A/N: Hey, guys. I know this isn't Dormancy Desire, for those that follow that, but recently, my computer got a mega virus from Hell, and we had to wipe it clean. Dx It SUCKS! So, not only did I lose a bunch of WIP artworks, but what I had already worked on for Chapter 4 or DD. So, it'll be a bit before I redo that one. Rest assured, soon. Or.. Soon enough. Anywho, this is the beginning of 100 chapters. On DA, Caenai-Gyoesari made a Writers 100 Theme Challenge, and guess who is doing it!? 8D So, wish me luck and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue.

1] Beginnings

Young Richie Foley had known what it was like to be the awkward, new kid at school. He knew that, as a new kid, he was going to be bullied before the last school bell rang. Especially since he wore clothes too loose, and large bottle-lens glasses. He'd kept his head low as the principle, whose name Richie didn't remember, pushed him through the classroom door, the whole sixth-grade classroom quieting and staring. He heard snickers; Kids in the back already dubbing him a 'nerd'. A older woman rose from a creaking chair to greet the principle, and looked down at the young blond. He was staring at the floor, between his one-size-too-large sneakers. The woman and the principle had a quick exchange of information, and then leaned in close. Richie could only hear a bit of the whispered words.

"..yes.. his mother.." "..needs someone.. ..lean on.." "..this kid.. ..with him.. ..ignorant..father.."

They leaned away, sharing a look after glancing somewhere in the class, and the principle excused himself. He patted Richie on the shoulder and left.

The teacher turned to the other students after he left and cleared her throat. "Attention, class. We have a new student." Everyone had quieted down again, all eyes on Richie. "His name is Richard Foley, and he will be joining our sixth grade class."

A spiky, red haired boy raised his hand; Not for permission to speak, but for the other students to acknowledge his speaking. "Mrs. Folap, I thought we had enough nerds in this class." He lowered his hand and turned his head to the back of the classroom, near a window, to a young, dark skinned boy with medium-length dreads. He seemed distant. "Right Hawkins?" Part of the class snickered, the rest remained silent, staring at the African-American. The boy glared at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. He clenched his jaw and put his head on the desk, using his arms to hide his face.

"Francis, enough." Mrs. Folap commanded. "Leave Virgil alone." Francis high-five'd a few other boys but stayed silent. She turned to Richie. "Richard, I-"

"Richie." He said quietly.

"What?" She asked, bending down to hear him.

"My name.. It's Richie." He lifted his head to see her nod, and returned his gaze to the floor.

Mrs. Folap straightened and looked around. She glanced at the seats near the windows, then to the front of the room, again to the windows, and then the back. When she looked again to the windows, she seemed to have made a decision. The regarded the boy next to her and pointed. "Richie, you're going to sit next to Virgil."

At hearing his name, Virgil looked up. He rolled his eyes, but moved his bulky backpack out of the chair next to him regardless, and laid his head back down. Richie walked to the farthest aisle of desks, and walked to the last one. He released his own backpack from his shoulders and laid it flat in his lap after he sat down. He was glad he only brought two comics and a notebook today.

Mrs. Folap sat back down at her desk, searching for something. Unable to find it, she looked back up. "Virgil, please share your book with Richar- Richie today. Show him what we're reading, and explain what he doesn't understand." She mumbled something about needing new books.

Virgil glared at the teacher when she wasn't looking. She knew he didn't want to be near anyone, he thought. His Pops had specifically told her what happened recently, and he claimed to want to be left alone, away from the other students for a while. So why was she making this kid sit next to him? There were plenty of other empty seats. He pushed a textbook with more force than necessary toward Richie, and laid his head back down. Richie mumbled "Thanks.." and opened his drawstring backpack. Carefully, he pulled out a Plantman comic book and let his backpack slide lazily to the floor. He rested his forehead on the edge of the desk, lay the comic on his legs, hidden from view, and opened to the first page.

Throughout the class, Richie ignored the shifting movements next to him. He ignored the heat he felt near his shoulder after he'd turn a page. He even ignored the slight gasp after he'd turned to the page where Plantman's sleep-spores were backfired on him while the fire around him continued to grow. Richie knew when he was okay to turn the page, learning that the boy next to him would make the faintest whimper if he did so too soon, and slump back against his own seat. Richie would quickly turn the page back, pretending there was a panel he'd missed by pointing his finger at a random one, and feel very amused when the heat would return.

Closing the book after finishing the last page, Richie lifted his head to see Virgil quickly laying his head back down, as if he'd never moved. Richie rested his head on his arms, glancing every so often to the dark-haired boy next to him. He thought for a moment, and leaned down to open his backpack again. He pulled out another comic, and looked at the cover. It was the next issue to the one he... they had just read. Richie smiled. They. He liked that. He glanced up to make sure the teacher wouldn't see, and pushed the comic gently to Virgil.

"Wha..?" He asked, taking it, confused.

Richie smiled at him. "It's the next issue. I've already read it. You can borrow it.. If ya want to..?" For a second, he thought Virgil was going to protest, throw it back at him, and tell him how stupid he was. It wouldn't be the first time someone did something like that. His father has done similar things, when he was drunk.

Virgil looked at it, and slowly turned to Richie, a smile threatening to split his face. A warm feeling built up in Richie's stomach. He didn't know what it was, but he liked it. It was comforting and strange all at the same time. Returning a smile of his own, he laid his head back on the desk, just as Virgil did.

'I think I made a friend..'

So far, a successful lunch. Richie was sitting under a tree at the front of the school, poking the broccoli with his fork, trying to convince himself that it didn't move by itself. He had yet to be harassed by Francis, having stuck around the classroom until everybody else had left. Richie looked up to see a crowd gathering a few yards away. By the way the children were slowly backing up, he knew it was a fight, and he knew he should ignore it. Of course, he was bored.. and curious. He stood up, grabbing his backpack, and made his way over to the ever-growing crowd of middle-school-ers. Some kids were chanting 'fight! fight! fight!'. Richie held back on the outskirts, not wanting to get too involved. The crowd grew silent when one of the students involved spoke in a harsh, teasing voice.

"-gonna do if I don't, huh?"

Francis.

Richie's brow furrowed. He hadn't even known the kid for a day and knew he was a downright jerk. Richie listened intently for the voice of the victim.

"Give it back!"

Virgil!

Richie barely noticed he was pushing through the crowd, nor knew why. He made it close to the front, a large boy blocking him from seeing the two boys directly, but enough. Francis was holding something in the air. A book. The comic book he'd lent to Virgil. It was being bent and had a large rip down the middle. Richie fumed and his eyes lowered. That jerk! That issue took him a whole day's worth of cleaning his room! Of course, it would've taken him a much shorter time, had he not gotten sidetracked with reading every comic he'd pick up from the floor. But nevertheless, it was hard work.

"Wat'cha gonna do if I don't?" Francis repeated himself. "Get your parents?"

Virgil's fists noticeably tightened, his jaw clenched.

Francis leaned in. "You gonna get your mommy? Oh, wait. You ca-"

Virgil's fist collided with Francis' face.

Then they were on the ground. Already, Richie could see blood dripping from the red haired boy's nose. Virgil was on top, throwing punch after punch. Francis was trying to get a hold on him to flip them. A boy grabbed Virgil's shoulders and threw him backwards onto his back, which Francis took the opportunity to mimic their first position, and as Virgil had done, throw punch after punch. A few boys, obviously on Francis' side, joined in, kicking at Virgil's side. Virgil could do nothing but cover his face with his arms.

Richie grabbed a young girl who's hand was covering her mouth and pulled her out of the crowd. Frieda, he thinks. "Hey! What are you-"

"Go get a teacher!" Richie yelled.

She was about to protest but Richie had already ran back into the throng of children, quickly making it again to the front. Instead of watching, Richie jumped in the middle, knowing full well he may regret this, and pushed one of the kids, kicking Virgil, to the ground. He knew he wasn't strong, and not nearly as strong as any of these, but he knew he had temporary surprise on his side. He'd make quick use of it.

Richie grabbed Francis by his shoulders, much as the other kid had done to Virgil, and pulled with all of his weight. However, instead of landing on his back, Francis stood up and turned sharply. "Well, well. The new nerd. Coming to save your boyfriend?"

Richie took a step back, abruptly stopped by the larger boy and was pushed forward. Francis grabbed Richie by his sweatshirt front. "You're gonna regret doing that." He pulled his fist back. Richie shut his eyes, waiting for the coming blow.

He felt the hand leave his sweatshirt. Richie opened his eyes to find Virgil pushing him backwards through the crowd. Looking over Virgil's shoulder, a teacher was running over, the kids were disappearing, and Francis was rubbing the back of his head, his own backpack laying next to him. 'Creative.' Virgil grabbed Richie's hand and they ran. They heard Francis yell, but didn't look back. Richie tried his best to keep pace with Virgil. They ran to the football field, well on the other side of the school. Virgil finally slowed down, panting heavily, just as Richie was. They made it under the bleachers before falling on the ground. They laid on their backs for a few minutes, catching their breaths. Virgil was the first to break the silence.

Quietly, he asked, "Why?" Richie rolled his head over to look at the dark-skinned boy who was staring upwards. Virgil had a bloody lip, and a purple blotch was forming over his left eye. Dirt from being pushed to the ground and kicked covered his yellow shirt. "Why'd you do that? You didn't have to get involved.."

"Cause.." Richie looked away. "Cause that's what friends do."

Virgil sat up, staring at him. Richie looked up at him and saw he was on the verge of tears. Richie sat up as well and asked, "You okay?"

Virgil moved before Richie could react, wrapping his arms around the blond's neck. "I'm.. I'm sorry 'bout your comic." He was crying on Richie's shoulder.

Richie, though surprised, cautiously wrapped his arms around the others torso. "It's okay."

Virgil pulled back, wiping his eyes on his shirt. "I'll pay you back." He sniffled. "I promise. I'll ask my Pops if he'll lem'me work at the center for a few dollars."

Richie tilted his head. "You don't have to do that, Virgil. Its okay."

Virgil shook his head. "Is not! You let me borrow it, and its gone. So I'll pay you back!" He seemed desperate. Richie didn't understand why, so he just nodded.

"Okay." Richie decided to change the subject, as to not upset the other again. "So, what center were you talking about?"

Virgil's eyes widened considerably, and a smile crept along his lips. "The center is where my Pops works. He runs it! An' its really cool! Lots of kids go there. An' there's a lot of fun stuff to do. Wanna come see after school? I'll need some help explaining to Pops why I look like this." He gestured to himself.

Richie nodded, happily. "Totally!" They stood up at the sound of the bell, dismissing them from lunch.

As Richie started walking, Virgil stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Richie?"

Richie turned around. "Yeah?"

Virgil smiled a toothy grin. "Friends, right?"

Richie returned it. "Yeah!"

"Even after I beat ya' to class?" He sped off in the direction of the front school entrance.

Richie followed closely behind, laughing.

It was the beginning of a life-long friendship.