A/N: Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Fifth and Sixth grade have me completely stumped, so any suggestions that you have for those two years will be greatly appreciated. Oh, and I will credit you if I use your suggestion. :)

February 14, 1984

Ten-year-old Olivia Benson sat down at the top of the jungle gym with her new best friend Abbie Carmichael. Abbie had just moved to their quiet suburb from Texas and she was having a hard time fitting in. The girls in their class weren't particularly fond of her because she was loud and bossy, but Olivia thought she was a breath of fresh air. Olivia had never gotten along with any girls other than Alex so she was thrilled when Abbie moved just two houses down from her and invited Olivia over to play something Alex could never fathom playing. They pretended they were stuntwomen and they spent that entire afternoon jumping over homemade ramps on their rollerskates and riding their bicycles with no hands, anything for a thrill. When Olivia introduced Abbie to Alex, Alex tried her hardest to like her, but she couldn't help being jealous. Alex would always be whom Olivia considered her 'best best friend' and she didn't see what was so wrong about having another best friend.

"Olivia, truth or dare?" Abbie asked.

"Dare," Olivia responded, assuming her dare would require her to do something silly like swing upside down on the jungle gym or say a swear word in class.

"Okay," Abbie said and became lost in thought, trying so hard to pick the right dare for Olivia. "I dare you to…kiss a boy on the lips."

"Eww!" Olivia said with a disgusted look on her face. "No way! Boys mouths have so many cooties."

"You're such a baby, Olivia," Abbie teased. "I'll do it."

"Then do it," Olivia urged. "I dare you to kiss…hmm…I dare you to kiss Trent."

"Trent Abernathy? No way!" Abbie told her. "He's such a...such a goon. I hate him. Besides, he's still mad at me for putting a thumbtack on his chair. I swear, Olivia, that was the best day of my life, especially because I didn't even get in trouble for it."

"It's too bad you think he's a goon," Olivia said playfully. "I heard him tell Joseph that you were pretty."

"He thinks I'm pretty?" Abbie asked with a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah," Olivia reassured her. "He said you were pretty, but then he called you a giraffe."

"That bastard!" Abbie said angrily. "He's the one who started that nickname. Just wait until I get a hold of him."

At ten-years-old, Abbie was already 5' 2" tall, taller than any other kid in school except for Trent who had not more than an inch or two on her. Her grandma had told her it was a good thing because she could be a model someday, but Abbie and Olivia had no idea why anyone would just want to stand around and have people take pictures of them for a living.

Olivia was relieved when the bell rang and it was time to return to class. They were going to be working on art projects and Alex had volunteered to stay in for recess so she could help their teacher set up. As much as she thought it was cute that Alex volunteered to help, she missed her terribly at recess.

When Olivia walked into class, she saw glue, construction paper, paint, popsicle sticks, and glitter distributed on the tables. They were going to be making Valentine's Day gifts and Olivia was becoming worried about Abbie being around paint. Red paint and Abbie were two things that never went well together.

"It looks beautiful," Olivia said and smiled at Alex.

"Thank you," Alex told her. "I'm going to make a Valentine just for you because I want you to be my Valentine."

"I'll always be your Valentine," Olivia told a now blushing Alex.

"You guys are going to kiss," Abbie said and made kissy faces at them.

"Shut up," Alex said, embarrassed.

"You two are ridiculous," Abbie said and rolled her eyes.

The three girls sat down to work on their art projects until they noticed they were missing a cup of red paint.

"Don't worry," Abbie told them. "I'll go get some."

"And more glitter," Alex told her. "We're already out of glitter."

Alex and Olivia watched as Abbie picked up a cup of red paint from the counter. They both felt uneasy when she winked at them and took the long way back to their table, the long way which just happened to lead her past Trent's table. As she approached his chair, she pretended to trip and red paint and glitter went flying all over his clothes.

"Clumsy me," Abbie said as she smiled. "I guess giraffe's have wobbly legs."

"You did that on purpose!" Trent yelled loud enough for the entire class to hear.

"Abigail!" Mrs. Johnson said. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"No, ma'am," Abbie said innocently. "I tripped over Trent's backpack on the way to my table."

Abbie was a known trouble-maker, but there was something about her Texas accent that always charmed adults and prevented her from getting punished. It was a gift and her peers hated her for it.

"Are you sure, Abigail?" Mrs. Johnson asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Abbie reassured her. "If I'm lying, may the good Lord strike me down." She kept two of her fingers crossed behind her back so it wouldn't count as a lie. Those were the rules of the playground and she hoped they were God's rules, too.

Abbie got off with no more than a warning and, as Trent was about to leave so he could pick up a change of clothes that his mom had brought, he mouthed the word 'bitch' to Abbie and she stuck out her tongue at him in return.

"She did that on purpose," Olivia said once they were in Alex's room after school.

"I know," Alex told her and started laughing. "I think those two have crushes on each other and that's why they act like that."

"Yeah," Olivia agreed. "Do you have a crush on anyone?"

"Fourth grade is so weird," Alex said in an attempt at avoiding the question. "Everyone has crushes on everyone. I miss third grade. Things were easy then."

"I know," Olivia said glumly.

"Don't be so sad, Olivia," Alex said and placed her hand on top of hers. That simple gesture made Olivia smile uncontrollably.

"I'm not sad…anymore," Olivia told her.

"Olivia?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a crush on someone," Alex said nervously. "I mean, I have a crush on you."

"I have a crush on you, too, Alex," Olivia confessed.

"But this isn't like preschool or even third grade. This is fourth grade now. This is the real deal," Alex told her.

"So," Olivia paused. "What now? Are we a couple?"

"I don't think so," Alex told her. "I can't date until junior high."

"Me, neither," Olivia said. "Maybe we should just hold hands. That's what people do when they have crushes on each other."

"Good idea," Alex said nervously as she laced her fingers with Olivia's. Although they had kissed last year, Olivia felt as if everything was different now. She was ten-years-old, an adult in her own eyes, and she was counting the days until Alex could be her girlfriend.