A/N: I am honestly kinda blown away here guys. Thank you so much for all the support. It really does mean a lot. FYI this will be the last bonus chapter for a little while, I have some life stuff coming up and I'll be busy but the normal Monday + Friday uploads will continue as usual. Seriously though thank you all so much. Enough from me! Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Swing and a miss.

Humphrey's POV:

I woke up early, forcing my eyes open after a moment and looking around a bit. It was still dark and I wondered why I had woken but my question was answered quickly as I woke up a little more and noticed the music from my alarm which had roused me. It was a simple classical guitar riff but I liked to use it as it wasn't as harsh as some alarms, not that I'd used one much in the past. I listened to the plucking of the strings for a moment longer before I silenced it, pulling of my covers and sitting up on the edge of the bed, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I shivered slightly as my skin was exposed to the morning air, which was very fresh despite the fact that it was only late summer still. 'I guess the mountains keep it cold of a night here just like they used to.' I thought to myself as I headed for the bathroom, showering and getting ready for the day. I dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, a little inadequate for the chilly weather but if memory served then it would quickly warm up once the sun got over the mountains.

Grabbing my bag and various effects I left my room and headed downstairs, not particularly surprised to see Charlie already up and at the table, drinking a coffee and reading the paper.

"Morning Charlie." I said as I entered, placing my bag by the door to the garage for later and heading for the kitchen to get some food.

"Morning Humphrey. There's a pot of coffee if you want some." Charlie said without looking up from the paper.

"I'd tell you where the sugar and whatnot is but it seems like you know your way around a kitchen better than I do." She adding in a joking tone, though it could well have been true. I thanked her and made myself a cup, joining her at the table. A sigh left my lips as I took a sip of coffee, the warm beverage perfect for the cold morning. I looked over at the headlines on the paper Charlie was reading but didn't recognise any of what they referred to, unsurprising considering I had never taken much interest in the news. Before I'd left home I'd been too young to really bother with it and whilst travelling I hadn't always been able to access it so I'd never picked up any interest for it. We sat in comfortable silence for a while before Charlie stood up, putting her mug in the sink and heading for the door.

"Alright I'm off Humphrey. I trust you'll be fine to get to school?" She asked as she gathered her things and paused in the doorway, looking back at me. I nodded and smiled, giving something between a wave and a salute since I was in the middle of taking a sip of coffee and couldn't speak.

"See you later then. Don't be late." She called as she got into her car and left. I stayed at the table for a while longer as I finished my coffee before following her lead, checking the house was locked up before grabbing my bag and getting into my car, the noise from the exhaust as I turned it on making me smile as I backed out of the garage.

I kept it light on the throttle as I drove to school, knowing how easy it was to damage an engine by thrashing it before it got to temp. The sun was up by now and would've been blinding but luckily I was driving away from it so as long as I avoided looking into the rear-view mirror it was fine. The peak hour traffic meant that it took me a little over twenty minutes to reach the school, pulling into the car park with around 10 minutes to spare. 'I'll have to remember that it takes a little longer in the mornings.' I thought to myself as I pulled into a parking spot, turning off the car and grabbing my bag before getting out. After making sure it was locked I gave it a lingering glance, smiling a little before turning and heading for the main entrance. I made it all of three paces before I looked up and noticed that every student present was staring at me. It wasn't just a few either, between the students arriving and the ones hanging around out the front with their friends there must've been more than a hundred teenagers with their eyes trained on me. 'Did I do something wrong?' I thought to myself as I hesitantly continued walking for the entrance, making it to the base of the stairs uncontested before I was stopped by a group of girls who stepped in front of me.

"Hi there, I'm Abby." The one closest said, smiling and holding out her hand.

Abby's POV:

Abby looked at the boy in front of her as he hesitated a moment before accepting the handshake she offered. 'Definitely new.' She thought to herself, there was no way she wouldn't recognise him if he'd been at the school before. He was tall, more than a little good looking and appeared to be in good shape, though she couldn't be too certain as he was wearing a large shirt that basketball fans seemed to favour. All in all his attire was neutral which made her think that he might've been intentionally trying not to draw attention to himself. 'Swing and a miss there I'm afraid.' She thought to herself with an internal giggle as he released her hand and introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you Abby. Name's Humphrey." He said, returning her smile before broadening his attention to include the entire group. She stepped aside a little and continued to inspect him subtly as Samantha, Angel and Brittany stepped forwards, introducing themselves in turn. Once the pleasantries were out of the way she spoke up once more, drawing his attention back to her as the others let her speak for the group as was usually the case.

"So, Humphrey, you're clearly new here. Been in Jasper long?" She asked.

"No actually, I grew up a ways outside of town but I left what... 7 years ago now or so?" He replied, pausing as he said it to quickly tally the time he'd been away on his fingers. "I only got back on Sunday." He concluded.

"So what year are you in?" Brittany cut in with a question of her own before Abby could continue. The conversation continued thus with Humphrey explaining that he was in a junior in high school, same as them, and that he was in class 1A for the four main subjects. Abby was sure that they would've gone on talking for a while but the sound of the bell interrupted them and they turned to head into the school. Just as Abby was about to leave she felt someone grab her arm gently and turned back to see Humphrey holding her back and grinning a little nervously.

"Sorry but could you tell me where my homeroom is? I'm in 1A." He said, laughing a little and running a hand through his hair as he released her arm.

Abby felt a slight pressure in her chest release as he asked his question, which wasn't what she'd suddenly thought he might ask from his nervous attitude. She shook her head gently to clear it and smiled, gesturing towards the door.

"Sure thing, it's actually on the way to mine." She said as she headed up the steps. She noticed Humphrey fall into step next to her and looked up at him. When he noticed her looking at him he smiled, causing her to blush a little and look away quickly. 'What was I thinking, we just met.' She thought to herself as they arrived at Humphrey's homeroom, where he thanked her and headed inside. Abby stood watching him go in for a moment before turning and hurrying off to her own class, not wanting to be late.