A/N: Let me be honest. I don't really write fanfic. This came about when my brother and I wanted to revamp our Finn and Fionna cosplays to make them more of a school life anime sort of vibe. To go along with that, I wrote out a plot that would match the idea of Adventure Time characters all going to school together. In the end, we retired the cosplay, but I finished writing the story and figured, hey, might as well put this somewhere, right? This is really a one shot broken up into three parts to make it a smoother read.
Anyway, hope you at least get a kick out of it!
The A. D. Venture Time Academy opened when everyone realized there was no decent place to get an education. Founded by a most honorable person whose name no one seems to recall, it was the first school of higher than nothing learning in the land.
What the school looks like isn't all that important. It's what happens inside the three story, brick, steel, and gingerbread walls with wide windows and green double doors, complete with magic ice staircase at the entrance and a neon sign reading "A. D. Venture Time Academy" out front in the spacious grounds that's worth talking about.
Classes start at precisely 7:23 A.M.
Students that intend to be there on time have already taken their seats. Students that make a point to show up very late, if at all, continue to float by their lockers, hoping to be spotted by staff and reprimanded, as it gives them a chance to "Stick it to the Man, man."
One student doesn't fall into either of these categories. He would like to be on time, but is habitually late anyway. Sprinting through the halls at 7:24, Finn D. Human barely avoids slipping on the wet floor as he races by the cinnamon based school janitor. His blond hair sticks out in all directions, an unmanageable mess.
If there's a dress code at the school, no one knows it. Baggy navy shorts, black high tops, and a pale blue T-shirt don't provide much warmth in the winter, but Finn is never without his white jacket. The bear eared hood flaps out behind him like a flag as he runs. One hand clutches the strap of his green backpack while the other holds his homework, completed only recently.
At the end of the hall, only one classroom remains open. If he can make it before the door shuts, he might be able to avoid getting detention this weekend. And he really can't afford to have detention this weekend.
From inside the classroom, he sees the chalkboard and the back of the teacher writing on it. When the green skinned man turns, his eyes spot Finn from beneath the wide brimmed yellow hat. They narrow and Finn picks up the pace.
The race is on.
The teacher vaults over the first row of desks.
Finn wrinkles the homework as he pumps his arms faster.
The teacher knocks aside the projector.
Finn considers abandoning his backpack to lighten the load.
The teacher grabs ahold of the classroom door.
Finn ducks under his arm just as it slams shut.
"Very well, Finn," the teacher says, begrudgingly accepting the homework assignment offered to him. "Until tomorrow."
"Until tomorrow." Though gasping for breath, Finn walks proud, dropping into the last empty seat in the middle of the classroom.
"You know, if you didn't wait until breakfast to do your homework, you wouldn't have to race Mr. Man every day." A girl sits beside him, her long blonde hair held up in pigtails with a couple of floppy white bows, making her look a bit like a bunny. The sleeves of her sky blue shirt trail across the desk as she takes notes. Underneath her darker blue skirt, she wears a pair of white leggings, a fashion choice mandated by school faculty due to Fionna's habit of kicking the faces of those who annoy her.
"How can I do homework when there are zombies to bash?" Finn asked, dumping the contents of his backpack onto the desk. Notebooks tumble out over candy bars while and broken pencil tries to make its escape, rolling to the edge of the desk.
Fionna smirked. "You're still stuck on bashing zombies?" she asked, catching the pencil before it can clatter to the floor.
"Maybe." This felt like a trap. "Why? What are you bashing?"
"Nothing," she said, continuing note taking with her newly acquired prize.
"No. There is never just nothing," Finn argued, accidentally sounding deep in his quest to find out what monsters his friend had been fighting behind his back. "Tell me."
Fionna looked quite set on keeping her mouth shut. Then she took pity on him. "Robo-werewolves from space."
"No way!" His outburst received an eraser right to the face. With a chalk dust square marking his cheek, Finn continued to stare incredulously at Fionna. She refused to say another word on the topic.
After class, Fionna fully expected Finn to pester her about not inviting him to battle intergalactic steam powered lycanthropes, but back out in the safety of the school hallway, he became oddly focused.
"Have you seen Flame Princess?" Finn asked, standing on his backpack to see over the colorful crowd of students milling about.
"Not this morning. Why?"
"What? No reason." Finn made that face he made when he was lying. And also when he was hungry. Fionna wasn't sure which one this situation was, since she herself was also pretty hungry.
"Oh, come now, Fionna! It's obvious why Finn's looking for her." Turning, Fionna found one of the school's co-presidents waltzing towards them. "He wants to ask her to the dance!"
Finn turned the same color pink as Princess Bubblegum's complexion. "No. I, I just want to talk to her."
"Don't be shy, Finn," Princess Bubblegum said, tossing her long fuscia hair back. She wore so many shades of pink, it was hard to tell them all apart. A mid length hot pink dress over amaranth tights and cotton candy heels, complete with a short carnation jacket embroidered with the school crest on the lapel. Only the gold necklace set with a green stone provided any sort of color contrast. "It's wonderful to see young love begin to bloom over the dance I put so much time into."
"You mean the dance we put so much time into." Prince Gumball, A. D. Venture Time's other co-president joined their group. "We are both in charge of the Housegoing committee."
It might have been their shared love of the color pink that led the rest of the school to believe these two could easily share a presidency. Prince Gumball currently wore a pink argyle sweater vest, also bearing the school crest, over a pale pink button up and perfectly ironed charm pink pants. He kept his hair styled up, as perfect as his pants.
Princess Bubblegum cast her co-president a glowering glare, hands clutching the bottom of her flowing dress. "Yes, we are," she agreed, voice sugary sweet and dangerously calm. "And I'm sure everyone is going to think your snack contributions are just as important as my lighting and music."
Offended, Prince Gumball's arms folded across his chest. "If it were up to you, we'd have stale chips and store bought punch."
"If it were up to you we'd have nothing more than a disco ball and some flashlights."
"Don't you have your date to build?"
"Don't you have a soufflé to burn?"
"So, are you really asking Flame Princess to the dance?" Fionna brought her attention from the arguing student council leaders back to Finn.
"Well, yeah, I guess so." Finn tugged his jacket hood up, trying to hide beneath the bear ears. "She'll probably say no."
Fionna quickly moved to disagree, but was interrupted by Princess Bubblegum.
"That all depends on how you ask her."
Finn gazed up with a blank look. "How I ask her? You mean, with an accent?"
"No," Prince Gumball shook his head. "With spectacle!"
"He's right."
From down the hall came a tall young man, giving off a warm yellow glow as he moved. Laying eyes the group, Flame Prince quickly changed his course to walk over. Unnoticed at first, he opened his mouth to greet them, but was silenced by the rare act of the co-presidents agreeing on something.
"School dances are beyond important," Princess Bubblegum continued. "And it's a time to show that person you like that you think they're beyond important, too."
"You can't just go up and ask her like you're borrowing a pencil," said Prince Gumball. "You have to put some effort into it."
"And, how do I do that?" Finn asked, listening as intently as Flame Prince.
"With a choreographed dance number," Princess Bubblegum declared.
"Or a clever limerick," Prince Gumball added. Flame Prince tugged anxiously at the collar of his orange jacket.
"Fireworks!"
"A huge sign!"
"Something big!"
"Something memorable!"
"A grand gesture!" they said together.
Suddenly relieved that he was still unnoticed, Flame Prince slowly backed away, his red boots making no sound as he disappeared back into the crowd of students.
Fionna took her overwhelmed friend by the shoulders and turned him to face her. "Or you just ask her," she said to Finn, ignoring the groans from the other two. "If she wants to go with you, she'll be happy you had to courage to asked her at all."
Slowly, Finn pulled himself out of his daze. "You're right," he said, nodding once. Then nodding again with renewed determination. "You're right! I'm going to go ask her right now!" Sliding past Princess Bubblegum and Prince Gumball, Finn raced down the hall.
The bell rang moments and the others dispersed, heading to their own classes. Just when the hallway was almost empty, Flame Princess herself happened along. Her simple ensemble, pleated orange skirt, black flats, and a pretty red top somehow enhanced the soft light she gave off as she went down the hall.