Forgot to post this here, haha! A Modern!AU Breakfast Club!AU, though it's definitely not set in the 80's (one is more than enough, thank you very much).
"...and these children that you spit on,
as they try to change their worlds are
immune to your consultations. They're
quite aware of what they're going through...
- David Bowie"
Don't you (forget about me)
Part 1: Everybody wants to rule the world
"Dear Mr. Leverrier,
We accept the fact that we had to spend a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong. But, who are you to ask us to write this essay telling you who we think we are? Do you even actually care?
It is a useless effort. There is nothing we could write that could change what you already think of us as, respectively and in the simplest most convenient terms; a brainiac, a jock, a spoiled princess, a naive idiot, a bad boy, and a waste of space.
When we met each other that morning, it was what we believed, too..."
March 24th 7:00 AM
Lenalee sighed and turned to face Komui with a frown that fell into a pout. "Come on brother, you're the vice-principal and you couldn't get me out of this?" Her head jolted slightly as her brother pulled the car to a stop in front of her high school.
"Well my dearest Lenalee," Komui drawled sarcastically, and Lenalee groaned. "Even I can't explain why you felt this need to go shopping during school." He raised a brow and shifted the car into park, twisting to face her. His face softened. "It's only a few hours, and then you'll be home."
Lenalee looked at him. "It's nine hours brother. On a Saturday!"
Komui laughed and unlocked the car. "Yes, well, it's only one Saturday. I'm sure you won't die. Now here, take your specially made full-of-love lunch and go on in before Leverrier claims I'm playing favoritism." Lenalee sighed and took the proffered bag.
"Can't you play favoritism? I am your favorite sister." Lenalee tried as she stepped out the car.
Komui smirked. "You're my only sister," he said, and she shut the door on his sarcastic reply. She whirled on her heels - insensible, she knew, but if she was going to spend her day wasting away she might as well look nice while at it - and stepped up the stairs to her school, knowing her brother wouldn't drive away until she was safe inside.
"I'm very disappointed, Lavi," Bookman said for what must've been the thousandth time as they drove towards his high school. Lavi groaned and burrowed his head into the car window, knocking his headband loose. It fell and obscured his vision, a much nicer alternative than watching his old man.
"You know, this photographic memory thing?" Lavi said to the window. "Know what it means? It means I remember everything, including the last twenty-three times you've told me that. I'm sure it's engraved into my skull by now." Lavi muttered petulantly, and yelped when Bookman smacked his thigh.
"Shut up, you brat," Bookman snapped, then aggressively parked his car, jerking Lavi into nearly kissing the dashboard. Ignoring his cries, Bookman gestured vaguely towards the school. "Well? Are you going to waste anymore of my time here or what?"
"Yeah, yeah," Lavi mumbled, and dug around in the back for his lunch bag.
"Make those hours useful and study the next two books on the list."
"What!" Lavi squawked, jerking and thumping his head on the roof. He settled back with his lunch with a scowl, rubbing his injury woefully. "We're not allowed to do anything. Just sit… and sit… and sit until we die!"
"You melodramatic fool," Bookman sighed with what Lavi thought to be tenderness hidden under all the layers. "Well, go waste your day. I certainly am not wasting mine by waiting here all morning."
"I feel the love, grandpa. I really do," Lavi snarked before stepping out. He slammed the door closed and slapped it affectionately. Bookman wasted no time in peeling out the parking lot, and Lavi vaguely remembered that Bookman was supposed to renew his license… four years ago.
Twi sighed and Alma laughed. "You're ridiculous," Twi staunchly told her son, who laughed again.
"Aren't I always?" Alma retorted, and Kanda snorted.
"Yes… you always are. I can't believe this. Well," Twi pulled up outside the school, watching in no little amusement as Bookman took off like Lavi might actually throw himself back onto the car. "Go on then. Take your lunches, also Kanda I made one for you, too."
Kanda grimaced, but nodded. "Thank you," he said, and grabbed Twi's along with Tiedoll's excessive one. Alma grinned, kissed his mom on the cheek, and hopped out after Kanda, wrapping his arm round Kanda's shoulders and whooping with laughter when the boy shrugged him off.
Cross' sleek black car pulled up without a sound, and was equally silent as the man put into park. The engine thrummed like a jaguar's purr, filling the silence as Cross stretched his arm across the seats.
"Well?" Cross demanded, and his fingers twitched in a way Allen knew meant he wanted to smoke. It was a tiny satisfaction to watch Cross deny his urge. The man never smoked in his cars.
"Well what?" Allen demanded back, rubbing the heel of one hand against his eyes. It was too damn early for Cross' games.
"Don't rub your eyes," Cross snapped, and then, "Well are you going or not?"
Allen dropped his hand and regarded him warily. "Is that it? No lecture, no spiel, no 'you're better than this'?" Allen hauled his bag from the floor of the car and into his lap.
Cross barked a laugh. "Boy, even if bothered to say any of that it wouldn't make a damn difference to you. You still have to spend nine hours - nine fucking hours jesus - in this place doing nothing but having wet dreams. What do I care to say to a brat like that?"
"You know, sometimes I really hate you," Allen said with narrowed eyes. He tugged his bag higher, against his chest. It'd be nice to be told I'm worth more than this.
"Yeah, yeah. Preach it to the choir. Go on brat, get out. You're going to be late."
Cross, Allen decided, had very fucked up priorities. But whatever. Allen got out and shouldered his lunch bag, feeling vaguely lost as Cross drove off. He slipped his beanie from his back pocket and fit it snug around his head.
Lenalee took a seat towards the front of the library, and Lavi sat at the same desk, leaving a chair between them. Kanda sauntered toward the back with Alma in tow - who waved excitedly at Lenalee and Lavi - and sat two desks behind the jock and princess of the school. Link, who had been there longer than anyone else, sat in the desk to the left and one back of Lavi and Lenalee, and Allen skirted the edge to sit all the way in the back, well out of anyone's sight.
"Hey, Kanda," Alma said in a too-loud voice. Allen winced as it echoed very slightly in the otherwise empty and silent library. "Why do you think everyone's here?"
"None of my damn business and I don't care," Kanda snapped back, and Alma laughed lightly. Allen wondered how Alma could be friends with a jerk like Kanda.
"Hm, yeah, but don't you wanna know? I mean, look at us!" Alma gestured widely with his arms in a move that nearly clipped Kanda's forehead, and the teen shoved Alma back. They started a brief scuffle that involved more shoving and some fists, but the door to the library clanged up.
Everyone sat straighter as their Principal, Leverrier, stepped in with a fierce scowl under his Hitler moustache.
"Good morning everyone," Leverrier said, then looked like he might shoot everyone when no one replied. Several grumbled a pleasantry back, including Allen, and Leverrier smiled thinly. "And welcome to Saturday detention. Now, I don't particularly care what you did to land here, only what Mr. Karma and Ms. Lee did."
Lenalee and Alma jerked at the address and looked up. "Yes, Ms. Lee. Only you, because normally your brother, Vice-Principal Lee, does this, and when he is unavailable, Librarian Chan does it, however since both of you are here - in fact, Alma Karma, I have no idea why you're here - but only because you both are here, those two are not allowed to supervise. So now I must spend a valuable day wasted on watching you hooligans. Isn't that wonderful?" Leverrier asked sarcastically, and nobody moved.
"Then, the rules for the day but, ah-! Before I start," Leverrier turned sharply around, wrestled with something on a table behind him, then whirled back with a flourish, displaying a three layered macaroon cake. "Would any of you like a slice?"
No one responded, and Leverrier nodded. "That is well. It'll be here, in case you fancy a piece. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. The rules for today: no one talks, moves, sleeps, or leaves. There will be scheduled restroom breaks. Also, Allen Walker?"
"Yes?" Allen hissed, shoulders tensing.
"Do not eat the entire cake on your own."
"Would absolutely never dream of it, Principal," Allen said sweetly, smile dripping with saccharine. "Why, I'd be horrified to even have a single bite!"
Lavi burst into giggles with Lenalee and Link whirled around in his seat. "Walker! Show some respect!"
Allen looked coolly at Link. "I'll show some respect when he takes his foot out of his ass."
Lenalee and Link gasped in shock, and Leverrier leveled him with a steady look. "Walker, would you like to join me next Saturday as well?"
"I don't know, Principal," Allen said, tilting his head up thoughtfully to ponder the ceiling. "A date sounds nice and all but… would you like my legal guardian to file a lawsuit for harassment of a minor? And my guardian oh so loves me… and his money."
Leverrier looked amused and laughed slightly. "We'll see, won't we? Then," he clapped his hands and glanced at his wristwatch, "it is now past seven am. Your detention has officially begun. I will be across the hall in the office. There is a thousand word essay due by the end of this period. The prompt is: Who you think you are."
He turned on his heel and left with a swish, leaving the room in silence. Just before he walked out, however, he turned to look straight at Allen. "And Allen Walker, hats are not allowed inside the school. Take it off."
Thankfully, no one turned to look at Allen as he tugged his green beanie off, crumpling it in his hands. The room fell into a stiff silence as the students resigned themselves a Saturday spent in school. Allen let his head fall into his hand. He sighed into his palm, and lazily trailed his gaze over to the others.
Lenalee seemed to be doing her best to zone out and fall asleep with her eyes open, and Lavi had tilted his chair dangerously back on its hind legs, balancing precariously. Alma was whispering fiercely into Kanda's ears, and Kanda looked like he had grown tired of Alma's chatter some years back. The busy scratch of Link's pencil told Allen he was particularly focused on their assignment.
Allen dropped his gaze to the paper. Who you think you are, huh? Allen knew exactly what people thought of him, and he didn't care to put the thought to paper, let alone for Leverrier to read it and grade it, like his life counted as some measly number. He shoved the paper aside in favor of rolling his pencil up the desk, flicking it back when it rolled down. The steady thrum almost distracted him from Lavi's sudden voice.
"Hey, Link. What are you doing in here anyways?" Lavi asked cheerfully, lone eye closed in an eye-creasing grin. He rocked back and forth on his chair, thumping the desk behind him. Lenalee turned curiously to hear Link's answer, and even Alma ceased his babbling.
Link scowled as he turned to face Lavi. "I do not believe it's any of your business," Link said carefully, gazing firmly at Lavi in that odd manner people had when they didn't know shame. Lavi didn't seem to mind, staring with amusement back.
"It doesn't hurt to know, does it?" Lavi drawled, chair falling with a final thump to the floor. He twisted to fully face Link, who squirmed under his stare. "If you tell me, I'll tell you!"
"I don't want to know," Link snapped, and Lavi laughed. Lavi pestered him for a bit more, but Link was set on ignoring him, writing and erasing and writing and erasing. Lavi tried a few more times, shrugged with an easy grace, and turned to face Alma instead, who was still talking at Kanda.
"Why did you even bother coming?" Kanda demanded, eyes shut with irritation. Alma huffed angrily beside him, eyes meeting Lavi's briefly but too distracted by Kanda's ire.
"Really, Yuu? You're an ass," Alma sniped. Lavi blinked, darting his gaze between Alma and Kanda.
"Shut up, I didn't ask you to come," Kanda said back, brows drawing down in anger.
Alma bristled, face coloring. "You never ask me to do anything Kanda! If I waited every damn time for you to swallow your pride and actually ask something we'd never get anywhere and would probably never have been friends!"
"Oh my God," Kanda groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I don't fucking care," he said.
Lavi reared back, shocked, and Lenalee snapped out of her daze to frown at Kanda, who looked seconds away from demanding what the fuck she wanted. Alma didn't give him a chance. He sighed, world-weary, and sagged in his seat, tugging on one of his bangs in exasperation. "Do you want us to always fight, Yuu? It feels like that's your only setting: argue argue, rawr rawr."
"Shut up," Kanda muttered, slouching in his seat.
Without warning an empty clanging echoed in the library, making them all wince in shock. They looked up as one and found Leverrier standing in the doorway, booted foot falling from the door. "I thought," he began sarcastically. "That I said no talking allowed?"
Lavi and Alma both faced the front guiltily. Kanda glowered from his chest.
Leverrier shifted his stare from each person until it landed on Allen at the back, and Allen stood straighter under the scrutiny. "Allen Walker," Leverrier said, stalking down the middle aisle, moustache quivering, and glare focused on Allen - or, rather, the beanie back on his head. "What did we discuss about hats?"
"That they're not allowed in school, sir," Allen replied sweetly, "But sir, it's not a hat. In case you're terribly behind on the times, this is what you would call a beanie."
Leverrier drew up by Allen's desk, stiffening. He jerked his hand out, palm up. "I don't care what you street rats like to call it, I want it off your headnow."
Allen debated between being particularly difficult, removing his hat, and waiting for Leverrier to demand it in his hand like a tired dog-trainer, or just simply handing it over without fuss. He eyed the bit of distance Leverrier seemed to expect him to cross, and grinned. With wide eyes, Allen nodded with what he thought displayed a normal amount of fear and respect for assholes, and tugged the beanie off. He stretched his hand across the gap and waited until Leverrier held his hand out further before abruptly dropping it.
His grin spread as the beanie fell with a soft plop right before Leverrier's shiny boots.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Allen murmured with dewy eyes, looking up into Leverrier's blotchy face. "You see, you said we're not supposed to move at all, right?"
Leverrier breathed deeply in, ruffling his tiny square moustache on the exhale. "Allen Walker, you are pushing me to my limit." Without a word he bent to swipe the hat up, and Allen mused he'd probably never see it again. "I'm confiscating this." Leverrier warned, and Allen laughed.
"Go ahead, I'm sure your wardrobe needs it more than mine," Allen snarked, and grinned when Lavi burst into hysterics.
Instead of anger or more color blooming into his face, as Allen expected and thought Leverrier's solemn sad looking features needed, the principal's lips twitched into an amused smirk. "Honestly, Walker, do you think I value any sort of opinion of yours?"
Allen sucked in a breath and tried desperately to keep his breathing even. It wasn't the first time Leverrier had undermined him like this, and it probably wouldn't be the last, but for it to be said so explicitly in front of the other students rankled. It was embarrassing. He focused firmly on Leverrier, refusing to see the others' reaction.
Despite Allen's attempts, Leverrier noticed, eyes narrowing in his smile. He twisted on his heel and left, ignoring everyone else as he left. Allen swallowed thickly and balled his fist under the heavy pitying gazes he felt. He jerked the paper towards him, looked for and found his pencil under his desk, and pretended to work on his essay.
The atmosphere was almost choking Lavi with how heavy it was. He struggled between talking to Lenalee, who had been doing a good job ignoring him so far, Link, who had already rejected him, and Alma - but he was already talking to Kanda.
So he turned to Allen who was glaring sullenly at his blank paper. Lavi's was blank too, for that matter, but not for lack of words to write but for a lack of care. He thought Allen - the well-known scholarship student, alongside Link - might be having more of a struggle with it than the others.
Ignoring Lenalee's curious gaze, he stood from his chair and crossed the short aisle, falling into the one in front of Allen.
Allen jerked in surprise, looking at him with wary eyes. Lavi mused that the kid probably thought he was going to tease him.
"Sooo," Lavi drew out, hesitated, and then barreled on. "Why is your hair white?"
"Lavi!" Lenalee hissed with shock.
"What?" Lavi asked defensively. "It's not like everyone doesn't want to know!"
"Like, I know I'm blunt," Alma said from the side, "but that was amazingly blunt."
Lavi felt color rise in his cheeks as the sudden bombardment, but Allen interrupted, thankfully.
"It's, uh, not dyed. It's natural." Allen said easily, and Lavi blinked thoughtfully.
Alma cut in before Lavi could further embarrass himself. "It's really pretty," he offered, staring admiringly at the white locks and Allen colored.
"Oh, uh, thanks, I guess," Allen murmured beneath his breath, voice steadily going quiet. Alma laughed warmly.
"That's adorable!" He cooed, and Allen flushed harder. Kanda snorted from his seat and Allen shot him a glare.
"What?" He demanded. Kanda easily leveled a glare at him. Alma elbowed Kanda, and he opened his mouth but Link cut him off.
"Can you four please be quiet?" Link demanded angrily, whirled around his seat to glare at them, pencil clutched in his hand. His paper was covered in eraser shavings and the top of the paper seemed worn through under his earnest work.
"Can you mind your own fucking business?' Kanda snapped back and Link stiffened, shifting to glare at him.
"Have you forgotten we're in detention? Oh, but that misbehavior and inability to control yourself is what landed you here in the first place!"
Lenalee smacked her open palm against the tabletop with a resounding thwack, jerking them all to attention. "Can you all stop acting like children?"
Link grit his teeth, hands curling around his pencil. "Perhaps I could if you all would stop talking when you're not supposed to be! It makes it impossible to concentrate!"
Lavi whistled, sitting side-ways in his chair to address them all. "Really, Howard, the essay isn't that hard. What are you flipping out before?"
Link choked and sharply turned to Lavi. "Don't call me that!" He cried, dismayed at how easy Lavi made it sound. Then he frowned severely. "And don't make light an assignment, especially at the expense of others."
Lavi looked taken aback and firmly studied Link. Deliberately, he said, "Link, it's an easy thousand words. What's your issue?"
Link sucked in a jerky breath, then let it loose steadily, pacing his breathing. He glared almost hatefully at Lavi. "I know what you're trying to do. Don't try to manipulate me."
Lavi held his hands up. "I'm not trying to do shit, man. I'm just wondering what you're so worked up about."
"None of your business." Link turned around and focused on the blank paper again, dropping his face into his palms. The room was quiet, watching Link's shoulders as he breathed deeply. He slid his hands out and across his temples, fingers delving into strands of hair as his heels propped his temples up.
Allen was frowning. "That wasn't nice Lavi," he remarked. "Link isn't wrong - we are supposed to be quiet." Kanda scoffed, glancing away, and Allen grit his teeth. "What Kanda? What's sooo funny?"
"Guys, guys," Alma interrupted, waving his hand at them while staring hard at the doorway. "Shh. Leverrier might come back if y'all are too loud!Shh!" He hopped up from his seat and skittered over to the doorway, glancing over his shoulder as if Leverrier might somehow apparate there. The group watched in silence as Alma tip-toed there, looked around, poked his head out the door, then with an insane giggle slid a nail out and ran laughing hysterically back to his desk.
The heavy library door swung shut with a reverberating clang and Kanda hissed. "Shit, Alma, what the fuck!" Alma threw himself into his seat, rocking the chair violently and still laughing and Kanda shoved his way over Alma to get to the other side. Lavi jumped up, almost knocking the chair backwards, and ran to his seat, sliding into it so smoothly he almost ended up in the next one.
On cue, the library door slammed open again, and Leverrier's shiny boots thumped in. Alma was shivering in his seat with excitement and the adrenaline of getting caught, and Lavi too was suppressing a shit-eating grin. Glaring like they, personally, had each taken a turn running over his dog, he shifted from person to person, settling on Allen momentarily, before regarding the room as a whole.
"Alright," he said, back ram-rod straight with the tell-tale pole up his ass, Allen thought with a laugh. "Who closed the door?"
The room remained silent, though Link jerked minutely.
Leverrier waited a beat, then, "No one? Come now, don't tell me you believe in ghosts. Who closed the door?" He tilted to contemplate Lenalee, who stared back impassively. There was a fine tremble in her hands, before she pulled them back to rest in her lap. "Ms. Lee? Who closed the door?"
"No one, sir," she replied promptly, expression clear and eyes wide with the patented Princess Look. "It shut on its own."
"Really, Ms. Lee? You expect me to believe that?"
"Yes I do," Lenalee said, and Allen admired her spine of steel. "Go see for yourself instead of doubting your students first."
Leverrier's lips thinned, before he inclined his head and strode over to the door. He held it open, and they all watched as he let go and the door slammed shut with the same thundering clang. It echoed and faded, and Leverrier studied its frame with the look of someone betrayed.
"Honestly, sir," Allen started, knowing it was a bad idea but too eager to start a row with Leverrier - the bastard had it coming. "How could you not trust Ms. Lenalee?" Lenalee frowned and turned to look at him contemplatively, and he flashed her a grin. Leverrier slowly faced him.
"You're right," Leverrier said, jarring Allen. "Of you all, only Ms. Lee and Link are of any kind of worth and deserve any kind of trust. Of course, even among the rest, you especially are the worst. No one trusts you."
Allen reared back, shocked. He wasn't lying. No one did trust Allen, gambler and liar extraordinaire, the only redeeming quality being having the privilege of Cross as a godfather.
"If it weren't for that lay about godfather of yours," Leverrier continued, eyes gleaming wickedly. "You wouldn't even be here. I cannot even begin to count the number of times staff has asked me why you are staining this school with your presence - you meet none of the criteria, save for perhaps your charisma. But then even the lowest of rats can appear charming when washed and groomed, as your godfather has done you."
With each word Allen shrunk into himself, ears aflame. This wasn't the first time Leverrier had kindly informed him of the whole damn world's opinion of him. But today was the first that he'd done in front of other students.
"Perhaps, if that had been it." Leverrier wouldn't stop. "Then you'd be tolerable." Allen curled his fingers in, nails biting his palms. "But then you have Link, here." Allen stared stubbornly at Leverrier the whole while, a demented sort of need to stare him in the eyes. As if he could find the truth there. Find the joke. "A wonderful, amazing student, officer of the student council and member of the honor society. And just the same as you - here by sponsorship. Why then," Leverrier breathed, and Allen could see himself reflected in his hateful eyes. "Are you two so different?"
Allen didn't feel like he was breathing - hell, he didn't even think his heart was beating, but somehow it must've been, because there was enough breath for him to speak. "We're not different."
"Hm?" Leverrier asked, cocking his head as if to hear better. Allen grit his teeth.
"We're not different! We're not different at all you son of a bitch!" Allen turned his burning stare on Link, who was stiff with horror and shock. And fear. But Allen wasn't so petty to throw someone else under the bus just to save himself, despite how much he hated Leverrier. Link's secret was safe with him. He jerked his gaze away and back to his principal, who looked delighted.
He chuckled fondly. As if this was a fun comedic routine and not an abusive upheaval. It probably is to him, Allen thought bitterly. "Walker, learn to pick your fights. You would've thought Marian had taught it to you."
Allen laughed. "Of course he has. It's why I am."
"Of course," Leverrier said evenly, and then left without another word. The door slammed shut behind him, painful in the silence, and Allen smiled at the students who stared at him.
This was nothing new, they'd see. Then they'd stop pitying him.
A/N: The requisite Breakfast Club AU that every fandom needs - if DGM has one, I haven't found it. Cross-posted on tumblr and AO3, too.
Also gratuitous 80's songs because if I had to suffer through that movie so do you (thank spotify for their generous decades playlists):
Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears