Title: Oh Very Young
Rating: PG to PG-13, depending on my mood.
Spoilers: None. Definitely AU.
Archive: You want it, you got it.
Feedback: Is the Pope Catholic?
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Well, actually, these versions kinda are, but essentially, they're not mine. However, if someone wants to get me the world's best Christmas present...
Author's Notes: A few up here this time, just to explain the story. It's AU. But, I promise it'll be Carby. Have a little faith. I've had this idea since before season 9, and I'm finally writing it. It's Carter, Abby, and Susan in high school, if they were the same age and knew each other. There will be a minimal amount of other ER characters in the story because I don't want it to get all cutsey, "we all knew each other in school and now we work together" or whatever. Just give it a shot.
Okay, one day down. Three years to go. It won't be so bad, Abby thought to herself. I can make it. She sighed and looked around. Too bad I have no idea how to get home.
She had ridden the bus to school this morning, and had tried to pay attention to where they were going, but it had been fairly useless–school buses always seemed to take the most roundabout way of getting from one place to another that she had completely lost track of where she was going. And, of course, she'd managed to miss the bus after school. Not only had she been stuck at her locker for a good ten minutes, trying to get it to open, but when she finally got down to the buses, she couldn't remember which one was hers. She knew there was a five, a seven, and a one in it somewhere, but what she didn't know was the order the number went in. There had been a bus 157, bus 175, bus 571, and bus 715. So before she could figure it out, they'd all left without her. And while she knew she didn't live that far from school, she had no idea which direction she was supposed to go.
Ah, to hell with it. She sat on a stone wall at the edge of the parking lot, dug through her bookbag, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. The place had pretty much cleared out by now. Even the teachers and the principal had fled the building, so there was no one around to care if she was smoking. She knew she'd have to figure out how to get home eventually–her brother Eric couldn't be alone for that long–but she just needed a moment to think.
It really wasn't a bad school, all things considered. It wasn't as if she'd been shunned the moment she walked through the doors. People had been fairly nice to her, and she'd managed to make it through the day with dropping her books or an article of clothing falling off. It was just that by the time you reached the tenth grade, everyone had already known each other for at least ten years. Bonds had been formed, cliques ran rampant. There was nothing she could do to change that. All she could do was learn to exist without friends, and survive until graduation day. No problem.
"Hi."
Abby jumped, then turned around, startled. She definitely hadn't been expecting any visitors. But there stood two people–a boy and a girl. The girl was smiling at her, and the boy was standing slightly behind her, shuffling his feet.
The girl seemed to be expecting an answer, so Abby finally managed to say, "Hi," in return.
"I'm Susan Lewis," the girl offered, sticking her hand out for Abby to shake. Somewhat reluctantly, she dragged herself to a standing position so she could meet these people face to face. Once upright, she wasn't terribly surprised to see that even Susan Lewis was taller than her. Everyone's taller than me, she thought irritably. Even my little brother's on his way to be being taller than me, so why not this girl, too?
Abby took one last drag from her cigarette before flicking it somewhere behind her, then shook Susan's hand. "Abby Wyczenski."
"I know. We have a couple of classes together."
Abby released Susan's hand, surprised that this girl remembered that–she certainly hadn't noticed anyone specific all day. "We do?"
"Yep. English and Biology. First and last class of the day."
Abby nodded. There wasn't much you could say in response to that. Just then, the guy stuck his hand out, too. "John Carter."
Returning the gesture, she simply said, "Nice to meet you."
"We have a couple of classes together, too. Algebra II and Art."
"Are you good at math?" Abby asked.
He shrugged. "I'm okay at it, I guess."
She nodded. "Well, I'm going to sit next to you during tests, then."
It took him a moment, but then he grinned, catching onto the joke she was trying to make. And Abby couldn't help but notice just how cute this guy really was.
"So, what're you doing out here?" Susan asked. "Waiting for your ride?"
"Actually...I managed to miss my bus. I couldn't remember what my bus number was." And she braced herself, waiting to be mocked.
Instead, Susan just nodded. "I hear that. I always seem to have trouble with that, too, and I've been riding the same bus for a while now. That's why I usually catch a ride with John."
Abby looked at him, interested. Older guy? "You drive?"
"What? Oh. No, I just have a ride to and from school every day. I don't live in this district, so the buses won't pick me up."
"If you don't live around here, why go to school here? I mean, I'm sure there are schools around your general area."
Susan and John just looked at each other and grinned. "Long story," Susan said. "I'll explain it to you later. So, where is it that you live? I imagine that we could probably give you a ride home."
"Yeah, I don't think it would be a problem," John said. "We can't exactly leave you stranded out here, can we? That's just uncouth."
Abby couldn't help but laugh. What fifteen year old says uncouth John just smiled and shook his head at himself.
"Uncouth?" Susan asked, laughing as well. "Really? Did you learn a new word today? Was your first day back at school not a complete waste? I'm very proud of you."
"Ah, bite me. Just...bite me."
"Another brilliant comeback from John Carter, everyone."
Abby simply watched in amazement. By the way these two acted with each other, she was guessing, and she figured it was probably a good guess, that these two had known each other for quite some time. Maybe even since birth.
"So, Abby, where are you located?" Susan asked again.
"Um..." She had to think about it for a few moments. Her new address wasn't yet second nature to her. "1151 Chestnut Drive."
"No kidding! I live on Chestnut Drive, too!" Susan exclaimed. "I'm 1143. I didn't know that was you moving in last week. It'll be no problem to give you a lift."
"I really appreciate it. I can't remember which direction it's in, otherwise I would have walked."
"Yeah, it's not too far from here, but I'm lazy, so I prefer being chauffered around." With that, the trio turned around and headed back toward the school to wait.
"Why are you two still here, if you don't mind me asking."
"Yes, Abby, I mind deeply," Susan answered.
Abby paused slightly. Was she joking, or did this girl run hot and cold?
"I'm joking, Abby. Just joking. I forgot we don't know each other well enough yet for me to joke with you like that."
"Susan, I've known you most of my life and I still don't get half of your jokes. Maybe it's not so much that we don't get them, but that you have a really lame sense of humor." Without waiting for a response, he answered Abby's question. "My ride got a little caught in traffic. He'll be here any minute."
"I don't have a lame sense of humor. Maybe it's just more sophisticated than yours," Susan blurted out.
"Right. Or maybe you have a lame sense of humor."
Just then, a tinny, mechanical version of some song started playing, and Susan looked at John. "Excuse me, but I think your ass is ringing."
"I'd be a little nicer to me if I were you. How else are you going to get home?"
Susan had no response for that, so she ignored him while he stepped a few feet away to answer his cell phone, then sat down on the curb next to Abby. "I probably shouldn't be asking you this since I don't know you that well yet, and it might start us off on the wrong foot, but, uh...you smoke?"
Abby sighed. "Yeah."
"I mean, you are fifteen, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then...?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Stress, I suppose. I know it's bad for me and I know it's a disgusting habit, but I've found no reason to quit at the moment. If it makes you feel any better, the most I've ever had is five in one day. I usually max out at two."
"Hey, I can't tell you how to lead your life."
This surprised Abby. The few people at her old school who had known that she smoked from time to time were constantly lecturing her about the hazards of the habit, which usually made want to smoke all the more, just to piss them off. But Susan had just seemed to be curious.
Just then, John plopped down next to them, hanging up the phone and rolling his eyes.
"Who was it?" Susan asked.
"My parents. They just wanted to let me know that they won't be home for dinner, blah blah blah. You know the story."
Susan smiled sympathetically. "Well, if you get bored, you know who to call."
The sound of gravel crunching made the three of them look up, and Abby was surprised to see a limo pulling up in front of them. She was even more surprised when the other two stood up and opened the back door. Susan turned around and looked at Abby. "You coming?"
"What? Seriously? This is the ride we've been waiting for?"
Susan looked at her questioningly. "Yeah, this is it. Why?"
Abby shrugged, standing up and going to peer in through the open door. "I figured it was another joke of yours that I didn't get."
John threw his head back and laughed. "I can tell we're going to be great friends, Abby."
Author's Notes: Well, this is certainly different, isn't it? Give me love people. I'm not going to have review ransoms or anything like that, or give you the "want more? review me" thing. I'm a firm believer in writing for yourself, not what you're going to get from people for writing. However, I just want to know if people find this entertaining in the slightest. I also don't want to waste space with something people aren't going to read. Anyway, shout outs...C-Dwg, Alley-
Cat...I'm so glad you never put any pressure on me to write. As always, the Whore rocks. Also, if this story winds up taking off, I'm going to have to stop with the author's notes at the end every time, aren't I? sighs