"Best Friends Forever"

Nicole and Richard Watterson's Love Story

Chapter One: The Encounter

The sun was shining bright in the blue cloudless sky as the red minivan made itself through the suburban roads of the little town of Elmore. In a normal day it would've been heading towards the city, but today its destination was different.

The vehicle finally came to a stop once it found itself right in front of the main entrance to Elmore Junior High. The door on the passenger's side opened and a little pink rabbit emerged. He didn't look a day over twelve and once he saw the building in front of him he started trembling. The door on the driver's side opened and out came a very-soon-to-be-middle-aged pink rabbit, who didn't look too pleased with the little one's reaction.

"You're gonna have to go in sometime, you know?" said the oldest of the two. The young rabbit gulped.

"But I don't want to…" he said, feeling more terrified with every second he stood there. The older one sighed.

"Richard, you don't have any reason to be acting that way. It's just junior high!"

"But I heard junior high kids are mean! Especially with new people! I don't wanna go, mom!"

The bunny mom sighed. She really didn't have time for that. She had to be at work in twenty minutes or else her boss wouldn't let her hear the end of it. She knelt down in front of her nervous son.

"Look, dear…" she started, trying to find the right words. "You have nothing to worry about. You're not a little baby bunny anymore. You're a big boy now! I know you'll be just fine."

"You really think so?" asked Richard, starting to feel a little less afraid.

"I know so." She opened her purse. "But if by any chance you feel like you you're not strong enough to make it through the day on your own…" she dipped her hand inside her purse. "…I want you to use this." She pulled out a lavender blanket and handed it to her son, who accepted it looking slightly confused.

"My Cottontail Cavalier cape? But you said pretending to be a superhero was stupid."

"I do. But if it means it'll make you happy… I guess it's worth it."

Richard smiled from ear to ear and hugged his mom tight. Josephine returned the hug, and although she would never admit it, she felt herself tear up. Even though she always tried to look tough, she couldn't help it. Her little boy was growing up and she had to let him start fighting his own battles. She quickly wiped away her tears and looked her son right in the eyes with a reassuring smile.

"Good luck, honey."

"Thanks, mom!" Richard gave his mom a peck on the cheek and scurried inside, holding onto his beloved "cape". Josephine stood there for a few more seconds staring at the building entrance and smiling to herself. As she started to feel the tears emerge again she got into her car and drove off.

As soon as Richard entered his new school he was washed over by a sense of amazement and wonder. The school was a whimsy of the most varied species of students and staff, some of which he had never seen before in his life. As he started to walk down the hall he passed a banana, a peanut with antlers, a potato with glasses, a fingerprint guy, a rainbow girl and a cloud guy, amongst some other things he couldn't really identify. He was so absorbed by his surroundings that he unknowingly bumped into a hard and rough surface. When he looked up his face froze in pure terror.

He had just bumped into a T-Rex.

The giant lizard turned around and looked down at him. He didn't look too pleased.

"Well well, look what we've got here… Fresh meat." he was salivating. Richard took a few steps back.

"I-I'm sorry… I-I didn't mean to –" he was cut off when the terrifying beast stomped his giant foot in front of him, sending shivers down his spine.

"You're not going anywhere!" he growled, moving his over-sized head towards the terrified bunny. "I'm gonna show you what we do to newbies around here… especially newbies who mess with me!"

Richard closed his eyes in fear. He could feel his opponent breathing against his face, and he prepared himself for the worst.

"Hey Timmy!"

His eyes snapped open. The Rex had somewhat of a shocked look in his face, as if he recognized that voice. He turned around and Richard scooted a little to the right to see who was yelling at his assailant. They were both looking at a blue female kitten, who, despite her cheerleading-style attire and the pink bow on her head, had one of the most determined and unpleased expressions Richard had ever seen. The dinosaur gulped.

"Oh… it's you." He seemed a bit nervous. The kitten balled up her hands into fists and took a few steps forward.

"That's right, Timmy! And if you want to spare yourself from something like what happened last time, you better leave the kid alone!" she slammed her right fist into her left palm. Despite her slightly high-pitched voice, there was no doubt: she meant busyness. The Rex looked over at Richard again and groaned in annoyance.

"Fine…" he stomped past the young rabbit, but after a few steps he turned to him again. "You got lucky this time, but someday she won't be here to protect you. And when that day comes, I'll be there." He walked away with a bad mood. The kitten moved towards Richard.

"Don't mind Timmy Rex, he's just a big bully. My name's Nicole, by the way. What's yours?" she held out her paw to give Richard a handshake, but he didn't respond. He was staring at her, mesmerized by his savior. No girl had ever saved him before. Most guys would feel bummed out by it, but he just thought she was amazing. And pretty. "Earth to new kid!" he was brought back to reality as she snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Oh sorry!" he blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "What were you saying?"

"I asked you your name."

"Richard!" he shouted, not a second after she finished her sentence. "Richard Watterson! Nicole, right?"

"Uh huh." Suddenly the bell rang. "Oh, we're late for class! Come on!" she grabbed Richard's hand and they both started running towards the classroom, Richard blushing even harder than before. When they entered the classroom everybody was in their respective seats and the teacher stopped writing on the board has soon has the two youngsters came in.

"Well, if it isn't young Nicole, late as usual." Their teacher was a female baboon who looked as old as time itself. She moved towards the two kids and looked down at Nicole. "Nice attendance, LOSER!" Nicole hung her head in shame. Richard noticed a small tear fell from her eye. "Oh and look! You brought a friend! That's nice. Now take your seat!"

"Yes, Miss Simian." They both started walking towards the desks, but Richard was stopped by Miss Simian, who had grabbed his arm.

"Not you! You're new, and according to the school's regulations I have to introduce to the class." She dragged him to the front of the class. Nicole was already in her seat. "Everybody listen up!" the students turned their attention to their teacher. "You have a new classmate today. This is…" she checked the file on her desk "…Richard Watterson. Apparently he just moved here, so everybody be nice to him. Or at least not too mean."

He waved to the class but nobody did a thing. He just dropped his arm, but then he saw Nicole smiling at him and giving him an encouraging thumbs-up. He smiled back at her.

"OK, you can sit down now." Miss Simian turned back to the board and continued writing. "Now, as I was saying…"

Richard looked at the many desks in front of him, trying to find an empty one. Suddenly he noticed Nicole waving at him and pointing at an empty desk right next to her. Richard smiled and blushed slightly. No girl had ever wanted him to sit next to her. He carefully moved between everybody else's desks and sat on his new one.

"Hey there, neighbor!" Nicole greeted him. Richard smiled at her.

"Hey… Listen…" he tried to find the right words to talk to her "…I never thanked you for saving me back there…"

"It's OK, you don't have to. I just hated that Timmy was picking on you on your first day."

"Well, you were really brave! I've never seen anyone stand up to a T-Rex like that!"

"I'm used to his shenanigans. He's always picking on the weak and helpless. No offense!"

"None taken. I'm a coward!" Richard smiled and shrugged. Nicole giggled.

"You're funny!" she giggled some more, but then her smile slowly faded. "You know… I think you're the closest thing I've ever had to a friend…"

"You don't have any friends?" Richard asked, surprised. Nicole shook her head softly. She was now staring at her desk.

"Everybody feels intimidated by me. They think that, if I can take on a T-Rex and live to tell the story, I could just as easily hurt them." She sighed. Richard saw another tear roll down her cheek. He felt sorry for her.

"I'll be your friend!" he gave her an encouraging smile, which she saw when she looked up at him with a surprised look on her face.

"You… you will?" she asked, wiping her eye and smiling slightly.

"Sure! Better yet, I'll be your best friend!"

Nicole looked even more surprised now, and she did something Richard just wasn't expecting: she hugged him. She hugged him so tight he almost couldn't breathe. But he didn't mind. She needed that. He could feel it. When she let go her eyes were filled with tears and her smiled was so wide it almost seemed painful.

"You really mean it?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"Mh-hm." He nodded. Then to further prove his point, he stuck out his pinky, slightly curved. Nicole just stared at it. "Best friends forever?"

When she realized what he was doing she smiled and crossed her pinky with his, sealing the pinky promise.

"Best friends forever."