A/N: My first JF fic! Yay! I loved the premiere, and I thought I saw a little RJ/Fran thing…my version of how they met.
Disclaimers: I don't own JF, for which Jason Smith should be glad, and I don't own Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.
Reaching Out
A young girl came into the shop, lugging a heavy-looking backpack. Her eyes were sad, and RJ couldn't think of anything he hated more than seeing someone down in the dumps. "Hey," he said, "Can I interest you in our house specialty? You get a medium one topping pizza with a large soda for the very affordable price of $4.99."
The girl's sad eyes found his, and she nodded. Her voice was a whisper. "Pepperoni, please."
"Right on." RJ smiled at the girl, who was now cleaning her glasses with the hem of her shirt. "The name's RJ," he said, pointing to the black nametag pinned to his shirt. "Never seen you before. What's your name?"
"Fran." She managed a pale imitation of a smile. "I like your decorations," she offered, gesturing to the various animal prints around the pizza parlor. "You like animals?"
"I'm down with wildlife. Very Zen. I'm also a big believer in karma." Fran nodded. "So what's your story, Fran the girl with the sad eyes?"
"I don't have much of one. I like books," Fran said softly as she put her backpack on the stool next to hers and took a paperback out. "I'm reading this one now…" Her voice trailed off. "Do I really look sad? I thought I had cleaned up and that no one would be able to tell those jerks had upset me again…"
"I'm a good listener," RJ said as he began to toss the pizza dough. "I mean, if you want…" There was something cute about her, even through the sad expression on her face.
"It's just hard to be in high school sometimes…" Fran tucked a stray strand of coppery hair behind her hear and opened her novel. Uglies. RJ's heart went out to this poor lonely girl. "But I'll be OK."
"Course you will." RJ slid the pizza into the oven and leaned on the counter towards her. "You come in here and see me sometimes. I'll be your friend."
A blush spread across Fran's face as she turned another page in her book. She smiled slightly.
RJ guessed Fran had taken his words to heart when she started coming to Jungle Karma Pizza every afternoon since that first day.