Y/N AND HAILEE walk defiantly towards the school, holding hands. Nearby, a few students are playing Feel So Close by Calvin Harris on their Bluetooth speaker, ironically painting a picture of how the couple strolling by are feeling.

I feel so close to you right now, it's a force field
I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal
Your love pours down on me, surrounds me like a waterfall
And there's no stopping us right now
I feel so close to you right now

Laura is standing with Matthew and Casey when she notices them. The two boys direct their attention to Y/N and Hailee, and Matthew gives Y/N a bitter, pissed-off look as the two lovebirds walk past them.

Krystal and Andres walk on over to the other three. Krystal looks back at the couple and gives a shocked and almost jealous look. Well...not almost. Matthew shakes his head as he looks ahead, gritting his teeth as he does.

The seventeen-year-old boy is in his history class. He is standing in front of the class by the whiteboard as the projector displays his PowerPoint presentation. He holds his tablet and continues to speak.

"Fighting on Iwo Jima lasted 36 days, but it took the Marines only five days to reach the top of the eight-square-mile island's highest point, Mount Suribachi. The fighting was brutal. Japan had a year to reinforce the island with tunnels carved into the mountainside, hidden artillery positions, and a network of reinforced bunkers."

The boy goes to the next slide. He glances at the text he had on there but immediately brings his eyes to the rest of the class.

"Allied bombing and naval barrages could do nothing to soften the island's defenses for the attacking Marines. When they landed, they were facing the full force of its Japanese defenders, who were willing to fight to the death for every inch of volcanic rock. So when the Marines topped Suribachi and planted the first flag on February 23, 1945, it was a massive boon to the Marines fighting below and the sailors offshore.
The ships blew their horns when they saw the flag. Gunfire and cheers erupted from the sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen fighting below."

Y/N goes to the next slide.

"The reaction was otherworldly. It was so amazing and moral-boosting that Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Chandler Johnson ordered a new, larger flag to be raised over the battlefield. The 96×56-inch flag would be one that could be seen across the island."

The boy goes to the next slide and shows the famous picture of the second flag raising.

"Rosenthal sent the photo to be processed on Guam, where it was quickly sent out to The Associated Press in New York. Within 17 hours of the flag raising, the photo was on the newswires and on the desk of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Rosenthal's photograph won a Pulitzer Prize for photography in 1945 and became a symbol of the enduring spirit of United States Marines. In 1951, a former petty officer and sculptor named Felix de Weldon was commissioned to design a national memorial for the Marine Corps to be built in the Washington, D.C., area. He chose a sculpture of the image of the Marines on Mount Suribachi. It took three years to build the 78-foot-tall United States Marine Corps War Memorial, which was dedicated in 1954."

With that, Y/N is done with his presentation on the Flag Raising on Iwo Jima. The students applaud, as does the professor, Mr. Barnes, who is astounded by the boy's knowledge of the topic and confidence when presenting.

Later, the class ends, and it is time for their lunch break. Y/N gathers his things and is about to leave the room, but Mr. Barnes calls him over.

"Yes, sir?" Y/N asks, standing in front of his desk and holding on the strap of his backpack.

"I just wanted to tell...you great job today." The man tells Y/N. "The presentation was amazing."

"Oh..." Y/N chuckles. "It was nothing."

"It wasn't just nothing. I've never seen you so interested in the topic."

He shrugs. "I—I guess I like World War II history or whatever."

Mr. Barnes arches a brow and gives him a look. There is a beat before Y/N snickers and corrects himself.

"Fine. I do like World War II history. I always found it...cool."

The teacher smirks. He sits back down.

"Nothing wrong with finding it interesting. My grandfather served and would tell me all about it. They would call him Bucky, and somehow, that nickname was passed on to me."

Y/N lightly chuckles. He doesn't know what else to say, and the teacher decides to move on.

"Yeah, so...you did great today, Mr. L/N. You were involved, active, and confident." He says. "Don't know what caused this switch...but keep it up."

The boy knows exactly what caused the change in him. The one person who gives him the confidence and feeling that he can achieve anything. He softly smiles at the thought of her.

"Thanks...Bucky."

Mr. Barnes immediately shakes his head. "Nah, we're not there yet."

"Sorry."

Y/N turns to leave the room. Mr. Barnes snickers to himself and opens his laptop to continue his work.

Hailee is the first person he goes to see during the lunch period. She is almost done with To Kill A Mockingbird and has challenged herself to finish it by the end of the day.

Y/N sits beside her at the table. He takes a bite of his apple and looks at the girl reading.

"Did the mockingbird die yet?" He asks.

"What?" She replies with eyes still glued to the book.

"Did it die yet?"

Hailee scoffs and turns to him. "The mockingbird?"

"Yeah. I mean...the title says it all."

She snickers and puts down her book, rubbing the top of his arm.

"Oh, sweetie..."

He raises his brow. She continues.

"This book isn't about a bird."

"What?" He picks up the book. "So isn't it...false advertisement?"

Hailee laughs and shakes her head at her boyfriend's remark. "Yeah."

Y/N turns a few of the pages.

"Want me to tell you what I've read so far?" She asks.

Y/N chuckles and looks up at her. He closes the book and slides it back in front of her.

"No. No spoilers. I'll read it myself after you're done."

The girl smiles, content that the boy is willing to read the book himself despite not having any previous interest. Y/N feels like it'd be cool to do so and give brand-new things a try.

Suddenly, Y/N's eyes move to the right, and a familiar student enters the cafeteria. The boy holds his tray and sits down alone.

It was Michael Dunlop, fresh out of the rehab center and out of his cast.

Y/N keeps looking at him as Hailee goes back to her book. He lets out an exhale through his nose.

"I'll be back." He tells Hailee before getting up.

The boy walks off, and the girl watches him. Y/N goes over to the table, and Michael doesn't notice him at first as he scrolls through his phone. Michael takes a bite of his sandwich and sees the seventeen-year-old in the corner of his eye, standing by the table.

"Oh..." He chews and swallows his food. "Uh...hi."

"H—Hey, Michael." Y/N greets.

He nods. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to say hi," Y/N replies, then after a moment, glances at the boy's unlocked phone. He sees a wallpaper of the familiar sports team. "Lakers fan?"

Michael looks at this phone and chuckles. "Yeah. Since the Kobe days, you know? And the Showtime era for my dad."

"Same here, man," Y/N replies. "They're a big inspiration for why I love hoops."

Michael nods with a smile before looking back at his phone. Y/N puts his hands in his pockets and takes a second before speaking again.

"Hey, would you...like you sit with us?" He asks as he gestures over to the other table.

For a moment, Michael looks ahead and expects to see the usual posse of Matthew, Krystal, Laura, Casey, and Andres but is surprised to see only Hailee at the table. He looks back at Y/N, who still has a soft smirk.

"Uh, you don't have to. I'd just like to try again, you know? For real this time."

Michael knows what he means. Y/N wants a second chance at forming a friendship with him. Not under the guise of a prank or any initiation into the cool clique, but a real friendship.

The boy looks back at the table and sees Hailee smiling back at them. She is proud of Y/N going out of his way to mend things with Michael. He turns to Y/N again and smiles as well.

"Sure. That'd be cool." He finally replies.

Y/N smiles back and pats Michael's shoulder as he stands up with his tray. The two walk back to the table where Hailee is, and the girl instantly greets him.

Later that night, Y/N is at home. He is in the kitchen cooking dinner for himself and his mother. He had been more active around the house lately, doing chores and often cooking like he is doing now.

As he makes dinner, Out of My League by Fitz and The Tantrums is playing on his Echo device nearby. He bobs his head to the track as he moves around in the kitchen.

40 days and 40 nights

His mother, Anna, comes into the kitchen. She sees her son into the music and how focused he is on his cooking, which brings a smile to her face. She leans against the wall and crosses her arms as she watches.

Y/N, unbeknownst of his mother's presence, now signs aloud. Ironically, the lyrics speak to how he feels about his current relationship. He pours his heart out as the chorus comes in.

'Cause you were out of my league
All the things I believed
You were just the right kind
Yeah, you were more than just a dream

Finally, Y/N turns around and spots his mom. He is startled, and Anna laughs. Y/N rolls his eyes.

"Mom! Ugh. H—How long have you been standing there?"

"Enough time to see how great of a singer and dancer you are." She jokes. "Well...not sure if great is—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He interjects with a laugh. "Food is almost ready, by the way."

Anna walks forward. The music continues, and she starts to get into it too.

"Yeah, I get it. This really gets you moving." She says.

Y/N sees that she is beginning to groove to the track. The boy shakes his head.

"No...please don't."

"Too late." Anna says and begins to dance.

Y/N watches as his mom does so. He knew she loved music and was a dancer in her younger years. She had actually met his father after he stumbled upon her dance class in college.

"Oh, so now you want to stop?" Anna asks with a laugh. "Come on, don't let your momma do this alone."

Y/N laughs and ultimately relents. He starts to dance, albeit pretty terribly, with his mom in the kitchen. It's not really even dancing...more so just moving his feet and bobbing his head.

Still, his mom does not care. Anna has a great time with her son and enjoys the music with him in the kitchen. Honestly, she could faintly remember a time she and Y/N had a moment like this. A time when mother and son bonded and had a great time together.

As they enjoy the music, Anna wonders what changed Y/N. She wonders what made him so happy.

You were out of my league
Got my heartbeat racing
If I die, don't wake me
'Cause you are more than just a dream

• • •

Y/N HAD BEEN called to the principal's office. Y/N sits there, wondering what he'd done wrong to be back in that room. He bobs his leg up and down as he sits back on the chair.

Soon, Principal Wilson walks into the room. He straightens out his tie and greets Y/N.

"Sorry for the hold-up. Had a meeting with Coach Barton." He goes behind his desk. "Get this...he wants the school to have an archery program. I'm like, what? Okay, Hawkeye."

Principal Wilson chuckles, and so does Y/N, as it's the only thing he feels he could do. He is pretty anxious about why he is there. The older man sits down.

"This is like...the third idea I've been told." He adds with finger quotes. "First, Mr. Parker wants comic books as a part of the literature curriculum. Then, Ms. Rosen wants our next play to be like Rogers: The Musical over there in Disneyland. Like, where's the budget for that?"

Y/N just nods. Principal Wilson continues to ramble.

"I mean, it'd be cool. I love Captain America. Especially the black one. The one with the wings. Damn...what is his name...?"

"Uh, sir?" Y/N interjects. "Why exactly am I here?"

"Right." Principal Wilson sits up and gets sincere. "I wanted to commend you for what you've accomplished the last couple of months."

Y/N arches a brow. The man continues.

"With the janitorial work. The play. The tutoring. You know, the kid you were helping ended up passing his test with flying colors. Got his grade up enough that he got to play basketball finally."

The news surprises Y/N. He didn't know that Dylan was a basketball player nor that he was practically on academic probation, refraining him from being on the team. With Y/N's help, he is able to play again. It brings a smile to Y/N's face.

Principal Wilson opens a drawer and takes out a photo. He slides it over to Y/N, and the boy sees what it is.

"His mom sent that over, saying that Dylan wanted to show you."

The photo is of Dylan with his teammates. He holds a championship trophy from the tournament his team won the week before. Y/N keeps smiling, and seeing it makes him think back at the times he enjoyed playing team basketball himself.

"Wow..." He mutters.

The principal slides the photo further toward the boy.

"Keep it. So that every time you see it...you remember the impact you made on his life."

The words strike Y/N rather hard. He didn't think much about what he did with Dylan. He simply thought he was helping the boy with his math homework. But it was much more than that. Y/N put the boy on the path to follow his dream.

Y/N takes the photo and holds it, looking at it some more. Principal Wilson folds his hands and nods.

"You should be proud, Y/N." The man added. "And I'm proud of the work you've put in since our last chat."

"Thanks, sir. I—I appreciate it."

There is a beat as the two smile at one another.

"That is all, Y/N. I just wanted to give you that." Principal Wilson says. "You may go."

Y/N nods and gets up, going for the door. As he opens it, the man calls out.

"Wait. I'm curious..."

The teenager looks back at the principal.

"If you don't mind me asking...but what changed?"

Y/N doesn't respond initially. The man continues.

"This want...this desire...the desire to do more." He says. "Where did it come from?"

The teenager's straight face changes to a softer expression. He smirks, glancing down before looking back at the principal.

"Someone had faith in me...and they made my soul come alive."

I need a little space in my mind
I need that little hope I can find
I need a little, I need a little faith
Is that too much to ask for?

Faith by Calvin Harris blares through the teenager's stereo system on his motorcycle. Sitting behind him is Hailee, who wears a helmet like he does.

One of the things on her list is to ride a motorcycle, which is something she has never done...until now.

The bike revs down the lone highway. Y/N goes at a fast yet safe speed, giving Hailee the exhilaration she craved by being on the motorcycle.