A/N: I've decided to take this story in a completely different direction to which I initially intended it to go. I think it works better this way. It also had longer chapters than the first one and more of a story line. Sorry this chapters a bit short.

Chapter 1: That New Girl Veronica

Starting at a new school is always hard, especially if your starting in the middle of a semester and especially is you come from another state. There are the classes to catch up in, new teachers to suss out, the general workings of the school to come to terms with and most importantly, tight-nit friendship groups to somehow worm your way into.

Veronica Mars had been at Stevenson High for half a day now and nobody besides the receptionist had even spoken to her. It wasn't because the kids were particularly mean or that was anything repulsive about Veronica. As a matter of fact she was quite pretty. Petite with shoulder length blond hair and green eyes. It was just that everyone was so wrapped up in there own personal dramas that they barely noticed the new girl.

It was lunchtime and she was hovering awkwardly in the middle of the cafeteria scouting for somewhere to sit. All the tables were occupied, most full of noisy excitable students.

She spotted the popular table almost immediately. It was obvious. A group of the prettiest, richest looking kids took up two tables just a few meters away from where she was standing. They were laughing amongst themselves as is they didn't have a care in the world, some of them looked quite coupley. Veronica sighed, that used to be her life.

She scanned the room and noticed a nearly empty table in the corner of the room. The only people sitting at it were a perky blond girl and a tough looking black boy. They looked about her age. She walked cautiously up to them.

There had been a time when Veronica had never been cautious. At her old school she had been innocent, virginal Veronica who was carefree and wore conservative clothes and her hair long the way her mum liked it. After everything that had happened she didn't feel like that girl anymore. She had gotten a new edgier look, a new snakier personality and a new cautiousness.

As she approached them both the boy and the girl looked up at her.

"Hey, your that new girl right." The blond girl exclaimed as more of a statement than a question. Veronica looked her up and down. She was around the same height as her but was slightly stockier. She looked genuinely nice.

"That I am," Veronica replied anyway, letting a brilliant smile flash across her face.

"I'm Chloe," The blond girl slid across the bench to make room for her to sit down, "And that's Eric." She gestured across the table.

"Hey," The bulky black guy raised a hand in greeting, "Call me Foreman, only Chloe and my mum call me Eric."

"Sure thing Foreman," Veronica sat down, "I'm Veronica."

"You know Veronica, I'm surprised me." Chloe turned slightly to face her, Veronica raised an eyebrow, and "I really had you pegged as the pep-squad cheerleader type."

" Well your not half wrong," Veronica admitted, "I used to be at my old school. Somehow the principle found out and he signed me up." Chloe looked surprised.

"No offence, but why aren't you sitting at the popular table? You could get in easy,"

"I'm not that girl anymore."

Eric leaned forward slightly, "What sort of girl are you then."

Veronica answered strait away, "Newspaper girl hopefully, does this school have a paper?" She didn't miss how Chloe's eyes lit up.

"You've come to the right table gal pal."

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