I don't own the Breakfast Club

Enjoy!

Claire was the first one to take a seat at one of the lunch tables. She was glad that lunchtime had finally come. After hearing numerous rumors about Andrew Clark being kicked off the wrestling team and the altercation that Angelo had with Allison earlier this morning, her curiosity was piqued. Claire couldn't sit still in her classes as whispers about what had happened circled around her. As usual, good gossip had to be stopped by the professors just when they were about to start class.

Claire looked up when she heard the loud, rambunctious hollers coming from the wrestling team as they took a seat at an empty table. For someone who got punched, Angelo seemed to be happy. Claire couldn't imagine how Andrew must have been feeling, especially when his career as a wrestling ended abruptly. From what Claire had learned these past couple of weeks, nothing good always lasted. What she considered to be good in her life, she felt it was slowly slipping out of her hands.

The only good thing that Claire could think of is the new group that she had assimilated to…yet she had her moment of doubt of whether she fitted in. Everyone, aside from John at times, welcomed her to their conversations and allowed her to engage.

Nothing happens overnight Claire thought to herself, even though it had been a couple of weeks since Saturday detention. She looked down at the chicken and spinach salad that she had prepared last night for lunch. She wondered where everyone was. Usually Allison would be the first one at one of the tables. Claire poked at the tender chicken piece with her fork until the heard heels clacking against the floor in sync. Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes when those high heels stopped at the table where she was sitting. Great Claire thought as her grip gently tightened around her fork. After what Jennifer had said about her parents, Claire didn't even want to look at her.

Jennifer clicked her tongue and looked at Jodie and Katie. "Oh how sad," she said and pouted at the sight of Claire sitting by herself, "where are the rest of your so-called friends, Claire?"

Claire couldn't believe that she was out of Jennifer's group, this girl still had the power to make her feel uncomfortable. At least Claire didn't have to go along with what she said. She remained quiet and kept her eyes cast to the table, hoping that someone would join her seat.

The silence that passed between Claire and the group was palpable. Jennifer hated being ignored. She slammed the palms of her hand on the lunch table, causing Claire to jump in her seat. "I'm talking to you Claire."

Claire slowly lifted her eyes and looked at Jennifer. She could tell the power that Jennifer still had over her and how much she enjoyed it. The malice that she had in her eyes and that smirk on her lips. Claire wished that she had the courage to slap it off her face, but she would stoop down to Jennifer's level…like she had been when she was part of the group. Claire blinked and maintained a calm and poised demeanor. "Can I help you, Jennifer?" she asked her.

That smirk didn't disappear from her lips as she stared down at Claire. "You're in our seat."

Really? Claire thought. Out of every spiteful thing that Jennifer could say to her, this was her best? Claire shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and looked at Jennifer. "I don't see your name on it."

Jennifer raised an eyebrow as she looked at Claire. She then turned her attention to her friends behind her and let out a chuckle. "Can you believe this girls? Little Claire thinks she's better than us." Her claim was enough to make Katie and Jodie giggle.

Claire felt her stomach churn. Now that she was viewing their behavior, was this the same way that she had acted? It was ridiculous! "Do you really think you can intimidate me Jennifer?" Claire heard those words leaving her mouth. It was too late to take them back, but she wasn't going to fold under pressure.

"Intimidate you?" Jennifer echoed Claire's words and let out a laughter, "oh honey, I'm just getting started. Just because you pulled a little stunt by being condescending to Katie and leaving the group doesn't mean that you're going to get away with it."

Claire knew what Jennifer was capable of. This girl could make or break anyone's reputation at Shermer High. She had already achieved in tarnishing Claire's reputation when she mentioned about her parents getting a divorce, but that was only the beginning. "Is that what you did to Christina?" Claire asked, already knowing the answer to that question.

"Let's just say that Christina messed with the wrong girl," Jennifer cryptically told her. Maybe Claire would never find out what happened, but when Jennifer found at that Christina liked the same guy that Katie did, that was backstabbing and she couldn't allow that.

Claire scoffed and rolled her eyes at Jennifer. She slowly got up from the table and looked at Jennifer at eye-level. "You may think you're tough Jennifer, but you're not."

Jennifer was taken aback by Claire's stance. "Tread carefully Claire. I know a lot about you than you realize. I would hate to see everything that you told us spread around the school."

It was at this moment that Claire realized that she had confided in the wrong people. How could she know that things would turn out this way? However, Claire also had the upper hand. "Be careful Jennifer, your ugliness is showing. Don't think that I don't know about you either."

Jennifer's eyes flashed as she reached out and grabbed a firm hold of Claire's arm. Claire flinched at the firm grip as Jennifer's hand tightened, her nails sinking into Claire's smooth skin. "Was that a threat Standish?" she accused through gritted teeth. "Just because you went ahead and walked away doesn't make you better than us. This is still my school and I'm not gonna have you flouncing around thinking that you own the place."

Claire's eyes stung with tears at the firm hold of her arm. "Is this what this is all about?" Claire asked Jennifer, "your social hierarchy? God, Jennifer. I feel so bad for you." She flinched as she felt Jennifer's talons digging deeper to her skin. Where was a teacher when she needed one?

"Hey!" a familiar voice suddenly came to the proximity of the lunch table as the four girls turned their heads to see.

Claire's eyes widened when she saw John Bender approaching the table.

John's eyes locked with Claire's. From what he could see in her eyes, there was a mixture of defiance and a plea for help. His eyes turned towards Jennifer and then at the firm grip that she had around Claire's arm. It was an act that was all too familiar to him and he couldn't believe that Claire was going through it. They may not have gotten off on the right foot, but John couldn't stand seeing her being handled like that. John looked up at Jennifer. "I think you'd better let her go, Cleopatra."

"What's it to you, Bender?" Jennifer asked as she defiantly kept a firm hold on Claire's arm. "Am I hurting your little 'baby doll?'"

Leave to these arrogant losers to spread rumors about him and Claire. John took a step forward and just by doing that, he could see the fear that passed Jennifer's eyes. He noticed her two cronies whispering to her to walk away and not deal with someone like him. "You'll be hurting a lot more if you don't let her go," he told her.

"What's it to you Bender?" Jennifer asked him, "can't I have a word with my friend here?"

"Not when your friend," John sarcastically said the word, "is squirming under your grip." In a swift motion, John grabbed Jennifer's wrist and pulled it away from Claire's arm. He turned her arm upright and looked at her, his eyes flaring.

A collective gasp escaped from Katie and Jodie as they stared at John.

"Get your paws off me!" Jennifer ordered as she released herself from John's grip, "how dare you manhandle me like that. My father will hear about this!"

"Sue me," John simply said to Jennifer and then turned his attention to Claire who was rubbing the spot on her arm that Jennifer had grabbed. The area had turned pink but he let out a sigh of relief that there wasn't any blood on there. Otherwise, he would be giving Jennifer hell for what she did. "You okay, Cherry?" he asked Claire.

Claire felt the slight pain as her fingers traced the crescent moon imprints from Jennifer's nails. "Yeah," she answered, her voice barely a whisper and nodded her head at John.

"Why don't you march on outta here?" John told Jennifer and the other two behind her. When they didn't budge, John took a step forward, "or I might go ahead and do that for you."

Jennifer scoffed and shook her head at John. "Can't believe this. Touched by a disgusting greaser. Let's go girls," she ordered as they turned on their heel and marched away from the table.

And good riddance John thought as he saw them flouncing away from the table. If they had stayed any second longer, he would have lost his nerve. He turned around and looked at Claire who had sank back to her seat, nursing the wound that was in her arm. "You need to go to the nurse for that?" he asked her.

"No," Claire shook her head, "I'm fine."

He may have seen those bratty tears of hers from the library but this time, those were tears that held a lot of pain. "Look," John began, "I ain't one to tell you to—"

"Don't worry about it, John," Claire interrupted him. The last thing she wanted to hear was 'don't listen to them' or 'you're better than they are.' Of course John would never say such words to her, but she didn't want anyone's sympathy.

John shrugged his shoulders at her interruption. It made it easier for him since he didn't know the first thing at how to console her. "You got it, princess," he said and yet, he took his seat beside her.

After a couple of minutes passed, Allison joined the group along with Andrew. After she had found him standing by her locker before lunch period, Allison was thrilled that he had shown up to school regardless of what she had heard. As they greeted John and Claire and took their seats at the table, there was palpable tension that Andrew couldn't shake off. "What's with you two?" he asked as he looked from John and Claire.

"Nothing," Claire quickly answered before John went on explaining what had happened. "Where were you this morning? I didn't see you first period."

"Skipped it," Andrew told Claire, "I wasn't in the mood for it. I hope I didn't miss too much of history class."

"Other than Mr. Falco talking about himself, you didn't miss anything," Claire assured him. "But I've been hearing a rumor going around that you—"

"—have been kicked off the team," Andrew finished for her, "yeah. Those rumors are right."

"So what happened?" Claire asked.

"Angelo happened," Andrew told Claire. "We were practicing during the meet and he thought that he could mouth off at me. I let my temper get the better of me and I clocked him in the face."

Claire stared at Andrew, speechless.

"Then it turned into a full-blown fight. Coach pulled us apart and after my first warning with what happened to Lester, he kicked me off the team."

"But what did Angelo say?" Claire asked him.

"Angelo assumed that he was the toughest on the wrestling team," Allison jumped in, sensing Andrew's discomfort to bring up the reason as to what had happened. She couldn't stand seeing Andrew reliving those moments when he had been kicked off the team.

Claire rolled her eyes at Allison's explanation. "Such a guy move."

Just then, the four of them looked up when Brian and Susan approached their table. "Look who decided to join us," John announced as they took their seats at the table, "did you two get lost or something?"

"Sorry," Susan said as she took her seat next to Allison and Brian sat next to her. "We just finished our tutoring session. Look what Brian got me." Susan couldn't help but share the gift with the rest of the group.

Both Andrew and Claire shared a smile with one another. That was Brian, being adorable with someone he was smitten with. Allison took the case and looked it over, taking in the quality of the colored pencil. John raised an eyebrow as he looked at Brian. "Colored pencils? That's what you got for Picasso?"

"Oh hush John," Susan jokingly said, "I love them."

John had never seen someone as enthusiastic over something as small as colored pencils. "Not really my idea of romance but whatever floats your boat, Picasso," he said. His eyes fell on Brian once more and then his eyes caught a black and purple smudge that was on his cheek. "What happened to you?" he asked him.

"What?" Brian asked as he looked at John.

"How'd you get that?" John asked and motioned to the bruise that had formed on his cheek.

Crap Brian thought. He hadn't been able to hide it before the school day was over.

"Get what?" Susan asked as she gently took a hold of Brian's chin and turned his neck to get a better look. Her eyes widened when she noticed the bruise. "Brian, what happened?" she asked. How could she not have seen this when he was tutoring her?

Allison and Brian exchanged a glance with one another. Brian could tell that to avoid another conflict, it was better to keep his mouth shut about it. "I was hit by a locker," Brian simply answered.

John could sense that type of excuse a mile away. Other than saying that he fell, getting hit by a locker was very creative. "Cut the crap, dweeb," he said, "tell us what really happened."

"He did get hit by a locker," Allison spoke up, "my locker to be exact. He wasn't looking where he was going."

"Yeah," Brian agreed, "clumsy me." He slightly flinched when Susan gently brushed her thumb over his cheek. "I'll be okay, Susan, don't worry about it."

It was just a bruise but the pain that had caused it was deep. "Just be careful next time," Susan told him. She gave his hand a squeeze and then got up from her seat to go and get that grilled cheese that she had been craving for.

Aside from the cause of the bruise that still lingered in John's mind, his lips tilted into a smirk as he looked at Brian. The way that those two interacted didn't go unnoticed by him.

"What?" Brian asked when he saw John's eyes on him.

"Look at you, nerd," John said, who had been carefully dissecting the interaction between him and Susan, "tutoring, gifts…did you get to first base yet?"

"John!" Claire elbowed him and looked at Brian apologetically. "Don't listen to him Brian."

Brian felt himself blushing at John's question. "I don't know what you mean Bender but Susan—"

"She kissed you?" Allison asked as her eyes widened with mischief.

"It's about time," Andrew spoke up, "how was it?"

Brian couldn't believe that he had to describe what his first moment with Susan was like. All these questions being thrown at him…he didn't know where to begin. He glanced over at Claire, who gave him a shrug of her shoulders. He had opened part of the conversation and now he had to close it before Susan got back.

As for Claire, she was glad that she was surrounded with the people that she considered to be her friends. Their presence was enough for her to forget about the interaction she had with Jennifer and the swelling that was beginning to decrease on her arm.