Switch

The day, it seemed, could not have gone any worse after the bathroom confrontation. Natalie and Julia were expected to remain in the presence of people they absolutely loathed for an entire day until they could meet with each other again and realize what it was that had happened to them to warrant the sudden change. And what's more, they had to think of some way that their switch could be reversed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Half the day had gone by, and already Natalie had decided she'd rather die than subject herself to the torture that was Kendra, Danielle, and Pam. Her snapped remark toward them at the start of school had only kept them at bay for a short while, and it wasn't long before they flitted around her like a swarm of pesky mosquitoes.

Lunch was the worst. At least with most of her classes, Natalie didn't have to see the girls. She did realize Julia had third period Chemistry with Brian, and Natalie tried to steal glances of him every now and then. He'd caught her once and sent her a confused look from across the room before looking away, which only made Natalie feel even worse about being stuck in Julia's body. If Natalie were her old self again, Brian wouldn't have hesitated to smile at her or send her a mischievous smirk. But, now that she was trapped in Julia Stuart's body, Natalie's own boyfriend couldn't stand the sight of her.

And now that lunch hour had arrived, Natalie had to face the full forced wrath of the three girls she despised most, after Julia of course.

"So did you guys notice Natalie's outfit today?" Pam spoke up, nibbling on a stalk of celery instead of a carrot, like she had the day before. The other girls all looked over to the table where Brian and the rest were sitting, Natalie even joining in. She could see how uncomfortable Julia looked, sitting with people she didn't like, or care to even get to know. Sighing, she looked back down at the table. Her stomach was growling, turning over and squeezing inside her, like a caged animal that hadn't been fed in days. She wondered when the last time Julia ate was.

"She actually looks...dare I say it...stylish," Kendra said, barely above a whisper incase someone, namely who she thought was Julia, were to pounce on her and attempt to rip her to shreds. But the growling of Natalie's stomach was enough to distract her from anything the girls started to discuss after that. Slowly standing and holding her stomach, Natalie was met with the concerned and confused stare of Kendra.

"Julia, are you alright?" she asked, looking just about ready to jump up and fawn of her if she were to say she felt the tiniest bit ill.

"I'm starving. I'm going to go get something to eat," Natalie said, and Kendra was about to say something in protest but Natalie walked off, not hearing a word she said. Heading into the lunch line, Natalie was grateful that Wednesdays were pizza days at her school. The rest of the food on the menu may have been cringe-worthy, but for some reason, pizza was where the kitchen staff finally got it right.

Grabbing a tray that had a piece of plain garlic pizza, she continued down the line, getting tossed salad and a pint of chocolate milk. Slathering her salad with Italian dressing at the condiment bar, Natalie then headed across the cafeteria toward the table she'd left. She would have rather sat by herself, but there were no empty tables to choose from.

Not even thinking about the small, petty feud going on between her own clique and Julia's, Natalie walked straight toward her own table. Seeing who she knew to be Julia coming directly to her, Meg didn't miss the opportunity to stick her foot out into the aisle between the tables. Natalie didn't even see it, and let out a shout of surprise when she felt her foot collide with something hard, mid-step. Her momentum was too great that immediately her body pitched forward, the tray slipping from her fingers as she headed face-first for the floor.

Her hands just barely broke her fall, but Natalie's chin collided hard with the overturned food tray, sending a stinging sensation as the clatter of her fall still rang in her ears soon mixed with the choruses of cruel laughter.

Clamping her eyes shut due to the pain tearing through her jaw from the fall, Natalie slowly got to her knees, picking up her wasted food and putting it back on the tray. She got to her feet, her hands shaking as she held the tray, and she looked over at her friends who were all laughing, except for her own self. Catching the gleam of evil mischief in Meg's eyes was what stung Natalie the most. Her best friend had pulled such a cruel trick on her. Despite the fact that Meg was completely unaware to the switch that had occurred between Natalie and Julia, it still hurt to think of her own friend doing that, so much so that she felt her eyes prickling with tears. Hurrying back toward Kendra and the girls, Natalie quickly slammed her tray down and ran. She needed to get away. She needed to be alone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The laughter was far from dying out between Meg, Kita, and the others at the table, and Julia was appalled to think that they would do that to her.

"That was so totally not cool...," she said, and Meg eyed her curiously.

"Says the girl who started this entire war between her clique and ours...," she said. "You've been acting mad weird lately, Nat. What's your deal?"

Sighing, Julia tried to think of something Natalie would say, but came up with nothing. "Well...you could have like, broken her nose...or something?"

Scoffing, Kita rolled her eyes - a classic Julia trait that just seemed natural for Kita to do in that moment. "Dude, she can get another new one. Not a big deal."

Jaw dropping, Julia was surprised. "Her nose is so totally real...," she said, and the others all looked at her like she'd grown an extra limb.

"You're kidding right?" Matt said with a short laugh. "Name one thing on that whore's body that is real, and I'll give you fifty bucks."

"There's nothing fake on her at all," Julia said, getting very heated up with anger.

"Yeah, okay. Have you seen her tits? They're too perfect to be real. And I would know...," Matt said, and Julia was about to counter him when someone else did.

"And how would you know, Matthew? You been staring at them?" Kita nearly growled, and Julia shuddered at the thought of Matt's eyes inspecting her body like a piece of meat.

"N-no...I...um..." Matt said, instantly flushing red in his cheeks as he tried to cover his mistake.

"Her boobs aren't fake either," Julia finally spoke up. "Just because she has money and can do whatever she wants with it, doesn't mean she's ever had plastic surgery."

"Whoa, calm down, killer," Brian said, hearing she was about to explode. "What's up with you, babe? You've been acting strange all day. Why would you even bother defending that girl after all she's put you through?"

Sighing, Julia just shook her head. It was no use. They'd never understand. No...they'd never believe.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gaining her composure after spending a few minutes alone in the bathroom, Natalie headed to her locker, hearing that the bell to end lunch had already rung. Finding Julia's locker and spinning in the combination she'd been told, Natalie grabbed the books she needed for English, finding it weird having the class so late in the day - normally she had it during second period.

Just as she was about to close the locker, Natalie felt a very unfamiliar pair of hands grip her around the waist, and equally foreign pair of lips pressing into her neck. Tensing, Natalie squirmed away, shoving against whoever had come up on her as hard as she could.

"Get off me!" she yelled, and when she looked up she met the confused and partly enraged face of Chad Michaels. Groaning silently, Natalie completely forgot about Julia's football-jock boyfriend.

"What's your problem, baby?" he asked, his voice sounding about as thick as his skull.

"I'm having a bad enough day as it is; I don't need you to make it worse, so please, go away," Natalie said, closing the locker door and starting down the hall. She didn't make it very far though, considering the clamped grip Chad had on her wrist. Turning, Natalie could see his eyes storm over, and instantly questioned where the situation was heading.

"Let go of me," Natalie ordered, tugging on her arm.

"You dare to talk to me like that?" Chad hissed, and Natalie realized that of all the people who followed every order Julia made, there was one person who regarded her as being below him.

"I mean it, Chad. Let go," Natalie spat, not in the mood to deal with a jock who dared to put his hands where they didn't belong. Her order only caused Chad to grip her tighter, causing Natalie to wince as she wondered why every passerby seemed to be completely oblivious to what was going on.

"You listen to me, Julia. You don't walk away from me, do you understand?" Chad growled, and Natalie realized that was the first time a man had ever given her reason to fear him. But she somehow knew that as long as he was involved, it wouldn't be the last.

"Hey, get your hands off her," Natalie heard an awfully familiar voice call from nearby, and when she looked to her right she caught the steady gaze of Brian and smiled.

"Excuse me? Are you trying to tell me what to do with my girl?" Chad asked, his grip never letting up.

"Yeah, I think I am, and I'm pretty sure I heard her tell you to let her go..." Brian said. Natalie knew how Brian felt toward domestic violence situations, and he was a firm believer that no man should ever lay a violent or unwanted hand on a woman, no matter the circumstance. She wondered if that was why Brian was stepping in - after all, she was Julia to him, and why should he ever feel the need to help Julia? She'd never done anything for him.

"Well I think you should just shove off and mind your own damn business. She's my girl, not yours, and I really don't see how you can order me around..."

Sighing deeply, Brian held his ground. "I think the fact that I could bench you might be convincing enough," he said, and although Natalie knew that there was more muscle mass on Chad than Brian could lift - yet - Chad didn't, and she could see the way his eyes lingered over Brian's rather impressive biceps.

Growling, Chad finally let go of Natalie's wrist, knowing Brian wasn't going to leave until he did, and then lumbered down the hall in the opposite direction. Once Chad as gone, Natalie looked at Brian, giving him a grateful smile, but when Brian's gaze caught hers, he didn't smile or anything. His expression was blank and then he walked in the direction he was initially heading. Sighing, Natalie adjusted her books under her arm and headed toward the English room.