DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything besides the OC, I suppose.

(A/N: So! High school! Believe me, as much FUN as high school is, it's not going to be a big part of this story! Enjoy the chappie though!)

Chapter One: Enter High School

A grumpy-looking family sat around a shabby table in an even shabbier dining room, chewing simultaneously on gray gruel. There were five people in total. Let's see, there was a blonde woman wearing glasses and some dying animal as a scarf. Then there were two twin boys who looked brain-dead. There was a man with a large jaw and shifty eyes and a woman...or...man...thing with orange hair. Each one seemed grumpier than the last.

The blonde woman looked around the table, noticing that one member of the grumpy family was missing. She slammed her spoon down.

"Oncie!" she shouted. "Come eat your breakfast and get ready for school!"

There was a loud sound that resembled a police siren. Everyone stopped chewing and looked over at the stairs, confused by the noise. Suddenly, the Once-ler came soaring down the stairs via the side railing, yodeling like a professional yodeler.

"Gooooooooooooooooood morning!" he sang, his "woo-ing" coming to an end as he jumped off the railing and landed on his feet.

The rest of his family heaved a collective sigh at the tall, young man.

"You're going to be late for school, Oncie," the blonde reminded him in her high-pitched voice.

The Once-ler brushed off her worries with a shrug. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll just take Melvin so I can get there in time. We all know how fast he can go!" he said with a grin.

His mom chuckled. "Oh, no, honey!" she giggled. "I wasn't worried! I could care less!"

Once-ler blinked a few times before his face fell. "Oh."

"We're the smart brothers!" one of the twins shouted suddenly. "Right, Clet?"

"Right, Bret!" the other agreed. "We're never late for school!"

Once-ler sighed before he grabbed a jug of milk and guzzled it down. "That's because you both dropped out when you were six but...heh, who cares, right?" He finished off the milk, grabbed a cereal bar, and headed for the door.

"I'm off, family! Only a few more months before I get that diploma!" he cheered.

"Wonderful," the man/woman, his Aunt Grizelda, grumped.

"Don't get your hopes up too high, nephew!" his Uncle Bubb joked, making the family gather together in laughter.

Once-ler gave a dry laugh that could barely be heard over there chortling. "Right," he muttered. "I'll try to remember that."

He exited his wooden house, whistling and humming a tune that just came to him out of the blue, 'cause he was smart like that. He went around the house, to the back where they kept the farm animals.

He sure had changed since those days of knitting on the swing. Now, he was taller than ever and dressed in smart outfit that consisted of a dark fedora, a dark vest over a long-sleeved, white shirt, and light-blue jeans. He was quite the looker, if you let him tell it.

"Well, good morning, Melvin!" Once-ler sang as he poked his head into the stables. A fuzzy donkey lifted its head from the bale of hay it had been munching on to look at him. It gave a half-hearted snort.

"Who's ready to go to school today?" Once-ler chided. "You are! Yes, you are, you awesome donkey, you!"

Melvin gave him a look but allowed him to climb on his back without much protest. Together, the two friends rode off of the farm and headed for the town of Ubbydubb, which was much more modern than his shack, which was nearly three miles away from town.

He'd learned to ignore the laughs that riding Melvin earned him while riding through town. The children giggled and pointed and made braying noises. What did they know? They were just dumb kids.

After nearly thirty minutes of riding Melvin, Seussville High School came into view. It was a huge, stone building with nearly five floors and filled to the brim with loud, insane students.

"Nice donkey, Once-ler!" one blonde dude in a sportscar yelled as he passed him by.

"Hey, thanks!" Once-ler said with a wave. It wasn't until the blonde started laughing that he realized he was being sarcastic. Of course.

Once-ler parked Melvin in one of the parking spaces near the grass, so that he'd be able to eat while he was in class.

"Alright, Melvin! See ya at 3 o' clock, pal!" he said as he climbed off of him. Melvin brayed in response. Once-ler patted his head and spun around just in time to catch a long, white limo pulling up in front of the school. He chuckled, knowing exactly who was riding in that thing.

He could only see the back of the dark, curly hair that climbed out of the back seat of the limo, but he'd know that hair anywhere. He heard someone yelling at her from the limo before it sped away, leaving the girl in the green dress facing the school.

"Hey, Clem!" Once-ler called with his hands cupped around his mouth. The girl's head swiveled from side to side before she turned around to face him. The face that had been drawn up into a serious frown eased into a pleasant smile. Clementine Valentine raised her brown hand and waved at him.

Clementine had also changed a lot, over the years. She'd lost her pigtails after the sixth grade and instead wore her curly, brown hair down and fluffed out. Although she had never grown as curvy as the other girls, boys had started to actually notice that she was a girl around that time. She'd always been pretty but now she was beautiful. She reminded Once-ler of a doll, but he'd never tell her that. Ha, how embarrassing would that be? Nope, it was way too much fun teasing her instead.

He made his way over to her, dodging the other students and cars in the parking lot. "I see you took the Priss-mobile today," he joked as he finally reached her. Clementine laughed before she sniffed him and recoiled.

"And I smell that you took Melvin today," she teased with a tilt of her head. The Once-ler opened his mouth to say something, but paused to smell himself. He recoiled with a wince, causing Clementine to laugh. She pulled out a bottle of her favorite perfume and sprayed him down with it. He coughed a few times and tried to fan the feminine scent away with his hand, but it was glued to him.

Clementine closed her perfume's top with a "pop" and smiled up at him. "Better, Donkey-Boy," she said but her smile told him she wasn't saying it to be mean. He smirked at her before they walked into the school together.

The hallways were packed with students, hurrying on their way to class. A few students stopped to greet Clementine, who had grown to be somewhat popular in high school.

"Only three more months, Clemmy!" Once-ler said excitedly as he flung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her to his side. "Three more months before we're free to go after our dreams!"

"And my dream is to fulfill everyone's needs!" Clementine joined Once-ler in his favorite saying before she sighed.

"I'm glad you're so ready to graduate from high school," she said in a deflated tone. "You're free to do whatever you want after this." Once-ler frowned at his best friend's droopy face before he pouted.

"Aww, cheer up, Clemmy-tine!" he pleaded in a voice meant for babies and small animals. "You've got to learn to see the upside to things! Maybe your parents won't force you to marry whats-his-face!"

Clementine snorted. The chances of that happening were slim to none. Her impending marriage to a duke from overseas was all that was on her minds nowadays. Her parents had told her back in middle school that they had set her up to be married to some stranger from overseas and she could become a duchess, therefore making her family even richer than they already were. The day they were to meet was when she became eighteen, which was a few months after she graduated. She was so scared and angry. Being from the upper-class wasn't what it was cracked up to be, besides the money. But money couldn't buy happiness. Don't let it fool you.

Clementine shook her head and forced a smile at her best friend. "Whatever. Maybe I'll run away or something. Anyway, let me hear the name of that fabulous, um... thing you're working on."

Once-ler's eyes instantly widened and his whole face lit up. "Well, my good lady, let me tell you!" he said, using his salesman voice, which always made Clementine laugh. "You won't ever have a need for anything else once you get your little hands on my wonderful Thneed."

Clementine clapped her hands. "Very good! I think you'll sell at least two of those."

"Two?" Once-ler cried in disbelief.

Clementine laughed at his shocked face, using her hand to cover her mouth like her mother had taught her. "I'm just teasing, Once-ler. I'm sure you'll sell a whole kazillion once you actually make it."

They were at Clementine's class, which was Rhyming class. She turned around and grinned at him. "First, we should focus on actually graduating and before that, getting ready for prom next week. You're taking Margie Glompy, right?"

Before he could answer, Margie, a redhead with an overly friendly attitude but a gorgeous face, had raced over and hugged onto his side.

"Don't forget, Oncie~!" she sang. "You're picking me up at 5:00 so we can take pictures, at least one hundred of them, then we're going out to eat, and then we're going to have to dance at least fifty times during prom!" She paused to squeal and hug him tighter. "Aren't you excited?!" Once-ler gave her a tight, wide smile and nodded. Margie shrieked at the top of her lungs before she raced back down the hallway, giggling wildly.

Once-ler and Clementine stared after her. They looked back at each other before Once-ler laughed a few times.

"She's sweet!" he said. Clementine nodded but didn't bother to comment.

Once-ler cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. "And you're still going with Jake Jawkerson, right?"

Clementine shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I really didn't want to go at all but my parents are making me. They say he comes from a good family and blah, blah, blah," Clementine said while making talking motions with her hand. "So, yes. I guess." She looked up at him, and shrugged. "If I'm being forced to go, I wish... Well, don't you wish we could just go, y'know... together?"

Once-ler felt himself tense up as his face went to turn red. He laughed nervously. "Like... you and me? Going to prom?" He swallowed. "Together?" Well, the thought had occurred to him once or twice... or a hundred times or so. Who's counting? He cleared his throat and pretended to be shocked. "What? That thought never once occurred to me!" he breezed.

Clementine's next words instantly made his shoulders slump. "That way, we wouldn't have to worry about it being like a date, you know? We could just go and hang out."

"Right," he muttered. He perked back up. "Hey, it'll still be fun! We'll have a blast! That is, if Princess Snooty-butt can loosen up and have fun!"

Clementine's brow furrowed and she frowned at him. "Yes, it will be a real fun time if someone doesn't bring his smelly donkey scents with him!"

"Ouch!" Once-ler cried while grabbing his heart. "Your words hurt me to my very core!" Clementine's small fist shot out and punched him in his arm, eliciting a real "ouch" from him.

Just then, the warning bell rang.

"See you at lunch, Miss Priss!" Once-ler called over his shoulder as he raced down the hallway.

"Bye, Donkey-boy!" she called back before blowing a raspberry. She watched him turn a corner before she smiled and ducked into her classroom.

(A/N: Aww, that was cute! Leave me some feedback if you enjoyed! I appreciate your help with this story!:)

Peace

CR