Disclaimer: If Star Wars were mine, I would definitely buy my way into college and slack off in school. Most unfortunately, it isn't mine.

A/N: MORE REVIEWS! I thrive off these—some unhealthy sort of addiction. Thank you so much, they made me very very happy.

The Al-Bhed Slayer—lol I'm so glad you liked it. I thought it was cute too, but then again I'm a big fan of fluff and mushy stuff…romantic at heart, what can I say? Hey, no offense meant with this question, but I must ask it--I've been wondering for so long.Why is your penname the Al-Bhed Slayer?

Filthy Mushi—thanks for tipping me on that, I seriously have no idea when he's out of character…see, I saw TPM when I was like, 11 and AotC when I was around 13 and I don't remember much…Idk, I kinda wanted to make Anakin a bit happier and less angsty than he's regularly portrayed—at least when he's a kid.

Nianko—I'm sorry, I'm sorry! This one should be longer…I think…hey, I read your story, did ya get my review? I liked it. Thanks for the compliments, I'll try and live up to them…

Piper331—Thanks for the review, I'm trying my best to keep him in character. I thought it was cute as well, and I'm so glad someone shares my opinion.

Jess—lala? lol that's so random. Thanks for the review, I'm excited for this story as well.

Kitty-Kat26—I love children, but only from a distance. Once I actually spend hours with them, unless they're my little brother, I get so fed up. They're like toys—fun to look at (they're so cute sometimes!), but not touch. And I don't mean that in a Michael Jackson way, lol. Thanks for reviewing!

Tori—Yay more Ani/OC fans! Normally I'm a padme/ani fan since I think they're absolutely perfect together, but I just can't picture Padme as a jedi. So thus I had to resort to an OC, Ali. I'm glad you're likin' it, thanks for the review!

Mrs. Skywalker—lol likin' the penname…you can have luke, anakin's mine! Mwahahahahaha…jkjk. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked it!

Redcristal—I'm honored. I don't think I've ever been on anyone's story alert list. Yay! Other people thought the chapter was cute. Thanks for reviewing!

PART ONE: BUDDING

Chapter Two

The next day Alianne awoke earlier than usual, anxious to get to the practice room. She and Anakin had arranged to meet in there at 0630, giving them thirty minutes to practice before the other younglings came in. Ali hadn't' seen her new friend since their conversation in the halls, for Master Kenobi had taken him away shortly afterwards. The Jedi Master had not been happy with Anakin, either. She'd have to check to see if he was alright.

Thirty minutes later Ali was inside the practice room, waiting and fidgeting impatiently. She decided to focus all her energy on doing something useful—like lifting a feather with the Force. Picking out a nice grey one, Ali plopped down Indian style in a corner of the room and closed her eyes, concentrating with all her might.

Ali didn't want to lift the feather just to spite Sera and her gang. She wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't Useless, or Talentless, or a piece of scum. Somewhere, deep inside her heart, laid her self esteem, buried under shovelfuls of insults. She wanted to rediscover it. A new friend was a good first step.

It was while Ali was absorbed in this activity that Anakin arrived on the scene. Seeing his new friend in the corner with a feather in front of her, he grinned wickedly. Any fool could guess that she was trying to lift the plume with her mind, and he decided to play a little prank on her.

Creeping silently, Anakin bent down and gently picked up the feather with his fingertips. He quietly threw it high in the air, and blew upwards a bit to give it a draft to waft upon. Rapidly he ran back a few steps and cried out loud: "Oh, Ali, look! It's floating!"

Ali's eyes flew open, wide and shocked. "Where? Where?" She followed his pointed finger and glanced upwards to indeed see the feather, spiraling down from its previous height. Her heart soared far higher than the plume had. She did it!

"Anakin!" She breathed, her very face glowing. Anakin saw her face, radiant in success, and felt a brief pang of guilt. Perhaps he oughtn't to have tricked her. "Do you know what this means?" She continued rapturously. "I can do it! I can use the Force!" A wide smile conquered her face, causing her eyes to glisten joyously. The pang of guilt intensified, and Anakin squirmed a bit.

Clueless, Ali kept talking. "I've never done it before, you know. I've never really been able to use the Force at all. They used to tease me because I couldn't lift a feather when I was eight and they could when they were five. Well maybe…maybe I can catch up now! If I did it once, I can do it again. And if I really, truly can use the Force…perhaps…perhaps with some practice, I can become…a Jedi. A real one, Anakin, like I've always dreamed about. Why are you frowning, Anakin?"

And indeed, the boy was frowning. He hadn't known that she had never shown any aptitude with the Force before. He had simply thought it was routine exercise she was performing. Anakin hadn't known the harm in the prank—he hadn't known she'd take it so seriously. Now he felt bad—what if she tried again and couldn't do it? Would she take it hard? Would she be devastated? He owed her the truth.

"Ali…" He began uncomfortably. She turned her full gaze upon him, her smile dreamy and her eyes a deep green. The joy was so apparent in every aspect of her face. Anakin sighed. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that her success wasn't of her own doing. He couldn't deflate her already punctured ego. Hers were the eyes of hope—hope which he couldn't destroy no matter how hard he willed himself to.

"Yes?" She prompted, still grinning happily, oblivious to the conflicting emotions in Anakin's heart.

"Congratulations," He said lamely, trying hard to smile and failing miserably. Ali, however, was so ecstatic that she didn't notice her friend's bad mood. She would one day be a Jedi. She was sure of it now.

"Thank you," She replied modestly, beaming at him. There was no one she would rather share this moment with than her new friend, Anakin.

Suddenly everything was shattered by the arrival of Sera and the gang. They burst in through the practice room's door, and strode purposefully across the room to get their lightsaber equipment on. Ali's bubble deflated quickly when she saw the pretty blonde flounce across the room, then pause as she saw Anakin. The rest of her gang proceeded into the lightsaber room.

"Hi," she called in an annoyingly fake, girlish voice to the boy. "My name's Sera. What's yours?" She gave her shining golden locks a saucy toss and smiled winningly.

"Anakin," he replied warily. Some dim masculine part of his mind recognized the fact that Sera was quite pretty, in a cutesy little girl sort of way. Then the logic took over—girls had cooties. Cooties were contagious.

"I've never seen you around, Anakin," She tilted her head to one side, letting the light catch her blue eyes attractively. She blinked quickly, letting her eyelashes flutter. Ali snorted slightly. Sera's attempts at flirting were completely transparent—she obviously saw Anakin as nothing more than a cute newcomer who she could add to the list of boys pining after her. "And if I did, I'd remember you. I don't often forget cute faces." The masculine part of Anakin's brain was taking over.

Ali nearly gagged, off to the side, at the fakeness that saturated Sera's being. The blonde girl shot Ali a look of pure hate, but decided not to reveal her catty side in front of the new boy. Instead Sera refocused her attentions on Anakin, ignoring Ali's very presence.

"Oh," Anakin said, flustered. "Umm...I'm new here. That's probably why you haven't seen me before." Ali turned to stare at him. Her new friend was turning steadily pinker in the face. Could it be? Was he really falling for Sera? No, she had to have some faith. Anakin couldn't possibly be so stupid.

"That explains it," Sera grinned again, her teeth flashing white against her perfect skin. "Well, I'm going to go practice now. I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah," Anakin replied, still dumbfounded. "Later." He stared after her retreating back as she went into the lightsaber practice room. Ali got impatient waiting for his jaw to close and nudged him.

"Come on, let's practice." She said irritably.

"Are all girls like that here?" He asked numbly, still not moving.

"You mean fake and mean?" Ali asked, even more annoyed. It was aggravating how he had completely dismissed her as a girl and had only judged female Jedi younglings by Sera.What had started out as a good morning was, as usual, ruined by stupid, trashy Sera.

"What?" Anakin cried, aghast and kind of angry. "She was really nice. Don't say nasty things about her."

Ali snorted again. "Whatever. Let's just practice." She didn't feel like explaining her relationship with Sera. Anakin would only stick up for the blonde and make Ali feel worse. With a major effort, Ali refocused on her earlier success with the Force. She decided to change the subject. "So, you want to practice with the feather?"

A/N: Brief again, and I'm sorry, but in next chapter Anakin's pranks catch up with him…mwahahahaha. Anyways, I have to go finish my homework for summer school speech (four and a half hours daily. I think I might die). Should never have signed up for it, damn it. PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASEEEEEEEEEE!