PSA the bottom

Hello all, I'm back again with another crack ship RomCom thing. Enjoy.

Contrary to what the populace at Beacon thought, Yang Xiao Long was not a party animal. That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy a night out with friends or getting plastered drunk, but those nights were few and far between. Beacon's stacked curriculum and frequent training/workouts made it nigh impossible to party every night. Still, all that built up stress required release and there was no better place that Yang knew of than The Club.

Was she welcome there? Sort of. Did the staff give her side eyes and charge her extra for drinks? Definitely. Did she let that stop her? Not even close. Sadly, her team had elected to let her go stag. When she asked Ruby, her little sister stuck out her tongue and said "clubs are gross, besides, I haven't gotten any quality time with Crescent Rose since the school year started." Weiss simply scoffed and said she should work on one of the three essays they'd been assigned that week instead. Blake… well, her partner simply ignored the question and kept reading which Yang took as a hard no.

Going alone didn't bother Yang too much if she was being honest, it made the night less fun overall, but it forced her to make new friends while dancing or drinking. It was how a ton of memorable, if not always good, nights started. Just a girl, a drink, a dance floor, and a dream. With her entourage decided, she donned her attire for the evening; a pair of jet black leather pants with tiny slits along the sides, a white half shirt with a golden dragon curled up in the center, and her trusty leather jacket with the extra pockets for keys, a wallet, and a pair of brass knuckles. While The Club had a strict "no weapons" policy, her dad had driven it into her head to never go anywhere unarmed. Normally, she'd wear her gauntlets but after her last outing at her desired establishment, she doubted they'd get past security. So, brass knuckles it was.

She waved to her team as she headed out the door, telling them she'd see them in the morning. She grabbed Bumblebee from the motor pool and made sure it was loaded up into the cargo area of the Bullhead, slid into her seat, and relaxed. The flight was relatively short and gave her a great view of the city. The hustle and bustle of the night life was always a treat to see. Bright neon signs advertising various attractions from liquor to food to "live entertainment". Couples chatted and laughed as they walked down the streets.

Her ride landed and she mounted Bumblebee before speeding off into the night. The Club was a bit of a hike from the landing platform, taking her through the main drag and nearly into the industrial district. Her travels led her to a massive converted apartment complex. A man in a jet-black suit with a red tie stood at the main door with a clipboard. To his right was a massive line of men and women in button up shirts and pressed jeans for the former and form fitting pants and skirts for the latter. Yang skipped over the line and when she was about to be questioned by the door man, she shot him a wink and flexed her hands. She watched as a lance of fear passed through him as the recognition kicked in and he nodded that she could go in. She thanked the man with a wink and stepped inside while a chorus of complaints echoed behind her.

The Club made great use of the space they had. In the center of the room was a massive checkerboard dance floor. Overhead were at least a dozen lights all flashing different colors and shades. Sitting above the crowd, posted on what looked to be four of the largest speakers in Vale, sat the DJ in his black and red bear mask. On the left and right walls were bars that spanned the entire length with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of liquor bottles all sat neatly on the shelves for decoration or consumption. It was there that Yang went first, a girl needed a drink after all. She toyed with the idea of shooting someone a smile or two and getting someone else to do it but decided against it when she saw that everyone at the bar was occupied with somebody else.

She slid up to the bar and let her eyes wander around. It was a packed house for sure, something to be expected on a Friday night. She tried to catch the eye of the bartender but failed several times. Anywhere else and she might be annoyed but, given everything that had happened here, she let it slide with a roll of her eyes. It was going to be one of those nights again. She contented herself with watching people have fun on the dance floor. Yang was just getting invested in watching a particularly pudgy man steal the show when two people slipped up next to her.

On her right was a decently tall guy with a pale white complexion and a shockingly bright purple undercut. He was handsome and well-built with steel blue eyes that sparkled with the lights. His black V-neck fit a cream-colored skinny jeans him perfectly, like they'd been painted on. He smiled at her like she imagined a lion would smile at a gazelle. On her left was a dark-skinned girl with crisp, slicked back hair the color of a cloudless sky. Her eyes were hypnotic, all swirling soft purples that had to be the effect of some top of the line contacts. She wore a pair of navy shorts that were an inch or two away from being an indecent exposure charge. Her top was a simple thing, a flowy off the shoulder shirt that matched her shorts. She had much of the same smile as her companion.

The boy on her right leaned against the bar top.

"Haven't seen you around here before Beautiful." The girl on her left nodded, letting her fingers trail up Yang's wrist.

"You must be new. There's no way we would've let someone like you slip through our fingers." Yang rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Aren't you two just a couple of smooth talkers." The man shrugged and smirked, gesturing to the bartender.

"What'll you have, gorgeous?"

"I'll take a strawberry sunrise." He nodded and snagged the bartender, ordering three sunrises and a round of vodka shots while the girl tugged on her arm.

"Why don't go get a table while he gets our drinks?" Yang resisted the pull.

"I think I'll wait here for mine, thanks." The girl cocked her head while the boy smirked.

"You don't trust us? I'm hurt." She scoffed.

"A girl can't be too careful now, can she?" He held up his hands in surrender and the three made small talk while waiting for their cocktails. Yang learned that his name was Skyler and hers was Opal. They were Huntsmen in training on vacation from Haven, something they made a point of bringing up over and over again. It might've even done something to woo her had she not been one herself. Not that they really her get a word in edgewise to tell them so. Still, they got their drinks and Opal led the way to a booth in the shadows of the corner of the room. They sat on her sides again with Opal's hands always finding a way to touch her while Skyler kept an arm around the back of her spot.

She knew what was happening. They were hoping to woo a pretty blonde girl into a night of passion with two Huntsmen to be. She wouldn't be surprised if Skyler had asked the bartender to slip a bit more liquor into her drink than was necessary. On another night, Yang might've taken the plunge, a threesome was on her bucket list after all. But not tonight. She wanted to have a good time but not that good of a time. So, Yang sipped her drink and ignored the shot while they tried to tag team her. She played along until it got boring, which was when she excused herself to go to the bathroom with the intention of not returning to the table.

As she left the shadowy corner, a mop of blonde hair caught her eye. Sitting alone in a booth with a cup of soft amber liquid in front of him, looking as dejected as a person can, was Jaune Arc. She never thought of him as a club kind of guy. He felt more like a stay at home and play board games kind of guy. Someone more likely to spend the night training or going to bed early than goofing off. If she were honest, he probably should still be training if his combat performances were anything to go by. Nobody was winless in Goodwitch's class, sure some people had bad records but everyone got lucky or caught someone on a bad day and stole a win or two. Everyone except for Jaune Arc.

Yang pitied him; he wasn't a bad guy. He was nice enough and had decent taste in video games, being the only other person who can give her a hard time in Combat Fighter 8. Sure, he was a bit annoying with his attempts at dating Weiss but those had stopped since that Neptune guy had started gathering her attention. Now he seemed to take a much more friend like approach with the Schnee heiress, opting to just smile and say hi as opposed to write another love ballad.

Her curiosity piqued; she made her way to her fellow blonde. As Yang got closer, she thought she could hear sniffling. Now more interested than ever, she stepped to the edge of the table. For a moment, she considered doing something to scare her him. Maybe slam her hand down on the table or sneak up behind his booth. It would be hilarious, even more so since Jaune's panic scream was one of the funniest things Yang had ever heard. She thought better of it as her suspicions were confirmed. She spoke, just loud enough to be heard over the roaring bass.

"Jaune?" His head popped up in an instant and, moving faster than she'd ever seen him move, wiped his face. His eyes were puffy, his cheeks pink but he smiled at her. It was the least genuine smile Yang had ever seen, which was definitely saying something since she'd seen Pyrrha interact with a couple fans who she very much did not want to see. He gave a small shake of his head took a breath.

"Yang! Hey." He threw an arm over the back of the booth and brought his drink to his lips, trying to be suave. As the liquid passed his lips his face contorted in pain and he coughed and set the drink down. The fit passed and he looked up at her meekly. "Come here often?" Yang sighed and crossed her arms.

"Yes actually. Which is why I know you don't." He shrugged.

"Maybe I just wanted to get out of the dorms for a bit and cut loose." She scoffed.

"Cut loose? By yourself?" He leaned to one side, looking past her.

"Looks like that's what you're doing." She pointed a thumb to herself.

"But I am a lioness on the prowl for fun and excitement." She gestured to him. "You, on the other hand, are Vomit Boy, expeller of stomach contents and ruiner of shoes."

"How many times am I going to have to say sorry about that?" She shrugged.

"I'll let you know when you get there." He sighed and leaned back and Yang let her voice soften.

"Why are you really here Jaune? You're sitting alone in the dark with a glass of whiskey that, from the sound of those coughs and the look on your face, you really don't want to be drinking." She sat down in the booth; hands folded. "What's up?" He looked at her for a second before sighing and mumbling out an answer. She shifted closer.

"What was that?" He set his elbows on the table and placed his head in his hands.

"I had a date." She cocked an eyebrow.

"Had?" He nodded, letting his head rest on the table while a finger idly played along the top of his glass.

"Yeah, had." He pushed the drink away. "She… she never really showed up." Ouch. Getting stood up on a first date was always a rough one. She would know, being on the receiving end of one or two in her years of dating. She inched herself closer and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's her loss then." He scoffed and tapped his fingers on the table. A silence had set in between them and Yang was at a loss as for what to do. When she had been ghosted, she cried on her dad's shoulder for an hour then punched the kid in the face the next day and everything was back to normal. She had a feeling that Jaune would go about things differently than she did.

"Can you tell me who it was? Maybe she didn't know you were here and is in the same boat you're in." He let out a laugh that had zero joy in it.

"She's right over there." He waved dismissively to the dance floor and Yang followed his hand, hoping to see a familiar face. When she did, her eyebrows nearly shot up into her hairline.

"You asked out Misty Cobalt?" He nodded. "Mayhem Misty? Cannibal Cobalt!? Fisty Misty? That Misty Cobalt?" Her arms were flailing about at this point. "Why the hell would you ask her out!?" He shrugged. Misty was one of the meanest girls Yang had ever met. They'd been in the same year since they started school and every year, without fail, she managed to get suspended. Most of the time it was for fighting outside of designated areas. Other times it was for smoking or drinking on school grounds. One time she even got busted spray painting a dick on the Headmaster's car. Any other kid would've been expelled after one of those incidents but the popular theory that went around the school was that Misty's dad was some bigshot lawyer for the council.

"Do you only go after girls who hate you? Is it like a fetish of yours or something?" He shrugged again. Yang shook her head. "Not good enough VB, why Misty? Why Weiss?" When he remained silent, she shoved him lightly. "Spill it." He groaned and she repeated her action. It took a few more attempts but, eventually, he caved and spun to face her.

"I don't know, alright? I really don't. Maybe I like stern, opinionated women. Maybe I'm a masochist. Maybe I go after them because I know I'm going to fail and it doesn't hurt as much! Is that what you want to hear? Huh?" It was a foreign thing for Yang, hearing Jaune get mad. She liked to think she understood anger better than most, it being a crucial part of her Semblance and all that. She hadn't thought Jaune would be an angry crier, but now that she thought about it, it made sense. Everyone in Beacon would deal with him easily if he started throwing punches when he got mad so crying/yelling were one of the few things he had left if he didn't want to bottle it all up.

As she stared at him, the tears fell down his cheeks as he panted. She felt bad for pushing but sometimes you needed to push to get to the heart of things. Yang brought her hands up and shifted a little ways away from her fellow blonde.

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to touch a nerve. I just… wanted to understand. Maybe I could help then." He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his button up shirt and turned back to the table.

"I shouldn't have yelled like that. It's not your fault, it's mine." He took a deep breath. "I just… I don't know what I'm doing. I go up to a girl, I say a stupid, cheesy line, then ask her out. It's what my dad taught me and it seemed to work for him so I figured that it should work for me too. Except it hasn't." Yang patted him on the arm.

"A couple of things. First of all, everyone has different styles when it comes to dating. Some people have a lot of luck with pick-up lines, some are better at developing a relationship with people they're already close to. Second of all, everybody is different. There's no one thing that will magically make everyone fall in love with you." He picked his head up and leaned back against the booth. He wiped the last of the tears out of his eyes before looking at her.

"Thanks Yang." She gave him a soft slug in the arm.

"You can pay me back with a drink." He nodded and flagged down a waitress, ordering two strawberry sunrises. "Done with the hard stuff?" She said with a smirk. He chuckled and nodded.

"I think so, yeah. How do people drink that stuff?" She shook her head.

"No idea." After receiving their drinks, they clinked glasses and bathed in the atmosphere in comfortable silence. It took another round before Yang asked the question that had been on her mind since she was made aware of it.

"So, Fisty Misty falls for pick-up lines, huh?" Her moment to speak had been perfectly timed to coincide with a Jaune taking a large sip of his drink. She let out a hearty belly laugh as she watched him cough and sputter. As he finished, he shot her a dirty look that turned into a laugh.

"Sort of. Her exact words were 'cute enough, be at The Club on Friday or I'll bury you.'" Yang felt giggles slip from her lips and soon enough, Jaune joined in. After another round of drinks, including a shot or two, Yang spoke.

"You know, there are girls at Beacon that like you that aren't crazy or snooty." She nudged him with her shoulder and he groaned, staring into his glass. Of all the reactions Yang expected to get, that wasn't one of them. Who reacted like that to finding out someone liked after striking out so many times?

"You mean Pyrrha." The blonde brawler's eyebrows shot up. It had been a running joke in their friend group since the beginning of the year that Jaune was too dense to see Pyrrha's advances. It seemed that they needed to get more current information. Nonetheless, Yang nodded.

"If you know, then why not go after her?" He shook his head.

"Pyrrha is one of my best friends, someone who knows as much about me as someone can. We get along great, we crack jokes and train together. Heck, we even live together." Yang cocked an eyebrow at him again.

"Those are good things, right?" He nodded. "Sooooooo... why not?"

"Because I don't see her that way. We're friends and I like it like that." Yang could really sympathize with his position. In her years, she'd been asked out by friends a couple of times and it was always a bit awkward. She never felt the same way they did but they were her friends and she felt bad for rejecting them. In the end, she did and things ended up fine but feelings easily could've turned sour. Jaune's position was an even worse one since he couldn't avoid her until the awkwardness passed, they lived together. Not to mention what it would do to Ren and Nora, and maybe even Team RWBY, maybe forcing them all to pick sides. Yes, Team JNPR's resident blonde was in a sticky situation.

"Tough spot for you there VB." He grunted in affirmation. "How long have you known?" He peaked over at her.

"A week or so. She left her diary open on her desk and I saw our names in a heart together. I might not be good at picking up on hints but even I can see what that means." He sighed. "Any ideas as to what I should do?" She tapped her finger on her chin when an idea entered her mind that made her chuckle.

"We could pretend to date, then she'd have to get over you." The chuckle evolved into full belly laughter. After nearly a minute, Yang looked up to see Jaune not only not laughing, but scratching his chin in thought.

"That could work…" Yang waved her hands in front of her.

"Uh-uh. No way VB, that was just a joke." He shook his head.

"But you're right! We could start 'dating' and when we were sure Pyrrha was over me or dating someone else then we could 'break up' and go back to normal. It's perfect! You're a genius Yang!" She narrowed her eyes and placed leaned forward, getting right up in his personal space.

"Maybe you didn't hear me Jaune. We are not doing that. If you want to use the plan, fine but it won't be with me." He looked at her for a second and then pulled out his Scroll.

"Alright, well if it isn't going to be you, then it has to be Ruby." Her hand shot out, lightning fast and clamped onto his wrist.

"Try again." He turned to her; his face full of more fear than anyone she'd ever seen. He dropped his Scroll to the table and held up his hands in surrender as Yang pulled back.

"Alright, so a "no" on Ruby, got it. But if not you and not her, then I'm out of options Yang. Weiss can barely stand to be in the same room as me, which is an improvement. I've said six words to Blake all semester and she keeps staring at me like she hates me. Nora's out of the question since she's the biggest supporter of me and Pyrrha getting together and she'd never let me get near Ren so he's out too." He clasped his hands together and begged. "Please Yang, it has to be you. I promise, I'll be the best fake boyfriend you've ever had. I can do all your homework, I'll carry your books, I'll help you study, I'll pay for all of our 'dates', please, oh please. Please please please please please please please pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaassssssseeeee?"

Yang stared at him for a full minute, considering the proposition. It wasn't a bad deal. She'd get out school work for a few weeks, a month or two tops, and she'd get some free food. She had a pretty easy role in the whole thing. Make googly eyes, hold hands, maybe a cheek kiss or two in public. Nothing too strenuous. She looked down at the table and thought back to everything that led up to this moment. All in all, it wouldn't be the dumbest thing she'd done. With a sigh, Yang turned back to him and spoke.

"Fine." He nearly jumped out of the booth and into her arms but she gripped his shoulder and held him in place. "But. There will be boundaries." He nodded vigorously.

"Definitely. You set the pace. We only need to be convincing in front of Pyrrha and maybe Nora. Other than that, we act normally." She nodded. They'd iron out the details in the morning, right now though, it was time to do what she came to do. With a nod, she slammed the last of her drink and grabbed Jaune by the wrist.

"Come on 'boyfriend', we're going dancing." He nodded again.

"Yes ma'am. You won't regret this Yang; you have my word. An Arc never goes back on his word." A chill ran down her spine. She had a bad feeling about this.

PSA: This is going to be around 7 chapters long with new chapters coming out about once a month. That can be sped along with reviews which do marvelous things for encouragement. So, if you want more story, tell me. Until next time, may Fortune favor you all.