Happy Easter everyone! :) It's been a while since I've worked on a fanfic but I hope this one will help me get back into the swing of things. I got this idea after watching an episode of the Simpsons that featured Sideshow Bob and Lisa and suddenly found myself shipping them as a potential future couple. This is my first multi-chapter Simpsons fanfic but hopefully I can do it justice. I also wrote a one-shot fic that acts as a prologue to this story, so feel free to read that one first if you so choose, as I will make small references to it from time to time. In the meantime, enjoy my new story!

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Chapter 1: Botched Beginnings

Lisa couldn't believe the day had finally come. After years of toiling away in a low brow educational system, she had finally graduated and was officially on her way to college.

"Oh how I dreamed of this day! By tomorrow I'll be rubbing elbows with the most prestigiously selected students in the country, be taught by some of the most brilliant-minded professors and receive an education equal to that of John Steinbeck, Sally Ride and Tiger Woods."

At the tender age of 18, Lisa was finally ready for the high levels of education she yearned for. Prior to her graduation from Springfield High, she was immediately accepted to several universities. But there was one in particular she had her eye on and she managed to get into it on a full scholarship.

"We're so proud of you sweetie." Marge gushed, hugging her tightly. "How many parents can say they have a child who got a full acceptance to Stanford University?"

All of Lisa's family had come out with her to the airport where she awaited a private plane to fly her and several other students out to the university in California. Homer and Marge naturally were proud and supportive of Lisa's departure to college but were also saddened that she had to move so far away.

"Just be sure to write to us when you can. Or call, or text, or even insta-face us when you're free." Marge said, keeping a tight hug on her daughter. "Or is it face-a-gram? I lose track of all these social media terms."

"Lisa honey, I don't often say this and I don't want to put any pressure on you but…please, for the love of god, don't screw this up!" Homer pleaded with her. "You got your foot in the door, now ya just gotta kick it down and head-butt the teachers in the face with your knowledge! Someone in this family has to bring honor back to the Simpson name! And we know for damn sure it won't be this bum over here.

"Hey, I could totally succeed and bring back the family honor." Bart said, leaning back on the waiting room chair, his feet propped up on Lisa's suitcase. "I just don't wanna is all…"

"Don't worry Dad, I won't let you down." Lisa assured him. "I won't let any of you down. By the time you see me for winter break, I'll already be in my class's top 10 helping the assistant teachers prepare their back-up curriculum. You'll see."

Lisa hugged both her parents, both who looked hopefully yet worried.

"Just please, please be careful." Marge asked. "Freshman year is the most turbulent and unstable year there for a young college student."

"Yeah it's like going through all your high school years in one long drunken stupor." Homer agreed. "Except you don't have your parents to bail you out of jail when it's over…"

"Have no fear. I have everything planned out exactly, right down to the smallest detail. Nothing can go wrong." Lisa assured them.

Bart scoffed. "Looks like someone already jinxed herself."

"Attention passengers. Private flight 226 is now boarding en route to Stanford, California. Please have your assigned stamped golden tickets out and ready."

"Well this is it. I better get going. I'll miss you guys." Lisa gave her parent's one last hug before turning to Bart. "Well big brother?"

"If you think I'm getting all sappy and huggy feely just because you're leaving for several months, you're sadly mistaken." Bart said, whipping his pony tail over his shoulder as he took a sip out of a can of soda.

"How about a congratulatory hand touch then?" Lisa asked, raising her hand towards him.

Bart arched his eyebrow but then lazily raised his hand towards her. They high fived each other before Bart grabbed her wrist and gave her a quick Indian burn.

"Ouch! What'd you do that for?" Lisa exclaimed rubbing her wrist.

"Check it out." Bart said, pointing to her arm. Lisa removed her hand and saw the words, 'Miss you' marked into her skin.

"Aww, thank you Bart. I'll miss you too."

"Hey, I didn't say it and you can't prove it." Bart said, taking another sip of his drink. Lisa rolled her eyes.

"L-L-Lisa!"

Lisa turned around to see her little sister Maggie, now 11 years old, run up to her and hug her around the middle. "I'm gon-gonna mi-mi-miss you…"

"Aww I'll miss you too Maggie." Lisa said returning the hug. "I'm sorry I won't be around when you start your speech therapy lessons, but I know you'll do well at this new school. Just remember to take it slow and work hard. Always take a deep breath before you talk and the rest will follow."

Maggie took a deep breath and held her sisters hand. "I…will."

After one final group hug, Lisa grabbed her luggage and headed off towards her gate, giving her family one last wave goodbye.

"At last…my road to college starts now!" Lisa exclaimed as she set foot on the plane. As she walked into the aisle, she was met with loud Mexican music that was being performed by a mariachi band.

"What the-?"

"Sorry senorita, this is the Pollo Loco band's private plane to Tijuana. You want the Stanford plane next door." Said a maraca player as he shook his instrument in rhythm.

"D'oh!" Lisa exclaimed and raced off the plane, into the gate next door which thankfully hadn't taken off yet.

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Several hours later, Lisa's plane landed in the private airport of Stanford. There she was met by chauffeurs who drove her and several other students to the exquisite campus and up to the admissions building. The building gleamed against the sun as if it had been newly polished.

"This is so exciting!" Lisa exclaimed as she walked up the steps to the enormous building. "Everything is so refined and glamorous. I can't wait to get started!"

Lisa waited in line for her schedule, practically giddy with anticipation. She finally got to the front where an old woman sat at a desk with a list of names and a pile of schedules. "Name?"

"Lisa Simpson."

The woman looked through her list. "Simpson…Simpson…nope not on the list."

Lisa paused for a moment. "Beg pardon?"

"You heard me. You're names not listed."

Registering her words, Lisa laughed nervously. "But that's…that's not possible. Please check the list again."

The woman read her list and again shook her head. "Nope, still not here. Are you sure you're pronouncing it correctly?"

"Of course I'm pronouncing it correctly, it's my name!" Lisa exclaimed. "I'm Lisa Simpson from Springfield, I was accepted to Stanford University on a full scholarship and I have the plane ticket and letter of acceptance to prove it!"

The woman looked at Lisa with indifference as she shoved her papers in the woman's face. Deciding to humor her, the woman re-checked her list once more but still she shook her head. "I'm sorry miss but you're not appearing anywhere on the list. If you're sure you're meant to be here, I suggest checking in with the dean of admissions. Now move along, you're holding up the line."

Lisa reluctantly stepped out of line, and sat down on a nearby chair. How could she not be on the list of attendees? Was she at the right school? Had she been accepted somewhere else by mistake? Thinking of all the possibilities made her feel lightheaded and she felt as if she were ready to hyperventilate herself into a coma.

"It's alright…it's okay Lisa…" she comforted herself by taking deep breathes. "It's just a small oversight is all. I'm sure once you talk to the dean of admissions, it'll all be cleared up."

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"Well Ms. Simpson, I just went through your records and I'm sorry to say, you were not accepted to Stanford."

Lisa sat in a chair across from the Head Dean of Admissions, Mr. Mason who had managed to locate her application and went over it with a fine tooth comb. After hearing Mr. Mason's statement, Lisa felt like she was going to be sick.

"But…but…there must be some mistake! My acceptance letter…"

"Oh yes there were indeed some mistakes, on both our ends it seems." The dean explained. "You see you were indeed initially granted full admission to the school, but after a glitch in the system was discovered and a second background check was made, further look into your records indicated that you did not meet the schools requirements."

"Not meet requirements!?" Lisa exclaimed, feeling insulted. "I completed every class in Springfield High with flying colors! For god sake, I completed the advanced courses while I was still a freshman!"

"I know Ms. Simpson, it says it all here on your file. However, it seems your school went through a couple of changes during your high school career, becoming a variety of other institutes including a hurricane shelter, a soup kitchen and even… a minimum security prison?" Mr. Mason looked at Lisa with confusion.

Lisa simply sighed in annoyance, remembering the ridiculous changes her school went through over the years. "Our mayor had a habit of cutting back on educational funds and supplies so the school had to do what it could to get money and stay open, including becoming a homeless shelter. I still remember having to share my desk with Jeff the hobo…"

"Yes well, consequently…" Mr. Mason continued. "It seems that some of your school credits went unrecorded during those times and thus did not get added into your GPA. As such, you were left with enough credits to pass high school but not enough to qualify for Stanford."

"This can't be happening…" Lisa shook her head, feeling devastated. "Why didn't the school tell me about this mistake sooner?

"According to my records, the school did send a notice explaining the mistake and offering alternative routes, but they never received a response from you. So instead, they went and completely removed you from the system. We do apologize for this inconvenience and will of course reimburse any expenses you had in coming here."

"Please Mr. Mason, Stanford is my dream school! There has to be something I can do to get in!" Lisa begged desperately. "Please, I'll do anything!"

Mr. Mason thought for a moment as Lisa held her breath in anticipation.

"Well…there is one way…although it would mean an additional year of schooling and would put you amongst intense competition..."

"I'll do it! Whatever it is, I'll do it!" Lisa said hastily.

"Now hold on, hold on. Allow me explain." Mr. Mason said. "You see, to gain the necessary amount of credits to be considered for re-application, you would have to join a private work-study program…

"That doesn't sound too bad…"

"…in Florida."

Lisa gasped in horror.

"Now is where it gets tricky." Mr. Mason went on. "You see Stanford has work-study programs around the world open to students who don't have the financial or complete credentials for initial application. So to give them a fair chance at proving themselves, we enroll them in a yearlong study program to test their dedication and intelligence. The dean and head of the work-study program will assess them and pick the five students they deem most worthy to attend Stanford."

Lisa looked uncertain. "So you're saying I have to attend a different school in another state for an entire year, earn back the credits I didn't get in high school, outshine several other students and win over all my professors just to have a chance of attending Stanford?"

"In a nut shell, yes." Mr. Mason nodded.

Lisa thought for a moment and nodded looking determined. "I'll do it. Anything to get in. But there is a problem you should be aware of though."

"What's that?"

"My family isn't exactly welcome in Florida. There were some…unpleasantries…some years ago that got us a life-long ban." Lisa said remember what Homer did to that alligator. "I'm worried about law enforcement apprehending me as soon as I set foot over the state border. Isn't there another campus I can go to instead?"

"I'm sorry Lisa but Stanford only has one intern program per country. Unless you plan on learning Chinese or Romanian or some other foreign language by next week, Florida's your best bet."

"I see…" Lisa said feeling disappointed. "Well what if…I changed my name? Of at least put my credits under a different alias?"

The dean thought for a moment. "Hmm, that would be rather unorodox…but I suppose if you were already legally known under a different name-"

A light bulb went off in Lisa's brain. "I am! I do have another legal name. As long as it's okay with the school, I'll put all my school credits under that name and transfer it back when I attend next year!"

The dean nodded. "Splendid then. We'll be sure to make a note of that. But let it be known you will be in charge of all the legal paperwork for yourself."

"Consider it done sir." Lisa assured him. "When do I leave?"

"You can board the next flight out of Stanford. I'll be sure to reserve your plane ticket and have an escort drive you to the campus." The dean said, getting out his BlackBerry and typing into it.

"Thank you sir." Lisa said, before suddenly becoming uncomfortable. "Now…I should mention that I don't have much in terms of money…my parents were counting on me getting a scholarship and didn't save up much for college…"

"That won't be an issue Ms. Simpson." Mr. Mason assured her. "Since you're now involved in the work-study program, Stanford will be paying your room and board so long as your grades remain consistent with its standards." He then picked up a pamphlet and handed it to her. "Here. You'll be staying at the Florida State University main campus where you will attend all English Major Courses, as indicated by your missing credit report."

Lisa took the pamphlet which featured a nice school campus with lots of tall brick buildings surrounded by palm trees. It looked nice enough, but not as nice as Stanford.

"I do want to apologize again on behalf of Stanford for the inconvenience." Mr. Mason said sincerely. "Hopefully once you've arrive back next year, all this trouble will have all been worth the wait. I wish there was another quicker way of fixing this, but the school can only do so much. From here on out, the rest is up to you Ms. Simpson."

"Don't worry Mr. Mason. I will get back into Stanford and continue my college career. You can count on it!"

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Half an hour later, Lisa left the campus for the airport in the same limo that brought her there. She gazed back at the beautiful campus with longing. Only one more year and she'd be back where she belonged…

She then took out her phone and dialed in Bart's number. "Please pick up…"

"Hello Gus's Grisly Guts Market. You pick um, we stick um."

"Bart! It's me! I need a favor-"

"Geez Lise already? You've barely been gone a day and already I'm bailing you out-"

"Will you be quiet!? I don't have much time before I'm back on the plane. Now listen, some complicated stuff just went down and long story short, I'm on my way to Florida."

"Florida? I thought we were still banned from that place after the whole Alligator incident?"

"Yes, I know we still are. Which is why I need your help. I need a new identity. Or more accurately, an old one. I need you to access our old alternate ID records. You know, the ones mom keeps in a box in the attic?"

"Ah yes, the ol memory box." Bart said fondly. "So which alias you want me digging up for you? How about mom's old name, Chesty LaRue?"

"No Bart, I need something college appropriate." Lisa thought for a moment before deciding. "Use the one from Terror Lake. That way I won't have any trouble with the FBI. Send it to your friend at the precinct and have the info uploaded within the next 5 hours. Then send my new license in the mail to Florida State University. With any luck, no one at the airport or college will need to check it before then."

"Gotcha. Message ya once it's done." Bart then hung up and dialed a new number. "Yes I'd like to speak to Lieutenant Wiggum please…Ralph my main man! I need ya to do me another favor. This time, I'll be sure to pay ya with 2 boxes of your favorite Girl Scout cookies."

"Yay, I get special Do-Si-Do treats for helping!" Ralph yelled over the phone.

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Meanwhile, later that night down in Florida, in a small apartment just outside the University State Campus, the former criminal known as Sideshow Bob lay in bed tossing and turning, large beads of sweat running down his face. Moaning loudly, he awoke with a gasp and shot straight up breathing heavily. Frantically he looked around his room but saw it was the same as it was before.

"Just…a dream…"

He stood up, barely able to balance on his abnormally large feet, and went straight to the bathroom, splashing water into his face. His bushy red hair drooped down, sticking to the mixture of sweat and water on his face.

"Another nightmare… another premature night of unrest…"

Once he had gotten the hair out of his eyes, Bob made his way back to bed yet did not fall back asleep. Lying on his side, he looked over at the clock on the mantle which read four o'clock AM. He grumbled angrily, grabbed his pillow and pulled it over his face trying to smother himself. Just what he needed the weekend before fall semester, another rough night of attempted sleep that would leave him looking exhausted and sickly to his students and fellow teachers. It was the third time that week it happened and he was getting sick of it.

"Oh Morpheus, you cruel winged daemon, why can't you deliver me just one peaceful night of rest?"

While most people would usually fall back asleep after a nightmare, Bob knew no rest would come for him. How could it when he was so afraid…afraid of the fire that consumed his dreams. Afraid of the creature that caused the flames, a spikey haired demon with an obnoxious laugh that reminded him so much of his old hated nemesis…

It had been ten years since he'd seen him, but even now as Bob lay awake staring at the ceiling till the dawn broke, he could still picture the wicked creature standing over him, taunting and laughing…always laughing…

Before he knew it, his alarm had gone off and Bob found himself walking back to his bathroom, his eyes bloodshot and glazed over in a zombiefied state. He looked at his ragged self in the mirror and clenched his fists, feeling his anger surge.

"Someday I will be rid of you demon!" He said to himself, the evil creature still visible in his head. "Someday I will be rid of you permanently and only then will I finally have a peaceful nights rest…until then I shall continue to curse you and the wretched family that spawned you…may the worst possible thing in the world happen to you ten fold...Bart Simpson…"

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