A/N: I decided to do this story because I thought it would be interesting to pair Tara with a guy who was her opposite, and see their relationship develop.

Unlike my Tiffany story, which is more in line with the sitcom style writing the comic is known for, this story will be like a romantic comedy, with all of the romance/romantic comedy clichés I like (Kissing in the rain, impassioned declarations of love, a shy, nervous character being in love with a free-spirited, impulsive one, that kind of thing). I hope this will be as fun for you to read as it is for me to write!

Lucky Starr

Chapter 1: Partner Up

Alan Richards was in love.

Her name was Tara Starr. She sat next to him in history class. She had short red hair, a lithe, athletic body, and the cutest freckles.

She was incredible. She always spoke her mind, was never afraid to make jokes or call something when she saw it. Everything he wasn't.

She didn't even know he existed. The only time she talked to him was to say good morning as they took their seats. But that was about to change.

Their teacher, Miss Daniels, a cheery, middle-aged woman with dark brown hair, had assigned the class with a history project. They had to choose a partner, and create a slideshow summarizing one of the time periods they had covered.

He wanted to ask Tara to partner up with him, but what if she said no? What if someone else asked her before he could?

Alan sighed, running his hands through his light brown hair. It was a ritual of his when he was nervous. He stopped, putting his hands at his sides. No, he would face his fears. He took some deep breaths to calm himself down, reached out and tapped Tara on the shoulder.

"Tara?" he asked.

She turned to face him. "Oh, Alan, right?"

"Y-yeah. Would you like to be my partner on this?"

"Sure. What do you want to cover?"

Alan never thought she would say yes. "Uh, the industrial revolution?" he asked tentatively.

"Alright. Sounds like a lot of work, but we can take it."

"Ok." he paused. "Um, now might not be the best time to bring this up, but I need to ask you something."

"Sure, ask away!"

"Uh, would you help me with something?" he asked.

"What, do you need a tutor or something?"

Alan shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that. It's just that… would you help me… be more outgoing?"

"Of course! Helping guys like you come out of their shells is one of my specialties."

"Really?! Thanks! Uh, could we just, take it slow at first? I just don't want to rush into anything."

Tara nodded. "Baby steps, gotcha."

"But first, could we maybe start on the project?"

"Oh, right!" They took out their notes and other assignments about their topic.

"I think we should use your notes." Tara said. "You take way better notes than me."

The rest of the time was spent preparing for the project. By the time class had ended, they had at least made a rough outline of the points covered in the slideshow.

"Alright everyone!" Miss Daniels called out. "See you tomorrow! Be sure to meet up independently at least once this week in the computer lab!"

As the classroom emptied, Tara and Alan walked side by side. Tara was snickering.

"What's so funny?" Alan asked.

"The teacher." Tara said. "What's she doing teaching community college? She seems more like a kindergarten teacher."

"I like her." Alan replied.

Tara scoffed. "Come on, don't you find her at least a little condescending?" She asked. "Good job everyone,'" she said, imitating the teacher's voice. "'You all get gold stars!'"

Alan laughed despite himself. "Alright, you make a good point."

"Oh, before I forget!" Tara exclaimed. "We should trade phone numbers. For the project, and, you know, your 'training'." She punctuated the last word with a mock air of seriousness.

"Right." Once they had exchanged phone numbers, it was time to say farewell.

"Bye Alan, see you tomorrow!" Tara said, waving goodbye.

"B-bye Tara." Alan said. As he turned and walked down the hall, he had a spring in his step.

'I actually talked to her!' he thought. 'Maybe I could ask her out one day! No, I'm getting ahead of myself. Baby steps, like she said.'

He walked to his next class, excited to get to the next day to talk to Tara again.