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Brian Johnson entered the library at approximately 6:48...not that he was keeping track or anything.

He took the seat in the second row of the line of desks closest to the door of the library. He remembered like it was yesterday having John Bender kick him out of the exact same seat one year ago so that he could sit behind the golden child team of Claire Standish and Andrew Clark: prom queen and wonder jock, respectively. At the time, being kicked out of a seat was a normal every day occurrence to him, that for some reason he took it with subconscious ease.

That morning in particular it didn't bother him at all that he was rudely excused from his seat. That afternoon and everyday afterwards it would bother him to no end.

He also remembered just like it was yesterday writing an essay that taught him, and the others that he had met, that stereotypes were nothing but meaningless labels, and that from that day forward they would have no effect on the so called members of the Breakfast Club. He remembered realizing that Andy was just as much a criminal as Bender was for assaulting poor Larry Lester, and that Allison was just as much a princess as Claire was for her need to always have the attention on herself. He recalled how he could be just as much an athlete as Andy was just because of his competitive need to be on top of his academic grades at all times, and just how much of a basket case John Bender was; his home life making him crazy and out of control. His witty remarks and his better grade in shop class also showed Brian just how much John really is a brain too.

It seemed so surreal to Brian at the time that five total strangers and opposites could sit in one room for nine hours...and in the end touch each other - emotionally - in a way that they had never been touched before. When he had gotten home that day he had run straight up into his room and sprawled out on his bed for the rest of the night just trying to figure out exactly what happened and if he had been dreaming or not.

No, he wasn't dreaming; he could have made four friends that day, and he had still gotten a detention, and still failed shop class.

He remembered how nervous he was walking up the steps of the school the following Monday morning; it seemed to him that the whole world was ready to close in and produce some outrageous showdown right in front of the entire school's eyes.

Of course that never happened; life went on as it always did in Shermer High. Brian was the only one feeling like that that day.

Or was he?

He still asked himself that same question sometimes when he pondered what possibly had went wrong that week. Why Andy had laughed along with his friends when Jared Connors gave him the wedgie from hell, and why Allison had become more closed off and dangerous as the days went by, and why John - to this day - has never said a single word about it. It was all a mystery to him.

Well in some ways it was...

Other days he just told himself that they just didn't have the balls to do what they wanted to do, either that or they were just hypocrites. Is it possible that Andy's friends threatened him? That if he was ever to talk to Brian in the hallways they would hurt him? Is it possible that Claire's friends bribed her with blackmail and dirty rumors if she didn't concede with their every move? Did John even give a shit in the first place?

Brian shook his head from his thoughts and scolded himself for even bringing it up again. He had no idea why the sudden thoughts had come flooding back into his head; why he was still so damn worried about the questions he wanted answered...he knew that those answers would never come. It was all in the past and it was time to forget about it.

He had other things he had to worry about now. He had issues that were more important than a bunch of ignorant jerks that wouldn't give him a second glance if they had the opportunity to do so.

Brian scowled and sat back in his seat, rocking on the back legs of his chair ever so slightly. It was a habit he had that his mother was always harping on him about. Brian figured it bothered her because he could fall down and hit his head...and he would never be able to write a science test again.

Of course Brian could give two shits less if he fell down and hit his head, maybe then he wouldn't feel so god damned moody and confused all the time; he could skip out on his scholarship to the University of Houston, so he can master in teaching. He knew how snotty kids could be - he knew first hand - why on earth he wanted teaching was a mystery to him. If he fell down and hit his head he wouldn't have to listen to his parents bitching about his sister's learning disability and how he was their only hope and how he is slipping.

Always slipping.

He peered up as he heard the sound of the door creak open; at first he just dipped his vision back down to his desk but then took a double take; it couldn't be...could it?

Andrew Clark.

Brian couldn't help but stare; just moments ago he was telling himself to rid his mind of all of the thoughts relating to the Breakfast Club...and now one of the members of said club comes sauntering through the very door that locked them in the first time around.

Andy gave him a brisk nod and sat down at the chair directly in front of him, slipping off his jacket and leaning over the table like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Brian stared daggers through the back of his skull and wondered just exactly was going through Andy's head when he saw him. They had locked eyes, Brian knew that much.

Andy had been the one Brian was probably most angry at last year. Andy had been the one who told him that he would never cut him up or humiliate him in the hallway. 'No way' was what he had said. In a lot of ways, Brian had looked up to Andy when he had first met him; he was strong, popular, a ladies man, athletic; he was everything Brian and his friends would like to be. Even if Brian said he had never looked up to any of them, he did look up to Andy even if he didn't say that out loud. Andy had this heroic aura about him at the time, sticking up for them when Bender cut them down, standing up for himself. Even if Andy did have problems he was the one Brian hoped he could be friends with.

Why was it not all that ironic that Andy was the first one to betray him?

The door creaked open once more, and once again Brian could NOT believe what he was seeing. Apparently Andy couldn't either; his head shot up so fast and his shoulders visibly tensed.

Allison Reynolds quickly stepped in the door and looked up towards the seats, and just as quickly stopped dead in her tracks. Brian noticed how she locked eyes with Andrew for just seconds before she...did she shudder? She held her bag closer to her body and quickly made her way to the back of the room.

Yeah, she definitely shuddered. Brian didn't blame her.

... ... ...

Andy stared at his desk coldly in disbelief; his day was definitely off to a VERY bad start. Not only was he wakened much too early, he had his father screaming in his face for an hour and now this. Andy once heard about this thing called karma - that if you did something wrong in life it would eventually come back and bite you in the ass.

He was definitely convinced his ass was being bitten.

When he had first walked through the library and noticed Brian Johnson - a much taller, thicker, and meaner looking Brian Johnson - he didn't think too much of it; it was just a coincidence. A lot of people get more than one detention and end up in detention with the same people; hell John Bender probably got put in detention with the same people over and over again, so Andy took it in stride as if it didn't bother him at all.

Of course it itched him a little, but he wasn't about to announce that to the world.

Andy couldn't help but notice the anger and confusion blazing in Brian's eyes; he knew that he went back on his word, and he knew that he was a jerk back then, but surely Brian wasn't holding that against him a year later, right?

Yeah right.

Andy knew damn well that Brian was angry with him; he didn't blame him for being angry. Andy already knew that he was the world's biggest asshole, always taking advantage of others' vulnerability to better himself. He is an athlete, that's what he does.

Cross that...he was an athlete.

Andy furrowed his eyebrows and subconsciously wiggled out of his letterman's jacket. He couldn't help but feel a whole other twinge of shame and pain writhe within his chest. It was as if everyday, for the last week or so, has stabbed another nine-foot blade through his chest, slowly killing off every last hope of love and dreams he had left. He felt bitter and angry; the exact same way he felt last year when he had done the unspeakable and assaulted Larry. When he felt so close to the edge that he just snapped and he couldn't take it anymore.

Well this year it had gotten a hell of a lot worse and Andy snapped alright; shattering someone else's dignity and getting himself into a whole world of trouble. He had dug his hole so deep this time that he wasn't exactly sure how he would be getting out. It was like climbing up a ladder to a very high roof and then accidently tipping the ladder over and leaving himself stranded.

Brian was one thing; Andy knew he had hurt Brian and he felt guilty for it. However Brian was a lot easier to get over than someone else was.

When she walked through that door Andy's jaw nearly fell in his lap. She was the one who has been haunting him for months. The one he let go; the one he wanted to so badly bring into his world...

He found it very funny that he was convinced that he would be the one having a hard time getting the guts to talk to her that Monday. Ironically enough, it was the other way around.

He wasn't exactly sure what he did wrong, but he wanted so badly to keep in touch with her. He could somewhat forgive himself with the others, but with her he would have had a world of a time not hating himself if he did it to her. The girl who opened his eyes and was pleasantly blunt with him; for awhile teaching him to think for himself.

Her eyes locked with his momentarily after she had walked through the door; she had stared at him with this unreadable intensity and just as quickly as she faded in she faded out to the back of the room. In a lot of ways she reminded him of a spirit or something; moving around so elegantly silent, yet making such an impact.

He could tell by her body language and her facial expression that she wasn't exactly thrilled to see him. Of course, he still couldn't figure out why; he had been totally nice to her, offering to do things with her. She just kept on running away. Why would she want to run away from him?

He sighed and returned his gaze to the top of his desk and almost distantly heard Brian snicker from behind him.

Was he laughing at him?

Andy turned around in his seat and noticed the amused expression on Brian's face. Brian was staring at him full on the face with his eyebrows raised and his lips twisted. Andy could not believe that this was Brian Johnson - BRIAN JOHNSON - sitting there smirking at him like he deserved all the evil in the world dropped on his face.

Andy shot Brian a glare; his smirk, in turn, faltered and he bit his lip. He looked like he was borderline embarrassed and ready to laugh his ass off full steam ahead. Andy turned his head to look at Allison slightly to his right and noticed she was staring at Brian.

Why was she staring at him?

Andy turned back around in his seat and raked a hand through his hair; he could definitely tell this was going to be a very long and interesting day. With the three of them in here there was no doubt something would go on in here that would answer some of his questions.

He turned his face back to the door and sighed; yeah, the day definitely got a whole lot more interesting.

... ... ...

Claire Standish walked into the library and her mouth fell open in horror! The very disturbing nightmare she had not been hoping for was coming true with every minute that went by.

She had been dreading walking through that door all morning; she had a lurching feeling in her stomach, and at first she just blamed it on the fact that she would have to sit in a wretched detention again. Now that she had actually walked through the door and witnessed the sight that lay before her, she wasn't sure it was just the detention that was making her stomach turn anymore.

She closed her mouth and silently told herself to compose herself. She didn't need to be falling apart at the seams at just two minutes to seven. She had the whole day ahead of her to spend with those three people.

She had done enough falling apart the first time around.

She was a different person now; she had done a lot of growing up and thinking to herself, and she did not need to be worrying about them right then. She walked quickly to the table Andy was sitting at and silently took her spot next to him. She looked at him momentarily noting the slight look of discomfort on his face. She turned to look at Brian and he was staring solely at his desk. She turned back around and let out an irritated sigh; why were they all feeling it too? It wasn't supposed to turn out this way!

They weren't supposed to get attached...so why were they?

She plopped her purse down on the floor next to her and pulled her chair closer to the desk. She recalled last year when she first walked into the library, and asked Vernon if she could possibly belong in another room instead.

She didn't want to be stuck in a room full of freaks. She was high up on the social ladder in the school and she didn't think she belonged in a lowly detention room with a bunch of juvenile delinquents. She thought that her skipping was nothing compared to the things she initially presumed that the others had committed.

She sure felt stupid by the end of the day. For once in her life all the horrid truths she had deep down known about herself had come out and hit her in the face at full force. She really was just as bad as the rest of her friends. Even though she considered all of the girls her friends, she couldn't quite put a finger on why she felt so ashamed to be placed in the same category as them. It was them that did the bullying, and them that made her do all those mean things to the other students, she couldn't have had the heart to do those things, could she?

Well she found out loud and clear that she was, and it wasn't a very nice feeling.

Ever since her first detention she tried very hard to not label and categorize people out loud. Sure, she didn't talk to the other members of the club - she never said she would - but she did try to change herself as a person. She didn't want to be the stuck-up princess that was Claire Standish. She wanted to be liked and popular because she had a good heart and was a beautiful person on the inside.

But that was kind of hard when she was surrounded by a group - for the most part - of cold hearted bitches who cared nothing for that sort of logic.

But Claire did try and she gave herself that credit. She knew that even if she couldn't keep the friendships she had made that day the least she could do to make up for it was to try and become a less judgmental person and a little more accepting.

She sat back in her chair and let out a huff of air; she almost fell out of her seat when she heard Brian speak up. "It's not so bad...at least Bender didn't show up."

Claire didn't respond, instead she flat out ignored that comment and wouldn't dare think it would come true? What were the chances of John Bender showing up in detention...?

She told herself to not even answer that question.

She remembered distinctly the moment she first laid eyes on him; he was crude, rude, disheveled, and rebellious. She wasn't entirely sure if it was everything she absolutely despised about a person or everything she admired. John Bender was her exact opposite, and it showed the entire detention that they shared.

They had been at each others throats and pushing each other to their limits; just as much as she wanted to get up and punch the school criminal, she also wanted to just sit and observe everything he did. He intrigued her and that fact frustrated her to no end.

Over the past four years of high school, Claire had her share of bulky, handsome jocks to date. A lot of them were considered pretty boys, were popular, but they always lacked something important. Was it chemistry? Honesty? Passion? She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the one thing that stood out to Claire is that all of those boys were the same. They dated to further their reputations and in the end it didn't work out because she wasn't about to lose her panties at the drop of a hat. Only one guy she ever kissed was different than those boys, and that boy was the resident bad boy himself.

They had kissed at the end of the detention one year ago; it wasn't a peck or a heated make-out session, but a deep, soulful kiss. At the beginning of the day she had never seen herself doing something so extreme, but by the end it didn't feel wrong. She had even given him her brand new diamond earring.

She wondered what ever happened to it.

She folded her arms over her desk and contemplated her current situation; did she really want to stay in here where awkwardness would cloud over the room for a large portion of the day? Were they mad at her and ready to belittle her for not trying to take a stand and be their friend? It was too many questions with too many answers she wasn't sure she wanted to know or hear.

She wasn't sure if she was ready for another touchy subject to get the better of her emotions in front of these people again. They had seen enough of the prom queen at her lowest point last year; she didn't need to see her life story laid out in front of her eyes once again.

It hurt too much last time.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by the slam of a door and almost fell out of her seat when she saw the familiar long, dark hair, and long, grey trench coat.

The world was playing an awfully cruel joke on her at that very moment.

It didn't help either that Vernon had come in right behind him.

... ... ...

"Does anyone else feel an odd sense of de ja vu here?"

Vernon scowled at the back of Bender's head and grabbed him by the shoulder roughly. "Shut your mouth and get to your seat, Bender," he warned.

Bender put his hands up in front of his chest in mock surrender. "Oh touchy, touchy, Dick. All you had to do is say please."

Vernon gave him a warning glare, and Bender responded with a curt nod and made his way towards the tables. Vernon noticed the way he looked the other students over, making them each squirm in their seats uncomfortably. Of course, Vernon could care less how damn uncomfortable they felt; not after what they did the last time.

He waited for Bender to take his seat in the table across from Brian Johnson; he sat down with an unpleasant 'thump' and folded his hands mockingly on his desk. "Are we ready to begin now, Dick?"

Richard rolled his eyes and made his way to the front of the room; the five -well, four of them - in front of him looked very nervous, as if they were ready to bolt at any given moment.

He didn't mind; it would just make his day all the more entertaining.

TBC