Summary: There's a line in every situation that sometimes cannot be crossed, for there are consequences to those who cross the line. Who will cross the line that separates good from bad, nice guys from bad guys, or lovers from friends? Read and find out! First fic so READ PLEASE!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rugrats or any of the characters from the show, obviously. I wouldn't be writing for this if I did, as a matter of fact…
Chapter 1: The First Day
Tommy's POV
"I can't believe that we're back at school already!" Chuckie exclaimed excitedly. "Summer felt like it was going to last forever! I've been ready to get back to school so I can hit the books again. I heard that we were doing a project the first day we get back from school."
"Wow. How exciting." I mumbled to my best friend, Charles (aka Chuckie) Finster. We'd been the best of friends since we were rugrats. And our friendship is still lasting. "I don't understand how you can be so excited about school."
"Because it's the one thing that I'm incredible at. You have your filming. I have my books." He explained, walking up the steps of the high school. "Speaking of your filming, have you made any other documentaries?"
"Not any yet, no." I answered, a frown on my face. "I've been thinking about other things lately. I have this…" Before I could finish my sentence, the girl I had been crushing on all summer turned the corner and started coming down the hallway… towards me.
"Tommy? Tommy?" I could hear Chuckie's distant calls to get my attention, but I was completely lost. A silly smile appeared on my face as I thought of her. I never imagined having a crush on my childhood friend. I mean, I had grown up with her, and to think that I would develop feelings for her? It seemed unimaginable. But I had.
And I had fallen hard.
"Hi Tommy! Hi Chuckie! How was your summer?" The girl asked when she had come face to face with us.
"Summer… summer…" I mumbled to myself but then shook out of it and stammered, "O—oh. Summer! It was great! It was incredible! I just… you know, missed you. It was too bad you were at camp all summer."
"Being a counselor paid good money. And I need some extra money in my pocket." She smiled and turned to Chuckie, asking him the same question, which gave me time to observe the girl. She was so beautiful. Her dark hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail at the nape of her neck, a light touch of makeup accentuating her already beautiful complexion. Her clothes were especially nice for the first day of school. She wore a skirt that showed off her great legs and an off-the-shoulder tee that showed her perfect shoulders.
She was the epitome of a beautiful goddess.
"Tommy!" She screamed into my ear.
I jumped about a foot in the air. "What? Huh?"
"I asked if your sophomore year feels different than your freshman year so far." She spoke, slower than last time.
"Oh, yeah, definitely. Totally different. Since we're… you know, more experienced, we know the routes and stuff like that… and yeah." I explained, nodding my head slowly.
She smiled. "That's nice. Well, I'll see you guys later. I have to catch my first class. I'll see if I can check in with you at lunch." Then she turned and jetted down the hallway… only to link arms with another guy and kiss him on the cheek.
Just like a couple would do.
"She's with Derek?" I exclaimed loudly.
Chuckie turned to me, a duh look on his face. "Yeah, they started dating at the end of last year. You didn't know?"
I pouted. "No, I didn't know."
"Why do you care? You're the one who told her last year that she should get a boyfriend. You're the one who told her that she shouldn't spend her last two years in high school without a guy friend to hang with. She took your advice and hooked up with Derek. They've been dating all through the summer. He was even a counselor at the camp with her. They've spent the entire summer together being a couple, like you wanted for her." He explained to me. But then his eyes widened and he looked like a fish in water. "Tommy, you're not… not… jealous, are you?"
I rolled my eyes, avoiding all possible eye contact with the boy. "Jealous? Why would I be jealous of her? We're just friends."
"Friends, right." He said. "But I think that you want to be more than that with her."
"Be more than friends with her. Come on, Chuckie. You know me better than that."
"And you know that I know you well enough to know that you're lying to me about what I know because I know that you like her, Tommy." He told me, a smile appearing slowly on his face. "Thomas Pickles has a crush on Susie Carmichael."
After I admitted that I had a crush on Susie to Chuckie, he teased me for a little while and then comforted me about her having a boyfriend. I learned that I had to deal with it. But I knew that the school project that we were having in biology would help me get my mind off of Susie. Especially since Kimi was my partner, and Kimi made everything interesting.
"So what should we do our project on?" I asked the girl, my tone not as excited as it usually would be when Kimi and I were hanging together.
"Forget about the project for now." She said, pushing a stray strand of black hair from her darkly outlined eyes. Kimi had become the embodiment of a Punk Princess. She was known all over the school for being a "bad girl" and I knew a lot of guys who were totally afraid of her—and some totally into her.
But they didn't know her like I did. They didn't know that she was one of the nicest girls they could ever meet. And they didn't know that she was as cool as ice on a hot summer day.
"Tell me what's wrong with you, Tommy."
I looked up at her, wondering if I could tell her that I had a crush on Susie… but I decided against it. Susie and Kimi were best friends, and though I could trust Kimi with my life, I didn't feel that I could tell her that I was crushing on her best friend.
So instead I said, "Oh, it's nothing big. Don't worry about it."
"Come on, Tommy. You can talk to me about anything. Tell me what's wrong with you." She said, crossing one of her legs—a black and white stocking with a couple of holes in it covered her legs—over the other.
"It's just… okay, I really can't tell you who the girl is, but I can say this: I like this girl a lot, but I found out that she has a boyfriend. And I'm just upset that she's with another guy." I explained to her.
"Oh… why can't you tell me who you like?" She asked, a frown etching her usually bright face. See how great a friend she is? Her mood went down just knowing that a good friend of hers mood was down.
"It's confidential. I just don't want to let everyone know yet."
"Does Chuckie know?"
"Well, of course Chuckie knows. He's my best friend. Actually, I didn't exactly tell him. He figured it out and… to make a long story short, he knows. And he promised not to tell anyone."
"Oh, well I understand. Hey, it'll be okay. If she doesn't realize that a great guy like you would make her high school years awesome, then she doesn't deserve you. I'm sure there are other girls out there who would rather hang with you."
"I guess." I grumbled, then put on a fake and cheesy smile. "So what's the project going to be on?"
Kimi's POV
The only thought running through my head was, He likes another girl. He'll never like me the way that I like him. It'll never happen. After dating a hand full of bad guys, I was starting to look at nicer yet manly guys who could handle their business without it resulting in being put on probation. For the past year, I had started to look more and more at Tommy Pickles. He was everything that I wanted in a guy. Nice, cool, creative, smart, and, best of all, funny. Everything about him was amazing.
It's too bad that he didn't like me that way. It was too bad that he saw me as more of a good friend than a possible girlfriend. Actually, it was too bad that everyone saw me as his good friend opposed to his girlfriend. I mean, no one would ever picture me dating Tommy, a good boy. They all think that I'm about the bad boys.
Which was the former me.
Besides, Tommy tended to like girls who were like the girl-next-door.
Girls like… Lil?
Was that the girl that he liked? I mean, she is dating Chuckie! And if he liked her, he definitely couldn't tell me. Chuckie's my brother. I can't believe that he liked Lil, though… actually, in a way, I could. I mean, Lil is definitely the girl-next-door. I mean, she's cute with casual style and her spunky attitude. I was somewhat the exact opposite. I mean, I had my own style and instead of a spunky attitude, I just had an attitude. If you got on my nerves, I had no problem telling you that.
But once you got to know me, I sort of had a spunky attitude…
Too bad Tommy wanted a girl with a flat-out spunky attitude.
And that girl was Lil.
Chuckie's POV
When lunch came around, I wasn't all that excited about seeing Lil. I mean, sure we had been dating since the middle of our ninth grade year, but something had changed. I wasn't seeing her as the supreme woman in my life anymore. She didn't have that… thing that I needed anymore. That thing, whatever it may be, was within someone else. And I had to find a way to break it off with her before it was too late.
"Hey guys." I said to Phil, Lil, Kimi, and Tommy. Everyone was there except for me, I realized. "What's up?"
Lil leaned over and kissed me softly on the cheek. "Just missing you, that's it." She answered, a smile coming onto her cute face. How could I stop liking such a sweet girl? Sure, she was outspoken at times, but when you didn't piss her off, she was one of the nicest people anyone could ever meet. Wasn't that what I wanted?
I sat down and smiled awkwardly. "Oh… me too."
"I know." She giggled. "So what're we doing after school? Do you want to come over to my house so we can do some homework together?"
"Um… not today. I'm busy after school."
"Busy? What're you doing?"
"Uh, I'm working at the shop. My dad needs some extra help so he asked me."
"Well, I can help out too! Then we can still be together." She exclaimed.
"No, that's okay. I don't want to stop you from doing your work and whatnot. So why don't we meet up after my shift? That'll be easier for the both of us. I… I won't be distracted by your presence when I'm working and you can get your homework done."
She grinned. "Oh my gosh! You're so sweet, Charles! Thanks!" She leaned over again and kissed me square on the mouth. I responded to it immediately. I mean, even if I was feeling uneasy about the girl, it was still a kiss. And I love kisses.
When she pulled away, I heard a very familiar voice say, "Well if it isn't The Finster's. Don't you all look so dorky together! It's really amazing, I swear."
"Hi Angelica." Lil said with a roll of her eyes.
I turned my gaze from Lil to the said girl, my eyes immediately widening. When had she gotten so… so… so hot? I knew that she was pretty. She's always been a pretty princess. But, something about her had changed.
When she smiled, her cruelty seemed to seep away. Her big, blue eyes were brighter, her rosy lips more appealing, her long, blond hair shinier than ever, her entire body sexier… everything about her…
"Uh… Angelica…" I let out slowly.
"What Finster?" She snapped, the scowl reappearing on her face.
Too bad that things always went back to normal. There was definitely no chance of Angelica Pickles looking at me any day. And that's because she was popular and I was a dork.
"What'd you come over here for anyway, Angelica?" Kimi asked, dipping one of her fries into her ketchup.
"I came over here to tell Tommy that you have to come over to my house at 7:00 so you can film some party for the parents. I didn't want you to forget. If you do, then that's fifty dollars out of my allowance." She blew a kiss nowhere in general and flashed a smile. "Ta-ta." Then she walked over to her friends, where the "popular" kids sat.
And I just looked on with a longing glance.
Susie's POV
"Derek! Quit!" I giggled out loud as he gently feathered my bare shoulder with light kisses. "It tickles! Please, stop!"
He laughed and looked at me from over my shoulder. "That tickled?"
"Yeah, that tickled."
"I know something that would feel ten times better than that."
I laughed again just as the door to the Juice Shack opened. I turned my head in that direction to see Tommy, Lil, Phil, and Kimi walking in. "There are my friends. Do you mind if I bring them over?"
"As long as we can still spend some time alone later."
"Of course." I said, then waved them over to sit down.
"Hey Susie!" Lil exclaimed, taking a seat beside me.
"Hey guys. I'd like to formally introduce you guys to my boyfriend, Derek. Derek, these are the guys that I grew up with. I told you about them. I defended them from Angelica. She was a bitch to them." She explained.
"Which one is which?" Derek asked. That's something that I loved about him. He was interested in everything in my life. It was incredible the kind of relationship that we had.
"Well, the twins are Phil and Lil. They were the really… messy ones when they were kids. Chuckie's the redhead behind the counter. He was the kid that was afraid of everything. Kimi is Chuckie's sister. She's always been the unique one in the group. And then there's Tommy. He's the brave one—totally fearless. Whenever we went on some kind of baby adventure or something, he'd be the leader."
"Right, I've heard of you, Tommy. You're the one who filmed that awesome documentary last year. It was incredible!" Derek exclaimed. "Dude, you're going to have to show me some of your other movies."
"Sure, maybe." Tommy mumbled, looking out of the door, a huge frown on his face.
"Tommy, what's wrong with you?" I asked. "You've been down all day. You never look like that."
"Nothing. I'm just… a little nervous about this, um, thing I have to do for my uncle. He's having a party or something, and they want me to film it. I'm unsure if it's going to be formal or casual or whatever."
"Hey, don't sweat. You'll figure it out. You always come through." I told him encouragingly. I glanced over at my really great friend, Kimi. "Uh, Kimi, why don't you go with him tonight? Give him some assistance?" I knew that my friend had a huge crush on him. When she told me the first time, it was no surprise for me. She's had feelings for him since the 7th grade. She just didn't understand them.
"Um, sure… if that's cool with you, Tommy."
"Yeah. Okay with me." He responded before he abruptly stood up. "I'm going to get a smoothie and then go home and set up. It was nice meeting you, Derek."
"You too Tommy. I'll catch you later."
"Alright. Bye."
When he was gone, I looked at Kimi and asked, "So do you know what's really wrong with him?"
"It's not a big deal, but yeah. He's having girl troubles." She explained.
"Why would he be having girl problems? Tommy's really, really cute."
"Yeah, I know a couple of girls who say that if he was a little older, they'd go for him." Derek put in.
I saw an unsure look cross over Kimi's face. A look that I knew so very well. Whenever other girls and Tommy came up, she became hesitant of her feelings for him. That's part of the reason why I said, "Kimi, you should be leaving too if you're helping Tommy with his filming."
"True, very true. I'll see you guys later." She stood from her seat and took a seat beside Tommy on the stools. And I smiled because I knew that eventually, Kimi would experience the same happiness with Tommy that I had with Derek.
Kimi's POV
When we got to the dinner party, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable. I mean, everyone inside was dressed up extremely formally, and there Tommy and I were, wearing our normal school clothes. I felt that someone should've warned us that this party was probably going to require a certain type of attire.
But when I told Tommy of my worries, he gave me that reassuring smile that told me that I had nothing to worry about… which made me like him all the more.
"So what're we recording?" Tommy asked Mr. Pickles after we set up the camera equipment. It was the perfect view of the dinner table. I was thinking that maybe this was a board meeting or something.
"Oh, we're recording Cynthia's meeting. An important deal is being made, and we need proof that everyone sticks to what they say originally." He explained. "You don't really have to be here, actually. It's just that we need your camera, and Angelica requested you to be here in person."
"Is that so? Why would she request me?" Tommy asked.
Mr. Pickles shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe in case we had technical difficulties. It was a last minute thing, though. She called Cyn during her lunch hour today and asked that you come."
"Hm… So we can just go upstairs and chill with Angelica?" I asked.
"Yeah, be my guest. Just don't make too much noise."
"Sure thing Uncle Drew." Tommy said and then led me up the stairs. When we got to Angelica's door, he knocked and said, "Can we come in?"
"Yeah, come on in." Angelica called. We opened the door and walked into her elaborate, princess themed room. How cliché. How Angelica. "Glad to see you two here." She was laying on her bed, doing some of her homework. "Since I have nothing to do tonight, I thought that hanging out with some sophomore losers will suit me."
I rolled my eyes and looked at Tommy. "Do you want to hang out in the kitchen?"
"Definitely."
"WAIT!" Angelica shouted.
"RUN!" I yelled, and pushed Tommy out of the door and towards the stairs, where we rushed down into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Is she coming?" I asked between laughs.
"No." Tommy said, a laugh escaping his lips as well.
We both sat down at the table, giving each other about ten minutes to calm down. When we were, I decided to approach a serious issue… for me, at least. "So, what're you going to do about this confidential crush?"
He let out a long sigh. "Oh! Kimi! I don't want to talk about it."
"The least you could do is tell me who she is."
"I can't!" He exclaimed. "I mean… it sucks, you know? Haven't you ever liked a guy who didn't return your feelings? I mean, did you really feel like discussing it?"
Funny how the guy who didn't return my feelings was telling me this. "Uh, yeah, it does suck. And I totally understand why you don't want to talk about it now. The guy I like is in love with this other chick, and I don't stand a chance against her. She's… everything compared to me, apparently."
"Don't say that, Kimi. You're incredible. When the right guy comes around and sweeps you off of your feet, you're going to forget all about that other jerk." He told me, smiling reassuringly at me. "Do I happen to know this guy that you like—or liked?"
I smiled back. "Yes, you know the guy I still like."
He was quiet for a second and asked, "You can tell me who it is."
"Then you can tell me who it is."
He laughed. "Yeah, so I guess we'll keep it confidential."
I bit my lip and looked down at the table. "I guess we will."
Angelica's POV
You know, it's really hard being me. I mean, so many girls hate me because they want to be me. Which makes sense. Guys are practically bowing at my feet because A) I'm popular, B) I'm pretty, and C) I'm me. I can't help that I'm all of the above. And I wish that those females could learn to appreciate me.
I also wish that guys could learn to appreciate me as well. I wanted to find a guy who wants to be supportive and not just want to get into my pants (though they're very nice designer pants, I don't want him there quite yet). I just want a guy who would still love me in a pair of sweats, a tank, and my face make-up free. All of the guys who I've been with don't want that, though. They only want sex.
Sex, sex, sex.
And I'm not ready for it… again. The last time I had it, I was so depressed. I hated myself for such a long time, but I got over it and learned to love myself once again.
I just wish that a guy could love me that way.
I sighed as I parked into my usual parking place near the entrance of the school. I hopped out of my car, pulling my designer sunglasses over my wide blue eyes. Then I began to head towards the entrance…
Only to trip over a soda can in the middle of the street.
As I plummeted towards the ground, I heard fast footsteps coming my way. Probably a bunch of haters coming to laugh at me after my face hit the concrete.
But my face never met the ground. Two arms wrapped around my torso and caught me before I fell. "Angelica!" The voice exclaimed.
He helped me up to my feet, but I never bothered to look at who it was, since I was so concerned about my outfit. I had to make sure that it was okay. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Oh! Yeah, sure. I'm great!" His voice was nice. Sounded like the guy had allergies or something, but he still sounded sexy somehow. That's why I put a sensual smile on my lips and smiled. "Thanks for being my knight in shining armor. I don't know what I—" Before I could finish my sentence, my eyes met with…
"Finster?" I squeaked.
He grinned. "Almost hurt yourself, there, Angelica. Are you okay?"
I cringed inwardly. "Yeah! Great. See you around." Then I dashed into the school. I cannot believe that I actually thought that his, Chuckie Finster's, voice sounded sexy.
I definitely have to get my head examined.
A/N: So that's my first chapter! Please Read and Review and tell me what you think because I'm really nervous about posting this. So again, Read and Review and tell me your honest opinion… but if it's mean, say it nicely! Much love!