I thought of making the adults in the story like in Peanuts as a hard rule, but then I figured
some matter enough to get actual written dialogue instead of implied and stuff.
For characterization I took from both canon, personal headcanons and trivia to round things out
Considered making it take place earlier, but decided to carry the dates along but essentially compress
the timespan as you'll see, but to give an example. 2010, but with early 00s tech and culture
I've taken some liberties, some more necessary than others. Like choosing given names for characters without 'em
It had been quite a while since that horrific tragedy on April 20th of 2013, but to everyone in school
it was as fresh as an open wound. None were quite as affected as Pico himself, the effects were numerous.
But he'd been working at it ever since he was released from juvenile detention early. Unlike the rest
of his friends and classmates, he's left his grudge on Cassandra behind. Now having a developing
friendship, through which he hopes to help her become a better person since she managed to survive
It was now 2016, Pico was no longer the helpless kid that blacked out as bullets cut through the air.
But time nor closeness could stop the now 16-year old from thinking about the past from time to time
Pico thought about his time in detention for that shooting he tried to stop, but was deemed the culprit of
by ignorant, fear-mongering media as he walked towards the school. Scoffing, he got his MP3 player out of his pocket
and its attached earbuds as he put them on, looked for and started playing Pennywise's 'Peaceful Day'
and a few seconds after thinking "They threw me in juvie, I still can't believe it. Me. I didn't kill them, I tried to save them for fuck's sake!"
He saw the very person who recommended it to him, Cassandra, walking in the opposite direction
Pico raised an eyebrow, then as they crossed paths he took one earbud out and said "Skipping school again?"
Followed by an honest "I know it sucks and you're basically invisible to them, but-" Only to be met with Cassandra sighing
as she said "Here we go..." Pico followed with "But the latter won't change if you give up trying"
She groaned and said "Can you stop being so reasonable? Fuck" Pico laughed, shook his head and said
"C'mon, at least we'll suffer together" Holding back a smile, Cassandra nodded, and as she turned around she said
"You sure convincing people isn't your superpower?" To which Pico responded
"I wouldn't have gone to juvie then" as they both walked, to which she bit her lower lip, making it clear
they were holding back a response. Shifting the conversation to his backpack and asking
"Do you carry a gun in there?" He was mildly surprised, if only because she asked that in public
"Yeah, ain't the only thing on me. Always leave the other one in my locker" He said as she asked
"Is it a" While doing a cutting motion, to which he nodded. And she said "I'm sorry" He cut her off
and said "I've already forgiven you, you don't have to keep apologizing to me. But you know who does?"
To which she said "Who" And he answered "Cyril. Sure, he quit the Nazi shit but now he's a dealer"
Which was met with an exasperated sigh and "You should've just killed him" Pico's eye twitched
"If I didn't give people a chance, what kind of person would I be, what kind Cass?!" He sighed
He sounded upset, but apologized saying "Sorry, insomnia and a sore spot isn't an excuse to be a dick"
She didn't seem bothered and just said "All good. I'm no stranger to your ways, gingerbread"
"God damn it" Pico said while cracking a smile "Are you really bringing that back?" He asked, she said
"Nah. Sounds like a pet name, and there's no fucking way I'm risking people thinking we're dating"
He smirked and smugly said "Is that the only reason? Something tells me you feel bad for picking on me~"
"I thought Davey was supposed to be the mind reader" She said, to which Pico said "Last I checked, he can't do that"
"Aaaaaaaactually..." She said, to which he cut her off with "No. Shit. That's awesome!" And she nodded
"Oh shit we're here" He said clearly surprised as he wasn't paying attention to how close to the school they were
"With that level of attention, I'm surprised you didn't eat a street sign for lunch" Cassandra said, bursting into laughter afterwards.
"Ya got me there" Pico said while giggling as he walked up the entrance steps, then smugly said "Ladies first"
As he stood there and opened the door for her. "Fuck you" Said Cassandra, letting out a small chuckle while walking in
"It terrifies me how little it's changed, do huma-people resist change that much?" She said in befuddlement, Pico walked in
behind her and answered "Kinda? It's more just construction standards. And laziness." To which she said "Sounds about right"
Amid the callouts and insults, she saw Davey, who they once knew as Alucard shyly waving at her. Meanwhile he thought
"Her and Pico arrived together? What's that about... Aw man, did they get together while she was gone?" He sighed and composed himself
"Oh look, if it isn't the most quiet kid in school" She said, waving back to him. Upon noticing he blushed and nervously waved back
"Yo Pico!" Was heard from across the hall as Darnell walked towards them "That's my cue to leave" Cassandra said as she walked towards Davey
"Hey Pico, hope that whore didn't bother you too much" Nene said as she walked in with her confident smile, Pico's only reaction
was a groan at her needless remark "Yeah, because my whore of choice is so much better" He chortled, sighing softly
"You asshole!" She replied, only to follow it with a relieved sigh and smile as she said "You haven't changed a bit~"
"C'mere you~" She said as she hugged him "Good to see you too" He said as he hugged her back, then as Darnell arrived he said
"Damn bro, didn't know you were a player" To which Pico shook his head with a smile, while Nene said "Oh, shove it..."