"That's about the time she walked away from me, no one likes you when you're 23. My friends say I should act my age; what's my age again? What's my age agian? What's my age again?" Blink 182 sang on the radio station. I was driving down the busy streets of Tulsa, with Tasha in the passenger seat. We were both mumbling along with the band's song, the wind blowing through our hair. I noticed earlier that she carried a wallet, and I thought I was the only girl who did that. We just keep having things in common, weird. Being the chatterbox that I am, I brought up the subject.

"So you carry a wallet too eh?" I asked above the street noise and blasting radio.

"Yep, I would have to say that," she returned.

"Cool beans Bevis," I spoke in my Butthead voice.

Tasha cocked an eyebrow at me, then started laughing.

"You sound exactly like Ike when he does that!" she mentioned, still laughing.

"Great. Do I get that pony now?" I asked in my famous Daria voice.

"No, sorry Lindsay dear. I don't own too many ponies and if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't give one to you," she mentioned.

"Tasha, do you know the purposes of our good friend Midol? I think it would come in handy for you during 'that special time' of the month," I teased.

"Excuse me?!" she snapped.

"Do you know what a joke is?" I inquired.

"Yeah, and that one wasn't funny," she mentioned.

"Alright, whatever Martha," I commented.

"Martha?" she asked.

"Well, you said you were Martha Stewert's biggest fan so I thought that nickname would be appropiate for ya Martha," I smiled.

"Okay Yoda," Tasha fought back.

"Exqueaze me, but mesa not Yoda, mesa Jar Jar Binks! Mesa come from da undaground cidy in Noboo! Mesa Gungin warrior!" I exclaimed in the best Jar Jar impression I pull off.

Tahsa looked at me weird then started cracking up.

"I knew it, you ARE insane!" she spoke in between laughs.

I shook my head and laughed along with her. We finally reached the stores and I parked my spiffy mobile in a spot right up in front.

I pointed to the store we were about to go in and said, "Deb. They're clothes kick ass and their prices are good. I got a Hanson shirt there for 7 bucks once; and yes, it was during the period of time when the population thogutht they were the seventh wonder of the univrse,"

"Kewl beans, let's go Linz," Tasha replied.

We hopped outta the car and strolled into the store. Tasha went over to the dresses, and I looked at the hooded shirts and light sweaters. It does get pretty cold here in T-Town, so I was gonna make sure to have plenty of those. While I was inspecting the selection, Tasha came up to me (asking for advice more than likely. But I thought Martha Stewert knew all? :p) holding a pile of dresses.

Lindsay gave me a smirk that I could easily read when I walked up to her to ask what she thought.

"Martha doesn't do CLOTHES Linz. SHe does houses." I reminded her before she even said anything.

"You scare me when you do that." She raised an eyebrow.

"I know. Now, which do you think looks better? This one.." I held up a knee-length emerald green dress.

"Or this one?" This time I held up a baby blue ankle grazing one with light pastel flowers covering it.

"Um....go with the green one." She suggested.

"Okay. Now I need accessories and shoes." I demanded.

"Good grief child. Don't you have enough shoes?" She looked at me like I had come straight out of Albertane.

"You can NEVER have enough shoes." I shouted half way across the store.

"That's for damn sure." I heard a male voice behind me.

I whirled around quickly to see who the commentator was. Lindsay was already drooling.

A boy with blond hair and brown eyes was standing behind me, apparently waiting on a teenage girl that was searching through the rack. Probably his younger sister.

I immediatly stuck my hand out for him to shake. "I'm Tasha.." I paused waiting for Lindsay to say something. I glanced over at her and realised that she was too struck stupid to say anything. "And the drooling one over there is Lindsay." I finished.

The boy just laughed as he shook my hand.

Lindsay slapped me on the back. It hurt like hell but I kept a smile on my face and made a mental note to shave her eyebrows off in her sleep.

"I'm Zac." He introduced himself.

"Hi Zac." Lindsay and I chorused.

"You know..." I mused." You look really familiar, but I can't figure out how."

He just laughed and said "Maybe you will remember soon."

"Yeah...maybe" I was kind of out of it as I tryed to rack my brain thinking of how I could possibly know this Zac guy.

"Anyway, I need a second opinion. I asked Lindsay what she thought but then again, this is coming from the girl who was worried that I would write about running over cows at Christmas in Scotland." I held up the two dresses. "Which one is better? The green or the blue?"

"Green." He was looking at Lindsay the whole time but I didn't bother saying anything.

"O--kay...thanks..I think."

Then I heard another voice.

"No...go with the blue." I looked up and saw a man that looked really simlar to Zac but had blue eyes instead of brown.

"Thanks. I thought so too. I'm Tasha." I introduced myself again, for what seemed like the millionth time today.

"I'm Taylor."

"Nice to meet you Taylor."

"Nice to meet you too."

We stood there for a while before I realised that I needed to get some accessories. I glanced at my watch. 3:45.

"Lindsay c'mon. We gotta go get shoes and crap and then STILL get groceries." I reminded.

I hurried up to the register and payed for the dress. She followed and we hurried on out the door. I put my dress in the backseat and glanced at Lindsay. SHe had been unusually quiet.

"Hey girl? You still there?? Lindsay??" I waved my hand in front of her face, trying to get a reaction.

She reached up and grabbed my hand quickly before giving me a crooked smile. "I'm here. Just thinking."

As if she knew that I was going to tease her about daydreaming of Zac, she jumped in the drivers seat and started the car. I put my seatbelt on and looked out as Lindsay pulled the top down with one hand while driving.

I helped her and then went back to thinking on that guy in the store.

I let out a deep sigh, I had just met an angel. Zac was so handsome and also so familiar. I couldn't help but notice that when I looked into those magnificant brown eyes how my heart went into hyperdrive and how shaky my whole body had become. Just looking at him gave me this feeling, a feeling I don't know how to describe. But the side affect was that my stomach felt like it was floating on a soft, fluffy, annoyingly pink cloud. Was I affected by love at first sight? Heck, I didn't even believe in love in first sight and I could have it bad! All I knew was that I HAD to see him again, I just had to. But then another thought came into my mind. He probably already had a girlfrined. But either way, if he did or didn't, he probably didn't want anything to do with me. I mean, why would a basic GOD ever want to even think about a short, dog faced, carrot top? (Ever since Jen had died I've had this surge of low self esteem. If anyone at all believed in me, it was my sisters. The stronger believer was Jen; she was there for me and was my best friend. Now she's dead.)

All the thoughts of what probably went through his mind when he looked at my horrid face aliented my entire soul. I felt my heat rise up along with my pain. If I wasn't careful I'd break out into a fit of tears. Then reality kicked the backside of my head. I had a boyfriend! He loves me, I guess. I mean, we've been going out since our junior year in high school, something must be attracting him to me. I loved him, I had to forget about Zac.

Besides, Zachary completely hates me with all his heart! I just knew it. Tasha had made me wanna throw myself down a well when she said, "And the drooling one over there is Lindsay," The tone of his voice in his laughter following what she said made me feel one millionth of a centimeter tall. I just wanted someone to pull out a gun and end my humilation and pain. And when he stated his opion about Tasha's dress, he looked at me as if inspecting every single one of my flaws and laughing at them inside his mind. God, I was such a freak!

I dug my blue painted nails into the wheel as my brain dwelled on Zac and how much I just wanted to shoot myself in the head at the moment. My pain filled thoughts disturbed my concentration on the road, and also prevented me from seeing the truck that was running a red light.

When I woke up to reality, I saw that the truck was about 12 feet away from us. I (and I think Tasha) let out blood curdling a scream, and I swerved the car to the side and pulled over. I missed the truck by two inches. I gasped for breath, then let my face and arms fall quickly to the dashboard. I began crying. When I had first saw that angel, I felt that I was in love, I couldn't think about anything else besides how perfect he was. Then reality kicked in and I noticed all the hate ( AN:or so I thought it was hate) in his eyes. I just couldn't stop my tears flowing from my confusion and heartbreak. I just wanted to die. That's all I wanted; just quick, simple death.

"Woah Lindsay! You okay?" Tasha nearly gasped, putting a reasuring hand on my shoulder. I lifted up my weary face and looked at her face. She was so pretty, why can't I look like something of that?

"Tasha, can you drive please? I just can't do it!" I begged her, desperation in my voice.

"Sure. What's wrong?" she asked, worried.

"NOTHING! JUST DRIVE DAMMIT!" I snapped despite of myself. She backed away a little, then nodded her head softly. I sighed and stepped out of the car, her and I roatating places. I sat my shivering body back, mediatating. Tasha looked at me with sympathy and concern, then started the car back up; driving to Payless shoes right next to Krogers.

As I meditated, my stress melted away and my soul met up with the much needed peace once more. I finally got it through my thick skull and broken heart that I needed to forget that kid. I hade a boyfriend who loved me, and I loved him. Zac wasn't worth my stress and tears, I probably wouldn't ever see him again! The thought of him escaped my mind, and I was back to my normal self. Well, as normal as I can get shall we say.

"I almost got you and I killed with the same fate as my sister, that's why I was upset. I'm sorry I yelled at you," I explained, apologizing.

"Oh, okay. It's alright, I can understand. So, giving somebody googoo eyes, eh?" she teased.

"If you mean my boyfriend, that was hours ago. Ya know, you can test someone's maturity by their constant dwelling on subjcts," I returned.

"No, I mean someone else," she smiled.

"Tasha, there is no one else. I love Ewan, he's my boyfriend and no one can replace him. Unlike Britney Spears, I don't go for 20 guys at once," I mentioned.

"So I guess almost getting killed made you think?" she asked.

"Yeah, you definately can say that," I answered.

She smiled, then parked the car in the parking lot. We strolled on in and I spent the next hour in annoying question HELL! Tasha went through like, fifty pairs of shoes and 60 different hair things. THE QUESTIONS WOULD NOT STOP!!!! "Do these make me look fat? Does this schrunchy make my nose look big? Do you think these are Spice Girl shoes or something my mother would wear? Does this color make me look like a fish? Do you think a size 8 or 9 looks better? Hey, do you think people would question my straightness if I got this rainbow scrunchy?" I finally lost what was left of my sanity and yelled right in her face, "LOOK! WILL YOU JUST BUY THE DAMN SHOES AND HAIR SHIT SO WE CAN GET OUT OF HERE?!"

She shut up after that and got herself a headband and a pair of kewl platforms. After all the aggrivation of Payless was over, she dropped her stuff off in my car and we walked into Krogers. I bought myself a Coke Icey and was soon EXTREMELY hyper. Tasha had gotten herself a basket and went to get her 'personal' groceries. I looked at my mile long list of my needs, and got a shopping cart. I was using the cart as my racecar and was grabbing the items off the shelves like lightning. I was so crazy that I didn't notice that I rammed into Tasha.

"Gee, so glad you BUMPED on in Linz!" she commented, rubbing her butt which I rammed. (hahahaha sweet revenge! :op)

"Well you know me, always making an entrance! Besides, your butt is just a bit difficult to avoid, " I teased.

"Oh, you are sooooo going down!" she threatned, put down her stuff and started running after me.

Through the whole store, all the old people told us to respect our elders while we ran like maniacs from each other. Geri Halliwell's 'Look At Me' came onto the intercom, and I sang along (horribly, I CAN do better. STOP LAUGHING TASHA! STOP IT! STOP IT NOW YOUNG LADY!) and danced stupidly while I ran from my arch enemy. Well, I didn't notice she stopped chasing me as I came onto the newly mopped floor, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and then realized I was about to ram into a a 6 ft. high pile of canned corn.

"Oh Crap!" I yelled as I tried to stop. The floor was much too slippery and I ended up sliding faster to creamed corn doom. I covered my face with my arms, preparing for the blow. Just as I was about to colide, a pair of strong arms picked me up and lifted me to the side, and away from world wide destruction. I was still covering my face with my arms, just standing there, scared to death. I realized that nothing had happened and I was still in one piece. I uncovered my face and looked to make sure I hadn't ruined my Adidas's that I just bought yesterday.

"You okay?" a familiar voice asked.

I looked up and saw the last face I wanted to see, Zac. The thoughts of his hatred melted away (I guess I realized then how dumb it was to think that) and my mind was replaced with how much of a heavenly angel he was. My God, he looked sexy in those pants. (Wait a minute, is he even wearing underware?) Even still, I was still kinda freaked to be standing right in front of him.

"Ummmmmm, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, I didn't exactly feel like being a part of Vegie Tales today," I returned.

He laughed and said, "Are you in a Track team? You run pretty fast,"

"No, actually, I'm so out of shape it's actually scary. But when your psycopath roomate (AN from Tasha: Gee Linz, glad ya luv me! ;0P)come chasing after you with a vengance, it can really be motivating to your energy level," I mentioned.

He laughed again and the two of us started talking, and ended up getting along really well. I swear, this kid was my evil twin! Well, him and someone else. I found out that he and his older brother Taylor were attending Tulsa U. Zac was freshman, like myself, and Taylor was in his second year. He told me that his family so busy that they didn't have to get Taylor into college as soon as they wanted to, so him and Zac were now only a year apart in schooling. Their dorm room was also down the hall from ours. Then it hit me. Zac's my age and he has an older brother Taylor. HELLO! CAN YOU SAY HANSON?!!?!?! I was just about to ask him the money making question, when Tasha had to show up. She was carrying her basket, and Taylor was pushing the cart behind her. She looked at me and gave me a sly smile. I could have killed her right then.

"C'mon Lindsay dear, time to go. We musn't be late for our hot date with EWAN," she mentioned.

Ewan? Who's Ewan? I thought. Oh yeah! My boyfriend. Dammit, I have a boyfriend! Shit, this is not good for my marvelous plan...

"Okay, okay, gimme a minute, there's still a few things I have to pick up," I spoke, even though I wasn't moving an inch away from Zac.

"Who's Ewan?" Zac asked. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was jealous. Yeah, I wish.

"He's my boyfriend." I answered, blushing slightly.

"Oh. Well, good luck in school, I'll see ya around sometime," he spoke shaking my hand.

"Alright, thanks. Good luck to you too see ya," I replied.

"Bye," he called after me as I walked towards Tasha.

I waved at him, smiling. I turned back around to get the cart, and Taylor nodded his head in recognition at me. I smiled at him and Tasha and I headed off.

"Gee, sucks to be taken in these situations huh?" she said so loud that the boys could hear.

"Yeah I know. I could tell how you felt by the way YOU WERE HITTING ON TAYLOR!" I yelled across the store.

She scowled and kicked me, and I just laughed and kept walking. I got the rest of the goods I needed, then we paid for it and were out on the road again.

I was driving again cuz Lindsay's previous driving incident kinda made me nervous.

I flipped on the radio and we listened to Weird Al's Star Wars song. We nodded our heads and started sining, "My, My, this here Anakin guy, maybe Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry. He left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye sayin, soon I'm gonna be a jedi! Soon I'm gonna be a jedi"!

We both erupted into laughter after the song went off and Lindsay pointed out some of the sights of T-Town out to me as we drove through. Soon we pulled back into the University and I stumbled my way up the stairs with my purchases, trying to get the door open. Lindsay wasn't behind me yet so I struggled with my armload and waited for her to get her redheaded-MMMBopping butt up here to unlock the door. She finally made it and set her stuff down as she unlocked the door. We raced in and I dumped my stuff on the bed. Lindsay did the same thing and I looked around the room again.

"You know what you need in here?" I asked.

"Hmm?" She asked.

"A papisan" I answered.

She gave me a look that clearly stated "What the hell is that?"

I explained,"It's one of those huge oval chairs that sits on a wicker stand. Like a giant circle pillow covering the base."

She nodded in agreement and I sat down in a wooden chair.

"Maybe we can get one tomorrow." I was talking more to myself than anyone else but she heard me and said "Unh-unh. I'm busy. I have a class."

I looked at my schedule to see if I had one too. Nope. My day was free. Suddenly I remembered my mail that Taylor had pointed out in Krogers. I had forgotten that it was in my back pocket. (AN: no, I am sure Taylor is not perverted enough to look at my ass Lets just assume that these are long envelopes. :op) I whipped the letters out and pulled my letter opener out of my back pack. I had learned from previous experiences that the postal service is an excellant supply of paper cuts.

The first one revealed a congratulating letter on my acceptance to the University. I scanned it quickly and found a map to the place.

"Thank GOD!" I screamed.

Lindsay gave me a look that seemed to be accusing me of being crazier than she was.

I gave a small sheepish grin and then looked at the second letter. It was a bank statement. My parents had wired me enough money to buy a car!! Whoo-hoo!! I knew that they were sending it because they had told me before that if I made the scholarship they payed for the wheels.

"Oh yeah!!" I jumped up and danced around like a wacko and tried to make Lindsay join me.

She just laughed at me before starting to pack my stuff.

After I had calmed down, she was brave enough to ask what happened. I explained about the money for a car and she even danced a little. We laughed and then I unpacked my stuff and checked my watch for the 30 hundreth time that day.

It was important to me to always be on time. Since it was already 5 'o clock I grabbed my shampoo and stuff and headed into the bathroom to take one of my hour long showers.

Lindsay headed in directly after I got out and I had time to get dressed.

I finished clothing just as soon as she came out. It had only taken her about 10 minutes. I shook my head in disbelief and headed over to the bathroom counter to blow dry my hair and put on makeup and all that good stuff.

I finished just as the doorbell rang. I opened it and their stood Ewan, Lindsay's boyfriend. I introduced myself yet again that day.

"Hi. I am Tasha. Lindsay's new roommate."

He shook my hand before introducing himself as Ewan.

Lindsay was already ready. She walked out the door with her boyfriend and said she would see me there.

I smiled and nodded.

30 minutes later, Jared came right in.

"Knocking would have been nice ya know?" I announced.

"Yeah I know. But we are in a hurry so I didn't have time. Ya ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." We walked out the door and got in his car.

As soon as we were at the restuarant I spotted Lindsay. Our table was right next to their's.

After a bit of chatting between the tables I satback and realised just how tired I was. The rest of the meal went by slowly for me.

Lindsay however, was a different story.