Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, nor any of the characters, aside from the ones you aren't familiar with (Katie and her parents).

Author's Note: This story is inspired by the song "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson. Sorry to those who don't like her.

I lose my way

And it's not too long before you point it out

I cannot cry

Because you know that's weakness in your eyes

I'm forced to fake

A smile, a laugh everyday of my life

My heart can't possibly break

When it wasn't even whole to start with

"Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson

As I walked along the corridors of Sky High, I couldn't help but notice how indifferent it seemed to last year. Students were huddled together in their own group of friends, either whispering amongst themselves or chatting loudly. It made me think of my friends. I hadn't taken the bus today, seeing as my father obliged to fly me all the way here for some unknown reason.

"Katie!" I heard Ethan yell.

I smiled as I saw him. At least now I had someone to talk to while waiting for Will and the rest. As Ethan approached, a pair of long-drawn-out hands grabbed him by the shoulders. Only one person could've done that.

"Lash," I muttered indistinctly, rushing off to find where he had taken Ethan.

Just as I had expected, Lash and his best friend, Speed was shoving Ethan in his locker.

"Let go of him," I snarled, narrowing my gaze at Lash and his accomplice.

They turned to face me. Lash flashed me his "million dollar grin" and scoffed, "Give me one good reason."

"He hasn't done anything to you." I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Dude, none of the students we pick on have done anything to us. This is our way of welcoming freshmen." Speed sneered, dropping Ethan.

He immediately scrambled behind me, seeing as I was slightly taller than him.

"Exactly, and we're not freshmen anymore." I pointed out.

"You'd rather see us picking on freshmen than your friend here?" Lash asked in amusement as he crossed his arms.

"I never said that." I snapped at him.

"So you'd relatively help out strangers than your friends?"

"No, I-"

"Hey Katie, is this guy bothering you?" As soon as I was about to reply, Will, along with Layla, Magenta and Zach approached us.

Will was a nice guy and all, but he really needed to let me stand on my own. He wasn't the only one in our group who was entitled a "Hero".

"I'm fine, Will." I groaned, dropping my arms to my sides.

Will, sensing my temperamental attitude, tensed up a bit. "I was just trying to help."

"I know," I forced a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder as a way of reassuring him I was alright. All the while we were talking; we hadn't noticed Lash and Speed leave.

"Hey, where did those jerks go?" we all turned to face Ethan and realized that the two bullies had already left.

"See, Will, I told you they were scared of you." Zach emphasized the word "scared" as he softly punched Will on the arm.

"No they weren't." Will and I said in unison. Realizing I had said it out loud, I added, "No offense,"

"None taken," Will chucked faintly as he noticed my cheeks turn pink.

An uncomfortable silenced drawled upon the 6 friends. Layla cleared her throat to ease the tension that was slowly forming.

"How they got accepted here again remains a mystery, even to me." I chuckled softly at Layla's comment.

"I think juvenile prison and repeating a whole year here at Sky High is adequate punishment, even for them." Magenta commented, laughing along with the rest of us.

"I don't know about you guys but Katie and I need to get to class." Will curtly interrupted as he looked at his watch.

"Yeah, I hear Medulla's got a temper when it comes to late comers, especially in his class." I chortled. "Well, I guess we better go then." I waved goodbye to the four of them as Will dragged me off to Mad Science.

Since Layla, Magenta, Zach and Ethan had Hero Support classes, we agreed to meet each other during lunch, and if we were lucky, free period.

Mad Science had turned out horrible, far more than I had anticipated. Mr. Medulla had to rearrange the pairings for the year. Unfortunately, I had been paired with none other than Lash, the super villain wanna-be. The worst part is, he refused to do any of the work, which didn't come out as a surprise for me.

"Oh come on, I'm not good at any of this." I snarled, pushing the pieces of metal away from me.

"Neither am I," Lash shrugged casually.

I gaped at him and shook my head disbelievingly. "I can't believe you."

He simply smirked and continued to stare out the window.

I sighed and ran a hand through my long black hair. "What's more important than finishing this project?" I inquired, referring to him gazing out the window.

"Have you noticed that the sky is getting darker by the second?" he questioned.

That was random.

"Yeah, a storm will soon follow if you don't help me with this." I snapped at him.

He immediately turned to face me. "Oh, I forgot about your powers." Sarcasm was evident in his voice.

"Whatever,"

This is going to be a long year.