This is a highschool AU with the Alpha gen as seniors and Beta gen as their younger siblings and nineth graders. I've had this floating around in my head for a whiiiile and I guess finding out about Bro's cannon crush finally pushed me into writing it c: It'll probably progress slower than my other stuff, but, y'know, whatever.

Disclaimer- Hussie owns Homestuck, I just own the story

The school day dragged by slowly, every tick of the clock seemingly pausing longer than the last. It was the first friday of the school year and everyone was on the edge of their seats; intent eyes set on the second hand slowly creeping past the six. By this point, the teacher had set aside his binder and yard stick, glancing up every so often to check the time.

Seated in the back of the room was a blonde teen, half-lidded eyes hidden behind sunglasses. He was extremely pale beyond the freckles that dappled his nose and shoulders with messy blonde hair and an open black and orange jacket hanging over his tee and jeans. He tapped his fingers to the light tick tick tick of the clock, standing up calmly as the bell screamed dismissal.

In a flurry of papers, pushing and talking the room cleared out. The teacher sighed, rubbing his forehead. He almost missed the lingering student who was calmly slinging his bookbag over his shoulder, pushing in his chair and shuffling toward the door.

"Mister Strider," he said before the teen could leave. He earned a glance, accompanied by an unnerving silence. "... have a good weekend." The teacher, Mr. Brown, said decidedly; having lost his train of thought with the narrowing of the orange eyes watching him.

Dirk turned and continued out into the hall, which was buzzing with noise. Kids of all heights and colors were mingling together, shouting and laughing, making weekend plans a mere day in advanced. It seemed there was a bubble around him, however, as even in the dense crowd of the halls, no one so much as brushed him. They never did. He was untouchable.

Up until a small, feminine hand grabbed his elbow and pulled him off to the side. Roxy grinned up at him, her opposite arm slung around Jane's shoulders- otherwise known as her best friend and semi-girlfriend. Jane was smiling politely, hands occupied with books.

"Oh, hello, Dirk," she greeted, nodding. He inclined his head a bit, gaze set expectantly on Roxy.

"Don't you glower at me," Roxy huffed with a light pout. "I was going to say we were invited over to the Egbert residencey for dinner! And-" the girl added before Dirk could say anything "-we're going. For someone so popular, you have, like, no friends!"

Sighing, Dirk rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, alright," he said with a roll of his eyes. Roxy's grin widened a bit as Jane's younger cousin and brother popped up beside her; blue and green gazes bright. John, her full brother, was glancing over his shoulder in search of someone while Jade, their cousin, waved up at the three older teens.

"Hey, you guys! Are you coming tonight~?" She inquired, the family buck teeth showing through as she smiled.

"It wouldn't be a party without me~" Roxy replied, striking a pose with one hand on her hip and her fingers brushing along her chin.

"Hey, that's my part," Dave cut in, finally appearing beside John. Keeping his pokerface perfectly in tact, he copied her pose; earning laughter from the closeknit friends. "Oh, hey, where's the other Lalonde?" He asked after looking them over.

"Rose? Iunno, weren't you supposed to be lookin' out for her?" Roxy poked his forehead, starting toward the front doors. "Besides, Miss Partypooper probably wouldn't even come~ She never does!"

John and Jade frowned a bit as they scuttled after, Jane hanging back to walk with Dirk. "You look a bit down," the girl commented, gazing up at him with a concerned quirk of her brows. The tall teen merely shrugged, expression unreadable. "Cheer up, Dirk. You never look happy anymore! I mean, you hardly even talk to any of your friends!" She was full out frowning now, giving him a pleading look as they tromped down the stairs; the rest of the group already heading up the sidewalk.

"It is none of your concern, Crocker." He replied simply, arms crossed as the chilly Washington air brushed through his open jacket. Jane sighed, gazing down at her feet for a long moment before looking back up at him.

"Well, I'm always an open ear if you need to talk. I'm sure Roxy isn't always, uhm, able to do so for you, after all." She watched said blonde stumble over her own feet, laughing as she caught herself with a hand John and Jade's shoulders. Dave must have made a snarky comment past John because a moment later they were laughing.

"There is nothing to talk about," Dirk assured her flatly, zipping the front of his jacket. He seemed to consider taking up the opposite direction of the others, head home rather than subject himself to another lonely day at the Egbert residence, but Roxy would surely make a huge deal out of it. Jane sighed again, reluctantly defeated, and quickened her pace to catch up tot he others.

This left Dirk to himself and his thoughts. He shoved his hands in his pockets and lowered his head a bit, blinking a bit more than necessary- as he always did when he was deep in thought. Things seemed to be growing progressively more boring and lonely around here; despite his friends and his siblings and his friend's siblings, he only felt ever-more alone.

Jane and Roxy both had badgered and badgered for him to find a girlfriend, or to at least attempt to do so, but he had refused each and every time. He didn't want a girlfriend. Not like that. Such a relationship would seem hollow, meaningless.

Why date someone you feel nothing for?

They had insisted there must be someone for him, he was just being bashful or shy, though the discussion would quickly drop if they pressed just a little too much. Dirk would either go stone silent or he'd get aggrevated and neither of the girls wanted anything to do with an irate Strider.

Leaves of brown, orange and gold crunched beneath his shoes, laying in abandoned tatters on the sidewalk. He glanced up, noting that they had officially entered Jane's neighborhood. It was situated along the border of "Old Town," the houses, as one would expect, beautiful brick victorian with gardens and cast iron fences. The lots were small, but the inhabitants made the best of their space and spruced it enough to seem like a beautiful yard instead of a postage stamp.

The Egberts lived pancaked between two cottage-like houses, their own complete with the pointed rooving and a thick wooden front door. Dave was lingering on the porch, the others already having gone inside. The smaller brother looked up as Dirk shut the gate behind him, standing on the top step so he could see him- sunglasses to sunglasses.

"Sup," Dirk greeted, trying to pass things off as normal.

"Man, what's up with you, Bro?" Dave asked, crossing his arms in a way Dirk often did when he refused to budge until he got an answer. The boy had learned well.

"Nothin'."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Fucking liar."

"Don't even start."

Dave's eyes narrowed, opening his mouth to say something else when the door opened again. John was standing there innocently, smile evaporating when he realized the seriousness of the situation. "Oh, uhm," he murmured, nibbling at his lower lip as all of the dark-haired relatives did when they were nervous. "Sorry, guys..!"

"It's fine," Dave said, turning and passing him. "We were just coming in anyway, dude." John looked unconvinced that his interuption was 'fine' but didn't argue; instead stepping aside ot allow Dirk in before closing the door behind him.

"I think Jane and Roxy are in the livingroom," he offered with a small smile, trotting along through the hall- which promptly opened up into a beautiful living space. Hard wood floors, a high ceiling with a sky light, black leather couches and a large TV posted on the wall. The kitchen was to the left, the door leading in from the hall though there was a wide window with a few bar stools lined up against it on the living room side of the wall.

Dirk nodded, passing him by as he paused to talk to his dad through said window. Roxy and Jane were, as promised, sitting on the couch. Jane had her legs tucked up beneath her while Roxy was, as Roxy usually was, laying back against the arm with her legs stretched out and open. Her miniskirt did little to hide the striped underwear beneath, though it was nothing new and no one even seemed to notice anymore.

He sat himself in a matching leather recliner, taking the remote off of the small end table and turning the TV on. "Ooh, whatcha watchin'~?" Roxy asked, tipping her head back to look at Dirk. "You know what you should watch?"

Before she could even finish her request, he'd tuned it on. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. According to statistics -and irony- he should be the one in love with the show, but apparently it was the best thing since Squiddles to all of the girls in the house.

Jade immediately came running in, a huge smile brightening up her face as she sat down on the empty space between Roxy's feet. John came at a slower pace, obviously having been talking to Jade when she bolted. "Hey, Dave," he called over his shoulder when he registered what was on.

The two came in, sitting on the couch opposite of the one already taken up by girls. John bent down, unlacing his shoes and kicking them off on the soft carpet that inhabited the portion of the livingroom boxed in by the TV, couches and recliner. Dirk left his on, as he usually did, along with his jacket. He dropped his bookbag off beside the recliner decidedly, though.

"Hello, kids," Mr. Egbert, or Dad, as everyone refered to him as, greeted as he momentarily escaped the kitchen. He did a quick head count, then added, "someone not showing up?"

"Rose isn't coming tonight," John said with a nod, smiling apologetically as though he should have said it before.

"Ah, alright. Well, I'll go get you kids something to drink and dinner should be ready shortly." There was a collective acknlowedgement from the livingroom as the older man moved back into the kitchen. He'd more or less raised the lot of them, given that the Lalondes and Striders ate over here more often than not and he'd taken Jade in not long after she was born.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The dining room table, stretching out on the other half of the beautiful livingroom area, was filled with happy laughter and talking. Dad was sitting at the head of the table, Dirk at the opposite end and the rest spread between them. Despite the length of the table, there was only one open seat- that of his younger sister, Rose.

Roxy giggled as she sat forward, dragging one of the large bowls in the middle of the table toward herself, using the large spoon to dallop some mashed potatoes on her plate; overlapping her peas. Jane smiled a bit as she pushed the gravy Roxy's way. "Try not to spill it again, could you?"

"Aw, but that's no fun!" Roxy said, grinning as Dad chuckled to himself. "At least gravy doesn't stain~"

Dirk was deaf to the commotion, picking idly at his chicken. He ate regardless of his lack of appetite, wanting to be polite to his almost-father. He was an amazing cook by any standards, but Dirk had been eating less and less as of late. His siblings were growing worried over it, but Roxy, the only one his age, didn't have the attention span to hound it into him that he needed food.

Jane looked down the table at him, though Roxy quickly stole her attention away once more. Jane was catching on, slowly but surely, given that she shared two meals daily with him. It didn't mean much when someone didn't eat the lunch food, but Mr. Egbert's cooking?

"Yo," Dave said, waving a hand in front of Dirk's eyes. He looked over at his brother, scowling just enough for it to be visible. "Don't give me that shit. You're the one who's too busy off in gog knows where to respond."

Dirk narrowed his gaze further, sitting back without a reply. "Look, since you've obviously missed this whole conversation, we're stayin' over for the weekend. I'm bunkin' with Egbert and cotton candy over there's stayin' together, so what about you?"

"Someone has to go home, considering we left Rose to her own devices." Dirk said, pushing away his half full plate. He looked across to Dad, who nodded to affirm an excuse. He stood up, pushing his chair in and taking his plate to the kitchen.

"Hey, you staying over?" Roxy called through the window, leaning her chair back on two legs. Dirk didn't reply, grabbing his bookbag from the livingroom, zipping his jacket back up, and disappearing out the front door. The table fell silent beyond the thunk of Roxy's chair falling back onto all four legs.

Dad cleared his throat, standing up and taking the dishes to the bar, setting it all up there before moving around into the kitchen. "Anyone for some dessert?" He offered, trying to break the momentary concerned silence.

"Uhm... sure," John replied, looking around at his friends with a small nod. They returned the gesture, and slowly the conversations were revived.