A/N: Well I'm back! Hooray!? Booo!? I really hope you guys yell the former.

Now, this is a school story…AU obviously…and in this, Sarah Walker looks like Jenny Burton. The reason I'm still going to be calling her Sarah Walker is because it's easier, for everyone. But keep in mind, she does not, I repeat, does not, look like a mini Sarah Walker. She looks like Jenny Burton; brunette, braces, the works.

This story idea hit me the same way Domino Effect did. Couldn't sleep and the idea wouldn't leave me the hell alone.

I want to thank Kilobyte44 and ItWasAWildIdea for being my inspiration for this story…even if they don't know it.

Additional thanks to my beta uplink2.

I don't own Chuck or anything for that matter. No money being made here.

Words in italics are characters thoughts. Watch the dates and locations cause I tend to jump around a lot. Oh yeah, if some of the references don't coincide with the year, ie. I refer to something that hasn't even been created yet, I do apologize.

…

Chapter 1 (Who's that? Definitely not Vicki Vale!)

October 1998

Los Angeles, Echo Park

Casa Bartowski

His alarm went off and Chuck inwardly groaned.

It had practically been two months since school had started, but still, he hated waking up so damn early. You would think that since it was his senior year he would be more enthusiastic…He wasn't. Sure, he had great friends, and his classes weren't particularly hard, but it was just so…so predictable. Chuck couldn't wait for college, well that is if he could gather enough courage to start the application process. He had time, he justified. But once he got into Stanford, Chuck knew that things would definitely be more…interesting.

Chuck swung his arm and pounded his clock into submission.

What can a few more minutes of sleep hurt?

The moment he closed his eyes to fall back into a beautiful slumber however, a hammering came at his door with his sister Ellie's voice following shortly after.

"Chuck, get your lazy butt up before I drag you out myself!"

He loved his sister. Chuck didn't particularly care for her at the moment, but there was no denying how close the two siblings were. It probably had to do with the fact that she had basically raised him on her own since both their parents had abandoned them.

For whatever reason their mom, Mary, had left when they were younger. And even though she was the first to leave, and their father Stephen had stayed for the time being, their dad might as well have left along with her. Mary leaving affected her husband just as much as it did her kids, if not more. Ever since that fateful day; their dad became too much of a mess to really be a presence in his children's lives. Chuck guessed that Stephen had cracked under the pressure and couldn't handle the major responsibility of raising his two kids on his own. He must have decided to up and leave, just like the parent before him.

Chuck was the tender age of 13, and Ellie 16, when they were left all alone. But that didn't seem to deter his sister any. She not only kept them together, but Ellie had somehow gotten a job and made enough money to keep them afloat. He had no idea how she was able to pull off working full-time, at such a young age, and still attend school, but she did. Now here they were, living in a quaint apartment complex in Echo Park, while he attended Burbank High School, and his sister attended UCLA in hopes of becoming a doctor.

She's a damn superhero!

Chuck grabbed his pillow and pulled it atop his face.

In a muffled voice, he yelled out, "Few more minutes!"

Ellie kicked the door open, took the pillow that was covering her little brother's face, and slammed it back down on his head, causing him to yelp.

"I have to head to school early. Breakfast is on the table, so get up and get ready for school."

With that, Ellie spun with a flourish and exited the room.

Chuck reluctantly got up and headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower, change of clothes, breakfast, and hurried goodbyes with Ellie; he headed to school.

He didn't know why, but as he drew closer to his destination, Chuck felt like things were all of a sudden, far from predictable.

Los Angeles, Burbank

Burbank High

Chuck had English up first, taught by Mr. Montgomery. It wasn't his favorite subject, but Chuck liked the teacher, and having the class with Morgan Grimes did make it better.

Morgan, a.k.a. the bearded one…coined for practically being the only teenager his age with a full on man beard…was Chuck's long time best friend. Their relationship started ever since Chuck saved Morgan from getting his butt kicked by a girl named Suzie back in middle school. The strength of their friendship only flourished after each of Chuck's parents left. Morgan did everything in his power to lessen the sting of his best friend's parents' abandonment. Usually he did that by being there whenever he was needed. Those times mostly consisted of all night gaming sessions…Good times, considering the circumstances.

These two were practically brothers, which was why the thought of Morgan being with Ellie slightly creeped Chuck out. Morgan, bless his soul, had the hugest crush on his sister. Of course, Eleanor never reciprocated those feelings because, aside from finding Morgan odd, Ellie could barely tolerate the little man. Still, she put up with the bearded one and still allowed him to come over because of how important she knew he was to her little brother. No matter how much Ellie did for Chuck, she knew he needed Morgan as well.

As his best friend rambled on and on about their recent weekend Chuck, half listening, wondered why Mr. Montgomery was late. He was pretty casual when it came to rules, but this was still late even for him.

Just as he finished that thought, his English teacher walked in, but with somebody in tow.

Mr. Montgomery placed his briefcase on his desk and turned to his students. "Sorry for my lateness class, but I would like to introduce you all to a new student. Class, this is Sarah Walker."

Sarah turned toward the rest of her peers and her eyes immediately found a pair of big, warm, chocolaty orbs staring back at her. She felt the blush creep up her neck and unconsciously, she smiled, revealing her slightly enlarged two front teeth and her shiny braces. Sarah shook herself out of her daze and looked over the rest of her classmates. She immediately regretted it since all she saw were bored, indifferent, judgmental looks. She missed the loving openness of her previous inquiry. When Sarah set out to find the owner of the eyes that mesmerized her, Mr. Montgomery's voice cut her short of her search.

"Sarah, why don't you take your seat now?" The teacher pointed to an empty desk in the spot nearest the front of the class. Sarah nodded and reluctantly complied, not wanting to make a bad impression on her first day.

Seeing as he was late, Mr. Montgomery hurried to prepare everything for the day. "Class, just give me a few minutes to prepare your lesson for today."

Chuck could have sworn he blew a head gasket. What the? One minute he was starring at one of the most bewitching girls he had ever seen, and the moment their eyes connected, all of a sudden he's starring at the back of her head. True, she wasn't beautiful in the classical sense, in fact, if you probably asked anybody but Chuck, they would tell you she looked rather average. But there was something that drew him like a moth to flame. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a connection there that made his heart flutter.

Sarah…her name is Sarah. And if it wasn't for Morgan talking him into sitting near the back of the room, he maybe possibly conceivably could have sat next to her. Luckily, Mr. Montgomery didn't believe in assigned seating. All Chuck had to do was get to class early and somehow devise a way for Sarah to sit next to him. Piece of cake.

All of a sudden, a waving hand entered the field of his vision. Chuck turned his head to find the owner of said hand.

"Morgan, what are you doing?" Chuck went back to starring at the back of Sarah's head.

"Chuck my man, you totally spaced out there. And what's with the big goofy smile? I've never seen…" Morgan followed his best friend's line of sight, and it all snapped into place. "OH! Why didn't you say you liked the new…"

Chuck's eyes went wide as his hands shot to the bearded one's mouth.

"Morgan…" Chuck hissed.

Grimes could do nothing but nod his head vigorously. But when Chuck removed his hands, Morgan winked exaggeratedly, and made a show of zipping up his mouth and throwing away the key like a caricature.

Chuck just rolled his eyes and looked to the front of the class where the teacher was beginning with his lesson plan. He couldn't seem to focus for long however, because his attention started drifting off again to a certain brunette.

As he continued to gaze at Sarah, one thought kept running through his mind.

Definitely interesting

Sadly, after English, Chuck took too long gathering up enough force to talk to the new girl. By the time he was ready, she had already left. That didn't bring him down however because he felt he would see her again. How big can a High School be anyway?

After his next class, Computer Programming which was taught by Mr. Winterbottom and was by far his favorite subject, he spent the habitual 15 minute break after second period with Morgan and some of his other friends; Skip Johnson and Anna Wu. But after a bit, he decided to start heading to his third class early. Math was his second favorite subject after all.

Chuck was halfway there when a surprising sight stopped him in the middle of the hallway.

Heather Chandler and Dick Duffy talking to Sarah?

Sure, it was possible that those two would strike up a friendship with Sarah. After all, Chuck really didn't know a thing about the new girl. But the chances of that were still rather slim, and it had nothing to do with Sarah.

Heather and Dick were two of the most popular kids at Burbank High. However, they weren't friendly and popular like Carina Miller or Hannah Tremblay, or even the clichéd popular kids who seemed to have a bit of a superiority complex like Bryce Larkin and Jill Roberts. No, these two were mean and popular. So the sight of the both of them with Sarah made him apprehensive. He shook himself out of his stupor and decided to take it for what it looked like, the new girl making friends.

Chuck only took a couple of steps before he saw Dick walk off with an arrogant smile on his face. Heather followed suit, but not before knocking all of Sarah's books down to the ground. Chuck chastised himself. He should have seen this coming and prevented it somehow.

Not even thinking about it, Chuck rushed over to help. His trusty Converse sneakers squeaking all the while, as it scuffed against the shiny hallway tiles underneath him. Skidding to a stop, he crouched down and proceeded to gather up all the papers and books strewn across the floor.

Sarah wanted to run and hide, but she didn't want to give those two assholes the pleasure of knowing how much they had gotten to her. She knew she wasn't the prettiest, smartest, funniest, or even the most fun, but why did people time and again have to point that out. It was her own damn fault just as well. Sarah had fallen victim to those two idiots' faux kindness.

How could she have been so naïve? The fact that her family had moved countless of times because of her dad's job, made sure of the fact that Sarah had built walls around her heart. She had closed herself off and had fallen into the background in hopes of getting by unseen. Why put yourself out there and make attachments just too either end up disappointed or having to leave? It was those stupid brown eyes of that guy in first period. They were able to make her drop her guard, and now look what happened…STUPID!

Wiping away the single tear that had graced her soft cheek, she bent down to pick up her things, but was shocked she wasn't alone. How did I not notice him? Probably another guy pretending to be nice just because he wants something.

Having gathered everything, Chuck stood, but his head was still down since he was so focused on balancing all the papers and books he had in his hands, so he wouldn't drop them like some type of klutz.

"Those guys are…whoa! Ok I think I got it under control…"

He finally looked up, sporting one of his many patented smiles. "…Those guys are jerrrkkssssss…" Chuck's train of thought left him as he got lost in those eyes once more. "…Uh…Hi" Oh way to go, great first impression!

Chuck was so busy berating himself; he didn't notice the slight flushness coloring Sarah's cheeks. Hell, even if he did see it, he would have never believed it was because of him.

The moment the stranger revealed his face, Sarah knew she was a goner. That smile was absolutely heart melting. But just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, and in its place was an adorable expression of, what…Awe, surprise, horror, disgust? Why is he looking…Oh my god those eyes! Why do they seem so…Those are the same eyes as the ones from first period! He's the one!

Sarah swallowed hard, reached over, and after showing a slightly nervous smile, slowly grabbed her things.

"Thanks"

Seeing her smile broke Chuck out of his trance. God he could stare at her all day…and no, that's not creepy at all.

"Yeah, no problem. Umm, it would probably be a good idea to stay away from those two."

Sarah chuckled. "You're probably right." She shifted her stuff under her left arm, and with a weird amount of courage that came out of thin air, stuck out her right.

"My name is Sarah."

Chuck promptly shook her hand, both of them trying their hardest to remain under control from the electricity they felt when their hands touched.

"Yeah, I-I think you're in my English class…I'm Charles Irving Bartowski, but everyone just calls me Chuck."

He smiled, which in turn got a smile out of Sarah. Neither of them realized how they were just standing there, hands clasped, gazing at one another.

A voice broke them both out of their dream world, and they both quickly retracted their hands as if they've just been burnt.

"Chuckles, where have you been?!"

Carina Miller came bouncing toward the two. Before looping her arm through Chuck's and adhering herself to his left side, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which made him turn beet red.

Carina was one of those well known and well loved students. She had a reputation for being overtly flirtatious while also making it a point of being nice to everyone…Unless you were a complete prick that is. Now, Carina didn't go out of her way to hang with the less popular kids, like say the nerds, in fact, the only nerd she was truly friends with was Chuck, and to a lesser extent Morgan. But she was very approachable and courteous the times she wasn't acting coquettish. And although a majority of the student body liked her, at the same time, they were just as intimidated by her as well. Don't be fooled, the red head was definitely not of the old adage, 'what you see is what you get'. She had brains, and if you messed with her or the people she cared about, she wouldn't think twice about kicking your ass.

Carina wasn't always the way she was now. During her early freshmen and sophomore years of High School, she was not only beautiful, but she was straight-laced as well. It was the aftermath of her relationship with long term boyfriend Bryce Larkin, at the end of sophomore year that made her act the way she did now. Bryce was always pressuring her for more, and because she thought she was in 'love', she pushed the envelope a little more with their relationship at a party one night. They didn't have sex, but it was close to it. Of course, Bryce tried to get more out of her that night, but she had refused since she felt like it wasn't the right time. Carina didn't know why, maybe Bryce was being pressured by his friends, or maybe even being picked on, but the following school day, he started bragging to everyone about how he had 'nailed' her. She tried her hardest to refute those claims, but no one seemed to believe her. She broke up with the douche of course, but the damage was already done.

All the whisperings and the things she heard nearly destroyed her. She tried ignoring it for a time, but it always ate away at her. So, Carina decided that if that's what everyone thought, then why fight it. Miller became flirty and playful with everyone, and just like that, people started talking about her less and less. She didn't know if it was because they thought she owned up to all the gossip, or because they simply just got tired of talking about her. But she made herself believe that if she was purposely acting like this, then whatever people said wouldn't matter, or hurt as much, since she chose to be this way. The best way to deal with teasing and gossip was to own it and control it. Carina wasn't hurting anyone, and she never went too far. It was all just a mask she wore. Every time she slipped on that mask however, it became easier and easier making her get lost in her own artificial persona. Only one person kept her grounded enough to remember the real Carina inside.

Carina Miller bumped into Charles Irving Bartowski mid junior year. Right away she knew he was different. Chuck never judged her, or acted a certain way because of her reputation. He was so genuinely kind, that it got her curious as to what he thought about all the gossip that had been said about her. His response was that he didn't listen to that crap, and anyone who believed stuff like that needed their heads examined. Suffice it to say, they became quick friends. And after only a short amount of time, she definitely became smitten with the nerd. I mean here was this sweet, intelligent, funny, cute, charming guy, who treated her with the utmost respect and kindness. Someone who knew the girl deep down and made her feel special. The fact that he became a loyal friend and actually hated Bryce because of what he did to her; didn't hurt either. Who wouldn't fall for Chuck?

Every time Carina tried to make her feelings known however, in hopes of taking their relationship to the next level, Chuck never reciprocated. She didn't know if it was because he wasn't interested or if it just flew over his head. She was willing to bet on the latter. The red head never pushed too much though, because as wonderful as it would be to be with him, if he didn't feel the same and it ruined their friendship, it would kill her. Carina could live with not being his girlfriend, but she didn't think she could go on, not being as close as they've become.

Over time, her infatuation with him dissipated. Mainly because she really loved having him as her one true rock, and didn't want to risk anything. She still had a minor crush on him though, and she still flirted and teased him because, well…it was fun as hell and he was so adorable when he'd get embarrassed. But overall, she was happy with where they were at.

Carina instinctively tightened the hold she had on Chuck's arm as she looked at the girl across from her. Brown hair that looks dried out and quite possibly a dye job, shy looking, slightly out of date wardrobe, decent looking but definitely has the potential to look stunning with the proper make-over, and is that…it is…Braces. Carina smiled.

She was standing off to the side when these two had their staring match. It was obvious there was something there, but she wouldn't let anyone take Chuck away from her, that was for sure.

After Chuck fought off the redness in his face from Carina's kiss, he cleared his throat.

"Uh, umm…Sa-Sarah, this is my friend Carina Miller. C-Carina, this is Sarah Walker, she's new here."

Sarah showed a tight lipped smile as she extended her hand, which Miller shook. She didn't know why, but she had the sudden urge to gouge out the eyes of this redhead.

"Nice to meet you Carina"

"You too Walker; if you ever need help finding your way around school, or even Burbank, don't hesitate to ask."

Sarah was a little curious as to why Carina called her by her last name, but she figured that's just how she addressed people and promptly shrugged it off.

"Thanks for the offer. I might take you up on that."

The bell that signaled the end of break rang and Carina quickly let go of Chuck just to attach herself onto Sarah.

"What's your next class, I'll walk with you."

Sarah was a little surprised, but if she was a friend of Chuck then she must be alright…even though technically Sarah knew nothing about the guy.

"I have Chemistry in room 102 next. It's nice of you to offer, but you don't…"

Carina cut her off.

"Nonsense, I want to. Plus, it looks like you're going to be in my class. And at lunch, come find me so we can talk about all the things you need to know to survive Snoresville."

The red head started dragging the 'brunette' off to class. Over her shoulder Carina yelled, "We'll see you later Chucky!"

The whole thing about keeping your enemies closer kept running through Carina's mind. Sarah wasn't really her enemy, and she didn't hate her, she didn't even know her. But she saw the way Chuck and Sarah were with each other. It was only a matter of time before something happened between the two. Carina tempered her jealousy. She wouldn't stop Chuck from finding love, even if that meant it wasn't with her. She honestly wanted him to be happy. That's why she needed to interrogate Sarah. But no matter who ended up chuck's girlfriend, she reaffirmed herself that no one was taking her nerd away from her.

The moment the girls were out of his field of vision, he shook his head and went to class. Carina being nice to someone wasn't a surprise. She was genuinely a kind individual. God he wanted to punch Bryce in the face! Still, there was a small part of him that felt like Carina was up to something. They were as close as he was with Morgan, so he knew he was probably right.

Chuck sighed. It was definitely going to be hard to focus in math today.

Los Angeles, Echo Park

Casa Bartowski

Chuck was right. But not only couldn't he focus in math, his mind kept drifting off the rest of the school day. Carina and Sarah were at the forefront of his mind often. He deeply cared for Carina, and he knew Sarah was in good hands with her, but he still wondered what was going on.

He unfortunately didn't see both Carina and Sarah during lunch, but he was quite surprised to find out that Sarah was in his 5th period history class. The only bad thing was that their history teacher, Ms. Beckman, assigned seats in alphabetical order. Who knew Bartowski was so damn far from Walker alphabetically? He only got to say hi to Sarah before they both had to go their separate ways.

Chuck thought during his last class, 6th period P.E., which was taught by Big Mike and had both Morgan and Carina as his classmates; that he would be able to make the red head talk. Hell, Carina seemed to love to talk just as much as he did. And she did talk, just not anything too detailed about Sarah. She mostly deflected and went on the offensive, asking if Chuck liked the 'brunette'. Of course that completely caught him off guard and he denied it wholeheartedly…which no one believed, not even himself. Still, for some reason, it kind of made him happy when Carina said that even though she didn't know Sarah all too well, she liked her. Why it made him so happy, he didn't know.

Chuck walked into the courtyard of his and Ellie's apartment complex. He knew he needed to get to know Sarah better, but why, he couldn't fathom. It just felt right.

As Chuck got to the edge of the fountain, he passed his long time neighbor John Casey, who was watering his plants in the front of his apartment at the moment.

"Hey Casey!"

John grunted, "Bartowski," as he went back to tending to his plants.

John Casey was definitely a man of few words. Chuck didn't know how long he had been living in that apartment, but Casey was there ever since he and Ellie moved into the complex. John Casey was a 27 year old ex-Marine, and he figured that Casey would have still been a Marine to this day if it wasn't for his accident during his service. His neighbor never went into much detail about the event, and all Chuck got out of it was something about being shot up in Kuwait. Whatever happened, he figured it was the reason Casey walked around with a limp and grimaced every time he planted with his right leg. Being in constant pain was a good excuse in having a less then cordial attitude. Chuck could tell Casey loved being in the Marines, and if something he loved was taken away from him, Chuck would probably go around scowling and grunting at people too.

It didn't matter how rough Casey seemed to be, Chuck knew his neighbor was a big ole Sugar Bear on the inside. John always looked out for the Bartowskis, even going as far as helping them financially from time to time, with no expectation of anything in return.

John Casey was more like an older brother than a neighbor. A very gruff and standoffish older brother, but he was family. It worked since the ex-Marine didn't seem to have much of a family of his own too.

Chuck entered his apartment without another word to the big guy. He knew Casey wasn't one for, 'lady feelings', as the gruff giant liked to call it.

After stashing his backpack in his room, he started on dinner. Ellie would be coming home after work in a couple of hours, and he needed to finish cooking so he would be able to start on his homework. It was a good thing Ellie taught him how to cook. I mean his sister already went to school and paid the bills, the least he could do was tend to the housework.

As Chuck put the meatloaf in the oven, he started thinking of tomorrow and what he needed to do in order to get to know one Sarah Walker better.

Los Angeles, Echo Park

Walker Residence

Sarah threw her backpack to the side as she sat on top of the kitchen counter to watch her mom go about preparing dinner. Emma turned to her daughter with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"How was your day sweetie?"

Sarah gave a noncommittal shrug. "It was ok."

"Honey, you know how sorry I am we had to move again right?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Mom it's not your fault. I get that we had to move…again…because of Dad's job…Besides I'll be graduating High School soon. Then I'll be off to college."

Emma gave a sad smile. She was definitely going to miss her daughter once she leaves for college.

"So, did you make any new friends?"

"I did meet this one girl Carina. She's really cool, and she actually wants to show me around the city this weekend."

Mrs. Walker was absolutely relieved. Emma knew how her daughter shut herself off at times. At least she made a friend…possibly more?

"That's great honey…Anyone else!?" Emma had such a hopeful expression on her face.

Sarah looked down and started picking at her nails.

"There was this one guy…Chuck. Didn't really talk to him much but he seemed really nice."

Emma was beaming. A BOY!

"Is he cute?"

Sarah looked at her mom with her classic 'O' face as her cheeks heated up.

"Mom!"

Emma kept silent and just stared at her daughter waiting for her answer.

Seeing as her mom wouldn't drop the subject, she relented.

"Yes ok, he's very cute…You happy now?"

Emma just nodded, kissed her daughter on the forehead, and went back to her work in the kitchen.

"Dinner will be ready in a couple of hours when your dad comes home from work."

Suddenly, a 5 year old bundle of energy came prattling into the kitchen.

Sarah hopped off the counter and scooped her younger sister, Molly, into her arms. Sarah loved her younger sister so much.

"How was preschool Molly?"

"It was fun!"

Sarah chuckled. "I need to get started on some homework, but I promise we'll play later, ok?"

Molly was sad but she understood. Once her older sister put her down, Molly ran off to go play in her own room.

Sarah grabbed her bag pack, went into her room, and flopped down on the bed. When she thought about her mom's question about how her day was, all she could think about was Chuck.

Well that's interesting.

A/N (2): Ok so how was that? There was a lot of background information on characters because I made it that way. I hope it went smoothly. Oh and if anyone is worried, Carina will TRY not to get in the way TOO MUCH of Chara. She'll still flirt and act possessive, but I don't think she will be a PLI to Chuck…maybe…not…

I'm not quite sure what characters are going to have significant roles or even what characters show up, so your guess is as good as mine. Still working on where I want this to go.

On a side note, Hannah Tremblay is Hannah from the show. You probably all know that, but I just had to put it out there. Came up with the last name since Kristin Kreuk is Canadian. At first I was going to have the name Hannah Mckay but…well you know. I just want to say that Hannah Mckay is a total badass, and I love Yvonne Strahovski and she's a wonderful actress…but…I don't like seeing her as anyone other than Sarah Walker, wife of Charles Bartowski. That's probably ridiculous of me, but it is what it is.

FYI, I can't promise regular updates, but I'll try.

Any and all reviews are much appreciated.