Hello, because I had a sudden urge to do so, I rewrote the first chapter. Hopefully it's better. No promises this time as to whether I'm ever going to update this :)

Sarah's name is Jenny here, because her name was Jenny in San Diego while in high school. It's actually refreshing to write her as Jenny, it gives her a different character. Chuck vs the Cougars had big part in shaping this fic since it starts off where in that particular episode Sarah's having a flashback on Dick stuffing Mark into a locker.

For future reference, it's alternate universe where Chuck and Sarah are highschoolers, but it vaguely follows the series in some parts. Vaguely.

Disclaimer: Chuck will be miiiiine!

x

The Curly-Haired Boy

A boy meets a girl.

x

Jenny slams her locker closed and hits it one more time for good measure. Full of red-hot fury, she turns, unable to watch the bullying anymore. Dick Duffy is still hurling abuse at his latest victim and the gaggle of cheerleaders do nothing but egg him on with their giggling.

Gritting her teeth, she tears her gaze away with a jerk of the head but mid-step slams into something solid. Her shoulder whips back and losing her balance, the impact to the floor jars her whole body.

Books go sliding everywhere with flapping pages and crumpled corners.

She looks up angrily, intending to snap at the perpetrator, but the biting remark dies on her lips. Taken aback, she can only watch the brown headed boy scrambling after the textbooks that are kicked out of the way by people passing by.

The initial flash of anger dissipates even as the jocks turn their attention back to her, though she knows she should've been annoyed at being humiliated again.

"Oh gosh! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, nothing's gone right today," The boy rambles, as she crouches next to him.

"Ellie's really worried because we're running out of money, and Morgan's driving me crazy with his plans to stalk the new girl," He doesn't look at her but gropes around blindly for any missing items. He adds glumly, "I'm so clumsy."

Students grumble and push carelessly past them, but Jenny doesn't notice much except for the how cute he looks agitated and absentminded.

"It's okay," Jenny assures him quietly. It feels weird to hear her own voice for the first time today.

He looks up at her voice, and stares at her. She averts her gaze and reaches unobtrusively to her hair, wondering if someone threw something in it without her noticing again. Jenny looks back up, but doesn't know what to say. He looked familiar, but she's always kept her head down to avoid being made a target so much that she wouldn't have noticed him passing in the halls anyway.

"Um," He runs a hand through his messy mop of chocolate curls, and on the spot Jenny decides she likes curls very much on a guy. He smiles awkwardly at her, light glances off the metal wire on his teeth; she reveals her own braces in a matching grin.

"Here." He hands her the pile of books, and she clutches them like a protective shield.

Without the burden, Jenny watches him look around, and realises with a start that the halls were empty but for the two of them. The bell must have rung without them noticing. "Thank you," She says, and hopes it adequately conveys her appreciation.

Jenny doesn't get many opportunities to practice her small talk, and so she just smiles and doesn't speak. Suddenly feeling self conscious, she takes advantage of his distraction to straighten her shirt.

She knew she wasn't beautiful or pretty, but he's cute, and when he straightens, he's very tall but thin. An oversize baseball cap nestles backwards over his head, but a few straggly curls escape and end up mashed on his forehead. He's got a green shirt that hangs loosely, but well-fitting faded jeans. He looks like he was the kind of guy well-liked by everyone.

Just then, he shifts from one foot to another, and she catches the impatient movement. Desperate to keep the conversation going she desperately tries to think of a topic. His eyes lower to the ground and she follows his uncomfortable gaze down. Her eyes alight on well-loved black All Stars, and admiring them, she lifts her head to tell him so.

With that compliment, he lights up like a Christmas tree with his huge smile and a wave of relief washes over Jenny.

Pride radiates from him. "Thanks! Ellie got them for me a while ago for my birthday as a treat. She's the best sister." He laughs, "She said it would be a good conversation starter, even though it would be at my expense."

She laughs, but not from real humour- but from how infectious his laugh is. She runs her fingers up and down the spine of her chemistry book restlessly.

"I'm Chuck by the way," He sticks his hand out. "Chuck Bartowski."

Jenny almost laughs out loud at the irony of his matching name with his footwear- the pun clearly intended by his sister- but doesn't show her amusement in case it happened to annoy him. Surely this wasn't the first time that joke came up.

She takes his hand, it's a little moist. "I'm Jenny Burton."

Chuck squeezes her hand gently. "Jenny Burton", he declares, "It's nice to meet you… but I've really got to run since we're both late to class and I really don't need a detention on my plate too."

He bobs up and down enthusiastically on the balls of his feet but it feels great when she gets the feeling that his rush isn't to get away from her.

"Okay," She mumbles and hitches her backpack up higher.

Flashing her a large grin, he waves his hand behind him and backs away. "See you round, Jenny!" He shouts over his shoulder, breaking into a run.

Behind her, she can hear Mark rattling the locker with pleads for help, but she ignores him for a moment.

Jenny finds herself smiling and even humming a small tune she'd heard off their scratchy new radio yesterday as she watches him run off the opposite direction; the rubber sole of his shoe skids against the linoleum of the floor and his gangly form stumbles slightly as he tears around the corner.

"See you." She whispers to herself.

You can't fight the animal magnetism. Like the attraction between Sarah and Chuck. So review, do it. :P

I'll shut up now. Especially about the animal magnetism. Ignore that.