hey guys! this is my first AU fic. hope you all enjoy and don't hesitate to review!
thanks to laffers and trussell for their help!
"Mr. Hodgins, would you like to explain to me why there are bugs ALL OVER THIS FLOOR?"
"Ms. Brennan, why is Mr. Sullivan's nose bleeding?"
"Mr. Booth, why is Mr. Stires clutching his face in agony?"
"Ms. Montenegro, why is Miss Bryar's locker PAINTED SHUT?"
Jack snickered. Temperance was fuming. Booth didn't look up. Angela bit her lip.
"Saturday detention. ALL OF YOU!"
Angela was dragging her messenger bag out the passenger side of her Jeep just as Jack pulled up in his Ferrari. "Hey, Angie," he shouted out of the convertible.
"Ugh, get lost," Angela said, her half-purple, half-black hair obscuring some of her face.
"Aw, don't be like that, baby," Jack said, catching up to Angela and putting his arm around her.
She shrugged him off. "What are you even doing here?"
"You don't wanna know," Jack responded, wiggling his eyebrows. Once inside the library, they plopped down at a table.
"Um, Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"Tempe's gonna sit here, so you might wanna move over there," Angela told him, pointing to the empty seat next to Tim Sullivan, whose nose was bruised and crooked. Jack started to snort, but moved when Angela gave him a scathing glare.
"Nerd," Sully said.
"Asshole," Jack replied.
"Uhh is this detention?"
Angela whistled. "It sure is, honey. What's your name, sweetheart?"
He blushed and took the seat behind her. "Booth," he mumbled.
Angela turned around and took in his appearance. He was wearing faded jeans and an old Flyers sweatshirt. "I'm Angela," she said, and they shook hands.
Booth leaned back and decided to settle in for the few hours ahead. Sighing and looking around, he saw a kid with huge blue eyes and unbelievably curly hair sulking next to another kid with a broken nose. Looking up, he saw the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen walk in. She wore jeans, a tank top under a button-down shirt, and low-top Converse sneakers. Her long auburn hair was pulled into a ponytail and she carried a navy blue backpack on one shoulder.
"Hey, Temp. Saved you a seat."
"Thanks, Ange," she replied, plopping down next to her friend.
"You didn't seriously bring work, did you?" Angela asked.
"I'm being detained against my will. I might as well get some work done," Temperance countered, pulling out a book titled Anatomy and Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function. "Besides, you brought work too."
Angela glanced at her bag and laughed. "Art isn't work, sweetie."
"What is it then?" Booth said from behind them.
"Oh my God I forgot! Booth, this is Temperance. Tempe, this is Booth."
Temperance gave him a critical once-over. "You're new here?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah. I…just moved here," he managed to get out. He was so nervous talking to her.
"How are you liking it here at Sidwell Friends? I mean, apart from you getting detention."
She was smiling and he smiled too. "It's pretty good."
"Alright, delinquents, listen up! You have two bathroom breaks and a lunch break. Each one of you better sit here and think about why you're here, and how you can make up for whatever you've done. I'll be back," the principal told them, turning and striding out with a purpose.
Jack flipped him off when his back was turned. "Bourgeois, authoritative moron."
"Save it, Jack," Angela said.
"So you think he seriously has some reasonable, actual authority over us?"
Angela rolled her eyes.
"Why don't you start worrying more about yourself and less about authority?" Sully asked.
"Maybe you should worry about what I'll do to you. I have ants that can give you bites so painful you'll want to kill yourself," Jack snarled.
"Take your own advice, Jack," Sully replied, pushing Jack out of his chair. "Hey, Tempe," he said, smirking.
"Shove it up your ass, Sully," she shot back.
"Dick," Angela said.
After an hour of sitting around getting a stiff back, Tempe got up, stretched, and sat next to Booth. "Gum?" she asked.
"Sure," Booth said, taking the blue stick and folding it into his mouth.
"So, you're new." Booth nodded. "You look familiar. Where ya from?"
"Philly."
"Huh. Cool. Well, you still look familiar."
Angela spun around. "Oh my God! Duh, Tempe! He's in our World Religions class!"
"Right! I find that class very informative."
"Uh, yeah, me too," Booth replied nervously.
"Lunch break!" the principal announced over the PA.
"Come on, Booth, let's eat," Temperance said, pulling him over to the statue in the middle of the floor.
"I, uh…I didn't bring any lunch."
"That's OK," Temperance said happily, pulling an extra sandwich out of her bag.
"Oh, uh, OK," Booth said, accepting it along with a strawberry yogurt and a juice box.
"Uh, sweetie? Why do you have two lunches?" Angela asked as she and the other two boys joined them.
"Oh, my 'mom' packed two."
"Why?" Angela asked.
"She doesn't know you're here, does she?" Jack asked, his eyes widening.
Temperance laughed. "No. They think I'm at your house, Ange."
"Why are you here?" Booth asked. "I mean, what'd you do?"
"I broke that asshole's nose," she responded, pointing at Sully.
"What'd he do to you?" Booth asked, his concern causing Angela to smirk knowingly.
"He called me a cheating whore," Temperance answered simply. Booth looked uncomfortable. "We never dated." He was relieved. "Your parents mad?" she asked.
"Uh, I live with my grandfather. And yeah, I have extra chores. And I have to do like a million Hail Marys for penance."
"Bummer," Angela said. "My dad's just mad at the school. So no worries, Tempe, he won't rat you out to Patti and Mark."
"Patti and Mark?" Booth asked.
"My foster parents," Temperance explained, waving her index finger in the air in a circular motion and rolling her eyes. "So what'd ya do, Ange?"
Angela snickered, then laughed. "I…I…" she started, then motioned Jack closer.
Jack burst out laughing next to Angela. "She…she waited til Catherine Bryar was in the shower," he breathed, "then she…she…she painted her locker shut!" he wailed.
Booth and Temperance burst out laughing, leaning on each other for support. "What about you, Boothy?" Angela asked.
"Oh, I, um…I punched Michael Stires in the face." The girls and Jack high-fived him. Sully sulked by the statue.
"Good one," Angela said.
"Yeah, he's a pompous jerk," Jack said. "I put beetles in Gilbert's classroom," he said, smiling.
"So that's what happened!" Angela said. "Tessa came out of AP French with a beetle down her bra." Jack, Angela, and Temperance burst out laughing and Booth smiled.
"So," Temperance started once they had calmed down, "I'm sure Booth's not your real name. I mean, it's not your first name, is it? Unless your parents were really eclectic or something, which is cool."
Booth smiled as Temperance's ponytail swayed. "No, but…"
"But what?" she asked.
"My first name's kind of embarrassing."
"It can't be worse than Temperance." Booth gave her a look. "Oh, come on, just tell me."
"OK," Booth acquiesced, and they leaned towards each other. "Seeley," he whispered.
Temperance put her lips close to his ear in return. "I like it," she whispered back.
The door slammed as the principal walked in again. "You better be thinking about how you're all going to make up for what you've done." Everyone cleaned up their trash and went back to sitting at their tables.
"Hey!" Sully shouted, and Angela, Booth, and Temperance looked over to see Jack on top of Sully, punching him in the arm.
"Oh my God, Jack, what are you doing?" Angela asked, wincing as Sully slapped him in the face.
"He said…he said…that you're a rich slut who dates guys for your own satisfaction and he wouldn't be surprised if you were pregnant!" Jack shouted.
"What the hell?" Angela shrieked, running among the shelves of books.
"Come on, Jack," Booth said, prying the surprisingly strong, curly-headed kid off the jock. "Go talk to her," he advised as Jack wiped his nose on his sleeve.
"Ha!" Sully laughed. "What are you gonna do about it?" he asked Booth. Booth didn't answer; he just stood there seething, cracking his knuckles again and again. "What are you, some kind of idiot? What do you even have going for you? Your clothes are old, you have no friends, and you're stupid."
Booth clenched his jaw. "Yeah, so my clothes aren't fancy, I'm new, and I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but at least I'm not a total dick." For good measure, Booth spit in Sully's face. "Hey look, detention's over," he remarked, walking back to Temperance.
"So," she started, "what are we going to do to remedy our situations?"
They looked back at Sully, who was slouched on the floor. "I think we've done enough," Booth said as they walked out together.