A/N: Ah, the nessacary backstory!
Disclaimer: Consider it disclaimed
It had all started in the summer of fifth grade. Most of the girls divided their time between staring at Mikey Richards (neighborhood hottie) and hanging out at the pool. Massie had a fear of water. Scratch that, call it phobia. Aquaphobia.
"I will not go in the water." She huffed, planting her feet on the marble floor of the pool deck. "I refuse. You cannot make me, Sameer Holloway." She added with a frown, thoroughly aware that she was coming off as a bratty little kid. That was Massie; chill but stubborn as a donkey. Her amber eyes flashed with anger. After the infamous trip to the lake last year, Massie was never the same around water.
Sam cringed at the sound of his full name. Always the effeminate boy, he was adopted from Bangladesh as a young child to the Holloway estate. The Holloways and Blocks lived a few doors down from each other, and since he and Massie were the same age, they were always lumped together for neighborhood events.
"Okay. I'll give you a deal. You come in the pool with me, I don't talk about Pokemon for a month." Sam was addicted to that game, he could talk about it for hours, much to Massie's chagrin.
Massie pretended to consider the offer, even rubbing her chin in though for good measure. "Uh, no!" She cried, sticking her tongue out at Sam in defiance.
"Really. I think she's chicken." A voice came out. Though blinded by the summer sun, the pair turned around and squinted at the newcomer. It was apparently the new girl everyone was so anxious about. To be honest, there was nothing incredible about her. White blonde hair, blue eyes. Hardly exotic.
Massie still scoffed at the girl, putting her hands on her hips in her fiercest stance. She had learned from the Discovery Channel (again, one of Sam's 'hobbies') that lionesses like to scare off their prey with an angry pose. Channeling her inner lioness, Massie shot back with the ferocity of a pistol.
"Who you callin' a chicken?" She snapped, in disbelief this girl had the nerve to call her that. Yes, Massie wasn't as popular as the other girls, but at least they had a shred of sanity not to call Massie Audrey Block a chicken.
"I didn't call you steak." The girl replied coolly, keeping an even tone. She adjusted her paint splattered t-shirt nonchalantly, but Massie had noticed that her hair had blotches of paint as well, leaving her slightly intrigued. Heck, in fifth grade, anything not Pokemon or Bratz was intriguing.
With a sudden surge of animosity, Massie let out her own little roar, and pushed the new girl in the pool. Her eyes squinted, jaw out, she looked downright scary. There was no way this girl could just-
Massie's train of thought was interrupted by a rush of water. She couldn't talk, she could only feel herself coughing.
Incredible.
That girl had the nerve to pull
Massie in the pool along with her.
"I-I'm drowning! I can't breathe! HELP!" Massie choked out, spitting out the chlorine as she did. She couldn't see, what if she had gone blind? "I can see the light! HELP ME!" She could hear herself screaming. This was the end-
But, then she heard another sound. Laughter. Who could be laughing at a time like this when dear life was at stake? Massie turned her head, her wet hair slapping her in the face. The new girl was giggling at her. Oh, she was so dead.
"Get up. Its knee deep." The new girl said, offering a hand to help Massie up. Massie felt a rush of crimson flowing to her cheeks. But instead of embarrassment, she found herself chuckling as well. Knee deep. Life had a funny way of tricking you like that.
"I'm Claire by the way. Claire Lyons." The new girl introduced herself as they waded back to Sam.
"I'm Massie Block. Did you move in the Mendes home?" She found herself in a conversation with Claire about the neighborhood. Was she really becoming friends with someone who had called her chicken? Mary Eve Sanders called Massie a chicken in kindergarten, and the two haven't talked since (even though Massie leff her some scars by hitting her with a toy shovel)
"Hey Sam, this is Claire." Massie introduced to her to Sam, who at that point was reading an old "Ok!" magazine.
"That's a relief. I'm Sam. I thought you two killed each other in there, scared off some toddlers." Sam grinned, sarcasm evident in his tone.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. The one in the Dora The Explorer swim suit looked pretty scary. I almost cried." Claire joked, plopping down on Massie's towel. Normally, Massie would bark at the girl to get off, but something about Claire seemed magnetic. Like she fit perfectly with Massie and Sam.
Luckily for her, Massie was right.
It was no doubt that Massie, Claire, and Sam became best friends immediately. They began sixth grade together, and still are tight, even as 15 year olds. They went through pimples, parties, and pranks against the Pretty Committee. Hard to believe that a group of such friendship was born simply with the word chicken.