AN: Adrian Harris was born in 1978, Peter in '77, making them 16 and 17 respectively in 1994, where they are Juniors in high-school. This makes them 34 and 35 in 2011. Assuming Derek is 23 in 2011, he would've been born in 1989, making him 5 in 1994.

All of those dates are not canon, I made them up to suit my purposes. Read and Review if you think that it's worth one.

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November, 1994

Adrian slumped down in his seat, taking care not to stretch his legs too far less they brush up against the kid sitting in front of him. He tugged his chemistry book out of his backpack, grabbing the novel he was reading and a highlighter as well. He glanced up at the clock over the chalkboard in the front of the room and noted that there was still 4 minutes until class officially started. He quickly opened his textbook to the appropriate page, opening the notebook he carried and calculated the current stardate, writing it in the upper left hand corner, and then, finally, flipped open his novel to the gently creased page he was reading from last class period.

Life passed him, though he never noticed, as his world was enveloped by grander adventures than he could conceive in a classroom on his own, filled with distressed damsels who picked themselves up and men who wept because they could not save their father. All for four minutes, so short a time to be lost in life and found in fantasy. Then the teacher spoke.

"If you haven't already, open your textbooks to page 127 and get your notebooks out. We're going to learn about Heat of Formation for the next couple days. Take note, in your planners, that there will be a test on Friday, with make up tests Tuesday before and after school as well as Wednesday after school." The teacher ignored the class' almost collective groan of dismay and turned to the chalkboard, writing down the first set of notes with a quick, sure hand.

"Hey Addie." Came a voice from behind Adrian. Peter Hale.

"What is it now, you carcass fit for hounds?" Peter snorted, and Adrian ignored him, copying the notes from the board with his right hand, his left thumb nestled between the pages of the novel where he had left off.

"Do you have the notes from last week's lecture, oh powerful one?"

"Of course I do, Peter, because I was here, in class, while you were out gallivanting across the countryside."

"Aw, you know I wasn't gallivanting, I was-"

"You were what. Peter. Talking to that-" Adrian stopped with a surprised gasp as a piece of chalk bounced from his forehead to his desk.

"HARRIS. HALE." The teacher walked over to them, hands crossed over the chest defensively. "Would you two like to share something with the class?" Adrian turned to glare at Peter, a bitter 'No.' released unpleasantly from pursed lips.

"Only that Hab SoSLI' Quch." Your Mother has a smooth forehead. Pursed lips smiled briefly, a faint pleased flush rising on the back of Adrian's neck.

"Don't...use that...language with me, Mr. Hale. I will have none of your-" The teacher searched for anything that could describe what the unknown phrase was.

"Klingon." Adrian helpfully pointed out, smirking and attempting to look at Peter through the corner of his eye, ignoring the echoing cough of *nerds* and *faggot* echo across the room.

"I think it's time for both of you to grow up a little, don't you Mr. Harris? There will also be a partnered lab on Wednesday, with your findings due, with conclusions, on Friday before the test." The teacher turned back to the class. "Everyone else's will be due Tuesday. Pick your partners now so that you can work on the initial equations together. You can find them in the appendix in the back of your books." The teacher finished writing the notes on the board in silence.

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Everyone knew that Peter Hale was the star of the basketball team, and that the reputation of his recently graduated elder sister gave him the allowance of not having the reputation of nerd as well. Everyone also knew that if someone were to pick on Adrian Harris and that someone were to get caught, then hell would rise in the form of Peter, and he would cut you. No one knew how, but he would.

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November, 1994

Peter watched Adrian from the court. He ran laps while Adrian turned pages, keeping his heart rate low simply by listening to Adrian breathe. Nothing mattered but the soft beating of Adrian's heart, rising in tempo as the rustle of each page turn reached Peter's ears. Peter could practically read along as Adrian mumbled the words, paying no heed to the mass of sweaty boys below him, enraptured in a world far higher than the steep slope of the bleachers.

"HALE!" Assistant Coach Finstock yelled from the sidelines. "We've finished this hours ago! Stop Staring at PRINCESS LUKE OVER THERE and get your ASS over HERE."

Peter jogged over to the rest of the team, pretending to be as exhausted as the rest of them as he leaned over and placed his hands on his thighs. Coach beckoned them over to huddle up, beginning to speak as soon as all were gathered within the confines of sweat and too much body heat. "Alright team, you all know this is my first year pretending to coach now that your regular went off on that vacation to Dunn's River, and we need to keep it that way, pretending. Because Basketball sucks. I hate it. Lacrosse Season is coming up and I need people. So you" he pointed at everyone, making uncomfortably close eye-contact with some, "are going to get me those people. You are going to make this sport popular or so help me God, I will find a way to fail you out of your classes." The awkward laugh that followed persisted long enough for Adrian to glance up from his book, then admire the asses within view and return to reading again.

"You don't teach anything Finstock."

"Shut up Hale. I have connections, very high connections. I didn't get to be Assistant Coach because I sacrificed one of my Testicles, no. I had Connections. Still have Connections. Will continue to have Connections long enough for all of you to play Lacrosse. Capiche?" The mumbled 'yes coach' seemed to be enough confirmation, the rolling eyes aside. "Good, get back to...running drills or whatever. Dribble the ball or something. I really don't care, just make sure that we have a starting line up for the game on Friday. I'm going to go head back to the office and order some gear. Don't break any school rules while I'm gone or I'll ring your asses. Got it?"

The team dispersed to their respective friends and girlfriends in other corners of the gym while Peter took his time walking up to Adrian. It was a good sign that he was in his usual spot, it meant he wasn't nearly as mad as he could've been, but Adrian was also a firm believer in routine, the consistency and normalcy of everyday life making it easier to escape into a novel.

Sometimes Peter wished that he could escape into a book instead of sports. It'd be so much easier to slay a dragon with all of the resources available than play against a team of five and lose because he had to keep up appearances.

Life would be so much easier without appearances.

"Hey Addie." Peter collapsed onto the bleachers next to Adrian. The rest of the team awkwardly playing a couple of 2 on 2 games with the basketball hoops hanging down from the ceiling.

"Peter."

"Can you get away from your parents tonight?"

"I don't understand why I have to get away from my parents, Peter. They function quite normally from my understanding, maybe you should try it out sometime."

"You know my family has a-"

"Certain time of the month?" Adrian hadn't even lifted his head from the book, and if Peter couldn't hear his heartbeat he wouldn't be able to tell how affected Adrian was.

"I was gonna say special needs problem, but sure, Certain Time of the Month works fine too."

"We were going to do a raid."

"I know."

"You can't just step out of our guild like that, Peter."

"I know."

"You're the game master, it's not allowed."

"I know."

"You have failed me for the last time, Peter."

"If you drop an 'I love you' on me I'm gonna cry." Peter nudged Adrian with his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of the scratchy and oversized sweater on his overheated skin for only a moment too long. His skin was overheated, no need for excess sweater touching. Adrian nudged him back, grinning slightly, but he saw the glares from the rest of the basketball team, and began packing up his things.

"Only if you're dipped in carbonite and I think you're going to die. Otherwise...no, and you can't copy my chem. notes." With that he was gone, skipping down the bleachers in a manner that every high-schooler knew to ensure the lack of tripping and falling.

"We're still partners for the lab, right?" Peter called down to him, a grin stretching to his eyes.

"Aiight, but you gotta remember to come over tonight, and you're paying for Star Trek next week." Adrian returned, walking backwards out of the gym, his glasses falling down his nose with each step. Peter's grin widened as Adrian left, being able to hear the happy sigh that was supposedly out of earshot was the bomb. He wasn't leaving reality for any world.

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November 1994

"What happened to your arms?"

"Hm?" Adrian looked over to Peter, who was browsing the comics that Adrian had received as a birthday gift a few months prior from an estranged uncle.

"Your arms, Addie." Adrian glanced down and noticed the bruises, conveniently missing the flash of gold in Peter's eye as he stepped forward.

"Oh! Right." The easy dismissal shouldn't have bothered Peter. It did. "The running back got a little rough during lunch today when he noticed I brought some of my Spock costume to work on."

"He shouldn't have done that." Peter grasped Adrian's wrist, stroking the bruise softly with his thumb, taking as large amount of pain away as he could without being noticed.

"Well, we're freakin' nerds, Peter. What am I supposed to do? You know I'd rather...anything...than join a sport."

"I'll take care of it."

"Don't you dare Peter. Don't you fu-" Adrian glanced at the door, keeping an ear out for his parents who were due at any moment to tell them that dinner was ready. "freakin' dare. He's just a stupid jock anyway. We'll have forgotten all about by the time we see 'Generations' and everything will be fine. Don't...fuck...school up for us now. Only two years left and then we can leave. We can grow up and go to college and show those...cromagnon neanderthals who's the winner in our little game called life."

"That's wonderful and all, but you do know that the cromagnon man and the neaderthal man are two-"

"Einstein said that imagination was more important than knowledge, and let's face it. Any of those jocks wouldn't know the difference and it sounded far smarter than any insults their tiny little...pedestrian minds could conceive." Peter's thumb stopped stroking Adrian's wrist and moved to entwine their fingers, clasping Adrian's hand gently in Peter's own and bringing it to his mouth. He pressed the fingers gently to his lips and held them closely, a wry smirk causing Adrian's eyes to dance.

"I've been told that I have the cool sexual prowess of a Romulan."

Adrian grinned and leaned his head forward, whispering against Peter's lips. "Well you certainly didn't hear it from me."

"Saucy." Peter grinned, brushing his lips against Adrian's and enjoying the pulse of a skipped heartbeat.

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August 1996

"OMG ADDIE."

"No. Stop it. This is way bad."

"Come on! I know you want to."

"No. Stop. I'm not doing it. My parents will freak."

"They don't have to know."

"How are they not going to know? Huh? Explain that one to me oh wise one."

"Well...we're going to college in a month right?"

"Right."

"Same one even."

"Of course. We did this on purpose."

"I was wondering if...since my parents rented me an apartment and everything...if..."

"Holy shit."

"Is that a yes?"

"Hella yes. Why didn't we think of this before?"

"I never asked you."

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