A/N: ahahaha, look! an actual chapter long fanfic that will be revised and planned out with a reAL PLOT ZOMG !

anyway; this was an idea that sprang in my mind because for some complicated reason that i don't need to get into, i have to take the special ed bus for medical reasons, which means i deal with these students and all their...crazy adventures LOL i love them dearly-they were obviously inspirational enough that i had to do this story...

the original format of this story was a roleplay between me and my friend kelly, also known as ketgirl1992 ;D she is a teacher, and also works with these types of students (tho they're not high schoolers; they're small kindergardners) but along with my research, and her wide knowledge of these disorders and behaviors, we tried to make this story as accruate as possible when we try to portray an autistic student or someone with pdd-nos...i think that's what it's called? i'd like to make it clear that we're in no way trying to insult special education students...just merely writing about them for the sake of fanfiction! and if anything seems off about the way they're portrayed (or anything about the writing!) please read and review; we'd be happy to hear what you have to say C:

now this story is still a work and preogress-the two of us still have to rp most of the plot in order to get it all worked out and stuff, so i can't promise for a constant updates...plus i have to copy and paste from our skype convos, delete username/time info and revise our writing to make it more fluent and legible.

'ight i'm getting sick of this long author's note so PLEASE! enjoy but ignore the crappy title~

We do not own Legend of Zelda, or any of the characters BUT our OC. We are writing this for entertainment. SPANKS! C8

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The first day of school. It smells like freshly coated paint and waxed floors, although the walls are bare and a blinding white color. Teachers are greeting each other after a long summer break which helped rejuvenate their high spirits for the new school year before they would start to deteriorate by the time it's Christmas Break. The adults checked into every classroom to socialize with their co workers about where they went on vacation or how their child one a sports competition, all while ignoring the petite blonde man that shuffled through the hallways with a huge stack of folders, files and papers supported by two thin arms. He whispered to himself, conscious of not dropping his work, while ignoring the skeptical looks of his fellow teachers.

He was the oddball teacher; the young boy with fair, neatly brushed hair that folded perfectly around his soft face and rosy cheeks and occasionally bounced with each step he took, wide eyes that could easily pass as those of a kindergartner, and simple attire. He seemed normal enough, but by the way he is somehow isolated from his fellow peers and is overly enthusiastic about his job...it was an attitude not commonly shared among teachers and advisers. He knew he was judged. But they didn't know that he knew.

The young managed to push open his classroom door by pressing his hip down on the handle and using his body weight to push it wide open, a few teachers eying him down the hallway until they continued on with their own conversations.

Red sighed as he walked into the tiny classroom. It only had twelve seats but that was enough for him. He looked around and observed the dark ashy, slate colors. It wouldn't take long for him to ask the children to create their own artwork to give this classroom a bit more color; in about 8 minutes as his wristwatch says. The young man smiled as he sat down at his desk and grabbed the papers for his introduction lesson and he smiled at the door, waiting with patient eagerness for the children to come in.

Even though this was his second year at this high school, Red wasn't exactly "accepted" by the veterans of the previous years. It could simply be because of their jealousy, the fact that Red barely stepped out of college, a fresh masters degree in hand before landing a stable job so quickly. Or the praise he received last year by the parents or guardians of the graduating class that gave him the standing as one of the most influential teachers the school has ever had. There would be no surprised if Red earned teacher of the year any day now.

Believe it or not, teachers could be outcasts too.

But Red's job was to assist the children who aren't fully developed and need extra help and attention in order for them to succeed-that's the oath he took himself throughout college while learning to become a special education teacher, and he was sticking to it. Despite the praise and success he received last year, it was an overall dull first experience when focusing on the daily routine, which never seemed to change. Everyone was well behaved and he has never gotten itnto trouble with the other teachers.

Red's lips curled into a smile as he rearranged some personal belongings on his desk that stood proudly in the front of the little room.

"You got this, Red. Don't be nervous...everything will be okay."

This will be an excellent year, he could feel it in his gut. Something good will come along and he won't regret it. Whatever it may be...

The minute hand was past the 12 on the large clock above the doorway, and Red could already hear the mobs of children piling into the school and shouting off the walls of the hallways as they went to their lockers. Gradually, the children Red were waiting for, his students started filing in; the children from last year, flinging their arms around Red, so overjoyed to see him, or others being painfully shy, the new ones, refusing to make eye contact with their pupils.

"Mr. Red!" The boys and girls exclaimed in delight. "We've missed you!"

He recognized every beaming face that approached him, every happy laugh that entered the room. Red couldn't help but laugh and hug them back. It was all so contagious that it was making Red's heart flutter with utter joy when the children cheered at the sight of him. Except one boy. He stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the group of children who were exploring the classroom. That mop of dirty blonde hair shielded his eyes, as well as the thick spectacles resting on the tip of his nose and over sized sports jersey were easy to pick out of a crowd, but Red didn't falter with his welcoming smile towards the boy. He must be a new student.

After all the excitement of the first fifteen minutes of preparation time, Red smiled a huge, bright grin as he motioned the children to sit down. With the help of the two teacher aids in the classroom, who came along with the children, they periodically sat down at their own pace and eventually averted their attention to the front of the room, with a few occasional glances at other children, but his hand claps helped win their undivided attention within a few seconds. Red smiled to himself, then flashed his grin across the room, his hands folded happily in front of his chest as he began his lecture.

"Good morning, children! Welcome to the first day of classes! For the newer kids around here; my name is Red and I'll be your coach this year and maybe for more years to come! And for the older kids; welcome back. It's so nice to see you all again. Um, I hope you all had a great summer!"

Red gave a reassuring smile to the quieter kids of the class, which he easily spotted, but again, he quickly noticed that same dirty blonde boy with glasses sitting in the back, who was trying everything not make eye-contact with him. But that was okay, he would give him time.

While the shy boy squirmed in his seat and bowed his head down to look at his lap, the other children let out a chorus of 'hello Mr. Red' 's or any other welcoming jeers. The two teacher aids at either corner of the room would rush over to some of the children to help calm them down if they got too out of hand.

Red giggled and clapped his hands again to quiet them down. "Alright, kids! I want this to be a fun first lesson where we can all get to meet each other and everything, and since I know you guys are probably tired after the summer, I brought some special things with me..." He took the opportunity to swiftly move over to his bag hidden behind his desk and dumped the contents on the clean surface. There was an array of paper, paint and pencils in all kinds of colors and qualities; enough to momentarily dazzle the children. Reason number 153 why Red was such an outstanding teacher: he always gets the best quality supplies for his students.

"I don't know about you, but I think this classroom is a little dreary, so please-," he held his outstretched hand towards the art supplies, "-grab something to your liking and start coloring up some nice pictures for this place and get to know each other in the meantime. Have fun and loosen up!"

Red hopped on his toes to show his enthusiasm for the children, who were getting restless and ignored the dismissive look of the aids. "I'll come by your tables one by one to meet up with each and everyone of you. So, please, enjoy yourself." Red smiled his bright smile as he pointed to the first child as an order to go grab their supplies.

The second Red gave the signal to that single child, a handful of other kids shot up from their chairs and started crowding around Red's desk, resulting in the aids to hurry over to the front to keep them in order and from shoving each other. Red began to laugh at the display and quickly intervened to assist the other teachers. Some kids grabbed anything they could get their hands on and darted back to their seats, but some, however, were being more picky and thoughtful with their choices and took longer to gather their supplies. The young boy sitting in the back was the slowest, and therefore, last to get up from his seat, scuffling towards Red's desk and carefully choosing his favorite color markers and paper. He took what he needed and quickly headed back to his desk, as Red watched the whole process from the side of the room.

The boy hardly drew; he spent more time organizing the diverse markers in size order than thinking of what picture he wanted to do. Red assumed he already forgot what the assignment was. Soon, he began picking up the markers in order of color and started to scribble nonsense with enough pressure to rip a hole through the paper. However, Red held his comments to himself and began making his way around the room, keeping his full attention on the child in front of him at that moment.

"You got a new puppy! How cute! Girl or Boy?"

"It's a boy! And...and guess what his name is?"

"Hmm. Is it Red?"

"No silly! It's Spike!"

"Oh! What a perfect name! Why don't you draw him for me and I'll put it up on the wall, okay?"

Red went by every single desk; personally greeting the new students and welcoming back the children from last year, all the while making mental notes in his head as he neared that quiet boy, and when he did, he mustered the friendliest smile, trying not to intimidate him in the process.

"Hello there! And who are you?"

The boy peeked up over his glasses and looked at Red's shirt, then back down to his lap, loosing interest in the markers.

"Ethan."

Red smiled and crouched down next to him as he noted the drawing the boy was making. "Nice to meet you, Ethan. Are you looking forward to your first year here?"

He began kicking his legs and playing with his fingers in a random pattern. "No," he said flatly and frowned, still not looking up.

Red looked sadly at the boy. "How come? Do you want to tell me why or don't you want to talk about it today?"

"No!" Ethan shouted, attracting the attention of the other children who were quietly drawing at their desks.

Red didn't react at the small outburst. He just smiled reassuringly at the young boy and stood up again to walk back to his place in the front of the room. "That's alright, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just want you to know that I'm sure you'll enjoy it here and if you want to talk about something or have any questions, please don't hesitate to visit me, okay?" With that Red, walked back to his desk with a small wave to say goodbye to Ethan and began writing down the rest of his observations once he sat down. Ethan didn't say a word.

Throughout the day, Ethan would distant himself from the other children, even if they were the ones to approach him and introduce themselves. He never raised his hand to answer a question, and barely ate his lunch. And he always had his eyes down casted to avoid looking at anybody else. At the end of the day, the children were all gathered together in a group, waiting near the back doors of the school waiting for their buses. Ethan shoved his way through the children so he could be the only one to sit on the bench, clutching his bag to his chest, his head bowed once again. The boy's actions ached poor Red's heart, so much it would show on his face, resulting in one of the aids, or even children, to question him. All the other children were fine and well behaved.

This boy, though. Him in particular concerned Red, and was on his mind all day from the drive home to his apartment complex a few towns over. The young man was greeted by his two pet cats, both well groomed as they rubbed past his ankles, welcoming him home. He smiled down at his "roommates" and heated up a hastily made dinner from the night before, although barely touching it, as his mind was constantly racing with thoughts that never seemed to settle. It wasn't until he put himself to bed was he able to calm his heavy body after an exhausting first day. And hardly anything happened.

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The first week of school has passed. So far Red got along pretty well with all the children and some were even showing slight improvement; even though it has only been a week. By Friday , Red was filled with joy when he noticed this progression, and beamed as he waved the children off to their next class, with a smile directed towards every individual child goodbye as he waited for the last child to approach the door, which was Ethan. From day one, Ethan has intrigued Red towards more than just plain curiosity. So far all the children have progressed, even only slightly. But he hasn't at all. Not that Red minded, of course! Some children needed more space and needed more time to improve and he was never one to push that idea! But he was beginning to worry at the slight rude tone the child would give him at the simplest questions, even with the calmest smiled on Red's innocent features.

"Hey Ethan, can we talk for a minute?" Red asked softly with a smile as he closed the door before the child could leave, not giving him much of a choice but to obey.

Fourth period just started, and the other children were going off to the gym for Physical Education class. Ethan was yet again, last to get on line, but was stopped by Red, who allowed the aids to lead the rest of the children to the gym. Getting a bit irked from the disruption in his routine, Ethan grudgingly sat back down in his chair, arms crossed, and head turned away.

Red grabbed a chair as he sat down next to Ethan at his tiny desk. "Hey, Ethan? How are you feeling? I noticed today you were quieter than usual. Have you slept well?" Red tried to make small talk with the boy to ease him with both of his hands prompted formally on his lap, leaning in and awaiting an answer.

A few seconds pass before Ethan began to move his hands in front of him, trying to articulate a reply while conveying his feelings through his hand movements. "No...yes...sorta."

"Well, sorta is good enough, right? Did you dream about anything?" Red asked nicely as he began pouring a cup of tea from his crimson travel mug which he reached over to grab from his desk. It was his off period, after all. "Would you like a cup as well, Ethan?"

Ethan thought of the question but didn't answer. He instead started pointing towards his lunchbox in his cubby located underneath the windows, and began grunting with each eager point of his finger, and began groaning every moment he didn't have his lunch in front of him.

Red noted Ethan's behavior. "If you want you can eat lunch, if you don't mind me joining." He smiled sweetly a the boy.

"Mm!" Ethan began to squirm in his seat and pointed more frantically at his lunchbox.

Red nodded, giving him a stern look. "You can grab it yourself."

Ethan kicked back his chair and ran over to his storage cubby, taking the box and plopping back down in his seat and began taking out his food, which was very small and badly prepared-a badly cut wheat sandwich with a few slabs of turkey, a bruised apple, and a half empty crumbled water bottle.

Red noted the poor lunch, but held the grimace to himself. "Do you want some tea or fresh water, perhaps?" Red asked in a calming tone.

"No." The boy began nibbling at just the meat, pushing the bread away. "I hate crusts, I hate them." He frowned at the two pieces of bread which still had the crusts attached.

Red pouted at the bread, then at Ethan. "Well, I could get a knife and cut it for you. But wouldn't it be better to eat the crust? They're good for you!" Red smiled.

"No!" Ethan cried, his cheeks heating up in anger. "Dad knows I hate crusts. Hate them!"

"Hmm, that's not nice of daddy. Maybe he forgot?" Red walked to his desk and grabbed a knife from his bag to cut the crusts off. "So, what's your father like? Is he nice?"

Ethan still didn't want his bread, even with the crusts off, so he began picking at it like what he did with his turkey. "My dad? My dad is very tall and strong. And mean lookin'. But I don't see him everyday." He mumbled, his eyes focused on his hands that worked at picking apart his food.

Red looked at Ethan with sadness in his eyes. "Oh, does he work a lot?"

"Uh, yeah." Ethan moved on from his half eaten sandwich to his bad apple, biting it on the non bruised side. "He's angry a lot." He mumbled through his filled mouth.

Red frowned at the apple which was obviously not eatable anymore. "Hm... that's not a good thing...what about your mom?"

Ethan put the apple in his lap and started picking at the black stuff on his apple with his finger nail. "She went grocery shopping"

Red's eyebrows were raised, perplexed by his answer. "O-oh? For how long?"

He blood ran cold as Ethan solemnly answered.

"I dunno." Ethan peeled the skin of the apple and dropped it on his napkin. "She's been gone for a long time. Six years."

Red's eyes widened at that revelation. This poor child. Abandoned by his mother and a father who obviously does not have too much time to help his son going through this hard phase of his life. "That sure is a long time..." Red commented softly, biting his bottom lip in worry but slowly restoring it into his reassuring smile; more towards himself than the child.

Ethan had paused completely, just staring down at his lap. "Dad doesn't talk about Mom. He gets mad a lot." He violently wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand and grew frustrated. "Everybody is so stupid! So stupid, I can't.."

Red put his hand on Ethan's, which held the apple. "I understand how you feel that way, but saying everyone's stupid is not fair compared to other nice people in the word, don't you think, Ethan?. Do you want me to talk to your daddy?" Red softly stroked the boy's hand in a calming matter, attempting a smile.

Ethan remained still and shyly looked at the hand touching his , cautiously looking up at Red's face and his kind smile. "Dad never...he hardly comes home."

"Don't worry!" Red winked, "I'll find a way! After all, your dad probably wants to know how good you've been doing at school, right?"

"Okay." Ethan wiped his nose and stared at his lunch. "...He has off on Fridays. I think. I'm pretty sure."

"There, that sounds like a good plan!" Red stood up and made a scribble in his notebook. "I'll make a letter for you to give to your dad later, will you do that for me?"

"'Kay." Ethan then took a look around the empty classroom and jumped. "Where is everybody?!" He exclaimed.

Red laughed and double checked the clock on the wall. "They went off to gym, remember?" Biting his lip, his eyes back on the clock, Red glanced at the boy who was nearly finished with his lunch. "But...you can stay here for the rest of the period. I'll send an e-mail to your teacher. 'Kay?"

Ethan stared at his teacher, and for the first time since the first day of school, gave him a smile. A little crooked and uneasy, but a nice smile none the less.

"'Kay."

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Red grumbled as he looked at the clock once again. It was decided the meeting between him, Ethan and his father was supposed to be today...45 minutes ago. Red was so nervous and scared but the man didn't even leave a note with Ethan today saying he couldn't show up today. Red pouted as even he, of all people, was feeling a little aggravated and a bit anxious. He constantly fiddled with the zipper of his fleece sweater, and found himself applying lotion to his sweaty hands every few minutes.

The sun was setting and was filtering into the classroom through the single window it had which was positioned right behind Red's desk, a little above his head. It seemed to illuminate the colors of the hand drawn pictures the children had done that decorated the once bare, white walls. Red personally loved the way the room seemed to have a mix of yellow, orange and pink hues light up the room before it would be left in complete darkness for the night. The young teacher sat back and admired the paintings, finding himself feel at ease for the first time since school ended at 2. This meeting has been wracking his brain with a wave of negative emotions, but the later it got, the more Red assumed they weren't coming; therefore, the less scared he got. He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous; it wouldn't be different from any other meeting he held with a parent. He checked the clock again. It was 5:45 on the dot, and Red officially called it a day, and sighed in relief.

The male stood up and straightened out his jacket, rubbing his hands together when he realized how chilly the room got. Before Red went to go stuff his belongings in his tote bag and lock everything up, there were droning voices from down the hallway, accompanied by loud foot steps which began approaching his door, getting louder and louder. There was murmuring and groaning not far from it, which sounded like Ethan's meek voice, and a strange, much gruffer voice, could be heard from the other side of the wooden door, startling Red.

"Ethan, go in!"

The door swung open and Ethan came stomping in with a huffed out chest and hunched shoulders, very agitated and angry, leaving the stranger to stand in the doorway.

Red's grew as he noticed the large shadow. Just like Ethan described, he was tall and...well, big. He could only make out the outline of his head, which was darkened by the shadow's of the doorway, but his lower half was apparent, and left Red's heart thundering in his throat, all previous thoughts now vanished out of fear.

'My goodness...' Red murmured under his breath before he gave the most fearless smile he could muster, forgetting his abundance of frantic thoughts and approached the man with slight optimism. "Good afternoon and thank you so much for being here on such short notice. Please sit down...do you want coffee, or tea perhaps?"

The man in the doorway stood with the sleeves of his thermal shirt rolled up, and dirty jeans, spotted with permanent oil stains and paint. His sandy blonde hair with chestnut streaks was badly brushed to the side, his bangs whipping past his eyes, with a ripped white baseball cap placed backwards on his head. His sharp eyes and hard jaw line are what caught Red's alert, searching eyes, but the man thought nothing of it. "No thanks." He deadpanned and slipped himself right past Red, taking a seat in front of the large desk next to his son. He noticed Ethan began nervously playing with his hands, so his father harshly slapped them to get him to stop. His son yelped and began to whisper a long string of curses to himself.

"How long will this thing take?" His father shot the teacher an icy glare.

Red flinched slightly at the brash treatment the father gave to his son, but smiled a small smile despite all that as he sat down behind his desk. "It's not going to be long, I assure you. I just want to talk about Ethan's progress."

"Isn't that stupid, uhh...whaddya call it? Back to school shit next week? Why am I here now?" Ethan squirmed around when his father's tone rose, but the older man crossed his arms firmly against his broad chest, glaring sternly at Red. "What did he do wrong?"

Red swallowed the lump in his throat, eyes quickly darting away from that glare. "A-Ah, well he didn't exactly do anything! I mu-must even commend him for doing exceptionally well in class despite his dyslexia! But I do worry about his Social-Emotional Progressions..." Red answered softly; trying to keep himself calm and collected with the man; although the quiver in his voice couldn't be obvious enough.

The man's eyes grew larger and his eyebrows furrowed. "Whaddya mean dyslexia? He's already autistic, there's no way he's got that...that, whatever ya call it!" He straightened himself up in his chair. "There's nothing else wrong with him. You just don't know what you're doing."

Red moistened his lips and calmed his breathing. "Well, he's not autistic. He has pdd-nos; that's not autism, but rather, in a more lighter form. I read in his file that he was diagnosed with dyslexia between seven to six years ago..." Red picked up Ethan's file from a pile of papers, while accidentally knocking over other files, and began handing them over the desk. "I thought you were informed of this, but I can show you if you want."

"I don't need to see those," The father pushed the papers back towards Red, refusing to look at them. "I know what my kid has and doesn't have. He's normal, he can't get any stupider. See!" The father nudged his son's shoulders, while Ethan continued to look down at his lap, completely quiet. "He's fine! Well behaved and all! I don't know, maybe you should re read those papers or something...so far, this visit was a complete waste of my time."

Red could feel his anger rise higher with each rude remark the man made; it infuriated him to the point where Red's hands began shaking. "Oh, well, excuse me for bothering you. I was only hoping to talk about the progressions of your sweet son. But please, you can leave now, sir. " Red stood up abruptly, marched around his desk and opened the door for the brute father and the kind Ethan.

"It was my pleasure." The man grumbled as he stood up, snapping his fingers in front of his son's face to get his attention, like some type of animal. "Ethan, get up." He ordered. Ethan groaned and followed his father out the door, frowning sourly to himself. Ethan did not speak once the whole meeting. He looked as if he was about to cry, which Red was tempted to ask about, but the fear of what could happen next held him back. Before the father shoved his son to go faster and closed the door behind him, he gave one last nasty look towards Red, who was caught by surprise with those cold eyes.

"You should probably get better at your job, if I were you. I don't want you accusing shit about my son ever again." With that, he slammed the door, and Red was left in stunned silence.

Red huffed at the man, frowning deeply. "That...that...! UGH!" He spun around on his heels and walked back to his desk, before standing there momentarily in his own fury, then lightly, but angrily, banging his fist on the top of his desk.

"How rude!"

There, he felt better.

In his mind he began picking up all the pieces. No wonder Ethan was so insecure all the time...

Okay, he'll try to help either way, with or without the father. Red only hoped Ethan would still want to open up to him and not get further away than he already was. Sighing, Red slowly resumed his packing and paused before picking up his satchel, staring out the window.

"Oh, mom and dad...this is when I need you the most." He closed his eyes and silently prayed.

Please watch over Ethan and...his father.