Lifeline

December

A/N: Exciting things happen this chapter! Lifeline is taking off, and I am so proud of them. So what, they don't exist? Don't rain on my parade. Merry freaking Christmas, Happy flipping New Year.

Devin couldn't believe the semester was almost over. The year had gone too fast, and they were already almost halfway through December. His birthday was on the last day of finals week, and he wasn't sure he was too happy about that. They had decided to go skating once they finished their last final to celebrate the end of semester and his birthday, but sitting in the classroom looking at his science test, he wasn't so sure he was ever going to make it out of the fluorescently lit classroom he was trapped in.

He couldn't really remember what a VSPER was, and if he was being completely honest, he wasn't so sure why Chemistry was important in the first place. His teacher had expected everyone to memorize ion formulas (he didn't). She also expected everyone to study and do homework for the class every night (he couldn't). Between baseball, studying for other classes, and spending time with his friends, he had little time for extra chemistry and his grade had been a steady B for the majority of the semester.

Luckily there were only about fifty more problems in the test and then Devin was finished, done with finals until the end of the next semester. He peeked sideways at Christie, who was sitting across the room. She had her head in her hands, her pencil discarded and her papers askew. It was nice to see that someone was as lost as he was, and when she looked up at him, she grimaced. He nodded slightly, watching the proctor and making a slight face at his friend.

The clock was winding down and Christie still had too many problems to finish. Science had never been her strong subject, and she absolutely hated tests. Devin seemed to be having as much trouble as her, so she felt a little bit better.

The proctor started to give them warnings every five minutes as they ran out of time. Christie didn't remember any of this stuff anyway, so she filled in educated guesses and turned in her papers right as the proctor called for everyone's test. Devin was right behind her, and she hugged him once he had turned in his paper.

"Happy birthday! We're finally free," she said, smiling up at him and walking back to her seat to grab her backpack. He picked up his own and followed her out the door, heading towards their lockers. They were the first to get out of their classroom, so they packed up their backpacks with whatever they might need and waited for their friends. It was easy to hear Anna as she came down the hallway, complaining loudly to Bella.

"I hate chemistry! It's not like we actually remember anything they teach us at the beginning of the year anyway!" Bella just smiled, listening to her friend and rolling her eyes at Christie when they made eye contact. Anna didn't like anything academic, and she made it known frequently. Nick caught up with Bella and Anna as they walked towards Christie and Devin, and together the five of them made their way out to the front of the school. It wasn't raining, but it was very cold and they were glad to get in the Carrasco's car and drive to the skating rink. They had all brought their skates to school, so they were able to be dropped off at the skating rink easily.

Since it was Friday, there were a lot of people at The Rink. While they waited in the long line, they all put their skates on; Christie and Devin skated in tiny circles around their friends, who felt accomplished as they were able to stand still without falling.

The Rink had started screening people as they came in the doors with metal detectors. It was nice that they were being safe, but it sure held up the line and Devin was impatient to get out on the floor. He called out which locker he would put his shoes in (24, as always), and then zoomed off through the crowds. The carpet in the seating area had just been replaced, making it harder to skate on, but he managed to maneuver around the various kids and adults walking and skating around and got to the lockers unscathed. His friends trailed behind him; Christie was getting frustrated as she got stuck behind three younger kids who were trying very hard not to fall, Nick and Bella were holding each other up as they struggled to get through the crowd, and Anna had fallen over by the skate rentals. Luckily the only thing she had injured was her pride and a very hot guy had helped her up, so she was okay with the whole thing.