Hi. Thank you all for your reviews and encouragement. I really appreciate it.

Thanks also to my Beta GEliot, for being just so damn cool!!!

Anyway, a few people have commented that Malcolm in prison doesn't seem right. Just keep saying to yourself AU AU AU! In my alternate universe, people behave differently and circumstances are different. Things happen and the characters make stupid mistakes etc. Just bear with me, ok?

Anywho, on with the fic...

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As it turned out, Hoshi and Rosa had no time to discuss the complexities of Malcolm Reed on the way to Com. Tech. The bell had rung, and they had to sprint to avoid being late for class, and were both too out of breath to talk before Mrs. Carter came in, almost right behind them.

Hoshi found Communications Technology a fascinating subject. This was not a course that had been offered in Japan and she picked up the subject with surprising ease, despite the fact she joined the class mid-semester. Once she had mastered the layout of the console in front of her, it came naturally. She felt that language seemed to coincide with this focus of study. The two seemed interconnected. She had a good ear for subtle nuances, and Hoshi had a feeling that she was going to like it there, despite her protests to the contrary.

The lunch bell rang, and Hoshi followed Rosa to the cafeteria. The two girls had chatted throughout the class, and Rosa had been very helpful. Hoshi was glad of her offer of friendship. The truth be told, she was very nervous about meeting new people. At least she hadn't had to ride the bus to school this morning!!

They took their trays, and Rosa motioned her over to a table in the centre of the room. There were four people sitting there already, and they all greeted Rosa as she sat. Rosa introduced them as Jack Rivers, Ian Helm, Trevor Mitchell and Stacey Tate. Hosh felt shy at their frank and curious stares. Sensing this, Jack apologized.

"Sorry Hoshi. Believe me; we know what it's like to be on the receiving end of all the curious looks. We were the new kids last year, so we sort of gravitated towards each other."

"Where did you live before you moved here?" Hosh asked politely. As she listened to him describing Boston, a flash of sunlight reflecting off dark sunglasses caught her attention. She turned her head slightly, and looked across the cafeteria. Yep. There he was. Sitting two tables away was Malcolm Reed

He was picking idly at some lunch, and reading a PADD that he held in his hand. He seemed thoroughly engrossed in it, and didn't seem to notice Hoshi's scrutiny. Rosa did though, and turned to see what Hoshi was staring at.

"Ooh," she teased good-naturedly. "Hoshi's got her eye on Reed."

Hoshi blushed under the gently teasing, and they all grinned back at her. Rosa sobered after a moment.

"Seriously though Hoshi, I meant what I said earlier. He's dangerous. You should stay away from him."

"What? Is he just some dumb thug?"

"No, just the opposite. He's really intelligent, practically a genius. He just comes to class, and doesn't even listen and he aces every exam. He's a thinking man. That makes him even more dangerous."

"That's like the third time you've said he's dangerous. How? How is he dangerous? What did he do? What did he go to prison for?"

"Well," Rosa answered, looking around her to see if anyone was listening, "No one knows for sure what he was in for, though we know he was in jail. He moved to Colorado with his mother and sister five years ago when he was fourteen. He was small for his age, and some twelfth graders decided he was fair play. Five eighteen year olds cornered him one day. Now these were big guys, lots of muscle."

"Football players," Trevor added.

"There was a fight, and by the end of it, there were five cracked ribs, two broken fingers, a cracked shin-bone, a concussion and a ton of bruising."

Hoshi whistled through her teeth. "Poor Malcolm," she commented.

"Poor Malcolm!?!" Ian laughed. "He caused those injuries!"

"What!?!"

"Yeah," Stacey answered eager to get in on the act. "He took down five eighteen year olds without even breaking a sweat."

"So, that doesn't mean he was in jail."

"Yes it does. With any other case of a fight on school grounds, both parties are suspended and their parents are called in. but, they called the cops on Reed! Mary Coady was sitting outside Mr. Darcy's office waiting to talk to him when the cops came. Malcolm was inside with Darcy. She heard them talking. She heard them tell him that he had a responsibility not to hurt them, just because he could."

"So? That still doesn't mean he was in jail."

"I'm not finished. They told him that if word of his record ever got out, he'd have to move again. He'd never be able to live a normal life if people found out what happened in England."

"What happened in England?"

"No one knows. After Mary told everyone what she overheard, and after the story of ihis fight got around the school, no one dared. People are afraid of him, and don't want to cross him."

"Has he ever been in another fight?"

"Nope." Jack admitted. "No one is stupid enough to fight him, especially after what happened to those footballers."

"Well, what was he inside for?" Hoshi asked, riveted.

"Well," Rosa told her, leaning in close to relay the juicy gossip, "He has a killer car, so the most popular theory is he was in for boosting cars or assault..."

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Malcolm sighed, and pushed his plate away. He pretended engrossment in the weapons designs in front of him, but it was a charade. He could hear every word that had been said about him only two tables away. God, would people ever learn tact? He wanted to put that part of his life behind him, to forget that one event that robbed him of eighteen months of his childhood. But no. Every time someone new came to the school, they dug up his past.

He shuddered as images and memories from that one fateful night crashed over him like a tidal wave. In his minds eye, he saw the flash of steel, heard the screams of pain. He heard again the echo of the gunshot, saw the blood pouring from the hole in the man's chest, and saw the hate that burned in his eyes as he cursed Malcolm with his dying breath. His mind conjured images of his year long incarceration in that small room. He couldn't just get up and leave, no matter how much he wanted to. He just had to sit there, staring at the walls of his six-foot by eight-foot prison of his own making.

And then, when he got out, the whispers started. They followed him wherever he went. In the end, his mother Mary had moved him and Madeleine to Colorado Springs, as far away as she could get. But, it hadn't rested there. If those bullies hadn't picked on him during his first few weeks, things might have been different. But as it was, he was the designated bad-boy of the school. And frankly, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

He felt strangely disappointed though. The new girl was so eager to learn all the gossip and half truths about him. He had her pegged differently. His eyes had flickered towards her for an instant in the hall, and he felt a flash of something. Kinship maybe? There was something in her eyes that drew him to her. She looked a little young, but he liked her style.

Hoshi. That was her name. He'd overheard Rosa introducing her to the others. It meant Star in Japanese, and it suited her. Her eyes shone like stars, and she had a sweet smile.

A clatter from the table next to him startled him, and he schooled his features into an impassive mask when he saw who it was sitting down. Hayes and his bunch of assholes. Terrific. There was no love lost between the two. In fact, Malcolm was of the opinion that Hayes was an incompatent moron, with his head so far up his own ass that he could see daylight.

Hayes was surrounded by his pack of MACO wannabies; Woods, Ramirez, Cole, Mackenzie, Hawkins. They were all intent on joining the service when they left school, and acted like it. They wore combats and boots constantly, they referred to each other by their last names and in the cases of the males in the group, they screwed everything in a skirt. Yep, defiantly military men. And it seemed that they had set their sights on something new.

"Did you guys see that new chick from Japan?" Hayes asked his friends. The guys all grunted their agreement. "I think her name's Hoshi Seti or something like that."

"She's fairly hot," Hawkins agreed. "Sweet looking, innocent..."

"A challenge." Hayes grinned.

"No way," Woods argued. "Hayes, she's a freshman, you're a senior. That's jail-bait."

"Maybe she goes for the older man," Hawkins leered.

"Well, even freshmen grow up sometime, don't they?" Hayes asked.

Cole and Mackenzie rolled their eyes and the two girls left the table to get food. They knew the guys were going to be planning, and they didn't want to get involved. Especially Cole. She had a thing for Hayes, but he never looked at her twice. She settled for being 'a friend' and 'one of the guys'. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to be a MACO; she had known her entire life. She was still human though. And occasionally, human hearts betray their owners.

"Damnit," she exclaimed, punching her fist into the wall. "Another one. Bastard." She swore.

"Come one Cole, lighten up," McKenzie cajoled. "Once he screws her, he'll get her out of his system."

"Until the next one comes along," Cole replied bitterly. "Well, I'm not going to take it again."

"What do you mean?" McKenzie asked worriedly. She had never seen Cole look like that before, and they'd known each other since they were children.

"It means that Hoshi Sato better watch her step. I'm not going to stand idly by again. It's time for action," Cole snarled and stormed out of the room, McKenzie following worriedly in her wake.

Malcolm didn't hear any of this though. He was too busy listening with incredulity to what Rosa was telling Hoshi. Next, she'd be telling her that he turned into a bat at night and drank people's blood. He couldn't help it. Laughing to himself, he stood up, picked up his tray, and headed for the exit.

"Don't forget to tell her about how I kidnapped the Queen of England and crowned myself king after killing her," he told Rosa as he passed their table, his vice dripping with sarcasm. Rosa and Hoshi flushed red, but Hoshi wouldn't be put down like that. She stood up and practically shouted at him.

"You know, if you just tell people what happened, they wouldn't have to guess and the rumors would stop."

The entire cafeteria seemed to hush at her words. No one had spoken back to Malcolm since the incident four years ago. Even Malcolm seemed surprised. He turned and walked backwards until he was practically nose to nose with her. He took off his sunglasses to fix her with his piercing blue stare. To give her credit, she didn't flinch... much. The rest of the table backed away, but Hoshi stood firm.

"And why would I do that?" he asked softly. His voice slid over like silk, but she sensed the danger in his voice and saw the haunted look in his eyes.

"So they would stop talking about you like this. It can't be healthy for this to go on." Hoshi practically whispered the last part out. The combination of his bright blue eyes and sexy voice had Hoshi's knees threatening to buckle, but she didn't yield.

"But Star, it's so much more fun this way," Malcolm said and quietly turned and walked away. No one breathed until the double doors closed behind him, and then whispers erupted, filling the room.

"What did he call you?" Ian asked. "Star?"

"Hoshi means star in Japanese," Hoshi replied distractedly. Her mind was too busy contemplating her first meeting with Malcolm Reed to even question how he knew that. From a distant, he was good looking. Up close, he was gorgeous. His accent sent shivers down her spine, and she was still feeling the aftershocks of their meeting when Rosa snapped her fingers in front of Hoshi to get her attention.

"Man, are you OK Hoshi? You seem a little zoned out there."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hoshi assured her. "Just a little distracted."

"Yep, Malcolm Reed will do that to you," Stacey agreed.

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Malcolm felt good as he sat in class waiting for their Russian teacher to come in. He chose his usual seat by the window, and sat staring at the line of trees on the school grounds.

He had to hand it to her, Hoshi had guts. Most people would hear all those things being said about him, and turn and run. Instead, she stood up to him. Not only that, she did it for his sake.

"You know, if you just tell people what happened, they wouldn't have to guess and the rumors would stop."

"It can't be healthy for this to go on"

It had been a long time since someone... anyone had thought about him first. The idea that a tiny fifteen year old would do so felt... strange. Good, but strange.

The door opened and Malcolm turned, expecting to see their teacher enter. Instead, the object of his thoughts was walking into the class, looking so lost. She looked around, and the shock on her face was palpable when she was him there. This was Advanced Russian. There were very few people at the level to do this class. Certainly no freshman could be. She had to be lost.

Before he could say anything, their teacher, Mr. Castleman, entered and saw Hoshi.

"I think you're lost," he told her. "This is a senior class."

"I know sir, but Mr. Darcy put me in this class specifically. I have an ear for languages," Hoshi explained... in perfect Russian. She even had the accent down. She handed Castleman a piece of paper, obviously confirming what she had just said.

"Forgive me Ms. Sato," Mr. Ray asked. "I was told to expect a new student. I just didn't expect one so young to be so fluent."

Hoshi blushed under his praise, and Malcolm was intrigued.

She liked to show off her knowledge, but blushed under praise. She stands up for strangers, doing so at a risk. If half the stories about him were true, Malcolm could have just snapped her in half like a twig for shouting at him.

She was a bundle of contrasts.

Malcolm thought that it was going to be an interesting few months.

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He was here! In her class! Watching her like a hawk as she spoke to Mr. Castleman.

Thinking of ways to snap her in half like a twig, no doubt. God, what had she been thinking, shouting at him. People kept telling her he was dangerous, and what did she do? Shout at him and pissed him off.

'Great going Hoshi,' she berated herself. 'Do you have a death wish?'

One thing was certain; it was going to be an interesting few months.

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So, what do you think?