Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with 90210.

Author's note: My first attempt at a 90210 fic. Originally, this was supposed to be post-season 1 but the storylines were so similar to season 2 and 3 that I've altered it to be post-season 2 and AU from Season 3 onwards, although many of the events of Season 3 will be incorporated into this.

Innocence's Loss

Chapter I

It took her three hours to decide what to wear this morning. She hated it. It had never taken her this long before and what was she trying to do anyway? All she was trying to do was dress like herself, but all these clothes were hers, so who else could she have dressed as anyway?

Damn it, worst start to the day possible. She walked through the entrance of the school, feeling all at once overwhelmed by the quantity of people the building contained. It hadn't seemed that claustrophobic outside but inside... The whole place was buzzing and she had a feeling her entrance had caused it all. Whispers of Naomi reached her ears and she didn't bother straining to hear what they said. More out of fear than self-assurance, she admitted to herself, hating herself all the more for that fact.

"Naomi!"

This time, she did turn around because she recognised the voice. "Ade," her mouth formed the first genuine smile in hours. How shit that she had even been awake for that long! "You look good," she said, appreciating the simple green top over denim skirt that she wore. Trust Ade to make a simple outfit, no labels or anything, look like a piece of art. Clearly, the tour hadn't changed Ade that much. "So this is the start to the new year."

"Yup. How've you been? I can't believe I haven't seen you all summer!"

Naomi thought back to the last few days, bottles of wine, dark room, lethargy... There was definitely a reason why Ade hadn't seen her for the last few days. It seemed a little ironic, in a humourless sort of way, that as one of them got over dangerous addictions and dark emotional states, the other fell into it. "Yeah, I've been a little busy," she said, in a voice that was carefully light. "Sorting out my closet for the new year," She explained to Ade's questioning look with a quick lie. "And how was your summer, Miss Star?"

"That is a lot of work. Hey, have you seen Navid today?" Ade's eyes were darting left, right, everywhere, trying to search for her boyfriend and ignoring the question. She hadn't seen him either for a while and it felt weird to have seen neither her best friend, nor her boyfriend for those days. Sure, singing to such a large audience was fun but the truth was that she had missed her friends. A lot. She had seen Silver already but...she was intense. And so negative about everything. It was a lot more exhausting to be around Silver than it was to be around either Naomi or Navid and far less interesting too, if she was honest.

"No I haven't. Miss him already? How many hours has it been since you saw him? Or is it only minutes?" Naomi lightly teased her friend, trying to ignore the looks and whispers. Experience didn't make this unwanted attention any more palatable than it had been last year, with everything happening with Liam and Annie and... Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the slight furrowing in Ade's brow or the way her lips tightened a little before she spoke.

"Actually, I haven't seen him in a few days. So you're wrong on both counts. Hey, there's Teddy. I'll see you later." Her quick steps took her away from Naomi towards the tall blonde she'd known for years, seeking solace in familiarity that yet wouldn't know her so well that he'd notice that she was upset. And why was she upset? She couldn't explain it to herself. It had been a small fight and they'd made up a couple of hours later. Spending the whole summer on tour had been too much for the both of them and it wasn't that uncommon for her to not see Navid for a few days, especially with as large a family as he had and the babysitting they often got him to do. So why did it bother her that she hadn't seen him for a few days? Maybe it was because she hadn't seen Naomi for a few days either? But none of these explanations made that uncomfortable knot in her stomach disappear or made her smile genuine when she said hi to Teddy.

"Looking forward to final year?" Cheesy smile to hide her total lack of interest in the subject. To think that she had stardom within her grasp, only to have it taken away by some brat of a guy who couldn't handle rejection.

"Hell yeah!" Teddy smiled his automatically charming smile, allowing his gaze to sift around for a quick moment. "And I've clearly already made an entrance." He wasn't sure whether it was his good looks or his famous connections but there were whispers and looks directed at him. "Was that Naomi?"

"Yup. Anyway, what do you have first? I can take you to the classroom?"

"And cause scandal and controversy? You really like the lime-light, don't you?" It was meant to be light-hearted, so much so that he didn't notice Ade flinch from his suggestion. But it didn't matter. A moment later, Dixon had entered the building with Annie, drawing increased whispers and some spoken declarations of belittlement. It hadn't been long before everyone had found out about the ex-principal having become the ex-principal. A little more digging and the reason had been found out soon enough and there was some underlying resentment surfacing. Trust the principal's kid to get away with everything. And to top it off, it had spread like wild-fire that Annie had been the one involved in the hit-and-run. All of the underlying resentment from the previous year, having to go to summer school, resurfaced with a vengeance and all of it was pointedly in the siblings' direction.

But Teddy wasn't one of them. "Dixon, what's up my man?" Brotherly love was shared in a strictly platonic embrace that lasted no more than a few seconds, Ade noted passingly. Her eyes were trained on Naomi, walking away. Something was wrong. Or rather, something wasn't right, and she had no idea what. Maybe it was the whole break-up with Liam but that was a while ago? Or maybe Jen was stirring things up again? But Naomi was distinctly on her to-do list. Right after finding Navid and sorting out whatever was happening.

She returned her attention onto Teddy, as Naomi disappeared around the corner, her long strides leaving a regular tattoo on the floor that could be heard, despite the noise that surrounded them. She just had that impact.

The strides were carefully calculated; Naomi was careful to not let a single step falter. She was damned if she'd let anyone know what happened. Within a moment, a very short moment, all of her thoughts stopped. All of her plans, dreams of vengeance and exacting justice disappeared because she saw Liam by his locker and she felt a new pain inside. A new pain that was yet old and familiar... God, she hated him. And as much as she hated him, she loved him that much more. Still. And worse than that, she could hear his taunting words, accusing her of selfishness and of digging her own grave. She'd cried wolf. There was nothing she could do about it now except get over it.

Her legs carried on moving, her footsteps never faltering, her face assumed a neutral expression, refusing to show any of the turmoil that had erupted inside of her; before he could look up and notice her, she had slipped into the girls' bathroom that was there before the lockers, slipping herself into an empty cubicle before anyone could see anything wrong. And the words, conversations, filtered through to her. Discussing Mr Cannon, how he was back for another year.

She had no idea what to do. She was fucked.

It took her a while to realise that the conversations had stopped, that she was surrounded by silence and that she had clearly missed the bell signalling the start of school. Didn't matter. Not really, not at all. Because she had no idea what she would do, what she could do, if the rumours were true and Mr Cannon was still around.