Disclaimer:Well let's see...I don't own anyone besides Meg and her dad....I don't even own Cassie as she belongs to my good buddy bloodredcherry....so obviously I'm not making anything off of this and no copyright infringements are intended.

Thanks to:Bloodredcherry....hooray for you my dear! You're the one that inspired me to write this and helped me to refine my idears....a round of applause for you!

A.N: This is waaaay before the movie, like when they're little kids. I'm thinking 10, although I dont' think they're all the same age. Anyways I hope you enjoy my story and read and review for me :D




Meg sat on the back of their waggon watching as her Pa unloaded their belongings into her aunt's house. She shifted her eyes and glanced around,she could see town, a little ways off, but not much else beyond that. Her Pa came out of the house and stood on the porch happily surveying the land that to her seemed so bare.

He took a deep breath,"It's wonderful to be breathing Missouri air again,"he smiled.

Meg grinned weakly and went back to swinging her feet, all she could smell was a bunch of horse manure. Her father glanced at her and sighed. He knew this move had been hard on her, but ever since her mother had died when she was still a toddler, he been in need of another female influence. Also he had been eager to return to the town where he had grown up, and he was sure his daughter would adjust to it in time.

"Margarette,why don't you head into town while I finish unpacking. See if you can meet some people your age,"he suggested.

Meg glanced up and sighed, but she hopped off the wagon and started in the direction of Liberty. She trudged down the dirt road, kicking up little rocks as she walked. It was uncomfortably hot in her new dress she had gotten for travelling and it itched at her back. She grimaced once she got into town, from what she could see there wasn't anyone her age around here. She was about to give up and head home when someone called out behind her.

"Hey, you're new around here ain't ya?"a young girl with blond hair said.

"Yea, my Pa moved me here so we can live with my aunt." Meg took in her slacks and plain shirt excitedly she wondered if all the girls wore such comfortable clothes in Missouri.

"Well my name's Zerelda but you can call me Zee, all my friends do. You need someone to show you around town?"she asked.

"That'd be great, and my name's Meg by the way."she replied smiling shyly.

Zee linked her arm through Meg's and dragged her off down the street. "You'll have to meet Cassie too. She's just over there."

Meg looked up and spotted a girl sitting off on a bench in front of the store. She looked up and smiled at the two of them and Zee waved.

Once they had been properly introduced the three girls started off around town. Her two new friends seemed to know where everything was, the general store, the bank, the saloon's,which they couldn't go into and they even went into the blacksmiths and he gave them each a piece of candy. Once they were headed back down the main street sucking on their peppermint candy, they could see a group of boys headed their way.

"Uh oh, here comes trouble,"Zee whispered. Cassie rolled her eyes and nudged Zee to be quiet.

The boys walked up to them and the one in the front grinned,"Hey there girls....looking for some excitement?"

"Who ever said boys are exciting?"Zee asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well everyone knows we're smarter,"Jesse said.

"And better looking,"his friend added.

"Yes Cole, I must agree with you there. We certainly have the looks,"Jesse smirked.

Cassie glanced at both boys before replying,"Well boys, if those are the looks, I'm glad you have them instead of us."

Meg sighed, sensing this would soon turn into a full blown battle of boys against girls, she turned and started down the road towards home.

She hadn't gotten very far when she noticed she could hear footsteps behind her. She turned and noticed one of the boys who was friends with Jesse and Cole standing behind her.

"Did you want something?"she asked.
"Well you dropped the rest of your candy,"he grinned as he handed it back to Meg, and she found herself smiling back.

"My names Bob by the way."

"I'm Meg."

"So you're new here in Liberty ain't ya?"he asked, falling into step next to her.

"Yea. Cassie and Zee were showin me around but I figured they're going to be getting into an argument right away. So I thought I'd best leave before I got involved."

Bob laughed,"Yup, once Cole and Jesse have got those two riled up, the four of them can argue for ages. So did Cassie and Zee show you anything outside of town?"

Meg shrugged,"Nope, what's so important out there?"

He grinned,"Only the best spot to catch snakes!"

Meg stopped and stared at Bob,"Snakes?"

Bob stopped as well and glanced at Meg,"Well yea....you ain't afraid of em are ya?"

Meg swallowed and reached up to tug on her hair,"Um, well...."she paused,"of course not,"she said squaring her shoulders,"what's a little snake?"

Bob grinned and grabbing her hand took off running,"C'mon!"he cried.

When they reached the edge of town, Meg could see a large bunch of rocks not too far away, They were shaded by some nearby trees, and with Bob in the lead, the pair dashed over to them.

They climbed up on one of the rocks and caught their breath. Bob pointed,"there's usually a snake down there somewhere....hey, look there's one!"

Meg shuddered,"it ain't poisenous is it?"

Bob smirked,"Well why dont'cha get it to bite ya, and we'll find out?"

Meg glared at him, and determined to show that she wasn't afraid, she hopped down behind the snake. It slithered forward a bit and she paused, almost deciding to climb back up. But the snake started to turn around, so she snatched it up before she could lose her nerve.

"You got it!"Bob cried. Other than Zee and Cassie, he hadn't seen another girl who wasn't afraid of snakes.

Meg turned a little green and grimaced,"I got it."

Suddenly Bob's eyes lit up,"C'mon, I know just what we can do with that snake!"

He helped Meg to climb back up on the rock and handed her his hat to drop the snake into.

They hopped off the rocks and started walking further away from town,"Where're we headed now?"Meg asked.

"Well, Jesse's got an older brother Frank, who just turned fifteen and thinks girls are the greatest things on earth. The girl he visits lives just over that hill, and she really hates snakes,"he grinned.

Meg found herself laughing as they ran. She hadn't had this much fun back home in the city. She glanced at Bob, maybe Liberty wouldn't be so bad after all, with some friends.