Hi everyone!
This is an idea I've been tossing around in my head for a while, and I wanted to see how people would respond to it. AU Rizzles, in which they meet in high school. Jane is a senior, Maura is the new super-smart junior.
Chapter 1 – I Spent an Hour With You
Petrify. Verb. Make (someone) so frightened that they are unable to move or think. Synonyms: dishearten, intimidate, terrify. Yes, this was the best term Maura Isles could use to describe what was happening to her as she stood at the edge of the schoolyard where her driver had dropped her off moments before. She had never in her life seen so many teenagers in one place at the same time. It made her slightly nauseous.
It was the first day of her junior year in high school. More specifically, it was her actual first day of school, ever. Until today Maura had been homeschooled, but now that they'd settled in the small town in Massachusetts, her mother had though it was high time her daughter got some friends her own age. Maura had tried her best to argue that she didn't really mind, she'd never cared for the company of her peers anyway. But her mother was adamant, and so here she stood, staring blindly into the mass of miniskirts, keds and skateboards.
It was already late September, and Maura was starting the year a few weeks late because of their annual mother-daughter trip to Paris. Which meant that trying to get to know anyone at the new school seemed even more daunting. As if it wasn't enough that she was a new student in her junior year, now the other possible new students would've already had time to fit in and get to know everyone.
She made her way slowly across the yard, trying her best to dodge the other students greeting each other happily after the weekend. She sat by the front door, playing with the zipper of her brand new schoolbag, her eyes downcast, trying to be as invisible as she could until the bell rang for the first class of the day.
After meeting with the guidance counselor, Maura made her way to her first class through the crowded hallways, her eyes trying to get used to the bustle of teenagers all around her. She was completely out of her element and painfully aware of it. When she turned the last corner on her way to History class, something ran into her, and before she knew what hit her she found herself on her back in the middle of the hallway.
A tall raven-haired girl knelt in front of Maura, piercing dark eyes boring into hers, extending a hand for her to get up. She took it, gasping when a jolt went through her entire body like electricity, letting the girl pull her back to her feet.
"Sorry about that, I'm so freaking late!"
The girl's raspy voice made another, smaller shock run through Maura, and she felt so disoriented that she forgot to reply. Before she could find her manners, the girl had given her a quick once-over to make sure she was all right and was gone in a flash. Maura shook her head and took a few breaths to steady herself, and continued her way to class. Welcome to high school, new girl.
Maura sat quietly at the back in all of her classes before lunch, not because she chose to, but because everywhere else was full at this point of the courses. She didn't really mind, this way people wouldn't be staring at "the new girl", or at least the threshold to do so would be higher seeing as they'd have to turn around in their seats to do so. She only hoped being seated in the back wouldn't hinder her learning.
When the bell rang for lunch Maura got up and made her way out of English class, not exactly excited about sitting alone in the cafeteria. The only consolation was that it was her first day, and she had yet to get lost in the new school. She'd memorized the map the guidance counselor handed her in the morning, and if there was one thing that never let her down, it was her memory.
"Hey!"
Maura jumped a little, turning around to find a short, brightly smiling girl standing next to her, holding out her hand to introduce herself.
"You're the new girl, Maura, right? I'm Savannah." Bright green eyes shone into Maura's from between curly strands of blazing red hair as she shook the girl's hand, not quite sure how to react to the enthusiastic greeting.
"Hello, yes I am Maura, that's correct. It's nice to meet you."
"You wanna sit with me and a few friends at lunch?"
"Oh. I – sure. That's very kind of you." Maura was dumbstruck how openly this girl had just come up to her and started talking. She supposed there was a lot she had to learn about high school.
Ten minutes later Maura was sat at the cafeteria, being introduced to Savannah's group of friends. There was Penny, a skinny blonde girl with big blue eyes, who giggled a lot, mostly at jokes thrown out by the boys in the next table. On Savannah's other side sat her best friend Allison, a tall girl with dark French-braided hair and a no-nonsense attitude. She was clearly the leader of the group, and Maura felt slightly intimidated even though they all had given her a kind welcome. Between Allison and Penny sat the identical brown-eyed twins Carmen and Evita, who gestured wildly with their hands and spoke with a soft Spanish accent. Maura said but a few words during lunch, answering whatever questions the others had for her but not initiating conversations herself.
As the week passed it became her routine to sit at the table, listening to the others go on about recent rumors and what was going on in sports. She merely nodded as the others enthused about a party the following weekend. A party to which she obviously wasn't invited to, and would politely decline if she was. It was only the first week of school and all the socializing was starting to get to her. It wasn't that she didn't like the other students, especially Savannah had been more than kind, but she felt like she had nothing to say to any of her new acquantances. She just felt so. Different.
After a few days, Maura found herself loosening up a little, mostly thanks to Allison and Savannah, who made a point of talking to her between classes and showing her around. She now knew who belonged to all the different "cliques" and where they liked to spend time during breaks. On Thursday Maura was again sitting at lunch, explaining to Savannah and Allison about the algebra homework they'd been assigned the previous day.
"Damn you're like super smart, Isles! Nerdy much?" Allison said with a laugh, pushing imaginary glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"Bad eyesight isn't indicative of higher intelligence, but yes. I am a genius." Maura answered without skipping a beat. Allison tilted her head to the side, and both her and Savannah chuckled at their new friend's antics. Maura knew they found her a little weird, but she was glad they chose to keep hanging about with her (she was pretty sure that was the phrase) nonetheless.
"Yeah, Maura we've noticed," Savannah smiled knowingly. "Didn't you say you were transferring to AP chem and bio next week?"
"Actually I'm starting biology already today, right after homeroom. I'm so excited!" Maura's eyes shone and she did a little twirl as they got up to leave the cafeteria.
"'Course you are." Savannah said with a roll of her eyes, she really didn't get why anyone in their right mind would be excited about AP science classes.
After homeroom, Maura headed out toward the small forest behind the school building, where her biology class was being held for the day. She was curious as to what they'd be doing, and had gotten there early to make sure she didn't get lost or arrive late for her first lesson of the course. She was the only junior taking this class, which made her feel slightly intimidated. She knew she could handle whatever was on the syllabus, but being in a group full of seniors was scary even for a genius. Especially a not-exactly-social genius.
When the rest of the students had arrived, their biology teacher, Mr. Clark took attendance and started talking excitedly about the experiment they were starting.
"I know it sounds a little easy for AP bio, but I figured we could start with something fun," he explained and started explaining the process of taking samples of different plants and fungi in the woods and then processing them in the lab later.
"Alright, everyone pair up, and I'll start assigning you different things to find and take samples of."
There was a jumble of raised, enquiring voices and shuffling feet, and before Maura realized she was standing in the middle of paired-up student forming a line to get supplies from Mr. Clark. No one seemed to notice or care that Maura had been left alone and after a moment of confusion she concluded it was probably for the best. This way she could concentrate on the experiment. Just as she was about to join the end of the line, a raspy voice called out from behind her.
"Sorry I'm late!"
The group of students turned around as one, Maura with them, to see the newcomer.
"On the first week of school, Rizzoli? This doesn't look good. Where've you been?" Mr. Clark called, the students shifting out of his way as he spoke.
"Got held up in homeroom, won't be happening again."
Maura noticed the smirk on the girl's face, and was almost willing to guess this wasn't the first time she was late for class, nor would it be the last.
"Make sure it doesn't," Mr. Clark said with a shake of his head and went back to assigning tasks for the students.
"So, I guess you're stuck with me, new girl."
Maura spun around, startled by how close the raven-haired girl was standing. After a flustered moment of staring into the girl's deep brown eyes, she realized this was the same girl that ran into her the first day of school. The beautiful, Snow White–like girl who smelled of lavender. Wait, why did she know that?
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said looks like you're stuck with me."
At Maura's increasingly confused look, the girl tried one more time, "Partners. It looks like you don't have one, and I just showed up, which means – tada! – you do have one!"
"Oh. Yes, I suppose that would be acceptable," Maura's voice was an odd mix of thoughtful and nervous as she spoke," I was prepared to work alone, but given the nature of the experiment it would be more efficient to work with a partner to assure good results. And beyond that it would surely make working in the lab –"
"Whoa, Google-mouth, slow down a bit. Why don't we get the stuff we need and go from there, okay?"
Maura's cheeks burned red and she moved to the end of the line without replying. After a few moments of awkward silence, Maura felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head reluctantly.
"Look, I'm sorry." The older girl's sincere eyes found Maura's. "I didn't mean that in a bad way. It's just that I can be kinda – well, very – forward sometimes. You're obviously really smart. I like that. I'm Jane. Jane Rizzoli."
If Maura wasn't blushing before, she sure was now. For some reason the fact that Jane thought she was smart made her extremely happy. A bright smile spread on her lips, and she saw a matching one on Jane's face as she turned around to face the girl fully.
"My name's Maura Isles. Nice to meet you."
Jane Rizzoli was one of the most popular girls at school, and she knew it. Unlike some she didn't use it to her advantage and made an honest effort to be nice to everyone, including the younger students. She prided herself in being a good judge of character and never being intimidated by anything or anyone.
So when she walked late into her AP biology class on the first Thursday of school, she wasn't exactly prepared for anything life-altering. Neither would she be aware that her life had in fact been altered that day until quite a while later. Well, at least not how vastly it had been altered.
She knew Mr. Clark had probably predicted her tardiness, and when she was done apologizing for being late, her eyes landed on a honey-blond girl at the end of the line of students. Jane caught a glimpse of shining hazel eyes before the girl spun on her heel and a wave of curls took their place. She'd never spoken to the girl before, but she was sure she'd seen those eyes before. She decided to pair up with the new girl, everyone else was already paired up, and somehow she knew she'd rather work with the new girl than alone.
After an awkward misunderstanding they got their assignment and went off into the woods, Maura going on about how excited she was to be taking this class. Jane found the girl more and more adorable by the second. She didn't say much, a stupid grin plastered on her face as Maura kept motioning with her hands, her eyes shining as she rambled on about scientific inquiry and how she'd only been taught theory back when she was home schooled.
"Am I talking too much?" Maura asked when they'd been collecting samples in their designated area for a while. Jane looked up from the ground, an honest smile on her face.
"No, not at all. I like listening to you talk. You really go to Paris every year?"
"Yes. It's a tradition with my mother. But really, Jane. Tell me something about yourself."
"Well, umm. I wouldn't want to bore you. My life isn't nearly as interesting as yours."
From the moment Maura had started talking, Jane had been all but mesmerized by the younger girl. It seemed she knew everything worth knowing, and had been halfway around the world. Sure she was a little weird, but that only added to the charm of Maura Isles.
"What do you mean bore me? I want to know who you are, Jane Rizzoli. All I've heard is that you pretty much rule this place. Honestly I thought you would've told me to stop being such a weird geek and shut up by now."
Maura wasn't sure where this newfound boldness came from, but she felt like it was ok to be honest with Jane. After the short time they'd spent together she felt like she could say anything in the girl's company and not be judged or laughed at.
"I don't think you're weird, or a geek for that matter. And I do 'pretty much run this place'." Jane replied with a laugh and got up from where she had been squatting. She made her way to Maura, who had been done with taking samples for a while but had kept talking while Jane finished.
"You done with those?" Jane asked, gesturing at the sample bags in Maura's hand. The blonde nodded and Jane told her to wait there while she labeled and returned the samples and supplies to Mr. Clark. There were benefits in being one of Mr. Clarks best students, and that's how she got permission to get out of class early. Besides, her and Maura were already done with today's part of the experiment anyway.
When Jane got back, Maura was sitting on the root of a massive tree, her eyes glued to the pages of her new chemistry book. Jane smiled at the image. Maura's chic, probably crazy expensive, clothes and platform heels looked out of place in the middle of the falling leaves, but the girl herself seemed like she was exactly where she belonged. The late afternoon sun filtered through the canopy of leaves above her, catching her hair, making the long blonde curls glow with light. Jane shook her head, averting her gaze to the book Maura was reading to get her brain back on track.
"Advanced chem, huh?"
Maura looked up from the book with a smirk on her face, closing the book and putting it back in her schoolbag before replying.
"Are you intimidated?"
"A little," Jane said with a wink when she reached Maura's side. But when she looked up with a smile, Maura's eyes were downcast and the hint of a frown crossed her face. When she spoke, the tone of her voice made Jane's heart clench painfully.
"That's okay. Most people are."
Jane's eyes went wide, and she was almost too dumfounded by Maura's words to react when the girl turned to walk away. After a second's hesitation, Jane realized what just happened and she grabbed Maura's wrist before the blonde got too far away to reach.
"Hey. That was a joke, Maura. I think it's cool that you're a genius and that you read AP-practically-everything. It's cool. You're cool."
"Really?"
Jane was yet again caught in those hazel eyes, the honest insecurity in their depths making her want to shake Maura and tell her she wasn't just cool. She wasn't just okay, or kind of nice. Maura Isles was nothing short of amazing, and Jane couldn't believe the girl didn't realize it.
"Yes, really. I had a great time with you. Actually Mr. Clark said we're dismissed, so we can hang out if you want."
"Only if you promise to tell me something about yourself," Maura countered with a smirk and Jane couldn't help but let out a raspy chuckle.
"Fine, I promise. Let's get out of here."
The girls made their way back toward the school building, neither of them really sure where they were going. Jane told Maura about her rascal brothers Tommy and Frankie, and their overprotective mother Angela. When Maura heard about all the stunts the Rizzoli children had pulled, she laughed for the first time in what felt like years. When they reached the front doors, Maura looked at Jane with a huge smile on her face.
"So. What do you want to do? There's still plenty of time before seventh period."
Jane smiled at the question, not sure how to reply. She'd just spent what felt like the best hour of her life with Maura, she couldn't really ask for anything else. Before she could come up with anything less sappy, her stomach growled loudly and she cringed, her face blushing red.
"I guess we should get my poor stomach some food before it throws a tantrum."
"Jane, I know you know that organs don't have feelings."
"Yes. Yes I do."
Jane shook her head and smiled, not quite believing what she'd gotten herself into. Maura Isles was without question the most interesting, unbelievably smart and completely exceptional person she'd ever met. And they'd only known each other for an hour, give or take. For the first time in her life Jane Rizzoli was completely captivated by another person, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Yes? No? More? Let me know :)