Disclaimer: Still don't own Dishonored

XxX

The weekend went by a bit too quickly for Corvo. By the time Monday rolled around he was seriously debating if his diploma would really be worth it. After figuring that, yes it would be needed if he ever wanted to leave Dunwall, he grabbed his keys and a pear before he locked the door behind him and headed off for school.

He waited until he was about two-thirds of the way to school before he took a bite out of the pear. He continued to eat his breakfast as the school came into view, the building's faded and stained bricks standing out against the bright blue sky. He tossed the remains of the pear into a nearby trashcan before wiping his hands on his jeans and pulling open the door to his school.

He headed to his locker at a somewhat leisurely pace, he still had a few minutes before the warning bell. His locker, coincidentally was merely a hallway away from the entrance to the backstage of the theater.

Knowing this, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that many of the students he had seen at the audition last Friday were crowding the door to the backstage entrance. Ignoring them, Corvo made his way to his locker, trying to avoid getting pushed to the ground. Who knew the theater kids could be co aggressive?

Normally at this time, most everyone was either not present or already in their classrooms waiting for the day to begin. Corvo was rather surprised to see the Outsider standing around. It is possible that his locker was near Corvo's, but Corvo had always come to his locker before and after school, and he had never seen the Outsider anywhere near it.

"I take it you have seen the postings?" the Outsider asked, crossing his arms. Corvo had only really seen the other student twice, but he could infer that the arm crossing seems to be the norm for the Outsider.

"No," Corvo replied simply, starting to twist his combination into his locker.

"No? Well, you might be surprised to see them," the Outsider said, the corners of his mouth barely turning upwards. Just barely though.

Corvo nodded in reply, starting to grab his binders and notebooks.

"So just why did you audition? Truly. I'll admit it was very intriguing that of all the years you choose this one to try out," the Outsider mused, "Could it be because of a certain school counselor?"

Corvo's grip on his supplies tightened. Just who was this guy and what gave him the right to barge into Corvo's life like that? Corvo slammed his locker door shut.

"Struck a nerve, have I?" The Outsider taunted. Corvo glared daggers at the other student before storming off with a huff.

"We both know that I'm right, Corvo," the Outsider said as Corvo was walking away.

Corvo's fists clenched around his binders. He was so occupied on getting away from the Outsider that he didn't even bother to look at the cast list before he passed it. There were too many people in front of it for him to get a clear look anyway.

XxX

Usually Corvo would come into Ms. Kaldwin's little office during his lunch period and the two would have a pleasant chat about whatever came to mind, even though on some days it was Ms. Kaldwin who did most of the talking.

However, today Corvo came into Ms. Kaldwin's office with a glare on his face, a huge contrast to the bright smile that was on Ms. Kaldwin's. Her smile was quickly replaced with a look of concern.

"Is everything alright, Corvo?" She asked. He shook his head, his gaze lowered to the desk that separated them.

"I don't know if this will cheer you up, but did you happen to see the final posting of the cast list?" Ms. Kaldwin asked turning around in her swivel chair to rustle through some papers.

"I didn't see them," Corvo said bluntly, his eyes still firmly planted on the desk in front of him.

Ms, Kaldwin slid a piece of paper across her desk, placing it within Corvo's line of sight. He scanned the paper. There at the top, in bold lettering was his name, directly below it was Esma Boyle.

"You must have really impressed Mr. Sokolov if you managed to get one of the leads," Ms. Kaldwin said cheerfully.

"I didn't think I did that great," Crovo said. Then again, he probably shouldn't be surprised that he got a part considering Esma was another leading role.

"Well, congratulations Corvo. It's a pretty big thing to get the lead, I can't wait to see it," Ms. Kaldwin said happily, the smile back on her face.

Corvo was conflicted. Option A was to back out now while it was still early, save himself the embarrassment of singing in front of the school. Option B was to go on with the whole thing and cause himself a lot of unnecessary stress.

"Yeah, sure," Corvo replied. He really couldn't say no to Ms. Kaldwin.

From outside Ms. Kaldwin's office, Corvo heard the bell signaling that his lunch period was over. It always seemed to go by quick whenever he talked with Ms. Kaldwin.

"Bye Corvo, have a nice day," Ms. Kaldwin said as she waved goodbye to Corvo who was exiting her office.

"Yeah, you too," He said in reply as he gently closed the door behind him. He navigated his way through the school's hallways, sliding past the various other students milling around. He had a study hall next period, maybe he could talk with Mr. Sokolov and figure out a way he could do rehearsals and still make it to his job.

XxX

When the bell rang at the end of Corvo's history class, he grabbed his things and headed down to the theater room. He had about 45 minute to kill and what better way to do so than to work out his schedule.

The door to the theater came into view and Corvo shifted the books and binders in his hand so he could pull open the door. But before he could reach the handle the door was forcefully pushed open, nailing Corvo right on the nose. He let out a pained gasp and clutched at his nose. He saw Esma Boyle stalking away, not even noticing that she had rammed the door into Corvo.

When he briefly removed his hand he winced at the blood that was smeared on it. Awkwardly shuffling his books around looked down, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was just about to head off to the bathroom when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned around and saw that it was none other than the Outsider.

"My, my, the temper on Miss. Boyle. She gets told no and then she's off and running to dear old mom," The Outsider said to Corvo, beginning to rustle through his pockets. Corvo watched in silence as he pulled out a handkerchief of all things. What kind of person who is under the age of 60 just carries around a handkerchief?

Nevertheless, Corvo still mumbled a thank you when the piece of cloth was offered to him. He dabbed at his nose, feeling a little bad that he ruined the guy's handkerchief; but then he stopped feeling too guilty when he remembered the things the Outsider had said earlier today.

"If you're planning on visiting Mr. Sokolov for any scheduling problems, I would recommend coming back a bit later. That was the exact issue that Miss. Boyle had and I am sure you can figure out how that went," the Outsider said, striking his go-to pose with his arms crossed.

Corvo frowned. That was exactly why he was there, and it seemed like he got this bloody nose for nothing. He really did not want to deal with an incredibly pissed off Sokolov.

"If I were you, Corvo, I would head down to the nurse and come back later," the Outsider said before he turned and started walking down the hall.

Corvo stood there dumbfounded. While this conversation had been a bit more pleasant than the one earlier on in the day, it was still weird. For whatever reason the Outsider seemed to be paying special attention to him.

Readjusting his books, Corvo made his way down the halls to the restroom. It was only once he was about to wash his face that he realized he still had the Outsider's handkerchief. He frowned at the amount of blood that was staining it.

He couldn't very well go return it covered in his blood. Who knows what the Outsider might do with it. He wrapped the cloth in a layer of toilet paper before shoving it into his bag. He would clean it, and then return it.

He finished washing his face and hands, watching as the red-tinged water went down the drain. After adjusting his collar and making himself more presentable, Corvo decided that it would probably be better if he skipped meeting with Sokolov today, and did that tomorrow, most likely when he was in a more favorable mood.

He gave himself a onceover in the mirror, making sure all bloodstains were gone and he looked somewhat decent, he dried his hands with a paper towel and exited the bathroom. A glance at his watch let him know that he had about two minutes to get to his next class. He took the stairs two at a time, not wanting to be late.

XxX

Corvo was running late. Not to class, he managed to slide into his seat a second before the bell went off; no he was late to something much more important; his part time job. While Peiro was a rather reasonable man, Corvo did not want to get on his bad side, especially because he may have to miss some of his shifts due to the upcoming musical.

If it wasn't for Esma Boyle holding him up at the end of the day, talking about something relating to the musical, he probably could have left a little earlier. He actually wasn't paying attention to Esma while she had been talking, he just nodded and made the occasional "hmm" as he hurriedly exited the class. He would probably regret that tomorrow.

Giving a quick glance to his watch, he doubled his pace, practically sprinting down the street to get to work. By the time he yanked open the door to the little bookshop he was out of breath and incredibly tired. He groaned at the thought of actually having to interact with people.

"Ah, Corvo. Running a little late today?" A voice said, startling Corvo from where he stood panting in the door frame. He looked up and met eyes with Hiram Burrows, a man who spent almost all of his spare time at the bookshop.

He always complained that they never had this specific book in stock, yet he never took up Corvo's offer to order the book and for whatever reason he refused to go somewhere else to look for the book.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have very important business to attend," Burrows said pushing past Corvo, who still stood in the door frame.

The people in this town were so strange.

Shaking off his encounter with Burrows, Corvo headed into the back of the shop going to the small cubbyhole where he exchanged his school bag and his coat for his name tag. Piero was writing in the ledger at the desk in the corner, his pen scratching against the paper.

"Corvo, hello. I had a shipment of new books come in earlier. Would you mind unloading them? It shouldn't take too long," Piero said, not looking up from his writings.

"Alright," Corvo replied, already walking towards the medium sized box in the corner.

"Oh, and Corvo," Piero began.

"Yes?" The younger man replied uneasily.

"Try to get here a little earlier tomorrow, please," He said, his tone slightly reprimanding. Corvo nodded, but then remembered that Piero was not looking at him. He made a sound that probably could have been taken for a yes and then exited the room, bringing the box of books with him.

It wasn't too difficult to unload the books, it was a pretty simple task which allowed him to focus his thoughts on more pressing matters. Not only did he still have homework to do, but he still had to somehow fix his schedule, and clean the Outsider's handkerchief. Corvo rubbed at his forehead, trying to ward away the headache he felt coming on. He couldn't wait for his shift to be over so he could go home and sleep.

XxX

AN: Alright two chapters, this is a new personal best for me. Pretty much all of my other fics have been one-shots. I don't really know how many chapters this is gonna be, so you'll find out as soon as I do. As always, reviews and favs warm my heart. Also, come say hi at my tumblr ginger-writes-things. Thanks for reading!