Disclaimer: Abbie's not mine. Olivia's not mine. Elliot's not mine. Alex's not mine. Trevor's not mine . . . are you noticing a pattern? They all belong to DICK WOLF. Not me. C'est la vie.
This story is going to be a bit AU. This is my first SVU/Mothership crossover, so please be nice. E/O and A/T (for those of you who hate Langan, I know he's scum, but deal with it) are already established. Abbie has just moved to New York from Texas. And in regards to the title, I promise it will become clear later on.
Abbie stared uncertainly at the intimidating-looking building before her. Everything in New York City was so big. She'd always been a small-town girl, and she knew there were at least eight times as many people in this school than her old one. And everyone had known each other for the last few months. Nothing was worse than transferring in the middle of the school year.
Her father rested a hand on her shoulder and Abbie jumped involuntarily. "Come on, princess," he said in his deep, Texan drawl. "Let's go."
Resisting the urge to take her father's hand, she followed him into the school. She didn't want to look like a little kid. She was stronger than that. She needed a fresh start and acting like a baby wasn't the way to get it.
They stood awkwardly in the main office, which was huge. At her old school, there had only been one office to begin with, but in this school, there were three, this being the largest one. Her father spoke with one of the secretaries for a moment and Abbie looked around, taking in her surroundings. There was a boy sitting in the office, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked to be a senior or a sophomore at the least, and Abbie instinctively stepped back. He looked like one of those outlaw bikers that seemed so common in this city, clad in a leather jacket and black jeans, with rings through his nose, ears, eyebrows, and lips.
The office door opened and in swaggered a tall girl with dark hair and big chocolate eyes. Abbie noticed a dark bruise on her left wrist and tried not to stare at it. Abbie had her own secrets and she was sure this girl would be just as unwilling to share hers as she was.
The girl sauntered over to the front desk with a scowl. "Apparently, I'm supposed to see Ms. Grayson."
The secretary rolled her eyes. "Again? Olivia, this is third time you've been in this month."
"Such is life," snapped the girl – Olivia. She sighed. "I was late. Again. And that son of a bitch Plummer sent me down here. So either let me talk to the VP or let me sit down, relax, and read a book."
The secretary raised an eyebrow and Abbie could see that she was trying to hide her amusement. "Ms. Grayson is in a meeting, so why don't you hang out here?"
Olivia smirked and plopped down in the chair beside the intimidating-looking boy. "Hey, James," she said to him. "What are you in for?"
He looked at her. "Skipping again. I was stupid."
Olivia tsk-tsked. "Stupid is getting caught." She looked up and noticed Abbie, who had instinctively stepped closer to her father. "You new?"
Abbie nodded. "Just moved here from Texas."
"How come you moved in the middle of the year?"
Abbie shifted uncomfortably, a bit nervous. What was wrong with her? The old Abbie Carmichael didn't *get* nervous. She was always perfectly in control of every situation. Always. But now, she was actually afraid. Finally, she managed to arrange her expression into one of nonchalance. "Um, my dad got transferred," she lied.
Olivia shrugged. "What's your name?"
"Abbie," she replied, then turned away when she felt her father's hand on her shoulder.
The secretary handed Abbie her timetable and gave her a smile. "Here you go, Abigail. We're halfway into period one, so it wouldn't make much sense for you to go to your first class now. Olivia, why don't you show Abigail where her classes are? It'll give you something productive to do."
Olivia smirked and put away her book. "Sure."
Abbie cast one last apprehensive glance at her father. She would have normally given him a kiss on the cheek, but she wanted to look grown up in front of Olivia, so she just said, "Bye."
He knelt down and gave her a kiss on the crown of her head anyway. "Have a good day, Abbie. Your mother will be here to pick you up at three."
"What do you have first?" asked Olivia as Abbie's father left.
Abbie checked her timetable. "Um, French." She made a face. "Then science, and after lunch, math and English."
"Cool. We have science and English together." She made an elaborate gesture. "Would you like the grand tour?"
"Sure," said Abbie, following Olivia out of the office.
Olivia led her around the first floor, pointing out the music room, the art room, the small gym, the big gym, the cafeteria, and the French room. She showed Abbie the English hallway and the math and science wings of the school. When she led Abbie to the library, Abbie stood transfixed at the door. The library was huge! There was a computer lab with forty or fifty computers and shelves and shelves of books.
Olivia stopped, too. "You're a big reader?"
Abbie nodded.
Olivia gave her a shy smile. "Me, too. Alex and I sometimes spend lunchtime here. She actually studies. Me? I just read."
"Alex?" repeated Abbie blankly.
"Oh, she's my best friend. I've known her since kindergarten."
Even though it was illogical, Abbie suddenly felt a pang of envy. Everyone at this school knew each other and had friends. Abbie would always be the odd one out.
Olivia caught her eye and gave her a smile. "You can have lunch with us if you want. Actually, we both have science next, so you can just stick with me."
Abbie smiled back. "Thanks."
Olivia took Abbie upstairs and showed her the guidance office, the drama room, the English hallway, the history room, and the geography room. She showed Abbie where her locker was and helped Abbie arrange her things neatly in it.
By then, the bell had rung signaling second period, and both girls grabbed their books before making their way to the science classroom. "You can sit next to me," Olivia told Abbie, unloading her books a desk at the front of the room.
The other kids started to file in and Abbie noticed that they weren't much different from the kids at her old school. Sure, they looked a bit more hip, a bit more sophisticated, but they were roughly the same.
A boy tapped Abbie rudely on the shoulder. "Excuse me, new kid, but this is my seat."
Olivia opened her mouth to say something, but Abbie beat her to it. "Go find a new one," she said sharply.
"I always sit here," he informed her.
"Not anymore," Abbie told him before turning back to Olivia, who was watching her with an appreciative expression on her face.
"Impressive," she commented.
"Sorry. Was I out of line?" Abbie asked with a smirk.
"No. Cameron's annoying anyway. You know the one who thinks he's smarter than everyone else? That's Cameron."
Abbie laughed. "I think we're going to get along."
Olivia smiled. "Tell me about Texas."
Abbie shrugged. "We lived on a ranch, so the most rural of all rural areas. It's much warmer there . . . and quieter . . . and we had horses."
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Yeah, two annoying brothers. One's at NYU and one's in grade eleven. You an only child?"
Olivia nodded imperceptibly.
"You're lucky."
Olivia shrugged. "I wouldn't mind a brother." But Abbie could see that the other girl didn't want to talk about herself, so she didn't ask anything else.
"Ah, Ms. Benson," said their teacher sarcastically as he walked into the room. "Glad you decided to grace us with your presence."
"Believe me, I wouldn't if I had a choice," replied Olivia through gritted teeth. She leaned over to whisper in Abbie's ear, "That's Mr. Prinze. He's a real pain in the ass. But such is life."
Mr. Prinze came over to Abbie. "Are you Abigail?" he asked, looking down his nose at her.
Abbie nodded. "Abbie."
He gave Olivia a disapproving look, then handed Abbie a textbook. "Olivia can catch you up. Or did you miss too much class for that?" he asked Olivia sarcastically.
"Bastard," she muttered, but not loud enough for him to hear. She flipped open her binder and took out a few pages. "Here, Abbie. Notes. Copy them."
"Yes, boss." Abbie obediently started to transcribe the notes into her own notebook. "I guess our teacher isn't particularly fond of you."
Olivia snorted. "That's the understatement of the year. He hates how I can miss so much school and still be at the top of the class."
"Why do you miss so much school?" asked Abbie carefully.
Olivia shrugged. "Life happens," she said vaguely, and Abbie dropped the subject.
She copied the notes in silence and was pleased to notice that she knew all the material; she'd learned it months ago at her old school. This class wasn't going to be too difficult.
When the lunchtime bell rang, Olivia led Abbie downstairs to the cafeteria. "We usually sit here," said Olivia, sitting down at a table in the corner of the cafeteria. "It's quieter."
Abbie sat down beside Olivia as a tall, slim blonde wearing designer jeans and a tight-fitting blue shirt walked over to them. "Hey, Liv," she said, running a hand through her hair. She looked at Abbie. "Who's this?"
"This is Abbie," explained Olivia in a voice that left no room for negotiations. "She's new. She's hanging with us."
The blonde gave Abbie a smile and held out her hand, a gesture that seemed odd coming from a girl their age. "I'm Alex," she said, shaking Abbie's hand and taking a seat beside from Olivia.
Two boys approached the table and sat down across from Alex. One was tall and muscular, with sandy brown hair and blue eyes. The other was darker and his expression was slightly less friendly than the other boy's. "Hey, Liv," said the first boy, squeezing her shoulder. "How was it?"
Olivia winced.
"That bad, huh?" said Elliot sympathetically.
Abbie had no idea what they were talking about, but the boys made her a bit uncomfortable. She looked at Olivia.
Olivia seemed to remember her presence and cleared her throat. "This is Abbie. She's hanging with us. Abbie, this is Elliot and that's Trevor. Elliot's my boyfriend and Trevor is Alex's."
Elliot gave her a smile and Trevor gave her a brief nod. Abbie shoved her backpack under the table and took out her sandwich.
"Did you bring or buy?" Elliot asked, directing his question to Olivia.
Olivia smirked. "Neither."
Elliot rolled his eyes. "Let's split a pizza."
"I'm fine," said Olivia firmly.
Elliot shrugged. "Fine. I'll get a pizza and you're free to have some."
Olivia lightly punched his shoulder. "You stubborn son of a bitch."
He laughed. "From you, that's a compliment."
Olivia looked pleased with herself. "Get in line before it gets too long."
Elliot looked at Trevor. "Coming?"
Trevor nodded and followed his friend to the cafeteria line.
"Did your daddy make your lunch for you?" Olivia asked Abbie sweetly, but there was no malice in her tone, only playfulness and something else that it took Abbie a moment to identify – something that sounded remarkably like longing.
Abbie swallowed the food in her mouth and shook her head. "My mom did. But she usually doesn't. I overslept this morning and didn't have time to make it myself."
Olivia smirked. "I overslept every day last week."
Alex laughed. "You got suspended. That's different."
"No, pedantic one. They're cause and effect. But the question is, which is which?"
Alex laughed again. "So you miss too much school and your punishment is a suspension."
"How ironic," commented Abbie dryly.
"How ridiculous," said Olivia, snickering.
The boys returned with a box of pizza and sat down at the table.
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Where did that come from?" she asked suspiciously.
Elliot shrugged. "We figured we might as well get a box. They ordered, like, twenty of these from Domino's for the football team."
"And how did you get one?" asked Alex, rummaging around in her purse and putting on a pair of black-framed glasses.
Elliot gave her a sly smile. "I have connections."
"Translation: he stole it," explained Olivia, but that didn't stop her from grabbing a piece and wolfing it down.
"Whoa, slow down, Liv! You're gonna get sick," her boyfriend told her.
Olivia shrugged. "I'm hungry," she said through a mouthful of pizza.
Alex curled her hands into fists. "That woman," she muttered.
Abbie stared at them, feeling left out. She had no idea what they were talking about. "What?"
Olivia shot her a death glare. "Nothing."
Abbie went back to her sandwich, trying to ignore the twinge of pain that ignited in her chest at the exclusion. She tried to pretend it wasn't personal. After all, none of them had any obligation to include her in anything, but they were anyway. And Olivia . . . she was an enigma, to say the least.
"Alex, did you finish your homework from law?" asked Trevor, cutting into Abbie's thoughts.
Alex rolled her eyes. "Don't I always?" Trevor smiled sheepishly as Alex slid her notebook across the table. "You owe me," she added.
"I think I can make it up to you . . ." he said with a suggestive grin.
Alex laughed and Olivia rolled her eyes. "Let's keep it PG."
"Oh, you're one to talk," said Trevor, but he was smiling.
Abbie listened to their banter without saying anything herself. She was a bit uncomfortable in this situation. She'd had a boyfriend at her old school, but she would just as soon forget him. And what he had done. The way Alex and Olivia were chatting with their boyfriends was reminding her of her own misfortune, and she wasn't comfortable with that. Even some 1500 miles away, she would never be able to escape him.
I hope my first crossover attempt wasn't too bad. Review if you'd like the next chapter!