A/N: so this is my first big project. It's an AU, but with lots of similarities with the show. I know it's been done before, but hopefully it will be fresh and different too. And I promise, no one's going to Greece (pun intended).

This first chapter is more like a prologue and it happens years earlier than the actual story. Turns out that Chuck and Sarah met in highschool. Oh, I know, TakeItTo22 has written something like that, but first of all: this is not a highschool fic, I repeat, this is not a highschool fic and there's no vigilante Chuck for sure. I reckon there are over 2600 stories about Chuck in the site and some stuff is bound to repeat. I just want everybody to know that I haven't read them all and I don't like stealing other writer's ideas.

One last thing: if you've read my other fics or my profile you know English is not my first language so I may make some mistakes. Feel free to correct them, for it's the only way to learn. And of course, I don't own Chuck or Adele's song.

Prologue

1996 – Burbank, California

Sixteen-year-old Chuck Bartowski rushed through the dessert hallway, his brown curls bouncing uncontrollably in his head. He was late. Again. He had overslept after a night of intense gaming with his friend Morgan. The only sound he could hear was the one his back Chucks made against the slippery floor. He sprinted and finally reached his classroom door. Panting, he got in.

The history teacher stopped talking, looked at him and said "Late again, Bartowski. It's the third time in two weeks".

Chuck just nodded and went to sit in his usual desk. He noticed that the one next to him, usually empty, was now occupied by someone. More specifically, by a girl. A blonde, blue-eyed girl. He smiled friendly at her and whispered "Hi!", but she didn't return the smile or the greeting, so he just took his stuff out of his backpack and pretended to listen as the teacher continued with the boring lecture of the day.

It wasn't that he didn't like school, because he did, but he was having a rough time lately. He had been very depressed for the past weeks, since the anniversary of the day his mom had left was approaching. Ellie, his sister, was determined to celebrate what she liked to call "Mothers Day", even if it was in October.

Time seemed to go by slower than normal as he let his mind wonder. Finally, the bell rang, announcing it was lunch time.

Chuck walked into the cafeteria. Morgan was nowhere to be seen. He had just probably skipped class again. His mom was cool, but Ellie wouldn't have any of that and forced him to go anyway. As he waited for his food, he spotted the blonde girl sitting alone in a secluded table. He wondered what was her deal. He'd tried to be nice to her, but she wouldn't even look at him.

He started to approach a table where some of his friends from the comic book club were eating, when he saw a group of football players gathering around the girl. She didn't seem very happy, and when all of them, except her, started to laugh hard, he knew what was going on. They were making fun of her, in her first day of school.

Being a nerd, Chuck had had to deal with bullies in regular basis, but right after he started highschool, things changed. Of course, making their homework had something to do with it, but it was worth it for as long it would spare him and Morgan a life of torture.

So he knew first handed what was like to have someone laughing at you. He left his tray on his friends' table, mumbling "Be right back" and went to the corner of the room, where the girl was now surrounded by a bigger group of laughing football players and cheerleaders.

"Excuse me, guys" he said, raising his voice a little.

"Hey, nerd, you came to join the party?" asked Cliff Hudson, a big blond guy.

Chuck glanced briefly at the girl, who was silently looking at him.

"Actually, no. I came to ask you guys to give my friend here a little space. It's her first day at school and she's a little shy".

"And I should care because…?"

"Because your father wants you to go to college and god knows you can't pass chemistry and math without my… help" turning to his right, and glancing at a big dumb-looking guy, he added, "The same goes for you, Davis". The guy gave him a look that made him swallow hard, but he didn't cave.

Finally, Hudson said "Let's go, guys, let the nerd and the ugly duckling here make out and plan how they're going to raise their ugly nerd babies".

With one last laugh, the group left.

Chuck looked at the girl at the same time she looked at him and they just stared at each other for three awkward seconds.

She was the first to break eye contact. Blushing, she mumbled "Thank you".

"No problem" said Chuck. And, before she could say anything else, he left, leaving her with a disappointed look in her face.

Of course he didn't want to have anything to do with her. He had been nice at class and she hadn't even said 'Hi' to him.

She looked down at her food. She had no appetite anymore. She just wanted to go back to the hotel and cry herself to sleep. She didn't even want to be in that stupid town in the first place, but her father had said that this job was a piece of cake, so she had finally agreed to move for the fourth time that year.

Of course, that kind of life didn't allow her to make any friends, 'cause they never stayed in the same place for a long time. Being the daughter of a conman didn't exactly make her social life any easier. And, if she was honest with herself, she was sick of it. She was sick of being the weird kid who eats alone and has no friends at school. She was sick of moving around and haven't been able to make one real connection with a person for as long as she could remember. And she was also very, very mad at her dad for being so selfish and force her into this life.

She was lost in thought when she felt someone sit in front of her. When she looked up, she was met by the kindest, warmest brown eyes she'd ever seen. Her surprise must've been written in her face, cause his huge grin faltered a little while he introduced himself "Hi! I'm Chuck, Chuck Bartowski".

After a moment of hesitation, she said "I'm Jenny".

He smiled again as he jokingly asked "Do you have a last name, Jenny?".

She gave him a small grin and said "Burton. Jenny Burton".

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jenny Burton", he solemnly said.

For whatever reason, she found that amusing, and, before she could help it, a soft chuckle left her throat.

He smiled brightly at her and, pointing to her untouched food, he commented "You should eat that before it gets too cold and completely inedible".

"That bad, uh?"

"Oh, you have no idea". He took his fork and stole some mashed potatoes from her plate. He slowly put it in his mouth and, faking a shiver, he swallowed and said with a strangled voice "Horrible".

She laughed at his antics "That's funny"

"Well, I'm a funny guy" he winked at her.

"Clearly. That's good, I don't get to talk with many funny people". The words left her mouth before she knew it. She wanted to kick herself. As if he needed another reason to think she was totally lame, with that ridiculous haircut, those braces and her old lady clothes.

He was going to ask why, but he could see a flash of embarrassment cross her eyes after what she'd just said, so, instead, he decided to make small talk.

"So, Jenny, it take that you're new in town" he gave her an encouraging smile.

She returned it with a shy one of her own, truly grateful that he had changed the subject. She wasn't completely comfortable, though, cause he was now asking personal questions, and that meant she would have to lie to him, and she really didn't want to.

"Yes, we just got here"

"You came with your family?"

"Actually, it's just me and my dad. He had a job… offer and he had to take it".

"That's cool. So, how do you like it in here so far?". She could see he was completely relaxed, eating his food and paying attention to everything she said. It was kind of nice being able to just hang out with someone for a change.

"We got here two days ago, so I haven't really left my… house yet". Under no circumstances she would admit living in a hotel room. "As for the people…" she glanced to where the football players were sitting "I guess they're just like everywhere".

He noticed her sad tone and said "You shouldn't hear what they say, you know? They're jerks!"

She gave him a small grin. The sadness he saw in her eyes moved him. This girl was hurting and not only because of those bullies.

"And, for the record, I think you're pretty". He didn't know where that had come from, and when he realized what he'd said, he blushed furiously and tried to hide his red face behind his glass of water. She looked at him with wide eyes, completely surprised by his words. She knew he was just trying to be nice, but nobody had ever told her that "I know you don't mean that, but thanks anyway".

He put his glass down and stared directly at her eyes. Blushing again, but still looking at her, he told her "I do mean it. And if people can't see that, I'm sorry for them. Look at you! You have beautiful hair and even more beautiful eyes. In a couple of years, when you take those braces off, you'll look exactly like Vicki Vale."

"Vicki who?" she was still shocked by his words, but she had never heard that name before.

He blushed again and blurted out "That's uh… that's from Batman. Vicki Vale is this totally cool chick who works as a reporter and is totally hot. In fact, rumor has it the comic book character was based on Marilyn Monroe…" seeing she had obviously no idea what he was talking about, he apologized. "Sorry, sorry… I tend to get a little too excited when it comes to comic books. I guess I really am a nerd" he finished with a small chuckle.

She smiled shyly at him and said "Thank you, Chuck. For everything".

"Hey, seriously, don't mention it. Just promise you will remember me when you're a supermodel or something…"

She blushed but laughed at his words. She felt much better after talking with him.

"I promise, I will remember you". Oddly enough, she meant it.

"Good, then we're even".

Lunch time was over and Chuck noticed the cafeteria was almost empty.

"Crap! We're gonna be late for class!". They picked up their stuff and rushed through the now crowded hallways.

After that, Chuck and Jenny became best friends. They shared some classes, had lunch together and hanged out every day after school. Sometimes Morgan would join them.

Chuck taught her everything she needed to know about comic books and video games, and lent her his favorite books. She especially liked The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. Then, he proceeded to make her watch all the must-see movies she hadn't seen yet. Although she didn't like all of them, Jenny was having the best time of her life, finally being able to call someone a friend.

It was a week before Christmas and they were on vacation. She and Chuck had agreed to spend the 24th together, and he was planning on finally introduce her to James Bond. She was lying on her bed, watching tv when her father came through the door, looking ecstatic.

"Hey honey! You'll never guess what happened today! The guy finally agreed to make the deal, so in just a few days he'll transfer the money to 'Mr. Liechtenstein's' account".

Jenny winced. Once his father had the money from the con, they would leave, just like they always did. That meant she would never see Chuck again.

"Honey, did you hear me? We're just days away to be rich!" Jack was overjoyed and didn't seem to see the dark expression on her daughter's face.

"That's great dad" Jenny tried to feign enthusiasm, but she didn't do a very good job. Luckily, his father was in his own world, so he never noticed.

It was finally a day before Christmas and they were watching Goldfinger in Chuck's living room. Even when it was one of his favorite movies, he couldn't enjoy it because he felt something was wrong with Jenny. She had been weird the whole week, but every time he asked, she said everything was fine and changed the subject. He wondered if he should ask her again, but didn't want to pressure her.

When the movie ended, he wanted to know the verdict "So? How awesome was that?". She smiled at him and answered "It was pretty good, although all that spy stuff was quite unbelievable…"

"Jenny, the movie is about a spy. And I bet that's how they are in real life. Total badasses, fearless, and they get to drive those amazing cars…" she chuckled as he kept naming all the cool things spies could do or have.

It was getting late, so she said "I guess I should go now before it gets dark, I don't want my dad to worry"

"Oh, sure, sure… I guess I'll see you in a couple of days then?"

"Yeah, of course". She sure hoped so.

They were almost at the door when Chuck said "Wait, I almost forgot… I uh, I got you something. Wait here" and with that, he ran towards his bedroom.

He came back a few minutes later hiding something behind his back.

"Now, you know you're not supposed to open this until tomorrow morning, so promise me you'll wait"

"Ok, I will" she was still taken aback that he had thought about her and got her a present. She hadn't got him anything. "I uh… I forgot to bring yours, so I'll give it to you in a couple of days" that would give her time to get him something. If she was still in Burbank by then.

"It's ok, you didn't have to get me anything. But I really wanted you to have this" he said, giving her the gift.

"Thank you, Chuck" she started to walk through the door and suddenly, she turned around and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Blushing a little, she told him "Merry Christmas" and with that, she left.

It was the last time Chuck Bartowski saw Jenny Burton.

The next morning, he found an envelope with his name at the door, and when he opened it, he saw a picture of them at the arcade, taken by Morgan one Saturday night. He turned it around and read the few words she'd written. One tear made its way down his cheek.

She was gone.

A/N: and that was all for now. I have to study a lot this time of the year, but I'll try to update at least once a week. Also, I'm not very happy with the title, so it may change. If you have any ideas, please, don't hesitate in letting me know.

And please, whether you liked it or hated it, leave an honest review. It means a lot.

Until next time.

Coming next:

Ellie is right. I'm a mess. I can't go on like this anymore. I have to do something with my life. He knew leaving Stanford and everything it came with behind was going to be tough, but in that moment he made a decision: it wasn't going to determine his life anymore. From that moment on, Chuck Bartowski was going to be a new man. And the first thing he was going to do, was getting rid of that ridiculous beard.