James power walked down the hallway, dragging his sister by the wrist, "Where should you be right now? Where do you go next?"

"I'd be in history, then I go free period in the art studio." Sarah hissed in return, wheezing as she forced her feet to keep up. "The bell's gonna ring in just a moment, let me go, I'll be fine."

"Remember, we were here the whole time." James looked up as the school bell rang, warning students they had seven minutes to get to their destination. As students filled the halls, James released his breath and turned to his sister, relieved they'd somehow managed to make it back in time. "I have detention after Post-Snap Sociology. You can work on your... whatever you do while I'm stuck in there." James grumbled, nodding in greeting to one of his friends as he and Sarah went their separate ways.

James was so close to reaching his destination when he heard his coach call his name. He clenched his teeth and stiffened, slowly turning to face his coach as he smiled, "Hey Coach! What's up?"

The football coach crossed his arms as he smirked at his star quarterback, having spent the better part of four years covering for him so he could lead their team to victory, "Heard you skipped AP Calculus this morning. What happened?"

James pulled his head back in surprise, looking at his coach like he had two heads, "What? That's weird, I was totally there-"

"Cut the bull crap, Carter. You know you can't cut school and play in the game tomorrow night. You're already in hot water for being in detention instead of practice."

"Please, I had to go to a funeral with my sister." James pleaded, lacing his hands together to beg dramatically, "A funeral Coach, come on- that can't count."

"Did you get a note from your parents?" Coach deadpanned, already having a good idea what the boy's answer would be.

James shifted a little, looking at the clock to see he was down to two minutes till class, "I mean, no... they didn't really want us skipping school to go."

"But you did it anyway. And showed up in time for last period to pretend you were here the whole time. Wow." Coach clapped obnoxiously as James grimaced, "That's a new level, even for you Carter!" The coach pulled his hand down his face in frustration, "I can't let you play. You're gonna be benched."

"Are you freaking serious? Coach... Come on, I'm the quarterback! You guys need me!"

"Yeah, we needed you this week too for practice, but you had to break Chad's face." Coach replied, looking at the clock. "Go to class. You'll sit out. Be happy you get to suit up at all."

James groaned loudly, slamming his hand against the wall angrily, "It's my last Homecoming!"

"Sorry James, should have thought about that before skipping school." His coach shrugged as he continued on his way, leaving James to simmer alone.

The blonde teen threw his head back and moaned before hearing the bell begin to ring, quickly darting into the classroom and sliding into his seat before his teacher could mark him tardy. The senior teacher stared at him with tight lips, not amused by his last minute entrance.

"Alright, since tomorrow's Homecoming, I'm going to be nice and not give you homework over the weekend." The class erupted into cheering and whooping until she motioned for them to calm down. "That being said, we're having a pop quiz tomorrow, so saddle up for review today." Several of James's classmates moaned, but he was too distracted by his future to care about taking an easy quiz.

I can't believe I don't get to play tomorrow.

"The past couple of weeks we've been studying the effects of the snap on human society and the lives of those who survived. We've come to learn it was a creature named Thanos from beyond our world who caused the event."

James chewed on his pen cap, half listening to his teacher and half dwelling on his own mistakes this week. He stretched out his long legs and leaned back in his chair to get a better look at the holographic board showing photos as his teacher continued to speak.

"... the suicide rates skyrocketed, especially among parents who suffered the loss of their children..."

Was it even worth it? Was Morgan even happy to see me? She seemed... nervous...

The teacher looked around at the class, "Were any of you snapped?"

Several of the students tentatively raised their hands, so James sighed and raised his hand too. His teacher scanned the room and her eyes eventually settled on James, "You all couldn't have been more than a couple months old. How do you think your parents felt?"

"My mom and I both snapped. Dad was devastated. He got remarried eventually though. Growing up was... awkward." One girl chuckled casually with a shrug. She looked around the room, then back to the teacher, "My cousin was five when my aunt and uncle were both snapped. He was adopted in the time they were gone. He never went back to them because he didn't remember them."

...Mom and Dad are going to kill me for dragging Sarah out of school...

"Suddenly, plans, hopes, dreams- they all disappear. I heard a story once about a man who's wife turned to ash at the alter." The teacher said, meeting a student's mortified gaze. "He never moved on, but when she came back he was on his death bed. He died of cancer within a week of her return."

...I wonder if today is the day that Dad finally snaps. He's going to kick my ass...

"The internet crashed for two months. Electricity came in and out for weeks. Garbage sat by the side of the road until the wild animals tried their luck. There were lootings, shootings, and mass panic. People moved out of the cities. They left everything behind. I remember seeing people walking out of the city because they didn't have enough money to fuel up their car."

...Mom will have my back. She knows how close we all were to Aunt Pepper. We should have been there in the first place, she'll get that...

A swift kick in the back of James's chair brought him back to reality and he sat up, letting his pen fall to his desk as he grunted. He quickly turned around, seeing the guy behind him put his hands up in apology, the kick on accident, but James wondered if he'd started dozing off. He shifted, leaning forward to place his elbows on the desk and place his palms on his cheeks as he zoned out again.

"But in time, things got easier." His teacher said softly, looking out the window wistfully, "We rebuilt what we could. We let go of what we couldn't. It was hard, it was sad, but we made it through. Lucky for us there were those who didn't give up. We'll leave it at that for today."

The bell rang loudly and James looked up at the clock. He wasn't sure if he really had fallen asleep or if he'd just been that zoned out, but it was time for detention. He grunted and stood, struggling to get out of the desk that was too small for his large frame. He let his classmates leave the room first, not in a hurry to run to detention.

"You were a snap baby, Mr. Carter?"

James looked back at his teacher and shrugged. She'd been his U.S. History teacher freshman year, Criminology teacher sophomore year, his U.S. Government teacher junior year, and finally his AP Post-Snap Sociology teacher as a senior. She knew the young man well, but there was something familiar about the boy.

"I was. My mom was in labor when I dusted." James answered simply, looking over his shoulder as his teacher nodded thoughtfully. "Why?"

"Just curious. You've never mentioned it before."

"It's not important. I'm here now, and my mom's okay. That's all that matters." James answered, bowing his head in a silent farewell before trudging his way to detention. His teacher watched him go, chewing the inside of her cheek thoughtfully.

Detention may as well have been a decade long for James, because he finished his homework easily in twenty minutes, then spent forty minutes staring at the ceiling. To make matters worse, the only other person in detention with him was Chad.

"So did your pretty little sister find a date yet?" Chad snickered and James rolled his eyes, never taking his gaze off the ceiling. Chad grunted and spoke louder, "Haven't seen her around much today, I hope Miranda didn't get to her first."

"I already talked to Miranda on Tuesday. That's been sorted out." James mumbled, still not giving Chad the time of day as he drew circles in the popcorn ceiling with his green eyes. The teacher looked up and shushed the boys, so James finally sat up and looked to Chad. He raised his finger to his lips to tell Chad to be quiet, not working as hard as he should have to hide the smirk on his face.

Chad ground his teeth together. His face was black and blue and he had a bandage on the back of his head. Chad was one of the biggest guys in school and the battered and bruised look didn't suit him well. Chad seemed to give up on tormenting James, seeing as James didn't care much about his taunts today.

"Alright, detention is over for the day. Go home. Don't cause any more trouble." The teacher yawned as he set down the book he'd been reading while watching his wards. James and Chad scrambled to their feet and darted toward the door, but James easily took the lead. He looked around frantically, trying to find his sister before Chad did.

"Where'd you go?" James grumbled to himself as he pulled out his cell phone and texted Sarah.

Where are you?

He tapped his foot, looking around the empty hallway as Chad studied him, trying to understand what he was waiting for.

I'm home...

James blew out the breath he'd been holding through pursed lips, knowing his sister was safe from Chad's tormenting, but it presented a new question.

How did you get home?

Mom picked me up. Left Dad to ride home with you.

"Damn it." James growled under his breath, shoving his phone back into his khaki slacks. He pushed back his shaggy hair and strode toward the parking lot, not even slowing down when Chad yelled to him.

"See you at the game tomorrow, Carter. On the sidelines that is."

James slammed his eyes closed, forcing himself to stay calm. If he had done that on Monday, he wouldn't be in this mess of detention now. When he left the school's side door, he saw his father leaning against his car. James gulped down his nerves as he approached his dad, trying to decide how he wanted to play the situation. Sarah was already home, so the chances were good that an excuse would only get him in more trouble.

Steve pushed himself off the red car and grabbed James by the shoulder, squeezing as he studied the boy, "Ohh, James. What are we gonna do with you?"

"I know, Dad. I know." James mumbled, dropping his head as his father kept a tight grip on him, "I have to sit out at the game tomorrow... for skipping school today."

Steve nodded, taking in the information before deciding on his response, "Well, I guess not playing your last Homecoming game is punishment enough. You even came back to go to detention?"

"I was hoping to get away with it." James muttered and Steve laughed, using his free hand to grab his stomach as he shook his head.

"You can't keep stuff from your mother and I, that's your mistake. Especially your mother. She knows everything." Steve teased, releasing James's shoulder and nodding toward the driver's side. "We should have let you guys come to the funeral. We just didn't want you to miss school."

"It was important to us that we were there." James said seriously as he turned on his car, looking at his dad defiantly, "Morgan needed us there."

"Oh really? Did she?" Steve laughed back as his son threw the car into drive, "I'm sure this had nothing to do with you wanting to see her."

James took a deep breath, more uncomfortable with his dad's joking mood than he would have been with Steve's angry one, "Come on Dad, her mom died. I kinda thought she'd be happy to see us."

"She wasn't?" Steve asked seriously, and James just shrugged. Steve softened a little at his son, and added, "After everyone left, Tony called to thank us for coming. Apologize for missing us, but he said Morgan really appreciated it."

James grinned at that, flipping his blinker as he rolled to a stop at an intersection. "So, you aren't mad?"

"No. I'm not." Steve admitted as he turned to get a good look at his boy. He raised his brow at James, seeing his son's smug expression, "I am still mad at you for beating up your classmate."

"He deserved it."

"Yeah, your mom told me what happened." Steve exhaled as he fiddled with the withering fabric of his seat belt. "I appreciate you looking after your sister, but violence isn't really the answer."

"I don't know, it shut him up pretty quick." James offered and Steve's brows dropped into a straight line, a disapproving look James saw more than his actual smile. "Sorry. Violence is never the answer. Got it."

Steve reached across and ruffled James's hair as he pulled into the driveway. "That's my boy. Get cleaned up for dinner. Your mom can't wait to pester you about seeing Morgan today."

James groaned loudly and threw his head back against the head rest, "Can't I just go back to detention instead?"

"Nope. You skip school, you get to face your mother's teasing. That's your punishment. Unless you'd rather be grounded?"

"Fine. But she won't get anything out of me." James replied before bending down to get out of the low riding car. Steve followed suit, letting his son take the lead into the house. Steve and Kayla were banking on their son being tight lipped, already knowing how the conversation with Morgan went. They'd seen everything, and agreed to let their son get past his Senior Homecoming before admitting he was the product of an executed scientist and a World War II soldier. Any reason to hold onto their little piece of normalcy a little bit longer.