Archive of Our Own ^omega

Chapter Text

First Day

“I hate that I still like this,” The girl admits after finishing the second season of Phoenix Drop High. After nearly a decade, she decided to rewatch Aphmau's old series to see if she would still like them. “It's still pretty good, but I can't believe I squealed during parts of it like a little girl.”

It is three a.m. when she finally collapses onto her pillows and closes her laptop. She quickly falls asleep while imagining the world she just saw. Fantazing about what it would be like to enter the world on her own.

Unbeknownst to her, she would awaken in the very world she had only ever seen through pixels on a screen, and she could not anticipate how she would awaken.

The girl awakens and tries to stretch, only to realize she can't move. Panic sets in as she tries to move; it is as though she is being restrained. She could feel herself shifting ever so slightly, but she couldn't even lift her head. She tries to scream, but it sounds strange. All she can hear is a baby crying. Then footsteps. 

“My Irene! Is that a baby?” A voice in the direction of the footsteps approaches. When they get close, she recognizes them. It is Aphmau's mother, Sylvanna, but about a decade younger. She wasn’t sure how she recognized her, as she was only pixels on a screen before, but somehow, she knew it was her.

She realizes she is a baby when Sylvanna picks her up and holds her in her arms. From her new vantage point, she notices baby Aphmau in a carrier on the ground. 

“Who would leave a baby at someone's doorstep? Oh dear, calm down. I will take you inside and find out what happened,” Sylvanna says as she takes the two girls inside. 

That is how she began her new life in this new world. She kept the memories of her previous life, but only her memories. Trapped in the body of a baby, her only possessions were the blanket she was wrapped in, a pouch, and a small note that read:

The note was unsigned, but it was assumed to have been written by her birth mother, the one from this world. The pouch held diamonds, emeralds, and other various gemstones from an unknown origin, but they were worth roughly a million dollars. Sylvanna saved most of that money and put it into three accounts.

One was her account, which she could use to pay bills, buy groceries, etc. The other two, which held most of the money, were for later use once the girls grew up. It would cover their college tuition if they chose to attend, and it would allow them to begin their lives on a solid foundation, one where they would not have to worry about money.

Sylvanna was not greedy; she only took what was necessary. She left the majority to the two girls and divided it equally between them. Wisteria was her daughter as much as Aphmau. She may not have given birth to Wisteria, but she was going to treat them fairly and equally, no matter what anyone else says.

Wisteria's life became increasingly difficult over the next fourteen years. Becoming a baby with an adult memory is challenging for numerous reasons. She had to relearn simple things like how to walk and speak. Then she had more annoying things to deal with, like going through puberty again. 

She also had to deal with the drama in her new family. Things like her father leaving, them moving to avoid him, and just living with her new sister and mother while pretending she didn't have another family in another world. With her adult brain, she would always remember things she should not have understood nor remembered as a child.

She also struggled to keep her past life a secret. The task of keeping her past hidden was simple in theory, but she was far too intelligent for her age. What toddler understands Fibonacci or why the sky is blue? She would have to last years, playing dumb and acting like a child if she didn't want to get caught.

It is highly unrealistic for her not to mess up even once; she's human after all. She could hide the smaller mess-ups, but her first major mess-up was when she was six. She was at the age where she could not hide her intelligence any longer. After six years of pretending to have average intelligence for her age, she made a mistake that was too serious to ignore.

It was her first week of kindergarten. She didn’t realize that one of the assignments was a test by the teacher to see what the students knew before coming to school. She, of course, knew far more than she should have and got caught. Aphmau completely failing the test didn't help her case when she had to explain how she already knew what shapes and colors were.

Wisteria was not a real genius, but when you put a lifetime of knowledge into a baby, they will seem like a genius. ABCs are boring when you already know how to read and write. 

When they found out she was smart, they wanted to put her in an advanced education program. Normally, she would seem like an easygoing and sweet child, but she swallowed her pride and threw a tantrum to avoid being placed in the special education program.

Her mother respected the decision after Wisteria said she did not want to leave Aphmau. This was true, but she also did not want to draw attention to herself. School was boring, but she completed her grades alongside her sister.

She had a problem with finishing her assignments too quickly, often leaving her bored in class and seeming even smarter than she really was. She tried to slow down and intentionally give incorrect answers, but one can only go so far without making another mistake like the one she made in kindergarten.

Her new life wasn't all bad. She grew up in a loving family, got to enjoy being a child again, saw what the Ro'Meave brothers were like as children, and is now starting high school. 

Wisteria was especially excited to meet the Ro'Meaves again now that she was starting high school. Aphmau and the boys were too young to remember their childhood together, but it was still vivid in her mind. She had an adult memory, so childhood memories that would normally fade with age stayed clear in her mind.

Her family and the Ro'Meaves did not stay in touch after they moved, but because she came from another world and saw the Phoenix Drop High Series, she knew they would attend the same high school. She knew from the series that they would not remember her, but she wanted to befriend them again, even if it would hurt to be forgotten.

Wisteria was downstairs, packed and ready for her first day of high school, waiting for Aphmau to finish her 'hiding from the world' fit. When she sees Aphmau walk down the stairs, she grabs her belongings, throwing her bag over her shoulder and sliding her phone in her pocket. 

“Ready to go, Aph? You were so excited to start high school, and it is too late to back out now.” Wisteria says, smiling at her sister. Scanning her to make sure she looked ready for the day.

"Yeah, Mom gave me some advice. Let's go!" Aphmau says excitedly as she adjusts her backpack straps, preparing to leave.

“Not so fast, Mijas! You know what we do every year on your first day of school." Sylvanna, their mother, sings out, holding up her phone to signal that it was time for photos. 

“Mommm. Why do we always have to take pictures on the first day of school?” Aphmau whines. 

“Because my babies are growing up! I want to be able to look back and remember how adorable my baby girls were before they grow any bigger! It feels like just yesterday when I was sending you two off to your first day of kindergarten!” She sighs, hand over her heart, as it feels heavy with the age of being a loving mother, unprepared for her kids to grow any bigger.

"Come on, let's pose and get this over with. You know she always wins." Wisteria says as she drops her bag to the floor and drags Aphmau to the spot where they take photos every year.

Wisteria was the same height as Aphmau; neither of them reached five feet tall yet. However, their similarities do not extend beyond that point. Aphmau has rich caramel-colored eyes, long, dark chocolate-colored hair, tan skin, and a slightly chubby form that was already beginning to grow her womanly curves. Wisteria has grayish eyes, long, mousy blonde-colored hair, pale skin, and is thin like a stick without a single curve to her name.

Sylvanna may have raised them as twins since she took both girls home on the same day, but they didn't look anything alike. Wisteria didn't take it to heart when people would say they looked nothing alike. It was true, and most people assumed she looked like a miniature version of her father, just as Aphmau looks like a miniature Sylvanna. Which, unknowingly being compared to Zack, was worse than being told she looks nothing like her family because she was adopted.

Wisteria and Aphmau pose for photos before heading to school. When they reach the school's steps, Aphmau suggests they take a selfie together. They pose for a selfie when someone bumps into them just as Aphmau snaps the photo, and it turns out perfect.

"How can you complain about posing for a picture for Mom when you do the exact same thing as her?" Wisteria teases Aphmau as she watches her edit and post the picture on social media. 

"Hey! This is different. At least we are both in the photo! She only wants them of us, not our time spent together! When was the last time you remember her joining us for a photo?" Aphmau argues.

Wisteria laughs but does not argue against her, nodding along in agreement as she knows they normally had to drag their mother into photos if they wanted any of her. “I don't think it's time to go in yet,” She says, looking around at all the other students outside as they walk up to the front doors. 

The students are standing around in groups, chatting together, and not trying to enter the school. Many of the students seemed to have known each other from prior years of high school or middle school.

Aphmau doesn't listen and tries to open the door anyway. “What? Why is the door locked? Did they forget to open it on the first day?”

Someone giggles behind them. “I assume you're both freshmen.”

Aphmau jumps back, surprised, and Wisteria simply turns to face Teony, an upperclassman. A name only Wisteria knew from watching the series. "Huh?" Aphmau gasps, startled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Jumpy one, eh?" Teony responds, her hand on her hip and head slightly tilted. Clearly, finding Aphmau's reaction cute.

"Sorry about her; she's freaked out by the doors being locked." Wisteria pats Aphmau's shoulder softly, comforting her.

"Oh, don't worry about that. They usually lock the doors on the first day here. Then they'll let everyone flood in, and bam! Chaos everywhere." Teony explains while making fun hand gestures of an explosion.

"Chaos is fun," Wisteria says half sarcastically.

"That sounds weird," Aphmau says, confused, trembling nervously.

"You're really nervous. You're shaking a lot." Teony observes, scanning Aphmau.

"I'm sorry, you're really the first person I've seen in a year," Aphmau says, awkwardly rubbing her arm.

"Aph! Don't say it like that or she's going to think we were locked in the basement or something. We were home-schooled." Wisteria explains, softly smacking Aphmau's arm.

"That. Sounds. Awesome! Getting to stay home every day. Best school ever!" Teony squeals happily. "You can pick any topic you want to learn, not just what you're told to near here! Oh, I don't even know where I would begin if I were homeschooled. There are so many fun things I could learn!" She nerds out.

"It's more lonely than anything, heh... but hey, at least we had each other?" Aphmau says, looking at Wisteria. Earning herself a supportive smile and a squeeze on her shoulder.

"Uh-huh, that poor smile is cute. Cheer up, freshmen. You'll get the hang of things in no time." Teony gives them a supportive thumbs up.

"Uh, um... hey. Would you want to be my friend?" Aphmau asks softly, getting cut off by a teacher calling for Teony.

"Teony, Miss Peacock is looking for you." The teacher says, walking up behind Teony, causing her to turn and look at him.

"What! Already? The school isn't even open yet." Teony sighs, exasperated.

"She needs you right now. Something about missing papers for homeroom." He shrugs.

She lets out a long sigh. "I bet she's not wearing her glasses. Those papers are probably right in front of her, too. Ugh! Fine, I'm on my way now, sorry, freshmen. I'm a teacher's aide, and I need to help my teacher right now." She gives them an apologetic smile.

"Um... Ok..." Aphmau says nervously.

"Don't worry about us; I'll keep her upright." Wisteria teases softly, winking at Teony.

Teony lets out an amused laugh. "Just keep your head high, and you'll be fine. See you around, cuties." She winks at Aphmau, giving Wisteria a knowing look before she turns and leaves to help Ms. Peacock.

Wisteria, in her last life, had attended high school, so she had a good idea of what to expect. She hoped it would be a better experience than her high school experience in her last life, but despite her nervousness, she kept it hidden for Aphmau's sake. 

"She seems so nice and confident. I wonder if she was an upperclassman, or maybe she was like some kind of super freshman who took a summer class or something..." Aphmau trails off as she looks around the school grounds nervously. "There are still 10 minutes left, and everyone is in a group! Is it just us alone?"

“Calm down, Aph. It will be okay. It’s only 10 minutes, and you aren't alone. You got me.” Wisteria smiles reassuringly, putting her thumb to her chest.

“But everyone is going to look at us, and—” She says as she steps back. Before Wisteria can stop her, she collides with Garroth. Squeaking as she crashes into his arms.

He grabs her arms to prevent her from falling. "Er, eh, h-hey, are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry. I'm fine. I just—I didn't mean to run into you—huh?" Aphmau starts but then looks at him, almost dazed.

Wisteria watched in amusement, a hand covering her lips to keep her from laughing as she stood only a few feet away. She could have been nice and saved her sister sooner, but she waited for her to embarrass herself before intervening. She could tell from the look on Aphmau's face that the scene was going to be much better in person than watching pixels on a screen.

"You should really watch where you're stepping next time. It really could have been a nasty spill for you." Garroth gently warns as he helps her stand up properly, letting her go. "Hello? Are you okay?" He asks when she doesn't respond.

"Uh, you cool. Thanks for help me. Heh." She mutters nervously, trying to seem confident, but her face clearly shows she couldn't believe she messed up her words so badly.

"D-do you need to go to the nurse's office or something?" He scans her, slightly nervous, trying to see if something is wrong with her.

Wisteria steps in, grabbing Aphmau's shoulders and pulling her back into her chest, saying, "I am sorry about her. It is our first day, so she is a bit nervous. Thanks for catching my little sister." She smiles brightly at him, not letting Aphmau embarrass herself anymore.

"Ahh, freshman. No wonder she was acting so weird. It was no problem, as she only ran into me. Just watch where you are going next time. Take care, and see you around." He says, giving them a wave before leaving. 

"You cool; thanks for help me? Ugh, why did you let me say that!" Aphmau, embarrassed, buries her head in Wisteria's shoulder, groaning.

Wisteria lets out a laugh. "But you were so cute. I didn't want to ruin your chance to drool over your dreamboat there." Aphmau punches her sister's arm, annoyed by her teasing, before wiping her mouth to ensure she wasn't drooling. Squeaking as her lips were a little too wet for her liking.

Before Aphmau could respond, two girls, Ivy and Lily, walked up and said, “Well, didn't you look all pathetic, drooling all over him. I saw you playing that innocent freshman act." Ivy says, disgusted. Lily is a step behind her, arms crossed over her chest as she looks down on them.

"Huh? Me?" Aphmau points to herself, confused.

"Well, of course you. Look...I don't have time to deal with you. Just know that Garroth Ro'meave is off limits. Okay? So, don't get any ideas. Later, freshmen, don't get any ideas because he is mine.” And before they could respond, they walked away as the school bell rang. 

"What was that about?" A confused Aphmau asks, looking at Wisteria.

Wisteria shrugs. "Nothing important. Come on, Aph. Let's follow the crowd. I am sure it will lead us to where we gotta go." She drags Aphmau along to get their IDs and class schedules. Not bothering to talk to the teacher standing nearby, as it was pretty obvious what they needed to do.

When Wisteria and Aphmau got their schedule, they found they share a homeroom but do not take any classes together. Which wouldn't be so bad for the first day, but unfortunately, they got lost on their way to homeroom. They become lost in the complicated halls of the school. Wisteria has a worse sense of direction than Aphmau, so it was like the blind leading the blind trying to get to their homeroom class.

"No, no, no, no! This can't be happening!" Aphmau panics as she slides down a locker and sits on the floor. Her head thuds into her knees as she pulls them up to her chest.

“I know the bell rang like ten minutes ago, and we still can't find the damn classroom. This school is way too big!” Wisteria sighs and joins her sister on the floor. Head leaned back on the locker as she heard almost silent footsteps approach them, looking to see someone walking up to them.

"Are you ok?" Laurence asks as he walks up. Wisteria was looking up to face him, but Aphmau kept her head down. 

"No, we are not. We are lost and have no clue where to go." Aphmau responds. Wisteria slowly stands up. 

"Freshmen, right? Didn't you get a school packet in the mail over the summer? They were sent out to all the local middle school kids entering high school." He tilts his head curiously, scanning Aphmau.

“We were homeschooled.” She sighs, finding it to be the common theme, making their entrance into high school harder than normal.

"Oh well, let me see your schedule then," He says, hand held out to take her schedule. Aphmau finally looks up as she hands him her schedule and freezes for a moment when she realizes how attractive he is. Gaining a similarly dazed look on her face as when she looked at Garroth earlier.

"Please don't tell me you are falling for my looks," He says, looking at her schedule and giving her a cheeky smile. 

“No, no, no, no, no, no, that's not it.” She panics and laughs as she rushes to stand, her hands shaking side to side in denial in front of her chest.

“No need to lie; I have that effect on most girls in this school." He winks. "But don't let these looks take advantage of you.”

Wisteria decides to chime in before Aphmau embarrasses herself further. “The only thing we plan to take advantage of is your help getting to homeroom.”

“Oh? A girl who isn’t affected by my charm?" He scans Wisteria curiously before quickly looking back at Aphmau. "Well, lucky for you, your class is nearby. I will walk you there.” He says as he leads Wisteria and Aphmau to their homeroom, which is only right around the corner.

Once in front of their homeroom classroom, Aphmau speaks up. "Sorry for probably making you late to your class."

"Naw, no worries. I am actually setting up at the club social for all the freshmen, so I'll probably see you two there." Laurence brushes off her concern for him, just glad to be of help.

"You probably will. Hopefully, we won't look as lost there." Wisteria smiles.

"I will be glad to see you two again." He starts walking away, but he stops and turns to look at them. "By the way, that uniform looks good on you two." He winks before walking away again.

Aphmau screeches like a fangirl as Wisteria's cheeks flush. "He called us cute! Ugh, wait, he probably has a girlfriend or something. We have to get to class!" Aphmau says as she rushes into the classroom.

Wisteria shook her head slightly, shaking the thought out of her head. She could tell the difference in the way Laurence looked at her compared to her sister. Aphmau, he seemed instantly drawn to. Her? She barely got a glance. She then followed in behind Aphmau.

"Stop, wait, let me guess. The whole 'you're new, so you got lost' excuse. You are lucky it is the first day, and you are freshmen. The school sent home orientation packets when you—" Says the teacher as they walk in, getting cut off by Aphmau.

“We were homeschooled!” Aphmau screeches out, unintentionally cutting him off to give the reason they didn't get orientation packets.

"Oh, I see. Well, I won't give you flak for that. What is your name?" He asks, looking down at his attendance list.

"Aphmau—" She says quickly before being cut off. 

"I see your name. It's unique. Go ahead and take your seat. And yours?" The teacher asks as Aphmau quickly finds a seat, looking up at Wisteria.

"Wisteria," Wisteria replies before taking a seat. She sits in the empty seat in front of Zane. 

"Alright, take your seat as well. We are almost done taking roll call." He continues to call roll until he gets to the last name on the list. “And last, Zane Ro’meave?”

“Hmph, here,” Zane says, clearly annoyed. Wisteria had to hold back a laugh as she forgot how high-pitched Zane's voice was freshman year. She couldn't wait for it to drop.

“Ro’meave, are you related to—?" The teacher gets cut off by Zane. 

“Yes,” He sighs, “I am.”

“You’ve got a big name to live up to. I expect great things from you. Well, that is it for roll call. You can all mingle, and then we’ll head over to the club social.” The teacher says before sitting down at his desk, working on some paperwork.

Wisteria quickly stands up, walks over, and speaks to Aphmau. “Hey, Aph. Talk to the person next to you. We are all new here, so take the chance to make friends. I'm going to test my luck with the kid behind me.” She winks.

"Hey, wait!" Aphmau tries to protest, but Wisteria walks away and returns to her seat. But before speaking to Zane, she observes Aphmau for a minute to ensure that she would actually be alright speaking to the student next to her.

Aphmau stares at Wisteria as if asking her not to make her do this alone, but Wisteria only smiles and does shooing hand motions. Aphmau sighs before she starts to talk to the person next to her.

Now that Aphmau was settled, Wisteria turned around in her chair and focused on Zane. "Zane, was it? You don't have to listen to any of the crap the teacher said about living up to anyone's name. It's good to be unique."

He looks up from his notebook and huffs. "And what's it to you whether I’m like my brother or not?"

"Nothing. Just, you seemed displeased to be compared to someone. I figured a cutie like you didn't need the extra pressure on his first day of school." She says with a kind smile. 

"C-C-Cute? I am not cute, you girl-woman thing!" He says, the tips of his ears turning bright red as he buries his head into his notebook. 

“Aww, don't be shy. I like your face mask. Did you make it? It matches the school uniform; did you buy the same fabric to make it?” She tilts her head curiously.

He perks up at the sound of his face mask being complimented. "You… you like my face mask?"

"Yeah, it's cool. I just met you, but I think it really suits you. If you made it, you should show me how to make one sometime." She leans forward slightly more. "You know, I wish I had your confidence. I don't think I have the confidence to wear it all the time like you."

His blush grows deeper; her calling him confident was doing all sorts of things to his ego that he didn't know how to handle. "Y-Yes, I made it. It is quite easy, but I'm not sure you could do it right." He scoffs, scanning her, but then quickly backtracks, trying to not scare her off with his bad attitude, rolling his eye. "Tch, but I guess I could show you sometime."

"Great! Would you like to go around with me when it's time for the club social?" She excitedly asks.

She knew the Ro'Meave boys had forgotten about her and did not mind starting over. She figured it would be fun to tease them later for forgetting about her. Especially Zane, who used to follow her around like a lost puppy when they were children. 

"Sure. I guess I could go with you." He says, trying to act nonchalant, but the blush that covered his ears gave him away.

"Sounds good," She says as she steals his notebook from him. She quickly wrote her number on the top-right corner of the page he was drawing on. "Cute drawings. I love My Little Horsies. There’s my number, so feel free to text me whenever you want." 

Zane is left flabbergasted in his seat, unable to respond when the teacher speaks. “Alright, class! We are headed out to meet all the clubs and upperclassmen. Line up, and let's get going!”

The students quickly pack their belongings and slowly file out into the hallway, following the teacher to the gymnasium for the club social. Zane followed only a step behind Wisteria, not wanting to lose her.