Author's Note: By the time this is posted, happy Labor Day weekend!

A few things before we start:

perverted lemon: In later chapters, I hint a little bit of a sex scene for CxW, but I was gonna save an actual full-length sex scene for another fic, which leads me to my next reviewer...

ginersnap181: I'm torn between just doing a one shot first time for CxW or including it in another story arc for another fic. There's sooooo many first time CxW fics and I don't want to feel as if I'm stealing ideas, but I think I can come up with something original enough :)

Cheerios: I was afraid people would be like "Blonda and Luther? For real, sis?" But I'm glad you like it. I haven't seen a BlondaxLuther paring at all, so I figured I'd make them a couple because of the endless possibilities of stereotypical dynamics, for the time being.

Anyways, be safe, do good things, don't make dumb decisions, all that good stuff.

Cosmo and Wanda sat across from Susie and Spike in the social buzz of the cafeteria. Movie Night was the topic of conversation; on a random Friday night once a month, Cosmo, Wanda, and Susie would venture to the movie theater to watch a movie of their collective choosing. A tradition which began in 9th grade and has since continued into their senior year.

"So, you guys do this every month?" Spike asked Susie, stirring the plop of mash potatoes on his tray.

"It kind of became our thing or whatever." Susie explained. "Just something to do as a group."

"I like movie night!" Cosmo interposed as he bit into his PB and J. "There's an arcade in the theater, and they have the best popcorn!"

"You also like to get all cuddly with Wanda." Susie teased with a smirk. "Especially when we sit in the back."

"Ha, yeah, an excuse for them to get all 'hot and heavy'." Spike joined in, observing the newly formed blush on the teen couple's faces.

"Hola, Susie."

The group turned to see Alewandro floating next to Susie's end of the table. This has become a common occurrence over the past few days where Alewandro randomly came up to Susie and found any excuse to talk to her.

Susie didn't seem to mind, though. "Hey Alewandro, what's up?"

"May I talk to you?" Alewandro asked with shy hand behind his head. "…in private?"

Spike and Cosmo exchanged questioning glances towards each other, confused as to how Susie and Alewandro know each other in the first place.

"Sure." Susie rose from her seat with tray in hand. "Hey Wanda, see you in Alchemy?"

Wanda gave a thumbs up, and Susie floated away with Alewandro to the other side of the cafeteria, close to where the 'popular' kids congregated. She then turned and noticed the utter confusion in Cosmo's eyes. "…What?"

"Susie just flew off with that jockhead again." Spike arched his eyebrow. "Wuddup with that?"

"Oh…you don't know?" Wanda thought for certain it was obvious. "Alewandro has a huge crush on Susie."

"Alewandro? Likes Susie?!" Spike turned to the direction of Susie and Alewandro, sitting side by side at an isolated table, talking to each other with those silly lovey-dovey grins. He glanced back towards Wanda with a curious brow. "How? When? Why?"

"Their A.P. English class, about a week ago, and their shared interest in the band 'Leprechaun Park.'"

"…Seriously?"

"Yep." Wanda reached for her milk carton. "And based on what she's said about him, he's definitely not a 'Luther'."

"Haha! A 'Luuuuuuther'!" Cosmo laughed, a little too much. "That's hilaaaaaaarious!"

Luther and his goons, Bozo and Dyno, conversed in the hallway next to random lockers. It was after a few minutes when Luther noticed Cosmo and Spike flying towards them in the direction of the double door exit, having their own rambling conversation. Luther watched them with a sinister smile; he hadn't given his favorite loser a hard time in a while. Can't be slackin' when he had bully duties to uphold.

Motioning his goons to follow him, Luther waited until Cosmo and Spike were halfway to the exit before flying in front of them. "Hello, loser." Luther greeted menacingly, grabbing Cosmo's hoodie by the collar. "Going somewhere?"

"Luther, buzz off!" Spike spoke with a warning glare. "Just leave him alone!"

Just as soon as Spike spoke, Bozo and Dyno shoved him into a nearby locker. Spike winced from the impact as they proceeded to pin his arms so he wouldn't escape, and despite Spike whaling about in attempts to break free, Bozo and Dyno locked both hands around the fairy's scrawny arms, tightening their sturdy grip.

"Spike!"

It wasn't long before Cosmo found his own frail frame thrashed against a locker, smacking against the metal doors headfirst. His body dropped to the marble floors below, his mind spinning. As soon as he gained his bearings, Luther jumped on top of him, pushing Cosmo's back against the ground. He balled his fists and preceded punching Cosmo in the face. A bruised cheek here, a smash in the head there, Cosmo cried out with each blow. He tried blocking his attacker with his arms, but Luther proved too strong.

"Stop it, Luther!"

Luther turned to the direction of his girlfriend, scowling at him with folded arms. Quite frankly, Blonda couldn't care less about her sister's stupid boyfriend. She just needed Luther to stop being an obnoxious tyrant. "This is a waste of time! Now c'mon, we're supposed to go to the Diner, remember?!"

"Okay, fine!" Luther snuck one last punch to Cosmo's jaw before motioning his goons to let Spike loose. "You're lucky I have other business to attend to."

Luther kicked Cosmo in the side of his ribs before floating over to Blonda, wrapping an arm around her tense shoulders. Blonda rolled her eyes as they left towards the exit with Bozo and Dyno following behind.

"Cosmo!" Spike flew over to his friend, Cosmo holding his ribs from the pain. "You okay?"

"My face hurts…" Cosmo, struggled to push himself from the ground. Spike grabbed on to one of Cosmo's arms and lifted him to a standing position.

"Dude," Spike began. "why does Luther keep messing with you?"

"I dunno." Cosmo admitted, still holding his ribs. "He just does, I guess."

Spike sighed, shaking his head. Bullies were one of his largest pet peeves. Having been a victim of bullying himself, he hated when people treated others as inferior. He'd seen Luther mess with Cosmo before and never understood why. Cosmo hadn't done a thing to Luther as far as he knew, so why did Luther feel the need to somehow 'exert his dominance' and demean a fairy of whom wouldn't hurt a bee, even if it stung him? Situations like this made him wish his father would let him sign up for karate or something. Anything that taught self-defense.

He observed the defeat in Cosmo's eyes. He had mentioned before that he tried exposing Luther to teachers and/or the principal, but teachers and/or said principal told him it was all just 'kids being kids.' He even tried telling his mom, thinking she'd have more authority, but all his mother did was blame him for being a weakling. No adult figure bothered to take him seriously. If Cosmo didn't have his friends or his girlfriend, he'd probably feel more worthless than he already did.

"C'mon dude." Spike gently palmed Cosmo's shoulder. "Let's just go."

Floating absently, Cosmo trailed behind Spike as they exited the school. Occasionally, Spike would look back to make sure Cosmo was still behind him; he was awfully quiet on the walk home.

And to think, he was perfectly fine before they ran into Luther and his doofus lap dogs…

Sighing heavily, Wanda glanced towards the clock highest above the double doors of the library. 4:15…where the heck was Juandissimo?

She'd seen him in the classes they had together, so he knew that she knew he was at school. Sure, she noticed his head down on his desk more than usual, but other than that, there was nothing too out of the ordinary to justify his absence.

And what happened to giving her the heads up? Yesterday, she let it slide. Today, however? There was absolutely no excuse as to why she was stuck waiting in the library for over an hour. Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice?

Agitatedly shoving her notebook into her backpack, she remembered Susie telling her that Alewandro had invited her to work on their English homework, and she remembered her saying something about them meeting at the library. She floated from her seat as she threw her backpack over her shoulders, searching for where Susie and Alewandro would be. Once she spotted them, she flew in their direction. She was gonna get to the bottom of this.

Alewandro and Susie scribbled answers to their homework packet as Wanda approached them at one of the other study tables. "Excuse me." She tapped Alewandro on his shoulder, catching both his and Susie's attention. "Do you have any idea where Juandissimo is? He was supposed to meet me here and it's been over an hour!"

Alewandro knew exactly what happened. "Mierda…" he groaned, running a hand through his black locks. "…he did not tell you?"

"If he did, would I be asking you where your brother is?"

Wanda tried her best not to sound too impatient, but people not showing up as promised burned the blood in her veins. Alewandro could sense Wanda was irritated; he knew it was irresponsible of Juandissimo to not keep his obligations, but he had his reasons. "Um…" Alewandro began, knowing Juandissimo might hate him for this later. "…it is not my place to say, but I can at least tell you where you might find him."

Wanda raised a brow, questioning what Alewandro meant by 'not his place.' "…okay then. Where is that?"

Swift currents of lilac and cerulean rippled over the invisible rocky ledge into the infinite pool below, roaring whispers burbling over the edge in a giant wall of freshwater. A narrow bridge of canary yellow wood floated above the falls, supported with the fluff of sparkling pink clouds. Wanda gazed towards the enormous yellow sign, its own pink cloud suspending rosette words which read "Welcome to Fairy Falls" high above the endless stream. Why would Juandissimo come all the way out here; Fairy Falls wasn't exactly close.

She made her way towards the beginning of the bridge, smelling the dew of fresh sprits in the air as she floated over the narrow path. A cast of violet and rose illuminated the golden hues of the bridge, rails decorated with a string of lights. Fairy Falls was known as the most scenic of all landmarks, and it showed.

Making it about halfway onto the bridge, Wanda found Juandissimo sitting with his back against the rails, facing away from the falls. He was curled into himself in a fetal position, shutting out the world around him. The sight of him seemed to soften the layers surrounding her heart. She couldn't help it; her sense of compassion never wavered no matter the person.

Carefully, she flew closer to him, pondering the best way to approach. She called out gently to avoid startling him. "…Juandissimo?"

She stopped about a foot or so away from where he sat, growing more concerned when he didn't immediately acknowledge her presence. After a moment, Juandissimo finally lifted his head from his knees. As he turned his gaze towards her, more walls shattered from her heart. His blue-violet orbs glossed over with threatening tears. She'd never seen him so…sad.

"…are you okay?" Wanda inquired as she flew a few inches closer. This was a Juandissimo she never thought she'd see.

Juandissimo quietly lowered his eyes towards the ground, almost as if he didn't want to answer. Wanda maintained a tender tone. "…do you want company?"

He met her gaze once more, tears refusing to fall. He then reached to the backpack to his right and moved it over to the other side of him. Wanda took this as a positive sign and took off her own backpack as she took the seat next to him.

Silence befell the two, Juandissimo averting his eyes towards his black sneakers. Wanda was out of her element; if Cosmo was upset, she automatically knew what to do to cheer him up. She and Juandissimo barely knew each other; they probably would have never crossed paths if it weren't for their science project.

After a nervous sigh, Wanda turned her head towards him, sitting with her arms on her knees. "…your brother told me you'd be here..." More silence. "…what's going on with you? And don't say 'nothing', because clearly that's not true…"

He didn't respond to her question; he didn't meet her eye contact. He just stared towards the ground with his arms wrapped around his legs. Wanda observed him, trying to figure out how to get him to respond. "…do you think I'd have come all the way out here if I could care less?"

Juandissimo lifted his eyes to meet hers, contemplating her question. Who knows…maybe she had a point. When it came to 'the squad', they'd normally let him stay underwater unless Alewandro tried bringing him back to the surface. Sometimes they'd get him out of his head, and sometimes they'd ask if he was okay, but it never went beyond that. He could lie and say he was fine, and they'd leave it at that. Though Alewandro revealed his whereabouts, he would have never expected Wanda to try to find him.

He shied away from her, apprehensive about revealing something he never thought he would to those outside his immediate family. He hated talking about it; he'd much rather deal with it alone than face any kind of judgement that could come from mentioning it. Then again…if he was going to somehow function as her science partner, or just function in general, he guessed she sort of had a right to know.

With a deep breath, Juandissimo broke his silence, speaking just above a whisper. "…a year ago today…my father killed my mother…."

She stared at him, questioning if she had wax build up in her ears. Did she hear him correctly? "…wait…I thought you had parents."

"Technically," he mindlessly played with the hem of his jeans. "Juanita and I are their niece and nephew..."

This was crazy. She was so confused. "….so….you're adopted?"

He nodded, wiping away the two tears that managed to break free.

Wanda lowered her gaze to her shoes, letting his words sink in. Out of all the things he could have said, that was the last thing she'd ever expect to hear. She couldn't imagine carrying something like that around like a brick on her shoulders. Her relationship with her parents wasn't as solid as her sister's relationship with them, yet she couldn't imagine that happening to her…

"….it is my fault…"

Wanda glanced back towards him, staring as he closed his eyes as if to prevent more tears from falling. His voice remained calm, yet she could still sense the storm brewing within. "...I could not stop him...I could not save her…."

She watched him as he lowered his head to his knees, squeezing himself tighter. Any pre-conceived notion she had about him went straight out the window. Her heart weighed fifty pounds heavier, as if her lungs were void of air. If she felt this weighted, she could only imagine how Juandissimo felt…

Acting on instinct, Wanda sat up from her sitting position, facing towards him. As she sat on her knees, she gently took his arms into her hands and pulled them apart from his legs. Before he had a chance to react, she pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close.

He turned his eyes towards her, unsure of how to feel. Again, outside of family, he hadn't been held like this since his ex from 10th grade. A familiar yet strange feeling, she could feel her arms squeeze him tighter, almost as if to say, "I've got you." As he eventually returned his own squeeze, his chin rested on her shoulders, closing his eyes as his cheeks grew damp with droplets of grief.

The pair stayed in this position for what felt like an eternity. Not another word was spoken as Wanda allowed his silent tears to drop onto her shoulders. In that moment, she knew one thing for certain.

She never felt a pain quite like this.

"So…" Susie began as she and Wanda entered the school. "…you things will be awkward now?"

"Honestly, no clue." Wanda admitted, thinking about her encounter with Juandissimo the day before. "I mean…not if it doesn't have to be."

As they reached the intersection of the hallway, Susie and Wanda happened to notice Alewandro talking to Juandissimo, both leaned against their lockers. "Well," Susie turned to Wanda with a shrug. "there's only one way to find out."

Susie floated over to Alewandro, catching his attention. "Alewandro, hey!"

"Susie!" Alewandro acknowledged with a friendly hug. "¿Qué pasa?"

"Not much." Susie over to Wanda and motioned her to come closer. As Wanda advanced towards him, Susie turned to Alewandro with a friendly smile. "Wanna go get good seats in home room?"

"Ahh, por supesto!" Alewandro agreed. He turned towards his brother and nudged him in the shoulder. "¿Estas bien?"

"Si." Juandissimo answered simply, shoving his hands into his letterman pockets.

"Bueno." Alewandro draped an arm around Susie's shoulders. "¿Nos vemos más tarde?" Receiving the okay from Juandissimo, Alewandro left with Susie in the opposite direction towards the home room classroom.

Clutching her notebook tighter to her chest, Wanda flew closer to Juandissimo as she questioned bashfully "…how are you feeling?"

"I am okay." Juandissimo replied.

Wanda could hear the fatigue in his voice. "Are you sure?"

Juandissimo paused, averting his somber eyes to the floor. "…Lo siento...for yesterday."

"You don't have to apologize." Wanda assured. "There's nothing to apologize for."

Juandissimo nodded in understanding, though Wanda could tell he still felt guilty for whatever reason. "Gracias…" he turned his eyes towards her. "…for your company."

Wanda smiled softly. "…thank you for having me."

He returned his own soft smile, though it disappeared as quickly as it came. So far, not terribly awkward. Sort of.

"Does anyone outside of your family know?" Wanda inquired. "Like Luther or…anyone?" She watched as he shook his head 'no'. "…why not?"

Juandissimo shrugged. "It is…not easy for me to talk about."

"Yeah, but it could help people understand you more." Wanda encouraged. "Maybe answer why you tend to zone out."

Wanda observed him crease his brow as if considering her words. She understood how difficult vulnerability can be, especially when it's not easy to trust, but she also understood how freeing it can feel when you can be vulnerable and when you've found that person to be vulnerable with. She didn't know what she'd do if she didn't have Cosmo.

Juandissimo leaned from his locker as he was about to leave, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder. He turned towards Wanda, meeting her gaze. "...see you, Wanda."

As he floated passed her towards their home room, Wanda stood for a moment, thinking to herself. To think that she had prejudged him only to realize the depth of his character. It didn't mean they had to be best friends or anything, but in a weird way, she felt closer to him.

Guess you can't judge a book by its cover.

A short chapter, but hopefully a useful one. I've had this dark backstory idea for Juandissimo for like...years. I've refined it to what it is now, and more details are to come in later chapters. I hope it's received well as an interesting take to a character that wasn't presented with much depth on the show.

I also hope you guys are still enjoying this so far. It's a large story, so if you have any opinions along the way, feel free to leave them :)