Okay, here's my response to JDPhoenix's LJ challenge for the Ryelsi community over there. The link is on my profile, so check it out.
I'm going to make these flow with my other story Pulling Together so I won't be posting all the challenge words right off. For now, just a few to get it started, sort of some back story for Pulling Together. Yay!
Friends
Ryan Evans entered his second day of seventh grade a little more confidently than the day before. Despite one incident in which a small, mousy girl had teared up and run away at the mere sight of him for reasons unknown, he felt good. The trip from Rhode Island had been hard, leaving all of his friends behind - if you could call them that. His baseball team never really got him, they just loved his pitching. And Sharpay was…well his sister not his friend.
"Hey." Ryan looked up from his locker to see the same girl from yesterday shifting nervously from foot to foot.
"Well hello," he smiled at her, hoping to put her at ease.
"So…cool hat," she said finally, eyeing his blue fedora. She was sporting the black and white striped newsboy from yesterday.
"You too…I was going to tell you yesterday but…" She blushed and ducked her head.
"Ryan who is this?" a peppy voice behind him made him jump and he turned to face his sister.
"This is…" he stopped, completely unable to finish the sentence, but the girl saved him.
"Kelsi Nielsen."
"I'm Sharpay, and this is Ryan," she introduced. "We're new here. Show us around?" Kelsi could tell it really wasn't a request, and she nodded. But her heart lifted a little when Ryan smiled at her, and she thanked her dad for his advice that morning.
Yesterday he'd given her the cap, had told her hats would be her thing. When she'd told him about the new boy with the hats, he'd dried her eyes and told her to use the common ground to make a friend. And as she eyed Ryan's blue fedora, she smiled…maybe it would be their thing.
