So, finally I have written the first, non-prologue chapter of this story. Sorry to those of you that wanted me to update but I got distracted, then basically forgot about it, then hated it, then realized I like it again, then decided to continue it.

So, here it is. I changed it so that there will probably be future Neku/Joshua, Neku/Beat stuff in the future because that is how it looks like it's developing, which I'm fine with because I like those pairings too. Neku is everyone's bitch.

PLEASE REVIEW! I live on reviews so please do those!

I slumped into the closest seat, directly behind the girl in the pink hat, and the man walked to the front of the classroom. He stood, beaming at the class as they quieted in his presence. He swiveled on one heel, snatched a new piece of chalk from the lip on the bottom of the blackboard and scrawled in large slanting letters: MR. H. He dropped the chalk nonchalantly onto the metal lip and turned swiftly, the large smile still shining from his face.

"Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth."

That's a good way to put it, I thought, transforming everything to gold with his glowing aura.

"Mr. Sakuraba, who wrote those immortal words?"

I could feel myself gilding over, molten gold flowing over my head, torso, legs…

"Mr. Sakuraba."

"What?" I looked up at the dark-haired man staring quizzically at me, his smile slightly faltering but still present. I had no clue. Is that something they expected you to know on the first day of English class? "I, well… I don't know? I'm… I'm sorry."

"That's alright, Mr. Sakuraba," his smile returned and he winked quickly at me, "I forgive you. Ms. Misaki, can you help Mr. Sakuraba?"

"Um…" The girl in the pink hat looked up from the paper she had been doodling on but her hand moved unnoticed around the page. She blinked, blank-faced, at Mr. H and smiled brightly. "Totally don't know, Sanae."

Mr. H's face twitched when the girl said his first name but he kept his smile.

"That's alright, SHIKI," He put a playful emphasis on her name, "Anyone else?"

A boy sitting directly in front of Mr. H gracefully arched his thin arm high into the air and Neku's eyes fell on him for the first time: he had medium-length silver hair that cascaded onto his shoulders and the hand he held up was pale and his fingernails were perfectly manicured and clipped.

"Mr. Kiryu?"

"William Shakespeare, in his twentieth Sonnet, which is, interestingly enough, seldom found in most compilations of Shakespeare's sonnets due to the fact that many believe it is Shakespeare's homosexual desires for a man expressed in Iambic pentameter."

"Brilliant, Mr. Kiryu. Perhaps you can help Mr. Sakuraba or Ms. Misaki get up to speed on our lessons; although I believe Ms. Misaki is beyond saving," He flashed a smile in her direction, "What do you think, Joshua? Tutor our new student?"

"Forgive me, Mr. Hanekoma, but due to my responsibilities serving on the Literature Club, Physics Club, Anime Club, National Honors Society, and the school's Student Governance Council I am a stretched a little thin. Otherwise, I would love to help our new student with his coursework." The silver-haired boy turned almost in slow motion and smiled coquettishly at me, his gleaming white teeth glowing at me. He flipped his hair out of his face and blew a small kiss. I felt my cheeks redden and I lowered my face to the desk as he turned back to face the front of the classroom.

"Well then, I suppose I will have to tutor you myself, Mr. Sakuraba. Please meet me today after school. I will drive you home if need be, but I must get you on track so you don't come blubbering to me when your grade is poor," I kept my face to the desk but I made a nodding motion and Mr. H clapped his hands together, "Alright, now back to the wonders of literature."

I balanced two textbooks in one hand and a lunch tray in the other as I walked through the lunchroom. The pink hat girl, Shiki, sat with a group of other pretty girls at a table in the middle of the large room and as I passed them, I felt all of their eyes scanning over me and then heard the soft twittering of their hushed dialogue as I left them behind. I set the tray down on a table on the far side of the room and then plopped the textbooks down next to it. I shrugged off my backpack and placed it on the floor beneath the table and sat down on the plastic bench. I poked with my fork at some of the mixed vegetables on the tray and listened absent-mindedly to some punk music on my headphones.

Another tap on my shoulder. I turned on the bench and looked up at the pink-hat-black-pig girl as she stood looking down at me, smiling slightly.

"Shiki," She outstretched her hand, "that's my name. Yours is Neku, right? Neku Sakuraba?"

I continued to stare at her and she withdrew her hand. Shiki sat down next to me, tucking her denim miniskirt underneath her as she did, and placed the pig doll on the table in front of her.

"This is Mr. Mew," She picked up the pig's hand and waved it frantically at me, "Say hello, Mr. Mew. Mr. Mew is my kitty, and I love him so much! Don't I Mew Mew?"

My eyes widened and I suppressed a chuckle. "That is a cat?"

Shiki's eyes narrowed into darts of accusation. "Of course it is! Why!? Don't you dare say that you thought he was a pig too?"

"Maybe?"

"He's a cat!" Shiki bellowed.

"What's all of the cacophony about?" The silver-haired boy had appeared at Shiki's side and had his hand on her shoulder, as if to calm her, "Hopefully not scaring our fresh meat away, right, Ms. Misaki?"

"Oh! Joshua. This is Neku Sakuraba."

"Indeed," Joshua's gaze traveled across me and paused on my neck, just in the opening of my collar. I pulled the collar closed to cover the exposed skin, "Mr. Sakuraba."

A smirk quickly passed Joshua's face as he looked at me and then a loud guffah from behind him caused him to scowl.

"Must be going," he said, "the Neanderthal is coming."

As Joshua left, a muscular, blonde-haired boy wearing baggy clothes and a black skull beanie came up to the table and grinned toothily.

"Yo, I'm Beat." He extended his fisted hand, apparently looking to pound it on my one. I reluctantly reached out and tapped his huge fist with my small one, "Hell yeah, that's a Beatdown, for sure."

He grinned down at me and then squished himself between Shiki and myself on the bench. "Nice to meetcha, Phones."

"Phones?" I asked.