Stargate Atlantis: Sheppard/McKay -- Emotions: Surprise
Title: Second Chances
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Prompt: Emotions: Surprise
Word Count: 681
Genre: AU, pre-slash
Rating: PG
Summary: After getting kicked out of Stargate Academy, Rodney figures Atlantis Prep is just as good a place as any to spend his senior year. What he didn't figure on, though, was John Sheppard.
Author's Note: Cheesy name, I know. I'm bad at names. The rules didn't say anything about blatant AU's, so I hope this is okay.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Nothing at all.
II.
Sheppard had been right, of course, and by the end of the week Rodney was fully entrenched in the inner drama of the nerd clique. The pseudo-leader, an exchange student whose name started with a Z and had a k and maybe an n as well, had approached Rodney after their first AP Physics class and requested that he come to the after-school meeting of the academic quiz team, which Rodney consented to only because it would look good on his resume. But one thing led to another, and by Friday he had study sessions for chemistry set up with Carson Beckett and Laura Cadman (who had been very impressed with the story of why Rodney got expelled, and made Rodney blush very hard when she leaned in and conspiratorially asked for the procedure and equipment outline of the experiment he’d been doing), and he’d been invited over for dinner at the Z guy’s house. Rodney warned him about citrus, but it didn’t seem like the guy had been paying attention. Oh well, if he wanted to kill the new kid during his first week of school, that was his problem. Rodney was (almost) too preoccupied to even care.
Because John Sheppard may have been right, but Rodney had been flat wrong. Sheppard hadn’t gone anywhere near the jocks all week, instead staking out a place at what Zinky called the “hippie table.” Everybody there dressed in home-sewn clothes, except Sheppard, and they all had long, ratty hair (again, except Sheppard, whose hair seemed locked into a state of gravity-defying perfection that not even the rainstorm on Thursday had managed to change. Not that Rodney was looking…) and spoke formally, and only on topics relating to peace and the environment. Sheppard didn’t seem to say much (again, not that Rodney would know), but he seemed to enjoy their company. And wasn’t that just cruel of him, breaking down Rodney’s carefully planned assumptions about the asshole nature of his crush, which really didn’t help Rodney get over the ridiculous infatuation. Instead, his crush was growing stronger every day. Sheppard turned out to be not at all as dumb as Rodney had first assumed. He whizzed through the first week of Calculus, making A’s on all the daily quizzes, even though he never turned in his homework. Rodney, of course, made A’s as well, but he always made A’s. He was supposed to make A’s. Sheppard was supposed to sit in the back of the class and struggle his way to a C, if only so that Rodney could then offer his services as a tutor. And one thing would lead to another, and instead of doing math or physics they’d end up studying chemistry and anatomy and damn it, why couldn’t the guy just be stupid?
“You look upset. Is something wrong?” Zoonkey’s voice interrupted Rodney’s thoughts. He turned to find the whole table looking at him, and he realized he’d been looking at Sheppard and blushed.
“Everything’s perfectly fine,” he snapped, turning back to his food.
“You sure?” Carson asked. “You look like you’ve been seeing a ghost or something. Maybe you’re coming down with a bug?”
“I’m fine,” Rodney insisted. He was fine. They were fine. Sheppard was…well, Sheppard was way more than fine. He was…perfect. Smart. Cool. Hot as hell. Rodney couldn’t help glancing back at the table, and nearly fell out of his seat when he saw bright, clear eyes staring straight back at him. Sheppard cocked an eyebrow, one corner of his mouth curving upwards, and Rodney tried to smile back. He was caught somewhere between a grimace and a grin, and he was sure it looked absolutely frightening. He looked back down at his food and found that, for once, he wasn’t hungry at all.
“See you in class,” he said to no one in particular, rising and grabbing his tray. He was so intent on getting out of the cafeteria and into the library as soon as possible that he didn’t even notice Sheppard rising, dumping his tray, and following out the other door.
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Prompt: Emotions: Surprise
Word Count: 681
Genre: AU, pre-slash
Rating: PG
Summary: After getting kicked out of Stargate Academy, Rodney figures Atlantis Prep is just as good a place as any to spend his senior year. What he didn't figure on, though, was John Sheppard.
Author's Note: Cheesy name, I know. I'm bad at names. The rules didn't say anything about blatant AU's, so I hope this is okay.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Nothing at all.
II.
Sheppard had been right, of course, and by the end of the week Rodney was fully entrenched in the inner drama of the nerd clique. The pseudo-leader, an exchange student whose name started with a Z and had a k and maybe an n as well, had approached Rodney after their first AP Physics class and requested that he come to the after-school meeting of the academic quiz team, which Rodney consented to only because it would look good on his resume. But one thing led to another, and by Friday he had study sessions for chemistry set up with Carson Beckett and Laura Cadman (who had been very impressed with the story of why Rodney got expelled, and made Rodney blush very hard when she leaned in and conspiratorially asked for the procedure and equipment outline of the experiment he’d been doing), and he’d been invited over for dinner at the Z guy’s house. Rodney warned him about citrus, but it didn’t seem like the guy had been paying attention. Oh well, if he wanted to kill the new kid during his first week of school, that was his problem. Rodney was (almost) too preoccupied to even care.
Because John Sheppard may have been right, but Rodney had been flat wrong. Sheppard hadn’t gone anywhere near the jocks all week, instead staking out a place at what Zinky called the “hippie table.” Everybody there dressed in home-sewn clothes, except Sheppard, and they all had long, ratty hair (again, except Sheppard, whose hair seemed locked into a state of gravity-defying perfection that not even the rainstorm on Thursday had managed to change. Not that Rodney was looking…) and spoke formally, and only on topics relating to peace and the environment. Sheppard didn’t seem to say much (again, not that Rodney would know), but he seemed to enjoy their company. And wasn’t that just cruel of him, breaking down Rodney’s carefully planned assumptions about the asshole nature of his crush, which really didn’t help Rodney get over the ridiculous infatuation. Instead, his crush was growing stronger every day. Sheppard turned out to be not at all as dumb as Rodney had first assumed. He whizzed through the first week of Calculus, making A’s on all the daily quizzes, even though he never turned in his homework. Rodney, of course, made A’s as well, but he always made A’s. He was supposed to make A’s. Sheppard was supposed to sit in the back of the class and struggle his way to a C, if only so that Rodney could then offer his services as a tutor. And one thing would lead to another, and instead of doing math or physics they’d end up studying chemistry and anatomy and damn it, why couldn’t the guy just be stupid?
“You look upset. Is something wrong?” Zoonkey’s voice interrupted Rodney’s thoughts. He turned to find the whole table looking at him, and he realized he’d been looking at Sheppard and blushed.
“Everything’s perfectly fine,” he snapped, turning back to his food.
“You sure?” Carson asked. “You look like you’ve been seeing a ghost or something. Maybe you’re coming down with a bug?”
“I’m fine,” Rodney insisted. He was fine. They were fine. Sheppard was…well, Sheppard was way more than fine. He was…perfect. Smart. Cool. Hot as hell. Rodney couldn’t help glancing back at the table, and nearly fell out of his seat when he saw bright, clear eyes staring straight back at him. Sheppard cocked an eyebrow, one corner of his mouth curving upwards, and Rodney tried to smile back. He was caught somewhere between a grimace and a grin, and he was sure it looked absolutely frightening. He looked back down at his food and found that, for once, he wasn’t hungry at all.
“See you in class,” he said to no one in particular, rising and grabbing his tray. He was so intent on getting out of the cafeteria and into the library as soon as possible that he didn’t even notice Sheppard rising, dumping his tray, and following out the other door.