-1Author's Note: I decided to go back and edit this story. I've gotten some great reviews, but I feel this fic isn't quite up to the standards the story deserves. If anything, my English has gotten better, so my fic should benefit from that. Also, I've fixed some mistakes and got my canon facts straight. Enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

"Sharon, Sharon! Wait! Wait for me!"

I was walking down the hall of Stoneybrook High School and someone was running after me. I recognized the high-pitched voice instantly. It was my best friend Julia's. She sounded really excited, so I turned just to see her crash to the floor. Her books went flying but five or six guys quickly went for them and handed them back to Julia while another one was helping her get back on her feet. She dusted her skirt and rearranged her shirt. She sent her beautiful long, wavy brown her behind her shoulders, revealing her magnificent green eyes. Julia McGregor was the most gorgeous girl of the 12th grade, probably of the whole school.

"Are you alright, Julia?" asked Patrick Thomas, bending to grab a piece of paper that had escaped from one of her books.

He winked and handed her back the piece of paper. She shrugged, gave him her most glacial smile and turned her back on him. Patrick, needless to say, was not very popular and Julia had never talked to him. She wouldn't do it either, unless she was obligated.

Patrick left, after glancing at me with his huge brown puppy eyes. I knew some girls in school found Patrick adorable but Julia and I didn't feel that way. Patrick lived in a small house on Elm Street - and we had vowed never to date guys who lived on Elm Street. Both Julia and I lived on McLelland Road, in huge mansions, and our parents would never let us see poor guys. Ever. Just the fact that we were attending Stoneybrook High was giving them the goosebumps. But between that and Stoneybrook Day, and its weird philosophy on education (they had sex ed!), SHS remained the better of the two.

"What were you running for?" I asked, trying to hide my laughter.

After all, it wasn't every day that you would see Julia trip in the school hall. She had too much dignity to do that kind of thing. And she wouldn't enjoy my laughing at her either. She got mad easily - she practically threw a tantrum every time something went wrong.

"Guess what!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement. "Paul called me, yesterday. He wants us to go out this Friday!"

"Wow", I replied, trying to show my disappointment.

Paul Prezzioso was very popular, and very rich. His parents owned the biggest house in our neighborhood. In fact, his house was so big and so luxurious, it had a fountain that looked like a fish in the hall. I was impressed, but not very surprised that he liked Julia. After all, he was the captain of the football team, and she was the captain of the cheerleaders. They were bound to be together. To be honest, as much as I liked Julia, I thought they were also equally snob and self-centered. But I was thinking that only because I was little jealous.

It's not that I was hitting on Paul. Even though he was very attractive, with his curly blonde hair and deep blue eyes, he wasn't my type. No, what was making me jealous is that Julia had all the guys she wanted, while I was single. I always felt like I was living in Julia's shadow, holding the candle out for her. I knew I was pretty: I had deep blue eyes, long blonde hair and a perfect skin. Guys didn't seem to like me that way, that's all.

"Sharon, you've got to help me! I don't know what to wear. I want this evening to be perfect! Come on! There is no one in Stoneybrook who has half as much taste as you."

It was true. If Julia was the most beautiful girl in town, I was surely the best dressed. I had always liked to put outfits together to make them look great. I loved to decorate rooms, agendas, lockers and textbooks with drawings, pictures or dried flowers. It was part of me, I guess, just as my daydreaming nature and my laziness.

"O.K., I'll help you, Julia, no problem. Now, we'll have to hurry if we don't want to be late. Mr. Ripley is going to kill us if we get in late once more."

"If YOU get in late" was her response.

She was right. It was fall and I had made a habit of daydreaming for a long time in front of the window before going to class. I loved to see the flashing colors of the trees the melancholic shade of grey in the skies and the wind blowing the leaves on the ground. It was making me feel very romantic, and also very lonely.

When we got in class, I took a seat and glanced at the guys in my course. Patrick. Paul. Tom Black. Bernie Gray. None of them were making my heartbeat go faster. When would I, Sharon Porter, 17 years old, find true love?

The morning slowly passed by as I thought of my problem. I never had a boyfriend. Julia tried to set me up on dates all the time, but blind dates weren't my thing. I wanted to be in deep love. I wanted someone to hold me, to kiss me, to write me letters. There had to be someone out there for me! I knew it!

I took my time to go to the cafeteria. I enjoyed the peacefulness of the empty corridors. Strangely, being alone made me feel less lonely, as if seeing people were only reminding me of my solitude. I had good friends and loving parents, but it didn't seem enough.

When I got in the cafeteria, I saw there was some turmoil going on. A huge circle of people was hiding what was happening. I looked for Julia and my other friends and I spotted her, sitting at the table not too far from the group of people. She looked feverish and excited.

"What's going on?" I asked as I sat down.

"Paul wants to get into a fight with Richard Spier but the coward doesn't want to. Tom and Ted Kilbourne are there too."

Tom and Ted were Paul's best friends. I got up on my seat to see what was happening and I realized a few people imitated me, Julia included.

Paul, Ted and Tom were sitting at Richard Spier's table, looking quite threatening. Paul had grabbed Richard by the front of his brown vest and Richard's glasses were resting in his mashed potatoes. Tom was laughing and Ted was looking around, flushed and ashamed, as if he wanted to make sure nobody was going to denounce them. But nobody would. Nobody would dare to stand up against Paul Prezzioso and his gang.

From where I was, I saw Richard say something to Paul but I couldn't hear what it was. I was kind of feeling impressed by Richard. He wasn't crying, he didn't seem afraid nor had he broken into a fight. He seemed to control himself and didn't lose his temper. I was really impressed, so much that, without thinking much about it, I walked over to his table.

"Paul, what are you doing?" I asked, trying to sound threatening.

"Hi, Sharon! See our little friend, here? Why don't you tell him to go read in the library instead of showing his spotty face in the cafeteria?"

Richard had no zits but Paul hated Richard enough to imagine them on his face. Or maybe Paul was associating him to the nerd stereotype. After all, Richard was a nerd. The best student at SHS, quiet and serious. He never showed up to parties.

"Why don't you let him eat alone, Paul? He hasn't done anything to you."

"He's living, that's enough, and he's polluting the school with his smell."

Tom laughed again. I crossed my arms on my chest.

"You know what he smells like, right?" Paul continued with a grin on his face. "He smells like poverty. And I think he reeks."

"Then", Richard spoke up for the first time, "how come you dare touching me? I could be infested with bugs; I could accidentally spit my poor germs on you! Why don't you just go away?"

"He's right, Paul. Let him go", I said.

"Yeah", Ted added. "He's not worth getting expelled."

"Alright, alright", Paul sighed.

But just before letting Richard go, he twisted his vest some more. We all heard a cracking noise. Part of Richard's vest was in Paul's hand. He had torn it without wanting to. I guess it was true that Richard was really poor, if his clothes were such of a bad quality.

Paul threw what was left of the vest in Richard's plate and left for Julia's table. After glancing once more at Richard, I followed them.

I glanced at him once more when I sat down. He wrapped up his things and left the cafeteria after putting his vest in the garbage. He looked very confident, very courageous, as if nothing happened and as if he were used to throw away his clothes during lunchtime. I was amazed by his courage and deep down inside of me, I was feeling guilty for not being able to help him more than that.