Alex realized it, too—I could see the look in her eyes that read, 'Oh, shit!' as she did. How had her spell not worked on Jessie? Did that mean it hadn't worked at all?!

Alex saw that I was beginning to panic and mouthed, Calm down.

That made me feel a bit better, but not much. It wasn't as if we'd run into anyone else yet so we couldn't know for sure if the spell was in affect or not when we did.

"Like in The Outsiders?" Jessie asked.

I sighed. There was no point in keeping any of this from her any longer and besides, I hated keeping things from my best friend. So Alex and I finally told her everything, the boys helping to explain when they could.

Jessie was understanding, though admittedly very shocked to learn of Alex's magic. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Abigail made us promise not to," said Alex, "otherwise we would have and you know it."

Jessie nodded. "Okay, well, worst case scenario, you re-cast the spell if you find it hasn't worked, right? No big deal."

"I suppose so, yeah," replied Alex, and that was what finally made me calm down. I hadn't thought of that before, to be honest. "So, on a lighter note, if you guys want to know anything about the future, feel free to ask us."

It was a couple of days later when Ponyboy, Johnny, Two-Bit and Steve began attending school with the rest of us. They waited a little bit so they could become more familiar with how things worked in 2015 California, including its laws (which I suspected Dallas might try to break every chance he got). To Alex's delight, she found that Steve and Two-Bit were put in her math class while Johnny and Ponyboy were in her English class. I didn't have any classes with them, which was a little disappointing.

Thankfully, we also found that the spell had done its work perfectly when it came to everyone apart from Jessie. Alex, Jessie and I were all relieved to hear that, and an interesting side effect to the spell was that if one of the boys tried to read (or watch) their story, it would appear completely blank to them (or, in the movie's case, show an error message).

In addition, if anyone aside from the three of us tried to tell them of anything that happened in the story, they would experience the Liar Liar effect of not being able to form the words at all. It was just as well; I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it if any of them discovered how it ended...especially when it came to Johnny and Dally.

In short, the dangers of the seven of them being here were more or less eliminated.

The one annoying thing, in my opinion at least, was that the very day Ponyboy, Johnny, Steve and Two-Bit started coming to school with us, it was announced that there would be a pep rally later that evening.

Oh, how fun, I thought sarcastically as several students either cheered or groaned in response to the news, depending on how they felt about it. I could tell by Scott's face that he really wasn't happy about it either (we were both in first period science, along with Andrew and Destiny).

I, for one, hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and had been planning on going to bed earlier tonight because of that. But now, thanks to this thing being at seven-thirty and not ending until nine, I would be up until at least 11:00 due to my usual routine...plus actually getting home.

"You're so cheery in the morning, Lana, I love it," the teacher sarcastically remarked, seeing the pissy look on my face. Scott couldn't seem to help but snicker a little bit. He always found stuff like this funny--not that I could really blame him.

"I'm sure you do, miss," I mumbled in response as I put my head down on my desk. We weren't in the lab today, so I figured I could relax a bit. This teacher, Miss Woolsy, was pretty sarcastic by default, so we were all used to it and even found it pretty entertaining sometimes. Hell, I found it funny even when the sarcasm was aimed at me.

For example, there was one morning a while back where I had my head down on my desk like now, and she was wrapping up a lesson by telling us to watch a YouTube video related to the subject for homework. In response, I lifted my head slightly to ask, "Why can't you just play it now?"

"Because that would cut into my time, Lana."

"But watching it later would cut into my time, too."

"Awww," said Miss Woolsy, sarcasm present, "Says the one who's sleeping in my class."

I'd had to admit, she had a fair point there. But that wasn't going to stop me from sleeping today--which I did. I had a spare during which I could finish whatever work I didn't complete--unless, of course, I ended up chatting with Alex the whole time like I usually did.

To my surprise, I managed to do both. I sat at a computer doing my work while Alex and I conversed about the events of that morning. "So what're you telling the teachers? You know, about the guys being here and all?"

"Oh, I just went with a story about how they're family friends of ours who are staying with us for awhile but we're not sure how long," replied Alex, "It's not a lie, really. Anyway, you should've been in my math class. The teacher got a real kick out of Two-Bit's humour."

"Really? She didn't give him shit for it?"

"Well, he wasn't interrupting her during the lesson or when she was giving instructions," explained Alex, "So I think she was more willing to let it slide because of that."

"He'd like Miss Woolsy," I remarked. Alex laughed. The rest of our spare continued in much the same manner, and when lunch arrived we added some chairs to the big table we created so that Steve, Ponyboy, Johnny and Two-Bit could join us. Over the course of the lunch hour we found that, as expected, Two-Bit got along very well with Andrew and Scott. n general, I think everyone was getting along well with each other. Johnny was a bit on the quiet side, but it was normal for him to be.

"So how long are you guys in town for?" asked Nicole about halfway through.

Johnny and Ponyboy glanced at each other. I could tell from their eyes that they were both wondering what they should respond with.

"We're not too sure," Steve answered for them, "Could be awhile depending on how things go."

"I see," she responded, and I noticed Two-Bit was admiring her blue and lilac hair with a great deal of interest. I thought that was interesting since he usually went for blondes. Nicole noticed him, too. "You like what you see?" she teased.

If it had been anyone else to be caught checking her out, they may have gotten flustered. But not Two-Bit. Instead he replied with his signature grin, "Maybe I do."

Nicole couldn't help but grin back. "I'm flattered. You know, you're not bad-looking yourself. Seeing as you'll be in town for awhile, why don't you and I do something together sometime?"

Two-Bit accepted her offer at once.

Through this entire exchange, though, I noticed a strange look in Bridgette's eyes that suggested something was wrong. I made a mental note to bring it up to her later, in private of course.

"Hey, speaking of which," Josh spoke up after taking a sip of Mountain Dew, "I was actually hoping to ask you the same thing, Alex. Would you be interested in going out with me at some point?"

Alex's eyes lit up, whether she realized t or not. I doubted she was aware of it, but I had a feeling she was beginning to develop a crush on him. "Yeah, of course I would," she said, "When?"

"How about this Thursday coming up?" suggested Josh, "We could go and see a movie or something. I know it's a little cliché for a first date, but--"

"I'd love it," Alex cut him off with a smile. Josh smiled too as he accepted a high five from Two-Bit.

When the pep rally rolled around that night, I wanted nothing more than to crawl under the bleachers, curl up into a ball and sleep. But unfortunately, I'd most likely get dragged back out anyway, not to mention the excessive noise level associated with these things wouldn't have allowed me any rest to begin with. So instead, I settled for drowning out the ridiculous music they'd chosen to play for some of my own through my headphones.

As I leaned back and closed my eyes, I tried to relax as best I could and allowed my mind to wander. Alex and Jessie were seated on either side of me, but they were focused on the rally and probably wouldn't try to disturb me anyway, nor would the rest of our friends who were sitting all around us on the bleachers.

As Blue Stahli's 'Scrape' played through my headphones I could faintly hear the sound of the gym teacher's voice as he spoke into the microphone. I couldn't make out any of his words but I didn't care either way as my thoughts drifted to someone else.

Dallas.

In case I haven't said so before, I'd had a crush on Dallas ever since I read about him in The Outsiders, and that feeling had only increased when I watched the film for the first time. It was rather flattering that he'd been fixated on me, especially the flirting, but I honestly couldn't be sure if his interest was sincere or if he was just up to his usual tricks. It was Dallas, after all.

I opened my eyes briefly and caught sight of Josh reaching for Alex's hand. I'm glad she's giving him a chance, I thought with a small smile. That smile faded, though, when I happened to look just past them and see Vanessa watching their every move. Her eyes held a menacing glare and I could tell she was planning something. I could only guess that she'd finally had enough of lying low.

Ponyboy, who was on the other side of Jessie, noticed me staring. "Is that Vanessa?" he asked, catching Jessie's attention so that she looked, too.

"Yeah," I replied, "She's watching Josh and Alex."

"Probably can't stand seeing Alex happy," Jessie mused, "I wish she'd just leave her alone."

"Believe me, so do I," I responded. Ponyboy, who knew nothing of what she'd done, was understandably confused. "I'll let Alex tell you when she's ready to," I told him, and he nodded before changing the subject.

"These things sure haven't changed much, huh?" he asked, referring to the pep rally.

"Nope," I replied, "Still boring as ever."

When the pep rally came to a much anticipated close, I spotted Bridgette heading for the door and broke away from Alex and Jessie so I could talk to her. "Hey," I tapped her shoulder. "A word?"

Bridgette looked worried.

"It's nothing bad," I assured her, "Just something I wanted to ask you about in private."

"Okay," she said, and I led her into a deserted hall so no one would overhear us. "This is about lunch, isn't it? With Nicole and Two-Bit."

I nodded. "It's just...the look that was in your eyes, Bridge. You seemed upset or something and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Bridgette sighed. "To be honest with you, Lana...when Nicole asked him out I got a little jealous. But the thing is, I wasn't jealous because I like Two-Bit."

I had to admit, I was mildly surprised. "Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. Honestly, I think I might be gay," she continued. "More than that, I think I might have feelings for Nicole."

For a moment, I was silent. I hadn't been expecting that, but it made perfect sense. She'd never seemed to have much of an interest in guys to begin with, but I always assumed she just wasn't into dating. Everyone else in our group either had an interest in someone or had dated people in the past. Alex and Josh, Scott and Kate, Andrew and the girls he'd dated before...hell, Destiny was in a long-distance relationship with a guy who lived in Chatham, Ontario.

Bridgette was studying my expression. "Lana?"

"Sorry, Bridge--I was just thinking," I explained, "I don't see anything wrong with that. In fact, I think you should tell her."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Just hear me out for a second. What if she only asked him out to make you jealous? What if, by some chance, she feels the same way about you?"

Bridgette seemed to ponder that for a minute. "Maybe," she said softly, "But I won't tell her right away. I need some time, alright?"

"That sounds more than fair," I replied, and she pulled me into a hug.

"Thanks, Lana," Bridgette smiled at me as we began walking back toward the school entrance, "I honestly think you should consider social work for a college major."

"Hey, no problem. And you never know, I just might."