Hello everyone! First fic on this account, not first fic on here tbh. Okay, here's the gist of it, when I was a kid I looked up to this girl. I thought she and numbuh 5 were the awesomest people in the world. Anyway I wanted to do a fic exploring her life as a teenager and with the whole thing trying to get G:KND greenlit, well, I couldn't resist a fic. Especially since most of the fics on here are from years ago. (Oh, before I forget, this is also being cross posted on ao3!)
Oh, just as well, the main pairings for this fic are Nigel/Rachel, Kuki/Wally, Hoagie/Abby as they were the ships I had before I knew what shipping was. But, be warned, this does not mean they're completely straight. This fic also includes trans!Fanny.
Title is from the song Gasoline by Halsey.
And I hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 1
"Numbuh Five, Abby," Rachel spoke her eyes wide as she tried to get one of Sector V, any of them, to answer her. "Where- where's Numbuh One?" she shifted. She had tried calling him earlier, to apologize on the behalf of her brother and herself for their actions, but hadn't been able to reach him. She let it go, though, it wasn't until she had a mission that she knew would be perfect for him did she try to contact him again.
"Numbuh Five's sorry, sir," Numbuh Five finally spoke. "We can't say."
Rachel's stomach dropped.
Rachel wasn't exactly sure what encouraged her mother to move to a place like this, to be honest. They went from this large, grand mansion to this much more quaint home in a suburb. She wasn't complaining, in fact, she hoped this meant a change in her family. So, while she was extremely happy for the new start, her brother was most definitely not.
"Why did we have to move here?" Harvey was complaining and pushed around the eggs on his place. "We don't even have a pool anymore and stupid Sector V is here!" he whined and twisted his body to look back at his sister. "But I bet you must love that. You always did play favorites with them!"
Rachel's eyebrows knit together for a moment as she plopped down next to him. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," she announced and rested her cheek in her palm. "Does this have to do with that game you play, with the numbers?" she gave him a little smile.
Harvey frowned and went back to poking at his food. "That's right. You were decommissioned. You wouldn't know what I was talking about."
"Rachel," their mothers piercing voice caused both to flinch. "Are you really going to where that on your first day of school?" she demanded, her hand on her hip as she took in her daughter's appearance.
Rachel looked down at herself. She was wearing a simple, long sleeved, gray shirt and a pair of blue jeans. There were no holes in her jeans and the neckline of her shirt wasn't super low, so she looked back up at her mother asked, "What's wrong with it?"
"There's no color," she sounded absolutely exasperated. "You should wear more color! You know, when you were a kid, one day you just randomly started wearing bright colors together, like orange and teal," she made her way toward the coffee pot. "I mean, they clashed so much and gave me headaches but you always told me that it was because you were the Supreme Leader of a bunch of your little friends or something," she waved her hand dismissively. "And that you needed to be able to stand out so you could be seen. I haven't a clue what made you switch back to dark colors."
Rachel hummed. She didn't remember that. In fact, she didn't even remember these friends her mother mentioned, after all, the only friends she had as a kid were the ones her mother, quite literally, bought.
"Anyway, you really should go try and put on something brighter!"
"I don't think you're one to talk," Rachel muttered under breath. Granted, her mother's suit was for work, but even on her off days she didn't wear much color.
"Anyway, hurry up, both of you! I'll drive you to school today, I still need to give some of your paperwork over to the high school, to complete Rachel's transfer," she explained, pouring the rest of the coffee from the pot into a cylindrical container.
"See ya!" Harvey shouted and slammed the car door shut.
Rachel rolled her window, "Wait, Harvey!" he stopped and looked back. Rachel gave him a small, tentative smile. "Good luck on your first day!"
Harvey shifted, face flushing. "Yeah, yeah, don't get all sappy on me, Rach!"
Rachel chuckled. "I'm your big sister. It's my job to get all sappy on you!" she paused and added. "If you end up feeling uncomfortable- at all, just go to the nurse; see if she'll let you lie down for a few hours okay?"
Harvey nodded. "Yeah, of course!"
That was all that could be said as the car began pulling away. Rachel sighed, readjusted her seatbelt, and faced the front again.
"You know," her mother spoke. "I don't understand how he's not over his haphephobia yet."
Rachel heaved a sigh. "He's a kid. There's no way he's going to get over something like that so easily," she folded her arms over her chest and leaned her head against the window.
"Right…" she frowned. "Oh, so, you think you'll be able to make friends?" she asked, obviously trying to strike up a conversation to ease the tension in the air.
"Oh, you mean ones that you don't buy for me?" Rachel quipped.
"Rache-"
"Oh look," Rachel quickly unbuckled her belt as they came to a stop. "We're here. So you can do whatever you need to, I already have my schedule. I think I'm going to look for my locker."
"Rachel!"
Rachel froze and looked back at her mother. She swallowed heavily, "Yes?"
"I love you."
Rachel let out a shuddery breath. "I love you too."
Rachel somehow found herself in a bathroom. She found her locker, but ended up lost on her way to her first hour class and the first few times she had stopped to try and decipher the map she was given she had been bumped into multiple times, so, she ducked into the bathroom so she could look at it without all of her things being knocked to the ground.
"Oh my god, what are you doing in here?" a shrill voice screeched and Rachel spun around, ready to defend herself, only to stop when she realized she wasn't the one being addressed, but a girl with frizzy, curly vibrant red hair and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
"What do you mean what am I doin' in here?" the girl had a thick, Irish accent.
"I mean," the other stressed out. "You're not a girl. You shouldn't be in here!"
Green clad shoulders stiffened. "I am too a girl! I have as much right to be in here as you do!"
"Just because you look like a girl right now doesn't mean you don't still have a di-"
"Okay," Rachel cut in, stepping forward and in between the two girls. "Hi, I'm Rachel! I'm new and I was wondering if one of you could possibly help me find my first hour class?"
"Ah," the red head shifted awkwardly. "Yeah, I can help you," she scooted a little closer to Rachel when the other girl scoffed and all but stomped out of the bathroom. "I'm Fanny, by the way."
"Rachel," she answered back, completely glossing over the fact she had already announced her name. "Anyway, I have Algebra with Mr. Simpson first," she showed her schedule and wrinkled her nose. "Oh man, that's gonna suck."
"What?"
"Having to do all that math first thing in the morning!" she snorted.
"Oh, yeah," Fanny chuckled. "If it makes you feel better, the homework is really easy. Since he only checks to see if you have it done and doesn't actually grade it," when Rachel quirked an eyebrow, she shrugged. "I have it first hour as well, come on, I have an empty desk next to me, you can sit there."
Rachel smiled brightly at her. "Thanks!"
"Oh," Fanny stopped them just before they reached the bathroom door. "A-about what Jenna said…"
Rachel waved her hand and nudged her out the door. "Hey, don't worry about it. I think I understood what she was trying to say and she has absolutely no reason to. After all, you're a girl right?" she winked and when Fanny's whole face lit up with a smile, she couldn't help but wonder if she just made a friend.
"Numbuh 362?"
Rachel froze, her stomach twisting and she spun around. A girl with red cap stood in front of her, eyes wide in surprise. "Uhm, were you talking to me?" she questioned, her mouth dry, unsure of why she reacted the way she did.
"Oh, Abigail!" Fanny piped up and glared at the boy beside Abigail. "Boy."
"Nice to see you too, Fanny," he snorted.
"Sorry, Abby must've had you confused with someone else," she shrugged and held out her hand. "I'm Abby, this is Hoagie."
"Nice to meet you," Rachel shook her hand. "Both of you. I'm Rachel."
"Anyway, we need to get going so we're not late," Fanny interjected and tugged at Rachel's arm, pulling her along. "Mr. Simpson hates it when someone's late. No matter the excuse."
"We'll let you go, then."
"Wait," Abby grabbed Rachel's shoulder, stopping her from turning around. "Rachel- Numbuh 1 is coming back."
"What?"
"Abby knows that doesn't mean much to you anymore, but I had to say something," she explained, her hand falling from Rachel's shoulder. "You deserve to know." And she was walking the opposite direction, leaving a confused Rachel and Fanny in her wake.
"What was that about?"
"I- I don't know…"
End Chapter 1
