UPDATE (2013): I know it has been a very long time since I have posted on this and I highly doubt anyone will even read this author's note but I'm going to post it anyway... I've been re-working this story for the last several weeks and have decided to re-upload the chapters I've edited (severely edited) of this story. I have a lot planned for future fics and will post them once I'm done with the re-uploading. Hopefully people will still read this and if not... Oh well :)

The story revolves around the children of the Ducks from my Wonderland series while still incorporating the adult stories. There are pictures posted on my page of each character, if you're interested. Please review if you're reading this!

Chapter 1 - A Whole New World

Zachary David Reed had been staring at her from a distance for the last five minutes and although most people would find that unnerving or creepy - Zach didn't care. He was in love with Jade Nicole Germaine and had been for as long as he could remember. There was just one problem - two, actually. One, Jade had been dating his older, better-looking brother, Casey for two years. And two, Zach was sure that Jade barely knew he existed other than being her boyfriend's little brother.

He sighed, almost hopelessly as he closed his locker. He watched as she and Casey kissed and began walking down the hall.

The sound of a locker shutting closed snapped him out of his daydream. He turned around to see his friend, Lucy Riley standing in front of him with his arms closed.

He smiled, feeling a little flustered and embarrassed that she caught him once again admiring Jade form a distance.

"Hey, Lucy," he said, his voice squeaking - he was still a freshman after all.

"When are you going to stop fantasizing over her?" She asked. "You know she will never, ever think of you that way."

Zach went to talk but was interrupted by Lucy's twin brother, Kevin.

"Leave him alone, Luc," he said. "He's allowed to look if he wants to."

The three of them started walking towards the cafeteria.

"Like you have a right to say anything," Lucy said. Her brother gave her a curious look. "You're still obsessed with Lily Vanderbilt - a girl you knew when you were seven."

"Shut up," Kevin lowered his eyes, embarrassed.

"You two are pathetic," she shook her head. "You're the reason why we won't be cool in high school."

It was their first day at Eden Hall Academy and Lucy really wanted to make an impression. She wasn't one to ever be considered 'popular' but now that she was in high school, she felt different. Her sister, Molly, was one of the most popular girls in school; she was on the cheerleading team and dated a bunch of hot seniors, and Lucy wanted desperately to have some sort of connection to her.

But Lucy, along with Kevin and Zach, were self-proclaimed nerds. They loved science, and physics and chemistry; their current obsession? Robots. They were in the process of building one who could carry an egg from one end of the room to the other for the school's science fair in April. Oh, and then there was Lucy's glasses. She hated them for making her look like a nerd and because of her lazy eye, she couldn't wear contacts.

She groaned loudly when she saw that Zach was still staring at Jade when they were sitting in the cafeteria.

"Zach, come on!" She said, growing more and more frustrated with her friend. "I don't get why you like her so much anyway, what do you even know about her?"

"Other than the fact that she's dating your brother," Kevin teased.

Zach looked at her, quickly trying to come up with an answer but fell short. Sure, Jade was drop-dead-gorgeous but Lucy was right - Zach didn't know much about her other than how sweet she was around his family, and how she was always baking chocolate chip cookies, his favourite, and bringing them over. He loved those cookies…

"Hello, earth to Zach?" Lucy said, snapping her fingers in his face and once again bringing him out of his daydream.

"She's… perfect," Zach said, never taking his eyes off the girl of his dreams.

"I'm going to be sick," Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

"You're just jealous," Kevin shrugged and Lucy's eyes widened.

"Me? Jealous?" She gasped. "Jealous of Jade Germaine? Like that could even be possible," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Her brain is the size of a peanut."

"Tease all you want," Zach said, finally returning his gaze to his friends. "But at least we have someone to… obsess over," he said. "Have you ever had a boyfriend, Lucy?"

Lucy glared at him like she always did when he said something to insult her. Zach always seemed to know just how to get under her skin and she hated it. "I'll see you in the science lab, Kev," she said, as she began collecting her things.

"Aw, come on, Lucy," Zach said, apologetically. "I was just kidding."

But Lucy ignored him, stood up from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria.

"Nice one," Kevin nodded.

"I'm sure she'll get over it," Zach sighed. "It's Lucy - she always does." Kevin nodded and Zach returned his gaze over to Jade's direction.

"It's not like I didn't notice him last year but after this summer, Jared Portman is a bonafide hottie," Andria Banks said excitedly as she and her cousin Sophia Mendoza walked down the halls on the first day of school. They couldn't be more different; Andria was outspoken, spunky and fun while Sophia was reserved and introverted but it was part of the reason they were best friends. The other reason was that their mothers were half-sisters and so they grew up together basically attached at the hip.

Andria was talking about Jared Portman, the son of their parents' friends Dean and Julie, who recently chopped off his long locks over the summer.

"He's to die for, seriously Sophia," she said. "Have you seen him yet?"

"Of course I've seen him," Sophia said. "I'm the one who cut his hair!" She laughed. "We hung out all summer while you were away in Europe."

Sophia and Jared had always been close - they shared a half-sister, Gabrielle, but over the summer, their friendship had reached a new level. They hung out practically everyday and Sophia was learning more about Jared than she had ever learned about a boy before… and slowly, she was starting to think they could develop something more than a friendship.

"Right," Andria, who had spent the summer traveling around European cities with her pro-hockey player dad, Adam Banks, soap-star mom, Anna Warren and her two brothers, Aidan and Noah, like they did every summer. She loved traveling; meeting new people and being exposed to different cultures was such a whirl for Andria but she hated missing out on parties, gossip and especially the boys. She was a little angry that she had almost missed out on her chance with Jared Portman. "Well, whatever, he's a total hottie and Andria wants!" She said, winking.

"Well, good luck with that," Sophia said, trying to mask her jealousy because in most cases… what Andria wanted was exactly what Andria got.

"Speaking of total hottie," Andria said, excitedly as she spotted Jared walking towards them. "Hey Jared, over here!"

He walked over to them, looking dreamy as ever in a plain black t-shirt and jeans, and a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Hey girls," he said. "How are you guys?" He said, pulling them in for a bear hug.

Sophia inhaled as he inched closer to her; he always smelled amazing. She felt the warmth of his body pressed up against her and hoped she wasn't blushing as she took in the moment. She looked over and saw Andria hugging him just as tightly, and she deflated.

"We're good!" Andria said, as they pulled away. "First day bullshit and whatnot," she shrugged. "How was your summer? Love the new haircut by the way."

He grinned, running his fingers through his newly short black hair. "Yeah, I figured it was time for a change," he said. "And I have you to thank for that." He pointed to Sophia.

"Oh, it was nothing," she shrugged. "It was actually my pleasure."

She felt Andria's eyes watching her every move and knew that she was putting it all together.

"Well, I'm gonna go meet up with some of the guys," he said. "I'll see you at the Dean's speech later?"

"Yeah, can't wait," Andria said, sarcastically. "Come find me, we can totally sit together and make fun of him."

Jared laughed. "Sounds good, see you later!"

As soon as he was out of sight, Andria turned to her cousin and gasped. "Oh my God! You totally have a crush on him!"

"What?" Sophia blushed, feeling her palms sweat. "I do not!"

"Come on, Soph, I know you better than anyone," she said. Sophia looked at her. "I saw the look on your face when he hugged you," she continued. "It's OK - you can tell me."

"I do not have a crush on Jared," Sophia shook her head. "That would just be… absurd. We're just friends, he's more like a big brother anyway."

"Mhm, right," Andria said, skeptically. "Well, there's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, right?" Sophia looked at her curiously. "Game on, bitch," she winked.

Ryan Conway pushed her down against the back seat of his car as he continued thrusting into her. She nibbled on his ear and kissed his neck as she tossed her head back, trying desperately not to make a sound.

"Ryan," she whispered, pulling him for a kiss. "Mm, Ryan."

"I gotta go soon, Gabby," he said, panting. "I can't be late for first period - I have your mom."

"Ew, way to ruin the mood," she sat up. He smirked and she pulled him in for another kiss. "Just skip it."

"Yeah, that'll go over really well," he said. "I know what I'll say, 'I'm sorry I'm late Julie, I was too busy fucking your daughter in the backseat of my car to realize the time, oh by the way, we've been dating for months,'" he said, sarcastically. "I'm sure she'll really love me for that."

"Well, when you say it like that…" She trailed, a smirk appearing on her face. "Come on, just stay with me. I don't want to go to school." She pouted.

"Gabby, please," he said, as he started to put his clothes back on. "You're a part-time model who's taking a semester off… I would kill to have your life."

"Well, maybe you could if you were a couple years older," she mumbled, but sighed when she realized Ryan had heard her. "Sorry, I never mean to bring up the age thing but it just slips out."

Gabrielle and Ryan were eight years apart, the main reason they kept their newfound relationship a secret. Although Gabby was an adult, Ryan was a sixteen-year-old high school student and she knew their parents would never allow them to date.

She never wanted this; to have to sneak around and pretend to date other people to keep everyone off their tail. They were casual at first, just having fun after they drunkenly hooked up at a bar a couple of months ago but they decided to keep seeing each other and what was a summer of sex turned into a real relationship by the time school started but the thrill of sneaking around and being in a secret relationship was starting to wear off, at least for Gabrielle.

She was studying Sociology at NYU and did some modelling for catalogues and fashion magazines on the side but while spending her summer with her family in Minnesota over the summer and starting a relationship with Ryan, she had decided to take a semester off and stay in her hometown.

"It's OK, it's not like we can avoid talking about it forever," he said, leaning against the seat. The bell rang and he looked at her. "But it looks like we'll have to continue avoiding it for now."

"Mm, saved by the buzzer," she said with a smile. He leaned in for a kiss. "I love you, Ryan, have a good day at school."

"I love you too," he smiled, kissing her again. Ryan felt a tightening in his chest. He wasn't sure if she had even realized it but that was the first time they had said that to each other but in this moment, when they were just enjoying each other's company and not worrying about who would catch them, it felt right. "Why don't you try going to school for once?"

"I'll think about it," she laughed. "Call you tonight?"

He nodded, giving her one last kiss before he got out of the car and quickly came up with an excuse for being late to class.

"Aidan, hey!"

Aidan Banks spun around and smiled when he saw Jennifer Reed, daughter of Fulton and Tammy Reed, making her way over to him.

"Hey Jen," he said, admiring her glowing tan. "How was summer?"

"Good," she nodded. "I spent most of it with Casey and Jade at our cottage but it was good," she said. "Sucks you couldn't come but I'm sure you were having fun in Italy! How was that?"

"It was all right," he shrugged. "I feel like I've been to some of those places so many times, they're starting to get old."

Jen stared at him in awe. "I don't think I would ever get tired of spending my summers in Italy."

"Well, maybe I'll take you there someday," he said. She smiled at him. "So, I guess we don't have any classes together this semester, huh?"

"No, I don't think so," she shook her head as they continued down the hall. "Are you sure you have to spend another year at this horrible place?"

"Yup," he nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. He spent all of last year partying and cutting classes, thinking his parents would get him out of trouble if his grades ever got too bad but they weren't giving him a chance this time and so he was being held back a year. "Guess I should actually go to class this year."

"Yeah, that would be smart," she laughed. Aidan smiled too - he never felt like Jen was making fun of him or looking down on him, she was always on his side.

"I'm actually about to go sign myself up for a math tutor, so…" he trailed.

"Really?" She asked. "Well, you should totally ask my sister, Melanie to tutor you," she said. "She's a super genius and she's looking for a way to make some money so I'm sure she'd be willing to help you out."

"You think?" She nodded. "Well, I'll check it out," he said. "Thanks Jen, you're always looking out for me."

"Somebody has to," she shrugged. The bell rang. "Anyway, I have Spanish so I'll see you later? Maybe we can all meet up for lunch?"

"Sounds good," he nodded. "I'll see you then." She smiled and they went their separate ways. "This is gonna be a good year."