It's one of Tabitha's friends.

"Hey Tabs, I....uh..." a voice called out and then trailed off.

You quickly rolled off of Randall and turned to see Tabitha's friend, Kristin, standing in the doorway. She was staring wide-eyed at the two of you. When you met her gaze, she blushed and looked down. "Sorry, Tabs, I ... I didn't know you had company."

Randall took that opportunity to jump to his feet. Looking very flustered, he stammered "I'll catch you later, Tabitha." Kristin stepped aside as he hurried out the door. "Bye!" you called after him.

Kristin closed the door behind him and joined you in sitting on your bed. She was a pretty girl with a tanned, athletic body and long, straight blonde hair. She had been one of Tabitha's best friends and it had been weird, at first, pretending to continue that relationship. To your surprise, though, you had developed a real bond with her now, considering her your closest friend after Randall.

"I'm really sorry, Tabitha," she apologized, mostly recovered from her surprise at walking in on the two of you. "I didn't know Randall was here. I would have knocked or something." You felt confused - mostly embarrassed at being caught with Randall like that and frustrated at Kristin for interrupting you. You **** a shrug. "It's okay, it's nothing," you muttered.

Kristin gave a sly smile. "Tabs, you don't have to hide it. I kinda thought you liked him by the way you've talked about him. Now it's obvious."

"Huh? No!" you said in shock. "That's not it at all."

She shook her head. "Don't deny it, girl. You like him. That's cool, I won't say anything." She looked thoughtful. "I can see it, I guess. He IS sorta cute - and really funny."

You felt a small surge of jealousy at her appreciative commentary on Randall - then a frightened realization. 'Could it be true?' you asked yourself. 'Could I actually have a crush on RANDALL?' The fact that you couldn't immediately dismiss that thought suddenly drove home just how much you might be changing. 'If I'm this different after only a few weeks, how much more will I change as I continue living Tabitha's life?' you wondered.

Kristin continued unaware of your inner thoughts. "But does he like you? I mean REALLY like you? He's known you a long time just as Tim's little sister. And he's a senior - we're only in 8th grade. We both know girls who got taken advantage of by older guys."

"Randall's not like that!" you interrupted, feeling an irrational need to defend him. "We're just good friends. He knows me, the real me!" you blurted out before you could stop. You held your breath, hoping Kristin didn't probe your words too deeply.

Fortunately, Kristin misread the meaning of your outburst. Kristin's eyes widened. "Whoah, you've got it bad for him," she said quietly.

You both just sat for a few minutes.

"I can only imagine what your parents would say," Kristin added, breaking the silence.

"There's nothing to tell them. Honest!" you said emphatically. "We're just friends!"

"Okay, sure, whatever you say," Kristin responded, backing down. "I'm sorry I said anything. Let's just drop it."

And with that she switched over to gossiping about friends, school, etc. Soon you were caught up in the conversation, your mood considerably brightened as the two of you giggled and laughed.

Though she didn't say anything else, Kristin had not changed her mind about your crush on Randall. She was convinced that there was something between you and so decided to help by...