~~I sat against the wall, tears pouring down my cheeks as the final bell rang for the start of lunch. However then I heard a voice say "Hey New girl." I froze, recognizing the voice as the punkish Julia Vorana, the 'tough girl' of the school.

"What's wrong?"

The voice was uncaring yet somehow gentle as I felt her knell down beside of me and I looked up to see her blue eyes boring into mine.

"What do you want?" I managed to say and she rolled her eyes.

"You're not scary so stop trying to be. I just wanted to see if you were okay since you're crying pretty hard." She stated as she got up and walked into a stall, grabbing a handful of toilet paper before handing it to me.

"Why do you care? You make people cry every day." I snapped and she sighed.

"Look, I have my reasons. Will you just try to trust me? I just wanted to see if I could help." She stated, sitting back down beside of me.

"No and you can't help me." I snapped, however what happened next scared me even worse.

She stood up, towering over me and glaring and for a minute I thought she would hit me however then she said "if you ever need me you come find me."

With that she walked away and I stared after her, shocked.

My day was full of nothing but pain and that evening when I was getting on the bus one of the jocks decided to trip me however before I even had time to get up I heard someone yell

"Hey asshole, is your dick so small that you have to beat up girls?"

When I looked up I saw Julia standing in front of me, posed to fight.

"Julia don't." I whispered and she turned to me, glaring but I could see something different in her eyes, a softness.

"Go to the main back and sit down...they won't dare bother you." She stated as she lead me toward the back, her hand oddly gentle around my wrist.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked once we were in the back seat and Julia sighed.

"Can't you just say thank you and forget about it?" she asked, though her voice held none of its normal malice.

"Thank you, now can you tell me what the heck is going on?" I demanded in a low voice and she sighed.

"Fine Freckles." She answered and I automatically stiffened however then I felt her gently nudge me with her arm and when I looked up at her she had a genuine smile, surprising me.

Julia Vorana never smiled, however here she was with a sly grin painted across her lips.

"I'll tell you later okay? You need a friend and besides what harm would it do?" she stated in a whisper, her spiky black hair sticking to her tan cheek as she leaned forward in the seat to get something out of her backpack, pulling out a pack of cinnamon flavored gum and offered me a Piece.

Once I had taken it she chuckled and whispered

"It's not poisoned you know...I'm not that mean."

I felt heat crawl into my face at that but then I heard a soft melodious laugh come from beside of me and when I glanced over at her I realized that it was Julia.

"You should see your face Elora." She stated in a low voice and I turned to her, gasping.

"How did you know my name?" I demanded and she rolled her crystal blue eyes.

"Elora we have World Literature together." She stated and I blushed again.

How the heck did I not notice her in class?

"Sorry." I whispered and she shrugged.

"Its fine...freckles." she retorted, though this time I knew she was teasing me because her eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint.

I began to chew the gum to prevent myself from sounding like an idiot again.

"Hey, you wanna hang out or something later? My mom and Dad are gone this weekend and I'll be bored out of my mind." The spiky haired girl asked, sounding nervous; catching me off guard.

Julia Vorana wanted to hang out with me?

What was up with that?

"I...I can't." I found myself saying and I would never forget the sad look that came over her face.

"Oh okay." She said as she got up and moved out of my way as the bus came to a stop at the front of my house.

As I walked off the bus and toward my house I turned back, seeing Julia sitting in the seat and I could swear that I saw her wipe away a tear.

Had I honestly hurt her? Maybe she did mean to just be nice.

I headed home then, though I was just going to change clothes and then headed toward where I knew that Julia lived. My parents wasn't at home so I didn't care that I didn't leave a note.

As soon as I neared Julia's house I could hear the sound of a basket ball bouncing down the driveway, then I saw her bright, clear blue eyes staring at me in shock.

"I thought you wasn't coming Red." She stated, catching the ball then throwing it to me.

"Yeah well I changed my mind. Plus my mom wasn't home and my dad is at work until later."

She smiled slightly and then jogged over to me.

"Well thanks for coming, things get boring around here with no one to talk to you know." She stated.

"You know if you were nicer to people you wouldn't be so lonely?" I stated as I shot the ball toward the hoop, failing.

"Yeah well, you're nice to everyone but they still treat you like shit." Julia stated then added "even when I was nice to people I was considered a freak."

"You were nice?" I retorted and she sighed.

"I just got tired of everyone's mouth." The black haired girl stated with a sigh "you reminded me of myself when I first came here, the little gay girl with no one in the world to turn to."

She then froze and sighed "you can run for the hills if you want...but I won't rape you if that is what you're thinking." Julia stated and I felt heat grow in my face.

"Not what I was thinking...actually the thought was what the hell?" I retorted and she scoffed.

"What? You mean little catholic girl cussed? Wouldn't your momma and papa get mad at you for that?" she scoffed and I rolled my eyes.

"You're catholic too last I noticed...you wear a crucifix." I pointed out and she smiled a little.

"Never said I didn't believe in god." She retorted with a smile then added "why I tried to help you earlier is because it wasn't that long ago that it was me sitting in the bathroom crying my eyes out."

I was shocked at this. Info until she lightly shoved me.

"Come on, let's go inside...I ordered Pizza." She stated with a wide toothy grin that surprised me. She looked innocent now that we weren't around anyone and she acted completely different, a little rough around the edges but innocent.

"Okay sure..." I replied with a smile.

After we ate Julia took me to see her room, offering to watch movies or whatever if I wanted to. I agreed and Julia chose some kind of action adventure film that made no sense and I must have fallen asleep because I awoke a few hours later with Julia's short hair poking into my cheek.

She looked so innocent while she slept and for once I realized how much of that was actually true. Julia was curled up, holding the pillow in a way that a toddler would cling to a stuffed animal as she slept. However then her peaceful expression contorted and she began to whimper for what seemed like hours and then she jolted upright, yelping.

"Julia? Are you okay?" I asked and to my surprise I saw tears running down her cheeks.

"I dreamt that you betrayed me...that you went and told everyone I tried to..." She began and I put my hand on hers.

"I would never lie about something like that...can you please trust me this time?" I asked as I reached across from her and took a Kleenex from the table and handed it to her.

"Thanks and I can try Elora." She answered and I sighed.

"You can start just by calling me Lora." I retorted and she smiled slightly.

"Okay." She answered before falling back onto the bed, turning toward me with her blue eyes glistening as she said "you know, you're the first person who has ever tried to be nice to me." She stated and I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, you didn't give me any reason to not be." I answered and she chuckled.

"Besides calling you freckles?" she chuckled then added "I didn't mean anything by that either...I just couldn't think of your name. I kept thinking that it started with an E but I couldn't remember what it was." The dark haired punk retorted and I laughed.

"No problem." I replied as I lay back beside of her and she chuckled.

"Let's be friends Lora...I'm sick of being alone and you don't know anyone around here. I could introduce you to some people and help you settle in." She stated and I nodded.

I needed someone to show me around and I was tired of sitting alone at lunch and being picked on by everyone else in that school.

"Hey...want to stay the night? Its Friday and spring break anyway...if your parent's don't care." She stated and I sighed.

Did I really want to trust her? What would happen if I said no?

When I didn't answer she sighed and sat up.

"I understand if you don't want to. I was just asking." She stated and I realized something about her, she seemed distant but not in a standoffish way but in a way that seemed like she was afraid of something. But I for one was not going to pry, she would tell me when she felt like it.

I walked home, told my mom who was surprised that I had now made a friend and then grabbed a change of clothes and my pajamas before I headed back to Julia's.

2: Nightfall

~~When I got back to Julia's I found that she was sitting on her front porch with a half grown black lab puppy held in her arms.
"You're mom said you could stay?" She asked and I nodded before sitting beside of her in the old wooden porch swing that hung on rusty chains.
"Cool, usually the only one here with me is Moe here." She retorted and I could hear the tone of loneliness paint her voice as she petted Moe's sleek black fur.
"What about your parents?" I dared to ask and she turned to me with moist azure eyes.
"Always busy with work. They never have any time for me." She answered in a heartrending voice and before I realized what I was doing I had reached over and put my arm around her shoulders, causing a look of pure shock to decorate her tan face before it melted into a soft, shy kind of smile.
"you've got to be the most accepting person I have ever met Lora....normally if I try to be friends with someone they hate me as soon as they learn that I am a lesbian. But you, you actually keep your promises." She stammered out and I could hear pent back sadness.
 
"Julia?" I asked after a while and she glanced up.
" Yeah?" she replied, running the back of her wrist across her moist cheeks.
"Whatever happened before isn't worth crying about." I stated and she glared at me before muttering dejectedly "shut up Lora."
The words weren't angry but sad and pleading, so much that the words didn't sting.
"I'm sorry." I whispered, wrapping my arm tighter around her and she glanced up at me through long dark lashes, her red rimmed blue eyes glistening in the light of the setting sun as she said softly
"I....I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm the one who can't keep her big mouth shut!"
We stayed like that for a long time, just sitting there until long after the fireflies began their nightly dance against the murky backdrop where little to no light shone.
 
"I love the summer." Julia suddenly said and for the first time I realized that she had rested her spiked head against my shoulder. "Everything is just so magical in the summer....plus we get out of school in just two weeks." She added and I glanced at her, she sounded so girly at the moment.
 
"Why don't you act like this at school?" I asked after another few minutes of silence and she glanced at me with a smile and she answered I have to keep my reputation." She answered and I sighed.
"You’re afraid of being hurt isn't that right?" I asked and I felt her stiffen at my side but then she replied in a soft, frail voice
"I just don't want to have the same thing happen to me like it did at my last school." She answered, expression sad now.
"You have me. You don't have to worry about that anymore" I argued and she smiled before leaving her head against mine, surprising me by the close proximity that we shared.
"Thanks Lora, we better go inside now....it’s getting late."
 
Once inside Julia went to the kitchen, banging around in the cabinets, cursing loudly as she hit herself with whatever it was she was looking for.
"I'm making dinner, seeing as much that we demolished the pizza." She announced then added in a teasing voice "and yes freckles, I can cook."
I chuckled at her statement as I entered the kitchen.
"What do you want to eat?" Julia asked me and I shrugged, honestly not caring.
"Uhm how about spaghetti?" she asked, running her hand through her cropped hair nervously.
"Is that the only thing you know how to fix?" I joked and she glared at me before throwing a roll of paper towels at me, though I caught them before they hit me in the face.
"Asshole." I growled, throwing them back, causing them to hit her in the stomach.
"Oh, you got me." She said dramatically as she fell to the floor as if she had just been shot.
I couldn't help it, I started laughing and she glanced at me before laughing as well.
"You tell anyone about this and I will throw you in the dumpster." She stated though the look in her eyes told me that she was just playing.
"Would you?" I challenged and she smiled and picked up the abused roll of paper, whacking me over the head with it.
"No, I'll just do this!" she replied with a mischievous smile before she started repeatedly hitting me with the paper towels.
"No fair!" I exclaimed, choking back my giggling as I tried to escape her only to end up being pinned to the couch, having the slightly smaller girl pinning me as she tickled me.
"Oh really?" she growled, sounding just as menacing as she did at school however her eyes held none of their normal harshness.
She stopped after a minute of the torture but little did she know that it was a mistake on her part because as soon as I had caught my breath I tackled her, finding that I was strong enough to hold her.
"My turn." I stated as I stared into her deep Azure gaze and she glared at me and for a moment I thought she was actually angry.
Should I actually do this? I wondered
I noticed that she wasn't fighting against me though, just that bitter look on her face.
I took that as submission and began my own playful attack on her, causing her to actually laugh.
 
"I'm sorry! Come on!" She pleaded between gasps of air and I chuckled, glaring at her.
"No mercy." I replied and she pouted, making herself look like a cute little kid.
I stopped and let her up, earning an angry look before she leaned against me.
She was relaxed, just sitting there before she asked "what do you want to eat?"
I shrugged and she groaned before knocking me backward.
"You are so annoying....think of something!" she exclaimed and I shrugged.
 
"Fine! I'm making Spaghetti!" she stated before she got up and made her way toward the kitchen, Moe right on her heels.
 
 Laughing I followed her into the kitchen, earning an icy blue glare from Julia.

"laugh it up loser, laugh it up." she retorted though then she winked at me, signalling that she was just teasing.

 

3: Sleepover

~~ "Can I help?" I asked for the millionth time, earning a glare from Julia who was bent over the stove, stirring the pot of sauce with a large wooden spoon.
"You’re a guest. Guest's relax....hosts cook." she retorted for what seemed like the hundredth time.
 
"Since when were you such a gentleman?" I retorted, only to have her roll her eyes before tossing an oven mitt at me, though she missed by a mile.
"why don't you go play in traffic?" she retorted, waving me off with one hand as she check to see if the noodles had decided to unglue themselves from each other yet.
"Why don't you let me help you?" I retorted and she glared at me before rolling her eyes.
"Fine. You can get your ass over here and stir this while I go take a piss." she retorted, handing me the spoon before rushing off toward the bathroom.
 
I couldn't help but to giggle lightly at Julia's antics as I began to tend to the pot though it was only a few minutes before Julia returned, stealing the spoon from my hand and shooing me to my previous spot.
"I won’t have my guests working." She insisted before I could argue with her.
"Oh joy. Julia the perfect gentleman." I scoffed and she glared at me.
"I can be nice when I want to be." came the answer as she continued cooking.
 
The aroma of the meaty sauce filled the air and the fresh garlic bread that was baking in the oven, making my stomach rumble.
"You sound hungry." Julia chuckled as she took the kettle off the stove, draining the boiling water from the doughy noodles before dumping the steaming objects into the bubbling sauce, causing some of it to splash up on her arm.
"Ow Shit!" she hissed, rushing to the sink before turning on the cold water, running it over her quickly blistering skin.
"Oh my gosh Julia, are you okay?" I asked, rushing to her side and she hissed slightly as the water cooled her skin.
"Lora, go to the upstairs bathroom and get me the first aid kit that is under the sink." she instructed through clenched teeth. I rushed up stairs and into the bathroom. After I finally managed to find the small first aid kit I rushed back down to my new friend's side.
"There is burn cream in there.... it’s in the packets with the red strip I think." the spiky haired teen instructed, though her voice was thick with pain.
I found the cream and quickly applied it, following Julia's instructions carefully until finally a pale bandage wrapped around her tanned skin.
Julia smiled at me then, thanking me in a very soft voice that more suited her build.
She was very different within the enclosed spaces of the house, her azure eyes seemed brighter than they did at school and her tough persona dropped.
Now here she was, standing in front of me, only an inch shorter than I was with her eyes trained on my own, her expressing so trusting that I instantly knew that I could no longer picture her only as the girl who had managed to fight Derek Renton no that was only one part of her..... The part I would see was the girl that was standing before me in that kitchen. The girl that had been so afraid of being hurt that she distanced herself from the world.
 
"Thanks Lora." she muttered, a faint blush painting her face as she added "uhm... the food's done... just let me take the bread out of the oven then we can eat."
She was embarrassed at her sudden display of weakness and she was quickly trying to change the topic.
"Julia, let me get the bread out.... you just put the food on the table." I retorted, taking the oven mitt from the wall and for the first time of the evening she didn't argue.
 
As we ate I noticed that Julia seemed distracted, idly twirling the tomato soaked noodles on her fork.
"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked around a mouthful of garlic bread and she smiled.
 
"Oh nothing." she answered as she shoved the fork full into her mouth, getting sauce all over her face.
"Whatever, you might want to wipe your face though." I retorted, snickering at her as she glared at me.
"Shut up Lora!" she growled with her mouth full, slurring her words.
 
 
 After dinner we headed up stairs to Julia’s room, which was decorated in different shades of blues and purples.
“You obsessed with cold colors?” I asked and she giggled, a light Bell-like noise.
“Yeah, like my heart.” She retorted, smiling at me as she fell back onto her bed.

“If you had a cold heart I wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be my friend if you were cold.” I retorted and she smiled, rolling onto her side so that she was looking at me.
“I guess I’m not then huh?” she retorted then she smiled and sat up.

“Hey, I have that karaoke game that everyone is talking about…. Let’s see who is better?” she suggested, eyes flashing with excitement.

“Sure.” I answered as she hopped off the bed and retrieved two microphones from a decorated box.

“here.” She stated, handing one of them to me before powering up her game system.
We sang until Julia’s voice was hoarse and my throat was so dry that it felt like I was drinking glass shards whenever I swallowed.
“Wow. It’s two o’clock in the morning.” The spiky haired girl croaked as she sat against the pillows, glancing at the glowing blue clock that was in the shape of a guitar.

We sat there in silence for a long time, just letting our voice rest however then she spoke, catching me off-guard.

“Hey Lora, what do you like to do?” she asked
“Read, sing and write.” I answered and she smiled as she teasingly commented
“Nerd.”

I glared at her and stuck my tongue out before I asked “okay miss smarty, what do you do besides make people’s life a living nightmare?” I retorted and instantly regretted it because hurt flashed across her face.

“Skateboard, I play piano and guitar and I draw.” She answered me, looking timid suddenly before asking timidly “what were those bastards marking fun of you for?”

I froze then and glanced down, should I tell her the whole truth? Should I trust her? These words repeated themselves in my mind.
“I’m a freak. I’m not like any other teenaged girl within a twenty mile radius of this place!” I found myself bursting out however then she stopped me, her hand very gentle against mine.

“Lora, you’re not a freak. So what if you are shy and have freckles and red hair? You are not anything that they called you.” she stated gingerly, her thumb carving soft motions against the back of my hand.

Something about the gentle gestures soothed me, stopping the tears that threated to spill down my face in their tracks.

“Why are you being so nice to me? You’re never nice to anyone else.” I questioned, asking what had been on my mind all day.

Then with a long sigh Julia glanced at me, eyes pleading with mine.

“Because when I saw you crying on the bathroom floor it reminded me of myself just last year at my old school. Why I keep away from everyone is because of Jana Young, my best friend from my old school. When I came out to her she started this big elaborate lie about me trying to rape her in the girl’s bathroom and it went around the school. People started to treat me like shit and I wouldn’t fight back.” She stated, her voice cracking repetitively throughout the story.

“I’m sorry.” I manage to whisper and she smiled, though her eyes seemed moist.

“You have no need to be Lora and I trust you.” She replied in a tone so low that I had to strain to hear her.

I could only nod and she smiled and pulled me into a light hug that I could break away from if I wanted to. But I didn’t, the smell of men’s cologne lightly drifting from her.

The slightly musky scent, though tainted with a scent that was sweet smelling made my body relax, causing me to slowly fade out of conciseness and into a deep slumber.