A/N: It's back to school time. Chuck and Sarah's senior year gets underway. As with each new year, there's the same old, familiar faces, and perhaps some new ones.

This is hot off the presses and unbeta'd, so forgive the occasional (or not so occasional) error.

Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck.

Chapter 15

The summer had drawn to a close and the school year was once again upon them. It was their senior year, the culmination of twelve years of schooling. Sarah had gone with Chuck for back to school shopping. His budget didn't allow for much, but between some second-hand and discount stores they were able to find him a number of 'new' outfits for school. She even surprised him with a couple of graphic-Ts that she'd bought with her own money. He had protested but she insisted, and he had a hard time saying no to Sarah Walker.

Comparing schedules, they were pleased to see that they had several classes together, including choir and lunch. They had worked it out that Sarah would pick up Chuck in the mornings and they would ride to school together. Since Sarah had cheerleading practice after school, Chuck would either wait for her or go to his job at Ward's Electronics, depending on his schedule. Chuck had already worked it out with Mr. Sato that he would be off on Friday nights so he could go see Sarah and support her and their friends at the football games.

The first day of school, when Chuck walked through the doors, those old feelings rushed back for a moment. The fear of being bullied and ostracized by his classmates, shoved against the lockers and otherwise tormented, weighed heavy on him. As they walked down the hall, he felt Sarah's arm wrap around his, causing the fear to evaporate, a calming warmth replacing it. If he were honest, he felt a sense of pride too. He had the most beautiful girl in school on his arm, and that feeling never got old. She was also the most intelligent, and he found that equally as attractive, though the teenage boy in him couldn't discount how gorgeous she was.

They hadn't gone more than twenty feet down the hall before they'd been addressed by no less than a dozen people. They'd mostly called out to Sarah, but some of them seemed to refer to them as one entity; "Chuck and Sarah". For people to acknowledge that they were "together" only served to buoy his spirits even more.

Another arm wrapped around his free arm, pulling it close to them. "Hey Chuckles. What's shakin'?" Hearing Carina's voice explained it all, so he didn't even bother to turn to look at her. Sarah, however, swatted at her with a notebook, like swatting at a bee.

"Get your meat hooks off my man. Don't you have one of your own?" Carina barked a laugh at her friend, releasing Chuck's arm and holding her hands up in surrender.

"Geez, Blondie. Possessive much? There's plenty of this tall drink of water to go around. And by go around I mean-"

"I don't want to know what you mean," Chuck interrupted, his eyes wide. "I'm perfectly happy with the … not knowing." Sarah and Carina both giggled, shoulder bumping him, making a Chuck sandwich. It wasn't but a moment later that Kaitlyn joined them followed by Jennifer. The five chatted, greeting people in the hallway as they walked toward their lockers.

"Is this an episode of Sister Wives or something?" came a low, accented voice from behind them. Cole Barker gave Chuck a strong pat on the back and Carina a light smack on the butt, before wrapping her in a hug from behind.

"Behave. The children are watching," Carina teased with a wry smile, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"God. I thought Charah was bad. You two need to get a room," Jennifer chastised them playfully, popping open her locker.

"Charah?" Kaitlyn questioned, her eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. You know. When you're shipping for a couple in a TV show, and you come up with some combination of their names?" Jennifer asked, looking between her friends who were giving her blank stares. "Chuck. Sarah. Charah. I mean... it's better than Sarack or something."

"You actually named our relationship?" Sarah asked incredulously. Jennifer just gave an amused shrug, putting stuff in her locker. "So, does that make you two Colina or Carole?" Sarah asked, turning her attention to Carina and Cole.

"Oh, definitely Carole," Kaitlyn chimed in.

"Carole. Without a doubt," Jennifer parroted, making everyone but Carina laugh. Sarah pointed at her grumpy friend.

"See! It's not so funny when the shoe's on the other foot, is it?"

"I dunno. I kinda like the whole 'Charah' thing," Chuck confessed. "I mean, people have called me a lot worse over the years. At least now they're associating me with one of the most brilliant, beautiful people I know." The faux gagging sounds that came from the "Peanut Gallery" standing around him. Sarah just gave him a warm smile, her cheeks a little pink. Stepping up on her tiptoes she gave him a quick kiss.

"Let's go before the haters make us late for class," Sarah said, jokingly snubbing her nose at her friends as she led Chuck down the hall.

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Chuck was running late to lunch, having gotten caught up in a conversation with his physics teacher, Mr. Emerick, after class. Mr. Emerick was a short, portly man with a passing resemblance to Sigmund Freud, sans the mommy issues. As Chuck stepped into the lunch line he caught his breath and happened to overhear people talking. There was a general murmur throughout the lunch line, especially from the girls. Things like "Did you see him?", "He's gorgeous." and "What planet is that guy from?". Chuck looked around but couldn't really see who they might be referring to, so he just shrugged it off and went about making his food selections.

Fumbling slightly with his backpack and his food tray, he managed to get both under control before heading toward the table they'd sat at last year. At the end of junior year, Chuck was sitting at a table full of cheerleaders, the envy of every guy at school. Over the summer, he'd become better friends with almost all of them, except for a few that were a little more conceited and shallower. They were on the fringes of Sarah's friend group and since she didn't seem to take much stock in their opinions, Chuck tried to not let the cold shoulder they gave him bother him.

Chuck spotted his friends and approached their table with a skip in his step. When he got close enough it became evident who the target of all the murmuring was, causing Chuck to slow his approach. Standing behind the empty seat between Sarah and Kaitlyn was Kal-El himself. Chuck had never seen this guy before, so logic dictated that he was new to school. That aside, he was certainly murmur-worthy. He was easily as tall as Chuck but significantly broader, in every way. His large, toned bicep flexed as he held his lunch tray, smiling down at the girls as he chatted them up. As Chuck got closer, he could see that his focus was on Sarah, who was smiling up at him as they talked. The eyes of every girl in a five-block radius were transfixed on this guy, as was the attention of many of the guys. Chuck hadn't caught what was said, but it was clearly witty or funny as the entire table erupted in laughter. He swore it brought a smug smile to the guys face, but Chuck acknowledged that he could just be projecting. There was something about this guy that Chuck didn't like and it wasn't just the fact that he was staring at his girlfriend. At least he didn't think it was just that.

Stepping up beside the newcomer, Chuck chuckled along with the group, hoping to mask the awkward, nervous feeling that was gnawing at his insides. Clearing his throat, the larger man gave Chuck a dismissive glance, turning his attention back to the girls.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked Sarah, shooting her a million-watt smile as he started to pull out the empty chair. Without missing a beat, a hand came from either side and grabbed the chair, holding it in place. Almost as if choreographed, the entire table firmly declared "Yes!". He was clearly not prepared for that response, taking a step back in surprise and disbelief.

"That's Chuck's seat," Kaitlyn interjected, giving the guy a polite smile but not removing her hand from the chair.

"Chuck? Seriously?" he asked incredulously. "And who's Chuck?" The fact that his friends had shown they had his back, even when presented with, what was objectively, a much more attractive option, gave him a boost of confidence.

"Chuck Bartowski," he interrupted, offering his free hand. The stranger eyed the proffered hand, letting out a single note chuckle as he looked around the table for confirmation that this was some sort of joke. The silence was beginning to get awkward and Chuck retracted his hand when it became evident that the man had no intentions of shaking it. The silence was broken by Sarah's chair scooting back as she stood to her full height.

"Hey, baby. You're late. What took you so long?" she asked as she stretched up and gave him a kiss on the lips. The smile she gave Chuck was many orders of magnitude greater than the cordial smile she'd given the man beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, Chuck could see the stranger's head nearly explode and he had to admit it felt quite gratifying.

"Chuck, this is Daniel. He just transferred here this year. He was just telling us that he's on the football team. Isn't that nice?" Chuck could hear the tone in her voice, and while it was subtle, it was unmistakable. It was most definitely not nice, but she was trying to put on a happy face. Chuck just nodded, not bothering to try the handshake again.

"Yeah, that uh… that's… nice. Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to grab my seat here. Lunch is getting cold and all. Great meeting you. I'm sure we'll see you around." Chuck slid into his chair as Sarah sat down next to him, rubbing her hand on his thigh under the table. She was normally not afraid of PDA, but she seemed to be a little extra affectionate, not that Chuck was complaining. Daniel mumbled something incoherent and walked away, joining the other football players, several tables over.

The conversation at the table returned to normal, talking about what they did over summer break and what classes they had this semester. Chuck ate in silence, listening to the conversations, genuinely interested in the lives of his new friends. He could feel a vibration that was shaking the table slightly and when he looked down, he saw Sarah's leg bouncing. She only did that when she got nervous, and she rarely got nervous. Looking up, he could see that she was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she absentmindedly moved food around on her tray with her fork.

"Hey," Chuck whispered, placing his hand on her knee, stilling her bouncing. "What's the matter?"

"It's not what you think, Chuck," she began, glancing at him and then back to her food.

"I'm sorry. I'm not following. What's not what I think?" he asked, thoroughly confused. Sarah sighed, placing her fork on her plate and turning in her chair to face him.

"I saw the look on your face when you came up to the table. I realize what it may have looked like but, please, you have to believe-"

"Whoa! Whoa. Slow down. I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I only assumed that you were being nice to the new person, you know, because you're nice like that. I also assumed that he was one of those handsome, entitled, jock types that was trying to flirt with a table full of beautiful women. I'm pretty sure I was right on both accounts. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, sure, I was a little jealous. I mean, have you seen that guy?" Chuck asked, puffing himself up in a feeble attempt to look bulkier. Sarah huffed in faux exasperation at his antics and smacked him lightly on the thigh. "I know, as amazing and beautiful as you are, guys are going to hit on you a lot. It happens all the time, even when I'm standing beside you. That's just a fact that I'm going to have to deal with. Look, I know that if you wanted a guy like that, you could have had one a hundred times over. But instead, for reasons I'm still not entirely certain of, you've chosen to be with me. And I can't tell you how happy that makes me, but know this. If… if you do change your mind, please just tell me up front. As hard as it would be to take, it would be easier to hear from you than to find out on my own."

Sarah's expression turned very cold and serious, her brow furrowed and eyes squinted. Grabbing his face with both hands she pulled him close so that their noses were nearly touching. "You can just get those thoughts out of your head right now, because that's never going to happen." Chuck tried to interject but Sarah was having none of it. "Not. Going. To happen," she declared quite definitively. "Do we have an understanding?" Chuck sighed in resignation, nodding his head in acquiescence. "Good." Sarah's demeanor softened, giving him a warm smile before leaning forward and giving him a kiss. Pulling away, they got back to their lunches while holding hands under the table. It was then that they realized the silence that had fallen over the table. A number of their friends had been watching the scene unfold and were now smirking at the couple. Chuck and Sarah shared a look, both feeling a little embarrassed but opted not to acknowledge their stares.

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Chuck sat in the bleachers, watching Sarah, and the other cheerleaders, practice while doing his homework. The football team practicing on the same field, not far from the cheerleaders, the hollering, grunts and groans were almost as distracting. Chuck would steal a glance toward the football players on occasion, the pangs of envy resurfacing. It was evident that the cheerleaders were stealing glances at the football players too, given the chatter he overheard as they talked amongst themselves. The same seemed to be happening from the football players too, conspiring together in small groups as they shot glances at the cheerleaders.

Chuck tried to ignore it all, instead focusing on his work. He didn't get very far along before some whistling and catcalls broke his concentration. Surprisingly it was coming from Carina and some of the other cheerleaders. Looking around to see what all of the fuss was about, it was more than obvious. Some of the football players had taken their shirts off, most notably Daniel. The sly smile on Daniel's face as he nodded an acknowledgement as his "admirers" really agitated Chuck for some reason. Sarah, of course, was not taking part, even going so far as to chastise her squad mates.

"That's really mature. Will you stop encouraging them so we can get back to work?" Blowing raspberries at Sarah, her friends playfully grumbled but eventually they got back on task. As respectful as Chuck tried to be, he was still a teenage boy, and having a group of attractive, young women practicing choreography, acrobatics and stretches right in front of him was a temptation that even he couldn't completely ignore. He tried to limit the scope of his minor ogling to only his girlfriend, helping him to justify his actions in his own mind.

A short time later, Chuck had regained his focus on his studies, becoming engrossed as he bobbed his head to the music coming through his headphones. He found that the music helped him to focus, especially given all the distractions around him. The vibration of the metal bleachers he was sitting on caught his attention, breaking him from his work enough to catch movement from his right. Turning he saw a girl approaching him. She was slender, wearing a long, black maxi skirt, matching black sandals and an off the shoulder, white linen top. The top was very flattering, showing off her tan skin and her long, straight dark hair lay in stark contrast to the white cotton fabric. She wore dark rimmed glasses that added an air of intelligence and sophistication. She was objectively an attractive girl, but certainly didn't hold a candle to Sarah, though the slightly nerdy look he found interesting. Chuck hadn't recalled ever seeing her before, so the fact that she was approaching him now, with a somewhat shy demeanor, struck him as odd. When it was clear that she was, in fact, walking toward him, Chuck took off his headphones and turned to face her.

"Hi. Sorry to bother you," she began, her voice having a soft, almost mousy quality. "You're Chuck, right?" He was taken aback at the fact that she knew who he was and he hadn't the slightest clue who she was.

"Uh… yeah. I'm... I'm Chuck. Chuck Bartowski," he said, standing up to greet her, trying to employ the good manners that had been instilled in him. She extended her, with the palm down, giving him a kind smile.

"Jill Roberts." Chuck shook her hand politely but didn't linger long. Noticing that her hand was a bit sweaty, he inconspicuously wiped his hand on his pant leg while maintaining eye contact, not wanting to offend or embarrass her. "I was talking to Mr. Emerick, the physics teacher, and he said that you might be able to help me. We just moved her over the summer and I'm afraid that at my last school, we weren't quite at the same level in some of the classes. He said that you might be interested in… in tutoring, maybe," she winced, as if bracing for his reaction.

"Um… well, first, welcome to Burbank. Second, um… is it… is it just physics or are there other classes you need help with too?" Chuck inquired, trying to keep the exchange professional.

"Physics and Calculus too. Mr. Emerick and Mr. Burns said you come highly recommended," she added, smiling at him shyly. "My… my parents will pay you of course. Whatever you want. I could really use the help to catch up. Would you be willing to tutor me? Maybe after school or during … whatever they call study hall around here," she chuckled, looking around the field and school grounds.

"They call it Bulldog Time here," Chuck offered, chuckling lightly. "I'll um... I'll have to think about it. See, I work after school some days and with choir and-"

"Oh! You're in choir? Me too! How cool is that? It seems we'll be in a lot of classes together." She seemed a little too excited about that fact, but nonetheless, he couldn't just accept her offer without talking with Sarah first.

"Yeah. It … it sure seems that way. Well, as I was saying, with work and choir, my time is kind of limited. Plus, my girlfriend is my ride to and from school, so I'll need to make sure it works into her schedule too. Can I let you know by the end of the week?"

"Girlfriend?" she asked incredulously. "Riiight. Girlfriend. Of course. Yeah. Yeah, sure. The end of the week is fine," she mused, giving him a wry smile. Backing away slowly, she gave him a small wave. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Nice meeting you … Chuck."

Chuck waved in return offering a "See ya" before he put his headphones back on and got back to work. That was short lived as he was pulled away by another shaking of the bleachers, this time a little more violent. When he lifted his head he looked around to see what was going on and saw Sarah striding toward him. She did not look very happy, so he assumed that practice was not going well. When he looked back down at the field, most of the other cheerleaders were taking a break, drinking water and chatting, with the exception of JKC; the acronym that Chuck and Sarah had come up with when referring to the inseparable trio of Jennifer, Kaitlyn and Carina. They were looking between him and Sarah, almost like a tennis match. Turning to face Sarah, he pulled his headphones off and gave her a smile.

"Hey. Are you guys done or just taking a break?"

"A break," she replied, a little curtly he thought. He just nodded and watched her as she sat down. He had learned that trying to pry information out of Sarah was a difficult task, but give her enough time and space and she'd typically voice what was on her mind. He didn't have to wait long before she began to speak.

"So, um… who was your friend?" she asked, sounding almost uninterested. Chuck looked around then back at the direction that Jill had gone.

"Oh. Her? Jill. Jill Roberts? I think that's what she said. I guess she's new to school this year. She was asking about me tutoring her," Chuck admitted, giving her a shrug.

"T-tutoring? Really? What um… what class?" Sarah asked, glancing at him and then back down at her bottle of water she was carrying.

"Calculus and Physics apparently. I didn't see her in those classes, but apparently the teachers gave her my name. Oh. She said she was in choir too. Did you see her there today? I don't remember seeing her," Chuck confessed, shrugging it off.

"No. No I didn't. So... you're going to be tutoring her then?" she questioned, her voice sounding a little cold.

"Um… I dunno. I told her that I'd have to think about it. You know, with work and after school stuff." Sarah nodded her understanding, still focusing on the water bottle in her hands. "Plus, it would eat into my time with you. I said I'd let her know by the end of the week, after I had a chance to talk it over with you." Sarah's head snapped to look at Chuck, studying him for a moment.

"So, you told her you had a girlfriend?" Sarah inquired at just above a whisper.

"Yeah, of course I did. That's not all that surprising. I tell anyone that'll listen," he chuckled, giving her his self-deprecating smile. That elicited a smile from her as well, seeming to break her out of whatever funk she was in. "Is everything OK? You seem like something's bothering you." Chuck took one of her hands in his, giving it a squeeze.

"No. I-I'm OK. Just the first day back. It's been a stressful day." Sarah gave his hand a squeeze in return, leaning her head on his shoulder. He placed a soft kiss to the side of her head, not minding that she was a little hot and sweaty. She let out a hum of contentment before blowing out a long sigh. "I need to get back out there. You're still gonna wait for me, right?" she asked as she stood, not letting go of his hand.

"Until the end of time," he uttered, kissing her on the back of her hand. "Besides, you have the keys. Where am I gonna go?" Sarah chuckled at him, giving Chuck a shove as she backed away.

Sarah shook her head in amusement, "You're such a nerd."

"Oooooh. You know you like it," he teased, giving her a wink. She didn't say a word, only bouncing her eyebrows at him with a salacious grin. With a smile on his face and a hint of color on his ears and neck he tried to pretend he was focusing on his book as he watched her rejoin the group.

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"So, what's the story with the sexy librarian?" Carina asked, gesturing slightly with her head toward where Chuck was sitting. Sarah just rolled her eyes at her friend but the description seemed pretty accurate, which didn't help the knot that had formed in her stomach.

"She's looking for a tutor, apparently," Sarah proclaimed, her jaw clenched.

"Oooo. We all know how that turned out last time," Carina teased, chuckling at her own joke. Sarah's arctic glare stopped Carina instantly. 'Whoa. You're not actually worried about her, are you?" Sarah averted her gaze, shrugging her shoulders as she pretended to busy herself.

"Come on, Sarah," Jennifer interjected. "We all know that Chuck is madly and desperately in love with you. That skank doesn't stand a chance in hell," she scoffed.

"Whoa, wait. Who said anything about love? He never said that. D-did he? He didn't say anything to you, did he?" Sarah questioned, looking between her friends, almost frantic. Her three teammates gave her a flat look. "What?"

"Blondie…" Carina began, "what's it been? Four months? Have you forgotten how your relationship began? I mean, talk about grand gestures. And then all summer you two have been like conjoined twins, but not in the good way." Sarah groaned, followed by Jennifer and Kaitlyn. "You know what I mean. What's that saying? … 'Actions speak louder than words'? He may not have said the words, but if you can't see that he loves you, then I can't help you," Carina declared, raising her hands in surrender.

"And that's a two-way street, girlie," Kaitlyn jumped in, pointing at Sarah. "Don't think for a second that we can't see that you love him just as much. I'm assuming you haven't said it though, have you?" Sarah's cheeks were turning red, finding the label on her water bottle quite fascinating. "Well, what the hell are you waiting for? I'm not getting any younger!" The small group of girls broke into laughter, Sarah included.

"Look, we're not trying to pressure you or anything," Jennifer chimed in. "What you two do is… whatever. The point we're trying to make is that you are stressing over this girl for nothing. There is no way that he's interested in her when he has Sarah 'Freaking' Walker to come home to." The other two friends nodded their heads, humming in agreement.

"Fine. You're… you're probably right. I mean, things are good between us, right? He seems happy. I know I am, but you know how they always talk about how guys get. They see something new and …" she trailed off, noticing the look her friends were giving her. "Alright. Alright. I'll drop it. Besides, he hasn't agreed to tutor her yet. He said he wanted to talk to me about it first."

'See! He's not hiding things from you. He's being upfront, including you in the decisions," Jennifer pointed out. "You know that you have to let him do this though, right?" Sarah gave her a confused look, seemingly taken aback. "You can't tell him not to tutor her because you're jealous. Would he ask you not to do something because he was jealous?" Sarah was about to protest but she knew the answer to that. He would never stand in the way of anything she wanted to do. He'd be right there to support her, even if he didn't agree with her. That's just who he was. Sarah didn't need to respond, the look on her face was answer enough. "Uh huh. Exactly. He trusts you and you need to trust him too."

"What's with you guys?" Sarah asked, huffing in exasperation. "You've been watching too much of that Dr. Phil guy. All these tidbits of wisdom, being the better person. What happened to the Carina that's always like 'To hell with that bitch. Let's go beat her ass!'," Sarah questioned, snapping her fingers in an attempt to imitate her fiery friend. When she finished her reenactment, she stood staring at her friend incredulously.

"I'm a senior now. I've matured," Carina retorted with a shrug and a smirk, earning a laugh from her friends. "Now, if that twiggy bitch comes anywhere near Cole…" she trailed off, causing herself and the rest of the group to erupt in laughter again.

A/N2: Some new faces indeed. Is there trouble afoot at the Circle K? Perhaps the next chapter will tell. Hopefully sooner than this chapter. I know it's been some time since I updated this story, but if you've been following along, I've been distracted with some other stories. I haven't forgotten about this one. Just had to take a seat on the back burner for a little while.

I enjoy hearing from you. Let me know what you think.