A/N: Hello! My name is Jackie and welcome to my first fanfiction on this account. Before we get into the actual story, I want to make several things abundantly clear. First, I am aware that the content in this story may seem very similar to the content in the story Dark Times by user JacquelineCyrus. I did not copy her. I am the same original writer of that story. If you'd like a more detailed explanation, please read my bio on my profile. This is a rewrite of that story; that means there will be a lot of similar information in this piece of work. Secondly, keep in mind that while I will do my best to update as frequently as possible, I am a college student. College is not easy and it does take up a lot of my free time. I was also recently inducted into an honor society at my university, so that means that keeping my grades up is a MUST. I will post updates when I can, but please do not be upset if there isn't one for a significant amount of time. I promise I'll get to them when I can. Finally, as a disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with The Amazing World of Gumball. All rights go to Ben Bocquelet and Cartoon Network. The story line, however, belongs entirely to me.

Chapter One

It was a typical day at Elmore High School. It was finally Friday, and everyone was eager for the seemingly endless school day to end so they could go home and relax for the weekend. As most Fridays went, the time on the clock seemed to tick by in slow motion. Ms. Smith's ninth grade biology class piled out of the classroom as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the lunch period. Two students in particular made their way over to a row of lockers, one with an armful of books and a smile on his face. The other student trudged along behind him, seemingly bored and disinterested. The student with the books, an orange paci-fish named Darwin, finally came to a stop at one of the lockers on the top shelf and began twisting in his combination on the lock. The other student, who was also his brother, let out an audible groan, clearly impatient.

''Darwin, come on. We only get 45 minutes for lunch dude, and I'm starving.'' The student, known as Gumball, whined. Darwin chuckled at his brother, tossing his books neatly into his locker and grabbing both of their lunches before closing it and twisting the dial to make sure nobody could break into his locker.

''Sorry, dude. I'm just really enjoying high school so far. Isn't it great?'' The paci-fish beamed, earning a scowl from the blue cat. Okay, so they weren't biological brothers, but they were brothers nonetheless. Gumball rolled his eyes, unamused.

''We've only been in school for a month. How great can it be?'' Gumball mumbled, clearly not as thrilled about the idea as Darwin was. Darwin shook his head in amusement, handing the cat his lunch before they headed off towards the courtyard to eat.

''Gumball, this is a fresh start for all of us. I think you should be embracing it.'' Darwin commented. The duo came across a picnic table underneath a group of trees and decided to sit there. Darwin opened his paper bag and pulled out all the contents, biting into his sandwich first. Gumball sat opposite of him, carelessly dumping his bag out onto the table.

''I tried to, at first. I don't know man, there's something about school that I just can't get over.'' Gumball replied. He bit into his apple, letting his eyes wander around the courtyard at their classmates who instead of eating lunch, used this time to burn off some energy. His gaze fell on one student in particular: Tobias Wilson, a rainbow colored, cloud-shaped humanoid. He had a very heavy interest in sports and, much to Gumball's distaste, had a very overbearing self-confidence. Gumball was so immersed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that Tobias had now made his way over to their table.

''-wouldn't you agree, Gumball?'' Gumball jumped slightly, the mention of his name snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned to face the voice in question, a rather confused look on his face.

''Uh...agree on what?'' He questioned, only slightly embarrassed that he'd missed the conversation entirely.

''Oh, I was just telling Darwin here how much I hate high school. It's got to be even worse than junior high, am I right?'' Tobias chuckled, putting an arm around Darwin as if they were the closest friends. Gumball noticed Darwin tense at Tobias' touch and he knew exactly why; Darwin wasn't exactly fond of Tobias either, but unlike Gumball, didn't have the heart to tell him so. As Gumball opened his mouth to say something, Darwin interjected.

''I don't know...I think high school is actually pretty great.'' Tobias looked at him and Gumball knew he was silently judging the teen's opinion. The group was silent for a moment before the humanoid spoke.

''You actually...like it? You're still the same geek you were back in junior high!'' Tobias laughed. Gumball looked at his brother, whose cheeks were tinted pink with embarrassment. Tobias slung his arm off Darwin's shoulder, circling around to the other side of the table where Gumball sat.

''You know, that's too bad. See, my sister Rachel was planning on throwing a party next weekend to celebrate the new school year and I was going to invite you, but I'd better save my breath. You'll probably be at home studying, won't you, nerd?'' Tobias taunted. Gumball glanced at Darwin again, seeing his eyes shining with unshed tears. Gumball wasn't going to let this go on. Tobias had gone far enough.

''Knock it off, dude! So my brother is smart and likes to study; at least he's going to go somewhere in life one day unlike you.'' He snapped. Tobias stopped laughing as he turned to glare at the cat. Gumball just glared right back, his protective instincts activated. Tobias came closer to him until their faces were mere inches apart.

''That's where you're wrong, Watterson. See, I don't need smarts to go somewhere in life. I'm already extremely wealthy. My life is set out for me on a golden platter.'' He bragged, taking away the close proximity of their faces in order to turn his back to his classmate. Gumball couldn't hold back his comment.

''Your parents won't be around forever, Tobias! Once they're gone, how do you plan to maintain that wealth? You need a job to get money; it doesn't grow on trees like your parents seem to have brainwashed you to believe!'' He snarled. Tobias turned back around to face him. He slowly made his way towards him, grabbing him by the front collar of his sweater and pulled him threateningly close.

''You better check your facts before you go making assumptions about my family, Gumball, or this won't end well for you.'' Tobias whispered so only he could hear. Gumball was even angrier now that Tobias was threatening him, and his self-defense was in full force.

''Let go of me!'' Gumball shoved the boy roughly, causing him to let go of his sweater and fall to the ground on his back. Tobias took a moment to recover from the shock before getting steadily back to his feet. He stalked towards the blue cat, who held his stance surprisingly well given that inside, he was terrified of what Tobias' next action would entail. Tobias stared at him for a moment before pulling his fist back and sending an uppercut to Gumball's jaw. Gumball's head snapped back due to the force as he lost his balance and soon found himself on the ground as well. He groaned as he rubbed at his now aching jaw, glaring up at the figure towering over him. Tobias stared down at his classmate, smirking at his obvious anger.

''You're still the same pitiful wimp you were back in middle school. You'll never grow a backbone, will you?'' Tobias taunted. Gumball's anger continued to boil. Rising to his feet, he pulled his fist back before swinging it forward, punching the other boy in the eye. Tobias stumbled back, his left hand instinctively reaching up to cover his eye, which he could already feel was starting to swell. He winced slightly, glaring at Gumball, who was still standing before him, almost daring him to say anything else. Darwin glanced anxiously between his brother and their classmate and he sensed a fist fight stirring if he didn't stop it. He hopped off his spot on the bench and came to stand between the feuding duo.

''Tobias, Gumball, stop it!"

"What is going on here?!" The group turned as a new voice rang out. Principal Brown, whom had transferred to Elmore High School to take on a better paying position, came into view. The two boys froze, knowing they had been caught. Principal Brown frowned disappointedly as he pointed towards the entrance of the building. The young teenagers knew they were in a load of trouble and as such, decided it was best not to argue. They trekked up the small hill towards the entrance to the building, heading straight for the principal's office. They both took a seat inside the office, sitting as far apart from each other as they could. Nigel followed them in, closing the door behind him. His chair creaked as he lowered himself down into it, eyeing the two boys in front of him. As far as Tobias was concerned, Gumball had just declared war. Nigel took in a deep sigh before leaning forward in his chair, glancing first at Gumball, then to Tobias.

''I must say, I fully expected the two of you in my office at some point. I just didn't anticipate both of you at the same time, especially over some silly violence. So I'm only going to ask this once and I want the truth; who initiated the fight?'' He began. The two boys glared at each other, neither one willing to admit the fault. Nigel sensed their defiance and tried a different approach.

''The choice is yours, boys. Either one of you admits to initiating the fight, or I'll have you both suspended. Now tell me, who threw the first punch?'' Gumball was all too prepared to see Tobias' punishment dished out until he came to a defeating realization: it was him who had swung at Tobias first, not the other way around. Knowing the humanoid would never cave in and take false blame, he sighed and decided to confess.

''It was me. I threw the first punch…'' He muttered. Nigel simply nodded his head once and signaled for Tobias to leave. The humanoid was all too eager to fulfill this request and promptly exited, leaving Gumball alone with the principal to face his punishment.

Gumball opened the front door to his house and quickly slipped inside, his clothes and fur soaked from the rain pouring outside. The time was 6:45 pm, and he'd just finished serving his three hour long detention for starting a fight with another student. He closed the door quickly and made an attempt to get upstairs before his mother could get a hold of him.

''Gumball.'' He tensed at the familiar tone and voice of his mother Nicole, who stood in the living room now, her arms crossed and her voice laced with anger. He frowned and stepped down off the stairs, facing his mother in shame. She glared at him before opening her mouth to speak.

''Out of all the stupid things you could've done, this one is beyond unacceptable. You kids know my rule about fighting.'' She began. Gumball hung his head, his ears folded down in shame.

''I know…'' He whispered.

''So why would you blatantly go and ignore that rule, Gumball?'' Nicole questioned.

''Mom, he was insulting Darwin. Darwin was getting visibly upset, and my protective instincts kicked in-'' Gumball began to explain but his mother interrupted him.

''That is not an excuse to punch somebody, Gumball!'' She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose much like her daughter often did. Gumball continued to stare at the carpet, knowing better than to argue with her. He knew she was right; he could have handled the situation better.

''Look...your father and I will decide on your punishment together when he gets home. Just go upstairs to your room for now. I'm very disappointed in you, Gumball.'' With that, Nicole headed back into the kitchen, where she finished preparing for dinner. Gumball sighed and trudged up the stairs to the room he shared with Darwin. The paci-fish glanced up as he heard his brother enter the room, promptly throwing himself down on the bottom bunk.

''Mrs. Mom's pretty mad, isn't she?'' Darwin asked. Gumball didn't respond but instead simply nodded. Darwin frowned.

''Thank you for defending me… I didn't mean to get you in trouble.'' He said earnestly. Gumball sighed again.

''It's not your fault, dude. I should've handled it better.'' Gumball rolled over onto his side so his back was to his brother and pulled out his cell phone to see he had a text message.

Wilson, Tobias: You made a big mistake picking a fight with me, Gumball. This means war.