Thanks to the lovely KaySky for helping me come up with ideas for this. Don't worry, I've not forgotten my other story, in fact, I'm going to go work on that one now.

*** Kaylee Frye Reynolds stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her older brother to get downstairs already. She could hardly wait to start high school; it was full of so many new and exciting opportunities. Now if only her damn brother would get ready. “Mal! Hurry up, would ya?” A form stood at the top of the stairs, towel rubbing his hair dry. “Mei-mei, we have an hour before we even need to think about going and picking up Jayne, would you calm down?” “Didn’t Jayne…” “No.” A small ‘oh’ formed upon pale lips and Kaylee shrugged and went to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two siblings. Their mother had died a few months earlier, and their father was already at work for the day. About ten minutes later, Kaylee placed two plates of strawberry pancakes onto the kitchen table, right as her older brother, Malcolm Reynolds walked into the kitchen. “Look! I made breakfast.” “Yes, yes you did” was the chuckled reply as Mal went to the refrigerator to pour two glasses of Passion Orange Guava juice. As the two ate their breakfast, Kaylee kept asking Mal different questions about what high school was like and if she looked fine. Just the typical questions of a young teenaged girl getting ready to embark on the journey into High School. Mal just laughed softly, shaking his head. “You’ll be fine, mei-mei. Let’s wash the dishes and we’ll be on our way, alright?” at the nod, the two siblings got up and went to the sink and washed and dried their dishes before walking to the garage. Mal’s car was a 1988 black Volvo which he called ‘Serenity’. After picking up Jayne and getting to the high school, Kaylee kissed her brother’s cheek and ran off in search of her best friend, Inara, who was a year older than her and already making waves as the most popular girl at Independent High. Once by themselves, the two seniors went in search of their best friend Zoe and her boyfriend Wash. “How is your sister so damned cheerful? It’s the first day of school, and she’s bouncin’ up and down like a pogo stick” “Don’t ask me. Just because I live with her doesn’t mean I understand her.” Jayne scoffed some before glaring at the students who were looking at him oddly for being there for his fifth year. “Hey, Mal. Who’s the new kid?” Looking up from his schedule, Mal noticed Jayne looking in the direction of a tall boy, seemingly a junior with dark brown hair and blue eyes leading a small girl who was looking around herself excitedly. Her hair was long with a slight wave and she seemed just as wide eyed about the experience as Kaylee did. Both were dressed fairly nicely, obviously coming from money, automatically making Jayne dislike them. “Not sure, probably some new students, but don’t worry, I’m sure you won’t have to speak with them, unless the brother is in our grade.” Jayne just nodded gruffly before he got to his locker where Zoe was already putting her books. “Morning, captain.” “Morning, Zoe. How was your summer?” “It was fine, and yours?” “Difficult, but we pulled through.” Zoe nodded, having heard about the loss in the Reynolds family. The group was soon joined by Zoë’s boyfriend of a year, Wash, who was a year younger and always making jokes. “Have you noticed the freshmen this year? It seems that with each year, they get hotter. I mean take that one.” Wash pointed to a short girl with shoulder length brown hair that was wavy, who was wearing a black tank top and blue jeans. “If I weren’t so in love with the wonderful Zoe here, I would totally do her. She’s my locker buddy, a complete flirt.” Zoe quirked a brow and Jayne held his tongue as Mal put a hand on Wash’s shoulder. “You might want to reconsider that comment.” “Why? Do you want her? It’s completely fine; I was just making a comment.” “No. That’s my sister you’re talking about.” Wash’s eyes widened as he balked in shock. “That...She...Oh. Wow. I’m sorry. I mean. She looks like a very nice and wholesome girl.” Jayne guffawed at that while Zoe shook her head chuckling. The group dispersed soon enough though once the bell rang, each heading to their first period classes. ***