A/N- Huh, I didn't necessarily plan on having this chapter done so quickly, but enjoy anyway and review plz.

The September air was cool with just a hint of left over summer warmth. It was almost as if it didn't realize that today was the first day of school and summer vacation had officially ended yesterday. Everywhere across Brooklyn alarm clocks were going off and teenagers were groaning as if in agony, pleading for their parents to let them have five more minutes of sleep. But there was breakfast to eat, teeth to brush, and buses to catch. So whether they liked it or not they rolled out of bed and started to get ready for school.

Joe ignored the blaring coming from his alarm clock and buried his head under his pillow. He was totally going to get up. He just needed five more minutes and he would totally be up. Just five or six more minutes…

"Joe!" His mom opened his door. "Joe honey, better get up or you'll be late for school!"

"Wha-huh?" Joe sat up with a yawn and wiped the remaining drool off his face. "Ugh, coming, coming."

He stumbled out of bed, still groggy from sleep and headed into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and grinned. Today he was officially a high school freshman and things were already looking up. He finally got his braces off during the summer so there was no ugly metal wires to mar his teeth. His hair had also grown out a little and he kept it slightly messy and spiked with hair gel.

After he finished getting dressed in a pair of ratty jeans and a t shirt, Joe headed downstairs for breakfast. He passed Anna's room on the way and found she was still asleep in bed. Being two years younger than him, Anna was still in middle school so she didn't have to wake up for another hour.

"Aw, how cute." Joe said sarcastically.

He picked up a stuffed animal from her doorway and threw it at her, hitting her square in the head.

"Ow!" Anna started angrily. "Moooom!"

"Joseph Arthur get down her now!" His mom called.

Joe laughed and slid down the banister. His mom handed him a plate a pancakes and he sat down to tear into them. Mrs. Arthur shook her head with a smile and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"So, any plans for this year, Joe?" She asked.

"I dunno. Goof off, cut classes, maybe repeat a grade or two." Joe teased.

"Funny young man, wanna try again though?"

"Just kidding mom," Joe polished off his pancakes and jumped up. "Gotta go now. See you after school."

"Have a nice day!" Mrs. Arthur called as he left through the front door.

Joe glanced at his watch and broke into a light jog in order to make it to the bus stop in time.

Sam made sure to wake up early to go through his morning check list. He pulled up the itemized list on the brand new tablet his mom bought him as a going to high school present and read the list out loud.

"Bed made-check, back pack ready- check, phone and tablet charged-check." He smiled. "I just have to make sure I look decent and I'm good to go."

Sam closed his bedroom room in order to check out his appearance in the full length mirror. His tan khakis were neatly pressed, his dress shirt and red sweater vest were spotless, and his hair was… messy, but what else was new?

The alarm on his phone beeped and Sam quickly grabbed his back page and headed downstairs for breakfast. His mom was already at the table in her robe, tapping away on her laptop and drinking a cup of coffee. She barely glanced up when he entered the kitchen, but he could see that she had a pot of oatmeal on the stove ready for him.

"Morning mom." He greeted, grabbing a bowl. "Working on another article?"

"Mmhm, the benefits of technology in the education system." Mrs. Kikin yawned. "Ready for high school? It's the first day of four years."

Sam grinned and joined her at the table. "I know, I'm finally going to be able to take AP classes. Hopefully they'll be more challenging."

"But nothing's too challenging for you, my little genius."

"But a little challenge helps exercise the brain." Sam chuckled a bit smugly. "Not that my brain needs much exercising."

Sam's phone alarm chimed again just as he finished breakfast so he quickly put his bowl in the sink, kissed his mom on the cheek, and headed out the door. Instead of taking a bus and actually saving a little time in the mornings, Sam preferred getting up early and walking to school. It wasn't that far and it was a pleasant walk in fair weather. It also gave him a peaceful moment to himself before the school day began. He took a deep breath and smiled.

"Today's going to be a great day."

When Fred could no longer ignore his screaming alarm clock he rolled out of bed and grabbed a quick shower. After he toweled off Fred couldn't help but check himself out in the mirror.

Flexing his muscles, Fred grinned at his reflection. "Man I am one good looking guy."

He got dressed in a pair of jeans and a t shirt, making sure to grab his letterman's jacket. By the end of the summer he had been officially declared his team's co-captain and was thus the only freshman to already have a letter jacket.

Downstairs his dad was sitting in the kitchen reading the newspaper and eating an orange. Fred hungrily spotted a plate of eggs, sausage, and bacon waiting for him.

"Morning dad." Fred sat down to eat. "Not on duty today."

"Nope, I finally got a day off." Mr. O'Leary looked at him. "Want a ride to school today?"

Fred spoke with his mouth full. "Naw, Kevin is picking me up."

As if on que there was a honk outside and Fred scarfed down the rest of his food.

"Later, dad!" He called as he ran out the door.

Kevin and a couple other guys from the team were piled in Kevin's new SUV that he got for his birthday. Kevin shot him an easy grin as Fred got into the passenger seat and they bumped fists.

"Sup dude." They bumped fists. "Ready for the first day of hanging with the kings of the school?"

"Kings of the school?" Fred's eyes widened. "That sounds awesome!"

"Dude, it's more than awesome." Jeffrey piped from the backseat. "Being one of us means going to the coolest parties, getting nerds to do your homework for you, and if you're awesome enough on the field you could even score yourself a free ride to college."

"Not to mention the hot girls." Kevin wagged his eyebrows. "You and Joleena got pretty close during the summer. Always disappearing when we had some down time."

Fred smirked. "Yeah well, what can I say? She couldn't stay away from me."

Truth be told the reason why he and Joleena kept disappearing was because she was trying to prepare him for their fake relationship. They went over boundaries, rules, expectations, and of course they got to know each other a little.

Kevin pulled into one of the best parking spots near the front of the school. Students were milling around, some already in their cliques, and rushing in and out of the school. Fred felt the smallest twinge of nervousness. High school was so much bigger than elementary or middle school had been. He couldn't even see Joe or Sam in the crowd.

"And there are our queens now." Kevin said getting out of car.

Fred stopped looking for his friends and followed the others out of the car. Lounging around in their uniforms were the cheerleaders. Joleena smiled at him and Fred felt his nervousness lift. Joleena had the type of surety about her that you felt confident about yourself just by being around her. He walked up to her and draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey babe." He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"Hey yourself." She shot him a flirty smile and went back to her conversation with the cheerleaders.

Fred let his mind wander and barely listened to the conversations going around him. They were gossiping mostly about other kids he didn't know or care about. He waited until the guys started talking sports before actually joining the conversation.

"Are you kidding me?" Fred scoffed. "The Cubs have no chance against the Yankees this year. My man CC Sabathia is going to make sure of that."

"Puh-lease." Chris rolled his eyes. "My man Jon Lester totally has him beat."

The first warning bell sounded, ending their debate, and everyone filed into the school in a massive herd. Joleena wrapped her arm around Fred's waist, hooking her thumb into his pant loop.

"So do we have any plans after school today?" Fred asked Joleena as they headed to her locker. "I know we have a team meeting but it shouldn't take that long."

Joleena glanced at him. "Well I wasn't planning anything. Why do you ask?"

"Well I thought you'd want to meet my best friends Joe and Sam." Fred smiled with a shrug. "I haven't exactly told them I had a girlfriend, but I'm sure they'd be cool with meeting you."

"No need for that, Fred." Joleena giggled. "We don't have to make a big production out of this."

"Alright. If that's what you want."

He leaned next to her as she put her books in her locker and touched up her makeup. He couldn't help but notice that more than one guy eyed Joleena as they walked past, even some of the seniors. And a few envious looks were thrown his away as well. A smug smile appeared on Fred's lips.

"If you want you can go find Joe and Sam." Joleena said gently. "I think I'll be fine by myself for a little while."

"Cool." Fred started to move away but Joleena cleared her throat.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She smirked playfully.

Fred felt his face grow warm. "Um, r-right. Sorry."

Joleena giggled as Fred stepped towards her again, leaned down, and brushed his lips against her soft cheek. She let out a breathy sigh.

"Very good." She whispered. "You are improving."

"Thanks." He whispered back with a wink. "Later, Joleena."

Trying not to look like a freshman about it, Fred snuck his locker assignment out of his pocket and took a peek. Locker #211 in hallway 2A? Great. Now he was regretting not going to the open house Sam tried to drag him and Joe to. All these hallways looked the same. Glancing at the clock he saw he had ten minutes to get to his locker and get to class.

"Ugh, I have to find someone how can help me without looking like a total dork." He mumbled to himself.

His eyes landed on a blond haired kid walking just ahead. He quickly caught up to them.

"Hey, do you know where hallway 2A is?" He said close to their ear.

"Huh!?"

The person jumped and turned around. She looked too young to be even a freshman and had messy, light blond hair tangled into two braids. She blinked up at him, blushing with embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry what did you say?" She piped.

"Hallway 2A." Fred said with a bit of impatience. "Do you know where it it?"

"U-um," She fumbled with the papers in her arms. "U-uh, I'm headed that way-"

"Do you mind just pointing it out? I'm kinda in a rush."

She bobbed her head and pointed. Fred shot her a quick thank you and took off.

"How lucky is it that we have lockers together?" Joe asked Sam as they waited for Fred.

"Actually, it's not as lucky as you think." Sam adjusted his glasses. "If you guys went to the open house like I did, you would know that they put most of the freshmen in this hallway."

Joe only rolled his eyes. If Sam wasn't his best friend he would call the guy a know it all. Fred came up to them slightly out of breath.

"Hey guys." He said moving in between them to get to his locker. "Sorry I'm late. I was hanging with some of the team."

"Well you made it just in time. The warning bell is going to ring soon." Sam said checking the clock.

"We'll be fine." Fred said dismissively. "So what do you guys got first? I have stupid Algebra I in room 106. I don't even know where that is."

"I have that class so we can go together." Sam said.

"Ugh, I have English Lit I." Joe grumbled. "I have to read like, five novels for that class."

"That sucks." Fred said sympathetically.

The five minute warning bell rang out loudly and students began rushing to class. Fred and Sam took off in one direction for their class and Joe quickly grabbed the books form his locker. He then spun around and collided with someone, knocking them both down and sending their books and papers scattering to the ground.

"Darn it!" Joe exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

He looked up and saw that the person he had knocked over was a young blond girl with messy hair that almost covered her bright blue eyes. She rubbed the bruise on her cheek and blushed.

"S-sorry." She piped in a voice he almost couldn't hear. "I-I didn't mean to."

Joe cringed. The poor thing was practically terrified. He gave her a friendly smile to hopefully portray that he wasn't mad.

"No, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention." He quickly helped sort out their things and saw that they had the same English textbook. "Hey it looks like we have the same class together."

The girl nodded. "And it looks like we're going to be late."

Joe laughed and helped her to her feet. "Then we should hurry then huh?"

Once she was steady on her feet the girl quickly pulled her hand out of Joe's and clutched her things to her chest. As they hurried to their class, Joe couldn't help but notice that her clothes were a little baggy and the colors were slightly faded. Thankfully their classroom wasn't that far away and they made it just before the final bell rang. They quickly took the available seats at the back.

"Whoo, made it just in time." Joe chuckled under his breath just as the teacher came in and closed the door. He turned to the girl and smiled. "My name's Joe by the way, what's yours?"

The girl brush her hair out of her eyes and smiled. "Fina."