Second Best

A/N: This is some weird idea I had. It's sort of based on the Hicksburg episode. I hope you enjoy!!!

Second best that's what I used to think I was. Maybe not at home I wasn't second best or even at school. But I guess the things you don't have are the things you want the most. Till Rosalie Rowen, I used to think I was the best. There was never any competition against me. Or so I thought. It was always whatever I did was the best my parents had seen.

Then Rosalie came around here. She was what my mother called the shy angry child. She rarely spoke to me and I lived with the girl. I guess that upset me since I thought we were going to be like sisters or best friends at first. She just ignored me most of the time when I asked her questions or even tried to start a conversation with her.

Sometimes late at night I would hear her crying and come up beside her asking her what was wrong but she was sleeping while she was crying. I still don't know what made her cry so much. I guess I turned so self centered I didn't even want to care anymore.

So just because she rejected me as a friend or sister of any type I decided to get her in trouble every turn I got. She was easily in trouble all the time in school anyway. She was what the teachers thought of as the quietest displinary case they had ever seen.

Then I noticed my parents weren't ever easy on her either. Especially my father, he seemed to just point every mistake she made. That had to be nerve racking. I also started to notice other things too. Like she cried herself to sleep every night. She was sick often as well. Usually she couldn't stomach anything of food.

It wasn't only at home were she was tormented. She was tormented at school as well. My boyfriend, Walt treated her worse than anybody. I figured that gave me the up since I had a crush on him even back then. But I was soon to find out how wrong I was.

It was the night of the fifth grade Halloween dance. I had been waiting for it all month. We had made all the decorations and set everything up for it to be perfect. I had gotten the perfect Halloween costume as a princess much like my costume for Romeo and Juliet.

Ro had gotten an angel costume. A rather simple costume, a pair of angel wings, a halo and a long white dress. She hadn't said whether she was really happy to go to this dance. She walked into the small cafeteria that had been decorated.

I walked in hoping to get a dance with Walt. I saw Walt leaning over against a wall. I decided to walk over towards him. He smiled waving towards me. "Hi Tiffy."

"Hi Walt."

"Is that Rosalie?" My face fell. I nodded. I knew he shot me down. He didn't even notice me. I watched as I felt my first heartbreak as he walked away. He asked Ro to every dance. She complied having a smile grow on her face. She knew I was second best for once.

But I felt like I had my revenge when she came over. Walt wrapped his arms around me. Since she ran away he grew interested in me and fell in love with me. She didn't even care. I had a plan for when we were alone. I would make it hurt like the way she made me hurt all those years ago.

When I finally got us alone. Adam Heat didn't seem to want to leave her alone. She looked around the house. "So where's mom?" She asked awkwardly.

I frowned. "She died a while ago."

"Oh I'm sorry she was always nice to me." I doubt if I said the same about my father that she would say something different or lie to me.

"So what do you think about Walt?" She smiled.

"He's not my type." She smirked.

"I wasn't talking about for you."

"Oh yeah I'm sure you just wanted to throw it back into my face that you got him. Well I'll tell you one thing is I never cared for Walt. He might have had something for me but I didn't like him at all. I mean how can you like a guy who eats tar?"

"You're just jealous that Adam Heat kissed me and not you." She just laughed her head off. Practically crying she was laughing so hard. She stopped instantly seeing my frown.

"Oh that's great." She left still giggling to herself. I now understand why she laughed her head off. She thought that was a big joke. She threw it all in my face. Then when I saw him step up to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

I would catch him glancing towards her every few seconds. If I didn't know better I would guess he was in love with her. She looked at picture of her brother I took from her. Another one of the cruelties I had done to her.

I swore that this Zee smiled more than she did at the fact she had a brother. He turned her gently. "Come on Ro we should probably get going."

"Bye Tiffy. Sorry about the way I was a jerk to you before." Ha, that was funny her apologizing to me. I'm the guilty party here.

"Bye Dad." She said timidly. I never heard her say it that way before. She always before spat it out like an insult. I watched as the hologram covered synthoid took her hand and walked in the light snow cover. He let go of her as they entered the car.

I knew why she hadn't give me an inch of slack. I just didn't remember how cruel I had been in the past. How horrible my father had been to her in the past. I wondered if she still cried at night. Still had the nightmares that made her throw up they scared her so badly.

I just hope this Zee the runaway synthoid wanted by the NSA treats her better than everyone else has. Because in my eyes I will always just be second best. Because I could never forgive never be able to comprehend what has kept Rosalie Rowen or now as she calls herself Ro Rowen going. She'll always be a stronger and better person in my eyes.