A/N - Hey! This is my first try at writing FanFiction for the great Morganville books, so I hope it's not a total mess. I've had this story in my head for quite some time now and I finally caved and started writing. It might seem a tad slow starting at the beginning, but it's going to stray from the original storyline quite a bit. Relationships are going to be different and so are some of the characters. Hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

The day started like any ordinary Thursday for Claire. Her phone alarm woke her up extra early to do her laundry and shower in peace before anyone woke up. It had become sort of a routine for her once a week, and so far she's been able to avoid any sort of conflict. She reached over to her side table, grabbed her phone and quickly shut off the annoying alarm before flopping back onto the bed.

As she stared at the peeling paint on her dorm room ceiling she couldn't help her mind from wandering to the trouble she'd already found herself in after only being in Morganville for four weeks. She just couldn't help it. The words were out of her mouth before her brain had a chance to register who it was she was actually talking to. Monica Morrell. Queen Bee and ruthless bully to many victims at TPU. She'd somehow managed to get on her shitlist, just for correcting her. Okay, so maybe she'd embarrassed her a little but that was totally unintentional. Basically she'd made her look stupid in front of her friends and a group of jock looking types.

She was just minding her own business, walking to her next class when she heard Monica saying that World War 2 was that 'dumbass Chinese war thing.' Then she heard someone say.

"It wasn't." She'd stopped walking when she noticed all of their eyes turn to her. Most of them just looked shocked but Monica looked ready for the kill. It took her a few seconds to realise that it was her that had said that. She'd been so flustered she didn't know how she was able to continue talking. Her cheeks were on fire and her hands were shaking.

"I mean...It's an easy mistake. Um...It was with the Germans and the Japanese. You know, Pearl Harbor?"

After that it was all just one giant blur. There was laughter, embarrassment and a massive cloud of hatred sent her way. Since then she had a target on her back. She'd been shoved, tripped, had her books thrown out of her hands and had to deal with all the snickering and mean stared being thrown her way. She was used to that part though. Being a 16 year old at college made you stand out, most of the time in a bad way.

Banishing those thoughts from her mind for the time being she pulled herself out of bed and quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a faded black T-shirt. She gathered the clothes scattered about her floor as well as her wash bag and made her way out of her room. She quickly scanned the corridors to find them totally empty so she carried on walking quickly to the top floor where the laundry room was. It was actually more like a supply closet holding 2 washing machines and 2 dryers squashed together with just enough room to walk in front on them. She chose the more reliable washer out of the two and after it swallowed two of her quarters it finally started to work for her.

She knew she'd have time for a quick shower and to dry her hair before the laundry was done. So she did just that. But when she returned to the laundry room she found the washer open and all of her clothes gone. Well...not all of them. Mocking her at the bottom of the barrel was one pair of tatty panties.

"No!" She shouted, kicking the machine. Her breathing had started to pick up, they were practically all of the wearable clothes she owned and that wasn't a lot. She didn't have the money to buy anything new. Damn! This day just got worse and worse! She didn't doubt for a second who'd done this. It just had Monica and her Monikettes written all over it.

She ran her hand down her face and felt wetness. She didn't even notice she'd been crying. She had to get a hold of herself, the last thing she wanted was for them to hear her crying. She hated appearing weak. She sucked in a few quick breaths and wiped her face with her T-shirt. Reaching into the washing machine she grabbed the panties and shoved them into her jeans pocket before making her way back to her room. Luck obviously wasn't on her side.

She didn't remember much. There was pushes, hits and pain. Lots and lots of pain. Why, oh why did she have to go and hit Monica? The last thing she remembered was her cold, hatefilled voice.

"Tonight. You'll get what's coming to you, you freak. I'm going to make sure."

She might have blacked out, or was frozen by fear...she wasn't sure which. All she knew was that when she opened her eyes again she was alone in the hall and the light seemed a little brighter. Crap. How long had she been there on the cold floor? How come no one had come to help her? She groaned in pain as she readed into her pocket for her phone. 13:43pm. HOURS?! She'd been there for hours?! Testing her arms and legs for any signs of damage she stretched out on the floor and found that the main source of the pain was coming from her head. She brought her hand up to find a giant bump. Oh. So that was why she was a little groggy.

Claire pulled herself up from the floor, using the wall for support and waited until the dizziness stopped. After she'd found her bearings, she slowly moved back up the stairs collecting her books as she went and walked to her room. She felt herself tear up again as she looked around. Of course they broke into her room and trashed it. She shouldn't have suspected anything less. Thinking on the spot she closed her bedroom door the best she could and grabbed her desk chair, wedging the door shut. Walking back to her bed she laid down gently and was asleep almost instantly.

A/N - I hope that there are people who actually read to the end of the chapter to see this, so thanks if you are! :D The next chapter is where things are going to change A LOT…

Daisy x