Chapter Text
The car engine hummed softly as Chris Redfield shifted into neutral and pulled into the school parking lot. The morning was bright, too bright for something that, to Claire, felt like the beginning of a small disaster. Sunlight bounced off the building’s windows, and a crowd of students streamed through the main entrance like a river in which everyone knew exactly where they were going.
Except her.
Claire sat still in the passenger seat, hands clasped in her lap. Her backpack rested at her feet, the strap lightly brushing against her shoe, as if reminding her that she would have to get out in a moment. That there was no turning back.
Chris glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
“No dobra.” he said calmly, resting his elbow on the steering wheel. “You still breathing?”
Claire let out a quiet snort but didn’t look at him.
“Very funny.”
“I’m serious. You look like you’re about to step into a ring, not a school.”
“Because it is a ring.” she replied quickly, finally turning her head toward him. “Except instead of gloves, you’ve got stares, judgments, and people who already know each other.”
Chris raised an eyebrow as if about to say something, but for a moment he just watched her. There was none of the usual teasing in his gaze. This time, it was something closer to concern.
“Claire.” he began more gently “it’s just school.”
“For you.”
A brief silence fell.
Claire looked away and stared at the building ahead. Big. Loud. Full of people who already had their places, their groups, their stories. And her? She was just stepping into a game where everyone else was already a few levels ahead.
“For me, it’s a new start.” she added more quietly. “And honestly? It kind of scares me.”
Chris sighed and reached for the keys, turning off the engine.
“Listen.” he said, turning fully toward her. “I know it’s not easy. But you don’t have to prove anything. Not to me, not to them.”
Claire let out a soft scoff.
“Easy for you to say. You’re…” she trailed off, gesturing toward the school.
“I’m what?”
“Chris Redfield.” she said, as if it were obvious. “Team captain, teachers’ favorite, the guy everyone knows.”
Chris grimaced slightly.
“Not everyone.”
“Everyone who matters.” she shot back quickly.
Silence lingered again, but it wasn’t tense anymore. More… heavy.
Chris rubbed the back of his neck.
“If someone looks at you only through the lens of me, that’s their problem, not yours.”
Claire raised an eyebrow.
“You sound like a motivational poster.”
“Thanks, I tried.” he replied dryly.
That earned him a quiet smile, the first since they pulled into the parking lot.
Chris noticed and nudged her lightly with his elbow.
“Hey. You’ll be fine.”
Claire sighed, but there was less tension in it this time.
“I know.”
“And if someone gives you trouble…”
“Don’t punch anyone.” she cut in immediately.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Sure.”
Chris smirked.
“Okay. Maybe a little.”
Claire shook her head, but this time something lighter flickered in her eyes.
“Let’s go before I change my mind and make you drive me back home.”
“Too late.” he said, opening the door. “I already parked.”
Claire sighed once more, as if trying to shake off the last of her stress, and reached for her backpack.
The car doors opened almost at the same time.
Cool morning air hit her face as she stepped out. The sounds of the school sharpened instantly: conversations, laughter, car doors slamming, a whistle somewhere in the distance.
Claire adjusted her backpack strap and stood still beside the car for a moment.
Chris shut his door and stretched lightly.
“Ready?”
She looked at the entrance. The crowd. The movement. The life.
“Not really.” she answered honestly.
“Perfect.” he replied. “That means it’s interesting.”
Claire shot him a look.
“Your definition of interesting is suspicious.”
“And yours is way too cautious.”
They started walking.
Side by side, across the parking lot and onto the path leading straight to the entrance. Claire felt eyes on her. Maybe not all of them were actually directed at her, maybe some were just in her head, but that didn’t change the fact that every step felt… observed.
Chris walked calmly, like it was just another day. Like this was his natural environment.
For him, it probably was.
For her… not quite.
“Stop looking at the ground.” he said suddenly.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Claire lifted her head instinctively.
“Better?”
“A bit.” he said. “Now just stop looking like you want to run.”
“I don’t want to run.”
“Sure.”
Claire nudged him lightly with her shoulder.
“Shut up.”
Chris chuckled quietly.
They were nearing the entrance, and the crowd was getting thicker. Claire noticed groups of people standing on the steps, sitting on low walls, leaning against the building. Everyone in their own bubble, everyone with someone.
Everyone except her.
And then—
“Redfield!”
Chris reacted immediately, turning his head as a familiar smile lit up his face.
“Hey.”
A group of people stood right by the entrance. Ease, confidence, laughter—everything Claire felt she lacked in that moment.
Among them was Jill Valentine.
She stood slightly off to the side, but when she saw Chris, her smile appeared instantly.
“You’re late.” she said.
“Five minutes isn’t late.”
“It is to me.”
Chris stepped closer, as if naturally slipping into their space.
Claire stopped half a step behind him.
One of the guys in the group looked at her and smirked slightly, a hint of teasing in it.
“Oh, and who’s this? Little Redfield?”
A few people laughed quietly.
Claire felt something tighten inside her.
Little.
Great.
Exactly what she needed on her first day.
“Not that little.” she replied calmly, though a hint of tension crept into her voice.
“We’ll see.” someone from the back tossed out.
Chris rolled his eyes.
“Leave her alone.”
“Relax, we’re just joking.” the same guy said, raising his hands in mock innocence.
Jill looked at Claire with a small smile.
“How’s your first day?”
Claire shrugged.
“It hasn’t even started and I already want it to be over.”
Jill laughed softly.
“Relax. You’ll survive.”
“That sounds like a threat.”
“A little bit.”
Claire smiled faintly, but the tension still lingered inside her.
The conversation carried on, but she was no longer part of it. Chris laughed, exchanged remarks, like everything was exactly where it should be.
Claire stood beside them, listening, observing.
And feeling like this wasn’t her world.
Not yet.
She adjusted her backpack and took a step forward.
“Chris.”
He turned to her.
“What’s up?”
“I need to go to the office.” she said. “Pick up my schedule.”
“Oh, right.”
Claire nodded.
“See you later.”
Chris looked like he wanted to add something, but just nodded.
“If anything—”
“I know.” she cut him off gently. “I’ll manage.”
He gave her a short smile.
“I know you will.”
Claire turned away before anyone could say anything else.
The steps to the entrance were short, but they felt strangely long. Each step was like crossing a boundary.
Behind her, she could still hear laughter, conversations, voices.
Ahead of her were the doors.
A new beginning.
She paused for a second before entering.
Took a deep breath.
“Okay.” she muttered under her breath. “Let’s go.”
And she pushed the door open, heading toward the office.
The hallway smelled oddly familiar. A mix of detergent, old floor polish, and something else Claire couldn’t quite name but instantly associated with school. The noise bounced off the walls, voices blending into a constant hum that was hard to separate into individual conversations.
Claire stepped out of the office, holding a freshly printed schedule. The paper was still slightly warm, as if it had just come out of the printer, its corners curling faintly.
She stopped by the wall, taking half a step aside so she wouldn’t stand right in the middle of the hallway. People passed her on both sides, some faster, some slower, but all of them looked like they knew where they were going.
Except her.
Claire frowned slightly and looked at the schedule.
“Alright…” she muttered under her breath. “History… room 214… then chemistry…”
She traced her finger along the page, trying to memorize the layout of her day. Room numbers, teachers’ names, hours. Everything looked simpler on paper than in reality.
Someone bumped lightly into her shoulder while passing by.
“Sorry.” they threw over their shoulder.
Claire nodded instinctively, not even looking at them.
“It’s fine…”
Her eyes dropped back to the schedule.
Room 214.
Okay.
Wherever that is.
She moved a bit further down the hall, taking a few steps, still looking down. Trying to match the numbers on the page with what she saw around her, but everything looked the same: doors, lockers, people.
“I think… there?” she muttered, lifting her head slightly.
And then—
Collision.
Sudden, fast, completely unexpected.
The paper nearly slipped from her hand as she hit something—or rather, someone—harder than she anticipated.
She lost her balance.
The world tilted sideways for a split second.
And she was about to hit the floor when—
Someone’s hands caught her at the last second.
A firm grip on her arms stopped her fall.
“Hey—!”
Claire blinked, trying to refocus.
She was leaning back, and someone was holding her steady before she could hit the ground.
“Watch it.” a calm, slightly surprised voice said.
Claire quickly regained her balance and stepped back half a step, adjusting her backpack.
“I—sorry.” she blurted out automatically. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
She looked up.
And that’s when she saw him.
The boy stood in front of her, still slightly leaned forward as if making sure she was steady. His hands slowly dropped to his sides, but for a moment he looked ready to catch her again if she lost balance.
“It’s nothing.” he said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “Seriously.”
Claire studied him more closely.
Light hair, falling slightly over his forehead. Calm eyes, but with something… cautious underneath. Like he was always assessing the situation, even if he seemed relaxed.
He didn’t look like someone who felt completely at ease here.
“Are you sure?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because I almost ran you over.”
He let out a quiet chuckle.
“I’ve seen worse.”
“Sounds like a story.”
“Maybe I’ll tell it someday.” he replied lightly.
Claire straightened the paper in her hand, now slightly bent from the whole situation.
“Sorry again. First day…” she said, shrugging.
“New?” he asked immediately.
“That obvious?”
“A little.” he admitted, without malice. “The schedule chaos is a classic.”
Claire glanced at the paper.
“Yeah, figured.”
The boy raised his hand slightly.
“Can I?”
Claire hesitated for a second, then handed him the schedule.
He scanned it quickly.
“First class… history, room 214.” he said. “I’m heading there too.”
Claire raised her eyebrows.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
He handed the paper back.
“So at least one of us knows where it is.” she said.
He smiled faintly.
“I didn’t say I know.”
Claire snorted softly.
“Great. Perfect.”
“But we can pretend we do.” he added. “That usually works.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
A brief silence followed, but it wasn’t awkward. More… calm.
Claire shifted her weight slightly.
“Claire.” she said finally, extending her hand a little.
“Leon.” he replied, shaking it briefly.
The handshake was quick, natural. No fuss.
“First day too?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Relief.” she admitted. “I thought I was the only one getting lost.”
Leon glanced down the hallway.
“You’re not.”
For a moment, their eyes met.
And there was something oddly familiar in it. Uncertainty recognizing uncertainty.
Claire looked away first.
“Where are you from?” she asked, starting to walk slowly down the hallway.
Leon fell into step beside her.
“Just moved here.”
“So not just new to school, but the city too?”
“Exactly.”
“Bold.”
“Or stupid.” he said lightly.
Claire smiled under her breath.
“We’ll see.”
They passed a few classrooms, the numbers slowly starting to make sense.
214… getting closer.
“And you?” Leon asked. “New to the city too?”
Claire shook her head.
“No. Just changing schools.”
“Reason?”
She hesitated for a fraction of a second.
“Various things.”
Leon didn’t push.
“Got it.”
Another moment of silence.
“Know anyone here?” he asked after a beat.
Claire sighed quietly.
“Unfortunately.”
Leon raised an eyebrow.
“Unfortunately?”
“My brother.” she explained. “He’s here.”
“That should be a good thing, right?”
Claire looked at him with a faint smile that carried a hint of irony.
“Depends how you look at it.”
“Older?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And he’s… very visible.”
Leon nodded, like he understood more than she had actually said.
“So you’ve got a reputation before doing anything.”
Claire looked at him carefully.
“Exactly.”
“That sounds familiar.”
“Really?”
Leon shrugged.
“People like putting others into boxes.”
“And which one do you get?”
He thought for a moment.
“Not sure yet. I just got here.”
Claire smiled faintly.
“Give them a week.”
“And you?”
“Me?” she echoed.
“Yeah.”
Claire looked ahead.
“Someone important’s little sister.” she answered without hesitation.
Leon grimaced slightly.
“Sounds… exhausting.”
“It is.”
They stopped in front of a door marked 214.
Claire looked at it, then at her schedule, then back at the door.
“This is it.”
“Looks like it.”
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The crowd around them slowly thinned as most students had already gone inside.
Claire felt that familiar tension creeping back into her stomach.
Ninth class. First entrance. New faces. New stares.
“Ready?” Leon asked.
She looked at him. And this time, her answer wasn’t immediate. But it wasn’t as heavy as before either.
“No.” she said finally. “But I don’t think I have a choice anymore.”
Leon smiled slightly.
“That’s kind of the definition of school.”
Claire snorted softly.
“Thanks. Very comforting.”
“I try.”
She grabbed the handle. Hesitated for a second. Then pressed it down.
And together, they walked inside.