A/N: Though I am introducing a female OC, this is not a pairing story. Just thought I'd make that clear so you don't get the wrong dea. Also, I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or any of its characters. I only own Clair.

Another boring party. Gosh, he hated these things, and to make it worse they made him wear these stupid clothes. The young boy looked around from his hiding spot in utter boredom. And there were never any kids at these parties, just a bunch of boring old people with their noses in the air.

Six year old Jack, or Jonathon Daniel Spicer II, was currently crouched behind a cherub-themed fountain at a large outdoor garden party. All sorts of people were zooming about, not noticing the boy, with their designer clothes and champagne glasses. All talking incessantly but saying nothing.

Jack didn't like it here, but he was only a kid, no matter that he'd built a functional wind-up robot from a cardboard box and a broken appliance, he was too young and naïve to have an opinion. So he had been forced into a miniature tuxedo (his mom had called it cute, bleh) and held down while his hair was combed and gelled to lie flat.

"Jackie! There you are!" chirped a perky voice.

Oh no.

"Come on sweetie, I want to show you off to some friends." She said it in such sugary manner you would not have believed she was talking about torture.

Mrs. Spicer grabbed her son's hand and dragged the reluctant boy off to a crowd of people near one of the appetizer tables. Jack loved his mother, he really did but sometimes she just did not understand him, didn't listen when he said something.

He warily looked up at the adults once, not paying attention to what they were saying. He looked up to see his father for a moment, in what looked like a slightly heated debate over what was probably business. He looked around randomly some more, at one point his mother patting his shoulder bringing his attention back to the couple she was talking to.

"-is this your little boy, oh, it can't be, you too young to have children!"

"Oh stop."

Please stop. Jack was sure he was going to heave.

"Hey there lil' dude!" A man who looked to be in his late thirties wearing a very obvious fake tan smiled down at him giving a little wave.

'Lil' dude'? What an idiot. Jack stayed silent and looked at his feet, watching a beetle that was crawling on his shoe. The man didn't say anything else and he continued looking at his feet until a flash of blond about his height showed in his peripheral vision. He looked up then and his eyes widened a little.

Standing behind 'lil' dude man' was a girl, about his age. Her hair was curly and blond and she had large emerald green eyes that were focused directly on him. Like, outright staring at him and it made him feel nervous. He took a step back using his mother's legs a shield.

The little girl noticed he was looking back and said, face stony and expressionless, "Your eyes are red."

Jack blushed, he hated when people made comments about his unusual eye color. He wasn't albino, and he knew even at his young age that you weren't supposed to have red eyes unless you were one. It wasn't 'normal'.

"I like red."

The little girl smiled at him and he was sure his insides had melted a little. Hesitantly, he smiled back…and was abruptly and enthusiastically grabbed by the arm and pulled away from his mother.

Jack soon found himself dragged under a cloth covered appetizer table. Still holding onto him, the little girl plopped down on the ground, uncaring about the grass stains she was leaving on her expensive, pastel pink dress, dragging Jack down with her. She wasn't normally this forward with people, but for the first time in a long time there was another kid at one of these parties and she was determined to befriend him. Jack was more hesitant; after all, she could have cooties.

"My name's Clair," She quickly introduced, "This dress is itchy. Your mommy said your name was Johnny-thon; can I call you Johnny?"

"Huh?" was Jack's intelligent response.

"Johnny-thon is a boring grown-up name." She explained.

He stared in surprise at the eager, smiling girl. She was so weird, but she seemed cootie-free.

"My name's Jack." He said almost defensively.

"Jack? Like Jack-and-the-Beanstalk?"

"Uh…"he had never really thought about it, "I guess so."

He had to admit, at least to himself; so far Clair was making this party less boring. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the quiet that had settled over them until it was pointed out.

"You're quiet." She was frowning now, "Don't you have something to say?"

The curious look her green eyes made him blush again. His throat felt dry suddenly; what exactly did you say to girls?

"Um, do you like robots?"

No! Stupid! Stupid! Girls don't care about robots. They care about, um, girly stuff, like, um, flowers and, uh…

"Like Megatron?" Clair asked.

"…"

He was pretty sure his insides had melted again.

"Boo!" Clair shouted from behind her friend; she loved Halloween.

Jack jumped about four feet into the air in terror, a terror that only increased when he saw a clown standing behind him. He started crying. Clair was confused, she he knew he was a fraidy-cat but she hadn't meant to make him cry.

"What's wrong?"

Jack calmed a little when he realized the clown was actually Clair but he didn't stop crying.

"I-I-d-d-don't-l-like-cl-cl-owns…"

She quickly got rid of her costume.

Jack suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. He had been so focused on the book he was reading the action caused him to jump, dropping the book to the floor with a thud. The action earned him a giggle from what was attached to those arms that had still managed to hold on.

"Happy Birthday Jackie! I got you a present. What book are you reading? Don't you want to go outside?" Clair chirped in her usual too-much-at-once fashion. The boy shrugged out of her arms to pick up his book then turned to smile at his friend.

"Not really, and the book's about robotics." He answered somewhat sheepishly.

"Why not? The party's outside! And you're eight now! That's almost ten! I bet you could build a robot."

Before the boy could respond he found himself promptly dragged by the hand into the party that was going on outside. It was what you would expect at a rich kid's party: tons of sugary sweets, entertainers (but no clowns), a bouncy house shaped like a castle, ect, stuff most kids dreamed about.

Well, kids who weren't Jack any way. His parents had more or less arranged the whole thing on the premise all kids liked this stuff, and for guests had simply invited everyone in Jack's class. The kids had only shown up because, hey, the rich kid's having a party.

That's why he'd been inside. Nothing out there interested him much. He didn't like going out under normal circumstances, what made his parents think that would change because of a party he didn't know. Not to say that he hadn't, at his mother's insistence, tried to play with some of the other kids (Clair having not arrived yet), but they turned their noses up at him in a way he thought only grown–ups could manage.

"Oh! I got to give you your present!"

Jack's mind snapped back to the present as Clair, looking much more herself in jeans and a green t-shirt than the dress her parents often forced on her, dig through her small back-pack. She took out something he first registered as a blob of yellow and black and shoved it into his hands.

"They're goggles," She stated matter-of-factly, "Grandpa said pilots used to wear them."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

Jack eagerly put on his present; they gave the world a yellowish tint. He looked around a minute then pushed them onto his forehead. When he looked back at Clair he saw her scrutinizing him.

"You look weird," She gave him her expressionless look and he felt a little hurt. "I like it."

His temporary hurt faded at the encouraging smile she gave him.

"Oh I know! We could both be mad scientists and we could terrorize the villagers!" She looked to the bouncy house full of kids as she said this, then turning so he could see she was giving him a downright evil smirk. Jack returned her expression, pulling the goggled back down over his eyes.

Later, after they had both been giving a thorough talking-to by their parents about how to play nicely with others they snuck back inside to where Clair had first found Jack at the beginning of the party.

"We didn't do anything to them…" The boy angrily mumbled.

"Wouldn't it be cool to be a real villain?" Clair said, her expression dreamy.

Jack looked at her with surprise. "A real-life one?"

"Yeah. We could be evil villains and we could take over the whole world! Then we could play however we wanted! And no one would make fun of us!"

"Couldn't we just take over part of the world?"

"NO! It has to be the WHOLE world! What kind of villain only wants part of the world?"

Jack shrugged; he had no argument for her logic, "Okay. Yeah," he was catching onto the fun now, "Dad wouldn't have to work anymore and he could spend time with me! And I could have pudding for breakfast!"

"Pudding for breakfast? What about ice-cream?"

"Pudding is better!"

"Ice-cream."

"Pudding."

"All right, you can have pudding and I'll have ice-cream. Oh! And if we ruled the world I could make mommy happy again!"

Clair of course was saying this with the fanciful air of a child daydreaming; she didn't notice her friend's thoughtfulness at her proposition.

"But how are we gonna do it? Wouldn't good guys try to stop us?" Jack questioned.

Clair's eyes were shining. "We could build robots! Hundreds and thousands of them!"

She was standing triumphantly at this point, like a general giving a speech.

"And the robots can have lasers!"

"And fly!"

"And have spinny metal blades!"

The two went on and on. By the time their parents were wondering here they had gotten to they had gotten out crayons and paper and had covered the floor with designs for Clair-bots and Jack-bots. When Jack's mother found them she nodded and smiled at their drawings and ideas, telling them it was time for the cake and to open the presents. The first gift Jack opened was from his grandma: it was the heli-pack.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting on make-up."

"Why?"

"It's fun"

Jack grimaced at the notion, and then laughed to see Clair had painted her face to look like Frankenstein's monster. It was her favorite movie. She handed him a black eyeliner pencil.

"Try it."

"Your evil laugh is terrible," Clair was grimacing, "how do you expect to be a real villain without a killer laugh?"

"It's okay Clair."

Ten year old Jack found himself in a very awkward position, trying to comfort a near-hysterical girl. Comforting people wasn't exactly his strong suit, and it was only made more unnerving by the fact that this was Clair. Unlike him, Clair never cried. So it had to be big.

That's why he was very determined to try. She was always there for him and if she needed comfort he was determined to give it. He just wished he knew how. He still didn't know what was wrong. She still hadn't stopped crying long enough to tell him.

"What happened?" He whispered yet again to her.

"M-m-my-mo-moth-mom-she-she-she-kill-killed-killed-self…"

Jack lost his feeling of akwardness at the comfession and pulled her into a full-on hug not letting go for a long time.

"HA HA! The world is MINE!"

"This game is stupid! How did you get sixty soldiers?"

"RISK isn't stupid! You gotta trade your cards to get soldiers."

"Oh, that's what the cards are for…"

Clair face-palmed at her friend.

"Leave him alone you big bullies!"

Twelve year old Clair stood protectively between her friend and the local a-holes who had decided that being different means being worthless.

The head bully backed off a little, but, not wanting his friends to the he was weak, adopted a mean look to make of for it. The skinny kid they could take easily, but Clair, who was three inches taller than him, was a different story. She was a known fighter, constantly getting in and out of detention.

The teachers had therefore labeled her a bad kid, and it was only her parent's money that kept her from being expelled. What the teachers did not know however, was that Clair was a girl who didn't take crap form anyone, especially when that crap was aimed at her best-friend.

The coward gave their retreat, but not without final comments.

"You're just lucky your girl friend was here to save you!"

Clair remained in her protective stance until they were far away, then turning to see if Jack had been injured.

"You okay?"

"My body? Yes. My pride? Not so much."

"Humph, being saved by a girl doesn't make you weak, it just makes me stronger." The way she said it was playful, and he almost couldn't keep the mock-angry frown on his face.

"Whatever, will ya help me up already?"

She smirked and helped her friend to his feet, and he brushed himself off.

"For the record, when we rule the world, I'm totally kicking their butts."

Clair laughed at what she thought was a joke.

"Who's Chase Young?" asked the young pre-teen looking at the cover of her friend's book.

"Oh man, he's gotta be the greatest evil genius ever!"

"BLASPHEMEH! Dr. Frankenstein is the greatest evil genius ever!"

"My parents are moving to China."

Clair's eyes were as big as saucers at her friend's news. Jack could not meet her gaze and continued.

"Dad has to do business there and it'd be 'more convenient if we relocated'."

Jack had argued long and hard with his father about it. His dad was almost never home anyway, why didn't he just move to China and let him and his mother stay here? His father had only gotten angry at that, leaving his mother caught in the middle of the two most important men in her life. Ultimately, she agreed with her husband, and besides, Jack was a minor, they weren't going to leave him here alone; he had to go with them.

"But China! It's so far away!"

He flinched. "I know, I…wanted to tell you before we left."

Jack couldn't stand it, he didn't want to leave, didn't want to tell het these things, but Clair deserved a good-bye.

"When are you leaving?" She sounded frantic yet determined and it made Jack feel guilty.

"…Tomorrow."

Clair was speechless. Her silence was agonizing, and he slouched his head in response to it, staring at his shoes. She always had something to say and to have stunned her speechless…Jack had been afraid she'd hate him. It was another reason he'd argued so hard; they'd only told him this morning. Then he'd had to pack, and by the time he'd finally gotten away, the first thing he'd done was take off in his heli-pack for Clair's house.

Any minute he expected said girl to start yelling at him. Instead, she hugged him.

"Clair?"

"Then we don't have much time left. Do you think your parents will mind if you spend the night here?"

"Uh, probably not, why?"

"For an all-night going away celebration, duh. Come on, I've got RISK and ice-cream and pudding and the original 'Frankenstein' on DVD."

Jack smiled and followed his friend to her living room. A year later he would open a puzzle-box, but for now he had Clair.

A/N: There you go, my first one shot. Tell me how I did.