Hey y'all! I've apparently fallen into a Very shitty habit of updating like once a month which is very unsexy I know, my apologies. I fucked my arm up at the beginning of the month and missed a bunch of work soI've stressed and depressed and just not in the mood to write tbh. I'll (hopefully) have an update for you quickly after this but no promises, I have a bunch of things coming up in July (including my birthday), so who knows. I hope you guys like this!

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Monday morning came in the same was every morning of the first day at a new school came: Too bright, too loud, and too fucking early.

When his alarm went off, Honey was sorely tempted to bury his head under his pillow and ignore the damn thing. Unfortunately, he doubted Helena would be impressed if she had to drive him to school because he slept in and missed the bus. He reluctantly rolled out of bed, stripping out of his pajamas and he padded into his en suite. He washed up quickly, brushing his teeth and making a halfhearted effort to make his hair presentable before giving up, pushing his hair back with a little plastic headband and heading back into his room to get dressed.

He rooted through his closet for several long minutes, trying to find somthing that fit perfectly for the first day in the middle of the semester, which was a hard balance. Too put together, and he'd look like a tryhard, but too casual, and he'd look like a sloppy weirdo. His goal was too be boring and blend in with the rest of the crowd and hopefully coast through the next year and a half with relative ease. After careful deliberation, he picked out a dark grey sleeveless hoodie and tight black jeans, deciding that was as good as it was going to get for today and going downstairs.

Slinking into the kitchen, Honey was unsurprised to find Helena already at the table, sipping at her coffee as she read the paper. When Honey walked in, she smiled softly at him, inclining her head toward the stove. "I made pancakes, if you want some."

Honey nodded gratefully, setting his bookbag down near the kitchen door and going to the stove. He noticed a plate of bacon sitting nearby as he served himself, and gave his foster mother another point for not offering him any. He'd told her he was a vegetarian the first night he'd moved in, but some foster parents seemed to take that as a personal challenge to try to force meat down his throat. He sat down at the table and glanced at the clock. 7am, still plenty of time until he had to catch the bus.

"The bus stop is just at the end of the road, right?" He asked after a bite of pancake. They'd gone over this the night before, of course, but he figured it was polite to make conversation. Besides, it never hurt to double check.

"Yes, right in front of the mailbox," Helena confirmed with a little nod. "I think there are a few other kids who get on there too, so you can't miss it."

Honey hummed in acknowledgement, letting them fall back into silence when he failed to think of another question to ask. He ate his breakfast and stood, rinsing his plate and putting it in the dishwasher. With another glance at the clock, he decided it wouldn't hurt to head to the bus stop a few minutes early.

"I'm gonna leave now," He told his foster mother, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Okay, have a good day," Helena bid, putting her coffee mug down. "There's a set of keys on the hall table for you, in case I'm out when you get home. Oh, and Wendall is getting back tonight, so you'll get to meet him."

"Sounds great, I'll see you tonight," Honey called, already halfway down the hall. He grabbed the keys, zipping them into the front pocket of his bag before putting on his baggy denim jacket and shoving his shoes on, ignoring the anxiety trying to take root in his stomach.

It was stupid, but in the span of a few days, he'd managed to get a bit of a feel for this foster home. It was one of the nicer ones he'd been in, both in terms of people and the actual home itself. Helena was nice. She didn't ignore him, but she didn't hover over him like he was going to have a break down or steal all her valuables if she took her eyes off him for a few moments, either. He was scared that this Wendall character was going to turn out to be an asshole or a creep that he'd have to put up with until he either turned 18 or snapped, whichever came first.

(It was pretty fucking obvious which would come first)

Trying to put that out of his mind, Honey walked out the front door, sending up a silent thank you to no one in particular at the overcast but blessedly dry weather conditions. He clomped down the porch steps, making his way down the road at a leisurely pace. He didn't want to make it to the bus stop too early, he might have to (God forbid) talk to someone. He pulled his jacket closed, crossing his arms over his chest. This had to be the absolute shittiest town for weather he'd ever had the misfortune of staying in. He was already starting to forget what the Sun's warmth felt like. As soon as he turned 18, the was booking himself a one-way ticket to the sunniest place he could find and never looking back.

It didn't take him long before he made it to the bus stop, which already had someone waiting at it. They were a tall, lanky kid with wavy black hair in an asymmetrical pixie cut and olive skin, dressed in a bulky green canvas coat open over a white t-shirt and loose ripped jeans. All in all, they seemed relatively okay. Honey was at least comforted that he wouldn't be the only brown kid at school, apparently. He gave the kid a little nod of acknowledgment, and thanked his lucky stars when they just nodded back without taking their earbuds out. It was way too early in the morning for awkward conversation.

The two of them stood in relative silence for a few minutes before the bus rumbled up, coming to a jerky, spluttering stop in front of them. Honey gave the vehicle a wary glance as the doors squeaked open, but climbed aboard nevertheless. It's not like he had any other choice, really. The bus driver gave him a weird look as he passed, but said nothing, just grabbing a pen and jotting something down on the little clipboard on the dash.

Honey picked a seat somewhere vaguely in the middle of the bus, thankful that such a small town meant relatively empty buses. He let his head rest against the window, closing his eyes as the scenery blurred by the glass. God, he hoped this day didn't suck.

The bus ride went by quickly, 15 minutes barely passing before they reached their unfortunate destination. Honey stood, slipping in line with the other tired kids trudging off the bus. Stepping out onto the cracked asphalt, Honey got his first look at his new school, and was decidedly unimpressed. It was a small, ugly brick building, the whole front face dotted with little square windows, and a set of stone steps that led up the two rusted green doors. There were students scattered all over, some perched on the step, others sitting in the wilted brown grass or leaning against the wall. Honey stood off to the side for a few moments, trying to decide what to do, before shrugging, figuring he might as well go to the office and get his schedule sorted out and shit.

He headed up the front steps, picking his way carefully past all the annoyingly placed students. A few gave him dark looks when he narrowly avoided stepping on their fingers, but Honey ignored them. It was their own fault for being in the way. He got to the top and slipped inside, letting the heavy steel door close behind him. Thankfully, the office was directly in front of him. He approached the counter, straightening up and doing his best not to look like a problem child. A pretty blonde woman in her mid forties sat behind the counter.

"Hi, today's my first day," Honey started, giving his best approximation of a friendly smile. "I'm-"

"Honey Hart, I know," The woman interrupted, looking him up and down judgmentally, before seeming to catch herself, plastering on an obviously fake pleasant expression. " got you all registered last week. If you'll just come around the side door, the principal would like to see you in his office."

Honey sighed internally, even as he followed the receptionist's instructions. So it began. Every time he came to a new school, it was the same thing- they took one look at his long list of past schools and smattering of behavioral issues, and instantly labeled him a trouble maker. And if his track record wasn't quite enough to convince them, the color of his skin usually tipped them over the edge. It wasn't even his fault. Most of the time, he wasn't even the one who started any of the problems that surrounded him, and when he was, it was never anything particularly harmful. He mostly just got caught skipping class or mouthing off to teachers.

He knocked on the principals door, hearing a masculine voice immediately call for him to come in. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The office was small, almost completely occupied by the massive desk covered in stacks of paper and an outdated computer monitor. The principal was a tall portly man in a cheap black suit with watery blue eyes and a bushy walrus moustache that couldn't quite make up for the sparse combover on top of his head.

"Ahh, Mr.. Hart, welcome," The principal stood, holding out his hand to shake. It was doughy and sweat slicked against Honey's palm, and he had to resist the urge to wipe it against his pant leg when his hand was released. "We're very happy to have you here at Charlotte High."

"Thank you, Mister...?" Honey trailed off questioningly, realizing the man hadn't introduced himself.

"Berger. Principal Berger, actually," The man corrects with a smarmy little smile, and that was it- Honey hated this guy. He could already tell he was the kind of man who got drunk on his own power, and made sure everyone else knew they were beneath them.

"Thank you, Principal Berger," Honey said again, giving a tight smile of his own, remaining standing even as the older man retook his seat. He knew it would just be counted against him if he sat down without being invited to. "I'm glad to be here."

Berger made a humming sounded, steepling his fingers as he inspected Honey with a critical eye. "Yes, I'm sure you are. Definitely a change from all those big city schools you've attended, right?"

Sensing he was being led into some sort of trap, but not having the wherewithal (or, honestly, the energy) to avoid it, Honey nodded, albeit unsurely. "Yes, sir. It's a bit different, I guess."

"Oh, there's no guessing about it. I think soon enough you'll find that this school runs very different from those city schools you've been attending. I run an extremely tight ship here, and I don't tolerate hoodlums," Berger said, narrowing his eyes. Honey felt icy anger spread slowly through his stomach.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded, doing his best to keep a handle on his temper. He couldn't sink to that bastard's level. Berger leaned back in his chair, giving Honey a shrewd, assessing look before he spoke.

"I'll be frank with you, Mr.. Hart- if it were up to me, you wouldn't even be allowed to step onto this school's property. You're a troublemaker, and you seem to be going nowhere at an alarmingly fast rate. You're disrespectful, arrogant, and have zero regard for your own learning, or the learning of those around you. Unfortunately, this is the only high school for over 30 miles, and it's illegal to deny you a standard education when you haven't actually broken any rules here. But rest assured- any slip ups, any misconduct, and you're out. I won't let you waste my time, or the time of my employees. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Honey answered, keeping his tone absolutely neutral. He couldn't let anything show, couldn't let him think he'd gotten to him. It's not like he hadn't heard the same types of things before, although with more subtle allusions and implications then Berger's statement, which was, admittedly, pretty fucking blunt.

Beger seemed satisfied, at least. He opened one of the drawers in his desk, rustling around until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a pink slip of paper, handing it over to Honey, who had to force himself to take it politely instead of snatching it out of his gross sausage fingers. "I'm glad we could get that cleared up. There's you're schedule. It has all your classes for the next semester, plus your locker number and combination. Classes start at 8am sharp. Don't be late."

Honey stood his chair, nodding stiffly at Berger before turning and walking out of the office. On his way out to the lobby, he caught a glance at the clock. 7:50am.

That fucker.

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Okay so! Kinda short I know but I just wanna get this out to you guys soooooo yeah. Next chapter will be the rest of Honey's first day -that might involve a certain someone ;)- and HOPEFULLY we'll finally meet Wendall but like, no promises lol. Please favorite and review if you liked it, and I'll try to have the next chapter out by... Let's say next Sunday? We'll see. Love you guys, peace!