(( So I know I just started another story, a HP related one, but I've just gotten into Heroes a few days ago and I was on the third episode of season 2 and decided I'd like to write my own. This one is obviously AU, since I'm nowhere near done with the series and I don't know what happens. It's actually not going to have much to do with any of the characters from the show. If I miss something or need to sharpen my research, please let me know! After all, I've only just started the series. I ask that you please review! It makes me happy. ^^
Enjoy! ))
Disclaimer: I own all of these characters, except for Peter Petrelli, who is from the TV show Heroes. This writing is entirely my own, but I have taken the main ideas from the TV show Heroes.
Riiiiiing
Reece Addler stood, wobbling for a moment as her heels slid against the new, stiff back of her sneakers, and grabbed her backpack. There was a rush of students at the door, a few meeting up with high fives and relieved hellos; biology block had finally ended. Although science was her personal fixation, Reece was just as happy to be done with classes for the morning; even passion cannot demand two and a half hours of attention without disinterest.
Pulling the bag over her shoulder, she followed the wake of her classmates out the door and down the hall. In sunny California the school was built like a campus, where in order to walk from classroom to classroom one had to be outside. The lockers were outside as well, along with the cafeteria and the art and music rooms. Reece had been living just outside Los Angeles, in the suburbs, for most of high school.
She'd moved there from Philadelphia, on request of her father; he'd been offered a job that paid three times as much as his old one, and Reece was never one for strong attachments. Her old home and her old friends were not missed, perhaps because the home was crumbling and the friends were few and far between.
For some reason, she did not attract many people.
The heat was unforgiving as Reece began down the outside corridor, already feeling her t-shirt sticking to the back of her neck. Her junior year had just started two weeks ago, and by the weight of her backpack it seemed teachers were wasting no time hammering the nail into what was the undisputed champion for hardest year in high school.
Which was, unfortunately for Reece, made much harder by the fact that she still hadn't managed to make more than three friends.
One was her partner in economics, assigned to sit next to her at the beginning of last year; after a few projects together and sitting together at lunch, Reece had made friends with Jackson Press, whom everyone called J.P.. He was the kind of boy that had no clique, and he could sit anywhere at lunch and go to all the parties, but nobody knew much about him other than his extraordinary talents in volleyball that brought the school bragging rights. There was a charming roguishness to his rugged looks, and although Reece was a sucker for white-smiling blonds she saw no chance with Jackson. He'd said, on multiple occasions, that he liked her 'off beat style of simplicity', aka she was the only girl that still wore just t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers.
Reece had no personal edge to speak of, when it came to clothes, and most her classmates would argue personality as well. She was no wall flower, no, she was just gun-shy. Attention was not her strong suit.
The second friend, the one who she was walking towards the row of lockers out in the courtyard to meet, was Samantha Vree, a girl who was surprisingly friendly to Reece on her first day of high school. Their lockers were right next to each other, and when Samantha had seen Reece stuffing a full lunch in between her books, she offered to hide out in the art yard with her and eat, so she wouldn't have to be alone.
Now they ate lunch every day together, and spent the weekends sneaking to the city and trying to culture themselves. Samantha said it was very important to read 'classic' books, such as East of Eden or The Great Gatsby or Crime and Punishment. It helped attract the right kind of boys, she said.
Reece was not a believer in acquaintances, so although she knew many people there were no such passing classmates to wave to as she walked towards the courtyard; the hallway hello, that passive wave or nod of the head, was an unpracticed art to Reece. To be honest, she hated it.
Approaching the courtyard, she spotted Sam's tall, blond figure standing by their lockers. Upon seeing Reece, the tanned girl jumped and waved frantically, holding up her cell phone.
"You look like you're trying to flag the FBI or something, Sam, cool it with that hand." Reece grinned and hopped over the bench that was in front of the row of lockers. Dialing her combination, she pulled up and opened, stuffing her backpack in there.
"Oh, Ro, don't be cranky. It's too late in the day for you to be cranky," Sam rolled her eyes and chewed her gum.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Reece asked, pulling a brown paper bag out of her backpack and turning to Sam, still grinning.
Sam sighed dramatically and sat down on the bench, opening her lunch. "Only that you used up your sarcasm this morning, after second period. Hey – you gonna eat that? Ro!"
"What, that thing about your mom's crosswords? You know I was only kidding, I love your mom. She's eccentric. And, yes, I'm going to eat that." Reece snatched the yogurt that Sam had extracted from her open brown bag just moments earlier, and she made a face.
"Ugh, fine." Sam poked through her lunch, pulling out a capri sun.
"Just kidding. Don't fit," Reece tossed her the yogurt, pulling out a sandwich with her other hand. "I had bio block today. We were talking about this weird new science, something to do with genes. Mr. Pollaker thinks that humans can have, I dunno, superpowers or something. It's not like Marvel or anything, but – Sam, Sam, are you listening?" Reece waved her hand in front of Sam's face while taking a bite out of her sandwich.
Sam snapped up, looking to Reece, "yeah, yeah, you're going all science-y on me. But while you are making love to genetics, I am enjoying the eye candy. Oh, I am so glad our school is right by the beach!" Samantha squealed.
Reece followed her gaze, although she already knew quite well what would be waiting.
Warren Castrade. Regulation hottie, in Samantha's words.
He was the first person Reece remembered seeing when she moved to Reardon , the small suburb they were in now, on the outskirts of L.A. She'd been trying to find her Earth Science class and he offered directions; the last thing he said was 'see you around', but that never happened.
Reece quickly learned that he was popular, and therefore not held responsible for every 'see you around' or 'catch you later' he said.
During lunch hours he would sometimes take his shirt off and go swimming in the beach. He was captain of the swim team so he had the key to the locker room, and he'd always walk from the pier to the gymnasium, where the locker rooms were, and conveniently right through the courtyard.
Reece snorted, taking another bite of her sandwich and chewing slowly, watching Warren just like every other girl despite her contempt for it. Although, there was something different in her eyes; no longing, but instead curiosity.
"Stop looking like that, I know what you're thinking Ro," Sam interjected her thoughts.
Making an innocent face, Reece took a big bite of her sandwich and spoke through a full mouth, "I haph no idea what your thalking abot."
"You're doing the whole… does he like mac and cheese, I wonder if his parents are divorced, do him and his sister get along, can he ride a bike… thing. God, you're such a creepy psychoanalyzing best friend."
"Oh yeah, really?" Reece raised her eyebrows, concealing a smirk as she took a sip of Sam's drink.
"Seriously. I'm doing you a favor by being your friend. My debt to society."
"And mine is listening to you."
"Listening to me what?"
"Just listening to you," Reece laughed, standing up.
Samantha picked up her light backpack and swung it gently at Reece's leg. "Ugh, you bitch!" She giggled.
Crumpling up her lunch, Reece tossed it single handedly into the garbage can at the end of the row of lockers and checked the watch on her wrist – she was the only person she knew that still wore one. "Gotta go, I have art next period and Janss gets antsy if everyone's not punctual." She grabbed her bag, and then groaned.
"Did you just say –?"
"Yeah. Punctual." Reece said ashamedly, hopping back over the bench.
"God you are such a freak," Sam laughed and threw an apple at her, which Reece caught and smiled gratefully for.
"See you after school!"
Reece was already too far away from Samantha to hear, and she stepped out of the courtyard and into the open corridor, tossing the apple up once and taking a quick bite out of it. She was always fast with her hands.
Up ahead, someone was shouting, "Reece ! Hey – Reece! Ro!"
Looking back over her shoulder, she squinted, trying to pick the shouting face out of the crowd. Reece had terrible eyesight, but she never wore glasses; a credit to her stubbornness, her father always said.
Weaving between people was the bright eager face of her third and final friend, Maxwell Baxton. He had his backpack around his shoulders and it was pulling the loose fabric of his black bland shirt against his chest. As he half ran towards her, he pulled up his jeans by the belt.
"Bax!" She called back, smiling and waving.
He approached her slightly out of breath, and she laughed, throwing him the apple which he caught clumsily.
"Take up a sport, MaxBax."
"I told you to stop calling me that!" He said indignantly.
Reece grinned and pulled the apple out of his hand right before he was going to take a bite. "You don't sound intimidating when you're panting." She winked.
Max lunged at her for the apple, and she laughed, letting it go and holding her hands up. "Jeez, Max, calm down. You took the apple for my hand," she made a serious face and dropped her voice, "you are a man now," she pressed her hands together with the fingers pointing up, and bowed her head.
"Shut up, Ro. You're such an ass," Max shoved her, grinning and taking a bite out of the apple.
She laughed back, shrugging her shoulders and tugging on the straps of her bag. "Yeah, whatever, now come on. We're gonna be late for art."
