Title: High School Daze 2/5

Author: Girl Who Writes

Feedback: is beloved if you feel so inclined.

Pairing: Angel/Collins, implied Roger/April, implied Roger/Mimi

Word Count: 1434

Rating: M

Genre: Humour, Drama, Major AU.

Summary: New student Angel Dumott-Schaunard catches the eye of Senior Tom Collins, much to the delight of their friends.

Notes: I am aware April doesn't come across as a very nice person in this first story, but remember that teenagers can be awful and that April will get her own little story in this. I'm also away this weekend, so I thought I'd post a new chapter for you all. Thank you so much to all my wonderful reviewers; I was very worried about this fic :)

Special Thanks: This challenge was set for me by discoapocalypse as part of speed rent, and it was awesome; it got me thinking and out of my comfort zone. I had a lot of crazy fun writing it :D Thank you so much, and I hope this is what you wanted and that you enjoy it!

Spoilers: Um... say movie and musical, but this is AU and drastically different.

Warnings: Language.

Disclaimer: Characters are property of the Jonathan Larson Estate. Hazel and Exodus are my characters.

It wasn't hard to find the new students, especially in the library. They were dotted around the library – one girl was working, three boys were playing a handheld video game, two girls were paging through the out dated magazines the library supplied, and there was a pair in the window seat, books discarded on the ground, chatting animatedly in Spanish.

The school wasn't exactly known for it's embracing of cultural diversity either, Collins thought sympathetically as he caught sight of the evil glares the librarians were sending their way.

The three of them walked up to the pair, piling their things onto a nearby table before going over, Mark filming the pair closely.

"Hi, I'm Mark Cohen. We heard you were new to the school," Mark smiled, pulling his camera away from his face.

The pair looked up, unsure at the newcomers, and Collins got a good look them both. The girl was very pretty, with long dark hair pinned back with sparkly barrettes. She smiled tentatively, tugging her jacket closer around her.

The boy, however, was incredible to look at. Collins knew he was staring, but he couldn't drag his eyes away. Big dark eyes and possibly the most welcoming smile he'd ever received; he was wearing black pinstripe jeans that were just a little too tight and a dark grey and light purple t shirt; nothing like what the other students wore. There were several black and purple rubber bracelets twisted around his wrists, and Collins could see the glitter nail polish the boy was wearing. He was like no one Collins had ever met in his completely average life, especially since his parents had moved here several months before. This boy was an individual, who didn't care what the middle class snobs at this school though.

Thomas Collins was hooked, and he didn't even know the boy's name.

Roger beat him to the post, though. He offered an easy smile to the girl, rather than the smirk he usually flashed in April's direction. "Roger Davis."

The girl offered a slightly shy smile back. "Mimi Marquez. And this is…"

"Angel Dumott-Schnaurd." The boy was on his feet, the welcoming smile still on his face, but a wary look in his eyes.

"We just came to say hey, and see if you needed any help," Mark said, rewinding his camera.

"Ignore the camera," Collins managed to add. "It's like an extension of Mark; you'll rarely see him without it."

Angel smiled at him. "You are…?"

"Friends call me Collins… Tom Collins."

"Well, Tom … Collins," Angel picked up his bag. "Maybe you could show me to my next class. Mimi-chica is still a sophomore and I'm completely lost here. I've got Junior Modern History with a T. Mackenzie."

"Oh, we're in that class," Mark began, Roger elbowing him so hard in the ribs that he was almost winded.

"I can show you Mackenzie's classroom," Collins managed to say, hearing his heart pound. This was too much good luck… Angel was flirting with him?

"Mimi, you be okay on your own?" Angel turned around with a concerned look.

"I'll make sure she gets to class," Roger offered eagerly. Mark snorted from behind his camera.

"I'll see you later then," Angel grinned at Mimi and she smiled back, her eyes bright. As Angel and Collins began to walk away, Mimi called something after her in Spanish, giggling, something that caused Angel to whip around, mortified, cheeks flushing before dragging Collins out of the library.

"What class have you got next?" Roger sat beside Mimi.

"Oh, I've got…"

"Roger!"

Mark looked up to see the familiar red head of April approaching fast, and began to wind his camera on and resume filming. April and Roger had been flirting with each other tirelessly since the sixth grade, and at the beginning of tenth grade, a rumor filtered through out the school that they'd 'hooked up' at someone's party – a party neither Roger nor Mark had attended. However, the rumor inspired April to try even harder with Roger. They'd been out together a few times to Mark's knowledge, but Roger had drifted away from April's circle of friends; he'd muttered something about April and drugs and Mark had never questioned his best friend about it.

But April was persistent, and Roger still liked her, and was helpless to her charms.

"Roger," April was beside him in a second, clutching her books to her chest. "Are you coming to English?"

"Uh, sure," Roger shrugged and got up, grabbing his guitar and bag from the table. "I'll see ya," he offered Mimi an apologetic smile before trailing after April. Mark shook his head and sat next to Mimi, who looked vaguely hurt at Roger's sudden departure.

"So, where do you need to be?" Mark asked, trying to be friendly.

"Oh, its okay, I can find it myself," Mimi stammered, pulling her timetable from her pocket.

"We promised Angel and Collins we'd get you to your next class," Mark took the page from her. "Art, huh? Mrs Martin is a scary, scary woman."

"Great," Mimi offered a tentative smile. "First day at a new school and more scary teachers than I've ever had before."

"It's a job requirement at this school that the teachers have to be mental cases," Mark said as they got up and left the library. "There were the lesbian music teachers that were fired when they were caught eh… during school hours in the music room. I didn't think anyone could be that stupid. And the principal will never call you the same name twice, the only working heaters and air conditioners are found in the admin block and the Mr. Savage, your English teacher? He enjoys trying to convince all his classes that he speaks fluent French when he doesn't know one word."

Mimi laughed out loud as Mark lead her across the campus. "Wow. And I thought our teachers were weird."

"Nope. We've got the world's most disturbed collection of adults ever in one place. Here's your next class. Now, if you walk up those stairs there, that's where you'll find your last class of the day," Mark handed Mimi back her timetable. "Good luck. There's a reason none of the Juniors take Martin's art class anymore."

Mimi sniggered, and stuffed her timetable back into her pocket. "Thanks Mark. Oh, and hey… your friend Tom who took Angel to your next class?"

"Yeah," Mark looked up.

"Does he like Angel?" Mimi's face was carefully blank.

"Uh…"

"Angel saw him in the library, getting out all these really heavy textbooks and…" Mimi waved her hands about. "S.. HE! He really likes Tom… Collins."

Mark caught Mimi's slip but said nothing and smiled at her. "Collins really likes Angel, so I think it'll work itself out."

Mimi's face broke into a smile. "Oh good! Angel was worried that Collins might not be…"

"Gay?" Mark shrugged. "Well, you'll probably catch on fast, but this school isn't exactly known for promoting anything except middle-class stereotypes; one of the Geography teachers caught Collins talking about his ex-boyfriend, and Collins ends up in a meeting with the counselor every Wednesday. Someone calls Collins a fag for being in an all-girl art class, and it's Collins whose parents are called."

Mimi's smile faded. "You'll make sure no one gets to Angel, right?" she said, shrugging. "He doesn't need any of that crap from these kids."

Mark nodded slowly. "Sure. Don't worry, go and have fun. I'll probably see you around."

"Thanks Mark!"