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Sleepovers & Realizations

Quickly making her way down the hall, Julia turned into the bathroom. Natalie had her hands on the edges of the sink, knuckles nearly white as she slightly shook, looking at her reflection. Slowly, it was becoming more familiar that she'd see Julia staring back at her.

Julia was beaming until she realized the anxious look on Natalie's face.

"You know?" she asked as she stepped up to her companion, brow furrowed. Shakily, Natalie nodded, a smile cracking her lips.

"I've never actually had to hit someone before," she chuckled, feeling the adrenaline still pumping through her. Smirking, Julia leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting, Natalie turning to face her.

"It was sick. It was amazing. I'd never be able to do something like that."

"Maybe you should," Natalie murmured, taking a seat next to Julia. "You need to really start standing up for yourself, with your friends, with your parents...with guys like Chad. You can't let them control your life and walk all over you like they do."

Nodding slowly, Julia looked at her hands. "I know. It's taken this whole bizarre...thing...to make me realize that." It fell silent between the two girls for a few moments after that, footsteps echoing down the hall as people walked by the bathroom. Julia suddenly let out a long sigh.

"You know...I was really wrong about you..." she muttered.

"I think we both were wrong about each other. I mean...I thought you had it all. We thought you had it all. And the fact that you seemed to not even care about it is what made us hate...dislike...you so much. You just seemed like a selfish bitch," Natalie said, and she saw Julia crack a grin out of the corner of her eye. "But now that I've been where you have, and gone through all the shit you've been dealt...I couldn't have been more wrong. You don't care about the money.... You just hope that if you use it, someone might notice...that maybe someone would care," Natalie said, and she didn't know why but she felt a tear leak from her eye, prompting her to quickly wipe it away.

"You guys are the one's that have it all..." Julia replied, staring ahead at the wall. "The friends you've got.... They have your back, no matter what. I feel like an ass for going along with those cunts every time we mocked or belittled you guys. And Brian...he really loves you," Julia said, finally looking over at Natalie. She herself could feel tears burning her eyes as she tried to give a small smile. "I see it in his eyes...every time he looks at me. He really cares about you."

Both girls sniffled at the same time, causing each to smile and let out a small laugh.

"I'm sorry," Julia said as she sighed, and Natalie nodded, holding her arms out.

"Me too," she whispered as Julia leaned into her for a hug. The girl silently listening from the doorway smiled.

"I think...we should have a sleepover or something," Julia suggested. They used to have them all the time when they were still friends. "For old times' sake."

"I vote your place, because it's been much too empty for my liking," Natalie chuckled.

The two girls were seated on the living room couch in the dark as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre flashed on the screen. It was obviously Natalie's choice, though sometimes it still gave her the spooks, and needless to say Julia was scared beyond belief. She'd never been one for scary movies, and she found herself gripping the bowl of popcorn tightly in her lap.

"You watch stuff like this all the time?" Julia asked quietly, eyes wide. Natalie chuckled.

"Sometimes. Brian loves horror and gore flicks," she answered, stuffing a handful of popcorn in her mouth as her eyes remained focused on the screen.

"If I didn't know he was such a good guy, I might think that was creepy," Julia muttered, and she jumped with a squeal as the doorbell let out a shrill ring. "Oh my God!"

"Chill, it's just the door.... Do people usually ring the bell?" Natalie asked with a chuckle.

"No..." Julia answered, eyes wide as her face glowed a pale blue from the TV.

"...You're coming with me to answer it..."

"Nuh uh! I'm staying right here where it's safe. It might be an ax murderer!"

"Well frankly your house gives me the creeps. It's huge, and I'm usually alone. So come on," Natalie said as she dragged Julia to her feet, leading her to the door. She felt irrational being so scared, but it was late and neither of the two girls were expecting visitors. Slowly she reached out to the handle, turning it. When the door swung open, both girls were shocked to see who was on the other side.

Kassandra Blanc. And she was smiling.

"...Can we help you?" Natalie asked.

"Actually, Natalie, I think I can help you," Kassandra said, looking right at Natalie. She was shocked.

"...What are you talking about?" she asked, her heart rate increasing. She didn't know they'd been found out.

"Oh, come on," Kassandra said, still smiling as she rolled her eyes. "I know ti's you. I know you two are in a...predicament. I mean...I'm the one who put you this way."

"What?!" both Julia and Natalie shouted at the same time, eyes wide.

"...You guys didn't know I could do that, did you? Just be glad I didn't use voodoo on you; stuff is a bitch..." Kassandra said as if it was nothing.

"Why would you do this to us? Do you know how tortured we've been for the past week?" Julia growled as she stepped forward.

"...I watch everyone in this school. I know who's dating who, whose friendships have gone down the drain.... Hell, I even know what the teachers are up to. I can read people, down to the very things they're hiding from everyone else..." Kassandra said, looking directly at Julia. "You guys used to be best friends, if I recall correctly. And then...it was gone, and you guys have hated each other ever since. I didn't do this in hopes that you two might become friends again; I did it so you could see how the other half lived, because as you both have come to realize, you were severely misguided. So...I fixed it," she beamed, crossing her arms in triumph.

"Okay, so you've got a point there.... Do you plan on switching us back anytime soon, or are we stuck like this?" Natalie asked.

"Oh, I've reversed the spell. You'll be yourselves by morning. All you two had to do was realize that neither of you were who you thought the other was. That's all it took," Kassandra said, and with no goodbye at all she turned on her heel and walked down the concrete to the sidewalk. And then she turned down the road, and was out of sight.