~03~

Paris walked through the door of her aunt's house and placed her bag on the counter. She opened the fridge and pulled out a water bottle. She opened and sipped some of the contents. She closed the fridge and went to the phone.

Her aunt had gotten long distance so Paris was able to call her mother. It was something she had to after school. She dialed the extension and the number and waited for her mother to pick up. It felt forever before she heard her mom's voice.

"Hello" her mom said.

"Hi mom" She said smiling.

"Hey honey how are you doing" her mom asked her. Paris thought about telling her about Peter but decided against it she would wait to tell her.

"I am good; I am doing well in school." She said to her mom.

"That's good to hear baby. I don't mean to cut this short but I have to go. I have work to get to. I will talk to you soon" her mom said. Paris smiled.

"Okay mom loves you" She said.

"I love you more" her mom said.

"That's not possible" Paris said to her.

"Totally possible" She said to her mom. "Talk to you later" She said. Paris hung up the phone and grabbed her book bag. If she was going to go to that basketball game tonight she needed to get her homework done. She went to her room and set her bag down on her bed. She sat down next to it and pulled out her math book.

She opened it up and pulled out her notebook. She lay across her bed and worked on it. She didn't know why she was going to the game. Maybe she really did want to. Maybe she needed to change her habits and make some friends she was going to be here for the next five months.

Paris finished her homework ate some dinner and made it to the school before the game was going to start. She paid her way in and went to find a seat.

"Paris you made it" she looked to see Peter. He had a smile plastered on his face. She smiled lightly and nodded her head.

"Yeah, I am sorry about snapping earlier I didn't mean it, I am not really a social person and nobody has ever really invited me to a game before" She said to him. She looked him over and saw that he was in his red and white jersey and shorts.

"You know what I could tell that. Don't worry about it I didn't think anything of it and I knew you would show up anyways" He said to her.

"How were you so sure that I would come" She asked him.

"You like me" He said to her.

"Maybe I just wanted to get out of the house" She said to him.

"No, I am pretty sure you like me" He told her she rolled her eyes and looked away. She barely knew him. She didn't know if she liked him or not. She couldn't however explain the feeling she felt when she was around him. She knew he could be annoying and rude but he was trying to be her friend. Everyone else didn't think to talk to her. She was the new kid and nobody knew who she was.

"So you want to do something after the game. Maybe get something to eat" he asked her.

"I already ate my Aunt had something made for me when I got home. Maybe next time" She said to him.

"I am holding that to you" he said to her. That was the last thing he said to her because the coach called for him. She watched as he ran over to the other players. She turned and walked up the bleachers. She was about to sit down when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"Hello, I am Talia Hale" the woman said when Paris turned around.

"Paris Haddon" She said to the woman. She had dark hair just like Peter only her eyes were a dark brown.

"You know Peter" She asked.

"Yeah I do he is kind of trying to be my friend" She told the older Hale.

Talia knew who she was Peter had told her about the new girl and how he had taken an interest in her. Talia got a good vibe from this girl she seemed troubled though. "Come sit with me and my kids" She said to her. "You shouldn't sit alone" Talia said.

Paris thought about it and nodded. The older woman led her over to where three kids were sitting. Talia seemed to be nice. Nicer than Peter.

"Peter is my younger brother. He is troublesome but he has a good heart. He hasn't stopped talking about you" Talia said. Paris blushed and kept her eyes down at her feet.

"He is rude and obnoxious in my opinion" Paris said to her. "I don't mean to be rude myself but he is" She told Peter's sister.

"He can be. I would know I have had to live with him his entire life" Talia said. "Give him a chance" she said to the young girl. She could sense that there was something special about her. Something that would change her brother she just didn't know if it was good or bad yet. She hoped for the former. She wanted her brother to happy.

Talia stopped talking when the game came on well she stopped talking to Paris she had three kids to control. Paris watched the game she didn't really know what was going on. She didn't know the game or the rules. But it was exciting. She clapped whenever a point was scored. Peter was on the court the whole game. He was really good. In all her life she had never been to a sports game. She was never really invited to go to one before.

Kids weren't very nice to Paris back in Oakland. She didn't get bullied here but she knew it was only a matter of time before that changed. The kids at her old school were really into sports and they weren't very good. The teams lost every game they played. She didn't really see the point in going if she knew the team was going to lose.

Beacon Hills had to be good since the team was ahead by at least fifteen points. The opposing team currently had the ball. Well till Peter stole the ball and went down the court to their basket and got the ball in. she cheered with the rest of the crowd. The game was really exciting she knew she was going to have to tell her mom about this when she talked to her next.

It wasn't long till the game was over and Beacon Hills had won the game with a five point lead. She thanked Talia for letting her sit next to her.

"Anytime you can always sit next to us" Talia had told her. Paris nodded her thanks again and walked down the bleachers. She was on her way out when she felt her arm being gently tugged back.

"Hey no Congradulations on the win" he asked her.

"You did great" she said.

"I noticed you sat next to my sister" he said.

"She is nice" Paris told him.

"Yeah she is so I will see you on Monday" he said retreating back to his teammates. She walked through the gym door and walked out of the school.

She started her way home, it wasn't that long of a walk and she wasn't in a big hurry.

She didn't know what she was going to do this weekend. She didn't know Beacon Hills that well so she didn't know where anything was in this town. She wasn't much for going anyways but Paris felt it was time for a change. She was always the girl who got left behind.

She never had any friends. She just wasn't good at making any. It wasn't that she didn't try. Every time she thought she had a friend it turned out to be a joke and she would be the laugh of the week in Oakland.

She wanted that to change. She was going to try and make a friend even if it was Peter Hale. She could deny she didn't admire how persistent he was at getting her attention. She smiled at that. Nobody ever tried that hard to get to know her. He was the first person to show her any attention besides her family.

She walked into her Aunt's house and went straight upstairs.

She didn't know how the year here was going to pan out but for the first time in a long time she was excited for what is coming.