He was up late. Again. For what had to be at least the 10th night in a row Jaune was sitting alone at the team's communal work desk, frantically trying to deal with an ever increasing mound of schoolwork. His teammates helped him where they could but between Nora zipping around on a cycle of sugar highs and crashes, Pyrrha trying to help him along with combat practice and Ren just trying to keep them under some semblance of control Jaune was left to his own devices when it came to actually putting pen to paper and finish his assignments.

"Wait no, this had to be before the battle of Shady Glenn…that one involved pineapples…" he silently muttered as he made yet another revision in an attempt to get through the latest roadblock to a decent night's rest.

His fingers cramped. His wrist ached. His eyes were barely holding themselves open and passing out on his history textbook was seeming like a better idea with each passing moment. Scrawling out a conclusion he flipped his day planner back open. Numerous entries lined the page, those scratched out dauntingly dominated by those yet remaining before him. Sighing he crossed out yet another task temporarily wondering if his name had changed from Jaune Arc to Sisyphus, he hadn't made a note to that effect, but it was possible it had slipped past as he desperately tried to deal with something else.

He glanced over at the desk clock…2:30am… which marked this as yet another night of little to no sleep. And no sleep at night meant tomorrow, correction, today, he thought, today would be another day surviving on the questionable energy drinks he borrowed from Yang on team RWBY which, along with dumb stubbornness, was about all that was keeping him from collapsing in exhaustion. The noxious concoctions had a tendency to leave his eyes bloodshot and his piss a lovely neon green but he counted it worth it to stay awake and mostly functional.

He was exhausted, cranky and disgusted with himself at his constant scramble to just barely keep his head above water. He hardly saw Pyrrha outside of sparring sessions and while she claimed she understood his frustrations, it couldn't be doing anything to help their relationship.

"Relationship"…the word jumped out through his sleep-deprived haze. Were they in a relationship? He figured they were, but he wasn't sure. He knew he had made a major impression on her when he donned that dress and danced with her at the ball but since then... She had commented on his improved combat skills during their last sparring session but did that really count when they barely saw each other the rest of the time?

As much as he wished it were different the long days and nights of perpetual cramming left little time to actually pursue things further. Even tonight he had foregone an excursion to Vale with the rest of his teammates so he could rewrite this latest damn essay. Thinking back he couldn't even recall the last time he'd been off campus, and even on that vector he still hadn't even been able to try the new coffee shop that opened up on Beacon's campus three weeks ago, his life seemingly confined to class, library or cooped up here in this damn prison of a dormitory.

He wanted to scream in frustration at his current predicament but he forced the rage and despair back down. He was a team leader now. He couldn't even let himself show weakness; to break down would be to fail his team mates and beyond that... He was an Arc… the heir apparent of a long line of distinguished huntsmen and huntresses that had faced the worst that the wild lands had to offer…and here he was nearly melting down over 1st year school assignments. Despite the encouragement from Pyrrha, the rest of his team, team RWBY, and even Ozpin, Jaune still felt like a fraud and a failure. If he even spared the time to try to think about the future he was left with despair at how he was even going to graduate his first year, let alone actually get to graduation.

Looking from the clock to the list of his remaining assignments he sighed. At this rate he wouldn't be been surprised to get pulled aside into Ozpin's office and be told to pack his things home for the flight back home first thing tomorr-...no...this morning.

Hell aren't you just a bucket of cheerful thoughts Jauney-boy….

The words of the paper before him looked like a blurry mess to his tired eyes. He grunted. He needed some rest, just an hour or so to refresh and then back to work. Padding over to the shower, he quietly closed the door and brought up the water to a quiet rinse to blast clean the accumulated grime from the past day and night. Pulling up a fresh pair of boxers he slowly shuffled back to his bed. Passing through the dorm area he couldn't help but glance enviously at his team mates asleep in their beds. There was Nora splayed out across the entire mattress, the sheets and blankets shoved into a perfect mound in the corner and the pillows…somewhere… a nocturnal disappearing act he could never figure out. Ren, on the other hand, was lying perfectly straight on his back, hands folded on his stomach and blanket pulled perfectly up to his chest...even in sleep the man was perfectly organized. Last, and longest, his eyes lingered on Pyrrha.

Looking at her serene form prompted a fresh wave of sadness to wash over him. He wanted to be with her, he wanted to do more with her, wanted their "relationship" or whatever it was to continue…hopefully even to grow…but he didn't deserve it, didn't deserve her. Not like this, not now. Not when he could barely keep up with this homework, when he still hadn't won a sparring match in Goodwitch's combat classes. She deserved someone better than him. They all deserved something better, a better man, a better leader, a better everything than he could offer.

With that pleasant thought in his head he slumped onto his bed. One hand lashing out with a final burst of speed and frustration he set the scroll alarm for 5:00am and buried his head in his pillow. Sleep came quickly, but not well, fitful and restless, his unconscious mind full of doubts and nightmares.