"Thank you for your time Ms. Jones." Your dad was saying as they were wrapping up so that you could both start to head out of her office. "We really appreciate you taking time out of your day to help out with this."

"Anytime Mr. (l/n)." Ms. Jones said as she smiled broadly as she blushed at your dad. "And please let me know if you want to make any other changes."

"I will and thank you." Your dad grunted as he stood back up by using his crutches.

"Are you sure that you don't need any assistance getting to your car? We have a wheelchair that I could get so that I can help you. It would make it easier for you."

Paul smiled at her as he half laughed.

"Thanks for the thought. But I'll be alright. I just have to get use to these things." He said as he glanced at the crutches before he started making his way out of her office and back into the main office area.

"Can I head to class now?" You asked as you watched your dad walk out of her office as he trying to get out of being pampered by Ms. Jones. "Noctis is waiting for me."

"Noctis?" Ms. Jones asked as she looked at you with a strange look. "You mean Prince Noctis?"

'Yeah." You said as you looked back at her as you searched her face. "He was going to wait for me so that we could walk to homeroom together."

"I'm sorry dear, but we're just about to start third period at this point." Ms. Jones said as she gave you a concerned look.

Your jaw hit the floor. "Are you serious?" You asked as you stared at her. "But I didn't hear the bells."

"The bell back here is broken. So you wouldn't hear it." She said with a slight smile. "But since second period will end in about five minutes, you might as well just head for gym then. Perhaps he'll be there."

"Yeah." You said as you looked down.

"Perhaps." You replied as you tossed your bag over your shoulder while keeping your eyes on the ground.

"Bye dad. I'll see you after school." You said as you headed for the door.

"Have a good day kiddo." He replied behind you as you opened up the door and walked out.

So much for being an escort today. I was suppose to escort him to class. Noctis is going to kill me. You thought as you walked down the hallway towards the gym locker rooms.

"Does she really know him?" Ms. Jones asked as she watched you leave.

"Yeah." Paul answered as he watched the door close behind you.

"And they've actually been friends for a while now." He said as he smiled.

Then he looked down as he tried to get comfortable on the handles for the crutches. But it seemed that no matter how he shifted the crutches, he just couldn't get them into a good position. He sighed as he started to head for the door. He had a feeling that this was going to be a long recovery at this point.

"Well, have a good day Ms. Jones."  Paul said as he walked over and reached for the door handle so that he could walk out himself.

"You know.  Small hand towels work well for providing extra cushion." Paul heard Ms. Jones say behind him.

He stopped with his hand on the door handle as he thought about what she said. He then slowly turned around and looked at her. She gave him a shy smile before she dropped her gaze. Then she started rubbing her hands together as she looked at the floor.

"At least that's what helped me out when I had to use those after I sprained my ankle." She shyly said as she looked at the floor.

"Thank you, Ms. Jones."  Paul quietly said as he gave her a slight grin back.  "I'll give it a try when I get home. " 

"It's Cathy." She said quietly as Paul turned to leave.

"Huh?" Paul asked as he looked back at her.

"My name's Cathy." She said as she looked back at him with huge deer eyes.

"Okay," he started as he watched her start to get nervous, "Cathy." He said as he gave her a slight grin. "Mine's Paul."

She gave him a slight grin as she felt her heart flutter at the smooth way that he said her name. She knew that he sounded hot on the phone when they had talked before. But you could only imagine her surprise when she had first glanced at him when she walked out. For she had no idea that he was this hot. Her legs had practically turned to instant jello.

"It was good to meet you in person Cathy." Paul said as he stood back up as he resituated the crutches again. "I'll be sure to keep in touch."

"Okay." Cathy said as she felt her heart racing as he smiled at her again.

"Later then." She nervously said. Then she quickly turned around and almost tripped over her own feet as she practically ran to her office.

Paul smiled and shook his head. Then he headed out the door. He couldn't tell if she was trying to flirt, or if she was really that nervous around him. Perhaps a bit of both. He thought as he headed to the car.

After finding a empty locker, you started to change into your gym clothes. You were almost done when some other students started filing into the locker room. The students that came in, looked to be seniors and had apparently just finished up their class. Several of them gave you a down casted look as they walked past you while you were tying your shoes. You kept your eyes down as you tried not to make eye contact with any of them.

"What the hell?!" You heard one of the girls shout towards you as they walked up to you. "Why are you in here?"

You looked up and saw a tall, trim, brunette standing in front of you. You gave her a curious look at first. But then you froze. For at that moment you felt your heart in throat as you recognized her. But there was no way. Wasn't this the girl that Ignis had competed against during his first dive competition?

"Oh wait?" She said as she sneered at you. "Your the girl that beat Gwen during that swim meet. You almost cost her districts that year. Or at least you would have, if you hadn't chickened out by not showed up for the qualifiers."

Chickened out? Is that what they think?  You thought as your temper was starting to rise. I had been fucked kidnapped, bitch!

"Well I suppose everyone is scared of something." She said as she flipped her hair at you. "Perhaps you're afraid of losing. Because there's no way that your really that fast. It's either that or the old team record was that low. Or perhaps you're just afraid of someone whose prettier than you?"

"Not even close." You said in a low voice as you gave her a hard stare. "I just can't stand fakes."

You heard the whole room go quiet for a moment as she stood there in shock. Then she got a pissed off look on her face as she slowly walked and bent over so that she was right in front of your face. You could smell her sweat from class mixed with her foul breath.

"Who are you calling a fake?" She growled at you.

"You know only a fake would be upset about being called out." You said still in a low voice. "But then again, it is hard to fake smelling as nasty as your personality."

"Why you..." She started to growl as she clutched her fists by her sides.

"Is there an issue here girls?" You heard the swim teacher say as she walked over to see what was going on.

"Not at all Ms. Dunlap." She said as she stood back up and walked away. "I was just saying hi."

"Yeah right." You said under your breath as you watched her walk away with her friends.

"Don't let them get to you." Ms. Dunlap said as she watched them walk away. "They're just upset that they lost the volleyball game in class today to the boys."

"Yeah sure." You said as you stood up as you started to head for the gym.

"Hey. Wait a minute." You heard Ms. Dunlap say from behind you.

"Yes." You said as you stopped and turned to face her.

"Aren't you (y/n)?" She asked as she searched your face. "Yes you must be. I never mistake a face."

"Why do you ask?" You nervously asked as you gave her a curious look.

"I saw you at a swim meet against Gwen.  You were amazing.  You were the only one to ever beat her.  " She said as she gave you a huge smile. "We could really use someone like you on our team. What do you think? Will you try out?"

Your jaw dropped as you stared at her. "You saw that race?"

"Well yeah. Gwen and Trish were two of the girls on my team. I was one of the coaches for their Rec team that year while I was in college. Of course your team wiped the floor with us that day." She replied with a huge laugh as she rubbed the back of her head as she had a smile on her face. "But it was amazing to see you push them that far. Between you and Ignis, you both pushed them to their limits. I could really use your talent on this team to push the others as well."

You dropped your head as you thought about it. You hadn't been competing for the last three years. You've been swimming, no doubt. But it was more for general training and not for competition racing.

"I know that Ignis would love to have you there to support him again." She said as she smiled big at you. "That's all he ever talked about on the road trips. And not once did he ever quit."

You stared at her for a moment with your mouth open as you heard her talking.

He talked about me while they traveled. He must have really missed me. You thought as you slightly smiled to yourself.

"I assume that they are on the team." You said as you gestured towards the seniors.

"Trish is. Her friends didn't make the cut. They simply can't swim. Well short of saving themselves that is." Ms. Dunlap said as she glanced at them. "They more or less show up once in a while for moral support for her. So they won't be an issue."

"And you won't have any issues from her during meets and practices. I'll keep an eye on things to ensure that.  And you'll have Ignis as well." She said as she gave you a reassuring smile.

"I'll think about." You said as you dropped your gaze again. "We did just start school."

"Well let me know if you want to." She said as she put her hand on your shoulder. "Tryouts are in two weeks."

"Thank you." You said as you gave her a slight smile. "I will."

"Good. Well you better head on up to the gym now." She said as she dropped her hand. "And who knows, perhaps you might be able to catch Ignis before he heads to his next class."

"Wait, are you serious?" You quickly said as you gave her a shocked look.

She then just smiled and nodded at you. You then raced out of the locker room as you went looked for Ignis. You still hadn't seen him all day and you weren't quite sure if you were going to be meeting up for lunch in the library like before. But after you ran upstairs and had a good look around, you didn't see him.

You felt your heart sink as you dropped your head and looked at the ground. You were starting to hate high school already. For it was feeling a lot like middle school all over again. The only difference, was that now everyone was under the same roof. Not that you had seen any of them since you got there.

"This sucks." You said out loud as you stared at the floor as you turned and started to head into the gymnasium for class.

"(Y/N)!" You heard from behind you.

You quickly turned around and came face to face with Ignis as he came walking up to you. Your heart leaped into your throat as you looked at him. For even in a school uniform, he looked good. For his blue tie was nice and tight on his neck as it stood out from his white button up shirt and grey slacks. He had his nap sack over one shoulder as he walked up with a huge smile on his face.

"Hi." You breathlessly said as he stopped in front of you. "I thought that you had left already."

"I was just getting ready to head to class now." He said as he smiled at you. "Do you have gym third period?"

"Yeah." You said as you looked towards the gym as the other seniors were getting ready to head out. "Did you just finish?"

"Yeah." He said as he glanced from the gym to you. "They break it up by grades here for gym classes."

"That makes sense." You said as you watched the other seniors chatting as they waited for the bell to ring.

"When do you have lunch?" He asked as he watched you.

"Right after fourth period." You replied as you turned back to him. "You?"

"Same." He replied with a smile. "How about we meet up at the library like we used to?"

You got a huge smile on your face. "I would love to. But what about Noctis?"

"Him and Gladio have lunch after fifth period. So they will be stopping in right as we're leaving." Ignis said with a smile.

"Really?" You said in surprise. But then quickly smiled. "That works out perfectly."

"Precisely." He smiled back.

But right as he said that, you heard the bell ring. You looked around and saw everyone getting up to head to their next class. You then looked at Ignis with a sad face. He simply smiled at you.

"I'll see you at lunch then." He said as ran his hand through your hair as he put it behind your ear.

"Yeah." You beamed back. "I'll see you then."

Ignis then smiled and walked away as he headed to his next class. You smiled after him as he walked away. Then you turned as you started to head for the gym. But as you did you happen to look over and see Trish looking at you with her jaw on the floor as she stood planted in one spot as she stared at the two of you in shock. You then smiled at her before turning and heading into the gym. You had a sinking feeling that you were going to really have to watch yourself with her around. She didn't seemed to be the kind to play fair or well with others.

After a semi enjoyable gym class with your fellow sophomores, you found yourself sitting in Biology class. This class was usually only for freshman.  But since you couldn't do any experiments during your online class, you had to take this to count for your science requirement.  Last year you had done chemistry instead since you could do that one without demonstrating.  Well, not live stream any way.  

This room though, was by far the strangest one that you had ever been in. For the regular desks were replaced with black marble top tables that had two stools by each. And since you didn't know anyone that well, you sat in the back of the class and nervously waited to see who would sit by you.

You were nervous about this since you really didn't really know any freshman, other than Noctis of course.  But it looked like he was in a different class for this period.  Some of the kids you recognized from elementary school.  But those were also part of the ones who had shunned you for saying you knew Noctis. You sighed and kept your head down as you looked at the clock on your phone as you anxiously waited for lunch.

That was when you noticed someone approaching the table.  You kept your head down as they walked to the opposite table.  You slightly signed and was starting to relax again when someone right behind them sat down next to you.  You slightly glanced over and saw that it looked like a guy had sat next to you.

"Hey. Is it okay if I sit here?" He said in a charming friendly voice.

"Are you sure you want to?" You asked as you kept your head down.

"Well sure." He said with a chipper voice. 

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise."  He nervously replied.

You then looked up at him and saw a guy sitting there with pure blonde hair, blue eyes and a genuine smile. He wasn't as well cut as Ignis, but he still wore the black jacket and grey slacks. The main difference was that he had his coat open and his tie was loose.

Then you happen to notice a green and white arm band on his right wrist. You wondered what the deal was with it.  Did he play tennis or something?  When he saw that you weren't smiling, he dropped his grin and seemed to get very uncomfortable.

"Unless you don't want me to sit here." He said with a hint of hurt in his voice.  "But I don't know where else I would sit.  Although we don't have to talk if you don't want to."

"No it's fine." You quietly said as you watched him fidget. "I just figured that you wouldn't want to sit with me. Typically I end up sitting by myself most of the time."

He slight smiled as he dropped his head. "Here too. Most of these guys won't even give me a single glance."

"Really?"  You asked as you looked closer at him.

He didn't seemed to be a bad person.  He looked to be built and well groomed.  And he even seemed to be nice enough.  What could they possible have against him?  Being too nice perhaps?

"Yeah."  He quietly said as he looked down.  "But you know how these guys are."

"Do I?"  You asked as you gave him a curious look.  Just what is he implying?

Quickly he got nervous and turned to you.  Then he started waving his hands as if he was waving away a fly.  "Not that I'm saying that they don't like you or anything.  I'm sure that your a great person.  In fact, you have talked to me longer then they ever have.  So I'm positive that your a great person."

"You're weird."  You quietly said as you watched him as he was practically freaking out.

He stopped and slightly laughed as he put his hand on the back of his head. 

"Yeah.  I get that a lot.  Sorry about that."  He said as he dropped his head.

"Don't be sorry.  It's actually kind of refreshing."  You said as you smiled at him.

"What's your name?"  You asked as you sat up and looked at him.

He sat back up and smiled at you.  "I'm Prompto.  It's nice to meet you."

Suddenly your heart stopped.  Prompto?  Why does that name sound familiar?  It's like I've heard it before?  You through as you reached out your hand to him. 

"Nice to meet you Prompto.  I'm (y/n)."  You said as you gave him a firm handshake as you gave him a curious look.

"(Y/n), I like that name.  It suits you."  He said with a smile.

"Thanks."  You said as you smiled back.  "I like your name too.  I don't think that I've heard of it before.  Where is your family from?"

"I..."  He started to say when the teacher came in.

"All right class."  She said as she walked in and set her bag down on the desk.  "It's time to settle down.  Let's start off with attendance.  Then I will get into what I expect from you for this class."

You both smiled at each other, then sat back and listened to the teacher.  You weren't quite sure who this kid was.  But for once he didn't seem to be someone crazy or stuck up.  Perhaps he is what and who he says he is.  He certainly didn't look like someone that would lie about who he was.

"It was good to meet you."  He said as you smiled at him as you both left the classroom.  "I'm looking forward to tomorrow now."

"Here to."  You said with a slight smile then you turned and started to head towards the library.  "See ya tomorrow."

"See ya."  He said as he stood there as he watched you walk away.

You were still unsure about him.  But you figured that you had plenty of time to think about it.  Right now though, you had more important things to worry about. And that was not being late for your lunch date.  So with a big smile, you took off running towards the library

"So you've never heard the name?"  You asked Ignis as he thought about the name.

"It's not any name that I'm familiar with from my studies or even from social events."  Ignis answered as he ate his lunch.

"I was afraid that you were going to say that."  You said as you took a bite of your salad.

"Perhaps you heard it from your parents?"  He suggested as he took a bite of his salad.

"Perhaps."  You answered as you took another bite.  "I'll ask my dad tonight."

"Oh."  You began as you gave him a curious look.  "I almost forgot.  Ms. Dunlap was telling me that the swim team tryouts are in two weeks."

"Yeah.  I suppose they are."  He said as he gave you a smile.  "What about it?"

"Is it just as tough in high school as it was at the rec center?"  You asked as you dropped your head down.

"No."  He responded as he looked down at his food for a moment.  "It's much harder.  For just as you think you have reached your limit.  That's when you have to push even harder."

You gave Ignis a surprised look that he would get so serious suddenly over the swim team.  It was something that you hadn't seen him do before.  Usually swimming was more of a joy for him then something hard and challenging.  But as you looked at him you saw something else now.

"Oh."  You quietly said as you dropped your head.

"Are you thinking about trying out?"  He asked as he looked at you.

"I don't know."  You quietly said as you kept your head down.  "I haven't been racing for the past three years.  I don't know if I can keep up with them or not now."

"But you were swimming while you were there right?"  He asked as he watched you carefully.

"Yes.  But it was only for regular training.  Not for competition."  You said as you put down your fork.  "I don't even know if I have the times for it anymore."

"We could always check your times at the citadel."  Ignis said with a smile.  "I could clock you to see how you match up before tryouts."

"I don't know."  You said as you pushed your food away.

"You do still love to swim don't you?"  He quietly asked as he searched your face.

"Well yeah.  Of course I do."  You said as you looked back at him.

"Then I would love to see you try."  Ignis said as he gave you a huge smile.  "For me?"

"Hmm."  You hummed at him as you looked back at him with a slight smile.  "I suppose there's no harm in checking my time.  I haven't had the opportunity since the last swim meet."

"Is it a deal then?  I'll clock your time.  Then I can tell you how well you would match up to the current team.  This way you will know if you want to join or not."  He said with a smile.

"Okay."  You said with a smile.  

Just then you heard the lunch bell ring to tell you to head to your next class.  You both looked up and smiled.  Then after packing up your lunches you started to head out of the library.  But right as you were exiting, you saw Gladio and Noctis come walking up.  Then you happen to notice a certain blonde haired kid with him.

"Hey."  Noctis said as soon as he saw you.  "There you are.  I've been looking for you all day."

"Yeah.  Sorry about this morning."  You laughed as you put your hair behind your ear.  "My dad wanted us to talk to Ms. Jones first about my schedule and it ran a bit longer than we thought it would."

"It's alright."  Noctis returned with a smile. 

"I was able to make a new friend in the process of waiting for you."  He said as he nodded towards the blonde kid.  

"This is..."  Noctis started to say.

"Prompto."  You said as you recognized him from biology.  "You know Noctis too?"

Prompto gave you a startled look.  "Yeah.  But since when do you know him?"

"I've known him since elementary school."  You said as you gave him a stern look.

"Here too."  Prompto said as he returned the same look at you.  

"But I don't remember seeing him hanging out with anyone in elementary school."  He said as he gave you a suspicious look.

"That's because he......."  You started to argue back.

"We'll have plenty of time for explanations later. "  Ignis interrupted when he saw that this was about to get heated as he watched you starting to clench your fists.  "In the meantime, we have to get to our next class.  We'll see you this afternoon Noctis after school in the parking lot by the car."

"Yeah."  Noctis said as he stood there as he watched you and Prompto start to clash.

He had never seen you get upset by anyone before and it was making him a but nervous.  What the hell is wrong with these two?  Do they know something that I don't?

You were walking down the hallway, with your head down as you were lost in thought.  You hadn't been able to concentrate in your last few classes as you couldn't get Prompto out of your head.  What's the deal with that guy?  I never saw him trying to hang out with Noctis any more then he saw me with him.

"(Y/n)?"  You heard a sassy female voice say from behind you.

You quickly turned around and saw Gwen walking up to you. 

"Great. Now what?"  You said to yourself.

"Hey are you heading to choir?"  She asked as she walked up to you.

"Yeah."  You said coolly as you watched her carefully.  "Why do you ask?"

"Damn.  You don't have to be harsh."  She said as she flipped her hair.  "I was going to suggest we walk together.  I'm heading there myself."

"Since when do you want to walk with me?"  You said as you gave her a suspicion look.

"Since you save my parents."  She quietly said as she slightly smiled at you.  "Look I don't want Ignis anymore.  I have Chad alright.  I give you my word."

"So you say."  You said as you stood fast as you crossed your arms.  "But your word doesn't sit very well with me." 

"Fair enough."  She said as she dropped her head.  "I wasn't exactly the nicest person back then.  But I was scared at the time.  I never meant for you to get hurt like you did towards the end."  

"Yeah.  Whatever."  You said as you turned and started walking towards the choir room.

"Hey."  She said as she fell in step with  you.  "Look I get it.  I was a bitch to you.  And I never should have been.  But what would you have done to get your parents back?"

"Exactly what I did."  You said as you gave her a stern look while you continued to walk.  "I saved them.  Of course in the process of saving mine, I saved yours at well.  Of course that cost my mom her life.  And that's not exactly something you can just forget."

"You're right."  She said as she dropped her gaze.  "And I'm sorry she didn't make it.  She didn't deserve that."

You dropped your gaze as you looked at the floor as you both walked along the hallway.  "No she didn't.  But you didn't have any control of that.  But thank you for apologizing anyway."

Gwen dropped her head even more as she walked along in silence for awhile.  "Trish told me that she meet you today at gym."

"Yeah you might say that."  You said as you just kept walking.  "But I wouldn't say it was exactly a pleasant conversation."

"With her it usually isn't."  Gwen said as she looked straight ahead. "But that's just her.  She's been like every since I first meet her in pre-K." 

"Really?"  You asked as you gave her a stunned look.

"Yeah."  Gwen said as she looked at you.  "Who do think I learn my old attitude from?"

You simply smiled at Gwen now.  Gwen now smiled back at you with a genuine smile.  You were a bit surprised. This was the first time that you had ever seen her acting like a normal person.  Had she really been this nice before?  Or had she really changed?  You simply smiled as you both entered the choir room.  You supposed time would tell.

After entering the choir room you looked over at the piano that sat in the of the front room like at the middle school.  And right where you expected him to be, was Ignis as he sat on the piano bench as he was going over the keying for the sheet music that was in front of him.  He glanced up when he saw you walk in and smiled at you.  You smiled back at him as you took your seat.  It looked like this year in school was going to truly be interesting.  Somethings were the same, while there were a few changes and a couple new faces.  You just hoped that I wouldn't be as exciting as middle school had been.  You didn't think that you could take another year of hell.

******Author Note******

One thing about growing up in the same town with the same people, you can never seem to escape them.  So you learn to deal with them, or you simple move.  This of course can be easier said than done.  For some people never leave their hometown.  While others leave as soon as they graduate and never return.

I saw this with my fellow classmates from high school.  As soon as we graduated, most of us scattered to the winds.  Now it could be to escape the trials of our hometown.  But I think for most of us, it was to pursue a better life.

Well I do hope that you like this chapter.  I know it was  a bit dry and seemed to mimic the time in middle school.  But that is a lot of what high school is.  Same crap, different building.  Of course in this case, it is to set the stage for the environment that she is now thrown into.

Please be sure to come back to the next chapter though when we see how fast that you are in the water now.  And wait a minute?  How much driving time do I need before I can take the driving part of the test?  (Please dad don't die of a heart attack while trying to teach me.)

Thanks for reading.  :)

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