Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.


AN: Updates will hopefully go a little faster now, maybe once a week…hope you enjoy, and HUGE thanks to those that reviewed!


Chapter 5:

"What are you doing?" Shira waits for Diego to return to his seat before walking up and sitting down in the seat next to him. She can feel the curious eyes of the pack - and in Oscar's case, leer - but ignores them all in favour of the boy next to her.

She's not quite ready to think too deeply about what he's said, but if there's one thing that moment had proven, it was that Diego wasn't as bad as he seemed to be. Sure, he was annoying and condescending, but he seemed genuine too, in a way that Shira couldn't remember last seeing in school and social hierarchies.

Must have been the homeschooling.

Diego's eyes are screaming mischief as he appraises her for a moment with a tilted head. He then lowers his voice. "We're getting out of here."

Shira looks up at the clock, unimpressed. "There's only five more minutes." Had she really spent that long thinking over Diego's words?

"Please," Diego snorts. "Mr Henney over there hates us. He'll do anything to keep us here, even at risk to his sanity, including 'accidentally'," he uses speech marks, "forgetting the time or missing it to keep us in an extra hour. And we kind of have football practice today, and coach will murder us if we don't get there on time."

Shira hesitates for barely a second. "I want to help."

"You want to help us?" Diego asks, looking almost incredulous. A small grin is growing on his face though, and Shira brutally shuts down the thought that he looked quite good with a smile.

"What the hell do you want me to do?" Shira growls.

Diego looks at her thoughtfully, but obligingly nods towards the teacher. "Key's in Mr Henney's back pocket. We knock him out, get the key, we lock him inside, slide the key inside. Anyone ask, we say he fell asleep."

"And the key?"

"It's not a foolproof plan, but I'd rather withstand Valley's temper than coach's," Diego shrugs.

Shira nods, noting how Henney is keeping an eye on the individuals even as he reads from his book. Diego nudges her. "Follow my lead."

Both walk up to the teacher, Shira keeping her head high. Diego carefully angles them so that they're facing the window while Henney is halfway between the corner of the room and the door. Henney slowly sets down his book, eyes full of suspicion. "What do you want?" He demands.

Diego opens his mouth to speak, then his eyes open in disbelief.

Henney turns to see what got Diego's attention. Shira frowns for a second - just how gullible was Henney? When she glances at Diego out of the corner of her eye, she swears she sees Diego's eyes flare gold for a second, before they turn to normal. She shakes her head. Must be a trick of the light, with the sun reflecting in their eyes.

When Diego gestures to her, she plucks the ever-present dictionary off the table and slams it over Henney's head.

Henney looks dazed for a second, before he slumps over in his chair.

Diego whistles. "Nice hit."

Shira smirks, as if questioning what else he expected from her, as Zeke darts across the room and carefully slides his hand into Henney's pockets. He throws Soto the key, the captain already by the door, then leaps after the other two who are trailing out behind their captain.

"Let's get out of here." Diego shoots her a grin.

Shira can't help a half-grin in response as he grabs her hand and jogs out the door with her. Soto, standing by the door, rolls his eyes but closes the door after them and locks it, then slides the key back under the door. He turns and starts the sprint for the sports field, the other three loyally following him once more.

"You'd think they know how to deal with people like us," Zeke cackles, a high pitched sound that echoes the empty hallways.

Diego rolls his eyes. Shira grins. Maybe he's not that bad.

"Yo, Diego, kiss your girlfriend and let's go!" Soto roars back over his shoulder. "We're going to be late!"

Diego drops Shira's hand almost as if it scalded him. He turns to shout something unflattering back, then spins around as he notices the warmth next to him disappear.

Shira is gone.


Shira runs as fast as she can, glancing around to make sure no one can see her. Even if there's still a couple of minutes left for detention, teachers are known for being notoriously picky, and she doesn't want to get sent back for another round. Once was enough.

Maybe, her mind taunts her, she just didn't want to think too deeply about what Diego had said about Gutt. Didn't want to stay in the room where her world foundations was rocked on its heels a little.

Carefully, she keeps her footsteps light and silent against the linoleum floor, only to hear the familiar rasp of Gutt's voice. Even though every instinct in her is yelling at her to run and have her joyful reunion with the crew, something in her holds her back, and she pauses just before she has to turn the corner.

"-riddance."

"I still think we should get her out," Flynn says, and Shira feels a burst of affection towards him. The warmth abruptly dies at Gutt's growl.

"Leave her."

Shira swallows. She doesn't want to hear any more, doesn't want to think that she actually didn't have any friends after dedicating years of her school life to the crew. So she takes several silent steps back, and walks forward once more, making sure this time her footsteps are heard. She glares at the wall, then smooths her expression into a smug expression as she turns the corner to face her 'friends'.

"Finally got out," she announces to Gutt, smirk plastered on her face.

Gutt turns, phoney smile on his face as the crew looks panicked. "Shira! Thought you would never make it."

"Turns out the pack wasn't as strong as everyone thought." Shira lifts her chin.

Gutt's smirk turns delighted. "So you locked them in, didn't you?"

Shira feels her blood turn cold at the dark look in Gutt's eyes. "No, I didn't get a chance-"

That's all she manages to get out before a hand is tightening around her throat and her head slams painfully into the concrete wall behind her. Gutt leers at her, eyes dark and threatening, teeth crooked as he grins wickedly. Shira gasps as her hands struggle feebly against Gutt's unrelenting grip, desperately trying to get more air into her lungs.

The crew stands behind him, some panicked, some smug.

"Why Shira, did you decide to f-"

What he was doing to say next is cut off.

"What's going on here?"

They turn, and Shira gaps for breath as the grip around her throat loosens a fraction. She, too, turns as she notices a figure at the end of the hallway, bag in his hand.

Diego?

"Stay out of this!" Gutt snarls.

Diego rolls his eyes. "Let me grab my stuff and I'll go."

Gutt's eyes are narrowed, but seeing no reason to do the opposite, merely gestures to the row of lockers at the side. Diego takes careful, measured steps towards them, movements cautious and unthreatening.

It is only as he's barely a step away that Shira remembers - his locker isn't here. It's on the other side of the school, with all the other Half-Peak students.

Then, with a burst of speed, Diego charges forward and shoulder checks Gutt. Gutt lets out a cry as he drops Shira, and Diego wastes no time in grabbing her hand and sprinting back in the direction that he came. Shira quickly finds her feet, fear in her spreading as she hears the thud of footsteps following after her.

"Hurry up!" Diego tugs at her hand.

Diego was fast, and Shira finds her breaths coming in short and fast, even being one of the most athletic in Valley. Being strangled hadn't done her any favours either.

Without warning, as they turn the corner, Diego opens a door, pulls them both in, and slams the door shut behind them with a click. Shira finds herself pressed up against Diego, whose eyes are focused on the door. The...closet, for lack of a better word of the tiny room they've found, that they've found themselves in is filled with boxes that Shira nearly falls back over.

From the other side, they could hear Gutt's growls and his crew's jeers as they continue down the same hallway, deeper into the school.

As soon as the footsteps fade away - and a couple more minutes to make sure - Shira lets out a breathy laugh.

"Closet?" Shira whispers. "Could you get any more cliched?"

Diego huffs out a laugh in response, green eyes dancing with mirth. "I have great taste, thank you very much." He carefully opens the door, checks the hallways, then scrambles out with Shira. "Coach is going to kill me!"

He turns, but Shira grabs his arm.

He startles, turning around. "What? I've got to go."

"Thanks."

"Thank me later," Diego says.

"How about lunch tomorrow?" Shira blurts out. Her heart is pounding, she nearly got strangled, she needs to hide these marks from her parents, and maybe being in a closet with a guy who she thought might be good-looking only several minutes before has sort of eradicated all her filters for the time being.

A spark of amusement light Diego's eyes. "Are you asking me out, kitty?"

"Depends on you, warrior princess," Shira shoots back.

Diego looks torn between bemusement and offense, but smirks anyways. "At one, under the grove."

And then he runs off, leaving Shira staring after him.