Ok, thanks for replying to this. As I've said, I have never done anything quite like this, so I appreciate your support. And to answer your questions, no, BR doesn't mean anything. I think I accidentally clicked that, so sorry for confusing you, and yes, that statement about his life changing drastically is supposed to mean something, but you'll have to wait until later to find out what, I am working on this for school because we're supposed to write a narrative piece, and that's why I'd never done anything like this before, and all I did was change the names to match Fox and Theresa, and this is much different from everything else, but I'm enjoying it, so I'll continue, and yes, of course I'm going to check over this before I hand it in, but thanks a bunch for the tip, oh, and I'm glad you guys like this so far.

PART ONE

As I walked into school at fourteen years old, now in grade eight, I realized the rumors were true. There was a new student, and not only that, but it was a girl. Every guy's dream is for a new girl to show up, flawless beauty evident every time you looked at her. Everywhere I turned there were whispers, everybody seemed to be speaking of the newcomer, and I hadn't yet been able to tell whether the whispers were good or bad. I didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Hey bro, have you seen our new classmate yet?" Without waiting for me to respond, Jack Bennett, my best friend, continued, "she really doesn't fit in here."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, my curiosity now piqued.

"Maybe you should see her, Fox, you just might understand," he said, and I immediately shot him a death glare.

"I told you not to call me that again!" I growled. In my opinion, it made me sound like some kind of animal, and that's the last thing that I wanted.

As I followed my best friend to the hallway where a crowd was starting to form, all I could imagine was seeing this hideous creature, her face all scarred up, and lord only knows what else I thought might be wrong with her. That, however, was not what I saw when I first noticed the girl that I'd never seen before. She didn't look ugly, or hideous, or even like some kind of creature from another planet. In fact, she looked perfectly human to me. And if I wasn't obligated to think what my friends thought of her, I might even say that she was pretty, but that thought was never spoken.

"Well, who have we here?" Jack called aloud, causing himself, his friends, and me to laugh a little. I wondered how oblivious this new girl was.

"Hello, I'm Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald!"

Her voice sounded sweet, even angelic, but I could tell, looking into her eyes, that she was anything but oblivious. I could tell that she knew we were the trouble makers of the school, she knew that we would be trouble for her, and in a way, she knew that she could take us all on. She was aware that she would change each of our lives eventually, and at the time, I knew that she would too. I just didn't understand it then, I didn't understand the purpose she had for coming into the school, for entering our lives, and not only would we face troubled times, we would also face something wonderful, something, at the time, I didn't understand at all. And that was when I decided she needed a nickname, and of course, I made up my excuse for giving her a nickname.

"Hello Resa, welcome," I said sarcastically, and although she smiled curiously, she heard the sarcasm just like everybody else.

"Resa, where did that come from?" She asked me, and there's where my excuse came in.

"I just figured that calling you Theresa was too much work, therefore I shortened it to Resa," Smiling sardonically, I was, although I'd never admit it, grateful that nobody else had decided to call her Resa too.

"And just what right do you have to decide to call me Resa?" She asked, the twinkle in her eye enough proof that she didn't mind it, but of course, she'd never admit that. Not in a million years.

That was one thing that the two of us had in common. Neither of us would admit what we liked in the other, and that, would lead to many problems for the both of us, and those around us. Jack's next words cut through my thoughts.

"You're asking Nicholas Crane what right he has calling you Resa?" He asked in disbelief. "You are obviously going to need somebody to tell you who you can mess with, and who you can't," he said, waiting for her response. The immediate response didn't come from Theresa, it came from the near-by girls, the ones who thought they ruled the school, the ones who thought it polite to laugh when Jack was insulting the girl who would soon regret walking into the building

"Well, don't look at me," Marcy Corel, one of the girls who'd laughed, replied. "I know that everybody would die to be me, not that I could blame them, but I just don't have patience trying to explain anything to somebody as …slow…as her," she said, pretending to think of a word to use. I knew there was a reason I never liked her, she always acted like that, which irritated me greatly.

"That isn't necessary," Theresa replied softly, completely ignoring Marcy, but then again, who could blame her. "I'm sure I'll do a fine job determining who I should 'mess with' or not. But thanks for the advice, it really means a lot to me," she said, smiling almost genuinely.

I don't get it. She was just insulted, and yet she still smiled, while insulting Jack in her own way. Anybody who was near could tell it was meant as an insult, but if you were a stranger walking passed, you would believe it was just her naivety playing out. It really didn't sound like an insult, not by her voice anyway, but the way her words were so smooth, if you were there you would just know it was. That's what seemed to irritate me so. She didn't have to be rude to let you know what she thought. She could just let you know by how she said what she said, by how her words came out.

"And who are you?" She asked, breaking through my thoughts.

"Is that any of your concern? I mean, we really don't have to answer to you, do we?" Jack replied before I had a chance. To be honest, I thought he was being a little harsh, but the way she spoke was so irritating that I decided not to defend her.

"Of course neither of you have to answer to me," she said calmly, glancing between the two of us, and then at the rest of the crowd of people she would come to loathe without making it noticeable. "I was simply asking you the same question that you asked me, remember, the question that I answered."

Jack didn't reply. It seemed to me that he felt the same way I did at the moment. He had probably been just as annoyed that she didn't care about the way they were treating her, she didn't care that she may not make many, if any, friends. Of course, she was bound to win somebody over by her coolness, and as if on cue, that she did. Before anybody else replied, Caroline Hailey stood next to Anna. Caroline, or Carrie, was one of the most popular, doted upon girls in school. She had friends that were really popular, like herself, and she had friends that weren't really associated with. All in all, Carrie wasn't a bad person, she was rude at times, and she spoke the truth, or as she saw it, without hesitation. The thing that made her most appealing was the fact that she called it like she saw it, and if she didn't like something, you were made aware of it, no matter who you were. She was definitely somebody you'd want as your friend, not your enemy. Defending her friends was what she did, and it didn't matter who they were. Nobody would mess with a friend of hers and get away with it, and that's just who she was.

"Why don't you go do what you do best, Jack," she stood threateningly close to him, making her feelings toward the situation known.

"And just what is that, Carrie?" He asked, knowing that a smart remark was about to made. I mean, with Carrie, you're lucky to get through a day without a smart remark, and even luckier if it wasn't meant for you.

"Well, for starters, the boys bathroom is just down the hall, if you want a little privacy," as she said this, I swear to this day that I heard gasps from every person in the crowd, in case you haven't noticed, nobody really talked back to Jack, well, nobody except Carrie, who just didn't seem to care what he thought, or even what he did.

It took Jack a moment to get over the shock of her words, but when he did, his face turned blazing red, you could almost see the fire burn inside him. "Just what are you trying to imply, Carrie?" Come on, if this guy couldn't figure out what she was referring to by her words, then he needed serious help, and I couldn't help but smirk at what seemed to be a loss for words. Jack was never at a loss for words, yet he didn't seem to really know what to say.

Carrie smiled at the effect her words had on him. Even at the age of fourteen, some people could just be so cruel, and I knew all about that, since I was just as cruel at the time. "What's the matter, Jack?" Carrie asked, obviously pleased with herself. "Tell me you don't know what I'm talking about?" She dared, but still, he remained speechless.

Well, she had been on a roll, that was until Marcy decided that she'd stayed silent long enough, and wanted her presence to be known. As if you could forget she was around, she'd never let you. "Come on Carrie, you can't possibly defend her. You don't even know her," she stated. Like I said, Carrie hung out with popular people, but she didn't much like the snobby types, and that's exactly what Marcy was.

"That's right, I don't, and neither do you. Who are you to judge her when you don't know her, huh? How can you stand there and try to insult somebody you don't even know? You're despicable, all of you who think you have the right to put her down are despicable." Well, it looked as if she had really nailed it. Carrie wasn't one to speak unless she was sure she was speaking nothing but the truth, and although we'd all denied it back then, that was all she was speaking. The truth. And the truth was, we all really were despicable, and had no right to insult anybody, especially somebody we didn't know. But, we were only fourteen, and although most fourteen year old boys knew the difference between right and wrong, we were the exception. Oh, don't get me wrong, we knew the difference, the only problem was, we were too careless to pay much attention to it. At the time, none of us really cared, we were just living in the moment, enjoying life the best we could, which didn't exactly involve any sacrifices on our parts.

"Carrie, honestly, don't go ruining our friendship because of this new girl who happened to walk in…" Carrie's sharp words silenced her before she finished.

"Friendship? What friendship? You and I are not friends, never have been and never will be. I don't want to be your friend, I don't want to be like you, and I certainly would prefer not being a wannabe like you and your friends too. I like who I am, and I can choose my own friends. You see, I don't have to work to make friends, I like the fact that my friends like me for who I am, not for who they want me to be, because to be honest, they don't have any expectations, and there isn't somebody they'd rather me be than myself. Have I made myself heard, or shall I go on?"

To be honest, I was surprised that Marcy didn't say anything. I guess she didn't have anything to say, not after what Carrie had just said. She knew it was the truth, and so did everybody else there. Marcy had to use her money, her body, and any other means there was to get friends, and yes, being rich made her popular, and she was pretty, but she'd never had a true friend, and although she hung out with the really popular girls, the ones most girls would die to be friends with, it didn't make her look any better. She was still the same Marcy, and that's not somebody a lot of people would like to be.

Carrie's attention turned back to Jack, and I thought for sure that one of them would strangle the other. I wasn't sure who, but I was sure one of them would. Carrie looked angry, and Jack still looked stunned. Leave it to Carrie to silence him. If I'd known she could do the trick without really working at it, I'd have sent for her a long time ago. I mean, I could have used her every time Jack had called me Bran, the nickname I despised more than anything else. "Well, haven't you something to say?" She asked impatiently.

"Yeah," he started, "I don't know who you think you are, but I don't appreciate being insulted like that."

"And your point would be…" she let her words trail off as her lips curved into a small smile. She did that a lot. She would start saying something, and then she would leave off so the other person could complete her sentence. I always found it rather annoying, but never mentioned it. As I said, she wasn't somebody you'd want as your enemy, and I was never one for making her mad. Her temper was hot, and when she was angry, she would turn really red, and then you'd know you were in trouble.

"My point is just what I said, I don't appreciate being insulted like that," he repeated, the edginess heard in his voice. "And if I wanted your opinion, I would ask for it."

For a split second, I thought that maybe Carrie was at a loss for words, but then realized that it wasn't possible, only because Carrie Hailey was never at a loss for words. She was never speechless, and I wasn't even sure it was possible. The girl always had something to say, whether you wanted to hear it or not. It was obvious that Jack didn't want to hear it, but to tell you the truth, I did. This was getting interesting, and I wanted to hear what Carrie would say next, but don't get me wrong, I'd still back my best friend up if he needed it. "You apparently aren't smart enough to ask for my opinion, because if you were, you would have asked, as we both know, you desperately needed it. So, because I'm such a wonderful person, I decided to offer it instead, and I know what you're going to say, but don't be modest. It's my pleasure to let you know what I think," Her sardonic smile remained, and I had even noticed a tint of mischief in her sparkling blue eyes.

Jack had simply rolled his eyes, pretending that her words hadn't effected him, when we all knew, that even he had no control over Caroline Hailey. Although, nobody else had even tried, and I must give him credit for that, even if he did fail.

Resa had been watching silently, amused by the bickering that had been playing out before her very eyes. She hadn't expected Jack to turn so suddenly from Carrie to face her, nor had she expected what she saw when she looked into his eyes. She saw hatred, she saw a bitterness that she'd never experienced herself, and she saw the one emotion that shocked her, envy. And to her dismay, standing beside Jack, was none other than myself. Yet, she noticed, standing beside herself was Caroline Hailey, and anybody else would have been honored to have Carrie on their side. For that, she was grateful. And although I'd never say it aloud, I was grateful too. I was glad that she'd have somebody to stand beside her, even when myself and my buddies were playing cruel tricks. I don't think I realized how relieved I was then, but like I said, we were careless kids back then, I now know how much it meant to me.

Okay, please tell me what you all think. I would really like your opinions.

Denise