A/N: Hey guys! I'm rather new to this whole thing, so please bear with me. :) Hope you enjoy this high-school AU based off of the MOTHER series! WILL CONTAIN MOTHER 3 SPOILERS.

Warnings: spoilers, yaoi, swearing, somewhat strong visuals, OCs no one knows, my headcanons, FRENCH. That's basically it.

(This story will contain NessCas, ClausTen, maybe more. Don't like; don't read. It's simple.)

*also includes OCs; read my profile for descriptions*

Chapter One: The Boy Next Door

Claus' POV

It was about a month into my junior year, and I still hated Northride High. Glancing at the clock, I figured I could sleep in for ten more minutes without needing to rush to get ready. I set my alarm and drifted back to sleep; mornings aren't my thing.

"Claus, get up!" It was the perky voice of my brother.

"Lucas, let me sleep!" I snapped at him. I didn't pride myself on how rude my morning attitude was.

"Claus. School starts in twenty minutes." Lucas had calmed his voice down in an attempt to have me do the same.

"Fine," I said, stretching out my morning exhaust and rolling my eyes slightly. "There'd better be an omelet waiting for me when I get downstairs, though."

Lucas went downstairs to prepare our breakfasts while I got ready. I slipped my traditional blue-and-yellow-striped shirt over my bedhead before trying to comb the fire-colored mess down to a manageable shape. Once it looked decent, I headed downstairs as well, grabbing the car keys off the shelf.

Lucas and I ate quickly and exchanged a few "Bye"s with Boney and Dad. I usually drove us to school, and today was no exception as our shared white car pulled up to Northride High School.

"Hey, Claus, did you hear that there's supposed to be a new kid coming today?"

I nodded, not really paying attention to my brother. I was just trying to get to my locker before the morning rush.

"Hey, Claus, I also heard that—oh, I'll tell you later! Bye!" Lucas called, dashing off to meet with his locker neighbor and best friend, Ness.

I didn't particularly like Ness, but I put up with him for Lucas' sake. The raven-haired boy was always bragging, whether it be about his baseball skills or "rockin' PSI abilities", as he called them. Lucas, Ness, and I were the few—if not, only—students at NHS with PSI powers. Lucas and I kept ours a secret, usually, and only used the powers outside of school when absolutely necessary.

And then there was show-off Ness.

All of these things ran through my head as I put away my binders and grabbed only what was necessary for my two beginning classes, History and Science. I didn't really pay attention to where I was going, as I had this school memorized like the back of my hand…well, the back of my human hand.

My mechanical arm was a secret to all. I used PSI powers to hide it, as well as my mechanical eye, from everyone else. The catch was that other PSI users could see through the protection PSI offered. That only meant telling Lucas and Ness, though.

I lifted my gaze from my feet when I was approaching the History classroom, nearly running into another student.

"Sorry," I mumbled, barely audible.

"Yeah, that's alright," he replied. "But can you show me where Mr. Foran's room is? I'm new here…" The boy trailed off, catching sight of my mechanical arm. His horrified gaze seemed to imply, "Oh my gosh, what happened?"

"Sure, I have his class right now," I answered, pretending to not notice his stare.

"Uh, thanks." The boy finally lifted his eyes away from my arm and to my face. "I'm Ninten."

"Claus," I replied, leading him to History with boring Mr. Foran.

Ninten's POV

Damn, could that teacher get any less interesting? At least I could sit next to Claus and joke around with him the whole period. That kid sure was funny!

"What's next on your schedule, Ninten?" the tall redhead asked. He had to be at least five inches taller than me! I was always considered 'average' height, but this boy made me feel short.

"Um," I said, glancing at the pink slip of paper I acquired at the front office. "French."

"No way! Me too!" he said, chuckling. "Follow me," he montioned; I happily complied.

I walked into the classroom to be greeted by the frowns of several classmates. They all knew the rituals for new students, and some shot me pity glances. Madame Estelle, as the instructor introduced herself, led me to the front of the classroom. I wasn't exactly shy, but talking in front of an entire class didn't strike my fancy.

"Oh, bonjour, monsieur! Je m'appelle Madame Estelle! Et toi?" I could tell that this lady thought I knew nothing of French.

"Bonjour, Madame. Je m'appelle Ninten! Comment allez-vous?" The expression on her face was obviously impressed.

"Je vais bien, merci. Choisis un pupitre." Taking the teacher's words as my cue, I wiped my slightly sweaty palms on my shorts and took the closest open seat to my new friend, Claus. He looked awestruck.

"Damn, I didn't know you could speak French that well," he whispered.

I nearly laughed out loud. "That? Please, that was just a basic greeting." I flashed him a smile when I realized he kept staring at me.

Claus seemed to realize his gaze, too. He shook his head slightly and faced the board again. The rest of the class was just note-taking followed by a short partner activity. Everyone rushed around the room to find their best friend—as soon as this activity was announced—before Madame Estelle declared that she would be picking partners.

I was saddened when I wasn't paired up with Claus. I was with a girl named Lana. She was about my height with short, black hair.

"Wait a minute," she said, studying my face more closely. "Wait a minute, you're NINTEN!"

I let out an incomprehensible "Yeah" in response. I didn't see what the big deal was; I introduced myself earlier.

"You don't remember?" Lana inquired. I gave a small shrug. "We were best friends in elementary school! Horizon Elementary, how could you not remember?" She laughed.

I racked my brain for the memories. Ah, yes. Lana and I would always go to one another's house and play video games, or do crafts, or study, or work on homework, or whatever. She moved at the end of fourth grade.

I cracked a smile. "Code Blue?" I offered one of our inside jokes from the play-pretend games we made up as kids.

"Oh, shut it!" she laughed. "Okay, now the assignment."

Oh. Duh.

Lucas' POV

Lunchtime! Finally, my favorite time of the day. I had lunch with Ness and Claus, so of course it was the best!

The menu today was some spaghetti dish that looked cold and gross. The only day I didn't pack lunch was Friday, when the cafeteria served pizza. Who doesn't love pizza?

Thinking about the cheesy goodness sparked my hunger even further, so I took a seat at the table 'reserved' for the trio of PSI users. Ness came next, sitting in the chair on the right of mine, and he inched his chair slightly closer to me than normal: a very subtle change I doubt he even noticed. I didn't mind.

Claus joined the table after Ness, followed closely by a brunette friend who wore a baseball cap similar to Ness'—just in a different fashion. I gave my brother a "Who's this?" look before smiling at the unfamiliar boy.

"Oh, right." Claus said aloud. "This is my friend, Ninten."

"Like the gaming syste-?" Ness tried to say.

"Don't you dare," Ninten interrupted.

Claus smirked. "This is my brother, Lucas." Claus pointed a finger to me, and I took it as my cue to wave. "This is his idiot friend, Ness."

"HEY! I'm not an idiot, you'retheidiotyou-" I gave Ness a look, and he abandoned his empty threat.

Ninten just laughed. He seemed like a pretty chill guy; I suppose he'd fit right into our group. The rest of the lunch period was filled with jokes and name-calling and insults. It was as if we had known Ninten for years.

Ness' POV

How did sweet Lucas end up with Satan as a brother? I try to be nice to the guy, but he treats me like dirt. If not for Luke, he'd probably never speak to me again. At least that Ninten kid was pretty cool.

Lucas and I were in art class at the moment, and he was helping me fix my nearly-destroyed painting.

His painting, on the other hand, belonged in a museum. It was unique and beautiful with plenty of personality: just like its creator.

"Luke, I don't think there's any fixing my master-piece-of-shit." He chuckled lightly at that and looked up at me.

"Ness, it looks fine. I don't want to work on it anymore because it's your painting, and it needs to stay yours."

I beamed at him. "Okay. Thanks, by the way!" I said, adding a few brushstrokes and finishing touches before bringing my painting to an area where it could dry.

It would never compare to Luke's, but it looked alright. I was just proud that the abstract art looked less like a pile of vomit than it did before my blond friend's help. I went back to my seat and made myself comfortable. There were six minutes left before school got out for the day. I had so much studying and homework tonight, but maybe Luke and I could do something this weekend. I started mentally planning before the obnoxious bell's ding struck me out of my thoughts.

Ninten's POV

Home at last. I ran upstairs and crashed on my bed, slinging my bookbag carelessly to a corner of the messy room. I didn't expect to like my first day at a new school. I definitely didn't expect to make a friend, or even a best friend. And I could've never predicted that I would see Lana again.

I reached under my bed, into my secret stash. Opening the blue packaging of heaven, I took out the black and white delicacies. Oreos.

I munched on a few while reflecting on my day. Claus was really cool, Lucas and Ness seemed alright, Lana still had the same bubbly personality.

But had my eyes been playing tricks on me or did Claus have a metal arm?

Now that I think about it, he also had one red eye.

Was I just tired?

A/N: Yay, my first fanfiction! I really hope you like it! Ooh Ninten knows Claus' secret. New chapters will come soon! :) Please pardon any grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors.

Also, if you don't know French, here is a rough translation:

"Ah, bonjour, monsieur! Je m'appelle Madame Estelle! Et toi?"

Oh, hello, sir! I am Madame Estelle! And you are?

"Bonjour, Madame. Je m'appelle Ninten! Comment allez-vous?"

Good morning! I am Ninten. How are you?

"Je vais bien, merci. Choisis un pupitre."

I am doing well, thanks. Choose a seat (desk).