A/N: I was so encouraged by all the wonderful reviews on my last story that I thought up a new one. So exciting! This one is based on the CP episode 'Teers in the Hood. Watch it if you get a chance, the content is messed up as usual but most importantly, Wheeler is so damn adorable in this episode! He is insightful, brave, wise, and sweet… I heart him so much! I tried making this fic more action based, but of course, it's L/W, I can't stay away from that, you know it! Enjoy and let me know what you think, as this is a bit different from my usual style. But if classroom posters have taught me anything, it's that "we never know how far we can go until we try".
Disclaimer: I do not own Captain Planet, its characters or themes; they belong to Ted Turner and his production team. All I own is the arrangement of these words used to create a fictional story.
Chapter 1
The bell rang, announcing the end of the school day. It took mere seconds for the students to race out of the classroom, as if the bell had been a fire alarm. Only Wheeler and Gi still occupied the uncomfortable wooden chairs, not a hint of hurry in their actions.
"This keeps getting stranger and stranger," Gi commented, tapping her fingers on the desk while looking out of the small window. The day was sunny and bright and she could hear the excited chatter of the students in the parking lot as they prepared to go home.
"You're telling me! I thought I was done with school forever," mused Wheeler, looking at his notebook with a hint of disgust. He saw that Gi's was covered with notes from the teacher's lesson on some elaborate trading system; his was filled with doodles, an expression of his total boredom. He ripped out a blank page and started folding it to his liking.
"I'm talking about what's happening with Alejandro's group," said Gi, slowly collecting her things to place them in her backpack neatly.
"Did you notice he wasn't here for last block? And whenever that happens, his buddies and Suzy don't show up, either. It must be connected to their illegal activities."
"Maybe they just don't like history class," joked Wheeler, tongue sticking out as he concentrated on the creation of a paper airplane.
"Can you just be serious for once?" Gi scolded him, brushing a strand of ebony hair that had fallen over her eyes. "Gaia sent us here to uncover who's behind this sudden drug movement that's overtaking the school. We've been here a week now and we haven't connected a lot of the pieces, yet."
"We're also here because the drugs are being manufactured in a way that is harmful to the water supply," Wheeler added, to show that he was indeed paying attention to their mission. And he was. It was important to him. But the whole scenario, being in a high school in the Bronx, felt too familiar to his personal experience. It was only a couple of years ago that he had attended high school in his Brooklyn neighborhood, before becoming a Planeteer. Only now, he found that the kids bothered him with their antics, the girls were too scantly dressed (even for his taste!), the teachers seemed colder, and the school itself was a dump. It must be that he was maturing and seeing things with new eyes, a new perspective. But more than any other of the Planeteers, he was fitting in extremely well and was therefore privy to a lot of information important to their undercover mission. Not to mention, he was receiving a lot of female attention, which amused him only because it made Linka jealous.
As if on cue, in walked the pretty blonde, followed by Ma-Ti and Kwame. Linka's hair was in a messy braid and a few strands were framing her face, a slight hint of perspiration was on her forehead as if she had been running, and her cheeks were rosy. She was wearing jeans overalls on top of a simple, short-sleeved shirt. Wheeler's eyes rested momentarily on the roundness of her breasts, emphasized by the white, tight fabric of her top, before forcing his eyes to re-focus on the airplane in his hands. He did not want to get a lecture from Linka for staring, especially not in front of everyone.
"Sorry we are late," announced Kwame, closing the door behind him. He walked to the teacher's desk and sat on its edge, while Linka and Ma-Ti opted for desks.
"The hallways here are so crowded, I will never get used to that," Linka shared, pulling at her braid and chewing on her bottom lip.
Wheeler could think of nothing but how cute she was. No, not cute. Beautiful. She was stunning to watch and he could look at her for days, without ever tiring. Something she would never allow, of course.
"Did anyone find out anything else today?" Kwame asked the group.
"There was another locker search after lunch," Ma-Ti volunteered. "A guy in my science lab class was sent to the principal's office because of what they found in his belongings."
"Is it that tall, nervous-looking kid who's always asking to go to the bathroom?" All eyes turned on Wheeler.
"Yes. Wait, how do you know about him?"
Wheeler shrugged. "Summer was telling me before last block. Said he was busted with some coke at the beginning of the year. Rumor has it he's back at it again, different dealers this time, though."
"This Summer seems to know a lot of things, nyet, Yankee?" Linka could not keep the distaste out of her voice when pronouncing the name of the girl who was always seeking out Wheeler, always batting her fake eyelashes at him and grabbing his arm.
"Maybe she is behind everything," she voiced her thoughts and her sour tone of voice caused Gi to giggle.
"Nah, babe, I really don't think she's smart enough to pull together something like this. She's just a big gossip, quite harmless if you ask me."
"Okay, so what do we know so far?" Gi inquired, scanning the faces of her friends.
"There are more and more kids being suspended for possession of drugs," offered Ma-Ti.
"Not to mention the number of kids coming to class high," added Wheeler, directing his paper plane to Ma-Ti, who caught it before throwing it back.
Gi rested her chin on her palm and crossed her legs in her chair. "Wheeler was telling me that Suzy was acting weird around Alejandro this morning. Like she was trying to avoid him."
"Are those two not dating each other?" the question came from Kwame.
"Yeah, man," nodded Wheeler, "but I get the feeling he's more into her than she is into him. She was muttering something about being through with him, that she'd had enough of him. When I asked her why, she said that he would surely get her into trouble sooner or later. It looked like she wanted to add more, but then one of Alejandro's buddies came by, took her by the arm, and led her to class, like he was a bodyguard taking orders or something. I haven't seen her since."
"What evidence do we have against Alejandro? Well, aside from the fact that he gives me the creeps," voiced Gi before slightly shivering.
Alejandro Gomez was easy to spot in a crowd. He was tall and dark featured, always wore a blue bandana underneath a NY baseball cap and baggy jeans, with a golden crucifix chain around his neck. By his side stood faithfully girlfriend Suzy de LaRosa, a pretty Hispanic girl with curly black hair that reached her waist. Alejandro was followed by a familiar group of male friends that seemed to cover his back at all times. Other students seemed to be afraid of him and stood clear of his path whenever possible.
"Well, he certainly has no interest in school," declared Kwame, comfortably crossing his arms over his chest. "Whenever he shows up to class, he is either sleeping or texting on his phone. The teacher has given up hope on him, it seems. She never calls on him; actually, she pretends he is not in class at all."
Gi shook her head thoughtfully, then asked, "Linka, can you get inside the school's computer data base and check up on his records? That might give us a better idea of the kinds of things he's been up to."
Linka thought about this for a second before nodding. "Da, I may be able to do that. But I need to get into the principal's office somehow."
"Linka? Being sent to the principal's office? There's no freakin' way!" Wheeler was laughing openly before a look from the Russian girl silenced him.
"I am capable of getting into trouble," she defended herself, arms crossing over her chest and chin jutting out proudly.
"Stick with me long enough and you just might," Wheeler provoked her, slightly arching one eyebrow as if to challenge her.
"Is this the right time to flirt, you two?" Gi interjected, making to stand. "Come on, we've got work to do!"
"We must find out more about this Alejandro character," Ma-Ti was saying, rubbing his chin.
"Wheeler, you have to get more information out of Suzy, she seems to trust you," Kwame was saying, leader-like. "And Linka, you try accessing his school records. The rest of us are going to investigate around the neighborhood to see what else we can find out about the Gomez family."
The group mulled over their plans of action for a while, each absorbed in their own thoughts. When Gi started for the door, Kwame and Ma-Ti readily followed. Before standing up from his seat, Wheeler roughly shoved his things in his backpack, not caring for their preservation as Gi had. Linka was still in her chair, lost in her reveries, when he approached her and offered her his hand to help her stand. She accepted it silently, seeming miles away.
"Whatcha thinking about, babe?"
Slowly, her green eyes settled on him and she shook her head a little. Wheeler waited for her to collect her thoughts, taking the opportunity to relish the feel of her petite hand in his.
"This is such a different world than I am used to," shared Linka. "Do not get me wrong, I enjoy the educational side. I think there is a good variety of subjects for students who are keen to learn, especially things like the arts, sports. But you have to be someone here, you need a label. There is such a complex social network. These kids must be under a lot of pressure to find their identities."
"I would say that's a fair assessment," nodded Wheeler, always in awe of the Russian girl's intelligence and sensitivity. She was like a precious box filled with all kids of wonders, and the more he got to know her, the more beauty she emanated. Linka was the first woman who really stimulated him mentally. Sure, it was easy to feel physically attracted to girls, it could happen to him multiple times in the course of any given day, but Linka, on every level, drew him in. He loved the way her mind made sense of things, her systematic thinking process.
"Was it like this in your high school, too?" she was asking now with interest in her voice.
"Yeah, but the usual popularity contest seems to get worse with each generation. It's all about who you know, having all the right friends in all the right places."
"What kind of crowd were you part of?"
"Not the good kind, babe," Wheeler shook his head, and sat on one of the desks without breaking his contact with Linka.
"What kind of things did you do?" she went on, eyes bright with curiosity.
"I'm not really proud of my high school days," he shrugged, and Linka saw his features losing their usual softness. His eyes focused on something outside the window, avoiding her glance.
She squeezed his hand, wanting the gesture to communicate comfort.
"You lived in a tough neighborhood and your home situation was less than ideal. I am sure you did the best with what you had. You are very resourceful, Wheeler."
He did not speak right away as his mind traveled back a few short years. Linka did not know the half of it. What to say of Brooklyn, especially his neighborhood? Cops patrolling every street corner, prostitutes offering themselves to young kids, drug deals being made in broad daylight, knife fights in front of the local corner market, sirens wailing at all times of night. Good luck being a Realtor there! And as for his family… well, it was a family therapist's worst nightmare, to say the least. Good ol' mom and dad, thought Wheeler bitterly, feeling the muscles in his jaw tense up. Jack and Candace (Candy) Sloane. He was an alcoholic, she was an enabler. Wheeler loved his mother very much but was also resentful that she'd never had the courage to leave the relationship, not even when her husband yelled and threw things at her. Her reaction had always been tears, trying to calm the drunken man down as best she could. Wheeler's had been infinite anger as he listened to his father telling him time and again that he was "no good", and that he would end up "worse than all those bums on the street who know you've got no fuckin' change in your pocket but always ask just to make ya feel shitty anyway". Talk about injecting someone with an inferiority complex!
Wheeler, however, learned over the years that he was not the problem. His father had this terrible disease that controlled him and prevented him from developing a loving relationship with anyone. Not even with his own son. There were many times Wheeler wished he could rip up those pages of his memory like one would a useless diary. But often, all it took was one second to painfully reconstruct them. Ordinary things like watching a father play catch with his son in the park, or a father carrying a toddler on his shoulders, or the sight of a family driving along, singing merrily together. Things he'd never had, longings buried deep in his heart that he rarely allowed to resurface.
When he shifted his attention to Linka, he saw that she was examining him. With a sigh, he went on to explain, "I guess in high school you surround yourself with people who are most similar to you, who get you. The group I hung out with… yeah, we all had stuff goin' on back at home. Some had parents who had problems with the law, others had parents who were drug addicts, so none of us really could take school too seriously."
"Did you like going to school, though? Did you have a subject you liked best?" She realized her tone of voice had become softer.
Linka found that she sincerely wanted to know the things he guarded so carefully. She detected a hint of sadness building up like a wave inside her. Wheeler had lived such a tough life for his young age. It was unfair and the injustice of it weighed on her.
"I kicked ass in gym class, but the rest was a blur to me. My friends and I would just hang out in the parking lot and be idiots, so I missed a lot of classes. And when I did go, I'd just sleep through 'em. But school was better than being at home, so I adapted to things. I shaped up a little the last year because I had promised my mom that she would hear my name being called on graduation day, that I'd walk the stage and everything. I'm glad I had the sense to do at least that."
In the course of their conversation, Linka had shifted so that her body was resting against his leg, not uncomfortable in the least bit with their proximity.
"I feel like this experience is teaching me a lot more about you, Wheeler. Your roots, where you come from, the kind of experiences you had growing up."
"Grand, isn't it?" Wheeler snorted sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You should not feel ashamed about anything," Linka reprimanded him with a shake of the head.
"Well, I'm sure you had it much better in Russia, babe. At least more structured and orderly than this dump."
"I think school was less dramatic for me because of the size of our town. No one did anything out of line for fear of being the 'talk of the town' and bringing shame to their family. Kids seem more detached from their families here, so they have to find their identity in the peer group. This can bring about many problems, as we are seeing with the drug problem in this school."
Wheeler met her eyes and momentarily lost his trail of thoughts. She had this peculiar effect on him and he did not know what to make of it. So he let himself get lost in it without too many traces of logic on his part. The only thing he could do was make a joke to lighten the intensity of his feelings.
"How are you ever gonna get into the principal's office without any sort of drug experience?"
Linka rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully.
"Oh, shut up, Yankee! It's not like you know more about it than I do."
Wheeler fell silent and began tapping his foot on the pavement rhythmically.
Linka's mouth formed a surprised "o" before she found her voice.
"Wheeler," was all she had to say to demand an explanation.
"Well, it's not like your opinion of me can get any lower, anyway," he muttered without meeting her eyes, conversing more with himself at this point. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I got mixed up in this pretty rough group and they got me to sell some stuff for them. It didn't last long though, one because I hated doing it, and two because my best friend's brother got a brutal beating from a deal gone wrong. He nearly died, and that's when I quit. The money I made I gave to my mom in the end, told her to keep it hidden in case she had to make an emergency get away from my dad. One of those 'you never know' funds."
The information coming at her was so shocking, so beyond what she was accustomed to in her own life, that it took Linka off guard. She had no idea how a youth could possibly deal with so many heavy problems during adolescence, which was already such a delicate time of life in itself. The self-deprecating look in Wheeler's eyes stirred something in her soul and she impulsively reached to embrace him tightly. Her actions must have surprised Wheeler because it took a moment for him to react and hug her back.
"Everything you have gone through, that all served to shape the person you are today. And I happen to think very highly of that person, as does the rest of our group. I cannot imagine what things would be like without you, Jacob. I do not want you to feel sad. I need you to be my silly, carefree and lovable Yankee, ok?"
Wheeler inhaled the familiar scent of vanilla and strawberry her hair always emanated. Right there and then, all was right in the world. Everything could be crashing around him, spinning out of control, but with Linka in his arms, he felt firmly rooted to the ground.
"So I'm yours, am I?" he teased with a fresh smile on his lips.
The door swung on its hinges and a slight coughing sound invaded the room. Kwame's head had materialized in the doorway, trying to get the pair's attention.
"You two better hurry up or you will miss the bus!"
Linka was blushing when she moved out of Wheeler's arms to follow Kwame. Wheeler, in turn, was encouraged by the small, intriguing smile she gave him before completely exiting the classroom.