Chapter 1: Everyone

"This is unacceptable!" Spencer Hastings shouted, her voice ringing out above the buzzing in the Rosewood High School gym.

"Spencer, please. Sit down and we can discuss this," said Vice Principal Hackett, who was on the stage with a short brunette woman Spencer didn't recognize.

"Did she actually just stomp her foot?" said Hanna Marin to Aria Montgomery and Emily Fields, giggling. Spencer was one of their best friends, but Hanna would never understand why she got so uptight about stuff like this. Emily hid a smile from Spencer, and Aria fluffed her ostrich-feather earrings.

"Did she actually just stomp her foot?" said Raven Reyes to Clarke Griffin and Octavia Blake, quirking an eyebrow in that special way only Raven had, the way that clearly meant "bitch, please!" Clarke's mouth slanted in a smirk, and Octavia just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Rich kids.

Lexa and Lincoln stood in the back. They exchanged a look, and Lexa pursed her lips disapprovingly. They both knew that outbursts like this were not the product of a strong mind.

It was the week before school started, and all incoming high school students had been invited to a special assembly. "Invited" was perhaps not a strong enough word, as the flier had made it clear this was a mandatory meeting. (Although Spencer questioned the legality of a mandatory meeting on school property during what was technically still summer vacation.)

Hackett had just welcomed everyone and then wasted no time dropping the bombshell: Due to budget constraints, no fewer than three local high schools would be forced to merge in the upcoming school year.

Despite being close neighbors, the three schools each had a unique flavor and attracted a different type of student.

Rosewood High School was the largest and most affluent – even though it was a public high school, its students hailed from the largely well-to-do suburb of Rosewood, and sizeable private donations were not uncommon. Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily were seniors who had all been attending Rosewood High since their freshman year. (Except when Aria lived in Iceland, randomly.)

Arkadia Academy was a private school, a science and technology magnet with a mix of students: those from affluent families who could handle the hefty tuition, and those who had earned merit-based scholarships for pursuing careers in science or technology. Many of Arkadia's graduates went on to become doctors, engineers, or computer programmers. Clarke, Raven and Octavia all hailed from Arkadia, where Clarke was a senior and Octavia was a junior. Raven had graduated a couple of years earlier, but the three of them were still inseparable.

Polis High School was another public high school, located in a working-class suburb. Their various sports teams (nicknamed "The Grounders") were well known for their ferocity on the field. Lexa and Lincoln were proud attendees of Polis High.

"Vice Principal Hackett," Spencer was saying, somewhat haughtily. "This was presented as an open forum for discussion, and I have several thoughts on this proposed merger."

"The man said sit down, Princess!" called a voice from near the back. Spencer whirled, spotting a boy she didn't recognize. He had dark curly hair, tan skin, and a cocky smirk that she wanted to punch off his stupid face. Spencer opened her mouth to retort, but her friends pulled her down into her seat. "Spencer, this isn't the way to get your voice heard," Emily whispered urgently.

Spencer huffed, but stayed in her seat, allowing her friends to calm her down somewhat. She gestured imperiously for Hackett to continue.

"As I was saying," he began, "what could have been a time of distress for our region has become a time of great opportunity. We will be merging not only the student bodies –" [Raven snickered loudly at this, and Octavia grinned] "but our administration, sports teams, and special programs as well."

He turned and gestured to the brunette woman on stage with him. "In fact, it's my great pleasure to announce that as part of the merger, Rosewood High will have a new principal: Abigail Griffin, who until recently was the principal at Arkadia Academy." There was light applause as Principal Griffin went to the microphone.

"Shit, really?" said Raven. Clarke whacked her on the arm. "Shut up, that's my mother! Would you rather we get stuck with some snobby Rosewood principal?"

"Whatever, you don't even like her," mumbled Raven, rubbing her arm.

"Good evening, everyone," said Principal Griffin. "I'm honored and humbled that the school board appointed me to lead this new venture."

She scanned the crowd and found Clarke. "I'm especially excited because my own daughter is starting her senior year, and we'll be making this journey together."

Clarke groaned quietly and sank a little lower in her seat. Only Raven noticed the hurt look that flashed across Abby's – Principal Griffin's – eyes for an instant, before she recovered her composure.

Hanna was bored. "I have to pee," she whispered to her friends, then climbed over them and headed for the aisle. She didn't really care what was happening with the school – new people meant new distractions, and she'd take anything that helped her keep her mind off Caleb. Speaking of, where was he? Hanna scanned the crowd from side to side as she made her way to the exit, so she was taken completely by surprise when right near the exit, she tripped over someone's foot.

Strong arms instantly reached out and caught her before she could hit the floor. Ooh, very strong arms, thought Hanna as she instinctively grabbed onto her rescuer. She looked up into his face – holy hottie! "Um…thanks," she stammered. "I was looking for someone, and I had to pee, and then I was walking, and then there was a foot, and arms, and…"

She trailed off. The new guy just regarded her calmly. She thought his eyes were maybe smiling a little. "No problem," he said as he let her go.

The girl next to him snorted. "Eyeliner much?" scoffed Hanna, gathering what was left of her dignity and finally making it out of the gym.

Meanwhile, Clarke was also missing most of her mom's speech. She'd heard it all before – unity, blah blah blah – it was pretty standard Abby stuff. She heard a minor disturbance and turned around. A blonde girl was clambering over her friends, heading for the aisle.

One of her friends looked up at Clarke then, and Clarke's heart stuttered. The girl was absolutely stunning – long, dark hair, dark almond-shaped eyes, and those cheekbones…Clarke was thoroughly distracted now. The girl smiled shyly at her and even gave a little wave. Clarke half-smiled in return, and then her attention was caught elsewhere as the blonde girl stumbled and fell into the arms of a tattooed guy at the very back of the gym.

Clarke couldn't hear what they were saying, but she watched anyway. It was more interesting than whatever her mom was going on about. The dark-haired girl next to the guy seemed to laugh at the blonde girl, and then blondie must have said something to piss the other girl off because her head snapped up – and in that moment, she happened to lock eyes with Clarke.

The intensity in her gaze was hypnotic – Clarke had never seen anything like it. It was the gaze of someone far older and wiser than anyone in high school could hope to be. The girl stared back at Clarke for a minute, and then Octavia stood up beside her and slunk out of her chair, and the moment was broken.

Also meanwhile: "Who are you waving at?" snapped Spencer. Emily looked at her, wide-eyed and guilty, though she didn't know why. "Just trying to make new friends," she mumbled. New, super cute, probably straight friends, she thought, sighing to herself. Between school, swim practice, and her job at The Brew, it wasn't like she actually had time to meet anyone, so what was the point?

Octavia crept quietly up the aisle. She needed some air.

There was a muscular, tattooed guy partly blocking the door. "Excuse me," Octavia hissed at him. He stepped out of the way, watching her coolly. Probably a gym rat, football-playing loser, she thought.

She walked outside and around a corner of the building, then leaned against the wall, looking up at the evening sky.

"Hey, you got a light?" said a voice right beside her. Octavia whirled, her fists up.

"Whoa, easy there!" laughed the guy who had asked her for a light. "I'm not trying to kidnap you or anything." He held up his hands in the universal sign for 'I come in peace.'

"I don't smoke," snapped Octavia.

"Yeah, me either," said the guy. "I was just looking for an excuse to talk to you."

Octavia scowled at him. "That's pretty lame."

He shrugged good-naturedly and brushed his dark hair out of his eyes, leaning against the wall next to her and turning his head to look at her. "I'm Caleb, by the way."

"Octavia."

"Cool name," he said. "So what are you doing out here, anyway? Shouldn't you be in there learning about this big merger?"

Octavia said, "It was pretty boring, just my old principal droning on about unity and whatever. Needed some air." She straightened up. "I should get back to my friends though."

"See you around," said Caleb. But she was already around the corner and out of sight.

In the auditorium, Principal Griffin was wrapping up her remarks as Octavia snuck back in and made her way to her seat. Clarke was scanning the room, probably sizing up the people who would be their classmates this year. But Raven seemed to be paying close attention, which was weird. They both acknowledged her as she slid back into her seat, Raven with a nod and Clarke with a tight smile.

"Now, we'd like to offer you the opportunity for some open discussion," the principal was saying. "Please make your way to one of the microphones if you have something to say."

Bellamy wasn't surprised to see that the snobby brunette from earlier was the first one to rush to a microphone. She jumped right in: "Spencer Hastings, Rosewood High. As I was saying earlier, this proposed merger is unfair. It could jeopardize the academic futures of those of us who have Ivy League ambitions if all of a sudden, all these other GPAs are thrown into the mix!"

Jesus, she talked like a middle-aged soccer mom. How was it possible that they were close to the same age, much less going to the same school, thought Bellamy with some scorn.

Lexa was similarly unimpressed. She wasn't thrilled at the prospect of having to change schools, let alone the inconvenience of a longer bus ride. But she could see that the decision was already made, and she realized that it was in everyone's best interests to put their petty objections to rest and figure out a way to move forward. From the way people were murmuring, though, few of them shared her rational frame of mind.

"I agree with Spencer," said an older man near the front, standing at another microphone. Lexa could see a red-haired girl sitting near him shrink down in her seat, as if she were trying to become invisible. "Nick McCullers here. What about athletics? My daughter was practically guaranteed to be captain of the swim team this year, and now all of a sudden she has to compete with these…Grounders? That's not fair!"

Paige was mortified as her father spoke. She hadn't even told him that she'd be captain – she knew there were no guarantees, and if anything Emily probably deserved it more. Now he was embarrassing her in front of the whole school – again. And she didn't see Ezra around to talk him down this time.

Suddenly, a voice rang out, clear and even, silencing everyone even though the speaker wasn't at a microphone. "We are what we are."

Almost as one, the assembled group turned to face Lexa. She took a step forward now and addressed them as one. "Grounders…the Sky Crew from Arkadia Academy…the Sharks of Rosewood High. We carry these names proudly, even if we're all under one roof. There's history there, and we should be proud of it, whether it's academic or athletic or artistic." Lexa looked at the red-haired girl who had been embarrassed by her father and gave her a reassuring nod.

As she spoke, she continued to look around, reading the room, seeking out disbelievers and potential allies.

"But we're all part of one crew now. And no one should be looked down on for their course of study –" here she locked eyes with the brunette at the microphone, who nodded a bit grudgingly – "or for their previous mascot." Here she looked at the older man at the other microphone, who was seething.

"We're all one team now. And we should continue to recognize the leaders, the standouts, the hard workers. Perhaps we will all inspire one another to work for even greater things."

Her eyes fell on the girl with long blonde hair then, the one who had held her gaze with such strength earlier. She saw understanding in those blue eyes. "But we must work together."

Principal Griffin was the first to applaud. Then the girl with the long blonde hair, and then her friends, and soon almost everyone but the angry man and a few others had joined in. Lexa nodded, acknowledging all of them, and returned to her spot against the wall.

Hanna walked back in the door then and noticed that everyone was facing the back of the room and clapping. She leaned over to Lincoln, who stood proudly by his friend after her speech. "Wow! I've never gotten a standing ovation for coming back from the bathroom before!"

After that, the discussion took a much more productive tone, with people raising good questions about how GPA would be calculated across the different scales (which mollified Spencer somewhat) and what the new mascot would be (still TBD, subject to a vote). Then Principal Griffin announced that there were snacks and punch in the cafeteria, an opportunity for everyone to mingle more informally for the first time.

Everyone filed out, most people heading for the cafeteria now that tensions had cooled somewhat. Lexa remained in her spot near the door, nodding at those who said hello to her. Suddenly, the red-haired girl from before was right in front of her. She grasped Lexa's hand briefly and said quietly in her ear, "I loved your speech. Thank you."

"Paige!" called her father, the angry one. The girl looked shyly at Lexa, embarrassed again now, and Lexa said with a small smile, "I'll see you again soon…Paige." She regarded Paige's father coolly as he pulled his daughter away.

Then Lexa nodded to Lincoln, and together they left to catch a bus home. The meeting was one thing, but they didn't have time to stay for a party.

In the cafeteria, things were still a little awkward but much more congenial than before. Lexa's speech had broken the ice, but people were still naturally clustered with their own friends.

Spencer and Hanna were at the snack table. "Han, you want a cupcake?" Spencer asked, grabbing a vanilla one for herself. Hanna gave her a look. "Are you kidding me, Spencer? Cupcakes?"

"Oh, right…my bad," said Spencer, grinning at her sheepishly as she remembered the Lucky Leon's incident. She held up a carrot stick. "Peace offering?"

Bellamy had been on his way over to grab a snack, but then he saw the snobby brunette from earlier and actually stopped short. He didn't know whether he wanted to confront her or just outright avoid her – all he knew was that she rubbed him the wrong way.

But then she smiled at her friend, and her whole face lit up, and then he just stared at her like a moron. Jeez, Bellamy, get a grip, he said to himself. He took a breath and walked over confidently, and as she held up a carrot stick and said "Peace offering?" he snatched it and popped it in his mouth, saying "Thanks, Princess, but you and me still aren't at peace."

He winked at her and sauntered off. Always leave 'em wanting more, he thought, and grinned to himself.

"You and I!" Spencer yelled after him, but he didn't seem to hear her.

Hanna looked ecstatic. "What was that?" she said, grabbing Spencer's upper arm. Spencer turned back to face her. "I assume one of the Sky Crew, given that we know he doesn't go here and he wasn't standing with that…commander lady at the back of the gym."

"No," said Hanna, removing her hand from Spencer's arm, "what was that between the two of you? Because there was definitely a spark."

Spencer gave her the Spencer look. "There was not a spark."

Undeterred, Hanna went on: "There was so! And you guys are going to have little dark-haired, angry-eyed, butt-chinned kids –" She only stopped because Spencer had popped a mini muffin in her mouth to shut her up and then stalked off. Hanna shrugged and said "Mmm, blueberry!"

Clarke had been hoping to meet the mysterious girl whose words had united the crowd, but she didn't see her in the cafeteria and headed over to get some punch for herself and her friends. She managed to balance three cups in her hands, but as she turned, she ran smack into someone coming up to the punch table. "Oh, shit! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to punch you!" she exclaimed as punch sloshed out of one of the cups…right onto the other girl's chest. Clarke hastily put the cups down, grabbed a pile of napkins, and started dabbing at the wet spot. "Shit shit shit!" she said.

"It's okay," said the girl she'd accidentally doused, laughter in her voice. "It wouldn't be the first time I've been punched."

Clarke looked up then and saw that (of course) it was the beautiful girl she'd seen earlier. "Um…I mean…actually no one's ever hit me, I just meant that people have spilled things on me…anyway, I'm Emily," she said, holding out a hand.

Clarke held up a fistful of wet napkins, and they both giggled. (What the hell, thought Clarke – since when do I giggle?) "Hi. I'm Clarke," she said. "I spill things on people."

"They say the first step is admitting that you have a problem," Emily said, her brown eyes sparkling. "So – are you from Arkadia or Polis? I know you don't go to Rosewood, because I do and I would know…" she trailed off, realizing she was babbling.

"Arkadia," Clarke said. "So you're from Rosewood, huh? What is there to do around here? I've only ever been for a field hockey tournament once, and we didn't have much free time."

"Well," said Emily, "There's not a ton to do. It's not like Philly or anything. Mostly there's one main street where all the restaurants in town are, and we have a lot of murders and stuff." Here Clarke looked at her questioningly. "It's kind of a long story," Emily sighed. Then she looked at Clarke shyly. "I work at a coffee shop called The Brew. Maybe you could stop by sometime and I could show you around after work?"

Clarke grinned. This was more like it. She hadn't dated anyone since Finn, and that was over a year ago. There just hadn't been time. But Emily was sweet, and seemed really unaffected by her own beauty, and Clarke found that fascinating. "Yeah…I'd like that," she said.

Emily looked over to where Raven and Octavia stood, waiting. "Well, I'll let you get back to your friends. Or…to spilling punch on people, or whatever you Sky Crew do for fun." Clarke laughed at that. "Yeah, I should refill these and get back to them," she said. "It was nice to meet you, Emily."

Emily smiled and went back to her friends, still dabbing at her shirt. Clarke topped off the punch cups and brought them over to Raven and Octavia.

"Dude, what the hell was that?" Raven exclaimed as soon as she got over there. "We're here 5 seconds and already you're hitting on some Rosewood chick?"

Clarke said, "Hey! I wasn't hitting on her. That's Emily. I spilled punch all over her, and she was super cool about it." But she smirked, and that was a dead giveaway. Octavia and Raven would never let her hear the end of this now. "Take your damn cups and shut up," Clarke grumbled affectionately.

"I met a guy," said Octavia, out of nowhere.

Clarke and Raven both looked down at her. She was the smallest of them by far – but in many ways, the fiercest of a pretty fierce crew. "Does big bro know you have the hots for someone?" Raven teased.

"I didn't say I had the hots for him! I talked to him for like a minute," said Octavia, a little defensively. "I went outside for some air and he was just…there."

"Cool story, O," said Raven, and Octavia took a swipe at her. "Aw, you're so cute when you're angry! Like a tiny angry gerbil!" Octavia pretended to kick her in the shin. "Whatever, little one, I'm going to go do a lap and see who's cool around here," said Raven.

She sauntered off, grabbing a couple of carrot sticks and a cupcake as she passed the snack table. "Miss Reyes, there you are," said a smoky voice behind her. Raven didn't have to turn around to know who it was. She mentally rolled her eyes and prepared to act normal.

"Principal Griffin!" she said with fake enthusiasm, turning to face her. "What a lovely surprise! Now I have the pleasure of you busting my balls at not one, but two schools."

Abby looked a little hurt at that. "Raven – a, you graduated two years ago, and b, I've never intended to 'bust your balls,' as you so delicately put it."

Raven snorted. "Really."

Abby stepped closer so that only Raven could hear. "After everything that happened three years ago…I just want to help you achieve your potential." Raven raised an eyebrow at her, not saying anything, standing her ground. She popped a carrot stick in her mouth.

Abby stepped back and sighed. She was one of only a handful of people who knew the truth about why Raven had repeated her junior year. She was a brilliant girl with so much potential, and Abby wished she could see herself the way Abby saw her. She tried again. "Thank you for giving her a ride tonight," Abby said. "I knew I might end up having to stay late, and we only have the one car, and…"

"It's not a problem," said Raven abruptly, shifting her feet.

Abby looked her evenly then, ignoring the way her temperature rose as their eyes met. "You haven't come around the house much lately," she said quietly. "Clarke misses you."

"Clarke sees me all the time," said Raven.

Abby swallowed. "Well…maybe I miss you, then," she said quietly, and she walked away.

Raven stood there, feeling completely unmoored, like she did after every encounter with Abby these days.

"So, when you said 'see who's cool around here,' you meant…my mom?" teased Clarke, coming up behind her.

"Ha," said Raven without much enthusiasm. "Yeah, I guess you're right. There's no one cool here. Let's bounce." She noticed that Clarke was smiling at that Emily girl from before. "Or did you want to stay? Maybe spill some more punch on some more girls' chests?"

Clarke smacked her on the arm. "SERIOUSLY, you guys have to stop hitting me!" Raven exclaimed. "Why do I have such violent friends?" Clarke put an affectionate arm around her shoulders, they beckoned Octavia over, and the three of them left Rosewood High together.