Isobel was preoccupied.

This, by itself, was not unusual. In fact, it was a state shared by most of her classmates, or the female ones at the very least. It was the day of their last Winter Formal and no one had much of a mind for schoolwork that day.

However, the Winter Formal wasn't her solitary distraction. After all, the school day was now over and thoughts of the dance could hardly interrupt preparations for said event. Isobel was preoccupied not by her dress or the boys she might dance with but by a dream.

It couldn't have been that remarkable, she told herself, considering she barely remembered it. There were only flashes—someone grabbing her around the waist, something cool resting in the palm of her hand, a voice without a face to go with it—but it stuck in her head relentlessly, refusing to let her think of anything else.

"Is!"

Startled, she looked up from the bright foil wrapper that she was tearing to shreds. As usual, Cara's mom had set up a spread of snacks like this was a cocktail party instead of a few girls putting make-up on together. Fruit, vegetables with dip, pretzels and hummus. Isobel was a particular fan of the holiday candy.

Marlie was looking at her oddly. "Are you even paying attention?"

She shrugged. "I was just thinking about this dream I had. I can't remember most of it but I'm trying to."

Dreams were not nearly as interesting a topic of conversation as the dance, so Marlie didn't press her. "We want to know if there's anyone you want to dance with," she said.

Out of all of them, Isobel was the least likely to develop a crush. She always reasoned that she preferred to have stronger feelings for a few, worthy people than fleeting feelings for every male she came across, but her friends seemed to think there was always someone on her mind. "Not particularly."

Marlie was pretty much the opposite. If pressed, she could find herself a dozen new boys within a week. At the moment, though, she had a boyfriend and instead turned her attentions on getting boys for her friends. "Is Aaron still trying to get you back?"

Isobel shrugged again, reaching for another chocolate. Even with her closest friends, she never liked talking about herself. "It's been, like, two months," she pointed out. "I know I was the one who broke up with him, but I think he's over it."

The other girl frowned. Apparently deciding that Isobel was a lost cause at the moment, she got up and walked to the other end of the counter. "Anna," she began. "Have you—"

She was interrupted by the arrival of Cara's mother through the garage door. "Girls!" she said as she hung up her coat. "If you keep sitting here eating you won't fit into your dresses!" She grinned as she said this. Isobel was positive that the woman's eyes paused on her. She dropped the chocolate she had just unwrapped and crumpled her napkin on top of it.

As the girls moved to throw away their garbage, Mrs. Miller shooed them upstairs. "I'll take care of it. You girls go get ready."

Cara's room was not the most convenient place for five girls to get ready. Marlie immediately claimed the vanity, leaving only the mirror above the dresser for the other four. Isobel took the spot on the end, closest to the door, and pulled out her makeup bag.

"Hey Cara, can I borrow your laptop?" Marlie asked without turning around. She was sponging something across her forehead.

Cara was digging through her closet and her voice was muffled. "Yeah sure, what do you need it for?"

Marlie put down her sponge and leaned over to grab the computer off of her friend's desk. "There's this video for a really great way to do eyeliner."

For a minute or two the room was largely silent, each of the girls concentration on her preparations.

"Marlie! What did you do?"

Isobel put down the eyelash curler she had just picked up and turned around. The laptop screen was completely black. Marlie was staring at it blankly and Cara had come to look over her shoulder.

Marlie opened her mouth a few times before words came out. "I swear, I didn't do anything! I just pressed play and then this happened!"

Anna and Grace had turned around also. Grace gave Isobel a look, which she returned with a raised eyebrow. They both knew very well that Marlie could pretty much get away with murder where Cara was concerned. If either of them had done the same, the scene would have been a whole lot less calm.

Before Cara could berate Marlie further—if in fact, that was what she intended to do—the screen flashed so brightly white that for a second Isobel couldn't see at all.

When her vision cleared, she wasn't in Cara's room anymore.

The five girls were arranged in a circle, facing each other. Four pairs of wide eyes met hers and she imagined the fear she saw there was mirrored in her own. Around them was nothing but white. They were standing on something—or at least, something felt solid beneath her feet—but there was no visible floor.

Before any of them could react, the voice began to speak. It was a woman's voice, in a tone that somehow conveyed great age and kindness. This helped only marginally to lessen the impact of her words.

"The time comes once again that Candracar, and the worlds over which it reigns, has need for its Guardians. Danger arises, danger about which we know very little."

As she spoke, an image formed in the center of the circle, a glowing temple-like structure. No, not an image. It seemed three dimensional, although Isobel didn't dare reach out her hand to confirm this.

This image faded into a more familiar picture of the Earth. In this representation, there was a shimmering veil over the swirls of blue and green. It sparked with multicolored light.

"There is magic where there should be none. It has been pulled from other worlds to this one, upsetting the delicate balance. The barriers are weakening."

More globes appeared, inching closer to the Earth.

"If they collapse, the results would be catastrophic."

The globes were moving faster now. Isobel was fairly sure these were just representations but she couldn't bear to see the fiery explosion that would happen if they did collide. Without thinking, she thrust out her hand. "Stop!"

Her eyes widened as the globes froze, caught in a net of pink light. Slowly Isobel looked down at her palm to see sparks of the same color dancing between her fingers. She looked back up at her friends to find them all staring at her.

"Yes," the voice said. "You will stop this and save all the worlds. You will be our Guardians."

The globes and the pink light vanished, replaced by a translucent blue bubble. There was a shape inside, etched in darker blue—a little 'c'.

"Water."

The bubble floated towards Cara, hanging in the air at her eye level. Slowly, she raised her arm, palm up. The bubble sank into her hand and for a second she seemed to glow with blue light.

"Fire."

This bubble was orange, and the shape inside was a triangle. It disappeared into Grace's palm.

"Earth." A green bubble with a circle inside it traveled to Marlie. "Air." Anna's bubble was silver with a swirl inside.

"The elements will obey you," the voice said. "You must learn to master your powers. Only then will you be able to stop this evil."

Isobel was very much accustomed to this sinking feeling. It was the same one she got when she heard about a party she wasn't invited to or her friends whispered secrets she wasn't allowed to hear. She didn't belong here. Somehow she had been dragged into this crazy dream, but it was her friends who were something out of one of her fantasy novels. She was just ordinary, as usual.

Everyone was staring at her again, as if waiting to see how she would react to this. She fought to keep her face blank, to hide her disappointment.

Isobel was momentarily distracted from this effort by the new image that was materializing in the center of the circle. It was a small crystal orb, nestled in a silver setting.

"The Heart of Candracar is the key to your powers," the voice said. "Without it, you cannot succeed, for everything must have a heart. The heart must keep you together during the most difficult times and provide the strength to drive you forward as one."

The crystal flared with pink light and floated over to Isobel. Tentatively, she reached out to touch it. This was no image—the orb was entirely real. It hung from her fingers on a thin cord, which looped through the silver setting.

Isobel wondered briefly if she had to wear it as a necklace. It was kind of bulky.

As if to answer her, the crystal disappeared. The voice continued. "The Heart will remain with you always. Hold out your hands."

Obediently, she cupped her palms in front of her. The crystal reappeared with a pulse of warmth. Isobel instinctively closed her hands around it and it vanished once again. Now, though, she could feel it inside her, like a second heartbeat hidden beneath the first.

"We wish you well, girls," the voice said. "And we thank you."

Isobel opened her eyes. She was once again in Cara's room, sitting on the floor with her back against the dresser. Around her, her friends were waking up as well. Marlie lifted her head from the vanity, Anna stretched her arms above her head and yawned.

"So…" Isobel said. "That was interesting."

Cara folded her arms across her chest. "I think someone drugged us."

Marlie gave her a look. "Drugs? That's your explanation?"

The other girl was undeterred. "Extreme stress, then."

Using the dresser for support, Isobel pulled herself to her feet. She grinned, which caused everyone else in the room to look at her like she was insane. "We're magical!" she said, very nearly jumping up and down. "How freaking cool is that?"

Grace smiled slightly. Isobel knew the two of them had a similar taste in books, although Grace had never expressed interest in having those books become her reality.

True to form, Cara remained stubborn. "We are not magical. If anything, we're having shared delusions." Isobel raised an eyebrow. "I'm the one taking Psych! It's a real thing!"

Well this was going to be no fun if Cara tried to ruin it. She always was the downer in the group.

"So then how do you explain this?" Isobel hoped that she was right, because otherwise this was going to be embarrassing. She cupped her palms, holding them up so that all her friends could see.

She didn't have to worry. Almost immediately she felt that pulse of warmth traveling from her heart, down her arms, and to her hands. The crystal appeared, reassuringly solid. Isobel picked it up by the cord, letting it hang from her fingers.

Cara didn't have a response for this. She glowered and turned back to her closet, determinedly flipping through her collection of dresses as if she didn't already know exactly what she was going to wear.

"How does it work?" Grace asked her.

That was a good question. Isobel held it up right in front of her face. "No idea," she admitted. "The lady said it's the key to our magic, right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Isobel continued to talk, more to herself than to anyone else. "It keeps us all together. Strength, unity." Something occurred to her, whether from some innate understanding of her role or from years of reading she wasn't sure. "Unite," she said, quietly but firmly.

The crystal flared to life, exploding with light. It floated above her head, splitting into five shimmering globes. The one that flew towards her was fuchsia. It stretched into a ribbon that wrapped itself around her, lifting her off the ground.

Isobel felt her body curl forward involuntarily. She hugged her knees to her chest, blind to everything but the pink light. When she accepted the Heart, she felt its power but that was only a spark. Now it was a flood, rushing through her veins until she felt like she could hardly contain it. The force of it threw her backwards, knocking her to her feet once again. As she felt the ground beneath her, the light faded to reveal Cara's room and the other girls.

For a moment, no one had words. They all stared at each other, glancing around the room as if to verify that everyone was seeing the same thing.

Isobel's lips twitched into a wry smile. "Of course! What are magical powers without a transformation scene?"

"You are such a nerd," Marlie told her, rolling her eyes. She looked down at herself. "I feel like one of my sister's cartoons."

Isobel turned around. The image in the mirror was still her, for the most part. Her hair was longer and more neatly straightened, her bangs falling perfectly like they had just been dried, but it was still golden blonde. Her height hadn't changed, or the shape and color of her features, but at the same time…

"We look like we've been photo-shopped," Anna said.

That was probably the best way to describe it. All the girls had kept their overall coloring, their hair texture and style, their body type. It had just been perfected until they could easily be part of a spread in a fashion magazine—albeit, a weird, fantasy based one.

The outfits, if possible, were even more shocking. Isobel's top was purple, with long sleeves that flared out around her wrists. It was cropped to show the entirety of her stomach, which was fortunately much flatter in this incarnation than she remembered it being five minutes ago. A small strip of fabric curled in towards her collarbone and another made a wide arc around her belly button. Her skirt was teal. It was very short, but a pair of tights, striped green and blue covered the rest of her legs. The knee-high boots were round-toed with a slight chunky heel, purple to match her top.

It wasn't exactly what she would choose, knowing the whole ensemble was intended for running and fighting. Was there a jacket, in case evil showed up somewhere cold?

Isobel stretched experimentally, extending her arms above her head and twisting from side to side. Despite its flimsy appearance, the outfit did not move at all. Well, at least she didn't have to fear a wardrobe malfunction.

In the mirror she could see Grace twisting to look over her own shoulder. "Are these… wings?" she asked hesitantly.

How could she have missed that? Isobel's eyes flicked back to her own reflection. Sure enough, there were feathery stalks arching from her shoulder blades. They looked flowery, like iridescent petals on a black stem. She reached a hand over her shoulder to touch one. It felt satiny smooth under her fingers. "No way," she whispered. She had always wanted to fly!

A loud knock on the door startled the girls. "Pictures are starting in an hour!" Cara's mom said through the wood. "Make sure you're all ready!"

Isobel reached out a hand, curling her fingers. The globes of light followed the motion, leaving each of the girls less elaborately than they had come. In a brief flash, they were themselves again, and the blonde girl once again held an empty crystal. She closed her palm and it vanished.

How could they go about normal life after this?

Isobel would never know how she managed to get ready for that dance. Fortunately, Marlie had volunteered to do her makeup, and her hair was more or less done from that morning. Two hours later, she found herself at the banquet hall, talking to Grace a few feet away from the punch table.

"Wasn't punch just a thing in old prom movies?" she was saying. "I mean, people don't really drink thinks out of giant open bowls anymore. Not when we're supposed to be paranoid that the mouth of a plastic cup is big enough to drug easily."

Grace was holding a water bottle, ripping at the paper label rather than drinking it. "It's being guarded by nuns," she pointed out. "I don't think anyone is getting drugged here."

This was a good point, and Isobel shrugged rather than agree or argue further. Instead she cast her eyes about the room, not for the first time. The student council really had done a great job with this dance. Tiny lights twinkled everywhere, and the walls were hung with shimmering garland. A giant Christmas tree filled one corner, and a constant stream of couples waited to take pictures with it. Isobel was glad that this dance, unlike prom, didn't require a date. She wasn't in the mood to entertain someone else all night, especially after the events of the afternoon.

You were supposed to stop thinking about that, she reminded herself. As a distraction, she tried to track down all the others. There was Marlie, dancing with her boyfriend Tom. Anna and Cara were in a group of girls nearby, although Cara was eyeing one of Tom's good friends. Isobel was fairly certain they had been talking, or something like that, but then again she was kind of out of the loop when it came to Cara's life.

Aaron was leaving the dance floor, walking towards his table. He gave her a genuinely friendly smile but didn't come over. Isobel returned the smile, relieved that the last of their awkwardness seemed to be gone. It hadn't ended badly, after all. Of course they had been uncomfortable with each other for a little while, but as she had hoped, the whole thing hadn't ruined their chances for casual friendship.

The music shifted to a slower song, and there was an abrupt change on the dance floor. Everyone stopped and couples turning to wrap their arms around each other and sway.

Grace prodded her with a sharp elbow. "I think someone's coming to ask you to dance," she whispered.

Isobel looked away from the floor, startled. Had she been wrong about Aaron? "But he just went—"

The other girl hadn't finished. "Who is that kid anyway? I don't think I've ever seen him before."

Not Aaron then. "He better not be a freshman." Isobel followed Grace's eyes until she found this mystery guy. When her eyes met his, he moved towards her more quickly, his face set in grim determination.

She used the opportunity to study him. He didn't look like a freshman. He was over six feet, always a blessing for a girl of her height. Big too, not like a football player but definitely fit. He was dressed simply in a white shirt and black pants—apparently his tie had been misplaced. Maybe a freshman girl had taken it. They loved to run around these dances gathering as many ties as they could, like some sort of trophy. Isobel smirked at the thought. He looked a bit too serious for that.

When he reached her, he smiled just slightly. It was not insincere, exactly, but he looked far from relaxed and content. "Would you like to dance?" he asked her.

Next to her, Grace gave her a subtle wink. At least, she hoped it was subtle. Ah, well, he was pretty cute. "Sure," she said.

He offered his arm, like something out of a regency film. Well that was… cute? Strange? Both? Isobel placed her fingers lightly on his elbow and let him lead her towards the dance floor. When they reached it, they turned to face each other.

Now he blushed faintly pink, the color barely visible in the dim lighting. "I'm afraid I don't know this dance," he admitted.

And he hadn't thought of that before he asked her? Isobel raised an eyebrow. "There isn't really much to it," she pointed out. "Just put your hands at my waist."

He did so, tentatively. Isobel put her arms on his shoulders, crossing her wrists behind his neck.

"And just sway," she added, as he just stood there. She moved a little bit from side to side and he followed her lead.

These dances were always awkward, especially with strangers. They were standing so close and yet had nothing to say to each other. Isobel looked at her partner long enough to determine that his eyes were even darker than his hair, but glanced away quickly under his intense stare. Why was he looking at her like that?

"My name is Jonathan," he offered, after almost a minute of uncomfortable silence.

Oh, she had never introduced herself. "Isobel," she said. And as this was much better than awkwardly avoiding his eyes, she added, "Are you new here?"

Jonathan hesitated for a moment. "Yes," he said finally. "I've just arrived this week."

Could people just show up less than a week before Christmas break? It didn't really make sense, but then again, what did make sense at this school?

He didn't seem to have anything else to say, but he kept looking at her. Apparently he wasn't as bothered by the constant eye contact as she was. But, she realized, it wasn't exactly an admiring gaze. He seemed almost puzzled by her, like he was searching for answers written across her face.

Well he could just ask. "So, are you a senior then?"

Something like confusion flashed across his face, but it cleared quickly to leave him stoic once again. "Yes."

Isobel knew her strengths, and making conversation was not one of them. Luckily, the song came to an end at that point, replaced by a much faster one. Mr. Uptight probably wouldn't want to stick around for this kind of dance.

Before he could say anything, she stepped back. His arms fell back to his sides. "It was nice meeting you," she said politely, and she went off to join her friends at their table.

As she slid into her seat, Marlie turned to her. "So," she said, in a tone that suggested she wouldn't drop this easily. "Who was that?"

Isobel looked back towards the dance floor. Jonathan had disappeared into the crowd. "I don't really know."