Okay, I did a little experimenting with the Rugrats in another fic I did, but that was with Lil and Tommy mostly. In this one, I wanted to bring in a different character. We're just going to go along and pretend this character, Scarlett, was in there the whole time, from when they were babies. Also, I really wanted to try out a new pairing that I saw on a forum that, honestly, I never really thought about. This is just the first chapter, though, and I really hope to have more in different character perspectives. Enjoy!

"Yeah, but Scar, I really don't think that you should," my best friend Lil Deville muttered from across the countertop at Java Lava. She didn't even look up from her homework, but she got this weird little crinkle in her forehead, which meant she meant business.

I sipped my mango smoothie contentedly, sliding back in my seat and shaking my head with a cool smile. "You don't understand, Lil! It's one of them, I know it is! I'm determined."

Lil finally looked up, narrowing her eyes as she did so. "Why do you have to be friends with them first for them to be your soulmate? Isn't it more probable it's the random person that you almost hit while they're crossing the street because they're listening to music and they don't notice anything else?" She paused for a breath, and then continued. "Besides, we know it's not Chuckie."

This took me by surprise. "Why not Chuckie? He's not taken, is he?"

Lil's face got a little red, and she ducked her head, pretending to be picking up a napkin from the floor. When she returned, she was relatively normal colored again.

"No! It's just…uh…you and him don't click, you know?" It seemed to me that she was frantically grabbing at anything she could, but I would spare her and let her win.

"Maybe…then it's either Tommy, your brother, or…Dil." I tried not to make a face. I really loved Tommy Pickles's little brother Dil, like my own brother, in fact, but he was just so freaking weird! Please, God, don't let my soulmate be Dil!, I thought, looking toward the ceiling for good measure.

"Psh, it is not my brother." Lil looked back down at her homework, scribbling in an answer.

I rolled my eyes. This was why I came to Kimi first with my brilliant idea. True, Kimi was more of a schemer than a listener, but at least she hadn't eliminated anyone that wasn't a Pickles without giving me a say. In our group, Lil, Kimi, and me, I was the listener/advice giver. Lil just had too much going on inside her head and didn't often practice self-control.

"Why can't it be Phil?" Admittedly, when I first came up with my Soulmate Plan, I actually did have Tommy in mind. Tommy and Scarlett, doesn't that sound nice? And nobody could say that Tommy Pickles wasn't the most adorable non-football playing boy in our junior class.

"He's gross," Lil said simply, shrugging in a nonchalant kind of way.

Just as she was saying this, the bell clanged, recognizing the entering of another person. I looked up quickly, not wanting the wrong person to hear this conversation. But, instead of one face looking back down at me, I saw three.

It was funny how much we'd changed since we were younger. Chuckie, who was a year older than us, had grown into his wild orange hair, which he still wore the same way. However, besides that, all traces of nerdiness and gawkiness were gone. He'd gotten contacts in eighth grade, sprouted up to 6'4'' last year, and worked on some muscle since then. He smiled at us when he walked in, revealing perfectly straight, non-braced teeth.

Phil walked in behind him, his guitar case slung over one shoulder. He tossed his head, shaking back his wavy, light brown locks. If anyone of us had changed (and that included Chuckie) it had to be Phil. He was tall too, a little bit over six feet, and thin. When we were kids, he used to get into all kinds of trouble, and I guess he still does, except now he's super charming and can get out of just about anything with a quirky smile. But his new thing (or actually not so new, since he actually started taking lessons in seventh grade) was music. It was what set him apart from all the other guys I was friends with. He was amazing at guitar, and had a set of pipes to match.

Tommy walked in last, making heads turn in his direction, as always. He was shorter than the other boys, maybe 5'11'' at his best, but he had the features of a god. Through his white T-shirt you could easily see his well-defined pecs and abs, which he was not flaunting. Then you moved up to his face and saw that, and if you weren't already on the floor hyperventilating, you certainly were now. He had that sort of cute button nose that people pay actual money for, crystal clear blue eyes, and short, purple hair.

All three of them waved mockingly at Kimi behind the counter, and then continued over to us. Lil immediately sat up, dropping her textbook into her backpack, and sliding over towards the window. I followed suit, except I hadn't even bothered to take my Bio work out, seeing as all I wanted to do was figure out which of these three boys I was secretly in love with. Oh, God, was I pathetic.

"Hello, ladies," Chuckie said casually, sliding into the booth next to Lil, followed by Phil. He tried to throw his arm over the back of her seat, but the 'throwing' part sort of resulted in him knocking over Lil's strawberry-banana smoothie which, thankfully, missed her homework by centimeters. Yes, centimeters.

Chuckie and Lil both flushed deep red, and Chuckie pushed Phil out of the booth, striding up to the counter and asking Kimi for some extra napkins. Phil rolled his dark green eyes, moving closer to Lil.

Tommy, who had sat next almost uncomfortably close to me, smiled and shook his head. "Same old Chuck," he declared, grabbing my smoothie and downing the rest of it. I cast my hands up in protest, but it was to late.

"Here, I saved you some," he smirked, sending the plastic cup down the table a little bit so that it crashed into my hands.

"Tommy!" I playfully smacked his shoulder, and he chuckled like guys do when girls hit them and they think it should hurt except it doesn't.

Phil, who had been watching our exchange with a light smile and eyes slightly narrowed, cleared his throat. Tommy and I both glanced over at him.

"What?" we asked at the same time, looking at each other and adding, "Jinx!"

"Um, are you two done over there?" Phil inquired, resting his chin in his hand in mock-curiosity.

Lil snorted freely, shaking her head at me. I blushed a little bit.

"Done with what?" Tommy wanted to know, looking honestly clueless.

Phil looked directly at me with that intense stare. After a rather awkward moment in which nothing was said, Chuckie came back to the table, carrying with him a large wad of paper napkins for the already sticky and almost dried drink spill.

After Chuckie was back our conversation flowed as usual, though none of us had forgotten that sudden tension.

Would that be how things were if I were dating Tommy for real? I couldn't even remember the last awkward moment we'd had in a conversation….

Oh, wait, yes I could. We were in Tommy's basement and we were asking each other Would You Rather questions, and Dil asked me who I would rather kiss, Tommy or Phil. Yeah, that was a pretty bad one. I mean, it wasn't like I could pick one of them, they were both there! So I said, "Neither. It would be Chuckie." But no one laughed, everyone looking away at the exact same moment.

But anyways, I really hadn't liked that tension. And I was certain that I wasn't alone, because during our banter I had accidentally looked over at Phil, who was staring at me all concentrated, as though he was trying (and failing miserably) to read my mind and it was frustrating him. Our eyes met, and I got this weird bubbly feeling in my stomach, and I couldn't decide if it was good or bad, and I never had the chance because he almost immediately dropped his gaze, blushing furiously.

But just what that meant, I was not sure.