Oh yeah, we're doing this.

Buckle up, buttercup; time to watch some teenagers make bad choices.

"Alright, class, everyone gather your things and move to stand along the wall!"

Mr. Robinson's instructions were met with groans from around the room, all of the seniors knowing instinctively where this little exercise was leading. It was only the first day back for second quarter, and already they wished the long weekend had never ended.

Wendy sighed, turning to find Jim with the heel of his hand digging into his temple. He had been one of the groaners, and she could see in his expression that he was dreading the inevitability of being forced into assigned seats.

"Come on, Jim," Wendy said gently, standing and slinging her backpack over one shoulder. She nudged her hand against his arm, which only served to rock him a bit. "Might as well get on with it."

Jim just groaned again.

Rolling her eyes, Wendy scooped up the books and binders she had already taken out of her bag, cradling them close to her chest. She stepped around the desk and muttered an apology to Rapunzel as the two girls tried to squeeze down the same narrow space between chairs and desk. She bumped her hip against Jim's shoulder this time, and a grey-blue eye glared at her between his fingers. "Move or I'll get Quasi to move you," she told him calmly.

"You wouldn't," Jim muttered.

"She wouldn't even have to ask," Quasimodo happily cut in from the seat behind Jim's.

Jim glared at their friend, turning to look at Wendy with disdain. She simply jerked her thumb towards the wall where the other students in their class had started to line up, Mr. Robinson walking with them with a calm little smile. " God , fine," Jim grumbled. "But if I end up next to Gaston, I'm walking out," he told her flatly as he picked his bag up off the floor, grabbing his notebook and trudging over to the wall.

"Well, now that you've jinxed it," she said with a small grin, "I'll bet my money on it." Jim didn't look amused, and Wendy eyed the dark circles under his eyes with a frown. He usually wasn't so callous - at least not to her and Quasimodo - and she sadly noted that he must not have gotten much sleep last night. His hands were shoved deep in the pockets of his hoodie, and when he dropped his back against the wall, she tucked her hand into the curve of his elbow, leaning her head against his shoulder. He winced when her bony shoulder dug into his arm, but didn't shrug her off, which was a good sign.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Quasimodo said mostly to himself, settling himself on Wendy's other side. "It's not like assigned seats are anything new."

"Not usually in honors classes, though," Jim responded. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Relax, Han Solo," Wendy sighed. "It's no big deal."

"Everybody up?" Mr. Robinson asked cheerfully, looking at the thirteen teenagers lined up along the wall. "Gaston, come on, I know you can move faster than that."

"Only when I'm properly motivated, teach'."

"How's staying after school for an hour with me sound, then?"

Gaston spluttered at the teacher. "There's football practice today!" he protested.

Mr. Robinson smiled. "I know this."

The rest of the class snickered as Gaston grumbled his way to the wall, moving at a speed that was more befitting of a quarterback than the snail's pace he had been setting before. Once all the students were in line, Mr. Robinson nodded with a little pleased smile and hopped up so he was sitting on the counter against the opposite wall. He rubbed his hands together, peering at each student through his thick-framed glasses until he reached the end of the line.

"It's a new quarter," he began, spreading his hands out in front of him. One thing Wendy had quickly learned about the new teacher was that he had quite the flare for dramatics. She had heard stories about his father Mr. Robinson Sr., the previous science teacher, and his classes were practically legendary. He had been brilliant, eccentric, and not afraid of creating a bit of chaos in the name of learning. Apparently, it was genetic.

"This is my first honors class," Mr. Robinson continued, "and I must say I'm impressed! You each have something unique to bring to the class."

"Does Gaston bring the ability to drag the entire class's grade average down?" Kida asked from the other end of the line, startling laughs out of half of the class. The taller boy practically growled, but Kida just waved back at him cheekily.

"Ms. Nedakh," their teacher groaned, more than used to the two sports stars constantly going at each other's throat. "No insulting your classmates or I'll have to send you out of the class. And I'd really rather you didn't miss this, it's quite important."

"Of course, sir!" Kida practically sang, Ariel still giggling from somewhere in the middle of the line. Gaston grumbled something insulting under his breath, but Damon - the only other teen in the class that could match Gaston's height and bulk - quickly shut him up with an elbow to the side.

"Anyways," Mr. Robinson said, already looking like he had a headache. "You each have something unique to bring to the class, something you can offer that no one else has. But in the world of scientific discovery, it's nearly impossible to reach your greatest heights by yourself, no matter how gifted. So, for the next quarter, and possibly the rest of the year, I will be assigning teams of partners to work together on all class assignments!"

Whatever response Mr. Robinson had been braced for, the universal grumbling, groaning, and loud cussing seemed to be within the range. He simply sat on the counter as he let his class wear themselves out, complaining to their neighbors and latching onto their friends like it would magically mean they were partners. Wendy in particular - after stomping on Jim's foot rather aggressively to cut off the stream of cursing from under his breath - simply let her head fall back against the wall, closing her eyes against the headache she felt looming. Group projects were possibly her least favorite thing on the planet, and being forced to work with a practical stranger for the rest of the year sounded about as fun as pulling her own teeth. Sure, she knew most of her other students after being shoved onto the same campus with them for going-on four years, but knowing them and knowing them well were very different things.

If she were lucky, she'd get paired with one of the friendlier students, like Ariel or Tadashi. And Elsa was quiet like her, so they'd probably work together well enough if shoved together. On the other hand, Hans had always intimidated Wendy, so hopefully he'd get paired with someone like Kida, and the thought of being partnered with Gaston was almost too horrible to contemplate.

"Now who's jinxing things?" Jim said, shooting Quasimodo a Look that their friend responded to by simply raising his hands defensively.

"I am innocent, good sir."

"Tell that to the jury, smartass."

"Both of you, hush," Wendy said without opening her eyes, still slumped against the wall. "Let Mr. Robinson finish."

Tadashi was echoing the thought further down the line, and soon the class brought themselves back into line. Mr. Robinson was still waiting patiently, a small, amused smile on his lips. At least he was getting some enjoyment out of this. "Thank you, Tadashi, Wendy," he practically chirped. "Now, like I was saying before, this isn't permanent. For now. If we try this for the next quarter and you all decide you hate it, we'll stop. And if you discover you actually like working in pairs, I get to cheerfully rub it in all of your faces."

A quiet laugh rose from the class, and even Wendy felt a smile tugging at her lips. It was annoyingly hard to stay mad at Mr. Robinson, even as he began to gather a reputation as having some of the most challenging course work of the science department.

"Many of you will not be partnered with your friends, and this isn't just because I don't trust some of you to get work done," he said. He pointedly looked at Rapunzel and Ariel, making most of the other students laugh as the two girls happily stuck their tongues out at him. "In a real lab, most of the scientists you're paired with you won't know, and you may be forced to work with them for years. So this will be both a delightful little dose of reality, and an opportunity to get to know some of your fellow students better."

" 'Delightful Little Dose of Reality' is going to be the title of my autobiography," Wendy heard Tiana whisper to a giggling Rapunzel.

"Alright now!" Mr. Robinson said, clapping his hands together. "I'm going to call them out in pairs, and then direct you to your table. No particular order, just who I happen to make eye contact with first, Mr. Trajin!"

Quasimodo jumped in surprise, looking down the line before pointing at himself.

"Yes, you," the teacher said with a grin. "You will be partnered with Ms. Caumont, and you two will be sitting at the table right here in the center!"

Down the line, Ariel made a pained noise as her friend pushed away from the wall with a purple, graffiti-covered backpack slung over one shoulder. But Rapunzel just smiled and walked down until she was standing in front of Quasimodo. "Left or right chair, partner?" she asked like she and Quasimodo had been friends for ages, even though Wendy knew the two had only spoken in passing a few times in the past four years. Both were pretty active in the drama department, Quasimodo with the Stage Crew and Rapunzel in, well, everything , so they weren't total strangers. Plus, Rapunzel was known to be almost painfully sweet and kind, and Wendy felt a weight lift off her shoulders knowing her friend would be far from miserable paired with the bubbly girl.

"Oh, I have no preference," Quasimodo said shyly, clutching his bag to his chest. Jim reached behind Wendy with his foot to nudge the back of the redhead's leg, making him take a few stumbling steps forward. Quasimodo glared at Jim, but the taller boy just smiled innocently while Wendy giggled into her palm.

"Okay, right it is!" Rapunzel happily declared, making her way towards the center desk and pulling out the chair on the left. With one last look towards his two friends, Quasimodo followed her meekly, returning her smile once he was seated and comfortable.

"See, not that bad!" Mr. Robinson said, gesturing to the two seated students with a grin. "Okay, Mr. Hamada and Mr. Westergard, you will be seated at the table in front of those two."

Neither boy said a word as they took their bags and made their way towards the table in the very front and center of the class, though Wendy could have sworn she saw Tadashi give Damon a pleading look. They shook hands once they were seated, both boys looking a little awkward, and Wendy's heart went out for Tadashi. Hans wasn't exactly known for being warm and approachable.

"Ms. Laveau and Ms. Sommers, to the right of those gentleman!" Tiana and Elsa went to their table and quickly reintroduced themselves, Tiana's warm grin pulling a smile from the quiet teenager.

Mr. Robinson fixed a look on the young woman standing on the opposite side of Jim, and Zarina looked back at him with an innocent smile. "You, , are being kept very far away from the chemical cabinets," he said, only partially joking, "and you will be joining Mr. Saito at the table on Ms. Caumont's left."

"You know, you can just say our first names," Zarina teased, pushing some of her wild hair out of her eyes as she walked to her new seat.

"I know, but when I made this chart I used your last names to keep things simple, and I'm afraid I'l forget who goes where if I deviate from that," Mr. Robinson admitted with a shrug, smiling sheepishly. He patted Damon's shoulder as the bigger boy passed, Damon giving Zarina a wary look where she was already sprawled in her seat, large combat boots crossed at the ankle as she slumped.

"Come on, big guy, I don't bite," she promised, smirking.

"That's a shame!" Gaston said, loud enough that Zarina spun in her seat to glare at him, and this time it was Jim who reached over and punched Gaston hard in the arm.

"Gaston, I will not tolerate comments like that in my classroom," Mr. Robinson said firmly, not even his ridiculous, gravity-defying hair taking away from the seriousness of his expression. "Control your tongue, or there's a trip to the vice-principal's office in your future." Gaston scoffed at the teacher's threat, shooting Jim a quick glare that he returned with equal hostility before both looked away.

"Mr. Hawkins," Mr. Robinson continued once he was sure that Gaston wouldn't be saying anything further and that Damon had seated himself next to Zarina. Both Jim and Wendy looked up, Jim grimacing openly.

"Yeah?"

"You and Ms. Syreina will be sitting on Mr. Trajin's right," he said, gesturing to the free table next to Quasimodo. Jim audibly sighed in relief, sagging as the tension fled his shoulders.

"It's not Gaston," he said just loud enough for Wendy to hear, and she muffled her laughter in her palm. She untangled her hand from his arm and gently nudged him forward, giving him a short wave as he made his way to his new seat. Ariel hobbled after him, leaning heavily on her driftwood cane, but was still smiling brightly as she got the table.

"I call dibs on the aisle seat," she joked, wiggling her cane, and Wendy was pleasantly surprised when Jim cracked a smile.

"Fair 'nough," he said with a shrug, pulling the chair out for her before seating himself and reaching across the aisle to give Quasimodo a high-five. Ariel seated herself, carefully leaning her cane against the table leg before propping her elbows on the table. They were all looking at the remaining four students, and Wendy could feel herself begin to shake. It was Kida, Gaston, Snow, and herself left.

There was no chance Mr. Robinson was dumb enough to put Kida and Gaston at the same table, so it was down to the remaining two girls. Wendy had only spoken to Snow once or twice, but she couldn't imagine that Robinson would pair Gaston with a girl as pretty, sweet, and quiet as Snow. Wendy at least had a boyfriend, not that it would do much to dissuade Gaston if he decided she was worth his attention. She grimaced at the thought of Peter's reaction to her being partnered with any boy, and silently asked Snow for forgiveness as she begged for the other girl to be Gaston's partner.

"Ms. Nedakh," Mr. Robinson started, and Kida hummed in response, watching the teacher with an amused smile. Wendy could feel every muscle in her neck and back go tense, and snuck a glance at the other two students. Snow was looking at their teacher with a soft, attentive smile on her cherry red lips, and Gaston was doing the same as Wendy; checking the reactions of each of the other students. Their eyes met and Gaston winked at her with what might have been a charming grin if it was from anyone else. As it stood, Wendy snapped her head away from Gaston and stood tensely staring at the closest table top, trying to ignore his dark chuckle.

"Yessir?"

"You and Ms. Darling will be sitting at that middle table in the last row," he said, gesturing to the back of the classroom. Wendy slumped in relief, and she could hear Jim exhale heavily while Quasimodo muttered "Thank god," under his breath. She shot her boys a brief smile, clutching her books closer to her chest as she all but ran for the safety of her new assigned seat. Kida pulled out her chair just Wendy reached the desk, and the taller girl grinned at her brightly.

"Welcome to the Cool Kids table," she joked, and Wendy smiled shyly in response.

"Thank you," she demurred, immediately wanting to go hide in a cave as mortification rolled over her. Really!? 'Thank you'!? Oh god, she could already feel Peter laughing at her.

Kida's grin only got wider in response, and she settled in her seat while gesturing to Wendy's half of the table in invitation.

"Alright," Mr. Robinson said once Wendy was in her seat, caramel curls falling like a curtain around her burning cheeks (she could see Jim trying to smother his laughter and made a mental note to punch him the second the bell rang). "Ms. del Bosque, you and Mr. Avenant will be sitting at the last desk in the front row!" Wendy looked up from the scratched surface of her desk to watch Snow with a concerned expression. But the Mexican girl just continued to smile, gathering her bag and heading towards the table that sat directly in front of Mr. Robinson's desk. Gaston had a smile on his face that sent uncomfortable shivers down Wendy's back, and Kida was openly glaring at him as he made his way down the opposite side of the room to the front.

The room was quiet as they all watched the two students reach their new desk. Snow sat without giving Gaston a second glance, but the taller boy just leaned against the table, smirking. Even Mr. Robinson was watching the two carefully, mouth pressed in a hard line. "So, we're going to be partners, eh?" Gaston drawled, smiling at Snow. It was hard to deny that Gaston was physically attractive - with his broad build, thick black hair, and baby-blue eyes - but his personality was so repulsive his good looks went down more like a bucketful of gravel than a tall glass of water. Wendy could physically feel most of the girls in the room cringe; Ariel even gagged quietly behind her hand.

Snow, however, smiled sweetly at Gaston, tucking a dark curl behind her ear. "It would appear so!" she said in a sweet, high voice. She held out one hand to him in offering. "I'm Snow del Bosque, and you are?"

Next to Wendy, Kida bit back a gasp of delight.

Gaston practically deflated, looking at Snow's hand in confusion. "You- wait, what?"

"Are you new?" Snow continued, still with that sugary sweet smile on her painted lips. "I don't believe I've seen you before!"

Now Gaston looked almost offended. "I've been going here for four years!" he said, affronted. Tadashi was visibly muffling his laughter in his jacket at the front of the class, and Rapunzel was beaming .

"Oh," Snow gasped, resting her hand delicately against her chest, "I'm so sorry! We must have just missed each other."

"I'm the starting quarterback!"

"Really? I thought he was taller."

Gaston nearly fell into his chair, ignoring the girl next to him as he glared at the front of the room with a venomously dark expression. Snow smiled serenely, turning back to her books and not looking up as she lifted one graceful hand over her shoulder for a cackling Zarina to lean forward and slap.

Kida was grinning like the cat that had nabbed the canary, and she snickered under her breath next to Wendy. "Oh, she's gonna chew him up and spit him out," she mused, leaning closer to Wendy so she could hear the low comment. Wendy bit back a snort of amusement, and Kida smiled widely.

"Alrighty then!" Mr. Robinson said with a grin, hopping off the desk and heading up to his own. "Take a good look at the person next to you, folks, because they are responsible for a quarter of your grade for the next three months." Wendy snuck a glance at Jim, and his shoulders had gone painfully tense, like someone turning the peg on a guitar string to tune it. "Think of this as a regular group project, only now it spans the whole quarter. I want to see participation from both partners on all assignments that are completed in class, and at least half of your homework assignments need to be finished together. There will be class time devoted to all assignments, but it falls to you and your partner to meet up outside of class. If there are scheduling conflicts, or alternate solutions need to be found, come speak with me with your partner and we'll work something out. Fair enough?"

There was quiet grumbling from a few students - the loudest coming from where Gaston sat in the front - but soon the whole class voiced their agreement, and Mr. Robinson sighed in relief. "Excellent! Now, I've got a modified syllabus with all the information about this assignment, along with a guide to how completed assignments will be graded, to hand out. While I do, you'll have ten minutes to get those pesky partner introductions out of the way. I'd recommend exchanging contact information; cell phone numbers, emails, Skype handles, the name of your favorite carrier pigeon… Take your pick." Laughter went around the room. Rapunzel's hand shot up, and Mr. Robinson was already nodding as he pointed to her. "Yes, Rapunzel, you can have your phones out. I want them all silenced and put back away when the ten minutes are up, though!"

With that, the class broke into scattered conversations, most students digging through their bags to pull out their devices while others began to chat with their new partners. Wendy turned to look at Kida and found that she had already pulled out her phone, her nose scrunched in concentration as she tapped away with clumsy thumbs. "Sorry, jus- gimme a second," Kida muttered. She looked at Wendy and shrugged helplessly. "I'm still trying to figure out where everything is."

Wendy smiled, nodding sympathetically. "New phone?" she asked.

"Yeah, accidentally shattered the last one," the Bahamian teen said casually.

"The screen?"

"Nope, the phone."

Trying not to let her bewilderment show on her face (how does one go about shattering a whole smart phone!?), Wendy nodded. "My father was the exact same way when he had to get his work phone updated," she said with a small laugh. "Apparently, the wonders of today's technology are too great a mystery for the modern banker, which is why I keep all my savings in a sock in my pajama drawer."

It only occurred to Wendy after the words had left her mouth that comparing your new science partner to your Technological-Trainwreck of a father was perhaps not the best first impression. Again, she could already hear Peter's laughter in her ears and his fingers poking at her sides as he teased her. But Kida just snorted, grinning brightly.

"Yeah, be grateful it's not genetic," she said with a laugh. "My dad has a hard time working our toaster, and the cruel sod passed it on." After a few more moments of fiddling, Kida held her phone out with a triumphant grin. "There we are!" she nearly cheered. "Though for obvious reasons, I probably won't be texting you with any sort of grace for a while."

"Oh, that's alright," Wendy reassured as she took the offered phone, quickly tapping in her name - and adding a little microscope emoji after the "Darling" for good measure - and her info. Mr. Robinson passed by their table, handing them both a syllabus, and Wendy thanked him with a smile. "I know you've got soccer practice most weekdays, and I'm already used to working around practices."

"That's right, you're dating Pan, yeah?" Kida mused. Wendy nodded, feeling her lips curl into a smile and her cheeks warm. "Poor thing," Kida teased with a laugh. The jab was good natured, and Wendy let herself giggle in response, sneaking in a worried glance at Quasimodo and Jim to see if they had overheard. Quasimodo was busy attempting to control his laughter as Rapunzel tried to take the silliest possible selfie to set as her contact photo on his phone, and Jim was looking over a planner with Ariel, the young woman gesturing animatedly with her hands as she talked and Jim nodded.

"What about you, any 'scheduling conflicts'?" Kida said, making obvious air quotes while she spoke. Wendy smiled, shaking her head.

"I have a part-time job, but that's only two nights a week," she explained as she handed Kida her phone back. "Besides that, as long as I let my parents know where I am, I'm good. Though, warning, I don't exactly have a reliable source of transportation."

"That's fine, I'm used to driving people around if you need a ride," Kida said with a shrug. "Besides practice, I do have to be home every night by six to make dinner. But my dad won't mind if you come over."

"Same!" Wendy chirped. Her lips pursed as she thought back over her wording. "By which I mean ' same ', my parents won't mind if you come over, not ' same ', I have to be home by six. Sorry." Wendy grimaced, but Kida only grinned in response.

"Oh, you and I are going to get along wonderfully," she cooed, bracing herself on her forearms and smiling at the other girl. Her smile pulled at the splotches of pale skin that dotted her dark face, and Wendy ducked her head down as she felt her cheeks begin to flush pink.

Once Wendy had written down Kida's contact information in her planner and Kida had spent several minutes looking over the carefully-organized Moleskin in awe ("You have specific pen colors for everything!? "), they spent the rest of the time talking about the class and which sections had been the hardest so far. Wendy continued to sneak looks at the rest of the class to see how they were all doing, mostly focusing on Quasimodo and Jim. Her best friend had not been excited about working with partners, and with him already in a poor mood thanks to his lack of sleep, Wendy was afraid that his dry sense of humor would turn into something more scathing and sharp.

But it seemed they were all doing well. Gaston was ignoring Snow as she mused over the best times to meet around his football practice, while Damon looked almost frightened to look away from Zarina for a moment lest he miss some crucial bit of information as the tiny woman gestured and babbled at top speed. Tadashi and Hans had already finished talking, though Tadashi looked like he was trying to bite down on some rising frustration, and next to them, Elsa and Tiana were talking in low tones, heads bent together. As for Wendy's two friends; Quasimodo was listening attentively as Rapunzel spoke about some project she was working on for the drama department, her excited explanations never breaking off even as she occasionally looked down at her phone to text someone. And Jim, bless him, seemed to be on his best behavior. The threat of having someone else in control of a good portion of his GPA had pulled out the manners that sleep-deprivation had driven into hiding, and he patiently watched as Ariel stared down her planner like it owed her money; dark fingers combing through her red hair in frustration as she bit and tugged her bottom lip.

"El, staring at it isn't going to shuffle the dates around," Kida called over Wendy's shoulder with a grin, causing both partners to look up. "That's not how time works." Ariel made a face at Kida, pushing her hair over her shoulder.

"Not with an attitude like that, it won't," she responded simply, sticking her tongue out before diving back into her planner with a determined set to her mouth. Jim was still looking at Wendy, however, frowning at her worriedly and glancing quickly at Kida then back.

'You doing alright?'

Wendy smiled softly, nodding in response to his silent question. She made sure to glance at Ariel in a similarly pointed fashion, and Jim sighed, shrugging with a small twist to his mouth. Whatever opinions he had of his new partner, it would seem, were yet fully-formed, and Wendy gave him a pointed look that nearly begged him to be nice.

Jim rolled his eyes, but nodded, and when he turned back to Ariel it was with a small smile. Wendy sighed in relief, and turned back to her own partner to find Kida grinning at her in amusement.

"You two close?" she asked rhetorically, and Wendy huffed a laugh. It was well-known through the whole school that Quasimodo, Jim, and herself were practically inseparable. To the point that should one be out of school, it was Wendy they went to first with their concerns about her boys' health instead of their actual family members, something that seemed to amuse Jim's cousins to no end.

"We've been best friends since I was six," she explained, and Kida nodded.

"It's sweet," she said with a grin. Wendy laughed dryly.

"It has its ups and downs," she muttered with a smile, giggling as Jim raised his hand towards her without looking away from Ariel, middle finger up and a wry curl to his grin. Quasimodo reached over and swatted Jim's hand back down, giving him a mock-reproachful look as Mr. Robinson tried to get the class's attention back.

For the rest of the hour, the class went on as normal. Mr. Robinson was a very thorough teacher, stopping when necessary to answer any questions or highlight a concept on his powerpoint. Wendy took quick, methodical notes; using the shorthand her mother had taught her back when she was in the sixth grade. She could feel Kida looking over her shoulder in confusion, but tried her best ignore her. Jim and Quasimodo were the only ones besides her family that could read her rough drafts, and she knew from experience with Peter that trying to explain her system would take too long. By the time she and Kida would start to meet up after class to study, Wendy would already have her notes "translated" neatly into her notebook.

When the class ended (thankfully, without any homework being assigned besides some reading from their textbook), Wendy carefully repacked her backpack, making sure all her notebooks and pencils were put away properly. "I have a feeling that you are going to be rather difficult to keep up with," Kida murmured with a playful smile, and Wendy flushed.

"O-oh, I'm sure you'll do fine," she reassured. "No one gets into an honors class for nothing, after all."

Kida looked pointedly at Gaston as he fled the room, at the front of the wave of students rushing into the hallway as the bell rang, then back at Wendy with a quirked eyebrow.

"Be nice," Wendy said, hand on her hip, and Kida laughed freely, holding her hands up innocently.

"She's got a point," Jim pointed out from his own desk, leaning against the edge with his bag thrown over his shoulder as he waited for his two friends. Ariel laughed next to him.

"Our running theory is either an administrative misfile gone terribly wrong, or goblins," she chimed in. "Both equally plausible."

"Goblins?" Jim looked at his new partner like she had grown a second head. As Rapunzel helped her friend to her feet, Ariel shot Jim a smirk that made even Wendy feel a little weak in the knees.

"Have you seen our principle?" she asked, chuckling. Jim managed to bite back his loud snort of surprised laughter, smothering his grin in his hand as Quasimodo chuckled under his breath. "Anyways, I'll talk to you later tonight?" the pretty redhead asked, and Jim nodded, still grinning.

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Perfect!" Ariel chirped, smiling brightly. "See you tomorrow then! Kida, be nice to poor Wendy, she is a gentle lady and must be protected." Wendy blushed, quickly trying to cover up her cheeks with her hands. "Quasi," Ariel pointed two of her fingers at her eyes and then back at Quasimodo, "take care of my girl, now. There's only one Rapunzel and we don't have her insured."

"Oh my god, El, we're science partners," Rapunzel said with a laugh, "he's not escorting me up Everest."

"Science can be dangerous!" Ariel said. "We are in a class with Zarina, okay; only the fact that it is Earth Science guarantees the safety of our eyebrows and even that's not a sure thing."

"I heard that!"

"You know what you've done!" Ariel hollered towards Zarina on the other side of the room, shaking her fist at the laughing girl with the hand that wasn't clutching her cane. Wendy was still giggling as the two girls walked out of the classroom, Ariel leaning on Rapunzel for support.

"I better make sure she makes it to her car okay," Kida said with a grin, shaking her head. "I'll message you later tonight and we can work up a solid schedule, yeah?"

Wendy nodded. "Excellent," she said, beaming. "Have fun at practice!"

"Always do!" Kida promised with a grin, patting Wendy's shoulder as she jogged passed her and out of the classroom. Wendy, Quasimodo, and Jim all watched their new science partners leave in silence, only broken by Jim blowing some hair out of his eyes loudly, looking a bit exasperated.

"Well," he sighed, "this should be interesting."

"Rapunzel's nice!" Quasimodo defended, and Jim held his hands up.

"I ain't sayin' they aren't," he said, laughing. He followed after Wendy as she made her way out of the room, Quasimodo joining them both. "I'm just saying; interesting."

"There are far worse people to be paired with," Wendy reminded him with a small smile.

"Yeah, god, I could have been stuck with you."

Wendy slugged a cackling Jim hard in the shoulder, hissing his name between her teeth. It was hard to stay annoyed, however, when he was genuinely smiling for the first time all day, his storm blue eyes practically sparkling. Wendy sighed loudly, intertwining her arms with both Jim and Quasimodo's, walking between the two boys down the hallway. "You're both impossible," she informed them loftily, the corner of her mouth pulling up in a smile when Quasimodo gasped in protest.

"Hey, don't drag me into this!"

"You are knee-deep in this, Trajin," Jim said with grin.

"I am short, okay!?"

Wendy was still giggling helplessly when she felt her phone vibrate in her backpack, and the muted sound of crowing had her scrambling to find her phone in her bag. She ignored Jim and Quasimodo's matching frowns, quickly unlocking her phone and smiling at the familiar contact that dominated the top of the screen. The smiling faces of John and Michael were covered up by her messaging app, and she flushed in delight at the sight of Peter's rakish grin.

Peter

(01:32 pm) Lunch w/ the lost boys in nvrlnd! B there or b square, wendybird!

"The Boyfriend summoneth," Quasimodo sighed, and Wendy shot him a reproachful look as Jim grumbled under his breath, his good mood gone.

"'Summoneth' is not a word, and behave," Wendy said, tapping the tip of Quasimodo's nose with her phone. "I don't complain when Esme and Phoebus invite you to lunch."

"Because they ask," Jim growled. Quasimodo reached over and whacked his arm quickly, but Jim just scowled.

Wendy frowned, fiddling with her phone as she tried to not let her exhaustion show in her eyes. One of these days, they'd stop having this tiresome conversation every time her boyfriend came up, but it clearly wasn't today.

She sighed softly, wrapping one arm around Quasimodo's shoulders and kissing his eyebrow. "I'll see you after school, right?" she asked softly, and Quasimodo smiled at her warmly.

"Yeah, of course." He squeezed her waist in return, lifting her off the floor for a moment and managing to make her giggle. "I'm probably staying at the Benbow tonight."

"Alright, I'll ask my parents if I can stay for dinner then," she said, smiling. Wendy turned to look at Jim, meeting his frown with her own. "Am I invited to dinner?" she asked sarcastically, lips pursed and eyebrow quirked in the most haughty expression she could manage. If he wanted to be difficult, so could she.

Jim's frown dropped from his face, replaced by genuine confusion. "Of course, Mo," he said quietly. Wendy immediately felt childish and petty, and hid her face behind her hair. She heard Jim sigh, and he pushed her hair out of the way so he could grin sheepishly at her. The apology was clear in his eyes, and her ire melted away. As difficult as Jim was at times, it was only because he was almost frustratingly protective. Her own personal pit bull; he only appeared gruff and threatening, when really he was an absolute dear on the inside.

Wendy giggled, pushing him away. "Don't give me that look," she said, shaking her finger at him. "I'm not so easily won back over."

"Yes you are," Jim said with a smirk.

"Oh, hush."

He laughed, taking her phone from her hand to tuck it back into her backpack. "Be safe, okay?" he said, trying not to look too worried and failing miserably. "The old dorms are a set piece for an action movie waiting to collapse."

"That was a reach," Quasimodo mused. Jim gave him a deadpan look that could put Nana to shame.

"I'm running out of creative ways to call that place a death trap, okay? Lay off."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, relax. I've only been there a million and one times."

"Wow, see how not reassured I am?" Jim said flatly. "Text me when you need a ride, okay?"

"I will," Wendy assured him, hugging his waist and smiling when he squeezed his arm tightly around her shoulders. "We'll talk later Jay, yeah?" she whispered into his shoulder, and she felt him nod. The halls had mostly cleared out around them, all the lower classmen shuffling off to their next class and the seniors either flooding out to the parking lot or to the lunch room. "Give Belle and Milo my best!" Wendy said as she began to make her way down the hallways, jogging backwards so she could keep talking to her friends.

"Yeah, yeah," Jim said, rolling his eyes and grinning. "You know I will."

"And you know I will when Jim forgets," Quasimodo added, cackling when Jim glared at his friend. Wendy giggled, giving them both a final wave before turning and starting towards the exit at the back of the school. She made sure to text Peter back once she was out of sight of her friends, and took a moment to stare at the picture of Peter that had been set as his contact picture, her mouth twisted into a thoughtful frown. Her eyes traced his familiar, impish features for what felt like the thousandth time, from his upturned nose to his pretty green eyes.

Pressing her phone against her chest, Wendy took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the tension twisting her muscles into knots slowly dissipate. She sent one last quick text before she tucked the phone into the back pocket of her jeans. Quickly pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she fussed with her fringe for a moment before hitching her backpack higher on her shoulder and jogging towards her favorite exit; the one tucked into the stairwell with the disabled fire alarm that Peter swore he found like that.

Midway across the yard towards the abandoned dorm halls, Wendy's phone buzzed again, this time making a chirping sound like a Star Trek communicator, and she smiled brightly at the screen.

J P Hawkins

(01:36 pm) Thanks for caring, you worrywart :)

(01:37 pm) anytime, mo

Consider this a preview for the blog I plan on making with these characters and this universe. This au has been several months in the making, and I would love to hear all your feedback!

[Note: All the characters names were chosen for specific reasons! Also yes, Damon is Wasabi. Wendy doesn't know him well, so she doesn't know his nickname, but rest assured that is in fact who that is.]

Next Chapter: Quasimodo corners Jim in his own truck and Jim questions his choice in friends.