Chapter 2

"Hello, may I get a grande java chip frappecino?" I asked the girl behind the counter. She smiled sweetly at me.

"Yes you may. Name?" She asked me with a sharpie and cup in her hands.

"Sophia." I told her. She was really nice. She was dark haired Mexican girl. I glanced at the cup as she began dispensing the ice into the cup for measurements. She spelled my name right, which apparently Starbucks was not always real great about. For such a normal and traditional name, I had had it spelt loads of different ways.

"It'll be right up, Sophia." She smiled at me. I liked her okay, I mean I sensed she was friendly so I figured that I could make conversation.

"What's your name?" I asked her as she made my drink.

"Gabby." She said with a nice smile again. Her long eyelashes looked as if there was no trace of mascara what so ever when she looked down at my drink. I envied that about her. She was nearly finished with my drink as I answered.

"Cool." I said being so socially awkward that you could feel the tension. "I'm new to town." I blurted out as she shook up the whipped cream.

"Oh really? Where'd you move from?" She asked. She looked as if she were my age.

"Colorado. You wouldn't know the town if I told you." I said as she drizzled chocolate over the whipped topping she just expertly placed on the drink.

"Try me." She said snapping on the lid with a smirk.

"Delta." I said doubting her ability to really know everywhere in Colorado, as she put my drink on the counter with a straw.

"No way! I grew up in Montrose!" She informed with a smile, with a bright set of eyes. I gasped knowing exactly where that was as I had been all over the Western Slope of Colorado my entire life.

"No way!" I countered grabbing the drink and then putting the straw in the cup.

"Yeah, you grew up like thirty minutes away from me!" She said excited now. It was crazy meeting someone that close to your childhood, especially in a town you never thought you'd find a normal person in.

Gabby and I exchanged numbers as the line to her store was starting to collect while we indulged in the fact we had something in common such as a rural Colorado area, and I had to say, she was already nicer than most the people I left back in Delta. I waved goodbye to Gabby as we agreed to talk later that day to make plans to hang out sometime so she could show me around town. Around four, I got a text from Gabby as I was grocery shopping for my apartment.

Gabby: Hey! So, my days off this week are Tuesday and Wednesday, so if you'd like my tour guide services, you'd better be free one of those days!

Me: Sure! Tuesday sounds good!

Gabby: Perfect. Then I will see you on Tuesday, we can get some lunch or something.

Me: Sounds good! Thanks for being so nice to me! Gabby: Don't even worry about it. About time I made a friend out here, spend way too much time with my family that we all laugh the same now and it's terrifying.

I smiled at my phone seeing her response. I envied her that she had such a great connection with her family. But I didn't want to dwell on my envious tendencies to the first girl to show me kindness out here in LA. I finished getting what I needed from the grocery store and drove back home in my car that had been delivered earlier that very morning.

The rest of my week was spent watching what movies I hadn't already watched on my Netflix list, or reading fanfiction online as I wasn't wanting to read a full blown novel and lose myself in the story for a large amount of time. I wasn't a very entertaining person, this much I knew and embraced, and I had a feeling that trait of mine wasn't going to get me to my goal of loosening up.

Tuesday arrived, Gabby and I were meeting down the street from my apartment for lunch. Eleven thirty rolled around and I was walking down the street in a pair of jeans, sandals, a white tank top, and an open red and black plaid shirt on my shoulders. My glasses rested on my nose as always, as I always wore them, liking how they looked on me and framed my face. Besides, my contacts weren't as comfortable as my glasses to put on anyway, so I didn't mind. I walked into the restaurant and almost didn't recognize Gabby not in an apron and uniform. She had on a pair of skinny jeans, purple Jordan's, and a black shirt that read 'LOVE' across it with studded shoulders. Her hair was down and curled perfectly, I suddenly debated my choice in outfit, she looked so much more fashionable. She had the LA look about her for sure where I felt like I was one step away from a hick.

"Hey!" She greeted me as I sat across from her, after she noticed me and waved from where she sat.

"Hey!" I replied. I smiled as the waiter came over and took our orders promptly after my arrival. We made small talk, asking about each other's lives, before we got into how much we were into pop culture. A topic of attractive men then surfaced as I then had to divulge my guilty pleasure of a certain boy band.

"No way, you're so smart! How do you balance being smart and being such a crazed fangirl?" Gabby asked me half way through our salads becoming empty bowls. I giggled as I looked at my lettuce.

"Well, when I wasn't doing things with academics, I was reading books and actually reading Fanfictions online, watching YouTube or Netflix, and basically becoming a hermit." I said giggling as I looked up and met her gaze. She looked stunned as she then smiled.

"I like you, girl. You're pretty chill." She said nodding as if she approved of us having a meal together after all. I laughed.

"Thanks. You're pretty 'chill' yourself." I said making an emphasis on the word so she would know I didn't really say it that often. I was such a dork.

"So, were you sad leaving your life behind you?" She asked me randomly then, as we neared the end of our lunches. I laughed sadly and looked to her as I sipped on my drink.

"If you mean leaving high school, no. Otherwise I didn't have a life to leave behind, sadly. Parents were off on business often, and my friends were only my friends when guys wanted to date me and I got invited to all the school parties, which meant they got invited. Or when we had group assignments, as I would do all the work most times." I told her making myself sound rather pathetic, but I only spoke the truth. She nodded understanding.

"I Getchu." She said with a thicker Latin accent. She then snorted as she found her own accent humorous making me snicker as well. "Your parents were those rich people everyone used to talk about?" She asked eyeing me after we stopped laughing. I sighed leaning back in my chair as I nodded.

"Yeah. I guess you heard about them before you moved out here."I said reluctantly knowing the rich white couple with a brainiac daughter was in fact a popular topic around where I grew up. Not many people in that area were as wealthy as my parents, so they drew attention whether they wanted to or not. Gabby nodded.

"I was thirteen when we moved out here. I remember a lot more than most people think." She informed me. Eventually, we finished up and were going our separate ways out in front of the restaurant when she stopped me. We had already said 'goodbye,' but I could tell the gears in her head were going.

"Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?" She asked me, touching my arm to get me to turn around from having just turned to walk back home. I thought a moment, so I didn't seem like such a loser knowing very well I had nothing planned tomorrow.

"Nothing, why?" I asked her, giving her a questioning look.

"That band you like? Big Time Rush?" She asked as I nodded anxiously feeling butterflies erupting in my stomach. My guilty pleasure. She laughed seeing the change in my demeanor. "I can get us into their concert. Their final show of their tour is tomorrow at the Staples Center. Would you want to go?" She asked with a smirk. I grinned ear to ear feeling my cheeks get rushed with blood.

"Are you serious?!" I shrieked, letting my inner fan girl take over. She nodded as she chuckled.

"Yeah, my sister works there, she can hook us up. Maybe even with a meet and greet with the guys." She suggested with a raised brow. I shrieked losing my cool and stepped closer to her, giving her a hug.

"Oh my God! Thank you!" I yelled. I was going to see Big Time Rush tomorrow!