On her fifth day, Dev walked up the stairs of the high school, music filling her ears as usual. And it was that moment when she collided into a boy and fell.

"Bloody-!" she yelled as she hit the ground. The students around her gasped in horror, but no one seemed to want to help out. She rubbed her elbow and saw the boy glaring at her. She recognized him from some of her classes as Flash Thompson.

"Watch it, emo freak!" he said back. Some of his friends smirked, and they all walked away, laughing. Dev closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, willing herself not to burn Flash into a crisp. Her back stinged a bit.

"Hey, do you need these?" someone asked. She opened her eyes again and saw Ned Leeds handing her loose papers. Dev nodded in relief.

"Thanks, Ned," she said quickly. She grabbed the papers and stuffed them back into her handheld binder. "What's his problem?" They both watched the group of football players walk away. Ned shrugged.

"Flash is always like that," he said. Dev walked up the stairs, ignoring the stares from other students, and Ned followed her.

"But why'd he call me a freak? And I'm not even emo," she scoffed. Ned shrugged again.

"Flash just thinks you're weird."

"Lots of people think I'm weird. Even my da thinks I'm weird," she said. The boy laughed, and she smiled a bit.

"So you're from London?" he asked.

"Why?"

"We just never get to talk much in class. I barely know anything about you," he said with a smile. She shrugged.

"Do you want to be friends or something?" she smirked. Ned blushed a bit.

"I mean, we are partners in a lot of classes," he stammered. Dev laughed as her boots clicked on the ground.

"Ok sure. And yeah, I'm a Brit," she replied. "But I was born in Ireland."

"That's so cool!" he said, very excited. "I'm uh just from New York."

"That's cool also," she said. He brightened.

They reached the freshmen lockers, and Ned waved as he went to his own which actually was not too far from Dev's. She went to unlock hers when she bumped into another boy.

"Not again!" she accidentally said aloud. She fell onto the ground for the second time of the day, and her back burned more than last time. "Dammit!"

"I'm so sorry!" his voice said. Dev looked up and saw Peter Parker with his hands over his mouth. She waved her hand.

"It's fine," she said, sighing. He helped her up, and Dev smiled.

"Are you ok?!" he asked, a bit timidly. She nodded and rolled her shoulder out to relax herself.

"Yep. I'm dandy," she replied, a little sarcastically. Peter nodded with a small smile. He was more shy than Ned, she had figured out. He seemed interesting though; he liked science (as was obvious) and was extremely intelligent. Matt would tease her about Peter if he ever met him. Dev shook her head to herself.

"You sure you're ok?" he said again. She nodded. "Ok well um I'll get back to my locker then. See you. Sorry for running into you." She waved as the boy ran off.

Dev turned back to her locker, opening it and putting her books in carefully. Unlike other students she had seen, she liked her locker to be at least a little organized. Afterwards, she walked over to her first period, an Honors English class for freshmen. Michelle looked up from the back of the class, and Dev sat on her right. The teacher, an enthusiastic and energized woman named Ms. Regstad, smiled brightly at her half-asleep students. Dev sighed. Time for another long school day.

//

It was her third week anniversary in New York when Dev came to the conclusion that lunch was the best part of school. Everyday, she would get her lunch from the unbelievably long line filled with nerdy or overly confident students and then head over to the table with Ned, Peter, and Michelle, who was on the edge. Dev usually didn't talk at all, which was ok with her. She liked listening to Ned and Peter debate about fan theories or discuss technological plans, and she sometimes inputted some advice. Michelle didn't talk much except to tease the boys with her dry humour. It made Dev smile.

The whole city had gotten a little better. Ned showed her around Queens one Saturday, pointing out the best coffee shops and takeout restaurants. Peter had come also, and after reaching a small Starbucks, the three studied for awhile.

Even though Dev wasn't too close to the boys, she felt the need for friendships and couldn't stop herself from talking to the boy with the megawatt smile and his slightly stuttering best friend. In all honesty, she didn't spend that much time with them. On most weekends or days afterschool, Dev stayed at home, studying or watching Netflix or spam texting Matt. She had even gotten so bored one day that she tried to call Brendan, but it went straight to voicemail. He was too busy to be bothered, even by his little sister.

On the Tuesday of that third week, Dev was lounging on her small fouton, engaged in a complicated book. She was supposed to be reading for her English class but instead had found another (and more interesting) one to read. Matt liked to joke that procrastination was Dev's favourite hobby. She punched him whenever he said that.

"Dev! Dinner!" her father called. Dev tore her eyes away from the pages and carried to the book with her as she walked down the short hallway to the kitchen.

The apartment was small and grey, but the two had made it somewhat homely. It had two bedrooms, an office, a living room, a kitchen, and two bathrooms - just enough for two people. After all their possessions arrived, Dev's room brightened up with her various band and movie posters while her dad had decorated the living room and kitchen with furniture and paintings. He wasn't very good at interior design though; Dev had to fix mostly everything because it had looked like a humongous hurricane swept through the house.

He waved at her as she sat down, and she gave a small smile. After a short prayer, they began to eat the simple rice-chicken-and-salad dinner that had become an almost everyday meal. Dev desperately wished for Matt's cooking, even though it was always outrageous. At least it was different than plain chicken and rice.

"How was school?" he asked. Dev placed her book onto her lap and shrugged. The man frowned a little but continued to eat.

"It was ok," she answered. "The usual." She put in a forkful of rice.

"That's nice," he said. "Friends are still Star Wars nerds?" She gave a small laugh.

"Yep."

"They sound nice, you should invite them over sometime. You know we have the original trilogy." She nodded.

"Those three are the best. And maybe one day. I don't want to bother you though, Da," she said. He waved his hand.

"It's fine, Dev, I don't mind. They're your friends, and I like seeing you adjust to New York."

"Yeah." There was an small silence, and Dev's fork clinked loudly when she poked some lettuce.

"How's Matt?" he said. Dev knew that he knew how close the two were and how she always got happier whenever they talked about his second son.

"I think he's fine. Haven't called him yet today," Dev said, trying to focus on her book. One of the main characters, a preppy jock whose life flipped upside down, had just found out that his strange crush was dating someone else. It was heartbreaking, but the worst part was how it was all a lie. Dev fought back uprising emotions and turned the page.

"So..." her father said awkwardly. "Good book?"

"Mm," she nodded. He sighed under his breath but put on another smile, the same smile that Brendan had inherited. When it was genuine, it was sweet and full of happiness. However, most of the time, it was half-forced which was unfortunate.

"That's good. Well, I have to get back to work, so I'll be in the office," her dad said, getting up. He took his plate to the office down the hall. Dev put her book up on the table and watched him walk away in the corner of her eye.

Noah Jackson was a hurt man, but he was also a strong and seemingly stoic man. He always tried to put his kids before himself, leading to him hiding and stuffing down his feelings. Dev noticed it the day after their mother left. Her father had kept a smile on the whole day, and she realised he was a liar. But then, aren't all parents liars to their children every once in awhile?

Her father was a successful lawyer, so the family was fine on financial terms, but they did move around a lot, especially Dev. Matt had been able to go back to Ireland, and Brendan got into UCLA's law school, leaving the little sister all alone to travel with her father. He was a good father and he knew how to care for his daughter, but as she grew older and he grew more busy with his career, a small rift began to split them. Dev liked her dad well enough. She was grateful he wasn't abusive or an addict, but she knew not to bother him whenever he worked, or almost always.

Instead, she bothered her Irish hipster of a brother.

"Devon Marie! How's it going? How's Da? Miss California still? How's school? Do you have good grades? You better or else I'm fly over and force you to do homework," Matt said all in one breath. He stopped for air, making Dev laugh.

"Hey, Matt. I'm ok, he's fine, yeah I kinda miss it but it's ok, school's fine, and yeah I still have all A's," she replied. He nodded with an approving grin.

"You ok? You look kinda sad," he said, pushing back his black hair. He got it from their mum's side.

"Yeah, I'm just tired and all," she half-lied.

"Is it your thing again?" asked Matt. He looked at her sympathetically. She shrugged.

"It's actually been ok," she said.

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Mhm."

"Ok, well what else is wrong?" he said, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Dev sighed.

"Why did I decide to call you again?" she rolled her eyes. He laughed and propped his phone up. She saw the settings of a warm cafe full of Irish students. Matt turned from the computer to yell at someone. "You're gonna make me go deaf, I swear."

"Sorry, Miss America," he smirked. She rolled her eyes again and pulled on her sweatshirt string. "Hey, Marc! Come see my sis!"

"The annoying one?" a voice said off screen. Dev raised an eyebrow as Matt's eyes widened.

"I CLEARLY said she's NOT annoying!" he yelled at Marc. "And I only have one, idiot!" Dev facepalmed. A brunette with the same haircut and style as Matt appeared in the screen. He waved with a grin.

Dev had met Marc Kepp once when he and Matt visited London. The 21 year old male was quiet most of the time but could be loud when he wanted to. He also was an exceptional musician, playing more than five instruments plus the ability to sing. He preferred his guitars rather than people. Matt met him in a pub, then realised they went to the same school, and thus began the creation of their still unnamed band. Dev suggested "the Two Irish Bros," but her idea got shut down quickly.

"Hey Devon!" Marc greeted loudly. She waved back.

"Hi Marc," she said. "What're yous doing over there?" He held up two coffee mugs, handing one to Matt.

"Schoolwork sucks," he said, smiling. He sat down across the table, but Dev could still see the two. It was a small table. The cafe looked crowded. Dublin was always so busy, kind of like New York.

"I agree," she nodded. "And hey, didn't Da tell yous not to drink so much coffee? Isn't it like eleven at night?" Matt shrugged, taking a sip.

"If the Americans drink coffee 24/7, then we can too," he laughed. She suppressed her smile unsuccessfully.

"Well I'll leave you two to your 'schoolwork'." Dev made quotes with her hands, knowing they would just get distracted and work on music. Matt scoffed. "See you tomorrow, Matt! Bye Marc!" The boys waved at her, and she clicked the red button to hang up.

With her phone dark, she had a sudden urge to text someone. Dev opened the messaging app and scrolled down until she reached a certain person. Her finger hovered over the chat hesitantly.

She texted Ned and Peter instead.

D: what r u two nerds doing

N: ur mean

D: im kidding

P: im studying

P: well i WAS studying

P: thanks a lot for distracting me guys

D: no prob chewbacca

N: WAIT

N: if peter is chewie...

N: AM I HAN?!?!

D: i better not be princess leia

P: u can be leia when she has a gun

D: FIIIIIIINE

D: she is pretty badass with a gun

P: my point exactly

N: so y did u text us ms leia-with-a-gun

D: IM CHANGING THIS CHAT NAME HOLD UP

Devon Jackson has renamed the chat: THE MILLENIUM FALCON

P: wow thanks

D: ur welcome nerds

N: i think mj is rubbing off of u too mcuh

N: *mhcu

N: *muhc

N: I CANT SPELL

N: *MUCH

N: FINALLY

D: gj solo

P: its called english ned u should use it

D: OHHHHHH SOMEONE CALL FIRE PPL BECAUE THERE HAS BEEN A BURN

N: -_-

P: :D

D: ok i actually need to do hw now ughhh bye millenium falcon peeps

N: byeeee

P: c u laterrr

Dev smiled at the chat. Those two always cheered her up. She shook her head.

"You're not supposed to get attached," she whispered to herself. Dev put on some piano music and started writing down her math problems, willing herself not to check her phone.

She failed, and the Millenium Falcon spent two hours complaining about teachers. It was a well-spent two hours.

~

I KINDA LOVED THIS CHAPTER A LOT AHAHAHHA YALL MET NEW CHARACTERS (such as marc hehehehe) AND NED AND DEV'S FRIENDSHIP IS AKACLMALKNLKF I LOVE IT

also because of my fave, @/spiderlad, flash will not be the one sided dude as he often is depicted :DDD but he will be a bit of a bully cuz that's how he is in the movie and all so yep

HOPE YALL LIKE THIS STORY SO FAR

BYEEEEE