Let me start off by saying that this was an idea, not related to HSM, in my head. It had original characters and plot, but due to the fact that it was intended as a television series, and I can't even fathom as to how I would be able to get that to happen, I have adopted it as a fanfiction for my favorite fandom. The original story had a female lead, and would develop into a traditional, heterosexual, romance. Other than that, it's pretty much the same. Maybe I'll post the original somewhere else, who knows? Anyways, here is my highly anticipated (by me), and somewhat hyped (in the sense that it was decided by you guys) new story.

Chapter One: The New Start

It was a time of celebration in the Romantic Affairs Office. Reginald, of District 12/ Sector SE 2, was going into retirement, and today was his Retirement Party. The office would never allow a party during working hours, so it was arranged on a Saturday morning. The entire office had been decorated for the celebration: there were baby cacti in decorative pots around the place, and succulent looking cactus pears were lying in complex arrangement in bowls of various shapes and sizes. Green and yellow streamers also littered the pathways, spelling out wishes of good times to follow. The centerpiece of the entire party, however, was the cake that one of his peers had baked: it was a sheet cake with really ornately designed patterns across it. The frosting had various flourishes strewn across it. To be put simply: it was a beautiful party.

"Today, we are celebrating the goodbye of our dear old friend, Reginald Wilde. There hasn't been a day where I can't remember coming into this office and seeing a huge pile of paperwork on my desk," a few people chuckled. "thanks to the very detailed reports he always made. I think that will be the one thing I'll miss- or maybe not- about you. Cheers!" Howard put his glass in the air.

"Cheers!" The others followed.

"Now let's get into that cake of your, Persi!" Said Howard.

"It's Persephone, and no one gets any until Regi has his slice." Persephone teased.

Reginald was standing by the cake, minding his own business, when Persephone asked him to cut the cake.

"What for?"

"Come on! It's your last day, why not just go with it?" Persephone asked.

After much coercing, Reginald finally relented. He wasn't one for these special occasions. Yes, he was retiring, but he felt it unnecessary to throw a huge blowout for himself. He kept his mouth shut, though, realizing this was probably more important to the others, and went with it. Well, most of it.

After the cake, there were other people who wished to say something. Most of the speeches were nice, but Tiffany's speech was quite provocative, she ended her speech asking Reginald to giver her a goodbye kiss. He politely declined, feeling a simple handshake or hug should be sufficient. In the end, the guys pushed him into her and made him peck her on the cheek. Then she acted all embarrassed and mumbled something about sexual harassment. He never really liked the girl.

Then the music came on. A few people started dancing, Tiffany being one of them, and then helpless victims were dragged onto the dance floor to embarrass themselves. Reginald managed to get through this part unscathed, and was grateful for it. He hadn't danced in years.

An hour later, after the party had died down, and many left to go home. Everyone said their goodbyes to Reginald before they left as they filed out. Soon, Reginald was the only one left in the room. We did a last walk around it, remembering all of the moments he had there. It was weird to think he would never return here again- now he had a life! He was excited about being able to do whatever he wanted, maybe he could finally go out and see the world. He would go to Paris, Rome, Italy- tour all of Europe, like had always dreamed to.

His dreams were cut short, when a clearing of the throat behind him alerted him that he was not alone. It was Robert Chang, the head of the department.

"Reginald? Could I see you in my office?" He asked.

"Why? We're the only ones in here." Reginald asked back.

"Because, the files I have for you are in there." Robert walked to his office. "Well? Come on then!"

Once they were situated, Robert started.

"Well, congratulations on your retirement. Although I must say my congratulations are a bit early. I wanted to tell you this earlier, but it was such a nice party. Your retirement isn't official yet- there was one last assignment Howard forgot to give you: you have to take on an apprentice. We have found one that would be perfect, and we are processing him as we speak. We'll send you notification when he ready." Robert said slowly and with compassion, after all, he really did care.

"Wait so I'm retired, but I still have to work?" Reginald asked.

"I'm afraid so. The assignment was thrown back and forth throughout the department, and I'm afraid it ended up in your lap in the end."

"Why don't they get someone else to do it? We have plenty of people here." Reginald's voice was steady, but you could feel the anger in it.

"Due to the current conditions, we are expanding the Lost Relationships Office. Half of R.A.'s staff is going to be transfered over in a month. We simply don't have the time anymore." Robert lamented.

"People these days, they break it off at the slightest bump. It's not like it used to be." Reginald elaborated. "Back when I first started, we had the largest department in Human Affairs. Now were dwindling down to the bottom. What has happened to people today?"

"It's society: everything moves on a lot faster now. A lot of that synthetic sugar is to blame too." Robert answered.

"Oh yeah, I read that article. All of those artificial sweeteners block out the effects of our arrows. I don't know why they ever created the stuff, it tastes awful." Reginald complained.

"Everyone wants to be model thin. What can I say, your right: things simply aren't what they used to be." Robert stood up. "Go on Regi, get some rest, well send you notification when he's ready for training."

"Alright. Still sucks I have to do this though."

"Yeah, it does. You go on now. Here take the file."

Reginald Wilde walked out of the building, the file still in his hands, feeling as if his party had been all for naught.

***

A certain blonde teen was ambling his was down the street, in no particular hurry to be home. His ride had left without him- because they had had another argument again- and he was stuck finding his own way home. His sister had the worst temper he'd had ever known, and he found that her title, Ice Queen, was very fitting for her.

It started out as something as trivial as hairspray. Ryan had run out of hairspray and went into his sister's bathroom to borrow hers, he only had it for five minutes when his sister burst into the room and demanded her hairspray back. He told her that he had ran out and need to borrow hers, but all she said was that she had a very specific regimen she followed, and when it was broken she got upset. She then went off in a completely different topic and started ranting about him staring at people at school. She called him weird and she wondered aloud how they could even be related. After all, she was head of the East High Drama Club and the Christian Fellowship Club, and he didn't even belong to a club. He just sat in the house and read.

So here he was, walking home- after walking to school and missing homeroom and his first class, all because of a can of hairspray. It wasn't the first time either. It happened quite often, although for different reasons. His parents did nothing; if he were to tell his parents his mom would tell him he should have kept his own toiletries in check, and his dad would tell him that he didn't any hairspray- because he was a man.

Ryan had recently felt like the black sheep of the family. They took care of him and made sure to buy him nice things, but he always felt that they did that only so they wouldn't have to love him. He never knew why, it started around the time he was getting into middle school. He could hear his parents talk in hushed voices all the time, and when he walked into the room, they would pretend that he wasn't there. They also got mad at him for the strangest reasons: once he got in trouble for looking at people in the mall. They were two guys, and they were sharing some fries, which caused Ryan to contemplate getting some fries too. He was about to ask for the fried vegetable when his mom saw him looking at the fries and scolded him for staring.

All the blond wanted to do was get out his book and read under a tree, but he knew he would be even more late, so he pulled out his MP3 player and continued his trek. The teen really wanted to get some of his favorite books on CD, so he could walk home and listen to the stories, but he hadn't yet gotten to it.

The best part of the song came up, and Ryan closed his eyes and walked in rhythm to the music. In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea, because there were no sidewalks and he was just in the street, but that wouldn't have mattered. It wouldn't have mattered because it was not a car that killed him, it was a puddle. Ryan slipped in the puddle and stumbled forward, crashing into the light post in front of him. The force of crash jolted the old post, and the head of the lamp came crashing down on the ill-fated teen, knocking him unconscious and landing face first into the puddle, where he drowned.

All Ryan remembered was walking to his music when he crashed into something and was knocked unconscious. He missed the part where he died.

***

Ryan woke up later after what had felt like hours. He sat up and rubbed his head, which was still seriously hurting. He soon noticed the soft carpet under him and opened his eyes. He was nowhere near where he used to be. He was in what looked like a waiting room, there were chairs all around the room of various shapes and sizes and a few magazines on end tables. Soft jazz could be heard in the distance.

The blond teen walked up to the counter. There didn't seem to be anybody there, but there was a bell on the desk. Ryan rang it, then the sound of a woman's voice.

"Be with you in a minute hon. I'm a bit tied up back here." The disembodied voice called out.

Ryan stood there for a moment, but then took the nearest seat, seeing no reason to stand with all of these chairs unoccupied. He looked at the end table nearest to him. The subscriptions were nothing that he had ever seen before. The was a Macabre-Politan, Death Digest, and little pamphlets titled: You're Dead, Now What? Ryan's curiosity led him to pick up the closest magazine and look at the cover. It had a average looking lady on the cover, her clothes seemed a bit dated, but normal nonetheless. Ryan supposed these were some sort of Halloween specials that had never been thrown out. He had just opened the first page when the voice spoke again.

"Okay, hon. What do you need?" A plump woman with copious amounts of make up asked. Her name tag indicated herself of Angie.

"Where am I?" Ryan asked.

"Ah, your a new one. A total shame, your still so young." Angie mumbled.

"Excuse me? What do you mean new? Have I been kidnapped?!" Ryan was starting to panic.

"Oh, no not at all. You're dead, you died about five minutes ago. Would you like to see?" Angie asked, already pulling out her television set.

"I guess…" Ryan was at a loss of what else to say, unable to believe it was true.

"Okay, just a second, dear… ah! There we are." She smiled. "Sorry about the quality of it, I get bad reception here."

She pushed the play button and the a film of Ryan started to play. He was walking down the street, just like he had been a few moments ago. Then he reached the puddle. Ryan's face went pale as he watched his own death. He saw himself walk into the puddle, slip, and crash into the light post. The light fell on his head, and he watched himself drown in the gutter water on the side of the street.

"There, you see? Your death is pretty unique, I haven't encountered one this strange in a while." Angie said, sounding excited as if it were a real treat to watch.

"So… I'm dead?" Ryan asked.

Angie nodded her head slowly.

"This can't be! It's not fair! I wasn't supposed to die in the gutter, I was supposed to go home and complain about walking home again. I was supposed to finish my homework and go to bed." Ryan fell to the floor, feeling weak.

"I'm sorry hon, but that's just how it is sometimes. You can't expect a redo when stuff happens…" a beeping started coming from her computer. "Hold on a sec dear."

Ryan sat on the floor, feeling like lead under his own body weight. He couldn't believe it was over already. There was so much he hadn't yet done. He had never really made any friends, his family hated him, and he was going to die all alone on the side of the road.

"Oh my… this is quite unexpected." Angie trailed off. "Ryan, honey. Please get back up here. There's something important I have to tell you."

"Yeah… what is it?" Ryan's hollow voice asked.

"Well, there's an opening, for a certain part of the department, and they are looking for an apprentice. It isn't an easy job, but if your accepted, you could be brought back to your realm. You could have a second chance!" Angie exclaimed. "This isn't an ordinary thing boy! This is a once in a century opportunity. Take it."

"Okay!" Ryan exclaimed. "How do I do it?"

"Here," the heavily make-upped lady handed him a form she printed out. "Take the test, and if you match up correctly, you could be back to your old life."

Ryan practically ripped the sheet from her hands. It was what looked like a Scantron and a questionnaire, it was titled Position Aptitude Test: R.A. Ryan sat in a chair and started reading the questions. They were nothing like the questionnaires he had filled out before. There were bizarre questions like:

1. Do you believe in love at first sight?

A. Yes

B. No

2. What was your first crush like?

A. Awesome

B. Good

C. Okay

D. Bad

E. Non- Existent

3. Do you use:

A. Artificial Sweeteners

B. Or Real Sugar

4. What do you think the biggest threat to love is?

A. Infidelity

B. Falling out of love

C. Incompatibility

And so on…

Ryan tried his best to answer the questions truthfully, seeing no real right or wrong answer. Most of the questions were farfetched, such as asking whether or not he felt he could inspire others to do great things, and some were downright personal. One even asked him, in his own opinion, if occasional masturbation was healthy. Unable to answer the question, he left it blank. Ryan turned it in with nervous, shaking hands. He could hardly wait for the results.

Angie put the answer sheet into her printer, and waited a few minutes. Ryan was dancing on his feet, unable to sit still. Finally a ding sounded from the machine, and she pulled out the same sheet.

"Hmm… interesting. You've managed to get all of the right answers when it comes to the subject matter, but you failed when it comes to the life experience section. Hold on, let me call this one in." She pushed the one button on her phone and waited a second. Then a muffled voice came from the other end.

"Hey, Alice, how have you been? Really? That bad? I thought Harold made those reservations weeks ago. I see, well that's too bad." Angie continued on for at least another minute or two, to which Ryan cleared his throat very loudly. "Hey Alice, can I get back to you? I have to talk to Robert. Thanks."

Angie rapped her fingernails against the table wile she waited. Finally she spoke again.

"Robert? Hey this is Angie. Yes, I got that letter you sent me. Listen I've already got a potential person in line for it. Yup, he even lives in the same city as Regi. How did he do? He passed the subject, but failed in the experience section. Really? It's alright? Okay, I'll tell him. Okay, you have a great day too. Buh- bye."

Angie hung up the phone and looked at Ryan.

"You lucky son-of-a-gun! You got the job!" She got up and hugged him over the counter. "You start first thing tomorrow morning, don't forget to read your instructions. They will be in your room, follow them closely." Angie waved to Ryan. "Bye Hon! Good luck on your second life! Try to not drown again!"

Ryan tried to wave back, but something was going on in his head. His vision was getting blurry, and the edged of his eyes were darkening. He finally fell to the floor and lost consciousness one last time.

***

Ryan jolted up from his sleep. He was laying on the side of the road, his entire outfit soaked through with gutter water. He groaned and got up again, feeling the lump on his head starting to form. How long was he out? He had the strangest dream, something about an office and him dying… He gathered up his bag and hat, something he was never without, and set off for home.

When he arrived, he was called into the living room and bombarded by questions from his parents. At first they were just yelling at him for being later than usual, but they noticed his disheveled state, they asked him what happened. And for once in a long time- they actually sounded like they cared.

He explained to them that he was walking home- again- when he slipped and crashed into the light post. The lamp atop of it fell on him and he was knocked out, falling into the gutter. His parents called Sharpay into the room. She arrived, a sparkly tiara twinkling atop her head, and sat down on the couch as far as she could from her brother. She looked at his current state and glared at him.

"Sharpay." Mr. Evans started. "As of late, you've been leaving your brother to walk to and from school. We've been turning a blind eye to it, but I think it's time for you to stop. Ryan could have been seriously hurt today-"

"Does my aching head mean nothing to you?" Ryan complained.

"-and I feel partly responsible. Buy you, Princess, are also at fault. You will not leave this house for school, or leave school, unless Ryan is with you. Starting tomorrow." The head of the house ordered.

"That's so unfair! Why do I always have to drive him around? I'm not a chafferer. He should be responsible for himself." Sharpay whined loudly.

"That doesn't sound very Christian to me. What would the Lord think of your words? Casting aside your own brother." Mrs. Evans said chided.

"What about the Lord? It's not a sin to make your brother walk home, besides, he doesn't do anything else but read." Sharpay retorted.

"Sharpay Evans!" Her father yelled. "You will not talk about the Lord like that again. You are grounded for one week, no clubs or socializing past school hours. Come straight home- with your brother- after school."

"But dad…" The dive whined.

"No 'buts'! Do as I say!" His word being final.

Sharpay huffed and stormed out of the room; leaving Ryan, the television, and his parents.

The television was blaring, it was one of those reality shows where people have to live with one another and their fights get broadcast to the world. At the moment, it was showing the cast being led by one of the fellow members to a club. The strange thing about the club was that it was an all guy club, except for the female cast members. Ryan watched, curious about the strange club. It had really good dance music, and he was tapping his foot to it. His parents noticed and exchanged a look.

"Ryan, why don't you go upstairs and get cleaned up? You look tired and cold." His dad suggested.

"Alright, in a sec." Ryan said, still focusing on the television.

"Go on Ryan. Now." Mr. Evans commanded.

"Alright. Good night you guys." Ryan said as he left the room.

***

Ryan sighed contently as he toweled off his hair, wincing a bit at the now formed lump on his head. He felt a lot better now that he was all squeaky clean. He walked over to his armoire and opened the drawer. He pulled out his pale blue silk pajamas and put them on. He would do his homework during free period, so he crawled into bed. He put his head on the pillow and felt a crunch under it. Curious, he lifted it up. There was a sheet of paper, slightly crumpled from his weight. He picked it up and opened it: there was a tidy writing scribbled across it.

Your training begins tomorrow after school. Be ready.

-Angie, A.L. Processing Office.