*takes deep breath* Breathe in...breathe out...

Anyway, hi everyone! I just got into the whole RWBY thing going on (it literally took my friends three years to convince me to watch it) and I'm hoping I can contribute to the fandom. Although I'm a tad bit nervous since every story here seems to have at least three hundred favorites and follows and honestly those are numbers I only dream of XD Buuuut a guy can still hope, right?

But yeah... This here is a Jaune x Neo fanfiction, if you don't like it then get out. These two were immediately my favorite characters and I can't wait to see what will happen to them in volume 4.

But that's enough of my silly, pointless rambling (something I'm unfortunately known to do). On with the story!

...

He knew what was coming the moment Glynda Goodwitch called him into Headmaster Ozpin's office.

He didn't want to believe it.

But he knew what was about to happen.

It hadn't even been a full twenty four hours since he confessed himself as a fraud to Pyrrha Nikos, and yet apparently someone managed to find out within that short amount of time.

Jaune's hand gripped the doorknob, feeling that his hand was clammy as sweat gathered on his brow. He knew what was about to happen...

Somehow, someway, Ozpin had discovered what terrible act Jaune Arc had done to worm his way into this school.

He should've known he couldn't keep it a secret, but up until this moment he desperately had clung to that false sense of hope. He hoped he could make it through the trials of Beacon Academy, that he could be the hero he always wanted to be. That he could have a beautiful girlfriend who loved him and supported him, that he could have lifelong friendships with those he had met and those on his teams. He hoped that he could get stronger. Hell, he hoped that he could witness Ren and Nora get married, preferably as Ren's best man.

He had hoped he could prove his family wrong.

They had little faith in him, he had always known. Jaune's father tried training him, but eventually gave up with a sigh when he realized his son was not some hunter prodigy. His mother always babied him, and right before he left for Beacon she told him there was no shame in coming back home. His sisters were the worst, constantly taunting him and crushing his hopes and self esteem with cruel jests towards his skill and his pride.

So when he found himself inside Beacon Academy, he knew that it was his chance to finally earn the love and respect he desperately wanted from his family.

And now it was all about to crash down on top of him.

Someone cleared their throat behind Jaune, and he turned around to see Glynda glaring at him impatiently. "You may go in now, Mr. Arc," she hissed in annoyance. It was right about then that an embarrassed Jaune realized he had been blankly staring at Ozpin's door for the past five minutes. With a sheepish nod at the teacher, he nervously opened the door and slipped inside, preparing himself to meet his doom.

Ozpin had a calm expression on his face as his eyes never left to boy in front of him, an expression that would intimidate even the most hardened of criminals. Jaune knew it didn't take a detective to figure out that the headmaster was not happy.

"Sit down, Mr. Arc." the headmaster offered, gesturing to the seat across from his desk. The boy obeyed, his whole body shaking at this point.

"Now then," Ozpin began. "Do you know why you're here today, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune hesitated, more sweat forming on his forehead. He eventually decided there was no point to playing dumb, as it would only prolong the inevitable. And not by much at all.

He slowly nodded, a knot in his stomach.

Ozpin sighed and reached to open one of his drawers, pulling out a series of papers that he stacked on top of his desk. "Your transcripts," he explained, and he gave a small, almost silent chuckle. "I must congratulate you or whoever you hired, these forgeries were quite convincing," he admitted, shaking his head as he sipped his coffee. "But due to an anonymous tip we were able to realize our mistake." He leaned in closer, his chin resting against his folded hands. "Did you truly believe you could get away with this, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune flinched at the man's words, his eyes not daring to look into Ozpin's, instead his gaze focused on the fake documents on the desk. So this was it... All his hopes and dreams were finally coming to a bitter end, he was going to be kicked out and he knew there was no hunters school in all of Remnant that would accept him after this crazy stunt. He blew his one chance...

"Mr. Arc?"

Jaune snapped back to attention, and slowly shook his head. "No, sir," he muttered. "I know it would happen eventually."

Ozpin nodded with a light hum. "At least you're honest," he noted. "To some extent, at least." He noticed the boy's visible flinch and sighed heavily. "Mr. Arc, this is a very serious problem. What you did was illegal, normally you would be arrested for something like this." He allowed his words to sink in before continuing. "But... That's not what I'm going to let happen."

Jaune's head shot up in confusion. "E-Excuse me, sir?" He questioned with a tilt of his head.

"I won't have you arrested," Ozpin repeated more clearly. "Regardless of what you did, you are a talented young man with the possibility of a great future ahead of him. I wouldn't want to see anyone's potential go to waste, Mr. Arc. Especially yours."

"Thank you, sir."

"Regardless, you still must be punished." And there it was: the inevitable. "Mr. Arc, due to your actions I have no choice but to expel you from Beacon Academy," the headmaster announced, waiting for the young student's reaction.

Most students would've broke down upon hearing the news, groveling at the headmaster's feet and begging him to reconsider. Jaune Arc wasn't the first student he kicked out, he was certain that Jaune Arc wouldn't be the last. He had seen every trick in the book, from asking to be his personal assistant to attempted seduction. He was wondering what the knight in front of him would bring to the table.

It was to his delighted surprise that Jaune Arc did the noble thing and accepted his punishment without protest. Ozpin couldn't help but admire the boy, it took a great deal of courage to admit your mistakes and deal with the consequences. It pained the headmaster to see such a promising young lad go, but he knew it had to be done. This was the easiest he could go with a punishment...

"May I break the news to my team, sir?" Jaune asked, slowly standing up from his seat.

Ozpin allowed a ghost of a smile to appear on his face. "Of course," he said. "Take all the time you need today, a bullhead will pick you up first thing tomorrow."

Jaune nodded, and wordlessly he left the headmaster's office, keeping a calm and collected look on his face.

It wasn't until he was across the hallway that he allowed himself to break down into sobs.

...

When the knight had made his way back to Team JNPR's room, his teammates could immediately tell something was wrong. Pyrrha took hold on Jaune and slowly sat him down on his bed, with Ren and Nora sitting across from him. It was silent for a moment, the three hunters-in-training waiting patiently for their leader to say something. When nothing was said, it was Nora who broke the heavy silence.

"C'mon, Jaune," she said in a surprisingly serious voice. "Don't leave us hanging." Ren grunted in agreement, reaching over to lay his hand firmly on the blonde's shoulder.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked him, letting the boy use her shoulder for support. "Please tell us." What she meant was that he should tell Ren and Nora, since the warrior herself had a pretty accurate guess of what Jaune was about to say. And the mere thought of those words felt like an arrow piercing her heart.

"Guys..." Jaune began hesitantly, scratching the back of his neck. "I...I've been..." He glanced up and saw his teammates leaning in, and he took a deep breath in order to finish. "I've...been...expelled..." he somehow managed to choke out, the knot in his stomach tightening with each word he forced through his mouth.

You could hear a pin drop.

'Well, this is awkward,' Jaune noted to himself after a minute of silence, before he was tackled to the ground by Nora, who had him wrapped into a death hug.

"You're joking, right?!" She demanded, the emotional pain already evident in her voice. "Y-You're very funny, Jaune! Hahaha, you're a riot!" She teared up. "R-Right...?" She whispered that last part, and Jaune's refusal to look her in the eyes was all she needed as an answer. Pyrrha watched sadly as her friend and teammate slowly backed away from Jaune, her hands slowly moving up to cover her mouth as Ren took hold of her shoulders.

Sighing, Pyrrha turned to her partner and helped him to his feet. "Jaune," she began. "I'm...so sorry. It was the transcripts, I assume?" Jaune nodded silently, and once again an arrow flew right through the warrior.

"W-What transcripts?" Nora spoke up, glancing at the two as Ren held her gently.

"...sit down, everyone," the knight ordered gently, not answering the female viking's question. "There's something about me you guys need to know..."

With Pyrrha guiding him along, Jaune Arc forced himself to tell his story once more. He told his loyal team about how he never received proper combat training due to his father giving up on him, and how because of that he never enrolled into a combat school. He told them that out of desperation, he gathered enough money to hire a man to make convincing transcripts that would allow him to enroll in Beacon Academy. He told them about how much of a fraud he was, about how he didn't deserve to be their leader. This was quickly silenced by Pyrrha's tender embrace.

"You're the best leader we could've ever asked for, Jaune," she whispered into his ear, rubbing his back softly. "We all love you, and it's painful to watch you go... I-we-" She quickly corrected herself, a mild blush forming. "We...wish you the best of luck, Jaune."

"This isn't fair!" Nora was crying into Ren's shoulder. "This isn't fair! Why can't they just let Jaune stay..."

...

It was the very next day, seven o'clock in the morning to be exact. Jaune Arc was standing outside of Beacon Academy as the bullhead slowly made its landing in front of him. Behind him were his teammates from Team JNPR, as well as the members of Team RWBY. Both teams had come to see the knight off, and say their goodbyes.

"I'm really gonna miss you, Jaune," Ruby murmured into the boy's chest, her arms wrapped tightly around him. "I had a lot of fun with you around, and I hope we can see you again."

"You will," Jaune assured the younger girl with a soft smile, before he was nearly knocked to the ground by Yang's 'pat' on the back.

"Never knew you were such a rebel, vomit boy," she jested, trying to make light of the mood. She then helped him stand straight, before lightly punching his shoulder, causing her fellow blonde to wince slightly. "Just... Remember to call every now and then, okay?"

Jaune gave a smile and a nod, deciding that it was pointless to try to correct the stupid nickname at this point.

Blake...didn't have much to say to him. Not like Jaune could be surprised, since the two had hardly interacted during his time at Beacon. She simply gave him a curt "good luck" and that was the end of that.

Weiss's farewell was a bit more surprising. She strutted towards him with her signature scowl on her face. "You're horribly dense at times, your hygiene could use some serious work..."

"I get the idea, Weiss."

"...you flirt with me constantly, you refuse to take a hint..."

"Weiss..."

"And yet..." She smiled gently, pulling the blonde into a gentle hug. "I can't help but miss you already... Don't forget about us, okay?"

"I could never do that, snow angel," he told her. "I promise I'll call you guys often. Just because I'm expelled doesn't mean I can't see you guys, right?"

As he pulled away from Team RWBY, he turned to his own teammates, stepping up to Ren first.

"This may seem a bit sudden," he started. "But... Think you can lead the team for me?"

"Of course," Ren replied. "Although you know we'll all still consider you our leader, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Jaune smiled sadly. "I'm not anymore."

"Nonsense," the ninja argued sternly. "But anyway... I'll do my best, Jaune."

Next he turned to Nora, who was trying her best to keep a happy grin plastered on her face. Jaune simply rolled his eyes and opened his arms to her. "Nora..." He sighed. "Come here."

In an instant he was nearly tackled again as the energetic woman flung herself on top of him. "I'm...gonna miss you, y-y'know," she hiccuped. "Team JNPR was my first taste at a real family, I-I don't wanna see it get torn apart!"

"It'll be alright, Nora," Jaune comforted as best he could. It was moments like these that he was thankful for having seven sisters. "I promise I'll visit you soon."

Nora sniffled and nodded. Then she chuckled. "I...I think Pyrrha will miss you most of all," she hinted, knowing that the dense boy wouldn't have a clue of what she was talking about.

As she backed away Jaune turned to his former partner in confusion, only to have something warm and soft press against his lips. His eyes widened when he realized that Pyrrha Nikos, the most badass woman he knew, kissed him squarely on the mouth. He could barely process his brain as his friends cheered, and one of the pilots of the bullhead reluctantly handed the other a check for one thousand lien.

No one noticed the jealous look that crossed Ruby's face.

Pyrrha finally pulled away and smiled shyly towards her now not-so-secret crush. "Take care of yourself, Jaune," she told him, and the knight could do nothing more than nod dumbly.

Finally, after all goodbyes were said, Jaune Arc boarded the bullhead and watched as the image of his friends got smaller and smaller, until finally they disappeared from his view.

Little did the knight know that he was going to break each and every promise he made to his friends...

...

Was that ending a bit too rushed? It was, wasn't it? Yeeeeah... Oh well, I promise you guys that pacing WILL get better during the course of the story! HAVE SOME FAITH IN ME!

And yeah... No Neo-waifu in this chapter :( But she'll appear in the next one (assuming people want a second chapter, that is .-. Sometimes stories can just be a colossal failure, y'know? I've dealt with that a few times, it really sucks...)

Anyway... I hope you guys enjoyed this, and I hope you guys want more of it! (because Neo, bruh) Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd! (calling cards are my best friend, I swear to God)

...

Seriously. Review. It's like the one thing that keeps me confident.