Chapter 1

The hallway was eerily silent with the exception of Mark's brand new light-up skechers squeaking on the clean floor. The weekend before, his dad bought these hoping that he could make friends. He was halfway through first grade, and the only friend he had was the toilet from the girl's bathroom. Every day during lunch he hid from the fifth grade bullies and ate lunch in the bathroom at the back of the building. But he always sprinted from his classroom to the bathroom before anyone could spot him.

Today he wasn't so lucky. He didn't notice that his shoelace was untied, so as soon as he started running he tripped. His lunch bag ripped open and everything in it spilled on the grass. The glasses covering his blue eyes slipped off, breaking in half, and his small six-year-old hands grazed the concrete. The playground silenced for a split second, then returned to its normal chaotic state. He lifted himself from the floor, but the kick of a foot shoved him back down.

"Please. No." Mark was terrified. His heart raced like never before, and for some reason this time felt worse. "Please don't huwt me."

"Please don't huwt me," said Adam "Little marky's scawed. W-w-w-why are you so scared?" He pushed his foot down more. "Awwe look at him, he's cwying"

"P-p-p-please don't. Those awe my new shoes that my daddy bought me."

"Oh boo-hoo. I could care less that your daddy bought you shoes. What loser buys these anyways?"

He was about to reply when he heard other footsteps approaching and the foot on his back came off. He crawled away before Adam could step on him again.

"Hey! HEY! Adam! What did we say about bullying kids younger than you?" Mark looked at the blonde in shining armor. Literally. Her grey shirt glowed in the sunlight and all the sequins on it shimmered. Her eyes were the most amazing color at that moment, a gray so fierce and determined. Even he felt himself pee his pants a little. "Leave him alone, and go find someone else your own size."

"This isn't over punk, you're lucky your girlfriend has more balls than you do."

"That a bad wowd," he stated.

"You're a bad word." He spit at Mark and glared at him as he walked away. "This isn't over."

"You let them get to you too easily," his heroine looked at him with worry. "One day there isn't going to be someone to step in and save you Mark."

"You know my name? Wait-what gwade awe you in? Wait-do you want to be my giwlfwiend?"

"Woah slow down buddy. I'm in second grade, but I'm supposed to be in first like you. Secondly, you have to learn to roll your r's. I'll teach you." She smiled, but it looked forced. "My dad taught me last year, and he says I caught on quickly."

Mark was amazed, but he felt stupid. He couldn't believe this girl sounded so much smarter and was so much braver than he was. But he didn't know her name. He wanted to know her, be friends with her, and marry her when they were grown-ups.

"You're drooling," she look disgusted and started walking away. "My name's Annabeth by the way. Your food is back in your bag and I'm going to get some tape for your glasses."

"Thank you."

"Your welcome Mark, that's what friends are for."

"Wait, WE'RE fwiends? Do you want to be my girlfwiend?"

"No, but I can be your best friend."

"Really?"

"Sure. I don't have any other friends anyways."

Mark was excited. He couldn't wait to go home and tell his dad about Annabeth, his new best friend. As the days went on, his bond with Annabeth only grew stronger. They were inseparable, going to each other's houses and eating ice cream on Friday afternoons. Annabeth's favorite was strawberry. She liked reading, and she was the only second-grader reading Harry Potter. She had newborn twin-brothers and she loved them. She also loved her dad and her stepmom. (HA! nope) Mark knew her so well, or so he thought. Every morning he would jump on her back or vice versa. On Saturday mornings they ate pancakes together, and it didn't matter what the other was doing, they would call each other whenever.

One day, Annabeth came to school with a box in her hands. Her eyes were a little swollen, and her stepmom looked pissed. She dropped her off, and Mark waited for her to jump on his back, but she never did. Instead she took a seat on the grass, where they first met and called him over. He did so slowly, and tried to figure out what was making her grey eyes swirl in torment and sadness. But he was only six, and his brain didn't have the capacity it should've for this situation. Her fingers fiddled with the pink ribbon tied on the small box, and she looked up. He smiled at her, and for the first time she smiled back genuinely.

"Here. I made this for you." She gave him the box and waited for him to open it. He gently untied the ribbon, and his hands shook as he opened the lid. Looking in, he was surprised at how much effort was put into this project. It was a small drawing of them eating pancakes and a home-made ring. "I thought it would be nice because you're always giving me so much, and - yeah."

"Thank you Annie," He was shaking. What did this actually mean? "What - are you leaving me?"

"I could never Marky, I - I'm not. I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise. We're best friends forever. Besides, if I'm not physically with you, you're here." She pointed at her heart and then at the matching ring on her finger.

"What is physically? What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. Now, we have to teach you how to defend yourself."

The rest of the day flew by. Annabeth and he played and colored. They watched a movie before lunch, but he and Annabeth doodled on her coloring pad the whole time. During lunch they played tag, but Annabeth didn't smile. As a matter of fact, her face dropped as the day progressed. Sharply at 3 o'clock Annabeth's stepmother picked her up, just as pissed as she was in the morning.

"I'll see you tomorrow Annie!"

Annabeth only waved. Her eyes reflected a rainy day with cold winds and heavy grey clouds. She walked away and into her car. Mark fidgeted with the ring around his finger feeling as if it was the last time he would see her. But he thought it was ridiculous and brushed it off. The small white honda drove away, but as it passed by the front doors where Mark was sitting, Annabeth pressed her face to the window. She waved and just as fast as she came into his life, she left.