A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed Chapter 1! Here's Chapter 2 as a bonus. This will by no means be a regular occurence (2 chapters in the same day/week. I simply wanted to give y'all a taste of the beginning of the Shandy Academic Rivals AU part of the story. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Seeing Red

Fall 1994, Santa Monica Community College

Sharon walked into her law studies class and took her seat next to her best friend, Andrea Hobbs.

Both women were aspiring lawyers and were taking this class to get closer to their dreams of being a defense attorney and an ADA respectively.

They'd been friends since their first semester at Santa Monica Community College, which had been over a year ago now.

As they sat there talking before the teacher walked into the classroom, Sharon looked across the room and saw a familiar face: The man from the bookshop. Andy, she thought his name was.

She smiled across the room at him as he did the same and also waved at her to which she waved back politely.

"Who are you looking and waving at?" Andrea asked Sharon.

"That guy I met at the bookshop a few months back. Apparently, he's in our class," Sharon told her.

"The supposed cop. Are you sure he's not stalking you?" asked Andrea.

"How would he even know I go here or that I'm studying to be a lawyer? I never said anything about either during our conversation," said Sharon.

"Good point. Maybe he really is a cop then and he's gunning for a promotion at work. I do see a lot of Criminal Justice majors in these types of classes as well," Andrea told her.

"Maybe," said Sharon as she stared across the room again at Andy once again for a few moments while he talked to a male classmate sitting next to him.

Sharon wondered if they were talking about her or a completely different topic.

"You like him, don't you?" asked Andrea.

"I barely know him, Andrea. It was one conversation," Sharon told her defensively.

"So? In one conversation, you can still admire his looks, Sharon. After all, you are a red blooded woman with a sex drive. Plus, he's kinda cute in a West Side Story kind of way," Andrea pointed out.

"If you think he's so cute, why don't you go out with him, then?" asked Sharon, trying to deflect the conversation away from her and Andy.

"Not my type. He's definitely yours though," Andrea told her suggestingly.

"The teacher's coming. We'll talk about this later," Sharon told her as she effectively ended the conversation for now.

Plus, it'd give her time for a good comeback answer to all of Andrea's prying questions.

—-

As the class went on, the teacher began asking for students to give their take on the law and what it should be used for.

Andy was the first to raise his hand.

"Andrew. What's your take on the law and what it should be used for?" asked the teacher.

"To get dirtbags off the street," said Andy as he high fived his friend next to him, who was obviously in agreement with him.

"Ugh!" Sharon whispered to Andrea exasperatedly.

"Sharon, do you have something to share with the class?" asked the teacher.

"I do. I think the law should be used to help people," Sharon told the teacher.

"So, it seems that you and Andrew disagree. Am I correct in that assumption?" asked the teacher.

"Yes, we do," Sharon told the teacher as she stared pointedly at Andy.

"Mr. Flynn, can you tell the class what career you're working towards here? Just so they can get a better perspective," suggested the teacher.

"Sure. I'm a Sergeant with the LAPD studying to become a Lieutenant," supplied Andy before staring pointedly back at Sharon for a moment before looking back at the teacher.

"Sharon, would you like to tell the class what you're studying to become?" asked the teacher.

"Sure. I'm studying to be a defense attorney," Sharon shared.

"Thank you Sharon-" the teacher began before Andy interrupted him.

"Sorry to interrupt you Mr. Johnson, but are you serious, Sharon? You're literally studying to become the very person who gets the dirtbags I get off the street off on some bogus technicality," said Andy exasperatedly.

"If you and your "brothers" did your job right, there wouldn't be a need for my job, now would there?" Sharon shot back.

"Alright. That's enough out of you two for today. How about you, Steven?" Mr. Johnson called on the next student to get his take on the law.

Andy couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Sharon had seemed so nice that night at the bookshop, but had somehow morphed into a defensive wicked witch when it came to her career.

Meanwhile, Sharon couldn't believe what she'd just heard. The kind man that had visited her bookshop just a few short months ago had transformed into this bulldog of a man who always thought he was right and couldn't bother to see the opposite perspective.

It irked her to no end and they were both seeing red by the time they exited their class that morning and went off to their respective jobs for the day.

He headed to the LAPD headquarters at Parker Center and she went to run her parents' bookshop.

Their next class would surely be an interesting one if they disagreed on something as simple as what the law should be used for.

If they disagreed on that, then they were bound to get into arguments about other law related subjects this semester.

The aspiring defense attorney in her was ready for the fight.

The Sergeant and ambitious soon to be Lieutenant couldn't wait for the next fight either.

At least they were in agreement on that.

Neither of them knew that though and only time would tell how passionate they both were about the law and its uses.

Their teacher, Mr. Johnson, and the rest of the students could see what was slowly brewing beneath the surface, but for two very smart people, Sharon and Andy were completely in the dark.

A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! Feel free to leave a review if you so feel inclined. I'd greatly appreciate any constructive feedback you could give me on this story as it helps me to become a better writer.