"Why won't it sit right?" Claire huffed, staring into her vanity mirror.

Her bright red locks simply weren't cooperating this morning and today was key. Today would be her first day back in the real world. Her first official day with John. The first day that she would have to deal with the social fallout that came with becoming a member of the "Breakfast Club" or whatever Brian decided to name their group of misfits. She pulled at her hair and pushed it back. Maybe she could pin that piece of hair back or something.

She pulled open the first drawer of her vanity, scanning the drawer for any signs of a bobby pin.

Thunk

Claire's head shot up. What the hell was that?

Thunk!

It was coming from her window… Claire stood up slowly from her vanity chair and moved towards her window. It could really only be one person, but she wasn't ready to face him. Not when her hair wasn't cooperating and certainly not when she hadn't figured out what to do about him.

Thunk! Thunk!

"Cherry!"

She shook her head and pulled back the window. It was 7 am what was he thinking? She looked out of her window and sure enough there was John Bender in all his glory; leather jacket with a rumpled plaid underneath, ripped jeans and heavy steel toed boots. In his ear, the diamond earring she'd given him Saturday; the one reminder that Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday were not a fever dream brought on by bad sushi.

Claire pushed open her window and let out a sigh of relief when she saw both her parent's cars were gone already. Both were workaholics and rarely were they still home when she woke up but she couldn't stand a fight with them on top of having to deal with everyone at school. The thing is that she liked John, she really did. Whether or not they were good for each other remained to be seen, but for now she was content with that she liked him and he seemed to like her…

"Are you gonna let me in or what Cherry?"

Claire's gaze snapped back to John as her train of thought was broken. He looked up at her with that grin; the grin that reminded her of a wolf who'd eaten the sheep and got away with it.

"Or what, John! I'm getting ready and I won't get anything done with you in here distracting me!"

John chuckled and then cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Well, with the way you're dressed right now, you're the only one that seems to be in the business of distracting others Claire."

It hit her like a ton of bricks as she felt the morning breeze across her bare shoulders. She hadn't finished getting dressed. She had been so distracted and worried that she didn't realize that her outfit was still laid out on her bed. She was only in her slip. John had seen her when she was only in her slip.

"JOHN, YOU ASSHOLE!"

Claire slammed the window shut and pulled her curtains closed. This morning was off to such a swell start.

/

"You can do this Andy. You're a winner and they all know that. She knows that. You've performed in front of hundreds of people before and managed to win a title. This is child's play in comparison. You can do this!"

Andy stared up into his reflection. He was sitting in his Dad's truck, which he was so graciously allowed to borrow even after his stint in detention, and he was pumping himself up in his rear-view mirror.

After detention, he had called up Allison and asked if she wanted to go to a party that some guy on the basketball team was throwing. The line had mysteriously disconnected and she hadn't answered after that. He didn't know where she lived either so when he had woken up Sunday morning with nothing to do he couldn't even go check on her. She was avoiding him and he wasn't one to be avoided, not without answers anyways.

Andy turned off the truck and got out, lunch in tow. The weight of it was reassuring. He just had to find Allison and he'd know what was up. Maybe she'd had second thoughts about being seen with him, which was fine. He was known for being a bit of a douche, especially after the whole tape incident. He still hadn't figured out what he was going to do about that. He wanted to apologize, but he got the feeling that this was one of those things that wouldn't be solved by a simple "Hey bud, I'm sorry I taped your buttcheeks together,".

He sighed and pushed his hair back before straightening up and walking towards the school. One thing at a time. He had to stay focused. If he were Allison, where would he be?

Andy walked up the front steps of the school and through the massive doors. Inside, the halls were as dingy as ever, as the students of Shermer High School milled around waiting for first bell. He saw his friends at the end of the hall but they hadn't seen him yet, which was good because he didn't have time to deal with them. He needed to find her first.

He turned the corner that lead to the cafeteria. With any luck, she might be out behind the cafeteria drawing or something. Before Saturday he had never really taken notice of her but he knew that's where all the non-club kids hung out before and after school.

Andy stepped into the cafeteria and saw that it was mostly empty, which was typical for a Monday morning. Vernon was always on their ass the next morning during announcements; something about the 'dismal rates of attendance on Mondays'. He cut across the room and beelined towards the back entrance. She had to be there. If she wasn't, he was shit out of luck because he didn't know where else to look.

He opened the imposing black door and walked outside again. On his walk into the school he hadn't noticed how crisp the morning was. He broke out into goosebumps under his letterman. The door shut behind him ominously, but for the most part the back-patio area of the cafeteria was mostly empty as well. He scanned the area, searching for the tell-tale head of mussed hair. He swallowed as he realized that she was at the very far end of the patio, sitting on the cement and facing away from him. She was hunched over something.

His heart sped up a little. This was it.

Andy walked towards her, hyper-aware of the stares he was getting from the burners and the misfits. He didn't belong here. He knew that, but this was where she was and therefore this was where he would be. He picked up the pace and before he knew it, he was standing right next to her.

"Can I sit here?"

/

"Cherry, I said I was sorry! And I shouldn't even have to say sorry on account of the fact that I don't control whether or not you're dressed when you open your window!"

Claire ignored him and John felt his eyes roll. She was suc s. He jogged up in front of her and looked at her. It had been ten minutes since they'd left her house and she was still blushing. If she weren't being so irritating, it would be cute. She looked up at him, full pout in progress.

"Move out of the way John." God, why was she so beautiful? Even when she was angry she was like an angel.

"Claire, listen to me." He reached out his hand toward hers, and grabbed it. He moved closer to her and looked her in the eyes.

"I didn't mean for that to happen. I just wanted to see if you were ready so we could walk to school. I wasn't even going to go in today, ya know, make up for the day that Dick stole from me. I'm only going because you're there, and there's no reason for me to go if you ignore me all day for something I didn't even do."

Claire looked away from him and there was something different about her face. He couldn't quite place it, but something was different.

"I know you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just nervous is all."

John felt his throat tighten.

"Are you ashamed to be seen with me or what?" He looked up and cursed himself; he should've known this was coming. They had talked about it Saturday. He had just fooled himself into thinking that after everything, things would be fine come Monday. He looked back towards Claire, waiting for a response.

Claire shook her head but didn't meet his eyes.

"Then? What is there to be nervous about? Do you really care what those snooty bitches you hang around with think that much?"

Her head shot up and her eyes were watery.

"Those snooty bitches happen to be the only friends I've had since I was a kid, so yes! A little bit!"

She ripped her hands out of his and walked ahead of him. Part of him wanted to go after her. The other part wanted to rip the earring from his ear and throw it at her, go to his last chick's house and crash for the rest of the day. John clenched his jaw and caught up to her again.

"What John? Are you going to rip into me again about how my attitude is shitty? Because I'm aware so save your breath. I can't help that I'm scared. This is new. We are new. And I'm scared."

Thin trails of tears ran down her face and suddenly all the fire in him went out. John pulled Claire to him and hugged her tightly, looking around to make sure that nobody was watching.

"Look, babe, we'll ease into this. I don't know how, but we will. And we'll get through it all. So, what if we can't hang out at school, at least not at first? Dick only has my Saturdays. Friday nights and Sundays can be ours. We'll make it work. I don't want you to be scared."

She felt so slight against him, and he felt nauseous. This was out of character for him, but he'd never had anyone he remotely cared about this way. Not his parents, not the last girl he officially dated. Not any of the girls in between. This girl though, even before they met, whenever he'd caught glimpses of her… he felt something. He didn't believe in any of that mushy crap about fate or destiny because where he was from it did nobody any good to believe in that shit… But what he did know and believe in was the fact that Claire was different from all the other girls he'd considered dating before. She was different, and… fragile. He was like a goddamned bull in a china shop.

Claire lifted her head to look up at him.

"Do you mean that?"

He shook his head no; "Yes, I do."

Her expression became less anxious and a little more relieved; for some reason that stung. She reached up towards him and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Thank you, John. Thank you for understanding."

A few minutes later, as he watched her walk away from him, he wondered how in the hell they were going to make this work.