A/N: This is my first terminator fanfic, taking place during the T2 movie. I've changed the ages and dates around a bit. In this they're 14 and the events take place in the year 1995, meaning they would've been born in '81 and the events of T1 would've taken place in '80. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter One- The Outcast

It was a typically boring Thursday for the students at Reseda High. The halls were empty and silent. One could hear a pin drop or the sound of the creaking water pipes if they listened closely enough. The classrooms were filled with droning teachers and students sitting idly, counting the seconds left before the bell would ring which would signal the mindless march to the next class.

Inside the freshmen English classroom, the tapping scratching of pencils could be heard throughout the room, overlapping the ticking of the clock as it counted down. The tapping of a pencil could be heard, matching pace with that of the clock.

'One minute to go' thought the boy who was tapping the pencil. He was a freshmen in high school. Most of the town knew him. To the teachers, he was a rebel- a delinquent. He was always finding ways to get into trouble. To the police officers, he belonged in Juvi. There were many instances the boy should've just been hauled off to that hell hole but they took pity on the boy who was good as abandoned. To the mothers of his classmates, he was the troublesome new foster charge of the Voight's. To his 'friends', he was a great asset to their teenage rebellion.

He was a handsome boy, still on the journey from boy to man. He had dark brown hair with bangs that fell just over his left eye. He was steadily growing and currently stood at a height of 5'6" which he would leave long behind by the end of the upcoming summer which was drawing nearer than he would like. He was pale and lean, though had a decent amount of muscle mass. His eyes were his most striking feature. They were a steely blue and were calculating. They suggested that he had matured before his time, yet they still somehow retained that child-like innocence and that sparkling warmth despite this.

He sighed in frustration, tapping his pencil as he watched the clock. Out of pure boredom, he flipped the sheet of paper over to look it over once more. It had 'Survival Test' written in block letters across the top, and it was meant to lead into the new book they would be reading. He racked his brain, trying to remember the title, but could only come up with flies. 'Something to do with flies' he thought. 'The blank of flies or something like that'.

He cleared his thoughts, returning his gaze to the test. A cursory glance at his answers told him he filled them all in. He didn't bother worrying whether they were right or wrong. He didn't care much whether he flunked school or not. This test, however, he knew he had aced. It would probably the one perfect score of his entire school career. After all, survival was what he was built and trained for.

The bell rang then, ripping him from his thoughts. He checked the top of the page, making sure his name and the date was filled in. Printed in spidery, rushed hand writing was 'John Connor', his name. He took note that the date was blank and quickly filled in 'April 7, 1995'.

Grabbing his test paper, John leapt from his seat, his bag over his shoulder. He dumped his paper on the teacher's desk and rushed out of the room and across the hall to his locker. He sighed as he opened the locker, realizing that he still had one block left to go before he was free.

A hand closed on his shoulder then, and he spun around to see his buddy Tim standing there. Tim was the closest thing John has to a confident and friend. Of course, John wasn't stupid, and he would never tell Tim about the bullshit lies his mother had ingrained into his very being, despite how hard Tim worked to prove his worth.

"Hey John!" Tim said, grinning cheerily. John shot the red head his trademark smile. It was a crooked smile, his lip curling up on one side, smirkingly. It was a smile that broke many girls hearts at Reseda High. He was just the type of caring bad boys that the girls would line-up for. However, he wasn't the sort you could bring home to meet your parents- the one reason behind is ever single relationship status. Every girl could dream though, enjoying from afar.

"Hey Tim," John said laughing. Tim perked up at this, noting John's relatively good mood, and began to prattle on about what their adventures after school should consist of. John smiled and nodded, only half paying attention. John was rather good at multitasking though, a skill he had picked up on long ago, and agreed amiably at the appropriate moments.

He shuffled through the contents of his bag, extracting the book he needed for his last class before shutting the locker. He turned around to face his friend and they began walking to their final class which they shared- Biology. He joined the conversation, refocusing his attention on his buddy as they discussed the would be escapades at the arcade that night. They had just turned the corner when he stopped abruptly.

Tim kept on walking, at first not realizing his friend had stopped. When, at last, he noticed, he came trotting back to John's side, very reminiscent of a loyal dog. "What's wrong, John?" Tim asked, frowning down the hallway. He scanned the hallway, trying to figure out just what could've so thoroughly captured his pal's attention.

"Who is that girl?" John asked quietly. He had only been here a few months and he hardly knew all of his classmates. However, he was staring down the hall at, perhaps, one of the most beautiful chicks in the school. She was slightly tanned, with black hair and emerald green eyes. She wore black sweatpants, a black t-shirt and a spiked bracelet. Standing next to her was a boy, similarly dressed, and perhaps a head taller than her. They smiled at each other and spoke animatedly.

Following his friend's gaze, Tim quickly weeded out the girl who stole his friend's attention. Frowning, his friend replied, "That's Nic Carson. Nothing but trouble," he responded sharply, almost on the verge of glaring. John rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Not the guy- the girl," he reiterated, glaring at his friend. Tim simply shook his head.

"Yeah, her name's Nicole but everyone knows by now to call her Nic. As I said, she's nothing but trouble. Just stay away from her," his friend replied sharply before he started walking away. John continued staring for a moment before he turned away and started jogging down the hall to catch up with Tim.

"Why do you say she's trouble?" He asked once he caught up with Tim. "I mean, we're supposedly trouble. We're the rebels- the delinquents. How bad could she be?" He asked disparagingly.

"Look, John, you know she's trouble just for that reason when a delinquent is telling you she's trouble. She's an outcast and she's got a bad rep- worse than ours. Just trust me when I say to leave her alone," Tim replied.

John frowned slightly as Tim turned into the classroom. He stopped outside and turned around to look down the hallway. He could see her at the end of the hall, still talking to the strange boy. He frowned as the bell rang, watching as she turned down the hallway and out of sight. He walked into the classroom, his interest piqued, and he knew he wanted to get down to the bottom of this mysterious Nic Carson. Just then, his mother's words floated through his head, 'No distractions. You're too important.' With a sigh, he sat down, forcing himself to forget about her. His mother was right, regardless of whether or not the terminator bullshit was true- he needed to move on. Besides, she was trouble anyways.

A/N: That was the first chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. The second chapter will take place a month later. Enjoy!