IX. Flynn, September 17

Flynn Rider was the new guy, and he took full advantage of the intrigue that came along with that title. People were interested, so he tried his best to hold that interest for as long as he could. He flirted, told wild stories about things he had done at his old school, none of which were even faintly true. He flashed his charming smile and quickly had plenty of girls practically falling at his feet. He decided to stick to the single path for a while—wouldn't want to jump into a relationship too soon. It was only the end of the second week, after all. Flynn Rider. It was a good name. It was common but unique, dashing and mysterious. Charming. It had the sound of adventure. Flynn Rider was clearly the name of someone very special.

Unfortunately, it wasn't his. No, this particular Flynn Rider wasn't a Flynn Rider at all. His real name—the one he was born with—was Eugene Fitzherbert. But that name wasn't dashing or mysterious or charming or adventurous. It was, all in all, rather plain, and young Eugene was a rather plain boy. He was forgettable and, truthfully, a bit dorky, wearing glasses, reading fantasy novels, and obsessing over television shows about time-traveling extraterrestrials. Transferring schools had been the perfect opportunity to completely change who he was—a complete makeover, starting with his name and ending with his confidence. Registering under the name "Flynn Rider" hadn't been as difficult as he'd thought, and pretending to be a different person—more someone out of a movie than his old, boring self—had been surprisingly simple. The transformation from Eugene to Flynn was surprisingly smooth and natural. He was, apparently, a gifted actor. Unfortunately joining theater would ruin his new image.

Joining the football team, however, would be a definite plus… Unfortunately he had personally sabotaged that plan by pointing out how much better Mulan was and basically backing up her supporters. That wasn't necessarily a negative, however, because apparently girls like guys who support women's rights or something… which totally wasn't what he was trying to do, but he figured he'd go with it. By now the whole school knew about Flynn's "heroic act" two days ago at football practice. The story had been significantly embellished, but he wasn't about to correct anyone.

"Hey! Flynn! Going to the game tonight?"

"Thinking about it," he said, turning to greet Naveen, the first male he had befriended at Walt Disney High School. "I don't have a ride, though. My car's in the—um, shop."

He didn't actually have a car. But having a car was cool so it would work well if people thought he did.

"Ah, what's wrong with it?" Naveen asked.

"The, um, breaks are—"

"Never mind," Naveen said. "I actually know nothing about cars, I was just making rather dull conversation."

Flynn laughed nervously, then composed himself, "So, are you going?"

"Definitely," Naveen said. "Any kind of party and I'm there—and I've heard it's going to be a good time. Football isn't one of my favorite sports but… It should be fun. I'm actually leaving early to go to a pregame. Want to come along?"

"Leaving early?" Flynn asked obliviously.

"Skipping class, of course," Naveen whispered.

"Oh! Of course," Flynn said.

Skipping class was the cool thing to do. He always knew this, but he'd never done it at his old school. It wasn't that he wouldn't have—although maybe he was a bit of a goody two-shoes back then. But he was never given the opportunity, either way, so he never knew what his answer would have been. But that was Eugene. Eugene was a different person, and Flynn Rider was definitely the type of person who would skip class. It was daring. Adventurous. Whatever. He was doing it.

"Yeah, sounds like fun," Flynn said.

There was only one class left for the day, anyway. No one would notice he was gone. Especially since so many other kids would also be gone. He followed Naveen out to the parking lot. He tried to remember the things he had heard about skipping class.

Act natural. Pretend you're supposed to be leaving. If you look confident, no one will stop you. After all, plenty of kids with internships or… whatever… leave during school and no one stops them because they're supposed to be leaving and they look like it. Yeah. Keep it cool. Keep it calm.

"Flynn?"

"Huh—wha?"

"I asked you if you'd met Jasmine yet," Naveen said. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm—fine," Flynn said. "I'm cool. Just—got distracted for a minute. Um, Jasmine… It rings a bell. Maybe?"

"Well, it's her party we're going to," Naveen said. "Jasmine always throws the best parties. You'll learn that soon enough. And she throws them all the time. Her father is out of town a lot on business so she throws several big parties a month. Sometimes they do get a bit wild but… that's the fun of it, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Flynn forced a laugh.

He could never admit it, but Flynn was not very experienced with alcohol. Frankly he wasn't experienced with it at all. Back at his old school he had never been invited to parties or had any opportunities to be within ten feet of an open bottle of beer so it was no wonder he had never done the whole "partying" thing. This past summer, he had stolen some of his parents' alcohol, just enough so that he could water it down without them noticing, in preparation for his future of being cool. But that hadn't given him very much, only enough to feel a slight buzz. So this party would be a defining moment—his first party at Walt Disney High School. He knew it would be a feat to not make a fool out of himself. He'd have to make it look like he was drinking more than he actually was and… he'd figure things out when he got there.

Flynn took his seat on the passenger side of Naveen's car. Naveen pulled out of the parking lot then sped down the road. Flynn glanced a bit nervously at the speedometer but kept his mouth shut. There was hardly anyone on the roads at this time of day, and hopefully no cops hoping to catch unruly drivers, either. Naveen seemed to be betting on that, anyway. Flynn leaned back and looked out the window. It was less than a ten minute drive to Jasmine's house, and Flynn could tell they must be nearing it when they began driving through a neighborhood full of posh mansions and well-manicured lawns.

"Here we are," Naveen said, pulling into the wrap-around driveway of the largest house on the street.

The house had enormous lawns on all sides and perfect little flowerbeds that must have been cared for by a professional gardener. Flynn sat in awe of the towering white house for a moment before finally opening his door and stepping out of the car. Flynn looked down the driveway. There weren't too many cars there. Looked like it wasn't going to be a crazy party, after all. Which was good in some ways, but… with less people, it would be harder to pretend he was drinking when he wasn't.

Flynn followed Naveen up the path to the front door. Naveen rang the doorbell and Flynn made sure his shirt was straightened out. First impressions—important. Apparently this Jasmine girl was a big deal. The door swung open.

"Naveen! Hi!" Jasmine said, giving him an enthusiastic hug. "So glad you could make it. And who's this? Your date?"

"I'm not—we're not—"

"She's kidding, Flynn," Naveen patted his friend on the shoulder. "Jasmine, this is my friend Flynn Rider. He's just moved to town."

"I've heard a few things about you. Nice to meet you," Jasmine said with a smile. "You're a senior, right?"

"Yes," Flynn said nervously, not able to come up with some clever remark as he would have liked to.

"Good," she nodded. "This pre show is for seniors only—well, and their dates, of course. Won't you come in? I'll introduce you to some people."

Flynn and Naveen stepped into the house and Jasmine led them to a giant living room, where people were sitting and standing around, many of them sipping from plastic cups. There were open bottles of a variety of alcoholic drinks haphazardly arranged on tables throughout the room. A redheaded boy came over and slipped an arm around Jasmine's waist. Flynn recognized him from football tryouts but he couldn't remember his name. He nodded to Naveen and looked at Flynn curiously.

"Thomas, this is the new guy, Flynn," Jasmine said.

"Oh yeah," Thomas said. "You're the guy from the football tryouts, huh? That was… nice what you did for Mulan."

"Aren't you a junior, Thomas?" Naveen asked with a faint hint of distaste in his voice.

"Thomas is my date," Jasmine smiled. "It's allowed. It's my party anyway, so my rules."

She pulled away from Thomas and grabbed Flynn excitedly by the arm.

"Come on," she said. "I'll introduce you to some people."

Naveen and Thomas wandered off to socialize or whatever and Flynn allowed himself to be dragged along by Jasmine. He wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing to be receiving this much attention from her. It could be good because there was the potential for a popularity-boosting friendship there. But then there was always the chance that he would say or do something really stupid and ruin his chances. He had made it this far, though. He had adapted well to being Flynn Rider and he could surely keep it up if he just stopped worrying so much.

"Flynn, this is Charming Charmeuse," Jasmine said.

"Most people call me Charm," he said with a slight smile, standing to shake Flynn's hand. "Nice to meet you—I heard about…"

"The football tryouts, yeah, it seems everyone did," Flynn said, wondering if he would ever be known as anyone but that-guy-who-could-have-been-on-the-football-team.

"Well, I think it was the right thing to do," Charm said. "It's what any gentleman would do."

"Thanks… I guess," Flynn said.

Jasmine dragged Flynn along to meet other people. She introduced him to John Smith, apparently Thomas's best friend. The two were standing by the window chatting when Jasmine and Flynn approached. John Smith was relatively quiet, with chiseled features and blond hair. He didn't have much to say. He didn't mention the football incident. Next was a slim girl with long, wavy brown hair standing next to the couch.

"Flynn, Vanessa, Vanessa, Flynn," Jasmine said with a flourishing gesture.

"Pleasure," Vanessa said in a voice that seemed to indicate that there was nothing pleasurable about it. Her voice itself was very beautiful, but there was a harshness to it which made her words sound nasty. "This is Eric."

Flynn looked down and found a black-haired man sitting on the couch next to Vanessa. His somewhat slouching position next to her, standing straight up, made him appear very small in comparison.

"Eric is a junior, but he and Vanessa are dating, so…" Jasmine trailed off with a shrug.

"It's… our first date, actually," Eric said.

Jasmine shrugged, smiling, "Whatever."

Jasmine introduced Flynn to another couple, Phoebus and Esme, and to a buff boy named Tarzan whom Flynn recognized as a member of the football team. Phoebus was a member of the team as well, but Flynn didn't remember him until he, too, had to bring up what was quickly becoming Flynn's least favorite topic. Ever.

"Would you like a drink, Flynn?" Jasmine asked, grabbing a clean cup off a side table.

"Uhh… sure," Flynn said, surveying the wide selection. "Just beer is fine, thanks."

"Let's go grab a cold one from the kitchen," Jasmine smiled. "We can share."

She grabbed a cup for herself then led Flynn towards the kitchen. She opened the enormously wide fridge and grabbed a fresh bottle, pouring some into each of the cups. She handed one to Flynn and took a sip from her own.

"Come help me pick something to wear for the game," Jasmine said—it wasn't a question.

"O—okay," Flynn said, following Jasmine as he sipped nervously from his cup.

He followed her down hallways and up stairs until he was sure he couldn't find his way back to the living room on his own. Jasmine led Flynn into her room and sat him down on the edge of her bed. She put her cup down and headed into the walk-in closet. When she walked back out, she had traded the short blue-green dress she'd had on for a white tank-top and a pair of short shorts.

"How's this?" she asked, twirling.

"Um… well I heard it might get a little chilly out tonight," Flynn said, swallowing. "You might want to put on something a little… a little warmer."

"Hmm," Jasmine said, stepping back into the closet for a moment. "How about this?"

She stepped out wearing even less. The shorts were still there, but the tank-top was lost and all that was left was a red bikini top—or was it a bra? She stepped towards Flynn. Definitely a bra.

"Uhh—umm," Flynn felt himself slipping into Eugene mode—how would Flynn Rider react to a half-naked woman walking towards him? He would probably be a lot smoother than this.

"What's the matter?" Jasmine laughed.

Flynn stood, looking between Jasmine and the door. Should he say something? Leave? He was at a complete loss about how to react, and he didn't have much time to make a decision. Jasmine was standing in front of Flynn now, and she put a hand on his shoulder, then moved it to his neck. She wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck and then pulled him forward and kissed him. Flynn was practically paralyzed by shock for a moment, then pulled away, pushing Jasmine's arms away from him.

"Jasmine, what are you doing?" he asked. "Aren't you dating Thomas?"

Jasmine shrugged, "I wouldn't call it that. We're not really exclusive—it's sort of an open relationship."

"And you just sleep with whoever you feel like, huh?"

"I… guess you could put it that way," Jasmine said.

"Something's wrong here," Flynn said, walking over to the closet and picking up the tank-top off the ground. "You're a nice girl, Jasmine—I can tell."

Flynn handed her the shirt and she put it on begrudgingly.

"Yeah? What would you know about it?" she asked.

"It's obvious," Flynn said. "Why do you do it?"

Jasmine crossed her arms and looked away, "I don't really feel like discussing it with someone I barely know."

"But you were okay with having sex with someone you barely know?" Flynn said, surprised by his own bluntness. "Those are some messed-up priorities."

Jasmine sighed.

"And you know it, don't you?" Flynn asked. "So why do you do it? Do you enjoy it?"

"I… I guess," Jasmine said. "Well. I used to. But then…"

Flynn could see tears forming under her lower eyelids. She squeezed her eyes shut and they were gone.

"I lost something that was pretty important to me," Jasmine said, looking up at Flynn. "Someone, I guess. The only one I really had."

"You can tell me," Flynn said. "I know how to keep a secret, believe me."

Jasmine came over and sat down on the bed and Flynn sat next to her, putting a comforting arm around her and giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I don't know why I started doing it," Jasmine said, leaning against Flynn. "I was lonely, I guess. My father is always gone, and… the only one I ever had was Aladdin. He was the best thing I ever had, and I blew it. I don't know, I just… I know I can't expect him to be around all the time—I'd never expect that from anyone, but… whenever he wasn't around… If there was another option, I started taking it. And then it became… sort of a game. I started to need it. It sounds stupid…"

"It's okay."

"I was okay with not being able to see Aladdin because it meant I'd have a chance to see someone else. It was sort of thrilling, I guess… I'm a horrible person."

"I'm not going to tell you that what you did was right," Flynn said. "But you clearly recognize that what you did was wrong—so you aren't a horrible person."

"Now that Aladdin's gone, though… Nothing is right. He caught me cheating on him, and… Ever since then, nothing has made me feel completely better. I don't know if anything ever will."

"It will get better," Flynn said. "I promise. But you have to work on making connections—it can't be all about the physical stuff. You need to slow it down."

"I guess you're right," Jasmine said.

"I know I am," Flynn said with a smile. "Now go put some warmer clothes on."

Jasmine headed back into her closet and shut the door. Flynn exhaled deeply, hardly believing the conversation that just took place. It was so effortless. Everything he had said was genuine. Was that Flynn or Eugene? He wasn't even sure which was which anymore. Maybe he could be a bit of both. Eugene's heart and Flynn's cool factor. Although that could have easily backfired. He was lucky that Jasmine had taken it as well as she had.

Once Jasmine had changed her outfit, she and Flynn headed back to the living room. When they arrived back downstairs together, Naveen gave Flynn a raised-eyebrow look, and Flynn subtly shook his head. Phoebus and Tarzan had left earlier to head to the school, so Jasmine led the eight remaining guests outside and everyone piled into their respective cars. It didn't seem as if Naveen had had a chance to drink at all, so Flynn didn't worry as he climbed into the driver's seat. The group followed each others' cars all the way to the school and parked near each other. The parking lot was crowded with cars and with students and parents walking from their cars to the field. A lot of students were greeting each other and waving to friends. A tall, black-haired girl with caramel skin ran up to give John a hug. Flynn could see just a hint of a tattoo on her arm right under her t-shirt. He hadn't seen her before around school, and she was pretty distinctive looking.

The group headed to the field and got seats in the bleachers together. If he was being honest, Flynn spent more time scanning the crowd and people-watching than he did concentrating on the game. He didn't have much interest in football, actually. Playing it could be kind of fun sometimes, but watching it was a total drag. He would root his school's team on, of course, but he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to what was going on on the field. When he was paying even the slightest attention, it was because he was interested in how Mulan was doing. He knew she was a good player, but he was slightly worried that the pressure might get to her. It didn't. She was doing really, really well. In the end, the home team won and the students in the bleachers erupted into loud cheering.

Jasmine was, of course, having another party to celebrate the win, and she flitted around the exiting crowd inviting everyone she recognized—and some people she didn't—to come along. Flynn watched her with a smile, hoping their conversation had had at least some lasting impact. Flynn started to drift away from the crowd, walking towards the road.

"Hey, Flynn, you coming?" Naveen called.

"Nah, I think I'll skip this one," Flynn said. "You go ahead—I can walk home, it's not too far. And it's a nice night."

"Suit yourself!" Naveen shrugged and headed back into the crowd.

Flynn smiled to himself and headed for home.