AN: Inexcusably long time between updates. My only defense is I got really sick, and then there was Thanksgiving, and now there's Christmas and SNOWWWWWWW. But a huge shout out to the people who wrote saying, "So... where are you?" and making me feel so loved I had to get this next chapter up.


Die Luft der Freiheit Weht (The Winds of Freedom Blow)

CHAPTER FOUR


Diana nodded, but not rudely. "It's okay. It's kind of cool to see how fast your mind works." They entered the room and snagged an empty lab table for three people. "Jane's gonna love playing with it."

"Jane?" Maura asked.

"Yeah, Jane Rizzoli. Did you meet her already? That's my friend who's gonna meet us."

"Oh no," Maura exhaled. "I think I need to move seats."

Maura scrambled to get her items together as a voice – that husky voice she immediately recognized – spoke from behind her. "Don't move on my account." Maura froze, before turning slowly, staring up at the brunette that towered above her chair.


Jane's face was completely unreadable. This startled Maura as she tried to filter through her knowledge of psychology textbooks, blushing red as the brunette continued to examine her. She tried to calculate the social protocol, but before she could come to a conclusion, the brunette acted – of course, Maura thought, she always acts first. Rash. "Let's try this again. Hi. I'm Jane Rizzoli." With her hand extended, she prompted Maura. "And you are?"

Maura gripped her hand, shaking it twice before releasing. "Maura Isles."

Diana frowned at the strange interaction, before speaking. "Alright, you two. AP bio. Let's do this." Jane laughed lightly, sliding into the seat next to Diana, so Maura has to look around Diana to see Jane's face. Diana beckoned them closer, creating a huddle. She and Jane automatically put their hands in, but Maura's hands stayed folded in her lap.

Diana nudged her hand. "Put it in." Maura's face reflected confusion, so Jane explained further. "It's a huddle. You know, like, "Go team"?" At Maura's blank look, she backed it up a step. "Okay. This is how this goes. You put your hand in, then there's a pep talk, and a team exclamation. Then you're ready!"

"But that logic is faulty! There's no proof that -"

Jane cut in before the blonde can really get going. "It's not about logic, it's about camaraderie."

Maura still did not understand, but realized this was an invitation to join a team, something she has never experienced before, so she relented. Her hand rested on top of Diana's, who resumed her speech. "We all know Mr. V is slightly insane, but fair and smart, and we'll have fun with him. Here's to a year of As! On three, we'll cheer for..." She searched for something good.

Jane chimed in. "Mitosis?"

Diana countered with, "Kingdoms?"

"Membranes!"

"Nah. Electron transport chain?"

Maura interjected, starting to get a sense of the game. "Photosynthesis?"

Jane smiled. "Yep. I second it."

"Alright. On three, photosynthesis. One, two, three." As their hands rose and two shouts and one whisper of "photosynthesis" reverberated through the classroom, the bell rang and Mr. V entered.

"And on that note - thank you Jane and Di - welcome to AP Bio where you will learn about photosynthesis," he paused for dramatics, "And much more! But first, let's make sure you're all in the right place."

"Right, because someone totally 'accidentally' decided to wander into AP bio." Jane whispered.

"I heard that." Mr. V stated as he looked down at the list in his hands. "Anderson, James?" A brown haired boy in the front row raised his hand. "Brown, Jessica?" As Maura turned to locate the girl, attempting to memorize names, a balled up piece of paper hit her face before falling on the desk. Diana snapped it up and flattened it, rolling her eyes as she read the text – You're looking fine, Roly Poly – before offering it to Jane. The brunette's face contorted into a scowl, before she casually leaned back in her chair, placing her hand behind her head to hide it from Mr. V and extending her middle finger. Maura whipped around to see the recipient, and noticed a boy who can only be described as leering at Jane.

Maura turned her attention back to Mr. V just in time as he read, "Isles, Maura?" She raised her hand and stated "present". Unfamiliar eyes bore into her skin, clearly evaluating her. She colored but sat straight and still, hoping that despite her presence at the same table as Jane Rizzoli they do not assume they are cut from the same cloth. She'd never be so... casual with vulgarity. She'd never interrupt a teacher, never give someone the finger.

Unnoticed by Maura, who was writing attentively on the syllabus Mr. V had provided, Jane glared around the classroom until everyone stopped ogling the newcomer.

When the teacher reached "Rizzoli, Jane", he just rolled his eyes and read the next name without looking up for her hand. Jane smiled lightly, exchanging a glance with Diana. Maura couldn't place whether that grin was proud or… just maybe… a little bashful? It didn't fit with her version of Jane for it to be bashful. But the corners were just slightly turned up, in a sort of naturally shy way.

It didn't make sense. Jane was loud and boastful, so why would she be so graceful and bashful about this?

She frowned at her paper, realizing that she missed Mr. V's explanation of his grading policy. Geez. Two classes, and Jane was already distracting her. This was not okay. She resolved to put the brunette out of her mind. She was in a classroom, and she was there to learn, not puzzle over one of her classmates. And learn she did, despite the fact she had to force herself not to look at Jane, even when her eyes wanted to drift over to her.

When the bell rang, Maura sighed, gathering her stuff. It had been exhausting to block out the world and just concentrate on Mr. V.

"So, what's on your schedule for the rest of the day, Maura?" Diana asked.

Maura recited the schedule, now memorized, "I have AP French, followed by AP Psychology and AP Calculus BC." Diana grinned. "Why?" The girl just turned and looked at Jane, who had a horrified look on her face. Diana doubled over with laughter.

"Uh, Maura?" Jane tentatively spoke. "I hate to break it to you… but you've another two classes with me – psych and math."

Maura sighed, turning away to grab her backpack. "Well, then, Jane Rizzoli – I suppose I'll be seeing you in an hour. Diana, it was lovely to meet you, and I suppose I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

Diana smiled. "Yes! Second row for both classes. Okay?"

Maura shook her head lightly, but agreed, before leaving – well, if she was being honest, she fled. Dodging through the crowded hallways, she tried to figure out how this had happened. She was in all advanced placement classes for a reason – so that she would surround herself with the brightest, most devoted minds out there. Not, she searched for an appropriate word – hooligans.

Not hooligans like Jane Rizzoli, who flipped people off and spoke when teachers spoke and made horseplay of biological terms. Who made everyone smile, and everyone love her, even the teachers who ought to have reprimanded her!

She came to St. Joe's to learn. In the back of her mind, a nagging thought repeated itself – you came to St. Joe's to learn how to interact with people, like Jane Rizzoli clearly can do – but she pushed it away.

Her AP French class passed in a whirlwind of praise and the occasional dirty look. Maura was the only fluent speaker in the class, and the teacher was not shy about lavishing this classy student with praise. The students, likewise, weren't shy about disliking this new star pupil. When the bell rang, Maura was torn between sensations of immense gratitude that she no longer had to face those angry faces, and annoyance that she had to leave the one class where she had felt comfortable about her place, felt that she had truly excelled for once this day.

Entering the psychology room, she searched for an empty desk, selecting one in the first row, dead center. She was certain there was no way Jane Rizzoli would sit next to her if it involved the first row. Maura was right.

Jane sat in the desk immediately behind her.

Other than a cordial smile, Maura refused to engage. She wouldn't turn around when she heard Jane talking to John, and she refused to succumb to her curiosity about what type of smile Jane was wearing then.

She did not turn around once during attendance, unwilling to give Jane the satisfaction.

Despite the fact that her skin was crawling with the imagined force of Jane's gaze, she would not allow her body to betray its own self-consciousness.

When the brunette answered two of Ms. Miller's questions correctly – including one that Maura herself did not know the answer to – Maura refused to be surprised, instead determining that the brunette must have looked up the answers in the textbook, or searched them on her phone, or somehow knew in advance the questions that were going to be asked. There were a million reasons why Jane could have gotten a question right that Maura got wrong, and she was not prepared to determine yet that it was intellect alone.

When the bell rang, a hand tapped Maura's shoulder. She turned, looking at Jane. "Yes?" she asked politely.

Jane raised an eyebrow. "You have math now, right? It's three classrooms down."

"Thank you for letting me know! I think I will run to the restroom and freshen up, since I have time. That's just a little further down the hall, right?" Jane nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you in class!"

Exiting the room, Maura missed how Jane's eyes narrowed at her retreating form.


AN: So I'm kind of excited for the next chapter, which I've written about four times in my head already, and it amuses me every time. (It'll be slightly more Jane's POV, and expect a little bit of confrontation.) I hope this story still interests you. Excuse the fact that this was a bit of a filler chapter - I really wanted to 1) ground the world and 2) establish the relationship between these two characters as it stands.

Also Diana is, like, four of my friends rolled into one bubbly, quirky, sarcastic being, so I was glad to hear that some of you really enjoyed her - because I REALLY love getting to write her.

And I PROMISE, I won't leave the update for so long again. :)

(Edited to fix a couple of mistakes people were really nice about pointing out - thank you so much, guys!)