Fiona and I bonded. At first, it was difficult for both of us to open up to a new person, to form a bond of trust. But, slowly, we both realized we needed a friend, and we had each other. Plus, Fiona was a very sweet person once she finally allowed her walls to crumble a bit.

While Angie and all the others were partying it up at someone's house, Fiona and I sat on an old beaten couch in her living room. We had a board game in front of us, and we were having the best time playing it.

Her laughter compelled me to laugh as well. Her smiles were contagious, as was her joy. Music blaring throughout the little house, we used the game's pawns as mini microphones and danced about on the carpet in our fluffy socks.

Her house was a blast to be in when her mother wasn't home, which most of the time. She worked a few jobs to pay the bills not only to keep a house over their heads and food on the table, but to pay for her husband's medical bills. He was wasting away in the hospital, loosing a battle to cancer.

Her mother also used alcohol and smoking to cope with her stress, and at night she wept bitterly when she thought her daughter was asleep. This all had such a big impact on my friend, I realized. So did the bullying she received at school because of Angie, just because her family had little money, and just because she had liked Dav freshman year.

It didn't feel right that such a wonderful, lively person was so broken on the inside. Angie would pay for everything she had done. I would make sure of it.