Malika – Don't worry, there is definitely more to come! I working on more, slowly but surely! :)

The Best Guesst – Thanks! I'm glad you are liking it so far! Especially since this is my first AU. I wasn't sure how good it would be. :)


Chapter 2: First Day as Freshman Part 2: Touch

Every day was the same yet always different. He dreaded waking up every day because he never knew what was going to happen to him next. Yesterday, he was nothing more than an ashtray for his father; small round burns littered his back. Each new punishment was a daily reminder of how he caused his mother's death two years ago.

He already cleaned up the mess of bottles left by his father. He ate the last bit of cereal and went to get the laundry from his father's room. His father was usually in a better mood if he did the chores before he woke up. With an armful of clothes, he walked around his father's bed. He tripped on a shirt and fell against the bed. His father woke with a start.

"Boy, watcha wakin' me up for?!" He pushed the boy to the ground. "An' don't touch me. No one wants a thing like you touchin' them." His words were long and draw out as he stretched and stood up.

The boy grabbed the laundry and hurried out of the room. After completing his chores around the old house, he made himself some lunch, a small sandwich and chips. Over the past year he's been slowly learning to take care of himself, his father had given up. Standing on a chair and trying to pull down the loaf of bread, he accidentally knocked a plate off the counter and it shattered. The boy's eyes widened.

"What in th' hell was that?!" His father came storming into the kitchen. Seeing what happened, he promptly grabbed the boy's arm and led him down the hallway. Needless to say, he ended up in the closet that whole night. "This'll make you think twice b'fore breakin' my dishes!" The boy watched from the corner as the door slammed and locked and he was once again thrown into complete darkness, left to wander in his own thoughts.


"Hmmm. Room, uh… oh, 247." A small figure was wandering through the hall after fourth period already started. She held her schedule, finding the room she needed. She looked up at the nearest classroom. "203? Uugghh." She slumped her shoulders and continued on, looking for her room. Finally finding her it, she burst with no amount of subtlety. "Sorry. There was a mix-up with my schedule and it wasn't corrected until today." She handed her schedule to the teacher.

The teacher took the paper and adjusted her glasses as she read the name. "Katie Holt?"

"Oh. Yea, you can call me Pidge." Pidge took a seat at the front next to a slender black-haired boy.

"Ok, uh 'Pidge', for future reference, if you are late to class, please keep it quiet as to not disrupt the lesson."

"Lesson? Oh! Sorry, I thought it was just syllabus day." She dropped her bag and pulled out a spiral.

The teacher made a face but said nothing further on the matter; she continued from where she was interrupted.

Pidge leaned over to the boy. "Hey, I'm Pidge." She held out a hand.

The boy looked at her hand, a bit nervous, but chose to just wave to her. "Hey, I'm Keith." He looked her up and down. "Um… you look a little, uh, young to be a freshmen."

Pidge withdrew her hand with a small amount of confusion. "Oh, yea I skipped the 8th grade. That kinda caused the mix up with my schedule."

Keith formed an 'O' with his mouth.

She noticed the paper on his desk. It was a sketch of something. Some kind of vehicle maybe? "Hey, what's that?"

Keith looked down. "Oh, uh, nothing." He pushed the paper under his arm. "It's stupid."

"Awe, come on. It looked really neat."

"Well, it's a, uh, design I'm working on for a… hovercraft." Keith mumbled the last word.

"Really! That's awesome!" She spoke a bit louder than she wanted.

"Pidge." The teacher stopped her discussion again, glaring at the girl in front.

She gave a crooked grin and shut her mouth. The teacher continued.

Pidge leaned over and whispered this time. "Anyway, that really is awesome. You like building things?"

"I like motorcycles and have always wanted to build one. Then I came up with this idea. I just don't have the time or money to build what I want so it's just that, an idea. But I read a lot on bikes and engineering." A small smile adorned Keith's face.

They both spent the rest of the class discussing some of Keith's designs and some of Pidge's own inventions. When the bell rang, Pidge stood and patted a hand to Keith's shoulder. He flinched at the touch but tried to play it off.

"S-so, did you bring your lunch or are you getting cafeteria food?" Keith grabbed his bag and headed towards the cafeteria.

"Nah, I'll be getting the always delicious cafeteria food. How 'bout you?"

He looked caught off guard by the question. "I've got a lunch in my locker," he said quietly.

"Alright, cool."

They made their way through the halls and Keith split in a different direction to his locker. Pidge headed to the cafeteria. She got in line between two boys who were chatting away, completely oblivious to everything around them. She heard the larger one mention a robotics club.

"Robotics?!"

The two boys stopped talking and looked at their interrupter.

"Oh, u-uh, hi." She grinned a bit guiltily.

"Hey! Haven't seen you before. You new?" Lance smiled and held out a hand in greeting.

Pidge shook his hand. "Only to this grade. I skipped the 8th grade."

"Woah, that's awesome. So you must be like a genius or something!" Hunk looked impressed.

"Well I wouldn't say 'genius' but yea, I'd say I'm pretty smart." Pidge shook Hunk's hand. "I'm Pidge, by the way, and you were saying something about a robotics club?"

Hunk gave her all the information on the club, the three of them got acquainted after that. They all continued through the lunch line and sat together at an empty table at the back of the cafeteria. After sitting down, Lance noticed Pidge looking intently around the crowd of students sitting and eating.

"Hey, what's up? You lookin' for someone?" Lance caught her attention.

"Oh, yea, I met someone last period and said we sit together at lunch."

"Cool. The more people the better!" Hunk said right as Pidge stood up.

"Oh! There he is!" She started waving her arm. "Keith! I'm back here!"

At the sight of their new company, Lance's eyes widened. "You?"

Keith's eyes widened slightly but sat next to Pidge all the same.

"You two know each other already?" Pidge directed the question to Keith but it was Lance who answered.

Lance crosses his arms in a huff. "We might."

Hunk, however, reaches a hand out and smiles. "I'm Hunk. Grumpy pants here is Lance."

"Keith," he waves, ignoring the outstretched hand.

Hunk shrugs and retracts his hand.

"Keith has some awesome designs for a hovercraft!" Pidge brags and after a bit of convincing, Keith finally pulls out his designs to show.

Hunk is really interested and they continue talking, hitting it off as immediate friends.

Lance, on the other hand, continues to grumble, something about 'stupid mullet'.


The sound of clicking and the door opening abruptly, startles him out of his restless sleep. His father grabs him from the floor of the closet and carelessly pulls him down the hallway. After spending all night in that dark closet, he didn't get much rest. His sight was still a bit blurry and his mind was groggy. After being pushed into the kitchen counter, he finally begins to hear what his father is saying.

"Do you hear me, boy?! Get these dishes done and don't you break another one!"

He quickly nods and gets to work as his father leaves and he hears the front door shut. He pulls out the little stool kept beneath the sink so he can reach the dishes more easily. After finishing that chore, he goes into the living room to find his father walking through the front door with a scraggly looking puppy in his arms. The boy's eyes widened and his lips twitch up a bit as though he had forgotten how to smile.

"Here," his father said gruffly as he dropped the puppy into the boy's arms. "Keep him out of my way or I will take him to the pound," he added threateningly.

The boy nodded quickly. He jumped forward to give his father a hug for this gift.

His father quickly pushed him backwards. "What do I tell you, boy?! No one what's a thing like you touchin' them!" Disgust laced his voice. "Now take that thing to your room."

The boy rushed to his room. He found some old food and water bowls already there and a small bag of dog food. This little puppy, with shaggy black and grey fur, quickly became the boy's best friend. Many long nights would soon be spent with little Rover; nights filled with crying, talking, whishing, shaking, pain, and sometimes just silence. He begins to wonder why his father would suddenly do something like this for him. He knows he certainly doesn't deserve this heaven sent gift. What he doesn't know is that he will soon find out the cruelty behind his father's reason for getting him that dog.


Next chapter up! I hope it's going good! Keep the reviews coming! I will be responding to reviews at the beginning of each chapter. Not all of them but any that I feel need a response! :) Until next time,

NyteXade