Hey! So I've been messing around a little with this high school AU idea for a little while, so I thought I would share it with you guys! I really like the idea of it so far, and I would really like to hear what you guys think. Thanks so much for reading, much love! xx

Juice walked down the school hallways, glancing from his paper to the numbers above the doors. This was just his luck. Getting lost on his first day. Fucking great. Just when he thought he couldn't get any less lucky, he heard low rounds of laughter coming from around the corner. He sucked in a breath, knowing that there was no way whoever was laughing wouldn't notice him walking down the empty hallway. He let the breath out. Before he could psych himself out any more than he already had, he slowly rounded the corner and saw that the laughter was coming from a group of three people that were standing in somewhat of a circle just a few feet away from him, leaning up against the lockers. He looked down at his paper again, knowing that they might not like the interruption. Especially since they were basically skipping class.

Juice continued to walk with his eyes glued to his paper. Just when he thought he had gone unnoticed, one of them spoke up. "You lost, man?" The low voice asked. Finally looking up from his schedule, Juice was greeted by a guy who looked like he was maybe 16 or 17. He had a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips, and a layer of baby pudge surrounding his cheeks. He was also incredibly tall for a high schooler, and Juice briefly wondered if this guy was part of the school staff.

"Uh, yeah – a little," Juice let out a small chuckle, shaking his head at the paper he held in his hand.

"Here," the large guy nodded towards the paper as though he was asking if he could see it. Juice handed it to him, waiting as he watched him look it over. After a few moments, the stranger nodded slowly before giving it back to him.

"Okay. So you have English with Mr. Ward right now," he pointed behind juice and waved his finger to the left. "That's just down that hall and to the left. Room 305."

Juice let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. "Okay. Thanks, man."

He nodded slowly. "No problem. You new?"

"Yeah. Just got into town the other day. Kicked out of my last school." It wasn't technically a lie, but Juice felt the need to exaggerate the trouble he had gotten into for the sake of his own reputation. It was a new school. Why not start new?

The burly guy looked impressed for a brief moment, a small grin coming over his face. "Nice," there was a short pause, as though he was thinking something over. "I'm Opie by the way. Opie Winston."

"Juice Ortiz."

"You have Ward?" Another voice called out before either one of them could say anything else. It was one of the two people that Opie had left behind when he came over to talk to Juice.

Juice's eyes trailed to the source of the sound, which had seemingly come from another guy who was tall and had blonde hair that nearly fell to his shoulders. He was facing Juice, and somewhat shielding the person who was leaning against the lockers next to him so that Juice could only see their legs. He gave the blonde a nod in response to his question. A smirk twisted the corners of his lips and he let out a laugh. "How convenient. So does Em."

Opie let out a booming laugh, his eyes darting to the person who was just out of Juice's sight. He jerked his head in an upwards nod. "Right. You should be getting to class now anyway, don't you think?"

A soft scoff sounded from behind the muscular blonde, and the person that Juice hadn't been able to see finally pushed off the locker and moved to stand next to Opie. Juice would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised. The girl was short and had dirty-blonde hair that fell down to her belly button in a waterfall-like wave. She was wearing a white peasant top that came off her shoulders and made her sun kissed skin appear as if it were almost glowing. There was a small scatter of freckles across her nose, and her eyes were big and green.

"Shut the hell up, Winston," she sighed with a small roll of her eyes. The left corner of her mouth lifted slightly, taking the sting out of her words. Juice couldn't help but notice the dimple that was evident in her cheek. As though she knew he was staring at her, her bright eyes flashed to him, and he felt as though he had just been caught cheating on a test. He looked away for a brief moment before meeting her gaze once again. She raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Great. So you two get to class and we'll see you later," Opie's blonde friend said in a slow drawl, looking Juice over as though he were assessing him, or even sizing him up. When he was done, he looked at the girl, an easy smirk transforming his face. "Have fun."

She pursed her lips slightly, widening her eyes in a mocking way before watching the two tall boys retreat in the opposite direction, their low laughter filling the hallway as they went. She gave a small shake of her head as they turned another corner and were no longer in sight. Turning back towards Juice, she rolled her lips together and started walking. He was a little surprised when she walked straight past him, barely sparing him another glance.

Pausing for a bit, she stopped in her trek down the hallway, throwing him a look over her shoulder as though she had no idea what was wrong with him. "Coming?"

Juice swallowed, offering her a nod before following after her, feeling a little stupid for just standing there. He ended up walking beside her, looking at her and taking note of their height difference now that they were closer to each other. It was a little funny. Cute.

Before he could stop himself, Juice began speaking. "So – um - what grade are you in?"

The girl's eyes flashed up to him at the sound of his voice. "I'm a senior."

Juice mentally slapped himself. They were both going to the same honors English class. For seniors.

"Right. I probably should've guessed," he chuckled a little, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck in an almost nervous gesture.

They suddenly stopped in front of a door. The girl looked up at Juice, her eyes looking over his face for a brief moment before her nose crinkled a little, as though she was thinking about something. "Yeah, probably," she finally said, cracking the smallest of smiles. Even the small grin showed off her deep-set dimples. Juice couldn't help but feel triumphant.

"Emma, by the way," she said after a very brief pause. Juice cocked his head to the side slightly, his lips parting as though he was about to say something, but she spoke again. "Since you were wondering…" she trailed off with another playful grin. Before Juice could say anything else, or even introduce himself, she opened the door and walked into class.