The Best Friend
Authors: R.L. Stine
FEAR STREETâWHERE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARES LIVE...
Honey Perkins just moved to Shadyside. But She's telling everyone that She is Becka Norwood's best friend from elmmentary school. Trouble is, Becka desno't remember her at all.
But that doesn't stop Honey. She insists on doing everything Becka doesâ borrowing her clothes, borrowing her boyfriend.. and then the horrble accidents begin.
Honey swears she has nothing to do with them. She's just being a good friend. A
best
friend... to the end.
THE FEAR IS CATCHING
SIMON PULSE
Simon & Schuster, New York
Cover design and illustration
    by Sammy yuen Jr.
www.SimonSaysTEEN.com
Best Friends Are Forever.
The bedroom door burst open. Becka dropped her knitting. Lilah sat up straight. Trish leapt to her feet.
All three of them stared in surprise as a girl with a mane of long auburn hair excitedly swept into the room.
“Becka!” the girl cried. She threw her arms around Becka and wrapped her in a tight hug. “Becka! Becka! I'm so happy to see you!” she squealed.
“I can't believe it!” the girl cried. “I just can't believe it! Beckaâit's you! It's really
you!”
Becka gasped, utterly speechless. Who
is
this girl? she asked herself.
I've never seen her before!
Don't miss these chilling tales from
FEAR STREET®
All-Night Party
The Best Friend
The Confession
First Date
Killer's Kiss
The Perfect Date
The Rich Girl
Secret Admirer
The Stepsister
Switched
After hours, the horror continues at
FEAR STREET® NIGHTS
#1: Moonlight Secrets
#2: Midnight Games
#3: Darkest Dawn
A Parachute Press book
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 1992 by Parachute Publishing, L.L.C.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON PULSE and colophon are registered trademarks of
Simon & Schuster, Inc.
FEAR STREET is a registered trademark of Parachute Press, Inc.
Designed by Sammy Yuen Jr.
The text of this book was set in Times.
This Simon Pulse edition April 2006
Library of Congress Control Number 2005929887
ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1376-4
ISBN-10: 1-4169-1376-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-4424-5145-2 (ebook)
“O
wâstop. You're hurting me!” Eric Fraser loosened his grip on Becka Norwood's shoulders. “Sorry. I didn't mean to.” His face reddened. He stared at the snow-covered windshield.
Becka slid away from him until her shoulder bumped the car door. She adjusted the collar of her coat.
Why am I sitting here kissing him? she thought. I'm going to break up with him.
Big, wet snowflakes continued to fall. The windows were completely blanketed now. It's like being inside an igloo, Becka thought, shivering.
Turning his dark eyes to hers, Eric leaned forward, reaching for her.
She raised her arm to block him. “We have to talk,” she said, not meaning to sound shrill.
“Talk?” He giggled for some reason. Becka realized that she hated his giggle. It always burst out at the wrong time.
He stretched his arm around her shoulders and tried to pull her closer.
“No. Really,” she insisted, twisting to get out from under his arm.
He acted hurt. “What do you want to talk about?”
Becka chewed the tip of her thumb, a nervous habit.
Here goes, she thought. Her stomach felt feathery. Her throat tightened.
She realized she always felt jumpy around Eric. They'd been dating since school started in September. More than three months. But she never felt comfortable with him.
He was so ... so needy.
She stopped chewing her thumb, clasped her hands together in her lap. “I think we need to talk aboutâthings.” It was cold in the car, parked beside the woods, the engine off, no heater. She shivered again.
Eric rolled his eyes. “Why do you always want to talk?” His voice revealed more than impatience. He sounded angry.
“Why don't you
ever
want to talk?” she demanded. Her voice trembled. The feathers in her stomach turned to stone.
Don't cry,
she instructed herself, biting her lower, lip.
It's not the end of the world. You're just breaking up with him. You haven't even been going out with him that long.
He turned away from her and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “Why are you on my case?” he asked. “You said you wanted to come here.”
“I know.”
“So why do you want to start a fight? I said I was
sorry. About holding your shoulder too tight. It was an accident.” He ran a hand back through his short, brown hair, smoothing it.