Alright, now I don't know if this is any good or not, it certainly didn't turn out the way I expected it to. But I tried my best and that's all I can do. I did this as a birthday present for my good friend Angel1D98! So: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGEL! HOPE YOU LIKE IT! :)

~evergirl2000

He was the bad boy, the mystery. He was the boy dressed in all black, the one who had looks to make every girl swooning in an instant. All the boys wanted to be him and all the girls wanted to be with him. If for nothing else but to solve the mystery that was him.

I remember now the first time I saw him. We were both young, children really, although we didn't think so at the time. It was my first day of third grade and I was terrified. I was kind of short back then, having to look up at almost everyone else. I didn't know anyone and I certainly didn't have any friends. Being the new girl didn't exactly help.

Mom and Dad had said that everything would be fine if I would just be myself. They lied. You see, at first I was myself. I tried to talk to some of the other kids, introduce myself, but it's hard to belong when everyone else has lived here all their lives. So I was branded a weirdo, a loser. They picked on me, shoved me around and some even yelled at me if I didn't respond to their teasing in the way they had wanted. I tried to ignore them, though that only made it worse.

There was one day though, I will never forget. The school bully, Peter, had me pinned to the wall and he and his group of friends were trying to decide on whether to beat me up or try some other, new form of torture. After a few minutes of them arguing, they turned back to me. At the moment, I was ready to shut my eyes and just except my fate. But, then I heard someone yelling from down the hall. I didn't recognize the boy as anyone I had tried to talk to or anyone who had tried to beat me up.

"Why don't you boys pick on someone your own size? Or are you too scared for that?" The boy said.

I could see the fear on Peter and his gang's faces and had to wonder who this mysterious new comer was. However, as I watched his eyes darken and his face contort in anger when they didn't take the hint and let me go, I suddenly realized why the boys were scared. This guy was scary when he was angry.

" Let. The girl. Go" He said, voice eerily calm.

The two boys holding me against the wall let go and I felt myself fall to the floor.

"Leave" he told them.

He watched with a proud smirk on his face as the boys literally ran away. But as soon as he saw me on the floor, he frowned and walked over.

"Are you okay" he asked.

"Yeah" I sighed as I looked up at him. His eyes were amazing, like melted chocolate, and they held a sparkle inside that made him look so friendly. Completely different from the boy he was just moments ago.

He helped me up, and after making sure I was okay, left. We didn't talk again for years but I always watched him...Until one day in seventh grade , he wasn't there anymore. Days went by and nobody heard anything. The whole school was buzzing with rumors about what happened and why he wasn't there.

One day, I decided that I would take the longer way home. I needed to think and a long walk was the best time to do that. I walked past a park and quite a few houses before turning down a random street. I was pretty sure that at this point, I was just randomly wandering around. I'm glad I did though because as I looked ahead, I saw a boy slightly older than myself sitting on the Mayor's front steps. Then as I walked closer and took a better look, I realized that it was him. It was the same boy that had rescued me so long ago. But no, it wasn't the same boy. This boy was different, even if he did look the same.

I couldn't tell what exactly was different about him until he looked up. When our eyes locked, I knew something bad was happening. He wasn't the same brave and funny boy who had saved me. No, this boy was scared and beaten down. Where there had been a friendly light shining in his beautiful brown eyes, now there was only sadness and darkness. The longer I looked into his eyes, the more I felt like crying. Whatever was going on in his life had beaten him down to this and no one deserved that. Not him, not anyone. I suddenly found myself running toward those very steps to sit next to him.

When I got there, we didn't speak. He didn't push me away or ask why I was there, I got nothing. But that was okay in my mind, at least I was being there for him. For the longest time we just sat there. We watched birds flying through the trees and airplanes sore across the sky. He was finally starting to relax and I thought I saw a ghost of a smile come to his face. Until his dad, the mayor as I had figured out, came onto the porch looking for him.

"Tobias get in here!" he growled at his son.

Tobias looked pleadingly at me before getting up and shuffling inside the house. When he was gone, his dad looked at me with a venomous gaze and told me to get off of his porch. That day, I walked the rest of the way home in a depressed and sad mood.

I hadn't seen Tobias again until now. I didn't even really recognize him. His eyes had completely lost their sparkle and his face was locked into a constant scowl. Nobody messed with him unless he went to them first...which never happened. I wanted to go up to him, talk with him maybe. But I chickened out every time. Apparently though, he didn't like that.

I was standing around at my locker walking to the few friends I had made over the years when everyone else went silent. I looked up to see what was going on because, let's face it, If something can get the blabbermouth of a head cheerleader we have to stop talking, it's got to be huge.

When I look up though, it's not a what. It's a who. And that who just happens to be Tobias...who is walking straight towards me and my friends. Everyone is staring as he walks over, wondering what will happen next... And then he stops right in front of me. I feel my jaw drop slightly and I blush. What is he doing?

"Can we talk" he asks.

I wait for someone else to respond but no one does and I realize that he is talking to me.

"Y-yeah. Sure" I stutter.

Next thing I know, he's reaching for my hand and leading me outside. All I can think is 'What have I gotten myself into?' when I look back and see everyone whispering to each other. But once we're outside, he let's go of my hand and walks over to one of the benches to sit down. Not sure of what to do, I follow him.

For a few minutes, we sit in silence, just like that day on his porch. But then, he speaks.

"What is your name"

"Beatrice, but my friends call me Trice"

I look over and see him smiling. I don't think much of it but as I sit there waiting for him to continue with the conversation, I slowly grow agitated.

" Well?" I ask expectantly.

"What?" he asks in return.

" What did you want to talk to me about?!" I shout.

And that's when it happens. He laughs. It hits me that I've never heard him laugh before but, I really like the sound of it. It's one of those laughs that just crawls it's way inside of you and makes you want to laugh too.

"What is so funny?" I ask, barley able to keep my laughter in check.

He doesn't answer. He doesn't say anything until he's calmed down and we're both just staring up at the sky.

"Remember that day that you came up to me on my porch?" he asks, now completely serious.

"Yeah" I say, wondering why he was bringing it up.

"Thank you" he whispers.

I barely hear it but when I turn to look at him I see that his eyes are getting watery from the tears that he is trying to hold back. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, I pull him into a hug. I don't like seeing him cry.

" You were there for me. You didn't know me, you didn't know what was happening to me. But you were there for me. Thank you" he says.

I hug him tighter and can feel my own eyes going misty. When he pulls away, I can't help but smile before looking him dead in the eye. " I will always be there if you need me. That's what friends are for."