Chapter One

Drops of Jupiter

OOOOO

Gianna Petro was a year ten student, and new to Degrassi Community School. She had moved into town the week of Spring Break, with her grandmother and grandfather. She was a shy, nervous type of girl, who was scared of meeting new people and monumentally afraid of attending a new school, where she would be surrounded by total strangers.

She walked into DCS the morning of April 3rd (AN: I don't actually know the date; sorry.), wearing the official uniform of a red polo shirt, a black rugby sweater with a yellow "D" on it, a black skirt, and a pair of blue Converse Oxfords. She looked around for a moment, confused.

"Excuse me," a boy said to her. She looked up at him. He was Indian, with big brown eyes and a huge smile on his face. "Are you looking for something?"

"Oh, uhmm, yes," Gianna said softly. "The main office. I'm a new student; this is my first day."

"Well, as your Student Council President, I will be happy to escort you there. My name's Sav Bandhari," he said. "And yours?"

"Gianna Petro," she replied.

"Welcome to Degrassi Community School, Gianna," Sav motioned towards the hallway. "C'mon. Let's go to the office." Gianna happily grabbed her backpack and followed in Sav's lead. "So, Degrassi is a pretty good school, despite all the bad things you may have heard about us. We have sports teams, clubs, and other extracurricular activities you should check out. We also have a school band, choir, and orchestra." He opened the glass door to the office and ushered her inside. "The secretary will help you get your schedule, and give you a map so you can find all your classes."

"Thank you so much, Sav," she replied gratefully. "Maybe I'll see you around?"

"Sure," Sav shot her another smile before walking out of the office.

Gianna sighed heavily before turning to the Secretary's desk and beginning to talk.

Meanwhile, in the hallway outside of the office, Adam Torres was trying to convince his best friend Eli Goldsworthy that trying to "woo Clare" with his "amazing charm" was a terrible idea.

"You have to become her friend again first, dude," Adam said when they reached his locker. "She doesn't trust you anymore, which kinda sucks, but you did almost die for her."

Eli groaned. "But I thought girls were into that kind of thing! Knowing that a guy would do anything to make them happy."

"Most girls are like that, Eli," Adam shrugged. "Just not Clare."

At that moment, Adam turned to walk with Eli to their first class of the new semester (Algebra II) at the same time that Gianna walked out of the office, looking down at her schedule. To say the least, they bumped into each other, and Adam fell backwards with Gianna on top of him.

Adam sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Ow," he muttered.

Gianna looked up at him, grey eyes widening in perfect terror. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she managed to squeak out. "I really didn't mean to; I swear!"

"It's okay," Adam said. "Don't worry about it."

Gianna carefully stood, and then held down her hand to help Adam to his feet. She blushed profusely as he leaned down to pick up her backpack, and his own books.

"Are you new here?" Adam asked. "You don't look familiar."

"Yes, actually," she took her backpack from him and smiled shyly. "My name's Gianna; Gianna Petro."

"Adam Torres," Adam stuck out his hand, and she reluctantly shook it. "And this is my best friend, Eli Goldsworthy. Don't let him intimidate you; he's really a big teddy bear with a soft spot for a girl named Clare."

"Nice to meet you, Eli," Gianna said politely. "Are you both Year Tens as well?"

"Yup," Adam and Eli replied in unison.

She got a hopeful look in her eye. "Would you mind showing me the way to Algebra II? I don't want to get lost and be late."

"Oh, we were on our way there anyways," Eli said. "You can just walk with us, okay?"

Gianna nodded happily, and followed the two boys down the hallway.

OOOOO

By the time Lunch rolled around, Adam and Eli had actually gotten Gianna to talk about herself a little bit. She was reluctant to share information with people she had just met, but they both seemed very nice, and quite trustworthy. She especially thought so about Adam, who made her feel most welcome in every class, although she noticed that a lot of people seemed to glare at him, and laugh at him.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you," Gianna said as she sat down next to Adam on one side of the table, with Eli on the other side. She had brought her own lunch, while they got hot lunch.

"You're welcome," Adam said with a smile.

Gianna heard a loud commotion behind them, but she didn't pay attention as Eli's eyes widened, Adam stiffened, and a hand came down on her shoulder.

She turned around to see a tall boy with shaggy light brown hair and big blue eyes looking down at her. "Hey, New Girl," he said. "Why are you sitting over here with these queers?"

Her smile immediately dropped and was replaced with a look of both anger and sadness. "Well, first of all, my name's Gianna. And unless you have distinct proof, which I doubt you do, then you have no right to imply that they're gay. And, even if they were, I wouldn't care, because they are some of the nicest people that I have ever met, and they have both been very welcoming and helpful. So, what's your name?"

"KC," the boy said grumpily.

"KC, I would very much like you to leave me, and these boys, alone," Gianna said, glaring at him.

KC just scoffed. "I hope you realize that sitting with these two is earning you social suicide."

"As long as I have friends that care about me, my social life will never be dead," Gianna said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to get back to my lunch."

KC stomped back to his table, while both Eli and Adam stared at Gianna, gobsmacked.

"Thank you," Adam said to her before looking down at his food. "It was nice of you to stick up for us."

Gianna blushed. "I don't know what got into me. I don't want people to think I'm mean on my first day."

Eli snorted. "I don't think anyone could ever see you as mean, Gianna."

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Author's Note: More about them later! If you liked this, please review! I want to know what everyone thinks!