Future Story -- Payment

A three-shot story I've begun working on, this is what I have so far. 

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“What do you think?” Jaune asked, holding up a pair of jackets. One was a very nice dark blue that matched his eyes while the other was a slimming black of similar make. Both looked rather fetching with the simple white shirt he had chosen to wear underneath, meaning that any choice was simply down to personal preference.

It wasn’t a hard decision for Pyrrha to make.

“The blue,” she said.

He had such nice expressive eyes.

Jaune looked between the jackets before nodding, tossing the black one aside. Slipping into the dark blue jacket, he adjusted the collar, leaving it unbuttoned in the front. Together with his dark jeans and the brand new pair of white sneakers he had brought recently, he looked like someone ready to tackle a weekend out on the town. It was something that he had been doing a lot of, as of late.

“Going out again?” Nora asked as she stepped out of the bathroom, toweling her damp hair. She was wearing a loose tank top and a pair of tiny shorts, showing off miles of skin freshly cleaned from her shower. He didn’t even see it, Jaune nodding distractedly as he inspected his collection of colognes. “Where ya going?”

“Hm? Oh, you know, just visiting some friends,” he replied, spraying his chosen scent along his neck and on his wrists. It wafted across Pyrrha’s nose, a warm woody tone. It was very pleasant; not overpowering, yet just enough to tickle your interest, to want to smell even more. She inhaled again, deeper this time.

Ren looked up from his book. “Are these the same friends you saw last weekend?”

Jaune hummed in the affirmative, inspecting himself in the mirror. Running his fingers through his messy hair, he didn’t even try and tame it. It was a lost cause without an obscene amount of product. “Yeah. Same friends.”

Pyrrha tried not to frown but it was difficult. She knew it was unfair to think but this reminded her of a less happy time. This wasn’t the first time Jaune had made plans with others that weren’t his team. It wasn’t like having friends outside of your huntsman squad was a bad thing, it was just that the last time he had spent a lot of time away from them, it was because Cardin Winchester had been blackmailing him with knowledge of his falsified transcripts. With how often he was going out, it was hitting a little too close to home. Only this time, it was outside of Beacon entirely, outside of the rules that governed the school. It felt like history was repeating itself, though she wasn’t sure how yet.

When Cardin had been bullying him, it was obvious that something was wrong. Pyrrha wouldn’t go as far to say that Jaune had been depressed, but his attitude in general during that period of time was not good. He had been lethargic, skittish and stressed, scared that he was going to be expelled at any moment if he didn’t do exactly what Cardin said. Even if Cardin hadn’t been so stupidly blatant about it all, they all would have known that something was wrong.

Jaune wore his emotions on his sleeve.

He didn’t show any of those signs this time. Matter of fact, Pyrrha hadn’t ever seen her team leader any happier than he was now. Whenever he returned from these outings, he had a bounce in his step that lasted all week. Unlike before, his grades were improving, not slipping, nor was he avoiding any of them. And his self belief was through the roof. Jaune trained harder than anyone she knew, constantly striving to catch up to them, his drive for self improvement inspiring. He still had a long way to go but he was getting there, step by step. He was in a good place, she couldn’t deny it.

Yet...

She knew she was worrying excessively. That if she really had a bad feeling about the whole situation, then all she had to do was ask if she could tag along. The worst thing he could say was no. Sure, that would be awkward, embarrassing even, but that was a small price to pay. What was a little self mortification compared to finding out if your friend was being taken advantage of or not?

But as always, she held her tongue. She may have been the invincible girl, four time champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament, but at times like these, she was just a girl. A cowardly girl, at that.

“Alright,” he said, ready. “I’ll probably end up staying down in Vale tonight so don’t wait up.”

That was the usual. He always stayed there the night and returned the following morning.

“Sure thing, leader man,” Nora gave a thumbs up and a megawatt smile. “Have fun!”

Jaune chuckled. “Thanks Nora. Cya guys!”

The door shut with a quiet click. He was gone.

“You’ve got that look on your face again,” Ren spoke up, looking Pyrrha’s way. She grimaced. She hated how observant her teammate could be; very little escaped his notice.

“What’s the big deal?” Nora asked, flopping down on her bed. “This isn’t like the Cardin thing. It would be written all over his face if it was.”

Trust Nora to get right to the heart of the matter. She liked to play and act the fool, but she was much sharper than people gave her credit for. She also had all the delicacy of a rampaging bull in a glassware store.

“I just worry about him, is all,” Pyrrha fiddled with her fingers. “He has a good head on his shoulders but he can be too trusting.”

“Why don’t we follow him, then?” Nora suggested, sitting up excitedly. “Oh, oh – like those private dick films. We can all wear trench coats and lurk under flickering streetlights,” she rubbed her chin. “None of us smoke, though. We kinda need that for authenticity. Ren, you’ll smoke for us.”

“We aren’t going to follow him,” Ren shot down that idea in an instant, giving Nora a stern look before turning that same look on her. Pyrrha looked away, annoyed that he knew she had been contemplating Nora’s silly idea. “We aren’t going to breach his privacy like that. How would you feel if he followed you around downtown without your knowledge?”

“I wouldn’t care,” Nora shrugged.

“Yes, well some people might be bothered by their friends sticking their noses were it doesn’t belong,” he softened his tone. “I don’t mean to be harsh. But we should trust him – we trust him to lead us, don’t we? Even after everything?”

She did. He may have been the least experienced of them when it came to fighting, he may have needed help catching up with the curriculum, never having attended a combat school, but there was no one she trusted more on the battle field. Jaune had an innate ability to direct them around like a well oiled machine, a head for tactics that honestly blew her own understanding away, and could always be relied upon when you truly needed him. Even on their very first day against the giant Deathstalker, he had rallied their team together like it was natural, identifying the Grimm’s weakness and using their abilities to the best of his knowledge to defeat it. There was a reason why Headmaster Ozpin had chosen him and not her to lead their team going forward.

“You’re right,” she said firmly. Nora boo’d and flopped back down on her bed. “I do trust him. And even though I worry, it doesn’t seem like he is in bad spirits. Quite the opposite.”

So why wasn’t she happy about that?

It was just hard not knowing where he was going, what he was doing, or who he was with. They may have only known each other a short time, but she considered him one of her most precious friends. She didn’t have many friends; true friends, that didn’t care who she was and where she came from, that hadn’t even known she was a world famous tournament fighter. She didn’t want him to get hurt. But she couldn’t be so overprotective of him. He had his own life to live – and he had friends he liked to hang out with. She needed to accept that.

She sighed. She hated being so needy.

“How about a movie?” she asked with a smile.

{ - - - }

Jaune couldn’t get off the airship fast enough, the door barely open and the hydraulic arms still hissing as they clamped into place. While his motion sickness only truly played up when the ride was bumpy or he was a bundle of frayed nerves, he didn’t much enjoy flying at the best of times. He preferred his feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you very much. Anything else just felt unnatural.

Taking in a deep breath, he looked out over the sprawling city from his vantage point on the landing pad, built atop a high rise shopping complex. In the distance across the river, he could spy the brick houses and maintained lawns of the residential district, while further down the warehouses, factories and docks in the heavy industrial areas could be seen. At his back stood the massive cliff face that dominated the scenery on which Beacon Academy was perched, majestic waterfalls cascading down and feeding the lake and river at its base.

It was quite the sight for a country bumpkin like him.

Checking the time, he hurried down the stairs and into the plaza, taking an elevator to the bottom floor. Stepping out onto the street, he was greeted by throngs of people, everything from workers just clocking off to teenagers ready to party the weekend away after a long week at school. Opening up his scroll, he found the app he was looking for and input his destination, confirming and locking in a driver.

It wasn’t long until a car pulled up to the curb.

The drive over was mostly silent, for which Jaune was grateful. As much as he liked getting to know people, his social awkwardness was a tough nut to crack. His destination was on the border of the commercial and industrial areas, meaning that it took some time, even with minimal traffic on the highway. Time enough for his usual anxiety to spike and fade away, and then return again. He wasn’t sure why he always felt this way. He had done it plenty of times already, yet every single time felt like the first.

Well, maybe not that bad. He had been a complete wreck that first time. That was expected, though. Jaune supposed that he would never truly get used to it. He could hardly believe this was his life sometimes. He was enrolled at Beacon Academy, studying and training to become a huntsman. It was everything he ever wanted. Sure, how he got there was not something he was particularly proud of and he was still paying off his debt, would be for awhile yet, but he didn’t mind. What they had asked for was well within his abilities to provide and he provided gladly.

That was the whole purpose of this trip.

“Thanks,” he said as they pulled up outside a familiar club. People were already lined up, the bouncers checking ID’s. Jaune waited until the car pulled away before approaching, raising a hand in greeting. One look and the man on the door ushered him inside, his red tinted glasses glinting under the artificial lighting. Several club goers protested at the preferential treatment but fell silent at the menacing look the bouncer leveled their way.

Passing over the threshold was like night and day, the room already packed to the brim and heaving with energy. Music blared through massive speakers, strobe lightning flickering wildly as they danced and drank, the sound almost deafening. Jaune made his way through the crowd, splitting between people until the bar was within reach. As expected, a towering man nearing on seven foot tall was pouring drinks, moving with great experience as he filled one order after another. Several other workers tended the bar, but he stood out in particular, and not just because of his size.

He was the owner of the club.

“Hey Junior,” Jaune greeted as he slid onto a recently vacated stool.

Hei “Junior” Xiong, head of the Xiong Family, the single largest criminal element in the city of Vale. If you wanted to buy it, they sold it, and if they didn’t, they could get it for you – with one exception. They didn’t touch drugs, even actively discouraged their sale. More than any other kingdom, Vale was known for its relatively drug-free streets and it wasn’t because of the law enforcement. But anything else? That was fair game. If you needed information? Junior was your man. If you needed to fence stolen goods? Bring them on over, the Xiong Family had you covered. Needed to falsify extremely important documentation to sneak into a world renown combat academy without a lick of training? You came to the right place!

There was no one better in all of Vale, so of course Jaune went for the best. Jaune didn’t condone criminals but he was desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures. His papers needed to pass all manner of security checks and the proof was in the pudding; he was at Beacon. They worked. He couldn’t have got there without Junior.

But such a thing wasn’t cheap. Years and years of saving every scrap of pocket change, stashing away every single paycheck received from part-time and holiday jobs only scratched the surface. It had been enough to get him in the door, but the true payment was something else, something he hadn’t known he had the ability to give until desperate, on his knees, he had been offered an olive branch.

“Jaune,” the man greeted, shaking a mixer in hand. It rattled with crushed ice and liquid, which he promptly poured into a chilled glass. It quickly filled with the orange liquid, foaming lightly on top. “You here for the girls?”

“Payment is due,” Jaune confirmed. Junior reached into a nearby fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer, popping the top and sliding it over to him in one smooth movement. “Wait, I didn’t order--”

“On the house,” the larger man interrupted. “You’re going to need it.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “Uh – is everything okay?”

“Melanie is in one of her moods,” he rolled his eyes before turning away. “Good luck.”

“Wait, Junior,” he tried, but the man was already serving another customer, deaf to his words. Giving up, he took a sip of his free beer, humming.

“Not bad,” he muttered.

“Hey there,” a voice called, a girl slipping into the seat beside him. Jaune blinked. “You here alone?”

She was pretty was his first thought, her skin lightly tanned with large blue eyes. Blonde hair fell in waves across her shoulders and down her back, reminding him immediately of Yang. That was where the similarities ended for this girl was shorter, more slender and petite, with a smaller bust than his Beacon friend. Her nose was also pierced; a small, silver stud gleaming under the flashing lights.

“Not for long,” he replied. “I’m waiting for someone.”

“Oh?” she sipped at her drink, ridiculously long nails tapping the polished wood of the bar. “Wouldn’t you much rather spend time with me? What’s your name?”

“Jaune,” he said to be polite, feeling a little flustered. He wasn’t used to attractive girls just ambushing him like this, though he handled it better than he would have a month ago. “Listen, I’m sure you’re nice but they’re due any minute now. Sorry.”

The smile in her face became strained, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked him over.

“Are you seriously blowing me off?” she asked, tone sharp.

Jaune cringed.

“Can’t you take a hint?” a familiar voice asked scathingly, his saving grace. “He isn’t interested, so fuck off!”

Melanie Malachite glared, her green eyes chilling as they both turned to face her. There wasn’t a person in the club that could claim she wasn’t exceedingly beautiful, her pale skin, strapless white dress and elbow-length gloves making her almost doll-like in appearance. All that white was contrasted sharply by her long raven black hair, a waterfall of shimmering silk down her back. She wasn’t particularly tall, though that was lessened by her knee-length leather boots, the impressive heels bladed for combat.

She was not the kind of girl to piss off lightly.

“Excuse me?” the blonde sputtered, cheeks flushing in anger. “Who do think you are, talking to me like that?”

Jaune slipped off his stool and took a step back.

“I’m the bitch that is about to shove her heels up your ass if you don’t move it,” Melanie snapped, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “Now scram before I get your blood all over my dress. Do you know how much of a pain it is to get blood out of white? Though rearranging that face of yours would only be an improvement.”

She wasn’t kidding – and the blonde girl quickly realized this, wilting under Melanie’s murderous stare. Several people had stopped what they were doing to watch the unfolding drama, including a few of Junior’s men. The man himself was ignoring the altercation entirely, handling a stack of lien by the register. Thinking better of it, the blonde beat a hasty retreat, almost falling as she bumped into several dancers along the way.

Jaune sighed.

“Did you really have to be so mean?”

Melanie turned her glare onto him, though it lacked the sting she had leveled at the other girl. She didn’t mean it.

“She was annoying,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “Like, you need to be more firm with them. If you aren’t, they’ll just keep bothering you until you cave. Don’t be such a push over. Girls don’t like such an indecisive guy.”

“Yeah, okay,” he placated her, though she could tell he didn’t really mean it.

She clicked her tongue. “Tch, whatever. Hurry up and come with me.”

Junior wasn’t kidding. She really was in a mood.