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Morning broke slowly, the sun brightly shining through the windows and across the living room floor, giving it a golden glow. The two girls were asleep on the two couches, covered in a few light blankets as the TV was on low from the previous night.

Natalie nearly jumped awake at the sound of her cell phone alarm, the vibrations shuddering through the coffee table. Groaning she reached out, grabbing the phone and pushing the black strands of hair back from her eyes as she shut off the alarm. Standing up she stretched, reluctant to get up despite the fact that the girls both had school to attend.

Looking to the other couch where Julia was still asleep, Natalie paused, running her fingers through her hair again as she stared at the messy black strands. Looking back at the couch, she was positive that it was Julia's body lying there and not her own.

Smiling widely, Natalie let out a scream, instantly waking Julia who let out a low grumble.

"Stop screaming and go back to bed..."

"Julia! We're...US!!" Natalie shouted, and it only took a few seconds for the words to sink in before Julia say up, eyes wide. Standing before her wasn't her own body, but the one she'd been trapped in for a week.

"Holy shit!" she said, vaguely smiling as Natalie pulled her up into a hug, practically beaming.

"Oh God, I'm so excited," Natalie gushed as she let Julia go; Julia tried to force a smile as she sat down again, the realization of what had happened really hitting her.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Natalie asked, searching blue eyes as she kneeled before her.

"We're back to normal. Which means...you get to go back to your friends and family...back to Brian, and don't get me wrong I'm happy for you. But for me...my own little fairytale is over. I get to go back to the real world where my parents don't care about me and my friends are all backstabbing whores," Julia muttered, looking down at her hands as she slowly rubbed them together.

"That's not true," Natalie said as she sat down on the couch next to her. Julia was about to protest when she held up her hand to stop her. "Okay, so it is true, but.... You've got me," she reassured, looking over at the blond beauty next to her.

Brow furrowing, Julia slowly smiled. "...I do?"

"Yeah, you do," Natalie answered, barely above a whisper. A week ago she'd have shot herself in the foot for saying such things to an enemy. But things had definitely changed since then.

"Okay, school starts in an hour so we gotta get ready," Natalie said as she stood, grabbing the bag Julia had brought when she came over, full of her school things and a change of clothes. "You can use your shower, I'll use the hallway one," she said with a little smile, knowing Julia was probably dying to use her own things even if she wasn't looking forward to being herself again.

"Oh, and I'm gonna need you to drop me off at my house before Brian picks me up," Natalie added as the two climbed the stairs.

"Sure thing," Julia answered, and the two girls went their separate ways to get ready.

A little later that morning Natalie was stood outside her home. She could not have been more excited to see the place, or more excited to see her mother and brother when she came home in the afternoon.

The more the minutes passed, bringing her closer to Brian, the more nervous and jumbled she felt, but in an entirely good way. Natalie knew as soon as she saw him that she'd pounce. She'd missed his lips in the past week.

After only a few more minutes, Nat could hear the low ruble of Brian's car coming down the street before it pulled up along the curb. Her lips were parted wide in a smile as he stepped out of the car, coming over to her.

"Hey, ba--" Brian began to say, but he was caught off as Natalie brought him down for a kiss. His eyebrows rose as he felt the crushing pressure of the kiss, Natalie's arms going up around his neck. Relaxing when Natalie's tongue lightly ran the seam of his lips, Brian placed his hands on her waist.

Natalie practically melted when she felt Brian's tongue meet her own. She slowed the kiss down a little, wanting to savor it as long as she possibly could. Slowly pulling away, she kissed Brian lightly a few more times on the lips before looking up at him with a smile. He looked practically dazed, a goofy smile on his lips.

"That sure was some greeting," he said cheekily, pulling Natalie closer.

"I missed you," she answered, catching her breath. She caught the confused smile Brian gave her.

"What do you mean, you missed me? You just saw me yesterday," he chuckled. "Why are you acting all weird?"

"I just...missed you," Natalie repeated, leaning up to kiss Brian's lips again. They were so warm and smooth against her own, and she knew she'd never be able to get enough of them in the next few days.

"Are you feeling alright?" Brian jokingly asked, placing his palm on his girlfriend's forehead to see if she was running a fever. Beaming, Natalie looked into the chocolate brown eyes she'd missed so much.

"Never been better."

The school day seemed to pass like any other to all the other students at Huntington Beach High. But for Natalie and Julia it couldn't have been more different. They both saw everything in such a new light. The passed each other in the halls repeatedly that day, and each time they couldn't help but smile at the other, like they had some huge secret just between the two of them. And they did.

Brian thought it was odd when he'd be walking hand-in-hand with Natalie and Julia would smile at them. He wanted to ask Natalie if something was going on, but the situation was just too weird, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

By the time lunch rolled around, Natalie couldn't wait to sit with her friends again, just like old times, just like nothing had happened at all. They talked and laughed and joked like they always did, and with Brian's hand placed rightfully on her thigh under the table, Natalie couldn't have been more content.

But then she glanced across the cafeteria and a lonely figure stole her attention. Julia was sat alone at the end of one of the lunch tables, picking at the cafeteria food on the tray in front of her. And while that was shocking enough in itself, the frown on Julia's lips was not.

Upon returning to school that morning Julia had decided to take Natalie's advice, to start standing up for herself and not letting anyone else control her life. She ditched her friends and decided she'd rather sit alone. Though she really wanted to sit at the table with Natalie and Brian, she knew that could never happen. Everyone but Natalie hated her.

Natalie sighed--it really was true that Julia had no one.

"What's got your attention so much, Nat?" Brian asked as he looked up in the direction his girlfriend was so intently staring. Catching sight of Julia, he almost immediately frowned. "Oh...her..."

"What about her?" Natalie asked, suddenly looking hard at him.

"Nothing. Just that you two hated each other and now you smile at her in the halls, and now you're staring at her like the fact that she's alone makes you sad."

"Well, it does make me sad..." Natalie answered, and by then all of her friends' attentions were on her.

"Why the hell would it make you sad/" Zack asked with an indignant snort, looking over his shoulder at Julia.

"Because none of you know what it's like to be in her shoes," Natalie said bluntly, standing up.

"...And you do?" Meg asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"...I might," Natalie answered and she turned and headed across the room. Standing before her, Natalie waited for Julia to look up. "Come on."

"...What do you mean?" Julia asked, putting her fork down.

"Come sit with us."

"I don't know if that's a very good idea," Julia replied, feeling uneasy.

"They'll get over it," Natalie said, referring to her friends, and reluctantly Julia got up and followed her across the cafeteria.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked as Natalie approached.

"I'm inviting my friend to sit with us," she answered, her tone hard as she nudged Brian to move down, sitting next to him. She looked at Julia and patted the empty seat next to her, but the blond girl paused. She couldn't help but feel entirely intimidated by all the unwelcoming stares she was receiving.

"I...uh. I'm sorry. For all of the things I've ever said or did that hurt or offended you. I'm sorry for everything," she said, her voice meek. She didn't know what kind of reaction she was expecting from them, but she wasn't surprised when they just looked at her, nearly ignoring every word she said as they went back to eating and talking amongst themselves.

Sighing, Julia took the empty spot next to Natalie, her spirits not lifting much.

"Don't worry. It'll take a lot of time, and probably a lot of ass kissing, but they'll warm up to you. And if they don't, I'll make them," Natalie said, keeping her voice low so as to only have Julia hear her.

"I hope so. I miss how things were last week," Julia whispered, a melancholy smile gracing her lips.

Smiling Natalie put her arm around her new friend, amazed at how so much had changed in such a small period of time.

"Just...act the way you did when you were me. Be yourself. All we need is time," she said. "And we've got plenty of it."