Hi everyone! So here's my Jackunzel/Merricup modern day AU! I really hope you like it. A couple of things: This story will contain some child abuse in it, some very slight bullying, but that is all. I will warn you if there will be any kind of violence in the chapter before-hand. Other than that, I really hope you enjoy it!

A Whole New World

Rapunzel walked into her new school, clutching her backpack tight. She adjusted her soft pink cardigan to make sure no bruises were showing and plastered on the best smile she could think of. Sure she dressed like some kind of matronly princess or something, but the thrift shop always had the cutest things she could alter and make somewhat fashionable. She hoped the brown skirt worked with her knitted cream tights and brown loafers. The floral blouse under the cardigan still needed some mending but it was the only outfit that really worked for covering up the abuse she suffered at the hands of her foster mother.

Her long blonde hair flowed way down past her back to the point her namesake truly became legend. It actually came in handy if there were marks on her face or neck so she didn't complain. Luckily she was able to put her hair back with a pink headband she'd made. She'd sewn a cute little pink flower on it to give it a little something extra and was dying to finally show it off.

Of course when you are a new student at a high school, it was sort of a fifty-fifty chance of being liked.

She took a breath and walked inside the school. As she walked into the double doors past some students filing in, she read the sign in bold letters; Berk Academy.

She had to count her blessings she'd managed to get into a private school. It was only late September, but she was still considered behind compared to the other students here.

As she walked she tried making eye contact with some of the people and smiling, but no one really seemed to notice her. Maybe the outfit just wasn't good enough.

She decided to avert her eyes from then on out. She should have known she wouldn't fit in. Her mother had ingrained that into her mind from the minute she came to live with her.

She was only four years old when her parents died in a horrible car accident. And with no other family to look out for her, they put her in the care of Gothel; an overly zealous religious maniac to put it nicely. Her mother never attended church, always insisting that those places were never truly as devout as she was. Gothel from the get go insisted Rapunzel never cut her hair, only wear modest clothes, and never make friends.

"The world is a cruel and treacherous place. Your only friend is God and me. Trust in that. Mother knows best."

Rapunzel had no doubt that God was her friend, especially since all she could do was pray whenever Gothel beat her. No one ever intervened or came to her rescue, but when she prayed, she at least felt some form of support, even if it was imaginary. But after nearly dying from vicious and cruel abuse at the hands of Gothel, Rapunzel knew she was no friend of hers. But she had no choice but to put up with it; she had nowhere to run to and no one to save her. All she could do was listen and stay alive until she was eighteen. Luckily, with her just turning sixteen, she didn't have to wait much longer.

She found her locker and looked up her combination. She tried opening the door but it wouldn't budge. She grunted in frustration, her wrist was beginning to grow tired from the effort.

"Need a hand?" a female voice said next to her.

Rapunzel jumped a foot in the air and practically scurried away when she got a good look at the girl in front of her.

This girl was tall and very athletic looking, like she worked out on a daily basis. Her fiery red hair was so curly it looked almost unruly, but she managed to put it in a ponytail behind her head to show Rapunzel bright blue eyes. Rapunzel could tell by the girl's clothes that she was definitely not a girly kind of person.

She wore faded jeans held up by a black belt and a black t-shirt with some band logo on it. Her light jacket was a royal blue color but looked just as faded as her other clothes. Another thing Rapunzel noticed was the eyeliner and mascara, giving her eyes an edge to them. Rapunzel was about to stop staring when multiple earrings on both ears caught her attention and she realized the girl also had a nose stud! Rapunzel had always longed to try makeup and get her ears pierced, but was never allowed.

"You okay?" The girl asked her, practically laughing.

Rapunzel nodded nervously and the girl smiled kindly, "You just have to lift up the knob. Here, like this." She showed her and Rapunzel smiled happily as her locker flew open.

"Thank you." She said softly coming forward.

"No problem." The girl said, turning to the locker right next to Rapunzel's, "You new to town? I don't think I've seen you here?"

"Oh!" Rapunzel said, happy that someone was talking to her, "Yes, I just moved here with my mother a week ago."

The girl nodded, "I'm Merida Dunbroch, junior. You?"

"My name?" Rapunzel asked stupidly.

Luckily the girl was nice enough to nod patiently.

"Umm…it's Rapunzel…Rapunzel Corona" She muttered, feeling embarrassed.

Merida stared at her a moment, looking as though she were going to crack up when she realized that this girl was serious.

"Your name is seriously Rapunzel?" she choked.

Rapunzel nodded sadly, "I know it's silly…"

"Actually that's…kind of cool." Merida said, smiling, "We have tons of kids here with odd names."

"Hi Merida." A rather strange voice said walking past them.

"Speak of the devil! HICCUP!" Merida yelled, causing Rapunzel to flinch.

The brunette boy who'd passed them rolled his green eyes and turned, holding way too many books it seemed, "What?"

"This is a new student in town; I was just telling her we have a ton of weird names here." Merida said politely, putting a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "Figured I'd use you as an example."

"Oh please don't!" the boy whined.

Rapunzel couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. The boy was lanky and thin, his brown shaggy hair definitely needed a trim and his voice was absolutely perfect for the way he carried himself and the way he dressed. She was glad she wasn't the only one wearing some kind of classic sweater with a button up shirt; only his shirt was green and his sweater vest was a dark brown color. She wondered if he wore glasses too, he certainly looked like he would.

Deciding to make his acquaintance she held out her hand politely, "I'm Rapunzel." She said kindly.

The boy smiled warmly at her and shook her hand, "I'm Hiccup, Hiccup Haddock. Are you a junior as well?" he asked her.

She nodded, taking her hand back quickly.

"Don't mind Merida." He smiled, "her and me go way back, our dad's practically run the town. One's a police chief while the other is a mayor, so we have no choice but to know everyone who comes to live in Berk."

Rapunzel nodded.

"Did you need help finding your classes?" he asked her and she couldn't contain her joy at having met people who were being nice to her.

"I…I would like that." She nodded happily.

He nodded and took her schedule, smiling, "Great, you have math with me first period. Oh and we share an art class after lunch."

"Lemme see!" Merida chimed in and looked over his shoulder, "Oh good, you're in English with me as well as science. And…we all have the same lunch!"

"I thought you had art with us as well, did you drop it?" Hiccup asked her.

Merida rolled her eyes, "Ugh, no, I really don't wanna do it."

"Why not?" Rapunzel asked her, feeling shocked. She loved art; it was the one class she always felt she did truly well in. It was a place where she could escape from the real world and create her own.

"It's because she already fulfilled her gym requirements. Merida's not one for sitting down." Hiccup laughed.

Merida rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Rapunzel was relieved that she would at least know somebody in her class. Maybe this move wouldn't be such a bad one after all.

They heard the bell ring and Hiccup adjusted his satchel and books, "I'll lead you to math." He told her, "It's this way."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks Hamish!" Merida said sweetly, chuckling to herself.

Hiccup turned beet red and glared at her.

"Hamish?" Rapunzel asked, feeling puzzled.

"It's his real name." Merida laughed, "So whenever you're feeling like your name is stupid just remember his."

"Okay, bye!" Hiccup grunted, waving her away.

"See you at lunch Rapunzel." Merida said kindly and walked away.

"Thank you, I'll…see you too!" Rapunzel answered, feeling strange that already people were wanting to sit with her and be her friend.

"Don't worry; she'll start teasing you too once she gets to know you more." Hiccup chuckled.

"She means well, I'm sure." Rapunzel commented.

"Oh she does, that's just who she is." Hiccup nodded as he led her down the hall.

Rapunzel could see a soft look in Hiccup's eyes as he defended Merida. She remembered his mention of them going way back so had to wonder if they'd been childhood sweethearts at one point. But that was obviously a little too romantic to actually happen, right?

As they walked, people would wave to him or make funny jokes his way. He would either roll his eyes or nod to them.

"You really do know everyone…" Rapunzel said in awe. She never thought anyone could have this many friends.

"Yeah, perks of having your dad as police chief." Hiccup shrugged, "But I really only have a few good friends." He admitted.

"Is Merida one of them?" Rapunzel asked.

He nodded, smiling, then turned to her, "Did you have a lot of friends where you came from?"

"Me?" she mumbled nervously, "Umm…I…not really." She admitted sadly.

Hiccup couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. She was really nice as far as he could see. He wanted to probe into it, but decided to wait until he got to know her a little better.

They walked into math class together and Rapunzel figured the teacher hadn't arrived yet, since the students were still milling around and talking to one another.

"Here." Hiccup said, leading her to a seat next to his, "I won't feed you to the wolves." He chuckled.

She thanked him and sat down, flinching when a sore spot on one of her welts was triggered. She'd have to put balm on it in the bathroom later.

She looked around nervously. While Hiccup got his things out, other students milled around and spoke to one another. How she wished she could be like them. She was about to get her things out when she turned and noticed the strangest kid talking to another student. He had 2 different colors on his head! He must really be a brunette as the lightly shaved nape of his neck led up to bright shocking white hair that stuck around the top of his head oddly. She'd never seen anything like it before in her life. She took in his blue hoodie, his brown pants that fit his form perfectly, the white sneakers that had been colored in Sharpie, but boy the hair amazed her.

She didn't realize how much she was staring when the kid turned around and made eye contact with her. He grinned at her and she gasped at the dazzling blue eyes crinkling in a smile. He winked at her and she jumped, turning away nervously.

He didn't seem the least bit phased as he took a seat in front of her purposely.

He turned around and smiled at her, "You new?" he asked her.

"Um…" she mumbled, fiddling with her cardigan sleeves, making sure they were still hiding her bruises. She finally nodded which earned a smile from him.

He held out his hand, "Name's Jack…Jack Frost." He smiled.

"Yeah right, Overland." Hiccup interjected.

Jack stuck his tongue out at Hiccup, and while he was distracted, took in his piercings, of which he had quite a few. Not only were his ears pierced about three times on the lobe but both cartilages' were pierced as well. He also had what looked to be an eyebrow piercing above his right eye and a lip piercing over his left top lip. He looked incredibly dangerous and like the sort of person her mother warned her to stay away from.

She wanted to see what Hiccup would do but was shocked to see him smile warmly at Jack. Apparently, they were friend.

"Alright, you got me. Jack Overland. But people call me Frost, cause of the hair." He pointed.

"I…I see." Rapunzel mumbled. She really needed to stop doing that. Her mother hated it when she mumbled. It always earned her a smack.

"Where you from Miss…?" Jack asked her, hinting at wanting to know her name.

"I'm Rapunzel." She answered quickly, "I'm from Chicago."

"Nice! Windy City!" Jack smiled, "My kind of place."

"I lived outside of the city, I never really went there." She admitted.

"What?! You lived in Chicago and you never went inside Chicago?" he gasped.

She shrugged, "I tried going to their museum once but my mother didn't let me go."

Jack narrowed his eyes, "Bummer."

She shrugged, "It's okay. Maybe I'll go someday."

"Yeah." Jack nodded, "We should have a road trip!"

"I wouldn't…" Hiccup suddenly cut in.

"Hey come on!" Jack laughed, punching Hiccup's shoulder playfully, "Have a little faith, dude!"

"You do realize I was there when you tried driving your brother's car…not only were you joyriding but you wrecked it so bad he nearly pulverized you. You're lucky my dad didn't ground me for a year." Hiccup said, his eyebrows raised.

Jack sighed, "Just can't win 'em all." He muttered.

Rapunzel looked down and came to the conclusion that Jack was definitely someone to keep her distance from. To be honest she was surprised he wasn't skipping class or anything. Normally his 'kind' would.

"So…Rapunzel…" Jack continued and she kept her head down, hoping Hiccup would save her.

"When did you move into town?"

She figured it was only polite to answer that simple question, "A few days ago." She shrugged.

Jack nodded, "What part of town?"

She looked up nervously and Hiccup luckily came to her rescue, "You're not stalking her, Jack!"

Jack chuckled, "Uh oh! I've been found out!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. He and Jack were the best of friends, since they were little, really. Jack had a hard life and had come through a lot. He was much better than he used to be, but one thing that never changed was his daring fun side that still got him into some trouble. But he was one of the nicest guys Hiccup knew.

"I only live a couple blocks from here." She shrugged quickly.

"So you don't ride the bus?" Jack asked conversationally.

She shook her head.

"You are one lucky duck." He laughed, "Those things are moving death traps."

"Do you ride the bus?" she asked, surprised she was actually having a slight conversation with him.

He shook his head, "I used to, but my brother drives so he always takes me where I need to go. I'd drive but I have to wait another year before I can get my license." He muttered.

She nodded.

"You gonna drive?" he asked her, his arms resting on her desk.

She could only sit rigid and shook her head.

He was about to ask more but their sharply dressed teacher walked in.

"Seats mates, let's get this show on the road." He said loudly.

"Bunny!" Jack yelled loudly and happily.

The teacher rolled his eyes, ignoring Jack. Apparently he was very used to the student's antics at this point. Hence why his brown hair was turning gray so fast.

"Roll call." The teacher said quickly as the students took their seats.

He began calling off names and when he got to Rapunzel he smiled, looking up, "New student today! Where is Miss…Rapunzel Corona? Did I say that right?"

Rapunzel raised her hand nervously and felt every single eye on her, practically making her sweat.

"Lovely to meet you." The teacher said kindly, "Would you like to tell us anything about yourself?"

Rapunzel shook her head quickly and looked down.

The teacher smiled warmly and nodded, "Well, I'm Aster Bunnymund and I teach math here at the school and I coach the women's basketball team and men's lacrosse team. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask."

She nodded and Jack piped up, "You forgot to tell her about crossing the ocean illegally from Australia, mate!"

Aster rolled his eyes again, "Frost, for the last time I'm an official U.S. citizen."

"That's what they all say." Jack joked.

"Watch it show pony." Aster muttered.

Rapunzel was just relieved that everyone had stopped staring at her.

When the teacher finished calling names and got into the lesson, Jack managed to turn around and catch her eye. He smiled and winked, "I got your back."

She had no clue what he meant and to be honest it frightened her just a tad.

Aster was a very good teacher. His accent was very exciting and easy to understand. He would speak slowly so the rest could catch on and never hesitated to explain things a different way. She was just getting into the lesson when the bell rang.

"Augh, I swear they always gave us more time in my homeland." Aster grumbled as he erased the lesson and students filed out, "Don't forget page seven homework tomorrow bright and early, mates."

"Aha!" Jack laughed as he walked past the teacher, "Illegal immigrant, I knew it!"

Aster merely grinned, "I swear you're gonna piss me off so bad I'll actually give you a detention."

"Like to see you try!" Jack challenged.

"Just get to practice on time, will ya?" Aster complained as they left.

Rapunzel was about to pass when Aster stopped her quickly, "I apologize I didn't get a chance to ask more about you in class. I hope the walking circus didn't embarrass you." He said.

"Oh. No." she said quickly, wondering who he meant, but smiling none the less, "I'm fine. It's nice to meet you sir."

"Nah, just call me Bunny or Aster, everyone does."

She smiled and nodded, walking out, "Thank you." She said.

He nodded and sighed as he got ready for his next round of bandicoots.

Meanwhile, Jack and Hiccup were waiting for Rapunzel as she left the room.

"I have to get to English, but Jack said he'll take you to History. You both have that class together." Hiccup said to her, "I'll see you at lunch."

Rapunzel almost yelled out to him not to leave her, but knew how stupid that would sound. Jack smiled and led her down the hall to the next class, giving her no choice but to let the crazy white haired punk lead her around.