AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed my first chapter, I've quickly become addicted to reviews. And special thanks to Mountiegirl and MouseyJayne for explaining how the UK school system works. And just a warning, this is a long chapter, it was either long chapter, or waiting another chapter for Jecker and no one wants that. Enjoy and review.

Chapter 2

Connor sat in his first class of the day listening to Mr. Harper, his new English teacher, drone on about the class and what to expect. At least, he tried to listen. At the moment, he was too busy watching Danny Quinn from the other side of the room. Danny, always up for a joke and never scared to do anything, was balling up paper and throwing it across the room at Hilary Becker, who kept falling asleep in his chair. 'I guess his early morning runs are starting to get to him' Connor thought as he watched Hilary, who preferred to be called Becker, fall asleep again.

Mr. Harper kept talking about his syllabus, oblivious to the balls of paper flying across his classroom. When Becker dozed off again, Danny threw his ball of paper, arcing it so it bounced directly off Becker's nose. Becker jerked up with a grunt and looked around wildly. He looked at Connor accusingly, but Connor merely nudged his head in Danny's direction. Becker's eyes narrowed at Danny, who was pretending to be engrossed in his copy of the syllabus. Connor knew there was no real anger in Becker's glare; Danny and Becker had been friends since they were thirteen. Everyone who knew them knew about their constant rivalry and jokes.

Connor liked Becker and Danny, both were polite enough to him before Tom died, and afterwards, they'd even offered for him to hang out with them one afternoon. At the time, Connor had refused, he hadn't wanted to be brought out of his depression, but now he wouldn't mind spending time with other people. He could especially use their advice on women. Connor had realized from the moment they had started talking that he was definitely falling for Abby Maitland, he just wasn't sure how to tell if she felt the same way. Suddenly Danny raised his hand to get Mr. Harper's attention, breaking Connor from his musings. Mr. Harper had been going over what he didn't want students to do in his class, and he had just gotten to staying in your seat at all times. Connor sat forward in his seat, when Danny spoke up in class; everyone listened, waiting to hear what joke or smart aleck comment he would come out with.

"What if," Danny began, grinning, "There was a T-Rex attack."

"Or a G-Rex," Connor called out, "it's like a bigger, angrier, deadlier T-Rex."

"Exactly," Danny continues, "There's a G-Rex going crazy outside the window and you, being the responsible teacher that you are, go over to see what all of the commotion is about. Then, before you know it, WHAM!" Danny hit his desk suddenly, his voice rising with excitement, "Mr. G-Rex gets you, right through the window. What do the rest of us do then? Do we sit here quietly and wait for you to tell us we can get up, or are we then free to go?"

Mr. Harper stared at Danny for a moment as if he had grown an extra head, and then he said, calmly,

"Well Mr. Quinn, I don't see the likelihood of me being eaten by a, what did you call it, Mr. Temple?"

"A G-Rex, sir"

"A G-Rex, then. But if I am, you are all free to leave in a disorderly panic. Now, unless you have any other unlikely scenarios, I'd like to finish my syllabus now."

And with that, Mr. Harper began reading from his syllabus again. Connor sat back in his seat with a slight grin. Maybe this year wouldn't be that bad after all, he thought.

XXXXX

Cutter sat in his first class of the day staring out of the window he was sitting next to as the other students filed into the class. He as he began zoning out, his thoughts strayed back, like they always did, to Claudia. He couldn't help it, and despite what Stephen said, or what his parents, her parents, or even Jenny said, he still couldn't help feeling like he was to blame for what happened.

As he sat there, Cutter felt himself going back to that June night. They had just left the movies; Cutter had taken her to see a film as their first date. The pair had been friends for years, but Cutter's complicated relationship with Helen had kept them from being anything more than friends. But now, Cutter and Helen were finally finished, and Cutter had asked Claudia to go to see a movie with him. It was after the movie, when Cutter was driving her home that it happened. Just as Cutter drove through an intersection, an oncoming car swerved into his land and collided with them head-on. Cutter barely had time to react before the cars slammed into each other. He just remembered his only thought was, please let Claudia escape unharmed. Unfortunately, she didn't. When the cars collided, Nick's airbag deployed automatically, but due to some overlooked defect in his car, the passenger side airbag did not. Claudia Brown-Lewis was crushed by the impact and died almost instantly, the paramedics said. Nick Cutter was devastated.

He could barely remember the summer months; he spent most of them alone, shunning other human contact. Stephen was the only other person who made sure he was always there for Cutter. Stephen would always find him and sit with Cutter; sometimes they would sit quietly for hours, Stephen letting Cutter reflect on his thoughts and Cutter was just glad to have Stephen there for company. Eventually, Cutter began coming back out of his shell, trying to see other people again, trying to be social, but he always carried the weight of what happened to him. Cutter often felt that the only person who would've been able to understand him was Connor Temple, who was also suffering from the loss of his best friend, but Cutter never sought him out.

Yet, somehow, he'd survived. Here he was, the first day of his senior year, trying to keep a straight face and soldier on. Cutter had decided he was going to become an evolutionary zoologist no matter what it took. The teacher, Mrs. Cooper, was calling roll, and Cutter realized he didn't recognize the girl whose name had just been called. Mrs. Cooper said her name was Abigail Maitland, but she preferred Abby. Cutter noticed Stephen looking over at the new girl with interest and he wasn't surprised. Cutter knew Stephen had a thing for blonde women, and he couldn't help teasing him about it.

"So, that Annie is very pretty." He muttered to Stephen.

"Abby." Stephen corrected immediately, without taking his eyes off her.

"Ah," Cutter said, grinning, "You seemed to have memorized her name pretty quickly. Too bad she doesn't know yours."

"She will do," Stephen replied, "Just give me time."

As if she could tell they were talking about her, Abby looked over at the pair of boys. Cutter gave a small smile while Stephen winked at her with a grin.

"Jeez Stephen," Cutter whispered, "At least let her know your name before you try and pick her up."

At this, Stephen sat up straighter in his chair.

"Mrs. Cooper," he called, "I'm not sure if you called my name, I'm Stephen Hart." As he said the last part, he looked directly at Abby.

"Yes, Mr. Hart," the elderly math teacher replied, "I called your name."

"O.K., thank you Mrs. Harper, I was just checking." Stephen looked at Cutter with a smug grin,

"Told you I'd tell her my name." He said smiling. Cutter just sighed and looked out of the window again.

The rest of the class period passed by without incident, but as Stephen was getting up to talk properly with Abby, she hurriedly out of the classroom. Slightly deflated, he joined Cutter as they walked to their next class together.

"Hold on," Cutter said as they walked, "I've got to use the bathroom."

"Normally guys wouldn't go together," Stephen said with a grin, "But I'm not waiting outside like we're dating"

Cutter laughed as he pushed open the door. "That's alright; you'd make a terrible boyfriend anyways."

Cutter stopped suddenly as he saw the sight in front of him. Connor Temple was being held up to the wall by Dan Wilder, one of the cadet leaders in the school's JROTC program. He was flanked by two of his friends and Oliver Leek was standing by the door, apparently keeping watch, but failing.

"What's going on here?" Cutter asked, drawing attention to himself and Stephen standing in the room.

"That's none of your business, Cutter." Wilder replied testily, "Just move along and we won't have to hurt you too."

While Wilder was talking, Cutter noticed Stephen moving away from him slowly. To anyone who didn't know Stephen, it might have looked like Stephen was trying to distance himself from Cutter, but Cutter knew Stephen well enough to know he was just spreading out to get a better angle when the fight happened.

"I don't think we will, now just let Temple go and nobody has to get hurt."

"Not happening." Wilder replied.

Suddenly, Connor rammed his knee into Wilder's stomach. Cutter took that as his signal and punched one of Wilder's friends in the jaw. Stephen grunted as Wilder's other friend punched him in the stomach before Stephen could react. Stephen countered with a fist to the solar plexus, leaving the other kid on the ground, gasping for air. Meanwhile, Wilder had gotten up and was savagely punching Connor in the stomach before Cutter managed to grab Wilder in a full nelson. Stephen came over and punched Wilder in the face twice before Cutter let go of him. Leek, who had been cowering by the door, eagerly ran out as soon as Wilder headed for the exit, his two friends following him.

Stephen helped up Connor, who was coughing and trying to regain his breath.

"Thanks," he gasped at Cutter and Stephen. "I would have been in serious trouble without you two."

"It was no problem," Cutter replied, "What did you do to set them off like that?" he asked.

"No idea," Connor replied, "It was probably because they thought I wouldn't fight back and I was alone."

"Well," Stephen said seriously, "That's why you should always go to the bathroom with a buddy. That's what Cutter here is for."

"Yeah," Cutter countered, "we all know Stephen is afraid to pee by himself. Now if you'll excuse me Connor, I came in here for other reasons than to help you fight off bullies.

Connor's face went blank for a moment, but suddenly lit up with understanding.

"Right, of course, sorry." Connor said as he gathered up his things, "thanks again for the help." And with that, Connor rushed out of the bathroom. Cutter just smiled to himself as he took care of his business.

XXXXX

I've done it, Connor thought to himself happily as he walked home, I've survived the first day of senior year and managed to meet a beautiful girl in the process without completely embarrassing myself. Tom would've been proud.

At this moment, the beautiful girl in question tapped Connor on the shoulder as she walked up from behind. Connor jumped and gasped in surprise before turning around to see Abby standing behind him, grinning at his jumpiness.

"Mind if I walk with you?" she asked, still smiling.

"No, not at all." Connor replied, barely able to contain his glee.

"Good," Abby said with a sigh of relief, "I wanted to ask you how much you knew about Stephen Hart."

"Stephen?" Connor asked with surprise, "Stephen's great. In fact, he and Nick Cutter really saved my butt in the bathrooms earlier today."

As soon as he said it, Connor realized exactly how stupid that sounded, and Abby's raised eyebrow confirmed his belief.

"I mean," He stammered, "Some guys were gonna beat me up today, and Cutter and Stephen helped me fight them off."

Connor hoped Abby would be impressed that he had been part of a fight and on the winning side, but at the moment, she had thoughts for no one but Stephen.

"So Stephen is a good guy who helps people in trouble," she pressed, "That's so sweet of him. Do you know if he's seeing anyone at the moment?"

Connor sighed inwardly; he had just been designated as Abby's gay best friend. Oh well, he thought, resigned to his fate, at least she's talking to me, that's better than most girls. He looked over to where Becker was leading a group of new and old cadets to teach them drill maneuvers and thought that at least someone was happy; everyone knew Becker was in his element when it came to JROTC. Connor began telling Abby as many good things as he could remember about Stephen, deciding not to speculate about his heterosexuality, after all, he did help him out of a tight spot today.

XXXXX

Hilary Becker stood in front of the cadets, both new and returning, who wanted remedial drill practice and gave his opening day spiel.

"O.K. cadets," He began, "For those of you who don't know, I am Cadet Captain Becker, but I will never make you call me Captain, just Becker. Some cadets," Like Cadet Colonel Wilder, Becker thought scathingly, "Will insist that you use their cadet ranks. I'm not one of those people, but I do expect respect from all of you," Becker glared at his best friend, Danny Quinn, standing in the back of the formation. "Especially the older cadets." Danny just grinned; he knew who Becker was talking to. Danny wasn't even here for drill practice; he would just never pass up an opportunity to give Becker a hard time, even if Becker was higher up on the JROTC hierarchy than he was.

"O.K." Becker said, getting the attention of the group again, "We'll be drilling in the football field for now, seeing as it's their off-season."

"There might be a problem with that, guv." Danny interjected, "Looks like the cheerleaders got there first."

Becker looked over to where Danny was pointing, and sure enough, the cheerleading squad had taken up the football field.

"It's no problem," Becker said confidently, "there's plenty of space, and we'll just see if they're able to split the field. Shannon, begin teaching the new cadets some of the basics, Quinn, come with me."

As Shannon moved to the front of the formation, Danny and Becker began walking over to the football field.

"This might be the best drill practice we've ever had, ay mate?" Danny said grinning. Becker just shook his head; Danny always knew how to wind him up.

"Don't get distracted," he warned, "I need you to set an example for the younger cadets."

"You don't want me setting the example, Beck, you know that. If these kids followed my lead, you'd have twenty rebels with authority issues and overconfidence."

"That's true," Becker conceded, "but the point still stands, I need you to start being one of the responsible ones around here." Danny opened his mouth to raise another argument, but at that time, one of the cheerleaders walked over to the pair.

"Hi" she said her blatant cheer and good mood pouring out of her words. "I'm Jess Parker, the head cheerleader, what's up? Do you guys need anything?" Becker was silent for a moment, trying to take in the sight before him. Even Danny was rendered speechless, which was an almost impossible feat. In Becker's opinion, Jess was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. What was worse was that now, he couldn't even speak. Becker had never had a problem with public speaking, growing up in a military household made him pretty confident when he spoke; delivering weekly reports on how well he was doing in school could do that to anyone. But when he tried to speak to Jess, Becker realized he just couldn't force the word to come out. Luckily, Danny recovered faster.

"Uh, yes, we're with the JROTC program and we were wondering if you guys would be able to fit your training in half of the field."

"Why?" Jess asked.

"We were going to practice drill maneuvers," Becker cut in, finding his voice. "And this is the best place to teach beginners. Do you mind sharing the field?"

"Of course not," Jess replied, "we'll move over right now."

"Thank you," Becker said as she walked away, "we appreciate it."

"You look nice!" Danny blurted out suddenly. Jess turned around and looked at the pair.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"My friend said that you looked nice," Danny replied with a mischievous gleam in his eye. Becker adopted a blank look, trying to keep the shock out of his expression.

"Thank you," Jess gushed happily, "What did you say your name was?"

"Becker" he replied quickly, "My name is Becker. And this is Danny."

"Well, it was nice to meet both of you," she said, "I guess I'll see you during practice." She walked off to tell the other cheerleaders they were consolidating to one half of the field.

"I hate you." Becker muttered to Danny as they also walked away to get the rest of the team.

"No you don't," Danny replied grinning, "You love me for saying everything you never would. I draw the line at asking her out, though. That, my friend, you have to do yourself."

"Shut up," Becker said, smiling in spite of himself "and get back into formation so I can march you in a large square, repeatedly."

All throughout the rest of the practice, Becker couldn't keep his mind, or his eyes, off of Jess Parker. Every now and again she would catch him staring at her, and he would hurriedly call another command. Unfortunately, when she didn't notice him staring, he didn't pay attention to the rest of the platoon. He had this shouted out to him by his cadet superior, C/Col Wilder, from the other end of the field. Becker's inattention to the platoon had left them marching in place in front of a fence for the past two minutes. After a stern five minute reprimand from Wilder, during which Becker noticed that it looked like someone had punched Wilder in the face; Becker decided that the drill practice was over.

As the group dispersed, Becker rounded on Danny.

"Why didn't you let me know you were marching into the fence?"

"I figured you knew," Danny replied, "I just figured it was revenge for throwing paper at you today, or complimenting Jess in your name, speaking of… Jess!" As Danny yelled her name, Becker felt his face grow red. Jess walked over to the pair of boys with a quizzical look.

"Jess," Danny began, "My friend Becker and I were just wondering how you planned on getting home."

"Oh," Jess said, looking confused, "I was planning on walking, I don't live that far. Why?"

"You see," Danny said, slapping Becker on the chest with the back of his hand, "I told you she'd be walking. The problem with walking home is anything could happen between here and there. What you need is someone to walk with you and make sure you get home safe. My friend the soldier boy here is the perfect man for the job. So, will you let him walk you home, to make sure you get there safely, for everyone's peace of mind?"

"Yeah, ok" Jess said cheerfully, "let me just get my stuff and you can walk me home." Jess hurried off to her bags.

"I mean it this time," Becker began with a growl, "I will kill you for this."

"Quit complaining," Danny said jovially, "You'll thank me for this later. I'll text you tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah." Becker responded grumpily. Danny began walking off as Jess returned carrying her two backpacks and large gym bag.

"Here," Becker said, stepping forward, "let me get some of that for you."

"Oh, thanks Becker." Jess seemed surprised at the gesture, but she let him take the larger of the two bags. They started off walking, Becker trying to find something to talk about.

"Why do you have all of these bags?" He asked curiously, "It's only the first day of school, you can't of had this much homework."

"Oh I don't," Jess replied, "I just wanted to get ahead on some of the reading for my classes. You probably think that's pretty lame." She finished quickly, looking down.

"No, I actually think that's pretty impressive, I don't have this much drive to do well in school" Oh God, Becker thought suddenly, now she's going to think I'm an idiot slacker. "It's not that I'm lazy," he added quickly, "I just don't have your level of commitment." Jess seemed to perk up at that comment, and she began asking questions about his family and life.

Becker soon began to relax and enjoy talking with Jess, for every question he answered about himself; he would ask her the same. They had just gotten to how he managed to stay in such good shape, through his daily 6 AM morning run and workouts in the evenings, when they reached Jess' house.

"Thank you for walking me home, Becker." Jess said, "I've had a good time talking with you, we should do this again."

"How about tomorrow?" Becker asked before he could stop himself, "I mean, your house isn't moving, I could walk you home tomorrow too." Becker readied himself to be let down, but Jess' face lit up.

"Yeah," she said brightly, "That'd be great, I'll see you tomorrow, then." Becker gave her the bag and she bounced up the stairs to her apartment. Grinning to himself, Becker walked off to his own house; Danny wouldn't believe he'd managed to keep his foot out of his mouth for so long.