AUTHOR NOTE: Hey guys! Thank you so much for the amazing reviews for this story. 3 The last chapter was sort of an introduction to the series. The chapters from here on out will be longer. Oh, and just a fair warning, there might be a few spoilers for those of you who haven't read PS: I Loathe You yet. The Pretty Committee's eighth grade year didn't happen the way it did in the books because Massie went missing. Thanks again for reading my story!

In seventh grade, Kristen Gregory couldn't imagine live without sports. Soccer was a breathing part of her.
Things had changed.
When she looked in the mirror, she didn't even see the same Kristen. Her hair had grown to a point where it was constantly falling in her eyes. Her eyes were darker, more mysterious than attractive. Her skin was paler, mostly from her tan rapidly fading after she was no longer in the sun from soccer practice. Kristen couldn't imagine her mother's reaction if she could see how much her daughter had changed. But her parents had gotten divorced a year ago. Her mother had moved to Georgia where Kristen's aunt lived and cut off nearly every tie with her ex-husband. For awhile, Kristen had a secret paranoia that her mother was ashamed that she had given up soccer. It wasn't as if it was Kristen's choice in the first place. The accident was simply that, an accident. As much as she told herself that, she couldn't help but feel guilty, even though it wasn't really her fault.
"Kristen!"
Kristen looked up and smiled. Gina and the others set their book bags on the lunch table and sat down around Kristen. They were always in the same order: Gina sat on Kristen's left, then Robyn, Sam and Oliver filled in the rest of the seats on the circular table. Kristen was reminded of seventh grade. Massie, Alicia, Dylan, Claire and herself always sat in the same order, the same table even. Lunchtime had been one of her favorite memories with her once upon a time friends. They would gossip, share secrets, discuss crush worthy boys and plan every minute together at lunch. When Massie disappeared, the Pretty Committee dissolved. Claire got offered a role and a movie and left for Hollywood to become a star. Dylan took Massie's place as the popular girl. And Alicia...well, Kristen wasn't sure she could forgive her for what she did. Neither could anyone else for that matter.
"How was art class?" Gina asked, carefully unwrapping the foil around her turkey wrap.
"Great. Ms. Arthur wants to send my drawing in for some super prestigious art contest." Kristen said, trying to sound nonchalant. In truth, she knew exactly what the contest was. It was the Preston-Wentz art award. Talented artists across the country were honored by the award, the highest honor a high school artist could receive. Only a single artist won every two years, and that artist got an instant scholarship to one of the top art schools in the country. The last winner of the contest had ended up a professional photographer at eighteen. Kristen could barely wrap her head around it. She had recently discovered a talent for art and had been Ms. Arthur's best student ever since.
"We all know Kristen will win. She's the best artist Westlake had seen." Oliver flashed a grin at Kristen. Kristen blushed. She really liked Oliver. He was sweet and artistic and funny and the all around perfect guy for her.
"Good luck, Kristen." Robyn said, interrupting Kristen's thoughts about Oliver. The others echoed the same thing.
"Thanks, guys." Kristen said, blushing again. While Sam started talking about a prank he played on Lisa Mahoney, one of the popular girls, in English class, Kristen felt a sharp burning in her chest. She tried not to think about it, but her coughing was too loud to ignore.
"Oh man," Oliver was the first to notice. "I'll walk you to the nurse."
Kristen couldn't do much but nod pitifully.
Walking to the nurse's office, Kristen's coughing ended just as quickly as it began.
"Thanks for taking me to the nurse." Kristen said as soon as she could talk again. It was sort of lame, but she needed something to start a conversation.
"No problem," Oliver said. "Asthma sucks, doesn't it?"
Kristen nodded, reminded of another painful memory.
The summer before ninth grade, Kristen went over to Dempsey's house for the Fourth of July. Dempsey tried shooting off fireworks to impress her. Maybe Kristen had gotten too close, or maybe the firework was angled the wrong way. Kristen had been rushed to the hospital soon after.
She had burns on chest and part of her stomach, which turned into three ugly scars after a year. The worst part was the scarred tissue in her lungs. The surgeons couldn't remove it all without seriously damaging her lungs. Kristen ended up with a serious case of asthma and lungs that couldn't be fixed.
"It really does." Kristen said at last.
"At least you have me to get you through it." Oliver said.
"You?"
"Yeah. I'm under the impression that you think I'm an amazing friend."
Something about the way his eyes sparkled made Kristen want to take a leap of faith.
"Maybe I'd want you as more then a friend."
Oliver didn't say anything. His grin broke into a huge smile. He wrapped his arms around Kristen's waist and pulled her into a tight hug. Out of the corner of her eye, Kristen thought she saw Alicia standing near the main office, fighting tears. Kristen blinked, and Alicia was gone.