Shades of Blue | Ronance

One.

You should take it as a compliment
That I'm talking to everyone here but you (but you, but you)

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Nancy

Most kids hated high school, and Nancy couldn't blame them. Who wanted to deal with the cliquey status quos, the meticulous and seemingly never ending pile of homework thrusted upon them day by day?

There were certain parts of high school that she didn't like, she could admit that. But Nancy thrived on routine, she absolutely excelled when she had a goal to strive for. She was an organized person to her core, the thought of beginning her senior year just meant she was that much closer to checking off another box on her life plan. Once that objective was crossed off her list, that meant she could move forward to college, to Emerson, to becoming a journalist.

Some may think that made her uptight, but Nancy preferred the term determined, maybe ambitious even.

That's why when Mike was still in bed five minutes before they were supposed to leave, she nearly lost her shit right then and there. She was not about to be late and earn a tardy on her spotless record the first day of the year— her final year at that.

"Mike, I swear to god if you aren't ready in the next couple of minutes we're leaving your ass!" Nancy snapped, with more spite than what was probably warranted.

She ripped the sheets off her brother, earning a loud groan of annoyance from the drowsy boy. "You don't need to be so bossy, just give me a minute," he grumbled, complying with her order as he all but fell out of his bed.

Nancy rolled her eyes, using all of her self control not to swat him with a pillow. "We don't have a minute or I wouldn't be yelling! Be ready or you're biking to school."

With that she strolled out, shutting the door forcefully behind her. Downstairs her parents and Holly were eating breakfast. Instead of joining them she opted to grab a muffin to go, not only did she not have time to converse with them but she didn't want to deal with all the usual first day of school questions.

As she finished her muffin, she heard a honk from outside signaling Jonathon was waiting for her and Mike. Thankfully her brother had resurfaced from his room, looking a bit worse for wear from oversleeping. How late did he stay up last night? Nancy couldn't help but think when she took note of his disheveled appearance, feeling slightly amused.

Jonathon and Nancy had been best friends since middle school, when she met him in their shared pre-algebra class where they bonded over their mutual hate for the subject. Her previous best friend, Barb, had just moved away, leaving Nancy friendless in the process. Jonathon and her clicked easily since they had a lot in common, and along with Jonathon came his best friend Argyle who quickly became one of her own close friends.

Nancy and Jonathon had at one point dated during their freshman year of school, though it lasted a few months at the most. They had quickly realized they were better as friends, the breakup had been mutual and they went back to just being platonic as if it had never happened, which she was thankful for to say the least.

Ushering a grumpy Mike out the door, the two siblings made their way to the beat up car Jonathon drove. Nancy slid into the passenger seat while her brother hopped into the back, taking his usual seat by Will and El, Jonathon's younger brother and stepsister.

"Ready for our last first day of hell?" He eagerly greeted her, quickly switching the car into drive before Nancy could snap at him to get moving.

"You don't have to brag, some of us still have four years," Will groaned from the backseat, earning a hum of agreement from the kids beside him.