That weekend, Britt organised a picnic for us in the local park. I felt kind of stupid; after all, we were nearly in high school. It was cute though, how childish she was. She'd even brought a pale pink chequered blanket for us to sit on with matching plastic cutlery. I hoped no-one would see us because I was slightly embarrassed. I was from Lima Heights and Lima Heights girls did not have girly picnics.

I didn't mind too much though. I was too busy enjoying the company of my best friend.

It was different to my other friends. I didn't feel any pressure to be someone I wasn't. There was no pressure saying I had to be a bitch or that I had to look or act a certain way. It was nice.

I could breathe.

I inhaled deeply, breathing in the spring air, which smelt of freshly mown grass. The air was warm and I watched Brittany stretch out like a cat on the blanket, basking in the sunlight. I vaguely remembered her saying that she had a cat, Lord Tubbington, I think his name was. "Bit of an immature name" I thought "but adorable."

I picked up a triangle sandwich from the picnic basket and started to nibble on one of the corners. We stayed there for a while, making light conversation and giggling. For once, I actually felt free just talking. I wanted to stay there forever.

I swallowed the last remaining bite of my sandwich and sighed: "I've never done this before."

"Done what?" replied Brittany, her face scrunched up slightly in confusion.

"Just sat and talked with a friend. You know, without bitching. It's nice."

She smiled, the sunshine lighting up her face and golden hair. For a split second I wondered why she was my friend, she was that beautiful and awesome. I decided to capture the moment and withdrew my camera phone from my bag. Quickly snapping a picture before she could stop me, I giggled mischieviously.

"Hey San!" she cried, reaching up for the phone "That's not fair."

I moved it out of her reach and she pouted. I took another picture as fast as I could and she let out a small smirk, obviously finding my enthusiasm amusing. After teasing her for a bit, I put my phone back into my bag and handed her a sandwich.

"So what's up with the girls at your school? I mean, you're totally awesome so why don't you have proper friends there?" she said thoughtfully.

"They're way too bothered about being popular. You need to be mean to survive at that school. I'm just as much of a bitch as the rest of them."

"No you're not. You're a good friend, okay?" she replied, consoling me gently. I raised a single eyebrow and met her eyes. "Seriously, I mean it." I said a bit too forcefully. Britt's face looked sad for a second.

I took a massive breath and exhaled. "My old best friend, Aphasia, she wanted to be one of the cheerleaders so bad. I knew how much she wanted it but I still tried out. I got it."

Brittany observed me, trying to judge whether to hug me or not.

"I didn't back out, if I did, they would have torn me apart. But Aphasia was too jealous to let it go and ditched me for a new set of friends. I know I was wrong but I thought she was a good enough friend to stick by me. Obviously not. Anyway, I heard last week she got shut up in juvee for a bank robbery or something so I don't have to worry about her anymore."

I felt like I'd said too much, like I'd scared Britt away but she took me in her arms and embraced me. "You're not a bad person, San" she whispered "I know you're not."

"Thanks, Britt-Britt. What did I do to deserve a friend like you?"

She giggled and went back to eating her sandwich. I thought I saw the slightest hint of a blush but I told myself I was just imagining it.

The day seemed to go by at double pace, much quicker than I wanted it to. Britt made me feel special and I genuinely enjoyed spending every second with her. I couldn't just let her walk away from dance because of money because she was special, and deserved to follow her dreams. She loved dance, I could tell just by the way her face lit up when she discussed routines with me. Her eyes had a glint in them so determined it was almost manic.

I needed to do something.

We were walking home; her carrying the blanket and me carrying the basket. I dropped her off at her house, making sure that she hadn't forgotten anything because she was a bit of a scatterbrain and prone to losing things. "Thanks Sanny, I had fun today. You're the best best friend ever!" she squealed, bouncing from her doorstep into a massive hug. I felt my stomach go all tingly and the corners of my mouth turned upwards into a Cheshire-cat grin.

Speaking of cats, Lord Tubbington slowly plodded out of the house, winding his way around Britt's ankles lazily. I bent down to stroke him, attempting to make an effort but he merely hissed at me, baring his little kitty fangs.

I recoiled a bit but Brittany just picked up her cat with an amused expression on her face. "He likes you really. That's just his way of saying hello. He may look mean but he's a softie on the inside. That's why I love him so much."

My smile returned as I waved her goodbye. I could tell Lord T was giving me the stink-eye but I didn't care. Nothing could get in my way. I was determined to make things work for Britt. I was going to make her dreams come true because she was worth it.

She was so worth it.