Considering he was pretty much the smallest of all the people in the hallway, Shawn was well aware that he stuck out like a sore thumb. This became more evident as they all walked down the halls and out to the parade grounds where a small group of instructors in dress blues were standing, waiting for the cadets to join them.

There was a lot of low murmurs as the other cadets realized fairly quickly that someone in their midst was a lot younger than they were. Most of the murmuring was curious – mainly Shawn heard the cadets asking each other how old they thought he was, and what did they think he was doing there so young, benign things like that. There was one voice close at hand, though, that was louder and far more antagonistic than any of the others.

"The Air Force must be recruiting on the playgrounds..."

Shawn looked over and saw a tall, slender young man wearing the same first year cadet patch that he was, and a sneer. He turned back, figuring it would probably be best to just ignore that remark, even if it was uncalled for.

"Halloween's not for months, kid... maybe you should go take off the costume..."

It was obvious the guy was trying to goad him, and just as obvious that he was trying to gain a little notability at Shawn's expense, because he kept looking at the cadets around him when he said these things, waiting for laughter. There was a little, but not much – most of the cadets didn't have a problem with Shawn, and they didn't have any loyalty to the heckler.

"Ignore him, Shawn," River advised, casting a menacing look over at the other cadet. River was about 3 inches taller, although they probably weighed the same. "He wouldn't know a real cadet if one came up and kicked his ass because he made a bunch of smart assed comments about the wrong person..."

Shawn looked over at the other cadet – whose name on his uniform said 'Brooks'. Obviously, Brooks didn't like that, although the easy, laid back way that River had just threatened him made a few of the other cadets smile.

"You stay out of this," Brooks said, frowning. He didn't like the way he'd just had the tables turned on him, and it showed.

"You keep your mouth shut. Shawn here has more brains in his pinky than you have in your whole head, and if you don't stop giving him a hard time I'll show you just how we treat bastards in La Jolla."

Brooks stepped forward; ready to meet this challenge, but Shawn stepped between the two of them. As much as he appreciated River sticking up for him – and he did, because it showed a loyalty that Shawn liked – he also knew that he couldn't let River fight his battles for him. If he did it today, the other cadet would think he needed him to do it every day, and Shawn was determined that he make it at the academy on his own.

"Move, pipsqueak." Brooks said, putting his hand on Shawn's chest to push him aside. He'd already forgotten that he was making fun of Shawn; he was ready to teach this blonde guy just how they treated bastards like him in New Jersey.

Shawn took hold of the hand that was against his chest and smoothly turned the thumb inward, causing the whole hand – and then the wrist and arm – to follow. Much to his amazement, Brooks found himself suddenly on his knees with pain lancing through his lower arm and hand and Shawn holding that hand with a surprisingly strong grip.

"I don't want any trouble with you," Shawn said, releasing the hand and taking a half step back. "I just want to go to the assembly and –"

"What's going on here?"

A loud voice interrupted Shawn, and all of them turned and saw a small group of officers walking toward them.

"Fuck..."

Brooks got to his feet, shaking his hand to get some feeling back in it and Shawn and River and the other cadets all came to attention as the officers drew closer.

"Well?"

A Lieutenant Colonel was the one who was waiting for a response, and Shawn spoke up before most of the others had even managed to recognize what rank he was.

"Nothing, Sir," Shawn said, casting a glance over at Brooks and River. Both of them were obviously trying to come up with something to say that would keep them out of trouble. Fighting on the first day of class was not going to make a good impression with any of the instructors and all of the cadets knew it. "I was showing off."

The Colonel looked down at Shawn, who probably would have been a lot more intimidated if he hadn't spent the last four years of his life in constant contact with a full bird Colonel who had a lot harder of a stare than this guy's.

"I like the energy, Adams," the Colonel said, "Why don't you and your friends go run some of it off?" He pointed to the large field. "Five laps, now."

"Yes, Sir."

Shawn sighed. Running in dress shoes wasn't going to be much fun, but it was a lot better than getting in trouble. He moved away from the rest of the cadets, followed by River and Brooks.

"This isn't over, Adams," Brooks said under his breath.

"Go fuck yourself, Brooks," River said, just as softly as the three of them broke into a trot, beginning their run while everyone else looked on. "You better stay away from Shawn, or next time he'll probably break your hand instead of just bringing you to your knees."

Brooks' face colored, and Shawn knew it wasn't because of the strain of running laps. Obviously the cadet hadn't appreciated Shawn humiliating him in front of everyone. Shawn really hadn't even thought about it, he'd just gotten mad that the guy had put his hand on him and had taken care of it. That kind of reaction was something that he did get from Jack. He knew he'd have to do a better job of controlling his temper if he wanted to stay on the good side of the instructors. Bad enough he was already running laps on his first day.

Hopefully Brooks – and all the others who might want to be like him – would recognize Shawn wasn't quite as open game as the older cadet had obviously thought he was. As much as he wanted to stay out of trouble, Shawn wasn't about to let himself be bullied. No chance in hell.