Ahh! I'm just loving this story! keep reviewing guys I love it. Spit me some ideas if you want! Maybe I can incorporate them into my story! Love you all and domy forget to review!

~Rosie xoxo

Chapter 6: Shine like a star

Monday morning, Richard, Vic, Wally, and Roy awaited the presence of Karen and Rachel in the courtyard. It was 7:25 and they usually walked into school at 7:30. For some reason, they were running late today.

"So Rich, how's that bet coming along?" Asked Roy mockingly.

Vic eyed Richard intently, fully knowing just how well it was going. Richard cleared his throat and nodded his head. "It's going great. I, uh, took her out for lunch yesterday."

Wally beamed. "Any tongue action yet?"

Richard smacked him in the head. "You're ridiculous."

"What?" Wally protested, "Just wondering."

Roy saw the way Richard looked after Wally had said that. Something was suspicious...but something else quickly caught his eye. Jade.

"Be right back." Roy hopped up from his spot and marched over to where Jade was handing out flyers for the homecoming dance. She was smiling so brightly at everyone and her silk black hair swayed behind her.

"Oh boy." Vic said staring at Roy.

When Roy approached her, he smiled sweetly and made sure to watch what he said. There was something about this girl that sparked his interest.

"Hi Jade."

She turned around to see him but her smile vanished. "Hey Roy."

He rubbed the back of his head nervously and stared up at the blue sky. "Nice weather huh?"

She looked up curiously and laughed. "Uh, I guess."

Awkward silence.

"So, um, how's it going?" He asked, desperate to make conversation.

"Pretty good. You?"

"Great." He smiled and motioned towards the flyers. "What're those?"

She looked at the stack in her hand and took one out. She held it out for him and he took it. "Homecoming dance next week."

He looked at the blue colored decorations with stars everywhere. It was a nice looking flyer. He was just about to say something until Jade beat him to it.

"Oh my god." She said. Toy looked at her confusingly and turned to see what she was looking at. Now he got it.

Holy shit.

It was Kori walking across the courtyard with Karen Beecher and Rachel Roth. And Kori sure did look different.

Her hair was perfectly curled, the long red stands cascaded down her back. She wore little makeup but just enough to make her green eyes pop. There were no longer giant glasses framing her angelic face, instead she'd traded them for contacts. She wore a pair of hip hugging skinny jeans that clung to her long, toned legs perfectly. A hot pink tank top formed her torso just right, and showed off a little bit if her tummy. She accessorized the outfit with a black belt going with the tank top, silver hoop earrings, and black platform heels. Maybe, just maybe, she was the new and improved It Girl.

The whole courtyard full of students stared at Kori all wide-eyed and surprised. Kori could feel the stares on her and her face heated up. Karen and Rachel were by her side the entire time though.

"Dude...you didn't tell me she got a makeover like that." Wally said, mouth agape.

Richard kept his blue eyes on Kori the whole time. His lips curled into a smirk and he said to Wally, "It must've slipped my mind."

Seconds later, Kori walked up to Richard with a shy smile.

"Hi."

He smiled at her meekness. "Hey. You look...amazing."

"Thank you. Karen helped me out." She motioned to Karen who was busy kissing Vic.

Richard nodded and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. "Uh, so... We should get to class?"

Kori nodded and soon felt his hand on her back yet again. Chills were sent through her warm body. Was she feeling something more?

Before they entered the school, Jade and Roy met up with them.

"OMG. Kori...you look gorgeous! Why didn't you tell me you got a makeover!?" Jade boasted and hooked an arm through Kori's.

The red headed beauty laughed and entered the school, only to receive a fit if more stares. She stopped walking and looked around nervously.

Richard noticed and went back to her. He wouldn't let her walk through this horde alone.

He took her hand in his and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry. As long as you're with me, everything will be fine."

She nodded and walked forward. Her hand was squeezing Richard's so tightly, he began to loose feeling in it. He didn't care though, he was proud of Kori and as they walked down the hall together, the starers began to disperse.

Richard dropped Kori off by her locker and she thanked him. Then, him an his friends walked down the hall to their classes.

Roy slung an arm around Richard's shoulders and said quietly, "Maybe you will win this bet."

TT

In show choir, the class anxiously awaited Miss Davis's announcement on who the two soloists would be. Kori sat next to Gar, who was extremely shocked about her new appearance, and kept wringing her hands together nervously.

She thought about what Richard said and looked back at him. He was currently talking to Roy but when he saw her, he smiled and she felt a wave of relief pass through her. It was always him who reassured her...

"Okay class!" Miss Davis leaned against her piano with a smile that could light up the whole city. "I bet you all are dying to know who got the solos."

The students cheered lightly and urged her to go on.

"Well, the guys soloist is none other than Fang Peterson."

'What the hell?' Kori thought as did a lot of other students. I mean, despite Fang's bad habits and bully fits, he did sing well. It was just a surprise that Miss David chose him. You could tell she didn't play favorites.

"And our girl is...Miss Kori Anders!"

Kori's face lit up like a Christmas tree and everyone began clapping and cheering. She was so happy she couldn't contain her excitement. The first person she turned to was Richard. He gave her a thumbs up and yelled through the loudness, "I told you!" She laughed and turned back to Gar with excitement.

"Congrats Kor!" He said happily.

She hugged her best friend and felt as if her sophomore year had just gotten ten times better.

After school, Richard and his friends were in the locker room gearing up for football practice. The latest news/gossip going around was Kori Ander's new look. There were so many people asking Richard if him and her were dating. He denied it though for the sake of Kori. She didn't think they were and she didn't really want the title of being Richard's girlfriend. It felt off to her. But lately, everything did.

"Dude I had one girl come up to me crying because she thought you were taken already." Roy explained to Richard while slipping on his cleats.

Richard laughed and said, "A freshmen I'm guessing?"

"Uh yup." He replied.

Vic shook his head in dismay. "Girls are crazy."

"Says the one with a girlfriend." Added Roy. He only received a death glare from Vic in return.

They finished putting on their practice uniforms when all of a sudden, Fang showed up with two of his other buddies. They also played football, much to Richard's-well everyone on the team's-dismay.

"Graysonnn." Fang said mockingly and leaned against one of the lockers.

Richard stood tall with his friends by his side. "What Peterson."

Fang stood up and crossed his arms. His dark eyes held amusement in them. "I like what you've done with Anders. She's blossomed into a fine little thing."

"Yeah. She has." He replied sternly. He didn't like where this was going. He found himself defending her a lot lately.

Fang stepped up to him and smirked. "Maybe If I'm lucky, I can see what's under all that clothing."

Richard snapped. He pushed fang roughy against the lockers twice and yelled, "Don't lay one finger on her or I swear I'll end you!" He slammed him again and his friends tried pulling him off. "DO YOU HEAR ME!?"

Vic and Roy finally managed to pull him off and at this point, everyone in the locker room was staring at the huge scene.

Fang laughed and wiped off invisible dust. "Wow. If I wasn't mistaken, I'd say you actually liked this chick."

Richard breathed heavily with his fists at his side. He didn't reply because he didn't know how. Did he really like Kori as more than a friend...?

Richard stomped out of the locker room angrily without saying another word.

TT

Kori, Jade, Gar, and Alain sat in a booth at taco bell in the mall. After school and practice, they decided to head to the mall for some much needed free time. The mall was the place to be.

"So Kor, you am Richard are getting pretty close." Jade said while nudging her bestfriend on the shoulder.

Kori rolled her eyes and felt her face heat up. "Whatever...we're just friends." She laughed awkwardly and sipped on her soda.

"Uhh I don't know bout that one. He defended you big time in the locker room today." Alain implied.

Now Kori was curious. "Defended me? How? For what?"

"Fang was making dirty jokes about you and he almost punched the guy's face in."

Kori gasped slightly. Gar and Jade sipped on their almost empty drinks and looked away. Kori couldn't believe her ears. There were two surprises: 1. That Fang, the guy who used to make fun of her because she wasn't all that great looking, was talking dirty about her. And 2. The boy who defended her was Richard.

"Fang is a pig." Jade finally said.

Kori nodded and couldn't help but feel a little spark light up in her. It was a spark full of joy, confusion, and...

"I never did like him." Gar added, crunching in his taco.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem all that great." Alain said.

Kori just sat there sinking in the conversations that went on. In the past few weeks, a lot has happened that she never thought could happen. A popular, famous, not to mention gorgeous, teen heartthrob had befriended her, protected her, and given her a new look that she loved. She'd also gotten a wonderful solo in the top music class. It seemed her life was perfect. Nothing could go wrong right now. She was like a perfect sparkle.

But some things always dull your sparkle.

TT

Richard hit his punching bag fiercely not slowing down one bit. The punching bag swayed back and forth from all the hard force. This was usually how he let out anger.

Richard was in the gym of his house currently working out-and letting off steam. The small fight with Fang had surprised not only his teammates and friends but also him. He never got that defensive about a girl. Not even for Babs because he knew she could take care of herself. She also got mad whenever he tried to defend her.

But Kori...could she take care of herself? She was so naive-in a cute way-and was new to the glamorous world. That wasn't exactly the point though. He couldn't figure out why she was just so freaking special. It was just a BET!

'Ding, Ding.' Richard's cellphone went off signaling that someone was calling him. 'Ding, Ding.'

He wiped his forehead with a towel and picked up the phone. It was Kori. When he saw her name, he felt a string of energy go through him.

"Hey Kor." He said nonchalantly.

"Hi Richard." Her voice sounded so soft and gentle. It made Richard smile.

"What's up?" He asked lifting a 40 pound weight in one hand.

"Well, homework." Of course. "But Alain told me something went on in the locker room today."

Richard stopped lifting his weight. His face flushed red and he cursed Alain. He didn't want her to know about that incident!

"Uh...yeah."

"With Fang."

"Uh...yeah."

Silence. Then, Kori finally said, "Thank you...for defending me."

He let out a sigh. "Anything for a friend. Heh, you know, I uhh always protect...my friends. From bullies-er bad guys. No!" He stuttered horribly and felt extremely embarrassed. He heaved another sigh and said, "Mostly just Fang. He irritates me."

Kori giggled which made him smile again. "Yeah, he isn't the nicest guy. It sucks I have to sing with him."

"Oh yeah," Richard's mood deflated. "That sucks."

More silence.

"Well, I guess I'll let you go." She said.

Richard pursed his lips. "Alright, I'll talk to you later."

Click.

Richard sighed and looked around the mini gym. He should've asked her to homecoming. Why? It'd save him time and help him with the bet. And...

Richard shook his head vigorously and looked at his phone. He was gonna call Kori back right now and ask her to the dance. He dialed her number back and on the third ring, she picked up.

"Richard?"

"Hey! Again. Heh..." He slapped himself for being such an idiot.

On the other end, Kori coughed. "Did you forget something?"

"Yes. I did actually." A splurge of excitement went through him as he heard Kori tell him to continue.

"Kori...will you go to the homecoming dance with me?"

All went silent and he thought she'd hung up for a minute until he checked his phone. She was still on. But she wasn't saying anything.

"I'm sor-

Kori cut him off. "Yes."

"Yes?"

She laughed and repeated, "Yes. I would love to go with you!"

He let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Okay, great. I'll pick you up next Friday, after the game, at 9."

"Great. See you then."

This time, when he hung up, Richard felt great.