As I said in the description, this story is based on the movie. Some things I had to change because of the characters and some things I changed just to make the story a little different.

Ross wiped the sweat from his brow. It was an unusually hot day for early September. The girls in the pool shouted as they leapt up and down in the clear water. They inadvertently splashed him. Rachel, his sister Monica, and two girls from Rachel's cheerleading squad. Ross could never remember their names. Mrs. Greene had said that he could swim in the pool any time he wanted, in exchange for the work he'd done over the summer cleaning it, not to mention mowing the lawn. Ross had been saving up for a giant Supersaurus dinosaur model kit, and he almost had the thousand dollars he needed.

But Ross would've done the work for nothing because it meant being around Rachel. Rachel. Ever since ninth grade typing class (eighth grade for her), Ross had been tracking her every move. If only Mr. Carew hadn't assigned seats alphabetically. Ross wouldn't have had to sit right next to Rachel and she wouldn't have smiled at him when Joe Alexander made fun of the teacher behind his back. Although Rachel had been hanging around with his sister Monica for almost as long as he could remember, that was the first time he really saw her.

The only problem was that she hadn't seen him yet. It had been three years since that fateful day, and Rachel still walked around as if Ross didn't exist, only occasionally giving him a monosyllable or a treasured glance. And the boys. There were always other boys. Rachel was one of the most popular girls in school. Right now she was going out with Scott Lucas. The only good thing about Scott was that he was away at college.

Ross's thoughts were interrupted by a large shadow suddenly blocking his sunlight. Oh, it was only Monica.

"Rachel wants to know if you want to swim," Monica said, dripping on him.

"She does?" Ross knocked over the lawn chair he'd been lying on as he stumbled to his feet. What could this mean?

"Yeah, we're going inside. You have the pool all to yourself," Monica playfully wrung out her swim shirt in Ross's face as she spoke.

Ross grumbled to himself as he watched the girls giggling their way into the Greene's sizable home. He sighed, took a deep breath and dove in.

Mrs. Greene met Rachel and her friends at the back door. "Rachel, I just got the credit card bill and I don't think Daddy will be very happy. I think you went overboard with your back-to-school shopping. It might be nice if you learned to work for some of your things, like Monica's brother out there." She gestured toward the pool.

The girls all burst into laughter, though it wasn't clear if it was over the notion of Rachel being forced to work or having Ross held up as an example. Mrs. Greene finally laughed too. She loved being around her daughter and her friends. It made her feel young again.

While Monica, Linda and Tammy filed up to her room, Rachel pulled her mother aside. "Mom, any letters for me yet?" she asked in a whisper. She didn't want Linda or Tammy to know that Scott hadn't called or written at all this summer. She and the other girls on the cheer squad were always trying to one up each other, making snide remarks and then laughing them off as a joke. Maybe the other girls were right. If she'd gone all the way with him, he'd definitely be writing.

Mrs. Greene looked sympathetic. "None yet, dear."

"Come on, Rachel," Monica called from upstairs. She didn't feel comfortable being around Rachel's other friends for too long. She said they made fun of her when Rachel wasn't around. Monica wasn't very popular and she had a weight problem. She was always going on some diet, but they never seemed to work. She loved food too much. Cooking it, talking about it, but especially eating it. Rachel and Monica had been best friends since the first grade, though, and nothing was going to change that.

Rachel grimly climbed the stairs to her room, hoping the girls wouldn't bring up Scott.

Ross sneaked up the corridor on the way to sixth period the next day at school.

"Hey dork, looking for us?" he heard a familiar voice call. Bruce and Craig. Two friends of Rachel's. Two of the cool guys, of course. They always waited for him by the stairwell and chased him into the boys' room. Ross sprinted off in the opposite direction, but Bruce caught him by the back of his shirt and pulled him into the restroom.

"Maybe you'll find some dinosaurs down here," Bruce said, holding Ross face down in a toilet as Craig flushed. The boys ran off laughing. Ross sighed. Just another day as Lincoln High's resident science geek.

Later that day Ross sat on the empty bleachers watching the cheerleaders practice. Rachel was front and center, jumping up in the air and bringing her legs apart. Ross marveled at how she could do it. This was the best part of his day, though that wasn't saying much. After being dumped on again by Bruce and Craig, Ross had been tripped in the hall by a freshman.

Ross first felt rather than saw his friend Will as he joined him on the bleachers. The stadium shook slightly as the large boy took his place next to Ross.

"Still dreaming about HER, huh?," Will jeered at him.

"I don't know. Maybe," Ross mumbled. He knew Will's feelings about Rachel, and vice versa. Ever since last semester they'd had a cruel back and forth going. Will made fun of Rachel's oversized nose and Rachel tormented Will about his weight. He couldn't figure out how a girl who was so nice to his overweight sister could be so mean to someone else with the same problem, but then Monica was a friend.

"I have an idea. Know how the jocks and hot shots have all these clubs? Let's make our own club. The I Hate Rachel Greene Club." Will smiled, satisfied with himself.

"Why would I want to be in a club like that?" Ross questioned, "and anyway, isn't that sort of...elementary? I'll bet you couldn't even get anyone to join. Everyone loves Rachel." Ross couldn't stop the small smile from forming on his lips.

Will rolled his eyes. "That's where you're wrong. I already got us one other member. That foreign exchange student from Thailand."

"But he doesn't even understand English," Ross protested, "Is it really fair to..." His words trailed off as he saw Rachel approaching the front of the bleachers, her hair darker in some places where she was sweating.

Ross jumped up, knocking his Economics book over. "Hi, Rach," he called out joyfully. His face reddened as he heard the titters from the other cheerleaders. Rachel picked up her water bottle and walked back over to the group as if she hadn't heard him. Ross slouched down dejectedly.

Will grinned. "Ready to reconsider that club membership now?" Without waiting for an answer, he went on. "I say we start a rumor. Not just any rumor, like 'Rachel has a big nose' - everybody knows that. We need something that'll really kill her..."

Ross stared at his feet as Will droned on.

"Time, I've been passing time watching trains go by," Mr. Geller sang loudly as he sprinkled cheese on an unbaked pizza.

"Daaad, do you have to sing?," Monica groaned. Their father was an entrepreneur. His most recent foray into the business world was a combination pizza delivery and VHS rental service. He called it the wave of the future. Customers ordered their pizza and picked out a movie to rent at the same time. Both items were delivered in Mr. Geller's new-to-him '74 station wagon with "Jack's Pizza and Movies To Go" painted on the side of it. In keeping with the movie theme, the car's horn played the first eight notes of Time of My Life from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack each time you honked it. Mr. Geller had promised Ross he could borrow the car whenever he wanted.

"I guess you weren't invited to the party tonight," Monica said suddenly.

"What party?" Ross asked, sliding a pizza into a box.

Monica smirked. "I thought so."

"You're only invited to these things because of Rachel," Ross shot back.

"Now, now kids. I won't have any fighting," their father stepped in. "Ross, you're always welcome to play bridge with your mother and I after dinner."

"Gee thanks, Dad," Ross said glumly. Not for the first time, he wondered what it would be like to be popular.

Rachel eyed her mother's ring, so beautiful and sparkly. It was just the kind of present she would've gotten from Scott, if she'd followed the other girls' advice. Linda had asked about Scott today. She had to do something, offer some kind of proof that they were still together. If she admitted that that Scott had forgotten her, her friends would give her some patronizing speech about how it was too bad Rachel might have to go to prom alone and then look smugly at each other.

Rachel's parents were attending a high class charity function tonight, but maybe her mother wouldn't wear her ring. It cost a thousand dollars, after all. What if something happened to it? Rachel's mother often said she loved that ring more than she loved her father.

"Goodnight girls," Mr. Greene called to his daughters.

"Enjoy your party, Rachel," Mrs. Greene put in.

After making sure that her sisters Jill and Amy were otherwise occupied, Rachel crept into her parents room and took the ring. She was only borrowing it, after all. No one would have to know.

Music blared from someone's stereo into the dimly lit room. Rachel could barely see the girls crowded around her as they exclaimed over the ring. "Scotty mailed it to me today," Rachel said breathlessly. The ring sparkled in the darkness.

"Ooooh, is it an engagement ring? Might we hear wedding bells in the future?," Tammy said half-jokingly. Rachel caught her wink at the other girls.

"Of course not," she said indignantly. Tammy knew very well Rachel was not going to get married until she was at least twenty.

"Funny you didn't mention the ring when we talked on the phone earlier," Linda said as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger, trying to sound innocent.

"The mail hadn't run yet," Rachel sniffed. She turned away from the group, but not before she heard their snickers.

Monica walked toward Rachel. "I think it's a nice ring, no matter where it came from." Great. Not even Monica believed her.

"Thanks, Mon. It's actually my mother's ring, but don't tell anyone." She couldn't keep secrets from her best friend.

"I sort of figured that," Monica said.

Suddenly a commotion in the kitchen broke out. "Chip threw up! It's everywhere," someone called out.

"Want to go see if they need some help cleaning up?" Monica asked eagerly. It didn't sound too appealing to Rachel. Unlike Monica, she didn't even like cleaning up after herself. But anything was better than standing around watching the whole Lincoln High cheerleading squad whisper about her.

"Make way. Coming through, coming through," Monica was saying, pushing her way through the crowd. Rachel followed her reluctantly. There was, indeed, vomit all over the kitchen sink. Monica dug through the kitchen cabinets before producing two sponges. Handing one to Rachel, she quickly went to work.

Rachel looked at her hands. There was no way she was wiping up this mess. For one thing, she was wearing a very expensive ring! Stalling, she slowly slipped the ring off her finger and pretended to look for a clean spot on the cabinet to place it. She saw Chip coming her way.

"Some party, eh Rach?," he slurred, obviously drunk.

"Yeah, just great," Rachel said sarcastically. Then her demeanor changed. "I can't wait for the next school dance, though. Are you going with anyone?" Maybe Chip would ask her and she could forget about Scott. Just then Monica turned on the garbage disposal, making it hard to hear.

Chip leaned forward as if he were going to answer. He looked a little queasy. Afraid he was going to give a repeat performance, Rachel quickly backed up. Forgetting she was still holding the ring, she let it drop. Rachel watched in horror as it clattered into the sink, spun around on the surface and fell into the garbage disposal. As a horrible crunching noise filled the air, Rachel had one thought: How was she going to get a thousand dollars to replace the ring?