"OH, MY ONE AND ONLY BUBBLES!" sam cried sarcastically to leah, as she exited her house, waving goodbye to ginny.

"my knight in shining armor! my peter to my wendy! oh, how i've missed you!" leah exaggerated, walking over to him with her painted rollerskates in hand.

"so, how ya feeling? good? bad? in the middle?" sam asked, "green, red, or yellow? on a scale of 1 to 10?"

"i'm feeling great, i'm definitely on green, and on a scale of 1 to 10...a nine. only because we didn't have any kiwi in the fridge today." leah admitted.

"i'm loving the outfit," sam changed the topic, as they began to walk to his house, "but...what happened to the leah wish that praised the fact she was blonde? hm? i miss her." sam frowned.

"i dunno, sam. she's still there! the leah that's been in love with you since forever! i promise!" leah defended, making sam laugh, "but...maybe bubbles needs to turn into something else-"

"stop it. no. bubbles will never go away." sam stopped her, making leah smile.

"i shouldn't of put it that way..." leah trailed off, and then started again as they crossed the street, "bubbles is still here, and she will always be here, but i think there's quite possibly a new bubbles emerging? hmmm? a bubbles that doesn't take anyone's crap and isn't so sensitive! or dramatic."

"okay, you're not sensitive, nor dramatic," sam defended, "but i get what you're trying to say. you just want a new you so you can forget about that past."

"mhm! isnt this just the cutest outfit? it was ginny's when she was a teen!" leah smiled, doing a little twirl while walking.

"i think it suits you perfectly. it's a vsco girl turning into a doesnt-care hippie. and i'm here for it."

"oh! stop!" leah laughed, "most of my outfits will be made from my old ones, but just a new pair of jeans...or a couple more necklaces. maybe a turtle neck underneath. i dunno, i'm just sick of short skirts."

"you sound like you're in a taylor swift music video. stop it. you're being all 'dramatic' again." sam quoted, making leah shove him off the sidewalk.

••••

"BUBBLES!" a voice filled leah's ears, are she took off her shoes in the huge mansion.

looking up, she saw kristy rushing down to see her.

"kristy! oh my goodness!" leah cried, as kristy jumped into her arms like lost lovers.

"oh! i've missed you so much! i'm sorry i didn't visit much in the hospital, but i didn't wanna go without the club because i didn't wanna seem rude, and i didn't wanna go with sam because i didn't wanna see you guys sucking face." kristy ranted into her shoulder.

"kristy, do you really think sam would want to kiss me while i'm on an IV?" leah asked.

"i just think they're gross!" sam defended, placing leah's rollerskates on the ground next to her shoes.

"oh, but i'm so happy you're back. you smell really good." kristy said.

"i missed you so much my platonic lover." leah smiled.

"stacey?"

"both of you."

"what about your actual lover?" sam asked.

"ehh..." leah said, waving her hand as kristy laughed into her shoulder.

the two pulled away from the hug, and kristy smiled, "sam, this is the worst time to tell you that she only came here because we have a meeting, and she's gonna walk over with me."

"what?! bubbles, why?" sam cried.

"no no no! i came here to walk with sam and meet up with you! it was multitasking!" leah defended.

"it doesn't matter, the meetings starting soon! let's get going bubbles!" kristy said, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the door.

"no wait! my shoes!" leah cried, getting out of her grasp as sam handed her both of the things she brought over, her shoes and her rollerskates.

"let's go! come on!" kristy said.

"bye bye sammy boy, i'll see you later, ok?" leah said, quickly kissing the side of his lips before leaving the house.

"put on your shoes!" kristy cried.

"no! im going over barefoot!"

"leah it's march!"

••••

"IT WAS TERRIFYING! BYRON SAID HIS ENTIRE LIFE FLASHED BEFORE HIS EYES." mallory said at the meeting, describing the babysitting job she and jessi had. leah was just happy to be back, so she sat on the floor with claudia's 'cool paints' (what she referred to them as) and painted on more designs to her skates, "but he's only ten, so there wasn't that much life to get through!"

"mallory!" jessi silently scolded her.

"i'm just so glad he's okay." mary anne said.

"me too. he only got six stitches, but it was, like, a thousand bucks a stitch." mallory said.

"god, my trip to the hospital was probably less than that! that's horrible!" leah gasped, and then laughed, "not really, it was like 3000 a night."

mallory laughed with her, and dawn spoke up, "the american health-care system strikes again."

"claire's birthdays coming up and she wanted this big, carnival-themed party, but now my parents say we can't spend the money." mallory said.

"oh god, that's horrible." leah said.

"i don't think leah would go to another birthday party again." claudia said, making leah throw a brush at her, "that brush is worth more than your hospital trip! don't throw it!"

"she's so bummed, i feel terrible." mallory said.

"wait," kristy started, "what if we threw a party as a club! it could be our redemption for bubbles' party, because we didn't get to plan that!"

"kristy, they hired professionals for that party." stacey said, as leah nodded.

"eh, it was ok. but i bet we could pull off a carnival!"

"oh, you guys don't have to do that. it's too much work." mallory said.

"a kid got injured on our watch. from an optics POV, that is horrible for business. we should do some damage control." kristy said.

"what she means to say is it's the least we can do. and it'd be our pleasure! and the treasury is in good shape, thank god to sam for covering for leah, so we can skip our monthly charity donation and use the money for claire's party instead!" stacey smiled.

"oh. okay. thank you, i guess." mallory said, a bit shocked.

"great! all in favor, say 'aye'"

everyone except mary anne threw in a 'aye.'

dawn slapped her knee with a smile, "oh! sorry! aye."

"you okay? you haven't said a peep all afternoon." clauida said.

"i just didn't sleep last night." mary anne admitted.

"did dawn's snoring keep you up?" kristy teased.

"excuse me?" dawn smiled.

(lesbians. lovers. dawn x kristy. periodt.)

"no, more like the secret passageway in her room." mary anne said.

"oh my goodness, i am so jealous!" leah gasped, stopping her painting.

"you have a secret passageway in your room? is it haunted?!" clauida cried.

mary anne nodded while dawn rolled her eyes, shaking her head no.

"i would sell all my sweaters to see what's in there." leah said.

"is that a promise?" dawn asked.

"maybe."

••••

"IN ORDER FOR CLAIRE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY TO BE A SUCCESS, WE MUST DIVIDE AND CONQUER. EVERYONE NEEDS A ROLE." kristy said at the next meeting.

"i can be a magical fairy! i can wear my pointe shoes, and kids love glitter and a wand." jessi recommended.

"and i can put together gift bags, but use those red and white popcorn bags to keep the theme going!" stacey smiled.

"and i'll do face paint. i can incorporate really cool stuff, like feather eyelashes and glitter." claudia smiled, as stacey scribbled down some notes.

"you guys, this is all super sweet. really. i'm obsessed," mallory started, "but don't you think it's gonna be a little expensive? i mean i wouldn't wanna run up the treasury."

"i can just wear one of my old ballet outfits. i'm sure i have something!" jessi assured her.

"yeah, and i already have all the face paint stuff." claudia added.

"and mallory, as treasurer, if we dip into dues to put together gift bags, it's no big deal. that's what it's there for!" stacey smiled assuringly.

"okay. if you say so." mallory nodded.

"great! then it's settled, i'll be project manager, leah can be in charge of decorations since she always has things lying in her basement." kristy said, as leah nodded, "but...what about the cake?"

"oh! i can bake one, and get some of that cool decorating stuff." mary anne offered.

"yeah, perfect! dawn? thoughts?"

dawn snapped back into the conversation, "sorry, i guess i'm the one a little out of it today."

"didn't you sleep well last night?" mary anne asked, "i slept great!"

dawn paused for a while, looking at leah for help, who did a hand motion for her to carry on.

"clown." dawn finally said, leaving everyone confused, "i could dress up like a clown? i mean, i think they're sort of weird and haunted looking, but some people love them!"

"do you have problems with mr.clowny?" mary anne asked.

"it's all good. seriously. he's your doll, mary anne. do what you want with him. you know me. i'm always chill." dawn awkwardly smiled.

••••

LEAH CLIMBED INTO BED, throwing her sheets over her legs and grabbing her phone, as she had a face mask on and a bun on top of her head.

someone knocked on the door, and leah was confused. it was midnight. why would someone be here?

getting up, she started going down the stairs and opened the door, being greeted with dawn.

"dawn?"

"you have a guest bedroom, right?"

••••

TURNING ON THE LIGHTS TO THE GUEST BEDROOM, leah placed some towels on the bed as well.

"i'm really sorry, bubbles-"

"no, dawn, i'm so sorry to you. you haven't slept well in a long time! please sleep, light up incense, get a good sleep, okay?" leah said, patting her shoulder.

"thank you so much, leah." dawn said, dropping her things on the ground and flopping onto the bed.

leah smiled and reached into her bag, grabbing the incense holder and a stick, placing the stick in the holder and grabbing her lighter, lighting it up and then blowing it out, as the smoke emerged from the stick.

"do you want a night light?" leah offered.

dawn muttered some words into the pillow, as leah nodded, "night, dawn," she smiled, and then closed the door.

••••

"COTTON CANDY-FLAVORED. DOESN'T IT LOOK GREAT?" mary anne said, showing them a photo of cake.

"my blood sugar rose looking at that photo, but it was worth it." stacey smiled, making leah laugh at her beside dawn's knees.

"so is the dried cake batter around the kitchen." dawn said to stacey.

"oh, really? sharon and i spent forever cleaning that up." mary anne said.

"well, it looks like you missed some spots."

leah looked at claudia, signaling to throw her some chips. clauida did, and then kristy spoke, "dawn. the party's tomorrow. whats your ETA on your clown costume?"

"i might have to be more of an old clothes and face paint sad clown than a pom-pom and giant shoes happy clown." dawn admitted, "i try to patronize local businesses, but there's a major dearth in mom-and-pop clown supply stores in stoneybrook."

"i just realized something! my sister was a clown for halloween last year, and we still have the costume. it was a little big on her, so-"

"great!" dawn exclaimed, "love to recycle!"

the phone began ringing, and kristy was quick to grab it, "babysitters club-"

"dawn, i'll do another deep clean of the kitchen once we get home." mary anne said.

"it's easier if i do it. you're messy, just like my mom." dawn said.

leah held back a laugh by stuffing a chip in her mouth.

"is this where all this passive aggressiveness is coming from? like you leaving last night to stay at leah's?"

"i'm not being passive-aggressive. you're just sensitive and paranoid, which is why you're scared of so many things!" dawn smiled.

"that's ridiculous! i'm not scared of so many things." mary anne defended.

"yup! you are." dawn smiled.

mary anne turned to the majority of the bsc, "do you guys think that?"

"no!" clauida smiled, as everyone shook their heads no, "cautious, maybe."

"prone to getting in your own head and spiraling into a panic?" stacey awkwardly added, "but like, in a fun and carefree way."

"sometimes you talk like a grandma." leah added, "in a cool way. a cool grandma."

"yeah, we're excited too. see you tomorrow! okay!" kristy hung up the phone, "that was mallory's parents on the phone. they wanted to go over the final details for tomorrow and i promised that tomorrow would be a blast...which it will be. we are going to have fun..." everyone stared at kristy uncomfortably, "get excited!"

no one responded.

"whoop-whoop." kristy said.

"whoop-whoop..." everyone said.

••••

"LEAH! THE SET UP LOOKS GREAT!" stacey smiled, as she brought some balloons into the yard.

"oh, thank you! sam helped me out a bit, but then i offered that he should dress up like a clown...and then he stopped helping me." leah frowned, and then scribbled some things down on her clipboard.

mallory came into the yard with two chairs, "that's the last of the chairs. what else do we need?"

"hey, mal, why don't you take a break? you've been working nonstop all morning." kristy offered.

"no way. it's my sisters birthday, i should be doing most of the work." mallory defended.

"we got this." claudia assured her, setting up he face paint stand.

(i would kill to get a good face paint rn. they always have them at my local fair but that's in july.)

jessi came out of the house in a fairy costume, "yes, jessi! i love it! it's perfect!" leah cheered.

"i love it!" clauida smiled.

"jessi, you look so cute!" stacey smiled.

"thanks! i bought it yesterday with my mom at Capezio in Stamford." jessi smiled.

"LOVE that place." leah gasped.

"i thought you were gonna use some of your old ballet costumes." mallory pointed out.

"i just wanted it to be special for claire." jessi smiled.

"...well, how much did it cost? i can venmo you-"

"i'll wear it again, mallory, it's fine." jessi assured the worried girl.

"it's not fine...you guys are doing way too much! look, i don't wanna be in the babysitters club charity case, okay?" mallory said.

"why would you think that?" kristy asked.

"is this because of the charity contribution?" stacey asked, and mallory's face fell, "mallory, i'm so sorry. that was a really dumb thing to say. i didn't mean like you were charity!"

"i don't wanna be a burden." mallory frowned.

"you're not." clauida said.

"was it charity when you asked you guys to be part of the JDRF fashion show?" stacey asked.

"yes, stacey, that was literally...charity." mallory pointed out.

"mallory, being apart of the babysitters club means we show up for each other." kristy said.

"we don't call it charity, it's just friendship." clauida smiled.

"...wow. you guys..." mallory smiled, "i feel so lucky to be apart of this group. you're all so nice and supportive and...wait, wheres mary anne and dawn?"

••••

THE PARTY HAD STARTED, and leah was standing by the snack table.

"bub-"

leah turned to kristy with a cake pop in her mouth and frosting on her lips, "hm?"

"any word on dawn? or mary anne?" kristy asked.

"no. not yet." leah muttered through the cake pop, and then swallowing it.

claire came up to them, looking upset, "hey birthday girl! what's got you down?"

"leah promised there'd be a clown! i want a clown!" claire frowned.

kristy turned towards leah, who smiled awkwardly.

"leah! how's that...clown? coming along?" kristy smiled.

"dawn said she would do it but then she canceled, and then i asked sam but then he canceled! it was just horrible and i don't have any clown things in my basement and-"

kristy sighed and went inside, making leah groaned and tap her clipboard.

"are you peter pan?" claire asked.

"what? no."

••••

LEAH WATCHED AS KRISTY WALKED OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH THE CLOWN COSTUME ON, as leah snorted unattractively.

"shut up." kristy scoffed.

••••

bubbles 🧼😻

you're such a loser for quitting last second, but your sister looked amazing in the clown costume.

sammy boy 🛹

wow. i'm a loser for not wanting to humiliate myself?

bubbles 🧼😻

very much so.

sammy boy 🛹

she looks like she wants to talk to me about my cars extended warranty...no thank you.

"AND, WE'RE DONE!" claudia smiled, giving leah a mirror to look at, as leah smiled at the little flowers and leaves painted on her face.

"i look so good." leah smiled, making funny faces into the mirror, "so! how's claudia's world going? good? bad? in the middle? green, red, or yellow? on a scale of 1 to 10?"

"i'd say...in the middle. for all of them. honestly...i kinda feel like a storm is brewing." claudia admitted.

"really?" leah frowned, her green lips curving downwards, "why is that?"

"i don't really know what..." clauida said, "but i feel it coming."

A/N:

hello! yes, i haven't updated in a month, no, it's not because i hate this book, it's because i've been busy with school! my finals are this week, and if those go good, i will be updating more! sorry for the LONG delay!!