Hi. Sorry about the last chapter – Tali David and Don Flack will be quite important later on, so that is why they were there. Okay, hoping this chapter is a little better. The next one should be pretty good too. We're getting to more angst and romance, peeps.

Read. Bare with me. Enjoy. Review.

Chapter Six #Second Encounters#

Sara settled into her seat in her first period history class. She had seated herself in the back corner, away from most of the others. Warrick Brown walked nervously into the room, and saw Sara. He shrugged at her, and she smiled slightly, nodding to the seat beside her and rubbing her arm. Both knew that they were both more friendly with Nick than each other, but then again it was them against the world.

"Thanks." Warrick said, sitting down.

"No problem. I, uh...I know how it feels to not have somewhere to sit." she smiled.

"Yeah. Gotta love high school. How was your night?" Sara stiffened slightly, and if Warrick hadn't grown up in Vegas around more poker players than he would ever be able to count he would have missed it. "That bad, huh?"

Sara smiled nervously. "Uh, yeah. I, um...fought with my brother."

"He older or younger?"

"Older. He's left school." Sara murmured. "And he is a lot stronger than me."

Warrick dropped the subject as the teacher, an older Englishman named Dr. Mallard, entered the classroom. He was actually quite an interesting teacher, with many anecdotes and stories to tell. He insisted that the students called him Ducky, and acted as a mentor and friend to his pupils rather than a lecturer, and by the end of the lesson, the whole class had a new favourite teacher. As Sara stood up, Warrick hissed, noticing the blossoming bruises on her arms.

"Jesus, are you alright?"

Sara blushed and tugged her shirt sleeves down. "It's nothing. Tyler is strong."

"You should tell somebody, your parents even."

"No!" She snapped, before realizing that it would just make him more suspicious. "I mean, I have. My brother is just a little strong. Honest."

Warrick frowned and once again dropped the subject as they left the classroom. He was headed to chemistry, once again with Sara, but on the way to the science block they met Nick who was walking with a pretty Israeli looking girl.

"Hey, guys." Nick said cheerfully. "This is Tali, she's in my Spanish class. Tali, this is Warrick and Sara."

"The ones you talked about?" Nick nodded and she smiled at both Sara and Warrick. "Hi."

"Hi." They chorused.

"Have you two got chemistry too?" Tali asked, smiling when they both nodded.

The foursome made their way to the classroom. Nick and Warrick went in first, and their teacher, Mr. Taylor ushered them into a seat at the front. Tali and Sara were shown to a seat just across from them.

Like Warrick, Tali noticed the bruising on Sara's arms. Sara sighed,

"My brother. He's a little bit of a bully."

Tali laughed humourlessly. "I can relate to that. My father, too."

Sara looked at her in shock.

"I live with my mother. My dad is...well. He has a tough job. So he tries to make us tough. I was four. He took me and my sister to a forest, blindfolded. Left us to find our own way out. This was in Israel, though. It is different there, I guess. You kinda have to grown up fast. Ziva handled it better than I did."

"Four?" Sara choked.

"He was watching, from the trees. Of course, we didn't know that. My father also trained us in self defence, blah, blah, blah. Ziva's the best at that, too." Tali said matter-of-factly. She looked at Sara's shocked face. "Hey. If it was your brother...well, I know why you don't want people to know. And if it wasn't, I get that too. It's family. Your business. And no one else's unless you want it to be. I love my family, even if we are slightly...dysfuc, no dysfunctional, that's the word."

Sara just stared numbly at the pretty girl, trying to figure out how her dark eyes could hold so much light after what she had just said. Tali gracefully changed the subject.

"Do you like chemistry?"

"I love it." Sara responded automatically. She still felt slightly uncomfortable around the Israeli girl. Almost naked. Like Tali had exposed all her secrets.

Mr. Taylor handed out textbooks and instructed the students to turn to page three, read the information and answer the questions, and Sara was glad for the distraction.

She finished the questions within minutes, and Tali stared at her in shock.

"You're done?"

Sara nodded. "I'm good at Chemistry."

Tali bit her lip. She had been taught to read people from a very early age, and she knew that Sara was feeling uncomfortable and defensive, and she had a fair idea why. But she really, really needed help. "Um, Sara...could you help me? Please?"

"Sure." Sara replied, used to being asked for help. She softly explained the science to Tali, who eventually got the hang of it.

"Thank you Sara." She felt like apologizing, but she knew that there was a strong possibility that it would make Sara feel worse, so she shut up. After Sara's explanation, Tali completed the work in a matter of minutes. Mr. Taylor picked it up.

"This is very, very good, David."

Sara almost rolled her eyes. That happened a lot. She was used to other kids taking credit for her work.

"Oh, no sir. I couldn't have done it without Sara. I didn't get it at all until she explained it." Tali flashed a grateful grin at Sara, who smiled back, slightly shocked.

"Well, Miss Sidle, I am very impressed." Mr. Taylor smiled at the pair of them. "You can relax for the rest of the lesson, or you can move on in the textbook, it's the first day so it's your choice."

"So what are your strong subjects?" Sara asked Tali slightly shyly.

"Languages and arts." Tali smiled. "I've uh, I've travelled a lot."

"Where?" Sara asked with interest. "I mean, I've moved a lot but mainly around San Francisco and California. This is the pretty much the extent of my travel."

Tali tried not to look like she was boasting as she listed the countries she had visited. "Israel, Iraq, China, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, England, France, Germany, and Russia. Oh, and Costa Rica."

"Wow," Sara breathed. "That's amazing."

Tali smiled slightly. "Well. I've never stayed in one place for very long. This is the first permanent home I have had since I was seven years old."

"I can relate to that." Sara nodded, repeating what Tali said earlier.

"Not fun, is it?"

"Is English your first language?"

"No," Tali laughed. "My third."

"Third? How many do you speak?"

"Five."

"Five? Wow..."

"Yeah. But I suck a science."

Sara frowned. "You don't."

"Oh, I do." Tali laughed, before looking seriously at Sara. "Could you help me this year?"

"Sure...sure..." Sara smiled.

"Awesome." Tali said, and then laughed. The word sounded strange in her accent.

"My...my family aren't abusive." Sara said softly.

"Okay." Tali murmured just as softly. Sara looked at her in shock. "Okay."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"I trust you. If you say they don't hurt you, well...The bruises could have come from anywhere. We don't havve to talk about it unless you want to."

"Let's just...enjoy our first day. I'm fine."

"Okay." Tali smiled and they turned back to the work. "May I sit with you at recess?"

"Sure." Sara asked, slightly shocked. "That'd be great."

Tali smiled.

CSIVCSIVCSIV

Greg bounced down the corridor. "You're leaving me for my own good."

"What are you doing?" Morgan asked incredulously.

Greg looked into her eyes and continued to sing. "That's cool but if my friends ask where you are I'm gonna say,

She went down in an airplane,

Fried getting suntanned

Fell in a cement mixer full of quicksand.

Help me, help me; I'm no good at goodbyes!"

Morgan took up the song "She met a shark under water
Fell and no one caught her
I returned everything I ever bought her
Help me, help me, I'm all out of lies

"And ways to say you died!" They finished together.

"Jesus, guys, this isn't high school musical." Mia Dickerson sneered.

"She was caught in a mudslide,

Eaten by a lion

Got run over by a crappy purple Scion
Help me, help me, I'm no good at goodbyes!
She dried up in the desert
Drowned in a hot tub
Danced to death at an east side night club
Help me, help me, I'm all out of lies
And ways to say you died!"

They sang to the pretty, conceited girl. She just rolled her eyes. They continued to sing 50 Ways To Say Goodbye until their General Studies teacher, Mr. Gibbs gave them a strange look before letting them into the room. Since Archie, Lindsey, Abby and McGee had photography, Greg and Morgan sat next to each other.

"So, did you have a good evening?" Greg asked, and Morgan shrugged.

"My mom's boyfriend came round while my dad is staying with us and it wasn't a public place." Greg winced.

"So your parents are-"

"Divorced. Yeah. You saw how much of an asshole my dad is. Anyways, it would have been amusing if he hadn't broken Jonny's nose."

"Ecklie?" Greg cried, drawing a few stares.

"Well done, Sanders. Yes, he threw a baseball at him. How was yours?"

"Meh." Greg said nothing more on the topic. "So, I take it you like Train. What other music do you listen to?"

Morgan passed him her iPod. "Let that tell you."

Greg scrolled through her albums with a slack jaw. "Phantom of the Opera? Jessie J? Marilyn Manson?"

"I like a lot of music."

"Awesome."

"I know, right?"

"Okay, everyone shut up!" Mr. Gibbs announced with a piercing whistle. "The purpose of this class is to expand your knowledge about the world and different situations. Here's a quiz. Answer it without talking. Should take about half an hour. I'm Mr. Gibbs, but call me Gibbs."

"What is with these teachers?" Morgan whispered to Greg. "Like none of them want us to call them Mr."

"We aren't in a normal school" Morgan jumped. "We have more leeway. I do have rules, though. The most important one you need to know - Rule 23: do not touch my coffee." A couple of people sniggered. "If you want to live."

A hand raised into the air. Gibbs nodded at the boy. "Um, I thought that that was a Marine's rule?"

"What's your name, kid?"

"Cyrus Lockwood, sir."

"Well, you're right. But it's one of mine, too. I was a marine." The class was fairly easy, and Gibbs gave them projects to work on. "These are all to be completed within three weeks. Work with your partner that you're sitting with. The topics are very...varied. Instructions are included." Greg stared at their project. It was about teen suicide.

"Damn, that's dark." Greg complained.

"A lot of this stuff is dark. They have bulimia." Morgan pointed to a pair behind them, eternally grateful that Gibbs hadn't given her that folder.

"I've never understood that." Greg frowned.

"What?"

"Bulimia. Why people feel the need to do it to themselves. It hurts a lot more than it helps."

"And you would know this how?" Morgan said testily.

"Because my cousin Katie had bulimia. She was my best friend and she couldn't get that we loved her for who she was and her kidneys failed. She died two months ago." Greg snapped back, and Morgan looked at him in shock.

"She...died?"

"Yeah. She did." Greg folded his arms. He hadn't meant to bring Katie up. He was trying to forget about her, or at least the bulimia part. Once again his good mood was wrecked.

"I'm sorry...I just didn't think that you'd know about...well...I'm sorry."

"Just because I try to be happy most of the time doesn't mean I'm naive or stupid." Greg sighed. "However much my mum tries to cotton wool me."

"I really am sorry." Morgan bit her lip. "It's just...well I...a friend of mine has bulimia and just judge bulimics before they know them."

"I know that." Greg smiled sadly at her. "Tell your friend...tell your friend that she should talk to someone...get some help."

"I'm not sure she wants it." Morgan said softly. "She's...about my size. She can afford to lose a few pounds."

"What?" Greg's eyes bulged, and he couldn't believe his ears. "You don't need to lose anything! If she's your size, tell her to stop! She'll hurt herself."

Morgan looked at her stomach and saw nothing but flab. Greg looked at her stomach and saw a nice figure.

"I'll tell her, but she never listens to me."

Greg sighed. "So, teen suicide. You know anyone who..." Morgan shook her head. "Well, neither do I, so that's a bonus."

"Hey, this looks like it may take us a while. You wanna come over tonight, work on it? I could get you out of the mom dad boyfriend triangle? Plus, my mom is making pinnekjøtt."

"What?" Morgan looked at Greg. "Was that Russian?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Norwegian. It's meat and potatoes, and some other stuff. We normally eat it for Christmas dinner and special occasions, and today is the whole 'first day at school' thing."

"That was yesterday."

"My mom was working yesterday, my pinnekjøtt got put on hold. She makes like, five times more than we could ever eat. Please come, you'll love it, I swear!"

"Okay. I'll give my mom a call at recess."

"Great." Greg grinned.

When recess came, automatically they headed back to A11, their hideout for a snack, skipping out the cafeteria automatically. Sara and Tali were arm in arm, laughing and joking. Greg and Morgan were back to their usual selves, bouncing off the walls and teasing each other. Nick and Warrick were arguing about football teams. Archie and Abby arrived next, followed by Lindsay and McGee. They compared lessons and teachers, and talked trivia until the bell rang. The day flew by and lunch came and went. When the bell rang for homeroom, Archie and Lindsay dragged themselves to McKeen, and Abby pulled a reluctant McGee happily to Gibbs' room.

Catherine didn't sit with them to no one's surprise, so Ryan Wolfe happily took the seat.

"Okay, today we haven't really got much to do, so once again your time is your own."

The day passed as a blur, and Greg met Morgan outside the school as soon as the day ended.

"How was art?" he asked her and she shrugged.

"I drew what I thought was a pretty good picture. Then I saw Tali's picture of the same thing and I realised just how crap mine was."

"Hey, I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Greg reasoned. "Look at mine." he passed her a piece of paper.

"I thought you didn't take art."

"I didn't. But in drama we were told to draw a picture of our ultimate character to play. Abby drew this awesome picture of a really cool vampire. Everyone else had really artistic, realistic sketches."

Morgan took the piece of paper. On it was a stick man with a pirate's hat and an eye-patch. One leg was thicker than the other below the knee and coloured light brown. She laughed. "A pirate?"

"Took me half an hour to draw it. I'm rubbish at art."

"Well, it has a certain charm." Morgan smiled. "That does make me feel a little better."

"Oh, thanks!" Greg pouted, pretending to look offended. They began to walk to Greg's house. It wasn't very far away, and the walk only took ten minutes before they arrived at the Sanders' modest, fairly large house. The school and house were in the same nice neighbourhood, and the Elise Sanders had been very happy to stay in the safe area.

"Mom!" Greg called. "I'm home. And I brought Morgan!"

Elise came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron. Delicious and foreign smalls wafted into Morgan's nose as she introduced herself to Greg's mom.

"So are you Greg's girlfriend?"

"Mom!" Greg looked appalled as Morgan looked at him in shock. His mother laughed.

"I'm joking." Greg's mom laughed. "I'm sorry Morgan."

"That's okay. It was worth the look on Greg's face." She grinned at Greg, who scowled at the two grinning females.

"Thanks. Let's go to the den, we can work on the school project there." Morgan slipped off her shoes and left them by the mat. Greg's mother looked at her in slight shock, and a small smile spread across her face.

"You are very polite Morgan. I appreciate it, I appreciate it a lot. I only wish Greg would take his shoes off when he came in the house."

Morgan smiled shyly. "Thank you."

"Come on! Let's get to the den before she embarrasses me anymore!" Greg dragged Morgan upstairs.

"Wow..." she said upon entering the den. "This is amazing..."

"I know right?" Greg grinned.

"You have an x-box?"

"Why, yes I do. Fancy a game?"

"I thought we were supposed to be doing homework?"

"Teen suicide, X-Box. X-box, teen suicide?" Greg held out his hands.

Morgan pursed her lips thoughtfully and nodded. "Teen suicide can wait!"

CSIVCSIVCSIV

Warrick walked home alone after school that day. Nick was getting a lift with Ethan, and however many times he offered, Warrick declined the lift. He had to go to the store for his grandma anyway.

He walked down a side alley to get to the store and tried to ease past the teenage boys at the end.

"Oh, hey, its Brown!" One jeered, blocking his path, and Warrick tried again to move around.

"Excuse me." He muttered.

"Excuse me? Na uh."

Warrick looked up into the eyes of none other than Gene Jaycobs.

"Where's your little white friend? He get sick of you already? Don't worry, Warrick, I'm sure you'll be fine. Even you can do better than a piece of white trash like that. I mean come on, did you see the guy?"

Furious, Warrick threw his fist into Jaycobs' stomach. "Shut up!"

"Oh, that does it!" Jaycobs roared.

Warrick fell to the floor as seven boys twice his side began pounding him into the pavement. His glasses smashed and Warrick could make out the little shards of glass that were blocking the steady flow of blood onto the pavement.

After five minutes of enduring the blows, Warrick began to panic. Normally they had stopped by now. Jaycobs leaned over Warrick as hissed at him

"You don't touch me, punk!"

He crashed his foot down onto Warrick's forehead, and with a dazzling array of stars everything was black.