Broken Chapter 1: Claire, a sky high fanfic

A new school year, a new student, a new villain; just another ordinary day for the students of Sky High.

Hey! So, recently, I got into Sky High, decided that I should write for it. It might not have clicked with me if there hadn't been the amazing Steven Strait in the movie (what a wonderful smile). So, I hope you enjoy my story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High or the characters; only Claire and her family.

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Broken – Chapter 1

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The Sky High bus pulled up to the curb. Of course, anyone who wasn't a superhero wouldn't know that; it looked like an ordinary school bus. Claire Mitchell sighed and stepped on. The doors pulled shut behind her. Slowly, she scanned for an empty seat; no one paid attention to her, assuming she was a freshman. Claire took the only empty seat in the back of the bus. She did not want to go to a new high school; after all, she wasn't anything at her old school, why would this be any different? A few freshmen screamed as the bus took off in midair, but most, including Claire, didn't mind. People swarmed around on the grounds, greeting their friends and catching up on what had been happening. Claire solemnly went inside the building. Invisibility wasn't her power, but one would think it was, the way people were ignoring her. She'd already been forewarned that she would be stuck with the freshmen for a day as they evaluated her powers. Claire knew that this would be another worst year of her life.

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Gently, Claire stirred the straw in her drink. It was her nervous habit when there was a straw and a cup around her; it was her way to attempt to cope with anything, even though all it did was give her a way to think. The day had been, as predicted, horrible. Rather than face her aunt, she looked for somewhere to hide. Her dark blonde hair and black streaks fell in her face, hiding her misery; no one seemed to care that she was there. A waiter came up and looked at her for a minute.

"Need anything?" his deep voice asked.

Claire pulled her hand away from the straw and looked up; he had dark hair pulled back, brown eyes, and was rather tall. "No thanks," she said softly.

His eyes showed a hint of curiosity. "Are you okay?"

She sighed and looked down at the table. "I started at a new high school today."

He sat down. "What high school you go to?"

Claire glanced up a little, then looked back down. "It's kind of…a private one."

"Yeah, me too…so, what happened?"

"Well…they stuck me in with the freshman for…placement…"

"I see…"

"Have you ever…felt like you don't belong?"

He looked at her green eyes and nodded. "Yeah…"

"That's what it felt like at my old school…and at my new one…everyone had people to talk to and eat with…and I was…"

"Alone?"

Claire glanced up from the table. "Yeah."

"It'll get better…it was like that for me for a while last year."

"What happened then?"

"I got friends." He stood up. "Don't worry about it…"

"Claire."

"Warren. See you around." Warren headed towards the kitchen. Claire picked up her chop sticks and ate a bite of food. She went on and finished her meal, stood up and went to the register, reaching into her bag. Warren came out and began to punch in numbers to the register.

"Thank you," she said softly, handing him money.

"No problem," he replied, holding out the change.

Warren went to one of the tables as Claire headed out the door. The cool wind whipped around her. She pulled her arms close in an attempt to stay warm. Her home had numerous lights on, glowing through the windows. Claire shook her head and walked up to the front door. She quietly pressed her fingers together and went to shut the door. Lights that flooded the staircase from above went off.

"Damn it Claire…" a voice came from the living room. An older woman with slightly graying brown hair came into the foyer, scowling at the girl. "I left those lights on for a reason."

Claire pulled off her jacket, and hung it on a wall hanging coat rack. "You don't need that many," she told her coolly. Footsteps came from upstairs; Claire and the woman looked up the dark hall. "Figures…" Claire muttered, heading for the kitchen.

"I told you to never do that." The woman growled at her, following on her heels.

Claire pulled a glass out of the cabinets and filled it with water. "What's your excuse now?"

"You never listened to a word I told you, ever!"

"Are you 'actually, really, truly in love' with this one?"

"Abigail?" a male voice called from upstairs.

Abigail stepped closer to Claire. "Turn them all off."

"Why?"

"Turn them off now." Her tone was menacing as she reached out for a utensil that was at least somewhat sharp. The lights flickered. Claire's breaths became quickened as she glanced up. Clearing her mind, she opened her palm; the rest of the house went dark as an orb of pure light gathered in her hand. "Get in the closet; keep that thing dark."

Claire used the light to guide her way; she shut the closet door behind her. She kept her back to the door, huddling around the light. Voices were muffled through the door, but it was something about her room. Obviously Abigail was keeping her a secret from whichever guy it was this week. Claire's eyes were amused as she attempted to decipher what they were saying. Slowly, her eyes began to close. How long could they talk out there? She sank to her knees, leaning her head against the wall. Soon, she fell asleep in the closet, her hand still holding the orb of light.

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Warren pulled his apron off, hung it up on the wall, grabbed his bag and headed home. It was another year at Sky High, nothing much new about that. It was still him, Will, Layla, Ethan, Zach, and Magenta. It would be just like second semester of last year, but for the whole year. The living room light was on in his house. Across the street, all the light were out except for what appeared to be a few candles. Was there some sort of black out for the whole block except for superhero homes? The rest of the street's homes were lit up; Warren shrugged it off. Probably some new people living there who were a little on the crazy side. It's not like it would affect him.

"Hey Mom," he called as he shut the door behind him.

A woman who looked eerily similar to himself came out from the lit room. "How was school today?"

He shrugged, dropping his bag on the floor. "It's school."

"And work?"

"Same."

"You want anything?"

"I think I'm just going to head upstairs."

His mother hugged him, stood on her tiptoes and kissed his forehead. "Sleep well."

"Night Mom." Warren went up the staircase, down the hallway and to his room. A flame came out of his hand and he lit a candle in his room. What was the purpose of using lights when you could just light a candle with the flick of your wrist? Luckily there was no homework since it was the first day of school. He put a CD in the player, hit the play button, lay on his bed, and stared up at the ceiling. He needed to get some sleep before school the next day; it was nearly midnight. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

A broom fell, hitting the ground with a loud noise. Claire awoke with a jolt at the sound, her hand snapping shut. The lights flickered on in the house and went off. She snatched at her bag, grasping for her cell phone. Fifteen minutes till seven. "Damn it," she cursed, grabbing her bag and throwing the door open. Sunlight streamed into the kitchen; she ran to her bedroom, pulling out a pair of dark ripped jeans, a black shirt and fishnets for her arms, and black Vans. Claire ran a brush through her hair quickly, lined her eyes with eyeliner, and bolted down the stairs. The house was empty, she deduced as she pulled her jacket on. Claire waited at the curb for the bus to pull up; across the street, another teenager came out of the house and headed for the curb. She shrugged it off as the bus pulled up and she took the same empty seat as the day before. Upon arriving at the school, she tentatively stepped up to the office desk.

"I'm supposed to get my schedule," she said softly.

"Name?"

"Claire Mitchell."

The secretary flipped through a list of schedules and handed her a sheet. Claire glanced at it. Of course, they give her the hard classes first thing in the morning. She dragged through the morning, attempting to stay awake. Lunch was the same as the day before. After she got her food, she silently looked around; all but one table was full. She sighed as she made her way across the commons to the empty table.

"Man, I'm so ready for summer!" Zach commented.

"It's only the second day of school," Will pointed out.

"Yeah, and I'm so ready for summer."

Warren shook his head; Zach was always a slacker. He glanced up from the group, looking at the freshmen. They all looked so frightened in groups of their friends, as if the older kids were going to hurt them as some joke. Warren rolled his eyes. How stupid could they get? One of them did not look like a freshman as she made her way to the empty table across the room. Why did she look so familiar? The hair, the stature, the clothing style…the eyes; that was it, the eyes. This was the girl from the Paper Lantern, Claire. It was definitely her, especially the shyness. Glancing back at the table of his friends, he jumped up, going after her.

"Claire," he said.

She turned around. "Warren?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah…I didn't know you went here."

"Transferred in this year…and no one here seems to take kindly to new students, even if they aren't freshmen."

"They really don't."

"I'll see you around." A miniscule smile spread on her face as she went towards the table. Warren watched as she sat, alone at the table. He went back to his table and began to eat again.

"What was that about?" Magenta asked.

"Nothing," he answered, staring at his tray.

"Doesn't sound like nothing," Zach agreed.

"Why don't you just drop it?" Warren growled menacingly.

Zach threw up his hands in defeat as the rest of the group watched suspiciously. Claire tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she put her fork into her food, but paused for a moment, then began to eat. She glanced at all of the people who were talking to their friends and enjoying themselves. Claire attempted to make herself seem as small as possible; it was times like this that she wished she did have invisibility as her power. Some people glared at her, but most ignored her. After that, her eyes never left her plate. Warren looked at her a few times, in all of her shyness. Why did it matter to him? Well, really, it didn't; it was just sort of reminiscent of him before he was friends with Will.

Please review! Thanks for reading!