Hey guys! I've decided to start a new fic, almost entirely of my own creation. You'll see snippets from the actual show, but it will largely be based on my own imagination. The AUs with younger versions of the characters we love so dearly have always been my favorites, so I decided to try writing my own! I do not own the characters, etc. etc. I hope you all enjoy it! :)

Gail squinted against the sun, one hand brimming her forehead as she scanned the other side of the track. It was a hot day in May, too hot, and she was getting more and more agitated as the minutes passed. Hearing the warning call for the 400 meter dash, she made her way grudgingly over to the start line and began to stretch.

"Terrible weather for a track meet, huh?" she heard someone to her left say. She ignored the voice and bent down to hold her toes, allowing her hamstrings a deep stretch. She hated when strangers tried to talk to her, let alone right as her race was about to start.

"Not so talkative? I get nervous before races, too," the voice came again.

As annoyed as Gail already was from being approached by a complete stranger, she was further aggravated by this girl's asinine assumption that she was nervous. She stood upright and shot a glare at the offending girl.

"I'm not nervous, I just hate this crap," she spat.

"Oh. Huh. Well I'm sure you'll learn to like it as time goes on," the girl said, all too cheerily. Gail looked back at her and was taken aback when she was met with a toothy grin displayed across the girl's face.

"I'm quitting on Monday," she stated, her tone flat. The girl just nodded and continued to smile. Gail felt like slapping that stupid smile right off her face. What a freak, Gail thought, as she turned away and continued to stretch.

She really didn't have time for this shit. She didn't want to run track in the first place. It was her stupid mother's idea. Something about preparing for the academy or some crap. Her entire life was centered around getting in shape for academy training and finishing at the top of her class. A Peck could achieve no less and it was expected of her to follow in the footsteps of her family. Now she had some annoying girl acting like she knew even the first thing about her.

Gail snapped out of her unpleasant reverie as the other runners began to get set into their blocks and shook her head to rid her mind of these thoughts. After jumping up and down a few times to get her muscles going, she stepped over her blocks and placed each foot carefully into place. She burdened her fingertips with the rest of her weight and waited for the gunshot.

POW! The pop of the gun rang in her ears as she launched herself off of the blocks and down her lane. She listened to the sound of her feet against the track and the crunch of the tiny pebbles underneath the rubber of her shoes. She established a rhythm between the thud of her strides and the inhale and exhale of her breath. She didn't much pay attention to anything else until halfway around the track, when the lanky, dark-haired cartoon of a girl darted past her.

Still annoyed by the girl's earlier antics, Gail picked her pace up to a full sprint. She'd be damned if this brunette barbie was going to beat her. Attempting to quiet the sound of her shoes against the track so that the girl wouldn't hear her approaching, Gail continued to give it her all. With the quickened the tempo of her previous rhythm, she rounded the corner to the last 100 meters of the race.

75 meters, 50 meters, 20 meters..

Just as Gail was about to pull ahead, the girl glanced over her shoulder and pumped her long legs and arms with all her might for the last few meters, crossing the finish line a few feet ahead of Gail.

"DAMMIT!" Gail shouted through gritted teeth, throwing her arms down by her sides. Her breathing was more labored than she could ever remember it being, and she bent over, hands on her knees, to try to catch it.

Suddenly a hand appeared underneath her face. She followed the trail of the arm with her eyes until it rounded the curve of a shoulder and landed on the face of the same girl. She just didn't know when to quit.

"A little friendly competition is always good, right?" the girl said, extending her arm out even more toward Gail. "I'm Holly. Holly Stewart." The same dumb smile graced her face.

Gail took this opportunity to scrutinize the girl through narrowed eyes. She was tall, maybe 5'8" or 5'9". She was obviously athletic, her long, toned limbs glimmering with a thin layer of sweat. Her skin was tanned, and she had long hair that reminded Gail of dark chocolate swept back into an effortless ponytail. Only now did Gail realize that the girl was wearing the same uniform she was. They went to the same school.

Ignoring Holly's outstretched arm and her request for an introduction, she instead decided to focus on this new piece of information. "You go to East Grove High?" she asked, indicating the letters on Holly's chest.

"I do, I do," Holly confirmed, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"How come I haven't seen you around before?"

"Just transferred in, actually," Holly answered, "moved here from Michigan a couple weeks ago."

"Mmmm.." Gail gave a noncommittal grunt and nod of the head. That's why she's so annoying, Gail thought, she's American. Gail made to move off of the track, the next race about to start. Holly followed.

Gail walked faster.

Still, Holly kept pace.

"Hey, I never got that name of yours!" Holly shouted to her as she nearly began running to get away from her. She stopped and whirled around, causing Holly to retreat a few steps.

"Gail. My name is Gail." She turned on her heel and stalked off, muttering under her breath.

Please let me know if you'd like to see more and think I should continue! Leave suggestions, praise, hate, whatever you like, in the comments if you wish. Thanks for reading!