Chapter One: The New Kid

Jack's POV

I open the door to the office of the headmistress of my the Torchwood Preparatory Institute, a.k.a. My New School. And I'm nervous. I have never been nervous before in my life.

"You must be Jack," the headmistress, a relatively pretty brunette says. "I'm Ms. Sladen."

"Yeah… hi," I say. Come on, Jack, stop being nervous. What's the worst that can happen?

"It's very nice to meet you," she smiles. She's friendly. I can already tell that. "But you aren't in uniform."

I hate school uniforms with a passion. "I forgot about that," I lie quickly.

"We have extra uniforms in the nurse's office," she replies, clearly having bought my fib. "Why don't we go down there? You should meet Ms. Pond anyway."

Okay, how to get out of this… "Oh, do I have to?" I sort-of-but-not-quite-whine. "It's my first day, I swear I won't do it again… Besides… I think I look pretty good in this, no?" I grin cheekily. Another thing about me: I know exactly how good-looking I am, partly because people tend to stare at me when I walk by, partly because people tell me so, and partly because I've looked at myself in a mirror, and I'm not too good a person to use that to my advantage. Some people call me a brat. They're probably right. But the day I actually give a flying fuck is never ever going to come.

She can't hide her smile, and in an instant I know I've won. "Okay, fine," she sighs. "But just for today. If you do it again, I will send you home.

"Thanks," I grin. "I swear I won't do it again."

"I certainly hope so," she half-sighs and half-smiles. "I'll walk you to your first class."


Gwen's POV

"We have a new student today," Ms. Sladen announces as she walks into the room. "This is Jack Harkness." I have to stifle a snort. This new kid might be wearing the most ridiculous outfit I have ever seen in my entire life. I mean, he practically looks like a character on a TV show. I turn to my best friend, Tosh, and she too is holding back laughter. As is everyone in the class. "Yes, I know he's not in uniform," Ms. Sladen sighs. Damn right he's not. Unless someone managed to change the school rules so that jeans, suspenders, and the world's longest, stupidest, came-from-a-time-warp blue coat, the uniform. And then there's the hat. Hats aren't allowed in school in general, but that one should be burned. "But I've made an exception, since it's his first day and he forgot." I roll my eyes. Ten quid that that's absolute total bullcrap. But from the look on Ms. Sladen's face, Mr. Hot Shot Jack Harkness managed to convince her otherwise. I wonder how for a few moments, and then I notice that Ms. Sladen is blushing ever-so-slightly.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," I mutter. Ms. Sarah Sladen is one of the most grounded and responsible people I've ever met. She doesn't take crap. And yet this ridiculous-looking, although admittedly cute, guy, has managed to get her to bend the rules.

"I don't exactly blame her," Tosh murmurs from next to me, of course knowing exactly what I'm thinking. She always does. We've been friends since kindergarten.

"Shut up," I mutter back.

"He is cute, though."

"I'm taken." And, indeed, I am. I've been with my boyfriend, Rhys, for nearly two years. I love him, he loves me, and that's the end of that. Nobody can get in the way of that, not even this Jack character. Especially not this Jack character.

"Well, anyway," Ms. Sladen says quickly, "I hope you all are kind and welcoming to Jack. Have a good day." And she leaves the room, just a bit too quickly.

"There's a seat for you back there," Dr. Smith says, pointing. I decide not to look and see who his seatmate is. If I did, I wouldn't be able to focus on history, as I'd be too busy feeling sorry for that very unlucky kid.


Jack's POV

The bell rings and I quickly and quietly get up and leave, the way I have for the past five classes. I know that the other kids have holding back laughter at my sticking out like a sore thumb for the past three hours. It only bugs me a little bit, though. I have a feeling I'll make friends anyway.

I decide to say hello to the first people I see on my walk to the cafeteria. And the first people I see are two girls walking side by side. I recognize them as the ones who seemed to be the most… amused… by the whole thing. Ah well. I'm going with it.

"Hi," I say, trying to catch up with them. And then I notice exactly how pretty the girl on the left is. Solid ten. Pushing an eleven. "I'm Jack." I grin broadly.

"Uh, yeah, we know," pretty-girl says, rolling her eyes, and then they walk away.

"A gallant effort," someone says from behind me. I turn to see my seatmate. I don't know his name, but maybe he'll be nice. "But you'll never win them over. Gwen's taken and Tosh wishes she were by someone else."

"I was only saying hello," I argue.

"Yeah, and I have a feeling that for you, that's flirting." He grins cheekily.

"Okay, you got me," I sigh, putting my hands up. "How the hell did you know that?"

"Ms. Sladen doesn't bend rules. Ever. I have a feeling Gwen and Tosh know that too."

"Fuck, I shouldn't have pushed the uniform thing," I mutter. "Social suicide."

"You'll be alright," my seatmate replies. "Personally, I kind of like the getup. It's weird, but it's not that bad. Are you planning on wearing the uniform tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately." I roll my eyes. "I hate uniforms. Anyway, I don't think I caught your name." He raises an eyebrow at me. "Stop it!" I exclaim. "I don't flirt every-"

He laughs, cutting me off. "Your face there was priceless. Ianto Jones. I'm glad you came to school; I could use a friend… assuming you're… interested."

"Hey, now you're going at it," I tease. "And sure. I'm surprised you don't have many friends. You seem nice."

"Yeah, except I usually don't talk much. Except to my sister, Martha. That's her, there." He points to a black girl talking with the two girls I saw earlier.

We walk into the cafeteria, and it's tiny, way smaller than any I've ever been in. "Okay, so who's everyone else?" I ask as we sit down at a table. "Go table by table."

"Alright." He points to the table on our left. "Over there you have Matt and Amy Smith, Amy's boyfriend Rory Darvill, and Catherine and Chris Noble. They're the funny kids of the school. If someone screws around with someone else, they're bound to be one of those five."

"Okay, what about that table over there?" I point to the one farthest from us.

"That's the genius table. Ben Watson, Irene Pulver, Spencer Gray, Derek Moore, Kirsten Garcia, Jennifer Cook, and Emily Brewster. If you want to remain confident of your own intelligence, stay away from them."

"I'll keep that in mind. And those guys? That's your sister over there, and who else?"

"Yeah, that's Martha. The one we can see best is Owen Harper, official class player. Well, one of." He shoots me a pointed look. I roll my eyes. "Anyway, next to him is Toshiko Sato, Gwen Cooper is the one you think is pretty-"

"What?!" I exclaim.

"You think she's pretty," he says matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?" Oh, crap, I think.

"I mean you think she's pretty. And the fact that you're trying to deny it doesn't exactly help your case." He grins.

"And she's taken, you said." I sigh, both at the fact that Ianto's right yet again and that, well, she's taken.

"Yeah, that's her boyfriend next to her. Rhys."

"How long have they been together?" I ask.

"Nearly two years," he replies. My face falls. "But that doesn't mean you don't have a chance with her." Noticing my confused look, he continues, "The thing is, Rhys isn't good enough for her. He's nowhere near as smart, doesn't have much in common with her… They love each other, but I think that, if she were presented with other options, better options-" he grins at me "-she could leave him. I'm not saying go after her. That won't work. But we can become friends with them, and maybe, once she gets to know you better, you'll have a shot."

"You think so?" I ask hopefully.

"If you play your cards right, and you're lucky, and Rhys doesn't all of a sudden become worth her time, then, yeah, I think you have a chance. Not a very big one, but definitely one to go for. I would be careful, though. Gwen's nice, really nice, but she's got a bit of a temper and doesn't like to be annoyed."

"Think I got that one, thanks. How're we supposed to become friends with them, though?"

"Martha's nice. Pretty sure she feels sorry for you, just a bit, and she won't mind us hanging out with them. And the others are, too. We'll fit in. I'd be hanging out with them every day if it weren't for the fact that I don't like talking to people much."

"Sounds like a plan," I grin, and Ianto and I high-five. "Oh, you forgot to tell me who those three are." I point to three girls whispering to each other at the table behind us.

"Bad news," he says darkly. "Have you ever seen the movie Mean Girls?"

"Secret favorite movie," I reply, face flushing slightly. "Don't tell."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Although… I know Gwen likes that one." I roll my eyes. "Anyway, those three are legitimately real-life Plastics. It's creepy, actually, how similar they are. Clara Coleman's the dumb one-"

"The one who looks like she's eleven?" I ask, pointing to a girl with blond hair and big brown eyes who does, in fact, look eleven.

"Finally, I'm not the only one who thinks that!" Ianto laughs. "Yeah, that's her. The one with the big hair is Melody Kingston. And yes, her hair is full of secrets. And the really dark-haired one is Suzie Costello." I swear, when he says it, dramatic music plays in the background. "Official class bitch. Gossip, liar, will do anything to ruin the lives of people she doesn't like. Avoid her and her cronies like the plague."

"Got it," I nod. "Mind telling me, what earned Suzie the role of a dark-haired Regina George? Has she always been a bitch, or is there some dramatic story?"

"No, she's always been like that, and God only knows why Melody and Clara love her so much. They always have."

"Okay, one more question," I ask with a conspiratorial grin. "On Wednesdays, do they wear pink?"

Ianto laughs. "No, they don't. They actively avoid that stuff from the movie. Probably because they know everyone already thinks they're real-life Plastics."

"Makes sense," I reply. "Okay, so let me get this straight: if I avoid Suzie and company, am impressed by the geniuses, and laugh at the clowns, I'll survive, and if I keep my big ego in check, I'll maybe have a shot with Gwen?"

"You got it," Ianto grins. "I suppose that's it, then… Welcome to Torchwood, Jack." And we high-five once again. "God, that was really cheesy."


Hey y'alls! Here's the first chapter of Bad Boy! I think this'll be really fun. Don't worry, I'll keep updating Tales from the Hub and Flame, but I've wanted to do this ever since I saw another teenage Torchwood one with the evil phrase "Gwenbashing galore" in the description.

I have two challenges to announce!

First, the CRIMINAL MINDS CHALLENGE: Watch the first episode of Criminal Minds (you can find it on Netflix). You have ONE shot to guess my favorite character, and if you do, you get a ONESHOT in your honor! The challenge ends March 1st.

The second challenge is to tell me who ALL the stock characters are meant to reference! If you do, you get a shoutout in the next chapter!

As always, love and ducks to the Lone Shippers, hugs to supporters, thanks to Eleonora, Noe, Hanul, and Kizzie, and cookies for all.

Love,

Ofelia xxxx