Disclaimer: I do not own Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It belongs to Mr. Whedon. I make no profit off of this story.

Warning: None yet. (Really, really, super-mild language?)

Note: I'm not including a 'Moist meets Doctor Horrible' scene in this. If I do write that, it will likely be a separate fanfiction.


The important thing was that it wasn't a date. Billy and I were not a couple. Eww. My best friend being my boyfriend? Totally gross.

But we were the only two kids in our grade without dates to our very first school dance. So a decision had been made.

"I don't, you know, like you, or anything. But do you want to come to the dance with me?" he'd asked. "As a friend?"

I stared at him blankly, wiping my sweaty palms on my blue jeans. "Sure. Who else is going to take me?" I paused to look down at my hands. Dang. Still wet. "Or you?" I added, looking back up at him.

That had been a week or so before. When we'd arrived at the dance, it quickly became obvious that going dateless would have been less embarrassing. First, they laugh, and the jeers come quickly after. 'Freaks in love', 'Perfectly lame for each other'. 'Sweaterella and prince geeky'.

Middle-schoolers kind of sucked at insults.

I ignored them. I was used to this sort of thing... We both were, but as I glanced to my side I could see a scowl on Billy's face. He hated it; being treated without respect. That those who were different got treated poorly. It was why society was so messed up, he always said.

Yeah, Billy had always been a weird one.

"Do you want to leave?" I asked him in a whisper. He shook his head.

"No, Ellen. That's letting them win."

"...Right." I didn't always understand Billy back then... I never always understood Billy, really... But when he got determined, I knew better than to try and change his mind. Even if we could have been back at my place playing video games. Oh, well.

It wasn't long before we'd settled in a pair of chairs off in a corner, far from everyone else. As the night went on, we could see we weren't the only ones being teased - There were the usual 'weird-but-not-as-weird-as-us' kids getting harassed, and then the couples. Jeez. 'He could do better', 'I can't believe she's holding his hand'... People who were normally cool were suddenly total weirdoes if they went to the dance with someone outside of their social circles.

"That's why most people don't mix," Billy pointed out, "and the status quo will never change."I fiddled with my dress - yellow, totally gross, but mom had insisted that be the dress I get - not caring that it was riding up my legs a bit too much. "Billy, I'm not sure what that even means."

But Billy was off in Billy-World. His eyes were suddenly shining, his expression going from disgusted to excited in less than a second. "I bet I could make the status quo change. If I had more power." He turned to me, beaming widely. "Ellen, someday I'll have enough power to fix all the things that are wrong with the world."

"Power?" I echoed. We were middle-schoolers. Power seemed a little out of reach.

"It'll be in the hands of the freaks. And then the popular people - Who, you know, don't even do anything -"

"They don't?"

"No, Ellen. Come on. Think about it. Who's popular in the world? Messed-up celebrities and crooked politicians. And athletes. Athletes! Who cares if we have baseball or not? I mean, come on."

I just stared on. Billy really wasn't a normal teenager.

"Now, those people, they'll be put in their place. Yeah. That's what I'm gonna do. Someday."

"How?" I asked, genuinely curious. It didn't sound like a bad idea, even if I didn't understand all of the reasons behind it. Billy bit his lip and looked at the floor.

"...I don't know yet."