Title: High School Blues
Author: Rpgirl
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The team is in High School. Nick's a jock that follows the rules. Greg's a rocker that hates the rules and breaks them all the time. What happens when these two polar opposites meet?

***

Nick Stokes woke up to his alarm buzzing in his left ear. He groaned turning over, throwing the pillow over his head. Today was his first day back at school. He was a Junior now, and he hated it. He didn't want to go to school today at all. He just wanted to sleep, depressed that summer was over.

Nick felt around for something hard, finding a baseball bat. He sat up and banged the baseball bat on the alarm clock, breaking it. It made a dying buzz sound, and Nick smiled lightly. He just killed his 9th alarm clock, his mom was going to be pissed.

"Nick, it's time for school." His mom called up the stairs.

'Speak of the devil.' Nick thought, then called back, "Alright Mom."

Nick threw the covers back, before throwing on a shirt and a pair of pants. He put on his sneakers, before running down the stairs.

"Do you want breakfast?" his mom asked, as Nick shook his head.

"Yeah. What'd you cook?" Nick asked, sitting down at the table.

A few minutes later, his father came down with his two sisters.

"Morning Pancho." His father said.

"Morning Dad. Morning Kate, Rachel." Nick said, smiling at his older siblings.

"Morning Nick." They both chorused cheerfully.

Nick cringed slightly. It wasn't normal to be this cheerful, in the morning...on the first day of school.

Nick sat quietly, eating the rest of his eggs and pancakes. He glanced at the clock and got up.

"I've got to go." Nick said, kissing his mother's cheek, then his sisters.

Nick entered the hallway, grabbing his bag. He walked out of the door into the sun, his eyes narrowing. The sun was extremely bright today.

Nick began his walk to school, not because he didn't have his license, because he did. It was because it was two blocks away, and he didn't feel the need to waste gas. Nick passed his car, patting the hood of it. It was a 1977 Nova, his pride and joy. His friends Catherine and Sara saved up together to get it for him on his last birthday. He smiled softly at the memory of getting the car, before continuing the walk.

Nick walked to the street infront of his school. He hated crossing streets, because some people thought it fun to speed up when someone was walking across it.

Nick looked both ways, grinning straight ahead when he saw his best friend, Warrick Brown. He started walking, when someone sped right infront of him, almost hitting him, on a black motorcycle.

Warrick's eyes widened as he ran over.

"Hey man, you okay? That was a close one." Warrick said, as Nick nodded.

"Who was that?" Nick asked, glancing over at where the motorcycle stopped. The rider took off his sunglasses and helmet, before getting off.

"He's one of the rocker kids." Warrick said, sticking his tongue out.

"What's his name though. He needs to learn the speed laws." Nick said, getting across the street, and onto the sidewalk.

"I have no clue. I mean...he's a rocker kid...we don't really talk to them." Warrick said, as the guy walked past them.

He had brown eyes, and wild sandy blonde hair. He was wearing leather pants, big biker boots, and a tan hoodie, that showed off his stomach. He had on two armbands, on the upper part of his arm, and then five armbands on his forearm. To finish the look off he had on a studded collar.

"Hey! You could've hit me!" Nick yelled at the guy, who turned and rose one of his eyebrows.

"Didn't your mom ever teach you to look both ways before crossing the street. Hell, forget your mom, how about in Kindergarten." The guy sneered, smirking at Nick.

"How'd you get your license, when you speed?" Nick said, mentally smacking himself for the stupid comeback.

"It's called, once I get that fucking piece of paper, I can speed all I want. Who's going to stop me?" The guy said, as Warrick glared.

"You should still obey the speed laws on school grounds." Warrick said, as the boy snorted.

"Yeah, and pigs will fucking fly." The guy said, smirking once again.

"What's your name?" Nick asked, adding, "Because I want to know who to turn in if you kill someone."

The guy laughed loudly, before looking at Nick.

"Greg Sanders." He answered, as the bell rang for school to begin.

***

Nick walked with Warrick into their first class. They heard three different people's voices. Recognizing them as their friends, they were sitting upfront, and had saved them seats.

"Hey Cath, Sara, Gil." Nick greeted, sitting down. The teacher came in, smiling at the students in the class, before speaking.

"Hello everyone, I'm your teacher Mitch Mitchell, please laugh if you must at the name." the teacher said, smiling, "I'm your History teacher for the year."

The teacher asked the students what they did during the summer. Also asking their names, so he could learn them. As Nick got up to talk about his summer, Greg walked in, with two people behind him.

"Who are you guys?" Mr. Mitchell asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Greg Sanders. This is David Hodges, and Archie Johnson." Greg said, as the three took the seats in the back.

David Hodges was dressed in leather pants, and a leather jacket. A white shirt underneath that, and black tennis shoes. Archie Johnson was wearing the same, except his shirt has blue, and tennis shoes were blue.

The three got weird looks, as they sat down. David and Archie sneering at everyone, as Greg propped his head on his hand.

Once class got out, Greg walked into Nick, making them both fall down.

"Hey Nick, you alright?" Grissom asked, helping up his friend.

Hodges snarled a bit, helping Greg up, who dusted himself off.

"Yeah I'm fine. What's up with you and trying to murder me?" Nick asked.

"Maybe you should let the better people walk before you do." Hodges said, smirking.

Archie laughed, as Greg glanced at Nick.

"Come on guys, we have to go." Greg said, before brushing past Sara.

"But..." Archie said.

"NOW!" Greg said, adding, "Not later."

Archie and David looked at the group, and walked after Greg.

"What jerks." Sara said, as Catherine nodded.

"No wonder no one likes them." Catherine said, as Nick frowned.

Nick sighed, walking to his next class alone. His friends all had a different class this hour. He was about to walk into English when Archie came up and slammed him into the lockers.

"Yo, your names Stokes right? You need to apologize to Greg." He said, as Nick glared at him.

"And what are you going to do about?" Nick asked, as Archie's fist clenched.

"Look you little--" Archie started as a hand fell on his shoulder.

"Archie, what the hell are you doing?" Greg asked, as Archie let go of Nick.

"Nothing." Archie said.

"Well it looked like you had your hand on him. It's first day, we don't need to get suspended." Greg said, as Archie nodded.

"Yeah you're right." Archie said, as Greg nodded to the side. Archie nodded and took his leave.

"You okay?" Greg asked, tilting his head to the side.

Nick nodded, as Greg grinned evilly before walking into the classroom.

Nick walked in after him, just as the bell rang.

Greg sat in the back of the class again, as Nick took the front. His mind not getting off of Greg, as he looked back at him. Greg caught his eye, and rose a brow.

Nick faced the front, blushing red.

Greg smirked as the bell rang.

Halfway through the school day, Nick was trying to find the boy out of the corner of his eye. Hoping for a glance, and never finding one. The day ended uneventfully for Nick, as he walked down steps. He was about to cross the street when a black motorcycle got infront of him.

"Need a ride?" Greg asked, smirking at the boy.

Nick blushed red again, before biting his lip.

'I just met him, and I don't even know him. He tried to kill me this morning.' Nick thought, as he nodded. Then he mentally slapped himself, 'He could be a psycho.'

"Cool. Where do you live?" Greg asked, offering the helmet to Nick.

Nick took it, and gave the directions. He put the helmet on his head, as Greg put his sunglasses on. He smirked at Nick, as he started the bike.

"You might wanna hang on." Greg said, as Nick put his arms around the boy.

Greg peeled out of the parking lot, speeding the whole way to Nick's house.

When they arrived at the Stokes' house, he killed the bike.

"Thanks." Nick said, giving the helmet back to Greg.

"It's a sorry for my friends. They can be asses to people." Greg said, as Nick felt a pang.

"Well thanks anyways." Nick said, as Greg nodded.

"No problem." Greg said, putting the helmet on before he sped away.

***

Nick woke up the next morning getting out of bed quickly. He pulled his clothes on fast, running down the stairs.

"Nick, do you want breakfast?" his mother asked, looking at her son like he'd gone insane.

"What's for breakfast?" He asked her, going into the kitchen.

Nick shoved the food down his throat.

"Nicholas, chew your food or you'll choke. What's the rush?" Nick's father asked, as he watched his son. He was mildly disgusted at the eating habits.

Nick stopped for a minute before chewing a little, and swallowing.

Nick smiled, as he stood up.

"I'm done. And I'm out." Nick said, kissing his mom's cheek, and then running out of the house.

"Do you think he met a girl?" his mother asked.

"Probally." Was the response she got.

Nick walked, more so was speed walking to school.

When he arrived, he saw Greg with his two friends. Archie and David were picking on a Freshmen, while Greg was leaning up against the wall, cleaning his nails with a knife. He was wearing the same thing as yesterday except his hoodie was black.

Nick frowned at them, walking over.

"Hey! Leave that kid alone." Nick said, as David looked at Nick.

"Or what?" David asked, as Greg stopped cleaning his nails.

"Or...I'll teach you what it's like to get picked on." Nick said weakly.

"Oh really. Now I'm scared." David said, as Archie let the Freshmen go.

"So where should we hit him first?" Archie asked, grinning at David.

"You won't hit him anywhere." A voice from behind Nick said.

Nick turned, and saw it was Grissom and Warrick.

"Like we're scared of you." Archie said, adding, "There's three of us, against three of you."

Greg kicked off of the wall, getting in the middle of everything.

"There isn't going to be a fight. Because we need to leave." Greg sneered, sounding evil.

"But Greg...c'mon...these guys are pansies." David said.

"I don't care. I really don't need to get suspended the second day, or my parents will have a hissy-fucking-fit." Greg snarled, as David and Archie cowered.

"Aw, afraid you'll get spanked." Warrick said, in a baby voice.

"Now I'm afraid if the three of us took you three on, you'd be in a coma." Greg said, smirking at the three.

"Yeah right." Grissom said.

"Then go to the hospital and ask Trent Weston what happens if you fuck with us." Greg said, as the three boys eyes widened.

They'd heard about Trent Weston last year. He'd been beaten up so severely he'd been in the hospital for two months, before waking up.

"You couldn't of done that." Nick said, disbelieving.

"And why not?" Greg said, putting up the knife.

"Because people said he was mugged." Warrick said.

"And that's what you call a rumor." Archie said, as David snorted.

"You guys go ahead and tell Todd I'll be there in a few." Greg said to Archie and David, who nodded and left.

Greg sighed deeply and turned to Nick.

"Do you have a death wish of some type?" he asked Nick.

"..No.." Nick answered.

"Then don't mess with them. You stupid jocks think you're immortal or something." Greg snarled at the three guys, who cringed slightly.

"Why not? They were picking on someone smaller than them." Nick said, as Greg shook his head.

"I just gave you a warning, now heed it." Greg said, going to his bike. The three watched him speed off.

Grissom and Warrick let out a deep breath, as Nick looked at them.

"What?" Nick asked.

"You must have a death wish." Warrick said, as the three walked towards the school.

"How so? And doesn't he know school's about to start?" Nick asked.

"Because you're messing with guys that have had bad names since sixth grade Nicky." Grissom said, adding, "Do you not remember at ALL who Greg Sanders is?"

"And he doesn't dare if school's starting. He's never cared about the rules." Warrick said.

"I remember Greg vaguely from sixth grade." Nick said, frowning.

"He had detention all the time, and was always getting into trouble for bullying. Shit Nick, he's put lots of guys into the hospital....BY HIMSELF!" Grissom said, as Nick shook his head.

"I remember now...but why would he save my ass twice if he was a bad person?" Nick asked.

"I don't know how a psychopaths mind works!" Warrick said.

"Nick, maybe you should heed his warning and stay away." Grissom said, as Nick nodded his head lightly.

"C'mon we have to get to class." Warrick said, as Nick hung back.

"C'mon Nicky, we can't be late." Grissom said, grabbing Nick's arm and dragging him to class.

***

Nick walked out of the school that afternoon with his friends.

"Hey Nick, let's go get something to eat." Warrick suggested, as they all nodded.

"Okay." Nick said, smiling as they walked down the street to the deli.

When they walked in they saw Greg talking to a guy with spiked up platinum blonde hair. He was wearing a purple cape, and looked like some cheesy horror movie guy. Greg was glaring at him, he looked sort of scared, and was tense but then he also looked like he was about to murder something.

The motley group of five sat down in a booth, Nick grabbing a chair, sitting at the head.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Sara asked, watching the guy infront of Greg try to touch Greg, who moved away from the touch. They both looked at the group of friends who quickly turned away.

The guy across from him grinned at Greg, before leaving. When he left, Greg slouched down in his seat. He took deep breaths, and sat there staring at nothing. Nick frowned, and started to get up. He felt a hand on his arm however, looking to see Catherine.

"Don't go over there." Catherine whispered, as the others nodded.

Nick jerked out of the grasp, and walked over to Greg, sitting down infront of him.

"You okay?" Nick asked, as Greg looked at him.

"Fine, now leave me alone." Greg snarled at him, before turning his head to the side.

"Are you sure? That guy looked like an ass." Nick said, as Greg snorted.

"That's putting it lightly." Greg said, as Nick rose a brow.

"Did he threaten you or something?" Nick asked.

"No, now please leave me the hell alone Stokes." Greg growled, standing up.

"I'm just trying to help." Nick said, standing up also.

"Then help me by staying the hell away from me." Greg said, pushing past him, making Nick land in the chair.

Nick got pissed immediately, storming after Greg.

"What's your problem. I'm just trying to help." He yelled at Greg.

"I don't need your stupid petty help. I've survived 17 years without it, and I don't need it now." Greg sneered, as he got on his bike.

"Well having help is a good thing you know." Nick said, as Greg snorted.

"Whatever, help is for the weak." Greg said, as he sped off.

Nick frowned to himself, as he walked back in.

The next morning at school, he saw Greg immediately, in his usual clothes, except he had on eyeliner, he had little designs under his eyes. It looked like a masterpiece of sorts.*

Greg looked slightly depressed before school, he was playing with a butterfly knife. Archie and David looked slightly put out.

'I wonder why he has such a bad view of the world.' Nick thought to himself.

Greg caught Nick looking at him, and gave him a sour look.

Nick frowned at Greg, who looked away, still playing with the knife.

Nick decided that he'd talk to the sandy haired boy after school. He walked into the school, smiling as his friends walked beside him.

After school however, he found the boy at the same spot where he was this morning.

He walked over, and stopped infront of Greg.

"Can I talk to you?"

"No." Greg sneered.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Because I'm getting a bad rep from my friends because I talk to you so much." Greg said sarcastically.

Nick frowned.

"Please." Nick asked, as Greg sighed.

"Fine, let's leave before the spirit squad comes."

"Spirit Squad?" Nick asked.

"Yeah...those people you hang around...they're to cheerful." Greg said, adding, "Do you want to go to my place or yours?"

"Yours. My parents are home, and will probally ask lots of questions." Nick said, as Greg rolled his eyes.

"Family boy." Greg muttered getting on his bike.

Nick got on too, as Greg gave him the helmet.

Greg sped off to his apartment complex..if you could call it that. The apartment building had boarded up windows, and looked like a place rats would live. Nick's disgust showed through, and Greg sneered.

"Come on Family boy." Greg said, opening the door, as five cats ran out of the house.

Greg walked up the four flights to his apartment, that he shared with his dad. Watching as a black cat jumped infront of him.

"Not now Chaos." Greg said, pushing the cat away with his shoe lightly.

Greg walked around the house, and then sat on the couch.

"What were you doing?" Nick asked sitting down.

"Seeing if my old man was around." Greg said adding, "Now what do you want?"

"Why are you so mean?"

"Because that's how you survive." Greg said, as Nick shook his head.

"That's bullcrap."

"Shit."

"What?" Nick asked confused.

"It's bullshit, not bullcrap. You need to learn how to cuss." Greg said, laughing as Nick blushed.

"But it's bullc—shit. You can be nice and survive. Look at me and my friends."

"Who live on a little pink cloud." Greg said, as Nick gave him a confused look.

"What?"

"You and your friends live on Cloud Nine..a little pink cloud, that shelters you from real life." Greg said, sneering at the boy.

"No we don't."

"You turned your nose up at my place. And don't say you didn't cos I saw." Greg said, growling at the brown haired man.

"Well..yeah...but I'm just trying to help."

"And I told you I don't need your help. So there's no use in talking." Greg said, as the door opened, revealing a man with blonde hair, who was swaying.

"Fuck." Greg whispered, standing up. He pulled Nick up, and watched as the man stumbled in. Greg inched around the man, and out of the apartment, shutting the door quietly.

"And now it's time for you to go home."

"But I didn't talk to you."

"What are you doing now?" Greg asked.

"Talking." Nick answered, and then frowned.

"Exactly." Greg said, as he walked out of the complex and to his bike.

Nick got on, and hung onto the guy as he sped off towards Nick's home.

"Thanks for the ride." Nick said, getting off.

"No problem Stokes." Greg said.

"Nick." The boy replied.

"What?"

"Call me Nick, not Stokes." Nick requested.

"Fine then Nick. I'll see you around." Greg said, speeding off like he always did.

Nick had a weird feeling in his stomach...like butterflies were in his stomach. Oh no.

***

Nick woke up the next morning, putting his clothes on. Then walking down the stairs to the kitchen. Where his mom put down some eggs for him. He wasn't paying attention and poured honey onto the eggs.

"Nicky..are you okay?" his mother asked, watching her son eat the yellow glob of goo.

"Fine." Nick said, finishing the eggs in the time span of a few minutes.

"Alright. If your sure." His mom said, as Nick left.

Nick arrived at school in a daze, he crossed the street, not noticing a car driving right for him. He was pushed forward by a strong force, the body of the person hitting the pavement with a soft thud. He heard a car screeching to a stop, he could see the sky and it had tons of little white clouds in it.

"NICK!" he heard a group of voices yell.

"GREG!" he heard two other voices say.

Greg got off of Nick, offering him a hand. Nick took it as he was pulled up.

"You okay?" Greg asked, as Nick nodded.

'Greg: 3, me: 0...wait...why am I keeping score?' Nick asked himself.

Greg nodded his head, walking to his friends.

"Nick! Are you okay? Oh my god, that was a close one...if Greg hadn't of been there...you could've seriously of gotten hurt." Grissom and Sara said together.

Nick looked at Greg and his friends who were looking at Greg's scraped up arms. There were angry red marks above where his armbands were and below where the one on his upper arm was.

His friends followed the look, and cringed slightly.

"Yeah...thank god Greg was there." He said, looking at the guy. He was skinny, but not to skinny. He looked more like a deity than anything...a hardcore deity. Greg looked at Nick, his brow raised. The bell rang, and before the end of fifth hour, everyone knew that Greg Sanders had saved Nick Stokes from an early death.

By the end of the day, Nick leaned up against the wall that Greg usually leaned up against, and wasn't surprised when he saw Greg come to the wall.

"What do you want?" Greg asked.

"Thanks." Nick said.

"For what?" Greg snarled, looking at Nick.

"For saving me. You didn't have to." Nick said, adding, "You really aren't all bad you know."

"Fuck you, you don't even know me." Greg said, as he pulled out a knife, cleaning his nails.

"You do that a lot." Nick said, motioning to the knife.

"It's a habit." Greg said, glancing at Nick.

"So why did we have to leave your place so fast yesterday?" Nick asked.

"Because it's not a good idea to have company around my old man." Greg said simply.

"Why?"

"None of your fucking business." Greg snarled, as Nick cringed a bit.

Nick didn't like how Greg sounded evil half the time. He sounded like he hated everything in life, and that wasn't right.

"Hey Greg, Todd is he---What the fucking hell is he doing here?" David asked, motioning to Nick.

"Nothing. What about Todd?" Greg asked.

"He's over by your bike. He's asking for you." David said, adding, "Archie went home, so he's getting impatient being by himself."

"Tell him I'll be right over." Greg sighed, as David nodded walking away.

Nick's eyes went to the bike, it was the guy from the deli.

"Hey isn't that the guy from the deli." Nick asked.

"Yeah, that's Todd Dupree." Greg said, sighing softly.

"Do you not like him?" Nick asked.

"Let's just say I have dues to pay him." Greg spat out, as he turned to Nick.

"Later Nick." He said, walking towards the bike.

Nick watched as he talked to Todd, who glared at Nick. When Greg got to Todd, he was grabbed forcefully and was turned so his back was facing Nick.

"Hey Nick, what's up?" Warrick asked, following his friends gaze to Greg.

"Nothing much War. I need to get home though. Later!" Nick said, walking to his house.

***

Nick stayed up all night, tossing and turning in bed. He just couldn't sleep, and he couldn't understand why. He sat up just after 5:30, sighing to himself. He tumbled out of bed, and went to the bathroom. Maybe a nice shower would keep him awake for the day, or a miracle, either way he needed to stay up.

Nick stepped into the hallway a half hour later. He had changed clothes in the bathroom, so he didn't bother going back into his room. He went to the kitchen and started the problems for Geometry. He finished up his homework, with a content smile on his lips.

His mother came down when he closed his book, she gave him a startled look.

"Nick, what are you doing up so early?" she asked her son.

"I couldn't sleep." Nick answered.

Nick's mother frowned.

"Why couldn't you dear?" she asked, sitting next to him.

Nick looked at his mom, and told her the events that had happened the first few days of school.

"Nick, if you think this boy is in trouble, you need to tell someone." She told her son, holding onto his hands.

"But he doesn't even want to tell me why he doesn't like the things he does." Nick said, adding, "If that makes any sense at all."

Nick's mother frowned slightly.

"Well maybe you should spend time with him. Talk to him a bit, if you think he's in trouble." Nick's mom said, tilting her head.

Nick nodded, and looked at the clock.

"I've got to go, or I'm going to be la--" he cut off when he heard a knock at the door.

Nick walked to the door, looking through the peep hole.

"Warrick, what are you doing here?" Nick asked, when he opened the door.

"I decided that I wanted to start walking to school with you." Warrick said, grinning.

"Oh that's cool. Let me get my bag." Nick said, grabbing the black and white bag from the table in the kitchen.

"Thanks for the advice. Bye mom." He said to her, kissing her cheek.

He ran out the door with Warrick, speed walking to the school.

The two boys talked about many things, mostly football.

There first game was coming up in two weeks, and they had practice in the afternoon.

When they arrived, Nick automatically saw Greg getting off of his bike. He made contact with the sandy blonde, and was shocked to see a black eye. Greg was wearing the same clothes as he wore on the first day of school. He was also wearing eyeliner.

'Is he a girl or something?' Nick asked, as they crossed the street quickly.

"Hey Stokes, can I talk to you alone for a minute." Greg called to him, as Warrick tensed.

'Yesterday it was Nick, now I'm back to Stokes. This guy has major decision issues.' Nick thought, as he nodded at Greg.

"Warrick, I'll see you in class." Nick said, as Warrick's eyes widened.

"But..Nick.." Warrick started, as Nick shook his head.

"I'll be in class in five minutes. I'll be fine." Nick said, as Warrick nodded running over to where their group of friends were. Nick watched them go into the school, before turning to Greg.

"What do you want?" Nick asked, as Greg nodded over to his bike.

"Come with me." Greg said, as Nick shook his head.

"I've got to get to class. I can't be late." Nick said, as Greg tilted his head.

"Come on, live on the wild side a bit." Greg said, as he saw David and Hodges come towards them.

"No thanks, the wild side gets people killed." Nick said, as Greg snorted.

"Don't you trust me?" Greg asked.

"Well....I don't know if I do or not. I don't exactly know you that well now do I?" Nick retorted.

"Come on, I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"But I can't be late. Warrick's expecting me...and isn't this against the rules?" Nick asked, as Greg rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but not if you don't get caught. And we will if you don't hurry up."

Nick shook his head, as David and Archie stopped infront of them.

"We have the teacher's distracted with a prank. So if you're going Greg, it needs to be now." David told him, as Archie kept watch.

"Stoke—Nick, come on. It'll be fun." Greg said, as Nick sighed.

"What about my backpack?" Nick asked.

"Archie will take care of it for you. We're coming back for last hour. I'll even check us in." Greg said, as Archie nodded.

Nick chewed his lip, before nodding his head. He handed over his backpack to Archie, before looking at Greg.

"Why are we coming back for last hour?" Nick asked.

"Because you're a jock, and you have practice." Greg said, smirking at him.

"O-Okay." Nick said, taking the helmet, and putting it on.

He got on behind Greg, and put his hands around Greg's waist.

"Tell Warrick, I'll see him at practice." Nick asked, as Archie nodded.

Greg started up the bike, grinning at his two friends like a devil.

"Take him to the ducts!" Archie yelled, smirking at Greg wickedly.

"I will." Greg called back, before speeding off.

Nick clutched onto Greg as he sped through tight corners and alleys. They finally reached Rowling Hills Middle School.
Nick saw a girl with blonde hair start to walk over. She was wearing tight black pants, and a black shirt that had a red skull on it with white words saying, 'Here today, gone to hell'* on it.

"Hey Greg! Thanks for bringing me my lunch." The girl said, as she hugged the boy.

"No problem." He answered, as the girl gave Nick a look over.

"Who's he? A new boy of yours?" She asked, tilting her head.

"No he's an acquaintance." Greg said, smiling slightly. It was the first real smile Nick had seen on the boy.

"So are you skipping?" the girl asked.

"Yeah Solstice. I'll see you later at home though." Greg said, adding, "Better yet, since it's Friday, spend the night at Nayarat's."

"Are you sure?" Solstice asked.

"Yeah, I'll probally spend the night with Todd." Greg said.

"I'd rather you not." The girl sneered, as the bell rang.

"I'll pick you up after school, alright. We'll talk then." Greg said, as Solstice nodded before running to her friend. Both growling at two girls with cheerleading uniforms on.
Nick gave a look to Greg, who smiled at him.

"Is that your sister?" Nick asked, as Greg nodded.

"Yeah, that's Solstice." Greg said, as Nick grinned.

"I thought you were an only child." Nick said, as Greg shook his head.

"Nope. It's me and Solstice, riding through the flames." Greg said, as Nick frowned.

"That's sad."

"Not really. She likes the fact that we get by all on our own." Greg said, adding, "She used to say the I hated more things than I liked*."

Greg looked at Nick who was still frowning.

"C'mon I'm going to show you the ducts." Greg said, getting onto his bike.

"Wait..the ducts..aren't those rumored to be the illegal racing part of town?" Nick asked, looking at Greg.

"Yeah, I race." Greg said, adding, "That's how I know Todd."

Greg got onto his bike, as Nick put the helmet on. Greg started the bike, putting his sunglasses on, before speeding off.

Nick had many thoughts running through his head, and when they stopped next they were in a place that had lots of hills.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." Greg said, going over to a boy with spiked up blue hair. He talked to him for a minute before coming back.

"Okay, I don't have a race today, so lets go 'talk', as you put it a few days ago." Greg said, giving Nick a look.

Nick nodded his head, getting back on again.

The last place they stopped at was Nick's house. No one was home, because they all thought he was at school. His mom was working and so was his dad. Nick opened the door, letting Greg inside.

"Damn, this is a nice place." Greg muttered, as Nick shook his head.

"Not really."

"Compared to mine, yeah it is." Greg said, as Nick sighed.

"Do you want something to drink?" Nick asked, as Greg shook his head.

Greg walked into the living room, sitting on the couch.

"So what do you want to know?" Greg asked.

"Why you are so mean and cold to people. Why you'd rather growl, snarl, and sneer instead of just speaking." Nick said, as Greg laughed.

"Let's see..where to start. When I was 7, Solstice was 3 I believe. Well when I was 7, my mom left us, because she didn't like my dad's lifestyle. You see, my dad got fired from his job, and for a year hadn't found another one. Because he was either to drunk to find one, or to tired. So I had to find ways to feed me and my sister, since our father wouldn't." Greg began, as Nick frowned.

"So by the time I was in the 6th Grade, I knew how the world worked. I knew how to make money, and how to feed me and her. You see the apartment complex I live at, we paid the guy about $20, just so we could live there. It was supposed to be bulldozed, but he saw how much we needed it. Well Solstice thought that our mom leaving was her fault. I don't know why, but she blamed herself. It was never her fault, and I told her that everyday until she believed it." Greg said, softly.

"That's horrid, and your father just sat there and let you do everything?" Nick interrupted.

"Please, he was to drunk to notice. The only thing he does notice is if I get into fights or if I miss school. And trust me, you don't want to know what he does." Greg said, adding, "Well I grew up and I hated the world for being so fucking difficult. That's when I met David and Archie. Who inturn knew Todd. Todd took care of me, and molded me into a little hardass. I turned into a jerk, and even now I know it's right. I know how to survive, even if it means breaking the law. Because the thing that keeps me going is knowing that Solstice will be happy and will be able to survive when I bring things in."

"So you're basically like this...for your sister? Being a jerk and an bu--"

"Asshole, for her. Yeah I am. She doesn't mind that much anymore, she hates Todd with a passion though. But I have to pay him off for my bike. And again, some of the things I do, I hate more than you'll ever know."

Nick's mouth was open, and he didn't even realize it.

"So now do you agree with me about that little pink cloud that you and your friends live on."
Nick nodded his head slightly.

"A kid shouldn't have to go through and do all of that. It's wrong." Nick said, as Greg snorted.

"The government is a fucked up, they don't care about two kids stealing things, just so they can survive for the next day." Greg said, as the door opened and closed.

"NICK?!" a female's voice said, from behind them.

"Mom! What are you doing here?" Nick asked, as Greg's eyes widened.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in school!" she shrieked.

"Mom, this is Greg." Nick said, as his mother calmed down.

"So..this is the boy you were talking about." His mom said, as Nick nodded.

"It's nice to meet you Greg. You're welcome here anytime." She said, as Greg stood up.

Nick saw his mother's eyes widen at Greg's appearance.

"Thank you." Greg said, as Nick's mom turned to her son.

"And don't worry about school." She said, leaving the room.

"So how'd you get the black eye." Nick asked, as Greg frowned.

"Todd. He doesn't like you very much." Greg said, as Nick frowned also.

"Why?"

"He's the jealous type." Greg said, as Nick snickered.

"Well how about we get to school." Nick said, as Greg snorted.

"What school? It's about to be over in about ten minutes. And if you aren't there, then you don't have to go to practice." Greg said, as Nick frowned.

"Today...has been hectic." Nick said, as Greg smirked.

"Well I need to go pick up Solstice." Greg said, as Nick's mom came into the room.

"Greg would you like to come to dinner?" She asked Greg, who looked like he'd been slapped.

"Um, I don't know if I can. I have to go pick up my sister." Greg said, as Nick's mom laughed.

"Oh don't be silly, she can come too. My husband and my daughters are gone for the weekend." Nick's mom said, adding, "There'll be leftovers if it's just Nick and I."
Greg gave a slight smile to her.

"Then I'll be back in a half hour." Greg said, as Nick smiled at his mom.

"We'll be waiting for you." She said, as Greg left.

***

Greg killed the bike when he reached his sister's school. He saw her talking to her friend Nayarat. He smiled slightly at her, before walking over to them.

"Hey Solstice, come on. We've been invited to dinner." Greg said, as Solstice's eyes widened.

"Who?" Solstice asked, as Greg laughed lightly.

"Nick, the guy I was with earlier." Greg said, as Solstice smiled.

"I like him, he seems really nice." Solstice said, hugging Nayarat bye.

They walked to the bike, Solstice putting the helmet on.

"I do too." Greg said, as his sister's eyes widened.

"But let me guess you're scared about that." Solstice said, as Greg gave her a look.

"You are way to smart for your age." Greg said, as Solstice grinned.

"I learned from the best." Solstice said, hugging Greg.

Greg got on the bike, starting it up. Solstice got on behind him, wrapping her arms around him. They sped off towards Nick's neighborhood.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nick waited for that half hour, and kept on fidgeting.

"So did he tell you?" his mom asked.

"Yeah."

"Is it bad?"

"Very much so." Nick said, as his mom frowned.

"How bad?"

"Horrid." Nick commented.

There was a knock on the door, as Nick went and opened the door. Solstice came in, Greg following her.

"Hello. Dinner will be ready in an hour." Nick's mom said, as they all nodded.

"Oh, I'm Greg Sanders, and this is my sister Solstice." Greg said, as Nick's mom smiled.

"That's a lovely name." She said, directing the compliment to Solstice.

"Thank you." Solstice said, as Greg smiled.

"Well I need to stay with the meal." Nick's mom said, leaving.

"So...now what do we do now?" Solstice asked.

"Sit around and wait." Nick said, as Greg nodded.

Greg sat back down on the couch, Solstice sitting in his lap. Greg started playing with her hair, as she laughed.

Nick smiled at the two siblings.

"I'm going to go help my mom. I'll be right back." Nick said, as Greg and Solstice nodded.

Nick walked into the kitchen, smiling at his mom.

"So what's for dinner?" he asked her, as she turned around.

"Roast, except instead of beef it's chicken." She said, as Nick nodded.

"Need help?" Nick asked, as she shook her head.

"No Nick, you go back out and do something with those two." She said, as Nick nodded.

Walking back into the living room, he saw the two siblings hugging.

"Sols, it's okay. I only have two more payments for Todd and then I'm done." Greg said into her ear.

Nick hid behind the door, eavesdropping on the two.

"I don't care! Why'd you have to get a motorcycle anyways?" Solstice said, as Greg snorted.

"So we could have a way to get around." Greg said, as Solstice hugged her brother tightly.

"I just don't want to lose you too." She said, as Greg gave her alook.

"You aren't going to lose me. I'm about to get out of that, I may still dress like I do now, but at least I can go get a job." Greg said, adding, "Instead of stealing things. You and me both know how fun that can be."

Solstice laughed.

"About as much fun as it was in Ancient Egypt." She said, as they both laughed.

"See, now cheer up. We're at someone else's house, we don't need to be sad." Greg said, smiling at her.

"I actually like Nick. He'd be good for you, maybe turn you into a nice person. Not the jerk you are today." She said, as Greg glared.

"I'm not a jerk, I just know how to survive. And you know what...I like him too." He said, smiling.

Nick grinned to himself behind the door.

Nick walked into the room, smiling at Greg and Solstice. Solstice smiled back at him, getting off of her brother.

"So Solstice, do you want to spend the night at Nayarat's after this?" Greg asked, as his sister nodded her head.

"Just as long as you don't spend the night with Todd. I think Archie and David will let you stay with them." Solstice said, smiling at her brother.

"I won't stay with Todd Sols. I'll go to their place after alright." Greg said, as Nick grinned at Greg.

Greg smirked at Nick, as Solstice got up.

"May I use your phone?" She asked Nick, who nodded.

"It's in the kitchen. Which is right through there." Nick said, pointing towards the brown door.

"Thanks." She replied, leaving.

Greg looked at Nick thoughtfully for a moment, before opening his mouth to speak.

"Thank you for inviting us to dinner." He said to Nick, who shook his head.

"It was nothing. And I really wasn't the one to invite you, that was my mom." He said, as Greg laughed.

"She seems...really nice." Greg said, as Nick thought of a question.

"So why didn't your mom take you two with her? If you don't mind my asking that is." Nick asked, and watched as Greg laughed harshly.

"My Mom was a bitch. She didn't really love Solstice or me. We reminded her to much of Dad. I think she'd rather of cut her throat than take us." Greg said, adding, "I just tell Solstice she didn't have enough money to, and she'll be here to take us away from him soon."

Nick frowned at Greg.

"You shouldn't lie to your sister. You two look like you're very close." Nick said, as Greg snorted.

"Closer than two peas in a pod." Greg said, as Nick's frown disappeared.

"Does your sister's friends parents know about your situation?" Nick asked.

"Solstice only has two friends, Nayarat and Aria. And yes, their parents do know about the situation. They help us out when we're in tight spots. Aria's family helps us out a bunch by letting Solstice stay with her so much. Nayarat helps us out when her parents give us spare money." Greg said, adding, "But I promised them that I'd pay them back. They don't really mind, they think I've done a brilliant job raising Solstice. Although they wish I was as nice."

Nick smiled at him slightly.

"I think you have too." Nick said, as Greg looked slightly shocked.

"Why do you care so much?" Greg asked, as Nick gave him a look.

"Because you aren't a bad person. You've saved my ass three times, so you can't be all evil." Nick said, as Greg smiled.

"Thanks. You know..most people I meet are intimidated by me. If it's not my motorcycle and the way I dress, it's how I act." Greg said, as Nick laughed.

"You've been nice to me ever since school started." Nick said, as Greg snorted.

"And I've caught a lot of shit about it from everyone." Greg said, as Nick tilted his head.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Because your you, Mr. Jock. You are popular, and the two of us are supposed to hate eachother, but I don't understand why I don't hate you as much as your stupid friends."

"What's wrong with my friends?" Nick asked, slightly angry.

"Warrick Brown, Mr. I beat up bullies because they beat up my geeks. Gilbert Grissom, future Valedictorian of the school. Sara Sidle, all star Softball player, who does volunteer work down at the Soup Kitchen. Then you have Catherine Willows, Head Cheerleader, who has WAY to much school pride, that it makes everyone choke. Then there's you, Nick Stokes, QB of the year for three years, high achiever, all around nice guy." Greg said, adding, "Do you get my point?"

Nick nodded his head slightly.

"Does everyone think that?"

"Hell yes. You guys are known by all of us rockers as the 'Dream Team', you make everything happen. You make the 'bad guys' go away, and you help out the community. It makes all of us want to gag, but at least you're trying to make a difference." Greg said, as Nick frowned.

"I didn't know I was that bad." Nick said, as Greg snorted.

"You aren't bad, you're just too nice." Greg said, adding, "If makes us sick that someone can be that nice and not get hurt by it."

"You know the world isn't that bad."

"That's bullshit." Greg said, "And if you heard my story you'd believe it was bad."

"I know that it is bad, but there are good things about it."

"I know that. I look at Solstice and know that."

"Why? There are other things besides sibling love and all of that."

"Because Solstice is going to get out of here, and do something good in life. She's a straight A student, and she and her friends have been accepted to a private school. Even though she's a loner, she's smart as hell and knows it." Greg said, "And it's because of me that it's happening, because I make sure she studies, does her homework, and she goes to school."

Nick smiled at him.

"You're a really good brother, you know that." Nick said, as Greg nodded.

"Sols tells me that everyday." Greg said, adding, "So how about tomorrow you spend the day with me again. It's only fair to ask you about your life. Since you've made me tell you about mine."

Nick blushed a little red.

"Like a date?" Nick squeaked out.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Greg asked, smirking at Nick.

"Well...what are we going to do?"

"I have a race tomorrow, you can come see that. Then we could probably go to a club at night. The time inbetween that though is for you to decide." Greg said, as Nick's blush deepened.

"O-Okay." Nick said, as Greg's smirk widened.

"Alright then, I'll pick you up at 10 a.m. My race is at 11." Greg said, as Solstice came back in.

"Dinner's ready." She said, as they all went into the kitchen.

After dinner, Nick was acting like a teenage school girl. He couldn't decide what to wear, but decided on tight black pants, and a tight white shirt. They were going to a club tomorrow so he wanted to blend in.

Nick felt happier than he had in a long time.

Nick was about to hop into bed when the phone rang.

"Hello?" Nick said into the phone, as Warrick's voice answered.

"Hey Nicky, I was wondering if you wanted to come with all of us to the arcade tomorrow?" Warrick asked, as Nick frowned.

"I have plans." Nick said, as he heard laughter.

"Whose the girl?"

"It's not a girl." Nick said softly.

"Then what are you doing?"

"I-I'm going to go hang out with Greg Sanders." Nick said.

"YOU'RE GOING TO WHAT!" Warrick yelled.

"I'm going to go hang out with Greg." Nick repeated.

"Why are you hanging with him?"

"Because he's nice."

"Nicer than a rattlesnake when threatened." Warrick said, slightly angry.

"What's the problem with me hanging out with him?"

"Let's think about it, he's the bad ass on campus. He's a bad influence on people, he's a jerk."

"He's been through hell, and needs a decent friend." Nick hissed into the phone.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it's supposed to. Now excuse me, I need to go to bed." Nick said, as he slammed the phone down.

Nick felt guilty a moment later, feeling bad for saying that.

'Well what I said was the truth, so he can get over it.' Nick thought, going to sleep.

***

Nick woke up the next morning, stretching like a cat.

'What time is it?' He thought, looking over at the clock.

"9:55!" Nick yelled, jumping out of the bed. He threw his clothes on before running down the stairs.

"Mom, why didn't you wake me up?" Nick yelled, as his mom came into the room.

"I thought you would want to sleep in." She said, as he shook his head.

"I'm supposed to hang out with Greg today. He's coming in 2 minutes..and I just woke up." Nick whined, as his mother laughed.

"You act like you're in love with the boy Nick." Nick's mom said, sarcastically.

"Well maybe I am." Nick said, as his mom's eyes widened.

"N-Nick...are you serious?" She asked, as a knock came to the door.

"I'll talk to you about it later." Nick said, as he opened the door to see Greg.

He was once again in his usual attire. A black hoodie, with a gold chain on it, tight black leather pants, and big biker boots. Eyeliner once again adorned his eyes, making his brown eyes stand out.

"Are you going to stand their drooling all day or are we going to go?" Greg said, smirking at the boy.

"Huh..oh right. Bye Mom." Nick said, shutting the door.

He followed Greg out to his bike, as Greg straddled it. He handed the helmet to Nick, his smirk widening.

"Oh and about the race. It's doubles." Greg said, as Nick gave him a confused look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick asked, as Greg grinned wickedly.

"You'll see." Greg said, as he started the bike.

Greg sped towards the ducts, Nick clutching his waist. Greg was going faster than he had in months. He used all the shortcuts that he knew, crisscrossing his way through the city.

They stopped infront of a guy with spiked up brown hair, he was grinning at Greg.

"Sanders, you're right on time. Is this your partner?" the guy asked Greg, who got off the bike.

"Hey Bobby, yep, this is Nick Stokes." Greg said, as Bobby's eyes widened.

"A jock is your partner."

"Yep, let's go over here and you can tell me all who's in the race." Greg said, as they walked a little bit away from Nick.

Nick watched them converse, and looked around. He was getting looks from tons of people. He turned back to Greg to see the guy Todd walk up.

Todd smirked in Nick's direction before putting his arms around Greg, who tensed.

Greg shrugged off his arms, and walked back over to Nick.

"Okay, so doubles means. You have a partner, and you race all the way over to that hill over there." Greg pointed to the hill, and then turned back to Nick, "You go as fast as you can go, and if you don't want to get knocked off you have to hold on tight."

Nick nodded his head, and then looked back at the hill.

"After that, we can go around once, get the prize money, and then go somewhere else." Greg finished, looking at Nick.

"Alright let's do it." Nick said, grinning at Greg.

"Y-You actually want to do it?" Greg asked.

"Yeah it sounds like fun." Nick said, as Greg grinned evilly.

"Not fun, dangerous." Greg said, as he straddled the bike again.

Nick put his arms around Greg and held on tightly.

"So what did Todd want?" Nick asked.

"He asked if I was fucking you." Greg said, bluntly.

Nick looked at him.

"What'd you say?" Nick asked, as Greg grinned at him.

"Yes." Greg said, as Bobby put his hand down for them to start.

Greg sped off, doing a wheelie to start with. The first hill was coming up and Greg was accelerating more than necessary. He looked to the side to see Todd with Archie on the back. Greg went up the first hill, before his bike flew in the air for a minute. It slammed on the ground, making both men bounce a little.

Nick was breathing hard in the helmet, praying to every god he knew of that he'd survive.

Greg went up the next hill, getting more air than the first. Nick screamed in the helmet, making Greg snicker lightly. They hit the ground with a thud, as Nick started praying outloud.

"Nick, you okay?" Greg yelled, being sarcastic.

"Fine!" Nick yelled back, holding on a lot more to the thin waist.

Greg was shocked at the answer, but saw the finish line in his view.

"Hold on tight!" Greg yelled, as he revved up the bike once more, going up the hill and then straight down. He looked behind him fast to see Todd and Archie right on his ass.

Greg sped up a little more, running across the finish line before screeching to a stop.

Greg attempted to get off the bike, but couldn't because of the arms surrounding his waist.

"Nick it's over, it's okay. We're still alive." Greg said, to the brown haired boy.

Nick took his arms off his waist, but was visibly shaking.

"Were you that scared?" Greg asked, a little concern dropping into his voice.

"Yes." Nick said, taking off the helmet.

"I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you. I already have a bunch of people who want me dead. I don't want to put a pissed off mother to the mix." Greg said, as Nick nodded.

"That was one of the craziest things I've ever done...in my life." Nick said, as Greg laughed.

"Well you did good for a first timer." Greg said, as Bobby ran up to him.

"Damn Greg, that was some good shit for the viewers." Bobby said, handing over a white envelope to Greg.

"Thanks Bobby." Greg said, shaking his hand.

"I put extra in there for you and Solstice." Bobby said, as Greg smiled at him.

"Thanks Bob." Greg said, hugging the man.

When Bobby left, Nick looked at Greg.

"That's Bobby Dawson." Nick said, as Greg nodded.

"Yeah it is."

"What's he doing, mixed up with illegal races?"

"He likes the rush of almost getting caught."

"But his parents..are like..uber famous around here. He'd get into a lot of trouble if he got caught."

"Hence why he does it. Now let's go do something fun." Greg said, getting on the bike, as Nick wrapped his arms around him again.

"Alrighty." Nick said, as Greg smirked.

***

Next part of High School Blues.