A/N: I'd like to point out that they're rising juniors. And thank you to hervissa and Jasmine for helping me think of ideas for the plot of the story!

This chapter's song is The Cello Song by The Piano Guys. [/watch?v=Ry4BzonlVlw]

It was the last week of summer before school started at the NOVA School for Forensic Psychology and the day that Alana was going to introduce her friends to Beverly.

Beverly was nervous. What if they didn't like her? What if she made a fool of herself in front of them and Alana decided that she didn't want to be friends with someone so embarrassing?

She and Alana had become fast friends. They met up almost every night on their rooftops just outside their windows and talked for hours on end. Beverly was thankful that she had found a friend so soon after moving here.

Alana was going to pick her up at eleven o'clock, because people in this part of the world liked to do things early, apparently.

It was now nine o'clock, and Beverly was trying to stay awake as she lay in bed. The one thing she hated the most in the world was waking up to an alarm clock. She much preferred to wake up on her own. But such is life.

She stretched and groaned, popping her joints. Her stomach growled. She wondered if she should eat breakfast or get something at the café that they were all meeting at. The scent of pancakes wafted into her room and another growl from her stomach decided that she would eat breakfast.

Beverly rolled out of bed and onto the floor. She sighed and crawled to her door, pulling herself up by the door handle and opening it. She shuffled to the stairs and walked down into the kitchen, intent on eating the delicious pancakes she smelled. Her father was already awake and in the kitchen, flipping pancakes in a pan and making Jasmine squeal with laughter.

"Hey there, munchkin." Beverly told her as she ruffled her hair.

"Bevvie! Daddy's making tancakes!"

Beverly smiled. Jasmine still didn't have all her words down yet. "Is he? I love tancakes. What's your favorite kind of tancake?" she asked as she rested her elbows on the counter next to where her sister was sitting.

"Booberry!"

"Oh, booberry is good. I like chocolate."

Jasmine giggled. "Bevvie do my hair in a bunny bun." That was Jasmine's way of asking Beverly to put her hair in a bun. Her hair was pretty long, so it worked out well.

"Alright, come here." Jasmine scooted closer to Beverly and she put her sister's hair up into a messy bun. "All good?"

Jasmine cupped her new hairdo. "All good! Thank you Bevvie."

Beverly smiled. "So, dad, when will the pancakes be ready?"

"Just a few minutes. Would you get out the plates?"

"Sure. Where are they?"

"Cabinet on the far right."

Beverly got up and opened the cabinet and took out three plates. "Where do you want them?"

"Just set them down on the counter." Her father put the last of the pancakes on the plate he already had out. "Who's hungry?"

"Me, me, me!" Jasmine said.

Beverly found the cabinet with the glasses and took two out, filled them up with milk, found one of Jasmine's sippy cups, and filled hers up, too.

Her dad set two plates filled with pancakes on the counter of the bar. "Eat up." He said as he put a jug of syrup by the pates. Beverly picked up Jasmine and set her down in one of the chairs, careful to push in the chair so she wouldn't fall out. Mr. Katz cut Jasmine's pancakes into smaller pieces and handed the two of them forks.

"So Alana's taking me out to meet some of her friends from school today."

"So that's why you're up so early. I was beginning to wonder. What time?"

"Eleven." She groaned. He sent an exaggerated groan right back to her. "Right, though? Is it normal for teenagers to go out and do things before noon?"

"Pssh, no. Normal teenagers use their inherent sense of curiosity and taste for learning to find the cause of death of animals they find outside." He winked.

Beverly rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her smile. Her parents were wary at first about her bringing dirt and diseases into the house, but she had been adamant about how she wasn't going to get sick from it. So far, she had kept that promise and her parents had decided that it was no use badgering her about it.

"So will I get to meet this elusive Alana Bloom today?"

Beverly shrugged, "Probably. Do you want to?"

"Of course. I always want to meet your friends. To make sure they're not cannibalistic serial killers."

"Why would someone kill cereal?" Jasmine asked innocently.

oOo

Around ten thirty, Beverly pulled on a red shirt and looked through her drawers for some pants to wear. It was warm out that day, so she would either wear a skirt or shorts. She pulled out a few pairs of both and pondered over which one she would wear.

She heard Alana turn on her music in her bedroom outside the open window. Beverly shrugged and decided to ask Alana what she thought.

She picked up the clothing and padded over to her window and stuck her head out, careful to only have the top half of her body showing.

"Hey! Bloom!" she called. Alana paused her music and stuck her head out of her already-opened window.

"Hey Beverly. What's up?"

"Shorts or skirt?" she asked, holding them up for Alana to see.

"Hmm. I'd go with the shorts. You don't strike me as the kind of girl who would wear skirts a lot of the time."

Beverly thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks!"

"No problem."

They ducked back into their rooms to finish getting ready.

Beverly was just pulling on her shoes when the doorbell rang. She stood up, brushed out the wrinkles in her shirt, and opened the door.

Alana was standing there on the doorstep. "Hey!"

Beverly smiled. "Whoah, this is the first time I've seen you in daylight. Your hair is gorgeous." It really was. The morning sun was shining just so on her, giving her an angelic look.

Alana blushed and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Really? Thanks. I've been thinking about dying it lighter."

Beverly laughed. "You do whatever you want, but I like it as it is now." She grabbed her bag from the coat rack by the door. "Hold on, I gotta tell my parents that I'm leaving. Want to come in? My dad wants to meet you." Beverly's mom had already met Alana when she went over to the Bloom residence a couple of weeks earlier to say hello.

"Oh, sure." She stepped into the house and looked around her while Beverly led her up the stairs. "Nice setup you got here."

"Thanks. We had an interior decorator do it before we moved in. Mom! Dad! Alana is here!"

"We're in the living room!" was their response.

The girls entered the living room where her family was.

"Dad, this is Alana." She gestured to her.

"Hello, Alana." Her dad said, smiling, as he made his way over to them. "I'm Mr. Katz."

"Firm grip you've got there."

"Thank you, sir. I've been in Cotillion classes since the sixth grade."

"Well good on you for that. You two have fun today, okay?"

"Will do." Beverly said, and Alana nodded.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Katz." She shook his hand.

"Hello, Alana." Beverly's mom waved from the couch.

"Hi, Mrs. Katz. How are you?"

"I'm doing just great, thank you."

"Bevvie, Bevvie!" came Jasmine's voice from the stairwell. "I wanna meet Alanalana!" she came down the stairs one step at a time, holding onto the rail.

"Oh, my little sister wants to meet you, too."

"Oh, good. I've been wanting to meet her, too. You never shut up about her." She winked.

Jasmine ran over to the girls and hid behind Beverly's legs.

"Jazz, this is Alana. Say hi."

Jasmine looked up at her, but then a hive grin came across her face and she ran and hugged Alana's legs.

"Hi Alanalana!"

Alana laughed. "Hi, Jasmine." She put a hand on Jasmine's head. "How are you today?"

"I'm gooood!" she giggled.

"Alrighty, Jazz. Time to let Alana's legs go. She needs to use them!"

Jasmine gave Alana's legs one last squeeze, then ran over to her parents on the couch.

"Have fun today, girls." Mrs. Katz told them. "Be safe, be smart, and all that."

"Sure thing, mom."

The girls left the house and got into Alana's car.

"Damn. Nice car. Is it yours?" Beverly asked.

"Yep." Alana said as she turned the car and began driving to their destination. "I got it a few months ago when I got my license."

Beverly raised her eyebrows. "It was a gift? The only thing I got when I got my license was the responsibility of driving my family around whenever they want."

Alana laughed. "My mom's a surgeon. That's why we can afford it."

"A surgeon? I didn't know that. What does your dad do?"

"Oh, I don't have a dad."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. I mean, I have a dad. His name is Sebastian Roland, but I've never met him. Story time! My mom's a successful surgeon, has been for a long time. Her life was dedicated to her work. Still is, actually. One day, she decided that she wanted to have a kid. Her own kid; she wasn't going to bother adopting because it's really difficult for a single mother to adopt a child. She was getting older and running out of time, and because her life revolved around her job, she was single. My mom didn't want to lose time off work for being pregnant, so she asked her best friend to be a surrogate for her. She agreed, and they went through the whole sperm donation process. They found a good looking guy who went to Harvard and a year later, I was born."

Beverly stared at her. "But your mom is your biological mom, yes?"

"Yep."

"You seem fine with the whole thing."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"No, no, no I mean. Like. You seem to know the whole process. Were you told a different story about that when you were little?"

"You mean like in that Jennifer Aniston movie? Nah. My mom told me the process in simpler terms once I started asking questions when I was eight. She doesn't… really know how to treat a child like a child. If I were anyone else, I might have been super confused and angry. But I listened and accepted it and understood it to some degree."

"Lucky for your mom, then."

"I like to remind her how lucky she is from time to time."

Beverly smiled. "So where are we going, exactly? You never gave me details."

"There's this huge park near here. It's got two ponds, a garden, and a dog park. I like to do homework there sometimes. Oh, and there's a playground."

"Why a park? I wouldn't expect a bunch of teenagers to hang out at a park."

"There's nothing to do in Northern Virginia. Ask anyone. There are no clubs or places to hang out except for people's houses. So we go to the park. Lots of people go there. And here we are!"

They pulled into a full parking lot and into one of the few empty spaces.

Beverly's nervousness shot through her again. Alana had said that Beverly would like her friends, and that they would like her, too. But that was to be determined.

"What if they don't like me?" Beverly asked, wringing her hands.

Alana sighed. "I like you, therefore they will like you. I've told you this. They're really friendly and they love meeting new people. If anything, Brian will be a bit too loud and excited. He's is focusing in Crime Scene Investigation, too, so you guys will have something to talk about. But if you want to leave, then I have no problem leaving."

"Alright." Beverly mumbled.

"C'mon. We're meeting them by the big hill. They should be getting there right around now."

The girls walked along a path to what Beverly guessed was the big hill. It wasn't so big, but it was the biggest one there. So.

"There they are!" Alana waved to a group of four teenagers.

The girls walked up to the group and Alana immediately introduced Beverly.

"Guys, this is my friend Beverly Katz. She'll be going to school with us next week and she's in the Forensic field." She gestured to each person as she introduced them. "Beverly, this is Bedelia Du Maurier. She's a year older than us and focusing on Psychiatry with me. Next is Natasha Crandall, who's in Forensics. This is Brian Zeller and his boyfriend, Theodore Davies. They're also in Forensics."

"It's nice to meet you guys." Beverly said, trying her best not to sound sheepish.

They all exchanged their hellos, and Brian came up to her as the group converged together.

"Hey, nice to meet you." He said happily as he shook her hand. "Brian Zeller."

"Beverly."

"So, Beverly. What concentration of Forensics are you in?"

"Crime Scene Investigation and fiber analysis. I also like the idea of finding the causes of death of various animals I find in the woods." Oh. Was that weird?

Brian's face lit up. "No way, me, too! Theodore and Natasha are in Forensic Psychology. I'm so glad that I can have someone else to talk to about CSI who will actually understand what the hell I'm talking about. I want to specialize in determining the cause of death."

"Is anyone interested in sitting by the lake?" Bedelia asked. Wow, she had an elegant voice. Beverly would want her to narrate her life.

"I'm up for that."

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Beverly nodded.

The group began walking in the direction of the pond.

"So how long ago did you move here?" Brian asked Beverly.

"A few weeks ago."

"Are you all settled in yet?"

She shrugged. "More or less. The house isn't lived in, so it's a bit stiff still. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get you. You're Alana's neighbor, right?"

"Yep. We met on the rooftops just outside our windows."

Brian was silent for a moment, trying to understand what she was saying. "What? Sorry, can you explain that?" he laughed nervously.

Beverly smiled, "It's kind of a funny story. Our bedrooms have roofs juts under our windows. We both crawled out of the window and onto our roofs at the same time one night and that's how we met."

"Are they close together or something?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. It's bizarre. They practically touch. I don't know why the houses were made that way."

"Doesn't that violate a fire hazard or something?"

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if it did." She laughed.

The six of them reached the pond then and they sat down.

"Making friends, I see." Alana said to Beverly as she sat down next to her.

"Oh, yeah. Beverly and I are great friends. The best. Right, Bev?" Brian nudged her arm and gave her a wink.

"Totally."

Over the next hour, Beverly spoke to Theodore, Natasha, and Bedelia. Alana was right; they were all very friendly, and Beverly felt very welcome. Natasha was very quiet and reserved, but she was passionate about Forensic Psychology and it was difficult for her to stop talking about it once she got going. Theodore was very proper and polite and he and Natasha were currently discussing which teachers they were hoping to have that year. Bedelia was like Theodore, very proper and she used big words that Beverly didn't always understand.

"Hey, Beverly. Do you want to go get some ice cream?" Alana asked.

"They have ice cream here?"

"Yeah, they have a truck set up down the path every summer."

"I could so go for some ice cream right now. Let's go."

They stood up and brushed the grass off of their legs. "We're gonna go get some ice cream. Anyone want some?" Alana asked.

"No, thank you."

"Nah, I'm good."

Theodore and Natasha shook their heads.

"Alright. Be back soon."

They walked down the path toward the truck.

"Are you having fun?" Alana asked.

"Definitely. I like your friends. Especially Brian."

"Yeah, Brian is great. He can be so sassy once you get him going on something. So, what do you want?" she asked as they stepped up to the ice cream truck.

"Uh. I'm gonna go with an orange creamsicle. You?"

"Probably a vanilla cone."

They ordered their ice creams and handed the vendor the money, and he handed them their ice creams.

Alana licked hers as they turned around to head back to their friends. Beverly giggled.

"What?" Alana gave her a questioning look.

"You've got some ice cream on your nose."

"Oh, oops." Alana covered her nose with her hand. "Do you have a napkin? I'll be right back, I'm going to go see if the guy has any."

"Hang on, I got it." Beverly said. She crooked her finger and raised her hand and wiped the white ice cream off of Alana's nose. "All better." She licked the ice cream off her finger.

Alana's cheeks flushed pink and she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

Beverly smirked, "No problem."

They walked back to the group in silence. The other four were all standing up, and they said they were going to head over to the playground.

"So who's ready for school to start up again?" Brian asked the five as they reached the playground.

They all simultaneously gave a monotonous groan, even Bedelia, who seemed to love school.

"I'm not looking forward to the stress of senior year." Bedelia said as she sat down on a swing. "College applications are going to be so time consuming." She sighed.

"Do you know where you're going to apply yet?" Beverly asked.

"George Mason University, Stanford University, University of Virginia, William and Mary… The usual."

"Only one out-of-state college?"

"Yes, only one. It would cost less."

"It's not like you'd be drowning in student debt for long after you graduate. Psychiatrists get paid a hell of a lot of money." Brian said, taking the swing next to her and Theodore started pushing him.

"That's true, but I'd prefer to stay in Virginia. We live in a very nice area with a good selection of opportunities for our fields."

"Like the Behavioral Analysis Unit over in Quantico. That's where I want to work."

"Oh, my cousin works there." Natasha piped up. "He says they just got a new guy to head the Behavioral Science Unit. His name is… something Crawford. Maybe he'll stick around long enough for him to be your boss."

"Maybe. Is he any good?"

"Oh, I don't know. My cousin didn't say much about him. But maybe no news is good news?"

"Probably."

The group hung around the playground for a while longer, fighting like children about who would have the next turn on the swings. Alana snagged a swing, and Beverly spent a few minutes pushing her on it. The six of them ended up playing a round of Tag and Hide and Seek with some younger kids who were at the park. All in all, it was a great outing.

oOo

That night, Beverly stepped out of her window and onto the roof. Alana was already out there.

"Hey there, stranger." Beverly said in a weird voice.

"Howdy partner."

"How long have you been out here?"

"Half hour?"

"Oh, you should've knocked on my window. I would have come out here if I knew."

"No worries, I wanted some alone time anyway."

"Do you want me to go back inside? I can do that if you-"

"No! No, it's fine. Please. Stay." She sounded almost sheepish.

"Alright, alright." Beverly laughed. "I'll stay."

Alana smiled and visible relaxed. "So how was today? I know I asked you five hundred times already. Sorry."

"Alana, I think we've reached the point in our friendship where you can comfortably call me Bev. Really. But yeah, today was fun. I really enjoyed myself. Brian is hilarious, and did you see how good he was with those kids today? It was the best. The ice cream was my favorite part of the day, though." She winked.

Alana blushed. "Y-yeah, the ice cream was good. Nice."

Beverly sighed. "I feel better about school starting next week now. Do all the kids studying specific things have every class together?"

"Yeah. It's a pretty small school because it's a specialized one, and not many kids our age are interested in it. So yeah, you'll have almost every class with Brian."

"Will you and I have any classes together?"

It was Alana's turn to sigh now. "No. Probably not. We're in opposite studies." She sounded disappointed.

Beverly's shoulders slumped. "Damn. I was hoping we would."

"Yeah. Me too." She said quietly.

The girls sat out there for what seemed like hours, Beverly gazing up at the stars, and Alana gazing over at Beverly.

This was going to be an interesting two years.

A/N: Reviews are always appreciated. If anyone has any ideas for this story, please let me know! I take every comment into consideration.