Set You Free

RATED T/PG-15 FOR MILD LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT, OCCASIONAL STRONG LANGUAGE, SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE, AND ADULT THEMES!

Nothing too explicit though.

A/N: This is my first "School of Rock" fic…I must admit I felt a bit strange writing sex and swears for these characters at first. On screen they are preserved as children, but in real life they are (slightly) older than me, so I felt that this was not inappropriate. The fic will feature all of the original "School of Rock" characters but focus in particular on Freddy Jones, Summer Hathaway, Zack Mooneyham, and Katie Brown. It takes place during their senior year of high school, a subject I feel I am well qualified to write about since I myself just graduated high school. There will be multiple chapters, and each chapter is named after a line from a song in the "School of Rock" soundtrack. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Gloves Are Off

Michelle counted along with the seconds ticking down on the microwave: five, four, three, two, one. Before the pinging noise announcing the food was ready could even sound, Michelle opened the door and pulled out the popcorn. She opened the steaming bag and deposited the buttery snack into a large plastic bowl, before rushing back into the den.

Eleni made room for her on Dewey's couch, as Frankie, seated on Michelle's other side, grabbed a fistful of popcorn.

"Did I miss anything?" Michelle whispered.

"Nah, it's only just started," Eleni replied, her tone giddy and conspiratorial.

The whole band had gathered in Dewey's apartment to practice and collaborate for an upcoming gig, but were now thoroughly occupied in watching Freddy Jones, star drummer, and Summer Hathaway, manager extrordinaire, shout at each other from opposite sides of the room. Their fights were not unusual but were always entertaining.

Gordon arrived late, computer in tow. He sidled up to Alicia, who sat at a table covered in hand-written sheet music. Her task of revising the back-up singers' harmonies was long-forgotten, a pencil dangling limply from her hand, as she watched the brawl unfolding in front of her with a smirk that was half-amused and half-exasperated. "What's it about this time?" Gordon asked, slinging his laptop case cover the back of a chair.

Alicia shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "I doubt even they know."

Marco, who had crossed the room to greet Gordon, chimed in. "I think she was pissed at him for losing some important equipment or something."

Billy gave an annoyed snort as he stood from crouch on the floor, where he had been in the process of re-hemming Laurence's new pants. (They were not a part of his costume—Billy just didn't like the way they draped.) "He didn't lose anything. He autographed a cymbal and gave it to some girl he met outside the last House of Blues concert."

Gordon laughed and Alicia shook her head in disgust. Marco said simply "Classic Freddy."

Across the room, Marta and Katie had wedged themselves onto one of Dewey's old, oversized armchairs, donated to his School of Rock by Ms. Mullins after the school's booster committee funded all-new, uber-expensive furniture for the prep academy. Even though Marta was a senior in high school now, she still felt like a little girl when she sat on the old Horace Green relic. Katie had been silent for some time, but this was not unusual for her, as she was typically a very quiet girl. Marta jumped when Katie quietly intoned, "It's funny, isn't it?"

"What is?" Marta asked.

"The way they fight. Freddy and Summer, I mean," she added, unnecessarily. "They're so…in love."

Marta took a sip of her tea pensively. This was true, after all. Everyone noticed Freddy and Summer's undeniable chemistry and mutual attraction…except for Freddy and Summer that was. As a result, their band mates tolerated their screaming, understanding that it was an outlet, though perhaps not the healthiest one, for their sexual tension. After a good long fight, they would make up fairly quickly. Summer would resume tapping away at her blackberry, but with less frantic urgency than before. Freddy would play happily on his drumset, creating repetitive rhythms while staring away into space dreamily. It was comical, and quite frankly, adorable. A picture Frankie had jokingly snapped on his iPhone of Freddy in his blissful, post-fight state had been forwarded to almost every School of Rock member, who received it with guffaws and affectionate chuckles. Everyone knew that the best time to ask Summer for anything was after she argued with the drummer; she was in such a peaceful mood that requests were granted with no begging whatsoever.

However, these discoveries were recent developments, and most of the band members were just now catching on—Lord knew that Summer and Freddy were still completely unaware of the gossip they were inspiring. Katie had been one of the first to spot the spark between her friends, something that struck Marta as odd.

"It's funny…" the blonde began, and trailed off. Katie raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Never mind," Marta said dismissively, smiling to herself.

It's funny how some people can be so perceptive of others' romances and so completely unaware of what's going on in their own love lives. Katie had sniffed out the love/hate relationship between Summer and Freddy before almost anyone else, yet she was oblivious to the boy who, in Marta's estimation, completely adored her.

Zach sat on the wobbly arm of the chair the girls shared. His position was precarious, but he was unwilling, or maybe even unable, to steady himself by placing a hand on the back of the chair. It would have required him to basically put his arm around Katie. Every so often he would glance down at her with a look full of nerves and puppy-like devotion. It was so cute Marta could have vomited. And this was coming from the girl who used to use "Annie" tunes as her go-to songs. When she caught his eye, Zach jumped off the chair with a guilty look.

The sudden movement jarred Katie from her revery. "What's wrong?" she asked. Marta snorted mid-gulp of tea, and Zack glared at her. Well, he was far too sweet to glare, but he gave Marta a look that was brimming with quiet disapproval. She was unfazed. Katie, for her part, was unaware of the exchange.

"Nothing's wrong," he told Katie, his tone measured. "I need to go home now. I can't afford to have Dad pissed at me right before the Robert Hall gig."

Katie nodded. Even though Mr. Mooneyham had mellowed considerably since they were in grade school, he was still a parent—and a rather strict one at that—who understandably insisted that his son follow his rules while he was living at home. Katie thought that despite all his blustering and complaining about Zach's packed extracurricular life, Mr. Mooneyham would miss Zach terribly when he attended Carnegie Mellon next year. She wouldn't be surprised if he ended up attending all of Zach's concerts, through university and beyond. The thought cheered her. Zach was shy and slow to make friends, much like herself, and it was good to know that he would have people looking out for him when she could not. Katie would be attending New York University the following year, and though she wouldn't be too far away from Zack, it just wouldn't be the same. They had been joined at the hip since the seventh grade, when she had finally worked up the courage to start writing for the band, and started collaborating on songs together.

"Could you give me a ride home?" she asked, somewhat rhetorically. Zack lived just a few houses down from her, and he frequently acted the part of chauffer. Well, if chauffers blasted what Dewey affectionately termed "The Led."

Katie pried herself out of the chair, and tugged on one of Marta's as way of goodbye. Extracting herself and Zack from the practice room, however, would be rather more difficult. Summer and Freddy had cleared a wider and wider circle in the middle of the room as their fight continued to escalate. Everyone had been forced to squeeze into the few articles of furniture, press against the wall, or simply huddle in a corner. Katie and Zach managed to scoot along the wall fairly rapidly until they reached a clump of people right by the front door. With an exasperated sigh, Katie grabbed Zack's hand and pushed through the group, pulling the guitarist behind her. From her position in front of him, she could not see that Zack looked like he was about to pass out from the hand-holding. To his relief and chagrin, Katie dropped his hand when they reached the stairwell, intent only on getting her bass down the stairs to his car while keeping it in pristine condition.

After Katie and Zack escaped, the rest of School of Rock soon tired of the fight, and peeled off one by one. Still, Freddy and Summer's argument, which had reached a point of incoherence, showed no signs of fizzling out. Finally, Ned ventured into the studio from his apartment on the floor above. He had become a far less timid man in the almost-decade that had passed since Patty left his life, and he had no problem asking—telling them to shut up. "Do you mind? The baby is sleeping," Ned explained, referring to his eleven-month old son Finn.

"Sorry, Ned," the teens chorused, shooting each other annoyed looks at their accidental "jinx". Ned rolled his eyes and returned to his apartment. It was only then that Summer and Freddy realized that they were alone. Refusing to look at each other, they set about gathering up their belongings in uncomfortable silence.

"Have you seen my Rush album?" Freddy asked, cutting through the quiet.

Summer blew air out through her nose, still annoyed. "No," she answered, her tone clipped, "are you sure you didn't sign it and give it away to some floozy?"

Freddy responded by slamming his cymbals more forcefully than necessary into their case. Moments later, a corresponding wail could be heard from the toddler upstairs. "Shit," Freddy growled, running his hands through his spiky hair to make it even unrulier. "Let's just get out of here before Ned kicks both our asses."

Summer suddenly became very interested in toying with the lock on her briefcase. "Tommika was my ride home, but I guess she…forgot."

Yeah, thought Freddy, or got sick of your…our bullshit. Summer looked very small and sheepish standing alone in the middle of the room, clutching her briefcase, and Freddy could hear Ned's plodding footsteps drawing nearer and nearer, so he decided to temporarily bury the hatchet. "Ahhh, come on, Tink," he sighed, "I'll drive you home."

She gave a curt nod to signal her acceptance of the invitation, and together they raced out of the makeshift school just as Ned re-entered the room, a sniffling Finn in his arms. Summer and Freddy could hear the baby's hiccups and Ned's half-hearted cry of "Get back here and clean this mess up!" echoing in the stairwell as they raced down to the parking lot and out into the night.

Ned, too amused to be truly frustrated, began to rock Finn back to sleep, humming an old Maggot Death tune as a lullaby.

A/N: Title from No Vacancy's "Fight". Please review!