaking into their meetings, and fighting Roman Torchwick inside a giant robot.

At least Weiss had the excuse of already being prepared for any kind of formal occasion. Her own dress still hung in her closet, ready to be worn once the time came tonight.

She frowned at Ruby, but ultimately sighed in acceptance at her leader’s antics.

“The red and white one, Ruby. It matches with your hair.”

“Thanks, Weiss!”

At least someone else was treating this day with the effort it deserved. She looked meaningfully at Blake at Yang, but the partners only kept bickering with each other.

“We can leave the White Fang alone for one day, Blake. They’re not just going to magically disappear just because we went to the dance. You’re gonna waste all the time we spent preparing if you’re not going to even go.”

That’s right. It was the day of the Beacon Dance, and Team RWBY was assigned to prepare it in the absence of Team CFVY.

They’ve managed to prepare the decorations, finalize the music list, and even install lights and smoke machines.

All that was needed now was to find a partner to go to the dance with and go.

Things that her teammates were not in a rush to be doing. She watched as Blake rolled her eyes at Yang before picking her notebook up.

“That’s the point, Yang. Someone has to stop the White Fang. Besides, aren’t you happy you’d have one less competition for Jaune?” Blake raised an eyebrow, but Yang only scoffed at her partner, even as Weiss’ eyes widened.

“Wait, I thought you were with Sun now?”

Everyone immediately turned towards her at that.

“Sun?” Blake gawked as if unable to believe the words she just said.

“Why would you think they were together?” Yang asked while looking at her in confusion.

“Yeah, Weiss. Why would you think they were together?” Ruby parroted, her hands on her hips as she looked at her incredulously.

Weiss could only flush as their disbelief and shock crashed against her. She shook her head, trying to regain her balance as she opened her mouth to speak.

“I-I just thought you and him have been spending some time together.”

“Just because we fought Roman Torchwick at the docks, and snuck into a White Fang meeting together, does not make us together-together.”

“B-But didn't he invite you to the dance?”

“He did. I turned him down.”

“But why?”

Blake only raised her notebook up and pointed it.

Right, her investigations in the White Fang. Knowing Blake, that actually made a lot of sense.

“Look, Weiss. Just because you like hanging out with Neptune, doesn’t mean I have to be with his partner as well.” Blake sighed before shrugging annoyed at them.  “I’d rather make out with Jaune to be honest.”

“Then make out with him and get some stress relief! Have fun! Do something else other than look for the White Fang!” Yang shot back exasperatedly, and immediately, everyone turned toward her in shock.

“Really, you’re just going to hand him out like that? I thought you would be more jealous.” Blake asked, raising an eyebrow as she brought up a good point.

“Ugh. If it’s to help you, then yeah.” Yang, however, only groaned at that, slapping a palm to her face before releasing a deep sigh. “It’s obvious he’s not going to be a one-woman man.”

“You mean you’ve accepted he’s a womanizer.” Weiss pointed out, but Yang immediately shot back.

“He’s not a womanizer.”

All Weiss needed to do at that point, however, was raise an eyebrow and look at Yang pointedly for the blonde brawler to reel back hesitantly.

“Well, not intentionally, at least. But yeah, Velvet and Penny were the ones who kissed him by themselves.” 

Weiss’ eyes immediately blew open at that.

“He kissed Velvet? How have I not heard about this?” 

The answer, however, came from an unexpected source as Ruby raised a hand hesitantly.

“Uhh, Weiss. You told us not to talk about things like this with you. We only know because Pyrrha sent a message through the group chat.”

Again, however, Weiss’ eyes could only blow wide open as more information was dumped on her.

“You have a group chat?”

“Seemed like the best way to keep all of us updated.” Ruby shrugged, but it was at this moment that Blake finally took the opportunity to extract herself from the conversation.

“Look, you all can talk about this. I’m just going to do my own thing right now.”

Nobody moved to stop her this time. Even Yang only shouted after her as before Blake could open the door.

“Remember! Make out with Jaune and get some stress relief!” 

“I’ll think about it.” Blake nodded, and with that, she opened the door to leave.

“Right,” Yang nodded in satisfaction before rapidly turning towards them with a smile on her face. “Now it’s my turn to get ready for the dance. Say, Weiss, which do you think is better?”

Weiss could only watch with wide eyes as Yang moved to her closet to pick out a dress and one that could barely be called clothing.

“Why do you keep asking me?”

Yang blinked at that before shrugging carelessly.

“Uhh, because Jaune liked you first, and we’re hoping you help us pick a dress that he would like more?”

Palm met forehead, and Weiss once again sighed deeply into her hand.

“The white one. That black one is barely even a dress.”

Yang, however, only hummed thoughtfully before a mischievous grin grew on her face.

“Hmmm. You’re right, no need to give all the other guys a show. Still could wear this for Jaune when the time comes, though.”

“Yangggg!” Ruby groaned, even as Weiss curled her nose in disgust.

“Ugh. You’re disgusting.”

“Sorry, Rubes. You’re still too young for something like this. While you, Weiss, are just jealous.” Yang grinned, getting Ruby to poke her tongue out at her, while Weiss huffed indignantly.

“I’ll have you know I am perfectly satisfied. I have Neptune, after all.” She said, smirking as she thought about Neptune.

Cool, sweet, and polite Neptune.

Nothing like that perverted womanizer named Jaune Arc.

Yang, however, had an immediate answer for her.

“Has he kissed you yet?”

“Well, no. Not yet.” Weiss replied, blushing as the thought went to the forefront of her mind.

Upon seeing Yang’s smug look, however, she immediately straightened her back and fanned her blushing face. “But we will! Tonight, if we can manage it!”

Yang, however, only had the audacity to laugh at her.

“Ha! Let me know when you get disappointed.”

“We won’t, and frankly speaking, it is none of your business whether we kiss or not!”

“Yeah, Yang. It’s not our business if Neptune and Weiss don’t even know how to kiss or what.”

“Excuse me! You haven’t even had your first kiss!” Weiss shot back, but Ruby only winked saucily at her.

“But I will.”

She flushed, but Yang’s bellowing laughter drowned out any reply she could have made.

“So you’re joining us then, Rubes?” Yang asked, a grin on her face, as Weiss shook her head incredulously.

Frankly speaking, she couldn’t understand how these two sisters could be so cavalier with a topic such as this.

Ruby, however, only tilted a hand side to side while humming thoughtfully.

“Ehhh, I’m leaning towards it. Gotta keep the family tradition alive after all.”

“What family tradition?” Weiss asked, but Ruby only smiled mischievously at her.

“Our moms getting with the same man”

“Ha! Don’t let dad hear you say that! You’d give him a heart attack!” Yang barked a laugh before shaking her head as a sad smile formed on her face. “Besides, I have no intention of leaving like my egg donor.”

“And I have no intention of dying like mine.”

Weiss felt the sudden heaviness in the air. She knew, however, that this was getting too deep and too personal for her alone. How does one even respond to what they were saying?

No, there was only one response the current Weiss Schnee could think of, and it was something she wholeheartedly agreed with.

Retreat.

“I’m going to go find Neptune.” She announced, standing up to leave the room, as the two sisters nodded at her.

“Take care.”

“Thanks for the advice on the dresses!”

“No problem.” Weiss shook her head, hiding a smile from them with a deep sigh.

She may not have shown it, but having someone ask for her opinion about dresses sent a warm feeling through the heart. Nobody used to ask her about dresses, not even Winter, who already had a dress picked for her whenever they went out for an occasion.

That warm feeling, however, died immediately when she got out of their room.

“Hey, Weiss!”

“Arc.”

“Uhm…Ren’s here too.”

“Hello, Ren.” She greeted much more politely, even nodding and plastering a smile on her face, before turning back towards Jaune Arc with narrowed eyes. “I suppose you are just loitering around the hallway now, huh?”

“Pyrrha and Nora kicked us out of the room.” Jaune answered sheepishly as Weiss raised an eyebrow.

“They’re preparing for the dance.” Ren, however, immediately added context for Weiss’ benefit.

“Ahh. I see.”

No wonder they were both out here loitering instead of preparing for the dance.

“How about you, Weiss? Excited for the dance?” Jaune asked enthusiastically while Weiss only rolled her eyes at him.

“What kind of question is that?”

Excited for the dance, he asks.

Who wasn’t?!

Maybe Blake, but he should’ve known by now that Weiss Schnee was always ready for an event such as this!

“Ah, right. I guess you’re already ready, huh?” Jaune scratched his cheek embarrassedly as she nodded while looking at him with a sharp eye.

“And you are not. Do you even have formal wear?”

“I rented one from Vale.” Jaune shrugged before smiling at her proudly.

Ha! As if it was something to be proud of!

“Like I said, unprepared. I pity your partners, Arc, if this is all you can do.” She shook her head, frowning as said partners were actually most of her teammates.

“Hey, not all of us have all the money in the world.” He frowned, but Weiss only scowled back at him.

“Yang and Ruby asked for my opinion on which dresses you would like. The least you could do is expend the same effort.”

“They did that?” He blinked in shock, as if unable to believe Weiss’ words as she clicked her tongue at him.

“They were annoyingly insistent about it, but yes. Yes they did.”

Jaune looked at her with wide eyes before waving his hands at himself nervously.

“So…..what do you think would suit me?” He asked hesitantly, a light blush forming on his face, even as Weiss blinked incredulously.

“You’re asking me?”

“I mean…who else am I going to ask?” He shrugged awkwardly, waving at both Team JNPR and Team RWBY’s doors.

Immediately, Weiss realized his dilemma, and she couldn’t help but groan as her palm met her face once again.

“This is what happens when you seduce every single female friend you have.”

“I haven’t seduced you, have I?” Jaune shot back with a wry smile, but Weiss only glared at him.

“And you never will.” Weiss clicked her tongue before giving him an assessing look. “As for the clothes….look for something white if you want to look dashing and black if you want to seem professional. Make sure they fit you well as well, and by that, I mean no loose fabric on the back or the shoulders.”

Looking at him like this…….well, Weiss Schnee was woman enough to admit he could look attractive.

There was no way she was going to say that out loud, however.

Just like there was no way she was going to grab his shoulder and grope his biceps assessingly.

“Thanks, Weiss.” He smiled, jolting her out of her thoughts.

“Don’t mention it.” She replied immediately, fighting the blush that threatened to break out of her face before giving him a stern look. “I mean really, do not mention it to anyone else. I am doing this for my friends, not you. They at least deserve to have fun with someone who puts in the appropriate effort of getting ready for them.”

“So you think I could be dashing?” He waggled his eyebrows, a confident smile on his lips as she scoffed at him.

“Please, every man could be dashing with the right clothes and the right bearing.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Thanks again, Weiss.” He nodded, and Weiss fought the urge to slap the smug grin off of his face.

Any provocative action now would just be an admission of defeat whether he knew or not.

So instead, Weiss made a show of being unaffected by rolling her eyes dramatically.

“Don’t push your luck, Arc. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have my own business to attend to.”

She shook her head, turning away from him even as he called out to her.

“If you’re looking for Blake, I think she mentioned going to the library. She didn’t want any distractions though so she stopped me from following after her.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Weiss nodded, keeping the information at the back of her head.

Truthfully, she didn’t know why she even entertained Jaune Arc. Perhaps it really was because she wanted the best for her friends and wanted him to improve his efforts, or perhaps, dare she say it, he was just becoming tolerable.

Without his incessant and immature attempts to court her, Jaune Arc could surprisingly be….agreeable. He just had that genuine, almost naive, demeanor that allowed him to make fast friends with almost anyone. If only he wasn’t so immersed in his womanizing ways, then Weiss might even dare say that he was the type of person she could…..befriend.

The notion sent shivers down Weiss’ spine, truly, it was maddening in an unbelievable sort of way. 

Regardless, too much has happened between them for her to even consider a normal friendship. The awkwardness of his previous actions alone threatened to cringe her to death, not to mention the fact that….that he was already kissing buddies with multiple women.

No, whatever their relationship could be, it could only amount to being as comrades-in-arms and having mutual friends.

Nothing more, nothing else.

Regardless, she did not leave her room to ponder her relationship with Jaune Arc.

Far from it.

Her goal was a far more sophisticated and handsome man than him.

Neptune Vasilias.

—--

Nothing was perfect.

She found Neptune in the library, of all places.

Talking to girls, of all things.

Weiss’ first impulse was to march out there and claw every single one of their eyes out.

Neptune’s included.

A cursory glance, however, told her a deeper story.

Because behind Neptune was Sun trying to pester Blake.

Weiss breathed a sigh of relief.

Neptune must have attracted everyone’s attention to give his partner privacy to hang out with his crush. After all, the topics they could converse about were most likely those they didn’t want others to hear. It would be easier to avoid prying ears when one person was distracting them, i.e. Neptune.

For a second there, she was actually worried he was similar to Jaune Arc. Thank the Gods that her worry was unfounded.

Truly, Neptune was the epitome of gentlemanliness.

Still, she could not just let him stay in his current predicament, could she?

“Ahem!” She cleared her throat loudly, cutting through the whispers and mutters across the library.

She watched as Neptune’s eyes widened in panic at the sight of her, and to his credit, he immediately shook off the throng of women around him.

“Weiss, it’s not what you think!”

Weiss, however, only raised an amused eyebrow at him.

“So I am not seeing a couple of hussies come on to you while you give Sun and Blake some space?”

“That’s…uhhh…exactly what is happening? I wouldn't call them hussies, though.”

Oh, Neptune. Always so polite.

She heard the women click their tongues at her, but Weiss only glared at them fiercely, and a smirk rose up on her lips once she saw them turn to leave.

Ha! It would take more than a couple of pointed glares and harsh whispers to unnerve her. She was Weiss Schnee for crying out loud!

It was then, however, that amber eyes landed on her, and Weiss watched as Blake slumped in relief.

“Thank the Gods. Can you please take this out of my hands, Weiss?” Blake called out, waving to Sun, who only waved cheekily at her.

Weiss, however, only shook her head before turning back towards Neptune.

“Neptune, may I have a moment with you, please?” She asked, denying Blake’s request as she pulled Neptune with her.

“Uhm, sure. What’s this about?” Neptune said hesitantly, following after her as she found a nice spot between shelves where a few people wouldn’t bother them 

Weiss paused, however, when uncharacteristic nervousness flushed through her body.

She wanted to speak with Neptune because she was uncomfortable being in the middle of Yang and Ruby’s conversation. Now that it was just them, however, she didn’t actually know what to say.

“I’m just confirming, you are going to accompany me tonight, yes?” She started, getting Neptune to blink at her as he tilted his head in confusion.

“Why, yes. You already asked me to yesterday. You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”

“Oh no, absolutely not! I just wanted to be sure.” 

The mortification alone of her being dateless while her friends all attached themselves to Jaune Arc was sure to be excruciating! No way was she going to get cold feet right now!

In fact, she now wanted to make sure more than ever that her date with Neptune would be more than perfect!

“You already have a suit, correct?”

“Custom fitted and ready, yes.” Neptune answered, raising an eyebrow as Weiss nodded in relief.

“Good, that’s good.”

“What is this about?” Neptune asked, tilting his head, while Weiss could only squirm uncomfortably.

“It’s nothing.

“Weiss….” He drawled adamantly, and Weiss couldn’t help but sigh in resignation as Neptune leaned towards her.

“It’s just……I want tonight to be perfect. For us.” She answered hesitantly, heat rushing through her cheeks as she heard how vulnerable she sounded.

Weiss Schnee, struck like a lovesick schoolgirl. Her team would never let her live it down if they saw her like this. Regardless, Weiss could only sigh in resignation. At least she could say she was attracted to a proper gentleman unlike them.

Neptune Vasilias smiled lovingly at her, and she couldn’t help but feel her heart try to thunder out of her chest as he put a hand on the shelf behind her.

“Awww, Weiss. You didn’t have to be that worried about it. Tell you what, whether this night is perfect or not, I promise to give you a night you won’t ever forget.”

T-Thump!

Her heart skipped a bit, and her eyes swirled as Neptune loomed over her. Her hands moved up to his chest, and Weiss felt his solidness against her. He wasn’t as wide as Jaune Arc, but the warmth and the beat of his heart was enough to send her temperature soaring.

Already, the day was threatening to be unforgettable.

Yet despite the beating of her heart and the heat beneath her skin, Weiss controlled herself.

She was a proper lady.

She wasn’t going to fold at the first sign of arousal, oh no. She could wait a few more hours for the perfect moment.

Still, that didn’t stop Weiss from being curious as to what Neptune had planned for them.

“O-Oh? How do you plan on doing that?” She stuttered as wild thoughts at what possible unforgettable night Neptune could mean.

Was it going to be a passionate dance that would take center stage and stun the crowd before dipping her into a wonderful kiss right in front of everyone?

Or was it going to be a dramatic declaration of love before a romantic kiss under the stars?

Neptune, however, only refused to give an answer as he smiled knowingly.

“It’s a secret.”

Weiss could only gulp at that before managing to muster the strength to put some space between them.

“I-I see. I’ll hold you to it, then?”

“Of course.” He nodded, leaning back as he let Weiss push him back with a smirk on his face.

Weiss smiled at that, her cheeks blushing as she looked up at Neptune with a twinkle in her eye.

“Then surprise me, Neptune Vasilias. You are about to get to know a Schnee, after all.”

—----

And surprise her he did.

She just didn’t think he would go about it this way.

“No.”

“I beg your pardon?” She asked as the shock went through her body.

Everything was wrong.

The world was too bright, too dull, and too muted at the same time.

Her eyes, however, only stuck to Neptune in front of her as he shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Weiss. I don’t want to dance with you.”

Ah……

So this is what rejection felt like. She thought to herself.

Her heart stuttered, her skin felt clammy, and she couldn’t stop her whole body from shivering as tears pricked at her eyes.

It felt like dying.

Only, Weiss Schnee felt like she wasn’t dying fast enough.

People were already staring at them for crying out loud!

They were just at the edge of the dance floor as the Beacon Dance finally started full swing! 

No wonder people would be staring at them!

She flinched as eyes roamed her body.

By the Brother Gods, could someone put her out of her misery already?

It would be easy! Here she was, standing alone and frozen. All one needed to do was to step towards her and slit her throat!

But alas, it was not to be.

Nobody was coming to end her misery.

Seeing that nothing was going to change unless she acted, Weiss Schnee straightened her back and tried to put on a brave face.

She couldn’t keep the shudder out of her voice, however, when she looked back at Neptune.

“W-Why?”

Neptune only shrugged before his eyes landed on one particular table behind her.

“Look at that.” He pointed, and Weiss turned around to follow with her eyes.

She only sighed, however, when she saw the rest of her team hanging out with Team JNPR. She already knew what Neptune was getting at.

“Blake came to the dance with Jaune despite Sun being there for her and asking her out.” Neptune continued before turning around himself to nod at Sun’s pitiful form.

Sun Wukong found himself slouched despondently as he looked at Blake having fun with another blonde guy before shaking his head vehemently and downing glasses of wine like there was no tomorrow.

“I’m sorry, Weiss, but bros before hoes.”

See, the thing was, Weiss would've believed him. She was mature enough to admit that she could see herself being furious with Jaune and Blake for being the cause of her misery.

Except for one small reason.

Well, two, if you counted the fact that she was not a hoe in the first place.

But the main reason was….Neptune was surrounded by women himself.

Smug, victorious eyes smiled at her as Weiss took note of the women hanging around Neptune’s coattails.

It must've invigorated them to know that in this, they pulled ahead of Weiss Schnee.

Still, Neptune’s answer gave Weiss the strength she needed.

Her back straightened, Weiss bowed slightly while opening her mouth.

“I see.”

And then she turned around.

Two words.

That was all Neptune was going to get after showing his true colors.

As she walked away from any chance of having a wonderful night, however, Weiss Schnee could not stop the tears from gathering in her eyes.

Teary-eyed and on the verge of an emotional breakdown, Weiss sought a quiet corner away from prying eyes.

And so here Weiss Schnee was, rejected and alone while couples began to converge and take to the dance floor with gusto and laughter. 

Never had the sound of joy so painful to hear.

She debated going back to her dorm room early, hoping against all hope that none of her friends would witness her in her current state.

Alas, it was not to be.

“Weiss? Are you okay?”

She froze as Ruby’s voice weakly called her from behind.

“G-Go away, Ruby.” She replied, but she couldn’t keep the shiver out of her voice, and immediately, she felt hands wrap around her.

She gasped, not knowing what to do as Ruby hugged her from behind.

She kept her back straight, however, looking forward so as to avoid showing Ruby her eyes.

“I’m sorry your night didn’t go to plan.” Ruby whispered, her breath ghosting over Weiss’ ear and making her shiver.

“W-What do you care? Shouldn’t you be having fun with Jaune with the rest of everyone else?” She sniffled, hoping Ruby would get the message that she just wanted to be alone.

Alas, however, Ruby did not get the message.

As usual.

Instead, her team leader only chuckled wetly while tightening her hold on her.

“Jaune’s trying to beat up Neptune.”

Weiss jolted, freezing her tears in place as she was tempted to turn around to see whether it was true.

Before she could turn around, however, Ruby continued with laughter in her voice.

“The rest are trying to stop him so he doesn’t make a commotion. Not that they don’t want to beat Neptune, mind you. We’re just going to get him alone so we don’t ruin the night.”

Now that pulled a chuckle out of Weiss’ mouth. It was wet and full of tears, but it was a chuckle nonetheless.

She pulled Ruby’s arms off of her before turning towards her team leader with a brittle smile on her face.

“Thank you, Ruby.”

Tears still gathered in her wet eyes, but before it could ruin her makeup, she rubbed it off while laughing at her partner.

“I must look quite a sight to you.”

Ruby, however, only laughed at her with a grin on her face.

“Nah, you still look pretty. I’m sure Jaune will agree.”

Weiss paused at that, and looking behind her partner’s shoulder, there indeed was Jaune Arc, seething at Neptune’s direction with the rest of their friends.

“You saw that, huh?”

It was then did Ruby finally wince.

“Weiss, I think everybody saw it. Nobody just wanted to comment on it.”

Weiss winced before drawling exhaustedly as she finally managed to get her emotions under control. “Except Neptune and his hussies it seems.” 

The man was laughing with three women before waving a hand towards Sun who was now obviously getting tipsy.

“What do you want to do?”

Ruby’s sudden question surprised her, but as Weiss turned towards her partner, she only saw her looking serious at her.

“I’m the only one who went towards you because we didn’t want to overwhelm you. Now that you look fine, however, well….maybe we could get back at him?” Ruby added, looking at her assessingly before nodding towards Neptune.

Weiss, however, could only sigh tiredly.

“I just wanted a dance and some good memories.”

That was it. That was all she wanted.

Truthfully speaking she didn’t want to do anything towards Neptune. In fact, she wanted nothing to do with him at all. Right now, she was just tired of it all.

Ruby, however, had other plans.

“That can be arranged.” Ruby grinned, and then she was pulling her.

Weiss gasped, out of balance and not wanting to fall face first towards the floor, she could only follow after her wayward partner with a yell.

“Ruby, wait!”

It took her an embarrassing amount of time to realize where Ruby was taking her. Weiss’ eyes widened as she saw their friends, and they, in turn, looked at her with a mix of shock, worry, and confusion.

“Dance!” Ruby shouted, her face beaming as Weiss suddenly found herself twirling across the floor into Jaune’s waiting arms.

““Oof!”” They gasped, their eyes locking into each other as Weiss found herself embraced by the last man she expected to be.

Before she knew it, however, Ruby was already pushing them into the dance floor.

“Dance, you fools!”

Instinct kicked in, and a heel clacked powerfully against the floor as she found herself dancing to a mix of modern classical music.

Credit where credit was due, Jaune followed her seamlessly as he moved their hands to the proper positions.

“You can dance?” She blinked incredulously as she found her hand gripping her shoulder while the other was nestled in his hand.

Jaune, however, only chuckled nervously at her. “Seven sisters, remember?”

“Right.” She nodded, because really, what else could she say at that.

They found themselves dancing silently, twirling across the dance floor in seamless cooperation as eyes slowly started to gather on them. Weiss will admit it, this was nice. Whichever sister thought him to dance was a genius, because truly, not everyone could match up to her and leave her breathless.

Pretty soon, Weiss heard the music come to its climax, and she found herself gasping, carried by Jaune Arc on a quick twirl before letting her feet touch the ground and dipping her towards the floor. 

Clapping thundered around them, but at that moment in time, all Weiss could do was breathe heavily as she stared into Jaune’s eyes. Blue met blue as sweat caked both of their foreheads, and it was then that she realized that this was what she envisioned her night to be.

A passionate dance to stun the crowd, and then-

“You’re beautiful.”

“W-What are you saying?!” She whispered frantically, a blush rushing to her face as Jaune Arc only breathed heavily at her.

“The truth, I’m just telling the truth.”

Say what you will about Jaune Arc, but he was not a good liar. So when he told her he was telling the truth, he was telling the truth.

“F-Flaterrer.” Weiss could only blush as he pulled her up to her feet.

Jaune, however, only laughed at that while embarrassedly rubbing the back of his head.

“Come on, Weiss. You always knew I found you beautiful.”

“You truly believe that, don’t you?”

“Always.”

Weiss gasped, it was at that moment did she realize just why her teammates were attracted to this man.

He was genuine.

Almost to the point of naivety.

But that was also what was endearing about him.

She looked away from him, unable to bear looking at the sincerity in his eyes as he stared right into her while complimenting her. The action, however, caused her to realize something else.

Everyone was looking at them.

Neptune included.

Still feeling the high of the dance, and her heart thundering through her chest because of Jaune’s compliments, a truly mad idea entered her mind.

She turned back towards Jaune, a blush on her face as she put a hand on his cheek.

“This does not make part of your harem, you hear me?”

“I-what?” He blinked, her answer to that, however, was to pull him into a kiss.

—----

Neptune’s hand clenched on the glass he was holding as he watched Weiss Schnee make out with Jaune Arc.

Why?

Why did he not know how to dance?!

That should have been him!

It should have been him!

Instead……it was Jaune Arc.

Neptune sighed powerlessly, turning towards his partner, who was now drunkenly leaning against him.

He smiled wryly as the women who were originally hanging around him distanced themselves from him.

It was just his luck to be able to use Sun as an excuse not to dance and embarrass himself on the dance floor, but it was also the reason he could not flirt completely.

“Damn, look at them go.” Sun slurred, slugging an arm over his shoulder as they looked at Jaune suddenly carrying Weiss by her hips to continue their kiss in front of everyone.

They were still locking lips, and Neptune could swear he could hear Weiss moan despite the distance between them. He felt a hand pat his shoulder only to see Sun looking at him piteously with a red face.

“You got cucked too, huh?”

“Shut up, Sun. You’re drunk.” Neptune scowled, but things only got worse when he felt another body lean up against his other side.

“First time?” Cardin Winchester hiccuped as the rest of his team tried to stop him from tumbling face-first into the floor.

“Sorry! We’ve been trying to get him to stop, but he just kept drinking!” One of his teammates, someone Neptune didn’t know, cringed apologetically.

“Who wouldn’t drink when faced with that?!” Cardin yelled angrily, his hand waving to show the rest of Jaune’s ladies converging around him.

He watched as he put Weiss down, but the Pyrrha Nikos only replaced her as she lunged towards her partner.

And then Yang Xiao Long.

And then Blake Belladonna.

He heard Sun whine beside him, and Neptune could only sigh resignedly as he found himself surrounded by drunk men.

While Jaune Arc was surrounded by beautiful women.

Truly, the universe was cruel.

No man should have that many women to himself!

And as Neptune muttered to himself, he didn’t know the words he uttered were already uttered once before and will continue to be uttered forevermore.

“Damn blonde, blue-eyed bastards.”

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Finally, the Weiss chapter. I hope you liked it.

P.S. Jaune is only going to sleep with one woman next chapter, care to take a guess as to who it is with?

P.P.S. Life is still bad, I am still jobless, but I'm trying to claw my way out of the darkness that my depression spiraled me into. Hopefully, the trend continues and I get to write even more.